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Johnny Aztec posted:Aftermarket steros do still exist. The problems are that for most people, the stock ones cover use cases. Aux in and Bluetooth are much more common. My current car I took the drastic length of buying a complete dash of the newer version (2008 to 2010 upgrade). That way I had an infotainment system, could still have AC controls and USB/Bluetooth. This cost $2000 in OEM parts and then VIN flashing the new stereo, reflashing the HVAC to have the new firmware, then resistors to fake the thermocouples it expected values from. Oh and an adaptor loom. It is incredibly janky but works completely 100% with steering wheel controls etc. After installation I turned bluetooth on on my phone and discovered that the car had bluetooth on a separate module all this time and would jack into the AUX feed on the original stereo... Now that car is about to be retired, and I'm buying the newer version of the same thing.... Maybe I'll fart around with an android solution on the old car for kicks.
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Jul 11, 2020 04:16
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Back in 2011, my brother and I spent a weekend trying to find a place that sold a stock-to-aftermarket wiring harness for his '04 Silverado that cost less than the aftermarket head unit - $120 harness for a $50 unit was what everyone was charging, IIRC. We finally stopped at a sketchy stereo place, and learned it cost so much because the seatbelt dinger was built into the stock head unit. $120 for the harness and replacement dinger, or *wink wink* if we already had the replacement dinger, $20 for just the harness.
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Jul 11, 2020 07:41
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mobby_6kl posted:Hell 60GB is still a pretty impressive amount of music, even my Note9 only has 128 gigs of storage and most of it is taken up with app data and recorded videos so I don't even have that much space for music on a phone that was 1 grand two years ago. There's some obsolete tech for you - user replaceable parts and memory card slots in phones and laptops. Whyyyyyy? Oh, 128GB micro SD card : ~£20 128GB more internal storage in a phone : ~££££££ Guess I've answered that myself. To blend with the previous Apple arguing/ranting in the thread, are they to blame for this or did others start doing it first and they just popularised as much as possible being soldered onto laptops/phones/whatever rather than socketed and upgradable? (Yes I know there are still some which have slots, bit it's becoming less and less common it seems?)
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Jul 11, 2020 10:47
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rndmnmbr posted:Back in 2011, my brother and I spent a weekend trying to find a place that sold a stock-to-aftermarket wiring harness for his '04 Silverado that cost less than the aftermarket head unit - $120 harness for a $50 unit was what everyone was charging, IIRC. We finally stopped at a sketchy stereo place, and learned it cost so much because the seatbelt dinger was built into the stock head unit. $120 for the harness and replacement dinger, or *wink wink* if we already had the replacement dinger, $20 for just the harness. I added a DDIN CarPlay head unit to my dad’s ‘04 Silverado the other day, and the aftermarket module to enable the seat belt/door open/key in ignition dinger was $45. I figured it would pay for itself the first time somebody locked the keys in the truck.
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Jul 11, 2020 13:24
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legooolas posted:There's some obsolete tech for you - user replaceable parts and memory card slots in phones and laptops. There's a difference between an SD card and soldered in flash memory. If your sd card starts to fail, you just take it out, move the files to a new one, and put the new one in. If your onboard storage starts to fail, your phone is pretty much dead. So they have to make it much more robust, and that costs more.
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Jul 11, 2020 15:59
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Cojawfee posted:There's a difference between an SD card and soldered in flash memory. If your sd card starts to fail, you just take it out, move the files to a new one, and put the new one in. If your onboard storage starts to fail, your phone is pretty much dead. So they have to make it much more robust, and that costs more. It tends to be quite a lot faster too, especially in high-end devices.
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Jul 11, 2020 16:09
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legooolas posted:There's some obsolete tech for you - user replaceable parts and memory card slots in phones and laptops. The Android and PC manufacturers are to blame. They don't HAVE to play follow the leader every time Apple has a courage attack and removes a useful feature from their phones/laptops and increases the price.
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Jul 11, 2020 16:20
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Business laptops are still field serviceable by the lowest bidding computer janitor in the county. Buy those.
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Jul 11, 2020 16:24
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evobatman posted:Business laptops are still field serviceable by the lowest bidding computer janitor in the county. Buy those. I.e. I could get a nicely specced out Alienware monostrolaptop for what it cost to get my "mobile workstation" model FilthyImp has a new favorite as of 16:45 on Jul 11, 2020 |
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Jul 11, 2020 16:36
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FilthyImp posted:They're also hideously expensive. Just like in the good old days.
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Jul 11, 2020 16:39
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I still push people who need not-centrally-managed laptops at work to get thinkpads, with the onsite warranty. There's something nice about having a random tech show up and replace random innards instead of the horrid "mail it in and hope for the best for a few weeks" solution. I've got one myself, too, but they really are expensive enough that I hesitate to recommend them for private use. I've waited for sales, but that's not practical for everyone. Computer viking has a new favorite as of 17:14 on Jul 11, 2020 |
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Jul 11, 2020 17:12
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legooolas posted:There's some obsolete tech for you - user replaceable parts and memory card slots in phones and laptops. Sockets, card readers, and other interface hardware cost money for parts, add extra steps in assembly and QA, take up internal space, usually fail at higher rates than directly-soldered parts (resulting in warranty claims), and in phones, can present another place for water or dust intrusion. Streaming services have also decreased the amount of storage that people want, so expansion hardware is less of a selling point. With the extra costs and less market demand, those features are first on the chopping block. Apple might try to turn it into a big public "courage" thing, and other manufacturers might just drop the feature from the spec sheet and hope people don't get mad, but it's the same factors driving both approaches. FilthyImp posted:They're also hideously expensive. Quality and support are expensive. All the stuff that's not reflected on a spec sheet - everything from tougher hinges and external finishes, to hardware with "business grade" rather than "super max RGB" drivers - costs more to build. Then you get soaked again, because by not choosing bottom-tier gaming grade garbage, you're buying a "premium" product and the manufacturer knows you've got extra money to burn. This is true whether you're buying a Thinkpad, Dell Precision, HP Elitebook, or, yes, a Macbook Pro. If you can't afford a new one, keep in mind that most businesses lease their hardware, and after 3-4 years most PC laptops depreciate to practically nothing. The battery will probably be pretty worn down at that point, but you can usually find new-old-stock replacements. A used business system won't be able to handle games, but for everything else, they're a much better way to get a cheap computer than the equivalent-priced Walmart trash. (ps: avoid Thinkpads these days, Lenovo's been coasting on the brand name for a long time. Dell and HP's pro lines are quite a lot better)
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Jul 11, 2020 18:36
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Above poster knows where its at. Since I only use my laptop for work and audio stuff and the occasional emulator and indie game, I can get away with buying a 3 year old Dell for a pittance compared to new machines. There are places that refurbish and resell business laptops - you can get a 2017 Dell with i5, Win 10 and a 1080p display for less than 500€. Slap another 8 gigs of memory on that and you're good to go, it'll just breeze through anything that isn't dependent on 3D hardware. The build quality is top notch and everything just works, since the business machines come with none of the consumer level bullshit bloatware and other hiddn bullshit that is there to push the price down by cutting corners and generally just making life miserable. I used to go for Thinkpads as well, but they went to poo poo about eight years ago. Dell Latitudes actually remind me of old thinkpads in their design philosophy. Very functionalist, a bit chunky but clearly built to last, just what I like in a computer. barbecue at the folks has a new favorite as of 18:50 on Jul 11, 2020 |
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Jul 11, 2020 18:46
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Computer viking posted:I still push people who need not-centrally-managed laptops at work to get thinkpads, with the onsite warranty. There's something nice about having a random tech show up and replace random innards instead of the horrid "mail it in and hope for the best for a few weeks" solution. the build quality on thinkpads went downhill pretty steeply after ibm sold the brand to lenovo. doesn't help they've been caught preinstalling malware on computers multiple times
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Jul 11, 2020 19:05
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I know people who did this, but not with one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDCxTtn4OQ
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Jul 11, 2020 19:12
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Depends on the ThinkPad line - a T490 is a heavy square slab, an X1 is a solid ultrabook but everything is probably soldered, and the L and S and E and whatever series are probably junky. They have gotten hard to upgrade, though - and I hear the T490 has a bunch of pointless clips that make it harder to reassemble nicely? Last one I've touched was the T470, and that was no harder to service than my IBM-marked R50 or T61. I use an X1 gen5, and have found peace with the ultrabook "no upgrades" thing - but I do anything heavy on a server or the gaming PC. If it was my sole computer I'd probably pick something else. (It is solidly built and about as easy to take apart as you can hope for in that form factor, though.) Computer viking has a new favorite as of 19:44 on Jul 11, 2020 |
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Jul 11, 2020 19:42
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Professionally we’ve issues and supported well over 1000 of various modern T line Lenovo’s. I think we’ve had about 5 actual hardware failures in 5 years.
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Jul 11, 2020 19:44
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barbecue at the folks posted:Very functionalist, a bit chunky but clearly built to last Look, my fitness goals are my business.
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Jul 11, 2020 19:45
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We actually had one come in with a non-flat bottom cover, which was weird. Worked fine, but wobbled. Which I guess counts as a hardware problem? (Service tech seemed a bit puzzled, too.)
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Jul 11, 2020 19:47
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AlternateAccount posted:Professionally we’ve issues and supported well over 1000 of various modern T line Lenovo’s. I think we’ve had about 5 actual hardware failures in 5 years. we switched from lenovo to HP and i swear to god the failure rate on HP business laptops is somewhere around 30%
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Jul 11, 2020 20:06
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Computer viking posted:We actually had one come in with a non-flat bottom cover, which was weird. Worked fine, but wobbled. Which I guess counts as a hardware problem? Swollen battery?
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Jul 11, 2020 21:12
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I'm glad Techmoan got to a million subscribers, I just want him to keep on doing what he's doing.
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Jul 11, 2020 21:14
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:I'm glad Techmoan got to a million subscribers, I just want him to keep on doing what he's doing. 
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Jul 11, 2020 21:24
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Lenovo fired all their computer security experts shortly after the acquisition. A few years later and they're bundling what is effectively malware in with systems.
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Jul 11, 2020 21:31
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Scarodactyl posted:Lenovo fired all their computer security experts shortly after the acquisition. A few years later and they're bundling what is effectively malware in with systems. Oh yeah. Definitely wipe and reimage, but that should be SOP still I think.
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Jul 11, 2020 21:52
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TITTIEKISSER69 posted:Swollen battery? Nope, everything inside was perfect. The backplate screwed in fine, too - maybe the casting for where they glue on the rubber feet was off? We didn't really see any obvious problem, except that it wobbled with the original backplate and felt flat with the replacement. Edit: IIRC the preinstalled software with the security problem was only on the consumer lines, not the business ones? Not a good look either way, ofc.
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Jul 12, 2020 00:21
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I missed all the Apple chat, but thought I'd chip in that I have an iMac from 2008 which I think was around one of the last one's you could actually fix yourself, if you could be bothered using suction cups to get the screen off etc. It's had the hardrive replaced twice and the screen is starting to do odd things (like showing black as white in textures for a bit, almost like it needs to warm up) but I've more than had my moneys worth out of it. My main machine now is a 2008 Mac Pro, the proper shiny cheese grater box. I've stuck SSD's and HDD's in it, bumped up the graphics card to a mighty 1gb ATI card and I've got no complaints really. It has two quad core processors in it and I mainly use it for Logic Pro and I've never had any problems. The best bit is I found it next to the bins at a company I worked for, it was just off recycling, so I asked if I could have it. I wouldn't buy Apple new though, just silly money for what you get.
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Jul 12, 2020 00:45
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AlternateAccount posted:Oh yeah. Definitely wipe and reimage, but that should be SOP still I think. man I can't imagine not doing this on any machine you buy, for work or personal use
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Jul 12, 2020 00:58
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New addition to the Laserdisc collection! Compete with autographs by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Brian O'Halloran
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Jul 14, 2020 12:35
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Brian was very prescient in writing his character's name so people would know who the hell he was.
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Jul 14, 2020 14:08
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Armacham posted:Brian was very prescient in writing his character's name so people would know who the hell he was. Yeah, might as well written "I assure you I am relevant!" (Brodie DOES wear his smeared face on his shirt throughout the movie, so in lot of scenes)
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Jul 14, 2020 14:41
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Edit: Wrong thread
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Jul 22, 2020 15:22
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx30DhPotMg
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Jul 24, 2020 20:50
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So a new thing I acquired arrived and with an advertised broken 3.5in drive: Looks in very good cosmetic condition. Strangely I cannot find this specific version online at all: "Super UFO Super Drive Pro 8"  It would recognise cartridges and either run them or save to DRAM to load from RAM until power cycle. It would would recognise if a floppy was inserted and when trying to read or format - know if disk was write protected. However couldnt format. After a tear down (almost all screws were already removed by previous owners - a sure warning sign!) and cleaning the read heads and lubing the rails we have success of sorts! MK2 is in cart slot, but PGA Euro Tour is playing from 3.5in Disk 
Humphreys has a new favorite as of 13:00 on Jul 29, 2020 |
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Jul 29, 2020 12:28
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Jul 30, 2020 16:48
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am i correct in thinking that the current offering of laptops kind of suck? buying a decent laptop seems to be so much more expensive than it was 5 or 6 years ago. i have a lenovo g580 and it still functions okay and that i bought for roughly 400 euros in 2015, now im looking at 700 euros for what seems like similar performance and features the laptops are also all really thin and light but i honestly dont really care about how light my laptop is as long as it isn't 8 kg and i can comfortably haul it around. did they sacrifice cost-performance in favor of light builds and macification? ive looked into just refurbing my g580, if i buy a completely new shell and screen from aliexpress itll cost me roughly 160 euros, is this a sensible thing to do? Shibawanko has a new favorite as of 08:15 on Jul 31, 2020 |
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Jul 31, 2020 08:12
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Yeah it's not like you can buy a VCR anywhere for like 2€. And what can a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cost - 50€?
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Jul 31, 2020 08:16
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Shibawanko posted:am i correct in thinking that the current offering of laptops kind of suck? buying a decent laptop seems to be so much more expensive than it was 5 or 6 years ago. Consumer laptops have always sucked, and business laptops have always been expensive. What has happened is that lot of the affordable laptop segment has been taken over by phones and tablets, and to a degree by Chromebooks and low-end laptops with similar specs. The middle segment has been hollowed out, because most people get by just fine on the cheaper devices. That just leaves the more expensive and higher specced consumer machines and the business laptops, which have stayed expensive because businesses are willing to pay. Our two laptops right now are both refurb business laptops, a Thinkpad X220i and a Dell Latitude E7270. Unless you absolutely need the latest CPU/GPU or stuff like a TB3-connected eGPU, buying a brand new laptop just isn't worth it IMO. If/when my desktop kicks the bucket, I'll try to find a refurb laptop with a decent CPU and eGPU support, as long as it's faster than my current desktop, I'm good. KozmoNaut has a new favorite as of 08:37 on Jul 31, 2020 |
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Jul 31, 2020 08:31
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KozmoNaut posted:Consumer laptops have always sucked, and business laptops have always been expensive. I bought a 1200€ Windows XP Hewlett-Packard when I was replacing my 98SE box, and it definitely wasn't a business laptop. It was loving great until years later I used to watch movies in bed in Summer. Moral of the story: laying a powerful laptop on a thick duvet while the temperature is over 30 degrees anyway is a really loving stupid idea. It was loving heavy though despite being slim. e: Slim for the time.
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Jul 31, 2020 08:37
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KozmoNaut posted:Consumer laptops have always sucked, and business laptops have always been expensive. I used to spend $1200-$1300 on mid-tier laptops with decent specs -- dedicated graphics, even. My last laptop buy? A used Surface Book I picked up from a local pawn shop for $300. And it's not so much a laptop as it is a tablet with a glorified keyboard dock that happens to be good at laptop stuff. If you're just surfing the internet or using Office, a low-end laptop will cover 90% of your needs. And while on-board graphics used to suck something fierce, the latest stuff can handle light to moderate gaming, too. Only reason to get a high-end laptop that isn't a Macbook is if you're an EXTREME GAMER in need of something portable or you need something for work that can handle Solidworks/3DS Max/Blender. Or if you need something rugged like a Toughbook. I know what it feels like to shove a cartridge lined with fresh nail polish into a NES. Lots of shouting and stomping involved. Young me ruined a lot of poo poo in pursuit of the fine arts. 90s Solo Cup has a new favorite as of 08:51 on Jul 31, 2020 |
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Jul 31, 2020 08:47
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