Your pet peeve, technical or otherwise.

[AndyBeez]

I noticed that youtube videos which start with "Hey guys whatsup" or "Hey whatsup youtube" opening are typically an indication of low quality content video that follows it.

Often a video from some attention seeking teenager "whose gonna tell yar every freakin' thing that you ever needed to know" about crypto, tech and this new cool ting called, the internet of tings. He then proceeds to spew words all over a sealed Amazon box which he unpacks to show you what's inside: free stuff. And then there are the over 25's who must have drunk all of the caffeine in the vending machine. Just grow up.

Another affectation of the YouTube generation is the need to be speaking into a USB microphone that's half the size of the presenter's head. Why? My phone microphone is the size of this number 0. Maybe it makes them look like Elvis? More conversation please.

Linux has had one for the last two decades.

Linux just works. And you know that.

[Nominal Animal]

Linux has had one for the last two decades.

Linux just works. And you know that.

It's nowhere near perfect, though, and I'm only suggesting the low-lying fruit that are achievable without huge effort or cost.  And it is only the kernel that has these stable features; most of the userspace, especially freedesktop.org stuff, is in quite a flux but not really progressing "forwards" in my opinion.

I'd love to replace systemd with something better engineered, but I'd need a team of developers to do so; I am not productive enough by myself.  The related organizations are subsuming other services at a rather alarming rate (for anyone who considers single points of failure fatal design errors).
I'd also love to replace the C standard library with something better suited for systems programming and perhaps even applications programming (GTK+ shows that it can be done without too much pain, even though C++ and other object oriented languages are better for such event-driven programming).
Not to mention avr-libc/newlibc for embedded development; I've even discussed these in the Programming sub-forum here.

[james_s]

I loathe systemd, don't even get me started on that. Linux is far from perfect, and so is every other OS.

[IDEngineer]

Intel is taking it to a whole new level: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-officially-introduces-pay-as-you-go-chip-licensing

[Circlotron]

Feels silly to be stuck in twenty-year old limitations for no real reason.

It's called, backwards compliance. Which is why I need a box of adapters and converters to tie my computing kit together. Would be nice just to have a common API for HID, but that would need yet another standards working group. At least a vintage RS232 trackball from 1990 still works on my PC - if I use a chain of adapters!

Noticed this the other day on the underside of an Aldi battery pack. Aldi are sure serious when it comes to anticipating potential uses and abuses to their products. No overheating this battery, no throwing into a lake and no burning all make sense - but no to flushing? For the record, some bricks flush, some prove difficult to flush, but this battery brick is not even small enough the get wedged in the bend. There's common sense and there's Aldi customers.

RTFM even.
I wonder how that one slipped through.

[vk6zgo]

I may have posted this before, but why, oh why, do laptops continue to use barrel connectors?

Laptops detect the presence or otherwise of charging voltage electronically, so they don't need the barrel connector to operate an extra set of contacts.
These connectors have considerable mechanical advantage, & over time can damage the mating connector, or even rip it off the board, or out of the moulded slot in the case, depending upon which is used.
Quite small polarised connectors without the long rigid "neck", which don't have this problem, were widely used for CB radios in the 1970s,
OK, with older laptops, you could dismantle them & replace the jack on the board, but after a few times, the other crappy design factors start to show up, like stripped threads, etc.

I don't think it is possible to dismantle my current Asus, so when the connector dies, it is recycle time!

[IDEngineer]

I may have posted this before, but why, oh why, do laptops continue to use barrel connectors?

The Thinkpad X260 that I mentioned above uses a "rectangular barrel" connector which is exactly as it sounds: Take a traditional DC barrel connector and change its profile to a rectangle. Which, by the way, is almost exactly the size and shape of a USB-A jack. Right next to actual USB-A jacks. A real head scratcher, that choice.

I don't think it is possible to dismantle my current Asus, so when the connector dies, it is recycle time!

And right there, you may have revealed the reason they choose failure-prone barrel connectors.         

[james_s]

I may have posted this before, but why, oh why, do laptops continue to use barrel connectors?

Laptops detect the presence or otherwise of charging voltage electronically, so they don't need the barrel connector to operate an extra set of contacts.
These connectors have considerable mechanical advantage, & over time can damage the mating connector, or even rip it off the board, or out of the moulded slot in the case, depending upon which is used.
Quite small polarised connectors without the long rigid "neck", which don't have this problem, were widely used for CB radios in the 1970s,
OK, with older laptops, you could dismantle them & replace the jack on the board, but after a few times, the other crappy design factors start to show up, like stripped threads, etc.

I don't think it is possible to dismantle my current Asus, so when the connector dies, it is recycle time!

I much prefer the barrel connectors on my older Lenovo laptops to the fragile USB-C connector on my work Macbook. The rectangular connector on newer Lenovos is pretty robust, I've yet to ever break one of those.

[themadhippy]

I preferred the connector on my very first laptop,a standard fig8 mains connector,no need for any power bricks.

[IDEngineer]

The rectangular connector on newer Lenovos is pretty robust, I've yet to ever break one of those.

I'm glad to hear that, and didn't mean to imply they're weak. Just that they are basically rectangular versions of round barrel connectors.

[Nominal Animal]

I may have posted this before, but why, oh why, do laptops continue to use barrel connectors?

I sorta like the barrel connector, actually, because I can use a 90° connector and have it rotate as needed, instead of sticking out like a stick and always being in the way.

What would be nice, if the connector wasn't soldered directly to the board, but used short wires.  That way it could be replaced when necessary.

[IDEngineer]

Connectors are already some of the expensive components in most systems. Requiring flying leads means manual labor, which drives up the cost even more. Plus the separate connector then needs to be manually strain relieved somehow since it can't rely on soldered mechanical connection to the PCB. I suspect it would be a VERY hard sell to get a laptop company to use a flying lead power connector unless it was necessary for some other reason.

[2N2222A]

The laptop barrel connector with a 90 degree plug that has a break away connector in the cord solves all the problems. It won't ever get damaged by tripping because of the break away connector in the cord.

[IDEngineer]

A magnetically held connector would also solve this, and it could be made watertight too if useful. I have such a connector on my car for the Battery Tender... it's fast and easy to connect, and safely falls off if I drive away without disconnecting it. Rated for 4ADC. Probably more money than the budget in most laptops, though.

[james_s]

A magnetically held connector would also solve this, and it could be made watertight too if useful. I have such a connector on my car for the Battery Tender... it's fast and easy to connect, and safely falls off if I drive away without disconnecting it. Rated for 4ADC. Probably more money than the budget in most laptops, though.

Apple offered the MagSafe connector for a while, it was similar to that. I think they brought it back on the most recent models.

[vk6zgo]

I may have posted this before, but why, oh why, do laptops continue to use barrel connectors?

I sorta like the barrel connector, actually, because I can use a 90° connector and have it rotate as needed, instead of sticking out like a stick and always being in the way.

What would be nice, if the connector wasn't soldered directly to the board, but used short wires.  That way it could be replaced when necessary.

That didn't work well with my old Toshiba.
The plastic moulding distorted after awhile, the socket became loose & broke the wires off.

[mfro]

Apple offered the MagSafe connector for a while, it was similar to that. I think they brought it back on the most recent models.

Which prevents sweeping the laptop from the table accidentally if you manage to entrap yourself in the cable. Good.

The cable itself on the MagSafe power supplies is so weak that it reliably breaks close to the connector after a few years anyway. Bad.

I consider the MagSafe one of the (many) "good idea, poorly implemented" examples.

[unknownparticle]

Leaf blowers   What a complete waste of time!!!  One of my bl00dy neighbors has been blowing his garden for the past 2 hours, what a cretin!!
I should tell him nature has that sorted, it's called wind!!!!

[Nominal Animal]

Leaf blowers   What a complete waste of time!!!  One of my bl00dy neighbors has been blowing his garden for the past 2 hours, what a cretin!!
I should tell him nature has that sorted, it's called wind!!!!

I find raking leaves quite relaxing, actually.  Apparently, it's too much work for the leaf blower types...

I just have to remember to wear gloves nowadays, because my milky soft hands aren't calloused enough anymore, and I easily get blisters at the root of my thumb.  I do have one callus right now: on the inside of the last joint of my little finger in my left hand.  I use it to keep my laptop upright when laying on my back and typing.

[Bud]

Try to rake leaves behind or between bushes or in between bushes and fence, or sweep leaves with a broom from the driveway. Leaf blowers have their application, but often people buy shitty models that are only good to blow 0201 resistors from the PCB. Seems your neighbour did not get the right tool.

[IDEngineer]

"If they make a powered version of the tool you're considering, there's a reason. Buy it."

[tooki]

My problem with it is that it's not a positional tool, but a directional one. A mouse translates its motion to motion on the screen, but with the eraserhead you're saying "go this direction". It's not as direct an input method.

Both a mouse and trackpoint are directional tools. Neither one provides absolute positioning (as a touch screen or graphics tablet does). They’re both relative, in that they indicate the direction to move the pointer. The difference is that the amount of a  mouse’s movement translates into an amount of pointer movement, while a trackpoint’s movement translates into the velocity of pointer movement.


Note that mouse movement is not a strict 1:1 movement at a particular scale. The operating systems apply acceleration curves, so that slow movements move the pointer a small amount, while fast movements move the pointer a large distance, even though the mouse has traveled the same distance on the desk.

So in essence, pointer movement when using a trackpoint is distance * time, while with a mouse, it’s more like nonlinear distance / time thanks to the acceleration curves.

[coppice]

Leaf blowers   What a complete waste of time!!!  One of my bl00dy neighbors has been blowing his garden for the past 2 hours, what a cretin!!
I should tell him nature has that sorted, it's called wind!!!!

I find raking leaves quite relaxing, actually.  Apparently, it's too much work for the leaf blower types...

If the leaves are dry raking them is no bother. If you have a wide and a narrow rack, even racking them around shrubs is usually no bother. When the leaves are wet, raking them is a PITA, but the blowers don't work at all. So, either way, a couple of rakes and a pair of gloves is a cheaper and very effective way to go. Either way, you still have to collection the leaves, and put them in a bin for disposal. The big hassle we get is the last council collection of garden waste for the year is this Tuesday, but the trees haven't finished shedding. So, the bin will spend the winter full of wet leaves, and be pretty stinky when collections resume in the spring.

[PlainName]

Leaf blowers   What a complete waste of time!!!  One of my bl00dy neighbors has been blowing his garden for the past 2 hours, what a cretin!!
I should tell him nature has that sorted, it's called wind!!!!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1468260/Leaf_Blower_Revolution__Idle_Game/

[IDEngineer]

Both a mouse and trackpoint are directional tools. Neither one provides absolute positioning (as a touch screen or graphics tablet does). They’re both relative, in that they indicate the direction to move the pointer. The difference is that the amount of a  mouse’s movement translates into an amount of pointer movement, while a trackpoint’s movement translates into the velocity of pointer movement.

I slightly disagree. Most OS's and mouse drivers allow you to choose the acceleration rate, including zero, and zero makes the mouse absolute. Likewise tablets can have nonzero acceleration rates. Even touchscreens can have acceleration - "flick" a scrollable screen and it will often continue to scroll after your finger has left the surface. Trackballs are another reasonable choice, which work like an upside down mouse with all of the same configuration options. Even a traditional joystick (with ratiometric output, not just bang-bangs) can work positionally, even absolute position.

The Big Loser is the eraserhead. It ONLY conveys direction, which abstracts the user an additional degree from what is almost always intended: Position. It's not just less useful, it is impossible to configure an eraserhead to operate in any kind of positional mode. All of the other input devices can be dumbed down to act like an eraserhead (if desired), but an eraserhead cannot be configured to act like the others. It is a fundamental failure of the design.

I do respect those who really love their eraserheads. It's a small niche market group but they do exist and my hat is off to them, being able to achieve some measure of usefulness from such a fundamentally limited device.

EDIT: To be fair, there is a potentially improved eraserhead mode. It requires an eraserhead that senses pressure on its two axes. If you have that, theoretically you can translate that pressure to relative distance, yielding a positional offset from point of origin. Two limitations immediately become apparent. First, it requires a remarkable degree of fine motor control in a single finger to achieve any sort of positional accuracy. Second and more crucially, what should happen when you release the eraserhead? Should the cursor snap back to its original location? Or should the driver assume you meant to leave the cursor wherever it was when you released? What defines "release", and should the driver accept or ignore (what it interprets as) small unintentional movements just prior to release? Or just anchor to the "greatest excursion"? If the latter, note you cannot reverse direction without an intermediate release of the eraserhead, to "reset" its idea of greatest excursion. These are not small problems, and we studied them back when I worked on Human Input Devices in the 80's. The eraserhead was the butt of many jokes for some valid reasons.