New Laptop. Times are changing!! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2020, 12:52:54 pm
content: New Win-10 Signature Edition Laptop for 'missus' is fine now! A few interesting points though...The latest Win-10 (probably has for years now!) at least 'looks' a lot more like Win-7 from the Desktop!!(Instead of that ugly plain 2D desktop full of purple squares etc, aimed at the touch-screen and surface market!!).And that the latest laptops/notebooks these days are now released 'solely' without motorized Hard-Drives, but Solid-State ones!!Me being 'old' though, apart from the obvious 'SSD' drives, until the other day I hadn't even heard of the 'alternative' eMMC Storage!!I've since found out it is cheaper, but not as good as 'SSD', but seems to be ok for the vast majority of simple users, like my missus needs!!I found it strange though, to nothearanything now!... No whirring hard-drive etc!! Also, unlike older Laptops etc, I miss seeing the oldHard-Drive activity light, so that you know when the system is busy doing something! Sometimes, you want/need FeedBack, to verify that youclicked something properly, or know to wait, while it's busy etc. One gets used to that!However, I found (one ofmanyout there!) a free HDD Light program, fromwww.myportablesoftware.comthat simulates on screen anydrive activity, including other functions and information. I feel a bit more at 'home' now... hahaha...

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 11:56:10 am
content: Welcome to the 2000's :-PHonestly, though, I just bought a laptop a few months ago which entirely replaced my desktop PC. Not only does it out-perform the HP Z840 workstations I'm used to using, the GPU is decent enough to play many games at 4K resolutions @ 60fps. A handful of RAM and dual NVMe SSDs make it a really nice machine indeed and it's thin, and relatively light.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 12:21:38 pm
content: I'm waiting for the next gen cpus from amd to buy a laptop. My prev laptop was asus ux931, very cool little laptop in terms of weight, size and performance. Unfortunately, one of usb-c ports stopped working, so I had to return it. I'd love to get something similar.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 12:30:48 pm
content: First thing i always do with Win10 is install Classic Shell, once that is done and i tweak some classic shell settings it's just like win7 again.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 12:33:26 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on August 12, 2020, 12:30:48 pmThe first thing I do is format and install Linux. It's just like a proper computer again. :-)

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 12:44:04 pm
content: I was an anti-laptop man for yonks. I hated the idea of a fragile spinning disk in anything portable. Then I shoved a SDD into a eee-pc 1000h. Tried reloading XP (painful) so I found a lightweight distro and I was off to the races.I got a full ten years out of that laptop. Alas only runs 32-bit. It's replacement one came with no windows installed.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2020, 12:52:20 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 10, 2020, 12:52:54 pmLittle warning though. eMMC or soldered flash is typically very small (eg 64GB) and quickly fills up with Windows not being able to perform updates anymore. It is the absolute minimum spec to run windowstoday, but is quickly overwhelmed by the next feature update.Recommended disk space for a pc that only runs windows without any big apps is 128 GB imho.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 01:01:20 pm
content: Quote from: Ed.Kloonk on August 12, 2020, 12:28:21 pmHey!!... My 'GrogGrunt 2000' phone still works fine!!

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 01:10:44 pm
content: Quote from: exe on August 12, 2020, 12:21:38 pmYea... This new one has 1 new Type-C port, and 2 normal USB Ports. With a wireless mouse & a USB memory stick, then there'snothing left for her mass-storage external HDD. So I've ordered an adapter on eBay, (only $8.99, no postage cost!) to adapt theType-C port to 4 USB-3 Ports. I guess the 'new' Type-C ports will come more into use with dedicated devices!

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 04:38:26 pm
content: Not having a drive activity light would be a deal killer for me. I also like having a network activity light. The laptop form factor is overall very awkward. They're only good for when mobility is mandatory. The limited screen size and needing the screen to be permanently connected to the keyboard makes them clunky to use, not to mention the annoyance of requiring batteries and a charger. And all this discomfort comes at a significant price premium compared to a desktop PC.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 04:49:09 pm
content: The lack of a drive activity light is one of the few things I don't like about my Lenovo X250. That seems to be the way of the future though, I think most laptops have not had them in several years. I've toyed with trying to add one.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 07:12:56 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 13, 2020, 01:01:20 pmHey, is that one of the tablets that Moses used?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 11:19:04 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on August 13, 2020, 04:49:09 pmMost laptops don't have drive activity lights these days. You would need some kind of software implementation if you want to retain that function.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2020, 12:21:21 am
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 10, 2020, 12:52:54 pmthanks for making me think i'm not the oldest (in term of tech knowledge) one here...my first SSD is like maybe 5 years ago and its still working. i'm surprised at how reliable it is running in WinXP all this while (no TRIM feature)Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 10, 2020, 12:52:54 pmthe desktop part on my side is somewhat solved but i still struggling to figure out how to get rid of the annoying and useless purple and greenish boxes on the side of start menu.Quote from: Halcyon on August 17, 2020, 11:19:04 pmi think since SSD is super quick, no disc spinning wait anymore, so blinking led is not necessary anymore imho, writing hundreds to GBytes of data is only a matter of only a few seconds now. if needed i think task manager can still show which program is active operating or writing.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 08:55:57 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 13, 2020, 01:10:44 pmYou could also use a Bluetooth wireless mouse, which uses the Bluetooth radio already built into your laptop. No little radio thingy to lose, no USB port blocked, and hence you can connect an external HDD without yet another USB adapter dangling around!

author: 0db
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 10:34:22 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 12, 2020, 11:56:10 amWhat did you buy?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 10:38:07 pm
content: Quote from: 0db on August 19, 2020, 10:34:22 pmLenovo P1 Gen 2

author: 0db
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 11:21:52 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 19, 2020, 10:38:07 pmMaybe later (March 2021?), but for sure I will "copy" you.Perhaps by then, Lenovo will update its machinesIn the meanwhile ... I own a MBP-2020, but I prefer carrying it with me only when it's strikingly needed. So, in order to reduce the probability of incidents or stealing, I have just bought a small and cheap laptop for daily light outdoor tasks.It's aHUAWEI MateBook D14.It's a cool quite and cheap laptop.The LCD is 14 inc Full HD, the CPU is the little AMD Ryzen5 3500U, configured in "conservative mode". It doesn't squeezable out any high performance but rather it cares for not overheating the chip, and this is great for the battery.I grabbed the cheapest model with 8GB ram and 512GB SSD.The list price is600 euro, I got it for 400 euro from a reseller as "open boxed return" (probably a cancelled order), and it comes "as new", even if the SSD is wiped, the Windows activation key is missing, and the manufacturer's seal is broken. All things I frankly don't care.Great bargain, guys! I would recommend things like this from reputable resellers of your trust

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 02:55:41 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 17, 2020, 11:19:04 pmYea... I mentioned that in my original post. It's mainly as a 'feedback' that 'something' is happening!!I keep telling the 'Missus' not to keep clicking on what-ever, resulting in multiple activations!!

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 10:30:08 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 20, 2020, 02:55:41 pmI think most OS's are pretty good at subtly letting the user know "something is happening" by way of changing the mouse pointer. As I mentioned, I now use a laptop as my everyday machine and when I'm at home it sits closed on a stand anyway, even if it did have a HDD light, I wouldn't see it. I've never felt the need to question "what the hell is this machine doing?".

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 10:59:08 pm
content: I wonder how much money they actually save by omitting the drive activity light.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 11:17:39 pm
content: Quote from: rdl on August 20, 2020, 10:59:08 pmI think it's less of a cost issue and more of a design consideration. Consumers prefer sleek and nice looking computers as opposed to machines which are utilitarian and with companies like Apple focusing more on the look and aesthetics of their products (and packaging), features like that are less important.

author: Bassman59
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2020, 11:41:00 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 20, 2020, 11:17:39 pmI haven't thought about the lack of a drive-activity light in a long time, except last night when I was trying to figure out why my computer wasn't recognizing a disk I plugged into the USB port.But what is the importance of this light when pretty much all laptops these days are SSDs?

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2020, 11:48:39 pm
content: The drive activity light is a small, but sometimes useful bit of information about what a computer is up to. The same can be said of a network activity light. Why they usually hide those on the back panel is beyond me. The drive activity light doesn't care what kind of drives are connected.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 08:01:04 am
content: Quote from: rdl on August 22, 2020, 11:48:39 pmI've seen network indicators implemented very poorly as well. For example, we have Acer PCs at work which flash the NIC light on the front of the case on and off every 150ms or so when *any* activity is detected. Of course there is almost always activity on a network, even if it's a few bytes here and there so the light is forever flashing on and off. It gives you no indication at all of how much activity is actually occurring since it's 150ms off/150ms on, repeated. It's the same regardless of whether the NIC is relatively idle, or being fully utilised. It was clearly a case of implementing an LED for the sake of it.They might as well have created an "everything is OK" alarm:

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 09:36:13 am
content: Quote from: Bassman59 on August 21, 2020, 11:41:00 pmIt is, recently just bought Asus Zephyrus G14 octa cores Ryzen laptop, which is a new 2020 model, it uses exclusively NVME drive only, not even SATA, and it has drive activity led, which is quite handy, especially there is a heavy activity on the NVME.As the NVME SSD drive is quite fast, when casual/normal loading program only gives faint blink and sometimes went unnoticeable, but when it lite up constantly, it means something is seriously hammering the drive.The 3 tiny dots at the top position are on/off, charging and drive activity indicator.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 10:12:27 am
content: Quote from: BravoV on August 23, 2020, 09:36:13 amWhat happened to the space bar?! Did they hire the same industrial designer as Rigol?

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 10:17:13 am
content: Quote from: ebastler on August 23, 2020, 10:12:27 amLOL .. maybe.As weird and as funky as it looks, after using it for a while, that space bar shape actually feels good, especially the strange protruding part at bottom when typing fast and doing the touch pad simultaneously.

author: fourtytwo42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 10:45:46 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on August 19, 2020, 10:38:07 pmJust surprised anybody here considers Lenovo after the widely publicized spyware scams involving this company (google Lenovo spyware), they been on my blacklist for years!

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2020, 10:58:48 am
content: thats rigolish space bar is the least of the concern... i grew learning programming with this (below) layout and never look back. i even cry if i cant find that kind of "Enter key" which is as rare as hen's teeth today. no kind of laptop can even provide this layout even the slightest that made me snort when looking at anyone of them... with old keyboard i can program with my eyes closed.(mind/given the placement of Insert, Home, Del, End et al and Arrows must be in the exact location, you cant even move them 1 row down or else everything will be screwed)

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2020, 12:36:41 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on August 23, 2020, 10:58:48 amDearMechatrommer, I bet that you hate those weird so-called 'ergonomic' Bent-up keyboards!!This one, is theWORST, that I only just found!!! hahaha.....

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2020, 02:55:44 pm
content: If we are going into ergonomic keyboards...Ergodox EzMatias Ergo ProKinesis Freestyle 2UHK (Ultimate Hacking Keyboard) - Yes that thing on the left half is a trackpoint as the IBM/Lenovo Keyboards and on the right half is a trackball for the thumb, so you can choose which way you wanna control your cursor.Dactyl Manuform 5x7 (normally custom 3D print to the hand size of the person who's going to use, and hard wired instead of PCB. Here's a build from start to finish -https://medium.com/swlh/complete-idiot-guide-for-building-a-dactyl-manuform-keyboard-53454845b065)Kinesis Advantage2 QD - Nothing to say, one of the most known split keyboards in the keyboard world.Let's say that since I arrived here on the other side of the world, my hobby list grown enormously...

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2020, 04:14:31 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 27, 2020, 12:36:41 pmthe problem is not a particular layout per se. the problem is which one you grew up with. if i had those ergonomic bent up keyboard from the beginning, i will be forever longing for the lost lover since no one will ever manufacture it in exact dimension today (read muscle memory). similar to laptop, if my dad bought me a laptop first time, i probably a laptop lover today, but still a longing lover since every year laptop (similar to ergo-keyboard) will come up with so called more "modern and better" keyboard layout. i wonder if any coder can maintain their fast pace typing as before (enter,home,end,page up/down, shift select etc) while keep changing laptop (keyboard layout) brand. i think i'm blessed to start with an old layout that is maintained until today albeit few minor changes.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2020, 11:09:33 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on August 27, 2020, 04:14:31 pmI do get what you are saying mateI remember the old original IBM Keyboards, with their clunky over-traveling keys, but gave physical positive 'feedback'.I only use Laptops now, but sometimes plug in a 'proper' USB Keyboard, for more original feel/layout, when at home.My biggest peeve with laptops, are TouchPads... I HAVE to use a mouse!!!

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2020, 11:24:18 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on August 23, 2020, 11:03:53 ammy keyboard gave up, so i have to dig out a new keyboard in stock then my subconcious direct me to google for keyboard remapper, i found SharpKeys and now its done back to good old layout again (as attached) i can code eyes closed. i think your msg is the one responsible for the "subconcious inception", thanks for the hint i think its been there all along. but i wont remap my caps key my pinky is too small to reach it and caps is frequently needed in old case sensitive C/C++ (just as ctrl-c and ctrl-v) so i was not quite get what you were saying.

author: eugenenine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2020, 01:55:29 pm
content: Quote from: GlennSprigg on August 30, 2020, 11:09:33 amI have long skinny fingers so I prefer smaller laptop keyboards.I've been using the touchpad since 1998 so I prefer it over a mouse.

author: ghida
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 09, 2020, 01:28:51 am
content: If you want to go back in time, search for "The Computer Chronicles" on YouTube.Warning : it might make you feel old...