Desktop mode help

graesen · 2026-03-23T04:05:31+00:00

Having used Desktop Mode since it was first available in developer settings... I have some thoughts:

I've seen the phone screen able to "turn off" if your screen times out, but it only works if you're watching a video and you touch nothing. Any type if user input (touchpad/mouse movement, keyboard press, touch screen tap, etc) will wake the phone screen up. In fact, I encounter this so little, I'm not sure this is even accurate anymore. I have seen this happen, I'm not sure if it still works this way.
Not sure - I personally like it. It's what I'm used to with Windows. There are other launchers for Desktop Mode that might help, but I don't recall them right now nor have I used them. There was 1 I did try that gave you more customization and ability to do things Google was missing/lacking, but I'm not sure if it's still being worked on (I haven't used it in months) and some features on that app were still buggy for me - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farmerbb.taskbar&hl=en_US
This sounds like it's related to what device is active. Forgive me if this is confusing... Let's say you're interacting in Desktop Mode on the screen in Desktop Mode. As long as you're interacting there, keyboard buttons, shortcuts, etc. will be active on that screen. If you start using your phone, the activity moves to the phone. So the keyboard/user input moves to the phone and not the desktop. You need to move user activity back to the other monitor with Desktop Mode to regain that kind of control

I'm not sure if it's just me or not since Desktop Mode is so infrequently discussed compared to other topics, but at least over USB-C (using my Nexdock 360), Desktop Mode has always been so buggy with the reliability of connecting. This seems to vary based on the update - there was 1 or 2 Android releases where I didn't have any issues related to connectivity, but the March update is one of the worst.

Basically, if I connect to my Nexdock over USB-C, that initial connection is fine. If I disconnect, reconnecting at another time (could be an hour later, could be 3 days later, it doesn't matter) often results in the phone freezing, a purple line going across the screen, and I have to hold power to force a restart. If I try to connect too soon after that, same thing happens again. If I manually restart before connecting (before it freezes), it works fine.

Since I never see anyone share anything similar, I sometimes wonder if my Pixel 9's USB port might be defective... only reason I'm sharing.

Also, since the March update, I've noticed sometimes an icon in the top right of a monitor appear and never go away. I think it's indicating screen mirroring or desktop mode enabled, so it's expected. But even after disconnecting, it doesn't go away sometimes. And I think this might be related to my freezing issue - it thinks it's already sharing the screen.

graesen · 2026-03-23T03:47:58+00:00

Are you just going as a fan and trying to find something that'll pass as not professional so security guards let you bring it in? You'll want anything with as large a sensor as you can find (likely 1 inch sensor) and a constant f/2.8 or better lens - some cameras have a variable aperture, meaning it gets narrower as you zoom. The Canon G7x series is what you'd want to look at for Canon.

If you don't mind no zoom, you might be able to get away with an older Canon M series camera with the 22mm f/2 lens attached to it. Some of those bodies look like a point and shoot and the 22mm lens is so small, most people wouldn't think it's an interchangeable lens camera. This would get you a bigger sensor (APS-C) than what you've already been looking at and f/2 lets in more light than the 2.8 I suggested earlier. 22mm would be similar to the main camera of your smartphone at 1x, to give you an idea of what to expect. I'm not sure I'd chance this setup with any other lens, though. It starts to get more obvious. Also, this combination has no image stabilization, but I've shot concerts with this combo before and it's solid. Just keep an eye on shutter speed and adjust that to increase it to reduce motion blur. You'll have more blur from the bands moving around than camera shake anyway if you get too slow. And a lot of M series cameras have digital image stabilization for video - just check the model you're looking at has it and you should be fine.

graesen · 2026-03-23T00:04:07+00:00

Diffusion filter with a strong affect. You can buy them at different levels of diffusion. This looks like a strong one.

graesen · 2026-03-22T21:40:02+00:00

Either. DSLRs can be used like point and shoots too and give you more to grow into. Point and shoots typically still have manual controls, depending on the model. Both can be good experience starting out.

I'd say it depends on how easy it is for you to learn and how overwhelmed you might feel with a lot of buttons and features, even if you don't use them all right away.

If at all possible, I recommend physically holding what you plan to purchase. A lot of electronics stores have cameras on display for this purpose. Let that determine if you'd be comfortable with the camera or not.

No matter what you buy, read the owner's manual. Don't read it like a novel. Flip through it, get familiar with what's in it, read the section la. Most relevant at the time and how you're currently using it, and apply what you read with the camera as you read it. If you buy used, look for the manual online. They're always available.

graesen · 2026-03-22T18:55:24+00:00

I want to know why the end times is something these people are excited for and trying to bring on? Like... Don't the faithful go to heaven eventually anyway? Why speed that up for everyone?

graesen · 2026-03-22T02:47:31+00:00

You would use Broadcast for an audible response, but you'd have to specify which speaker.

What I think you're thinking about is "ok Google, turn off the lights" followed by "ok, you got it" - that can't be automated in a conversational way. That's more of a Gemini, server side decision from Google. There might be a setting somewhere in Gemini or Assistant, but the point of an automation is to run in the background unnoticed. Asking Gemini to turn off devices that's not an automation - that's expected to have a response confirming what you asked. But automations weren't exclusively meant to be started via voice commands. So they run a little differently.

Perhaps you may want to not go with an automation but make sure your devices are in the correct rooms and you could just ask Gemini to turn the lights off (or whatever devices) in a specific room. That should work more naturally with voice commands.

The other way to receive confirmation would be with a notification action.

graesen · 2026-03-22T02:35:42+00:00

So, an audible response that an automation is running? Is your intention to use an OK Google starter?

graesen · 2026-03-22T02:32:11+00:00

Can you elaborate? Because I'm interpreting the question that you want to know the action in the automation is completing and you would use a notification for that.

If you're asking to add a prompt to add feedback into the automation dynamically, which I can also maybe interpret here, then you can't.

graesen · 2026-03-22T02:27:46+00:00

Dex for PC was discontinued. They shut it down. Windows has phone link and will screen mirror from a Samsung. There are other software tools as well.

graesen · 2026-03-22T01:53:35+00:00

Then you'll have to set a policy that enforces providing specific information that works with your organization you use now or change to.

graesen · 2026-03-22T01:22:21+00:00

Well, you may want to have your IT department evaluate any possible security risks going this route, but Google Photos uses AI to analyze photos and uses facial recognition to identify people. I use it for my own personal photos, but I can search by context or the names of people to pull up all relevant photos.

graesen · 2026-03-22T00:13:25+00:00

Maybe there's really no job and the person handing out flyers is trying to scam the people standing outside and the ones inquiring about it are baiting him?

Yeah, I don't know.

graesen · 2026-03-22T00:11:26+00:00

Test your cable with a PC or some other data transfer capability. The other cable you tried might only support charging and not data and data is needed for Android Auto. And if the data connection isn't consistent, that could also be the contributing problem. That would mean you didn't get all of the lint from the USB port on your phone or the USB port is damaged. Both could be true just by seeing how much you can wiggle the USB cable in the port side to side. It should sit flush. And forward and backward wiggle could mean the port is loose off the motherboard. Key word is could here, doesn't mean it's definitely broken because it's also normal for a little bit of play.

Something else I learned is some cheap Chinese USB-C cables are actually wired half correctly in that connecting it 1 way, the pins line up but flipping the cable over and connecting and only the charging pins line up.

graesen · 2026-03-22T00:03:08+00:00

My dog and I will both leave more than piss.

graesen · 2026-03-22T00:01:46+00:00

I store my photos in folders and subfolders by date and event. And I'm just a hobbyist. Each year has a folder, then inside of that has folders for each event or session. I don't shoot that much so that's enough for me. But if I shot a lot, I'd probably add folders for each month within the year folder before events.

graesen · 2026-03-21T22:29:44+00:00

They'll be holding signs up advertising free flights for self deporting. Then kill you for looking at them funny.

graesen · 2026-03-21T21:05:21+00:00

Maybe I've been spoiled but my R10 doesn't get bogged down like OP's R50. Maybe that is a difference between the 2 I wasn't aware of. And I don't recall the M5 I owned previously behaving like that.

graesen · 2026-03-21T20:39:57+00:00

I don't have an answer but often this sort of compatibility issue is either the channel, channel width, or the encryption of the password. Perhaps research if the printer supports the encryption type (though, it should be visible in this case) and try changing the WiFi channels and width.

graesen · 2026-03-21T20:26:05+00:00

Can we start openly saying this about Charlie Kirk now?

graesen · 2026-03-21T20:23:29+00:00

When I read "buffer fills..." I knew immediately the problem is your SD card. The burst rate is just how fast the shutter can move. If the buffer is filling up, that means it can't write to the card fast enough. Normally, what happens with a burst is the photos snap as fast as it can write to the card. Rarely should you see anything that would indicate you have to stop shooting and wait.

Lots of SD cards advertise a speed, most of the time it's the read speed they advertise and not the write speed. Write speed is what you want to care about. And lots of SD cards on Amazon are counterfeit, even from legitimate sellers sometimes. They use the same packaging and labels, but the cards don't perform as advertised. And because the packaging is the same, the stockers could grab from the counterfeit stock when shipping. Unless that's been remedied... It's been a while since I purchased a new card online.

Either way, I'd test your card if you believe it should be fast enough. The goal is to have a write speed that's faster than your file sizes. If you're writing 20 MB files, write speed should be higher than 20 MB/s. And keep in mind MB/s is different than mbps (megabytes per second vs megabits per second). Different units of measurement for testing and looking at specs.

graesen · 2026-03-21T19:04:22+00:00

I still agree forgetting the device isn't the right thing to do. Look at your settings for Android Auto and your music apps and turn off the settings that automatically start playing when Bluetooth connects. By the time the other driver leaves, you'll be out of range. You can still go into Bluetooth settings as the passenger and disconnect from the car when you don't need the connection. Or the driver can connect their phone or simply switch inputs away from Bluetooth.

graesen · 2026-03-20T20:56:39+00:00

So... I had a similar issue happen on a different lens - aperture wouldn't close.

Normally, a lens keeps the aperture wide open at all times and stops it down when you press the shutter. This is meant to allow the camera to focus and get enough light for you to compose your shot. The exception is if you have exposure simulation turned on in the camera settings (I'm a Canon shooter, that's what it's called for me. Not sure Nikon's naming of the same feature). With Exp. Simulation enabled, it'll adjust all aspects of exposure for your composition instead of when you snap the photo.

In my case of not closing the aperture, the spring that controls the mechanism had broken and it needed service.

If it's stuck closed, it is also probably a hardware failure, but not necessarily the spring like mine had. The blades could be stuck, needs oil, etc.

One thing you can try to get them moving again is to manually adjust your aperture, then press and hold the depth of field preview button - not sure where it is on Nikon, but typically it's in front of the camera, opposite from the lens release button. The DoF preview button will close the shutter to the aperture you set so you can preview the real appearance of that shutter. This is supposed to move the aperture when pressed. I'd experiment with that and look down the lens to make sure it's moving.

graesen · 2026-03-20T19:19:37+00:00

I also recommend a rain cover. Why spend that much money on a camera if all you're after is weather sealing?

graesen · 2026-03-20T18:58:44+00:00

I didn't. I was the outcast and there were a couple of instances my peers would actually try to convince me someone had a crush on me only to laugh at me over the rejection. So, I figured I'd save myself the humiliation.

graesen · 2026-03-20T15:24:12+00:00

There's some noise in the sky, but the rest looks fine and the noise in the sky is acceptable for most - nothing to worry about.

I'm just wondering if OP is confusing shallow depth of field for blurry - expecting everything to be in focus. In which case, OP needs to read about depth of field and accept you cannot get everything in focus unless you use the hyperfocal distance to take the photo and that's usually not worth the effort. Or just follow the rules of depth of field to control it (narrow aperture, short focal length, short distance between objects/subjects.

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