blog/archive/2015/07/07.rss

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   4                 <title>Petter Reinholdtsen - Entries from July 2015</title>
   5                 <description>Entries from July 2015</description>
   6                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/</link>
   7
   8
   9         <item>
  10                 <title>New laptop - some more clues and ideas based on feedback</title>
  11                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_laptop___some_more_clues_and_ideas_based_on_feedback.html</link>
  12                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_laptop___some_more_clues_and_ideas_based_on_feedback.html</guid>
  13                 <pubDate>Sun, 5 Jul 2015 21:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
  14                 <description>&lt;p&gt;Several people contacted me after my previous blog post about my
  15 need for a new laptop, and provided very useful feedback.  I wish to
  16 thank every one of these.  Several pointed me to the possibility of
  17 fixing my X230, and I am already in the process of getting Lenovo to
  18 do so thanks to the on site, next day support contract covering the
  19 machine.  But the battery is almost useless (I expect to replace it
  20 with a non-official battery) and I do not expect the machine to live
  21 for many more years, so it is time to plan its replacement.  If I did
  22 not have a support contract, it was suggested to find replacement parts
  23 using &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.francecrans.com/&quot;&gt;FrancEcrans&lt;/a&gt;, but it
  24 might present a language barrier as I do not understand French.&lt;/p&gt;
  25
  26 &lt;p&gt;One tip I got was to use the
  27 &lt;a href=&quot;https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=nb&quot;&gt;Skinflint&lt;/a&gt; web service to
  28 compare laptop models.  It seem to have more models available than
  29 prisjakt.no.  Another tip I got from someone I know have similar
  30 keyboard preferences was that the HP EliteBook 840 keyboard is not
  31 very good, and this matches my experience with earlier EliteBook
  32 keyboards I tested.  Because of this, I will not consider it any further.
  33
  34 &lt;p&gt;When I wrote my blog post, I was not aware of Thinkpad X250, the
  35 newest Thinkpad X model.  The keyboard reintroduces mouse buttons
  36 (which is missing from the X240), and is working fairly well with
  37 Debian Sid/Unstable according to
  38 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.corsac.net/X250/&quot;&gt;Corsac.net&lt;/a&gt;.  The reports I
  39 got on the keyboard quality are not consistent.  Some say the keyboard
  40 is good, others say it is ok, while others say it is not very good.
  41 Those with experience from X41 and and X60 agree that the X250
  42 keyboard is not as good as those trusty old laptops, and suggest I
  43 keep and fix my X230 instead of upgrading, or get a used X230 to
  44 replace it.  I&#39;m also told that the X250 lack leds for caps lock, disk
  45 activity and battery status, which is very convenient on my X230.  I&#39;m
  46 also told that the CPU fan is running very often, making it a bit
  47 noisy.  In any case, the X250 do not work out of the box with Debian
  48 Stable/Jessie, one of my requirements.&lt;/p&gt;
  49
  50 &lt;p&gt;I have also gotten a few vendor proposals, one was
  51 &lt;a href=&quot;http://pro-star.com&quot;&gt;Pro-Star&lt;/a&gt;, another was
  52 &lt;a href=&quot;http://shop.gluglug.org.uk/product/libreboot-x200/&quot;&gt;Libreboot&lt;/a&gt;.
  53 The latter look very attractive to me.&lt;/p&gt;
  54
  55 &lt;p&gt;Again, thank you all for the very useful feedback.  It help a lot
  56 as I keep looking for a replacement.&lt;/p&gt;
  57 </description>
  58         </item>
  59
  60         <item>
  61                 <title>Time to find a new laptop, as the old one is broken after only two years</title>
  62                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_to_find_a_new_laptop__as_the_old_one_is_broken_after_only_two_years.html</link>
  63                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_to_find_a_new_laptop__as_the_old_one_is_broken_after_only_two_years.html</guid>
  64                 <pubDate>Fri, 3 Jul 2015 07:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
  65                 <description>&lt;p&gt;My primary work horse laptop is failing, and will need a
  66 replacement soon.  The left 5 cm of the screen on my Thinkpad X230
  67 started flickering yesterday, and I suspect the cause is a broken
  68 cable, as changing the angle of the screen some times get rid of the
  69 flickering.&lt;/p&gt;
  70
  71 &lt;p&gt;My requirements have not really changed since I bought it, and is
  72 still as
  73 &lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html&quot;&gt;I
  74 described them in 2013&lt;/a&gt;.  The last time I bought a laptop, I had
  75 good help from
  76 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.prisjakt.no/category.php?k=353&quot;&gt;prisjakt.no&lt;/a&gt;
  77 where I could select at least a few of the requirements (mouse pin,
  78 wifi, weight) and go through the rest manually.  Three button mouse
  79 and a good keyboard is not available as an option, and all the three
  80 laptop models proposed today (Thinkpad X240, HP EliteBook 820 G1 and
  81 G2) lack three mouse buttons).  It is also unclear to me how good the
  82 keyboard on the HP EliteBooks are.  I hope Lenovo have not messed up
  83 the keyboard, even if the quality and robustness in the X series have
  84 deteriorated since X41.&lt;/p&gt;
  85
  86 &lt;p&gt;I wonder how I can find a sensible laptop when none of the options
  87 seem sensible to me?  Are there better services around to search the
  88 set of available laptops for features?  Please send me an email if you
  89 have suggestions.&lt;/p&gt;
  90 </description>
  91         </item>
  92
  93         <item>
  94                 <title>MakerCon Nordic videos now available on Frikanalen</title>
  95                 <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MakerCon_Nordic_videos_now_available_on_Frikanalen.html</link>
  96                 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MakerCon_Nordic_videos_now_available_on_Frikanalen.html</guid>
  97                 <pubDate>Thu, 2 Jul 2015 14:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
  98                 <description>&lt;p&gt;Last oktober I was involved on behalf of
  99 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nuug.no/&quot;&gt;NUUG&lt;/a&gt; with recording the talks at
 100 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.makercon.no/&quot;&gt;MakerCon Nordic&lt;/a&gt;, a conference for
 101 the Maker movement.  Since then it has been the plan to publish the
 102 recordings on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.frikanalen.no/&quot;&gt;Frikanalen&lt;/a&gt;, which
 103 finally happened the last few days.  A few talks are missing because
 104 the speakers asked the organizers to not publish them, but most of the
 105 talks are available.  The talks are being broadcasted on RiksTV
 106 channel 50 and using multicast on Uninett, as well as being available
 107 from the Frikanalen web site.  The unedited recordings are
 108 &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/user/MakerConNordic/&quot;&gt;available on
 109 Youtube too&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
 110
 111 &lt;p&gt;This is the list of talks available at the moment.  Visit the
 112 &lt;a href=&quot;http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/?q=makercon&quot;&gt;Frikanalen video
 113 pages&lt;/a&gt; to view them.&lt;/p&gt;
 114
 115 &lt;ul&gt;
 116
 117   &lt;li&gt;Evolutionary algorithms as a design tool - from art
 118       to robotics (Kyrre Glette)&lt;/li&gt;
 119
 120   &lt;li&gt;Make and break (Hans Gerhard Meier)&lt;/li&gt;
 121
 122   &lt;li&gt;Making a one year school course for young makers
 123       (Olav Helland)&lt;/li&gt;
 124
 125   &lt;li&gt;Innovation Inspiration - IPR Databases as a Source of
 126       Inspiration (Hege Langlo)&lt;/li&gt;
 127
 128   &lt;li&gt;Making a toy for makers (Erik Torstensson)&lt;/li&gt;
 129
 130   &lt;li&gt;How to make 3D printer electronics (Elias Bakken)&lt;/li&gt;
 131
 132   &lt;li&gt;Hovering Clouds: Looking at online tool offerings for Product
 133       Design and 3D Printing (William Kempton)&lt;/li&gt;
 134
 135   &lt;li&gt;Travelling maker stories (Øyvind Nydal Dahl)&lt;/li&gt;
 136
 137   &lt;li&gt;Making the first Maker Faire in Sweden (Nils Olander)&lt;/li&gt;
 138
 139   &lt;li&gt;Breaking the mold: Printing 1000’s of parts (Espen Sivertsen)&lt;/li&gt;
 140
 141   &lt;li&gt;Ultimaker — and open source 3D printing (Erik de Bruijn)&lt;/li&gt;
 142
 143   &lt;li&gt;Autodesk’s 3D Printing Platform: Sparking innovation (Hilde
 144       Sevens)&lt;/li&gt;
 145
 146   &lt;li&gt;How Making is Changing the World – and How You Can Too!
 147       (Jennifer Turliuk)&lt;/li&gt;
 148
 149   &lt;li&gt;Open-Source Adventuring: OpenROV, OpenExplorer and the Future of
 150       Connected Exploration (David Lang)&lt;/li&gt;
 151
 152   &lt;li&gt;Making in Norway (Haakon Karlsen Jr., Graham Hayward and Jens
 153       Dyvik)&lt;/li&gt;
 154
 155   &lt;li&gt;The Impact of the Maker Movement (Mike Senese)&lt;/li&gt;
 156
 157 &lt;/ul&gt;
 158
 159 &lt;p&gt;Part of the reason this took so long was that the scripts NUUG had
 160 to prepare a recording for publication were five years old and no
 161 longer worked with the current video processing tools (command line
 162 argument changes).  In addition, we needed better audio normalization,
 163 which sent me on a detour to
 164 &lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Measuring_and_adjusting_the_loudness_of_a_TV_channel_using_bs1770gain.html&quot;&gt;package
 165 bs1770gain for Debian&lt;/a&gt;.  Now this is in place and it became a lot
 166 easier to publish NUUG videos on Frikanalen.&lt;/p&gt;
 167 </description>
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