Gear

Bill Gates last CES Keynote address

I first encountered Microsoft in terms of buying their products in about 1981. I bought a game for my Apple II- Adventure (aka “Colossal Cave”, the original Crowther and Woods text based adventure) from them. I followed Bill Gates’ career from about that time, and always felt like, in a weird way, he and I were twins separated at birth… even though he’s older than me and I’m far, far sexier.

In about 1990, I had a beer (several, actually- I think it was a post-training course social thing) with a fellow in Seattle who told me I looked just like Bill. He then proceeded to tell me how his family used to have a summer cottage near the Gates’ clan when Bill was a kid. He described summers sharing BBQs and swimming with the Gates’ family, and turning down a job offer from Bill in the early 1980’s. My momentary pride at being described as “like Bill Gates” was quashed when the guy described the young Bill Gates as a pain in the neck smartass geek, and how he once nearly drowned Bill while swimming because he was so irritating.

In later life, I realized that the “pain in the neck smartass” was a lot more like me than I was probably willing to admit.

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I like boxen…so why are hard drive enclosures so bad?

If there is one thing that can make me giddy when I’m working on a computer upgrade project, it is a well-designed case or chassis. Well-designed means:

  • the pieces slot together with minimal effort
  • I can open the box without special tools or fiddly screws
  • the edges and corners are nicely turned with no sharp edges
  • the paint/finish is clean, smooth, and elegant
  • there is more than adequate room for all the necessary cables
  • all marks/writing/labels are clear and easily read during assembly and future disassembly
  • the chassis as a whole feels massively solid and robust: no wobbles, no crappy plastic-y bits
  • lots of spare parts and cables included
  • good cooling/heat management design, with space for additional/optional fans where appropriate

My favorite case manufacturer to date has been Antec. Their cases generally meet or exceed all the items on my list of requirements. My most recent full computer chassis from them was the P180: it’s a fantastic case, and I’m very happy with it.

Choosing a hard drive enclosure early this year seemed like a no brainer since I like Antec cases so much. I bought Antec’s MX-1 “actively cooled” enclosure. It looked like typical Antec: well made, easy to open, all screws easily accessible and nicely sized, with excellent cooling. Unfortunately, after just a bit over six months of use it died…rather completely. And finding a replacement wasn’t a picnic…

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