Recent content by FrankSchwab

  1. F

    Timer for wall switch?

    I had some light fixtures that I couldn't easily retrofit to dusk-to-dawn, so I spent a few extra bucks and got: http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Econoswitch-RPLS740B-Programmable-Switch/dp/B004AP92N2/ and set it to turn my lights on at sundown, and off at sunup. It uses an internal relay, so...
  2. F

    USB post silicon validation

    Well, I'd start with understanding how the USB Compliance program (http://www.usb.org/developers/compliance/) works. I'd grab an off-the-shelf USB 3.0 device, and take it through the compliance program. At that point, you'll know enough to ask good questions.
  3. F

    Amps vs Volts vs Watts

    No, that means that you drank a Super Big Gulp, are now stuck in a traffic jam with 10,000 of your fellow human beings and no bushes, and despite your best efforts you're leaking slightly. Just don't have anyone in the car make you laugh. That corresponds to a big old zap from the van de graaf.
  4. F

    Amps vs Volts vs Watts

    OK, everyone's over the edge. Let's have some fun. Electricity is like pissing. Voltage corresponds to how full your bladder is. Current corresponds to how much you're pissing. If you don't really have to go (the voltage is low), the stream is weak (the current is low). If you DO...
  5. F

    Amps vs Volts vs Watts

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, but for the OP's level of understanding, they work just fine. Analogy: Electricity in a circuit is like water in a garden hose. Voltage is like the water pressure in the hose. You can have Voltage (Water Pressure) with nothing happening - for example, an open electrical...
  6. F

    128GB Crucial M4 SATA 3 SSD: $29.99, 256GB, $49.99. (Recertified)

    I agree with Ben Jeremy, for the most part. We have products that are built in the 10's of millions per year. I have been called in to help with failure analysis on specimens where we determined that a SPI Flash (cost: about $0.13 in quantity) had been desoldered from a failed product by the...
  7. F

    Good file server \ NAS options?

    Well, remarkably, I just tore down a FreeNAS server at work which has served us faithfully for a couple of years in a mostly Windows shop. Worked great as an unsupported data dump area (the "official" servers were always out of disk space, so we provisioned this one out of petty cash). And...
  8. F

    Any opinions on 27" 1080p monitors?

    I use a 32" 1080p TV as my main monitor, and love it. Can I see pixels if I look? Sure, but I'm looking at the content, not the pixels, and it works great. 32" is small enough that I don't have to move my head left-to-right to view the whole screen, but large enough that I can use an 8-point...
  9. F

    2km wireless bridge

    I'd get a couple of Ubiquiti Nanostations from Ebay for $100 and try it before you buy the rest of the equipment. Worst case, you put them back up for sale on Ebay and you're out the cost of the ebay listing and shipping. It'll take a month or two to buy them, try them, and sell them, but it's...
  10. F

    Daisy chain switches or bash a hole in my wall?

    Unless the two machines are in use simultaneously, pounding bits out to different machines at full line rate, you'll see (and be able to measure) precisely zero difference between having a second switch, and having two lines to the first switch. Get a second $20 gigabit switch, and call it a day.
  11. F

    Good inkjet printer? (Oxymoron I know)

    Had an HP Officejet 6500 for about three years; worked great, especially once I put in a continuous ink system (external tanks) from cisinks.com. Eventually the printhead gave up (after roughly 15000 sheets of paper), and I decided it was time to buy something new. What surprised me is how...
  12. F

    How well do TVs work as monitors?

    Like half a dozen people prior, I have a 32" 1080p TV hooked up as my main monitor on my desk at work. Had to work the menus to get a good PC picture, but once I did I love it. Anyway, a 32" works great - I can be further from the display, my older eyes can read everything without squinting...
  13. F

    Panda Express October 2nd

    Just used it - thanks!
  14. F

    where to buy ink cartridges?

    CISInks.com, get the continuous ink system and never have to ask the question again. I've saved roughly $1000 on ink costs over the three or four years I've had one on my HP OfficeJet (Yes, I have a wife and two tweens, why do you ask?). I've gone through at least two or three boxes of...
  15. F

    Anyone ever rent an SLR?

    Purely my opinions here, of course. Having just purchased my first DSLR, I will see that there are huge differences in usability between a P&S and a DSLR. From a pro-DSLR perspective, the focus speed is amazing. I went out on a Scouting sledding trip, and on Auto I didn't have to think - I...