Actually, I was thinking it would be sort of like a pet. You know, we could...we could name her Trixie, or Miss Kitty Fantastico, or something.

Tara ,'Empty Places'


Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."

Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!


Gris - Apr 13, 2020 1:52:07 am PDT #25357 of 25496
Hey. New board.

I find that text is the thing I want the high resolution for the most. Crisper fonts.


Jesse - Apr 13, 2020 3:28:23 pm PDT #25358 of 25496
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

I'm interested in buying a super basic cd player for my mother. Any recommendations?


Toddson - May 27, 2020 6:18:35 am PDT #25359 of 25496
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

I'm having a couple of issues. The most annoying is that, while I'm in the office, I can't get my iPad to connect to the office WiFi. I reported that it might be down to a manager working at home, she contacted our external tech support who checked and said it was fine. And I was able to connect. However, it's not connecting now. It's annoying because I can't download an e-book I ordered. I'm hesitant to contact tech support directly, since it's a personal issue and doesn't seem to be affecting staff's ability to work from home ... but it's an annoyance. Any suggestions?


Toddson - May 27, 2020 10:36:29 am PDT #25360 of 25496
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

Well, the WiFi kicked in ... got my e-book, so I'm set (until the temptation to buy another e-book hits). bah!


shrift - May 27, 2020 12:55:10 pm PDT #25361 of 25496
"You can't put a price on the joy of not giving a shit." -Zenkitty

Glad you got it working, Toddson!

I find myself in need of a laptop, and while I haven't used Windows 10 much yet, I'm, uh... not liking it. I'll probably get used to it if I make myself use it more, but right now I'm debating whether I want to go with a MacBook or get a laptop with Ubuntu preloaded like the Dell XPS 13. I've never tried installing Linux on my own and I'm not super eager to try.

Thoughts on pros and cons?


Gris - May 27, 2020 3:03:24 pm PDT #25362 of 25496
Hey. New board.

A) Windows 10 might grow on you. I have come around to it pretty thoroughly and no longer miss much of anything in Mac/Linux. It has its annoyances, but so do both of the others - it's all about which annoyances you're used to, y'know?

But also...

B) Installing Linux is VERY easy on most modern PC's including almost all laptops. Installing Ubuntu on my XPS 15 for dual boot was like a four click process.

My vote? Get a laptop that you confirm in advance supports Linux - the XPS 13 is great though I am partial to Thinkpads in the smallish laptop market - but get it with Windows. Install Linux in dual boot config (not hard I promise), but keep the Windows too. Some software will still run best that way, and if you ever want to factory reset and sell it, Windows makes more sense.

Alternatively, I can sell you a 1.5-year-old MacBook Pro soon for a good price, but full disclosure my wife is selling it because she hates it and wants to go back to Windows! She is, in fact, getting a thinkpad. My take is that Macs have taken a dive in quality in recent years as Apple is moving more and more focus to iOS.


Gudanov - May 28, 2020 4:33:44 am PDT #25363 of 25496
Coding and Sleeping

The hardest part about installing Linux is if the hardware isn't well supported (typically the WiFi adapter). If the hardware is supported it's super easy with Ubuntu and most distros.

You could also look at System76. They they a variety of laptops with Linux-preinstalled. Thinkpads tend to be pretty popular for Linux as well.

I think Windows 10 is fine for the most part, but it makes software development more awkward (unless you are using a Microsoft toolchain), and you have to deal with anti-malware software a lot more.


Gris - May 28, 2020 11:18:41 am PDT #25364 of 25496
Hey. New board.

Gud have you fiddled with the Linux subsystem stuff on Windows? That plus VS Code's integration with it apparently has solved a lot of the annoying dev stuff with, e.g., Ruby. I'm planning to test it out at some point this summer. That's one of the few reasons I'm still holding onto my Linux partition so if it works well I might get my 30 GB back.


shrift - May 28, 2020 12:03:11 pm PDT #25365 of 25496
"You can't put a price on the joy of not giving a shit." -Zenkitty

Thanks, Gris and Gud! I'll take a look at System76 and some other Linux-ready options.


Zenkitty - Jun 05, 2020 8:44:12 am PDT #25366 of 25496
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.

Does anyone have any idea why I might not be able to send email in Outlook under an email alias that I'm all set up for? This is driving me and my admin nuts.