On Tue, 2023-12-05 at 17:43 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Tue, 05 Dec 2023 17:05:21 +0000
> Single Stage to Orbit <alex.buell@munted.eu> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 2023-12-05 at 16:34 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> > > > Let's call it a PSU (Power Supply Unit), it is not a charger.
> > >
> > >         It supports USB-PD so you can use it to charge a phone.
> >
> > I can attest to that , I've used it to keep an Apple MacBook Pro
> > alive
> > when I left the power supply behind at the office!
>
> Not so much a charger as a battery life extender?

Emergency Life Support for Apple products, more like. Sorry I've been
watching too many pre 1970s Doctor Who episodes.
--
Tactical Nuclear Kittens

On 12/5/23 6:06 PM, Single Stage to Orbit wrote:
> On Tue, 2023-12-05 at 17:43 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>> On Tue, 05 Dec 2023 17:05:21 +0000
>> Single Stage to Orbit <alex.buell@munted.eu> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 2023-12-05 at 16:34 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>>>> Let's call it a PSU (Power Supply Unit), it is not a charger.
>>>>
>>>>         It supports USB-PD so you can use it to charge a phone.
>>>
>>> I can attest to that , I've used it to keep an Apple MacBook Pro
>>> alive
>>> when I left the power supply behind at the office!
>>
>> Not so much a charger as a battery life extender?
>
> Emergency Life Support for Apple products, more like. Sorry I've been
> watching too many pre 1970s Doctor Who episodes.

Hey ... I *love* pre-70s Dr. Who episodes !
Almost no FX budget ... actors/writing had
to actually carry the narrative !

Try Pluto-TV ... loads of Who 1/2/3 episodes.

Over time, and exposure, I've developed a certain
respect for Hartnell and Troughton. The USA got
VERY limited exposure, mostly through "public
television", and for a long time a LOT of those
episodes were just "lost". Searching through
archives in odd ex-Empire countries have produced
MANY "lost" episodes. A few are incomplete - but
I've seen ones with the missing bits aesthetically
replaced by animations. Apparently all the SOUND
and script-descriptions were preserved ... which
was a big help. "AI" will eventually be able to
weave together convincing replacement video.

"Who" is in BIG DEMAND outside the UK. Such a
long-running, complex, series is intriguing.
It's "very British" and the historical/artistic
value is huge.

As for Apple ... well ... it's become as "evil"
as M$ - almost a cult in fact. Hate 'em.

DO own an old Apple-II ... with goodies ... but
that was from before they became Evil. Once I
retire I'll spend some time restoring the hardware
and discs for the Full Experience. The old 6502
chip could do a LOT of neat stuff when properly
motivated. Never diss the Apple-II/C64.

On 2023-12-06, 56g.1173 <56g.1173@ztq9.net> wrote:

> "Who" is in BIG DEMAND outside the UK. Such a
> long-running, complex, series is intriguing.
> It's "very British" and the historical/artistic
> value is huge.

Although I had heard of it for some time, I never
actually watched it until several years ago, when
I started at the 2005 reboot. It has a kind of
quirkiness that I like.

> As for Apple ... well ... it's become as "evil"
> as M$ - almost a cult in fact. Hate 'em.

Hence the .sig I created a few years ago. See below.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

On 12/6/23 12:40 PM, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> On 2023-12-06, 56g.1173 <56g.1173@ztq9.net> wrote:
>
>> "Who" is in BIG DEMAND outside the UK. Such a
>> long-running, complex, series is intriguing.
>> It's "very British" and the historical/artistic
>> value is huge.
>
> Although I had heard of it for some time, I never
> actually watched it until several years ago, when
> I started at the 2005 reboot. It has a kind of
> quirkiness that I like.

Try Pluto-TV ... it carries the OLD OLD episodes
on its "Who Classic" channel.

The "new" episodes are rather different from the
originals. The old ones had a rather small FX
budget. The narrative was carried by WRITERS
instead. Oft a bit cludgy, but still attractive.

It was still very "quirky".

The series had an odd start ... the first episode
aired on the same day as the JFK assassination and
was thus ignored entirely. The BBC was convinced
to run it AGAIN a week or so later - and it became
a big hit ... indeed for 60 years now.

>> As for Apple ... well ... it's become as "evil"
>> as M$ - almost a cult in fact. Hate 'em.
>
> Hence the .sig I created a few years ago. See below.

I *suppose* Linux could be viewed as a "cult"
also ... except that it WORKS SO DAMNED WELL
and for ZERO dollars/pounds/francs/whatever.

I've just retired. My replacements BARELY program
and are ONLY expert at using M$ commercial products.
They see Linux, and PIs, as a sort of dread disease.
This is what the new management thinks is Most Vital.
Classic Pointy-Haired-Bosses syndrome to the max.
They WILL be screwed, badly, soon enough - but at
this point they don't SEE it. Their "PLAN" is to blame
every screw-up on M$ instead of themselves. I'll be
getting my pension and SS checks, so, well, screw 'em.
Nearly 40 years of study/effort just FLUSHED. Bad
Decisions = Bad Results but it's no longer MY fault.

Could NEVER impress on them that Winders is just
the seagull-befouled tip of the proverbial iceberg
and Linux/Unix is the REAL computing world.

Guess I'll get a GitHub page and put useful "utilities"
on it. Prevents brain rot. Linux/Unix/Pi ARE the
Better Way.

56g.1173 <56g.1173@ztq9.net> wrote:
> Could NEVER impress on them that Winders is just
> the seagull-befouled tip of the proverbial iceberg
> and Linux/Unix is the REAL computing world.
>
> Guess I'll get a GitHub page and put useful "utilities"
> on it. Prevents brain rot. Linux/Unix/Pi ARE the
> Better Way.

But you choose Microsoft's way to host open-source software?!

Put them on your own website, and unlike M$/GitHub don't fill it
full of pointless, poorly-compatible, Javascript just in order to
show a directory listing!

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

On 02/12/2023 11:25, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 2 Dec 2023 10:51:48 +0000
> The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I am rapidly realising there is no 'standard' USB...
>>
>> At least 4 standards exist.
>
> It's multi-dimensional. There are standards for the connectors and
> wiring labelled with letters A, B, C and micro (also non-standard ones
> labelled mini), then there are standards for the data labelled with numbers
> 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 etc. and finally there are standards (some
> de-facto) and non-standards for power delivery with names of ever
> increasing length culminating in (so far) "USB Power Delivery Programmable
> Power Supply" with its cable warming 240 watt rating.

The standards for the peripheral end (printer, mobile phone, USB hard
drive) end resolved fairly quickly into:

- USB B (square) for printers

- mini (D connector) for older USB HDDs

- micro (slightly slimmer D) for newer HDDs and most non-Apple mobile phones

- USB C (rectangle with rounded corners, with 180 degree rotational
symmetry - at *last*) for all recent devices

It's a shame that there has never been a properly certified
bi-directional A plug so you don't have to spend ages faffing around
trying to plug a lead into a PC (often with the sockets recessed in a
bay, to protect them from the cable being knocked). I've seen some leads
with bidirectional A plugs that plug in either way to a standard
(polarised) A socket, but they are rare and have never been widely
adopted on all leads.

There are still a few proprietary connectors. I have a Garmin smart
watch that uses a rounded-rectangle connector with four round pins in
line. https://i.postimg.cc/nzGNYtqp/20231222-220706.jpg It is
deliberately very shallow so it doesn't intrude a long way into the
watch, which means that the plug-socket joint is very flimsy: if I knock
the watch after I've plugged in the charging cable, it comes out :-( The
metal ring on the plug is larger than the corresponding ring in the
socket, and could do with being a tighter fit.

Then you've got the Apple Lightning connector which has an unshielded
bit of PCB with exposed pins. I'm always petrified of bending the plug
slightly while it's plugged in, and snapping the PCB. I still think the
metal "ring" that surrounds the contacts on mini, micro and C is a Good
Thing because it helps stiffen the plug and protect the contacts. But
despite *looking* flimsy, I've never had a Lightning plug actually snap
off while inserted into a device: Apple did a good job.

On 12/7/23 3:55 PM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> 56g.1173 <56g.1173@ztq9.net> wrote:
>> Could NEVER impress on them that Winders is just
>> the seagull-befouled tip of the proverbial iceberg
>> and Linux/Unix is the REAL computing world.
>>
>> Guess I'll get a GitHub page and put useful "utilities"
>> on it. Prevents brain rot. Linux/Unix/Pi ARE the
>> Better Way.
>
> But you choose Microsoft's way to host open-source software?!
>
> Put them on your own website, and unlike M$/GitHub don't fill it
> full of pointless, poorly-compatible, Javascript just in order to
> show a directory listing!

GitHub isn't the ONLY place to post software.

I do not want my own web-site for several reasons,
PAYING for it being just one. Various kinds of
liability are others.