Intel Shelton processor

[G]

Well, I would assume that anyone who has more than one person in the family
sharing the computer would need multi-logins. I'm not talking about just
multiple simultaneous user logins, I'm talking about multiple user accounts
of any kind are going to be prevented in this version of XP.

I don't think there's hard data on this (other than maybe collected
from MS focus groups). But anacdotally, I've seen families where it's
both ways. I think it depends alot on how much value any one person in
the family places on some of the astetic features... like having their
own wallpaper and such.

In my house the kids use my PC for games and homework. My wife has her
own PC (the hand-me-down), which is older and can't run games anyway.
The kids use my login, which I keep the password to myself. There's no
wallpaper allowed, the color scheme is the "default" windows scheme,
all animations are turned off as well as dynamic menus, the
screensaver is the plain black one, and there's no discussion about
changing anything. It goes without saying that as a whole the PC is
pretty lean & mean. The working set is tuned to only the most critical
Services running at boot. It's rock solid as well, with drivers,
pacthes, etc. updated regularly.

But even at their ages (9 & 11) they "get it". They understand that
the PC runs faster if less petty junk is running at the same time.
That's more than I can say for the other *adult* members of the
family. Re-formatting my sister-in-laws PC from scratch because of
massive infestations of crap has become a 90-day reaccuring ritual.
But she still refuses to do anything to change the way she uses it
because "They should just make computers that work right". Any mention
of possibly unistalling Weather Bug is like speaking blasphemy. And
where are those cutesy rotating daily wallpapers coming from? I don't
even want to guess.

How's a PC used in the 3rd world more likely to be used?

The only thing they should reconsider with XP-lite is the no home
networking thing... unless I misunderstand what that means. I could
easily do without "connection sharing", but not regular ethernet
usage. More and more people consider a firewall/router an absolute
given with broadband.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

In my house the kids use my PC for games and homework. My wife has her
own PC (the hand-me-down), which is older and can't run games anyway.
The kids use my login, which I keep the password to myself. There's no
wallpaper allowed, the color scheme is the "default" windows scheme,
all animations are turned off as well as dynamic menus, the
screensaver is the plain black one, and there's no discussion about
changing anything. It goes without saying that as a whole the PC is
pretty lean & mean. The working set is tuned to only the most critical
Services running at boot. It's rock solid as well, with drivers,
pacthes, etc. updated regularly.

I understand, your philosophy is that computers should be more like bomb
shelters or military boot camps.

But even at their ages (9 & 11) they "get it". They understand that
the PC runs faster if less petty junk is running at the same time.
That's more than I can say for the other *adult* members of the
family. Re-formatting my sister-in-laws PC from scratch because of
massive infestations of crap has become a 90-day reaccuring ritual.
But she still refuses to do anything to change the way she uses it
because "They should just make computers that work right". Any mention
of possibly unistalling Weather Bug is like speaking blasphemy. And
where are those cutesy rotating daily wallpapers coming from? I don't
even want to guess.

And your sis-in-law's philosophy is that computers should be more like cozy
living rooms.

I find that in some households which don't have multiple computers (or at
least enough multiple computers), that they eventually start needing
individual logins, because it's like kids having their own personal rooms.
They start decorating their own rooms according to their own tastes
eventually. It's the only way to keep things sane sometimes.

How's a PC used in the 3rd world more likely to be used?

The only thing they should reconsider with XP-lite is the no home
networking thing... unless I misunderstand what that means. I could
easily do without "connection sharing", but not regular ethernet
usage. More and more people consider a firewall/router an absolute
given with broadband.

I don't think the networking component will be taken out of XP-lite, it's
just the "file and printer sharing" module won't be included.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Neil Maxwell]

I don't think there's hard data on this (other than maybe collected
from MS focus groups). But anacdotally, I've seen families where it's
both ways. I think it depends alot on how much value any one person in
the family places on some of the astetic features... like having their
own wallpaper and such.

We have it set up where everyone uses a single login on all PCs on
XPPro. Each kid (12 and 16) has their own PC, so they go directly in,
bypassing the login screen, and when someone else uses one of theirs,
we just use their desktop.

The main PC, mostly used by the grownups but shared by everyone (and
having the network archive and backup drives), has a login for
everyone, but we all use the same one, because having multiple logins
caused a lot of confusion. Different start menus, different desktop
layouts, different bookmarks, and having to switch logins all cost a
good bit of time over the course of the week, and nobody liked it.

Nobody changes anybody else's wallpaper or such (yes, this would cause
problems!), and the kids don't install software on the grownup's PC.
It works fine for us, but we're a pretty disciplined family on PC
control and privacy/security issues.

 

[G]

I understand, your philosophy is that computers should be more like bomb
shelters or military boot camps.

Ha !! That's a good one

Actually I think the correct metaphore is more: My philosophy is that
computers are more like automobiles... Powerful, somewhat costly yet
indispensible parts of modern life that require a) Proper training to
use, b) Regular maintenace. Plus they reward you with a much better
experience the more you take A and B seriously.

Plus, the upside to my style is that the PC can do things it otherwise
wouldn't be able to. It's not easy to run current games (City of
Heroes, Madden 2K5) on a P3-850 with a geForce4-MX. The alternative,
which I think carries over to the the 3rd world debate, is not to buy
a better PC, but rather just not play the games at all.

And your sis-in-law's philosophy is that computers should be more like cozy
living rooms.

That's pretty accurate.

I'll also add something... They (Brother and Sis-in-law) don't keep
anything important on the PC. While I have real data (Taxes, banking,
work stuff). They aren't worried that anything they do (or don't do)
on the PC is going to cause the roof to leak, the car to stall, or the
cheese in the fridge to go moldy. We (Wife and I) have already gone
through this enough times that we actually Norton Ghost'd the machine
to make the next "Reset" easier. Basically it's a mild inconvenience
at worst for them.

That doesn't fit the cozy living room metaphore, but I can't think of
a better one at the moment. But what I'm saying isn't strictly about
personalizing the machine.

I find that in some households which don't have multiple computers (or at
least enough multiple computers), that they eventually start needing
individual logins, because it's like kids having their own personal rooms.
They start decorating their own rooms according to their own tastes
eventually. It's the only way to keep things sane sometimes.

Perhaps. They're not Teens yet so I'll have to see when we get there.
But I really like the idea that they *don't* think of it as the
"family" PC. It's "Dads". If/When they want their own PC they can get
a job and buy it with whatever they save; Same as a car; Same as
designer jeans; etc. So I see using my PC just like borrowing the car.
The rules for that will be: Don't leave it on empty, Don't change my
radio pre-sets; and You pay for your own insurance.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Ha !! That's a good one

Actually I think the correct metaphore is more: My philosophy is that
computers are more like automobiles... Powerful, somewhat costly yet
indispensible parts of modern life that require a) Proper training to
use, b) Regular maintenace. Plus they reward you with a much better
experience the more you take A and B seriously.

Well then, your philosophy about automobiles would be a little different
than some other people's too. To them, a car is something to snaz up, put
those big pimpin' floating rims on, some neon lights under the carriage,
low-flow exhausts, a big wompin' subwoofer, flames for a paintjob,
hoodscoops, rear wings, with the suspension lowered about 2 inches.

That's pretty accurate.

Different strokes for different folks.

I'll also add something... They (Brother and Sis-in-law) don't keep
anything important on the PC. While I have real data (Taxes, banking,
work stuff). They aren't worried that anything they do (or don't do)
on the PC is going to cause the roof to leak, the car to stall, or the
cheese in the fridge to go moldy. We (Wife and I) have already gone
through this enough times that we actually Norton Ghost'd the machine
to make the next "Reset" easier. Basically it's a mild inconvenience
at worst for them.

Well, I got some friends who use their main computer for games, taxes,
finances, etc. They just suffered a hard drive crash and it was
unrecoverable. I had told them a long time back to at least start putting
their stuff on their laptop too, so that they have backups for everything on
a couple of different machines. They didn't bother. Oh well.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Lee Waun]

Pretty sure the correct and proper usage is just "Canuks".

Maybe this is just a Minnesota term (where I first heard it)
for our friendly and hospitable neighbors to the north.

--

Get it right. It is spelt "Canuck".

 

[G]

Well then, your philosophy about automobiles would be a little different
than some other people's too. To them, a car is something to snaz up, put
those big pimpin' floating rims on, some neon lights under the carriage,
low-flow exhausts, a big wompin' subwoofer, flames for a paintjob,
hoodscoops, rear wings, with the suspension lowered about 2 inches.

Yousuf Khan

Yup. That's correct. I'm more concerned with how good my gas mileage
is, and how long I can go without a car payment before I'm forced to
buy a new one. I consider 200K miles a very reasonable goal.

And when I see a car drive down the street that looks like you
describe, I cringe. Double cringe if it's blasting Rap or Hip-Hop.
Triple cringe if it's a spoiled suburban white kid trying to look like
Eminnem.

But somehow I don't think people in the third world "pimp their ride"
as much. From what I've seen of some of the 2nd world (Mexico, Russia,
Portugal), people are alot more frugal. Kind of like it was in the US
before the 1950's. And kids definitely don't get away with being punks
as much.

I don't think brand name recognition will play into computer buying
decissions.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

But somehow I don't think people in the third world "pimp their ride"
as much. From what I've seen of some of the 2nd world (Mexico, Russia,
Portugal), people are alot more frugal. Kind of like it was in the US
before the 1950's. And kids definitely don't get away with being punks
as much.

I don't think brand name recognition will play into computer buying
decissions.

Well, among the computer owning public in various third-world countries I
know about, brand name does definitely play a major role in decisions. But
usually these people are already well-off well beyond the average person in
their countries.

Yousuf Khan

 

[KR Williams]

Pretty sure the correct and proper usage is just "Canuks".

I was corrected by a true Canuckistani last week. There is a
'ck' in there.

Maybe this is just a Minnesota term (where I first heard it)
for our friendly and hospitable neighbors to the north.

Perhaps in the backwards parts of Minesooooota, you may be
correct (other than the missing 'c') that the terms for
country/native are Canada/Canuck, but here in .chips it's
Canuckistan/Canuckistani. ...and so shall it forever be! ;-)

 

[KR Williams]

Yup. That's correct. I'm more concerned with how good my gas mileage
is, and how long I can go without a car payment before I'm forced to
buy a new one. I consider 200K miles a very reasonable goal.

A nice goal, but I've never come close before the daylight came
from below. Computers are a different kettle, though. Sure my
last one lasted (with minor upgrades: disk/memory) for five
years. When I upgrade I spend more to keep the obsolescence
monster at bay a while longer.

And when I see a car drive down the street that looks like you
describe, I cringe. Double cringe if it's blasting Rap or Hip-Hop.
Triple cringe if it's a spoiled suburban white kid trying to look like
Eminnem.

You're a racist too?

But somehow I don't think people in the third world "pimp their ride"
as much. From what I've seen of some of the 2nd world (Mexico, Russia,
Portugal), people are alot more frugal. Kind of like it was in the US
before the 1950's. And kids definitely don't get away with being punks
as much.

It's nice to give children a chance to be children. OTOH, they
cannot be children forever. Children can learn and have fun.
Unfortunately...

I don't think brand name recognition will play into computer buying
decissions.

You completely underestimate marketeering. Why does Coke have
the market share it does?

 

[Hank Oredson]

I was corrected by a true Canuckistani last week. There is a
'ck' in there.


Perhaps in the backwards parts of Minesooooota, you may be
correct (other than the missing 'c') that the terms for
country/native are Canada/Canuck, but here in .chips it's
Canuckistan/Canuckistani. ...and so shall it forever be! ;-)

Hmmm ... thought this was comp.sys.intel, but ...

Sounds good to me.
I first heard the term some ... um ... nearly 60 years ago.
Perhaps the spelling has changed.
Certainly the use has changed. It used to be a very bad
word to use, but now seems more playful / friendly.

--

... Hank

http://horedson.home.att.net
http://w0rli.home.att.net