Good morning

The Natural Philosopher wrote in comp.sys.raspberry-pi,comp.os.linux.misc:
>
> Gone extremely quiet..

Most would not know, but I have always been here. That does not make it a
crowd, but I might add another definition of dying (as in “has everyone
died?”).
Having nothing to contribute, I try to keep quiet. But that is not all.

When you notice that you can put the inverser to neutral while descending
backwards with a trailer full of firewood attached to your tractor, because the
darned thing is mounted too low and your knee touches it all the time.., or
when that tree was hollow and rotated upon the first touch with the chainsaw,
when the most intelligent fox in the world is the one watching your chicken..,

then this dead dumb machine just loses a lot of its charm. Nothing that I can
do with it is important. None of it is beautiful in most senses of the
expression and probably bereft of all utility, anyway.

Cheerio

Supersedes for negation.

Good morning

The Natural Philosopher wrote in comp.sys.raspberry-pi,comp.os.linux.misc:
>
> Gone extremely quiet..

Most would not know, but I have always been here. That does not make it a
crowd, but I might add another definition of dying (as in “has everyone
died?”).
Having nothing to contribute, I try to keep quiet. But that is not all.

When you notice that you can put the inverser to neutral while descending
backwards with a trailer full of firewood attached to your tractor, because the
darned thing is mounted too low and your knee touches it all the time.., or
when that tree was hollow and rotated upon the first touch with the chainsaw,
when the most intelligent fox in the world is the one watching your chicken..,

then this dead dumb machine just loses a lot of its charm. Nothing that I can
do with it is important. None of it is beautiful in most senses of the
expression and all is probably bereft of all utility, anyway.

Cheerio

On 26 Jan 2024 at 02:42:07 GMT, "immibis" <news@immibis.com> wrote:

> On 1/25/24 23:07, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:54:29 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> I think the Wayland dialogue exhausted itself.
>>
>> In the old USENET, that would never have happened ...
>
> Did you hear there was drama about window icons?
>
> A GNOME developer wants applications to register their icon in their
> .desktop file. An application which uses several different window icons
> must register several different .desktop files in the system
> applications list.
>
> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.

.... along with the .desktop files themselves.

--
Tim

On 26/01/2024 01:18, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:54:29 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>> I use a raspberry 3a+ for my tv, and it is great although a bit
>> underpowered for kodi. The reason I choose that model is that it
>> fits. Due to the big port module on a 3b those bigger boards don't
>> fit.
>>
>> Does anyone know of something similar to the 3a+ but in modern form
>> with a bit more power and cpu?
>>
>> Sadly the raspberry 4 and 5 seem to double down on the big form factor
>> and it is too big to fit behind my tv. =(
>
> Suppose the Kodi GUI is a little obese? Then try a different
> player. Install mpv for example. It doesn't even has a GUI. But front
> ends exists if it does the job.

mpv standardly does come with a GUI, it is configurable, but I had very
little to do to set it up on my rPi5.

edit ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
add
---
vo=gpu
hwdec=drm-copy
---

the hwdec is the important bit, I'm not sure vo=gpu is needed, or if it
is legacy from another machine.

D wrote:

>The problem is that due to the portmodule, the 4 and 5 are too high so
>they won't fit in the 1 cm space I have.

It will be very hard to find something that fits into this tiny space
AND does not overheat there because air cannot get to it. I just looked
up the Pi4 Compute Module since it is flatter, but it says

This product should be operated in a well-ventilated environment, and if
used inside a case, the case should not be
covered.

in the product overview.

https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cm4/cm4-product-brief.pdf

-jw-

--

And now for something completely different...

On 25/01/2024 12:06 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> Gone extremely quiet..
>
The only thing that's new is the PI 5 and nobody can get one?

Another Dave
--
Change nospam to techie

Another Dave wrote:

>The only thing that's new is the PI 5 and nobody can get one?

According to https://rpilocator.com/?cat=PI5 it should be available in
most of Europe, Canada and the US.

-jw-

--

And now for something completely different...

Followups trimmed to: comp.os.linux.misc

In comp.os.linux.misc immibis <news@immibis.com> wrote:
> On 1/25/24 23:07, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
<snip>
>
> Did you hear there was drama about window icons?
>
> A GNOME developer wants applications to register their icon in their
> .desktop file. An application which uses several different window icons
> must register several different .desktop files in the system
> applications list.
>
> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.

I think that may be a Wayland thing. I wonder if this is
what you are referring to ?

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/269

If so, thanks, your post clarified that post a bit for me :)

--
[t]csh(1) - "An elegant shell, for a more... civilized age."
- Paraphrasing Star Wars

On 26/01/2024 15:34, Another Dave wrote:
> On 25/01/2024 12:06 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> Gone extremely quiet..
>>
> The only thing that's new is the PI 5 and nobody can get one?
>
In stock at my local PiSuppplier...

https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-5

I will probably get one, but a 3D printer is higher priority right now...

--
The higher up the mountainside
The greener grows the grass.
The higher up the monkey climbs
The more he shows his arse.

Traditional

On 26/01/2024 12:04, Joerg Walther wrote:
> D wrote:
>
>> The problem is that due to the portmodule, the 4 and 5 are too high so
>> they won't fit in the 1 cm space I have.
>
Nothing is going to fit into 1cm. Even the I/O pins on a module are
bigger than that
A Pi4 fits easily into 20mm

--
“People believe certain stories because everyone important tells them,
and people tell those stories because everyone important believes them.
Indeed, when a conventional wisdom is at its fullest strength, one’s
agreement with that conventional wisdom becomes almost a litmus test of
one’s suitability to be taken seriously.”

Paul Krugman

On 26/01/2024 4:38 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 26/01/2024 15:34, Another Dave wrote:
>> On 25/01/2024 12:06 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> Gone extremely quiet..
>>>
>> The only thing that's new is the PI 5 and nobody can get one?
>>
> In stock at my local PiSuppplier...
>
> https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-5

Yeah, I just got the email. Maybe things will liven up a bit here.

>
> I will probably get one, but a 3D printer is higher priority right now...
>

I've just 3D printed a couple of padding pieces for the ends of a roller
blind which didn't fit properly. Probably overkill but you never know
what you can use a printer for unless you've got one.

>

--
Change nospam to techie

On Fri, 26 Jan 2024, Joerg Walther wrote:

> D wrote:
>
>> The problem is that due to the portmodule, the 4 and 5 are too high so
>> they won't fit in the 1 cm space I have.
>
> It will be very hard to find something that fits into this tiny space
> AND does not overheat there because air cannot get to it. I just looked
> up the Pi4 Compute Module since it is flatter, but it says
>
> This product should be operated in a well-ventilated environment, and if
> used inside a case, the case should not be
> covered.
>
> in the product overview.
>
> https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cm4/cm4-product-brief.pdf
>
> -jw-
>
>

Thank you very much Jörg, will definitely have a look.

On Fri, 26 Jan 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 26/01/2024 12:04, Joerg Walther wrote:
>> D wrote:
>>
>>> The problem is that due to the portmodule, the 4 and 5 are too high so
>>> they won't fit in the 1 cm space I have.
>>
> Nothing is going to fit into 1cm. Even the I/O pins on a module are bigger
> than that
> A Pi4 fits easily into 20mm
>
>
I think this might be a bit too pessimistic. But I do note that the pi
platform, except for the compute model Jörg suggested, are off the table,
so that is one step forward.

On 26/01/2024 18:00, Another Dave wrote:
> On 26/01/2024 4:38 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 26/01/2024 15:34, Another Dave wrote:
>>> On 25/01/2024 12:06 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> Gone extremely quiet..
>>>>
>>> The only thing that's new is the PI 5 and nobody can get one?
>>>
>> In stock at my local PiSuppplier...
>>
>> https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-5
>
> Yeah, I just got the email. Maybe things will liven up a bit here.
>
>>
>> I will probably get one, but a 3D printer is higher priority right now...
>>
>
> I've just 3D printed a couple of padding pieces for the ends of a roller
> blind which didn't fit properly. Probably overkill but you never know
> what you can use a printer for unless you've got one.
>
>>
>
I've had so many pi cases printed by a mate its getting
embarrassing...and I have at least two more.

Just unsure what printer to get.

--
"An intellectual is a person knowledgeable in one field who speaks out
only in others...”

Tom Wolfe

On Fri, 26 Jan 2024 10:32:34 +0000, Pancho wrote:
>
> On 26/01/2024 01:18, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
>
>> Suppose the Kodi GUI is a little obese? Then try a different
>> player. Install mpv for example. It doesn't even has a GUI. But front
>> ends exists if it does the job.
>
> mpv standardly does come with a GUI, it is configurable, but I had
> very little to do to set it up on my rPi5.

I doubt. Just logged in with a user I never used mpv with. At first start
it just created an empty ~.config/mpv/ but no GUI showed.

I know some "players" use mpv as *backend*. Thus you could
consider these as simply a frontend to mpv.

> edit ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
> add
> ---
> vo=gpu
> hwdec=drm-copy
> ---
>
> the hwdec is the important bit, I'm not sure vo=gpu is needed, or if
> it is legacy from another machine.

"vo" (video output) is the render method. This example says to use the
GPU as render hardware. Instead of "gpu" you could for example use "drm"
and watch videos on a TTY (no need to start X).

From <https://mpv.io/manual/stable/>:

| --hwdec=<api1,api2,...|no|auto|auto-safe|auto-copy> Specify the
| hardware video decoding API that should be used if possible. Whether
| hardware decoding is actually done depends on the video codec. If
| hardware decoding is not possible, mpv will fall back on software
| decoding.

None has to do with a GUI. I stand with my claim, mpv does not come with
a GUI. Thus it's especially well suited for older systems.
--
Andreas

In comp.os.linux.misc The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> I've had so many pi cases printed by a mate its getting
> embarrassing...and I have at least two more.

I usually put such things in old tins or boxes with the required
holes cut into them. It's quicker than 3D printing, though the
results aren't pretty.

> Just unsure what printer to get.

Consider whether you want the option of using ABS. Some will only
use PLA, but ABS is stronger and longer-lasting, though printing
with it is stinkier and trickier.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _# | Note: I won't see posts made from Google Groups |

On 26 Jan 2024 10:31:52 GMT, TimS wrote:

> On 26 Jan 2024 at 02:42:07 GMT, "immibis" <news@immibis.com> wrote:
>
>> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.
>
> ... along with the .desktop files themselves.

Desktop files are a pretty cool idea
<https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktop-entry-spec/>.
Besides offering clickable icons, they are also used to define custom
menu items
<https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/menu-spec/>. They are
also used to define those “new document” right-click items you see in
common file managers.

In comp.sys.raspberry-pi Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On 26 Jan 2024 10:31:52 GMT, TimS wrote:
>> On 26 Jan 2024 at 02:42:07 GMT, "immibis" <news@immibis.com> wrote:
>>> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.
>>
>> ... along with the .desktop files themselves.
>
> Desktop files are a pretty cool idea

They're way over-complicated and always breaking with distro
upgrades, I avoid them as much as possible. Maybe there's a cool
idea in there somewhere, but the implementation is a disaster.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _# | Note: I won't see posts made from Google Groups |

On 1/26/24 22:09, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On 26 Jan 2024 10:31:52 GMT, TimS wrote:
>
>> On 26 Jan 2024 at 02:42:07 GMT, "immibis" <news@immibis.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.
>>
>> ... along with the .desktop files themselves.
>
> Desktop files are a pretty cool idea
> <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktop-entry-spec/>.
> Besides offering clickable icons, they are also used to define custom
> menu items
> <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/menu-spec/>. They are
> also used to define those “new document” right-click items you see in
> common file managers.

When a desktop file is used as an entry on your desktop, that's fine.
When a developer insists that every application on your system must have
a desktop file unrelated to it being on your desktop or in any menu,
that's a bit crazy.

On 26/01/2024 19:45, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:

> None has to do with a GUI. I stand with my claim, mpv does not come with
> a GUI. Thus it's especially well suited for older systems.

I dunno what you mean GUI?

I use mpv all the time, my TV is mpv. That mpv.conf is all I did to set
it up, beyond the apt install mpv.

In this default state, Gui controls pop up from a toolbar/menu at the
bottom of the screen.

On 27 Jan 2024 07:26:16 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

> They're way over-complicated and always breaking with distro
> upgrades ...

Not sure why, since their format hasn’t changed for years.

On Fri, 26 Jan 2024 22:53:18 +0000, Pancho wrote:
>
> On 26/01/2024 19:45, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
>
>> None has to do with a GUI. I stand with my claim, mpv does not come with
>> a GUI. Thus it's especially well suited for older systems.
>
> I dunno what you mean GUI?

Graphical User Interface.

Abstract the difference between command line and an interface with things
to click at (usually with a mouse or touch screen).

> I use mpv all the time, my TV is mpv. That mpv.conf is all I did to
> set it up, beyond the apt install mpv.

Yes. But it also runs well without any configuration file. While with
that file you can tweak things.

> In this default state, Gui controls pop up from a toolbar/menu at the
> bottom of the screen.

Ah, you meant the OSD (On Screen Display).
--
Andreas

On 26/01/2024 20:59, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> In comp.os.linux.misc The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> I've had so many pi cases printed by a mate its getting
>> embarrassing...and I have at least two more.
>
> I usually put such things in old tins or boxes with the required
> holes cut into them. It's quicker than 3D printing, though the
> results aren't pretty.
>
>> Just unsure what printer to get.
>
> Consider whether you want the option of using ABS. Some will only
> use PLA, but ABS is stronger and longer-lasting, though printing
> with it is stinkier and trickier.
>
Thanks for that.
--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On 26 Jan 2024 at 21:09:39 GMT, "Lawrence D'Oliveiro" <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

> On 26 Jan 2024 10:31:52 GMT, TimS wrote:
>
>> On 26 Jan 2024 at 02:42:07 GMT, "immibis" <news@immibis.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Everyone else says: no, that's a really stupid idea.
>>
>> ... along with the .desktop files themselves.
>
> Desktop files are a pretty cool idea
> <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktop-entry-spec/>.
> Besides offering clickable icons, they are also used to define custom
> menu items
> <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/menu-spec/>. They are
> also used to define those “new document” right-click items you see in
> common file managers.

All of that functionality should be available from the GUI.

--
Tim

On 27/01/2024 01:41, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:

>> In this default state, Gui controls pop up from a toolbar/menu at the
>> bottom of the screen.
>
> Ah, you meant the OSD (On Screen Display).

Yes an OSD with things to click at with my mouse.