660 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
660 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>The Unix Hardware Buyer HOWTO</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Introduction"
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HREF="intro.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="article"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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ALINK="#0000FF"
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><DIV
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CLASS="ARTICLE"
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><DIV
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CLASS="TITLEPAGE"
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><H1
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CLASS="title"
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><A
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NAME="AEN2"
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></A
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>The Unix Hardware Buyer HOWTO</H1
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><H3
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CLASS="author"
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><A
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NAME="AEN4"
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>Eric Raymond</A
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></H3
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><DIV
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CLASS="affiliation"
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><DIV
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CLASS="address"
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><P
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CLASS="address"
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><br>
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<TT
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CLASS="email"
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><<A
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HREF="mailto:esr@thyrsus.com"
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>esr@thyrsus.com</A
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>></TT
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><br>
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="revhistory"
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><TABLE
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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><TR
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><TH
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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VALIGN="TOP"
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COLSPAN="3"
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><B
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>Revision History</B
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></TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 4.2</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2010-04-11</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>DVD region-locking firmware is no longer an issue,</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 4.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2009-07-01</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>DTX failed. Finally deprecate SCSI. 32-bit is dead.
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Avoiding the printer-consumables trap. Invasion of the netbooks.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 4.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2007-11-02</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Major revisions by Jonathan Marsden on SATA, bus standards,
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DVDs and other topics, followed by a cleanup pass from me.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 3.3</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2007-18-13</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Updated for 2007 conditions. CRTs are dead. BTX is
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dead. CD-ROMs are competely generic now. USB modems are
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recommended.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 3.2</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2004-10-28</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Fix and remove bad links.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 3.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2004-08-03</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Sound cards don't matter any more.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 3.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2004-02-21</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Power-protection stuff moved to UPS HOWTO. DIMM memory is
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gone. Tape drives don't make sense any more. Lots of the
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theory from my "Ultimate Linux Box"
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articles now lives here.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.4</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2003-02-22</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>URL fixes.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.3</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2002-08-06</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Buying at the low end isn't a lose anymore. I recommend
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Athlons. Nuked the section on video standards, EDID takes
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care of all that now. Also removed the section on older
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memory types. And keyboards, as the "ergonomic" ones all
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vanished along with the 1990s carpal-tunnel scare.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.2</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2002-08-05</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>New section on DVD drives.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2002-07-08</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Corrected Kingston URL. Various small updates for the last
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year. This HOWTO is much more stable than it used to be.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2001-08-09</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Major update. Revisions based on Ultimate Linux Box experience.
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Caches are on-chip now. DDS4 tape drives are here.
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486 machines, CD caddies, and most non-DDS backup
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technologies are gone.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2001-06-13</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Mid-2001 update.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2001-02-06</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Initial revision; but see the history in the introduction.</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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><DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="abstract"
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><A
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NAME="AEN10"
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></A
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><P
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></P
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><P
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> This is your one-stop resource for information about how to buy and
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configure generic PC hardware for cheap, powerful Unix systems.
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</P
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><P
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></P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><HR></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="TOC"
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><DL
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><DT
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><B
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>Table of Contents</B
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></DT
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><DT
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>1. <A
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HREF="intro.html"
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>Introduction</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>1.1. <A
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HREF="intro.html#purpose"
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>Purpose of this document</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>1.2. <A
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HREF="intro.html#newversions"
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>New versions of this document</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>1.3. <A
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HREF="intro.html#feedback"
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>Feedback and corrections</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>1.4. <A
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HREF="intro.html#resources"
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>Related resources</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>2. <A
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HREF="overview.html"
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>Overview of the Market</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3. <A
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HREF="basics.html"
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>Buying the Basics</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>3.1. <A
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HREF="basics.html#AEN132"
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>Things to Not Care About</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.2. <A
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HREF="basics.html#processor"
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>How To Pick Your Processor</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.3. <A
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HREF="basics.html#twospindles"
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>One Disk or Two?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.4. <A
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HREF="basics.html#cases"
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>Getting Down to Cases</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.5. <A
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HREF="basics.html#power"
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>Power Supplies and Fans</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.6. <A
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HREF="basics.html#motherboards"
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>Motherboards</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.7. <A
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HREF="basics.html#AEN238"
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>Monitor and Video</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.8. <A
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HREF="basics.html#dvd"
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>DVD Drives</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.9. <A
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HREF="basics.html#sound"
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>Sound Cards and Speakers</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.10. <A
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HREF="basics.html#modems"
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>Modems</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.11. <A
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HREF="basics.html#printers"
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>Printers</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.12. <A
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HREF="basics.html#power_protection"
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>Power Protection</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.13. <A
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HREF="basics.html#rfi"
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>Radio Frequency Interference</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>4. <A
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HREF="optimize.html"
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>What To Optimize</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>4.1. <A
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HREF="optimize.html#AEN378"
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>First, add more memory</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>4.2. <A
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HREF="optimize.html#AEN381"
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>Bus and Disk speeds</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>4.3. <A
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HREF="optimize.html#diskwars"
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>Optimizing your disk subsystem</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>4.4. <A
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HREF="optimize.html#iotune"
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>Tuning Your I/O Subsystem</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>5. <A
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HREF="economizing.html"
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>But What If I'm Economizing?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>6. <A
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HREF="noise.html"
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>Noise Control and Heat Dissipation</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>7. <A
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HREF="laptops.html"
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>Special Considerations When Buying Laptops and Netbboks</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html"
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>How to Buy</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>8.1. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#whentobuy"
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>When to Buy</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8.2. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#wheretobuy"
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>Where to Buy</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8.3. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#fairs"
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>Computer Fairs</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8.4. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#mailorder"
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>Mail Order</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8.5. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#superstores"
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>Computer Superstores</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8.6. <A
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HREF="howtobuy.html#buying_tips"
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>Other Buying Tips</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>9. <A
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HREF="questions.html"
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>Questions You Should Always Ask Your Vendor</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>9.1. <A
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HREF="questions.html#warranty"
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>Minimum Warranty Provisions</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>9.2. <A
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HREF="questions.html#documention"
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>Documentation</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>9.3. <A
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HREF="questions.html#quality"
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>A System Quality Checklist</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>10. <A
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HREF="mailtips.html"
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>Things to Check when Buying</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>10.1. <A
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HREF="mailtips.html#tricks"
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>Tricks and Traps in Warranties</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>10.2. <A
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HREF="mailtips.html#mail_questions"
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>Special Questions to Ask Web/Mail-Order
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Vendors Before Buying</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>10.3. <A
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HREF="mailtips.html#payment"
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>Payment Method</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>10.4. <A
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HREF="mailtips.html#vendors"
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>Which Clone Vendors to Talk To</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>11. <A
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HREF="x675.html"
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>After You Take Delivery</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>12. <A
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HREF="software.html"
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>Software to go with your hardware</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>13. <A
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HREF="links.html"
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>Other Resources on Building Linux PCs</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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> </TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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> </TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="intro.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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> </TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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> </TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Introduction</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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></HTML
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> |