As Bob mentioned, Belarc will be the best way, especially for the Motherboard. The Motherboard will be under 'System Model' The Video card will be under 'Display' it will be the [Display adapter] Also you can right click Desktop> Properties> Settings> Advanced> Adapter, to show you what Video card or Display Adapter. or right click My Computer> Properties> Hardware> Device Manager and it will be under the + sign on Display Adapters

The amount spent is ridiculous-but from a public employee perspective, I can see why management supported it. When you have employees working in a boiler-you HAVE to do something to lessen the stress or they're going to walk. To most pragmatic people, it seems a huge waste-but I can say from experience that I have been sent to symposiums, retreats, etc that seemed a folly and that money could have been better spent somehwere else, but at the same time, I was at a very nice resort, experienced fantastic food (no-host bar after hours), networking and general relaxation while learning more than just the subject matter. When you've got a high stress job (and I'm sure the IRS is a HIGH STRESS place to work), sometimes it is necessary and if it's a small portion of their over all budget-well, ok. However, as I said, the amount seems excessive and should be reviewed. But when they compare hiring consulting firms (would have to go out to competitive bid) to come up with retreats/conferences, versus allowing dedicated staff to arranging the events, it may be a cost savings. And remember, their budget packages are approved by the legislature. The 'fun' money is a generally a line item presented with a budget package and it it's approved-well, it's approved by Congress.

It has nothing to do with rich or poor, big house or small, professional or not. Just as IRL, people form bonds over their common interests and, of course, they will respond more to those they've known for years. Ditto ditto ditto. I'll add that yes, people are more apt to respond to photos. Decorating is a visual thing. I can offer almost NOTHING without seeing a photo. I also can't tell your style. I get really annoyed with the accusations of elitism and cliquishness. It's simply not true. Yes, there are people who've been here a long time. We've seen photos of each others' homes. We've seen various projects in the works, etc. Heck, I've never met AuntJen, but I "know" enough about her style from years spent on this board to see a Talavera Toilet and think immediately of her home. That's not cliquish, that's familiarity. I've never met Zipdee, but I know that when I see Jadeite green antique kitchen accessories, I think of her super cool retro kitchen immediately. Because she's in the "inner sanctum"? No! Of course not. It's because she routinely shares her progress with us, lets us peek at her photos, contributes frequently, etc. Lack of response on threads happens to everyone. It will happen more if the question is too vague. It will happen more if people can't see photos. It will happen more if we don't "know" your style. Hang around. Join in other conversations. Let us "see" your style, so that when you post a link to a dresser you're thinking about buying, we'll know if it would work with your house. Again, this is NOT cliquishness, this is familiarity. As far as the blogs, I don't see the big deal. People blog all the time about these things, and so what if FrenchDressing linked to hers? I honestly don't see what the uproar is all about.

Well, make sure when you register the domain name that you do it as a private registration (i.e. hiding the whois information, thereby making it somewhat difficult to track down who owns the website). It costs a little more, but in a situation like this, it would be worth it. That way, if someone does decide to sue you, they have to put a little more effort into it (presumably by contacting your webhost, and demanding your personal information. Which the webhost should not give up without a subpeona from the suing person's lawyer.) You'll also want to make sure that you find a host that isn't going to dump you at the first complaint (which is far, far too common), so you may want to check out some of these here. I'd also make sure that you review any submissions/cases to the site from other people before validating them, to ensure that there are not any identifying pieces of information, as davidandkasie said before. Faces should be blacked out, and no full addresses -- that's the definite road to getting sued. If you do this, you really ought to do it as a dynamic site (in php, asp, etc with a database) so that people can automatically submit things, you can quickly validate them, and people can leave comments, etc. I really hate rinky-dink websites where you have to submit content through email. It's horrendously time-consuming for the webmaster, and frustrating for the submitters to wait for their content to go up.