Author: Dave Farquhar

Computer burn in explained

Dave Farquhar Hardware , ,
Computer burn in explained

I’ve worked several different shops now that seem to have a misconception about computer burn in. So I’m going to explain it.

I think there’s a misconception that if you let a computer run with a light load for a while, it somehow gets stronger, and ready to handle a big workday load.

I’m 5’9″ and weigh about a buck-fifty, so trust me, I know a non-bodybuilder when I see one. And computers aren’t bodybuilders. Read more

Rest in peace, PC World

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , , , ,

The print edition of PC World is no more, and its demise marks the end of the general-interest computer magazine. Former editor Harry McCracken wrote this tribute. Read more

Getting started in compliance: Start by doing the right thing

Dave Farquhar security ,

I had a couple of discussions this week about compliance, and the traps of plain old check-the-box compliance, and how to get started in it when regulatory compliance suddenly gets sprung on you.

The key is working backwards. Start with the very reason regulatory compliance exists.

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A war story in progress

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized ,

It was a long day at work yesterday. Some days things don’t go as planned, because something blows up, and that was the case yesterday. I’m sure I’ll write it up someday. Right now I fear it’s still in the early stages.

But it’s a turning point of sorts. Read more

You can’t collect everything

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains , , , , , , , , ,

There’s been a fairly spirited discussion lately in the always excellent Yahoo Marx Train group about the merits of Marx tin trains versus plastic ones. Some people like them all, some people prefer one or the other, and almost everyone with a preference is apologizing to the people who prefer the other.

That’s part of what makes that group great–the lack of elitism and looking down on others whose preferences differ–but in my mind, there’s no apology necessary because very few hobbyists have the time, space, or budget to collect everything. Read more

The price of Amazon

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Slashdot posted a link to a New York Times piece that asserts that the full extent of Amazon’s existence hasn’t been felt yet, but it asserts that book pricing is becoming whimsical.

My experience disagrees with that. The market will stabilize. I think the cost fluctuations are because the market hasn’t stabilized yet.

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Something that shouldn’t be there

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Saving money, security, Toy trains , , , , , ,

I was standing in line to get a number for an estate sale this weekend–they’re what I do–and found myself standing a couple of people behind someone who talks too much.

I think some people talk because they want affirmation, and telling tales of what they’ve found is the way they get it. I’m very careful what I talk about, because I frequently see new people who look for exactly the same thing I look for, and if I just give away the knowledge I’ve spent years learning, it literally costs me money. But that’s not how a lot of people think, so if you keep your ears open, you can hear some good information.

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Don’t be too impressed with Snowden’s “ethical hacking training”

Dave Farquhar security , , , , , , , ,

I saw this new headline regarding Edward Snowden, discussing his NSA hacking training. Don’t be impressed.

For several years, I lived in that same world Snowden lived in. I’ve gone out of my way to avoid mentioning this, but from 2005-2012, I was a consultant. I worked for several different companies, due to contracts changing hands and companies merging, but my client was the United States Air Force. And from 2011-2012, I even had direct dealings with the NSA. I attended NSA meetings in the Washington, D.C. area. I received NSA training–in person–in a security discipline called threat modeling. My job was to represent NSA to the Air Force three weeks out of the month, and represent the Air Force to the NSA on the fourth week.

Just don’t ask me anything about UFOs. Unlike some people, I didn’t snoop around on classified networks. Whenever possible, didn’t look at the data at all. If I had to look at data, I preferred to look at dummy data. If I actually did look at real, honest-to-goodness classified data, it was because I needed to know that information to do my job. I was a pretty good contractor, I think.

I also know about this training that Snowden put on his resume. Read more

It’s the end of SSDs as we know it, and I feel fine

Dave Farquhar Hardware , ,

Flash memory’s days may be numbered. The end of the line for traditional flash memory has been predicted for a long time, and gloated about by Luddites who are dead-set against buying SSDs for whatever reason. But I’m not worried about it. All I want is solid-state storage; I don’t care about the underlying technology. The technology behind the RAM my computer uses has changed several times since the early 1980s, and I’m not broken up about it–the SSD in the last computer I built is faster than the RAM in my Commodore 64 was. Speed is good. More speed is better.

So I’m glad to hear about a potential breakthrough in RRAM. Read more

Fix a Dell Poweredge R320 network port

Dave Farquhar Hardware

A vendor–the vendor’s name is unimportant–shipped us a DOA appliance based on a Dell Poweredge R320 1U server (I think the model number is correct) this week. That gave me the opportunity to learn how to fix a Dell Poweredge R320 network port.
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