FF:QLD QldFF Techie Thread

Thanks BBN. I went with that case, it should arrive shortly. Then I just need some gubbins for the inside .

 

No worries, CCD. Looked like a good case, Antec make some very nice ones. The P180 is dead sexy.


Mmmmm, gubbins....

 

Now have a Blurtooth Adaptor.

Can finally upload all those damm pictures from my phone!!!!!

Also have got the old BSG theme as my tone

 

Saw something cool the other day.

JB have a couple of DVD recorders that play divx and have 80 or 160 gb hard drives in them.
They also have USB slots so that means no more blank discs!

I think the 80gb one os $300 and the 160gb $400, it's obviously a cheapy brand but that's a bargain.
Now to find the cash

 

Blurtooth? I just can't keep up with all these wireless standards!

 

You know, if you have blurtooth you should really see a dentist.

 

Heh


Anyway, said gubbins is now aquired and awaiting final insertion. Updates as they come to hand

 

Here's a weird one: the little "safely remove hardware" icon has popped up on the system tray, but the device in question is my hard drive (connected to SATA1)! wtf? I haven't been game to click "stop" to shut down the device, for obvious reasons...

 

That means you've got a hot-swappable SATA hard drive. If you wanted to, you could safely add or remove such drives while the computer is running. Obviously if it's your system drive, that's a no-no, however.

 

Ok all you Techie people out there in FF land, a little something I'm needing some help with!

I need a new phone. My current one is on it's last legs, so I want to upgrade. I'd prefer to stick with prepaid, so I'm going to be buying the phone straight out. I'm definately not wanting to spend more than $200. Do people have any suggestions???

I did see this (http://www.boost.com.au/products/index.php?prodid=3) when I was at the optus shop today buying credit. What do people think?


I would also like to purchase an Mp3 player. Also not wanting to spend too much on this. It doens't need to be too flash, just be able to fit heaps of songs, and play music, and not be an ipod. Suggestions???

Thanks in advance guys!

 

With regards to phones, go down to your local Optus shop and have a look at what they've got. Since you want to stay with an Optus prepaid, just buy a handset and stick your old SIM card in it, and it'll work just fine. If the Optus shop doesn't have a handset you like, look further afield, but that would be a good place to start.

As for an MP3 player, what kind of capacity are you looking at? That's the first step to narrowing down your choices. What are we talking? How much is "a lot of songs"? 250 (1 gig)? 1000 (4 gigs)? 10000? How big is your music collection? Do you want to carry it all around with you at once, or are you fine with swapping tracks on and off as you desire? Since MP3Direct.com.au seems to have gone belly-up (not surprising, they were a bit on the dodgy side, but were good for browsing and getting price estimates)the best place to browse MP3 players is probably Minidisc Australia. That's where I ordered my current player from, their prices are nice and solid. Have a browse, see what's on the market. Since you don't want an Apple, the best brands are probably Creative and iRiver.

 

mp3-wise... what do you call "a lot" of songs? Maybe an iriver 512MB one, that'd give you maybe 100 songs @ 160kbit, built-in USB-rechargeable battery, pretty small, about $90 or so I think.

 

Well I was at the optus shop today, which is where I saw the phone I linked to in my previous post. I'm not sure if it's the one you have BBN, and it comes with mp3 player and headphones. Thing is, I'm not very technical minded, so I think I really need someone with me who can translate all the techno jargon into non leet speak for one who is defiantely not techno minded.

As for Mp3, um I'm not sure. My mp3 folder is about 9gig, but I don't listen to it all. And I generally don't listen to alot at once. But considering the amount of travelling I tend to do, I'd want a substantial amount of space. Although, if I have my laptop with me I can always transfer from laptop to mp3... (see I have no idea).

See this is why I post in techie thread, because I'm hopless at techie type stuff. *sigh* [face_discombobulated]

 

Oh, sorry, didn't realise you'd posted a link. But ahem. Translation. I can do that.

The phone isn't the same as I've got, but it looks similar. Looking at the specs, I'd say it's better than mine, since it comes without a bunch of useless extras that I don't actually want. I quite like my phone, so I'd say that just on spec that one looks pretty good. As for that bundled MP3 player, it's a cheap n' nasty one, the kind that every man and his dog are selling these days. 256 megs will only get you about 50 tracks, at a rough estimate, and it sounds like you want more than that. I'm guessing the headphones are pretty cheap, too. So yeah, if you get that, get it for the phone, not the player.

Sounds like an MP3 player somewhere in the 1 gig - 4 gig range is what you'd be after. For 1 gig you're looking at around $150, up to about $300-ish for a 4 gig. Previous advice holds: I would recommend either Creative or iRiver for the brand. You'll have more choice from iRiver, as Creative only seem to make players in very low capacity (1 gig and less) and very high (20 gig+), while iRiver have more of a range. Have a look here at the various choices in that size range and see what catches your eye and fits your needs and budget.

 

hmm ok, well yeah I was mainly getting it for the phone, and it's not too expensive, but yes I will defiantely have to still look around for others. Might stop i at the optus shop again tomorrow and check out what they've got. Attempt to unscramble the jargon.

http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=78_32_68&products_id=888 This doesn't look too bad....

 

That one looks okay, but it's one of those ones with fancy extras that you're probably not going to use. Flash-based game player? Waste of money, in my opinion. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of choice in the 4-6 gig size range, and that one's probably the best. For a 2 gig I'd probably recommend this one, and for a 1 gig this one (white is sold out, only still available in slightly more garish colours, but great features and price).

 

See this is why I ask the experts I do like that first one you linked to, it was the first one that I looked at. Nice price,a nd a decent enough amount of space. Now if only they had it with a little more space then it owuld be fabulous. Problem is, I'm really trying to save money. And at the moment purchasing a new phone and camera are the top priorities. I was considering getting a phone with an mp3 player built in, but the battery life on the phone would be crap with the mp3 listening. I'll see, perhaps that cheap and nasty mp3 player might do for the time being

 

Happy to help out.

Yeah, you've got to figure out your priorities when it comes to features, and indeed when it comes to buying the thing at all. Maybe use the cheapo one for a while and see how much you like the whole MP3 player thing, and then when you've got a bit more money get a bigger and better one.

 

EDIT - Moved.

Can anybody recommend a joystick for my PC? I've been itching to play some IL-2 properly.

 

I'm running a Saitek X-52 Flight Controller on my desktop atm. Throttle and joystick ftw!
It's got pretty lights! Well pretty blue lights and an LCD screen with a stopwatch and global timezone thing...

 

Sorry. I can't help you with joystick itch. But I can recommend a extra's "professional" for morning breath.

 

For a joystick, you're either looking at a Logitech or a Saitek. That's really the only choices that are even halfway serious anymore. Back in the day Microsoft made some fantastic joysticks (my 13 year-old Sidewinder 3D Pro has taken an inhuman amount of punishment and still works as well as the day it was bought), but they got out of that business a long time ago. So yeah, Logitech or Saitek. Which model basically depends on how much you want to spend. I'd say at least make sure the stick has throttle control and twist-handle rudder control, because those make a world of difference. Anything beyond that is a luxury unless you're a serious flight-sim player. If you are, then the X-52 is simply the only way to go. That's a dead sexy piece of kit.

 

The X-52 is nothing in terms of flight sim luxury.
If you are willing to spend the cash you can outfit your compy in full flight deck style. For around $200-$400 a piece you can get a nice yoke, throttle, and pedals to more or less simulate a nice boeing passanger jet. The whole setup can be as much as 2 grand depending on the quality.

I've no reason or desire to do that (though I do know someone who has) so the X-52 suits me just fine. Ain't nothing like playing a little bit of good old Rogue Squadron Mind you the d*mn thing doesn't work half the time (the game that is!).

 

Mouse flying ftw!

That's a real challenge!

 

2 words: Hell. No.