Logged into CAA 24/7 (almost)

[Mave]

I'm curious and hopeful that this topic hasn't been dealt with yet...(if so, pls forgive me). How much time do you spend logged into CAA on a daily basis? Maybe it's just my imagination but some members seem to be in CAA the whole day.

I lurk at CAA often enough but my access is limited due to my daytime job limitations. So I'm wondering what wonderful class schedule or occupation you have which allows you this luxury of being in CAA most of the time. Hehe.

[~Natsumi Lam~]

i am only taking one class... when my husband is not on the comp. I am usually on CAA, Martial Arts Planet, Hotmail.. and some others. I think i am mostly on here all night because i am up all night.,.. when i am not sleeping i am on here.


Oh my one class is dance, so no hw really.

~NL~

[Scribs]

I am on, on and off durring the day and night. I ought to cut back, but hey, there are worse things I could be doing.

[starfire]

I come on frequently during the day. If I'm researching or something I pop in and post a few times and come back later. CAA rocks! WOOT!

[shooraijin]

Off and on for brief spurts, maybe a few minutes a pop.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

once i left my browser open O.o so I was on overnight haha

if you know me, I always leave my compy on and running ^^

[shooraijin]

So if we don't, it shuts down?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

So if we don't, it shuts down?

if you're reffering to me:

Unless you put it in sleep mode or something O.o

I also always stay logged onto trillian...

[shooraijin]

Well, I don't know you.

*waits to see if he logs off*

... did it work?

[uc pseudonym]

The question of time spent on CAA has been addressed before, but it has been some time and this thread has a slightly different flavor, so I see no problem with it.

Personally I have only one CAA session a day, ideally in the morning but varying with schedule irregularities. My observation regarding other users is this: some people tend to be online whenever you get online and stay somewhat longer than you do. This creates the illusion that they are constantly logged in. However, if you look over all their recent posts, you are likely to find significant gaps of no posting.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Well, I don't know you.

*waits to see if he logs off*

... did it work?

I am EXTREMELY confused......

[uc pseudonym]

...I had a feeling a comment like that was inevitable. Allow me to explain and rob shooraijin's wordplay of all joy. Avert your eyes if you want to appreciate it.

[spoiler]

if you know me, I always leave my compy on and running

The phrasing is "if you know me," you leave your computer on. This indicates that leaving your computer on is the effect of people knowing you. Hence, shooraijin asked if people not knowing you would cause your computer to shut down.

Well, I don't know you.

*waits to see if he logs off*

... did it work?

Exhibit A.[/spoiler]

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I see now

Well i guess that means Shoo does infact know me... infact everybody knows me!

Take that Dr. Tenma!

[Azier the Swordsman]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Azier and I am a CAA addict. I generally visit more than once a day; especially at night. CAA tends to deprive me of sleep quite regularly.

[Fsiphskilm]

I open

[calbhach]

@_@ I don't get to come over here too much...I'm too busy most of the time -_- I usually just read some of the messages around...*looks at the clock*...4:00 in the morning. o.o

Then I go to bed. XD

[Sammy Boy]

I am on for around 1 - 2 hours at most per night I think. Sometimes I feel the urge to be on for longer ... but often my Lego calls out to me...

[TurkishMonky]

I am on almost constantly in the afternoons, but i don't really post much.

BTW, my computer shuts off every night at 1:30 AM automatically (except when i'm doing lan partys, then turn that feature off....)

[ShiroiHikari]

I'm on a lot because I'm stuck at home all day long. I don't post much though. Maybe three or four times a day.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I am on almost constantly in the afternoons, but i don't really post much.

BTW, my computer shuts off every night at 1:30 AM automatically (except when i'm doing lan partys, then turn that feature off....)

hmm I oughta do that XD

[Mave]

I'm typically stuck at work during weekdays and sometimes feel guilty for lurking at CAA or checking personal emails then. But yah, I've only been able to log in the evenings or weekends (assuming that I'm not too tired or have other social activities). I typically don't spend more than 0.5 hr logged in.

I guess Shooby's right. It's most likely that I just happen to encounter the same members whenever I lurk/log into CAA. It freaks me a little to think that there are some people who literally spend their whole lives on this forum. Hehehe..

OK, this is kinda OT but...

Which is better for your computer? Shut down your computer on a daily basis or leave it on standby when you're not using it?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Shut down your computer on a daily basis or leave it on standby when you're not using it?

I belive leaving it on standby... but im not sure

[shooraijin]

Credit where credit's due; uc made that suggestion.

IMHO, leaving it on all the time is preferable from a wear-and-tear perspective. Your HD is already spinning, you're not spiking the components with sudden voltage changes, and your fan is already running. Plus, any scheduled cleanup tasks can run when you're asleep (this is particularly key for OS X, where cron jobs do a lot of system cleanup during the off hours).

OTOH, large computer setups draw large power = large bill and possible wastage if you're not on it that much.

For the record, my workstation Mac is always on (since I use it frequently), and so are the five server systems. The rest of the workstations are powered up only when needed, since I don't touch them as often.

[Fsiphskilm]

One We

[Mave]

[quote="shooraijin"]Credit where credit's due]
Ugh, what's wrong with me this week? First, Bobtheduck and now, UC?

Thanks, everyone for their useful feedback and for bearing with me. I'm sorry, apparently, my forumming skills are deteriorating.

[shooraijin]

Volt, there's *nothing* different about server hard disks. Same mechs, same platters, same bearings. The hard disks we used in the HP minis and Sun servers at my old job were the same ones in the W2K servers and the same ones in the workstations.

Yes, over time, the bearings will wear. Over a long time. The Apple Network Server 500 in my apartment has been using the same drive for almost 10 years (an 18GB Fujitsu 7200rpm SCSI-2), and other than when I moved it up here and during a server retrofit a couple months ago, it has been running continuously. If anything, the ground strap (the part that squeals on really, really beaten-up drives) will wear long before the bearings do. All hard disks have an MTBF and estimated service life for running at speed. If you buy a lousy one, these statistics will be lower, if the vendor computes them at all, and the drive craps out sooner. But most vendors measure this in hundreds of thousands of hours.

Heat also kills drives. I have central A/C, so no problem.

Also, while the bearings will slowly wear during constant revolution, it's a greater mechanical stress during changes in velocity because, for example, in powering up you have to overcome friction at rest to get the drive spinning. This will cause greater forces on the bearings than the constant low-friction spin of an already-powered-up drive. In fairness, vendors do rate drives for start/stop cycles, and you'd have to be banging the drive several times a day to reach these conservative numbers, but you'd exhaust this quicker than even a real-world-proven MTBF or vendor-estimate service life for a drive just left spinning.

As for everything else, why do light bulbs only pop when you turn them on, not when they're already running? Thermal expansion applies to other electronics, not just light filaments. For that matter, hard disk electronics are subject to the same thing, as well as the rest of your motherboard.

EDIT: I should say, in the interest of equanimity, that I only leave computers running all the time that need to be. The servers have to be on 24/7, and my dualie G4 gets so much use that it might as well be (and I even access files from it on the road, so there's another reason). However, all of the other systems remain off unless in use. A powered-up system is vulnerable to power surges and spikes (the servers and the G4 are all connected to UPSes, but not everything else is), and having a lot of systems powered up wastes electricity and generates lots of heat. So weigh your needs and the risks and benefits.

[dragonshimmer]

Hmm...up until about a week ago, this is about how much time I spent actively logged in CAA or in the CAA chat:

Monday-Friday (days I'm at work with NOTHING to do other than web surf):

About 4 hours during the day, two or so at night.

Saturday (again, at work with NOTHING to do):

About five hours during the day, not really any at night.

Sunday:
Maybe one or two; I travel a lot on Sundays


Now, I'm trying to wean myself from the internet as much since I'll probably be switching jobs soon to a job where I won't have CAA access during the day. I don't want to experience massive withdrawal xD

NOW Monday-Friday

About two hours during the day, one at night

Saturday:

Two hours in the day, MAYBE one at night...social life is picking up again

Sunday:

I'm lucky if I get 30 minutes in.

[shooraijin]

Why, what's your new job going to be, dragonshimmer?

[dragonshimmer]

Why, what's your new job going to be, dragonshimmer?

Only God knows that at this point, I believe, but I'm searching and trust that He will provide. The place I'm at now is locally owned and VERY laid back. I could probably get away with wearing jeans and selling $4,000 merchandise if I wished *laughs* With a higher paying job comes a higher sense of professionalism, so I'm willing to bet that my hours of bored, idle time surfing the internet are going to go out the door.

[termyt]

I generally get on a couple of times a day during the week, but rarely on weekends. I access from work, but I don't feel guilty about it. I logged about 70 hours last week, so I think they can spare a few for my time on CAA. And personal use of the internet is not prohibited - that's an important point.

As for shutting down your computer:
Pro's for leaving it on:
Most electrical component only fail when they are hit with a spike of power - which happens nearly every time you turn it on. (Ever notice that light bulbs only tend to bust when you are turning them on?)

Also, a more obvious advantage, you don't have to wait for it to boot. You can leave programs up and easily pick up where you left off.

Con's for leaving it on:
Increased power usage. If you use your computer daily, then leaving it on is not a big deal. However, if you only use your computer occasionally, you are wasting electricity for no good reason.

I've also found (since I use a Windows operating system) that my system becomes unstable after leaving it on for a long period of time - say a week. After that, things just stop working right and I need to reboot.