Computers and Related Hardware/Software

Anime Dad wrote:Surprisingly, it runs not too bad, considering it has only 192MB ram :bonk:

I wouldn't try to use that PC for any type of converting that's for sure... :sweat:

But I think you might've found your downloading/BitTorrent PC. :)

bmwracer wrote:
I wouldn't try to use that PC for any type of converting that's for sure... :sweat:

But I think you might've found your downloading/BitTorrent PC. :)

No, no DVD burning or converting.... But I will need to buy an external HD for storage :P

The other good thing about it: It's heaps quieter then my other PC.

Anime Dad wrote:No, no DVD burning or converting.... But I will need to buy an external HD for storage :P

The other good thing about it: It's heaps quieter then my other PC.

That's 'cause Pentium 2's don't need a fan... Just a heatsink. :hehe:

Microsoft bids $45 billion for Yahoo
Software giant makes cash and stock offer of $31 a share, a 62% premium from Yahoo's closing price on Thursday.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 1 2008: 8:52 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Microsoft Corp. made an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for Yahoo on Friday, a deal that could shake up the competitive and lucrative market for Internet search.
The deal would pay Yahoo shareholders $31 a share, which represents a 62% premium from where Yahoo stock closed on Thursday.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, called the move the "next major milestone" for the software giant.
"We are very, very confident this is the right path for Microsoft and for Yahoo," he said.
Ballmer, saying that Microsoft has been in "off and on" talks with Yahoo for 18 months, said he called Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang Thursday night to tell him about the bid.
Microsoft made the bid early Friday. In a statement, the company said the offer allows Yahoo shareholders to elect to receive cash or a fixed number of shares of Microsoft common stock, with the software giant's offer consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock.
Shares of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) shot up nearly 60% in pre-market trading on the news, while shares of Dow component Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) tumbled 5%.
In a statement, Yahoo acknowledged receipt of the offer and said its board would evaluate the proposal "carefully and promptly."
Both Microsoft and Yahoo have fallen far behind rival Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) in the lucrative field of Internet search. Yahoo's earnings and share of the online search market have badly trailed Google.
In a letter it sent to Yahoo's board of directors, Microsoft disclosed it had explored a Microsoft-Yahoo deal a year earlier, only to be rebuffed by Yahoo, which said at that time it was confident of the "potential upside" for Yahoo from operational changes it planned.
"A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved," Ballmer.
On Thursday, former Yahoo Chief Terry Semel, who opposed an earlier approach Microsoft made last year, resigned from the Yahoo board.
Yahoo announced Tuesday it would lay off 1,000 employees by mid-February, citing what CEO Yang described as "headwinds" facing the company. It also reported lower fourth-quarter earnings that still beat Wall Street's now modest expectations for the firm, but it gave a 2008 revenue forecast that disappointed analysts.
But even Google has run into recent problems. After the bell Thursday it reported earnings that fell a penny a share short of forecasts. The company reported a slowdown in its fourth-quarter revenue growth, attributed partly to difficulty selling ads on social networking sites.
Google shares have fallen 24% since hitting a record high $747.24 in early November. But Yahoo shares have lost more than a third of their value over the same period.
Still, online advertising, particularly ads tied to Internet search, is by far the fastest growing part of ad spending. That's caused problems for traditional media, which have seen ad spending fall.
Microsoft said it projects the online advertising market to grow from over $40 billion in 2007 to nearly $80 billion by 2010.
In the letter to Yahoo's board, Microsoft said a tie-up would achieve economics of scale while allowing combined research and development efforts to achieve breakthrough products, particularly in the growing areas of online video and mobile Internet connections.
Microsoft said it intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees across the firm. It said it believes the proposed combination would receive all necessary regulatory approvals and expects that the proposed transaction would be completed in the second half of calendar year 2008.
"We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," Ballmer said in the company's statement.

Tu_triky wrote:Microsoft bids $45 billion for Yahoo

*checks pockets for 46 billion* Dang, I guess I can't outbid Microsoft.... :puppydog:

bmwracer wrote:
*checks pockets for 46 billion* Dang, I guess I can't outbid Microsoft.... :puppydog:

I may have some lint to contribute to your pool of capital. :deal:

Tu_triky wrote:I may have some lint to contribute to your pool of capital. :deal:

I've got loads of that from my dryer's lint filter...

Yow, $45B for Yahoo... I guess those people who are getting laid off by Yahoo probably can retire early if they have stock options...

bmwracer wrote:
I've got loads of that from my dryer's lint filter...

Yow, $45B for Yahoo... I guess those people who are getting laid off by Yahoo probably can retire early if they have stock options...

That's if the deal goes through before you get laid off, usually when you leave the company you lose the rights to those options.

Tu_triky wrote:That's if the deal goes through before you get laid off, usually when you leave the company you lose the rights to those options.

Ah, right you are... Then hopefully they participated in some company stock purchase plan during their tenure... :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
Ah, right you are... Then hopefully they participated in some company stock purchase plan during their tenure... :sweat:

Yeah that would be the best alternative case...or at the very least if it's a good chunk of their 401(k) or IRA's they might still make some serious coinage.

My DVD burner can burn discs but can't play them. Sweet.

Tu_triky wrote:My DVD burner can burn discs but can't play them. Sweet.

thats not cool. It was sort of like that with my old laptops cd/dvd burner. I could play cds but not dvds and when I did put DVDs in just the audio would play. I checked to see if it was a software problem but it wasnt. Yet I could still make cds and dvds

shiroi_tora wrote:

thats not cool. It was sort of like that with my old laptops cd/dvd burner. I could play cds but not dvds and when I did put DVDs in just the audio would play. I checked to see if it was a software problem but it wasnt. Yet I could still make cds and dvds

Nice. Not really :P I have to go and get another one.

Tu_triky wrote:My DVD burner can burn discs but can't play them. Sweet.

Are you sure of that?

Maybe your burner isn't burning the discs correctly, thus you can't read them...

Have you tried other discs or pressed (store-bought) ones?

bmwracer wrote:
Are you sure of that?

Maybe your burner isn't burning the discs correctly, thus you can't read them...

Have you tried other discs or pressed (store-bought) ones?

I tried the burned discs on another pc and there was no problem watching the video files.

Try giving the drivers a reinstall

Tu_triky wrote:I tried the burned discs on another pc and there was no problem watching the video files.

Time for a new burner.

I'd recommend my model if they still make it: Optiarc (NEC-Sony) AD-7170A... $30 at newegg.com

EDIT: It's obsolete... But they have similar models. :)

bmwracer wrote:
Time for a new burner.

I'd recommend my model if they still make it: Optiarc (NEC-Sony) AD-7170A... $30 at newegg.com

EDIT: It's obsolete... But they have similar models. :)

Cool. Thanks...the one I have is a NEC 3550A

Tu_triky wrote:Cool. Thanks...the one I have is a NEC 3550A

NEC and Pioneer seem to make the best ones, I hear.

How old was your NEC?

bmwracer wrote:
NEC and Pioneer seem to make the best ones, I hear.

How old was your NEC?

2 years old, approximately.