Recent Posts

51

Living Room / Re: Recommend a USB cable to me!

« Last post by Deozaan on March 05, 2025, 10:17 PM »

Thanks for the suggestion. That seems like a decent idea. Though I'm not sure it will save me money. One of those power meters is $26. I was thinking I'd only be spending $10-15 per cable and that's with the meter built in.

Even so, maybe it will free me up to just buy a cable I'd be fine with owning and then if I absolutely feel I need to measure power I can get a separate measuring tool and use it.

52

Living Room / Re: Recommend a USB cable to me!

« Last post by Target on March 05, 2025, 08:59 PM »

if you feel the need for some sort of meter, then look at USB power meters.  Separates the meter from the cable and may simplify your search and save you some money...

https://nerdtechy.com/best-usb-power-tester

https://www.amazon.com.au/Plugable-Power-Tester-Monitoring-Connections/dp/B0B5W5NKKN

note that these aren't recommendations, just a couple of sites duck duck go turned up

53

Living Room / Recommend a USB cable to me!

« Last post by Deozaan on March 02, 2025, 06:47 PM »

I may be a bit late to the party, but as I'm slowly upgrading technologies and devices in my household, I'm finally starting to get enough things which support both USB C and "Fast Charging" or PD technology.

Recently I knew I would need to charge one of my devices while away from home, but I didn't want to reach behind the desk to unplug the official charging brick (with non-removable cable) that came with it. So instead I brought a 65w GaN brick and a USB C cable which I've been happily using for a couple years mostly to connect game controllers to my PC. Later that day when my device started warning me that the battery was low, I confidently plugged everything in to let it start charging, only to realize that the device was draining faster than it was charging! Apparently my favorite USB C cable I've been happily using isn't PD capable so it was trickling power to the device at a rate I assume to be somewhere around 5w.

My go-to source for cables is usually MonoPrice, but I think I'd like a cable that has a little LED display in it that shows you the wattage negotiated through PD, and MonoPrice doesn't seem to have any with that feature. So I went looking on Amazon but I can't be sure what are the good quality cables amidst all the unheard of brands made up of seemingly random letters.

Unfortunately I just can't trust Amazon reviews anymore and I would feel much more comfortable getting a recommendation from someone I know is a real person who has personal experience with the cables they recommend.

So I'd be glad to hear recommendations for good quality cables capable of charging power hungry devices. And also feel free to challenge my assumption that the LED screen would be nice to have. If you have experience with a cable that has an LED screen and you think it's a terrible idea, please tell me why you think so, and feel free to recommend a cable without a screen (though in that case I'd be inclined to just go with MonoPrice).

They don't have to be from Amazon, but they do need to be available in the USA.


In summary, here's what I'm looking for in a USB-C cable:

• Good quality & durable
• 2-3 meters long (~6-10ft)
• PD capable of at least 45w
• LED screen showing current wattage
• Good balance between affordability and future-proof

On that last bullet point, what I mean is that I'm seeing some cables are advertising themselves as being capable of up to 240w. I think the most power hungry USB C device in my household right now can only accept up to 45w, and I think the most powerful charging brick I have supplies only 65w. So I don't really need, nor could I use, 240w right now. However, if getting a 100w or 240w cable doesn't significantly increase the cost then I'd be happy to buy one so I can take advantage of it in the future when I inevitably get even more power hungry devices in the future. But if, for example, a 240w cable is going to be twice the price of a 100w cable then I'd prefer to get a 100w cable or two instead.

And one last point of consideration: While it would be nice if I could also use the cable for transferring files quickly, my current focus is primarily on fast power delivery. So if the savings are significant, I'd rather have (for example) a 100w PD cable that is only capable of USB 2.0 speeds than pay three times more for a 100w cable capable of the latest USB 3+ speeds.

54

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by Giampy on March 02, 2025, 07:06 AM »

I like this Polish version of "The curse of Millhaven":

55

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on February 28, 2025, 05:35 PM »

Update on Proton/Standard Notes/Notesnook

Come Black Friday offers, I'll subscribe to Proton Ultimate.
A couple of months before that I might subscribe to Standard Notes - as a trial with the intention to cancel and then resubscribe (or not) on Black Friday. I need to be much clearer about how it will progress in the future under Proton's ownership; I'd like to see more development; given the current climate, I'd prefer to have the option of using European servers; I'll want to see that it's at least as good as Notesnook.

Notesnook has the virtues of the curate's egg. It's belief in privacy and security appears to be a core belief not an addon; it's open source. otoh the value of open source depends on the number of good eyes inspecting the code, and it's a relatively small app. It only has three coders in total. The last update included fixing a security weakness they were told about. There are some nice security related features like their monographs (encrypted shareable notes). The overall design is pretty standard. But usability isn't great and the UI seems relatively poor. Maybe I've just been spoilt by the apps I have been using recently.

It's currently working on keyboard shortcuts. It does have some, but many commands can only be accessed by mouse. Now I'm far more mouse oriented than most on this site, but the mouse suits some commands, depending on the workflow, and not others. The relatively new command palette helps, but involves a lot of scrolling and doesn't include all commands. And documentation is virtually non-existent; there is a (limited) online help document - but I only discovered the trigger for the command palette by reading some comments made when the feature was released. No wikilinks. It doesn't parse #tags written in the notes - you have to use the apps own tagging workflow. Search is unsophisticated.

I'd find it unusable - compared to many other apps - if I were trying to use it for all my notes. But I'm not, so I can live with it - but am very open to alternatives. And I will continue to use a security and privacy oriented accessible notes app. I have found it liberating to have one available. My previous system was secure, but the friction meant that I often didn't take notes or tucked them away in imperfect containers like password managers. So, whatever Notesnook's imperfections, it's better than that.

I've seen Anytype suggested as a secure notes program. I don't see it like that. It's interested in security, and data is encrypted and can be local; its AWS servers are in Switzerland. But although the data is encrypted, the indices are not. I suspect other features, eg collaboration, are as important to it as security. I also find it convoluted.

20250302 094751 UPDATE EDIT
Barely a couple of days later there's a few updates.

I downloaded latest version of NN (update button and auto mechanism reportedly not working on v3.0.28), and then switched to the beta channel - so now on 3.1.0 - beta.0.

There's a considerable change in the UI layout, and overall it's a considerable improvement. And there's now reportedly a keyboard shortcut for focus mode - though I can't remember what it was supposed to be (and it's not one I personally need).


Also a SN comment that though there's no feature updating currently, they are working with Proton on improving the backend

56

N.A.N.Y. 2025 / Re: [NANY] KeyStick v1.0

« Last post by paradisusvic on February 28, 2025, 04:59 PM »

... feel free to use the easiest way for you.

-orlith (February 15, 2025, 09:57 AM)

Hello & good day! The console code is being merged to favor a single module 

(as you intended)

Cheers!

57

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on February 25, 2025, 09:18 AM »

Lattics still going well. But I perceive a need to rejig my security system. I currently use encrypted folders and files; this works well enough but accessibility is high friction and notes etc are also vulnerable when they are opened.

My needs are relatively simple - I doubt I need much more than links, tags, tables, images and attachments. I'll cope with markdown if I have to but rich text is preferred because of colour. And I don't expect ever to have a huge volume of notes in it. My list of candidates quickly reduced to Standard Notes and Notesnook.

My preference is probably Standard Notes: it's been going longer and was taken over by Proton last year which ought to give it the edge in hardening expertise - and it's based in Switzerland. I do note though the lack of development since the take over and criticisms of the tables implementation. And the price is high. I don't want to justify that for what will be low volume use. I do also note that both Proton and Standard Notes typically have big Black Friday/Cyber Monday offers and that those discounts then roll on so long as the subscription is maintained. There's an expectation that there will be some sort of joint Proton/Standard subscription plan but so far nothing has been announced formally; Proton Ultimate subscribers have been given substantial discounts on request.

Notesnook stores notes in Germany but the developer is based in Pakistan. More whizz bang than SN, as if it wants to compete with mainstream notes apps but with a security USP. But cheaper, and considerably cheaper if you're in education or comparing with SN prices without discount. Notesnook also has discounts from time to time, but the discounts don't rollover.

I've dabbled mildly with both in the past but the free versions are missing features required for substantial use. Feels as if you have to be in properly to get a true feel about them. My current plan is to subscribe to Notesnook and then have a look at SN/Proton pricing around Black Friday, keeping my eyes open for anything that arises before then. Unfortunately export/import between SN and Notesnook appears not to be straightforward and easy.

58

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: When You Pray App to help people devote more effective time to Christ in prayer

« Last post by relipse on February 24, 2025, 03:45 AM »

I have the app called "The Bible" and will sometimes shift between versions to see another translation.
The versions I use more frequently are the NIV, ESV (which you have, thank you!) and sometimes the CEV (Contemporary English version).
Just for giggles, I've even checked out the "YALL" or Y'All Version Bible. 

-AzureToad (February 13, 2025, 02:36 PM)

Hey, I just wanted to let you know I added extra versions, I have: ESV, KJV, NASB, LSB, NIV, AMP

Did you try it yet?

59

General Software Discussion / Re: Problem auto-typing into Notepad??

« Last post by Giampy on February 20, 2025, 11:39 AM »

I can't help, but i remember that Notepad was buggy even in Windows XP. It's an old matter.

60

Screenshot Captor / Re: Main Window & Resize Dialog Mangled

« Last post by goozak on February 20, 2025, 07:21 AM »

I rarely use Screenshot Captor on my home computer, which was recently updated to Windows 11.  So I just found this issue.

Sad to see that it's a know issue for a while...  Is there any hope for an update?

Glad I know about it though, I'll fight with all my might so that my work computer doesn't get Windows 11!

...

Well, poking around this forum a bit more, it seems that all these softwares are abandoned (latest release was in 2022), with no action in the forum from Mouser other than in Living Room...  I do hope his boardgame project goes well.

I should look for a replacement, then, not stay away from Windows 11...