- Talk - lists.gtalug.org

legasy cell phone repair in Toronto?
by Karen Lewellen 19 Jul '24

19 Jul '24

Hi folks, having just been creatively cheated by an eBay seller, who stated a device was unlocked when it was not, I am wondering about having the three devices I have combined into one functional one. They are LG phones though, which is why the need is legacy. thoughts? Cheers, Karen

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Re: [GTALUG] Prompting the return of In-Person events.
by Stewart Russell 11 Jul '24

11 Jul '24

as a member of the Introvert Squad who lives far from where GTALUG would meet: yes, in-person is good. Stewart

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YouTube: Lunduke's "Linux Sucks 2024"
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 10 Jul '24

10 Jul '24

I'm half way through this video. Worth watching: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58mLZyShQjQ&t=1529s>

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Invitation: GTALUG monthly general meetings
by Ron via Nextcloud 09 Jul '24

09 Jul '24

Ron would like to invite you to "GTALUG monthly general meetings" Title: GTALUG monthly general meetings Time: Tue, Jul 9, 2024, 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM (America/Toronto) Location: https://hub.gtalug.org/call/7m45sf9i Description: Monthly general meetings Our July meeting will be an open forum. PLease come with discussion points. Our Nextcloud is up and running. What does that mean? We will be meeting on Nextcloud! Come and join the discussion... Accept: https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/accept/16aaYYcon1wkLCrY6ZS2WZxIB… Decline: https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/decline/16aaYYcon1wkLCrY6ZS2WZxI… More options at https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/moreOptions/16aaYYcon1wkLCrY6ZS2… -- Nextcloud - a safe home for all your data This is an automatically sent email, please do not reply.

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General Meeting Reminder
by Alan Heighway 08 Jul '24

08 Jul '24

Hi All, We are doing something a little different this month. We'll be testing out our new Nextcloud instance. As a topic (aside from and Nextcould discussion) it'll be an open forum so please come with discussion points. If you can make it please come out. Date: July 9th, 2024 Time: 7:30pm Link: https://hub.gtalug.org/call/7m45sf9i Alan. *A*lan *H*eighway <http://heighway.ca/> heighway.ca VA3WAH / VA3YKZ [image: Please consider the environment before printing]

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some first impressions of new Snapdragon PCs
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 08 Jul '24

08 Jul '24

Note: I haven't touched one of these. This is based on things I've read on the internet. They looked attractive: - PC's based on an ARM processor that was kind of like Apple's - higher performance that x86, especially in computation per Watt. - a liklihood of being open since they were aimed at Windows - a liklihood of lower prices since multiple manufacturers can make PCs based on the processor So far, I'm tentatively disappointed: - full(?) Linux support is six months away. Support will be from Qualcomm. That doesn't really sound open. And who knows how long six months really is. - first reports (from the Windows world) is that real performance isn't what was promised. Apparently, at full throttle, these burn a lot of power. - the cost is in the same ballpark as Apple computers. - Qualcomm or Microsoft has not provided developers the tools to build software for the platform. - Intel and AMD are moving forward so any Qualcomm advantage may be narrowing. Oh, and "Recall", the centerpiece of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs (the branding currently limited to Qualcomm-based products), seems to be a pretty bad security nightmare.

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(very off topic) quality die grinder bits
by William Park 03 Jul '24

03 Jul '24

Hi all, Very off topic, but I'm fed up. I sharpen my lawn mower blade with die grinder. Problem is, all the bits that I bought from Canadian Tire, Rona, and Home Depot, they all wobble. Except for one bit. And, that has been used so much that I need a new one, now. If anyone has die grinder, what brand of grinding bits do you recommend? --

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Invitation updated: GTALUG monthly general meetings
by Ron via Nextcloud 27 Jun '24

27 Jun '24

Ron updated the event "GTALUG monthly general meetings" Title: GTALUG monthly general meetings Time: Tue, Jun 11, 2024, 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. (America/Toronto) Location: https://hub.gtalug.org/call/7m45sf9i Description: Monthly general meetings Please double-check the day of week: I managed to make it span > 24hours when setting timezone on my laptop (tiny screen makes it HARD). Accept: https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/accept/KMeohH0rYsHlFmDAymWgU9Zu5… Decline: https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/decline/KMeohH0rYsHlFmDAymWgU9Zu… More options at https://hub.gtalug.org/apps/dav/invitation/moreOptions/KMeohH0rYsHlFmDAymWg… -- Nextcloud - a safe home for all your data This is an automatically sent email, please do not reply.

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Raspberry Pi as a desktop or settop computer
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 23 Jun '24

23 Jun '24

When the Raspberry Pi first came out, it was appealing to think of it as an ultra-inexpensive computer for your desktop (perhaps as a very secondary unit) or to play media on your TV. Note: this wasn't the intent of the Raspberry Pi designers. They wanted a totally hackable, cheap, simple (as possible) computer to encourage kids to dive into computing. They fondly remembered they youth spent hacking and mastering BBC Micro and other home/educational computers. There was little competition at the price point of the Raspberry Pi. But it wasn't powerful enough for a comfortable desktop (for most people). Since then, a few things happened: - a bunch of new SBCs inspired by the Pi have been released. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages compared with Raspberry Pi models. None has the depth of support of the Raspberry Pi. - Raspberry Pi models improved a lot but the price crept up. Note: older models are still available at roughly original prices. - streaming media players were introduced at RP prices. They play better with the many forms of DRM that infest the services. Oh, and new TV sets include embedded streaming media players. (This bothers me on a philosophical level.) - tiny x86 boxes have become a lot better and cheaper My current opinions: - instead of a desktop computer, consider a laptop. That market is much larger and the competition has produced some quite good option. - for desktop computers, x86 seems to be a more practical choice. At the low-end, I'd probably pick one based on an Intel N100. I'd select a brand like Bee-Link or models from a similar tier of Chinese brands. I actually want more performance on my desktop so I currently use a much more powerful Bee-Link Mini PC (a SER7). - for set-top boxes, first I'd get a dedicated streaming device. If I also felt the need for a computer, I'd pick an N100 box. We do this (except our mini PCs are much older). - Raspberry Pi computers are still a great choice for learning and for embedding into projects. Much more fun than x86. Note: all of these things run or can run Linux. Except for the Apple streamers.

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GPU in desktop
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 23 Jun '24

23 Jun '24

| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk(a)gtalug.org> | - Desktops can upgrade their GPU to enable gaming, video editing or AI | assist; laptops can't. Most off-the-shelf desktops have pitfalls that prevent installing a GPU - weak power supply with proprietary connectors, weak cooling. required specs are hard to find. - card slot too short for GPU care (thi hi me) These need not be problems if you designed your PC out of parts or it already came with a dGPU. Getting a gaming notebook or gaming desktop seems to double the price. You can add an external GPU is your computer supports ThunderBolt. The bandwidth to the PCI buss will be constrained. For AI, things are changing. Most of the next generation of processor chips include an NPU. I have no idea if the NPU is powerful enough to matter. You may still want a GPU for AI; I'd assume that you'd want as powerful a GPU as you can afford since there is no "enough". My desktop mini PC has a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor (designed for laptops). It includea an AMD Ryzen AI processor good for "up to 10 TOPS". I have never consciously used it nor do I know how.

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