Sign of Things to Come?
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Quote:
I've got floppy disks in four sizes (counting different densities makes it 9). Tape cassettes in four formats.
Tapes. Impressive. I've got audio tapes, for the C64, filled with games, including (IIRC) River Raid and Boulder Dash. Too bad that neither the computer, nor the power brick it came with, work anymore. Pretty certain the tape driver still works, but impossible to tell.
Heh, that brought back memories. I have my VIC-20 and tape drive in a box in the attic. The last time I had it out was 2009, but I was a little amazed to find it still worked then! I was able to read at least some of the stuff on those old tapes. I actually sold my first commercial software for the VIC and the C64 back in the early 80s. "Alarmex" it was called, and was kind of a toy alarm system, a combination of software and hardware that plugged into the joystick port, which I hand-assembled in my kitchen. I ultimately sold 1000 copies of it, wholesale through Protecto Enterprises.
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Oh great; I'm even more out of touch than I already knew! It came with 2x A-type, and 1x C-type USB ports, but I have no idea how you're using that to get all those other functions! What new widgets do I need now?
Will Rogers never met me.
I bought a compatible USB-C hub with power. Actually have two because I have had one fail before. I plug all of the following into the hub - Internet. There is a inline connector for that. - usb keyboard (two plugs since mouse goes in via keyboard.) - usb Headset. - Sometimes a usb camera Computer itself - hub - Two monitors - External hard drive - power (of course)
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I just bought a new laptop to replace one that I've had for much too long. I was surprised to find that it not only has no CD/DVD device installed, it also lacks any Ethernet port! It never even occurred to me to look for either in the list of features before buying it; these are ubiquitous parts of any off the shelf computer! Apparently, not anymore. It seems that we are being driven to rely on wireless connectivity rather than anything physically secure! I'm hating this...
Will Rogers never met me.
Those things are not included in laptops for years now. Ever that craze started to make them lighter and thinner. But what makes this really bad is that more and more laptops are also reducing the number of USB ports included that you could use to attach USB based optical drives and/or Ethernet adapters to your device. I had to get a USB 3.1 hub to plug in both of those as well as at least one USB memory stick and a USB mouse/keyboard combo... :(
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Roger, my laptop came with both an Ethernet port and a USB-C connector. The USB-C connects to a hub I bought with HDMI, USB-A(2), and Ethernet support. The hub was <$50. Small giggle: The hub was marked as an Apple product, and it's hooked up to an HP laptop.
Software Zen:
delete this;Well, a USB hub (C or not C, that is not the question) is fine, but also makes the whole thing less "portable"...
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My previous laptop at work had about 11h autonomy, 4x USB A and 1xUSB C and all possible readers and an Ethernet port. My brand new laptop has only two USB A and a USB C with 2,5h autonomy. SO I have to carry around a USB hub with hanging 20cm cables, plus my power supply - this is not a laptop anymore, it is a thin desktop. X| Sure, the laptop is not heavy, but the extra needed hardware is pure nonsense.
11h runtime on a laptop? You're kidding, right? Or did that thing weigh 15lbs?
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I just bought a new laptop to replace one that I've had for much too long. I was surprised to find that it not only has no CD/DVD device installed, it also lacks any Ethernet port! It never even occurred to me to look for either in the list of features before buying it; these are ubiquitous parts of any off the shelf computer! Apparently, not anymore. It seems that we are being driven to rely on wireless connectivity rather than anything physically secure! I'm hating this...
Will Rogers never met me.
I don't know how to break this to you, but it's been over ten years since the last laptop I had with an internal DVD drive. It's how laptops are so slim and light. You can buy an external DVD drive for less than $50, for what little use you will have for it. Watching movies on DVD and ripping CDs are also activities that have been relegated to the dustbin of history. I guess people assume that if you have a laptop, you want to move it more than six inches, so you will have wi-fi. For desktop use, you can get a port replicator that has video, ethernet, and usb. Ten years ago these were expensive parts that were customized to the laptop, but USB3 has made inexpensive generic ones available. You are awakening from a technological coma. Check out music and video streaming, and USB monitors, but don't ask who's been president, because the answer isn't pretty.
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11h runtime on a laptop? You're kidding, right? Or did that thing weigh 15lbs?
Ralf Quint wrote:
You're kidding, right?
Nope... I had a Dell back then that could hold the whole working day in a normal usage. Was like that for two or three years, then I had a problem and the technician came... after that battery life drop 50% or 60%
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Well, a USB hub (C or not C, that is not the question) is fine, but also makes the whole thing less "portable"...
To me, a portable is acceptable only when hooked up to a 28-30" screen, a decent full-size keyboard and a high quality mouse (preferably wireless), memory card reader, memory stick socket (for now: USB A socket; both this and the memory card reader is built into the screen), and with access to "unlimited" disk space. In other words: It must be seated in a docking station. If I am going to take it home from work, it must have one dock at work, one at home. Using it undocked is only in emergency cases. So what's the use of a 'portable', then? I can bring home the stuff I work on using a memory stick. The only job where I got a portable was when the employer offered no choice. The portable was docked permanently at the office; I never took it home (or elsewhere). Today, I have got a private portable and an dock, as a reserve in case the main one fails. I very rarely use it. Even though it is a high quality one, I rarely use it. It is very much like the smartphone: The main reason for having one is that 'the rest of the world' claims that I cannot live without it. I go along, even though I do not really believe in those claims.
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trønderen wrote:
Smartphones never had them.
Given that smartphones, by design, have wireless connectivity built-in, that's no surprise.
trønderen wrote:
I believe that few, if any, tablets ever had them
You can always hook up a tablet to a dock that has one.
trønderen wrote:
Removing them from laptops is the natural next step.
Which makes total sense. But given I'd still much rather have a cable (for reliability reasons), I don't think I'm ready yet to buy a laptop without an Ethernet port. But then, I hate spending money on laptops, and I've only ever outright purchased one exactly once throughout my career. If a donated freebie doesn't come with one, I won't complain...it just wouldn't be my first choice.
Take a look at Framework laptops.
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Roger, my laptop came with both an Ethernet port and a USB-C connector. The USB-C connects to a hub I bought with HDMI, USB-A(2), and Ethernet support. The hub was <$50. Small giggle: The hub was marked as an Apple product, and it's hooked up to an HP laptop.
Software Zen:
delete this;I'm happy to report that today I received a USB-A/USB-C to 2.5 Gb Ethernet port, along with a USB-A/USB-C connected CD/DVD Reader/Writer, both for <$50. Problem solved.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Heh, that brought back memories. I have my VIC-20 and tape drive in a box in the attic. The last time I had it out was 2009, but I was a little amazed to find it still worked then! I was able to read at least some of the stuff on those old tapes. I actually sold my first commercial software for the VIC and the C64 back in the early 80s. "Alarmex" it was called, and was kind of a toy alarm system, a combination of software and hardware that plugged into the joystick port, which I hand-assembled in my kitchen. I ultimately sold 1000 copies of it, wholesale through Protecto Enterprises.
What is an Attic ? I would ask where you live but that is being nosey ! I have no basement because you can not dig in the mountains of Arizona Come to think of it never seen a basement in Phoenix Perhaps @PIEBALDconsult will comment
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What is an Attic ? I would ask where you live but that is being nosey ! I have no basement because you can not dig in the mountains of Arizona Come to think of it never seen a basement in Phoenix Perhaps @PIEBALDconsult will comment
Digging holes in the desert is difficult due to caliche.
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What is an Attic ? I would ask where you live but that is being nosey ! I have no basement because you can not dig in the mountains of Arizona Come to think of it never seen a basement in Phoenix Perhaps @PIEBALDconsult will comment
Storage space between the ceiling and roof. Yeah, I used to live in Texas, and no basements where I was there, either. I'm in Illinois now and actually have an attic and a basement, which isn't necessarily a good thing, because it's just more space to accumulate junk. I guess like my old VIC-20! :laugh:
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Take a look at Framework laptops.
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Ralf Quint wrote:
You're kidding, right?
Nope... I had a Dell back then that could hold the whole working day in a normal usage. Was like that for two or three years, then I had a problem and the technician came... after that battery life drop 50% or 60%
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
Sorry, but I have never seen ANY laptop that would get more than 4-4.5h of "working" time in real life. Of any brand. And I (and a lot of my clients) use Dell's a lot. The best "runtime" I ever got was a small 11.4" Lenovo with no spinning rust (64GB EMC), 4GB RAM and that could effectively work maybe 6-7h, mostly typing, not even web browsing or email...
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11h runtime on a laptop? You're kidding, right? Or did that thing weigh 15lbs?
Ralf Quint wrote:
Or did that thing weigh 15lbs?
I kid you not, I could work one whole day and sometimes even more without plugging it in. So forgetting my power supply home has never been an issue in the past, for instance. Our IT would replace the original batteries with some extra(?) and super powered(?) batteries. And yes, it was quite heavy, but far more practical than carrying dangling cables all around, AND you could not forget your "power" since it was IN the laptop :-D Since I usually do not carry anything else than my laptop when I have to move it, the extra weight was not an issue. It was a Lenovo, cannot tell you anymore which ref exactly. I miss it veeeery much, I even postponed the normal 3-year-replacement-rate by 2 years to keep it. It unfortunately died from an electrical shock from a failing power supply (how ironical) which short circuited something and had the motherboard die - I did not even think that this was still possible with all protections they have now, but it was :(