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Messages - MilesAhead [ switch to compact view ]

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 309next
1
Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone
« on: July 29, 2023, 04:11 PM »
the Nord N30 5G.  It was an enhanced N10 5G basically.  It comes with a 50W charger instead of 33W.  8 GB Ram instead of 6 GB.  The same 128 GB storage and the same open spot in the Sim tray for a micro sdcard.  Plus the Qualcom processor is a bit better.  The screen refresh rate is 120 FPS instead of 90.
[...]
I think it is a good buy for $270 USD

Sounds very good to me  :up:

Thanks.  There is a setting to keep it in High Performance mode.  Even with that setting off the Snapdragon cpu seems snappier than the old one.  I am sure the additional 2 GB Ram also helps.  But I have to admit once on the charger for a few minutes it seems to kick up a gear and the wait to full charge is not tedious.  I don't think it has gotten down to 50% charge yet.   ;D


2
Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone
« on: July 28, 2023, 02:12 PM »
Some thoughts about lower-to-mid-range phones if anyone considering:

Considering the Pixel 6a which is very similar to my last, the Pixel 4a 5g.
[...]
I suspect I could get something similar even cheaper. Would be willing to pay more for a better camera though.

I couldnt find anything under €/$ 500 with a better camera, so ordered the 6a.
Its main con for me is only available with 128GB and no SD expansion.

The 7a has a better processor, better refresh rate, its camera has more megapixels -- but doesnt seem to make much better images (so not worth the extra €100 to me).

If you're not such a fussy beggar re the camera, there's probably lots of good options out there. One that looked very interesting to me was the Samsung A53. Didnt take eSIM though and I wasnt convinced enough to go order a new SIM card.


Hey.  I had a OnePlus Nord N10 5G phone.  I was hoping for an upgrade with faster charging, more Ram etc..  The first attempt by OnePlus was a phone with 65W charger but less Ram and not as much storage, plus it cost $100 more than the N10.  I held out and the end of June they released the Nord N30 5G.  It was an enhanced N10 5G basically.  It comes with a 50W charger instead of 33W.  8 GB Ram instead of 6 GB.  The same 128 GB storage and the same open spot in the Sim tray for a micro sdcard.  Plus the Qualcom processor is a bit better.  The screen refresh rate is 120 FPS instead of 90.  The cameras are improved but I don't really know much about them.  I am not into photography.  The main disappointment was the fingerprint unlock got uncoorperative after only 3 days.  But that was kind of a blessing in disguise because it provoked me to try face unlock.  Turns out it is much smoother than using the fingerprint.  With "lift to wake" setting enabled I just lift the phone and look at the screen and the padlock shows unlocked.  Then swipe up to go to home screen.

I think it is a good buy for $270 USD.  The main drawback getting phones from Metro by T-Mobile is they seal them.  You need to be a phone tech to change the battery.  But that aside I especially love the charging.  The N10 could take 15 minutes to go from 99% to 100%.  This N30 goes from 72% to 100% in about 20 minutes.  And the charger still fits in my cargo pocket.  Another thing I like is it is Android 13 and works well with Hyperion Launcher.  The main feature of Hyperion is it will save and restore home screen layouts.  Saves unscrambling a botched home screen by hand.

So far I have to say I like the phone.  But I haven't watched much streaming yet.  I got a Lenovo Laptop with 2.5K res so I try to watch vids with that.

3
Developer's Corner / Re: Autohotkey robots
« on: July 06, 2023, 09:10 AM »
Hmmm, I am not sure if that's a left-handed insult or compliment.
Definitely a compliment.  ;D My use of Autohotkey to solve some really awkward problems over the last few years wouldn't have got off the ground without the DC community, even if much of the time it's just been me looking at other people's code and consequently standing on the shoulders of giants.  :Thmbsup:  :-[


Nicely said.  Yesterday I looked at some of the differences between 1.x and 2.x.  I realized that I completely misunderstood when I read the same material some years ago.  I guess the only thing for me to do is write something trivial and see what happens.  Somehow I got the impression in the past that the whole comma delimited syntax was befing discarded.  I don't know why I got that idea but it sort of discouraged me from looking at 2.x.  So I should be thanking you for causing me to discover my error..  :Thmbsup:

4
Developer's Corner / Re: Autohotkey robots
« on: July 05, 2023, 03:03 PM »
Have done. I thought I'd ask here first -- where everyone is utterly lovely -- in case I was being extremely stupid. 

Hmmm, I am not sure if that's a left-handed insult or compliment.  It sort of implies there are empathetic stupid people hereabouts who can at least commiserate about the problem if not solve it.  Heh heh heh   ;D ;D ;D

5
Developer's Corner / Re: Autohotkey robots
« on: July 04, 2023, 01:12 PM »
Along with the AHK experts here I would also ask on AHK Forums

I haven't decided if I will learn V2.x yet.  But anyway I am sure Lexicos could give you some pointers.  At least in version 1.x AHK accessed the hardware directly by default.  Likely there are ways to stipulate avoiding that approach.  But AHK 2.x has made radical changes dumping the backward compatibility shackles etc..  Lexicos is the person who implemented all or most of them so going right to the source is always advisable.   8)

6
So if I plug the charger in while on lock screen the charging animation shows with percentage charge.. for 5 seconds.  It is still there running but so dim I cannot see it.  So I have to tap the screen every time I want to know the percentage charge.

You're lucky. When I plug in my phone, the screen gets so dim I can't see it and I think it's turned off. If I think it's off and press the power button to see the screen, that actually turns it off. But if I remember that it's on and just touch the screen, that also turns it off for some reason... So either way I usually have to press the power button at least once to get the screen to turn on bright enough to see it.

My previous phone would work with Battery Screensaver app.  After trial and error I got it working.  But it seems there is no screen saver mechanism now that they are doing this "always on" stuff.  When I run that app it just goes white because it can't find a screen saver I guess.  You would think a basic funtion like charging while locked would be much simpler to use.

On the tap turning your screen off look in Developer Settings and see if there is a "tap to toggle screen on and off" or something similar.

7
Well, I got as far as Developer Options->Do not shut off screen while charging.

So if I plug the charger in while on lock screen the charging animation shows with percentage charge.. for 5 seconds.  It is still there running but so dim I cannot see it.  So I have to tap the screen every time I want to know the percentage charge.  I see lots of phone owners complaining about this but apparently you need to buy a flagship phone for this stuff to work.  Really?

8
I have Battery Screensaver which showed the battery charge during recharge on the lock screen.  It worked great up to Android 11.  I got a new phone with Oxygen 13 and apparently nobody has a way of doing this.  You have to tap the lock screen to see the awake screen and read the tiny status bar percentage.  Then it reverts to black.  I am hesitant to just leave it on the home screen to watch it charge since my phone would be unlocked.  Besides, this should be simple.  Why is it impossible?   :tellme:

9
There used to be packages of Linux commands compiled for Windows.  Maybe they have been discarded since I cannot find them for download.  But if you know how to do it using sudo I would try to find a sudo that runs on Windows.  I have never tried this myself but it may be worth a look.

Also it may be that Windows 11 has some linux support so the recompiled Linux apps may not be needed now.

10
Living Room / Re: Hard cherry candy almond shaped w/sugar
« on: June 19, 2023, 12:47 PM »
Heh.  The more I look at these the more wedge shaped they seem and the more they seem to taste like the old ones but I find it hard to believe the old ones would be named shaved Cherry drops but who knows they seem to taste pretty close though. Sorry for running on sentence but I'm talking into phone.  8)

11
Living Room / Re: Hard cherry candy almond shaped w/sugar
« on: June 17, 2023, 03:10 PM »
I just got a bag of the new version.  They taste OK.  The ones I bought as a kid were definitely wedge or almond shaped though.  I am just surprised the name did not come to me even after tasting the candy.  These are similar but not an exact match.  Oh well.  Thanks for the response.   :Thmbsup:

Edit:  Come to think of it I remember a candy named "sour balls."  But those are definitely not the ones.  I bought them as last resort since they were sour and I preferred sweet candy like wild cherry especially.  Anyway these new ones will do until I find something better.   8)

12
Living Room / Hard cherry candy almond shaped w/sugar
« on: June 16, 2023, 09:09 AM »
Anyone remember a hard cherry candy that was roughly the shape and size of an almond and had sugar granules stuck to it all over?  It was sold at variety stores in the 1950s maybe up until around 1960 or so.  I ate them often but cannot remember the name of them.

13
Thanks for the info.  I installed the 64 bit version from an .msi and didn't notice a difference.  So you must be right.  I have to admit Edge is my default now.  I had a kludge hotkey program to copy selected text, then paste it into a word processor with a large font to make reading tiny text possible.  Now I just select the text and use the Immersive reader thing.  Much better.   :Thmbsup:

14
Just my $.02   :Thmbsup:

thanks MilesAhead!  good to get some user feedback, but you probably don't fit the intended demographic (you're more than a user!)  Mint is shaping up as a probable contender, though as a non linux user myself its hard to know what the potential pitfalls are (updates are inevitable but the mechanism isn't familiar so...)


I used Mint for a bit several years ago.  I just checked my memory online and apparently it still uses APT package manager.  If you are new in an environment it saves lots of frustration and confusion if new packages work as expected when installed.  APT based systems seem to have that in common.  One thing I did find disorienting about Linux was it worked.  When on Windows I could always count on something needing tweaking to fill my time.  On Linux distros I would get set up then think "now what?  There's nothing to fix."   ;D

15
The Microsoft .exe installers are often just a wrapper around an MSI installer. MSI is a little easier to integrate in automated deployment.

That sounds like it fits with what I found.  The download from the Microsoft Business page is MSI.  I don't know how the person found the Edge page not under Business in the spiderweb on MS servers.  He must have known the secret handshake.   8)

16
From what I can gather, Enterprise Edition comes as an MSI installer whereas run of the mill 64 bit Edge is an EXE.

17
Microsoft Edge 64 bit downloads keep bringing me to the Enterprise Edition.  If I am running Windows 11 Home edition isn't that overkill?  Seems like it should not be this tough to find out what the deal is.  I wonder if the preinstalled version is lugging around too much database crap.  As I update it seems to get less stable.  So for now I have done the updater wammy similar to Opera.  Namely renaming the update exe file so that the About Box arrow spins forever.

Anyone have insight to simplify the issue?

18
I haven't used Linux for awhile but as a Windows user the things I felt that helped me endure less frustration were:

1) something derived from Debian that used APT to get and install software packages.  Most stuff worked after install without tinkering.

2) something that comes with a text editor that uses Windows key bindings.  Back in the day I installed kylix IDE just to use the editor for text files.

3) something that installs from a single CD or USB image that can fetch additional packages from the cloud during setup.  Boot into the gui and it is all there already.

I did not like to use a word processor because it had Windows key bindings when all iI needed was a text editor.

Just my $.02   :Thmbsup:

19
Living Room / Re: Easily clean porous tile floors?
« on: February 13, 2023, 08:59 PM »
It seems as if the "favourite" method is mopping with a mixture of 1 part Dawn and two parts vinegar. Might be worth trying on a small (corner?) area.
-cranioscopical (February 13, 2023, 02:36 PM)

Thanks for the idea.  I have plenty of Dawn.  I was spraying diluted Dawn from a spray bottle but I did not think of the vinegar.  I guess I could try it with a dry Swiffer cloth.  The generic ones are only about $.25 each.  If it worked I could still chuck them into the kitchen trash bag when used.   :Thmbsup:

20
Living Room / Re: Easily clean porous tile floors?
« on: February 13, 2023, 08:51 AM »
The least effort for me would probably be ...

... going to the $2 shop and buying cheap poly tarps and putting them on the floor.

 :P


Cheap vinegar solution, mop, pour it down the sink/bath/shower, probably do more good than harm.

Thanks for the suggestion.  The thing is there is only a walk-in closet for storage.  Also the pest control guys seem to come in every week.  Management lets them in when I am not there.  So if they see anything that looks like a mop and bucket they will likely look for excuses to push me out.  I miss those shiny marble tiles.  So easy to clean.  I like white vinegar myself.  When I had a drip coffee maker I used that(diluted) to clean it.  Spring water makes good tasting coffee but the calcium builds up on the heating element.  I used to clean it maybe once a week

Maybe I will try more water with one of those thick Swiffer cloths.  Supposedly they absorb a lot of water.

21
Living Room / Easily clean porous tile floors?
« on: February 12, 2023, 11:59 AM »
Hi.  I am wondering if anyone has a solution to cleaning porous tile floors.  Every room in my apartment has the same porous tile floors.  Right now I am using the Swiffer method because I can throw the used wet pads into the trash.  However it is way too much work.  The tiles hold onto the dirt.  The least effort for me would probably be a wet mop and bucket such as that used by the cleaning staff for the common areas.  But I would not be allowed to dump black water down the drain as they are doing.

There must be some environmentally friendly way that takes less than 1/2 hour.


Any, hopefully inexpensive, suggestions?   ;D

22
Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically
« on: September 16, 2022, 11:46 AM »
Congratulations Man!

Thank you.  It still feels weird when I tell someone it's "time to go home."  Strange to have keys in my pocket.  Heh heh

23
Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically
« on: August 30, 2022, 09:15 AM »
Yay!!  After 9 1/2 years of living outside in the Greater Miami Area(tm) I got the robot phone call that the furniture for my new one bedroom apartment will be delivered and assembled tomorrow.  Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, but no living room.   ;D

I don't know yet exactly what my expenses will be.  But I hope I will have enough left over to get WiFi so I can justify getting a Windows 11 Laptop to use at the kitchen table.   8) 8)

Congratulations  :Thmbsup:

Thank you.   ;D

24
Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically
« on: August 16, 2022, 10:06 AM »
Thanks.  It felt good to sleep in a bed and make my own meals(not simultaneously of course.).

Depends on your reach and where your bed is located... :P

Bad joke aside, it is good to read that you are ready again for 4 walls and a roof.  :Thmbsup:

Heh heh heh.   8)


25
Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically
« on: August 11, 2022, 10:24 AM »
Exciting! Congrats!  :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:

Thanks.  It felt good to sleep in a bed and make my own meals(not simultaneously of course.).  The only American style diners in the Miami area seem to be inland.  Way too long a bus ride just to take a chance on getting breakfast.  I try to avoid spicy food.  Not easy to do around here.  But I have developed a taste for cafe con leche(coffe with milk.)  It is similar to a Starbucks latte at half the price.   ;)

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