Ardamis » Materialism

Windows Phone 8 by Nokia

ardamis — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:25:12 +0000

I won’t be buying a Windows Phone any time soon, but I do appreciate how good Windows Phone 8 looks on this slick Nokia phone.

Windows Phone 8 by Nokia

Unfortunately, the post where I found this image, http://techland.time.com/2012/02/03/windows-phone-8-microsofts-4-big-challenges/, doesn’t have specifics on the hardware. Maybe it’s just a concept.

My new Dell Precision 690 workstation

ardamis — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:06:52 +0000

I just picked up an old Dell Precision 690 workstation, which I intend to develop into a file server, a Windows IIS server, and an Ubuntu LAMP server. This monster was built in 2006, but it still has some neat specs and tons of capacity (7 PCI slots, 4 hard drive bays, etc…), should I want to expand further.

Dell Precision 690 Workstation

The main specs

CPU: Dual Core Intel Xeon 5060 3.2GHz, 4M Cache, 1066 MHz FSB
RAM: 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300, CL=5, Fully Buffered, ECC, DDR2-667
HD: SAS Fujitsu MAX3073RC 73GB, 15000 RPM, 16MB Cache
Video: Nvidia Quadro NVS 285 PCI-Express, 128MB

This is not a normal tower

Right away, the size of this thing suggests it isn’t a normal tower. It’s about up to my knee and weights 70 lbs. It feels like it’s made with heavier gauge steel than the typical chassis, but that may be me projecting.

I immediately shopped around for more RAM, obviously. 2GB seems a little thin, even by 2006 standards, when considering the way everything else is high-end. The mainboard has 8 slots and supports up to 32GB, but I figure 6GB is a safe place to start.

The workstation has three enormous fans, like, big-as-your-hand big. Running it with the chassis open causes some sort of thermal protection system to kick in and it spins the fans up to the point that they were blowing stuff on the floor half-way across the room.

The CPU has a big, passive heat sink with six copper pipes and sits between two of those fans. I’m tempted to buy a second CPU, but I’ll hold off.

I’m still on the fence about the SCSI drive. It should be super fast, but I’m a little spoiled by the SSD in my machine at work, so it’s hard to get excited about a mechanical drive, even one running at 15k RPM.

The Nvidia Quadro card is also fanless, and has a bizarre DMS-59 connector. An adapter converts the DMS-59 connector into two DVI outputs.

I want this Charles and Ray Eames lounge chair

ardamis — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:47:31 +0000

I want a white Charles and Ray Eames lounge chair. We’ve all seen the original black leather version, but the white one is less common.

Eames Lounge and Ottoman

twentytwentyone is one of the few places I’ve seen a white Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671). Vitra being the only manufacturer, of the two companies producing furniture with the Eames name attached (Herman Miller being the other).

I want this Pooh/Star Wars shirt

ardamis — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:27:00 +0000

I want this Pooh/Star Wars mashup t-shirt by James Hance.

Pooh/Star Wars t-shirt by James Hance

I like this ‘Most Likely Lose It Again, Anyway’ (Wookiee The Chew) T-Shirt. He does a few other Winnie-the-Pooh/Star Wars mashups, but this is my favorite.

My new desk chair

ardamis — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:31:31 +0000

I just got this IKEA PATRIK swivel chair and it’s pretty nice. It’s surprisingly, and pleasingly, firm.

IKEA PATRIK Swivel chair

I’d been looking for a desk chair for quite awhile, but a huge leather office chair wasn’t going to fit the decor.

I want this Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard

ardamis — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:43:50 +0000

I want this keyboard.

Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard

Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard (Black)

The Logitech diNovo Edge is a $180 keyboard that promises to deliver the ultimate in feel and response. Thankfully, the Logitech Keyboard K120 is a $15 keyboard that appears to incorporate the same PerfectStroke technology.

I want this Microsoft LifeCam Cinema webcam

ardamis — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:24:28 +0000

I want this webcam.

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
720p HD video webcam with noise-canceling microphone

I want this CSS IS AWESOME coffee mug

ardamis — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:25:36 +0000

I want this coffee mug.

CSS IS AWESOME

CSS IS AWESOME coffee mug