Author: Dave Farquhar

Dell or HP laptop: Which is better?

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Dell or HP laptop: Which is better?

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?

HP and Dell are two of the most popular computer brands, and both have endured. Both entered the business in the 1980s and survived the brutal 1990s, which was an achievement. There were several good companies that failed to survive the 90s or emerged from the 90s mortally wounded. Both companies did something right to make it this far.

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What to look for in a motherboard

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , , ,
What to look for in a motherboard

I’ve been building PCs for more than 20 years and I tend to keep them a very long time, so it occurred to me that someone might be interested in what I look for in a motherboard to ensure both a long, reliable life and a long useful life.

Technology has changed a lot but what I look for has remained surprisingly consistent over the years.

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What is public cloud?

Dave Farquhar Software
What is public cloud?

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.

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What is Shadow IT?

Dave Farquhar security
What is Shadow IT?

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.

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Do Chromebooks need antivirus protection?

Dave Farquhar security
Do Chromebooks need antivirus protection?

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?

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How to clean a circuit board

Dave Farquhar Hardware
How to clean a circuit board

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.

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Good short term goals

Dave Farquhar Careers
Good short term goals

When I was in high school, the counselors brought in a life coach once or twice a year to talk with students in various settings. Sometimes it was an assembly, and sometimes it was a smaller setting. One of those smaller settings, she spent some time talking about goals, and that always had an effect on me. So let’s talk about some good short term goals.

This isn’t meant to be an all-inclusive list. My goal is to give you a few examples that you can adopt and adapt to meet your own needs and abilities. For some people, some of these goals are no harder than falling out of bed. For others, the same goal might be a lifetime achievement. As one of my best friends is fond of saying, it’s not ego if you can back it up. Backing up your ego starts with a regular discipline of making and keeping goals.

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Commodore 65: A 16-bit C-64 that never was

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Commodore 65: A 16-bit C-64 that never was

The Commodore 65 was an ill-fated attempt to extend the Commodore 8-bit line one last time and release a hybrid 8/16-bit computer with some backward compatibility with the Commodore 64. The concept was similar to the Apple IIgs and the Nintendo Super NES. Commodore never released it.

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All my husband cares about is money

Dave Farquhar Saving money
All my husband cares about is money

It’s not an uncommon sentiment among women to say, “All my husband cares about is money.” As a man who’s been accused of the same thing himself, I don’t speak for your husband, but I may be able to provide some insight. I know it seems like all he cares about is money, but there’s something a little deeper there.

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What is machine language?

Dave Farquhar Software
What is machine language?

From time to time you may find a reference to something mysterious and computer-related called machine language. Most people just assume you know what it means, if you care. But what is machine language in computer terminology, and why is it important?

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