Hurin

I think you're confusing where the tops of its "legs" go into its "hips". . . it does flex a bit there (and does so on the original toy). But a "knee" is a joint that gives a lot flexibility (usually up to and exceeing 90 degrees) and is a lot further down on the leg. I think you're envisioning the side-shot of the Macross settling after it is blasted. That shows some flexing at the hip, but no bending at an area where you would expect a "knee." H

We're done here. It never walks. It is not designed to walk. In fact, it was never designed to tranform or be in the mode you seem to just assume is "robot mode." Dude, why did you buy this toy? You don't even sound like a Macross fan.

Oh good, you're adding more nonsense. Your Rocky analogy is totally inapplicable. All people defecate. But mechanical constructs don't always have joints, swivels, or articulation where you might think they would/should be. Hence. . . no friggin knees. You can "assume" all you want all the things that you arbitrarily think would make a "better toy". . . but most people here "assume" that the Macross can't turn its head because it's not actually a "head". . . it's the friggin' bridge that was never designed to rotate because the Macross was never designed to transform. It only did so out of necessity. But, of course, I only know this because I'm not in a Macross discussion forum lecturing people on things even though I "coudn't care less" about the anime. H

Mine is in transit. But I didn't realize I needed to have the the toy to know that the Macross never turns its head in the anime or that it doesn't have knees. And when I get home and can screen capture that shot from the DVD, we'll continue this discussion. Most of us are intimately familiar with that movie. . . and I suspect you'll find that you're looking at that image oddly and misjudging perspective. H

I call bullshit. Where on the box? Everyone here (who actually "cares" about the anime) is familiar with those shots from the anime that are on the box at that link. And at no point in the anime is the Macross shown turning its head.

Uh. . . okay, you're showing us the head turning on the toy not in the anime. So, you're demonstrating that the toy can do things that the thing it represents can't. Good for you. Now, if you can't care less about the show, then I guess there's no getting through to you. But something tells me that if I went to the Battlestar Galactica fan forums and said that Colonial Vipers should be able to be folded in half, everyone there would say: "Why? It can't do that in the show." And I'd come off as a prick if I then said: "You guys just like inferior toys! It should bend in half! I don't care what it does in the show!" Dude, you might as well wish that your Princess Leia action figure had a penis. Or your Darth Vader had breasts. A toy design can only be as good as what it's based on and still remain accurate. If the Macross has no friggin' knees in the anime, it would be f'ing stupid for them to just add them on the toy. Why not write a nasty letter to Hasbro complaining that your X-Wing should be able to rotate its laser cannons and fire to the rear?

When you're designing a toy that is based on a design from a movie, you tend to want to make it accurate to the movie's design. So. . . no knees. As for turning its head. . . it does shift during transformation. But I've never seen any image (nor is there any point in the anime) where the Macross's head turns/swivels. I just think it's odd to voice such a firmly stated complaint when 99% of the movie's fans know that it doesn't have knees. . . and to the best of my knowledge, the head doesn't turn. Feel free to upload an image where the head is turning left/right. I don't mind being proven wrong.

Uh, dude. . . are you kidding? The head doesn't turn, nor should it have knees! I mean, don't you want it to be "anime accurate?" I think it would be cool if it rode a unicorn, but it didn't have one in the movie!

I went to DSL in '99 through the ISP I worked for (I headed the tech support for its rollout). Then to cable in 2000. I just can't imagine life at dial-up speed. Congrats. You'll never go back! H

I think I know who. But I'm not sure! So. . . I think that video sold me. I'm going to be picking one of these up. I'm heading to Japan in May. I assume they'll still be around then. H

Well, I'm surprised that you can have different sized DIMMs (originally thought you could but then some Googling dissuaded me). So, perhaps I'm not a good source for info on this topic. But, I would think that Dual-Channel would turn off if you were to mismatch within either bank. So. . . Blue Slots = 2 x 512MB Black Slots = 1 x 256MB, 1x 128MB Would not allow Dual-Channel. I think. Oddly, last night I read that the following would work: Blue Slots = 2 x 512MB Black Slots = 1 x 1GB, 1 x empty Apparently, if you just match the Black ones with a DIMM that totals the same as the combined blue slots, Dual-Channel will continue to function. But, that was from a document for the Intel 9xx series motherboards. And yours is a 865 Springdale chipset. So it may not apply. As always, be careful taking the advice given on message boards as gospel. Here included of course.

Yeah, I meant to point that out (). Max for that board is 4GB. I saw somewhere above where someone said 2GB.

Regarding DH's RAM concerns: My understanding is that he's got four slots. Two of which are currently populated by 256MB DIMMs that are PC2700. Giving him a total of 512MB PC2700 with two slots still free. While I've always been a big believer in matching manufacturer, speed, and latency in order to guarantee dual-channel performance, the documentation on dual-channel with which I'm familiar states that this is not necessary. So, if the goal is 1GB, he can just get two more 256MB DIMMs (PC3200 or PC2700). This should cost around $45. The speeds will settle to the lowest common denominator (PC2700), but dual-channel performance will be preserved. Any other sizes being put in there with the existing RAM will disable dual-channel (to my understanding). So, obviously, my recommendation above of two 512MB DIMMs would just result in him needing to throw out the existing RAM in order to preserve dual-channel and still leave him at only 1GB (which he could have achieved by just adding the two 256MB DIMMs). The only benefit of adding the two 512MBs would be that the RAM would be operating at PC3200 (400MHz) instead of PC2700, and he'd have two slots available after the upgrade. The same hold true for the 2GB option floated in my prior post. So, assuming that just adding two 256MB DIMMs is the way to go, it's possible that the Corsair memory may not be compatible. But it's likely to work fine. And, it looks like it'd be $15 cheaper than getting the RAM directly from Crucial. If it doesn't work, Newegg's online RMA process is easy, and you can often call and have the restocking fee waived. So, restated, the options are: 2 x 256MB DIMMs Keep existing (2) 256MB DIMMs and add another two. Total RAM = 1GB - $45 Benefits: Cheaper. Cons: Speed will remain at 333MHz (PC2700) 2 x 512MB DIMMs Throw out existing two 256MB DIMM and start fresh with two 512MB. Total RAM = 1GB - $80 Benefits: Speed increased to 400MHz (PC3200). Two slots available after upgrade. Cons: Wastes existing RAM ($45 value). $35 more expensive. 2 x 1GB DIMMs Throw out existing two 256MB DIMM and start fresh with two 1GB. Total RAM = 2GB - $135 Benefits: Speed increased to 400MHz (PC3200). Two slots available after upgrade. 2GB is a dream in XP, especially for multitasking while video and/or (multiple) image editing. 2GB is also the "new 1GB" for Vista. Cons: Wastes existing RAM ($45 value). $90 more expensive than first option. One final wrinkle. I've read several times over the years that "dual channel" performance isn't all it's cracked up to be. I've never looked into it much since I'm the type to just make sure it's working and not "risk" lower performance. But, you might consider just plopping in the latter two options above and keeping the old RAM, and seeing if you're happy with the performance. Though, that would of course limit the new RAM to PC2700 speeds as well as disabling dual-channel. But you'd have more total RAM, which might offset things a bit. Best, H

Well, the 7600gs is very power friendly. Nvidia only recommends a 300W power supply for it. And when they make those recommendations, they're assuming you'll have crappy no-name PSUs. So, if you're looking at a 7600gs or below, I don't think you'd have anything to worry about. Having said that. . . if I were you, these are what I'd consider: Memory Low-end: 1GB PC3200 Crucial (2 x 512MB) - $79.99 High-end: 2GB PC3200 G.Skill (2 x 1GB) - $134.99 Timings (latencies) aren't that important. Nothing you're actually going to notice. I like tight timings. But only for geeky benchmarking. Video Card Low-end: Nvidia Zogis (?) 6200 256MB (full, not LE) AGP - $51.99 High-end: Nvidia Gigabyte 7600GS 256MB - $124.99 Both are passively cooled. Some guy claims that the Zogis one wasn't as fast as other 6200s. But he sounds like he is on crack. Though, I've never heard of "Zogis" before. Power Supply Low-end: Antec SmartPower 2.0 350W - $39.99 Mid-range: PC Power & Cooling 360W Silencer w/ 21A on 12v rail - $65.00 High-end: Corsair 520W - $129.99 I'd recommend the PC Power & Cooling. Best amps on the 12v rail for the money. Plus, since sound is an issue, the Silencers are supposed to be pretty darn quiet. The trick to the 12v amps is that power supplies used to divide amps up onto a few (two or three) different 12v rails. But, recently, since video cards have become so power hungry and began saturating individual rails, many PSU manufacturers have begun creating giant "single rail" PSUs. Those are really only needed in the case of the newest video cards however. I used to run a 7800gtx SLi (two cards) setup with only an Antec Truepower 550W and I never had to worry about rails or anything like that. Again, those power requirements are often very overstated. I can't imagine a 7600gs or a 6200 making any of the PSUs above break a sweat. But if you have read that your existing power supply is barely able to power what you've currently got, I'd definitely look into one of them. Hope that helps! H Edit: Just saw your questions about Dual-channel. To the best of my knowledge (and this document), all DIMMs need to be the same size across all four slots. Though there is an odd exception where you could use three DIMMs as long as the third DIMM in the other channel is the same size as the other two combined. I could be wrong though, and/or reading that document wrong. 4-slot motherboards are pretty rare nowadays and I've actually never seen this come up before. I recommended Either a 2GB (2 x 1GB) or a 1GB (2 x 512MB) kit above. It's a shame, but those 256MB DIMMs that you already have will probably have to get yanked out if you want dual-channel. Regarding HP saying that the RAM needs to be 1.8v. That's odd. Dunno why. But crucial's site recommends 2.5v DIMMs for your system. So I wouldn't sweat it. However, as always, I take no responsibility if anything above fails to work! I've had prefectly good RAM from several manufacturers fail to work in certain Dell computers in the past. RAM (especially) can be finicky.

Well, it's more expensive than the GeForce 6200 series ($50-70). But. . . for $125, here's a passively cooled Geforce 7200 (GS) with which I have personal experience. I have never gamed on it so I can't speak to its gaming performance. But it has been stable in the furnace that is my poorly ventilated htpc (tivo) case. I keep that system running way too hot because I have the fans turned way down for the sake of noise reduction. 7600GS AGP 256MB Passively Cooled It's AGP, 256MB. . . I just don't know if you'd be happy with the gaming/3D performance. I'm way too into game performance to be a good judge of these things for those who aren't obsessed little geeks like me. Though, it's certainly much faster than an MX440! H Edit: Typos, forgotten link. . . other lame crap.

Most power recommendations for graphics cards are over-blown. Even on the new 8800 series from nvidia. Many people have demonstrated that you can run these cards on far less than the "recommended" PSUs. Having said that, however, skimping on power supply is going to be a major pain in the butt if you have any stability issues. Because every time you say that you only have a 400W power supply, you'll have to wade through all the people who have bought into the hype saying: "You need to upgrade your PSU." Basically, 700W-1KW is the new high-end. And the 400W-500W power supplies are the sweet spot in price for what you get. So I wouldn't recommend trying to save $10 or $20 on a PSU by going non-name brand or low-wattage (300W). PSUs, in my experience, are one of the more failure-prone devices in a computer. And, when they go, they're also one of the few components that has the potential to take the rest of the system with it. It doesn't happen often (never seen it myself, all mine have died gracefully). But I've read plenty of horror stories of a PSU blowing out and frying motherboards, RAM, etc. Regarding RAM. Most reputable manufacturers now have lifetime warranties. Corsair, Crucial, Patriot, G.Skill, OCZ, etc.

Regarding video cards. . . most of the time, the cards being sold are "reference boards". . . meaning they are identical cards. . . and then the seller (eVGA, BFG, XFX, etc.) just pop their own sticker on the heatsink/fan and away they go. There are exceptions. Asus, (among others) often engineers their own cards. Some manufacturers will modify the cooler and/or overclock the chips a bit. But, in general, especially closer to launch date, the cards will be identical or nearly identical. So, your deciding factors should be warranty, customer service, and/or game bundle. For power supplies. . . I've strayed from Antec lately. I like to go with Seasonic, Corsair (which I think are also made by Seasonic), or (when possible) PC Power & Cooling. I'm currently using a PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750 in my gaming rig. And it only cost about $50 more than I paid for a 550w Antec last year. Very happy with it. A great site for power supply reviews is www.jonnyguru.com. That dude knows his stuff!

That's pretty close. Did you get tested for an STD?

Whenever I've seen or spoken to someone even remotely famous, I try to not let on that I know. I figure they have enough people gawking and making asses of themselves. Like the time I sold a refrigerator to Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue). I once did regular IT work for Michael Douglas's brother (therefore a son of Kirk Douglas). Man, what an ass. It's like you wanted to grab him and say: "Look, even if you were your brother, I still wouldn't be impressed. So exactly why the heck do you act like I should be so deferential to you? Though I probably would be sorta in awe of Kirk Douglas. But only because he's so f'ing cool. Not because he's famous.

Got the Eclipse II here as well for a keyboard. Nicest keyboard I've used. Hadn't noticed the color not being set to any sort of memory. Probably because I like blue (the default). Sorta odd to pay about $60 for a keyboard though.

Send a PM with user's details please. H

Story-wise: TV series. And, I'm one of the strange ones that think that the post-rain-of-death storylines are the best part of the series. Something appealed to me about them as an adolescent. The desperation and the poignancy. And, since I always liked the love triangle stuff as much as the Valkyries, I don't mind the lack of "super-cool battle sequences." I've always been an "epilogue" type of guy. I like to see the aftermath after the "real story" has happened.

I'd be shocked if you couldn't get XP working normally on a system of that vintage. I've got it working on an Abit BH6 PII 450. In fact, older systems are often easier, since XP often has the drivers for the motherboard, video card, and sound built in and you don't have to download them. But, of course, we're getting off-topic. . . sorta. WEP is near-useless against anyone actively trying to get onto your network. But, of course, unless you're worried that Ashcroft is after you, you'll probably be fine.

I wholeheartedly second that! I try to go Linksys whenever I can for routers, switches, etc. When you get the new router, if you want to use the (preferred) wireless security protocol (WPA2) in Windows XP, you'll need to download and install this from Microsoft. I don't think it's ever been made available from the regular updates area. Dunno why. H

Stopped watching when Bo Duke died. H