tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14358192350002737412024-03-13T00:13:17.133-04:00Random NoiseI bet you $100 I can beat this gambling thing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01287259865905678281noreply@blogger.comBlogger732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-22137753604476113552020-02-25T11:55:00.000-05:002020-02-25T11:55:04.495-05:00How Would I Improve Linux?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/nixcraft/status/1232263300508815360">Asks Twitter</a>:</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/nixcraft/status/1232263300508815360"><img border="0" data-original-height="106" data-original-width="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUXgbqFSmzdoaLIg7lZqNL5EWBLU9mnUUcvyOfoPTGtmgJWJEDY-qTK8tJPy34iFdsNf68FNo5rMdR7v659V4WPECxb2Ug4AmQ47uZF3i5E7GX8mFqySKxXAc80jXyvHVks9vmDFAhRVZ/s1600/2020-02-25-104159.PNG" /></a></div>
<br />
I got two items here, but first I have to give some backplot.<br />
<br />
Way back in 2013 I bought what is still my primary workstation, a Dell Inspiron i5 of some description. Over the intervening years I've thrown more storage into it and doubled the RAM to 8GB and for the most part the computer has remained acceptably serviceable, even if it was suffering from a strange inability to reboot -- it would reboot to the Dell logo and stick there until power cycled, after which it would start properly.<br />
<br />
Last year my kid started to get into games more and it turns out that the seven year old computer just isn't up to it any more. Now sure games are not the most important thing in the world, but the number one thing a computer has to do is meet the user's needs -- and I needed to play some games because they looked interesting.<br />
<br />
I'm not talking Triple-A super titles or anything. I'm talking Cities Skylines. Kerbal Space Program. Not basic basic stuff, but not state of the art or nothing.<br />
<br />
So I decided that I needed to re-think my entire computing solution. (If you recall, I <a href="https://shove-monkey.blogspot.com/2018/08/surface-go-vs-ipad-2018.html">did something similar back in 2018</a>.) I had my desktop upstairs and a lab computer -- a Dell Power Edge 1950 -- at the office. The '1950 is an ancient tank that sucks up an obscene amount of power even if I'm not paying for it, although it was still providing the internet presence for the wiki I have. I figured that I'd like to get rid of it.<br />
<br />
So, I figured that I'd need a computer capable of running my newer, faster desktop as well as running the VMs that I had kicking around for playing and for things like the wiki. Since this sucker would be in my room, I'd need something silent -- or at the very least, very very quiet.<br />
<br />
My first attempt at this was an Intel i7 8-series NUC (Next Unit of Computing). I put 32GB of RAM in it along with a 1TB flash drive. I installed Windows 10 on it, and away we went. I was planning that after a period of acclimation I would install Hyper-V on it and run the VMs there. I'd be able to have a single device that I could work on, do lab stuff with, run my internet wiki, and play games on.<br />
<br />
It was all coming together.<br />
<br />
Well, except for the fact that the NUC is actually a laptop in a super-compact desktop form factor. And as such, the Achilles Heel of such a device is keeping the processor cool. If you even breathed on the processor the fan would spin up; work it hard and it would get quite noisy. What made it especially annoying was that it was a variable fan -- meaning that the change in sound pitch would keep you awake overnight. And since it was planned I'd be running the wiki out of it, I couldn't just put the thing to sleep overnight.<br />
<br />
During this period I had several goes where I installed Fedora Workstation on this computer. These installations never lasted very long, for reasons I'll go into later. But immediately relevant is the fact that I couldn't make the system quieter under Linux.<br />
<br />
After a month of this, I just gave up and went back to the i5 running Windows 10. The NUC got VMware ESXi installed on it, and all the VMs either migrated from the office or were reconstructed, and the '1950 has been retired.<br />
<br />
The next exercise was a gamble that didn't pay off. After my failure with the NUC I continued to watch the computer sales sites. I was wondering if I bought an i5 8-series NUC if the fan noise would be less -- places like Reddit suggested so.<br />
<br />
On eBay I had a couple of attempts buying fanless i5 workstations from China. I tried three times, and all three times the sale was cancelled and the charge reversed. I never really understood why.<br />
<br />
In mid December I happened across a sale on NewEgg or Mike's or something where a fanless, i7, 8GB computer was on sale for half off, for about $500 shipped. I had acquired another 1TB drive and 16GB of RAM in anticipation of one of the previous attempts paying off, so I decided to try at this one. Amazingly it was shipped 2-day from Hong Kong, and the seller paid the import duties for me. Unfortunately the package wasn't deliverable because of the import fees, so I had to go across the city to the shipping depot to get it. It took longer to get across the city than it did to get from Hong Kong.<br />
<br />
This computer was even more of a failure. There's a fault in the graphics card -- if you work the card too hard (say, by playing a game) the computer just resets to the boot logo and reboots from there. At that point the graphics have little black pixel drop-outs, drop-outs that move like static when the graphics memory is manipulated (ie: by moving the mouse or a window or whatever). A cold boot corrects this problem.<br />
<br />
And so, I decided once again to give Linux a go for my desktop needs. Keep in mind that this was after a month of playing around with the NUC, another two weeks of fighting with the fanless device, a failure to get support on the fanless device, and the general feeling of being out $1500 without much to show for it.<br />
<br />
So, I installed Fedora again. Don't remember what version. It was -current whatever it was.<br />
<br />
And I was done with it in less than a day.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Mainly: I couldn't watch TV.<br />
<br />
I've got a Sonar/Plex arrangement set up in the basement (partially on the NUC, but no matter). And I've been binge watching series as I work on this stuff in my room. So the straw that broke the camel's back was that I installed Chromium, connected to my Plex server... and couldn't play anything. None of the videos worked.<br />
<br />
Googling the error around found some pages which discussed some kind of VLC dependency on Ubuntu, but it was never clear to me if it was a server-side or client-side fix. In either case, I never managed to watch my movies or TV on Fedora.<br />
<br />
There were the usual Linux annoyances -- the sound, by default, sounded terrible; something was fucked up with the keyboard and/or terminal locale settings; and you were never entirely sure what the networking was actually going to do until it did it. Due to a primitive collection of monitors I never had to get into the joys of multi-headed X (or Wayland). But all this is par for the course, and you expect bullshit like it when you install Linux.<br />
<br />
There are the usual disappointments, in that Evolution didn't deal with my employer's Office-365 mail system, that there's still no way to deal with Onedrive for Business, and the solutions for multiplexing RDP sessions are still terrible. Sure, these are all windows-specific complaints, but these are the things I need to do and like I said up top, workstations need to fulfill their users' requirements.<br />
<br />
Today, I'm still using that seven-year-old i5 as my main desktop, still running Windows 10. I'm using WSL 1 heavily and will probably continue to do so; if we lose WSL 1 in the WSL 2 roll-out I'm going to be unhappy because this i5 doesn't do Hyper-V, a requirement for WSL 2.<br />
<br />
Okay, so, back to the top.<br />
<br />
What would I improve about Linux?<br />
<br />
<b>#1. More of this shit has to just work.</b><br />
<br />
With Windows, I install windows, install chrome, point it at my plex server, and I have entertainment. Done. It just works.<br />
<br />
There might -- might! -- be an argument that if computers are being shipped with Linux things like this won't matter, everything will be pre-configured for that piece of hardware. However if you can't get power-users like me going quickly then your pool of advocates is going to be smaller.<br />
<br />
The Linux install process has come a long way, at least for Fedora Workstation. It's a bit grindy, and the networking configuration is more of a "gotcha" than it has to be -- but for the most part it's "here's my disks, go."<br />
<br />
I'm old. I have a life. I have things I wish to do with my computer, rather than to my computer.<br />
<br />
Think of it like a car. Sure, you have the enthusiasts who obsess over mechanical modifications, fuel efficiency, or pin striping; but most people just want to go to the mall. To most people, the car is a tool, not an object to its own end.<br />
<br />
Linux workstations are still too much objects in their own ends rather than tools that typical people can just use.<br />
<br />
Less important, but still relevant:<br />
<br />
<b>#2. Desktop Environment Offerings Still Suck.</b><br />
<br />
Your major options appear to be Gnome (a window manager that seems more appropriate for a touch device than a workstation)... or find something yourself.<br />
<br />
Is KDE even still a thing? Admittedly I was pissed off with Fedora by the time I started to wonder this, but I never found out. The internet wasn't really clear in the cursory looking around I did.<br />
<br />
I tried Ratpoison because I'm a screen aficionado, and I'm willing to deal with weird keyboard key combinations to get things done. This ended up being a non starter because -- and it stuns me that this is true in the "security" aware late two-thousand-teens -- there's no built in screen lock. There's a hack for Xscreensaver or the like, but no native screen lock. In 2019.<br />
<br />
Gnome seems to be going down the road of filing all the sharp edges off of everything, and color scheme aside is more of a Fisher-Price experience than XP ever was.<br />
<br />
And what is this obsession with large, fat, rounded window decorations and large, high-resolution fonts that mean we get less information displayed on our 1080p monitors than we ever did on the 800x600 displays we started with?<br />
<br />
I think that's enough for now.<br />
<br />
Since we're at the bottom here and nobody will read this far, I might as well add that I'm a heavy Linux user -- I have dozens of VMs under my care along with several metal environments. I've deployed Linux laptops as mobile network tap devices. Linux has strengths that are solid assets in the right place.<br />
<br />
But the desktop still isn't it.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-19737990365180096502019-10-15T22:34:00.001-04:002019-10-15T22:34:26.708-04:00Gemini ManAnother movie that reminds me of Dracula and the first John Wick. This movie knows what it is and doesn't try to get fancy or deep. It's "these are the good guys, these are the bad guys -- go!" Also there were like seven people in the IMAX theater we watched it in.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-7153056565823831282019-04-25T20:00:00.000-04:002019-06-04T23:21:50.899-04:00Review: Avengers Endgame(paraphrased)<br />
<br />
J: so I'm out of town for a week starting the Saturday after Avengers is released.<br />
<br />
Me: just so you know, I fully intend to see Endgame on my own that week if you are not around.<br />
<br />
J: well lets look at the available showings on Friday.<br />
<br />
Me: they all suck. No seats or terrible seats.<br />
<br />
J: hmm, they have some Thursday night shows.<br />
<br />
Me: ...and the one at 22:50 has seats that are not singles, front row, way-the-hell over to one side.<br />
<br />
J: should we? It's a three hour movie, starting at 11 PM, so we won't be getting home until 2:30 AM. On a school/work night.<br />
<br />
Me: sure, do it. It's almost certainly a terrible idea, even if I can't think of why it is a terrible idea right at this moment.<br />
<br />
J: okay, done. Two tickets for 22:50 on Thursday night.<br />
<br />
Me: (not thirty seconds later) who the hell are we going to get to look after the kids at 10:30 on a Thursday night?David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-83104873383818977382019-03-19T15:20:00.002-04:002019-03-19T15:20:48.938-04:0010000 TweetsI noticed that I'd missed tweet number 10000, so I had to count back from 10070 to figure out which one was the magical #10000. I'm pretty satisfied with this as the 10K representative.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
This was my tweet number 10000. And you know what? It's worthy. <a href="https://t.co/JDxNRxI6Pr">https://t.co/JDxNRxI6Pr</a></div>
— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1108053927335849984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-7486713736277356752019-03-12T22:00:00.000-04:002019-03-19T15:12:47.386-04:00Captain MarvelOr, Mar Vel... whatever.<br />
<br />
Anyways, it was better than it had any right to be. And all liked the bit with the cat.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-31522206654928859132019-02-23T23:49:00.000-05:002019-02-26T18:22:40.705-05:00It's too late to be working<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s too late to be working <a href="https://t.co/bG42uJhwjz">pic.twitter.com/bG42uJhwjz</a></p>— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1088297686996897792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-81902967535507749832019-02-23T18:23:00.000-05:002019-02-26T18:18:06.959-05:00Stalking<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m on ur chair<br><br>Stalking ur dinner <a href="https://t.co/pRXEWF55SI">pic.twitter.com/pRXEWF55SI</a></p>— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1099458267212697600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-54323252196400564372019-02-18T22:00:00.000-05:002019-02-25T18:57:29.176-05:00The Lego Movie 2Tries to build something new from the pieces of the last one. (HA!) I have to admit that I did not see most of the twists coming. Definitely not terrible. Kids loved it.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-53978556722244276012019-01-13T09:08:00.000-05:002019-02-26T18:27:46.059-05:00Feeding Time<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All three pets want feeding <a href="https://t.co/BQnTWIZw8T">pic.twitter.com/BQnTWIZw8T</a></p>— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1084452204239556608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-34484091316028149232019-01-09T22:00:00.000-05:002019-02-25T19:02:41.072-05:00AquamanI daresay DC might be finally, at least partially, getting the hang of these. This wasn't a top-rate offering, but it is way better than some of the earlier offerings.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-11917004479137668042019-01-06T22:50:00.000-05:002019-02-26T18:24:57.263-05:00Science<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s never too late to science <a href="https://t.co/26vCDqR2km">pic.twitter.com/26vCDqR2km</a></p>— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1082122231076085760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-12652181780963057642018-12-28T13:41:00.000-05:002019-02-26T18:29:52.329-05:00NAC<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At the NAC <a href="https://t.co/yA03Mlchye">pic.twitter.com/yA03Mlchye</a></p>— David Mackintosh (@xdroop) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdroop/status/1078722627039039489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-10223525094430460772018-12-01T22:00:00.000-05:002019-02-25T18:58:53.628-05:00Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of GrimwaldVisually gorgeous, but the story is both predictable and utterly forgettable.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-8186965587065903102018-11-07T08:00:00.000-05:002018-11-15T13:19:02.564-05:00Venom, AgainSo this Atom app thing coughed up a free ticket, so lacking anything else we could agree on, we went to see Venom again. Still kinda campy, and some of the visual effects don't work the second time through -- but still fun.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-39439748879044554862018-10-10T08:00:00.000-04:002018-11-15T13:17:44.611-05:00VenomI liked it. Eddie is a bit of a passenger in this in that things keep happening to him, and it doesn't appear that any choices he makes in the early going (after the big one) really would have changed anything. But it's fun.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-22560856069413392212018-08-21T19:48:00.001-04:002018-08-21T19:48:29.068-04:00Surface Go vs iPad 2018<br />
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So I'm a long time
iPad and iPhone user. I've been a fan of portable internet ever since I figured
out how to read Google Reader feeds on my Blackberry 8100. Stepping up to the
iPhone made for a more graphical experience, and then stepping up again to an
iPad mini when it first became available made that internet use even more
regular. The iPad mini was pretty much a constant companion in the house for
its first four years with us.</div>
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<br /></div>
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More recently, I
traded my iPad mini to my son for his iPad3 because A) the sound works on the
mini (he's somehow managed to break it on the iPad3) and B) the wifi on the
iPad 3 is crap (probably because there's a ton of damage on the front right
over where the wifi antenna is). This has been less useful for me, but it has
got me by as long as I've been sitting on top of an access point.</div>
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<br /></div>
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On the desktop side
I've got a four year old i5 that can't be upgraded beyond 8GB of RAM and that's
starting to become constricting, plus the fact that the computer is starting to
do the won't boot-on-reboot trick that preceded the last Dell's just-won't-power-on
problem (which I understand is also known as the "sleeping orange"
problem, for the flashing orange light given to you by the power button when
it's faulted this way). So that computer is going to need an upgrade soon.</div>
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In the meantime,
technology has rushed forward since all of these machines were
"current". The Surface Pro line of tablets is delivering usable
tablet technology for the desktop user, while the iPad line has improved in
polish, speed, and has added the Apple Pencil functionality.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Put this all
together and you have a situation where I can re-think how I go about my
personal computing; we can contemplate a radical change in the pieces I have
and the way I work.</div>
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I was sort of hoping
that I could buy a small machine that would do everything, replacing my desktop
and still granting me the tablet usability that I'd come to depend on over the
last few years. Between the iPad 2018 and the Surface Go I was hoping that I'd
find this magic machine at a reasonable price.</div>
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Back in May I bought
a iPad 2018 and a Pencil. So far it as lived up to expectations as a powerful,
usable evolution of what I already had. The apps I was already using were
already there, and my workflow was pretty much unchanged except where more
power or storage space made such a change possible. The Pencil, on the other
hand, is a bit of a gimmick, but I have found it useful in meetings -- I find
that if I am falling asleep in a meeting, writing down everything that is
happening helps me stay awake. (I don't think my coworkers have figured out
that to be the reason why I occasionally take very detailed notes.)</div>
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However, it isn't a
desktop replacement by any means.</div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">The on screen keyboard is
usable in a pinch but it isn't suited to solid text entry. This is the
reason why I ended up getting a Pencil. I also have a couple of bluetooth
keyboards, one of which has a slot to mount a tablet in, and that is quite
usable when the need arises. Unfortunately… now I have to drag around a
thick keyboard as well as the iPad.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">There's no decent way to
manage Blogger/Blogspot blogs. All the apps are out of date, and the web
browser experience -- even in Chrome -- is terrible. Specifically, I was
unable to reliably resize pictures inserted into articles, and paging
around multi-screen-length articles was dodgy at best.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">There isn't really a decent
ssh/mosh terminal option.</span></li>
</ul>
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So when I learned of
the Surface Go in late July, I figured that it might be a decent option. It was
reviewing really well, and lots of people seemed to really like it. So when it
came out, I discovered that Costco was selling them online, so I decided to
order one.</div>
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A word about the
Costco version: it's actually a "third" version of the Go. Microsoft
sells two versions:</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">4GB RAM + 64GB slow flash
storage; or</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">8GB RAM + 128GB fast SSD
storage</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The Costco version
is 4GB + the 128 fast SSD storage PLUS the black typecover, for a price just
under the 8GB RAM version. You also get two full years of warranty through
Costco instead of just the standard one, and there's an included
"concierge" service which I didn't explore.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I tried to put away
the iPad for a week and use the Go exclusively. I also used it exclusively in
Windows-S mode, where only signed apps from the Microsoft Store will run on it
-- I figured that would most closely match the iPad curated-application and semi-secure-sandbox
experience.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
In that week, I
discovered:</div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">You have to do everything
that’s not Microsoft Native in the browser. Reddit? Edge. Tweetdeck? Edge.
Google Mail? Edge. Google photos? Edge. We have the Office 365
subscription, so I did have the full-stack Office applications, and they
work as expected.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Web applications that see a
desktop browser experience are not always usable on a touch tablet. A lot
of the hyperlink targets are small, and it is much easier to miss them
than on the iPad.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Edge isn't a terrible
browser, but it isn't great either.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Go is slow. Apps and
browser pages are slow to appear at times. A lot of the time there's no
feedback for 3/4 of a second from hitting a web element to make something
happen, long enough to wonder if you've just merely missed the target
element again. Things that pop on the desktop obviously don't, but more
importantly, things that pop on the iPad don't pop either. The vast
majority of the time, the iPad lets you know that something is happening,
even if it isn't happening immediately.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">The keyboard on the TypeCover
isn't terrible, but again it isn't great. My fingers are too big to
comfortably<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>use the 4/5ths scale
keys (or whatever it is). I will say that having both a backlighting
system and a touchpad are improvements over the iPad solution. I did like
the Logitech bluetooth keyboard I have with the Go, however that keyboard
lacks a Windows-key so makes it impossible for me to use a lot of the
shortcuts I use on the desktop.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">If the ssh/mosh ecosystem in
iOS is bad, it is non-existant in the Microsoft Store. Only one app even
mentions mosh, and that's to say that it is only currently supported in an
older version that you can't currently get from the Store.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">You can't install Bash For
Windows when you are in S mode. So there's no way to back-door your way to
a decent environment.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Because it's a $120 option, I
didn't get the Microsoft Pen to play with, although I wanted to. I was
considering a 8GB model with a Pen, but that priced out higher than the
Costco model did.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I don't want to make
this sound like its all bad.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Physical construction of the
Go is beautiful. For some reason I like these more squared-off devices
that have a bit of thickness and heft to them. The iPad always feels like
I'm about to bend it if it isn't in a case.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Setup was very easy, if a
little slow. The setup noticed my O365 subscription and automatically
installed the Office apps I was entitled to.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Having multiple user profiles
on the tablet makes the sysadmin in me happy. Even if all I did was have a
"guest" profile for other users to use, I would know that my
data and apps and websites were safely tucked away from others
"accidentally" seeing them.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Windows Hello just worked all
the time for me. I don't know how robust it was, but some experimenting
with the kids showed me that Hello wouldn't think they were me.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">The battery charged
incredibly quickly. I'm not sure I was getting the runtime that was
advertised, but I was never stranded with a dry battery either.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">It is simultaneously nice and
a chore to be able to manage which files on your OneDrive are
"really" present on your tablet. With the iPad it's a toss-up as
to what's actually cached, but with OneDrive you can make sure ahead of
time that what you need will be available when you are offline. At the
same time, remembering to go back later to say "save space" on
directory trees is a chore sometimes, one that I'm sure would result in
the disk filling occasionally…</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So in summary, I'd
say these two devices are very different. The iPad is an attempt to move the
tablet more towards business/desktop usage, while the Surface Go is an attempt
to make the desktop usable in the low-cost tablet space.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
However, while the
iPad is a lousy desktop replacement, the fact of the matter is that the lack of
speed and usable apps makes the Go both a lousy tablet and a lousy desktop. It
is an attempt to bridge both worlds and ends up not doing either of them well.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I suspect for a
non-tablet user the Go would work very well as a way to have portable access to
the programs and files that are used on the desktop. I think that the reason
why it is reviewing really well is because most of the reviewers are Microsoft
Power Users and the extension of the desktop environment into the tablet space
is more in line with what they are expecting. It makes the Go a good
"second screen" that I think is an excellent next step towards the
vision that Microsoft had with the first Surface Pro. And if there was a way to
pack more power into this form factor, such as an i5 and 8GB of RAM, being able
to plug my tablet into a multi-monitor dock with a proper keyboard and mice,
and then just pop it off and take it away with me, would be a killer
application. I'm sure it's coming, but the current Surface Pros are too big for
me.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
For my own use, I
decided that I wasn't willing to give up the excellent tablet experience in
order to gain half-assed access to desktop functionality that I only
occasionally used. It means for my usage I'll still need to sit at (or more
likely, remote into) my desktop periodically to do the things I can't from the
iPad. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I tried very hard to
use the Go for longer than I did, but it just ended up being unpleasant. I
think in the end the keyboard options were not good enough, it wasn't fast
enough, and there wasn't a usable way to make the desktop experience translate
better to a tablet. Sure, much of that is the last four or five years that I've
been an iOS user and that colors my opinion somewhat. I'll admit that. But it's
a mindset that the Go will have to break for other iOS users to switch, so it
is representative of a real-world hurdle facing the Go. The Go is a huge step
forward in this space, but it isn't there enough for me to stick with it.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Put it all together,
and I'm going to be returning this Go to Costco.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-20791133821536937912018-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:002018-11-15T13:23:12.014-05:00Ant Man And The WaspSo, hey, that was a pretty good sequel that fit into the MCU happenings without it being too heavy-handed. Well done. I especially liked the line about "you put a quarter in the jukebox, you gotta let the song play."David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-18833801156685134422018-07-22T21:49:00.004-04:002018-07-22T21:49:29.639-04:00There Is A Lot More Outside Out Here Than I Thought<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLB795_0pcNiY5YryT_RO76fiH4gs_Asd0onQ-JwDdxgTJEdPfE68mkdiEruqRFi0EdtmkR3dwzRQ_fayWGsXBF8oTErad_YI_hSpsAREKF6Z8-gPpekpbmpHIsL8SyDr7EgLs17eMcc7/s1600/IMG_5305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLB795_0pcNiY5YryT_RO76fiH4gs_Asd0onQ-JwDdxgTJEdPfE68mkdiEruqRFi0EdtmkR3dwzRQ_fayWGsXBF8oTErad_YI_hSpsAREKF6Z8-gPpekpbmpHIsL8SyDr7EgLs17eMcc7/s400/IMG_5305.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Neelix gets a little outside time on the dog run. Not that she'll go anywhere while she's trying to take it all in.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-54172909128215126802018-07-22T21:48:00.001-04:002018-07-22T21:48:15.541-04:00Daddy Turned His Back For Five Minutes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQShBG-4RYnP1uoYVx8et3IXcm7g8CJgaHTO9BemOJZhIdi27L9jMgT7Y40SrRa_-h4IvgB4AIxRkS3w6LeFlziOinXABAAdaJMtUSH7GsfNSfytW3AEGZIfucJnIAKHLKL-xSpJlcmWu/s1600/IMG_5301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQShBG-4RYnP1uoYVx8et3IXcm7g8CJgaHTO9BemOJZhIdi27L9jMgT7Y40SrRa_-h4IvgB4AIxRkS3w6LeFlziOinXABAAdaJMtUSH7GsfNSfytW3AEGZIfucJnIAKHLKL-xSpJlcmWu/s400/IMG_5301.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This is your periodic reminder that a service dog is, first and foremost, a dog.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-13004792320536619682018-07-22T21:34:00.001-04:002018-07-22T21:34:57.740-04:00High Ground<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbk-enR6ioYyXapL8WXV2vDqBZgki7D0jsTvb3-4ac0PIIkz3DegLisHHiPW1CIWpEMfwWXXrK9EZCxmjfMIiJA3Z_u12CS89iULxrAUq9lKcoMghBRmzfoQUT4ETwlQoHD5ssPmuZSVCN/s1600/IMG_4109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbk-enR6ioYyXapL8WXV2vDqBZgki7D0jsTvb3-4ac0PIIkz3DegLisHHiPW1CIWpEMfwWXXrK9EZCxmjfMIiJA3Z_u12CS89iULxrAUq9lKcoMghBRmzfoQUT4ETwlQoHD5ssPmuZSVCN/s400/IMG_4109.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Someone's taken a liking to sitting on Daddy's back.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-72109508536414566842018-07-19T21:29:00.000-04:002018-07-22T21:49:47.590-04:00Danger Noodle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
This is probably one of the rare times that the Danger Noodle has actually been dangerous.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-4977156432082688372018-07-14T21:46:00.000-04:002018-07-22T21:47:00.507-04:00New Resident<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Ceili has finally taken to sleeping in the new cat tree rather than in the feeding cage all the time.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-51048748972244878232018-06-27T21:45:00.000-04:002018-07-22T21:45:40.911-04:00Graduation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Alex has graduated from Grade 8 and will be off to high school next year. What a long way he's come!David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-81838164190303412452018-06-24T17:41:00.000-04:002018-06-24T17:41:55.743-04:00Reflections On FranceSo of course I’m not happy about the collision; on the one hand, Vettel had locked up, but on the other hand Bottas came down on him. The rules generally are inconsistent — does the driver on the racing line have priority, or does the other car have to give the passing car room? — but overall the five second penalty was nothing.<br />
<br />
Vettel’s recovery drive wasn’t so special when you realize that A) he pretty much kept his gap to the leaders from the back of the grid to him making 5th and B) all it does is emphasize the advantage that the top six have over the rest of the field. Make no mistake, that’s better than some years when the top x cars was 2 cars or 4 cars, but this series isn’t as neck-and-neck competitive as some are.<br />
<br />
Everyone seemed to be surprised by the number of passes that happened today. Long straights with tight turns at the end of them are a recipie for passing for these cars and one can only hope that either future tracks play more into that or the formula is more suitably adjusted to permit otherwise close racing.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1435819235000273741.post-8256751070294304782018-06-22T21:53:00.000-04:002018-07-24T11:24:05.962-04:00Jurasic World: Fallen KingdomIf what you want is dinosaurs eating people, this movie delivers. Needs more Goldblum. And full credit to whomever cut the trailer, we get to the volcano explosion sharply faster than the trailer would have you predict. After that the middle and ending are a bit saggy, but honestly no worse than the beginning is. So yes: dinosaurs eating people. Sold.David Mackintoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148450087963670098noreply@blogger.com