I finally made the switch from PC to Mac. My previous machine was an old Sony Vaio purchased in 2005. It was top of the line then, and actually worked great until about a year ago, when it inevitably began dying a slow, complicated death. The time to finally buy a new computer was fast approaching..

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Thanks to a complete (and I mean complete) collection of screenshots graciously sent in by Brent Terrazas, I have been enlightened as to my need for Linux. Looking over the screenshots, I see a great deal of variation — more so than any of the Mac or PC browsers at my disposal — in terms of how designs are rendered on various Linux-driven browsers. The obsessive-compulsive designer in me suddenly sees an incredible need for my own Linux setup — not only for design-testing and cross-browser compatibility purposes, but also because I have always wanted to learn the ways of the Jedi..

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Recently, I had the opportunity to completely reformat the 5.58GB hard drive on my trusty Sony Vaio PCG-F430 laptop. During the process of reformatting, I decided to install both Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows XP Professional on a partitioned C drive. Additionally, I needed to establish a wireless connection to the local network. The entire process consumed around five hours and required plenty of research, analysis, and patience. Upon completion, the project proved quite beneficial, as I now enjoy the benefit of a Win-98(SE)/Win-XP(SP2) dual-boot, wirelessly networked laptop. This article outlines the entire process and will benefit anyone attempting a similar operation..

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Digital units and their relative capacities¹:

Byte: (10⁰ bytes)

A single digital character.

Kilobyte: (10³ bytes)

A small page of digital text.

Megabyte: (10⁶ bytes)

A small novel, or a screen-resolution digital image.

Gigabyte: (10⁹ bytes)

A symphony in hi-fi sound, or a pickup truck filled with paper.

Terabyte: (10¹² bytes)

One-tenth of the printed collection of the Library of Congress.

Petabyte: (10¹⁵ bytes)

All of the email produced in the world in one day, or about a half-million hours worth of television.

Exabyte: (10¹⁸ bytes)

Two exabytes estimated to be all the information generated worldwide in one year; five exabytes, all the words ever spoken by human beings.

Zettabyte: (10²¹ bytes)

Oprah Winfrey’s annual salary.

Yottabyte: (10²⁴ bytes)

Alot.

References

• ¹ Source: UC Berkeley, CNET News.com