Dey took hiz job!

First off, you need to chill out. Second, I didn't say more open-source, I am not pro closed-source, but if closed-source works better I use it, if open-source works better I use it. And for closed source, the NVIDIA drivers have a tendency to be better than ATI drivers on linux.

I agree with you on Dells, I had a Dell laptop, and it was, and still is an awesome piece of hardware. I had a hard drive go bad, and Dell promptly sent me a new one. They are made for everyday users - tough, cheap, and good middle-of-the-line components.

I would not recommend buying a Mac - I bought one because that is the only way to develop for the iPhone/iPod Touch (still haven't gotten around too it). It is true Mac offers little options. Some Mac junkies like to argue that you get the best technology, and you get what you paid for - however, since you are on slashdot, chances are you will not like the 'dumbed-down' approach Mac OS X takes. As with desktops, the only upgrade path is buy a new Mac (unless you have a Mac Pro), limiting your opportunities to add a new video card, or maybe an additional hard drive, etc.

As for the original question, I use Newegg and tomshardware.com for all of my info, with the occasional google usage. I start with a motherboard I want, (taking note of northbridge), and look it up. I always pick Intel, they are much better bang for the buck than AMD atm. Processor wise - last time I made a computer it was all Core 2 Duo, with the option for extreme or not - much easier. But now you have i3, i5, i7 which are the lastest generation, on a LGA 1366 I believe, the i3 is the lowest tier, and i7 the hardcore enthusiast/gamer/video editor tier. I don't know anything about the models, just look for cache size and speed, those are the main specs for a processor. For the video card, I go with Nvidia because its much more compatible with linux (and FreeBSD) if you like to use their binaries vs. open source drivers. They recently changed how they do they naming, the lower 200 series, I believe are re-casts of the some of the 9xxx series.

+1 for Georgia Tech, twice in one week (Spanish botnet taken down)

+1 For Georgia Tech!! go jackets!!

I am a student at GT, and the MATLAB class that all the Engineering majors have to take is rampant with cheating. Out of a class of 100 people maybe half that do the assignment, they just get some 'smart' kid to do it and they all just submit the exact same code (minus changing their name) - the instructors don't even bother to look for cheating. However, in the CS dept, in the classes, the TA's often will read your code, so you aren't really able to get away with it.

I learned by accident that they also will fit somewhat into an Ethernet jack

I look on my keyboard for infrequently used letters and symbols, group them together randomly until its about 10 digits long and rememorize it. For example: ae+,wp]#3i6 Try to brute force, or social network that one, motha f*cka!

Urban Dictionary already came up with a solution: 2KX

If you really wonder why they levy a sin tax on bottled water, think about it for a second - you are contributing to waste with plastic bottles, and paying for something you can get out of your tap. If you drink bottled water on a regular basis, you should be taxed for it.