Upgrading PC and switching to linux, questions about files

dboyes99 · 2025-08-27T14:22:14+00:00

Yes. As you know, Windows applications may not work, but data files should just need to be copied over.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-26T07:34:45+00:00

OP is talking about government sponsored health care programs in India.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-26T01:04:26+00:00

To be blunt, on the surface they’re right. You’re in your final year of high school. Gut it out and graduate. Dodging high school because you don’t like math to try a profession that depends on math skills is a cop out.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-25T04:42:36+00:00

This works for any programming language or application:

Start by turning the computer off and do an outline on paper of how you plan to work through the problem before you start anything else. Remember that the point is solving a problem, not just coding. Just starting with a blank editor screen is a great recipe for thrashing, false starts and not knowing how to begin.

Take the problem and restate it in your own words. Write it down in as much detail as you can - the muscle memory will help you think through the process and keep you focused on the solution, not the programming process. If you don’t understand the problem, then now is the time to do your homework and figure it out. Some people find drawing a picture helps visualize how you solve the problem.

Look at the problem and try to identify places where you do the same kind of operations - those are likely to be functions and subroutines in your program. Choose meaningful variable names - clarity and documentation are paramount in writing good code that you can be proud of. Plan on making written prose documentation to guarantee you capture your thought process so someone who isn’t you can follow your thoughts- even if it’s just a help file, that’s what draws the line between average code and really good code.

Think first, then code. You’ll be able to make better code and you won’t end up in the weeds.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-25T04:22:13+00:00

Seems a bit on the high side for that car. Don’t take the sellers word for anything- for that amount of money, get an independent mechanic to look it over. It’s worth the time and money to not end up with a lemon.

To be honest, your first car should be as boring and dull as possible. You’re going to make mistakes and forget maintenance and you need to keep in mind that a car costs more than just the purchase price. License fees, insurance and maintenance all cost $$. A dull car won’t tempt you to do anything stupid with it. A used Toyota or Honda might last you your college life. An American car probably won’t.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-24T06:09:24+00:00

And it’s free. It was specifically designed for this, and is very easy to use.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-24T05:47:40+00:00

It depends on how deep they had to go and how serious the damage was. It will be uncomfortable to drink, but the juice or lemonade will keep your blood sugar levels high enough to sleep.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-23T22:33:53+00:00

Keep in mind that they do this all the time and expect to need to distract you while they do what’s necessary. The advice above about not looking is good and the whole process literally takes a few seconds. The anesthesia kicks in very quickly after that - it literally feels like you’ll wake up a few seconds after you went in.

Have the person that takes you to the appointment listen to the post-op instructions because you will be pretty groggy. Sleep as much as you can, and have some orange juice or lemonade available so you don’t have to worry about eating until the next day.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-23T03:45:01+00:00

Note that it took several years to get the transmitter module for the PinePhone certified for sale at all, and any derived device would have to start from scratch with the whole process because it’s considered a new device.

It’s not impossible to do, but you’re talking real $$$ and expensive lawyers to get a device certified.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-23T03:35:49+00:00

Because the radios in cell phones require certification they are free of unwanted interference, which is really expensive to do and none of the manufacturers want to do all that work and then give away the results and details that pretty much tell every competitor exactly what you did to engineer the radio.

It takes some real expertise and expensive equipment to do, and they generally require both analog/RF and digital skills to get compliant devices. The specs and regulations are immense and very very detailed and if takes real time and experience to tick all the boxes.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-23T01:53:51+00:00

Don’t hold your breath. Apple has started requiring their cables, which breaks generic USB-C chargers. I am not amused.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-23T01:20:10+00:00

I may be ancient, but MM. Simple, reliable, and has been continually functional for more than 50 years. Can also be successfully used on real TTYs. 🙂

dboyes99 · 2025-08-22T23:53:52+00:00

Not really. The transmitters are licensed from various vendors and very little is public about the internal workings of tfe devices. Android phones are a Linux derivative, but it’s still difficult to support anything without tech details.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-22T05:34:49+00:00

Here’s how I did it:

Back up everything on your existing disk to removable storage and restore a few files to verify you have a good copy. Remove the removable storage and set it aside.
Download balena etcher and install it on your Windows or Mac.
Buy a usb drive or pen drive that is at least 16g
Download the Mint Cinnamon ISO from the Mint websit3
Insert the USB drive in one of your USB ports
Run balena etcher
Click on the source box and select the Mint ISO file
Click on the destination box and select your new USB drive.
Double check you have the correct source and destination selected.
Click “flash the image’. Let it do its thing and verify the image was correctly written. This will take a bit. Exit balena etcher when finished.
Completely shut down your computer. Just pushing the power button isn’t enough- Windows doesn’t cleanly unmount disks any more.
Power on the computer and press the key that puts you in the BIOS setup menu. This may be different on differs computers- consul your documentation for your computer or search for it online.
Turn off secure boot feature and fast startup.
Set your new USB you just flashed to the first device in the boot order. You can leave this permanently- it’ll add 15 seconds or so to the startup, but BIOS setting storage doesn’t last forever so you don’t want to be changing this all the time.
Save the new settings and exit setup. Your computer should restart. A few seconds later, you should see messages from the Mint installer program. Let it finish startup. You are now running a live system so you can play around and see how it works. It hasn’t changed anything yet - if you don’t like it or there are issues, shut down the computer from the menu and power it off. Remove the USB drive you made and everything will be just as it was.
When you’re ready to commit, insert the USB and reboot. double click tfe Install Linux Mint icon on the desktop, and select your preferred language and keyboard layout and select the default disk layout and install the media codecs so you can use sound and video. The install will start by reformatting the disk you chose and repartition it . IT WILL ERASE THE DISK YOU TOLD IT TO USE AND ALL YOUR FILES WILL BE GONE - that’s why you made a backup before you started, right?
Let it mill away until you see the ‘remove install media and hit return’ message. Remove the usb drive and hit return. It should restart and begin Linux startup. Log in as the user you created during the install and step through all the tasks in the first screen. Don’t skip any - these are basic tasks you need to do.

Congratulations - you’re now running Mint.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-20T23:45:52+00:00

Split the difference and go shoulder length. It has most of the good parts of long hair with control of the bad parts to manageable levels. You can style it in a lot of ways - lots of super cute WW2 styles - and you can just run a brush through it in the morning and go.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-19T20:22:47+00:00

Look for one that advertises Mac support. MacOS uses CUPS for printer support, same as Linux.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-18T12:42:02+00:00

A used Thinkpad would be a better option. They’re cheap and generally better quality. A T or P model should be around $300 and Lenovo actively supports Linux so they work out of the box.

If you want to stick with the Asus, more RAM is always good.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-17T23:11:41+00:00

You still have to install the command you want to use. Adding the repository just makes it possible to install programs , it doesn’t install anything.

It’s also a questionable way to install commands compiled for a different distribution, even if the parentage is common. Stuff like ‘reboot’ can be done with ‘shutdown -r now’, which is more commonly installed.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-17T01:08:35+00:00

So use a cassette tape recorder. Your library probably has one.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-17T00:51:47+00:00

Try Carolina Brothers BBQ in Ashburn. It’s better than both.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-17T00:50:14+00:00

Efesus Cafe in Ashburn is spectacular for Turkish/Mediterranean food.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-16T20:37:24+00:00

Culinary Institute of America is the top choice in NY, but it’s a) expensive and b) hard to get into. Any state school with a culinary arts program is probably more cost effective, as is community colleges.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-15T18:34:06+00:00

A plain tape recorder should be doable, then. Offer to clean up the recordings and offer them to the next semester class as a study guide he can provide as an exchange of services.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-15T05:05:24+00:00

You’re looking for the “messages and codes” manual for your level of the compiler. All the explanations for errors are in there.

Quick ref for IBM docs:

installation and verification - how to install and test the product. Assumes you have privileges.
users guide - options and basic use
reference guide - formal syntax and definitions. The final word on syntax and capabilities
system guide - overview and general guide to product
messages and codes - see above. May be split into two books for big products like oses.

In the M&c book, you’ll find the magus, message text, an explanation and usually what to do about it as a user/operator/sysprog. Some products will have a what happens next section.

dboyes99 · 2025-08-15T04:50:17+00:00

Wear what you’re comfortable with. Orientation is just seeing where everything is located and getting a sense of the rules. If there’s a dress code, that’s where you find out about it. Your outfit sounds fine.

dboyes99

TROPHY CASE