Channel 5 Laptop evaluation tests.

[Guest]

IT lads use a wrist band that earths them and prevents any static build up while they have thier hands in the gubbins.

You can also regularly touch something with a good earth like a radiator but the straps are easy and cheap.

I have also noticed a more substantial build up on fan blade surfaces in the past and I have removed them and washed then in warm soapy water. Depends on air quality and how easy it is to get to.

Frequency is so much dependant on air quality but I would suggest that if you havent had a look in over a year it is time for a peek. If everything looks fine stick it back together and leave it longer next time. If everything is covered with dust give it a once over and do it a bit sooner next time.

In poor quality air situations it may be worth using an additional filter over the intakes which can be removed and washed regularly, assuming it is round the back and out of sight. The best material for this is the green kitchen scourer pads that can be held over the grid with some cable ties and of course wash easily. This will extend your requirements to open up the case dramatically.

[Guest]

I use cut down Dyson Hepa filters (just wash once a year) now i have not one speck inside the machine

[wonwinglo]

Nigel,do you mean that you stick the filters on the outside of the machine with double sided tape/bluetak ? those Dyson filters are awesome.

[wonwinglo]

Richard,you must have been quick to have seen the two Spits ! that avatar was only on for about quarter of an hour,not happy with my Stearman,may change it again ? well spotted.

[Guest]

Barry,

You have broken the 3000 number of posts mark.

Heartiest congratulations. In those 3000 messages are a lifetime of experience and knowledge passed on by your good natured writings and selfless devotion to your craft.

We all owe you a great debt of gratitude.

[wonwinglo]

***How time passes Richard,I wonder just how many individual words have flowed over those months ? this is a combination of model building amongst good friends, allied to a first class forum as the medium to share our wonderful hobby,we have recently seen an upsurge in our membership here who have all added their own little something to enhance,liven up and keep us all amused,the pleasure is all mine for now and the future.Thank you.

Barry,You have broken the 3000 number of posts mark.

Heartiest congratulations. In those 3000 messages are a lifetime of experience and knowledge passed on by your good natured writings and selfless devotion to your craft.

We all owe you a great debt of gratitude.

[Guest]

we have recently seen an upsurge in our membership here who have all added their own little something to enhance' date='liven up and keep us all amused,the pleasure is all mine for now and the future.Thank you.[/quote']Yeah ive a few ideas on this actually, i want to run past john first, but i think we could easily double the users here!

I wonder what % of UK modellers know about this site?

[wonwinglo]

Judging by the present stats,I would imagine that quite a few of the UK modellers have logged onto Scale-Models at least once,and judging by the present steady growth I think membership will increase bit by bit,but who is in a hurry ? enjoy it in its present manageable form,I think that a lot of the others have grown just too big to give that personal touch.

[Guest]

Squiffy,

I tend to agree with Barry. We are a very freindly and active forum that could get bogged down with a great number of not quite so dedicated members.

The people that join us are the ones that like what they see and want to share in it. They have done the initial legwork to find us and therefore have a more positive approach to contributing.

I notice some of the very large forums tend to spend most of thier time sorting out disagreements, not surprising with so many differrent viewpoints being included, and I would hate to see us go down that path.

I would say let it take its natural course and just guide it along its way, enhancing and improving as we go along.

[wonwinglo]

There is a lot to be said for quality as opposed to quantity , look what happens when a company gets massive ? the directors loose contact with their staff and they become just a number,I sincerely hope and know we will never fall into that trap.

But yes it is inevitable that we will grow slowly with the consideration of our membership,but with care we can retain those qualities we value.

[Guest]

OOO yeah dont get me wrong, i quite agree with all those points, and yes loads of random idiots decending on the site would not be avantagous in the slightest.

I very much doubt this forum will ever have arugements like the others, everyones too nice! Even when we do aruge they are heated dicussions rather than flame wars. Bare in mind as well most of the forums with flames are our over the seas cousins.

I think i didnt really explain myself propperly...... I mean how many other barrys and richards with bible like knowledge are out there and dont know about us? I was thinking more like writing a couple of emails to people like IAM mag so they could add a one liner to their news colum. This way only people who are intrested or want to post here will go out of their way to look us up!

i dunno, maybe im completely off the mark here...

[wonwinglo]

Running a forum is quite an art in itself for its owner,it takes in many skills and is a marriage of same by many different people,the inter-active participation can be absorbing I think that we will all agree,I think that we are all on a learning curve especially as to the perfect happy medium especially to enhance our mutual hobby,if ever there is such a thing in life ? there are some very interesting people out there,many have yet to find or enjoy a forum that suits themselves and their varied interests but I think they will one day soon,we are in a very fortunate situation here to have such a wide variety interests,many groups tend to specialise in just one type of modelling which can push some people away through a lack of feedback,that does happen,I would like to compare any forum with the nissan hut syndrome,it goes like this-

'Place 50 people into a nissan hut,the talk begins and a small group will filter themselves into the background with a like interest,another lot will venture outside and walk and talk amongst themselves about something dear to their heart,a few straglers will start communicating,then a few onlookers will peep over the shoulders of a couple of the gathered groups happy to observe,and finally the odd loner will kick the boards out of sheer boredom !'

Such a practise was used by the military to determine the compatibility of certain groups of people,it also happens in every walk of life without us even realising it.

I dont think that we need to write to anyone because the search engines do that job for us,as the input of material gathers momentum,there is a much wider choice of subject matter,this has been recently borne out with long lost threads that suddenly out of the blue surface with revived input from a person that uses search engines,as we all do,interesting,it sure is ?

[Guest]

Very very very true....i run two sets of forums, one for bikes, one for airsoft and running a forum is differnet to just posting as im sure John will agree but at the end of the day its the users which will make or break a forum!

I see your point about letting things grow by word of mouth, im just used to self-promotion and mutli-level advertising. My way of thinking is that its all about the user, not where they've come from: say 15 users finding us via google and 15 users find us by reading a mag....i see little difference?

The thing is tho, as you say we have a great base of friends and posters here and now im thinking your acutally so right, there is little need for any more.

[Guest]

I've just got to update this review as I learn more about the hp Laptop!!

It has a little remove that comes with it for operating DVD's and shutting down the machine. It stores in the PC Card slot when not in use. Now that is a neat little idea.

It also has a little card reader for the new SD cards and that also sits in its own little slot but it can be removed and plugged into any other computers USB port. I am amazed at the little things like this that make this laptop such a nicely designed machine.

A downside I have to mention though is that the power transformer is a bit on the large side and goes towards the substantial weight that you have to carry around.

[Guest]

Regarding Laptops in the past I purchased a used Packard Bell EasyOne silver, it was only a celeron and a very basic home machine with no wireless or network built it. The machine lasted for a few years, I then sold it back on Ebay and actually sold it for a little more than I paid for it.

My latest Laptop is an HP nx6110, I've had the laptop 13 months and now it completely fails to power on or charge the battery - a faulty motherboard diagnosed as £250 to replace.

I've also recently bought an HP nx6125 for a friend who have since phoned me and mentioned that the screen flickers and goes back when they open the lid.

I'd steer well clear of HP in the future as when you pay around £800 for a laptop you expect to get a few years use out of the thing!