[geeks] nVidia 8800GT for Apple Mac Pro

[Geoffrey S. Mendelson]

On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 02:02:39PM -0700, Nadine Miller wrote:

> Is Israel 220?  They sell these in Europe, so I'm sure that's not an 
> issue. 

Yes, it's 230 volts 50 Hz. The entire EU is now 230 volts which really
means that new appliances have to handle 220-240 volts and the spec is
wide enought that the 220v countries did nothing, nor did the UK (240v).
But we've be 230 for a long time so that you could bring appliances
from both with no trouble.

> The big problem would be getting games if you get a US PS3, 
> since they are region-locked AFAIK.  You *may* be able to change the 
> region (iirc, PS2 was 5 changes, then whatever you set last was locked), 
> but I can't say for sure.

I'm sure there are stores that sell both. Every DVD player sold in the
stores here has been "region free" for at least 8 years. The only exception
was an LG DVD player/VCR combo sold in the duty free shop at the airport.

 
> I don't know if there are any region hacks to ignore region on the PS3.

If there are, you can get them at the central bus station in Tel Aviv. :-)
(How well do you speak Russian?)


> I just happened to find a Wii in stock at Target today, so I blew my 
> eBay profits and bought it.  I guess the new Mac will have to wait 
> another month. :-)

Sounds like fun. But don't worry, next month you will be spending the
money on games. :-)


> I don't buy new games if I can help it.  I buy used, and trade the old 
> ones back for credit, like we do with paperback books.  Or, I wait until 
> things I know I'll keep (like Gladius) are discounted heavily.

Not too many of those stores here. 

> You'd have to go more up-scale in Silicon Valley than IHoP. :-)  I've 
> been getting cold-calls from recruiters in Silicon Valley, which I find 
> a bit surprising.  Not that I've been tempted to call them back; I can't 
> bear the thought of living in Silicon Valley again, even though I miss 
> the Thai food.

I was refering to a silly valley fixture, The House of Pancakes, which
AFIAK is not part of the IHop (or is it now iHOP) chain. It's often referred
to as the place where startups are founded. 

I have not been there for almost 30 years, but I assume it's just like any
other place in the U.S. If you make enough money you can do ok, and if
you don't.....

Too many of the Chinese restaurants here are really Thai. We have lots
of Thai products in the supermarkets, OK Labs, one of the stricter kosher
certification agencies, has a branch in Thailand, so even the kosher
only supermarkets have it.

I could see myself spending a few years there if I was forced to by 
investors in a startup. I would only do it if I thought there was a good
chance I could retire when I was done, and was sure they would pay our
airfare home no matter what. I would also require that they provide the
same level of health care I have here and same quality schools for my
two PDD (high functioning Aspberger's) children, which would probably
cost more than many people make, but are free here. 

Geoff.


-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM