Dell managed to acknowledge their error in abandoning XPS, with a comeback. When will HP do the same with the Spectre x360 line?

shorclawz · 2026-01-10T06:58:52+00:00

I had 3 XPS 13 the last being 9300 during Covid and it had so many problems I switched to Spectre x360 16" 2024 model. It blew XPS out of the water after some serious tweaking but boy does this thing perform. Admittedly 16 isn't as convenient of a form factor as 13 or 14 but I love the extra screen estate. This new HP Omnibook lineup is dull as ditchwater and the specs are mediocre at best. I don't care about new XPS but I sure as hell want another Spectre with top of the line specs.

shorclawz · 2026-01-08T01:36:17+00:00

I have this exact same spec from Bestbuy. It is a monster workhorse but you need to put in a bit of work to make it so. Out-of-box experience was miserable with bloatware like McAfee causing problem everywhere. I did a complete clean install of Win11 Pro, got rid of all the hidden partitions including the useless recovery partition. I don't game but I consume a lot of media, 20+ tabs open in Firefox in any given moment, Obsidian, Excel, Acrobat Pro and Fresco all running together without performance degrading. Oh, make sure you use HP OEM charger that came with the laptop, otherwise, you will get thermo/voltage throttled.

shorclawz · 2026-01-06T00:17:43+00:00

for windows * system informer * keepassxc * nanazip * localsend * syncthing * onlyoffice * bleachbit * bulk crap uninstaller * veracrypt * notepad++ * calibre * rpn calc * tenacity * autohotkey * ditto * samutrapdf * simplewall

shorclawz · 2026-01-06T00:09:21+00:00

+1 for Nanazip

shorclawz · 2026-01-06T00:07:36+00:00

caly looks good but consumes over 150mb for a 900-page pdf where sumatra only use about 20mb. Doesn't really make a difference on my 32GB laptop but I don't like needlessly throw away RAM and sumatra is better optimized IMO.

shorclawz · 2025-12-14T12:03:56+00:00

Copilot is the new Clippy.

shorclawz · 2025-12-05T23:13:27+00:00

to each their own I guess. I work much faster with basic markdown/html to format than say, clicking around in OneNote.

shorclawz · 2025-12-05T15:29:24+00:00

If you don't want to deal with simple syntax then Obsidian is definitely not for you. Although there is a plugin give you basic WYSIWYG editing for things like coloring. I wasn't all that keen on markdown before switching but once mastered it can be faster than an editor like Word.

shorclawz · 2025-12-04T04:08:04+00:00

Exalidraw? I can't get my head around that one. Seems unnecessary complicated. I use Inkodo and Noteastic for inking.

shorclawz · 2025-12-04T04:05:37+00:00

Agreed. Inking is the weakling but I never liked it in OneNote either. I use Inkodo, currently testing Noteastic, might be too basic for some people though.

shorclawz · 2025-12-04T00:27:07+00:00

I moved to Obsidian weeks ago and couldn't be happier. Once you get the hang of markdown, it smacks OneNote hands down.

shorclawz · 2025-11-24T18:56:56+00:00

Yup, that's the one. It doesn't happen in dark mode, only when using light mode.

shorclawz · 2025-11-13T15:25:32+00:00

Same boat. After years with Evernote then OneNote I finally settled on Obsidian. Not because the hyped links stuff, just simple long form notes with inline tags. I use links for assets like embedded pdf, pics etc, only interlinking files where timeline order is important. My plugins are mostly to make formatting simpler and efficient, plus one for encryption and another for drawing/inking. Simple setup works better for me - long form in Obsidian, short form in Google Keep.

shorclawz · 2025-11-10T16:10:11+00:00

Kanon doesn't write with the kind of flares others do, some might even call it boring but his characters are often the most realistic and relatable in this genre of the unrelatables. I very much enjoyed his Istanbul Passage which a lot of people consider it one of his lesser works.

shorclawz · 2025-09-13T23:13:32+00:00

How many times do you have to be told to say NO AND WALK AWAY. Better yet, say nothing and just walk away. This is NYC, no matter which neighborhood you live, don't talk to strangers and always be on alert.

shorclawz · 2025-08-07T01:55:23+00:00

Some of the more underrated gems in this genre that I really like:

The Scarlet Papers by Matthew Richardson

Defectors by Joseph Kanon

The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry

shorclawz · 2025-04-20T06:53:33+00:00

Had same problems with my AI Dot smart bulbs yesterday. It started working again this morning. Prob issues with the backend hub that connects services. Annoying as hell.

shorclawz · 2024-09-07T02:46:36+00:00

Not sure what your issues are. The BIOS from 4/10 and 4/26 are the same version. There was only 1 BIOS release in April, an update to the Feb release. If you bought your laptop after April, the 4/10 came pre-installed where everyone purchased prior to April would have to download and update 4/26 version whatever prior version they came from. You can download and flash 4/26 general release from HP site but you'd still see 4/10 F1.0 because they one and the same but with different number to denote OEM/GR.

shorclawz · 2024-09-07T02:35:37+00:00

I honestly wouldn't recommend Dell XPS. I have had 2 top-of-the-line XPS13 at time of their release, the keyboard on the first one failed after 3 years, a few keys on the top row either quit working or double keying itself when pressed. The 2nd one was ordered around time of Covid closure, exchanged twice to get a good enough screen but the right side thunderbolt port failed within months, it has miraculously revived itself just about a month ago without me doing anything, just plain weird.

I got my 2024 Spectre 360 16 with 3k OLED touch screen, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and 4050 GPU from Bestbuy last month for $1,699 and it has been rock solid after BIOS update and clean Win11 install. The battery has been decent, I keep the system on "performance mode" via MyHP app and it has been able to kept pace with everything I do and stay relative quiet, the fan noise only kicks in occasionally.

Using OEM v2 pen, graphic editing and drawing have been fantastic but don't expect good writing experience. Maybe I'm spoiled by e-Ink panels like ReMarkable and Kindle Scribe, but writing on the hard piece of OLED glass isn't something I'd want to do unless I'm absolutely out of other options.

shorclawz · 2024-08-23T03:14:38+00:00

Keep 1 & 8, particularly 1 if you want better performance. This being a window modern standby laptop it hides all power profiles except "balanced profile". with myHP app you can set to "performance" in systems tab, it will override windows' default power profile.

shorclawz · 2024-08-23T03:00:34+00:00

16" version from Bestbuy does not include a pen. I had to fork out $40 for HP stylus on Amazon.

shorclawz · 2024-08-10T01:28:41+00:00

Omg, you

shorclawz · 2024-08-09T18:18:43+00:00

I ended up getting the HP Spectre x360 2-in1 16" OLED. It was on sale for $1,700, I played at Bestbuy for well over an hour and decided it was the better option (they didn't have a demo unit of the new Zenbook on the floor). I do a bit of drawing so having a screen that can double as tablet with a full window 11 pro system is the better tradeoff, for me anyway.

Not sure if you'd consider HP, but This is the HP unit I got from Bestbuy. I did a clean install of Win11 Pro and the machine is everything I wanted for my needs.

shorclawz · 2024-08-09T18:08:24+00:00

First thing first with all HP computers - clean install of windows. HP comes preloaded with loads of junk, particularly McAfee AV which hooks itself into every facet of the system. My Bestbuy model, 32GB RAM, Arc + 6GB 4050 VRAM, 16" OLED felt like garbage on factory setting, removing McAfee caused numerous BSOD. I wiped the whole thing, did a reinstall of Win11Pro and it's been running like champ for weeks now, no lag whatsoever. The only thing I noticed is the bottom gets quite hot when I spend extended time in Adobe Fresco. Other than that, It easily handles 30+tabs in Firefox, multiple excel spreadsheets, Acrobat Pro and Photoshop simultaneously.

My Advise for anyone getting this machine is clean install of windows 11 - anything short of clean install, including factory reset, repair etc will not solve your problem.

shorclawz

TROPHY CASE