Category: laptop

HP71 #touchpad

Posted on by tiger40490

See also

The screen is unclear in terms of text display but much better when tilted at 70 degrees rather than 90 degrees.

HP Model (back sticker): 15-bs015dx

— J4 S$710 (bought by PayNow in July 2021.. John81508768)

  • old HP$499 showing signs of instability
  • The A95 yielded sufficient ROI over the past 14M, which /emboldens/ me
  • — now the features
  • touchpad settings .. separate app not in Settings ! described in https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/hp-laptop-windows-10-settings-options-for-touchpad/b1c0531c-a143-46df-98bb-971e2f4f3754. Now this app is broken, I was able configure the touchpad scroll speed via Settings -> mouse -> ChooseHowManyLinesToScrollEachTime.
  • big touch screen
  • RJ45 socket is better than A95
  • SD card reader is less protruding than A95
  • HP charger is tested on Acers 😉
  • speaker

multiple-laptop lifestyle

Posted on by tiger40490

Recently I bought many gadgets [earphone, printer, laptop, router, 1 each]

A _common_ /zsms/ … “already bought so many”.
A _common_ j4 is ……..  convenience, evaluated against the (low) cost… but is it lifestyle creep?

— next laptop for office [gmail, calendar] Note git-blogg is safer done in MLP computer than any laptop due to universal access.
I don’t want to repair A299 since it has multiple problems and may fail soon.

Simple Choice: buy a low-cost new or pre-owned (OS pre-installed). Simple choice is often stupid

Choice_9: buy a new laptop for wife (at least decent like $700) and then use Aspire in office, but 1) I recently upgraded Aspire for boy 2) wife may not need a new laptop so much.

— disuse is a key concern.. For many gadgets (laptops esp.), prolonged /disuse/ (not a common phrase but concise) can damage the device, perhaps due to /oxidation/.

Sugg: bring out and use each laptop once a while.

Q 1: which shelved laptops need the most TLC? A299

— ROI and j4 the 7 laptops. I also include some action points on each laptop

  • [r/R=decent ROI , considering the long_service/t$cost]
  • [r] iview .. utterly unreliable. I don’t discard it because it might prove useful one day. However, I tend to overinvest my time trying to revive it, ignoring (the fact that) the keyboard issues are not going away at all.
  • [R] dell250 .. backup for office, still usable with on-screen keyboard. Keyboard OK after cool-down. However, L36 is more effective.
  • [r] a299 .. I carried it outside, as a primary laptop for “outside”.
  • — now the primary laptops
  • [R] Aspire .. old, heavy, sometimes slow, but still wife’s primary laptop, and important to boy
  • chromebook .. from XMS
  • [r] A95 .. primary laptop for cockpit_1
  • [r] HP71 .. primary laptop for WFH cockpit_2
  • L36 needed in office for better convenience than Dell250, to reduce the compliance risk

Q2: Which “employees” still need to prove his/her ROI? Jolt: Alas, In Jul 2021 when I bought the HP71 I was focused on convenience and didn’t care about this question !
A: 1) HP71 is 95% proven, 2)A95 is 97% proven.

Q3: Which laptop can be wife’s personal laptop? A: she said she can share the Aspire with boy.

L36 #Bj15d

Posted on by tiger40490

 

total cost = $360 + $18 screen protector…..  Freebies [USB/rj45 converter; MSO2019; wireless mouse]

  • 🙂 Bj15d experience .. good charging using USB-C alone (the black 3-neck, or the red retractable model), without charger; good usage on flight + subway
  • bought 1 Apr 2022, after the CB2022 meeting. Rajaraja +65-91341154
  • usage contexts .. 1)office 2)on the go 3)overseas
  • j4: brand new battery, wifi adapter, keyboard, screen. They are susceptible to wear-n-tear.
  • j4: 6M store warranty cf 3M for pre-owned.
    I still feel an urgency to uncover and report all defects, but better than pre-owned esp. during a stressful storm/derailer event i.e. CB2022
  • 🙂 Saravanan .. good generous guy. Scratched my chronic itch.
  • 🙂 MSO2019 activated, better than HP71
  • 👎 no built-in rj45 .. but “irrelevant” in the primary usage contexts

Q: I would feel lucky if usable for __1__ years ?
A: this question depends on 1) $cost 2) tcost. 1Y is easy to achieve given this is a new laptop

— to go into BIOS, Light press F2 before any screen
Alternatively, safe mode .. shift-restart >>> Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings >Restart.
— set up slowly .. Use portable and 64bit installers if possible

  1. adapt to MSEg and then remove Chrome? Gmail and calendar can use MSEg, but not wpress 🙁 Therefore Chrome must stay. But the new MSEg doesn’t replace the old MSEg, so the new MSEg is just another browser like Chrom or Opera 🙁

G5 wear-n-tear@laptop #hinge

Posted on by tiger40490

rain.. If you leave a laptop near a window, there is a hazard rate of rain damage

The list changes over the years, because some factors lose significance with new technology (examples not necessary, but look at SSD), or my usage changes.

Q: given a laptop with a remaining lifetime of 3Y, what aging [wear-n-tear, hazards,,] factors are the most important to mitigate?

  1. bangs [impacts] … like impact on backpack, hard landing on table, accidental fall-off from backpack,,, On-the-go laptops tend to experience a worse hazard rate.
  2. component::keyboard .. physical wear-n-tear, but relatively easy to repair
  3. oxidation .. (rusting) New laptops are always wrapped in plastic to block out moisture. My experience shows me the effect of disuse.
  4. component::hinge .. physical wear-n-tear
  5. component::battery .. yes wear-n-tear, but easy to replace

[22]Y insist@touchscreen 4next laptop

Posted on by tiger40490

Q: Since I don’t want to pay for cpu, memory etc, what hardware feature am I willing to pay for?
A: Touchscreen + screen size! Also battery

Touchscreen is a proven productivity feature.

For the tiny laptop, touch-screen is less valuable. Usage is usually short-duration, below an hour in most instances.

However, when using the tiny laptop in office, the touch-screen convenience might help me avoid sending emails out of MLP

git-blogg^paper-blogg #gitConflict

Posted on by tiger40490

update:

—-

Compared to other forms of thinking, the Additional tcost in git-blogging is merge conflicts.

— mental burden .. Does this “burden” train my mind?

  • always-remember-to git-pull on a299 before leaving home, unless I stock to one_host_guidline
  • always-remember-to git-pull before writing anything
  • always-remember-to git-push from a299 after arriving
  • always-remember-to git-push/gd2
  • always-remember-to

— to reduce gitConflicts
Most common conflict-mistakes: 1) forget to push 2) git-commit–am 3) forget to pull

  • sugg: git_branch_d .. after git-push, delete the local branch. Use git-branch-d not –D. I think this helps me stick to one host and reminds me to git-push.
  • proven: one_host_guidline.. try to restrict all git-blogg to one laptop. Avoid git-blogg in the office PC or A95. Follow git_branch_d
  • proven: new files .. Does this laptop have the latest commits? If unsure, prefer creating new files, then manually consolidate them.
  • sugg: when conflict hazards go up, run q[pp] more, and run git-commit–am less
  • sugg: hooks .. keep trying git hooks. My post-commit … hooks are designed to alert me but somehow didn’t work.
  • .. jolt: was a good try, worthwhile learning

==== Git-blogging-anywhere on light laptop with real keyboard … represents the highest form of active, deep thinking, highest in terms of immediacy, efficiency, convenience,,
— sitting in ikea and watching my son playing on the sofas, I realized that git-blogging helps me get into the “zone” faster, creates faster engagement and focus than paper-blogging, paper-reading etc.

Scalability — editing long sentences, reviewing dozens (not half-dozen) of topics  .. gets me into the zone faster.

In stark contrast,

  • web-blogging is really clumsy when editing more than 3 topics simultaneously. I spend way too much time on shortening the titles, and linking blogposts.
  • recoll has a high cost in terms of file-naming
  • gmail-blogging can’t easily handle dozens of topics
  • git-blogging can be more productive than smemo or blog printout.
  • Similarly, blogging on keyboard is 5 times faster than audio/video blogging or pencil blogging

This is one context to declare git-blogging as the highest form of reflective writing.

— paper blogging advantages .. For light-edit subjects, smemo or 0.txt are more efficient than git-blogging. Git-blogging has the potential to /breed/ unhealthy dependency on gadgets. Perhaps we ought to rely more on paper-blogging or bare hands.

Q: Compared to paper-blogging, git-blogging can breed inefficiency due to polish?
A: Well, in terms of over-polish, git is much better than WP blogging. With WP blogging, I feel the pressure to polish enough to be readable to myself. In contrast, with git i can leave the content in barebones point form because I know I would revise it before publishing.

On mrt, git-blogging can be more productive than smemo or blog printout.
====

ideal laptop4git-blogg#touchscreen

Posted on by tiger40490
  1. (non-negotiable, more important than processor): RELIABLE physical keyboard and pointing devices
    • is touchpad in the way?
  2. G3: size and weight? yes important otherwise I don’t feel like carrying it. A 14-in is not encouraging.
  3. G4: low-cost — closer to ‘throwaway price’ to reduce the pain of regret and stress
  4. LG2: long battery or 2 chargers for office and home?
  5. LG5: touch-screen, with additional weight (screen)? useful complement to touchpad

If I don’t worry about cost, then I would spend up to $400 on a new unit, or a pre-owned with 1Y store warranty.

If I want to take risk aggressively, then I would bet $100 on a pre-owned unit.

SGD 300 – 400 new unit are often light-weight. So … boils down to two choices

  1. new
  2. pre-owned with $100 saving. 12M store warranty

— risk of annoying problems

I’m a picky user. Many problems are annoying if not show-stoppers. I am willing to pay a premium for low-maintenance, low anxiety

With pre-owned, it’s hit-n-miss, like 30-60% likelihood within a year. In contrast, with new chance is much lower. I once called IBM to get a fix.

Don’t underestimate the tcost of re-setup of another unit if I buy a throw-away unit and throw it away.

Also remember the tcost of repairs. Stress is another cost.

Now I am in favor of new. If it gives any problem, I won’t blame myself. In contrast, if a pre-owned laptop gives any problem, I would hate it.

— How I chose the Acer$299 from SyncMart, instead of Asus $320

  1. [G2] almost-new. I trust the store-warranty… arguably more convenient than international warranty
  2. [G5] touch-screen is a winner, despite the additional weight
  3. [G5] 8GB RAM vs 4GB. I feel this factor is more important than processor. I can now run browser with confidence
  4. disk size — 120 GB vs 64 GB

##laptop for trips

Posted on by tiger40490

Q: which laptop hardware features are worth something ($100+) to me?
A: light-weight .. for the tiny models
A: touch screen… tend to increase weight
? new battery capacity? No
? multiple USB ports? Not $100

— while on the move, prefer smemo and mobileAPP to laptop

🙁 laptops are power hungry and harder to charge
🙁 laptops are bulky
🙁 laptops are harder to go online, compared to mobileAPP

— week-long trips .. I have a legitimate concern over availability of my laptop, in terms of battery, charger,,,

Q: In this context, what minimum features would I need in a barebones replacement?
The fewer dependencies, the stronger I am.
[s] The simpler those dependency items are, the strong I am.

  • — this list of “requirements” need NOT be exhaustive. Reduce sys2 load.
  • blogg on any browser. It was wise of me to learn to use MSEdge.
  • git-blog, notepad++,
  • .. bcomp?
  • [s] 7zip?
  • [s] msff? Better learn WPSOffice .. simpler than msff

Q: shall I bring a spare laptop?
A: No. Based on the list, I am optimistic about a loaner laptop or a cheap new laptop

##touch-screen laptop tips #selection

Posted on by tiger40490

I would say touch-screen is a valuable addition to touchpad, but can’t replace it completely except in tablet mode.

—Extra-large (inverted) mouse pointer helps increase its visibility. The pointer becomes less visible on a touch screen.

—ctrl-tap on a hyperlink is like ctrl-click

–MSWE: finger zoom will cycle through the views: Details -> list -> small icons -> .. -> Details

–drag on touch screen? quick drag .. don’t hold

–to select a few words on touch screen:
thumb-swipe slowly over them

–scrolling by swipe .. is effective and convenient.

–cursor positioning within text? not as precise as mouse

–right click? tap and hold

–text selection? Tricky

light touch — too short won’t work.

too long .. becomes tap-n-hold —

  • If done on non-text it means right click
  • in browser, I think tap-n-hold means text-selection. You get two handles to expand the selection.
    • If after selecting text you also want to right click, then there are also some options:)
  • in notepad++, tap-n-hold on text means right click, so I had to double-tap to select text.
    • Simple drag can select block of text