Thanks to a guy I met on a Bay Area discussion list, my new machine is assembled and running like a champ. It's a little louder than its predecessor, but that's the tradeoff for extreme speed. I'm not complaining too much. This experience gave me the opportunity to run out and get one of those new Sony DVD drives – more on that in a moment. I wish I could have found a PCI-based digital media reader device for one of my front 3.5″ bays, but the only ones I could find around here relied on USB 1.1. Anyway, I was instructed to reinstall the OS after the upgrades, but Windows XP has (thus far) gracefully handled the changes. I'll start the complete overhaul tomorrow, regardless. Once that's out of the way, the planning for a second system will commence. I'm hoping to create a PVR this time around. Looks like it's time to start researching TV tuner cards and the like! It's really too bad Microsoft isn't releasing their tuner software on PCs other than Media Editions. Perhaps one day, they'll change their tune? Assuming they can carry one, that is. I'm leaning towards an external solution, but wouldn't turn down something that sits on the inside of a case. I can add a new card, no problem. Ah, I'm starting to adore integrated sound and network adapters.

The plan was to meet Robert down by the Metreon this morning. I jumped onto Market and made it to a parking spot in the garage in less than ten minutes. Not bad, considering I can't navigate downtown San Francisco very well. I arrived at 10AM, but CompUSA wasn't opening until 11. With one Peet's breve latte lining my tummy, I suggested a Starbuck's pitstop while we waited for the doors to unlock. We grabbed a liquid refreshment and started to make our way down the street to Central Computing. They've got tons of good stuff there, although most of it is not name-brand. For cases, it doesn't matter so much. For RAM, it does. I ambled down the aisles and spied very few bargains. They didn't have the drive I was looking for, so I left my friend to fend for himself as I wandered back to my original destination. By now, the business was in business. I flew down the escalator and turned the corner to find no sign of a DRU-500A in the case. This was puzzling, as CompUSA's Web site had it listed as “in stock.” Understand that this is no ordinary CD drive; it burns and reads CD, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. Yeah, it's a killer component.

I grabbed a young floor clerk and asked him for assistance. He informed me that if it wasn't on the shelf, they didn't have it. Since I'm allergic to the word “no,” I found someone else to ask – only this time, I had him cross-check the database to confirm that the hardware was in the store. Sure enough, it was listed in inventory. He disappeared for a minute or two and came back with the unit in hand. It was in the back; it hadn't even been unpacked yet. Had I not checked the Internet last night, I wouldn't have bothered to ask. It makes me wonder how many other times I've been wrongfully turned down at a store? Misinformation is frustrating, especially when you're spending money (or wanting to spend it) somewhere. I contend that online shopping works best – provided you can find a good deal and you're willing to wait for the product(s) to ship and arrive. If savings don't exceed 20 percent, I usually go local. When I find something cheaper offline, I usually go loco. If I don't find something to sell soon to help recoup the costs, I'm going to be sleeping in the doghouse. And considering we don't have one…