It was time to let her go out into the world and experience everything she can! lol… I just needed the money. But the next computer I build is going to be the “Big Bertha” of computers compared to the other 2 I have built. Now its not going to have the most expensive parts available, I’m not rich here, but it will have the more advanced parts available and be the most powerful compared to the others I’ve built.  Here is a quick parts list I started from newegg.

1. Motherboard: ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX $224.99
2. Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Model BX80580Q9300 $259.99
3. Computer Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $49.99
4. Video Card: (2 of these guys!) EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB $134.99
5. Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V $114.99
6. Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $59.99
7. CD/ DVD Burner: LITE-ON 20X Black SATA Model iHAS120-04 $23.99
8. Computer Case: Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX $109.99

Subtotal:     $1,113.91

Now im sure this list will change a lot since its entirely base off parts avalible on neweggs website and I prefer to get my parts directly from a store like Frys. When I start to build it ill give an update. If anyone like’s this set up or needs a computer build for them, just let me know. I would be happy to help.

I removed the names and email addresses for privacy.

>><****@gmail.com> Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 11:17 PM

>>To: sale-12346123@craigslist.org

>>Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Show original

>>** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY — AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY

>>** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home

>>** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping

>>** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

>>Buyer: You’re machine comes with the 2003 key and same with all the software?

>>or is it pirated?

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

OK, that’s an odd question to ask right off the bat. And what 2003 key does he mean? Microsoft Office?

>Seller: Windows XP install is from a legit install disk from my old Dell. Office 2003 is >legit. Got it installed from a buddy with an actual Office install disk. I don’t have the office install disk as it was not mine but I have the XP disk. All the other software is Free.

>>Buyer: If I buy the computer form you will give me 2003 key right?

>>from your friend

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

What the heck is with this guy? Why is he so worried about a 2003 key?

>Seller: What 2003 key are you talking about? Windows XP key or Office 2003 key?

>>Buyer: yeah office 2003 key

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

>Seller: I don’t have the disk so no. Sorry

I told the guy already I don’t have the disk?

>>Buyer: genuine?

>>Otherwise its illegal man.

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

Ok at this point I was frustrated and didn’t want to deal with him. He obviously does not know what he is talking about or he is messing with me.

>Seller: Dude, do you want to buy this or not? Im not going to sit here and prove to you >whether or not the software I have is legal…

>Seller: Never mine. I don’t even want to sell it to you. Go fine another seller to annoy.

>>Buyer: hahaa,lol

>>Reported to police.

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

>>Buyer: I’d recommend you take that off of craigslist.

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

OK, what the heck is this guy’s problem? Nothing I have is illegal and I never said it was. I just told him I don’t have the CD.

>Seller: you’re an idiot. I never said anything was illegal. tool.

>>Buyer: But you know it is.

>>Just check out your IP number.

>>Sincerely,

>>name removed

At this point I was pissed and wanted to find out some info on him. I went to trusty google.com and searched his email address. Guess what? He has multiple posts on craigslist! “Selling what?” you might be wondering? CUSTOM built computers!!! OMG I see it now. He wants to scare other posters into removing their posts so he is the only one left to sell his!

>Seller: First of all, an IP address has nothing to do with software like Office 2003…

>Secondly that’s retarded and makes no sense. You obviously know nothing about this >stuff.

>Last… the only reason you even contacted me in the first place was because you have >your own computers for sale on craigslist. So you to try to get me to admit to you that I have un licensed software so you could throw this ridicules “Reported to police” threat at me and get me to take down my post.

>Get a life bud. Don’t email me again. You’re a waist of time and energy.

>>Buyer: haha, man chill out.

>>Naw, I really dont care about your post lol it was just a joke.

>>And I was just having fun.

>>Lol me? get a life? I am not the one who tried to research me on craigslist. lol nuub

>>But ok, Ill stop.

>>Sincerely,

>>Name removed

That was just stupid. At this point I felt the need to get some payback. I went onto his posts and flagged them all for removal. LOL

>>Buyer: man, stop flagging my posts.
>>I am not flagging yours. Please be more considerate, or it will be done unto you too.
>>I stopped.

>>Sincerely,
>>Name removed

Be more considerate? Are you kidding me! After that I just ignored him. With in minutes of his last email I get another email from a hotmail account with a user name that’s just ridiculous.

<*****@hotmail.com> Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 8:13 PM

To: *****@gmail.com

>>Buyer: Its not overclocked is it?

>>Buyer: Do you still have it? And Can I go pick it up tomorrow?
>>Can I have your address So I can search it on google maps, and see if I can go >>pick >>it up tomorrow?
>>Thanks

I knew right away this was the same guy. Other then the coincidence of this email coming right after my ordeal with this guy, this email shows he emailed me directly. The problem with that is when you contact a buyer for the 1^st time on craigslist the “To:” is sent to a fake private email like “To: sale-123456123@craigslist.org”. So that gave it away.

>Seller: Nice try Name removed.. If you were someone new emailing me about my >computer for sale, it would show

> Name removed <*****@hotmail.com>  Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 8:10 PM
>To: sale-13246123@craigslist.org

>Not directly to my email account. You really dont want to go down this road with me.

>>Buyer: Ok?

He wanted to play dumb so I just opened up the email headers and found the IP address he was email from. Guess what? They matched from both email accounts! HAHA,

>Seller: Oh, and your IP address gave you away.
>Internet email headers don’t lie.
>Received: by IP address removed with SMTP;
>       Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:39:21 -0700 (PDT)
>Received: by IP address removed with SMTP;
>       Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:39:21 -0700 (PDT)

>Received: by IP address removed with SMTP;
>       Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:44:51 -0700 (PDT)
>Received: by IP address removed with SMTP;
>       Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:44:51 -0700 (PDT)

It took him a few minutes to reply after that but I got another reply from his original email account.

>>Buyer: So you want to keep this going? I don’t see any point of you flagging my posts.

>>Sincerely,
>>Name removed

I already stopped at this point but still. He started this, he is just angry I finished it.

>Seller: Game over. No more emails. Even from fake ones…
>Agreed?

>>Buyer: Done.

That’s it. This was a ridicules guy who thought he could push others around and got what he deserved. I still have all of his info and I mean ALL of his info just incase he wants to mess with me again. Google is great!

How Grandma Sees the Remote

Here’s the deal about the new Windows Vista. It’s all about your personal presences. THAT’S IT… There are a lot of articles on the web telling you things like “10 reasons not to get Vista” and on the other side “Windows Vista: 15 Reasons to Switch”. What this goes to show you is it’s all about your point of view and your expectations going into it. Don’t trust someone else’s opinion about an operating system whether they tell you it sucks or it’s the best thing since Bosom Buddies.

I’ve been using Vista for about 4 months now and I can’t really say I have anything against it. Truthfully 4 months is not nearly enough time to give Vista a fair and complete review since I, like most of us have been XP users for years and that’s what were use to. I will say there were some issue with drivers when I first installed it that made me want to just quit. It took a few days to get my sound card working properly and the rest of the time was just finding where everything was. I got threw it though so no big deal

Let get back to the main questions though. Is it worth it? If Vista came with your new computer or if you’re looking to upgrade that old version of XP you have, well it’s not an easy question to answer. Vista has added some nice new features such as Sidebar, Flip 3D, new Calendar, Photo Gallery, Media Center, and visual improvements with new security “Improvements”. On the other hand it’s not an easy upgrade and it’s not your good old XP layout either. With XP you know where everything is and if you don’t then it’s easy to find. With Vista, Microsoft makes a sharp right turn. Where things use to be are now in another place. What they use to be named they are named differently (My Documents-Documents and Settings etc).

Is it as bad as I have heard? Not in my opinion. Like I said before I did have some driver issues and it took a while to figure out where everything was. Other then that slow start Vista has been surprisingly good for me. I can play all my old games on it and use all my old applications. I do have 1 issue with how my game Crysis is opened but that’s it. This is where I think the big misunderstanding comes into play. Too many people had to many expectations on how they think Vista should be. Instead of telling you about the cool new features and functions, they focus on what they think needs to be on it or what they don’t like about it. This is why you can’t completely trust other people’s perspectives on Vista. If you want to try it, then try it. Just be ready and understand Vista is NOT a Windows XP face lift. It’s completely redesigned and might as well be considered another company’s OS like OS X, Ubuntu, or Redhat. Obviously its still Windows so it’s not completely alien, but you will get what I mean when you try it.

Overall Vista is good, solid and visually very nice. I have no functional problems with it. My finally decision about Vista vs. XP… No matter how nice it looks I just don’t see the need to use it. I still prefer my XP and have no real need to use Vista. I’m going to downgrade back to XP later and wait till another generation of Windows or other operating system appears that makes me jump ship. Until then, im coming home to XP!

]]> http://www.henwoodweb.com/2008/07/29/windows-vista/feed/ http://www.henwoodweb.com/2008/07/22/clean-up-that-computer/ http://www.henwoodweb.com/2008/07/22/clean-up-that-computer/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:06:10 +0000 Bobby http://www.henwoodweb.com/?p=185 I wanted to make a post today regarding your computer and keeping it clean. There are a LOT of different programs available to take care of this for you. My goal is to show you the ones that work and best of all are free! All the programs and information I give you are based off what I use and practice myself. There are other applications and practices used that work just as well, this is just my personal preference.

I am going to keep this as short as possible. There is a lot of information I can give on this subject but it will just take up to much time and you can visit their site to get it all anyways. So here we go.

#1 Wait

Before any applications are downloaded, there is one thing most people don’t even think about when maintaining their PC. Cleaning the computer with software is great and all but don’t forget about the actual computer its self! Buy a can of Caned Air and open that computer case up. See all that dust? Yea… It’s bad! Clean it all out and do this at least once every 3 to 4 months, doing this will keep the computer from heating up to much. Too much heat will damage the entire computer and we don’t want that. It also keeps the moving parts like fans running smooth and quiet. …Matt…

#2 CCleaner

CCleaner is freeware system optimization and privacy tool. Basically it is used to clean out your internets temp files, cookies, history, and scans your hard drive for old broken temp file and removes them. This will allow your internet to run faster and clear up space on your hard drive.

Download Here

#3 Spybot

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, adware, keyloggers, and more. Out of any of the available spyware/adware removal tools this one is by far my favorite. It removes infections, immunizes against known infections, and monitors in real time against changes to your computers registry (teatimer).

Download Here

#4 Lavasofts Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware is essentially the same thing as Spybot with more detail on its graphical interface (it looks pretty ). Ad-Aware removes adware, spyware, trojans & hijackers, password stealers, and keyloggers.

Both Spybot and Ad-Aware do basically the same thing but don’t tell yourself one program is good enough to keep my computer safe. I use both of these applications because where one doesn’t find anything the other will. Also they both have different and powerful tools to keep your computer safe real time. Meaning you don’t have to do an actual scan of your PC all the time, they monitor for threats.

Download Here

#5 AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus protection against viruses and spyware and is used by over 70 millions of users. Just because it’s free does not mean it’s inferior to the pay versions such as Norton. AVG is my one and only anti-virus software on my computer because it’s light weight and works perfectly without bogging down my computer.

Download Here

#6 Finally…. FIREFOX!!!!

This one is simple folks. Internet Explorer is getting better but is still way to vulnerable to use. Scammers, spammers and trigger-happy viruses are true threats. Firefox is an open source internet browser more powerful then Internet Explorer and gives you more security and customization control. Basically Firefox is setting the standard for fast, secure, and reliable web browsing and Internet Explorer is just playing catch up. I still have to use Internet Explorer for something work related but other than that, everything I see on the internet is on a Firefox browser.

Download Here

That’s it guys! I tried to keep it down to a minimum on the info. Take a look at the programs and I hope this helps some of you understand how to keep your computer safe and clean. Have fun! Please let me know if you have questions.

As a nother side note, my account with Flickr has expired so you might have noticed a lot of the pictures are gone. I just need to pay for the unlimited use on my account again and it will all be put back on. Once I get it fixed I’ll also have more pictures to put up. We have just been to busy with Chloe, work, and just life in general to remember to put up the new stuff.

The theme I am thinking about switching to is set up so I have to change it like this for it to work. Also I wanted to make this change a while ago. I just never got around to it. OK, Well let me know if there are any issues with this.

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