vesuvius27

Alright. It's been a while since my last update. So I thought I'd fill all readers (if there are any) in about my progress this past week. I'm using RuneScript's tracker feature, so forgive me if I miss something. I levelled Strength to 75. Now, I can finally train on controlled with whip. They're about even now, but I went to Bandos so Attack and Defence are a bit ahead of Strength. I levelled HP to 77. I also achieved combat 100 (WOOHOO DURADEL!). I spent days, working hard, to get 374592 xp in Ranged for level 70. I just wanted the black dragonhide. :razz: I also levelled slayer twice to 70, and Construction once (thank you long bone) to 52. Unfortunately, I have had horrible luck with catching screenshots lately. And, back to the Bandos trip. I went a few times. One was the most successful. We had an 8 man team (I know big. But we started with 5, crashed, and were nice enough to let the other 3 join us.) and so the splits were small. But we were there for 3 and a half hours. And when you add the splits of Bandos boots, Bandos chestplate, and Bandos hilt, you get about 6.5M GP! It was a great trip :grin: Just talked to Duradel, new task is 181 Dust Devils. That'll keep me busy.

Yea. It's good to be back. Can't wait to see some of the others. I think I'm finally good enough to join in on some of the fun and excitement I didn't have the levels for last time. I have never been on a DK trip, or even a semi-serious KQ trip. I missed out on the Blusttoy/Fishy/Carlo fun bunch. I'll see you in the CC. In other news, I got a magic level. Happy to have 73 mage. I alched a bunch of those yew longs. I have breached the 9M GP barrier for the first time ever. Next stop, green letters.

Missed the 74 strength screenie, but I swear I got it :-P. 165 Dust Devils. Sumona likes me all of the sudden.

Well, I'm back... again. We'll see how long I last this time. But thus far, I have moved up to level 71 woodcutting, 76 fletching, 75 defence, 68 slayer, 48 hunter, and soon to be 74 strength. I've been using my computer with dual monitors. So while slaying, I've been doing homework, programming, or just browsing the web. My computer also faces the TV. Bonus! I'd post the pictures, but there are an awful lot. When I get a chance, I'll upload them to the archive. A large part of my last quitting was due to the dissolution and waning of my previous community, GUILDS. I loved it while it lasted, good people, good times. But it slowly died. Now, I found out that several of the previous members have formed Legion of Spirits. Some players I haven't seen in years have returned. It's good to see them, and I'm enjoying playing in a noncommittal way.

I have a monitor like that at one of my offices. I haven't used said computer lately, but if I remember correctly, the numbers represent source inputs. Look for a button on the front with a symbol looking like a square/rectangle with a "Enter" key style arrow entering through a side of the rectangle. Not sure if that description helps. I will try to update you next time I visit that monitor.

While one of the HP crashes was cooling related, the other was hard drive failure. HP used a proprietary hard drive connector for the one that failed. For a 40GB hard drive, I spent a FORTUNE. My success with Dell far surpasses my success with HP. Even with desktops. HP is extremely unreliable. I have an HP desktop that has experienced problem after problem (2 yrs old), while I have a 5 year old Dell that performs better, has never had a problem a day in its life, and is better compatible with upgrades. I have a 4 mo. old Dell desktop (XPS 630i) which is a beast. No problems. Obviously not a long term for judgement, but it has been reliable as can be. Dell support was also extremely helpful when I needed help fixing a setting on the laptop. (BIOS had a setting limiting the adjustment of the backlight via Windows. I was responded to within 2 minutes, off the line within 10.) HP, not so much.

I say go with a Dell. I have several, and they are the only reliable laptops I've used. I have 2 HP laptops, both of which have cooling problems and ridiculously poor battery life. I've had a few drive crashes on each one. On the other hand, my XPS M1330 is extremely reliable, gets about 4 hours with a standard battery, great screen. Since they've discontinued it, I'd say go with anything Dell, max out the RAM, get a decent hard drive size for your purposes, and use whatever is left over for processor upgrades.

I like Norton. I run Norton Internet Security on 4 computers at our house. I don't like McAfee. A guy in the neighborhood asked me to fix his computer, the first thing I did was put his hard drive in my computer and virus scan it. He runs McAfee. I found over 150 viruses. I think that a major problem with McAfee is that it is so hard to tell if everything is running. You enter twelve passwords on startup, and then McAfee asks you to enter them again, and again, and again as you try to make sure all of the protection features are enabled.

If you put the adapter at the other end, IE you are connecting an HDMI port on the laptop to a monitor with a DVI port, connect the adapter to the monitor, and connect the HDMI cable between. I had limited brightness on battery, but then I adjusted the limit in the BIOS. I was able to get the screen much brighter than the CCFL counterparts in the house. At the moment, I have 3 laptops with CCFL backlights, and 1 with LED. The LED is MUCH brighter.

Right, but is there a male HDMI to female DVI adapter? So that way you could output using HDMI>DVI? They're both digital, but DVI doesn't carry sound. Eh, you're right about the LED, but there's nothing really noticeable about the display itself. There is a male DVI to female HDMI. Thus, you connect your DVI to HDMI adapter to your DVI port on your laptop, and then you connect your HDMI cable to the adapter to the TV. LED backlit displays are generally brighter, too.

I'd have to say either my Dell XPS 630 (desktop) or Dell XPS M1330 (laptop). The desktop is a beast. The laptop is powerful, lightweight, and has great battery life (plus it's awesome to carry it down and hook it up via HDMI and watch internet shows on the big screen).

laura, generally HDMI ports on laptops are for output, not input. So, you would be going from DVI to HDMI, which is very simple with the proper adapter. Unfortunately, the HDMI on OldJoe's is probably more effective. At least on the Dell XPS M1330, I am able to output video and sound through HDMI. You would not be able to do the same with a DVI to HDMI adapter. I've hooked up a 46" flat screen to the laptop and output the sound through HDMI to a reciever. I was able to play music and work at the same time through the laptop. He might notice the LED display. In general, LED displays are much more power effiecient, and so he'd notice improved battery life. Intriguing, a DVI port is a type of port that connects monitors to computers with better quality picture than VGA.

Are these hardware problems or problems relating to Windows or user error? Another reason Dell gets a bad rap is because Dell is blamed for Windows errors. Dell did not write Windows. Hardware problems would be Dell's fault. Windows errors are Microsofts. Unfortunately, you can call into Dell, not Microsoft.

I have important client/business data on it. If the hard drive failed, I'd be screwed. And I do more than play RuneScape. I've had great prosperity with Dell. I have a 5 year old Dell Dimension 8400 upstairs, and a 1 year old Dell XPS M1330 in my backpack. I deal with many clients' computers, many of them Dells. Dell isn't evil. Their tech support is knowledgeable, reliable, and quick.

I just got a Dell XPS 630! So far, I am extremely pleased. Specs: 2 x 500GB HDD in RAID 1 Array ATI Radeon 4870 1GB Intel Q9650 3Ghz Quad-Core 4GB RAM What do you think?