My laptop is at the end of its useful life. I was able to save everything I wanted to an external drive and now will be recycling the laptop. Unfortunately, I've heard some stories about the volunteers at my recycling center (many of whom are there performing community service under court order) taking information from the computers that go through the center. Assuming that I can convince it to boot up one more time, what is the best way to wipe the hard drive clean? Reformat it?
I'm so evil and... skanky. And I think I'm kinda gay.
Willow ,'Storyteller'
Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."
Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!
lcat - Mar 31, 2010 2:29:43 am PDT #13394 of 25501
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
Jon B. - Mar 31, 2010 2:50:00 am PDT #13395 of 25501
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Tom Scola - Mar 31, 2010 8:21:39 am PDT #13396 of 25501
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Rob - Mar 31, 2010 8:32:12 am PDT #13397 of 25501
While you definitely shouldn't buy the most expensive HDMI cable you can find, the authors assertion that because this is a digital signal it will either work or not work isn't correct. There's no error correction in HDMI, so if the cable is flawed you will see visual artifacts.
I've never had a problem with any HDMI cable I've purchased, though, so I think it's hard to go wrong with one.
tommyrot - Mar 31, 2010 8:40:16 am PDT #13398 of 25501
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
While you definitely shouldn't buy the most expensive HDMI cable you can find, the authors assertion that because this is a digital signal it will either work or not work isn't correct. There's no error correction in HDMI, so if the cable is flawed you will see visual artifacts.
Yeah, but I'd think that most of the time, an HDMI cable will either work or it won't. If the cable is borderline I'd expect visual artifacts, but I'd also think that most all HDMI cables are not borderline.
I had a bad HDMI cable - it must have had an internal break or short, because I had to move the cable around to get it to work (and it either worked 100% or the picture was complete static)>
Sean K - Mar 31, 2010 9:28:06 am PDT #13399 of 25501
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Weird development with my iPhone....
So yesterday, my iPhone's WiFi stopped working. Like, when I went to turn it on, there was no switch, the whole line was grayed out, and where the switch should be, it simply said "No WiFi". I was worried that the WiFi component had been broken in the drop that cracked a corner of the glass a few days ago, but this morning? It's back.
Jessica - Mar 31, 2010 9:47:26 am PDT #13400 of 25501
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
It was probably just observing a moment of silence in advance of becoming obsolete once the iPad is released.
Rob - Mar 31, 2010 12:33:50 pm PDT #13401 of 25501
I had a bad HDMI cable - it must have had an internal break or short, because I had to move the cable around to get it to work (and it either worked 100% or the picture was complete static)
I wonder how they got static from a digital signal? Do the TVs have static generators?
Jon B. - Apr 01, 2010 8:49:59 am PDT #13402 of 25501
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Gris - Apr 01, 2010 2:15:23 pm PDT #13403 of 25501
Hey. New board.
xkcd is AWESOME today. I don't know if it's an April Fools thing or not, but even though there's no new comic on Thursday you should all check it out.