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harryk

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  1. As cool as the Framework laptop is from a tinkerer and enthusiast standpoint, I still do not see real value in the upgradeability. Right now Framework sells a full laptop with 12th gen i5 for $1049. They also sell an upgrade kit with the same 12th gen i5 for $538. So a hypothetical user with an existing Framework laptop could swap and upgrade their motherboard for $538. Or sell their current machine for $250 (made up number but seems reasonable if not low) and then purchase an entirely new machine for $1049. In summary: upgrade for $538, or completely new machine for $799. While upgrading is less expensive, personally I would likely spring for the new machine which likely includes other minor or major upgrades and no wear. Especially since a typical user likely upgrades every few years. Meanwhile, the old machine continues to be useful with a new user for at least a little while. Versus an orphaned motherboard which even if it can be repurposed as a mini PC, quite frankly is half a step away from being e-waste. IMO all this attention to upgradeability and repairability is misplaced and would be much better oriented towards developing methods for actually recycling e-waste which is going to be created no matter what.
  2. Yes, there are browser extensions for this. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ultrawide-video/lngfncacljheahfpahadgipefkbagpdl
  3. A good teacher, and I mean a properly good teacher is quite rare. You absolutely should not expect every teacher to be good, or even adequate. And you should use outside resources (books, YouTube, tutors...) even if the teacher for a given course is good. Independent learning and knowing how to find resources on your own is a skill more valuable than any physics or engineering topic. Learn how to learn. However, if you have recourse to submit complaints or request a different teacher, then utilize those options. It might not go anywhere but at least let your voice be heard. You don't have anything to lose. Unfortunately, failing to respond to communications is an extremely common trait of academia. Many are too lazy, too distracted, too scatter-brained, too overwhelmed to respond to the quibbling questions of a student. Like I wrote above, learn how to answer your own questions, it will take you far in life. But also don't give up on asking your teachers. If they fail to respond, send the question again. Go to their office. Ambush them in the hall. Do whatever you need to to get their attention.
  4. You are correct. I misread/misunderstood the explanation on Wikipedia.
  5. I'll give Musk credit for leading successful companies, but do not compare him to Edison who is several levels above Musk in many regards. Musk is arguably good at bringing together other skilled people and creating environments for them to be successful. But don't fool yourself, Musk himself is not an engineer or inventor. He may have novel ideas, but so do children. The difference is Musk has enough money to pay people to try to make his ideas reality. Also to set the record straight: Musk did not found PayPal. He is not even listed as a co-founder. Musk created a small competing website which merged during PayPal's early days. Then Musk was ousted before PayPal boomed in success. Musk benefitted from PayPal because he held a significant number of shares when the company released its IPO. Musk did not found Tesla Motors. He bought his way in during series A funding. Tesla has become successful under Musk's leadership and he deserves credit for that. Musk did found SpaceX. He can have credit for this one, and for leading it to success.
  6. In the past I strongly considered building one of these: https://chiselapp.com/user/dmpop/repository/little-backup-box/home However, I instead bought several large capacity SD cards and I'd encourage you to do the same. SD cards are cheap. You can purchase ~1TB of storage for less than $100 USD. The exception is if you absolutely require the most expense cards with very high write speeds. SSDs are generally not cheaper than SD cards. So if you're buying storage space, just buy the SD cards. While a small backup box sounds nice it is really another point of failure. If it stops working for any number of reasons, you're stuck with whatever limited memory cards your have. If you transfer all your data to one SSD and it fails then you lose everything. A backup box requires power. And if you're transferring lots of data it will have to run for hours, consuming power and requiring somewhere to set it up and keep it safe. SD cards are cheap. Unless you're expecting many TBs of data. Just buy some SD cards.
  7. Generally speaking financing any purchase is a bad idea, particularly non-essential purchases like a gaming PC, and particularly for someone young who is still learning personal finance (you're exactly the sort of person the creditors hope to prey on). Though there are some scenarios where it may be worthwhile. If you'll be paying any amount of interest, don't do it. If its a 0% interest financing plan and you can confidently pay the monthly requirement, i.e. you already have the money saved, then it is technically economically advantageous to utilize the financing plan because a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow (especially with current inflation). However be forewarned that these financing plans are almost always extremely predatory. If you fail to make a payment for any reason, the interest rates are high and your debt can quickly spiral out of control. Look at your monthly income and determine your level of disposable income after subtracting all regular and necessary expenses. Then imagine you had a sudden large expense of multiple thousands of dollars due to some unforeseen event. Do you have the savings to afford a large unexpected expense? How would it impact your ability to continue paying the monthly installments for your gaming PC? What if you suddenly lost your source of income? General wisdom is you should have enough savings to cover at least three months expenses. Also consider the event that the PC is damaged, stolen, or otherwise lost and insurance refuses to pay for it. Can you handle the loss? Keep in mind you will still have to pay the monthly installments even though you no longer have the PC. Lastly, be wary of building a habit of financing purchases. It's easy to think you can afford all manner of luxury items and pay for them over time with small monthly payments. This over-confidence in your ability to pay is exactly the trap the creditors are building for you. The future is unpredictable. Avoid taking on too much, or any, debt, and your personal finances will be much more resilient to unforeseen events.
  8. IANAL but I have looked into importing cars before (as an enthusiast). Essentially the tldr of the law is, it cannot be imported unless it was originally manufactured for the North America market. Modifying the car to spec is usually a no-go. There are some exceptions and loopholes which people have used before, but only rarely and typically for something special. At the end of the day, it's almost never worth it to import a car. Importing a Motor Vehicle | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Requirements for importing a personal vehicle / vehicle parts
  9. I really like the idea of integrating the power supply into the base, it would allow the power cable to lay flat on the desk and simply disappear. Unfortunately Apple seems to be very attached to the one-piece aluminum stands they've been using for years. I agree and this wouldn't be the first time they've neutered a product last minute. Even if it didn't allow running full apps etc, but just simple features like Airplay receiving and video calls would really set it apart. I wonder if they're waiting for wireless to improve in order to carry 5K video without significant loss. Imagine a truly wireless monitor, just set a MacBook down next to it and it automatically connects like a docking station.
  10. This is a very valid reason to use an external power supply. Yes. Don't underestimate my dislike of external power bricks lol. For the HomePod, which has a similar 'non-removable' cable, finding a replacement cable is not a challenge. Apple will replace it for $29 and there is no shortage of them to buy from third parties. I fully expect similar for the Studio Display.
  11. Final Cut does generally have larger and simpler UI elements compared to Adobe Premiere Pro. Though I can't say if it's going to completely solve your issues because there are still many small symbols and icons. I did just check and they all scale as expected with the computer's UI scaling settings. I wouldn't often recommend it, but you should consider iMovie. It lacks the typical editor UI and many see this as a detriment, but for this reason it may fit your use case nicely.
  12. If I had the choice between a 300 W power brick and proprietary connector, or a simple AC cable which I had to go to the Apple Store to replace (or likely find on eBay soon), I'd definitely choose the latter. But that's just me I suppose.
  13. Possibly. Likely the C5/C6 over the C7/C8 to have the Earth ground. Either way both are limited to 2.5 amps, or ~300 W which is probably very close to the max power consumption of the Studio Display. Looking at dimensional drawings show these are still in the 17 mm range, so fitting one is likely still not possible.
  14. This is AC line voltage, not some 12V data cable. The regulations are much stricter and harder to change. I don't recall ever seeing a custom AC power cable. The cable on the Studio display takes significant force to remove. So much that many didn't even think it was removable. I think that puts them safely within consumer product regulations to call it 'non-removable.' The M1 iMac has a 143 W power brick, and power pass through is limited to 15 W, hardly comparable to the 96 W from the Studio Display.
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