One of the worst things about running a media empire from my home studio is that I don’t have an IT staff.
Last year, a generous listener sent me a donation to be used for a new machine from which to run my show. As he works with computers, he suggested I check out the Alienware line. They’re gaming computers, and are able to handle a lot of stuff going on at the same time.
Unfortunately, this computer has never worked right. Aside from the usual glitches (programs hanging up on start and non-responsiveness), my biggest problems were the audio issues.
Regular listeners probably noticed the uneven quality. Alienware tech support did a lot- they replaced the loud fans, and then replaced the video card. But nothing made a difference. They were convinced that my audio problems were software related.
I began researching audio problems in this computer and lo and behold, and I found a whole forum of messages about similar problems. Someone suggested running a program called LatencyMon (monitor?) which showed that the computer was having big problems running “real time audio.” Hello!!!
So, after the computer crashed on Labor Day Monday (another long story that I may share later or tomorrow), and I was told we’d have to reinstall Windows, I suggested running the LatencyMon test before reinstalling any of my software that they had decided was the culprit. Bingo! The same latency issues showed up.
The tech was stumped. He said he’d need to talk with their engineer who was occupied with another issue at the time. He said he’d discuss it with him and their supervisor (who allegedly has taken over my case – that’s what calling them out on Twitter will accomplish, I guess). And now I wait…
In the meantime, my very generous listener who sent me the money to buy the unfortunately-lemonic Alienware machine sent me enough money to buy another computer. (Meanwhile, donations are still needed in lieu of a salary. This computer fail cost me at least one voiceover job, so now it’s hitting my already empty wallet!)
Here’s the question – do I count on Alienware to fix this computer (or replace it) so I can use it for the programs that won’t run on Mac, and get a Mac specifically for the streaming, or do I get another PC?
In between sitting vigil by the computer and the phone, I’m researching computers. Feel free to post your answers in the comments. This time I won’t block you for suggesting a Mac…. as I sit here trying to get my 2009 Macbook Pro into working condition again…
Thanks for your patience. I plan on being back on the air Monday morning, even if it means going on using my phone to stream! Today, it’s “not”.
Interestingly, Democracy at Work (R D Wolff) is having trouble with iTunes and their podcast isn’t downloading. One could indulge in conspiracy theories …
Hang in there, Nicole. Having worked in computer support in a former lifetime, I can relate and feel your pain. Other than that, I’ll go make an extra donation today (every little bit helps) and look forward to your getting back “on the air.”
I’m just glad you’re not sick. Computers can eventually be replaced on the other hand you can’t. I will keep checking back in. And is there some kind of crowd funding any has set up for new computer?
Have you thought of maybe buying a high end internal sound card? I read that the Alienware units, like most today, use integrated sound. Even if it is a good Creative Labs unit. Perhaps just not up to the power you need for pod-casting and all else rely on for your computer while producing and hosting your show. Just a thought.
I’m no Mac fan, but I do know you can run both Mac OS/X and Windows on the same Mac, provided you run Windows under an Apple product called “Bootcamp”. Should be a fairly substantial Mac with plenty of RAM for best performance….
But to do that means taking resources away from the main partition. If I need to run Windows programs, I’d rather run them on a windows machine. That said, I may try to get this Mac refurbished and use it for the streaming programs only, freeing up the PC for everything else. That’s if I can get this Mac working right, and get the PC working correctly too. This has not been a fun week!
Alienware makes nice machines with pretty good support, but with all the trouble you’ve had, you might hit them up for an upgraded replacement machine, (preferably a desktop). You’ve made enough calls to them for them to know the one you have is a lemon. Something like the Alienware X51™ R2 upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 Pro would be nice.
Or a program called Parallel.
The thing is, Parallels and Fusion run Windows programs on an emulated (virtual) Windows machine. The good news: no rebooting. The bad news: slow performance. That might matter for programs that do real-time audio processing and streaming.
The other route is Bootcamp. You get full native Windows performance. But you have to reboot the machine each time to either boot into Windows or MacOS. You can’t run Mac & Windows programs at the same time.
I do like Macs, but I can see why either route could be tricky for Nicole.