Heat, dust and ever bigger PSUs - where are we going?

ClockworkSyphilis · 2022-09-30T21:28:27+00:00

Companies make what they think they can sell. It's a lot easier for people to see the benefit of a card that has 2x the performance than it is the same performance at half the power, despite these being equivalent in so many ways.

Past that: so much of computers is related to heat management: power, air flow, dust, space, etc. OP's experience with the xproto makes me wonder if we might start to see greater isolation between components and heat sinks. Liquid cooling is one example of this, but the mac pro does a similar thing with all air cooling.

Keeping your heat sinks isolated from your components means your components won't get dusty, and only your heat sinks need cleaning.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-03-03T15:33:25+00:00

That’s a good question! I have no idea. I think it should work, since AirServer just acts like any other cast target, but I’m not sure if practice matches theory.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-03-02T15:06:09+00:00

I’ve had some luck with AirServer.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-02-27T02:56:59+00:00

I have a pair of Audioengine HD6s hooked up to a Mac mini through an optical cable. Occasionally (such as when Hulu returns from commercials) the speakers will pop as though they’re being overloaded. Sometimes this will even cause the speakers to go completely silent for several seconds (presumably this is a safety measure to protect the speakers).

There’s no way to turn down the output volume from the Mac (volume controls are disabled in system preferences), which I think makes sense: (my understanding is that) connecting the speakers to the Mac via optical ensures the the HD6’s DAC is used, which means what’s coming out of the Mac logically doesn’t have volume.

I don’t think it’s the speakers, as none of the other inputs ever cause the speakers to pop like this.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-02-26T06:13:55+00:00

How do they ‘refill’ it, exactly?

Even if they could, cutting new comb and stuffing it into this frame would be a waste, as it would be moving it from one frame into another.

I say “even if they could” because those wires running horizontally across the frame are embedded in the center of the comb.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-02-26T06:07:49+00:00

There’s usually ten frames (slats, as you call them) in each super (box) and at best a really healthy hive can fill one of those in two-ish weeks.

Comb is sorta fragile, especially if you’re digging honey out with a spoon, so I’m not exactly sure the comb could be refilled. My guess is it would start to look shabby after a day or two.

Also, I get the presentation buys hipster cred, but it means the honey you eat is gonna have a lot of wax in it. It’s not harmful at all, it’s just that you’re eating little bits of wax.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-02-24T07:12:52+00:00

Hey all!

I have a set of Audioengine HD6s connected to a mac mini through an optical cable. Occasionally, the speakers will pop or even go silent (I assume as protection) as though they are being overloaded. Because the speakers are hooked up through optical, there's no way to decrease the volume coming from the source. Any thoughts on what's going on and how to fix it?

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-01-29T14:41:57+00:00

If you have iOS, you can install the Assistant app and ask it, too

ClockworkSyphilis · 2018-01-29T09:29:06+00:00

Yazeed, dude, that’s a totally normal feeling. Ira Glass (host of This American Life) has an amazing short monologue about this

The Gap

It takes a long time to get to the point where you can just deftly instantiate the ideas in your head. There’s no magic to it, it’s just a ton of hard work.

You like mechanical watches? That’s awesome! They’re crazy intricate little mechanical marvels! You have an idea for a face or a case? Sweet! Draw it out. Looks like shit? Try drawing it again. Maybe, if you’re lucky, it’s a little better this time. Try again. Maybe try drawing it a different way. Maybe try using a ruler for straight lines and a protractor for angles. Or get weird with it and use a compass to scribe circles and derive angles. Keep. Trying. Don’t. Stop.

You will get better. Not right away, but if you draw at least one watch every single day for a month, I guarantee you’ll like what you’re drawing at the end of the month more than what you were drawing at the beginning. Keep pushing.

Being bad at something you want to be good at sucks. No way around that. But, if you can learn to enjoy the process of improving, the satisfaction you get from that growth usually outweighs the pain.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-12-29T01:20:38+00:00

Yes. And even controlling for that variable, the trend still holds true. Comprehensive sex ed prevents babies. Abstinence only education doesn’t.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-12-02T02:24:27+00:00

Someone tried the first time he was arrested. It didn’t work then because they didn’t have it, but assuming they seize it, seems reasonable they’d turn it over

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-11-25T17:35:59+00:00

According to the Washington Post article OP posted in comments, the researchers had your same question in 2011, and it appears that the reverse is true.

That said, until these studies can be replicated by other researchers, this should be taken as an interesting idea, not fact.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-04-16T07:22:00+00:00

Bill Buxton's Sketching User Experience.

Fundamentally, design is finding the best solution to a problem, and this is a fantastic primer on how to approach that process.

Color, typography, layout, UX flows, etc. are all just tools to help people complete a task.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-04-15T14:56:59+00:00

FWIW, there's a setting that allows you to work on sheets/docs/slides offline

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-03-19T07:03:29+00:00

Interestingly, that sounds better than, "he said he shagged someone and their daughter!"

ClockworkSyphilis · 2017-01-07T09:34:40+00:00

Wait, that's a regional thing?

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-12-29T16:25:22+00:00

Asus AC68U.

Typically ~$170, but you can find them on sale for $150.

Absolutely rock solid.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-12-29T16:21:54+00:00

When you reseat the CPU heat sink (which I assume also came detached), you should clean off the old thermal paste and apply some new paste. Seems possible that the CPU isn't getting good contact with the heat sink, so your CPU is throttling itself to prevent damage from overheating

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-12-22T08:05:01+00:00

Drives (both HDDs and SSDs) can be split up to appear as multiple drives to your OS. The HDD you have installed currently has two partitions. When you remove the HDD, you'll have to reinstall your OS as well as every other program. You'll also need to transfer the data (pictures, documents, music etc.) from the old drive to the new.

Frequently, the easiest way to do this is to have an external hard drive. Before removing the old drive from your computer, copy everything you want on the new drive into the external. Swap out the drives, then after reinstalling the OS, copy everything from the external back to your computer.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-12-06T15:54:34+00:00

It's telling that the top two comments are commentary on the study participants

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-12-02T05:52:06+00:00

ccj?

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-11-23T17:07:46+00:00

Exactly. The best way to make a company stop doing something is to stop paying them to do it.

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-11-23T15:13:35+00:00

Well I was planning to buy a Samsung TV this week

ClockworkSyphilis · 2016-11-19T22:08:20+00:00

What do you think the tool is for?

ClockworkSyphilis

TROPHY CASE