computer systems

Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System (Black)
$24.99
I downsized to these from the Klipsch 4.1 THX system - now that I'm married and have a kid I don't need my computer speakers to shake the house. These sound fine at conversational levels but I wouldn't recommend trying to crank them up and jam out. They take up less space on my desk, and the volume/power switch is handy. I can't imagine how you could expect more from a set costing so little. I did have to go tweak the EQ settings to get a decently flat frequency response, but I pretty much expected that. Seriously, at this price it would be hard to fault them.

Harman Kardon SoundSticks II 2.1 Plug and Play Multimedia Speaker System
$169.99
Forget the earlier reviews that tell you there is no power switch. There is one on the back of the subwoofer, and it also serves as a bass volume control.

Anyway, I am absolutely amazed at the sound that these things put out. So much richer than the built-in speakers (on a 2007 iMac, which I had previously thought were OK). I had to turn that bass volume control on the SoundSticks a little under half to keep from rattling the floors and walls. I listen mostly to iTunes music (both purchased and ripped-from-CD), YouTube videos, and miscellaneous other things. While I don't consider myself a true audiophile, I do have some more top-end equipment elsewhere in the house. And I've also owned a lot of cheaper, inferior speakers for the computer.

One thing I noticed since I installed these speakers, and this may be a peculiarity of my own computer setup: different audio sources now seem to have widely disparate volume levels. YouTube videos, for instance, I often have to turn down. But iTunes plays like it always did before.

All things considered, though, I am extremely happy with the value received for the price.

(This review is written one month after I placed my order. So far, no issues, not even any dead flies yet.)

Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective
$149.00
This book was purchased as a Graduate level text book. The book is very useful and detailed. It is dry, but it is a text book. I can see my self refering to this book for future classes or during my career.

Introduction to Computing Systems: From bits & gates to C & beyond
$89.50
I had programmed in a number of languages including C before, but I was a bit intimidated by assembler. I was also curious about how microchips work, and why they seem to be all about transistors. There's a lot of material on the web on this subject, but none of it seems detailed and organized enough to really teach you anything. After reading this book, it all makes sense.

There are some great sections including simple, excellent explanations of 2s-complement numbers and finite state machines. I'd recommend this book to anyone who already programs in C, and has played a bit with pointers - I'm not sure I would have liked to encounter them for the first time in this text.

The book is not perfect. Its pace is very slow, and authors often threw in "real-world" analogies which I didn't find helpful. Some sections are a bit repetitive. There were a few concepts thrown in without careful introduction, for example call-by-value vs. call-by-reference. Again, that's not a serious problem if you have even passing familiarity with C.

Overall, a gradual, relaxed, well-structured introduction to a fascinating subject. Good preparation for further study.