I'm going x64

I just bought a new computer! I put it together last night and it's fast. I get a 5.9 (the current max) rating in Vista in every section except video performance where I get a 5.6.

The specs are:

• Intel Core 2 Quad with each core @ 2.4 Ghz (aftermarket Arctic Cooling fan)
• 4GB of Corsair XMS RAM
  
• eVGA nVidia 8600 GTS video card
• Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard
• Western Digital 150GB Raptor X (sata)
• Western Digital 320GB (sata)
  
• Samsung DVD Burner (sata)
• Lite-On DVD Reader (sata)
• Cooler Master Case (black)
  
• Thermaltake 700W power supply

I kept my Logitech keyboard/mouse, Altec Lansing 5.1 speakers and dual Sceptre 20" LCDs.

As I mentioned in the title, I am running the 64-bit version of Windows. If you are buying all new hardware anyway, you should run a 64-bit operating system. There is definitely a bit of a performance increase and, in my case, is required since have 4 GB of RAM. Coding Horror has a detailed post on why you can't utilize 4 GB of RAM on a 32-bit system but it's a little confusing still.

Basically a 32-bit system means you have 32 bits to address data. A bit is the smallest amount of data in a computer, either a one or a zero. So the biggest number possible is 2³² or 4,294,967,296. Memory is addressed in bytes (8 bits) so the maximum memory is 4,294,967,296 bytes or 4 gigabytes (huh?).

So why can't you use 4 gigbytes of memory? This maximum is the amount of memory you can address total, not just system memory. Of your 4 GBs, the first MB is for legacy DOS, BIOS and old add-in cards. Then there is a section for your motherboard, flash memory, video memory and all other devices. If you have a newer video card with 512 MB of memory, that is 1/8th of your address space right there! Your system memory is the last thing to get addressed so whatever is left is the amount of RAM your OS and programs get to use; usually around 3 - 3.5 gigabytes.

There are some older hacks to get around this but the best way is to use 64-bit hardware and OS.

RIP Gemina the 'crooked-necked giraffe'

Gemina the 'crooked-necked giraffe' was put down yesterday at the age of 21. Over the last two weeks she stopped eating. The zoo keepers noticed it was affecting her quality of life so they euthanized her. I was lucky enough to see her in person as she was what the Santa Barbara Zoo was known for.

Google News Articles

Google Talk and AIM "integration"

Google announced earlier this month that you can now use AIM within Gmail along with your Google Talk account. While this is quite handy, it isn't any different then using Trillian or Meebo. You still need an AIM account AND a Google account. Google isn't integrating the two services, they are running them side by side.

This isn't Google's fault though. Google's chat service is based on the open source Jabber protocol allowing it work with any other Jabber chat service. Now if the rest of the major instant messaging providers adopted the Jabber protocol users could pick their favorite instant message client [program] instead of running four or five different ones to stay connected.

Standards are a huge part of technology. Sometimes there are multiple standards to meet various applications like batteries or memory cards, but usually having multiple standards only hurts the consumer. Look at havoc HD-DVD and BluRay are causing. Standards are especially important with communication tools. Imagine how awful it would be if Hotmail and Gmail users couldn't send email to each other because they were on different email providers. If AT&T customers couldn't call Verizon since they are on different networks. Why should instant messaging be any different?

-Jesse

Happy /c?han{1,2}uk{1,2}ah?/i

If you understand the title, you are a nerd! The title is a regular expression representing all common spellings of the Jewish holiday "Chanukah". The reason there are so many spellings of the holiday is because it's a Hebrew word. There is no standard way of transliterating Hebrew to English so the only true spelling of the word is: חנוכה

Some other חנוכה trivia about the candle lighting. A menorah isn't actually used. A menorah is a seven branched candle holder while a hanukiah is the nine candle version used for חנוכה

So have a happy winter holiday, if you celebrate one, and a happy new year!

-Jesse

My new blog

I've been using Google Reader to keep up with news sites, my friend's blogs and a bunch of tech blogs (like my favorite Coding Horror). So I've decided to start a blog. This may surprise some people (like my parents) since I never really enjoyed writing, but sometimes I do want to write about things I discover. Often these things are about programming, the internet or some other tech subject but once in a while they aren't; hence the title "Tech Tangent".



-Jesse