Computer help?

Dunno if this is just being paranoid but I've sometimes had the impression that my email is being read by someone other than the sender or receiver -- this is my saved email. I don't think it happens with email in the recent received or sent lists.Sometimes I get this message that a particular email is "not available now" and I can't open it. This is email I've saved to the Filing Cabinet, though sometimes I think that happens to new email too, not sure.Sometimes there will be the symbol of a magnifying glass on the mail icon, which seems odd. I sometimes get that symbol when I do a search of my own documents but I don't search my email.Eventually all the mail in the Filing Cabinet will show up in a sort of shadow form -- I don't know how to describe this better -- at the bottom of the file -- apparent copies of all of them listed out of their respective folders, some with the magnifying glass, some not, but all simply dead, inaccessible, as if there is nothing there, just an empty shell as it were. The same emails will also be in their respective folders above, where they are usually readable unless I get that message about their not being available now.My emails aren't all that interesting I wouldn't think, just stuff I like to save from internet friends. So it's not like I have any great secrets, but I'm wondering if this means anything, if anyone knows.

I can do that. This deal expires tonight but they will have a new one within a couple of days. I'm pretty sure this machine would be faster than either one in Iano's messages and it has the 3 year on-site waranty. If you can't surf to Technology Deals, Coupon Codes, and More - APEX DEALS from your machine you should find a machine that does before buying a Dell.

If you're seeing icons indicating that something is being done - magnifying glasses, etc - then we can almost certainly rule out somebody or some software trying to surripticiously read your email. Spyware would operate invisibly in the background.Probably it's just some kind of indexing function gone ary, or some kind of spam filter trolling your old email for junk, or something else. Probably something intended to be helpful but unwanted the way it's working now.Almost certainly an issue that won't carry over to your new computer. For now you could try to open the settings for your email program and disable any function that sounds like it would auto-search your email. But I doubt you have anything to worry about from internet spies. Spyware that could read your email wouldn't pop up with icons to alert you that it was doing it.

She is with AOHell.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

It's time to buy a new computer. My requirements:

• Very fast processing. I don't have a good feel for how the best performance is achieved these days. I see Intel Duo processors out there at about 2.0GHz, and more expensive boxes using 3.0+GHz processors, but how they compare performance-wise isn't easy to find out.
• >=2GB memory
• 2x300GB hard drives (approx.)
• Fast and solid graphics. I'm not a gamer, but I'm watching increasing amounts of video on my computer.
• DVD-RW/CD-RW - all formats
• Microsoft Office
• Reliable service and support, good reputation

Cost is not a factor, but I want the most bang for the buck. Any advice out there? My only constraint is no HP's - both that we've purchased have had continual hardware problems, unlike computers we've purchased from Micron, Gateway and Dell. So HP is out (though they did demonstrate that they have excellent service).--Percy

Have you considered building your own? The fastest thing out there right now is the Intel Core 2 Extreme (X6800). It ships at 2.93 gHz but it's reportedly been overclocked successfully to 4.1 without anything but really good air cooling.At reference speeds it's performing over 40% faster than AMD's current best offering, but it can be hard to find in a pre-built desktop. (Overclocked, there's nothing else on the market that can touch it.) Dell offers it as an option on their XPS 700, which is their high-end computer designed for gaming and multimedia.Other than that, Newegg.com offers the processor (just the chip itself plus a "reference" heat sink fan) for about $950. That's just for the CPU, you'd have to build a system around that which is something you might consider if a specific system configuration is more important than a few hours of your time. I'd recommend the NVIDIA 7300GT chipset for video. It's NVIDIA's current low-end graphics offering, and so it tends to run pretty cheap ($60-80) but it'll drive a very large monitor at some very crisp resolutions, as well as accellerate video. This is something you can get in a Dell (but I don't think they offer the low-end card on their high-end gaming PC's.) If you pick one up aftermarket there are a number of cardmakers you can choose from*, I recommend cards from EVGA or XFX.*The way it works is, companies like ATI and NVIDIA make graphics processors; vendors like EVGA buy processors and combine them with memory to make graphics cards. Then you're probably not looking at building your own. If Dell is a name you trust then I'd go there. Their XPS 700 looks like a pretty rad machine if you drop the big cash on the Core 2 Extreme, although you'd wind up with a lot more video card than you say you need. That might not be a bad thing, though. And they'll ship it with some pretty monster drives.If you decide to build your own, I can tell you what component vendors I recommend. I don't build systems for a living, just a hobby, but I'm happy to share what I've learned.Edited by crashfrog, : No reason given.

Would you be interested in building me a box and shipping it to me? If so, how much, including a markup for yourself?--Percy

If cost really isn't an object you could try a Mac Pro (same as I've got - or with even more options) It can be set to boot into Windows - but you have to buy Windows seperately and download Apple's Boot Camp. There is a Mac version of Office, but it hasn't been converted to run natively on Intel processors yet.Memory is a bit pricey (FB RAM with extra heat sinks to keep the temperature down).Otherwise, with options it meets or exceeds all your specs.TWO Core 2 Duo Xeon processors (4 cores) (2.66 GHz standard - 3.0 GHz or 2.0 GHz as options)1 GB RAM (Plenty of expansion room - there are 4 pairs of slots. Installing your own memory isn't difficult and may be cheaper - but try to get good quality memory)250 GB HD (Bigger drives as options - I have 500 GB - and installing addditional drives is incredibly simple - there are 4 3.5" bays for SATA drives)nVidia 7300 graphics card with 256 MB Ram (ATi X1900 available as an option - and probably more than you need) The standard card can run a 30" monitorDVD/CD writer (Apple Superdrive)Apple isn't perfect but it still has a better reputation than most.MacPro - AppleAnd it runs OS X :-)

Gosh, I don't know. Like I said I'm not a pro system builder or anything, I'm just a guy who likes to mess around with hardware and who's built a few systems for himself and his wife. I've never been in the business of taking money to build systems so I have no idea at this point what I would charge to do it.But the trust you've just offered to put in me is a great honor. I'll tell you what I'll do - I'll price the components that I would buy, were I you, and then compare that to a Dell system specced as closely as possible. If the price isn't significantly different then you may simply wish to have Dell build the thing and ship it to you. If there's a huge savings then we can probably arrive at some kind of arrangement. (Computers get heavy so shipping might eat into your savings.)I'll try to have something later tonight. Do you need XP Pro or will Home do?

The Mac is an option, now that they'll run Windows. That's fairly experimental, to my knowledge, though. Depending on what Percy wants to do, that could be an issue. Don't know for sure. It's my understanding that, while the 2 dual-core Xeons have an advantage over one Core 2 Extreme (because you're basically talking four cores vs. two), when Intel releases the Core 2 Quad (aka "Kentsfield") the fact that the Xeons require slow FB-RAM is going to become a performance liability.There are legitimate reasons to go Mac for desktops, especially if money is no object. Having two possible OS's to use (one of them a BSD derivative) is a definate plus.It's not a bad idea, but I don't know that a Mac Pro represents the performance ultimate, if that's what Percy is after.

You might want to wait about 90 days for two reasons. Intel should be shipping Quad Core procs by then and you will have the choice of going that direction or may see the prices on dual cores drop.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I also need USB connectors, the more the merrier, I currently use 5 or 6. And I need at least a 5.1 sound card with microphone input. And anything else that usually comes with a higher-end machine that I haven't mentioned yet.Dell and Gateway both ship a 20" or 21" flat panel free with their higher-end stuff, so that has to factor that into the price mix, I'd give it to my daughter. I definitely do not need yet another mouse and keyboard.XP/Home is better than XP/Pro, at least in the incarnation I'm familiar with. My XP/Pro computers refuse to network with their XP/Home brethren - they ask for account/passwords before connecting because they're in a different domain, then they reject them. There's probably a solution for this, but since I don't know what it is I'd rather have XP/Home.I know Microsoft Office is pricey, which probably makes matching other computer makers on price kind of tough. Dell and Gateway sell a Word/Excel/Outlook combo for less than $150, which is all I need, but in retail stores it seems to sell for around $400-500.I don't have any idea what the raw components for this stuff cost, so don't waste your time pricing it out if you can tell at the outset it wouldn't be worth it. The savings would have to be substantial, at least 30%, to be worthwhile.--Percy

What are you intending to use it for Percy? Multiprocessors or Dual core, for example, is pretty much wasted on most games; but rocks on toast for compiling with.

Office 2007 for free

Percy, I'd go with Alienware.