Sites for the well-resourced geek

[montyharding]

I'm kind of fed up at times at the sheer small-timerness of most online communities, especially in the tech arena. The problem seems to be also that many sites which supposedly cater for high-end tech tastes do so from a misplaced perspective of what high-end means.

Are there places where we can discuss high-end personal tech without the smartass small-timer mindset - as represented in engadget et al - getting in the way?

There are negative connotations to 'small-timer' and I don't wholly apologise for that, but it is more a practical thing: It's the case that many people who have things to say about more expensive gear from their point of view just can't understand the way people like us evaluate and buy stuff because they've never been in that position. I just get tired of wading through that perspective, although I understand that it is far more common than the perspective I would have.

Any suggestions?

[oman]

shutup fool

[Brian278]

inb4dumb

[montyharding]

Eh, I figured I'd give it a go. There's got to be others out there.

On the other hand, I don't doubt many of you fall into the abovementioned category that I've tired of in terms of tech, although with considerably more style of course.

<shrug>

[coldarchon]

Originally Posted by montyharding

Any suggestions?

any special subjects?

the reason why you didn't get serious answers is that you expect social behavior from unsocial beings ..

[aleksandr]

Well, 'tech' is a very very broad field. What sort of resources exactly were you looking for? Engadget is such a generalist site and they cover a wide spectrum of topics.

For home theater and the like, AVSForum has some high rollers, as does head-fi for headphones, etc.

[Xericx]

I like www.uncrate.com

[montyharding]

Originally Posted by aleksandr

Well, 'tech' is a very very broad field. What sort of resources exactly were you looking for? Engadget is such a generalist site and they cover a wide spectrum of topics.

For home theater and the like, AVSForum has some high rollers, as does head-fi for headphones, etc.

I do read AVSforums, whereas Head-Fi is basically mostly for kids who're too nerdy for an iPod and for those who can't afford a decent stereo.

(Oh all right, I keeed, I keeed)

I'd say almost any general computing/tech-related site is a good example: I know tech is a broad field, and one of the problems is seeking out within the large places where people of any means are likely to congregate in a particular field so that you're most likely to get some 'high rollers' (your words) in there, then finding and connecting with that 0.000001% who don't think in the way I alluded to in my first post, while needing to tread carefully not to upset aforementioned small-timers, some of whom tend to get really vicious when it's clear that you can simply buy (and e.g. not like) what they struggled to afford.

The sheer effort involved in terms of filtering the information and it's validity (in terms of 'I've finally been able to buy this, so it is the best' mentality) and other-shoe diplomacy is just incredibly wearing.

I was just wondering if there was an easier way for general tech - computers, gadgets, personal and home tech, etc.

One of the specific reasons I didn't use the words 'high roller' or any related phrases in the original post, is that what I'm looking for is mainly a departure from the abovementioned very common small-timer mindset. The people I prefer to interact with needn't be 'high rollers' in the awash-with-cash sense, because it's highly debatable if I'm a real 'high roller' - and it's one of the reasons I dropped this question in this forum, although the first two replies didn't fill me with hope.

What I really want to do I guess is to do away with the lowest common denominators. e.g. in the computing field, the guys who jumped on the netbooks. That's a broad brush and it may not be entirely appropriate, but it's kind of what I'm after.

[coldarchon]

Originally Posted by montyharding

What I really want to do I guess is to do away with the lowest common denominators. e.g. in the computing field, the guys who jumped on the netbooks. That's a broad brush and it may not be entirely appropriate, but it's kind of what I'm after.

http://www.howtogeek.com/

and very simple:

http://www.tech-forums.net/

one of the best was www.totse.com - but it's down, maybe the successor zoknet is a good help ..

[A Y]

The problem with the high-roller forums I've seen (and AVS's 20K+ subforum is the poster child for this) is that they tend to equate price with quality, or other irrelevant measures. If you're serious about a particular hobby, then the only way I know of to really make progress is to learn a lot about it from the ground up, paying attention to the fundamentals (math, physics, engineering for audio, for example) and figuring things out for yourself in a rigorous, controlled way. It's a lot of work and there isn't a quick answer.

One great example for audio is Siegfried Linkwitz's site, which accumulates his many decades travelling on this path:

http://www.linkwitzlab.com

--Andre

[montyharding]

Originally Posted by A Y

The problem with the high-roller forums I've seen (and AVS's 20K+ subforum is the poster child for this) is that they tend to equate price with quality, or other irrelevant measures. If you're serious about a particular hobby, then the only way I know of to really make progress is to learn a lot about it from the ground up, paying attention to the fundamentals (math, physics, engineering for audio, for example) and figuring things out for yourself in a rigorous, controlled way. It's a lot of work and there isn't a quick answer.

One great example for audio is Siegfried Linkwitz's site, which accumulates his many decades travelling on this path:

http://www.linkwitzlab.com

--Andre

True in many cases, but that's not quite the point here, and we're getting too in-depth.

The resource I want is pretty simple in terms of concept:

A site, or a series of sites, where I can discuss general tech of a higher calibre (and yes - price / performance point taken, but the misinterpretation of that is one of the core points of the disconnect I referred to in the above posts) among well-resourced people who are not rabid hobbyists and who balance a fairly normal life along with their geekiness.

And as I said, 'high roller' are your words and not mine, and I don't think it's necessarily descriptive. If I had to put a more specific tech-related definition in of 'well resourced', I'd have to say it's someone who doesn't usually talk in terms of 'able to afford' for your higher-end ~$4,000 notebook for example, although they may call it expensive.

If that sounds d-baggy to anyone... well, the need to spell that out is kind of the whole issue, really.

[GQgeek]

You can't even define your needs in terms of actual usage, and you don't want to get to technical, yet you expect people not to call you retarded for claiming to want "high-end" and spending money that won't get you anything extra? If you were any sort of geek, you'd be able to figure this shit out on your own like the rest of us do. I never thought i'd see the day of geek poseurs.

[A Y]

I think the problem is precisely that you have to get in-depth and into the details if you want to get an expensive item whose functionality is commensurate with its price. Otherwise, you're just throwing your money around randomly.

For example, if you can accurately describe what you'll be using that computer for, any number of sites, including this one, can recommend the right setup. In my experience, price doesn't seem to stop people from recommending something if it's the right answer for the problem. I don't understand the whole small-timer jealousy thing too --- it's a rare phenomenon IME.

--Andre

[Asch]

Huh?