The Computer Factory

797 Hunker down? Probably of Scottish origin, hunker is a 16th century word with Germanic roots describing the act of crouching on the balls of one’s feet awaiting an impending outcome, but ready to take immediate action. Politicians and other experts have been telling us to hunker down at home during the Covid crisis but that’s a misuse of the term. What they’re really asking us to do, and what we are really doing is cocooning. Cocooning is the act of insulating or h...Continue reading

795 There are refurbs and then there are refurbs. In 1995 Compaq, the second largest PC maker filed a whistle blower suit against Packard Bell, the largest PC maker. Compaq ratted-out PB for putting used components in new PCs. The other PC makers in those days also recycled used components like memory into their new PCs but they followed the law by inserting a small print disclaimer that acknowledged the fact some components might be used. Packard Bell did not. ...Continue reading

792. Evolution and computers When we opened The Computer Factory in 1995, our core business was building new desktop and tower PCs for home and small business. In those, days nearly half the new computers sold in America were designed and built by computer shops like us. The popular brands of that era, Packard Bell, HP, Dell, Epson, E-Machine and Gateway employed proprietary design methods and components in order to ensure that these PCs could not be upgraded. Since the a...Continue reading

790 The Farmers Table This morning over breakfast Nome and I were remembering the Farmer’s Table in the restaurants where we grew up in Indiana. The Farmer’s table is a feature in small town restaurants in middle-America and we love to see them when we go back to visit. If you type Farmers Table into a search engine today, you will find things like farm to table or health food outlets. The Internet doesn’t seem to know about the Farmer’s table tradition of the mi...Continue reading

789 Mama Kat’s and The Computer Factory. Last week we took a break from computers to question whether America is the most tolerant nation on the planet, as most of us over thirty believe, or that we are a sick, evil nation dominated by privileged white males who willfully trample the rights of gays, women and people of color, as many of our children and grandchildren believe. This week we are back to talking about computers. This morning we had breakfast at Mama Kat’s on San ...Continue reading