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The problem with Lifehacker’s computer manufacturer ranking

Dave Farquhar Hardware November 20, 2013October 11, 2019android, apple, asus, black friday, dell, hp, lifehacker, toshiba, Western Digital

Lifehacker posted a controversial computer manufacturer ranking this week. I’m not sure how you can rank anything with Apple, HP, and Dell in it and not be controversial–someone’s going to be offended that their favorite isn’t at the top and their least favorite isn’t dead last–and while I agree with it more than I disagree with it, there are at least three problems with it.

So, let’s go. Read more

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Cleaning a hard drive with Linux

Dave Farquhar security November 19, 2013December 3, 2015dell, random data

A friend asked me a favor in church one Sunday: He had a computer he wanted to clean off so he could donate it, but since it had financial data on it, he wanted to make sure it was cleaned up securely. I recommended Darik’s Boot and Nuke, which I’ve recommended before, but he wasn’t able to get it working for whatever reason. So he asked if I would clean it if he dropped it off. I agreed.

Rather than burn a DBAN disc, I just took the hard drive out and put it in a Linux box and wiped it with that. It was easier than trying to find a blank CD.

Dave Farquhar

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Forget the word “should.”

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized October 18, 2013October 17, 2013classmate, dell, hp, journalism

After talking with another former classmate/newsroom-mate, I wanted to bring out the highlight from yesterday. I’m not saying this would have saved Brian, but it was life-changing for me, and I’d say there’s probably a 10% chance it can be life-changing for you, too. If you’re one of the 90%, it’s more likely to be merely helpful.

The problem is the word “should.” And while I generally think striking words from the English language is a bad idea because language control is thought control, this is one instance where I don’t think thought control is a bad thing. “Should” is a club that we use to beat ourselves up with far too often. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Goodbye Amazon Affiliates, hello Viglink

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized August 18, 2013November 29, 2015costco, dell, hp, IBM, Jeff Bezos, Missouri, New York, viglink, Washington Post

I’ve been an Amazon affiliate for more than a decade, which meant that if I mentioned a product, posted a link to Amazon and someone clicked the link and bought it, I got a little bit of money. It didn’t make me rich, but in a good year, I made a couple hundred dollars, which paid for the upkeep of the site.

Well, Amazon and the state of Missouri are fighting, so Amazon is discontinuing the affiliate program for Missouri residents. The loss won’t break me, but by the same token, it’s nice to have that money coming in to pay for things like equipment upgrades. I found Viglink, and I’m going to give that a try.

Dave Farquhar

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Fix a Dell Poweredge R320 network port

Dave Farquhar Hardware July 5, 2013November 20, 2016dell

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.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Snickering at the Emachine

Dave Farquhar Hardware, War Stories June 22, 2013August 12, 2018datacenter, DCS, dell, emachine, hp

For several years, I administered a command and control system for the U.S. Air Force. I sat in a datacenter, surrounded by racks jam-packed full of servers, and they kept the building at 64 degrees year round. I quickly learned to keep a jacket handy. I did several things, but mostly patch management.

Our system consisted of a diverse collection of Dell 1U and 5U servers, HP blades, and a couple of Sun SPARC boxes. It was a professional-looking setup, and except for the times we were doing massive system upgrades, the system generally worked as well as it looked.

Then we got a neighbor.

Dave Farquhar

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Windows vs. Linux kernel performance

Dave Farquhar Linux, Windows May 13, 2013December 3, 20181990s, acer, amd, apple, dell, hp, intel, lenovo, NSA, oracle, sp3, unix, vista, windows 8, windows nt, Windows XP

An anonymous Microsoft developer spilled some juicy opinions about why Windows kernel performance isn’t all it could be and answered some longstanding questions about Windows vs. Linux kernel performance in the process. Although he has recanted much of what he said, some of his insights make a ton of sense.

Dave Farquhar

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Why PC makers love tablets, or should

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 9, 2013April 5, 2013dell, Dell Inspiron, Dell Inspiron E1505, Media Player, pc magazine, windows 7

PC Magazine has a nice analysis of why tablets are selling well and will continue to sell well, but they aren’t taking over the entire industry.

PCs are mature and not changing a lot at this point, while tablets are changing a lot. That’s good and bad. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Is this a good computer for the money in 2013?

Dave Farquhar Hardware March 27, 2013March 24, 2013amd, dell, intel, Intel Core

My realtor sent me some computer specs this past week and asked for my opinion on it, since I get paid to keep up with this stuff these days and he doesn’t.

I thought my critique of the system might help other people.

Dave Farquhar

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Mark Hurd doesn’t sound like he’s just what Dell needed

Dave Farquhar Hardware March 25, 2013March 24, 2013apple, asus, compaq, dell, hp, IBM, macintosh, mark hurd, Michael Dell, oracle

Word on the street is that Blackstone Group has a plan for turning around Dell: Buy the company, take it private, and install Mark Hurd as CEO. The thinking is that he’s available, has experience, and would have baggage keeping him from being the CEO of a public company.

I just see one glitch. Available != good fit.

Dave Farquhar

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