Some General Computer Links
These links are here, for the most part, because I find them useful
or think the typical visitor (my family and friends) will find them useful
(or even interesting). For a better indication of the sites I've visited
(actually, it's more of a compendium of all the sites I've ever
visited and found vaguely valuable, minus those whose URL rolls off my finers)
you can have a look at all my links.
This page is going to be split up into the big three,
hardware links, software links,
and other relevent links.
The Big Kahoonas
It's tough to determine a label for
IBM
becuase it's such a huge corporation. If you dig deep enough you can find
links to software
ranging from Lotus
products to OS/2 to developement software to some really
neat internet stuff.
Hardware products include mice, monitors, Thinkpads, PC's, mainframes,
and supercomputers. They've even got informational
pages like this magazine about viruses.
Another biggie is
Microsoft.
Although no one would argue with the statement that they are predominently
a software company, they are a rather large one. And they do make mice,
keyboards, and joysticks. And have a burgeoning list of specifications
for things ranging from PC hardware protocols to network communication
protocols. So there's an awful lot on their site. (Which is not the same
as saying that they themselves are an awful lot. Which they may be.) They
do have one product that I really like (Windows NT) and another that I use
often (Visual C++).
Sun is a much bigger player in the
UNIX market than they are in the world that most home PC owners
inhabit. However, they qualify as a major because along with their hardware
(which may or may not be that great but is in almost every univeristy (at
least in the US and the UK) they are the inventors
and maintainers of the Java
programming language. So they've got hardware,
they've got a programming language (actually, they have several),
and they have some nifty software to integrate all of it.
Unless Microsoft swallows them whole (or usurps their
ideas) then they'll be making money for a while.
Your computer is probably relying on a chip made by
Intel. They dominate
the processor market and are leveraging that dominance to enter and
succeed in various other arenas. So don't be too surprise (as if you
would) if your network card, graphics card, motherboard, video
conferencing software, and internet phone are all made by Intel.
Hardware Links
Dell
They made the computer I now use and I'm pretty happy with it.
Big plus on the site -- on line configurator that lets you add and remove
features and gives you a price quote.
Gateway 2000
Makers of my last computer and one that I had a bit of trouble
with. Like Dell, they have an online price quoting system.
Micron
I've never used one of these but have heard great things about them.
The default systems come loaded with memory and seem to be a good value
for a powerful system. Once more, they have an online pricing system.
Packard Bell
These folks went through some bad press in the past but they make computers
that some people have reported good things about and a heck of a lot of
people use. Not always the most potent of puters, Pack Bell (not to be
confused with Pac Bell (Pacific Bell)) makes them cheap.
Compaq
Now the number one PC company in the world, have a look and see if you
can figure out why.
Software Links
Lotus
Bought out by IBM,
they now focus on their office suite (Lotus SmartSuite)
and their message/groupware program called Lotus Notes. Their 'merger'
seems to have been a success.
Harlequin
Not now a well known name in the US, this is a multinational software
company that is developing some very interesting software ranging from
ML and LISP development environments to software that helps automate
the taking of police depositons to a web page creation program.
Red Hat Software
They provided the Linux installation that I purchased and have become
known as the premier supplier of Linux. They also do some development for the
OS.
Stardock Software
Origingally an OS/2 consulting company, they now create fine games,
utilities, and productivity tools for OS/2 and Win32.
LEO
This is an archive in Germany that aims to Link Everything Online.
It's got mirrors of lots of popular sites (very convenient for people in
Europe) and is the home to a fair amount of software. Give it a look if
you want some shareware, freeware, or even just information.
Sunsite
Another software archive, this one based in the states. They're pretty
darn popular, so one of the first things you may want to do is read the
file with a list of mirrors and find one a bit closer to you. For example,
here's one in the UK.
CNET Shareware.Com
This is a big old search engine. You need software? Chances are pretty
good that if it's on the net this baby'll find it.
Ghostscript and
Ghostview
Free software that will allow you to view PostScript (.ps) and Adobe
Acrobat (.pdf) files.
Other Useful Links
PC Week
The online version of the venerable pulp magazine. Lot's of current
news and useful information
CNET News.Com
More comprehensive than PC Week in terms of news coverage, although
there's less other information. CNET Central
has A LOT of useful information and links.
Byte Magazine
One that I actually subscribe to because of their excellent coverage
of computing in general and not just one or two platforms in particular.
The entire text of the magazine is not, as far as I know, online. However,
a good amount is.
Hypatia
More research oriented, this provides a front end to a massive bibliography
of computer science papers, many of which are available online.
E-Doc
Another repository for online papers.
Infoworld Online
Interesting and timely articles, interviews, and opinion columns.
Yahoo Computers
An excellent place to start if you need to find a web page having to
do with computer. For other search engines see my
bookmarks.
Last modified: Saturday, 4 April 1998