What wouldn’t I give for Fry’s right now?
Media Markt is a big disappointment. They carry no gigabit Ethernet hubs or switches whatsoever. How is one supposed to build a modern network with nothing but plain old 8 port Fast Ethernet switches? Bah.
Similarly, the only PC power supplies I could find were 650 watt units, which is much more than I need. I started to unpack the computers today and discovered that the power supply of one of them is non-switchable, which almost certainly means it will go up in smoke if I dare to plug it into a 240 volt socket. Better to just buy and fit a new power supply.
What I did manage to find, however, were a few European power cords. That will save me from having to use plug adapters with the original American cords.
Afterwards, I went to IKEA and bought a basic Galant desk for around €150. Well, there’s no point spending good money on something more expensive than that, when it’ll serve the purpose perfectly well. I just need a simple desk for when I’m hacking code and ripping CDs.
I’ll probably still need a small filing cabinet, but that can come later; probably from IKEA, too. I’m not a snob, so IKEA still has its place in my life. I wouldn’t use it for my bed, my couch or even my dining room table, but for the desk at which I will sit and idle away hours on end, it’s fine. It wasn’t just a coincidence I had a Jerker in the States.
I know my brother Pascal has ordered from http://www.informatique.nl/ in the past and he probably knows another good mail order place or two, you should email him to find out.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the Dutch computer shopping experience has improved since you last lived there. The same problem here in London, really. Mailorder is the only way to go if you want choice and don’t feel like spending 50 percent to double for the same product at PC World and other retailers.