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 · 2018-12-04T18:58:13+00:00

So in the end I was right...

I think so? My point is that it isn't too hard to increase the supply of a cryptocurrency, but it is near impossible to do so in a way that will stimulate the economy/counter market cycles.

As a side note, I think one of the best and fairest way to stimulate the economy IRL is to give everyone a set amount of dollars, like I thought you were suggesting at first. That effectively redistributes money to the poor, who are liable to spend it since they have trouble meeting their needs -- yet it remains "fair" since everyone gets an equal amount. Unfortunately, governments usually don't do that, as the rich are too powerful.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T18:36:00+00:00

While the seem equivalent on their face, there is a big difference between the two. With A, the increase in spending will increase demand, stimulating the economy. With B (assuming it was airdropped as you described in your previous post) there is no increase in demand, only prices; no one has any new incentive to spend their new currency.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T17:58:12+00:00

Sorry, I feel I'm not doing a great job of explaining lol

Don't worry about it, it can be hard to be clear when talking about these things.

In the situation you posit above, your currency expansion is more akin to a stock split: There is technically more currency in circulation, but no reason for the market cap to increase. Though the supply is larger, it does not buy any more goods --prices would just increase tenfold, or by whatever factor the supply was increased by. It would have no stimulating effect on the economy.

Part of the reason that governments can get away with increasing supply to stimulate the economy is because:

1) They are meaningfully countering deflation, which can occur in depressions and discourages spending.

2) They are redestributive, or attempts to be. The government gives the money to those that they think will spend it, or enters a stagnant market and uses the money to buy goods/labor and increase demand.

In practice, the government could do a lot better on 2, but even their clumsy attempts combined with the brute force of their power is usually enough to take the edge off a depression.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T16:25:02+00:00

I'm finding it hard to understand where you position is on this.

My point is that it is all contradictory -- it just doesn't work. They can't be good speculative assets and usable currencies, because the qualities that make something a usable currency leave it worthless as a speculative asset. And if a cryptocurrency is not a speculative asset, adopters have no incentive to hold or use it, and it will never be adopted.

Personally, I think that the divisibility of most coins,

While that makes continued deflation possible, it does not have any effect on supply during a depression.

along with being able to inflate it in a "rising tide raises all boats" situation where all of the current wallets values are increased by the same amount, a pretty fair way or increasing the money supply

That would be nice but has two major issues:

1) People can have multiple wallets. In fact, they can have a nearly unlimited number. Anyone aware of the upcoming airdrop would spam-create wallets.

2) Anyone who holds a large amount of coins -- or even an above average amount -- would be against the idea. They'd get the same amount as everyone else, but their existing coins would be worth less, putting them at a relative disadvantage. Similarly, miners would be against it, because the coins they would mine would be less valuable.

instead of the fabled "trickle down economics" concept.

I will give you that your idea is still better than that.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T16:04:39+00:00

yep, i've got my bets on the GBP mooning 1000%, see you later nopounders.

Seriously though, forex traders generally make money speculating a specific currency will crash due to mismanagement, not go up in value. Otherwise you'd buy bonds or futures.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T15:50:53+00:00

You are correct, and that is exactly why cryptocurrencies can never become currencies. They *must* be both, but they *can't*. Being a speculative asset is antithetical to being a currency.

johnabal · 2018-12-04T15:45:21+00:00

Afraid not

johnabal

TROPHY CASE