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The hunger for power(Jordan Times, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) By Jean-Claude Elias Are you one of those who are never satisfied with the power of your computer, however complex or expensive it may prove to be? Or are you just dreaming of a trouble-free, stable machine? Two clearly defined trends have recently emerged in the world of personal computing. The first is about the never ending chase for faster machines, and all that this implies in terms of technical issues and cost. The second is about living a quiet, uncomplicated life with your computer, even if not at blazing speed. You may want to have a very powerful because you actually need it. This is the case of all those who process heavy graphics, including advanced gaming, 3D computer animation, engineering drawings, as well as sophisticated digital photo and video processing. All these cases are justified. You may want to have a fast machine just because, well, you like the sound of it! Whereas there is no law against it, this is not a technically justified attitude. You would be better off with simpler equipment that works more or less without failures and that you can depend on all the time. Especially that any model from any brand today has more than enough power for most tasks. Between those who truly need fast computers and those who should be satisfied with standard equipment the population roughly is divided in two. The industry offers countless solutions for those who like raw computing power. You can install a motherboard with two processors (or even more in some cases), plenty of memory, a graphic card that alone would set you $1,000 off, BlueRay optical disc drive, hard disk drives that rotate at 10,000rpm (the standard is 5,400 for laptops and 7,200 for desktops), etc… You can also opt for the 64-bit version of Microsoft’s Windows instead of the 32-bit based. But each of these sophisticated features comes with its share of technical difficulty. For instance not all programmes will run under 64-bit Windows, 10,000rpm discs are noisy and tend to overheat unless placed in an air-conditioned environment. In the realm of advanced computing there is no free lunch! Even power graphics users, the wiser ones at least, try to make a compromise these days between complexity and peace of mind. Technical issues in personal computing abound and are often aggravated by unreliable network connectivity and lack of compatibility between devices. Unless sheer power is really at stake, wisdom consists of trying to keep it as simple as possible. Besides, what good is having a muscular machine if you have to spend more time fixing it than using it? Again, today’s typical machine has enough firepower to satisfy the vast majority of users. In the end it’s all a question of mentality and attitude towards technology. You just need to know if you are ready to tackle complex technical issue or if you prefer peace of mind. (c) 2009 The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |