Are you prepared to buy a Desktop...this is for you

When I decided to purchase a new Desktop, I was stuck with a question - should I go for branded or assembled. Personally I would recommend for branded but when money is a constraint, assembled is the only option left. Never opt for used computer.

I found that there is atleast 6K difference between branded and assembled desktops - when matched the same configuration. Lets go through pros and cons of both...

Branded desktops: Pros:

1. As the name indicates - you get everything from outer peripherals to inner parts from the same brand - company manufactured.

2. Genuine versions of softwares installed - risk free.

3. Comes with warranty - this is something which needs to be taken into account seriously.

4. After sales service directly from company.

Cons:

1. No customization - most brand comes as a pre-loaded package and we don't get what we exactly require.

2. High price

3. You have to use the peripherals whats comes with the package like monitor/mouse/keyboard. No choices.

Assembled Desktops: Pros:

1. You are the maker/decider here. Whether its mouse or motherboard, you can decide your choice. LG monitor with Intel mother board with Create speakers with Logitech mouse is possible only here.

2. Low price

Cons:

1. All left to your risk

2. No warranty or service - its your luck to work for years or crash very next day

Go for assembled only if you are in a tight money constraint. I was in the same situation - I had a mere budget of 15K. With this budget I approached several computer vendors. Finally Modern Computers (Chennai's chain multi-brand retailer) accepted to give me a deal. This is what they forked out for 15K from their warehouse...

1. 15-inch LCD monitor (never mentioned about the brand)
2. 250GB Hard disk (never mentioned about the brand)
3. 1GB RAM (never mentioned about the brand)
4. 2.xxGHz processor and a mother board (some utopian brand)
5. Some keyboard and a mouse
6. LG DVD Reader

Monitor and CPU Tower cover and a mouse pad.

They calculated around 15K for the above stuff.

I was pleased to know that one can get an assembled system with a LCD monitor for 15K but the above stuff didn't convince me.

So I demanded the following...

1. 17inch LCD Monitor atleast
2. Hard disk should be Seagate
3. Mother board should be Intel

Rest is OK. Modern Computers confessed that they don't stock 17inch monitor. Only 18.5inch is available. I accepted it and the final total with above changes came around 18K. Deal was closed and I got the computer shipped very next day promptly. Just then I learned that the monitor was Acer...glad. It came with pre-loaded windows xp professional OS copy. Those guys really know what they are doing.

Later I bought Logitech 2.1 speakers for 500 bucks. My desktop is now ready to go.

Getting PC at home - Starting a new era?

Even though I have been in IT field for the past 5 years, I always hesitate to get a PC. Why?

Here are my Utopian reasons to back my thoughts...

1. I have little or no need to have a PC at home - that's true actually. I am not much interested in browsing/gaming/chatting, etc.

2. I work at graveyard shift, more than 10hrs looking at the computer. So I hate seeing the same at home too.

3. I don't own a credit card - so no possibility for online shopping or paying bills.

4. Five years back its very hard to get an Internet connection when Airtel still providing only mobile services, Reliance still busy extracting crude oil from earth and Tata busy manufacturing cars. BSNL was the main source but they had a clumsy procedure and it would take ages to see Google on the home page. Further the tariff were sky-high.

5. Its not wise to invest considerable amount on something I seldom use.

Citing the above reasons, I skipped buying a PC whenever I got a chance.

Years rolled on and Internet has changed its face and become something inevitable. Recently I had a mandatory situation to get a PC and of course Internet connection. The only question I had is whether it should be desktop or laptop. After doing some research I found that one can get a decent desktop at ~20K whereas one has to invest ~30K for a low-end laptop. I am not going to take my stuff out of my house and I don't need the sophistication of lying down in bed while working at system. After evaluating all the pros and cons, I have decided that desktop would be fine for me.

Go for laptop only if...

a. You will be working round the clock - executive/sales kind of role

b. You will working with the content transferred from the office

c. You will be using your stuff outside your home like presentation, marketing, etc

d. Of course you have lot of money and itch to spend lavish.

Otherwise my recommendation would be desktop.

I have posted my experience of purchasing a PC and Internet connection in different posts.

Work and Living...an inspiration from the living species around

Majority of the grown-ups around the world work. I meant work at any form - be it a low-profiled clerk or the almighty CEO (really?). Everyday we wake up, get ready, rush to our workplace. This is something a default scenario that can be seen in most of the houses.

Now a disclaimer: I am not that lazy schmuck who hold placard against working for a 'Living'. Then why the f*** this post is for?. Continue reading...

Many of us, out of frustration scream - 'I am sick of my work!!' but I wonder if anyone actually tried to dig into the root - 'Why should we work?'.

Throw this question to anyone around the world. Based on their age/location/surrounding/atmosphere you will get different interesting explanations/justifications.

It would be interesting to know this fact - Mountain Python eats only once and sleep rest of the year. How? its a cold-blooded animal and a wiki page full of blah blah blah explanations are there which are irrelevant to this post.

Being a warm-blooded species, we humans, need to intake of food daily to maintain our body's metabolism. So we have to work for our bread - no second thoughts. All the living things has to work for its food. For omnivorous, their work is to hunt of course. Humans, primarily omnivorous, should be doing the same for food. But we don't because we are civilized. Is ejecting oneself from the food chain and messing it up later is called Civilization?. Sadly, that's what we do so far. Further, there are many, who stands on a wooden stage/podium and speak loudly about conserving forest and trees. Period.

While living things work and get their direct food as returns, we get money. We get food by exchanging money. Is that restricted with food? certainly not. We have been told that we can get anything marked 'Sale' through money. So we continue to spend the money on buying things for two reason - to make us happy or to envy our friends/neighbours.

Why we ain't getting food as the compensation for our work? That's because we work for another human or a group of humans - They use our work to create/manufacture products on which another human is gonna spend is money on. Does a rabbit works for another rabbit? never heard right? but we do. A rabbit works on nature. It works to find stuffs which can be directly consumed. Its used to live with raw food provided by nature. Where as we are not ready to consume what we get directly from nature. We call them as raw or crude - add lot of substance to please our taste buds and call it as 'edible'. Really? Go figure.

Humans have travelled very far from nature and become incorrigible. We should start to work for living and not for sophisticating us and leaving the nature in grief. Its high-time to re-define what we believe as civilization. Peace.

Why the name Hand without fingers?

All of a sudden humankind loses its fingers from hands. Like a rake without tooth. Totally unfunctional. Even eating becomes a challenge while making food becomes impossible. Some people think that they can cut the fingers from leg and fix it in the hand (finger transplantation?). But again the question is how? when none have fingers to operate....suddenly I woke.

Checked and wow! I still have my fingers fixed firmly in hands. Kissed each fingers and realized that it was another such dream.

Fingers are the most important part which does not get the attention it deserves. People are very busy in manicuring the nails (dead cells), they totally forget the fingers. I began sense this simple concept broadly in every actions happens around me - things which is more important gains less attention than the less important things which gains more important.

And of course, it was my another dream to start a blog and I am finally here...

Finally Debutted

Thinking to write something...but my hands are without fingers!!