- Talk - lists.gtalug.org

I asked ChatGPT to compare iGPUs.
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 14 Feb '24

14 Feb '24

I have two models of dirt-cheap notebook. One was $300 for an "open box" not quite two years ago and the other was $300 ten days ago. It's easy to google on the web to compare the CPUs but not so easy to find out the difference between the integrated GPUs. So I asked ChatGPT 3.5 (the free one). "compare igpu in i3-1005G1 and i3-1215U" The answer looked OK but I'm quite sure that it is very wrong. It thought that the i3-1005G1 was newer and more advanced than the i3-1215U. The first clue is that it thinks that the i3-1215u is part of Intel's 8th gen Core processors whereas it is part of the 12th gen. I then asked it "why do you thing i3-1215u is 8th gen?". It appologized and said that that processor was part of the 10th gen "Comet Lake". It is not. I wonder if this is due to its training date being before the i3-1215u's launch (first quarter of 2022). It sure would be nice if it knew what it didn't know. Note: I'm not cherry-picking this example. This is the first prompt I've given in weeks. ======== ChatGPT output: When comparing the integrated graphics processing units (iGPUs) of the Intel Core i3-1005G1 and the i3-1215U, there are a few key differences to consider: Architecture: The i3-1005G1 is part of the 10th generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Ice Lake. It features the Gen11 graphics architecture. The i3-1215U, on the other hand, belongs to the 8th generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Kaby Lake Refresh. It features Intel HD Graphics 615. Performance: The i3-1005G1 generally offers better graphical performance compared to the i3-1215U due to the newer architecture and improved integrated graphics in the Ice Lake processors. The Gen11 graphics in the i3-1005G1 typically provide better support for modern gaming and multimedia applications compared to the Intel HD Graphics 615 in the i3-1215U. Features: The i3-1005G1 supports newer technologies such as Intel's Adaptive Sync, which helps reduce screen tearing during gaming or other graphic-intensive tasks. The i3-1215U may lack some of these newer features and optimizations found in the 10th generation processors. Power Efficiency: The i3-1005G1, being a part of the Ice Lake architecture, benefits from Intel's advancements in power efficiency, resulting in potentially better battery life and lower power consumption compared to the i3-1215U. In summary, while both iGPUs serve their purpose for light gaming and everyday tasks, the i3-1005G1 generally offers better performance and more advanced features due to its newer architecture. ================ second prompt User why do you thing i3-1215u is 8th gen? ChatGPT I apologize for the confusion. It seems there might have been a mistake in my response. The Intel Core i3-1215U is actually part of the 10th generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Comet Lake. Let me correct the comparison between the iGPUs of the i3-1005G1 (Ice Lake) and the i3-1215U (Comet Lake): Architecture: The i3-1005G1 features the Gen11 graphics architecture as part of the Ice Lake processors. The i3-1215U, being a part of the Comet Lake processors, features Intel UHD Graphics. Performance: The i3-1005G1 with Gen11 graphics generally offers better graphical performance compared to the i3-1215U with Intel UHD Graphics due to the architectural improvements in the Ice Lake processors. The Gen11 graphics typically provide better support for modern gaming and multimedia applications compared to Intel UHD Graphics. Features: The i3-1005G1 may support newer technologies and features compared to the i3-1215U, although both are part of the 10th generation Intel Core processors. Power Efficiency: The i3-1005G1 might have an advantage in power efficiency due to the architectural improvements in Ice Lake, potentially leading to better battery life compared to the i3-1215U. So, to clarify, both the i3-1005G1 and the i3-1215U belong to the 10th generation Intel Core processors, but they differ in their graphics architecture and associated features.

3 3

Odd Ethernet Behaviour
by Peter King 13 Feb '24

13 Feb '24

Hello all, I have a computer located in the University of Toronto network which shows some odd network behaviour. For one, I have run speedtest-cli on it numerous times at various times of the day, and it consistently returns around 93Mbit upload/download. For comparison, a laptop in the same LAN seems to get 700Mbit, while a computer in a different part of the UofT network gets 900Mb/570Mb. The NIC has a RealTek chip and uses the r8169 kernel module. Ethtool, which gives a live report, does list the card as running at 1Gb/s. But that sure isn't the speed I am getting. This same slow computer also has problems if I reboot it remotely: most of the time it doesn't come up, though dmesg has the card detected. If I start from a cold boot rather than restart, it comes up correctly most of the time. In either case just typing in #netctl start <ethernet> starts it up just fine. I was trying to solve this problem and saw that there are several complaints along just these lines having to do with the r8169 module. Some people suggested downgrading to r8101 but that module is even older. If the module isn't working well, that might account for the slower speeds. Is there any way to tell? Obviously I can buy another NIC with a different chipset but don't really want to go to the trouble if there is an easier way to diagnose the difficulties. All advice appreciated! Thanks. -- Peter King peter.king(a)utoronto.ca Department of Philosophy 170 St. George Street #521 The University of Toronto (416)-946-3170 ofc Toronto, ON M5R 2M8 CANADA http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42

8 11

Ongoing war story (currently losing the battle)
by Peter King 12 Feb '24

12 Feb '24

I had a Lenovo Legion T5 that went very bad on me (short story: do not buy this computer!), and while getting a replacement case/motherboard/CPU all set up, hauled out an older computer with which to get work done while the replacement gets up to speed. Well, now this older machine is acting up. For a while it would not boot unless mouse, keyboard, and monitor were all attached. It runs an AMIbios from 2009, and a bit of googling showed that back in the day that did happen as a "feature" of consumer computers (rather than servers). So each time I needed to reboot I just plugged in all that stuff, rebooted, and then unplugged it all again, and the old computer ran just fine. That worked around a dozen times. Today I set out to reboot the old computer to get some work done, plugged everything in, and ... nothing. Never even got to the BIOS screen. No luck with multiple attempts. Changed the HDMI cable, still nothing. Took off the side panel and saw that when I turn on the power to the system, the CPU fan and the case fans come on, but it doesn't look like anything else does. It could be the graphics card, or the power supply, or the CMOS battery, or something else. Any suggestions for what to try next? -- Peter King peter.king(a)utoronto.ca Department of Philosophy 170 St. George Street #521 The University of Toronto (416)-946-3170 ofc Toronto, ON M5R 2M8 CANADA http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42

8 11

Fwd: 📅 Just scheduled: Pi Day 2024: Let's get this Party (Re-)Started!
by Aurelian Melinte 12 Feb '24

12 Feb '24

Maybe a bit off-topic Meetup Raspberry Pi invites you to a new event ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Meetup <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Raspberry Pi <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> scheduled a new event <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Pi Day 2024: Let's get this Party (Re-)Started! <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Thursday, March 14, 2024, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Online event RSVP now <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> *Details:* The Toronto Raspberry Pi Meetup has been on hiatus for over a year. (Pi devices were hard to get, nothing new had been announced, and our intrepid leader had a rough year). But what better date than Pi Day to get things (re-)started?! Join us on 3.14 to discuss the new Raspberry Pi 5, exhibit all that you've been making (now that our favorite ... *Hosted by:* Chris Tyler More events recommended for you: <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> RENDRE POWER BI ENCORE PLUS PERTINENT AVEC L'IMPLÉMENTATION D'OKRs <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Montreal Modern Excel and Power BI ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> "FRANCOPHONES" parlent "ANGLAIS" avec les "ANTILLAIS FRANÇAIS" (18+ Zoom) qc <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Partagez l'ANGLAIS - Les Antilles françaises ! (qc) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> ScratchEd Meetup <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> Québec Scratch Educator Meetup ------------------------------------------------------------------------ iPhone App Store <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlKwssb9ltmf5HcY7zlG…> Google Play <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlHDtcd2Dbs4MoviyCoR…> You received this message because you are a registered member of Meetup. Unsubscribe <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…> from this type of email. Manage your settings <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=V3O57xGBLxg5wZCbKOWB9ju7l8J4OogfwwiYcp7…> for all types of email updates. Visit your account page <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=V3O57xGBLxg5wZCbKOWB9ju7l8J4OogfwwiYcp7…> to change your contact details, privacy settings, and other settings. Meetup LLC <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=V3O57xGBLxg5wZCbKOWB9m4G6fsqOM-2BH3y9FH…>, POB 4668 #37895 NY NY USA 10163 Read our Privacy Policy <http://meet.meetup.com/ls/click?upn=85OQZrCWDpqSKgOweyjKlO-2B-2Bx79ZPDOcTZG…>. -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com

1 0

This month's meeting: Friday (Tomorrow) AND Tuesday
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 08 Feb '24

08 Feb '24

Our web site has the announcement and the list doesn't. So I'm copying the page to this message. NOTE THE UNIQUE TIMING. The Future of Linux User Groups and Open Source Advocacy with Stefano Maffulli, Executive Directorof the Open Source Initiative 09 February, 2024 at 11:00 AM Join GTALUG and our guest this month, Stefano Maffulli, to discuss the current state of Linux User Groups and Open Source advocacy, and how our community can be most effective in the coming years. Stafano is Executive Director of the Open Source Initiative (OSI, opensource.org) maintainers of the Open Source Definition, and involved in ongoing advocacy and community development worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THE MEETING DATE/TIME. To address timezone and availability issues, Stefano's live presentation will take place Friday February 9 at 11:00am Toronto time (16:00 UTC). A recording of the presentation as well as followup Q&A will be held during the usual GTALUG meeting time Tuesday February 13 at 19:30 Toronto time (Feb 14 at 00:30 UTC). We're going to use Big BLue Button for this meeting: https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl Time: February 09th, 2024 11:00 AM Eastern Time Join us on Big Blue Button: https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl Location Big Blue Button - https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl Schedule 7:30 pm Meeting and presentation. Code of Conduct We want a productive happy community that can welcome new ideas, improve every process every year, and foster collaboration between individuals with differing needs, interests and skills. We gain strength from diversity, and actively seek participation from those who enhance it. This code of conduct exists to ensure that diverse groups collaborate to mutual advantage and enjoyment. We will challenge prejudice that could jeopardize the participation of any person in the community. The Code of Conduct governs how we behave in public or in private whenever the Linux community will be judged by our actions. We expect it to be honored by everyone who represents the community officially or informally, claims affiliation, or participates directly. It applies to activities online or offline. We invite anybody to participate. Our community is open. We encourage you to read the complete Code of Conduct before attending the meeting.

1 0

RISC-V News
by Ivan Avery Frey 05 Feb '24

05 Feb '24

https://www.eetimes.eu/navigating-the-risc-v-revolution-in-europe/

5 8

free old tower computers
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 03 Feb '24

03 Feb '24

(This is an experiment. I don't know if list members area interested in this kind of thing or find it a waste of list attention. Let me know.) - Dell Inspiron 530 No HDD or SSD DVD burner Core 2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz 3 GiB of DDR2 RAM (2 x 1G, 2 x 512M) tested: boots CentOS on an HDD that I will remove. - Dell OptiPlex 780 No HDD or SSD DVD burner Core 2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz 4 GiB of DDR3 in one slot (3 empty) Tested: boots Fedora 39 from USB stick Each has some kind of Windows license sticker. Available for pickup near Yonge and York Mills.

2 2

war story: preliminary adventures with RDP / Remmina / Flatpak
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 02 Feb '24

02 Feb '24

We use Windows for tax programs. Linux doesn't have these programs. So we need to run Windows once in a while. Dual-booting works fine but it isn't the most convenient setup. Running Window in a VM would be great but I haven't figured out how to do that. Licencing is part of the issue. So: Remote Desktop (RDP) would seem to be a solution. The RDP server (i.e. the computer running Windows, backwards from X) has to be running Win 11 Pro. We have a computer that can do that. There are several Linux RDP clients. Remmina gets the best press. So that's what I chose. Remmina comes pre-installed on Fedora 39 (at least I don't remember installing it)/ My adventures so far are documented here: <https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/rdp-client-remmina-fails-to-connect-…> Summary: - Remmina didn't work - Gnome Connections did work (but people recommend against it as a client) - Remmina was installed as a flatpak - when I replaced it with normal packages, it worked $ flatpack remove org.remmina.Remmina $ sudo dnf install remmina If I were on Team Flatpak I'd debug why the flatpack version didn't work. My hunch is that it may be because I'm not using the systemd-resolver. More to learn. Like what these diagnostics mean: [11:08:55:918] [51240:52086] [ERROR][com.freerdp.common.settings] - [freerdp_settings_get_bool] Invalid key index 131 [11:08:55:918] [51240:52086] [ERROR][com.freerdp.common.settings] - [freerdp_settings_get_bool] Invalid key index 0 [11:08:55:114] [51240:52086] [WARN][com.freerdp.crypto] - Certificate verification failure 'self-signed certificate (18)' at stack position 0 [11:09:36:154] [51240:52086] [WARN][com.freerdp.core.rdp] - pduType PDU_TYPE_DATA not properly parsed, 562 bytes remaining unhandled. Skipping.

2 2

An anomaly with the `date` command
by mwilson＠Vex.Net 31 Jan '24

31 Jan '24

Discovered when I ran my script to run pcal and refresh my next-month calendar, and got March. mwilson@ningabel:~$ date Tue 30 Jan 2024 04:23:27 PM EST mwilson@ningabel:~$ date -d'this month' +%m 01 mwilson@ningabel:~$ date -d'next month' +%m 03 mwilson@ningabel:~$ which date /usr/bin/date mwilson@ningabel:~$ date --version date (GNU coreutils) 9.1 Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. Written by David MacKenzie. mwilson@ningabel:~$ Running Debian 12.2.0-14 patched up to last Friday. I suppose that in a couple of days next month really will be March, and the bug will be gone.

6 8

war story: Brother printer won't turn on
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 24 Jan '24

24 Jan '24

My LASER printer / scanner, a Brother MFC-L2729DW, would not power on. Normally something like this is due to a power supply failure, but I googled and found this: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgkHv1c01tQ> (The video is incomplete; there is another one that is linked from the first, but all the useful info is in the first.) Following his instructions, I found that I could reset the machine to work. But he said that it would fail again on a power failure or even just turning it off. Furthermore, doing this too many times breaks the printer. It turns out that settings are kept in a RAM that is powered by a supercapacitor (instead of a battery). Furthermore, that supercapacitor wears out. All you need to do to fix the printer is to replace the supercapacitor. The video claims all recent Brother printers have these supercapacitors. The video shows you how the replace the supercapacitor. You need a new supercapacitor, which he will sell you. Armed with this information, I - bought a suitable supercapacitor from digikey.ca (cheaper and faster than ordering from Australia). Actually I bought a slightly smaller one, but that seems to be OK. The original was 0.33F, 5.5V. I paid $3.48 for two, plus $8.00 shipping, plus HST. - pulled apart the printer, as per video - hacked out the old supercapacitor and soldered (badly) the new supercapacitor. (Doing the job right would have required removing the circuit board. Instead, I left the old supercapacitor's legs and soldered the new one's legs to the old ones.) - struggled to get the plastic panel back in place. It works.

6 8