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90s computer brands

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing July 27, 2017August 23, 20181980s, 1990s, acer, amd, apple, apple ii, AT&T, best buy, Circuit City, commodore, compaq, consolidation, DEC, dell, hp, IBM, intel, micron, model m, Packard Bell, philips, radio shack, resellers, samsung, sony, Steve Jobs, survivors, Tandy, Texas Instruments, TI, toshiba, windows nt, XT 4 Comments

Some 90s computer brands are the same as today, but a lot more companies played in the field than now. Profit margins were higher then, so industry consolidation wasn’t the matter of survival that it is now.

Here’s a look back at some of the brands of old, including some famous PC brands, some not-so-famous, and some notorious. The 1990s were certainly a make or break time for many of them.

Are LED light bulbs worth it?

Dave Farquhar Saving money July 4, 2017September 3, 2017CFL, Compact Fluorescent, curtains, home depot, home improvement, incandescent bulbs, led bulbs, lumen, lumens, philips, thermal curtains 2 Comments

I’ve been buying modern forms of light bulbs for almost 15 years now. So when someone asks me, “Are LED light bulbs worth it?” or “Do LED lights really save you money?” I can answer the question. I was more accepting of CFL bulbs than most, but I had some reservations about them. On the other hand, I really like LED bulbs.

LED light bulbs have saved me a lot of money over the years, and they have quite a few advantages besides the money they save you every month on your electric bill. I thought LED light bulbs were worth it five years ago, and I really think so now.

Lionel 675 disassembly

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 1, 2017April 9, 2017lionel, Lionel 675, philips

The Lionel 675 and its brothers, the Lionel 2025 and Lionel 2035, are among the best locomotives Lionel ever made. That said, they still need maintenance from time to time. That usually requires you to disassemble them. Here’s a guide to Lionel 675 disassembly that also applies to the 2025 and 2035.

Wash an electric toothbrush in a dishwasher

Dave Farquhar Health, Saving money February 24, 2017November 28, 2018philips

We bought our kids electric toothbrushes. They aren’t expensive and they seem to help our kids get fewer cavities. But how do you clean them after they’ve been sick, or one of them uses the wrong one? You put a regular toothbrush in the dishwasher. But what about an electric? Here’s how to wash an electric toothbrush in a dishwasher.

How to disassemble a Lionel 1001, 1060 or 8902 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 4, 2016September 2, 2017christmas, e-unit, HO, lionel, Lionel O27, Lucas Red, n scale, o27, philips, red wire, troubleshooting

Disassembling a Lionel 1001, 1060, 8902 or 8302 locomotive isn’t too difficult. The biggest problem is knowing where the three screws are that you have to remove.

These particular locomotives weren’t really designed to be repaired, but there’s some basic work you can do on them with household tools. The 8902 and 8302 locomotives can be cheap sources of a motor for other projects.

Philips’ new LED bulbs are cheap but have caveats

Dave Farquhar Saving money April 27, 2015April 23, 2015CFL, led bulbs, lumen, lumens, lumens per watt, philips, receipt

Later this week, Philips will be releasing a new, cheap LED bulb at an introductory rate of $5 for a pack of two. They are 800 lumen bulbs, equivalent to a 60w incandescent in light output, use 8.5 watts to give off an impressive 94 lumens per watt, and have a color temperature of 2700K that’s comparable to a soft white incandescent.

Sound good? It ought to, but there’s a catch. Often there is.

LED bulb longevity report

Dave Farquhar Saving money March 6, 2015April 24, 2017CFL, cfls, home depot, incandescent bulbs, led bulbs, lumen, lumens, philips, power savings, receipt

Now that I’ve had a couple of LED bulbs burn out, I can actually give an LED bulb longevity report.

I’ve been buying LED bulbs since 2010, and now I’ve lost three of them. It’s a little disappointing, but two of the bulbs were Philips 420240 bulbs, which are no longer on the market. The first 420240 failed completely within a couple of weeks of getting it, and I exchanged it for a Cree. The second 420240 lasted a shade over two years. Clearly the 420240 just wasn’t a very good bulb, and it accounted for my first LED bulb mortality.

My other failed bulb is one of the early 40W equivalents I bought at either Lowe’s or Home Depot in 2010 or early 2011. So I got about four years out of that one, which is better than Philips at least.

My favorite LED bulbs for 2014

Dave Farquhar Saving money September 28, 2014February 21, 2015CFL, extra money, home depot, led bulbs, occupancy sensor, philips

After talking about LEDs last week, a friend asked what my favorite LED bulbs today are. I’m not sure I would say I dislike any of the bulbs that are widely available today, but I do have two favorites.

CFL bulbs burn out quickly? Here’s what to do.

Dave Farquhar DIY, Saving money January 23, 2014March 22, 2019CFL, cfls, conductivity, kitchens, led bulbs, philips

I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about CFL bulbs lately. I’ve written about how to address premature CFL burnout before, but I guess it bears repeating. It’s a five-minute fix, usually, to get the bulbs to last a while. So here’s what to do if your CFL bulbs burn out quickly.

CFL bulbs do seem to be more sensitive to minor electrical problems than older bulbs. Fixing the tab in your light socket or replacing your light switch is often enough to make the bulbs last as long as the package said they would.

How to open a D-Link GDS-2205 5-port gigabit switch

Dave Farquhar Hardware January 16, 2014January 6, 2014Blade, capacitor, capacitors, d-link, philips

I have a D-Link GDS-2205 switch that I picked up cheaply. It turned out it was cheap because it didn’t work. But I thought I’d try to open it and look for bulging capacitors, since that’s a common problem with low-end network equipment.

Opening these boxes is tricky, but not impossible.

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