Hardware

When it comes to building a custom PC, one of the most important selections is the graphics card. What used to be viewed as a distinction, often limited to gaming systems is now a vital part of many computers ranging from post-production workstations to trading PCs requiring support for 8+ monitors.

Since the number of choices for graphics cards can be overwhelming, we cull through many brands and models until we find those which meet our performance and reliability standards. Only then do we offer specific brands and models for placement in a computer crafted by Puget Systems.

With each new generation of Intel processors, the answer to this question gets more complex. There are currently three distinct product lines including processors named ‘Core i5’, three product lines including processors named ‘Core i3’, and a whopping five distinct lines including processors with the ‘Core i7’ name.

It’s relatively common for power users and those in the IT industry to have two PCs at their desk. One may be a laptop or maybe just an older machine that runs some necessary legacy software or has a lot of data on it that may be difficult and/or time-consuming to migrate to the newer system. Some use a hardware KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch to change their screen and input device connection from system to system, while others just have a seperate set of peripherals for each machine. Each of those methods has it’s own set of advantages and drawbacks, but both methods are conducive to a cluttered desktop and a nonsensically-segregated style of work.

One of my favorite scenes from the film, The Shawshank Redemption, is when Andy and Red share stories of the places each would visit if set free. The scene ends with Andy stating, mostly to himself, “Get busy living or get busy clicking”.

So I might be off by a word, but I have no doubt that’s what Andy would have said if he had spent the last three weeks playing Farmville. If you enjoy clicking around the screen to do everything from plowing a field to milking a cow to harvesting eggs from a chicken this is your game.

Continuing with our series of “favorite” games here at Puget Systems, I decided to jot down a few of the experiences I’ve had while perfecting my farming skills.

Antivirus software quality is a controversial subject – if I were to ask 10 different PC technicians which antivirus program to use, I wouldn’t be surprised to get 10 different answers. One factor is that the options are changing so quickly – if you don’t look at all the alternatives often, it can be easy to lose track of which products are most competitive. Additionally, there are many subjective considerations that people may weigh differently – just a few of the questions that might be important for a given user are: How many current viruses does the software detect? How much will it slow down my system? How much does it cost? Is it going to annoy me with irrelevant pop-ups, or will it keep out of my way? How well does it guess about new virus threats that aren’t documented in it’s virus definitions database?

I had the opportunity to take a day with Brett Nordquist yesterday, and attend the Geekwire Summit in downtown Seattle. The sessions ended up repeatedly circling back to the overwhelming proliferation of mobile devices. Todd Bishop said something I entirely agree with. “Of course we’re in a post-PC era! Why are we arguing about it?” he said. “But that doesn’t mean the PC is dead.” Exactly! Clearly the technology world is changing. But what does that mean for PCs?

Over the last few days, I’ve been taking some time to update the documentation of the Puget Systems marketing and advertising strategy. I’m finding that what I am really doing is documenting the culture of the company, because the way we approach advertising is a good window on the way we run our business. We are sometimes asked “Why haven’t I seen advertisements of your company?” That is a great question. What the inquirer is really trying to determine is whether Puget Systems is a legitimate, successful business. Most of the most successful PC manufacturers canvas heavily with advertisements, from magazine ads to website banners. Isn’t Puget Systems successful as well? If Puget Systems is successful, where are our advertisements? In answering these questions, we have a great opportunity to talk about something that makes Puget Systems special.