Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

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? Better?

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I've been using a clock radio to tell the time my entire life. Feels like I should upgrade that to a smart clock. Lenovo makes a decent looking one that runs Google. My entire household is Apple including HomeKit which controls my IKEA smart lights. Would I be able to control the same smart lights via the Google thing at the same time?


I'm still not on-board with a whole-house connected "smart" system....even though I have all of my interior and exterior lights on a system, looking into a "connected" garage door opener, and have this app-connected clock radio... ha!
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I, too, just don't like using my phone as my alarm clock, so I got this one because i specifically wanted something that sounded good, and had forward-firing speakers. There's a Yamaha app that let's you schedule multiple alarms, it's a bluetooth speaker, and the display automatically dims with the ambient light levels.

Way too fuckin' expensive, and it's so dense inside that it has an external power brick which is a little annoying...but man, I love this thing.
 
I'm really coming at this like a newborn baby, but I'm hoping maybe someone here has some weird passion about the topic, and could maybe provide some direction or suggestions/recommendations.

I lost my job a couple of months ago....and I want something different than my all-encompassing past few jobs which often took up my weekends, often times 20+ hour days on job sites, etc. I feel like I didn't have much of a life outside of work.

I graduated high school in '97, and haven't been back or even taken a class since.

I want to go back to school, and actually learn a skill that could lead to employment. I've got some savings, and figured based on my expenses that i could take 2 years and go school full-time.

I've always had a peripheral appreciation for working around technology and software, but have no actual training or experience with it besides teaching myself some simple programs like Office and Photoshop, and building my PCs. See what I mean by "like a newborn baby"?

My first thought is that I want to start down a path towards something that has growth, and for which there's steady demand.

I'm not even sure how to ask the question, but...anyone have any general advice, or maybe types of jobs that someone might want to strive for if they were starting from scratch? I honestly don't know what's out there besides the general term of "programming", which I can imagine doesn't narrow things down much, or might...ugh...I'm just a bit overwhelmed and for some reason feel like I can't put my thoughts together very clearly...

I have a meeting at a local community college with an advisor in 2 weeks to hopefully give me some guidance, but hey...if anyone has any nuggets of wisdom they could impart, it'd be appreciated...
 
If we're talking IT then I can throw my experience into the pot as it may be helpful. I've been working for 12 years now in 'desktop support' in house for a medium-sized national business, having joined at 18 as a trainee with no qualifications beyond A-level IT. The focus of an IT job can be widely or narrowly focussed depending on what you get into so I'd say start by determining what you actually enjoy about working with technology first.

So for example do you enjoy getting into the guts of machines or do you prefer to handle the software? My job covers both but I only really know of the qualifications on the software side, such as the Microsoft certifications. Going up through those qualifications would be expensive but could lead to a position on a support team. If you prefer getting into the nuts and bolts you could aim for a field engineer for something like Dell, I believe Galantti did this for a while. There must be plenty of big technology in your area.

Pretty vague I know but I'm not sure myself where my career will go, I was going to specialise in Microsoft Software Center Configuration Manager at one point but there isn't enough demand for a specialist in this business now. I could leave and pursue that role but I'm not sure I actually want to, I do like to get my hands dirty (and cut, I swear they deliberately sharpen the inside of the cases) and would miss that side of things. I'll try and answer specific questions if you have any. Also consider how you like working with people, I've often wondered about getting into CNC engineering or vehicle electronics as other careers that would use my skills with computers but that don't have me dealing with users...
 
The tech field is a ridiculously deep world of hyper-specific subroles. Programming is a means to an end, what type of thing would you want to create/modify? I end up dabbling in a million things just at the surface level but never have the commitment to specialize, including formal education. I've ended up as a "Systems Engineer" which is a very generalist role keeping servers up and running in datacenters. But just among groups I work closely with we have specialists in storage, networking, security, development, hybrid roles like DevOps, automation, virtual infrastructure... we even still have a mainframe, it's kind of silly.
 
Thank you both for your replies!!

And to be clear, I really do understand how vague my initial post was, but appreciate both of you putting some thoughts into pixels.

For me, the main thing is that since I'm starting from scratch, I'm really looking for a direction that has pretty good prospects for demand, and pays a living wage.

@thevictor390 I feel like "formal education" is going to be my only way to get a first foot in the door anywhere, when I'm 40+ and going against kids coming out of college.

My favorite jobs I've had where there's a lot of variety. My last couple jobs had lots: everything from data entry, to interior design, from manual labor with power tools to space planning, from basic furniture design to customer interaction (meh).

I also think software might be a better target than hardware for me, because I think that would better show that I could pick up other company-or-industry-specific software. But on the other hand, hardware means being "hands on" with it...being in a specific location...which I do miss, even from early on in this year's shelter-in-place...
 
Fein do make some odd tools, how can this be better than a 'normal' angle drill and why is it sold at around £300?!

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Fein do make some odd tools, how can this be better than a 'normal' angle drill and why is it sold at around £300?!

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The sheer size of the motor, i feel like it's *got* to be more skookum, either in power or durability...but the form factor is terrible for being able to actually put that power to work, ergonomically.
 
As one of the power tool sellers on eBay is taking part in a 15% off sale I was looking at the Makita cordless inflator alongside alternatives and it seems like, somehow, there isn't a good all-round inflator out there.

The Makita DMP180Z is reasonably priced but is basic, you have to hold the trigger and it's rather slow. It doesn't have a 12V car adapter so it's useless for keeping in the car (no way I'm leaving a Makita battery on it the entire time).

The Ryobi R18I-0 multi inflator is very cheap and I can use an adapter for Makita batteries but doesn't have a 12V car adapter and is slow. It does have a quick low pressure inflator though for air mattresses and things.

The Dewalt DCC018N or DCC020IB (they seem to be the same) can also be used with Makita batteries, have a 12V car adapter but are both very expensive and the low pressure inflator is slow.

Milwaukee don't even make an 18V inflator, they make an 18V compressor with a tank but that's overkill and very expensive.

None seem to be suitable to maintain the pressure in my low pressure oil filler bottle rig thing because while they all cut off at set pressures they won't reactivate when the pressure drops, even the Makita needs the trigger releasing before it will restart (I think). For this it seems I'd be better off with the cheap Ryobi, a pressure switch in-line with the battery adapter and a clamp on the trigger. Either that or just run the hose from my big compressor every time, which takes effort.

The Bauer brand inflator shown here in the Project Farm test would be ideal despite it's pitfalls but it isn't sold here and I find it very unlikely that I will find an adapter for my Makita batteries


*shrug*
 
It's been over a month since I bought my Dell Precision T3610 workstation, and since I purchased it, the plan was to upgrade it bit-by-bit as the time goes by and as I save enough money. The general idea behind buying and upgrading this is to make it a budget alternative to building a new mid-range PC. The specs are as following:
  • Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2 processor @ 3.70 Ghz, 3.90 GHz turbo boost
  • 16GB DDR3 1866 MHz RAM
  • Nvidia Quadro NVS 295 GPU with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
  • 100GB Dell SSD + a 500GB WD HDD
  • 685W power supply unit
I decided that I'd upgrade it in the following order: GPU, SSD, HDD, RAM, CPU. The latter one is optional, but I do want to make most of this machine without breaking the bank.

Anyway, the machine is desperate for a new GPU. From the research I did, the best option would be to go for a GTX 1070 (Ti) or a 1080 (but not the Ti version). I've been eyeing prices of 1070s and 1080s on eBay for a while, and while the 1070 is obviously cheaper than the 1080, the 1080 isn't all that much more expensive than the 1070, especially compared to the Ti version.

Why a GTX 1070 (Ti) or a GTX 1080? Well, the first reason is that I have a 1440p@60Hz monitor, and I like playing games at native monitor resolution with details as high as possible. Then there's also the factor that the machine will be used for stuff like 3D modelling, so I would like something that would allow me a smooth experience. And then there's also the fact that from the research I did, those GPUs are decent budget options - the RTX 2060 and 2070, for example, are still too new and therefore too expensive, while AMD doesn't really have anything that would compete, apart from Vega 56 and 64 cards (not sure if the PSU would support those) and RX 5700 (which is too new and therefore too expensive).

So, in short, my question is, if I want to play some older titles at 1440p@60FPS on high settings (mostly stuff like older Need For Speed games with a ton of mods), do some 3D modelling and probably some video editing in the future, should I go for a 1070 or wait a bit to save enough money for a 1070 Ti/1080? Or does anyone have a better idea?
 
So, in short, my question is, if I want to play some older titles at 1440p@60FPS on high settings (mostly stuff like older Need For Speed games with a ton of mods), do some 3D modelling and probably some video editing in the future, should I go for a 1070 or wait a bit to save enough money for a 1070 Ti/1080? Or does anyone have a better idea?

You don't specifically say but are you looking at used? The RTX 3070 is priced between the 1070Ti and 1080 (bought new) from what I can see, I think you'd be much better off with a new generation card than the older ones, although the video RAM is the same the technology has advanced a lot in 4 years.

Otherwise, the used prices can't be too different so I'd maybe wait and get the 1080. The prices of the 1080Ti I have (a 12GB card) aren't too bad, it's still a powerful card that runs well at 2160p60, let alone 1440p. It's all relative though, without knowing the specific prices and how long you intend to keep the card for it's hard to say. I've had this one for three and a half years, I'll probably replace it at the end of next year.
 
Oops, I somehow forgot that you can still buy new GTX 1080s from eBay... I'm looking at used cards specifically.

The prices for 1080s start at 300-ish Euros, 1070 Tis start at some 30-50€ less, and then 1070s for some 30-50€ less than that. Of course, the prices are subject to change, and not all the cheapest options are guaranteed to be actual working cards.
 
I'm not having a good tech day today.

I bought a pair of Jabra Elite 85h because I wanted something for those lengthy Zoom calls. I figured Jabra should know a thing or two about these things. Sadly they were a dud, with one side making a crackling noise with ANC turned on. I did a quick google and realized this a common issue, so I drove back, returned them and got a pair of Sony WH1000XM3's instead. After reading the fine print in the manual I realized Sony states that they only support normal phone calls, not "computers or smartphone apps" or whatever it said. And sure enough, the microphone sounds like absolute crap in the Zoom microphone test.

What's next? Should I roll the dice on another pair of Jabras?
 
Airpods pro if Mac. Otherwise, WH-1000XM4's should lose the bullshit support restrictions. Though check first.
 
Yes, Apple user here.

Airpods Pro is my everyday carry and I like them a lot, but my ear canals (and the batteries in the AirPods) are begging for mercy after four hours on a video call. I was looking for a nice, plush set of over-ear cans with good sound and a good microphone. These XM3's certainly deliver on everything other than the microphone. They're also strangely difficult to pair with macOS for some reason. It takes forever for them to show up in the pairing list.

I was originally looking at JBL Quantum 800 which my friends are raving over, but as far as I know the configuration tool is only available for Windows so that's a nope. They're gaming headphones, after all.

Maybe Peltor XPi is the answer? Sound quality is terrible but they work fine with iOS and you can take a phone call while operating a ground vibrator. Yes, I've tried that.

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As one of the power tool sellers on eBay is taking part in a 15% off sale I was looking at the Makita cordless inflator alongside alternatives and it seems like, somehow, there isn't a good all-round inflator out there.

The Makita DMP180Z is reasonably priced but is basic, you have to hold the trigger and it's rather slow. It doesn't have a 12V car adapter so it's useless for keeping in the car (no way I'm leaving a Makita battery on it the entire time).

The Ryobi R18I-0 multi inflator is very cheap and I can use an adapter for Makita batteries but doesn't have a 12V car adapter and is slow. It does have a quick low pressure inflator though for air mattresses and things.

The Dewalt DCC018N or DCC020IB (they seem to be the same) can also be used with Makita batteries, have a 12V car adapter but are both very expensive and the low pressure inflator is slow.

Milwaukee don't even make an 18V inflator, they make an 18V compressor with a tank but that's overkill and very expensive.

None seem to be suitable to maintain the pressure in my low pressure oil filler bottle rig thing because while they all cut off at set pressures they won't reactivate when the pressure drops, even the Makita needs the trigger releasing before it will restart (I think). For this it seems I'd be better off with the cheap Ryobi, a pressure switch in-line with the battery adapter and a clamp on the trigger. Either that or just run the hose from my big compressor every time, which takes effort.

The Bauer brand inflator shown here in the Project Farm test would be ideal despite it's pitfalls but it isn't sold here and I find it very unlikely that I will find an adapter for my Makita batteries


*shrug*
I have the Ryobi one (it looks like they've replaced it now with a newer version). I'd say it's actually decent. The low pressure inflator does work great for air mattresses; it moves more air than one of those lead-acid battery Coleman inflators. The tire inflator isn't the fastest in the world but it's far from the slowest. It gets the job done. If I'm topping off car tires with a few lbs of pressure I can do it faster with that than it takes to turn on my big compressor, get the hose uncoiled, etc. I wouldn't use it to air up the Jeep after airing down for off road runs, but it isn't meant for that.
True, it doesn't have a 12V adapter, but it doesn't seem to drain the battery overly quickly, and that's with a dinky 1.5 mAh battery.
 
We sell an off-brand inflator at my job. The feature it has over my Makita is that you don’t have to hold the trigger. We found out the side effect of this when we left it alone to air up the forklift and came back to a tire that was flatter than when we started. Once it shuts off, air starts leaking back out through the pump.

Obviously this can be fixed by fitting a one-way valve at the factory, but there’s no guarantee you got the seal around the schrader valve 100% tight anyway.
 
I'm not having a good tech day today.

I bought a pair of Jabra Elite 85h because I wanted something for those lengthy Zoom calls. I figured Jabra should know a thing or two about these things. Sadly they were a dud, with one side making a crackling noise with ANC turned on. I did a quick google and realized this a common issue, so I drove back, returned them and got a pair of Sony WH1000XM3's instead. After reading the fine print in the manual I realized Sony states that they only support normal phone calls, not "computers or smartphone apps" or whatever it said. And sure enough, the microphone sounds like absolute crap in the Zoom microphone test.

What's next? Should I roll the dice on another pair of Jabras?

I went back with the Sonys and got another pair of Jabras. I had better luck this time, they seem to work fine.

The Sonys were supremely comfortable and sounded great, and I would have kept them for sure if I listening to music was the main use case. I do prefer Jabra's physical buttons over the way you tap and swipe to control things on the Sonys.
 
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