• DIY

    The Fastest Boot in the West

    By Dave Prochnow Posted on 4.17.2009 7 Comments

    The countdown is on, my friends. The countdown to the fastest booting OS, that is. Forget those operating system sloths, Mac OS X and Windows (any flavor). The gauntlet was thrown down when the first mainstream commercial fast-boot OS appeared on a small solid-state drive (SSD) that had been pruned to operate on an ASUS eeePC. Granted, the fast seek times for data access with the SSD contributed to Xandros's (the eeePC OS) speedy boot time, but users became enamored with the quick, "less than one minute," access to their apps. Thus was born the race to the fastest boot time.

    4.16.2009 at 08:48am - Comment by Dave Prochnow

    These are my benchmarks used for testing the 'Fastest Boot in the West:' ASUS eeePC 4G Surf 900MHz Xandros boot = 29 seconds. Mac mini 1.83GHz Mac OS X 10.5.6 boot = 37 seconds. Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E 1.5GHz Microsoft XP boot = 42 seconds. Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E 1.5GHz Microsoft Vista Home Premium boot = 44 seconds. PowerBook G4 1.67GHz Mac OS X 10.4.11 boot = 1 minute 25 seconds. Everex gBook 1.5GHz Ubuntu 7.10 boot = 1 minute 32 seconds. Dave Prochnow

  • DIY

    Pennywise Solar Power

    By Dave Prochnow Posted on 4.1.2009 8 Comments

    No matter whether you felt that Earth Hour was a terrific conservation tactic or an overhyped PR stunt, energy on our planet is in peril. Our daily juice (be it electric, gasoline combustion, atomic, or carbon-based), has become a precious commodity with at least one guaranteed effect: to elicit an instantaneous hot-button opinion from just about everybody. What can you do about it? Well, one great proactive demonstration would be to stop your regular consumption of dry-cell batteries. Yes, there are numerous substitutes, ranging from rechargeable varieties to alternative energy replacements, but each of these substitutions has a debit that few of us are willing to pay. You know, "costs" like always hunting for an outlet to power a battery recharging station, or getting rid of a clean, slim-line AA battery for a gargantuan solar-driven bat-winged monstrosity.

    4.13.2009 at 08:27am - Comment by Dave Prochnow

    GYPsea Joe - Please refer to "Home Power Magazine:" homepower.com Specifically, the Solar Electricity Basics section: homepower.com/basics/solar/ Dave Prochnow

  • DIY

    A Six-Pack of "Light" Beer

    By Dave Prochnow Posted on 9.15.2008 23 Comments

    Al Gore and company have helped us to see that our planet is in peril. Lend a hand, make a toast, and help illuminate ways for saving Earth -- all at the same time! It's easy to do your part: recycle, refill, and recharge.

    10.3.2008 at 01:40pm - Comment by Dave Prochnow

    You can learn about the 1N5817 diode in this PowerFilm datasheet: "Introduction to PowerFilm" @www.iowathinfilm.com Look for "PowerFilm Instructions" pg 1. Dave Prochnow



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