David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord
Today let’s tackle the most fundamental question a new landlord might ask. Ideally, it would be one of the first questions to ask: How much rent should I charge?
The math is surprisingly easy. So I’ll tell you the math first, then I’ll tell you the reason.
A discussion with a couple of people who went to the same high school I did brought up a few dark topics from that era. One of them mentioned a place called “Charter.” I asked him if he meant Charter Hospital and/or Charter Behavioral Health.
He said yes. He didn’t know much else about it. It turns out the company still exists, though not under the same name and not under the same line of business. The Charter name and business model disappeared in 2000, even though the company who owned it still survives today.
TVs have changed a bit since 1986, and memories have faded a bit too. So just in case you’ve lost some cables, or just need a refresher, here’s how to connect a NES to a modern TV so you can get a Zelda or Mario fix.
Keep in mind your vintage 8-bit Nintendo NES will work just fine with a modern LCD or LED TV, but the light gun won’t work right with newer TVs. The light gun requires a CRT to operate. Also, while it is possible to modify an NES to output something resembling a modern digital video format, I’m assuming you’re not looking to go to that kind of trouble, and just want to connect an unmodified Nintendo console to an unmodified TV.
What is a network interface card? What is a NIC? It’s a term you may not hear as much anymore as you once did. But a network interface card is the computer component that lets you plug it into an Ethernet network or connect to a wireless network to get LAN and/or Internet access.
Network interface cards can come with anywhere from one to four ports. One port is the most common. Multi-port cards allow you to bond more than one port together for greater speed. Or you can use them for failover, or to dedicate a port to a specific virtual machine in virtual environments.
There are some questions you really don’t want to answer, because there’s no way you’re going to answer it without making enemies. I heard one of those questions the other day. Between a Dell or HP laptop: Which is better?
Cyrix was a scrappy, up and coming CPU manufacturer in the 1990s. They never had Intel’s name recognition, but for a few years they made life more difficult for its larger rivals, Intel and AMD. For a while, Cyrix processor chips were a popular choice for value-conscious PC buyers.
Cyrix contributed a lot of confusing alphabet soup to the 1990s CPU market, and their chips usually weren’t the highest-performing chips available. But they usually did provide good value for the money, even though Cyrix never was a premium brand.
Cloud computing is all the rage right now, and it’s created a mess of jargon that can make your head spin. Don’t worry though. No one was born knowing this stuff. So, what is public cloud, and what makes it different from other clouds? Assuming there are other clouds?
Public cloud is a booming business. In Q4 of 2017, Amazon’s cloud business accounted for 60 percent of the company’s total operating income. Amazon made its name selling books, but today it makes its money renting computer time. A lot of people don’t know that. Or at least it seems that way.
What is Shadow IT? It’s something every IT professional comes into contact with at some point and wishes they hadn’t. Here’s what Shadow IT is, why it’s bad, and how to avoid it.
Chromebooks are a popular solution for people who primarily use computers to go online, for students, and for security professionals. They are inexpensive, reliable, and secure. But since security is a big motivator behind Chromebooks, that raises a question: Do Chromebooks need antivirus protection?
If you want to start an argument, asking how to clean a circuit board is a good way to do it. At the risk of becoming the Internet’s hottest new place to argue, let’s talk about how to go about cleaning one.
Some people get obsessive about how their circuit boards look. While there’s something to the saying that if a board looks good, it works good, the main thing is keeping contaminants off the electrical contacts and preventing dust from causing heat buildup. Unless you have your computer in a translucent case, there’s no need to be overly concerned about how the board looks.