LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING

This is a continuation of my recent posts about a seriously-fast PC build for desktop use. Read March, April, and May first.

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

I’ve installed enough big programs over the WEB in the last month that it has proven to be “the only way to go”.

This will sound like “old hat”, because I’ve been saying this for years, but with multiple examples, it has been proven true by recent experience.

High speed Internet is the only way to go. A decent router and WI-FI connection makes streaming media and fast downloads a very practical thing. Purchasing software by digital delivery (download) has replaced CDs and DVDs for software distribution.

Let me give you an example. There is a video game package called Battlefield 4 (premium edition). It is a 35 GB download (a full Blu-ray disk size). It took me approximately an hour to download. I couldn’t have driven to a video game store (if they exist) and brought home the Blu-ray home in an hour. Then would be the install time on top of that. So the time involved is much less with digital download.

It was a snap to download Microsoft Office 2016. (It’s about DVD size.)

I like Acronis so I got the 2015 version, to work with Windows (Pro) 10.

I have had a Seagate backup external drive for years, but have never used it at USB3.0 speed. It did a full system backup (44GB) in about five minutes (wow).

As a generality, I’ve saved a lot of gas in the last month. This is a step in the direction of moving data around by wire or air instead of moving around a body to carry data on a physical medium (DVD).

Some of my most recent work was done as a telecommuter. In this case, the money saved on gas and the considerable improvement in home-made breakfast and better-than-‘Bucks home brewed coffee is a tangible improvement in quality-of-life. The music or background entertainment is better, too. We used to call it “sneakernet” back in 1995 (faster to walk a floppy disk to the other location than to transmit it over a modem).

I was doing some design work on a pathetic work laptop with only a weak WI-FI connection, but it worked. Doing something similar with a REAL computer and good WI-FI connection is obviously better.

TELECOMMUTING

I mention this because many people might consider full-time or part-time work from home, and I’m telling you “Have at it!” I know a couple people who work part or full time from home and get along fine without the daily meetings and commutes.

The specter of the geek living in the basement with a big screen is not just a common joke on prime-time TV.
It’s actually a workable alternative to rush-hour commuting. No kidding.

I’m starting to like Hawaiian shirts and shorts these days.