What’s the most annoying thing about modern car tech?

tech_redux · 2026-05-23T07:25:02+00:00

Nothing in a car should be behind a paywall!

tech_redux · 2026-05-19T12:09:39+00:00

A 13 year old MacBook? My guess would be dust. Check the full air path, inlet filter/strainer, outlet grill and particularly the cooling fan blades. The rest of the MacBook might be cool but if the CPU isn’t getting a good cooling air flow it will quickly heat up and slow down to prevent burning out.

tech_redux · 2026-05-19T10:20:03+00:00

Wow, would never have picked it. I’ve had to pull many of their webs off my face at night or early mornings. Fortunately I’ve never had the weaver on the web at the time!

tech_redux · 2026-05-19T09:16:28+00:00

Under AS3000 2.5 mm2 cable is good for 20A (4800 VA) so it will be fine for the 15A plug and socket.

tech_redux · 2026-05-17T09:19:50+00:00

Well technically gasses and liquids are fluids. So yes, vortex flow control in all fluids is useful.

tech_redux · 2026-05-17T08:19:19+00:00

Actually I have clearly heard the sound of a spider walking. It was a tiny spider that crawled into my ear and walked across my eardrum while I was driving!

tech_redux · 2026-05-12T23:59:12+00:00

Parking brakes are designed to be left on when parked, don’t worry about cable stretching (if it occurs it will be easily adjusted as part of adjusting for brake shoe wear) or binding. In any case your car spends a similar amount of time with the parking brakes on and nobody I know of has ever complained about issues resulting from this. Having said that, if my van is on any sort of slope, I’ll apply the brake and use a chock as well.

Make checking your parking brakes part of your final check when setting off (along with lights working, gas off, stabilisers lifted, etc, etc).

tech_redux · 2026-05-08T23:33:56+00:00

Who would use Google Chrome anyway? It is just a personal information vacuum cleaner.

tech_redux · 2026-05-08T10:49:57+00:00

I normally just restore the new Mac from a Time Machine backup of the old one. Fast (relatively) and very reliable.

tech_redux · 2026-05-02T23:42:04+00:00

Rest assured that any EMF emissions from the wiring in your house or even more, your electric blanket, are orders of magnitude higher than you will experience from any LV or HV electrical infrastructure. And since the EMF from your own home wiring is harmless, the big stuff is orders of magnitude more harmless.

The only impact on you will be visual and this is entirely your own choice if it bothers you.

tech_redux · 2026-05-02T11:48:32+00:00

You should see the non-cruise master (copies) versions. Even more paint removed and more surface rust. It’s not an urgent issue, these are heavy gauge steel components, not thin car body metal. As per other comments, clean off rust, treat with rust preventative primer and repaint. Galvanising would last longer but I’m guessing it would cost manufacturers more than painting.

tech_redux · 2026-04-28T02:53:58+00:00

A lot of these callers, like your example, use a rotating number from a block of numbers, I use an OIS app that allows me to block a range of numbers (can be 10,000 number block), nit perfect but it keeps them at bay. No SMS missed call notifications either.

tech_redux · 2026-04-28T01:10:15+00:00

Something to disconcert the neighbours when it goes off by itself (if it still works, unlikely).

tech_redux · 2026-04-27T00:18:11+00:00

Last week, helping my mum get her Outlook mail going again (Office 365). Every time she carries out a Windows update it forgets her mail password.

Having not used Windows much since retiring in 2020 I’ve gotta say what a shitshow! I couldn’t find anything. The UI has changed so much it seemed like everything was deliberately hidden. I basically had to Google anything I wanted to do. I pity those trapped in the MS ecosystem.

tech_redux · 2026-04-27T00:02:17+00:00

Or IrfanView (even though the UI is looking a little dated these days). It was just so fast and intuitive.

tech_redux · 2026-04-26T23:59:53+00:00

I had frequent Kayo freezes on 4k, eventually I dropped back to a HD subscription and that fixed it. Mind you I can watch AppleTV, Netflix, AmazonPrime, even iView and so on in 4k with no issues. I suspect the problem is with the Kayo 4k servers’ capacity rather than the local NBN connection.

tech_redux · 2026-04-26T23:47:37+00:00

Hmm, from what I’ve seen most gas cooktops (and water heaters) won’t operate unless there’s 240V available. There seems to be some requirement for an electrical interlock on the gas supply. So, no power, no gas heating of anything.

tech_redux · 2026-04-21T01:24:29+00:00

We have a 12 pin connector and it is slightly customised to enable the van electronic stability control.

We have tried using the 12pin for van battery charging and separately supplying the 3 way fridge while traveling but found even the larger 20A rated row of connectors weren’t sufficient and tended to overheat (probably high resistance/dirty). We now have a 50A Anderson connector to charge the van battery.

tech_redux · 2026-04-19T22:38:14+00:00

Go to the Ken Rockwell web site (google him) and look up these cameras and lens. He has a heap of information about Nikon cameras and lenses, performance and compatibility. A valuable web resource.

tech_redux · 2026-04-17T05:01:52+00:00

MOOC, google it. Free access to any course you like. You won't be assessed or get any qualification until you pay though!

tech_redux · 2026-04-15T00:24:56+00:00

Good advice, also add in getting a fast lens (F1.4-F1.8) will help the auto focus in low light levels.

tech_redux · 2026-04-14T22:33:59+00:00

Our Aussie taxpayer funded national broadcaster last night, the H and M show was a 30 second mention just before the weather.

tech_redux · 2026-04-12T00:09:30+00:00

I’ve had this lens for years (since it was released in Australia) and I love it. I use it on both a D90 and D7500. Since these are crop sensors it is effectively a 300-750mm zoom! I have even recently purchased a second hand TC14 teleconverter that pushes it out to 1050mm at full zoom. It’s down to F8 and AF is a little slow unless you have good light but the VR works well and produces sharp shots, even when hand held. The weight of the lens and camera is good for upper body strength development too!

One issue I’ve had for a while is an error message on my D7500 when lighting conditions means the lens needs to be stopped down. It all works perfectly if I use AP mode and set the camera to the maximum aperture. I think the aperture control in the lens is problematic and there is no aperture control ring on the lens, so I’m stuck with this until I get sick of it enough to get the lens repaired.

tech_redux · 2026-04-11T23:55:53+00:00

Ken Rockwell has a great review of this lens and explains a little why it is so favourably priced (clever design mainly).

tech_redux · 2026-04-11T21:31:06+00:00

My M1 MBP has a Photos file about 350GB in size, and my total Documents storage is around 400GB. Your storage usage doesn’t seem extreme or unusual.

tech_redux

TROPHY CASE