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Lady Fitzgerald

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  • Gender
    Female
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    AZ, SSA (Squabbling States of America)
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  • Occupation
    Retired
  • Member title
    ADHD Senioritis Member

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  1. I also started with Linux Mint except I chose the Cinnamon desktop based on recommendations I had read and seen in videos addressed to Windows refugees like me. Linux Mint also has an excellent user forum where newbies can get help (they have saved my bacon more times than I can remember). I steered clear of POP!_OS, even though it is free, since it is proprietary and support for it would end if System 76 ever went belly up. After buying a System 76 laptop, I learned that their support is "less than stellar" so I lucked out there. I also steered away from Zorin for similar reasons plus I read somewhere that their kernel updates tend to be a bit behind. When one is switching to Linux, one has to understand that LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS!, something Linus has not grasped yet and will continue to have grief until he does. The purpose of this challenge was unrealistic because there is an initial learning curve that has to be surmounted before tackling the more advanced stuff. In other words, Linus needs to learn to crawl before he learns to walk and needs to learn to walk before learning to run. Running headlong into more advanced tasks before becoming familiar with the basics is a recipe for disaster, which is the primary reason Linus is having one disaster after another. I also read somewhere that the more proficient someone is in another OS, the harder the switch to Linux will be since so much has to be unlearned. While in no way do I consider myself to be a Windows expert, I still was amazed by the amount of "unlearning" I had to do, even though I was fully expecting it. After seeing that Linus installed Notepad++ via Wine, I just stopped watching it since Linus still hasn't received the memo that Linux is NOT Windows. There are plenty of native Linux applications that can do what Notepad++ can do, mayhap even do more. Linus needs to learn that Windows programs do not port well into Linux, if at all, even with Wine, Crossover, etc. Instead of thinking in terms of using Windows programs or finding exact replacements, he needs to be thinking about the result he wants to achieve, then see what Linux programs will give the same result. It may even be necessary to adopt a completely different work flow to get the desired results. Then he needs to accept he has to "forget" how he did things in Windows and that there will be a learning curve for the new programs and/or workflows. Until then, Linus, and anyone else making the same mistakes, is doomed to dismal failure. So far, I've found acceptable, sometimes even superior, native Linux replacements for programs and/or workflows I used in Windows with only one exception (DVDFab and I've found a replacement program that has been meeting my needs much of the time ) so, if a rank noob with learning disabilities like me can do it, someone with an equal or better grasp of computers as me, such as Linus (he could run circles around me) can do it. Another valuable piece of advice for Linux newbies is to first install Linux on a separate computer and take time to fool around with it instead of just diving in. The first thing to learn after installing Linux is how to backup the installation so one can quickly restore it after borking it (and there will be many, many times the installation will become borked during the learning process; just accept it and not start distro hopping the first time it happens). Diving in and expecting it to immediately work the way you want will result in serious disappointment. I've been using Linux Mint Cinnamon as my daily driver (heck, my only driver) for close to two years now and I still consider myself to be a beginner. I'm nowhere nearly as knowledgeable on Linux as I was on Win 7 (the last good OS Windows had despite MS degrading it toward the end) and I didn't consider me to be an expert on Win 7, but I'm still learning and have been happy with Mint, happier than I was with steadily declining Windows' OSes.
  2. you good? haven't seen you on in a minute.

  3. Even worse are employers who do not understand that ADHD is a learning disability that can be compensated for or just don't care. The second official diagnosis I got was the result of testing ordered by my employer--the one I now get my pension and Medicare supplemental insurance from--for the purpose of ruling out ADHD despite my first diagnosis by the shrink who was monitoring my hormone therapy. I've had micromanaging supervisors who couldn't understand I had to do things, including learning new procedures, a certain way that did not inhibit my ability to do so and gave me grief just because it wasn't the same as for others. Even trying to get advice online on how to do something can be a nightmare becaiuse i need simple, complete, step by step directions on how to do something new to me and they get very impatient, and some abrasive with me. Here is a typical response I often get when i ask for clarification on how to do something and my response (it's amazing I don't get arrested for practicing proctology without a license after the reamings i sometimes give out): rene wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:19 pm ...I've seen you posit your "disability" quite a few times now. Please note that it is not the rest of the world's responsibility to compensate; it is your's to try harder, or to live with giving up. In fact, that is precisely why disabilities suck so much... My response: Wow! Using your "logic", there would be no handicapped ramps for building entrances, no sloped curbs where sidewalks come to crosswalks, etc., no Braille on ATMs, elevator controls, etc., no sign language interpreters at public events, etc. Granted, many of those had to be mandated by law but that was because of so many people who share your attitude. This kind of attitude is similar to the attitude many Linux users have that puts down people who do not know as much as they do or do not know as much as they do, especially for things they consider to be basic. That's one of the the reasons many people will not switch to Linux. Fortunately, that attitude is on the decline. ADHD is a disability, the same as with people with disabilities that confine them to wheel chairs, the hearing impaired, the blind, etc. Compensation is what life is like for people with ADHD. Using computers is one of those many compensations for me. Telling me to live with giving up is unbelievably cruel. That's like telling people with respiratory issues to never go anywhere, such as restaurants, offices, factories, etc. because they can't be around cigarette smoke (fortunately, here in the SSA, most places have laws prohibiting smoking in public places like that because of so many smokers with selfish, insensitive attitudes). Asking for simple, complete, step by step directions is one of the ways I compensate. Learning is harder for me so I do try harder, contrary to what you apparently believe. I do not feel I'm asking too much for simple, complete, step by step instructions. Everyone has to start at the beginning so I'm not the only who would benefit from them. My biggest gripe with computer tech sites is people who assume others will already know what these people consider to be basic knowledge, then get upset when people run into problems because of gaps in their knowledge. Back before I retired, I was often the one who was asked to train new employees, not because I knew more than anyone else, but because I understood the need to give complete training and not assume anyone knew anything. Employees I trained usually did better on the job (unless they were just too lazy) than ones trained by others. I was often the one assigned to develop and/or write up procedures for the same reason. I understand that people who help others on forums are usually volunteers and are not required to do anything, let alone get paid for it. That is why I really appreciate anyone taking the effort to try to help me. However, if anyone is going to do anything, it only makes sense to do it right. That includes giving proper instructions. If you can't be bothered, then why are you even here? Btw, his post was taken down either by him or a mod but my response, complete with the quote of his response, remains.
  4. Oh yeah, it's amazing what a boost in moral can come from learning that one has ADHD and what it's all about. Learning you are not lazy, stupid, or crazy is so liberating. In fact, their is an excellent book by that title, You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, that is written in language lay people can understand. It's surprisingly accurate--dead on, actually--for have been written by non-professionals and is still relevant today despite being written so long ago. Sadly, there are a lot shrinks who are unfamiliar with adult ADHD and many people with it slip through the cracks.
  5. And where did you get your degree in Psychology? I felt he was spot on. For the record, I got mine from Abilene Christian College, class of '71. Even though I never used my degree vocationally, I did continue my studies informally, eventually concentrating on LGBT studies, including working with transgender support groups and, occasionally, speaking to college classes. After being diagnosed with ADHD, I expanded my studies to the area of ADHD.
  6. You can say that again! Imagine someone having to go through school and the work place not being diagnosed with ADHD until in they were in their early 50s. I don't have to imagine it because that was me. ADHD was not really known about in the '50s to the early '70s when I graduated from college. I have the same thing although it was never formally diagnosed. It never manifested itself until after I worked 5 1/2 years on third shift for a convenience store chain after retiring the first time. Prior to that, I had worked jobs all my life that required to get up early in the morning so I was able to bull my way through it. Now that I'm retired for keeps, I affectiuonately refer to my DSPD as shift lag since it is so similar to jet lag. The older I get, the harder it is for me to overcome it. Exactly. I had learn most of my coping mechanisms on my own by the time I was formally diagnosed.
  7. Unless those have 2.5" HDDs or SSDs inside, you need a power adapter. 4TB is the largest 2.5" consumer drives available. Anything bigger has to be 3.5". USB only provides only 5v and 3.5" HDDs need 12v in addition to 5V. I'm getting tired of arguing with you when you aren't paying attention. Do whatever you want but don't come crying back here if (more like when) things don't work out like you want and expect to get any sympathy.
  8. Hunh? This is confusing. Are you talking about both external 4TB and 6TB drives? Or just the drives inside both?
  9. To put it more succinctly, supply and demand. When demand increases and/or supply drops, prices increase. When supply increases and/or demand drops, prices decrease. In this case, demand remained the same or dropped only slightly while supply dropped considerably. Other factors that affect prices can also come into play. Here in the SSA (Squabbling States of America), additional tariffs have increased the cost of products from China considerably.
  10. You have moved into a new area of discussion. In short, if you have your data properly backed up, you won't lose data if a drive dies. I was staying on topic of the dangers of buying cheap drives, especially a drive with no warranty. How do you know if that drive is even working? If it arrives DOA, you will be SOL. Times are tight all over the world. Even here in the "cheap" USA, prices here have been going up not only because of the current pandemic but also because of our Idiot in Chief's ill advised high tariffs on Chinese products, which accounts for most electronics components anymore.
  11. Did it ever occur to you that there is a reason why that drive has no warranty? Buying it would be a gamble with the odds stacked against you.
  12. In theory, yes. However, the drives inside most external drives are of lower quality than bare internal drives. Manufacturers "justify" this practice by saying the drives don't need to be a higher quality since they assume people will not be running them as much as drives inside a computer. Many, if not most, experts do not recommend "shucking" (the practive of removing the drives inside external drives). For the same reasons, I also do not. Adding to this is many manufacturers are now using SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drives in their external drives. These drives are less expensive to make but, depending on how they are used, they can be painfully slow. They are fine for archival use where you write data to the drive once and never erase any of the data so you can replace it with more data. If you write over a sector that had been previously written to, the process will be painfully slow. Not always. Sometimes, the drives inside an external drive enclosure connects directly to USB, not SATA. Again, I do not recommend it. I understand what it is like to be on a tight budget (I was there most of my life) but you have to keep in mind that you generally only get what you pay for. Buy something cheap and the quality will be cheap. In the long run, buying something cheap will probably be more expensive since it will have to be replaced more often.
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