Merrell Men's Chameleon 2 3 4 5 Moab Stretch Ventilator

   
 
I fall in love with Merrell and the Gore-Tex.  After 9 years,
The best, the most comfortable pairs was Merrell Chameleon 2.  The quality seems to have degraded for the years, and I have accustom to the less comfortable shoes too.




I hope the latest verions Chameleon 5 will make a real comeback in my neck of the woods..



# # # # #




I used think Merrell style shoes were ugly. It doesn't look like any of the court shoes like Tennis shoes, basketball shoes etc.  After 2-3 weekends of hiking on natural, rocky trail with my favorite running shoes, I realized why many people on the trail wore the ugly shoes.


I found Merrell generally have good reviews or achieve the sweet spot for the performance and value perspective.  I like the shoes with Gore-Tex, it does wonder in the rain - keeping my feet dry.

Chameleon - a bit more serious hiking, on uneven terrain
Moab - a bit more suitable for walking on non-paved, yet even surface.

Chameleon vs Moab - Nylon arch support / sole design

Ventilator vs stretch ??

NBA 50-Games Win

What is the significance of having a 50 wins NBA season (50 out of 82,  .600 winning rate)?

Many NBA analysts commented on San Antonio's 14th connective years of 50 wins NBA seasons. The local  TV stations sports guys repeatedly referencing this particular accomplishment.

Is it about
1. almost guarantee of play-off appearance
2. few teams can sustain a winning season over a long period of time
3. ???? 

Leather, PU leather, Synthetic leather

What is PU leather, Synthetic, and


Bicast leather = PU leather = split leather = bycast leather = man made
split leather backing with a layer of polyurethane

World Radio / Internet Radio

March 2013- World Radio anymore?          

World Radio? Shortwave - (analog) the radio waves are reflected back to Earth from the ionosphere and transmit signal continuously around the earth.


Why do we need to keep the old technology?
FM-stereo / MW / SW / LW World Band PLL Radio ??
Why not satellite radio?  Is it cheaper to operate?
How many satellite do we need to relay-provide global coverage?


March 2013 - Motorola Talkabout 2-Way Radio FRS    

T5000 No voice activated feature, 5 call tone

T5500 Voice activated (VOX) 10 call tone
    a used set from ebay $20.00
    a new set $30.00 (discounted)
    a new set $45.00 (new 10 years ago)

T5550  can't tell the difference from T5500.

http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/manuals/T50-T55_UserGuide.pdf

April 2012 - Shortwave Radios, Satellite Dishes and Internet YouTube

 

Why do we still need shortwave radio? The satellite dishes (C-band, Ku-band) were the way to see the video programming, and satellite feeds.  The Internet / YouTube seems to have replaced the role of satellite.

Does broadcasting (radio, satellite) still has its advantage over the Internet (point-to-point) service?  In the time of disaster, what will work?  Is cellphone going to perform better than radio?

Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception

March 2010 - Free-to-Air Programming

No more cables (Direct TV) for the house.

Here is my "Free-to-Air" programming, and another way to cut-down my TV watching habit.

1. Install an outdoor long pole for mounting antenna (say 24 ft pole")
2. Get an outdoor antenna (one found in Radio Shack, many elements, 120 miles range)
3. Buy a multiple Ku Band Satellite dishes (1 receiver) - for the free radio/audio programs, and selected TV programs (like FoxNews Channel), or (FoodTV network)
4. Hulu, Hulu.com- free TV programs on Internet ..

Ultra Notebook Latest Computer/Notebook Value CPU Benchmark

November 2014 - Ultra Notebooks
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sony is out of notebook/pc business.  I missed Sony


My latest computer / my highly desirable  ultra light notebooks wish list.

Sony VAIO SVD13223CXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2 in 1 Touchscreen Ultrabook (Black)  - no more i5 $1200

Intel® Core™ i5 4300U 1.90 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 4400

• 12-Inch HD (1920x xxx) Touchscreen Display
• 4 GB RAM; 128 GB Storage Capacity
• Windows 8.1 Pro

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 12-inch with Keyboard: 128GB $1200

Intel® Core™ i5 4300U 1.90 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 4400

12-Inch HD (2160 x 1440) Touchscreen Display

4 GB RAM; 128 GB Storage Capacity

Windows 8.1 Pro

36W Power Supply and Surface Pen Included

Built-in Microphone

Integrated Card Reader

Mini Display Port

Touch Sensitive Screen

Video Recording

LCD Native Resolution: 2160 x 1440USB Ports: 1

Size (LWH): 11.5 inches, 0.36 inches, 7.93 inches

Weight: 1.76 pounds

Power Rated Charge (normal use): 9 hours

 

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch : 128GB $1,000

 

• 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 5000
• 4GB memory
• 128GB PCIe-based flash storage 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



March 2013 Pricing
========================
$450
Lenovo G580, Intel Core i5-3230M, 15.6" Screen Display, Notebook with 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 8
CPU = 3rd Gen Intel® Core i5-3230M processor (4069)
equiv = quard core E5450 (4500)
Graphic = Integrated Intel® HD 4000 graphics (314)
equiv = nVidia Quadro FX 4500 (245) 

$470
Fujitsu LH532, Intel Core i5-3210, 14" Screen Display, Notebook with 6GB Memory, 750GB Hard Drive, Windows 8 after $100.00 Rebate 
CPU=3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M Processor (3835)
GRAPHIC =Intel® HD Graphics 4000 

$580
Lenovo Z585,AMD A10-4600M, 15.6" Screen Display, Notebook With 6GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, Windows 8 
CPU=AMD A10-4600M quad core accelerated processor (3178)
GRAPHIC=Integrated AMD Radeon™ HD 7660G graphics (700)

$800
Sony E1513KCXS , Intel Core i7-3632, 15.6" Screen Display, Notebook With 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, Windows 8
CPU =Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM (7111)
equiv = DUAL CPU - INTEL quard core E5450 (7917)
Graphic = Integrated Intel® HD 4000 graphics (314)
equiv = nVidia Quadro FX 3450 (467) 

350 XW8600 - BOX
100 HI-POWER CPU FAN
050 2ND E5450 CPU
080 1TB UPGRADE
020 FX 3450 UPGRADE
040 4GB MEMORY UPGRADE
160 24" LCD MONITOR
==========
800 TOTAL - IS IT WORTH IT TO HAVE DESKTOP COMPUTER
??? FASTER HARD DRIVE?
??? BETTER CAD GRAPHIC CARD?


WANT TO BUY CPU Benchmarks (PC)
SPEED   -- COST  -   CPU MODEL
=====     ====== ================
1822      $350      Intel Pentium 2127U @ 1.90GHz
                         Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop | Intel Pentium  4GB 500GB

 2725      $360       Intel Core i7 M 620 @ 2.67GHz  2010 q1
                         (USED)    HP EliteBook 8540w 15.6 1920x1080  4GB 320GB

3066     $430   Intel Core i3-3110M @ 2.40GHz
                         Toshiba Satellite C55 8GB/500GB                    

4142    $600   Intel Core i5-4200M @ 2.50GHz
                         HP ENVY 15t Select LaptoP 15.6 8GB 1.OTB WIN 8.1

Approx   Acquired    Speed  CPU Model
======  ======== ====== ================
2009q2    2013q1     7815     [Dual CPU] Intel Xeon E5450 @ 3.00GHz
                                        $480 HP XW8600 (1-cpu/4gb/250gb/fx1700)
                                        $130 2nd E5450 cpu

2008q4    2014q1     2973     Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
                                        $105 Dell Optiplex 755 (1gb/8gb)
 
2008q4     2010        1304      AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+
                                           $150 HP DC5380 (2gb/160gb)

2008q4     2011        1179     Intel Core2 Duo T7200 @ 2.00GHz    
               2013                      $110 HP notebook 6910p (1-cpu/2gb/80gb)
               2013                      $110 Lenovo Thinkpad T61 wide
               2011                      $220 HP 6910 (2gb/80gb/docking station

2008q4     2010        1137     Intel Core2 Duo T7300 @ 2.00GHz     
                                         $900 (Lenovo Notebook T61 4gb/160gb)
 
2002        2008         923      Intel XEON Dual CPU 2.80GHz
                                         (IBM Intellistation Pro Z - $200)

2002        2008         494      Intel XEON 2.8GHz (IBM Intellistation Pro Z  $170)
2002        2006         436      Intel Pentium-M  1.70GHz (IBM notebook, T42    $500)
2000        2007         487      Intel XEON Dual CPU 2.0GHz (IBM x345 Server  $150)


 # # # # VIDEO CARDS # # # #

Windows         Video
Exp Index   //  benchmark //                 model    // released
=====================================================================
  4.4  win8  //     206     // Quadro FX 1700  //  2009 Q2
  2.2  win8  //     136      // Quadro FX 3450   //   2009 Q2
 
Notes:

The cards' designers aimed to accelerate CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and DCC (digital content creation), and the cards are usually featured in workstations (compared to the Nvidia GeForce product line, which specifically targets computer gaming).

ebay goodies
quadro (3700,3800, 4800, 5800)
GeForce (450, 460,465, 640)

Video Benchmark

============
Quadro FX 4600=609
Quadro FX 3700=644 (target >$55)
Quadro FX 5600=674
GeForce GT 630=726 $55
GeForce GT 530=730 $50
Quadro FX 3800=832
Quadro FX 4800=903 (target >$75)
Quadro FX 5800=1092 (target >$100)
GeForce GT 640=1288 $75
GeForce GT 450=1538 $75
GeForce GT 555=2147 $80
GeForce GT 460=2667 $80
GeForce GT 465=2914 $80


March 2013 - video graphic cards

Performance -- nVidia Model

0,086 -- Quadro NVS 140M
0,108 -- Quadro NVS 290

0,207 -- Quadro FX1700 (in my box now)

0,469 -- Quadro FX 3450 $20 (used ebay)

0,247 -- Quadro FX 4500

0,626 -- Quadro FX 4600  $50 (used ebay)
0,771 -- Quadro 1000M  $350 (pricewatch.com)
1,241 -- Quadro 2000D  $387 (price watch.com)
1,899 -- Quadro 4000  $651 (PRICEwatch.com)

GeForce vs Quadro (CAD application/OPEN G/L acceleration)

# # # # # # # # # # # # ## 

CLASSIC DESKTOP
44 Matrox Millennium G400 - English
69 Intel GMA 3150 Express

NEXT-GEN DESKTOP
161 Radeon HD 7310 ($400 All-in-One -HP Pavilion 20-b010 All-In-One)

193 Radeon HD 7340 ($400 desktop -HP Pavilion p6-2330 Desktop


CLASSIC NOTEBOOK
29     Intel PM965/GM965 graphics (Thinkpad T61)
52     Radeon X2300 graphics (HP 6910p notebook)
86     128MB nVidia Quadro NVS 140M (Thinkpad T61)
205   256MB nVidia Quadro FX 570M (Thinkpad T61p only)

NEXT GEN NOTEBOOK
473 Intel HD 4000  ($500 notebook HP Pavilion G7-2270US Laptop)
       GOOD ENOUGH FOR CAD OPERATION!! BUT NOT AN OPEN G/L


www.videocardbenchmark.net





 # # # ##

ebay
(hp, compaq) (6910p, 6930p, 8440p, 8510p, 8510w, 8530p, 8530w,8540p, 8540w, 8710p, 8710w)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


May 2011  -- $220 Notebook solution
Refurbishment of off-lease computer equipment seems to offer the best deal.

The latest deal, a HP business class notebook 6910p is listed for $220.  Consumer reports says don't buy used electronics but the deal is too good to pass, and the refurbished product look and feel like new without documentations.

Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz  - it's has a benchmark rating of 1200.  It's faster than the $350 new notebooks which has typical benchmark rating of 900.  Most of business class notebooks seems to do better than those design for home use. 

2GB RAM - it's not enough for Windows 7, but good enough for XP

80GB hard drive - it's business class. It's not for someone want a multimedia music/video storage machine.

Docking stations - power supply and keyboard/mouse set.





2010 CPU

CPU on Radar
  1538  AMD Athlon X2 5600+ @ 2.8GHz (Used HP Desktop/Ebay $150)
    321  Intel Atom N450 @ 1.66 GHz (Notebook $300)
   1266  Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz (used, Thinkpad T61 1400x1050 ebay $350)
   1586 AMD Athlon II X2 240 @ 2.8GHz (Dell Desktop $400)
  2060  Intel i3 M 350 @ 2.27GHz (Dell Notebook $600)



Approx   Acquired    Speed  CPU Model
   2006        2008       1137      Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz (Lenovo Notebook T61 $900)
   2002        2008         923      Intel XEON Dual CPU 2.80GHz (IBM Intellistation Pro Z - $200)

   2002        2008         494      Intel XEON 2.8GHz (IBM Intellistation Pro Z  $170)

   2002        2006         436      Intel Pentium-M  1.70GHz (IBM notebook, T42    $500)

   2000        2007         487      Intel XEON Dual CPU 2.0GHz (IBM x345 Server  $150)