Tom H wrote:
On Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 3:49 PM, Celejar<celejar@gmail.com> wrote:On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:15:13 -0500 Curt Howland<Howland@Priss.com> wrote:It is my understanding that the Intel-based graphics cards work perfectly well with the standard Linux drivers, if you want to stay purely open-source.
Well, the comments on this thread have made interesting reading.The computer consultant has actually printed out on a piece of A5-sized paper just what he's offering. I'm going to ignore the Intel Core i3-2100 with 4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM and get the higher spec. machine. It will have Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz Socket LGA1155, MSI Z68S REV B3 motherboard, 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 256MB PCI-Express graphics, an SSD OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" SATA instead of a hard disk drive, a Samsung DVD-RW SATA, Onboard 7.1 channel HD Audio, Onboard 10/100/1000 Mbps Lan, 802.11B/G/N WiFi, an ATX + Cooler Master 450W PSU and NO OS. He knows I use Linux. He's going to charge me £599 and I think it's worth the money, because if anything goes wrong, he's just downstairs.
It's quite possible I could get a lower price on the Internet, but I wouldn't have the service and backup. Anyway, I'm not so skint that I cannot give some cash for a good computer. My present desktop is over 7.5 years old and is still going strong. Its power-supply blew up with a bang last year, and I bought a big thin TFT screen to replace the one that came with the computer.
I'll be keeping my keyboard and the display, and very likely, the mouse. So no change there.
What do you think, guys? Do you reckon it will drive Linux like the clappers? Nothing like a bit of oomph to liven one's days, eh?
On the software development front, I use the programming language Algol 68, which is a high-level language. C is a medium-level language. I have spent years in porting an old compiler to Linux, providing a decent run-time system and even writing a 600-page book to teach the language from scratch. I have developed my own Literate Programming System which I shall be completing during the coming months. I have written an Algol 68 binding to the Xforms library so that it is possible to write GUI programs without any bother. And, more recently, I now have a web-site with more than 150 pages for the book, as well as a manual for the software development system I use. The site is in my signature.
Thanks for all your comments. -- Sian Mountbatten <www.poenikatu.co.uk>