But is that extra expense and money really worth it? If you are on a
budget, it might be wise to think twice before you launch in though. By
and large, the operating systems for desktops are not 32-bit yet. Even
if they were, the chances you would actually use the capabilities are
highly unlikely at this point. Indeed, a good 32-bit computer with the
standard MS Windows XP Operating system, or an Apple MAC with Tiger or
even an Intel machine with Linux running on it with Open Office are
going to do the job for 90 of us out there.

They key thing is - what are you going to be doing with it? Don’t
get sucked into the hype of more memory, faster processors, better
storage - just think "what DO I do with this thing anyway?" If you are
like most people you probably do the following:

• Surf the web
• Read The Beck’s Cafe blog 
• Chat with Yahoo IM or at URNOTALONE or some other place
• upload/download photos to Yahoo (Flickr, MSN or some other place).
• Download MP3’s or iTunes and play them
• Play CD’s
• Edit photos
• Write in your journal (you do have a journal don’t you??)

For
the above, a high speed connection to the net is sufficient (cable or
DSL) and, a basic PC is just fine. AND, you’ll save money. Most of us
are on a budget, and the idea of getting what you need at low to
moderate cost is really the way to think (besides, that leaves more
money to spend on clothes, makeup, or to bless one of your sisters with
lunch ). What does a basic low cost PC look like today? Here’s some
suggestions"

• 1.5Ghz CPU or above (Intel or AMD)
• 512MB of memory (don’t go lower,  you’ll save money but be unhappy)
• an
  80GB hard disk (we like to store photos - burn them to a CD-ROM is a
  better idea and allows you to get a less expensive hard disk)
• Basic graphics card
• 15"
  LCD flat screen monitor (If you can 17" flat screen LCD go for it - to
  save $100 go with the old reliable CRT monitor, it’s much bigger, but
  they work great).
• KB, Mouse

  Should
you get a laptop or a desktop? If you are on a budget and don’t need to
travel around with your PC, get the desktop, you’ll save hundreds of
dollars.

What about software? Microsoft Office is great software - BUT - a
free alternative exists that is 100% MS Office compatible, that is Open
Office. This software is backed by Sun Microsystems and a large number
of independent developers. I use it to write parts of my blog actually, it’s that good! You can download it for free from Open Office.org

As 64-bit desktops start coming onto the market, the 32-bit systems
will drop in price and great bargains will abound. 64-bit computing is the wave of the future - but for most of us, we will not benefit from it in this go around.  Being a sharp eyed shopper will make it possible for you to get a new 32-bit system at a great price!

drop me a note if you find something you like and your not sure about

Educational Links:

• What is 64-bit computing? 
• What is 32-bit computing? 
• What is an operating system? 
• Why you may or may not need a 64-bit desktop from ZD Net

Curl up with a cup of coffee, click here for the essays, open your heart and enjoy  "Real Life Essays at Moxie"

I love people because they are what make up the world. It’s not so
much the html code that is the backbone of this blog nor the 0100101
that my typing is converted to and then moves along an Ethernet cable
to some servers that are then served up yummily to your browser when
you click on this link - no. It’s really all about people. Connecting
and interacting. Knowing and being known.

Groups of people can either be a gang, a rabble or…a community. A
community is (in the words of the Wikipedia): “an amalgamation of
living things that share an environment…What characterizes a
community is sharing and interaction in any number of ways.” There
have been some very cool things recently that mark our community, I’m
proud to say that these came from trans-women helping other
trans-women. I hate to “classify” us really. But given that we are
trying to change the view of society of trans-folk (for both the men
and the women) from societal
pariah to really just people, I thought these bore out some highlighting:

* Just recently a sister of ours is heading to get FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery). The word went out into our community that she needs support, encouragement and love as she goes through this very difficult operation. Many sisters responded to cheer her on!!! Image how it makes her feel

* A friend who transitioned is a Physician. She needed help in order to be able to continue on with being a Physician during a tough time. The word went out. Lots of sisters pitched in to make that a reality for her!

* I read on a Yahoo Group that a sister recommended a bunch of us getting together for lunch on a regular basis - why? Because (as she wrote) “There is more to relationship building than merely
clubbin’ it.”

* I’ve heard of so many other stories this past year of sisters in trouble who were aided by other sisters - not to mention just plain listening to each other and being a shoulder for each other. I’d love to hear stories of brothers too - I’m sure they are out there.

The point to all these is that they are proof we are not powerless, we
*can* help each other - in both large and small ways…(psst, even if
we are still in the closet to some degree ).

Some links on community worth a read:

• Community Development Society
• Organizing: People Power from the Grassroots
• What is Community? Mother Jones Magazine
• A General Theory of Community
• Random Acts of Love

• You don’t know you have an issue until…you see yourself, or you dress or you do something to affirm yourself as a woman, then, all of a sudden you feel light, fresh, energized, happy, no longer depressed. It’s as if you went from stuffy closet to a green grassed park with blue skies. I will never ever understand this.

• How no matter how amazing another trans-woman can look, she can still totally act like a guy - and how some trans-woman simply can’t get beyond a very plain look, yet are truly feminine to their toes.

• Why society makes such a big deal about something we have no control over - whether Male-to-Female or Female-to-Male. Truly, what we do with who we are is in our control, but how we got here isn’t.

babies are so damn cute!

I have two, one is going to college and the other is still in H.S.
When I was younger (and less wrinkled, and saggy, & a bit more
sane)  I purposefully did not trael much in order to be there with
them.  I think I was only about half  successful - oh well.   They have
grown to be amazing women that I adore  and find it an honor and
prvilege to be a parent to.

But Babies really are amazing, think about all that happens to bring
them to a point of oohing and ahhing…if you’ve never had children it
might be hard for you to fully grasp it but they are nothing short of
miracles. 

Looking at babies always leads me to the conclusion that we aren’t a
mistake, that we didn’t come from the primordial slime, and that a
Divine Creator has a hand in all this (though I do wish He’d be more
visible at times).

Just for fun, check these babies out :-)  if you don’t oohhh or say
awwww just a leeetle bit, you might wanna check and see if  you have a
pulse!

• Tasmanian Devil Babies 1
• Tasmanian Devil Babies 2
• Cute baby 1
• Cute baby 2
• Cute baby 3
• Cup O’ Kittens
• Kitten fibbin’
• Basket full o’ Kittens
• Puppy eyes
• Pupps

• Where’s the ladies room?
• So where DID you get that dress?
• Umm, I’m lost, can you tell me how to get to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream shop?

If your a trans-guy or a genetic dude you know that asking questions is for whimps! (”Screw that, I’ll find that place if it’s the last thing I do…”(two hours later….)

Admittedly, these are stereotypes! But they are fun when you think about how easily we fall into them…so without further adieu, I bring
you some links with great, great info, for the trans-woman (and anyone else who is curious)

Laura5.com http://65.18.210.96/laura5/index.htm I just found this and I love it! If you live in New England andneed to know some resources (therapists, places to shop, clubbing…) go there - you’ll be delighted

U R Not Alone http://www.urnotalone.com Chat sites vary. Some are good, some are trash. But what they do is help us to connect with like minded folk for community. If your in the closet going stir crazy they might in fact be a lifeline. U R Not Alone is very good chat, as well as having a boat load of other good stuff on it. Great people on the chat line coupled with wise moderators makes for a fun time if you’ve got some minutes to burn (or just need someone to talk to and you have no where else to turn).

Gendertalk http://www.gendertalk.com This is a really neat radio program hosted locally in Boston. Youcan also download info, and get a cool podcast too! Highly Recommended!

4/1/2007 Update
The site, Laura5, has been permanently disabled by the owner.

…..it was no mistake I’m transgendered? What if it was no mistake that God had me in contact with certain people who might be seriously struggling…and dying.

…..what if it was no mistake? How would I react then if my life was not a big screw-up but was a big blessing?

…..what would I do if I learned that suffering for being who I am wasn’t something to avoid but something to embrace?

…..What if?

This balanced approach comes at an amazing power envelope (think low double digits)

See these links - this thing is very cool:
Freescale gets back in the game
Freescale 8641D datasheet

I spend most of my time looking at technology and how it converges for computing and telecommunications applications. One long standing trend that is now very much in the public eye is: How can one compute architecture possibly be used for both communications AND computing?

While the two share a common need for computing power - the degree of that power, what supports it, what powers it and what cools it differ considerably. In a nutshell:

Computing Needs
- Ever increasing levels of High performance CPU’s
- Lots of memory (make that truck loads)
- Large amounts of 110v power delivered to run the systems
- Very large disk farms to support
- Cooling on the order of the Arctic

Telecomm Needs
- CPU power of the right amount (not too much, not too little)
- Must meet cooling requirements of NEBS (Network Equipment Building standard)
- Lots of weird I/O so that when you pick up your cell phone or home phone - you get dial tone
- Must meet power requirements as set by NEBS
- Must work with legacy stuff way back around the time of Edison

Blades *may* allow us to have one architecture for both. But the big word is may. There have been a number of compute blade appproaches. A history on that would be fun to write and I may post one here one day for fun, but briefly they include: Multi-bus, VME Bus, cPCI, MOMA (my own modular architecture), and now AdvancedTCA. These are all standards meaning that a body or organisation has received a specification from members who’ve peer reviewed it then gone ahead and voted on it. Then, they’ve gone ahead and started developing useful products around the standard so that target industries can use them, enjoy the benefits of their being a competitive ecosystem, and then drive innovation faster in the areas that the target industries specialize in.

This is great, and the way things should be (in technology, and maybe even in life). When alternatives show up to to the standard, that’s okay, they usually address the outlying pieces that are really nicheoriented, and that is a great business for cutting edge technologists (of either gender!) to go after. But proliferation of pseudo-standards to the fracturing of bona-fide standards only fractures markets and makes them less viable - and removes the customer’s confidence in new technology causing them to keep with the old. That means industries don’t grow - and jobs go overseas.
Innovation is great! And frankly we need that in this country more and more every day (especially social innovation & entrepreneurship, see the excellent book by Peter Drucker, “Managing in the Next Society” for more) - but innovation that destroys new standards geared to building and expanding markets may be more about enhancing profits for one rather than raising the tide for all.

  Pull up a chair for coffee, and chit chat on life, gender, technology & our ever changing world.

The main themes of this blog are:

* Life and fun with Gender Identity Disorder (GID)

* Technology and the convergence of Communications and Computing

* Our changing world

Since it’s a personal blog , in some sense I don’t have to have credentials to “write in it”. But, just so you, gentle reader, don’t think I’m just making this stuff up, here are some proof points to help:

* I have GID - which means I’m a person who happens to be transgendered

* I have worked in the computing and communications field for the past 20 years, in Product Marketing, Sales, and Product Development

* I am a human and a Christian, so I’ve seen and learned a few things, and made some colossal mistakes - so who knows maybe I’ll have some useful insights as a result.

Finally I am indebted to Rebecca Blood for her wonderful article on blog ethics. It’s something I’ll be taking to heart as I build what I hope will be a cozy spot for us to sit and chat in the midst of our busy day.