Episode 85 - Kindle 2 Reviewed, Painless Password Management, Dump RAID, iPod Lock Hack, Cheap GPS Pick! [Discussion] [Archive]

computoman

04-24-2009, 02:45 AM

As for the multicomputer heater, you might want to talk to a licensed electrician first and make sure your homeowners insurance is paid up before trying this, Solar heating might be more efficient anyway. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_heating.html Use a water cooled pc to distribute the heat around the house. Just kidding...

It is still sort of cool here in Texas. If it is getting warm in California, then I guess our cool front will be gone soon.

Glad to see that Pat was not hurt badly by the system episode.

fishtoprecords

04-24-2009, 04:50 AM

Its just arithmetic. Each WATT is defined as 3.41 BTU. So running a 1000 watt power supply will generate 3410 BTU of heat.

A typical house furnace that is installed in the Washington DC area will have a 140K BTU rating. Note, this is a lot of watts, ~41,000 watts, which is why electric heating systems are all 240 volts and use big breakers and fat wire.

vartok

04-24-2009, 05:34 AM

You have to take in account all the parts that generate heat. Patrick just mentioned the CPU, Fishtoprecords ablove me just figured the PSU... but they all generate heat.

I set up my old PC in someones bedrooms that i was visiting... it was about a 10x12 room... and while playing a demanding game, the temp in the room went up atlest 5 degrees.

(old system)
Althlon 3000+ (socket 754 newcastle core)
mid-range motherboard
2 HDDS
430w PSU
1.5 gigs of ram ( 1 512 stick and 1 1gig)
ATI radeon x850 XT OCed ~15%

now i know newer rigs will generate mor heat than that old one... but he did ask about avg. desktops.... this would be interesting to find out though.

silentspyder

04-24-2009, 05:55 AM

Great episode. Nice to have Pat back. The set looks a lot better but I still don't know what that thing in the middle is. Every time I see it, I think of a mayan pyramid.

http://revision3.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1108&stc=1&d=1240548856

davmoo

04-24-2009, 12:20 PM

The guy wanting to heat with computers is going to find that, while its a fun idea, its also not a cheap idea relative to the cost of running his heater. The primary reason being that computers are designed to compute, not heat, thus they aren't very efficient at it. If he had to run a bunch of computers anyway, that would be one thing. But running a bunch specifically to heat a room seems to me like wasting money that would be better spent on more useful things.

I've thought about the idea of liquid cooling my PC and then using the heat off that liquid to heat my aquarium in the winter, since my computers run 24/7 regardless. The part that stops me is the sticking things in the aquarium part. Attention will have to be paid to how the heat exchanger in the aquarium is made...a non-corrisive material is a must. There are also consequences if the circulating liquid leaks in to the tank.

Oh, Patrick...I, for one, was happy you were back. Kevin Rose is probably a nice guy and all that, but quite frankly I think you're more knowledgeable and the better host for a Tekzilla type program. I've bought many a product simply based on "that's the one Pat says he likes". I don't feel that same level of confidence in Kevin (sorry dude).

boldfire

04-24-2009, 01:46 PM

Enjoyed the show, could you throw in a few lights in the background? It seemed a little too dark, but I love the blue.

klampo

04-24-2009, 02:49 PM

Okay, so this might have to be done on a systm episode. Setup three banks of three computers. Wire up a 3 stage heating thermostat to turn relays on one bank for each stage. Set the computers to automatically boot and run folding at home or seti at home. Put the thermostat into hydronic heating and it will run each stage longer. Most will also let you adjust the dead zone and stage times as well for more efficient control.

The machines will abruptly end which could kill off one or two but the system will allow for temp control and by taxing the CPU/GPU will offer max amount of heat, as well as contributing to a greater good.

Again I would love to see this done in a systm episode.

Regards

veronicazilla

04-24-2009, 05:25 PM

xfuuey

04-24-2009, 05:57 PM

Glad to see that you've tweaked the set. It looks so much better this way, especially with the white brick. The cool blue tones are also a welcome change.

Agreed. Much better IMO too..

boldfire

04-24-2009, 06:14 PM

You know what I think would be cool with the set? They have the city scape now and the brick wall, it kinda looks like it COULD be a flat. It would be really cool if they dress it up as like a geeks fantasy flat, with gadgets all over the place and geek references.

Kinda like this, but better (and to scale) - I have a feeling they wouldn't go for a 'sit down' style to the show though I think they like standing.

http://content.screencast.com/users/boldfire/folders/Jing/media/be40c0c8-c9b0-49bb-98c4-9c07b3e151bd/00000045.png

fishtoprecords

04-24-2009, 07:05 PM

Fishtoprecords ablove me just figured the PSU... .

No.

All power in a PC comes through the power supply. The power draw can be no more than the value in the tag on the PSU.

So a 1000 watt power supply has to generate 3410 btus of heat.
Now it may not always draw that amount, and you have to watch for gross versus net rating. But a BTU is always generated at a rate of 3.41 BTU per watt.

fishtoprecords

04-24-2009, 07:08 PM

Patrick mentioned that he loves GPSlodge. And that he likes the Mio units.

On that site, there is this post:
http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/025521.php

Mio - Dead in the US

"No Need for Mio
The prices on GPS units have fallen so much in the last 2 years, that there is no room for a lower priced brand under the big names. When Garmin and TomTom had their units at $350, a 15% savings was meaningful and worth the trade-off. With prices over the holiday period at $99, there was hardly room for a value play underneath them. Mio has taken an innovation track lately, offering bigger, better features instead of stripped down market entry only units. They will need this strategy to survive."

The story may not be over for Mio, but they really should not be recommended.

artvandelay

04-24-2009, 07:08 PM

10,000 possible iphone combinations, patrick:

[0-9] [0-9] [0-9] [0-9]

10 digits, 4 entries, 10^4 = 10,000.

jonbach

04-24-2009, 08:10 PM

Patrick -

I definitely agree with your apprehension about RAID. With the systems we build, we've built up some strong evidence that RAID can introduce more problems than it solves if it isn't done correctly. Check out my article "Why RAID is (usually) a Terrible Idea" at http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=29

Jon Bach
President - Puget Systems
http://www.pugetsystems.com

kzap

04-24-2009, 09:25 PM

Just started the episode but I must say the set is coming along nicely, first I thought it was bad then it was okay, not it's AMAZING!
I wish this was the first time we saw it in an episode and the filmed the last 2 on the old set, it would have given people better first impressions and and been a better revel.

dusing

04-24-2009, 10:48 PM

Very happy about the new set changes. SO much more professional now looks awesome, and you guys really pop.

Will Veronica always wear a shirt that matches? That helped too. /s

skoles

04-24-2009, 11:15 PM

After my last post griping about how the set should look I'm feeling better about the new direction as well. Maybe it was you guys listening to viewer feedback or that's what was planned all along.

Either way, thanks. It gives the show a much sleeker, cleaner look. Even the lighting looks better IMO. Plus, leaving the color palette mostly to the hosts looks like the compression is handling it better too because they certainly pop out more.

serafina

04-24-2009, 11:26 PM

Maybe it was you guys listening to viewer feedback or that's what was planned all along.

A bit of both, as well as a bit of "oh look, this doesnt quite look the same through the camera as it did in our heads...". :)

Glad you all like it!

smeerkaas

04-25-2009, 12:29 AM

For the guy that wants to heat his room/shed/whatever: a watt is a watt. And every watt a PC uses becomes heat eventually. Heat is the one form of energy you will get 100% efficiency on when generating. By definition.

The heat .. is heat. The movement of fans, the sound of air hitting the fans and other parts of your room, the light from your screen, the sound from the speakers. It all becomes heat within a few seconds.

Running a bunch of computers will work just fine. It might be loud though. And no need to stop the fans. That'll actually help spread the heat evenly.

I pretty much heat my computer room with the machine sitting in it. So much so that in the summer months I have to power down because of the heat added to the room. And that is just 1 PC doing about 250 - 400 watt depending on CPU usage, screen on or off, and so on.

Trust me .. it works.

boldfire

04-25-2009, 01:07 AM

A bit of both, as well as a bit of "oh look, this doesnt quite look the same through the camera as it did in our heads...". :)

Glad you all like it!

It's really cool that you're listening to the feedback and acting on it, I was impressed the first week and each subsequent week it's gotten better!

computoman

04-25-2009, 04:26 AM

The pitter patter of little feet....

master811

04-25-2009, 04:32 AM

So a 1000 watt power supply has to generate 3410 btus of heat.
Now it may not always draw that amount, and you have to watch for gross versus net rating. But a BTU is always generated at a rate of 3.41 BTU per watt.

But it will only generate that much heat if it's running at full load.

cybersuchus

04-25-2009, 02:54 PM

Question for Veronicazilla:

You mentioned that you use a power strip as a workaround for the various voltage standards in different countries. Is there a particular type of power strip that you pick up?

I'm looking at the power strips sold at Radio Shack, and I can't find any information about voltage conversion like that seen on a laptop power brick. The most I find is a clamping voltage of 330V (i.e. the maximum voltage allowed before suppression).

Even though it seems to be working in practice, do you (or anyone else on the forum) know of any technical specifications that back this up this type of workaround?

Edit: Nevermind, I watched it again. I see what you were doing now.

silica

04-25-2009, 05:17 PM

Does anyone know what kind of shirt Patrick was wearing on this week's show? It has double pockets and a short zipper.

jsc315

04-25-2009, 07:52 PM

Love the look of the set. Great fun episode as well.

fishtoprecords

04-25-2009, 10:37 PM

But it will only generate that much heat if it's running at full load.

Generally true. But some power supplies have terrible efficiency, and use a lot of energy even unloaded. Some were as bad as 50% loss. Even the new ones only claim 80% efficiency, so they waste 20% of every watt flowing through them.

Granted, good systems don't draw at max. But one of the reasons that Intel killed the Pentium line was that they were great heaters.

High end video cards can draw over 100 watts each. Even a fan draws some power.

In the original questioner's Washington DC area, electricity is too expensive to use as heat. Not the same everywhere. Pacific Northwest, and Quebec province have pretty cheap electricity.

x86

04-26-2009, 01:38 AM

I noticed you guys flashed a list online storage services for the guy trying to set up RAID, but it didn't include Dropbox. You don't have to bother with manually uploading/updating your files and you can even restore files to previous versions. They're still rolling out some features, but it has excellent support and a great community.

Video showing off features (https://www.getdropbox.com/screencast#screencast)
Use this link for extra sace (https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTM3OTM1OQ)

veronicazilla

04-26-2009, 03:28 AM

Does anyone know what kind of shirt Patrick was wearing on this week's show? It has double pockets and a short zipper.

I believe it's Carhartt, but I'm not positive!

gta_bmx

04-26-2009, 04:40 PM

Does anyone know what kind of shirt Patrick was wearing on this week's show? It has double pockets and a short zipper.

It looks like a Ben Davis work shirt to me. BD makes durable and comfy clothing.

http://www.bendavis.com/catalog_sszshirt.htm

gta_bmx

04-26-2009, 04:58 PM

Patrick mentioned that he loves GPSlodge. And that he likes the Mio units.

Glad to hear that Patrick bought a real GPS for his road trip. I have ridden with people who try to use their cell phones for navigation, and it's such a clunky solution. I now grab my Tomtom 130 out of my car when I am riding with people, and we're going to some new place or area. Many of my relatives and friends now own real GPS's by seeing mine in action. I think many of the cell co's charge like $7/month for providing GPS. Instead of dropping almost a hundred a year on that, just buy a $99 Tomtom 125 with no monthly fees.

kzap

04-26-2009, 07:30 PM

Glad to hear that Patrick bought a real GPS for his road trip. I have ridden with people who try to use their cell phones for navigation, and it's such a clunky solution. I now grab my Tomtom 130 out of my car when I am riding with people, and we're going to some new place or area. Many of my relatives and friends now own real GPS's by seeing mine in action. I think many of the cell co's charge like $7/month for providing GPS. Instead of dropping almost a hundred a year on that, just buy a $99 Tomtom 125 with no monthly fees.
Has anyone heard of a map, not on paper of course but I'm sure you could have your laptop / phone hold your google map route in memory and that would be FREE, though if you get lost you would have to find free wifi to update the route (or use your mobile phones internet)

Also ever sense I heard about the free whispernet that comes with the Kindle I've always wonder if there was a hack to tether it was a free modem.

Also why don't Amazon put touch screens in the kindle (I know it's epaper not technically a screen) but if they put a touch panel on it you wouldn't have to scroll through the options with that horible refresh rate you would just tad them, they could also make the screen bigger and have an optional on screen keybourd, though I normal hate them.
The only downside would be the glare off the touch panel.

gta_bmx

04-26-2009, 09:09 PM

Has anyone heard of a map, not on paper of course but I'm sure you could have your laptop / phone hold your google map route in memory and that would be FREE, though if you get lost you would have to find free wifi to update the route (or use your mobile phones internet).

Microsoft offers a product called Street & Trips 2009 that comes with a SirfStar III GPS fob that plugs into your laptop USB port. And it has map software, POI's, etc.. So essentially it turns your laptop into a GPS device with a nice big screen. And it doesn't have to rely on having an internet connection since the GPS fob constantly monitors your position relative to the satellites, and the maps are saved on your hard drive. It gives you turn-by-turn spoken directions (even the street names). I think it's only $59. Plus an entry level GPS unit is about that much also. Really, in 2009, going on a trip without a true GPS is silly. I guess using Google Maps on a cell phone is ok if that's all you got, but it's not ideal.

davmoo

04-27-2009, 05:24 AM

Microsoft offers a product called Street & Trips 2009 that comes with a SirfStar III GPS fob that plugs into your laptop USB port.

That's basically how I do it too, only my preference is the Delorme Street Atlas line of products.

And for a portable on the hiking trail type solution I carry a Garmin eTrex Legend. Its never let me down. And it functions as a GPS "head" for Street Atlas on the laptop.

veronicazilla

04-27-2009, 07:26 AM

It looks like a Ben Davis work shirt to me. BD makes durable and comfy clothing.

http://www.bendavis.com/catalog_sszshirt.htm

You're right, that's the one I was thinking of! Thanks!

silentspyder

04-27-2009, 02:59 PM

I love that you guys are "mathing it up" for this question, exactly like I'd hoped you would! :P

You guys are being used! ;)

gta_bmx

04-28-2009, 12:05 AM

You're right, that's the one I was thinking of! Thanks!

No problema. You ought to wear one on next week's show -- freak Patrick out, throw him off his game. :) Maybe even go one further and wear a pocket protector in one of the pockets. "This is my 'cool guy' pocket protector."