Category Archives: electronics

computers: put the screen above a laptop

Posted on 2022-12-31 by skierpage

If you search for “external laptop monitor”, most images show a screen beside the laptop. So you have to look sideways at it, or use a separate keyboard. Some even show a tray raising the laptop to the screen height … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, design | Leave a comment

computers: 18 years of ThinkPads

Posted on 2021-06-28 by skierpage

(from my series “lovingly preparing old electronics for reuse, only for them to be dumped in a pile of E-waste”) IBM originally came up with the “ThinkPad” name for its pen-operated “slate” personal computer running the PenPoint operating system. That … Continue reading →

Posted in computers | Leave a comment

computers: bye to desktop

Posted on 2021-04-30 by skierpage

I realized I hadn’t powered on my old desktop PC for years. It’s an HP Pavilion I bought second-hand for $100 a decade ago, which had more features than my custom-built $3000 Falcon Northwest aluminum behemoth from 2004. I upgraded … Continue reading →

Posted in computers | Leave a comment

music: digitization and the Internet changed music, the Web didn’t

Posted on 2021-04-13 by skierpage

Videos-about-music maker Rick Beato made a stimulating video of “TOP 20 Inventions that CHANGED Music.” It’s entertaining and a pretty good list. Digitization! He left out the underlying technique of digitization. Without it, inventions he mentioned like CDs, PC music, … Continue reading →

Posted in electronics, music, software, web | Leave a comment

playing Pong with your mind vs. William Gibson

Posted on 2021-04-12 by skierpage

Ars Technica has an appropriately level-headed article about Elon Musk’s Neuralink company getting a monkey to play Pong with its mind, which reminds people of William Gibson: the old Cyberpunk fan in me dreams of cyberdecks: devices without screens or … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, writing | Leave a comment

computers: my legendary Herman-Miller Levity standing desk

Posted on 2018-04-06 by skierpage

For months I tried to give my old adjustable desk to a museum, or at least to someone who has a use for it. It’s the Levity by Herman-Miller, an impressive piece of late 90s office design. It goes from … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, design | 4 Comments

audio: finding a Jambox replacement

Posted on 2017-09-12 by skierpage

I listen to music throughout the day on a Jawbone Big Jambox. This was one of the original “Bluetooth speakers” and the company is named Jawbone because it made Bluetooth wireless earpieces back when people debated whether using one made … Continue reading →

Posted in audio, electronics | Leave a comment

software: checking Android 5.1 (Lollipop) memory consumption

Posted on 2017-01-06 by skierpage

I wanted an Android tablet and bought the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro for its great hardware – kickstand, long battery life, Dolby Atmos sound, comfortable to hold. But its performance is abysmal. Firefox simply exits if you browse most web … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, software | Leave a comment

computers: power supply fix

Posted on 2015-01-05 by skierpage

I fiddled around with computers for five days straight over Christmas. I knew upgrading a laptop to Windows 7 and adding memory would be a chore, but I also had to repair my desktop. On the right is the mighty … Continue reading →

Posted in computers | Leave a comment

computers: trying to update HTC Evo 4G

Posted on 2014-07-01 by skierpage

I bought an excellent Moto X phone, just before Motorola cut the price of the wooden back 75%, and shortly before Google sold them to Lenovo. That leaves me with a 4-year old HTC Evo 4G, at the time absolutely … Continue reading →

Posted in computers, open source | Leave a comment