Recent Spadina/College retail experience

[Evan Leibovitch]

Neil Watson wrote:
> When I first installed Linux at home, back in the days of kernel 2.2, 
> I  had to be very specific about what hardware was installed.  I think 
> the
> same is true today.  When I buy from a vendor my requirements are 
> very  specific and I do not accept alternatives.
My experience is that clones are OK once an interface has been 
reasonably standardized.

It used to be there were 20 different vendors of sound cards, each with 
its own interface. Now there are far fewer standards, and sometimes the 
generic standards-meeting cards can be better supported than "name 
brand" cards that try to extend the standard.

> I don't shop in the College and Spadina corridor very often.  I would  
> not expect good service at such cut-rate establishments.
Ditto. Most of what I want can be found inexpensively enough at Canada 
Computer at Yonge & Sheppard, TigerDirect, or a store whose name escapes 
me on the north side of Sheppard just west of Allen Road. If I really 
want the clone-parts experience, these days I would go to Pacific Mall, 
which IIRC has more hole-in-the-wall PC parts places than College & 
Spadina while boasting IMO the world's finest food court.

At the other end of the scale is CompuSmart at Mavis and Matheson in 
Mississauga (the net indicates they also have stores in Scarborough and 
at 151 Yonge). While sporting a smaller version of the BestBuy tech 
look&feel, they also have a dedicated whitebox/DIY section, with 
reasonably knowledgeable and helpful staff who (more often than not, at 
least when I've gone) are Linux-clueful. Their prices are a few dollars 
more than the Spadina & College chaos and they have fewer off-brands. 
But the experience can be much better on your nerves if PC hardware is 
not your obsession.

- Evan

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