mrad01

Chaps and chapettes, I'm on the lookout for an old apple ][ computer from the 80s. Doesn't have to be working, but good condition if anyone knows of one. Usually found at a school in the "old stuff" cupboard... They look like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II Will pay money Thanks in advance!!!

Oh man!!! The S2 gets a bigger screen, they call it the S3 - every fandroid loses their load... Crapple do the same thing and the fandroids trash it. Man, i'm still laughing at the hypocrisy - it is bloody funny!

How about we change that from the 2009 statement that it is, and update it for 2012/13: It somehow feels like "most" people who buy Samsung products are people who want to act "cooler" and try giving me the idea their devices is "better" than mine even though they don't even know what RAM stands for and what it does etc.

...and even worse, the plastico supremo - the Galaxy S2. I think the S stands for sh*t. Just say no.

On noes! Not this again!!!!! Time for all the fanboys to come out with their "holden vs ford" mentality, lashed with a dose of "its the best because I bought it". Fandroids are going to bang on about how Android has caught up to iOS, crapplites are going to cry that samsung copied them and how they were first, Windrones are going to wimper on about how their phones are going to change the world. eventually. one day. maybe. Its pretty easy really. 1. Buy your mum an iPhone or a crappy nokia so she never asks you about how to use it. Don't buy your mum Android, she will be bloody confused when you try to tell her to root her phone before she can put a jellybean into it. Bugger that. Keep it simple. (no offense mum!) 2. Buy your dad a windows phone because he probably works in some old school business which still uses MS Exchange for email and his calendar. It will work and he will like you. Make sure you put on your serious "dad voice" when you explain to him how to use it. 3. Buy yourself an Android. Get the biggest screen you can so you can walk around with a bow-legged swagger and point out how awesome you are and how google are open and will never mess you around like apple do. Google gave us Android because they like us. No other reason. I think. Well, maybe not. 4. If you love crapple, you'll buy an iPhone regardless of 1,2 or 3. So you already know what to do. So, there you have it! Q&A: What do I use? iPhone 4S for business 1. Google Galaxy Nexus for business 2. WP7 so I can talk about it without sounding too much like a d*ck. Which is the best? Draw - between the iPhone and the Nexus. What do I think of the S2 and S3? Just no. Build quality is not their strong point - and I hate touchwiz and sense. Vanilla Android is the only way. Nexus.

Front only. No issues because it doesn't exist....

I've got Blinders - awesome. Saved my Speed Credits many a time...

26/26

+1 [running a Bel STi-R with jammers. still got 100 speeding credits to spend!]

Confusing alright. Here are the specs for the US 125i and 135i coupes. You are right, it isn't called a M125, but there is a 125i with a 6 in it. Go figure...

Yes, the new X5 shows what a tri-turbo diesel can do. Although, the next M3 is supposed to be a tri-turbo petrol. It's all good in the future for both camps! The 125i I have here is a 4cyl, 2.0L twinscroll turbo. (Yes, there is a 1 series coupe model called the M125i which is a 6, but it isn't coming to NZ I believe)

Interesting reading! No wonder the petrol is making a comeback... Engine: 118i: 1.6L turbopetrol 118d: 2.0L turbodiesel Max. output in kW (hp) at 1/min 118i: 125 (170) / 4,800 118d: 105 (143) / 4,000 Max. torque in Nm at 1/min 118i: 250 / 1,500-4,500 118d: 320 / 1,750-2,500 0-100kmh 118i: 7.2sec 118d: 8.6sec Love that wide ass torque band of the petrol!!

We were just wondering that ourselves! Ive had a 123d for a loaner a while back and it *is* amazing, but i think this nextgen of turbopetrols basically minimises the advantages of diesel. Good for all of us - either choice has a load of power and good economy. The 0-100 times are virtually identical. JCBMW said their sales of petrol 1 series is back up against the diesel after this new model introduction. More power in the petrol, faster revving, and the fuel economy is within spec. (4.9l/100 vs 5.8l/100) Even the tightest of us wouldn't blink at that too much. In the 118d vs 118i camp - the 118i kicks the d in performance (1.2sec faster to 100) and close in fuel usage. (4.5 vs 5.6) And you can "remap" these petrol turbos too... Why am I trying to pitch this to a guy called "The Diesel Guy" - Am I mad? I think I need my head remapped???

Oh, and here are some pics of it... Valencia Orange they call it.

UPDATE:: So, there is this little button called "Sport" on the console. Pushed it. Nothing really happened. Until I went up the constellation drive onramp using this "redline" feature. The gearshifts stopped being smooth and boring and started being sporty and FAST as all hell. I think you'd have to spend up large to get a Golf to smack this thing, but the golf rides better... I'm even more impressed. I can foresee the end of those stupid DCT/DSG overcomplex auto, but really manual thingies. These new autos can change pretty damn quick, much faster than the SMG in the e60 M5 for sure. Evolution at its best. In the end, I like a 6 speed manual. Turns out Jerry Clayton BMW need my M3 for another day. Works for me.

So, the M3 is in for some service work, so they let me loose in the "new" 125i M Sport. So, a few things about it.. Look: Meh, the new 1 series is an improvement on some angles to the previous model, but overall, meh. I'm not sure about the front - butt ugly. The M sport kit does improve it overall. Space: Bigger than my wifes 1 series (previous 5 door) - still not big. It is a 1 series - not a 5. I'm not sure what people expect? Chassis: Nice handling. Predictable, but a little bit harsh. The suspension is quite firm. Steering feedback is pretty good, but I think it is a bit lightweight feeling. Mums won't like it, they might spill their lattes when hitting bumps. Brakes: Cracker! It stops. Well. Engine: 2.0l twinscroll turbo. Nice and quick. Revs quickly and punches out the power smoothly. So, down low, it is a bit laggy (like most turbos), but once you get the scrolls spinning, it's away! Pulls all the way to 7500 pretty easily. I'm impressed. With me giving it sh*t everywhere, it still managed 8.5l/100 - and because of its pretty peaky top end, i'd much prefer this over the diesel. (For the record, I appreciate Diesels - but they bore me to tears. I don't really care about fuel economy that much, and I love the sound of engines revving! Low down torque is fun, but meh. So completely ignore me if you love Diesels) These new petrol turbos give you *almost* diesel low down torque, ballpark fuel usage (diesel is better, but not the moonbeams of old), but a massively higher output top-end than the diesel could dream of. I don't think the target market (chicks) really would care too much, but I think it would almost hold its own against the 130i. Seriously. Gearbox: 8 Speed auto, with Sport mode and steering wheel paddles. Good box. Shifts well. So well, it is bloody boring. Would be HOT in a DCT or 6sp manual. Overall: I like it. Fast engine, *good* fuel economy, good chassis (bit harsh), excellent brakes, ergonomically good. Good. Good. Good. Not great. For me, the ride lets it down a wee bit, but the engine stands out. If you get a chance to drive one, do it with an open mind. Its not a 1M.

My wife has the 118i and her sister has the 120d. Both motorsports in white. I've got a ton of experience with them. Firstly: we are not chicks. We all moan about the ride quality of run-flats and the kw output of the engine and all this unimportant (to chicks) crap. You aren't buying it for our male (hypercritical) selves. You wife will love run flats. They are safe, she doesn't have to piss around on the side of the road with a crying baby trying to figure out how to use a compressor. Keep the run flats. She won't whinge about the possible ride quality. Yes, they cost a little bit more, but my wife got a ton of Ks out of hers. They are more resistant to punctures - and if you do get the TPS go off, top them up with air before they go flat at the nearest servo, and they can be repaired. Done it. All good. Enginewise - the 118i is a 2.0l engine and goes fine. It isn't as fast as the diesel, but gets along fine. Unless your wife is planning to be supermom, get her the auto. She will want to drive while drinking her coffee after 2 hours of sleep the night before. If she doesn't drink coffee - she will soon. If SHE wants a manual, different story, but the auto box in there is great. Sport mode for when she is ripping through town getting to coffee group. Yes, it has ISOFIX for baby seats. Yes, it'll be fine for your wife, you, and your baby. And, when you have baby number 2, it'll work for that too. My sister-in-law has 2 skids and it worked perfectly for them. No need for the sterotypical overkill when baby 2 comes along - you don't need a Toyota Previa for 2 kids NZ!!!!! Sheesh. Oh, and you don't have to drive your kids to school which is 2 kms away...another pet peeve of mine.... Handling and brakes-wise, I'm really happy to drive any 1-series - it is a GREAT chassis, nice rear wheel drive and super balanced. Do it, get the diesel for the best bang for buck - but don't shy away from a mint petrol - they are all good. Hope that is useful. Ha! Re-reading it, I could get some flack. Ahhh, bugger it - post.

We took that out for a demo drive. Not sure I liked the auto gearbox (anything with PNDR on the gear stick is an auto to me) or the 20.8 l/100.... Sounds and goes great though!!!! and well specced...

Someone told me you can change an SMG to a standard manual box for not too much money. Fact or Fiction?

I've moved all my employees and all my server/laptops/workstations to SSDs over the last 2 years - and the boost in performance is great. Everything get a boost - even browsing because access to browser cache files (read/write) is insanely quicker. I've had side by side laptop test which show the results. On "why" it is faster overall and why they are important when you want performance. Modern operating systems use virtual memory to map physical RAM to your disk. Even if you have a ton of RAM, they still create a VM file and map memory to it. Machines with 8GB of physical memory have enough for general use, but when you start pushing the memory limits, swapping out to an SSD for VM is crap-loads faster than swapping out to those horrible record player disk thingies. Sorry for the computer science lesson [its my background] Anyhoo, yes your apps will launch faster, yes your machine will startup quicker, yes your machine will be more reliable and yes, under load, your machine will keep running fast (like when you have a lot of apps open) On life, a good SSD (Crucial M4 or Intel) will give you 5+years before you *start* to get near its write limitations. All good. Nothing more to see. A fast machine is not just about a stinking fast CPU - it is about I/O balancing. No point having an i7 if your 750GB record player disk drive can only deliver 30MB/sec. Spread your money around all components and you'll see a generally faster machine than one with just a fast CPU. Get 8GB RAM, and 256GB Crucial M4 SSD, maybe a fast i5. The SSD and *enough* RAM is the key.

Believe!! HP figures don't tell the story. 555hp vs 420hp 690kg weight difference. 690kgs !!!!

Incorrect. 1690kgs VS 2380 kgs 8400rpm vs 7000rpm redlines In a straight line, it was virtually a dead heat (we have done it) Not now.....

Could be a good idea. I'll see when she is around. That bloody thing is faster than mine.....tuned.....it has 650hp!!

Ha ha! That's my sister!

Plasma if you are a movie lover. I watch a lot of movies. They still represent movies the best by far. LCD/LED are sharper for sure - but for movies they are just wrong. There is a ton of electronics in the LCD/LED tvs to remove ghosting, boost the contrast shades, make fast motion look natural - but in the end, the plasma does all of these things by design and doesn't need the same amount of "electronic aides" to get it right. Most people will buy the LCD/LED off the showroom demos because they DO look better in a demo situation. You compare tech details like brightness and sharpness etc - you don't sit and watch generally. (Harvey Norman would hate that! Can I watch Batman, on both, in full please?) If all you do is play Xbox or PS3 - and sometimes TV, then maybe the LCD/LED route would work. Games and digitally created content (like animated movies) look awesome on LCD/LED... Stay away from 3D tvs - they suck at the moment...