minor list changes

[Tony Duell]

> 
> At 08:21 PM 3/7/2005, Jim Brain wrote:
> >One can't help but wonder if the web forum thread is half-serious, half troll.  
> >Especially considering the list makeup.  I probably should feed the troll, 
> >but the stereotyping thing seemed a bit overkill.
> 
> Yes, not only am I trolling but I'm also playing the devil's advocate 
> because I grow tired of the unending Windows bashing.  (I'm plenty capable 

AFAIK I've not 'basehd Windows' here, at least not recently.

I will happily admit that _I_ don't like Microsoft Windows. I prefer a 
unix-like OS, and for various reasons, I run linux. I can assure you I 
did consider various OSes before making that decision, I didn't just 
decide to not-run-Windows because all my friends don't run it either. 
Hoewever, I am prepared to accept that for some people, Windows might be 
the right choice.

Anyway, this is a totally stupid argument. If I did decide to run a more 
modern PC with a grapgical display I can assure you I'd not run any OS 
for which I didn't have the source code. I may not be much of a 
programmer, but I am capable of reading source code and patching things.

> Why is it necessary to say that today's technology is bad just to
> affirm that yesterday's is/was good?

It isn't. I am just not prepared to accept (and never will be) that the 
'new' is always better than the 'old'. Sometimes it is, sometimes it 
isn't. I prefer to look at all the available solutions and pick the one 
which I consider to be the best.  Maybe a new idea, maybe something 
that's been around for decades. If it solves the problem, then it's good.
> Surely there are assumptions to be questioned.  To wit, a web user is less 
> concerned about hoarding precious ASCII files.  They assume the connection 

The whole point about ASCII files is that there are many tools to deal 
with them. The available tools for other file types are nowhere near as 
versatile (yet) as far as I've seen.

> will always be "on".  They have no need to 'grep' a local copy because 
> they assume it'll still be Out There somewhere.  They don't need to 'grep' 

Many times a web page I've wanted has either been removed, been replaced 
(with something that doesn't contain the bit of information I want) or 
moved somewhere. I would never depend on information remaining on the web.

> At 07:03 PM 3/7/2005, Tony Duell wrote:
> >Well I cetainly can't do any of those. I have never been offered a PC 
> >faster than a 286. I certainly can't afford broadband.
> 
> I don't know your circumstances.  You're in the UK.  I suspect 
> broadband is available your area for about $30 a month.  If time

I don't have $30 a month spare....


> is worth anything to you, it'll be worth it compared to dial-up.

My time is not worth anything. Nobody pays me for my time anyhow. 

> What do you pay for dial-up?

\pounds 10.00 a month.

> 
> Around here in East Bumblefrick USA, clients are begging me to haul away 
> their old 600 Mhz PCs as well as any previous generations.  You find them 

Not over here you don't (and skip-diving (dumpster diving) is actuallly 
illegal here I think). I don't have any local friends who are into 
computing, I don't get offered old machines. At all.


> on the curb.  Are you truly not using a web browser, ever? 

I've got an old version of lynx that gets me to the couple of 
(text-based) sites I really need. For anything else I pop to an internet 
cafe. That's normally when I need a pinout for some obscure chip that's 
not in the 100-or-so databooks I have here.

But I must say I am not at all impressed with much of the stuff I find on 
the web. I was looking at some scanned camera service info the other day 
(yes, I tinker with classic cameras too). All I can say is that I found 
them to be unreadable (even when I zoomed in, this doesn't seem to be a 
PC display probkem). And I've had the same problem with schematics, etc, 
on the web. 

> 
> >And I don't mind 
> >admitting I am not clever enough to repair modern PCs, I don't have a BGA 
> >rework station 
> 
> You're trying too hard.  See above for a source of a new PC.

If I did get one, I'd have to keep it running. Most of them now seem to 
have BGA-packaged chips in them, presumably I need a fancy re-work 
station to repalce them.

Even if you convinced me to swap the entire board, I'd still need a 
rather better logic analyser (and probably 'scope) than I already have to 
find out which board is faulty. Better make it 2 LA's and 'scopes so I 
can use one to fix the other. Now this is going to get very expensive. 
(And no, I don't know anywhere where I can borrow them from).

You will _never_ convince me to swap boards at random until the machine 
seems to work again. I've tried that a couple of times, and lived to 
regret it!

> 
> >I much prefer mailing lists to web fora. I prefer large-format film 
> >cameras to digital cameras. And so on. 
> 
> I just picked up a gorgeous Leitz Focomat IIc enlarger for $300, 
> I'm debating whether to keep it or eBay it and get ~$3000.

I picked up a Focomat 1 for \pounds 10.00 (!). It needed a few minor 
repairs, but it's  not exactly complicated. I don't use it, though, 
it's 35mm only. I use a DeVere 504 (sub-miniature right up to 5*4" sheet 
film). Lovely piece of engineering, the only electronics is the timer 
(based ona a 555) and the stabiliser for the Dichromat colour head (which 
is an op-amp + saturable reactors). I understand how all that works...

To bring this back sort-of on-topic, one day I am going to make a modifed 
version of the enlarger exposure meter that's in 'Control the World with 
HPIL', and which uses an HP41CX + GPIO interface. Modified to use an ADC 
I can easily get now, and to plug into the 8-pin socket on the DeVere 
stabiliser box.

-tony