Yet another new laptop

I have a couple of 27" displays on my desk so a 17" laptop isn't going to be much of a problem (though my work laptop is a 15"). The biggest space crunch is on an airplane. Tablet PCs are great for cattle-class.

My wife has a Yoga 2 Pro and is very happy with it. The 3200x1800 display is very nice.

I was thinking more of how to fit a 17" notebook on the sub-miniature round tables at Starbucks. These seemed to be designed to fit nothing larger than a coffee cup coaster.

I have two 24" 1920x1200 displays on my desk at home and one 24"

1920x1200 display in my palatial office. All of these are already hanging over the edge of the table. I'm not sure but I don't think that 27" will fit without hitting something. It's not unusual to have additional displays and laptops on chairs arranged nearby in a semi-circle. After some experimentation, I decided that a KVM switch was a bad idea, so I have 3 mice and 3 keyboards on the home desk. They're all radically different styles, which minimizes the confusion.

The display is why one of my customers bought a Yoga 2. The display is amazing. I was having trouble reading the fine print on 1920x1080 displays. I thought that my eyes were failing because all the fine print was blurry. Then, I worked on the Yoga 2 and found that the higher dot pitch made everything easier to read.

If your wife has a problem with the micro-HDMI port making a reliable connection, here's the fix:

Incidentally, my Acer CB3-431-C5FM Chromebook has a 14" IPS display that is nominally specified to be 1920x1080. Normally, I use it at

1536x864. However, it will go up to 2400x1350, a number that is never shown in the spec sheets, literature, or reviews. The text is tiny, but perfectly readable. It's especially useful for displays CAD drawings and reading the fine print on legal documents. It's not 4K (3840x2160) but good enough. I have no idea why Acer would put such a high end display in a Chromebook. My guess(tm) is that they ran out of 1920x1080 displays, put these in until the backlog was handled, and then forgot about it.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

More likely a 19" CRT. Please don't compare CRT and LCD displays. The dot size on a CRT was much larger than on an LCD, which limited what could be done with high-res graphics displays and CRT's.

No clutter on the desk? When I'm working, the desk it literally buried in schematics, C and D size drawings, data sheets, note pads, calculators, phones, and laptops. I'd post a photo, but right now, my desk is multitasking as a dinner table.

I never mastered that art. One of my early laptops met its premature demise when I was using it in my lap, forgot about it, and stood up to get something. It might have survived if it had landed on the carpet, but instead, it landed on a larger marine battery charger, with the heat sink fins going through the LCD. I would have attributed this to coincidence, except that I did it again, this time stepping on the laptop while I stumbled to regain my balance. No more lap tops in the lap for me.

I cut a piece of cardboard that fit into the touchpad pothole. When dropped in place, the touchpad still responds, but you have to really push on it to get the mouse to move. I should probably patent the design.

Dell and fan problems seem to go together. It's likely that the fan is clogged with dust, but equally likely that you have a BIOS firmware issue. Check for a BIOS update as that has solved fan problems in other Dell laptops. If it doesn't do what you expect, you can download Dell specific software that will manage the fan controller for you. I use SpeedFan: and i8kfan. I8kfan seems to have been abandoned by its author, but still lives in various spinoffs:

Yep. Not the best choice.

Agreed. When Lenovo bought the Thinkpad line from IBM, they had a decent keyboard. That last of those was in the Lenovo T420. When the T430 arrived, it as low profile and with a different key arrangement. Later models added "improvements" with an every more clumsy keyboard layout.

There are purists who are transplanting a T420 keyboard into the T430: "Lenovo Thinkpad T430 "Classic" 7 Row Keyboard Installation / Mod"

Try my cardboard trick. I keep tripping over the rubber joystick. I also have problems using it. It moves the mouse to where I want, but not very quickly.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

I don't do Starbucks (can't stand the stuff). Panera has decent sized tables, though I rarely go there to use the Internet. I use just my cell phone as a hot spot, when needed.

Like I said, I have two 27" displays plus the 15" laptop. I have two mice but they're connected to the same laptop (one wired one not).

Yep, but tell that to Rick C. My X1 Yoga is only 2560x1440 but OLED makes up for that. ;-)

Haven't tried it but it's good to know.

That really is odd. That's not a cheap display.

For someone who likes to head off trouble this connector mod sounds like a poor idea. It may make the connector weak and it certainly ties you to a n ow custom connector. I picture being out somewhere when you want to use th e HDMI port and the cable breaks or more likely is lost (isn't that the pur pose of cables, to be missing when you need them?) Now to replace it you n ot only need a micro HDMI cable, you need to perform surgery on it. Maybe it would be better to avoid such a crappy PC. I take it the case prevents the use of a standard microHDMI cable?

Rick C.

Well, one of the last of my monitors (where I read 17 inch, Mag Innovision) is sitting in the box being used as a table for an old CRT TV which has a VHS tape player attached because that is the only way I can connect a DVD p layer, lol! But don't confuse the issue of clarity with desk space. This was about desk space.

Paper??? What is that??? I gave up on printing anything other than things I have to mail to the government or carry in my car for some type of proof (insurance, etc). Yeah, the desk can get cluttered, so what? No, space i sn't my overriding concern. More important is not needing to attach monito rs or all the other crap that comes with using a laptop in any more other t han relative stand alone. I would be happy to plug in a USB cable from a g ood attached oscilloscope if I could find one that was actually cost no mor e than an equivalent scope with display and front panel.

I thought I was absent minded!!! I won't forget this laptop, it puts out f ar too much heat to ignore. It will become the PC for my test fixture and lab work, meanwhile I still need a machine for personal use.

I'm concerned the fan is somehow obstructed. My Lenovo blew some really ho t air, but it blew some air at least. This thing I can't really feel air m oving unless I hold the port next to my cheek. Then I can feel the hot air blowing. The case gets really hot too. I'm waiting for permission to ope n it up to see what the problem is.

I've noticed they have now removed the key for the pulldown menus. I have used that some in the past, but every app doesn't seem to support it, I gue ss it's not a windows thing to make that button equivalent to the mouse rig ht button.

People seem to like the Thinkpad series. I know the ideapad is where they give up quality for low price. Even the display on my Lenovo is total crap with only one exact angle that gives a good image. This angle is so criti cal that with some images you see the difference between the bottom and top of the display without moving your head.

I find it faster than the touchpad but slower than the mouse. However it s eems to be hard to use for the last quarter inch of positioning. Kinda lik e the digital up/down buttons that auto speed up abruptly only this is an a brupt slow down when you get close and back off the stick. I think I tend to position the cursor in the center of the area that is where I want it. I don't like to leave it near the edges and it can be hard to do with the s tick.

I'm ok with using a mouse, I just want the touchpad to stop messing with my typing. I'll try your cardboard, but it seems odd. Was it very, very thi n cardboard?

Rick C.

Why does this have anything to do with me? Everyone sees the world through different eyes. Mine can't see the difference between a 4K and a 2K displ ay at 17 inches. There is no need for additional resolution when my eyes a re blurry. I normally use reading glasses in spite of one eye having sever e astigmatism. The last few days I've worn my rather large computer glasse s and realized my brain has started to shut off the bad eye since it gets m uch less information from it. With the computer glasses on that should sel f correct shortly. I guess I should save the dollar store glasses for non- computer use.

I just noticed that what I thought were palm swipes may be something else. My hands were not on the computer and I saw the screen scroll and the curs or was no longer on the text I was typing. So there may be some other prob lem.

Rick C.

Rick C.

Non-volatile storage, for when the computah loses its mind.

I'm not absent minded. I'm clumsy.

Try SpeedFan. There's a setting in there to run the fan full speed at all times. Methinks it's: Readings -> Configure -> Fan Control It doesn't seem to work on my Dell Optiplex 960 desktop and I don't have a Dell laptop handy to try it. If that causes the fan to make lots of noise, but still no air flow, it's obstructed. However, if you do get both noise and air flow, then there's something wrong with the fan control settings.

Most anything will work. I seem to recall that it was the cardboard backing from a yellow steno pad. I have 2 pads. Measuring, they're

0.026 and 0.055 inches thick. Either should work. If not, and you have the depth, try box cardboard, which should provide an added cushion.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

True. My customers carry their own cables and adapters. So far it hasn't been a problem. Shaving 1mm off the rubber molding isn't going to change the strength in any way. On the first one I made this way, I shaved off far too much. I think it was something like 3mm removed. It's still in use and has not shown any sign of weakness.

That's possible but hasn't happened yet. The Yoga 2 owner has an micro-HDMI to regular HDMI pigtail adapter for connecting to other people's cables, and a longer micro-HDMI to regular HDMI cable for connecting direction to the projector.

I don't know anyone that has had to do this in the field, but all it takes is a few minutes and a razor blade. I don't think my pocket knife is sharp enough.

I see. At the first sign of a problem, you throw out the computer. That might work if you could find a perfect computah. I haven't seen one yet.

Yep. There's a rather thick coating of rubber over the plastic(?) case. Someone forgot to leave some clearance for the micro-HDMI molded cover. It might be possible to butcher the case by removing some of the rubber coating, but that would be obvious and ugly. I would do it that way, but I don't have the surgical skills. I also determined that if I cut into the rubber, it still won't work with a right angle micro-HDMI connector. Modifying the plug is not the most elegant method, but it works and also preserves the laptop warranty.

For connecting to a regular HDMI connector, I use pigtail adapters, some with right angle connectors.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Oh-oh. The computah is possessed, probably by the ghost of the previous owner. The only solution is to perform an exorcism.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

The hard drive was already wiped and Win 10 installed fresh. This machine came with Win 7.

Rick C.

You said you forgot it was in your lap!

"I was using it in my lap, forgot about it, and stood up to get something."

I can tell the fan is running already. When I have a couple of web sites w ith animations running the CPU will break 50% and the temps will rise along with the fan noise. I just don't feel a lot of air flow, barely any. Unf ortunately the vents are not well location for holding this unit in your la p. The exhaust vents are in the back, but right at the bottom and even cur ve around a bit so with the machine angled a little a lot of the vent is bl ocked. Of course when I'm checking air flow it's not in my lap, but I'm su re this isn't helping the air flow in normal use.

Of course the intakes are on the bottom and one of the four rubber feet is missing, so that doesn't help either. lol

That would be terribly thick. So the touch pad is no longer usable at that point, no? I guess that would not be a real issue. But if I am using wir eless mouses with two machines and they are the same type mouse, will they get confused about which laptop they are controlling?

My cousin has satellite TV and we were swapping boxes to see if a problem w as the TV or the box. I couldn't get the box remotes to work until I reali zed they don't use IR, but rather radio signals! They still have IR to con trol the TV, but I guess it is too hard to make sure your IR signals don't confuse the TV no matter what TV is attached, so they use radio waves. Tha t means each remote is hard coded to the box and if you switch the box you have to switch the remotes. Of course they still needed to talk to the TV for the volume and have a code to select the TV for that, so the experiment was very difficult to pull off as it required waiting for everything to co ol down overnight and see where the problem was in the morning when turned on. They couldn't watch both TVs with this arrangement so I had to swap th em back.

Rick C.

No. They exchange ID's and remain locked to each other. Some mice, like Logitech Unifying series, can connect to multiple machines and have software to control where the mouse connects.

Microsoft has something similar called "Mouse without Borders":

From my warped perspective, the Logitech hardware and software seem to work well and hold together, while the Microsoft stuff is quite the opposite.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

The LogiTech MX Master has a switch on the bottom so you can select one of three systems it's paired with. Works well, except Bluetooth doesn't work worth a crap on my work Dell. The unifying receiver works but it takes a USB port.

My experience has been different. Considering the inflated prices you pay for Logitec stuff, it doesn't hold up very well. I find I spend less money buying off brand stuff. The mice I just added (a second mouse does not ge t confused with the first as you indicated) is one of two GearHead mice/mou ses I bought to see if Bluetooth would work worth a damn (it doesn't). The Logitec I had before these crapped out after about two years. The bargain bin mice I bought at Micro Center lasted that long. I had bought it at Co stco, so I got a full refund at least.

Rick C.

On Friday, March 16, 2018 at 9:01:05 AM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrot e:

out (what a POS!)

I've been pretty happy with the "refurbished" Dell M6500 running Windows 10 . It doesn't come with Dell drivers installed and might never have proper drivers because it only came with Win 7 and was never upgraded by Dell for Win 10. Still, this was only a $260 machine for running software for a tes t fixture and will likely see lab use only.

So I still wanted a laptop for personal use and decided to go for the Dell M6800 with 32 GB RAM which Dell fully supports with Win 10. I found one on auction and used a sniping tool to get it for $557 plus $25 shipping. Tur ns out I just got lucky. If I had bid $7 less I wouldn't have won the auct ion. I think the increment was at least $10 at that price and the next low er bidder was $550. He must have put in an automatic bid in which case any amount above his max bid will take the auction in the final few seconds. It only bumps it up the full increment if you bid at least that much.

Anyway, I think this is going to be a good computer. The M6500 is a tank a nd should last a million years, or maybe five anyway. Heck, it's already f ive years old at least, but the way they make these top end business machin es they last a long time and have great resale value. The M6800 is at leas t three years old and costs a lot more than $600 through mainstream channel s. Normally I wouldn't touch a used computer, but these business machines seem to be pretty good.

I'll have it in a week and will need to go through another set up. At leas t I'm getting good at it.

Rick C.

So the new(er) Dell M6800 laptop arrived today with zero fanfare, the UPS g uy didn't even ring the doorbell when he dropped it. It is in nicer condit ion than the M6500. The main advantage is that it has 32 GB of RAM, so I c an keep more tabs open in browsers.

One concern I have is with the user name. My HP was my first Win 10 laptop and I followed the instructions which required you to open an email accoun t at Microsoft to set it up and they then used *that* name for the user nam e on the account on the PC. That sucks because I have some programs that I port by copying over and a change in the user name means a change in the p ath for tons inside the programs. I slugged through that on the HP machine . On the M6500 I found the way to create my own user name and avoid this p ain. On the M6800 an account was already set up named 'user'. So I want t o change this.

On the HP I tried changing the user name and was able to do that, but that didn't change the user directory name. So this time I am going to create a new user with the right name and remove the other one. But is there anyth ing special about that user since it was the first one created? My new use r name will have administrative privileges. Is there anything else special about that original administrative user that I need to be aware of?

Rick C.

On Friday, April 13, 2018 at 8:26:17 PM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrot e:

guy didn't even ring the doorbell when he dropped it. It is in nicer cond ition than the M6500. The main advantage is that it has 32 GB of RAM, so I can keep more tabs open in browsers.

op and I followed the instructions which required you to open an email acco unt at Microsoft to set it up and they then used *that* name for the user n ame on the account on the PC. That sucks because I have some programs that I port by copying over and a change in the user name means a change in the path for tons inside the programs. I slugged through that on the HP machi ne. On the M6500 I found the way to create my own user name and avoid this pain. On the M6800 an account was already set up named 'user'. So I want to change this.

t didn't change the user directory name. So this time I am going to create a new user with the right name and remove the other one. But is there any thing special about that user since it was the first one created? My new u ser name will have administrative privileges. Is there anything else speci al about that original administrative user that I need to be aware of?

Someone pointed out to me that when you log in the last user is the one off ered and so I don't even notice there is the original user "user" unless I look for it. So for now that is not an issue.

But this laptop, like nearly ever unit I've had is pretty warm in my lap. When I look at the available cooler pads I don't find anything that suits m e. A fan is not needed, I'm not trying to force air into the machine, I'm just trying to keep my lap cool. The passive devices seem a bit awkward li ke they are trying too hard. One is pretty good with padding on the bottom but it has a clip for holding papers like a clip board and that is out of place.

I remember when I was a kid and autos didn't have such good seats, you coul d buy any manner of seat cushions. One such cushion was really just a mat of open weave plastic so that air could circulate through it easily. I thi nk they tended to wear out used as a car cushion, but for a laptop it shoul d last a long time. But I haven't seen anything like this in decades. Any idea where I might find an open weave 3D pad like this?

Rick C.

I think you're better off with a hard surface so the feet don't deform what the laptop's on and then block the vents. IOW, let the laptop breathe as was intended.