JediMaster

I know it's been hot up there, but is hanging out under a wing really going to help anything? They're on asphalt, it's not going to be cool even in the shade. It's not like the sun is that strong up in OH even in the summer. It's just an all-around oppressive heat you get without it actually seeming to come from anywhere, unlike here where the difference between being in the sun and shade can literally make you break into an instant sweat.

I don't really have a favorite plane, I'm not sure I even have one for a given era (like WWII or Nam). I will say though that having seen Top Gun in my younger days I'll always like the F-14.

Wow, I'm actually surprised he was still alive till now. Those shows were done so long ago I wouldn't have thought he'd have lived this long.

I personally don't go for any of the lower end cards because it's too hard to tell what they're going to do well. I usually buy a card based on the top card that is underclocked or just cut down a bit. My current card is the 5850, not the 5870. Before that I had a GTX 260, not the 280/285. Before that I had an 8800 GTS, not the GTX, but not the lower GT either. That I find is the sweet spot for price and performance. Right now I think the best bang for the buck cards are the ATI 5850 and the GTX 460. The 5850 is more expensive than it was on release because demand has been so high. The 5870 is overpriced and the 470 and 480 are REALLY overpriced. The 5970 is basically a pair of OC'd 5850s on a single card IIRC and is mega overpriced. Anyway, 650W is the biggest PSU you need for a single card, if you're going SLI/Crossfire, you'll need 750W minimum. Don't do 2 5770s in crossfire, because if a game doesn't support it or there's a bug and you have to just use 1 card you lose out. Buy the best single card you can afford now, with a PSU and motherboard that support SLI or Crossfire, and then buy a 2nd one later if you need the boost in performance.

I have a HD 5850 and I think it's great. Does DX11 and blows away almost everything else without breaking the bank, but it isn't a bargain card. However, it's easier to swap out a video card than a CPU, so if you can't swing both right now get the better CPU and a lower end video card and upgrade it later when you can afford it.

Gigabyte's site claims that board is only good for 4GB plus you have an integrated video chip, the GMA 3100. That will steal RAM for itself unless you disable it. Make sure it's set to Enable if no Ext PEG, with Init Display First at PEG. Other than that, I'm not sure which BIOS version would be best for you as I don't have that board. It also seems there are different revisions of the motherboard, but they all claim Vista support. They're still for sale new so I doubt they're obsolete.

Sure, they make goggles for that purpose, but they're hardly lightweight and comfortable plus I think they're pretty pricey. It's kind of like buying Kevlar vests for night watchmen at a toy factory. Sure, an armed guy MIGHT come in, but they probably won't as it's not valuable enough and the odds don't favor spending that money. If they're going to spend that money, might as well make those little hand-launched UAVs detach from the plane and hunt down the perps.

The Russians could've built a shipyard in Vladivostok if they'd cared that much. I think it was just a case of picking their strengths. Unlike the west, Russia had no history of naval aviation or carriers. Post-WWII, which was when carriers became important, jets were the big thing and they weren't well-suited to carrier ops at first. Either way, nuclear bombs were the important weapon and they invested heavily in them, long-range bombers, and ICBMs. Unlike the US, whose allies were all overseas, the Russians had all their allies over land. You didn't need a carrier to defend the coastline, only to fight at sea or someone else's coastline, and that's not what their doctrine was. They built the Kiev class to counter our missile subs, which they saw as a much larger threat, as well as swelling the ranks of their subs, both attack and missile. Frankly, the Russians wouldn't have had much use for a carrier anyway. If they'd built some, they just would've faced overwhelming opposition from NATO ASuW assets and risked losing them in the opening salvo of a battle anyway. Instead they decided to make OUR CBGs the prime target and dedicated assets to that end. Where would Russian carriers go? Cuba? Libya? Poland? Bulgaria? Vietnam? Russian amphibious assaults are something they'd only need against the US, UK, and Japan, and in the nuclear age that would be of questionable value...you nuke the target, you don't send men there. They didn't have to worry about protecting their allies half a world away, as Cuba was the only one they ever paid any attention to and I think we all know if push came to shove they didn't think Cuba was worth it.

I'm referring to an app-specifc flag that's set in a 32-bit executable that lets it use more than 2GB of RAM. I think it was called LBA, Large Block Aware?

Well, you really need carrier-capable planes long before you have a carrier because otherwise the carrier will sail with nothing. First you get the planes, then you set up a runway-based system of arrestor cables and takeoffs to get the pilots into the routine, THEN you get the carrier.

I'm surprised we haven't seen more write-ins! That list is pretty odd, actually, for its choices. Would've been better to stick to WWII or Nam or current day instead of that mishmosh. I mean, F-109, B-2, and B-26 on the same list? Anyway, despite it being unarmed, the SR-71 has always been the most attractive plane ever built for its unique design. Of all the planes that have been built over the decades, it's one of the few to have seen service and made a big impact without being copied or being a copy.

I remember that SpecHolo "sim" too. I don't think I ever made it past one mission in the middle. The trouble with scripted campaigns is sometimes there's a "trick" to winning a mission that normal tactics will cause you to fail every attempt and I think it was one of those. I tried it maybe 10 times over the course of a few months then said to hell with it and gave up permanently. Of course, back then new flight sims were coming out almost monthly. In addition to Spec Holo, sims would come out from Origin, Microprose, Sierra/Dynamix, iMagic, DID, DD, Novalogic, ED (Flanker was 1995), Empire/Rowan, even Eidos.

Armageddon was a good movie???

Don't forget they also decided they needed their own and built the Blackjack to scare US.

A 32-bit app can use 2GB of RAM in 32-bit Windows as well. There is a way past that, I forget what it's called, some "large flag" that can increase that amount by a bit, but not to native 64-bit app numbers. Anyway, it indeed sounds like you've got 32-bit Windows installed, not 64-bit. It's really easy to check. Go to the root of your C: drive. You should see Windows and Users folder. Do you see Program Files and Program Files (x86) folders, or Program Files only? If you have the latter, you have 32-bit Windows installed. The 2nd (x86) directory is indicative of a 64-bit install. Just because you have an x64 capable CPU doesn't mean Windows is automatically in 64-bit. I bought a laptop with Vista on it with a 2.4GHz C2D CPU and 4GB RAM. They didn't even offer the choice for a 64-bit install back 2 years ago when I bought it, I've got 32-bit Vista on it and I only see ~3.5GB.

I suppose if it had 2 spare engines in the hold along with a few tons of other spare parts...

Come on, nothing beat an MFM hard drive! We had one in a shop I used to work at 15 years ago. It was a full-height 5.25" beast that had to weigh more than most 17" laptops do now. The neat thing was the drive motor was a runaway for whatever reason. If you plugged it in, the RPM spun up to some ungodly amount that made a whine you could hear throughtout the building. The best part was if you sat on a swivel stool with it and tilted it left or right it was a strong gyroscope and you would spin around, at least until the power cable stopped you.

Here you go:

It was crashing I believe after the June patch.

Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead, a standalone expansion (ie you don't need to buy Arma 2 to play it) of an infantry battlefield sim. It's primarily about being infantry, but it offers vehicles as well...trucks, cars, boats, APCs, tanks, AAA, helos, jets. Unlike the Battlefield-type games which have a small map and you run around in confined quarters to play, Arma has a single huge map that takes several minutes to cross in a jet, a bit longer in a helo, and even longer than that in a ground or water vehicle! It's the latest successor to the old Operation Flashpoint.

I just saw Airwolf on TV the other day, can't remember what channel though. As for me, I have Buck Rogers and the original ST on DVD, and I'm renting from Netflix right now the only season of Tales of the Gold Monkey. Love that theme song! Also lots of footage of Zekes chasing the Goose around the Pacific in the "Maravelas islands." Just saw the episode where Lance Legault was the guest star, he was in a ton of 80s shows. I remember his recurring role as a USN intelligence officer on Magnum PI.

I decided to stay 32-bit this upgrade round. There's really not enough native 64-bit stuff for it to be important, and I'm only losing about 500MB of my 4GB of RAM. I also run a lot of older programs and I just figured I didn't want to deal with the hassle. Come Windows 8 or whatever MS calls it, that's when I'll take the 64-bit plunge and will likely get more than 4GB of RAM.

Anyone remember Origin's lone historical period sim, Wings of Glory? It was Wing Commander in WWI. The flying was great, it was the first sim I remember which had the straining wood and fabric sounds of the plane when you pulled g's, you had incendiary ammo that was great at starting fires and jammed the guns a lot, and between missions it really captured that aerodrome feel better than RB ever did. Its failing was the missions were designed like you were still flying Wing Commander! First waypoint, 3 enemy fighters. Second waypoint, 3 enemy fighters. Third waypoint, Zeppelin...escorted by at least 3 enemy fighters. Time to go home? You'll have to fight at least 3 more enemy fighters to get there! In a space fighter with recharging lasers and shields you can do that...in a Camel you can NOT. I was always running out of ammo during the Zeppelin attack and having no way to defend myself to get home...

Ah, the classics!

Actually, bagels have long since replaced donuts for cops. Less sugar!