Xah Programing Blog Archive 2018-12
Microsoft Windows 10 nice
Before i had Surface Pro Microsoft Surface Pro , i never cared about Windows 10. I thought its UI is annoying. All those silly space hogging tiles. Now i see the point, i enjoy Win10. Having a digital pen made the difference.
one advantage of Win10 is that it's 1 OS for phone/tablet and desktop. you as a nerd want the desktop UI. Phone OS (iOS, Android) are riddled with things you can't control and phoning home behind your back. Desktop OS, e.g. Win10, you can still control almost 100%.
like a proper paranoid nerd, i turned off all phoning home stuff in Windows 10. (no cortana, no account, no nothing) now, u as linux geek, might cry that Microsoft still covertly do things. lol, u been brainwashed. Today, if u use a phone (iOS/Android), it's 10 times worse.
history of HowStuffWorks.com
how stuff works .com, started in 1998 and sold some 5 times since. The site value went downhill over 20 years, content quality too. It was created by a god believing and robot fear monging guy.
here's my rant open letter to the HowStuffWorks guy, 2003. A Letter to Marshall Brain
there is gravity lamp. That is, it uses a weight to power. when the weight drops to the floor, you manuall pull it to the top. like, hour glass timer. looking at amazon reviews, not that good yet.
solar lamp. elegant. but the few i looked on amazon , lots negative reviews. like, in sun light for 8 hours, lights up just 20 min.
commit and commitment. #xahwords of the day
Meshes, SDFs, Differential Geometry? We're Hiring at Standard Cyborg (YC W15)
work in progress. review articles
so now there is braided ethernet cable
all the little things in tech progress
currently, figuring out how to share file between Mac and PC. The old way is this:
How to Share File Between Mac and Windows
and here's some old articles and rants
Flycut. This gives you clipboard history, for the Mac https://github.com/TermiT/Flycut
Python: Function Argument Default Value Wrong (minor update. repost)
Buy Surface Pro
again, if you shopping for a laptop, i highly recommend the Surface Pro. Buy at amazon Also, get the pen, it truly opens a new dimension in computing. Don't buy the typecover, not worth it. If you need gpu, get the SurfaceBook version. but don't buy the Surface “Laptop” model. I'd say, it beats Apple's Macbook.
Dolby Atmos in Windows 10
with Windows 10, you have a bunch of ad “tiles” popping up on your Win startup menu. One of them is Dolby Atmos.
in the beginning, sound is played back in 1 speaker. Then come stereo. Recorded in 2 channels, play back in 2 speakers. Then, surround, prerecorded 5 channels, 5 speakers. Dolby Atmos is ~128 channels meta info, not pre-fixed into channels. Play back on n-speakers dynamically.
am an ascetic. Stereo is sufficient pleasure. No doubly atoms, i don't have money. thank you.
hackernews flagged me
my article made it to hackernews, but someone flagged it. hohoho https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18640340
see my blog elsewhere for pol stuff.
Why I'm Switching from Mac to Windows
added current state of Mac vs Windows vs Linux.
so, phone sell declined for the firs time in 2017. and it's said it's gonna continue to decline. #iphone #android
microSD card vs USB 3 flash drive
how's a microSD card differ from a USB 3 flashdrive, besides the form factor? (i've never used any SD card before) (both MacMini late 2014 and Surface Pro 4 has microSD port)
did my research. basically, always just buy USB 3 drive. There's no reason to buy SD card unless u don't have USB ports or something.
note, when you buy a USB drive, never buy those super cheap ones. (they fake disk size report or low quality electronics) buy from reputable brand only.
SanDisk i can trust. amazon
this thing, a USB key, function as a physical key for your online accounts. Not sure how it works. Yubico YubiKey 4 Buy at amazon good rating
this one, big laptop backpack, with high rating Inateck 15.6 Inch Laptop Backpack
Graphical User Interface vs Command Line, a Unified Design (repost)
Go Board Game on Hexagonal and Triangular Grids (old. repost.)
Microsoft Windows is so stupid. it created a myriad ways of the control panel. There's the classic WinXP interface. Then vista interface. and Windows 10 added another. The best UI is just 1 way to get to an item.
what does airplane mode do exactly
it turns off any radio signal the phone may send: wifi, cell phone, bluetooth, usually also turns off gps. Tip: airplane mode is handy to save battery.
you can put your laptop thru x-ray at airport security check
you can put your laptop thru x-ray at airport security check. phone, laptop, hard drive, flash drive, all ok. Back in 2000, the answer given was no. but i guess we know better now.
Microsoft edge browser blocks Google Chrome browser
lol. when u download Google Chrome on Microsoft Surface, then on launching setup, it says check your internet because SmartScreen cannot be reached and can't decide it's safe to run it.
These bloodsucking corps still, but that nobody raises an eyebrow these days.
Microsoft Surface
swapped my Dell Inspiron 15 7559 Buy at amazon with roomate's Surface Pro 4 Buy at amazon He needed gaming, i needed portable
Microsoft Surface line seems confusing.
- Now there's a surface laptop Buy at amazon where the keyboard is not detachable.
- then there's Surface Book Buy at amazon where it comes a hard but detachable keyboard (with GPU in it)
- then there's Pro Buy at amazon which has a optional slim floppy cover+keyboard.
All have touch screen with digital pen (which can hover like mouse point without touching screen) Why introduce the laptop line? also, they are not set apart by price. Price is diff for cpu and ram level. though, they are better than Apple's for sure. there, i fixed your xmas shopping list.
ok. Surface Laptop sucks. See wiki for detail. Surface Laptop Surface Book is good.
ID System, Number Base vs Number of Digits
added a calculator.
