Future-Proofing a PC: Possible or Not?

I've seen people asking how they can "future-proof" their computer.


Before I treat this seriously, I'd like to give the basic response that most "techies" will give you to this question: "Wait six months.....and then when you're ready.....Wait another six months....."

So,..to answer my own question in the Subject Field, I say no,...future-proofing is not possible.

Actually,...we should back up and answer this question first: When people ask to future-proof their computer, what are they asking?

I think there's 2 avenues of thought:

1. I want to build or buy a computer that I can use for the next 5-7 years as is
2. I want to be able to upgrade my computer with the latest processor and use the same motherboard, ram, case,....

and one major reason for both:

I want to be able to do what I do now on my computer 5-7 years from now

• I use excel, word, browse the internet, do my budget, pay bills,....basic stuff

    or

• In the case of a home theater PC, I want my HTPC to be able to run XBMC so I can watch movies 5-7 years from now.

I think it's important to first see what was going on ~10 years ago with computers.

Wayne Caswell wrote about future-proofing your home 12 years ago.
In his article he mentions the state of computers 12 years ago:

• Processor -- PC clock speeds increased over 100 times - from 4.77MHz to nearly 1GHz. Computing is now embedded in dozens of ordinary household appliances and hand-held and mobile devices. In the next decade, almost anything with a plug will get smart and networked, and so will some surprising devices that today have no power or electronics.

• Memory - Chip capacity has multiplied by 2,000 times - from 16KB to 32MB. Postage stamp-sized Compact Flash memory used in cameras and MP3 players will soon hold 1GB, up from 32MB today and enough to hold full-length movies.

• Storage - capacity is nearly 200,000 times greater - from 160KB diskettes to 30GB hard disks. No longer do we measure storage capacity by the number of stored typewritten pages, but by the number of hours of video stored.

• Telecommunications - At 1.5Mbps, ADSL modems are 500,000 times faster than the 300bps telephone modems of 1980. The home phone line networking that was introduced at 1Mbps just two years ago is already at 10Mbps today, going to 32Mbps next year. Switched Ethernet now delivers dedicated bandwidth of one gigabit per second to each device. And fiber optic network speeds will be measured in terabits per second - 3 billion times faster than the old PC modem.

So you can see, the huge changes brought about in just 10 years.
Now I'm not suggesting that you NOT buy the best computer that is within your budget,...what I am saying is that you should NOT get fooled in into buying 64G of RAM when you only currently need 4G of RAM.

I also like to argue this point by using a car example:
You don't need to buy a Jaguar to get to work everyday when all you really need and can afford is a used Ford Escort. They both do the same job. Sure the Jaguar has some really cool toys and such,,...has leather seats,...but you're buying something that isn't necessary.

Why do I care? Well, I suppose I'd like to see you buy what you need and not get sucked into believing that you need to buy a Ferrari of a PC.

Your thoughts?

Chess: Rook Pin

A pin is a move which forces one of the opponent's pieces to stay put because moving it would expose a more valuable piece behind it. Sometimes pinned pieces cannot move at all, as doing so would expose the king.

In the example below, you can see that black can not move his knight, since doing so we put him in check. So we say that the knight is pinned by the rook.

Chess: Knight Forks

As we saw with Bishop Forks, a Knight Fork puts two of your opponents pieces in jeopardy.

Int he example below, you can see that White's Knight is attacking Black's Queen and Black's Rook at the same time,..this is a Knight Fork.

Black will have no option but to move the Queen to safety and thereby losing its Rook.

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Chess: Bishop Forks (No, it's not something you eat with)

A bishop fork is when you move your bishop in that it now attacks two of your opponent's pieces at the same time. This also allows for a potential to capture of one of these pieces.

In the diagram below, you see that white is about to move the bishop and attack both black's knight and  his rook. Now black can either move the knight on d4 but then lose the rook,...or he can move the knight on g8 to block the bishop, but then white will take the rook and also go on to capture one of the knights.

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Chess: Don't Move a Piece Twice in a Row

Seems simple enough right? Sometimes, these simple pieces of advice will go a long way in helping you avoid simple mistakes.

Try to move each piece only once in the opening. As you develop your pieces avoid moving them to squares which can easily be attacked by your opponent. This will only drive your piece to another square. 


It's also a good argument for not developing your queen early in the game. 




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Chess: Pinning Your Opponent's Pieces

As you develop, make an effort to threaten something or make it difficult for your opponent to develop.

In this example, white's bishop is pinning black's knight to his queen.

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Chess: The Most Popular First Move for White and Why?

Pawn to King 4. (also written as P-K4 or in algebraic notation: e2-e4 or simply e4)

This is the most common single opening move in all of chess.

The reason for this is that it offers you the most coverage.

As you can see below, the bishop is protecting 5 squares and the queen covers an additional 3. The pawn also attacks 2 squares, one of which is in the center. The rest of your pawns are covering the entire third row That's 18 squares. (almost 1/3 of the board).

If you're black, the counter move is move is to move your king pawn up to block the white pawn. The same reasons apply.