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Post by zippy on Feb 20, 2015 15:34:21 GMT
I have had solid metal items (e.g. radiator valves) break suddenly without any apparent force or stress, the reason - faulty castings left an internal crack completely invisible from outside and one day they just go..
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Post by zippy on Feb 17, 2015 16:56:56 GMT
Ok....I believe you, but just wtf happened to Windows 8 + 9. Might be windows 46 before the young guns pop it........SO? More shit, faster access..... Story I heard was that Windows 9 was fast-forwarded to fix Windows 8 'problems' /shortcomings but they didn't want to admit to it so it became 8.1 to look like a minor update..
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Post by zippy on Feb 16, 2015 17:48:05 GMT
Don't get your hopes up, Mike. The Command window won't run 16-bit code. You're expecting obsolete DOS software dating back to before W95 to still run on a modern OS, which is a bit of a stretch! There are virtual machines you can run for that, I think I've suggested some before. Time to learn POWERSHELL I think ! I've found it extremely useful - it does everything DOS will do, and much more
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Post by zippy on Feb 10, 2015 10:38:55 GMT
"A typical crystal (or grain) in a 1mm diameter LC-OFC conductor is 130 mm long "
You can see that mantra repeated all over the internet and I think it's a quote from the original Hitachi press release.
I can't see how that can be the case, because it would make the cable totally inflexible - as soon as you tried to bend it, you'd surely break the crystals and it would no longer have the benefits it claims.
Anyone care to enlighten further ? Any materials scientists out there ?
Is it maybe a misprint and they meant microns ?
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Post by zippy on Jan 29, 2015 13:40:17 GMT
I have an Alphason stand which I'm well happy with - it's double width with internal shelf and holds my hifi and a 46 inch TV on top. With no TV it would easily take 6 hifi units. It's light oak veneer finish and very well made - it's strong enough for me to stand on as well as all the kit - I think it cost about £300 at the time.
I know they make all sorts of other decent stands too so take a look at their web page.
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Post by zippy on Jan 21, 2015 10:54:39 GMT
I also am a fan of Amazon Prime, but I do find that they are much slower than SKY to catch up on new films. I can live with that since SKY charges £16.50 a month for their movie package compared with Primes £6.50 approx (I actually cancelled my SKY Movies package).
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Post by zippy on Jan 19, 2015 14:56:30 GMT
One of the big problems with soldering is keeping the darn wires still - especially if you're soldering 2 together ! I thoroughly recommend you get a 'helping hands' vice e.g. link
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Post by zippy on Jan 12, 2015 17:46:08 GMT
2: Can you change out a 13A fuse for a 5 A? As stated above, yes you can but note that most hifi uses 'kettle' leads (IEC) which are normally rated at 10 amp so I wouldn't go lower than that.
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Post by zippy on Jan 3, 2015 11:45:38 GMT
I'm canvassing for a list of the most stupidly worthless, pointless things in hi-fi. My vote goes for gold plating on optical connectors. Hard to top that one, although I'd put a vote in for a. cable elevators (the things that raise your speaker cables above the floor - even if they work they're never going to fit into a domestic situation) b. wooden equipment supports (again I've no opinion on whether they work, but they cost £20+ per set and I could make them out of scrap wood for a few quid)
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Post by zippy on Dec 29, 2014 13:41:05 GMT
Forgot I had this too, a Fisher Space Pen (it's pressurised and can write upside-down).
I'm sure you know the story - # The Americans spent millions developing the space pen that as you say can write upside down and in space. The Russians decided to use pencils....
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Post by zippy on Dec 27, 2014 10:24:17 GMT
I'm unfortunately old enough to remember being made to use fountain pens at school, or even worse those horrible stick-and-nib things with an inkwell on the desk (no not quite Dickensian, it really wasn't that long ago!).
Unless you were rich enough to own a Parker or Schaeffer you had to suffer the regular mess incurred when the ink flooded the nib, and the paper became more blotch than writing.
We were so happy when we were finally allowed to use biros...
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Post by zippy on Dec 26, 2014 13:04:15 GMT
Townsend Audio give a fascinating lecture on how vibrations affect your hi-fi system.
My main problem with this, being such a sceptic, is whether they have indeed done serious and scientific research, then made a product that will solve the 'problem' or whether they're just using theories to sell a (rather expensive) product. Amongst the other problems I have with this approach is that when the speaker makers test and tune their products they presumably don't use isolating feet, stands or whatever, so if you start using them on your speakers you're not hearing what the manufacturer wanted you to hear, and it's a bit hit or miss whether that makes them better or worse.
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Post by zippy on Nov 14, 2014 9:53:51 GMT
Many years ago in my hifi youth, sorbothane was the in thing for all sorts from turntable mats to equipment supports.
I found it had no effect on my system wherever I put it. For speakers, Blu-Tack did the job better !
The trend these days seems mainly to be in the opposite direction, namely to make the support as rigid as possible, sometimes with a very small amount of flexible material, presumably to dampen and vibration.
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Post by zippy on Nov 12, 2014 9:12:10 GMT
Annie Lennox - Whiter shade of pale.
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Post by zippy on Nov 12, 2014 9:11:07 GMT
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Post by zippy on Nov 10, 2014 13:10:21 GMT
Can I start with 3 examples, feel free to add others.
ie how would you assess a person just from the car they drive.
1) Aston Martin DB9
2) Bentley Flying Spur V8 (current model)
3) Mercedes sl600 (folding steel top models). All I could tell from those 3 is that they have an awful lot more money than me !
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Post by zippy on Nov 4, 2014 8:43:58 GMT
Last time we were gridlocked with snow I was going down the right hand lane at 40mph on the way to Sunderland in my L200 with cold weather tyres, and an idiot in the left hand lane queue of idiots rang the number on the back to complain about my driving
Why do I call them idiots? for going onto the road incorrectly equipped and causing a gridlock. Artic Truck drivers are the biggest idiots on days like that. They should no way be on the roads. but they aren't as bad as the Nissan Micra class of driver who quite honestly shouldn't be on the roads in any conditions.
While I am having a moan, far too many people who are no longer safe to drive are hanging onto their licenses and causing a danger to other road users! Not just me then... I nearly got into a road-rage incident when an idiot purposely blocked me from overtaking on the A1, presumably on the basis that if he couldn't drive at more than 20mph in the snow, then nobody else should. (I drive a Subaru Forester by the way)
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Post by zippy on Nov 3, 2014 12:34:24 GMT
I seem to remember Clarkson testing a 4 wd Jag on some pretty heavy snow and it sailed through it...
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Post by zippy on Nov 3, 2014 9:50:38 GMT
...while even toy four-wheel-drives had got themselves stuck
There's the thing, most people with 4 wheel drives (toy or 'real') seem to think they're magic and will automatically get them out of trouble. I've seen plenty of FWD's plough into hedges on slippery roads because their drivers mistakenly think FWD will make them go round corners faster. In reality it's the driver of course who makes the real difference.
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Post by zippy on Oct 28, 2014 8:59:20 GMT
As PB says, the apparent fast boot of Windows 8 is a bit of a con, because it shows you the logon screen when it's actually only part way through the boot and does the rest in the background.
I noticed that if you log on immediately there's quite a delay until the user logon has completed. It looks to me that the total process is about the same speed as Windows 7.
Anyway does it really matter ? A few years ago we'd have given anything for a boot time as quick as we get today. I used to start up the PC then go make coffeee while waiting !
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