February 2011 - WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by soup

It's tough enough to keep a regular shop open these days, Joel is right. Nevermind refurbs, brand new laptops are out there for $300. It doesn't matter if they're trash, they'll replace them in a year anyway. I have regular service work from businesses and professional users but I've been seeing less of everyday users and more declines of service from them after quotes. Even on high end machines. I wish you luck but if you get something like this rolling I'd wager you'd be seeing both a lot of returns and complaints when they can't install limewire. Purposed niche is definitely the way to go. If you could get reasonably priced turnkey DAWs and get the word out, I bet you'd have a market with people sick of paying their pt/cubase/logic taxes. Take care, soup

Feb. 5, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by joel d

On 2/3/2011 11:30 AM, Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Jason Couture<plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> I was considering reviving my PC business by selling >> computers with linux preinstalled. Does anyone have >> any distro suggestions aside from Ubuntu and mint? Do >> any of you know anyone who may be interested? > Well, good luck with that (sincerely). > > I had that idea about twelve years ago. > > http://www.free-comp-shop.com/ > > As it worked out, I was fronting thousands > of dollars for parts and working for a day > to put it all together for a profit of a > few dollars. You can't ask much money for > doing a simple thing that the people smart > and knowledgable enough to want can do for > themselves. > > I decided to give it up when one company > that bought about $3000 worth of computer > decided to return it. That was my main > computer for several years, but if I had > designed it myself I would have built > something a bit cheaper. I sure didn't > need another one. > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > I have also been trying out the numbers on such a venture and have come to the same conclusion (as Keith). If you can come up with a special niche market, like a car/boat/RV computer or a DVR/HDTV computer for a particular market that has some kind of Television access problem, then you may find a way to profit. It is very hard to go up against the low-end and sale machines at the stores. If you are a great seller, you may be able to talk your way into some customers. In Florida, there are a couple of small companies doing neighborhood wifi internet access for a great price, but even they depend more on the internet charges and the computer service calls than on system sales. Service and training seems like the most profitable part of the picture to me. Still, I hope you find a way to do this. I hope I don't sound too negative. I'm just a regular guy without any strict training or a business degree, so I'm certainly not the last word on the subject. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." Hey, Sorry for not chiming in sooner. I remember while working on my MBA trying to work out how to run a small for profit local PC and support business aimed at home consumers and an occasional small business. The short answer at the time was the advent of the "shiny new $450 PC" made computers toaster-ish (breaks - put in basement/closet - buy another). In the ensuing decade plus since I have confirmed two things IMHO: 1) The price of entry level PCs are going even lower. I haven't looked but I bet there are refurbs out there for $200-ish. This fact makes it harder for a consumer to pay even $25 for someone to work on their (likely 2 to 6 years old on average) PC whether in a shop or in the home. The business person's reasoning is "good money after bad". Not sure why home consumers do this, but they do. 2) Most non-IT geeks have a small closet/basement pile of PCs somewhere in their house if they haven't moved within the decade. Moving of course drives people into momentary sanity with "Why am I keeping / saving / moving all this useless junk?" Geeks of course re-use them as personal firewalls / coffee warmers / Myth boxes / ways to communicate with aliens / ... App won't install... Printer cable won't connect... Adware and viruses got you slugging along... Bad device driver killing your uptime... Your 18 long hair cats packing the case with a fur effigy with expected heat & reboot issues... Consumers answer to all is: "Buy a new PC!" Ask around to non-geek friends/co-workers. You will be amazed. A family friend is on their 4th brand new computer in 3 years. I assure you the scope of work has not changed (web browsing, e-mail, facebook, etc). I am now wondering how do you get these closet PCs for cheap/free then image them to get them useful again. Obvious start is to get referrals from moving companies that quote household moves, then call offering to remove their unused PC's for free. Somewhere there must be a support group for home consumers who have their own Dell rep on speed dial. I am not bashing Dell here, merely using their name in the examples to make a point, Joel

Feb. 4, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by Jason Couture

Dave would you email me directly if you have a moment? On Feb 3, 2011 4:23 PM, "David P. Connell" <davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: On 2/3/2011 11:30 AM, Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Jason Couture<plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> I was... I have also been trying out the numbers on such a venture and have come to the same conclusion (as Keith). If you can come up with a special niche market, like a car/boat/RV computer or a DVR/HDTV computer for a particular market that has some kind of Television access problem, then you may find a way to profit. It is very hard to go up against the low-end and sale machines at the stores. If you are a great seller, you may be able to talk your way into some customers. In Florida, there are a couple of small companies doing neighborhood wifi internet access for a great price, but even they depend more on the internet charges and the computer service calls than on system sales. Service and training seems like the most profitable part of the picture to me. Still, I hope you find a way to do this. I hope I don't sound too negative. I'm just a regular guy without any strict training or a business degree, so I'm certainly not the last word on the subject. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wl...

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by Jason Couture

I appreciate the feedback, I tend to get lost in an idea, and don't always see all sides of it. The niche market sounds like a good idea though. I'll start prototyping a distro and see what I can do. On Feb 3, 2011 4:23 PM, "David P. Connell" <davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: On 2/3/2011 11:30 AM, Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Jason Couture<plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> I was... I have also been trying out the numbers on such a venture and have come to the same conclusion (as Keith). If you can come up with a special niche market, like a car/boat/RV computer or a DVR/HDTV computer for a particular market that has some kind of Television access problem, then you may find a way to profit. It is very hard to go up against the low-end and sale machines at the stores. If you are a great seller, you may be able to talk your way into some customers. In Florida, there are a couple of small companies doing neighborhood wifi internet access for a great price, but even they depend more on the internet charges and the computer service calls than on system sales. Service and training seems like the most profitable part of the picture to me. Still, I hope you find a way to do this. I hope I don't sound too negative. I'm just a regular guy without any strict training or a business degree, so I'm certainly not the last word on the subject. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wl...

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by David P. Connell

On 2/3/2011 11:30 AM, Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Jason Couture<plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> I was considering reviving my PC business by selling >> computers with linux preinstalled. Does anyone have >> any distro suggestions aside from Ubuntu and mint? Do >> any of you know anyone who may be interested? > Well, good luck with that (sincerely). > > I had that idea about twelve years ago. > > http://www.free-comp-shop.com/ > > As it worked out, I was fronting thousands > of dollars for parts and working for a day > to put it all together for a profit of a > few dollars. You can't ask much money for > doing a simple thing that the people smart > and knowledgable enough to want can do for > themselves. > > I decided to give it up when one company > that bought about $3000 worth of computer > decided to return it. That was my main > computer for several years, but if I had > designed it myself I would have built > something a bit cheaper. I sure didn't > need another one. > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > I have also been trying out the numbers on such a venture and have come to the same conclusion (as Keith). If you can come up with a special niche market, like a car/boat/RV computer or a DVR/HDTV computer for a particular market that has some kind of Television access problem, then you may find a way to profit. It is very hard to go up against the low-end and sale machines at the stores. If you are a great seller, you may be able to talk your way into some customers. In Florida, there are a couple of small companies doing neighborhood wifi internet access for a great price, but even they depend more on the internet charges and the computer service calls than on system sales. Service and training seems like the most profitable part of the picture to me. Still, I hope you find a way to do this. I hope I don't sound too negative. I'm just a regular guy without any strict training or a business degree, so I'm certainly not the last word on the subject. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been."

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by Keith Wright

> From: Jason Couture <plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> > > I was considering reviving my PC business by selling > computers with linux preinstalled. Does anyone have > any distro suggestions aside from Ubuntu and mint? Do > any of you know anyone who may be interested? Well, good luck with that (sincerely). I had that idea about twelve years ago. http://www.free-comp-shop.com/ As it worked out, I was fronting thousands of dollars for parts and working for a day to put it all together for a profit of a few dollars. You can't ask much money for doing a simple thing that the people smart and knowledgable enough to want can do for themselves. I decided to give it up when one company that bought about $3000 worth of computer decided to return it. That was my main computer for several years, but if I had designed it myself I would have built something a bit cheaper. I sure didn't need another one. -- Keith

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Kernel Crash dump

by Jorden M

Andy, The mcelog program will decode that Machine Check Exception for you and tell you what's going on. As others mentioned, could be heat sink, dust, or RAM. It also could be a strained power supply unit or poor connections. Good luck! ~j On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 9:38 PM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: > > HI guys, > > I finally got some type of crash dump from my system. I have tried > Ubuntu variations of the 2.6.35, 2.6.36, and 2.6.37 kernels, all of > which have crashed on me. > > Finally, 2.6.37 gave me a trace on the console screen. I had to copy it > down by hand, so don't take it too literally. > > Here is the data. I intentionally left out all of the hex addresses in > the call trace. It seems pretty obvious to me that something is amiss > in the hardware. I wonder if my heat syncs are full of dust. That will > be the first thing I check. > > Any helpful advice would be most appreciated. > > Thanks! > > Andy > > ======= > > Hardware error CPU0 Machine Check Exception: 4 Bank 4 2f00001000010c0f > TSC 1ae6ab55d12 > Processor 2 f5a time 1296699696 socket 0 apic 0 > mc4_status uncorrected error, other errors lost: yes cpu context > corrupt: yes > Northbridge error, node 0, crc error detected on HT link > Transaction GEN (GEN), no timeout, Cache level L3/Gen, Participating > processor:OBS > Machine check: processor context corrupt > Kernel Panic - not syncing: Fatal Machine check on current CPU > Pid 0, comm: swapper Tainted: G M 2.6.37-020637-generic > Call Trace: > #MC > panic > printk > mce_panic > do_machine_check > machine_check > native_safe_halt > > EOE > default_idle > cpu_idle > rest_init > start_kernel > early_idt_handler > x86_64_start_reservations > x86_64_start_kernel > > panic occurred, switching back to text console > > ======= > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 3, 2011

Business idea

by Jason Couture

I was considering reviving my PC business by selling computers with linux preinstalled. Does anyone have any distro suggestions aside from Ubuntu and mint? Do any of you know anyone who may be interested?

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Kernel Crash dump

by Jason Couture

Try leaving the mem test running for a while, see if it will do it with that running. Could have just been the dust too lol. On Feb 2, 2011 11:14 PM, "Andy Stewart" <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: On 02/02/2011 10:25 PM, Jason Couture wrote: > I'd run memtest86 plus, the memory controller can cau... Well, I cleaned out a bunch of dust...maybe a heat problem caused some weirdness. I'm also running memtester on the live system...so far, so good. The machine is about 5 yrs old - maybe this is my excuse to build myself another one. The crash is weird, sometimes it crashes within a couple of minutes of booting the system, and other times, it takes a week. I still claim that it started happening when I upgraded from SuSE 10.1 to Kubuntu 10.10, but I did open the case and install a new SATA hard drive at that time as well. This machine was an absolute rock when running SuSE 10.1. We'll see what happens...thanks, everybody, for the helpful suggestions. Later, Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetu... Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Feb. 3, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Kernel Crash dump

by Andy Stewart

On 02/02/2011 10:25 PM, Jason Couture wrote: > I'd run memtest86 plus, the memory controller can cause those of you > have a bad module. Try swapping out the ram before. Blaming the CPU or > motherboard. I had a similar panic a long time ago, turned out 1 of my > memory modules was bad. Definately a hardware issue though. Well, I cleaned out a bunch of dust...maybe a heat problem caused some weirdness. I'm also running memtester on the live system...so far, so good. The machine is about 5 yrs old - maybe this is my excuse to build myself another one. The crash is weird, sometimes it crashes within a couple of minutes of booting the system, and other times, it takes a week. I still claim that it started happening when I upgraded from SuSE 10.1 to Kubuntu 10.10, but I did open the case and install a new SATA hard drive at that time as well. This machine was an absolute rock when running SuSE 10.1. We'll see what happens...thanks, everybody, for the helpful suggestions. Later, Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF)

Feb. 3, 2011