Category: Meandering Update

After the previous posts about my technology falling behind, I started thinking creatively, mostly because I cannot even think of affording the obvious solution, buying replacements, for a while yet.

Quick recap – Windows computer needs help, as it’s performance is hurting a little. Mac computer is desperately low on space and is now obsolete.

For the Windows computer, three things made me think of getting a new computer: I really need more storage, more RAM, and an upgraded video card. Of those three things, the RAM is the only item that can only be fixed with buying hardware – more RAM, and I cannot find $750 (possibly plus ~20%/minus ~5% depending on moon phase or the position of Uranus in various constellations.

More storage has already been applied with two 2TB external SSDs, but that could be resolved by adding another external SSD, as I have two more USB 3.0 ports available, or even adding one that is more than 2TB, transferring everything from one or both other drives over to the newest drive, and then decommissioning the old drive(s).

Still kinda spendy, but not $700+ spendy, unless I choose a 8TB external SSD drive. Going from 2TB to 8TB is a huge jump, tho’, so that craziness isn’t required or seriously considered. But 4TB is looking fairly good.

The video option has been a little more interesting. Because I have multiple USB 3.0 ports and two USB 4.0 ports, I could get an external GPU/Video card housing.

This is not necessarily a cheap option. But it could be an amazing option.

Most external housings are between $100 and $200 and do not include the GPU/video card or the power supply. The power supplies supported are typical ATX, and should be sized for the desired video card, so generally run between $60 and $100. This isn’t where it gets expensive, not yet.

The video cards are where it gets expensive, because of the AI Data Center madness. MSRPs are not even suggestions anymore, they are wishes made into the darkness. A $500 MSRP card is currently running between $550 and $750, again, dependent on the moon phase and astrological conditions.

BUT – the external housing would free up the RAM used by the internal GPU, so the video card could be less-than-top-of-the-line and still improve things greatly. So this is more of a possibility.

To free up 6GB of RAM and get a better video system? 6GB isn’t huge, but it is a bit back into the general pool.

I need to do more reading on how well external GPUs/Video Cards work when they functionally replace the built-in GPUs for mini computers.

The Mac computer is a bit more thorny. Since the previous posts and beginning this mental journey, Apple announced new things and tweaked some other things.

So, while the computer didn’t magically become un-obsolete, the replacement computer has remained the same. But, I could possibly replace the internal SSD used as the main system drive – I just need to use the existing system installation to download the system installer for a new blank drive. (The new blank drive won’t have a system rescue partition to recover from, and it’s unclear if I could use just Internet Recovery to install Mac OS onto the new drive without having a bootable USB drive.)

Boiled down – I need to clear enough space to download the OS installer so I can use that installer to create a bootable USB drive, but I’m running out of things I can safely delete to get enough space to do that.

Even using external drives.

It’s mostly because I purchased this computer with 256GB drive, and it’s just been the same old drive for all these years, and it’s been running so well for all this time I never thought to create a bootable USB drive to be able to wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, if only to clear out the garbage files that just linger over time.

I think I have some ideas about uninstalling apps previously moved to external drives, but I’m not sure how that will clear enough space. I need to clear at least 10GB, possibly more. And every movable app that could be moved to an external SSD has been moved to an external SSD.

Another idea is to keep running it as-is and start making “payments” to my savings account like I’m financing the computer through Apple – $200/month for a year.

I mean, it is still completely functional as an Internet machine, also as an Entertainment system.

The hypothetical Linux computer is just kinda put off. I cannot afford a new computer right now, at least not one that isn’t less-powered than the two I currently have.

But I have been thinking that if I can get a new Mac, I could re-purpose the old Mac (after migrating as much as possible over to the new one) as a Linux computer – since it is Intel architecture.

And since the Linux computer would be used internally as a cross-platform bridge, it doesn’t need to have the latest and greatest, it just needs to be about as strong as what I have now.

So, plans are being sketched out and revised as I catch up on hardware offering and work out what that means in dollars.

Thanks for reading! Please keep on keeping on, it’s hard work but it’s rewarding, and what I’m doing.

Skåll!!!

Update:

I found an abandoned Google Drive folder on the Mac that wasn’t synced, just sitting as local files. Over the past three hours I’ve verified that making changes to that folder and files within that folder did not update Google Drive, while making the same changes to the same files available through the Google Drive app did sync over, so I deleted the folder (as it was at least 16 months behind everything in Google Drive.)

I recovered almost 20GB!

So, I’m going to try downloading the MacOS installer and making the emergency bootable USB thumbdrive, so I can wipe the drive clean and reinstall MacOS.

I don’t know what discombobulates me more – that Google Drive just orphaned that much data on my system drive without a clear indication that it was orphaned, in a hidden location that I’ve been idly trying to find for the past year, OR that I finally found a massive pile of files that I was only quasi-convinced existed, and after searching for a year I was seriously doubting even existed.

I made and received the third big order/purchase of computer stuff since moving here, and everything has now been installed and verified workable. I now have a full audio setup, full video setup, all the bells and whistles (excepting the Linux computer) so I’m right about where I was before I had to move, with some mild improvements to avoid further complications and hassle.

Except for use-case testing. (Verified workable just means the equipment plugs in, turns on, and does what was advertised on the box.)

Whassat mean? Well, I started getting ready to just go, and I realized very quickly that things ain’t ready yet. That verified workable isn’t use-case tested.

I’m running low on space on the Mac, this Windows PC needs some further attention and love to clean things up and make things run better, and I really, really, really need to organize my data, as if the loss of those site backups hadn’t already made that abundantly clear.

At least I caught myself this time.

And today was spent looking into things, to further define and clarify what still needs to be done.

Regarding the computers – the Windows computer could use a RAM upgrade, but thanks to the Data Center rush, the cost to max out the RAM would be almost double the cost of the computer itself. So that’s on hold. The Mac is maxed out, and it’s an Intel chip and officially out of support, so any other upgrades for it would be silly – but the new Mac that matches storage and RAM would cost ~$2200, so that’s not gonna happen immediately. The theoretical/​imaginary Linux box – I still have more research to do, but what would’ve been $500 two years ago is at least $750 now, with a less capable processor and/or slower RAM. Which isn’t a big deal, but I really need to define use case better before I find a way to afford that price jump, or navigate the right concessions to bring the price back down.

All in all, it really makes me wanna punch Google and Apple and Microsoft and NVidia and all the other data center makers out there. In the sensitive bits. Repeatedly. Wearing brass knuckles.

But the physical audio mixers and splitters are just what I needed to replace the software mixers that weren’t reliably working. Yeah, there are additional cables going all over the place, but that’s a price I will pay to avoid every OS update, software update, or other configuration change that breaks everything. (If I had a nickel for every time a sneeze broke the volume levels/​hardware recognition/​MIDI connection between my Yamaha keyboard and Mac OS, I wouldn’t be worrying about the cost of the RAM upgrades or even the new Mac, possibly not even worried about the cost of BOTH at the same time….)

Also, having two monitors per computer is so amazingly comfortable. I had forgotten that having two monitors on a computer is so freeing, making it workable to watch videos or reference text or websites or articles while working on the other monitor. I cannot properly describe how much better it is than shuffling between windows and tabs or workspaces/​desktops on one screen.

I probably have a few more changes to make for lighting, and I might need to get a few more external drives, but all in all it’s mostly done. I just need to get everything playing well with everything else, and I need to do my cleaning.

Well, I have some other things in the works, so I think I’ll go back to researching Linux distros while waiting for those things to come to fruition before announcing.

Thanks for stopping by, reader. I hope the world is treating you well, and that you’re able to put something positive out there to fight off the negative. I’m trying, good lawd, I’ma trying.

Skåll!!!

I’m making progress on recovering all the things, but it’s a slog. Working 10-hour days in a factory really takes it out of you, especially when that day starts at 06:00 on the dot.

I’ve mostly gotten used to the physical labor in the job, but the waking in the wee hours of the morning and going to bed a couple hours after getting home really doesn’t leave me much time to think, much less socialize.

But I’ve finally gotten two monitors on the Windows computer, and am planning to get the second monitor for the Mac at the beginning of next month. And I got the USB/Midi audio cable for the musical keyboard, and it works on both computers.

I was also planning on getting a physical audio mixer because the software mixers I have tend to stop working periodically and I’m just tired of it. But if existing problems weren’t enough, I also just had my headphones die. I’m hesitant to buy another headphone set, because the last set was many months of research to find something that was only good for two years. But I may need to anyway, because of the recently departed.

I’m also debating getting an inexpensive Linux computer to simplify/centralize some file management, but I haven’t completely decided if I need to do that or if I should wait. I’m currently doing research on current Linux distros and modern filesystems with Linux services and tying that to cloud services to see what options/benefits are to changing things up.

After some initial research, I will say this about Linux – things have changed a lot since I last toyed with things. It looks like some distros have streamlined filesystems/locations as things like SSDs have replaced HDDs, CD-ROMs have disappeared, and USB has won the port hell that was the 90s and aughts (only to make it worse again by having USB 1, 1.1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) Another positive is that desktop environments seemingly have made amazing advancements, and I haven’t seen anything lingering about X.org….

So yeah, I may convince myself to get that inexpensive Linux computer just to be able to delve deeper into things and reacquaint myself with the system after an extended absence. I mean, if I’m honest, I’m not a Linux/Unix guru, I just was comfortable enough to be able to build a Gentoo system with a custom kernel, or be able to configure an intranet webserver with related file services. I don’t even know if MAN is the canonical way of finding guidance anymore.

ANYWHOO, yeah, Linux kinda derailed this meandering update.

I’ve finished reacquiring the majority of the kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, and general living stuff. All that’s left is the specialty stuff.

But I also have to start thinking about the future, namely moving in June. So, yeah.

Thanks for tuning in to my blathering. I hope the world is treating you well, and that you’re able to make the world a bit better, even in these time of externally-stupid-induced hardships.

Skåll!!!