My Hardware

This page is written with a somewhat weird purpose. None of the contents here shall ever be deleted, which over a point of time, should give me an idea how much money I’ve wasted on gadgets, devices and other tech stuff. I’ve broken down all the gadgets I own into categories, so, read on…

Main Computer

This serves my my storage warehouse + Home Theater. A Pentium 4 HT Processor, with a 2gigs of DDR400 RAM, storage of a 200GB internal, supplemented by a 350GB iOmega external hard drive. On the visual side, a 17 inch LCD monitor complements my a little outdated NVidia Ge-Force 7300GS 512mb Graphics card pretty well. Of course, it has the usual bells and whistles, 2 DVD ROMs, a Pinnacle PCTV Pro110i TV Tuner card complete the lineup. And yeah, I’ve switched back to Windows Vista, considering it is the only OS that gives a complete Media Center Experience.

I know 550GB of storage is a bit on the lower side, but I’m considering investing in a 750GB external drive too, so that should bump up the storage a bit. I’ve also got a 2.1 Creative I-Trigue speaker system hooked on the machine above, which delivers fantastic sound quality.

Update: – I’ve finally managed to acquire a 22″ Samsung Syncmaster 2243NWX, which complements my new ATI Radeon HD 2600 Graphics Card. Find the Windows Experience Index here. Needless to say, the Home Theater Experience is now 99% complete, considering I’m thinking about investing in a DTH service for TV.

Update: – I bought myself a Dell XPS M1530 for the New Years 2009, which has somehow rendered the desktop as a Media Center pointless. Hence, I’ve sold the Desktop to a friend, making the Dell the primary machine. More about it here.

Laptop

Until about a week ago, this section would not have existed. However, since my dad decided to get a new laptop, his old one was up for grabs. The rest, as they say, is history. The whole purpose of getting this laptop revolves around having a supplementary machine that runs Linux standalone, for usage on the move. A Celeron M, running at 1.5GHz, with 512MB of RAM and 40GB of storage, this pretty much suffices for my needs, as of now. The laptop runs Ubuntu 8.04 as a single boot, since it seems pretty pointless having multiple operating systems floating around on the same machine. Besides, its always been my desire to have a standalone Linux box.

It is not state of the art by any standards, but I’m looking at upgrading the memory to a gigabyte, which maxes its memory capacity, and should suffice me for another year, at best.

Update: – Using a laptop is now totally pointless for me, since my N82 seems to suffice more than enough for my mobile Internet purposes. The laptop now lies in cold storage, probably would donate it to someone else.

Update: – I bought myself a Dell XPS M1530 for the New Year 2009. This has replaced all my current machines. More about it here

Mobile Phone.

I’m a strong believer in converged devices. My Nokia N82 is also my digital camera, mp3 player, GPS device and organizer. the 2Gb microSD card that came with it is good enough, although I might seriously consider the 4Gb and 8Gb cards once they’re affordable.
Of course, the phone is Internet enabled on Vodafone’s Rs.200 a month plan, basically for checking my gmail,(synced via IMAP), on the move, for the occassional blog post, for viewing my facebook newsfeed, and for booking the occasional movie ticket and the latest cricket score . As close to convergence as it gets.

Update: – Motorola S9 Bluetooth Stereo headphones, for a wirefree music experience. This has been one of my best investments to date, and I’m pretty impressed with the sound quality for the price. Also bumped up the storage on the N82 to an 8GB, so that gave me a spare 2G micro-SD card, which I now use as a flash drive, considering I got a USB holder with the 8G card.

Update: – Swapped the spare 2G micro-SD for a 4G card, and let my brother use the Motorola S9 headset. Charging was becoming too much of a hassle!

Update: – I’ve sold off the N82, and got myself an E63. More about it here.

I’ve also used the Nokia N95 for a little over a month, before which I used a Nokia N80 for a little under a year, and after which the worthy N82 upgrade happened. There is also a Nokia N73ME lying spare at home, thanks to luck. My brother also uses a Nokia N82, deeply influenced by me of course.

Car Music Player.

I have a Sony XPlod GT470US System in the car. It comes with the standard CD player, that can also play mp3s, as is the case with most audio systems these days. However, the icing on the cake is the Front Auxilary in, which I hook up my phone to, for music or for answering calls, which play on the car speakers. I’ve got 4 speakers in the car, two Sony component series speakers alongside the front doors, and two in a tray on the boot. I’m sandwiched between getting a subwoofer -amplifier combination or two more speakers, but again, financial constraints have played a strong part in turning me away from it. The system also comes in with a USB socket, and I’ve dedicated a 2gb flash drive completely for the car, which has all my music.

Update: – Would be investing in a new set of rear speakers too, pretty soon, considering the old ones are pretty worn out. I’ve also collected a multitude of flash drives, so I’ve bumped up the storage to a 4GB flash drive.

Other Hardware.

I’ve a D-Link DI524 wireless router that shares my ‘not something to be proud of’ by American and European standards, 256kbps unlimited Broadband connection. All my other devices connect wireless to it, though I think I’ll need a range extender to have a strong signal at every nook and corner of my house.

Update: – I’ve replaced the D-Link DI-524 with a  Linksys WRT54G, since it comes with two antennas, meaning better coverage.

Additionally, like every other IT guy, there’s a 4gb flash drive I carry around.

Update: – I now have about 4 Flash drives lying around, one 4GB which I carry around, and one 4GB now in the car. The 2GB that I’ve moved out the flash drive now runs a bootable Ubuntu/BackTrack Linux install, so I can satiate my greed for Linux too.

I’ve invested separately in a Windows MCE Remote, as a part of the Home Entertainment System off the main computer. A wireless headset completes the lineup, though currently I’m having a tough time getting it replaced.

Update: – As on 23rd April, 2008, I also own a Maxtor OneTouch III portable 80GB Hard Drive
Update: – The 80GB hard drive failed, and I’ve actually been lucky enough to get a 120GB as a replacement in October 2008.

I’ve also got a Creative Zen Touch 20gb Mp3 player, for which I find no use for currently, and hence my dad pseudo uses it now. (obviously after spending money refurbishing it).