P
Paul
(A typical POS McGraw-Hill project-Ed.)
Consistently pessimal in every respect
This book was presented to me by my sister in the hope that I would
build her such a system. After reading it, I came to the conclusion
that not only would I not build such a system, but that no
knowledgeable person would either. I can't conceive of any reason
behind any of the choices he makes other than perhaps get some freebie
hardware from the vendors he plugs in this book.
"Pessimal" seems a strong word, but no other seems appropriate. Where
does one start addressing his bad choices?
Firstly, a PC does not make a very good stereo or home theater system,
because of the overhead of a general purpose operating system and the
poor optimization of the display and D/A technology vis-a-vis home
theater or high-end audio components for their purposes. Yes, you can
do all the things he speaks of, but you can't do them as well.
(Although good audio gear is expensive, my speakers were made in 1978
and my power amplifiers originally constructed in 1959 and reworked by
myself in the late 1980s. PC components, by contrast, have an economic
half-life of around nine months to a year.)
When that operating system is Microsoft Windows, you have the added
problem of the extremely huge overhead, the lack of optimization
inherent in general purpose computer software, and the simple fact
that Windows, of any variant, is in simple computer science parameters
mediocre-to-poor software. Because of the large numbers of awkward
choices Windows' designers made for 'backwards compatibility' and to
implement a big feature set in a minimum amount of time, from a large
pool of programmers, Windows is just not suited very well to the task.
A dedicated product such as QNX or the now-defunct BeOS would have
drastically improved matters, but a Linux or FreeBSD distribution
specifically designed for the task would have been a far better choice
and could have been included with the book at very little additional
cost. The author's one-sentence dismissal of Linux consists of utter,
provable nonsense.
Computer speakers and sound systems are generally inferior not only to
high-end stereo components, but even inexpensive hobbyist home
recording gear. I would strongly look at inexpensive Mackie, Yamaha,
or similar powered (active) monitor speakers before I would look at
most anything specifically marketed to the computer segment. I would
also keep in mind that even low-end pro audio users select sound cards
substantially more expensive than the ones offered to consumer buyers,
and for good reason.
Finally, I very definitely would not use MaxBlast or any other
proprietary program to format my HDD if I were running Windows (or any
other OS). When you first install a drive, write zeroes to it using a
program such as the ones offered by most drive vendors, then partition
and format the drive from the installation CD of whichever OS you
choose to run. Proprietary programs solve problems such as using
larger drives in machines built before their size was supported, or
running multiple OSes, but in a new clean instll these are not
concerns-or if they are you need new hardware. Windows in particular
likes its own partition and formatting routines.
Consistently pessimal in every respect
This book was presented to me by my sister in the hope that I would
build her such a system. After reading it, I came to the conclusion
that not only would I not build such a system, but that no
knowledgeable person would either. I can't conceive of any reason
behind any of the choices he makes other than perhaps get some freebie
hardware from the vendors he plugs in this book.
"Pessimal" seems a strong word, but no other seems appropriate. Where
does one start addressing his bad choices?
Firstly, a PC does not make a very good stereo or home theater system,
because of the overhead of a general purpose operating system and the
poor optimization of the display and D/A technology vis-a-vis home
theater or high-end audio components for their purposes. Yes, you can
do all the things he speaks of, but you can't do them as well.
(Although good audio gear is expensive, my speakers were made in 1978
and my power amplifiers originally constructed in 1959 and reworked by
myself in the late 1980s. PC components, by contrast, have an economic
half-life of around nine months to a year.)
When that operating system is Microsoft Windows, you have the added
problem of the extremely huge overhead, the lack of optimization
inherent in general purpose computer software, and the simple fact
that Windows, of any variant, is in simple computer science parameters
mediocre-to-poor software. Because of the large numbers of awkward
choices Windows' designers made for 'backwards compatibility' and to
implement a big feature set in a minimum amount of time, from a large
pool of programmers, Windows is just not suited very well to the task.
A dedicated product such as QNX or the now-defunct BeOS would have
drastically improved matters, but a Linux or FreeBSD distribution
specifically designed for the task would have been a far better choice
and could have been included with the book at very little additional
cost. The author's one-sentence dismissal of Linux consists of utter,
provable nonsense.
Computer speakers and sound systems are generally inferior not only to
high-end stereo components, but even inexpensive hobbyist home
recording gear. I would strongly look at inexpensive Mackie, Yamaha,
or similar powered (active) monitor speakers before I would look at
most anything specifically marketed to the computer segment. I would
also keep in mind that even low-end pro audio users select sound cards
substantially more expensive than the ones offered to consumer buyers,
and for good reason.
Finally, I very definitely would not use MaxBlast or any other
proprietary program to format my HDD if I were running Windows (or any
other OS). When you first install a drive, write zeroes to it using a
program such as the ones offered by most drive vendors, then partition
and format the drive from the installation CD of whichever OS you
choose to run. Proprietary programs solve problems such as using
larger drives in machines built before their size was supported, or
running multiple OSes, but in a new clean instll these are not
concerns-or if they are you need new hardware. Windows in particular
likes its own partition and formatting routines.