Root Access

If you applied DC voltage directly to a piezoelectric membrane all it'd do is move in one direction and stay there. You'd hear one tiny click and that's it. Reverse the voltage and it'd move the opposite direction and stay there. You'd still only hear one click if anything at all.

The working principle is identical to an electromagnetic speaker. There is no polarity.

@JourneymanGeek Do you count PWM as AC? (Some people consider the input to a pz buzzer to be a "pwm signal" but really there's no alternation)

@rahuldottech All the video proves is you're wrong and Bob's right.

Journeyman Geek

12:29 AM

@Dog almost

Dog

My brain's so incapacitated I can't remember how I or this lube got here, and yet I'm somehow able to understand a transistorised oscillator circuit. These drugs are weird.

Anyway, I'm off to lose more money. I'll let @Bob or @JourneymanGeek explain to @rahuldottech why he's wrong when he gets back, if he hasn't figured it out by then.

47 mins ago, by Dog

Grr Intel Bluetooth drivers gtfo

So Windows update forces unwanted shite on me every month but doesn't update the bluetooth drivers for over a year, yet they auto-update if I click it in device manager... And for some reason I have to restart to update a Bluetooth driver. Grr, Intel Bluetooth drivers gtfo.

Journeyman Geek

Unrelatedly...

channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/…

Dog

> "All the passengers were panicking, those sitting at the back and who were unable to wear the masks started bleeding from their mouths and noses."

Wtf, that's not how it works when a "crew "forg[ets] to select (the) bleed switch" to maintain the aircraft's cabin pressure."

William

12:44 AM

anyone have a recommendation or advice for a video capture card? Essentially

I want to display another VGA computer on my monitor natively

Is there a format that will make it more native I guess? I on W7/W10 currently.

Journeyman Geek

12:58 AM

Hardware recs would be a good place to ask ^^

William

good idea journeyman

thank you for the synergy recommendation it has been very helpful

I have this on hardware for the last year or so

> Wait! Some of your past questions have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from asking any more.

For help formulating a clear, useful question, see: How do I ask a good question?

Also, edit your previous questions to improve formatting and clarity.

LOL I have probably asked to many hardwarerecs questions with not clear enough questions

Bob

1:21 AM

@Dog I actually have almost no experience with buzzers :/ (which is why I was taking about sound)

I can see the transistor (probably mosfet) on that board

bwDraco

1:52 AM

...and I've gotten myself sunburned again. Chances are very good I'll get skin cancer at some point in the future.

I just did not remember to bring sunscreen with me or to put it on before I left for today's photo assignment, and the exceptionally wet weather we had last week did not help.

bwDraco

2:33 AM

!!/tumbleweed

ChatBot John Cavil

bwDraco

reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/9i1g1w/…

(see Matrix for further discussion, though you should be able to recognize me by the mention of Astaroth in my flair)

allquixotic

@rahuldottech oh, good, because I was 100% joking

it's kind of "gallows humor" in the sense that I was making a dark reference to turning a legitimately tragic event into a sex joke (albeit not a good one)

some people like it; some don't

no packet loss on my end; I think my "agent" in AT&T Chat is probably on crap wifi at home or something

bwDraco

lol

allquixotic

PSA for anyone who decides to do this in future: it turns out, if you choose not to ship your old phone back to AT&T when you do a upgrade as part of AT&T Next, you'll just get a bill for the remainder of the balance on the old phone -- no penalty, just the balance.

so if you have like (to avoid pissing off the chat regulars here I'm going to use Android examples) a Note 8, and you upgrade to the Note 9, then decide you want to hand down your old Note 8 to a family member, you can keep the Note 8 and in 1 to 2 billing cycles they will charge you for the difference between what you've already paid on the Note 8 and the retail price

Journeyman Geek

3:01 AM

Eh why would that annoy us? :,p

allquixotic

3:36 AM

invoking the verboten fruit would :P

Journeyman Geek

3:48 AM

naw, We accept you've drunk the apple flavoured grapeaid ;p

lol

bwDraco

lol

Journeyman Geek

@allquixotic or 20 people sharing a mobile line in some sweatshop in india

@allquixotic "off the retail price" - eh, that's why I typically go sim only

I did the math and found its cheaper

+++ better options for phones

Michael Frank

I have an iPhone 6s. It's all good!

Journeyman Geek

I have a pair of grey market one pluses ;)

Dog

4:24 AM

exploringthemind.com/the-mind/…

Just abusing this chat channel to copy links from my desktop to my phone. Because Chrome can't do it, yet Microsoft manages to do it from Windows to Android.

Journeyman Geek

5:13 AM

@Dog if you were being scanned, folks would know you were going to do that before you knew you were going to do that...

Journeyman Geek

5:29 AM

spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/…

Journeyman Geek

5:39 AM

man

lots of good reads today

tonsky.me/blog/disenchantment

Michael Frank

5:54 AM

Hmm.... my daughter slammed my keyboard and now my entire screen is in high contrast mode. What sorcery has she done?

Journeyman Geek

6:07 AM

OOH

usability.com.au/windows-7-change-colour-contrast ?

There's one for black and white too

laptopmag.com/articles/disable-enable-grayscale-mode-windows-10 ctrl win c is fun

Michael Frank

6:20 AM

left shift + left alt + PrtSc apparently.

Journeyman Geek

7:23 AM

23 September 2018

►

picked a pack of these at daiso... they're awesome

(also a pack has them in blue, white and black. In case you need to colour code them...)

rahuldottech

8:14 AM

@JourneymanGeek REUSABLE CABLE TIES? GENIUS!

Journeyman Geek

@rahuldottech well if you're patient enough...

they're also a little chunky which helps there

rahuldottech

8:38 AM

@Dog "mobile bookmarks"

@JourneymanGeek AMAZING READ

Bob

9:07 AM

@JourneymanGeek but standard ones are so much cheaper :P

500 for $5

Journeyman Geek

@Bob true, I need them for kinda prottoyping something

so being able to remove it easily.... is useful ;p

Bob

Journeyman Geek

15 for 2 dollars is more expensive I guess

Bob

@JourneymanGeek at that point I'd just use string :P

Journeyman Geek

@Bob can't really synch string down

Bob

9:12 AM

@JourneymanGeek you just need the right knot :P

Journeyman Geek

with one hand... ;p

Bob

@JourneymanGeek lifehacker.com.au/2015/12/…

Journeyman Geek

@Bob ehh

Bob

lol

Journeyman Geek

it kinda works for what I got it for. ;)

rahuldottech

10:54 AM

@JourneymanGeek I need some help

My windows 7 PC doesn't boot win automatically, and shows a menu with only Win7 and memory diagnostics as options. I then have to press enter to boot into win7. Do you know how I can solve this?

Man, wtf reddit.com/r/elementary/comments/9hljo7/…

Journeyman Geek

@rahuldottech have you messed around with the BCD?

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek No, fresh install

I can't seem to fix it, and google doesn't help

Journeyman Geek

... eject the installer disk?

other alternative I can think of is the timeout in the bootloader is something odd.

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek ejected

Journeyman Geek

boyans.net/dual-boot-repair-windows-10.html

give this a shot

Its saved my butt when I was breaking things a lot messing with things ;)

djsmiley2k

11:28 AM

> Important (but ignored by users):

hahahah

Journeyman Geek

(for context - was a quick way to fix superuser.com/questions/1238109/… )

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek it no work m8

halp mi m8

Journeyman Geek

._.

U WOT M8?

rahuldottech

The PC is supposed to be used remotely, but obviously I can't if it doesn't boot whenever restarted remotely

Journeyman Geek

quite

rahuldottech

11:34 AM

@JourneymanGeek I even re-installed windows. Didn't fix it

Journeyman Geek

hm

Legit source?

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek yes

Journeyman Geek

"hm

rahuldottech

It used to work just ok

Then suddenly stopped

Journeyman Geek

even then fixing the bootloader shoulda done something

what happens if you wait?

rahuldottech

11:36 AM

@JourneymanGeek nothing, remains at the screen

Only win7 is an option, and then at the bottom of the screen, memory diagnostics

Journeyman Geek

maybe get something to edit the BCD and set an explicit timeout?

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek like what?

Journeyman Geek

I'd say easybcd

I'm used to that. Just get the trial

@Bob likes visualbcd cause its less sneaky ;p

and this point though, I'm troubleshooting by college student pasta cooking methods...

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek Are these BCD shenanigans complicated?

Journeyman Geek

vaguely

and I haven't messed with them much lately

rahuldottech

11:45 AM

:((

@JourneymanGeek Can you please remote into my PC and help me out? I'll give you... something in return

:P

Journeyman Geek

lol

I can't even remember half the stuff I did lol

else I'd do it for first dibs on an answer

right

could you instead go to neosmart.net/Download/ThankYou and install easybcd?

info dosen't need to be valid

I need a screenshot of the view settings screen

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek okay, wait

@JourneymanGeek

Journeyman Geek

12:00 PM

ah hah

click on edit boot menu

tick the default next to windows 7, "count down from 5" first

then reboot and see

rahuldottech

@JourneymanGeek didn't work

Journeyman Geek

So wierd

Not too sure at this point

rahuldottech

12:15 PM

@JourneymanGeek think I'll delete the default entry and add a new one and try

ARGH C'MON

Tried resetting BIOS to defaults too

Bob

@JourneymanGeek I like visual because it lets you edit. easybcd doesn't ... do that, it just has a couple macros for the common cases and royally fucks up your BCD if you run it on a non-standard install

i.e. I'd stay as far away from it as possible

source: a broken BCD a while back

@rahuldottech sure, gimme remote :P

though it's not really doable purely from remote; it needs a few thingos from winre/winpe

last few times I did this was a 1-2 hour long chat session with a friend

(who manages to stuff theirs up about twice a year)

@rahuldottech If you feel like it, poke me on matrix (or a new room in SE); it gets fairly cluttered

If not... well, take a backup first, recreate it with bcdboot... something like that. Can't give more concrete advice without looking at it interactively.

rahuldottech

@Bob I gotta study right now, already wasted too much time on this. Remote over the weekend?

Bob

@rahuldottech Sure, poke me when. Though you'll probably have to be there and run most commands (and photo the results), cause winre/winpe don't have remote

@rahuldottech Oh. Prep. Make yourself a win7 (or win10?) bootable installer

rahuldottech

@Bob great. Also, you can usually run windown installer exe files from within windows itself

Bob

@rahuldottech It needs to be the repair environment

IIRC bcdboot is ... quite unhappy ... about running in a booted OS

could be misremembering though

rahuldottech

12:31 PM

@Bob Huh. Okay then. Thanks, I'll ping you then

Bob

If you can't make a bootable... you could try it from the iso directly... no guarantees

rahuldottech

@Bob boyans.net/dual-boot-repair-windows-10.html comes with bcdboot

The windows installer exe

Bob

o.O

rahuldottech

So I think it should work from within windows

Bob

maybe, then

rahuldottech

12:37 PM

@Bob Also, for some reason, I can't find bcdboot on my regular windows 7 installer USB

Oooh it's hidden in a .wim

Bob

@rahuldottech you're better off just booting into PE tbh, if you can

rahuldottech

@Bob Yeah, I can

Bob

it's less likely to mess things up :P

anyway. GO STUDY! :P

rahuldottech

@Bob wait

wait wait wait

Doesn't bcdboot come with your standard windows install?

Bob

@rahuldottech In RE and PE, yea

but not within the live OS

rahuldottech

12:41 PM

@Bob It's in mine

Bob

it's not really designed to be used from there

wait, does it?

rahuldottech

It's in my win10 LTSB system32

Bob

O_O

... so it does

I wonder if that's new or if I'm confusing it with the old bios tools :P

speaking of, do you know if that system is a BIOS or UEFI boot?

rahuldottech

@Bob BIOS

Bob

ewww

rahuldottech

12:42 PM

It's a 2006-era laptop

Bob

(UEFI installs are actually easier to fix, funnily enough)

great, gotta pull out the bootrec etc ... maybe

I forgot most of the MBR-editing tools :P

it's been too long

rahuldottech

ok i should go

see ya'll

allquixotic

1:21 PM

Sep 13 '12 at 14:54, by allquixotic

I speak (derisively) to iPhone users. I don't speak to WP users at all

hahahaaha

Feb 14 '14 at 16:56, by allquixotic

you couldn't pay me to own an iphone, btw

Sep 26 '14 at 20:45, by allquixotic

@Bob the other night, I considered for about 5 minutes whether I'd be better off with an iPhone 6 than an Android, considering that I primarily don't root, and mobile hotspot works fine on iOS 8 now

Sep 6 '15 at 4:18, by allquixotic

*eyes iPhone 6s covetously*

Sep 10 '15 at 15:50, by allquixotic

you now have a reason to come to the US, though: to physically stop me from ordering an iPhone 6S next week

Sep 10 '15 at 15:50, by allquixotic

*goes to Amazon* *searches iPhone 6S* *Bob bites allquixotic in the leg* (thinking fox, here)

Sep 12 '15 at 15:09, by allquixotic

iPhone 6S time.

so that's my slow, 3 year fall from Android to iOS in a nutshell

and I never looked back, except for earlier this year when I tried out a refurbished Note 8, and liked it, but missed my Apple Watch

DavidPostill

Sep 13 at 14:14, by allquixotic

I''m really excited about the new Apple products

May 27 '17 at 17:33, by allquixotic

lol I remember a time when I wouldn't touch Apple

bwDraco

1:57 PM

The true problem is that Android lacks cohesiveness.

Google has done a lot of things to make the Android experience more consistent across devices, but there's the elephant in the room that's Apple's vertical integration.

This advantage cannot be feasibly replicated by any company in the Android ecosystem. It's the price you pay for freedom of choice.

Journeyman Geek

Well technically...

someone like samsung does basically have even more vertical integration than applie

bwDraco

Even if Google comes out with a fully-custom SoC for some future Pixel device, they'd still need to get the software to match. Apple is well ahead of Google in this regard.

Also, the core of the Android system, including the runtime and drivers, would need to be much more deeply optimized for the processor architecture. Apple has done this for years. Google would just be getting started.

Google (Alphabet Inc) also has far more products to deal with than Apple, a highly-focused company which can easily put billions of dollars into R&D to squeeze every last drop of performance and efficiency out of the hardware and software without worrying about money. Not even Google can do that.

Journeyman Geek

Eh, sure they can.

Actually something like project treble makes it more interesting

the big advantage apple has is they can focus on a relatively narrow product line

bwDraco

That's my point.

Journeyman Geek

(which is why, something like, say my op3 seems 'nicer' than a redmi or maybe even a samsung)

bwDraco

2:12 PM

Now, if Google can get companies in the Android ecosystem to team up more closely, and build an alliance between a phone manufacturer (e.g. Samsung), SoC designer (e.g. Qualcomm), and Google itself, to produce highly-optimized hardware and software as a single unit, they'd probably have a good chance at succeeding.

But stuff like lower power consumption (exemplified by the smaller batteries iPhones use) are going to be very hard to catch up to Apple with.

The key here is "as a single unit". The companies in such an alliance must work as one, and may need to be willing to make stuff incompatible with other hardware to succeed here.

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco or basically go "Ok, here's a handful of reference designs that you can use"

and optimise the crap out of em

bwDraco

We already see shades of this; for example, the APK compiler generates optimized binaries for the device to run on the Android Runtime (ART), but that's not enough. The compiler must be optimized for the processor at the assembly language level and Qualcomm needs to optimize its processor designs at the silicon level specifically for Android.

bwDraco

2:31 PM

The current level of optimization we see just isn't enough.

Bob

2:43 PM

@bwDraco Google has done a lot of things to ~~<snip>~~ fold in manufacturer customisations and gimp them in the process

~Marshmallow/maybe Nougat was its heyday

It's been downhill since then.

bwDraco

But Project Treble, as @JourneymanGeek mentioned, might help with this issue.

Bob

@bwDraco You keep falling back to "optimisation"/"integration" problems.

I fundamentally disagree with that.

bwDraco

I'm not too sure what's changed with recent versions of Android here...

@Bob: We seem to disagree with each other a lot. Why am I constantly getting things wrong?

Bob

Any uArch-specific compilation would be the realm of the ART AOT compiler, no?

@bwDraco That doesn't mean you're wrong...

bwDraco

@Bob Already mentioned that.

Bob

2:53 PM

@bwDraco At the end of the day, it's disagreement over speculation (on both sides). We have different ideas of relative competitiveness and the reasons for it.

Maybe you're right. Maybe not. *shrug*

You think Apple 'does better' (in what way?) because of X. I don't. That doesn't mean I'm right or you're wrong.

(Please... don't take anything I say as right... that's pressure I don't want)

Back from that little detour...

IIRC @allquixotic mostly did the move to iOS because of a BT gremlin :P

(which I've never been able to reproduce, and seems to have vanished in the years since)

As @JourneymanGeek said about product lines, the real advantage is easier/faster updates. There is a bit more focus there.

But IMO that's not directly related to any performance differences.

The biggest difference is iOS is far stricter against its apps (which Android has recently-ish started to adopt, to the detriment of many).

e.g. it has a habit of force-closing apps that have high resource consumption over an extended period

Good for speed and battery life. Good for encouraging app devs to be light. Not so good if you actually want the heavy task to run (which, granted, is an extreme minority)

bwDraco

Android Oreo has changed the way these apps are handled. IIRC the system notifies the user if there's an app using too much power under certain conditions, e.g. through an extended wakelock.

allquixotic

3:10 PM

@Bob yes, as of the Note 8 + Beats solo3 wireless, the BT gremlin is totally fixed except for a rare (and, honestly, not something I actually care about) ~100ms "hitch" (not loud or disturbing, just a stutter) when initially starting to play

still 100% perfect 100% of the time on iOS though, from 6S to 7 to 8 to XS generation (four generations)

my primary reason for remaining on iOS now is the Apple Watch, to be perfectly honest

I don't think iPhone > certain Android devices. In fact I'd probably rather have a Note 9.

but the Apple Watch Series 4 is honestly my favorite consumer electronics device at present

and you can't use some features of it without an iPhone

Burgi

is ask for help to identify a network card on topic?

allquixotic

0

A: Apple Watch Series 4 + iPhone XS Not Staying Connected

For some reason, with the latest Apple devices, if you immediately pair your new Watch to your new phone on initial setup, the Bluetooth connection doesn't appear to "stick" beyond the initial connection. The first time your phone goes out of range of your watch, will permanently break the connec...

:P

@Burgi "identify the thing" has been .. occasionally not very well received in past

but my personal opinion? go for it

Burgi

lemme try the deets here first...

it is an ISA board, RJ45 and coax connectors

allquixotic

usually you can ID it by reading off of the printing on the chips

Burgi

YCL chips...

sigh all the results are in russian

i think @rahuldottech would have a field day rummaging through all my old computer parts

bwDraco

3:55 PM

And the Bluetooth issues I've had were isolated to a particular device. I suspect the problem was the Snapdragon 808/810 SoC itself...

rahuldottech

4:42 PM

@Burgi I WOULD

Bob

rahuldottech

Explore the potential of #AI to enable your business deliver cutting edge solutions, at #MicrosoftConvergence. #AIForAll

Tweeted by MicrosoftIndia on September 22, 2018 at 6:30 AM

Bob

> This is the same photo, side by side. They are not taken at different angles. Both sides are the same, pixel for pixel.

rahuldottech

C'MON BRO SERIOUSLY? #AIforAll? AI isn't needed everywhere. AI is broken. AI is overrated.

Hell, AI isn't needed in most places

@Bob wtf is this sorcery

Bob

@rahuldottech thread

djsmiley2k

4:52 PM

annnnnnnnnnnd solar roadways are terrile

@rahuldottech it isn't even AI (Yet)

ISA network card? jesus.

2

Burgi

i have 3 ISA network cards

@rahuldottech see matrix

djsmiley2k

but why D:

tereško

@djsmiley2k color me surprised

djsmiley2k

I mean semi old hardware is fun

anything ISA is.... D:

Burgi

they have been in old PCs

those PCs have died

djsmiley2k

5:03 PM

Are you actuially making money on these old systems?

Burgi

shrug

the PCs i haven't paid for

djsmiley2k

I mean I fully agree with keeping old equipment in use, but there's a point at which it doesn't make sense to bother anymore

(As someone who was pained when we threw away a skip full of old servers, dead/wiped hdds, etc)

Burgi

its just kit that i have accumulated over the years

the GF has ordered that it has to go before i can move in with her

djsmiley2k

ah right

welll that's sensible of her

If i was you, put it outside with a sign saying 'Free!' on it

I've got two old desktops here

one is more powerful than my current server, the other is way older, winxp....

Burgi

why, when i can make cash off it?

djsmiley2k

5:08 PM

Can you tho?

Burgi

sure

djsmiley2k

I made money off old (raptor 9k) hhds at cex

but everything else was worthless

how? :O

Burgi

carboot sale

the full systems i paid nothing for, the company was just binning them

thats an hour per machine installing ubuntu and wiping them down with a cloth

pure profit

bwDraco

I kinda care about efficiency because my bedroom is a pain in the butt to ventilate in the summer.

Stolas idles at about 9-15W when plugged in with the screen on but may burst to about 40-45W under load; Bifrons (with swap SSD and a power-hungry mechanical keyboard plugged in) idles at about 12W and bursts to about 16-18W.

(with peripherals detached, Bifrons is closer to 12W under load)

OTOH Astaroth needs about 100-110 W at idle (with both monitors on).

rahuldottech

6:09 PM

one down, six to go

6 hours

bwDraco

Energy proportional computing

Energy proportionality is a measure of the relationship between power consumed in a computer system, and the rate at which useful work is done (its utilization, which is one measure of performance). If the overall power consumption is proportional to the computer's utilization, then the machine is said to be energy proportional. Equivalently stated, for an idealized energy proportional computer, the overall energy per operation (a measure of energy efficiency) is constant for all possible workloads and operating conditions. The concept was first proposed in 2007 by Google engineers Luiz André...

djsmiley2k

6:36 PM

@Burgi you sold any?

Hennes

7:04 PM

@burgi: I remember my first ISA network card.
A novell eagle 2000 (not a clone, original)

superuser.com/questions/1360677/…

That is the reason I dropped into the room.

Yet another 'can I upgrade the CPU in my laptop' question.

Should we get a cannonical answer to that?

Since with a few exceptions the answer is always "No!. Heck no!"

Exceptions (liek these notebookcheck.net/… ) to be drooled over, but ...

rahuldottech

@Hennes Oooooh I wanna write one

Hennes

Go ahead.

And ping the link so I can upvote

rahuldottech

@Hennes Uh, in a few hours?

Hennes

No hurry

rahuldottech

Gotta give an exam first

Great, thanks

Hennes

7:12 PM

I just noticed a few recurring questions.
Those includues upgrading CPU or GPU chips in laptops,
power needed from a PSU
Networking
and RAID

For the last two I tend to post links to ServerFaults canonical answers

PSU's I tried to make a while ago

rahuldottech

7:46 PM

My head hurts so bad

How am I supposed to study

argh

DavidPostill

8:06 PM

Leaning tower illusion

The leaning tower illusion is a visual illusion seen in a pair of identical images of the Leaning Tower of Pisa photographed from below. Although the images are duplicates, one has the impression that the tower on the right leans more, as if photographed from a different angle. The illusion was discovered by Frederick Kingdom, Ali Yoonessi and Elena Gheorghiu at McGill University, and won first prize in the Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2007.The authors suggest that the illusion occurs because of the way the visual system takes into account perspective. When two identical towers rise in parallel...