Flwrite wrote:

Joe wrote:

I will run seti only when I don't use the computer.

I used to run SETI all the time.

But the complexity and resource usage of software has increased over the
years.  Anti-virus program has gotten bigger, ZoneAlarm crashes if I sneeze,
and now there's a few new anti-spyware programs running in the background.

[...]

I open it in Mozilla, and it always looks better.  Still using Outlook
Express for my Newsgroups, but even O.E. would be happier on a bigger
computer than Win98 and a 450 MHz PIII...)

Last year, I had to uninstall McAfee -- the bloat got too big -- even though

[...]

One day, I had to change my SETI-Driver to run at Low Priority, instead of
Normal.  More and more often, I have to close SETI because my [win98]
resources or Free Memory are running low.  Now, SETI is closed more than it
is open.

Been threatening to get away from "resource problems" by switching to WinXP.
Also, adding a router and a more modern computer or two.  Grow a farm.
Maybe one day...

Maybe try one of the many linux distributions. No anti-virus required. No spyware either. You get to choose whether or not to include 'bloat'. There's even a linux distribution that runs s@h that all fits onto one floppy disc!

Also note that computers are multitasking. I have a number of 'background' processes running, with minimal interference to normal tasks.

Have a look, you will likely be surprised at how responsive your existing computer can be. A 450MHz machine should be plenty fast enough.

(And the cash you save can go towards extra RAM or a whole new machine (;-))


Have fun,
Martin