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Thread: Random Bits

  1. #1
    Stupidity feeds my children blueonblack's Avatar
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    Default Random Bits

    A new story entry has been added:

    [drupal=571]Random Bits[/drupal]


    By: Shane McAnally

    I stumbled on TBCS by accident almost three years ago. I
    “Do not trust people like me. I will take you to museums, and parks, and monuments, and kiss you in every beautiful place, so that you can never go back to them without tasting me like blood in your mouth. I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible, and when I leave you will finally understand why storms are named after people.”

  2. #2
    Fresh Paint
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    pre modded cases arent a bad thing, yes they may be some what done, but as a true modder you will always have a creative vision of what will be done

  3. #3
    Resident 100HP water-cannon operator SXRguyinMA's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Great article! I too went through school with Apple II's, then in high school we were on all windows machines with 98 and 2000, then XP by the time I graduated.

    My first was a Compaq, the first brand new computer we ever bought and it was when the original Pentium came out. I thought it was so cool to have that "Intel Inside" sticker on my case!

    I got into the case modding thing shortly after high school. I had a job and no bills, and built a new computer from the ground up. I got the highest end components that were out at that time (Pentium D820) and my first "premod" case from Tiger Direct with red LEDs and a side panel window, and of course a Tt liquid cooling system - not because it was needed, but because noone else I knew had a liquid cooled computer and it was just plain effing awesome

    I came across TBCS from modshop.net (now long gone). I saw motorized madness there and it took my breath away. I wanted to see the build log, and here I am

    Now with several build under my belt, I feel as though I'm in a family with this community. Sure people come and go, but there's a core group of us that are always here. Lots of amazing mods and even more helpful people, with a lot more computer knowledge than I have.

    The pre-mod is a must have in the industry though. A lot of people like me (when I first got into it) don't feel like they have the skills or tools or even funds to build something of their own, and a lot of the time it's cheaper and easier to get a premod, and go from there (like I did). It starts the fire though. Yes it's already got some LEDs and a window. But...people add paint, etchings, more LEDs, different color LEDs, etc. Then (also like me) eventually attempt their own scratch build (Rockin Case). If it wasn't for seeing the premod cases on TD, I don't know if the modding bug would have ever hit me!

    Once again, great article and a HUGE thanks to everyone here at TBCS that's welcomed me and helped me out at one point or another!

  4. #4
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Great article. You touched on one of those things that had never really occurred to me before; namely, how much of an affect we, the community, have on the industry. I remember a volunteer job I had in high school, and another in middle school, digging through mountains of bland grey boxes from the 80's and 90's. ..granted, some of them were interesting in their own way, but the industry always seemed to gravitate back to the basic grey box. Compare that to the last 5-10 years, and the change is simply astonishing!

    Like many others, it seems, I really have no recollection of how I found TBCS or what I was looking for at the time, but I think it has truly bee one of the more beneficial positive influences on my life in the last couple years. This site was the first time I saw that yes, a real community can exist on the internet. Most people think I'm nuts when I tell them this, but I feel closer to some of the people on this site than some of the people I see every day at work. It really is, as SXR put it, a family.

    I look forward to your future columns.
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

  5. #5
    A.B. normal msmrx57's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Hmmmm......... I seem to recall commenting on this a little while back. Oh well like I said then I think this will be a nice addition to the site.
    Quote Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA View Post
    Now, off to the basement to do some fiddling with the rods and such.
    so far left of center i'm in right field

  6. #6
    If you can't hack it, you don't own it! Oneslowz28's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Great Column Shane! We really do have a huge impact on the industry. When NZXT designed the Phantom they went strait to a modder for input on the design. Recently both Gigabyte and Antec have posted polls and open comment sessions on facebook asking their fan base what they can do better. Thermaltake even has a survey ongoing right now asking for community input.

  7. #7
    Stupidity feeds my children blueonblack's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Thanks folks. Glad you liked it. And yes, we do indeed influence this industry. In fact, we are really its sole guidance. Where else would they go to find out what they need to do? We're the customer base and the engineers.

    @ msmrx57 -> Yes you did. We had some issues and had to pull it for a rewrite or three. Sorry it took so long to get back, but I should be in the game now.

    @ azul and SXR -> I agree completely that the premod area is a must. As I mentioned, it has led people I know personally into the modding community. They didn't feel they had what it took to go from Beige Box to Unique Masterpiece, so they started off somewhere in the middle. I was only wondering what these same people would have come up with if they didn't have the kick start that premods provide. I suppose the answer, for the most part, is nothing.
    “Do not trust people like me. I will take you to museums, and parks, and monuments, and kiss you in every beautiful place, so that you can never go back to them without tasting me like blood in your mouth. I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible, and when I leave you will finally understand why storms are named after people.”

  8. #8
    Resident 100HP water-cannon operator SXRguyinMA's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    @bob - if I had never seen a premod, I don't think I'd be anywhere near what I am doing today. so yes, I guess the answer to that could be nothing either someone said "I'm going to put a window in my computer!" and it took off (as you said) or we'd all still be using boring beige/grey boxes

  9. #9
    Meow Luthien's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Interesting article...I remember computers from back in my school days. When I took Microcomputer Applications as a Summer college course while in high school, they still taught DOS. I was the only student in the class who understood it. Windows 95 was already around, but they still covered DOS, too.
    I honestly can't remember my first PC at home. I know my family had one from the time I was very young, so I pretty much grew up using PCs.
    All the ugly beige and grey...I remember it so well. At the time I never considered changing it. I wish I had.
    Until this year, the last PC I built was in 2000. I just bought the parts and put them together, no modding at all. From there, I bought a laptop and then a netbook, both pre-built.
    I got back into building my own PC again, and into modding for the first time, earlier this year. I didn't run across this site on my own. I knew someone who was already a member. I got fascinated by it and decided I had to do it, too.

    Wow, long comment...I got all nostalgic....

  10. #10
    Stupidity feeds my children blueonblack's Avatar
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    Default Re: Random Bits

    Quote Originally Posted by Luthien View Post
    I got fascinated by it and decided I had to do it, too.
    It's addictive, but hey, there are worse things we could be addicted to.
    “Do not trust people like me. I will take you to museums, and parks, and monuments, and kiss you in every beautiful place, so that you can never go back to them without tasting me like blood in your mouth. I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible, and when I leave you will finally understand why storms are named after people.”

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