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The lonely tech post thread.

I've finally got round to putting my Commonwealth stamp sets into a spreadsheet. I've recently bought two sets I already have, so relying on memory isn't up to the job anymore.

I have just come across a slight problem, on entering the Stanley Gibbons numbers for a set which is SG11- 20, it is coming up as Nov-20. The SG is column header, not in each cell. If I put in SG11 - 20, it is fine.

How do I stop it defaulting to date format? At the moment I have it in as 11*20 which distresses me greatly.
Using a leading apostrophe so ‘SG11-20 will prevent the date formatting
 
I've just notified my broadband provider that I'm moving.

I had 2 confirmations. One was for the new contract, with a slight reduction in the monthly fee.

The other was to confirm that I was getting an "upgrade from FTTC to SOGEA Broadband". I had to Google it 😊
 
Also I'm a fucking idiot. I had in my head that my old workstation had 6 RAM slots, when in fact in only has 4. Which means that the great price on the RAM I got from eBay is now only average, as I only used 2 of the 3 sticks. I guess I can sell the remaining one.

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I'm also an idiot because I bought a SAS PCIe card, but managed to order a mini SAS to SATA cable for it. :facepalm:
 
I have just bought this on a whim after been tempted by all the positive reviews on HUK:

FIREBAT T8 Pro Plus Mini PC

£90 delivered.

Do people with experience of this stuff do the Windows reinstall before first use or are the privacy/spyware concerns overblown?
 
I have just bought this on a whim after been tempted by all the positive reviews on HUK:

FIREBAT T8 Pro Plus Mini PC

£90 delivered.

Do people with experience of this stuff do the Windows reinstall before first use or are the privacy/spyware concerns overblown?
To be honest, it's not the spyware that worries me, just general incompetence. I sometimes don't do a fresh install on name brand laptops, but that's about it. Nuke everything else.
 
I have just bought this on a whim after been tempted by all the positive reviews on HUK:

FIREBAT T8 Pro Plus Mini PC

£90 delivered.

Do people with experience of this stuff do the Windows reinstall before first use or are the privacy/spyware concerns overblown?
I'd nuke it, but I'd probably Google it first, to make sure nobody has done it previously and found drivers missing and unavailable.
 
Anyone using this? Anyone else have a problem with it?

It's a nightmare scenario for Microsoft. The headlining feature of its new Copilot+ PC initiative, which is supposed to drive millions of PC sales over the next couple of years, is under significant fire for being what many say is a major breach of privacy and security on Windows. That feature in question is Windows Recall, a new AI tool designed to remember everything you do on Windows.

On paper, it's a cool idea. As CEO Satya Nadella described it, Windows now has a photographic memory that uses AI to triage and index everything you've ever done on your computer, enabling you to semantically search for things you've seen using natural language. It's a new and improved way of finding things on Windows, and in our testing of the feature, it works really well.

However, for a tool like this to be feasible, trust between the user and the platform is required, a luxury Microsoft doesn't appear to have with its Windows user base right now. Recall operates by taking and storing captures of your screen every few seconds to build a database that the user can later search, with screenshots as visual aids. That database is stored locally on your device and never uploaded to the cloud.
 
Oh boy, emulation on Android. An exercise in frustration and compromises. Magic Dosbox recognises when I press a button on my Xbox controller to let me map it, but when I go to press the button in the game after mapping it, nothing happens. I can't figure out why the hell it ain't working like it apparently should. So for now I'm stuck using the on-screen touch controls. Joy of joys. Tried DOS emulation on RetroArch, which allows me to actually use my controller, but only after going through an obtuse button mapping process and dealing with the inconsistent behaviour of the touchscreen button that summons the virtual keyboard. Then I find out that it didn't save the button mapping that I spent ten minutes setting up. Ugh.

It feels like by avoiding the mainstream of mobile gaming, with its in-app advertisements, microtransactions and similar bullshit, I've merely swapped one hell for another. Why is mobile gaming so fucking annoying?!

At least the source ports I installed for Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are working flawlessly, so I should have enough to play on my train journey tomorrow.
 
I'm getting to grips with Firebat mini PC. I like it came with a bracket to attach it to the back of a monitor.

For a short term solution I am accessing local music via the network but this still requires the old ancient PC to be on. I am also out of USB ports so will need to think of a workaround which could either be hub or buying a Blu tooth keyboard and mouse.

I will wait for the next Ali Express deal for some sort of NAS solution.

It is only now I realise how loud the old computer was!
 
Oh boy, emulation on Android. An exercise in frustration and compromises. Magic Dosbox recognises when I press a button on my Xbox controller to let me map it, but when I go to press the button in the game after mapping it, nothing happens. I can't figure out why the hell it ain't working like it apparently should. So for now I'm stuck using the on-screen touch controls. Joy of joys. Tried DOS emulation on RetroArch, which allows me to actually use my controller, but only after going through an obtuse button mapping process and dealing with the inconsistent behaviour of the touchscreen button that summons the virtual keyboard. Then I find out that it didn't save the button mapping that I spent ten minutes setting up. Ugh.

It feels like by avoiding the mainstream of mobile gaming, with its in-app advertisements, microtransactions and similar bullshit, I've merely swapped one hell for another. Why is mobile gaming so fucking annoying?!

At least the source ports I installed for Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are working flawlessly, so I should have enough to play on my train journey tomorrow.
I'm tempted to get the Anbernic Cube to try out DS/3DS emulation, but I'm kind of being put off the idea now. It's not an impulse buy for older emulation like the RG35XX is.
 
If I still had a need for mobile gaming, I'd get a Steam Deck in a flash, although I know they aren't cheap. Wish they'd been available when I went over to Wales a lot for work.
 
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