The Tech Thread

[Wideload90]

@Onyx2thanks - no budget as in can afford majority of market. I assume Samsung is OnePlus friendly? 

[Onyx2]

6 minutes ago, Wideload90 said:

@Onyx2thanks - no budget as in can afford majority of market. I assume Samsung is OnePlus friendly? 

Yes, you can even use it with an iPhone for some reason. 

[King Coconut]

I've had the last few generations from Samsung and in between I've tried Ticwatch and Fossil and always come back to Samsung simply because they have the best operating system. It runs smoothly, reacts quickly, measures everything and looks great. 

[Monkee]

I’m on the hunt for a new laptop for graphic design and video editing. My current one is 5 years old - it’s slow and Premiere Pro doesn’t support the graphics card any more.

I’m not particularly techie but I was told that this was really good for the price and that it’s 17” (I really need this screen size):

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-vivobook-x712ea-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-1-tb-ssd-silver-10226090-pdt.html
 

Typically it’s out of stock everywhere and I can’t really afford much more than this right now. I’ve been told that although it’s out of stock it will be back at some point but they have no idea when exactly. I love everything about this model plus the fact it comes with 0% interest for 24 months was a real selling point for me.

Can anyone recommend the same spec model where I might be able to get a similar deal?

[bAzTNM#1]

Hi. I bought a tablet. A "Venturer" 10.1 incher. Has a wee keyboard and everything. One problem. Power seems to run out very quickly. Any ideas on how to fix it? I quite like it for the keyboard. Wouldn't want to simply not use it. Running Android 10.

Edited October 12, 2021 by bAzTNM#1

[hallicks]

On 10/12/2021 at 6:29 PM, bAzTNM#1 said:

Hi. I bought a tablet. A "Venturer" 10.1 incher. Has a wee keyboard and everything. One problem. Power seems to run out very quickly. Any ideas on how to fix it? I quite like it for the keyboard. Wouldn't want to simply not use it. Running Android 10.

Is it brand new? The manufacturer website should tell you the expected battery life for your precise model. A quick google says it could be from 6-8 hours, so I’m guessing you’re not getting that. 

If you’re not using Bluetooth, you can try turning that off, and turning the brightness down on the screen, as that can bleed a lot of power. There could be some pre-installed crapware that’s using a lot of system resources, but it seems unlikely for Android. 
 

[Weezenal]

Can anyone recommend any bud earphones that won't break the bank?

[wordsfromlee]

26 minutes ago, Weezenal said:

Can anyone recommend any bud earphones that won't break the bank?

Anker have always been my go to for cheap but good quality ear/headphones. 

[gmoney]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005HP3OB0/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_ZVZJCD6SHDVHDA6VPSPT?psc=1

These are £30 so definitely pushing into pricey range, but they sound great and lasted me 18 months plus of constant use. I literally have them in 90% of the day including sleep. Not other earbuds have lasted longer that 6 months with the same use. 

 

[Tommy!]

Not sure it's the best place but I'm after a CD player. Ideally it will also run vinyl and a hold multiple discs, but one or the other is fine.

What's best to look out for and what's best to avoid? Also where's best to get shit like that these days?

[Chest Rockwell]

Cash converters? Get some vhs tapes whilst you're there.

[Tommy!]

Just now, Chest Rockwell said:

Cash converters? Get some vhs tapes whilst you're there.

I bought a couple of VHS player's late in the game to make sure I could run my tapes as it goes.

 

[Tommy!]

I bought myself a low spec gaming pc this year, because I've had to set up a "home office" on my writing bureau anyway and love old shit like C&C and theme hospital. 

 

It's proven more fun than I expected, and with a 360 controller I've replayed fallout NV & starting Fallout 3 and got XIII to play too. 

 

If I wanted to now up the spec to play some newer stuff how much effort is it to switch out the parts, specifically ram & graphics cards? Guides I've read suggest it's a simple job and is just plug & play or screwdriver only, is that correct or am I going to need to get my soldering iron out? 

[King Coconut]

Changing RAM is as simple as changing a SNES cartridge and the graphics card is the same plus one screw. 

[gmoney]

Aye, it's a piece of piss, even I can do it. Just make sure you ground yourself before you muck around with any of the innards, as static electricity will ruin your motherboard.