Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Computers

Updated

I’ve been a “computer guy” (i.e., nerd) for as long as I can remember. As a child, my family had an original Macintosh and, later, an IBM PC. I learned how to use them early. Later, I learned how to write programs and build websites. And now, most of my life—professionally and privately—involves these amazing machines.

These days, I usually have two main “flagship” computers (a desktop and laptop), a home server, and various other machines that float around for secondary and testing purposes. See the Phones and Tablets page for info about those devices, which are computers too (sort-of).

Flagship Desktop

My flagship desktop is my “powerhouse” machine that can do anything I need it to do. I plan for them to last ten years, with allowance for a major upgrade (if needed) at the five-year point. Of course I can adjust this schedule as-needed, and perform an upgrade early if a machine dies or late if it holds up better than expected.

Odyssey

Odyssey maintains my files, manages photos, edits videos, runs various operating systems in virtualization, and serves as my development machine for web and mobile applications. I built it myself!

Flagship Notebook

My flagship notebook is my workhorse on the road (or the couch). I plan for them to last five years, but I can adjust the schedule as-needed if a machine dies early or holds up better than expected.

Nova

Nova
Nova

Nova is a reasonably-powerful notebook that is capable of doing most of what Odyssey can do, but from my lap instead of my desk.

Other Machines

Yeah, I can’t only have two computers. That would be crazy.

Servers

Secondary Desktops

Secondary Notebooks

Embedded/Specialty

History

See the Phones and Tablets page for a history of those devices, which are computers too (sort-of).

Flagship Desktops

  • Excelsior (Intersanity Transwarp; Intel Core i7 4.1ghz; Windows 10)
  • Nadia (Power Mac G4; Motorola G4 733mhz; Mac OS X 10.3)
  • Maurice (Compaq Presario; AMD K6-II 266mhz; MS-DOS 7.1/Windows 98)
  • Ziggy 3 (Acer Desktop; AMD 486 90mhz; MS-DOS 7.0/Windows 95)
  • Ziggy 2 (Gateway 2000 Desktop; Intel 386 25mhz to Evergreen 486 75mhz; MS-DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11)
  • Ziggy (IBM PC-AT; Intel 286 6mhz; MS-DOS 5.0)

Flagship Notebooks

Servers

  • Eelserver 2 (HP MediaSmart EX490; Intel Celeron 2.2ghz; Microsoft Windows Home Server)
  • Eelserver (Dell OptiPlex GX300; Intel Pentium III 667mhz; Ubuntu Linux 8.04 Server LTS)

Secondary Desktops

Secondary Notebooks

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.