zune LDS app for Zune HD

My first Zune HD app "zune LDS" release 1.0.0.0 found here To install, you need to have Visual C# Express 2008 installed, the XNA Game Studio installed, and the zune 3.1 extensions. Yes it is convoluted, but I expect anyone interested in this either is LDS and desperate to have this app, or someone who is already familiar with installing apps on their zune HD. Any comments, questions, suggestion would be great to here. I plan on improving on it, but since I have limited time, I though I'd release what I have. It's pretty stable so have at.

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What's in a review?

So called "NewEgg Tech Expert Reviewers", I expose them here.
Let me show you a review on an external hard drive:


I apologize for the small type.

This "expert" in all his wisdom has spotted an inferior product. Call the awesome police for this chump. Let me fix that for you "Limiting":





Let me break it down for the non tech people of the world.

This review was the result of one of two reasons:
A) This guys hasn't been paying attention since the invention of the USB 2.0 spec (over 10 years old now).
B) He intentionally wants to damage the reputation of the manufacturer.

The first is embarrasing, the second is dishonest. We have a class A jerk on our hands.

Yes it is confusing (Mb (megabit) vs MB (megabyte)) but according to this dudes NewEgg creds, he's one step from systems engineer. I myself, usually only rate my tech rating at a 2 if that, knowing that I don't know the half of what it out there in computer land. But reviewers like this run rampant on NewEgg and other sites; spouting their retoric, professing their technical prowess, and steering naive consumers aways from perfectly good products. CONSUMER BEWARE.

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PROJECT: HTPC-4 Part 2

After sitting alone in the dark hot/cold attic, it emerges:HTPC-4.So I get a call on Tuesday or Wednesday from my wife. The power had gone out and when it came back on, the media center would not. Up till this point, I've been using the VCR case for my media center, with a narrow elongated PSU. It's worked out great. But either as a direct result of the power outage or impeccable timing, the PSU died. Since I didn't have a PSU of the physical description on hand, I though of my options... that pretty much boiled down to one: HTPC-4.

When I last left it, I had just finished gluing all the sides together:

I was just going to move all components from the VCR to HTPC-4, sans the irregularly sized PSU. But before that, I sanded, drilled the hole for the power button, made sure everything still mechanically functioned and fit. I needed to shave the edges of a 120mm case i wished to use due to the routing on the top was a little small, but despite that everything, uh, for lack of a better word, worked. Not precise, but with the tools and environment I have, I'm happy with it. So once I had everything fit and working, I took it all out, and began the painting process.

To paint this proper, I should have sanded more, painted slower, and applied more coats. Instead I sanded till I thought it was adequate, I painted a lot of coats, but they were too thick and still not enough... and since they were too thick, sanding was a joke. I then applied some clear coat, but both cans I had were 2/3 empty and one was having propellant issues. But I just wanted to get this done and hooked up to the TV. After it was all dry, I could definately see a lot of blemished and out right bad cuts in the MDF. But I was still OK with it. I installed everything and screwed the top down. Everything still fit and it powered on. Success.

I mounted the powerbutton on the side again, for child... well not proofing, more like resisting. I don't have any attractive buttons to use so I guess the big, attention calling, RED one will have to work for now.




I was able to get 1 120mm fan in there. I though I had some grill to cover it and the other holes, but I couldn't find them... have to keep looking I guess.



Here's a shot of the 2.5" SATA Hard Drive (commonly used in laptops) and the MicroATX PSU. You can also see a small ribbon cable connected to the FRONT PANEL header on the motherboard...


...I like to use hacked up floppy cables for this... due to the fact that I have a lot of floppy ribbon cables and no normal two pin connectors.


Sitting vertically next to the XBOX, once I get a couple of 25' HDMI's and a 25' USB extension, I'll be locating these two to the side to the couch and getting rid of the "media center" they are currently located in.

All in all, I'm glad I finally finished this one. I did perform a rush job, but it could have turned out much worse.

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The Road by Carmac McCarthy - and yes it has been a while

Where in I talk about both the book and the movie...So here I am, it's around midnight, my youngest son is in the hospital 500 miles away gettng treated for dehydration (we will consider it luck if that is all it is) and I'm going to discuss one of the most depressing stories I've ever heard/seen.

THE ROAD

I listened to this book about a year ago, having been sucked into the post-apocalyptic genre thanks to Fallout 3, and it reminded me of all the dry boring books I was supposed to read in high school english. Funny how that works out. I listen to these books now and can appreciate the style of writing and the actual story. Now I don't know jack about literary style and all that, but I know what I like. And I like this book in all its depressing glory.

The story goes like this: After a apocalyptic disaster, mankind struggles to survive. Only this story doesn't focus on every single person involved, impossible escapes, breathtaking explosions, etc, etc. It focuses on The Man and The Boy and what happens as they make their way south to survive on the onset of winter. It's brutal.

This a movie I didn't really want to watch with my wife, so I waited until she went out of town. Oh, she would be all for it, but after watching Donnie Darko with her, my love for that movie and my desire to discuss it was dashed to pieces when she found it so depressing and never spoke of it again. This story would require medication and she'd still have nightmares for weeks.

Which is understandable. I know it may come off as self-import? but you will only get the full brunt of this movie if you have kids. Had I watched this childless, I know I would not be as moved as I was. Hearing and seeing the desperation and fear of the Man who's only mission, it seemed, was to get his son to safety and protect him from those who would do him harm.

You know what's messed up? While most people worry about paying the bills, worrying about there kids, etc, etc, I'm worrying/planning for the zombie apocalypse or a cataclysmic event. Seriously. I'm constantly running scenarions in my head regarding a home invasion in the middle of the night; do I hide out in the bathroom and jump them?, do I run to my kids bedroom and hold them off there?, do I finally get a shotgun and prone from the top of the stairs taking their knee caps out? That's what's running through my mind at night or driving to and from work.

That said, holding a gun to your sons head in the event that you will kill him rather than let him fall in the hand of cannibals? No father or mother should have to think of such things. The choices the Man makes for the sake of the Boy can be seen from both sides: as a father I can emphasize with distrusting everyone, especially in the position he finds himself. As someone who trys to be the good guy, I can side with the boy; looking and seeing when to help people in need.

There's a part in the book where a man has stolen everything from the Man and Boy. Once the Man finds out they get on the guys trail. When they finally catch up to him, the Man is so angry and scared, he makes the man relinquish all that he has stolen and strip naked. The thief at first puts up a front but soon crumbles and begs mercy, citing that the Man would do the same in his position (all starving/in need). He mentions that he just wanted the stuff, that he didn't hurt the Boy. The Boy is begging his dad to "Look at him! He's scared! Don't do this papa", but the Man is set on depriving this man of everything.

You see examples of the Boy, who knows nothing of life before the cataclysm (having been born just after), being the conscious of the Man, when his methods seem to strain the principles of right and wrong he's taught his son. In the end, the fear drives the Man to do whatever he thinks is right to protect his sone, the Boy brings him back when he's gone too far.

This is a depressing book and the movie is a faithful adaption; visually stark, bleak, and gray. Did I mention I find enjoyment in movies with depressing endings? I like to think that no matter what happens in my life, it can't possibly be worse than an airplane engine falling from a wormhole into my house and onto me. Or the hardships that befall the Man and Boy. I've seen the bad the world has to offer and am content with what I have to deal with.

Ok, now I'm rambling. I'm waiting for an update from my wife but I'm tired and going to bed. I was going to wait until Conan was back on the air to start up the blog again, but I caved.

In the end, The Road is ridiculously depressing. But it was enjoyable for me to read and think about. To put myself in those positions and make those choices added another dimension to the whole story. Whould I help some dude I just met? Whould I make sure that my children or wife did not fall into the hands of those who meant harm? Those kind of decisions I hope to never have to make. Yet this story asks those questions and demands an answer.

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Just so there's no confusion...

Special thanks to MikePMitchell for creating this epic image.

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Apple Apple Apple...

Extended time with 2 27" iMacs and a 15" MacBook Pro; what I learned...

So I recently spent a couple of days setting up a couple of huge iMacs and a MacBook. And it was actually pretty fun. The iMac is a beautiful piece of engineering and the display is gorgeous. But the really money was finally being able to bind a OSX based machine to the domain here at work, get all the required software and connections working and have it all happen in a relatively short amount of time. I was also able to document everything so I have a reference for next time or for the "other guy" who doesn't have a clue what to do in this environment (I was that "other guy", thrust into the midst of chaos and no one knows what to do). I got some experience with installing MS Office 2008 for the Mac, Parallels Desktop 5 (with a Windows XP guest OS), and the lousy but necessary campus AV package (McAffee). I was also able to bypass the lame Cisco VPN connection they enforce here by just setting up a VPN connection in OSX (I also was able to do this in Windows 7). At last, no 'extra' software to connect to a VPN when it's built right into the OS. Binding to the domain (a Windows Active Directory environment) was pretty simple and I applaud Apple for making it that way. The easier it is to integrate with you competitor, the less grief for the consumer.

I am no Apple sympathizer, but they can make some beautiful equipment. Now if Microsoft gets in on system design, it would be an interesting turn of events (they already have Microsoft stores... but for how long, who knows). Either way, the only 2 drawbacks, to me anyway, are the pricing and program compatibility (ie GAMES). There is value in the pricing, but it's still out of reach for many, and a waste of money for many. I still bend to the latter though process. The games aspect is shrinking slowly. Many games, especially those from independent developers, have Mac ports, and I think as time goes on, we'll see a majority of games playable on both Windows and Mac platforms... if the current trends continue. That's the only question on many developers minds.

Eh, anyway, it was fun to mess with them. I did miss a 2nd mouse button. The new Apple mouse came with the iMacs and they were pretty interesting (multi-touch devices). I did like the integration of the bluetooth(?) keyboard and mouse. No setup whatsoever and I had 2 iMacs side-by-side.

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Office 2010 Beta, The Project, Star Trek, ChromOS, and Keyboards.

Office 2010 beta is free for all! it's good til October 2010 and it's fully featured. No concrete progress on The Project. Star Trek was awesome. The ChromeOS. Microsoft scores with this keyboard. ALL THIS BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW!!!

It expires October 2010 so you have almost a whole year to get sucked in, then they JACK UP THE PRICE. If you have been using 2007, it's a slight graphical update. They have removed the Office Start Button, using the ribbon and instituting a file tab. So far I am enjoying using it. If you are coming over from Office 2003 or XP, have fun cause a lot has changed. You can get it here. They have a 2 versions, Pro and Pro Plus (plus includes a few other programs) and each have the option of 32 bit and 64 bit.

I'm heading out to Utah to visit the family. I am looking forward to it and hoping to getting some free time to relax. Might provide some time to get more story and song done. I have been fitting it in, in between office-work and home-work. My guitar skills are severely lacking, and I think, in order to do this right I need to invest some time getting it all back in line. I didn't post anything about the project on Friday and apologize for not following through on that, but the fact is, nothing is done and it would be pre-alpha crap at best. There are a lot of things I want to do, but it is getting focused (finally) and hopefully I'll have something to share after Thanksgiving weekend.

Finally saw Star Trek last night. Man, this is one for the theater. Very good film. I was expecting a lot and I got it. I'm no Trekkie. I have never seen a Star Trek film, although I have seen many episodes of Star Trek:The Next Generation. I vaguely follow the, I guess you would say, the fan base mythology. For example, when the red shirt got in with Kirk and Zulu and were dropped, I knew he wasn't coming back. The only surprise, I guess, was that he was smoked as fast as he was. Only it wasn't a surprise. It was one of the many throw backs to the Original Star Trek t show and movies. And it worked perfectly. JJ Abrams integrated enough Star Trek lore into this movie while making it perfectly relatable to anyone who hasn't seen any Star Trek movie or TV show. It had a good story, good actors, and good effects. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.

4 out of 5 stars.

Oh, and this company, Google, released a beta of their OS (chrome os). You can download the image and load it in Virtual Box or VMWare. It's pretty much the Chrome browser sitting on top of a linux kernal. At least that's what it appears to me. It ran pretty slow and eventually crashed in Virtual Box, so I don't know what to think of it. I see what they are trying to do and their philosophy, that soon everything will be on the net, supports this move. But it seems to bare bones. The footprint doesn't even seem that small, as the images themselves run around 300M zipped (700-800 unzipped), but it could be that the virtual hard drives in which they reside are relatively empty. It's curious, and I'm wondering were it will lead.

And lastly, if you are looking for a Wireless Keyboard, I can throw my recommendation towards the Microsoft 3000 it's a great keyboard, that boasts (and as far as I'm concerned, sustains) a 40ft. range. At my request, my wife picked it up for me at Target for $30. It is the best (for the value) wireless keyboard I have ever used. Check it out, if you are in the market. It makes a great HTPC keyboard.

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Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 4

And we're back...
I really didn't think I'd get to this today. But my fans need me. And I'm willing to oblige.


Today we will take a brief look at case fans, add on cards, card readers, keyboards and mice, and monitors.
THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 4. let's get this over with...

CASE FANS

Case fans come a in few sizes and thicknesses. They are square so one measurement denotes the the square part and another the width. The common sizes are 80mm, 92mm, and 120mm. There are others as well, but for cases, theses are the norm. Widths go all over the place, but I think 38mm is the most common. Really you only need to concern yourself with the size. Most cases allow for a rear fan, while others allow for a front as well, and the sides. It all really depends on the case.

There are two different connectors at the moment with one of them kinda morphing into two. The typical 4 pin component connector, the same one you plug into IDE CDROMs and IDE Hard Drives, and the 3 pin small connector (which now has a 4 pin derivative). The 4 Pin component connector usually has a male and female end, acting a coupler. So you can plug the power into it and then it into a device, such as a CDROM. The 3/4 pin mini is plugged into the motherboard (motherboards are notorious for only have 1 or 2 sockets for fans) or a fan controller. The advantage to having it plugged into the motherboard is that software and hardware can control the speed of the fans, finding a balance between noise and cool. Some fan controllers do this as well. When looking for fans, check the reviews and the RPMs. The higher the RPM, the more airflow but louder the fan. The lower the RPM the quieter the fan but less airflow. It's up to you to decide. Getting a fan controller can make this decision much easier.

ADD-ON CARDS

So, you need Firewire or a RAID card, or TV Tuner. They got those, for a price of course. But what you need to be aware of is the following:

Do you have enough physical space to put a card in the case. Yeah, you probably won't have any issues with this, but still. There are some high end cases that are, what we call, low profile or half height. This means that the case will only support low profile or half height cards. And some of these cards are long. You see the new ATI 5950's? Almost as long as my forearm, hand included (maybe no fingers). No joke.

Do you have enough PCI or PCI-E slots for your add on card. Something to think about.

Will your OS (Windows, Linux, etc) support this 3rd party, made in Vietnam, sudo illegal, cable breaker TV tuner? Eh, most likely it will. But some things are made for Windows and others for Mac. This is most likely a non-issue.

CARD READERS

Couple of things here. Make sure they support the cards you want to use them with. The popular ones at the moment are: SD/SDHC, Compact Flash, Memory Stick. Check the reviews and find one that meets these requirements and that people have had luck with. They are pretty inexpensive.

You can get ones that are external or internal (they mount where the floppy would go... but floppy's are dead)

KEYBOARDS AND MICE

Keyboards and mice are a personal choice. But you need to be aware of the connections. There are PS2 and USB for wired. Bluetooth and RF are the two wireless technologies at the moment. Unless Bluetooth is built into the motherboard (usually not) you will need a Bluetooth dongle (looks like a USB drive) and that may or may not come with the device. RF usually comes with the receiver and uses the PS2 or USB connections. The PS2 connector is on it's way out, but there are some that still use it. A lot of motherboards are now starting to ditch them, either putting one connector on (usually for the keyboard) or removing them all together to make way for more USB ports.

MONITORS

Again, monitors are a personal preference thing. What size do you want? Wide screen or full screen? DVI, VGA, HDMI, display port; how are you connecting this thing with your computer?

The first two I leave up to your discretion. I suggest hitting up Best Buy or Office Depot and checking things out yourself. Check the sizes and orientation. Pricing on monitors is pretty competitive online and retail so if you find locally in your price range, go for it.

Most monitors come with at least a VGA and a DVI. Many come with both of those and HDMI and/or display port. Display port is relatively new, but you are buying a new computer and if you are getting a video card it may have this. Really there are only differences between VGA and the rest. VGA is analog and DVI/HDMI/Display Port are all digital. Advantages to HDMI include passing audio and video in the same cable as long as you monitor supports this. I think Display Port offers the same. Essentially VGA and DVI are in the same boat as HDMI and Display Port take over as the primary connectors for display and audio. Just make sure that you video card or motherboard video connection is the same as one on the monitor and you'll be fine. FYI, if you need cables, but them at MONOPRICE.COM. Do not buy cables at Best Buy, WalMart, etc. Get them at MONOPRICE.COM and then compare prices and laugh at that best buy employee that is warning you, if you don't buy their $100, 6' long HDMI cable, the quality will suck. No sir, you suck.

The rest, well, check out the colors and brightness in person. You know what you want. Get what looks good. But check prices and decide if the value if there.

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Scams

Tis the season...

FOR SCAMMING.

Please be careful when opening email. In the last week I have received many spam/junk emails that are so deceptive that I'm sure many are falling for them. I just received one from service@paypal.com. It looks legit and it says that the IRS owes me around $500. Now I know the IRS will never send out emails and that they won't go out of their way to get me back money that is rightfully mins. In fact, that was my first clue that this was a scam. "The IRS wants to give me money? Hold on there, partner."

Following a few simple rules will help you out in the long run:

1. NEVER EVER EVER click on a link in an email. If you follow this one rule, it will save you months of headache. Your pal on Facebook sent an email to a link of their awesome pics. Well that's great, but go to facebook.com and then look at their profile. CapitalOne needs to verify you account info, so click this link to login? You bet, but first I will visit capitalone.com in my browser of choice. Notice I didn't click the link in either of those emails? NEVER CLICK A LINK IN AN EMAIL.

2. Something for free, too good to be true. IT IS. ALWAYS.
ALWAYS.
ALWAYS.
ALWAYS.

3. Even if you get an email from a friend and everything looks good, be wary. Spammers can piggyback on your friends email account, shoot emails out through his name and get you. It's like someone writing a letter and instead of their name and address on the return, it your friends.

Good luck and stay safe.

Late.

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Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 3

Finally, I got around to posting this. Sorry about the wait. I'd like to say I've been busy and all that; and to some extent that is true. But really, I'm just not into posting every single day. BUT HERE WE ARE. Let's get this on!

Optical Drives, Video Cards, and Cases
THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 3. VAMOS!

Optical Drives

I will just cut to the case. There are only three types of drives you need to worry about: DVD Burners (they burn and read cd's and dvd's), Blu-Ray drives (the ones that read cd's, dvd's, and blu ray discs), and Blu-Ray burners (burn everything, cd's, dvd's, and blu-ray). Any other drive that doesn't preform the previous are not worth your time and money. It is up to you what you want to get. DVD Burners run from $30-$60, Blu-Ray drives run from $75-$150, and the mother of them all, Blu-Ray burners run around $180-$200. The thing to keep in mind is that you need software to play DVD's and Blu-Ray discs. Windows Vista and 7 come with DVD support now, so you can watch DVD's without 3rd party software, but not so with Blu-Ray. If you plan on watching that Blu-Ray disc, you will need to purchase the latest software from PowerDVD or WinDVD, making sure that the version you get supports Blu-Ray media. If you are running XP, you need 3rd party software for DVD's as well as Blu-Ray. *hint: VLC player will play DVD's and it is free. The only other thing you need to pay attention to, when buying optical drives, it A) how many you want (one is usually enough, but having 2 can facilitate, um, "backing up" those "home movies" you have.) and B) chooding between IDE or SATA connections. IDE is going the way of the dinosaur and SATA is superior in about every way. So make sure you are getting a SATA drive and you will live happier. Just keep in mind how many SATA ports you have on your motherboard and how many SATA Hard Drives you will have as well. Don't want to order all this awesome stuff only to find out that you ran out of SATA ports.

Video Cards

There are basically 2 camps with video cards. nVidia and ATI/AMD. Intel makes an onboard solution (built into the motherboard) but if you are interested in gaming you will want to go with a dedicated solution. You can pick from a wide variety, but if you are even remotely serious, you will want to spend at least $100 on a decent video card.
There are many 3rd party manufacturers, but only 2 chip manufacturers. Both have a numbering scheme that is simple and complicated. I will attempt to explain this.

From the ATI/AMD camp, you have 3K, 4K, and not 5K numbering schemes. Each number represent the generation. 5K is the latest generation of cards while 3K represents cards of 2 generations past. From there, the low numbers represent the low end, performance-wise, while higher number represent better performance.

x100-x250: IGP or integrated in the motherboard
x300-x550: Low end Dedicated card
x600-x770: Mid range
x800-x950: High range

Now, they don't usually (ok, never) name a card 3499. It's usually increments of 50 with some exceptions. But card usually follow the numbering scheme thusly: the first number is the generation, ie 4 in 4650, and the last three denote the performance, ie the 650 in 4650. The last three are really important. A 3650 is more powerful than a 4200. See that? Remember the first digit denotes the generation, not how awesome you it's going to be when you are mowing down raiders in fallout and the action doesn't slow to a slide show. The last three numbers will tell you that. A 4850 will out perform a 3850... usually. When the last three numbers tie or are almost the same, relying on reviews and common sense denote that the newest generation should outperform the latest generation when it comes to apples to apples comparisons.

nVidia is pretty similar. The first number denotes the generation and the following numbers denote performance. However, since the 9k series, they have dropped the 4 digit scheme for a 3 digit scheme.

There is no current IGP from this generation... at least from what I am aware of.
210-220: Low Range
240-260: Mid Range
280-295: High Range

for the older 8k and 9k generations:

x100-x200 IGP
x300-x400 Low Range
x500-x700 Mid Range
x800-x900 High Range

These are all generalities, meant to give you an idea. You will need to do a little more research if you are new to this, but it will become clear after a little fact finding. Be sure to check the reviews and see if there are others in you situation or if the mentions specific programs you use, and their experience with the current product.

I need to mention that video cards fit into different slots. PCI, AGP, and PCI-E. PCI fit in any old 32 bit PCI slot. Nowadays, they are hardly used (usually only on motherboard that lack an AGP or PCI-E slot) and shouldn't be considered. AGP, the successor the the PCI card, is on it's way out, if not already dead and should not be considered. PCI-E or PCI Express x16, is the current standard. There are two versions of this slot (v1 and v2.0) and both are usually compatible with the other.

Video cards range in price, from $30 to $300 or more. The more you pay, the better performance, for the most part. Obviously that is being grossly general, but relying on the information here and reviews found in other places, can help you immensely.

I'll discuss this in three groups:

Group A: You do not plan on gaming but you motherboard does not have onboard video. You can easily spend around $50 on a quality, low end card.

Group B: You want to game but don't have the cash to buy that $250 card. Go Mid range and lower some of the in game settings to reflect a smoother game experience at the cost of detail.

Group C: I GAME. THE VIDEO CARD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS RIG. THE VISUAL ASPECT MUST REFLECT REAL LIFE AS FAR AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. I WILL SPEND AS MUCH MONEY AS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THIS. Yes, high end is probably the only option.

Frankly, high end is getting more and more plausible. You can buy a video card from $150 to $200 and it will last for a while, providing you with liquid smooth visuals and great game play. But remember who you are and what you will do. You can save some cash here if you are aware of you needs.

Cases

You can spend $20 - $400 on the case. Up to you. Obviously, if you spend $20 on a case, expect cheap, flimsy and mediocre. Frankly, this works for a lot of people. Sometimes, a case will come with a PSU as well, but these shouldn't be trusted unless reviews reflect otherwise. On the whole you can get a decent case for around $30-$60. The things to look for include:

Size: is an ATX board going in there or a MATX. Most cases that support ATX will support a MATX but not the other way around. MATX cases are usually shorter, given that MATX motherboards are short.

Space: Will that case you want also support the 2 Optical drives and 4 hard drives you plan to install? If not, you best look for one that does. Also, be aware that just because it will support the 4 hard drives and the ATX motherboard, doesn't mean that is will fit that 14" high end video card you plan on getting as well. The higher end video cards are notoriously long and sometimes cover SATA ports on the motherboards as well as go beyond the length of the motherboard into HD cage territory necessitating a new case or case surgery.

Look: looks aren't everything, but do you really want this shiny, over the top case, with blazing LED lights illuminating your room when you are trying to sleep? Take that into consideration. Some like it, others don't; but both sometimes don't realize the fact until it's too late.

Brand: There are many manufacturers. Quality, high end cases include Lian Li, Silverstone, while others span the range: Antec, Coolermaster, Thermaltake, Aprevia and yet more span the low end- mid range: Rosewill, HEC, Foxconn. I have used cases from the 3 low end brands and have been pleasantly surprised.

Whew, lot's of material. Thursday I will finish off the parts section with a look at case fans, add on cards, card readers, keyboards and mice, and monitors. Until then, thanks for reading.

Late

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