Replace JordanCon video PC
Donation protected
Friends, JordanCon family, and friendly WoT & Brandon Sanderson fans,
It's been a rough day and some of you suggested I post here for help.
My personal desktop PC has been my workhorse since late 2010. Among other things, it edited all but the first 2 years of JordanCon's videos, ran 2 WoT & Brandon fan sites (Portalstones and Stormblessed) for several years, and did lots of gaming on the side. It almost got to redo the first 2 years of JordanCon, too!
There it is, with a copy of the printed programs from every JCon it's holding (8 out of 9).
Today it basically died. I was trying to give it a clean install of Windows 7 to solve some quirks and problems it had developed after 7 years with no refresh, but it got stuck unable to finish the install. I had been putting the attempt off for a while because I was afraid something like this might happen. But I finally tried it today because the machine had gotten to the point where it was no longer able to make a basic adjustment that's critical to the video editing.
JordanCon's videos should all be safe (including 2017). I had them on the F: drive, and there were no problems with them. I just can't do anything with them until I get them into another working computer.
How Can You Help?
Two ways. Whatever amount of funds you may be able to spare comfortably, I would greatly appreciate your contribution. Also, you can send other JordanCon goers or friends here.
Why I Need Help
I have been unemployed off and on for several years. When I had substantial and steady income, it was no problem for me to buy my first video camera just to capture JordanCon, and then a better camera just to get JordanCon in HD, and tripods, extra memory cards... But right now, I can't replace my own PC. That's not going to help me find more work, and it's not great for the video processing, either.
What Funds Will Be Used For
I'm setting the goal high at $2,150, knowing we might not make it. But that would be enough to purchase a completely new system (hardware and software) capable of editing HD video easily, and even able to stretch a bit to edit 4k video in future years. If you want some tech details, I'm thinking of a Ryzen 7 1700 with at least 16gb of ram and an ssd for Windows and applications. But I am ready to scale the budget and specs based on whatever amount of help people are able to offer.
Why Not Repair?
Basically, I'm afraid it will turn into a money pit. It's 7 years old, it's already been propped up for a few years by a major upgrade, and there's no guarantee spending more on it will solve anything now. If it was still working fine, I'd run it as long as possible... but it's not.
Incentives
My pile of goodies and favors is not the biggest, but there are a few things I can offer as thanks.... (levels are based on rarity/etc, not the exact value of the incentive)
$5 'Contributor': Everyone pitching in $5 or more will have their name or screen name (whatever you identify yourself with, as long as it's 'work-safe') listed in a thank-you screen at the end credits of JordanCon videos that are completed or re-processed in 2017.
$50 'The Other Black Tower': The first person contributing $50 will receive a hardcover of The Black Prism, signed by Brent Weeks.
$100 'When Shayol Ghul's Breaking Loose...': The first person donating $100 can claim a special Orbit hardcover printing of The Eye of the World, with gold-foil snake/wheel logo and lettering, still in shrink wrap.
$200 'Victorious': The first $200 contributor will receive a paperback - somewhat worn but in good condition - of Conan the Victorious (Tor, 1984), signed by Robert Jordan.
Thanks!
I want to thank everyone before we even get started, just because a few of you offered to help. I can't wait to get back to improving our footage of past 'Cons, and look forward to having our YouTube in the best shape ever for JordanCon 10.
It's been a rough day and some of you suggested I post here for help.
My personal desktop PC has been my workhorse since late 2010. Among other things, it edited all but the first 2 years of JordanCon's videos, ran 2 WoT & Brandon fan sites (Portalstones and Stormblessed) for several years, and did lots of gaming on the side. It almost got to redo the first 2 years of JordanCon, too!
There it is, with a copy of the printed programs from every JCon it's holding (8 out of 9).
Today it basically died. I was trying to give it a clean install of Windows 7 to solve some quirks and problems it had developed after 7 years with no refresh, but it got stuck unable to finish the install. I had been putting the attempt off for a while because I was afraid something like this might happen. But I finally tried it today because the machine had gotten to the point where it was no longer able to make a basic adjustment that's critical to the video editing.
JordanCon's videos should all be safe (including 2017). I had them on the F: drive, and there were no problems with them. I just can't do anything with them until I get them into another working computer.
How Can You Help?
Two ways. Whatever amount of funds you may be able to spare comfortably, I would greatly appreciate your contribution. Also, you can send other JordanCon goers or friends here.
Why I Need Help
I have been unemployed off and on for several years. When I had substantial and steady income, it was no problem for me to buy my first video camera just to capture JordanCon, and then a better camera just to get JordanCon in HD, and tripods, extra memory cards... But right now, I can't replace my own PC. That's not going to help me find more work, and it's not great for the video processing, either.
What Funds Will Be Used For
I'm setting the goal high at $2,150, knowing we might not make it. But that would be enough to purchase a completely new system (hardware and software) capable of editing HD video easily, and even able to stretch a bit to edit 4k video in future years. If you want some tech details, I'm thinking of a Ryzen 7 1700 with at least 16gb of ram and an ssd for Windows and applications. But I am ready to scale the budget and specs based on whatever amount of help people are able to offer.
Why Not Repair?
Basically, I'm afraid it will turn into a money pit. It's 7 years old, it's already been propped up for a few years by a major upgrade, and there's no guarantee spending more on it will solve anything now. If it was still working fine, I'd run it as long as possible... but it's not.
Incentives
My pile of goodies and favors is not the biggest, but there are a few things I can offer as thanks.... (levels are based on rarity/etc, not the exact value of the incentive)
$5 'Contributor': Everyone pitching in $5 or more will have their name or screen name (whatever you identify yourself with, as long as it's 'work-safe') listed in a thank-you screen at the end credits of JordanCon videos that are completed or re-processed in 2017.
$50 'The Other Black Tower': The first person contributing $50 will receive a hardcover of The Black Prism, signed by Brent Weeks.
$100 'When Shayol Ghul's Breaking Loose...': The first person donating $100 can claim a special Orbit hardcover printing of The Eye of the World, with gold-foil snake/wheel logo and lettering, still in shrink wrap.
$200 'Victorious': The first $200 contributor will receive a paperback - somewhat worn but in good condition - of Conan the Victorious (Tor, 1984), signed by Robert Jordan.
Thanks!
I want to thank everyone before we even get started, just because a few of you offered to help. I can't wait to get back to improving our footage of past 'Cons, and look forward to having our YouTube in the best shape ever for JordanCon 10.
Organizer
Steve Godecke
Organizer
Cedar Rapids, IA