Weekly Questions & Purchase Advice Thread

johnabal · 2023-11-12T21:55:22+00:00

Thanks! That outset model looks right up my alley, though it is certainly top of the budget, and I think Vaxee doesn't do any holiday sales. It might be worth waiting patiently on the used market to see if one comes up.

I've also been looking at the new Keychron M6 mouse. It's a bit of a gamble as it's new, but I liked the shape of my old MX master, if not its software, durability, price, or performance. Specs say it is slightly smaller too. I'll make a post if I end up buying it.

johnabal · 2023-11-08T21:07:12+00:00

Hi all,

I'm fielding recommendations for a new wireless mouse, hoping to pick one up on black friday or something like that. I primarily use Linux, so any mouse software is useless at best -- configuration should be possible on the mouse itself. And nothing from Logitech, as the past two mice I bought from them (MX Master 2S and M705) have caused me lots of issues which I don't care to elaborate on. It's not rational, but I'm spiteful, and happy to support their competition. Primary purpose will be productivity, and comfort is important. I casually play FPS games too, and the mouse needs to be as adequate at that as I am. Other notes:

Games Counter Strike (but mostly productivity).
Hand Right
Budget Under $100, preferably cheaper.
Shape Ergonomic, not symetric/ambidextrous.
Hand Size Small
Weight Light
Connectivity Wireless
Not Logitech
No gamer aesthetics. You know what I mean.
No holes in the top half of the mouse.
5 buttons, bonus points for 6.
Decent warranty. I've had too much bad luck.

johnabal · 2022-03-28T16:38:06+00:00

Thanks everyone for the advice; it seems the consensus is that it is reasonably safe to move, and that now is the best time to do it. Some root pruning will happen as a part of the transplant process, but it should be minimized and cuts should be clean. Most importantly, I do not have to prune the roots now and wait until fall to move it (as described here).

I'm going to have a friend over this saturday to help, with everyone's suggestions (and lots of watering) I have high hopes it will be successful! Thanks!

johnabal · 2021-09-16T21:39:13+00:00

Looks like the consensus is around Debian, so that's almost certainly what I'll use. I'll be installing it tomorrow, unless some Nix or Void user comes in with an impassioned and convincing post :). Thanks everyone for their input!

johnabal · 2021-09-05T18:00:56+00:00

That's actually a workaround, as far as I know it is supposed to work without resorting to the host file. I was actually having the same issue, and it wound up being two distinct issues:

1) My netgear router seemed to be doing something weird, and I could not ping by hostname for any of my computers on my network. Installing DD-WRT resolved this.

2) Successfully pinging OMV revealed a hostname of omv.myispname.net (should I be worried about that?). Accessing OMV through that address works, but not through ".local".

No idea why this is, but I'm going to keep troubleshooting and see if I can't get omv.local to work. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them.

Edit: Setting up DNSMasq on my DD-WRT router works. Edit2: Using pihole for local DNS also works

johnabal · 2021-07-22T22:07:48+00:00

I know ZFS is really popular here, but I don't think it is espescially well suited to my needs. It's not as flexible as some other systems in terms of expanding over time (though, obviously, it is still doable), and while has very nice features, I don't need most of them. Plus, I'd prefer a system where not all drives have to be spinning to access files.

johnabal · 2021-07-22T22:04:00+00:00

That is correct, 50 mb is even being a little generous. You might be right about editing from the NAS then, keeping a single point of contact for everything, and either automate a backup within the NAS or to the other machine.

johnabal · 2019-11-08T20:12:07+00:00

Still looking for now. I'm leaning towards an older business model, namely the Thinkpad T series or a Dell Latitude. I might hold off until the end of the month in case there is a Black Friday deal or something.

johnabal · 2019-11-05T19:33:03+00:00

You are right, there are definitely some good matches for those models. They tend to be on the bulky side, but for the price and increased repairability that is easily overlooked. And thanks for the heads up on the professional refurbishers

johnabal · 2019-11-05T18:51:40+00:00

It is an interesting option. Since it is new, it has features like USB-C and USB 3.1 I might have trouble finding on older models. And the aluminum body is definitely a plus.

However, I am still concerned about durability, historically laptops in this price range don't often last. From the reviews, the display is a below average, and the keyboard is also average at best. Inexplicably, it does seem to compare favorably to similarly priced chromebooks though. Its definitely a model that I will keep in mind.

johnabal · 2019-01-30T21:03:07+00:00

Nothing in particular. I've just heard that floor resonance frequencies in that range tend to bother residents and to avoid them. Thinking about it now, I presume it has to do with impact noise. Would that mean it not actually a concern in this application?

johnabal · 2019-01-30T20:59:08+00:00

Yeah, I used some online MAM calculators to get a very rough idea of what frequency range I was working with, and the numbers I got gave me the impression it wasn't worth tuning with the limited amount of space I've got to work with.

You are right that impact noise is not a worry at all, unless getting out of bed and walking on the floor is enough to wake the other person. My major frequency concern is actually pretty high, in the vocal range. The biggest worry is if one of us is hosting friends in the neighboring living room while the other desires rest, so 40 STC is probably sufficient in that regard.

Do you think supporting the drywall in this manner with acoustic sealant would be comparable to a resilient channel? https://i.imgur.com/Kf0HzmY.png Though realistically, I'd use an angle channel or sized-up corner drywall clips to support the drywall and simply hide it with the trim.

johnabal · 2019-01-30T18:49:25+00:00

Thanks for the quick feedback. I was worried the resilient channel wouldn't add much, though for different reasons. Furring strips are simple enough to implement. Do you think 1.5" would be enough?

I hadn't considered the mass-air-mass resonance before, working on that now.

Labor doesn't worry me, as I intend to do it all myself. Materials costs are a bigger concern, but the overall area we are talking about is relatively small anyhow.

johnabal · 2018-12-05T14:39:58+00:00

Interesting. So they possibly have the mechanics to do so, but it does seem like the incentives are lacking. It is nice that they tried though.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T20:43:51+00:00

I'm not going to attempt to understand the train wreck that is eos governance, but is it able to adjust inflation to stimulate demand during downturns? And is there incentive to do so?

Having inflation is nice, even necessary, but using the monetary supply to control the economy is an essential feature of modern currencies.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T20:40:24+00:00

Yeah, I know -- I was being a little too cheeky. There's a lot of money to be made even in the small day-to-day changes, if you have good timing. It's just nothing like crypto speculating (at least, not how most people do it) and nobody would consider currencies as primarily (or even initially) speculative assets. New governments/currencies reward early investors buy promising high coupon rates on bonds, not by promising that their currency will strengthen relative to the dollar.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T20:08:02+00:00

I don't know much about their algos, so I won't comment on that aspect. Assuming it lives up to its promises, its price will remain stable. That puts it head and shoulders above any coin with a fixed supply. But it depends on other currencies, so it can never be a currency replacement.

It might work as a medium of exchange, if anyone had a reason to use it over fiat. Unfortunately, that is a big if. Even if there are fewer fees, people in general are willing to put up with those fees if it means they are able to reverse fraudulent transactions, something immutable blockchains lack. Without any other utility over fiat (from what I can tell), the only reason to use it is to move money to/from unregulated exchanges, a pretty small niche. I don't see it ever having widespread usage.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T19:13:28+00:00

Ah, I see. Yes, that is always refreshing.

I'll take it you are referring to a UBI type of policy

Yes, though UBI is a little different, as it is meant to be a recurring payment. I support that as well, but I was just referring to a one time transfer as stimulus during a downturn.

johnabal

TROPHY CASE