mattjw916

A quick flick of the wrist inflating the PC before folding can also confirm that it is cocked sufficiently. It's not the best method of course but this plus a fixed routine when packing (i.e. always cocking the PC after the canopy has been cocooned and placed on the floor) has kept me from ever forgetting to do it. This thread has way too much talk about cock in it though, so I'm outta here. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just jump a canopy with a highly-abrasion resistant, dimensionally stable, cascade-free lines and this whole conversation is moot. *Cough* Nitro, Blade, or Nitron *cough* NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

If a driver problem is suspected you can use "Driver Cleaner Pro" to remove all traces of the existing nVidia drivers before installing a fresh set. Installing the "WHQL" certified versions reduces the chance of driver problems since the testing process is a bit more rigorous. Don't install drivers while in safe mode. link to driver cleaner pro: http://www.drivercleaner.net/ Follow the "readme" lest you suffer the consequences... this is a multi-step process that will remove all trace of the driver you choose to remove. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just a thought but... get a collapseable pilot 'chute, collapse that slider and pull it behind your head, then flare a little more evenly and you will be amazed how much easier it is to land perfectly every time. P.S. This is me trying to be constructive when I'm totally pissed... cheers! Otherwise, be safe and have fun!!! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

awesome... but since you are currently at 22% of the speed of light you might want the base to punch it out a bit, that way time will slow down for you in freefall but unfortuately the results won't be posted until about 6 months after you leave the plane since time will be moving faster for spectators on the ground. Unfortunately if you cork, your skeleton will probably liquefy. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

...and the company I work for did $86 billion in revenue last year. Is it a testament to the quality of the servers providing the back-end services? Not really. HP was one of the pioneers of SNMP-based management that enables those servers to "call-home". Most third-party products out there that provide this functionality are very derivative of the original HP Openview suite of products. Each one has their strengths and weaknesses though. meh... no comment... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Where on earth did you get that assumption from my last post??? Talk about a huge leap there... My opinion regarding Dell is based on over 10 years in the industry and having integrated over a billion dollars worth of hardware from a wide array of vendors. Sorry, but a couple happy-customer testimonials his hardly going to override that. I know a couple of people that absolutely love Gateways... that doesn't mean I'm going to run out and tell everyone to buy one. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Google is hardly what I would call "mission-critical computing". Think more along the lines of systems that keep watch over the world and keep our soldiers and civilians safe(ish). Think about it like this: you build a server/workstation, you've owned it for a few years and have come to rely on it's availability and it seems to work fine for what you need it for. Then one day, it goes down, for some unexplained reason. You figure it's the hard drive so you run out to Fry's or CompUSA and pick up a new one and stick it in, but the BIOS won't recognize it. Now your business starts to get affected at this point, you have to stop everything you are doing to troubleshoot the issue. Let's say you think it's a BIOS issue, but since it's a homebrew system, you can't remember what model of motherboard it is so you start scouring the website of the manufacturer, which is located in Taiwan, and does a poor job of updating their English-language website. More time gone. After finally finding the model of motherboard you download the update only to discover they haven't made any updates for that model motherboard for about 3 years, hence the hard drive you have still won't work. More time lost. Now you are forced to hit one up one of those computer recycling stores for an older hard drive or maybe even eBay. More time lost, etc, etc, until finally you get to restore the computer from backup... you do have those up-to-date, right? Now, wouldn't have been easier to have kept the computer that you are relying on a support contract with the vendor? Hard drive fails, call vendor, vendor priority overnights hard drive (unless you have a higher class of service which could mean same-day on-site service), you or field-rep installs hard drive, restore from tape, continue with business. While the likes of Google may, or may not since I'm not familiar with their network, use DIY systems, the distributed nature of a network load-balanced web application server system is a far cry from the putting all your eggs in one basket approach of your single-point of failure SQL server as an example. If Google looses a web application server, you won't even know since there are, according to a DNS query, 3 front-end servers for the alias "www.google.com" load balancing requests across what is likely a dizzying number of back-end application servers. The point of all of this gobbly-gook above is not to say my way works and yours doesn't by any means. I'm only trying to make people aware of some of the issues I have encountered after working in the industry for almost 12 years now. While support contracts and vendor-integrated systems are indeed _initially_ pricier, when the rubber meets the road, I want a service-level agreement in hand that says if problem X occurs, here is a 24 hour support number I can call and can continue to escalate my issue until it is resolved to my satisfaction. Having dealt with the call centers of many many companies as well, I'd take my chances with HP over Dell anyday. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

underachievers... We had a VAX-VMS machine at a customer site that had been up for over 10 years. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

http://www.miragesys.com/DesignOrder/SizingGuideByContainer.aspx NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Sorry dude, but your experience with Dell is the exception, not the rule. In the mission-critical computing environment HP servers are pretty much the standard by which everyone else is judged. Do-it-yourself servers, while fine for mom and pop operations, have no place where data integrity and availability are large concerns. When you shell out the money for something like an HP Proliant server you are getting the result of a huge amount of engineering and testing as well as significant on-site service and next-day parts replacement guarantees. These systems are not just thrown together using off-the-shelf components but are rigorously tested and integrated to withstand extreme use. Additionally, these systems are constantly updated, supported, and spares made available long after their production is ceased. That is the difference between homebrewed and highly engineered mass-produced systems that have legions of engineers and integrators available for support. I have yet to work with any vendor that didn't occasionally have hiccups with a particular model at one time or another. I have deployed or worked on just about every type of system in existence: Cray, SGI, IBM, Sun, HP/Compaq, and Dell... my experience with Dell is that they are the Wal-Mart of the computer industry, more interested in volume than quality and it really shines through the more you have to use them. Hell, the company's business-model revolves around this concept. Personally I think all consumer-grade PCs are junk. The business-class systems are always superior. Also, nowadays it is pretty common for vendors to not include a "restore disk" with a new system and often use a hidden partition on the modern giant hard drives to reimage systems in the event of failure especially since the pre-installed software is too big to fit on a CD easily. I know for a fact Dell uses this method on some of their models as well. As a matter of fact, I just had a Dell Linux laptop completely eat itself in the middle of some very important work about a month ago... did they have it fixed overnight like my HP would have been? Nope. As for your OEM vs retail Windows XP licensing issues I'm sorry but that is an end-user education issue. OEM WinXP disks will only work in the vendor's system they are specifically designed for. Retail copies work on anything, but require "activation". The 25-digit keys are not interchageable between OEM and retail disks. There are several other permutations of the install disks but it's way beyond the scope of the issues raised here to explain it further. In short, this is why computer integration and support should be left to the professionals. When I have rigging work, I take it to a rigger, a good one... when I need a server built, I let the professionals handle it and leverage their expertise and support processes as necessary. Of course, I happen to be one of those top-tier consultants that spends 90% of my time cleaning up behind all the shade-tree computer techs and self-appointed "l33t" users, so you could say I have a much different perspective when I hear people complaining about their computer problems. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Good to know, thanks for the info! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

There was an update related to the dual core processors and the "cool n quiet" feature which was causing performance issues with many games and some appications regardless of whether or not the feature was enabled in BIOS. While the fix does not specifically target your issue I was wondering if you applied it. There is a lot of information out there regarding this fix on the forums and some registry hacks to make winxp play nice with dual core systems. AMD also info on it on their website also. You might want to give it a try if you haven't already. Cheers... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

One other thing I like about a ring site is that I don't have to use a super-uber-wide-angle like a .3 when I fly because I can use the ring site to keep the relatively smaller FOV of a .6 adapter dead-on-balls-centered without any guesswork. Personally I think a ringsite is an invaluable tool and well worth the time it took to get it set up properly. While a dot on the goggles might help, the goggles and your helmet's relative position will be constantly, if only very slightly variable. I'd never tell anyone they have to use one though, esp since they are potential snag hazards and expensive. This is just is just my impression after trying both ways and choosing which one worked better for me. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Exactly! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Okay, the very fact you asked this question here is a good indication that you should buy a pre-built system from a reputable manufacturer with a decent warranty. If you aren't a hardcore computer nerd building your own computer is a daunting task nowadays and won't really save you any money unless you already have a bunch of parts laying around and are familiar with terms such as socket 939, PC3200 memory, 2-2-2-5-1T timings, PCI Express, etc, etc... That said, http://www.anandtech.com/guides/ has good information and decent recommendations, something in the mid-range would probably work fine. Personally, if I were to build a new system from scratch for video editing I'd go with: Opteron 165 or 170 dual core (but Athlon dual core would be okay too) 2x 512MB RAM in dual-channel mode with tight-timings DFI motherboard if you are a serious tweaker otherwise an ASUS would be great. Definately socket 939, definately nForce4 chipset... nVidia video card (doesnt really matter which one since you arent playing games but since nV has a unified driver model and does regular updates they are my fav) WD Raptor for system disk and one or more 150GB SATA drives for "scratch". Don't buy a cheap power supply or case or you will regret it... More good info here: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/ http://www.hardocp.com/ NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I haven't had any problems with my PC1000 at all... to condemn the whole camera because one person had a problem is pretty alarmist IMHO. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I thought the "hot 4-way" technique was "shake, down, out"? There is no "up" involved AFAIK. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Here's one place but I dont see any full downloads... http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/ NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

What Dave said... Whether subconscious or not, you will change your flying because of the camera... period... end of story. No one's really trying to be a "dick" here at all. At least that's my impression. They are just trying to make everyone aware of the possble dangers involved. Considering someone just went in with an apparent no pull you'd think that it would be more obvious why adding potentially distracting equipment to your skydive is not necessarily a good idea for new skydivers. The skydiving world is littered with the bodies of those that died saying, "Don't worry, I'll be careful." NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just to add to what Paige said, one of the most dangerous things in freeflying is corking, i.e. a massive decelleration due to loss of vertical speed. If you are about to go unstable and cork, going to your back is the best way to maintain the high fall-rate and not kill someone above you. Freeflying is almost universally taught belly, back, sit/stand, headdown. That's the way AZTC teaches AFAIK and just about every other coaching program I have ever seen. All those people have thousands upon thousands of jumps and they teach it that way for a reason... and that's good enough for me. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

The answer you seek has already been covered... Jumpsuits can give you more range, won't blow up and cover handles, can be made of more resilient materials such as cordura butts and knees, etc... I can freefly pretty well in tapered-leg jeans and a long-sleeve shirt or even shorts and a tee-shirt, but they don't offer the same protection, the pants blow up to your knees and spill air randomly, and will usually only survive one crash or sliding landing. Cordura knees and seats are much more abrasion-resistant than cotton jeans. Anyway, wear what you want... sometimes I jump in old BDU pants when I work on my swooping so I don't tear up my jumpsuits. Dress for success. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

http://www.bigairsportz.com/ NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

canopy FTW NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

yeah, that was Brooke. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080