You are not logged in. Please login or register.
TCS Forums » The Lounge » Computers and the economic crisis
I'm thinking of going the hard way and start buying second hand hardware, used parts and make my own computers. Since we're in a crisis and money is hard to come by, I don't know what else we could do to lower our costs. Software is pretty expensive too. What about you guys?
Good if you're able to do that, I'm not so good with computers, I'd have to pay someone to do it, so it'll probably be the same money. It seems like a sound solution, but I don't know...
That's a good solution, if you're going to get into money trouble. However, when you work in IT, you're pretty much safe from this type of crisis. Talent pays, no matter the times. Think about it.
I used to do that as a hobby, building up computers from spare parts or used components, it's pretty cool. I'm thinking of teaching my friends to do that, it doesn't hurt to be computer literate nowadays.
Is it hard to learn, Zordani? Maybe I should try and see if I can do it, it certainly sounds like fun. Maybe even do it with my kids, as a nice afternoon fun activity.
Well you see you can get machines that are otherwise going to be thrown away. You wouldn't have to pay for them potentially, and thus playing around to find what bits work together shouldn't be too bad. You can read up online and learn enough-it is not hard to do at all.
It's not hard at all, Miriam. Just get stuff that people throw away, do some basic research online and then just go ahead and play with your new toys. You'll learn in no time!
That's a good solution, if you're going to get into money trouble. However, when you work in IT, you're pretty much safe from this type of crisis. Talent pays, no matter the times. Think about it.
Except that everyone is trimmimg down and Thin Client is a good way to achieve that, in addition to which the world is awash with IT professionals, I know quite a few who are not working at present.
You forgot about talent. There are literally millions of IT specialists out there. But are they all talented and incredibly smart? Of course not. The talented, no matter what kind of job they have, will always have their work places safe.
I'm not sure what additional talent you need if your a fully qualified IT professional who operates in a specialist area. But I guess you could be right.
Last edited by jenny2 (2009-02-03 12:37:32)
I have an MCSE, MCT and Cisco CCNA perhaps as a talent I could learn Tap Dancing. I wonder if that would help in the job market.
I'm not sure that you would save all that much by starting with used parts and building your own system. First of all, used parts are a lot like used cars - generally you're getting someone else's headaches. Second, right now is the best time to buy a computer of any time of the year and this year should see some massive bargains.
You're right, Jenna. One of my local computer stores is having a huge sale this coming week. They are actually offering an HP computer for $399. It includes a 19" flatscreen monitor. I would assume it's a 2008 model, but still, you can definitely find bargains if you look in the right places.
Its the same as everything-industry was automated by turning our jobs over to robots. And now we are seeing IT professionals done away with the likes of thin clients, not needing so much of our attention-I feel like a traitor for helping our company put things in place!
Well, let's see, HP computer - 399 dollars. Made from scratch, spare parts, computer cemetery parts computer - 0 dollars. Hmm, I wonder what to choose, to pay or not to pay, that is the question, Horatio!
computer cemetery parts computer
That could end up being a lot of work, compatibility of parts like CPU and Ram makes this kind of thing much more difficult than it used to be. New stuff comes out all the time and rarely are boards backward compatible. Even power supplies differ between different types of motherboard.
Still, when you're playing with parts that cost you nothing then the experiment can be a learning curve. You might be able to pick up the parts that you need without too much hassle.
There is actually a place here this weekend that is having a huge sale on old computers and also selling off flats of bulk computer parts. If anyone wanted to build a computer, this would be a great opportunity to find spare pieces. Who knows if they would all work together or not, though.
You can look up info online about the potential clashes of hardware. I've never really found it to be a huge problem though, and I think that there are way too many fears here about it. The basic stuff is easy, get the right type of memory and so on.
Posts [ 19 ]
TCS Forums » The Lounge » Computers and the economic crisis
