EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

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gutterslob
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Sun Jun 02, 2019 12:25 pm

^ you can have it serviced and regulated, though I'm not sure how well. I have a soft spot for Longines, mainly because of it appearing on Formula 1 timing screens during the great Senna-Prost-Mansell era. They have a rich history.

Anyhooz, serious question now...

Need some help. Looking for some hardware advice. Didn't want to waste space by starting a new thread, so I'll just ask here. Laptops are considered "EDC" after all, right?

Been looking for a slim laptop. Tech journos like to call them ultrabooks* or something. Won't be for serious work. Doesn't have to be too big - anything from 11" to 13" should be enough. 1080p because HiDPI on Linux is still a mess, and also for battery life. IPS only, because TN panels for laptops are evil. Backlit keyboard is mandatory (because I'm disco). Preferably fanless. Also would prefer not to have to futz about with Broadcom or Realtek wireless nonsense. USB-C charging would be nice for travel, but I could live without it, as long as the powerbrick isn't sized like it's being marketed as a dildo for mammoths.

After narrowing shit down, I reckon I have two options at either end of the spectrum. Both will be Intel, because AMD doesn't seem to like laptops and ARM is still a bit unproven on the desktop space. This post might end up a tad long, so bear with me please.

Found a couple of candidates (from the same maker, ironically). Will post link at the end of this post. First one is a 11.6" fanless model with one of those low power Intel Pentiums. The other would be a 13.3" model with a Core i7 with fast storage and a full size** keyboard, but has a fan. I'll dedicate the next paragraph to the first one, and the following paragraph to the second option.

Assuming I install a SupersizeMe distro with a MarshmallowMan DE (which I probably won't, but let's pretend I would) as a host OS to run a kvm/qemu virtual machine via virt-manager or gnome-boxes with something light installed (like minimal Debian or Arch + xfce or lxde) for FF web browsing and scripting work***, how adequate would an Intel N4200 - 1.1GHz quad-core (4 cores, 4 threads), 2.5GHz Burst speed - be? Memory would probably be 8GB (1600MHz DDR3) and storage will be solid state (not NVme though). I know I can easily make a bare-metal installs of even full-blown KDE fly on this (I've achieved more with less in the past), but never attempted virtualization tasks. My experience with these low-power CPUs says that they're decent enough when short bursts of processing power are needed, and only lose out when we require sustained loads (encoding, gaming, compiling, etc), but those experiences were with the bourgeois CoreM line, not every-man Pentiums.

With the second model, I don't really have questions. I know the hardware is more than capable; 1.8GHz quad-core (4 cores, 8 threads) i7-8550u, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz. I'm just not thrilled about it having a fan inside. That and it costs more than double the first option, though it still seems competitively priced compared to the other similar powered stuff (like Dells, Thinkpads and Zenbooks) I've found.

Both models are here; https://earth.starlabs.systems/pages/laptops
Company is new to me (found them featured on the Distrowatch sidebar, funnily enough). Obviously not an established player, but what limited info I've found on them from the web has been positive. They reply promptly to my queries as well, with actual relevant info compared to copy-paste replies you get from big companies. They seem to have slashed their prices starting this month - don't know if it's because of Intel announcing new mobile chips at Computex, the falling British pound (they're based in England) or them being in danger of going out of business - though the smaller fanless model now has a "get notified when available" tab. I like that the hardware is LVFS-supported (for updating the BIOS/EFI and SSD controllers). Having the choice to disable Wireless and webcam is nice too. They also claim to be very conservative with their battery life estimates, since they test without tlp or powertop tuning. Even including delivery and tax, the more expensive Core i7 model will be cheaper than an equivalent spec Dell XPS or Thinkpad available locally here. Also a way better deal (and better aesthetically to my eyes) compared to any of the re-badged Clevo variants they offer at System76, StationX or the various EU vendors. Only downside would be lack of ethernet jack (because I muck about with router firmware often), but I know of Linux-compatible USB-to-Ethernet dongles, so it's doable. I'd prefer to spend less, so if I can get confirmation that I can get enough horsepower from the smaller fanless model, I'll go with that. There's also a matter of the Pentium being a non hyperthreaded chip, which (in theory) would mean a smaller performance dent (relative to the Core processors) after all the Spectre, Meltdown, ZombieLoad, Fallout, etc mitigations are eventually applied down the line. Having a laptop with no moving parts is seriously liberating, but pointless if it ends up running like a dog.

Goes without saying that, aside from the processor power question, I'm open to alternatives if you chaps have any recommendations. Thanks

* Ultrabook is such a stupid term. Anything that can't grow to skyscraper height and battle a kaiju doesn't deserve an 'ultra' in its name. Btw, that new Godzilla flick looks dumb as fuck, but I still kinda wanna see it.

** I have no idea why they say full size keyboard when it doesn't have a numpad on the right.

*** Basically, the heaviest thing I'll probably be doing on this is heavy browsing whithin a VM or possibly a Docker container if I can figure out how to jail it properly, or maybe Flatpak which I still need to read up on. Most of the other stuff I'll be doing will be scripting/automation stuff related to my VPS droplets and the various routers and single board computers I muck about with.

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GekkoP
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by GekkoP » Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:16 pm

I don't know the company, but if you can live with less power I'd go with the first option. Memory and hard drive seems solid to me, and if you plan to go light on the OS setup, you can squeeze plenty of work from it.

Admittedly, I use up to 9/10GB of my 16 of RAM, but that's all the JVM and Docker stuff going big on memory.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by GekkoP » Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:42 pm

Also, on HiDPI: you're totally right. It's amazing the beauty of the screen when I use the laptop as is, but try switching from the laptop to a projector or a screen with less screen power via the USB-C and you're in for a couple of minutes of anger every single time.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:53 pm

GekkoP wrote:
Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:16 pm
...but if you can live with less power I'd go with the first option.
That's the thing. I don't know if I can live with it because I've got no experience with that kind of low-TDP processor for virtualization and container scenarios within a modern desktop environment. Ubuntu runs Gnome 3.3x now, right? If they ship the laptop with that, then I reckon it performs well enough with the DE, but I have no idea how much beyond that it can do.

GekkoP wrote:
Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:16 pm
Admittedly, I use up to 9/10GB of my 16 of RAM, but that's all the JVM and Docker stuff going big on memory.
What do you run in the Docker containers? My experience is limited with containers, but I usually rent a cheap VPS instance - 1 Core + 1GB RAM for my VPN tunnel and it runs Ubuntu Server, Docker, Strongswan, Wireguard, Pi-hole and Suricata with memory to spare, but I've got no experience with Docker running GUI apps within a GUI desktop. How much overhead would you say something like this takes up, RAM wise, running in a Gnome 3.3x install, for example? Yeah, I know it's a bit overkill, but I'm just trying to get a rough idea.
Last edited by gutterslob on Sun Jun 02, 2019 7:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by GekkoP » Sun Jun 02, 2019 6:58 pm

Ubuntu ships with GNOME, correct. On Docker, I run Redis, Alfresco, ArangoDB, and PostgreSQL usually. Alfresco is the heaviest on RAM, but most of my work is on JVM-based things, so RAM adds up quickly. I've never run OSs/DEs/WMs on containers, though, but I doubt LXDE is heavier than Alfresco.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:40 pm

Don't normally ask for opinions on this sort of thing, but I figured what the heck. You yobs are probably the most tasteful lot I know.
Do I pull the trigger and get this? https://monochrome-watches.com/seiko-pr ... -on-price/
The original it's based on is probably the first watch I ever took notice of in a film, and possibly the first time in my life I started giving a fuck about wristwear. That and I figured civilization is collapsing and I'll be waking up to the smell of napalm in the morning soon, so might as well look the part. I still wouldn't trust this over my square G-Shock when the going gets full apocalyptic, but I'd probably trust it more than my Explorer.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by GekkoP » Fri Sep 18, 2020 8:07 pm

Well, if it comes from one of my favourite films you don't really need my opinion. :)

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by vic » Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:03 am

Classy, pull the trigger. :)
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:33 pm

GekkoP wrote:
Fri Sep 18, 2020 8:07 pm
Well, if it comes from one of my favourite films you don't really need my opinion. :)
That also and the watch is exceptional. If I had the money I would definitely go for it. Everything about it is just classy. Though I prefer non-metallic straps. The black there from the photos looks already good. All the good specs are there.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:46 pm

Not sure about the "classy" comments. I like the watch because it's kind of like the opposite of classy. I always wanted a butch mechanical watch, but most of what's available is sized for bigger wrists*. I like that it's brushed instead of polished and how the green version is actually very muted (almost a vintage olive or military green) under regular lighting. The photos show it more green than normal thanks to flash/strobes.

Well, to be completely honest, what I really wanted some years ago was a re-issue of Seiko's legendary dive watch from the 1960s, which was batshit gorgeous (seriously, just look at it!!) but ultimately too rich for my wallet at the time, and they're selling for even more now, so this "Baby Willard" is kinda the next best thing.

*My wrists are like 6 inches in circumference. I'm a skinny bugger. I look great in jogger tights but not in watches. I once tried a Panerai. It looked like I was wearing a wall clock.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:22 pm

English is not my primary language so take my "classy" in the sense that I find the watch very good looking in the same way you described it above. It has a kind of minimalism if I can say so and I have the same problem like you with skinny wrists so I detest big masculine watches that scream into your face with all the bling.
This Seiko looks simple and I love simple things that look awesome.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by wuxmedia » Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:04 am

never really got the idea of expensive watches. I mean yeah you are in Vietnam under fire and need to know the time is correct to meet back with your squad. or a diver, where the time limit of your oxygen is pretty important.
as a bit of jewelry sure, why not. I can think of other things to spend a grand on (or was it half a grand?)
Anyway - real doomsday preppers learn to tell the time by the sun (assuming sun isn't covered by a cloud of radioactivity dust)

I mean, it does look nice.
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:57 am

wuxmedia wrote:
Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:04 am
...or a diver, where the time limit of your oxygen is pretty important.
LOL. The bezels on dive watches are for timing your decompression (nitrogen in bloodstream) stops. You can't really time your oxygen supply. I mean, you could be breathing normally and suddenly BAM, you see one of Sector11's conkys and have a mild seizure. Not really consistent O2 intake there. Not that any pro diver uses mechanical dive watches any more, not even as a backup (because the best backup for a dive computer is a second dive computer, or a G-Shock Frogman).

I'm mainly drawn to that Seiko because the original it's based on sort of represents the triumph of reliability over luxury. It's kinda like the Nikon story - how 'backup' Nikon FM cameras captured all the significant shots of the Viet war because the Leicas that photojournos brought as their primary all failed in the jungle humidity.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by wuxmedia » Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:04 pm

Well, I was - of course - being facetious !
Hmm:
Vietnam War/Period
November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975
The Nikon FM is a [...] It was manufactured in Japan between 1977 and 1982 by Nippon

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:44 pm

Did I say FM? Sorry. I meant the F. I goofed because my first Nikon was a FM, which was based on the original F models.
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Mon Sep 21, 2020 5:55 pm

Now it is getting really interesting here. :)

Wux, my watch was 300 Euros. :P That is far from the Seiko but it sure is expensive. I have a Tissot but it is not mechanical therefor the price drop. Status symbols are not my kind but craftsmanship is another thing. But I also use a cheap and durable Casio for running and biking in the dirt.
The first one is indeed jewelry and the latter absolutely serving as a tool.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by wuxmedia » Tue Sep 22, 2020 5:38 pm

yeah I mean the gshock my step dad found on the beach is still fine, maybe I suffer from small wrists too as it does look enormous and can't get things down the side of the car seats with it on :D
I have that pretty fancy longines watch, but i honestly never wear it, time is buggered on it and i'm not that bothered.
I'm currently wearing amazfit bip or something https://en.amazfit.com/bip.html
it has a nice LCD watch simulator on the face. the other ones look like fucking spectrum graphics. it has a gps based compass and other stuff, step counter etc. an it's quite petite.
so not a very smart watch. only cost 60GBP or so. seems to resist scratches and water well :D and the battery is really good over a week with all the fancy stuff I have enabled. It does fairly good job of tracking my location on the rare bike rides I take
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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:24 pm

Now the one thing I do not get personally are smart watches and fitness trackers. I find it interferes with the whole outdoor experience. I am regularly in the woods and the mountains and I do not use any of those tools. I only take my phone on bike rides for emergency reasons and the occasional photo and that is very rarely as I am too busy climbing up a trail on my bike. I have one GPS watch, in fact not cheap, for running that I got from my brother-in-law and I do not use it. I only use it if I really want to see what my pace was in my training before a competition. Usually I know by intuition how much distance I cover and I can read it on all signs. We have a lot of bike paths and trails that show you where you are heading to.

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by gutterslob » Wed Sep 23, 2020 5:03 pm

I won't judge. If fitness trackers make some people more active then they were, then more power to them. I'm just uncomfortable with the "tracker" part of their name. That and I've been doing fine without them for years. Mentally track my breathing, track my distance based on road signs, track my smoking on weekends (can your smartwatch decide on correct Kentucky:Virginia tobacco ratio for you?). I did the whole Strava thing for a while, but it just felt kinda lame. I seem to be getting on fine without anything. Than again, there might be cancer growing somewhere inside I'm not aware of, so....

Anyhooz, I put down a deposit today. Green model. It's the Japanese SBDC model (vs International SPB model code). Probably no difference in quality, but the motorcycle and manga weaboo in me is attracted to JDM shit. The guy at the store said that I can cancel anytime if I lose interest. We'll see. Currently there's a wait list, though only 2-4 weeks estimate.

Oh, since we were talking fitness, I'd like to rant. After putting down the deposit for watch, I went to a shoe store to check out running shoes. Seriously, did all the shoe companies sign a deal with Dunkin Donuts or something? What happened to plain, neutral colors. Are running shoes coloured to induce epilepsy in their wearer? Also, what's up with the names? How the hell am I supposed to remember the difference between the Nike Air Zoom React Fellatio Turbo 36 vs the Adidas Ultra Super Yezza Madagascar Banana 4D??

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Re: EDC, gadgets and gear stuff

Unread post by ivanovnegro » Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:38 pm

gutterslob wrote:
Wed Sep 23, 2020 5:03 pm
Are running shoes coloured to induce epilepsy in their wearer? Also, what's up with the names? How the hell am I supposed to remember the difference between the Nike Air Zoom React Fellatio Turbo 36 vs the Adidas Ultra Super Yezza Madagascar Banana 4D??
This sentence made me laugh. It is true in many cases.
Though I usually give a damn because if I need shoes and they are what I want I can even live with horrible colors. My running is not tight to any fashion and sometimes I have to live with the weird looks I get. Last year I had luck with one pair of Adidas that looked good out of the box and the other were some ugly rocket like gray Asics but totally functional though I can feel the quality decrease to the pair of Asics I had before.

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