Subj : Re: USB lock up - poo! To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Sat Feb 12 2022 21:19:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: > Hi Ky! > KM> USB to quit Any Minute Now. Well, maybe the impetus to finish > KM> moving into Silver? > > Just might be a good idea to move or at least copy over. Eventually > those capacitors are going to decapitate! Fixing the board to have as a > spare isn't a bad idea. Data is all on separate drives, just pull it out of Cash and stick it in Silver (tho most is already copied over, too... duplication or backup?). The problem is the numerous programs. Also that LibreOffice does not like XP64 at all. (OpenOffice runs fine, tho. So does WordPerfect x6.) > I'm thinking low power and USB haven't all that much to do with the > soldering: is just a power source, The soldering iron still has to get > hot enough to melt solder. And it has to be hotter than any of the > components in our computers as they're not melting solder yet run off > 5v. True enough... This Pine iron has temperature control, IIRC. Just Barely Melted is the right temp. I've used a hot match head for micro solder (wires going to a phonograph needle mount). And I have some TIX solder here somewhere, or can order... (there's still new old stock around) very hard but low melting point. Used to work where it was made. Ideal for electronics or jewelry. Contains iridium, among other secret ingredients. > As for the solder sucker I was thinking external device. They probably > have combo soldering irons/solder suckers but I bet they're expensive!! Yeah, nice to have, but... [Pinephone] > KM> Is arrived. The hardware is relatively slow, tho seems solid. > KM> It's basically a midrange RPi-clone with a phone modem in a nice > KM> case. Big-ass battery that held up well under hours of fiddling > KM> and wifi. The keyboard is quite nice for a tiny unit. My only > KM> real complaint is the lack of a way to disable the onscreen > KM> keyboard, which gets in the way. How it will work as a phone is a > KM> different question (apparently it's only natively compatible with > KM> T-Mobile, tho can be fooled into AT&T with a SIM activated in > KM> another device), but as a micro-portable, pretty good. The > KM> speaker is excellent. > > I wonder if plugging in / connecting an external keyboard would > automatically clear the onscreen keyboard? Have seen advertised > portable keyboards which fold into three maybe four sections and then > fits in a pocket. Bluetooth connectivity? Bluetooth connects with the XP64 box (tho not with the iPhone) but can't move files, that times out. It has its own hardware keyboard. But still need to figure out the docking dongle; it has USB, HDMI, and network ports. Keyboard case doohickey: https://pine64.com/product/pinephone-pinephone-pro-keyboard-case/ It also speaks to my good little bluetooth keyboard (about half normal size). This is the phone part: https://pine64.com/product/pinephone-beta-edition-with-convergence-package/ > Some time back I was fiddling with my old cell phone -- had to get a new > one because of its generation limitation -- thought maybe use to monitor > the cameras. Monitored fine, but the battery discharged after two or > three days even though it was plugged in. Yeah, some devices are stupid that way (including some laptops), if the battery is no good there's no power pass-through. iPads are like that. Which is why I have one someone gift me lying over yonder, with a battery that only charges to 5% and runs for 27 minutes and then goes dead, plugged in or not. But I have the battery replacement kit, now waiting for the fiddly patience to do the job. Forgot to order that component. > What was pre-installed is probably a combination of lowest cost to > install and what the person in charged liked. As for browsers, ran It's Manjaro linux with the KDE/Plasma desktop. So it's more or less whatever KDE apps have already been compiled for ARM (same CPU class as the Raspberry Pi -- under the hood this is a Rock Pi, IIRC). Some run well, others are still iffy. Looked in Discover (software manager) and was surprised to see Konqueror (which was abandoned, but evidently someone picked it up and it's being maintained again) ....but there it was, so... and about a dozen other browsers. Question is what's too heavy for practicality. But linux phones are only a couple years old in the retail market, so a long way to go yet. The most mature is the Librem; while nice, out of my price range. (However, for $2000 you can get a Librem phone with NO Chinese parts; worth it if you're privacy-critical, given that ALL Chinese chips and software are to some degree compromised.) https://itsfoss.com/librem-linux-phone/ > across an artcile on browsers for the Raspberry Pi and he liked (best to > worst) Puffin, Chromium, Vivaldi, Firefox, Midori, > https://raspberrytips.com/best-web-browsers-raspberry-pi/ , also lists > pros and cons of each, amount of RAM used, etc. Midori is reportedly a good choice as a bit less heavy, tho no idea how well it works. I installed Konqueror and it runs fine, but it runs great on ancient and extremely minimal hardware. It's a combo file manager and web browser that looks and behaves rather like old Netscape. Quirky, but hugely competent. There's some mobile-only browser in the repo that I didn't recognize. > KM> Also could stand better desktop organization; there isn't any, > KM> other than alphabetical, and added icons don't stick. > > That's bad! Anything like a hidden .Desktop directory? Of course, being it's linux. I'm thinkin' the problem is that it's Desktop View, which will hide icons. (Folder View shows 'em. Or is it the other way around; I forget.) This is probably not to mess with. > And of course the obvious thing to do is see if one can get a manual to > download. Sounds like another all-evening project ==> look for the Found that! > manual, you'll find the specs, a support site, maybe a forum.... What I There's a very extensive Wiki. > do is open a blank LibreOffice document, label and date it, then as I > start wandering the web copy in sites of interest along with the notes. > At least with them written down you can go back if something starts to > make sense (so that's what they meant by "sproodle".) I just save files in one of the ten bazillion Info directories... in this case somewhere obvious like D:\Info\Phone\Pinephone. > KM> Android apps won't run on linux proper. There exists an Android > KM> host VM-like thingee, if you're desperate. > > That ought to slow things down! Yeah, I gather it's not great. > KM> Yes, 18-OS multiboot phone, off a micro-SD card. I ordered one. :D > > Heck yes! Hopefully don't get greedy with shipping costs. Free for regular mail. > BTW, what do you do with all those extra SD to micro-SD adapters?? Stick idle micro-SD cards in 'em so they don't get lost, being they're the size of your little fingernail and prone to go flipping off into the depths of the carpet. > Right on the connection speed. As for second update, I wonder if you > clicked (or as Fedora seems to be a bit sneaky something wasn't untic'd) > to do an update while installing? I know Ubuntu has the option, pretty Nope. But apparently the updated Discover (software manager) does such things more or less automagically. Didn't used to. > sure it's a user-has-to-click to do (isnt' done automatically). The > good news is usually one wants the most-current because of security and > running better, but when the Internet line is solidly taken like you > said it was -- hey! I need to watch my streaming show! > Or... HEY! I need to use that computer *today*, not next week! > KM> Speaking therewhich, PCLOS has its red flag up in the systray, so > KM> there must be updates. > > Hopefully they don't take all day! Here I have LivePatch on the Ubuntu Pretty much just the download time and a couple minutes. Tho in this case it was like 500mb worth of updates (KDE is very proactive about such things, and it's a rolling distro, so updates continuously). > KM> Only the usual loose screws, usually rediscovered Lego-style. > KM> (Oww.) > > Carpeting helps. Not in this house... apparently the kid who liked driving nails into the barn walls (I pulled a whole gallon worth) also liked shooting staples. Years later I'm still finding 'em in the carpet, usually via foot-puncture. > KM> Shouldn't short past its own power supply, but yeah, would be > KM> best to test my artwork on a junker PSU attached to a surge unit. > > I'm thinking along the lines of a adding a lower-rated circuit breaker. Easier to just use a cheap surge protector. That's my standard check for my invariably-backwards wiring. Does it pop the surge unit? swap the wires! > I'm also thinking the circuit breaker built into surge unit/backup power > supplies are around 10A, should still trip before the house breaker does > but still puts an additional stress on the unit. No idea. But wouldn't want in the loop for testing my work. > Yes, I 'noticed' several issues with Mozilla/Firefox/Thunderbird and > tested a few alternatives and was less satisfied, so put up with the > shortcomings. I suppose part of the problem is mostly volunteer code- > writers.... Oh, the paid ones at Mozilla Foundation are no better. > KM> Yeah, all in all spinning rust is probably the most long-term > KM> reliable, even with today's much-improved SSDs. Which at least > KM> don't seem to suffer sudden-death syndrome so often anymore, at > KM> least not if you stick to Samsung or Sandisk/WD. > > Here I try to go with a balance between fast and safe. Restoring from a > backup is fine (and a good thing to have), but if I don't need to even > better. Here the 'brains' (OS) portion on a SSD and the 'file cabinet' > (data) on a HDD seems to be a good balance of quickness and storage > access. Yep, that's sensible. SSD for the OS, HDD for storage, NVMe for when being able to fast-read a huge file is beneficial. > I haven't gotten into swapping OS on the big/Ubuntu systems. Do a sort > of swap with the Raspberry Pi's: handy to power down, remove a little > square thing, insert another, boot up and have a new/differnt device > going! Admitted not a proper hot swap. Basically same system, only with SSD or laptop HD instead of mSD card. > > KM> Considered the size of VMs, and thought to myself... Self, > KM> wouldn't that be a good job for the fastest storage available?? > > Ummm....a 620 TB HDD?!!!!!! That sounds about right! > > KM> > > KM> Noticed this problem, didja.... > > There are times when I'd rival you when I do a project here! > KM> LOL... parts fill the available floor space! > And shelf space and stuff sitting on top of other stuff! "I'm not a production environment; I'm a basement." > > I've got a couple of Logitech mk270 -- good news is they don't interfer > KM> Yeah, that's what I've got. They work fine for a year or two, > KM> then the keys start sticking and the letters wear off. > > I haven't had those problems with the Logitech wireless keyboards. > Maybe I use them less. OTOH have worn off the lettering off wired Mine do a lot of typing. > keyboards, which I usually use at my main computer (like this one). > This keyboard is an 'iessentials' no idea where I got it. Not a bad > feel and layout/spacing, though there is a noticeable wearing away on > the left shift key and some on the Caps Lock, A, S, left Control, > spacebar and for some reason the Hot/Windows key. A S D N M L E take the beating here. > KM> small sticker. Tho I think I'm going to take the diamond point > KM> pen to some of 'em that don't want to keep their label. > > That should work too. A white label on a black keyboard/mouse > undersurface shoudl up easily while a black-on-black scratched > identifier doesn't, so maybe establish some usual place like the upper > left corner of the back? I'd also have concerns with the dongle ==> > scratch on the number breaks through the plastic covering?? Nah, it doesn't cut that deep. I've done this before when I had only two and they kept getting mixed up. > I haven't applied a lubricant to my keyboards but can relate on the > eventual stickiness. wobbling, etc. ...Had one keyboard I used here for > a short while -- replacement for a keyboard I had worn a lot of the > lettering off. After a few weeks of trying to get accoustomed to it > threw out the 'new' keyboard as was just . And I just don't Yeah, I've had a couple experiences like that. Also with mice. > throw stuff out. Not exactly a hoarder but even a keyboard with a bad > feel is good to keep as an emergency spare. Not this one! I have two large boxes full of hoarded wired keyboards, from when fullsize backspace keys suddenly became extremely hard to find, and I can't stand the half-size backspace. So every time I'd see a lonely discarded keyboard, it came home with me. Only paid for one or two! > Right. The touchpad works fine, just for clicking to select e-mail, > etc., we couldn't get used to it. Did adjust the response, just not > quite what we wanted. Still use the touchpad for some functions, the > wireless mouse for others. I can't use a touchpad, not without wanting to hurt someone. > > Bought a MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4 motherboard last week. Will have to get a > KM> > KM> Oh, that looks like a very nice board. I've had good luck with > KM> MSI, too. Excellent choice! > > Thank you! And you helped select: some time back you gave a short list > of manufacturers and quick comment ('good feature set', 'stay away!'). > MSI and Gigabyte were at the top. I have a couple/few of Gigabyte > motherboards around here and heppy with them. Almost got a Gigabyte > board for the current project when this MSI board was offered; looked > pretty good. All else being equal, I'd go with MSI as being less influenced by the endless beta hardware of the gaming market. I've become convinced that they literally use gamers to beta-test hardware, so if you want stable hardware, wait til it's old hat to gamers but standard for business. > Personally I'm staying away from liquid-cooled: the potential for > leaking bothers me. Yeah, those things do not inspire faith. Good heatpipe type cooler should be fine. > KM> Scraping by without a dedicated vidcard, which considering > KM> vidcards are presently scarce as hen's teeth and vastly > KM> overpriced, is not a bad route. > > I'm back-and-forth on that, though some of the computers around here are > old and don't have built-in graphics, or do have built-in graphics, just > insufficient. I have re-used some of my video cards. If onboard video exists and allows a decent amount of RAM, I use it and don't bother with a vidcard.... don't see that it gains anything unless you're doing modern gaming. > Seems like it should -- I only glanced through the Amazon listing Google > found quickly. Maybe a bottleneck on the motherboard/source? One thing > I noticed here was with the old MythTV system there was smearing and/or > 'cut' line about a quarter of the way down the display. Smearing: on > panning not a smooth movement, though not jerky. Cutting: as if the top > of the picture was cut off and then replaced but not quite lined up. It's called tearing, and can be software issue or inadequate hardware. > With the new Backend those problems are gone. Frontend were > mechanically left alone, though did have to upgrade from Version 30 to > 31, so a software change. (I'm thinking the Backend hardware is a lot > faster, so that is the change.) Well, there ya go! > > > KM> 1920x1080 is okay up to about 27" but beyond that it gets too > KM> grainy. > > Hmmm: bigger (TV) screens than that here and I'm not noticing a > graininess. In fact with the new system the MythTV recordings are > sharper/clearer, and quite a few were recorded on the old system. Well, depends on where you sit and what you're doing. Resolution that works great with a TV can be awful as a computer screen. > OK. Pretty much goes with other stuff I've read. There is also > something about (with the Linux Operating System anyway) the OS will > shove into the RAM whatever it can, though it doesn't always show up > with memory usage utilties. So will Windows. In fact in the old days of never-enough-RAM but swap-is-way-too-slow there was a switch to make Windows preferentially use all RAM before touching swap. I ran with swap disabled for years. You can disable it on linux too, but modern hoggy browsers make that ... unwise. > KM> Um, this one. > KM> https://versus.com/en/asus-p9x79-le > > It took me a second to figure out "8 vs 3.85": how ya get 3.85 of a > memory slot?? Average! Ohhhhh!!! Chinglish... > > KM> I'm still wondering how the heck Fireball is seeing wifi (like > > KM> from passing cars) when it's not supposed to have a wifi chip. > > KM> Windows doesn't think it has one. Linux doesn't see one. WTF. > > KM> I've never seen that unless the device runs entirely on wifi, but > > KM> it's on the wired network. > > Maybe somehow sneaking in from a device with WiFi?? > KM> Only thing I've ever seen do that is a cellphone that's hunting > KM> for a wifi connection. Hours of fun if you live next to a busy > KM> highway. > KM> But random passing wifi show up in Windows "available networks". > > Any mystery towers nearby? Thinking maybe a business has a private > communications network but they accidentally left their WiFi open. Nope. These are obvious, they call themselves things like Honda and Subaru, and they show up for a minute or two as they go on by and get seen then forgotten. (The distance they can be seen is a LOT farther than the distance where you can get a connection.) > > KM> Lucky you, now just the vidcard costs that much! > > I know! Some add-on parts cost more than what I paid for the computer! > KM> It's ridiculous. Used cards that should go for $15 are now $50, > KM> and so on. > > They might be trying to take advantage of the Supply Chain Prices. OTOH > if they try to charge too much for a few dollars more I can buy a > brand-new card. Or go some other way (new motherboard, Raspberry Pi, > etc.) Oh, no, the $50 brand new vidcards are now $200 brand new vidcards. > KM> Yeah, there's some problem with the GT720 too. Worked, then spit > KM> it back. > > To me would seem better to work with everything out there but then there > were probably those 'cigar meetings' and so 'secret' agreements to work > with one set and maybe not with another. It's the nVidia driver being a butthead, since it's not updated for linux more than Not Often. > KM> And if you convert to VGA, or if for some reason it THINKS you > KM> are, 1600x1200 max. > > I've not used VGA in a while, though still have a VGA CRT monitor handy. > Some of the older computers booted to VGA first then HDMI/whatever, so > if they had a problem would show up in VGA but not the more modern > option. The main KVM is VGA, so would be nice to be cooperative there... I think the monitor does all three. > If the DVI with the single link connects to a double link > the smke gets let out - oh what a stink! The Ballad of Barry's Hardware > > KM> Heh... for background "fill up the cracks in my brain" I use > > KM> industrial (harsh electronic music) ... can't understand a word > > KM> they say but it works great. I think this goes to the station I'm > > KM> currently using... my preferred ones all died. > > KM> http://78.47.146.188:8000/mp3 > > Well that station/site wouldn't work for me but then you're not me! :) > KM> LOL... my younger self would be horrified by my current tastes. > > Change is good! I can't imagine you listening to Bubble Gum Rock! Well, I do like the Raveonettes... tho I'm not sure how bubbly they are... https://www.totallyfuzzy.net/ourtube/the-raveonettes/the-last-dance-video_5e18e9a7b.html more https://www.totallyfuzzy.net/ourtube/artist/The+Raveonettes/ (beware of popups, but I can't get YT to behave direct on this box... ads forever) > KM> If you don't like it, don't listen! > > That's what I figure. :) I wander various sites where they have thumbs > up/down (not Facebook, but that kind of approval/disapproval rating). I > will thumbs-up my agreement, but otherwise never (or extremely rarely) > disapprove: just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's wrong. People like all sorts of crap, or it wouldn't exist. So long as I don't have to endure it, why do I care?? Oh, I know why! https://xkcd.com/386/ > KM> Nickelback gets a lot of hate, but they're actually pretty good. > KM> Dunno Lord Huron. > > As for Nickelback I'm probably liking the tracks the hardcore fans > dislike! As far as my overall taste, if I like it I don't really > care what source. I've only listened to a couple random albums cuz library, but pretty good. Not what I'd chase after, but to listen, they're fine. > Go to https://youtu.be/zx8M5DXmH_0, though when I copied that the It's daaaaaaark!! > camera was on a rather boring shot of the riverbank. They do move the > camera around -- aiming, not physiclaly the camera. The Iowa Department > of Transportatiuon (IDOT - not to be confused with the Illinois > Department of Transportation on the other side!) has several cameras > but last I checked were all pointing down monitoring the traffic. We don't have much in live cams here, but lots of pictures of dark and snow. http://rwis.mdt.mt.gov/scanweb/SWFrame.asp?Pageid=CamSummary&Units=English&Groupid=150000&Siteid=&Senid=&Wxid=&Mapid=&DisplayClass=Java&SenType=All&HEndDate=&Zoneid=&Mode=&Sprayerid=&Dvid=&CD=3%2F10%2F2006+6%3A39%3A58+AM > > KM> I've fallen and I can't.... fancy meeting you here!! > > When did you get in town? (Sloppy reference to the sliding down the > > bluff a few paragraphs ago.) > KM> You're just bluffing. > > Well if I go a few blocks the other way I'd go down 18th St.'s hill and > that would dead-end to a strip mall. Keep going a la the old cartoon > characters through the store I'd continue into the Isle Casino - where I > could bluff -- if I knew how to gamble! "Gimme all your chips and no one gets hurt." > Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! > That trick never works!! > .. Oy, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbi out of my hat! 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