Computers

Disco Duck · Guru

Computers

jimricho · Guru

I have both a laptop and a desktop...laptop on the road, desktop at home. I've had the desktop for quite a few years but it's like Grandpa's axe....some old axe but the handle's been replaced 5 times and the head 3!

XP Home on the desktop and XP Pro on the laptop..Vista was on the market when I bought the Laptop so I had to specify XP, ended up with a licence for both and have a Vista installation disk as well as an XP recovery disk. The Vista disk may come in handy one day when I'm short of drink coasters.

Cruising Granny · Guru

ASUS notebook - with VISTA. Bought it to replace an unreliable 2 year old Panasonic last Aug and have had nothing but trouble with connections with USB Broadband and external hard drive.
I think it's all ok now, but I've not been game to load the new replacement external HD.
It was replaced under warranty.
So nerve wracking with 30yrs of writing stored in there. I've backed up the back ups now.

Terro · Guru

We have both a desk top and a lap top. The desktop isan HP in the office, (nooo I hear you say!) and is used for the forum purpose and I like to edit my home videos. Running Windows XP which I understand. Like most others I don't cope well with change. Also have a VOIP phone running via the desk top through a router. Works so well we have cancelled the Telstra landline. The lap top is an Acer, we take on trips with us and at the moment use it as a diary. The wish list has a modem on it so hopefully in the New Year. Also run Windows XP on the lap top for the same reason.

Terro.

-- Edited by Terro on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 06:01:41 PM

whoppa · Veteran Member

We use a Laptop with a built in camera and wireless ,It is great for Skype conversations with home and as more and more camps are offering Free wireless service this is great.
I like desktop at home so if I spill my coffee on the keyboard I only have to buy another $30 keyboard ,with laptop it is a bit more expensive.
Also the laptop doubles as DVD player in the van.
Operating system is Vista Home Premium but this does no matter to me I would be just as happy with XP or windows 7 or even Linux Umbutu they all do the same job.
As a matter of interest has anyone compiled a list of camps offering free wireless
I found it at the following
Coffs Habour the counsil park.
Newcastle Stockton Beach
Lakes Entrance the Counsil One not sure of name
Port Campbell the one down by the water front
can any one add to this list I think it is important to support these ones that offer it free a pity the big chain ones don,t

jimricho · Guru

Meant to mention in my previous post I use my mobile (Telstra NextG) to connect to the internet when "on the road"....buy data packs as I need them. I network the laptop with the desktop at home to update files and do the software updates.

reza · Senior Member

We have Dell pc at home with XP while i here there and everywhere i got a Toshiba lappy with Vista Ultimate , yes was hard to get used to it but all good now lappy with Next G it dear i know but it works just about anywhere

Smokeydk · Guru

I have a specially built Athlon desktop running XP....its 7 years old and just replaced the HDD cause windows updates filled the 60 gig HDD in 10 days....Rosie has a new desktop too....and we have a NEC laptop which had vista..now replaced with XP...we take away to store pics on and watch DVDs if required

Dave

Delta18 · Guru

We have a Dell 14 inch laptop running Windows 7 which Lynne uses at home and we both use when on the road.

Neil uses a Dell 64 bit desktop at home running Vista which will will be running on Windows 7 just as soon as the disc arrives (not soon enough according to Neil biggrin

).

We have done the same as Terro in that we now use VOIP and have cancelled our landline.

We've only ever used PC's in various guises since the early 80's.

We've found the surest bet for free wireless internet is McDonalds. smile

Cheers

justcruisin01 · Guru

We are running a Toshiba lap top , got it last year in WA after being shown by friends what you can do with photos.

Had not laid hands on one before ,eventualy managed to put cd's on here & run through amplified speaker system in the van,as for dvd didnt know that one either.

Only hooked up to the nett a few mths back to keep up with the g/kids pics,they grow so fast ,

Then came all the other interesting bits ,like the G N Forum.
Now have to learn to type ,s###.& spell,never could God help us,
Maybe one day we will be forgiven,untill then ,just keep on trying. confuse

Disco Duck · Guru

LOL justcruisin........Yep yep!! I understand the spelling bit. Computers are so interesting, I think, and there is more software coming out that is easier to operate..

My wife has always been very anti computers and it was always............
"I don't need one of them and I don't need to know how to do that"
"How can you spend so much time on there?" etc etc.

Then she got a digital camera and had to wait for me to download the photos to see them on the screen and No.1 daughter got a laptop so it became.....................
"A laptop probably wouldn't be bad because then we could take it away with us"

Now it's
"Gees...it's easy to spend a bit of time on here isn't it?" Hehehehe

We all change..........thankfully.................... :)

The VOIP phone that you guys speak of what does it cost to run? I don't know anything about them. Is it like Skype? Wouldn't be any good for me to give away my telstra landline because the broadband still runs through it.

Also very interesting to hear about the parks having free wireless. That may be something for the "Camps 6" books.?? Be interesting to contact the authors, to suggest it and also as Whoppa suggested........support them.

Delta18 · Guru

Disco Duck wrote:

The VOIP phone that you guys speak of what does it cost to run? I don't know anything about them. Is it like Skype? Wouldn't be any good for me to give away my telstra landline because the broadband still runs through it.

Hi Duckie

We use MyNetFone for all telephone calls. Once established calls to any landline in the country are 12.5c with no connection fee and are untimed. Calls to mobiles are 24c per minute, importantly NO connection fee..

If you make a lot of calls you may like to go on a prepaid $10 per month deal which includes 100 calls, each call is then cheaper too, 10c each & 20c to mobiles

Overseas calls can be as low as 1.5 c per minute.

If you need any more info don't hesitate to pm me.

Cheers

Neil

-- Edited by Delta18 on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 07:44:08 PM

justcruisin01 · Guru

Thats exactly how it happens ,& I didnt want to know about them .
I think the first grand kids weeken the ego a bit.A very big bit ,& so the story goes!!!!!! They can soak up a lot of time trying to figure it out.
If the other 8 fingers would work it be a help,lazy little buggers. confuse

Disco Duck · Guru

Hey Sir Terro...................I do a lot of movie editing too. I use adobe Premiere Pro 3. Not as colourful or as Studio, but more professional. (In my opinion)

I do wish I was better with Photoshop but the biggest problem is I find it difficult to sit down and read the damned manual. So I have a play and then eventually find out what I want to know. Then I go and do something else.............don't use it for a month or so...............go back to it and I have forgotten what to do. So it starts again.

Actually ,YouTube has some excellent tutorials on it.

Just wondering what you use to edit?

Disco Duck · Guru

Aaahh Justcruisin..............my kind of typist. One finger on each hand LOL. One advantage is that nobody can see how fast you type...........they can still only read it at one speed so it doesn't matter.

Thanks for that info Delta18....... I'll have a look and get back to you on that.

-- Edited by Disco Duck on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 07:59:12 PM

brickies · Guru

Mac , I MAC and IBook . recommended by son has used mac for 15 year to run international business never has had a virus ,On our laptop and Imac we have I chat which is video link to other mac which we use to kept in touch with kids and grandkids ,it also has a great photo program very easy to use and smarter than microsoft

Disco Duck · Guru

Yeah.... The Mac is the industry standard for Graphic Designers and Artists and Professional photographers. Their graphic resolution capabilities are better.

The PC is the industry standard in other fields but there is more and more software coming out now that will work on both. So like our Political parties.............the difference gap is getting smaller!!

brickies · Guru

Disco what gap

Disco Duck · Guru

The gap in the results of Mac and PC. PC is getting better at graphics thanks to better graphics cards and software and that is not before time.

Cruising Granny · Guru

Well I'm a typist who's had to learn all about these gadgets.
I think there are typing tutorials on these things if you're serious.
I still don't understand a lot of the lingo, so you guys are way ahead of me.
I wish there was a cheaper way to go on line than Bigpond mobile wireless broadband.
The problem with other servers are they don't have the range or efficiency. Telstra won't lease it to them. I only have a mobile phone too. It's all about cost.
I need internet on tap because of my writing work and contacting prospective agents.
They all do business on line these days.
Now when my books become best sellers the cost won't be a problem.
Yeah, I know. I'm dreamin'.

Rolly · Guru

Disco Duck wrote:

The gap in the results of Mac and PC. PC is getting better at graphics thanks to better graphics cards and software and that is not before time.

And, according to some, the Mac is superior at running windrows !!

Not that I'd know - I haven't tried any new PC stuff in ages.

Disco Duck · Guru

LOL Rolly......it probably is. Mac is a good system. I have always stuck with PC because at one stage the cost of the Macs was fairly high compared to PC and it was really hard to get cheap software for them too but as they get more popular the prices get better.

brickies · Guru

Disco the Political gap . by the way you can on Imac you can swap between mac and window how smart is that,thats what Rolly talking about

Terro · Guru

Been busy so have missed out on this discussion. Mr Duck I use a Pinnacle editing program. The one I have t the moment is Pinnacle 9 plus. It is a very user friendly program and I love using it. Connects to my DV Video camera via a fire wire and gives good service. I still have quite a few tapes to edit, the trip we did to Canada took me 4 years to complete. I am a believer in the male thing that when all else fails read the instruction book. Fortunately the Pinnacle is easy and visits are not too often. mind you if i did read it I'd probably find I could do a lot more with it. We have recently purchased a new video camera with a hard drive disc. This is not compatible with the editing program so will have to look at getting a new one. Went into Ted's camera shop and asked if there were any Pinnacle programs were compatible with the Sony camera I have and was pleased to hear that there were. Editing is ongoing but takes a lot of time. Did a short disc of one of our grand daughters having her first "biscuit" ride on the Murray over Melb cup weekend. Been a while since I had done a disc but it turned out well.

Now to get onto VOIP. Runs through the desk top with a router to assist the modem, I don't know why that is how the experts told me to do it. Something to do with the modem not being powerful enough. Our provider costs $15 a month and for that we get all calls to landlines within Oz for free, a small charge to mobiles, can't remember what that is and very cheap calls overseas. It was used in tandem with the Telstra landline for about three years until confidence had grown in its reliability. Now we only have the VOIP saving us $35 a month on line rental with Telstra. We are very happy with it. Even works when the computer is turned off. There Mr duck you have it. Sorry it was long winded.

Terro

DeBe · Guru

Hi there We have His & Hers laptops Toshiba & Acer with Vista. Bigest beef with vista is the huge amount of disc space used by that program compared to XP. Internet is land line broadband with Internode. 10G @ $50 + $5 phone per month. The internode phone part gives 20c for upto 4Hrs any where in Aust any time. For us lot cheeper than Telstra.

brickies · Guru

Granny i use the Telstra pre-paid wireless broadband when on the road very expensive ,but just this week i see Optus has an new offer $99 for usb dongle + 1 GB. of down load, and recharge $150 give 12 GB for 365 days , I thinking of buy one to use when Optus is available and it is in most built up areas and only use Telstra prepaid wireless when out of range . This could be cheaper than your wireless broadband plan you have with Telstra $12.50 per GB no plan

milo · Senior Member

I only have a laptop with vista home premium,a toshiba, but trying to save up for a new pc..
Id love a macbook but there soexpensive..

id love to have naked dsl, and get rid of my land line, but cant with my exchange..
at home use internode , 1500/256 speed and get 40 gigs pm for $69
when on the road use my telstra next g usb modem $69 for 10 gigs,
I think telstra charge too much for the land line.. but what can u do , if u go some where else you still need to use telsra gear.

Firefly · Guru

We have a Dell 22" screen, two years old running Vista.

An Acer Travelmate we take away running XP.

My new baby, Acer 6930G running Vista.

When on the road last time, we logged on at places like Macca's but next year will be trying some sort of dongle thing through Telstra because of their coverage. smile

Smokeydk · Guru

Question.....I looked into VOIP .and Skype Desktop phone......they can run via modem..so dont need computer on....
The question..I have....is what happens when power is off.......and you need to contact someone when theres an emergency.......???

Dave

DeBe · Guru

You are quite right Dave There has been plenty of times that the provider has gone down or power gone off. Out here in the countryside for reliability I have had to keep Telstra land line Cheers Daryl