- Talk - lists.gtalug.org

ot: backlab?
by Karen Lewellen 23 Apr '24

23 Apr '24

It might not be that far off topic, given I am told it is a comparative list for computer projects. I have also been told some on this list are members. Reason for seeking the list is this. One of my colleagues att he Center for Social Innovation began providing tech support to the organization for whom I work Curtain up distribution, common ground media. www.commongroundmedia.ca Although James provided fine expertise, his own professional workload has changed..right in the middle of almost finishing our project. Equally concerning the machine he largely constructed with items from backlab may behaving a power supply issue. The fan is not always working. and I want to head off a greater problem. basic question is how to connect with this resource, hopefully finding someone with a few hours to finish what James started. Thanks, Karen

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monitor characteristics: EDID
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 20 Apr '24

20 Apr '24

I'm trying to figure out the characteristics of the display on my Asus Vivobook S notebook. One way to figure this out is to look at the monitor's EDID (Extended Display Identification Data). I installed a program called edid-decode since otherwise the EDID is just binary bytes. Then I used this command: edid-decode /sys/class/drm/card1-eDP-1/edid | less The path is to one of the edid's exposed by the Linux kernel. I picked eDP because that should be the built-in display. I've included to result at the end of this message. Things I noted - manufacturer is SDC (Samsung Display Company) - manufactured in the 25th week of 2021 (older than I thought) - bits / color channel: 10 (very nice) - only color format: RGB 4:4:4 That means no chroma subsampling but RGB doesn't support chroma subsampling anyway ================ EDID ================ edid-decode (hex): 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff 00 4c 83 6d 41 00 00 00 00 19 1f 01 04 b5 1f 14 78 02 0c f1 ae 52 3c b9 23 0c 50 54 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 39 ff 40 5c b0 08 20 70 14 20 08 04 38 c3 10 00 00 1b 39 ff 40 5c b0 08 48 77 14 20 08 04 38 c3 10 00 00 1b 00 00 00 0f 00 ff 0a 78 ff 0a 3c 28 80 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 fe 00 41 54 4e 41 34 35 41 46 30 31 2d 30 20 01 72 02 03 0f 00 e3 05 80 00 e6 06 05 01 74 60 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 b7 ---------------- Block 0, Base EDID: EDID Structure Version & Revision: 1.4 Vendor & Product Identification: Manufacturer: SDC Model: 16749 Made in: week 25 of 2021 Basic Display Parameters & Features: Digital display Bits per primary color channel: 10 DisplayPort interface Maximum image size: 31 cm x 20 cm Gamma: 2.20 Supported color formats: RGB 4:4:4 First detailed timing includes the native pixel format and preferred refresh rate Color Characteristics: Red : 0.6796, 0.3203 Green: 0.2373, 0.7226 Blue : 0.1396, 0.0498 White: 0.3125, 0.3291 Established Timings I & II: none Standard Timings: none Detailed Timing Descriptors: DTD 1: 2880x1800 120.001014 Hz 16:10 219.842 kHz 653.370000 MHz (312 mm x 195 mm) Hfront 20 Hsync 32 Hback 40 Hpol P Vfront 16 Vsync 8 Vback 8 Vpol N DTD 2: 2880x1800 60.000507 Hz 16:10 219.842 kHz 653.370000 MHz (312 mm x 195 mm) Hfront 20 Hsync 32 Hback 40 Hpol P Vfront 16 Vsync 8 Vback 1840 Vpol N Manufacturer-Specified Display Descriptor (0x0f): 00 0f 00 ff 0a 78 ff 0a 3c 28 80 02 00 00 00 00 '.....x..<(......' Alphanumeric Data String: 'ATNA45AF01-0 ' Extension blocks: 1 Checksum: 0x72 ---------------- Block 1, CTA-861 Extension Block: Revision: 3 Native detailed modes: 0 Colorimetry Data Block: BT2020RGB HDR Static Metadata Data Block: Electro optical transfer functions: Traditional gamma - SDR luminance range SMPTE ST2084 Supported static metadata descriptors: Static metadata type 1 Desired content max luminance: 116 (616.884 cd/m^2) Desired content max frame-average luminance: 96 (400.000 cd/m^2) Desired content min luminance: 7 (0.005 cd/m^2) Checksum: 0xb7 Unused space in Extension Block: 112 bytes

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KiCad or ...
by Colin McGregor 10 Apr '24

10 Apr '24

I'm looking at doing a small electronic project several times in my boat. I've got the project up and running on a small solderless breadboard, so I know the circuit / software (there is an Arduino knock-off here) works, My soldering skills leave enough to be desired that so far my efforts to get a solder based protoboard up and running ... have not gone so well. So, as I am going to need several of these, and I know I can solder printed circuit boards, I am wondering if I shouldn't just use the services of one of the China based firms that do small runs of custom printed circuit boards for little money (firms like (but not necessarily) PCBWay)? Of course to make that happen I will need computer aided design (CAD) software to generate the files needed by the firm in China to manufacture. So, CAD software for electronics work that runs under Linux, is available under the GPL, what is available? I have looked at KiCad, but are there better options out there? Also, looking for learning the software in question, are there any good YouTube tutorial videos? Thanks.

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Apr 14th - Hacklab Junk Independence Day
by Scott Sullivan 10 Apr '24

10 Apr '24

Hacklab Junk Independence Day Drop off / swap old electronic and e-waste, remainders will be recycled. * Sunday April 15th * 2PM – 7PM https://twitter.com/hacklabto/status/1777909304260968539 https://hacklab.to/archives/junk-independence-day-4/ -- Scott Sullivan

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GTALUG General Meeting Reminder
by Alan Heighway 07 Apr '24

07 Apr '24

What’s changing with the GTALUG <https://gtalug.org/meeting/2024-04/> with GTALUG Board and Ops Team <https://gtalug.org/> 09 April, 2024 at 07:30 PM This week we will discuss the big changes coming our way with the group and some of the technology we will be using going forward. We're going to use Big BLue Button for this meeting: https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl *Time:* April 9th, 2024 19:30 AM Eastern Time *Join us on Big Blue Button:* https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl. *A*lan *H*eighway <http://heighway.ca/> heighway.ca VA3WAH / VA3YKZ [image: Please consider the environment before printing]

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When a web page goes to next level
by Ron / BCLUG 05 Apr '24

05 Apr '24

CBC has a story up today (about "Buried rivers flow under Canadian cities..."). > Discover where ancient rivers flow under Canadian cities | CBC News > > Ancient rivers once nourished and protected the lands where we built > our biggest cities. Now, they’re buried underground. Is it finally > time to let them see daylight? > > https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/2024/daylighting-rivers/ The design of this page is outstanding! A lot of parallax effects, things fade between section, gentle rotation zoom effects, videos,... I've seen similar on BBC in the past, but even then, this is next-level web page design. I highly recommend scrolling through it, if for simply marvelling at the presentation. It's as beautiful as any web design can be. Kudos to > Design and development: Andrew McManus, Adam Nyx, CBC News Labs rb

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GPU advice needed
by Evan Leibovitch 31 Mar '24

31 Mar '24

Hi all. Although I really don't want to, I need to upgrade the graphics card on my main desktop. I currently have an AMD RX 6600 but some of the applications I want to work with, notably in AI and content creation, either don't work well on AMD cards or not at all. For decades I've stuck to AMD cards -- partly because of their better track record with Linux drivers, but also because of my affinity for ATI in Markham. Alas, though, I must get something from Team Green now. Leaning towards an RTX 3060 12GB, that should be enough for me. Here is my question. Even having picked that one chipset, there are a dozen variations that I see between CanadaComputers and Amazon. These vary in price by more than $150. The only differences I can tell are the number of fans and the output connectors (some have 2 HDMI and 2 Displayport, some 1/3). Are there any compelling reasons other than price that would drive a purchase? I don't care how many fans so long as the GPU is sufficiently cooled (I have no interest in overclocking). Also, any GTA store recommendations besides CC are appreciated. Thanks! -- Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56

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GPU advice needed
by 8hpehgmr＠obscured.anonaddy.com 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

I don't think a $150 price premium is worth it for negligible performance and cooling gains due to slight core/memory clock differences, https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=499&sort=price&page=1 I consider Memory Express to have better customer service compared to CC but anything is better than Amazon. On 2024-03-29 15:36, Evan Leibovitch via talk 'talk at gtalug.org' wrote: > Hi all. > > Although I really don't want to, I need to upgrade the graphics card > on my main desktop. > I currently have an AMD RX 6600 but some of the applications I want to > work with, notably in AI and content creation, either don't work well > on AMD cards or not at all. > > For decades I've stuck to AMD cards -- partly because of their better > track record with Linux drivers, but also because of my affinity for > ATI in Markham. Alas, though, I must get something from Team Green > now. Leaning towards an RTX 3060 12GB, that should be enough for me. > > Here is my question. Even having picked that one chipset, there are a > dozen variations that I see between CanadaComputers and Amazon. These > vary in price by more than $150. The only differences I can tell are > the number of fans and the output connectors (some have 2 HDMI and 2 > Displayport, some 1/3). > > Are there any compelling reasons other than price that would drive a > purchase? I don't care how many fans so long as the GPU is > sufficiently cooled (I have no interest in overclocking). Also, any > GTA store recommendations besides CC are appreciated. > > Thanks! > > -- > Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada > @evanleibovitch / @el56 > This email was sent to 8hpehgmr(a)obscured.anonaddy.com (gtalug) from > talk(a)gtalug.org > Click here > <https://app.addy.io/deactivate/0501485b-824a-492f-bba8-8849ed40e8d4?signatu…> > to deactivate this alias >

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Backdoor found in widely used Linux utility
by Ron / BCLUG 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

> Backdoor found in widely used Linux utility breaks encrypted SSH > connections > >> Malicious code planted in xz Utils has been circulating for more >> than a month. https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/03/backdoor-found-in-widely-used-linu…

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Securely wiping SSDs
by Giles Orr 29 Mar '24

29 Mar '24

I have, for many years, used "Darik's Boot and Nuke" on a USB stick to securely wipe spinning hard disks. It takes a long time, but I mostly understand and trust the process. I'm now at the point that I have to wipe and dispose of SSDs, and I'm feeling a bit shaky on the methodology. Here's what I did: # hdparm -I /dev/sdX Looked for enabled/locked/frozen in the output ... I won't go into making sure those are toggled correctly, but that appears to be needed. This also lists what appears to be info about doing a wipe on the drive: 6min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT, 60min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT Then, set a password (why? but seems to be needed): # hdparm --user-master u --security-set-pass foobar /dev/sdX Last, run the wipe: # hdparm --user-master u --security-erase-enhanced foobar /dev/sdX Doing something like `dd if=/dev/sdX bs=5M count=5 | strings` (or sending it to `less`) definitely shows that it's changed from something organized to something full of identical characters. But I've never seen this wipe process take more than 60 seconds, which makes me wonder about the `hdparm` declaration about the time required for a secure wipe. So I guess the big question is: should I trust this process? Do we really think it's securely wiped? Or should I be taking a hammer to the chips on the SSD because that's the only way to ensure it's fully wiped? -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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