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It was the SCADA view right? A lot of SCADA software is basically running on top of windows, though you typically would never see the desktop. Ignition at least is cross platform, but that is because the server is Java and Jython. A big part of why things are running on windows is due to OPC, which was traditionally all DOM and .NET. It is basically a standard communications protocol and is what allows your HMI/SCADA to communicate with PLCs. Otherwise, you use proprietary drivers and native PLC specific protocols.

SCADA programming/design is kind of an art and is usually written by an either an overworked engineer or someone who had far too much time on their hands. You basically build screens using specialized software, hook up buttons and UI elements to PLC signals, and pass some signals from the UI to the PLC. They are all heading in the Edge/iot/cloud/web based/techno-babble direction these days…

Ignition, programming software is free!: https://inductiveautomation.com

Some other random ones I have seen or used in the past: https://www.siemens.com/global/en/products/automation/simatic-hmi/wincc-unified.html https://www.aveva.com/en/products/intouch-hmi/ https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/products/software/factorytalk/operationsuite/view.html

Yeah, I have Russia and a few other countries blocked on my network. That is a no-go for me personally.

UL certification can mean different things, depending on the product and type of mark. It also isn’t that expensive to get UL listed as it isn’t like every single item you produce is tested. Each product you design is tested, but not each item you produce.

There are 3/4 types. UL listed, UL recognized, and UL classified. Certified is newer and more stringent.

• Recognized is mostly for machinery and components within machinery. It isn’t terribly difficult to get, but annoying. I have dealt with this type as we design and build electrical panels. Usually you hand the design to a panel builder and they will get it certified before delivery.
• Listed is for products and appliances, and is fully tested for safety. This applies to most consumer electronics.
• Certified Enhanced is also for products, and you can read up on it here: https://www.ul.com/news/qa-uls-enhanced-certification-mark
• Classified is for products and is half ass tested. All it means is that some requirements for UL were tested and passed, but not all.

If a product is Classified by UL, this can mean its testing meets the particular requirements for a single test with a published result, but has nothing to do with all the other tests that may form part of a Standard (i.e., UL 181).

As for pricing for UL listed, it can be just a few grand for a single product. Not much when you are selling thousands. I am sure Classified is even cheaper. I wonder how many of these cheap ass lamps say Classified.

No idea which phone you have, but dbrand does carry a decent amount of models. However, it is mostly limited to Apple, Google, Samsung, and One Plus. It does suck trying to find some things though. I do try to get things directly from the manufacturer website when it makes sense, but sometimes Amazon IS their website.

Crowdstrike took Debian and Rocky down earlier this year due to a bad update… Linux is not immune.

We had a student run server for piracy at my University to get copied textbooks from, but even then we had to sometimes look elsewhere. I often couldn’t afford books and not all professors allowed the cheaper used previous editions.

Science textbooks were the worst with their stupid fucking online code bullshit so we could do homework. They even made it where you could buy just the code, which was something like $70. Still better than 300+, but JFC. Having to spend over $1000 for books that you are only going to use for 10 weeks was nuts.

The last saving grace we had is all textbooks were required to have at least one copy in the library that could not be checked out/removed. You could photocopy the homework pages that way. If your classmates were nice, they would let you borrow theirs to copy any pages too. You could also buy your textbook, copy what you needed, and return it within the return window.

Me too!

I know right? It sucks having a curved screen with a case as it pushes my thumb in the exact worst spot on the side of the screen. I accidentally do things all the time. I rest my thumb on the case edge to try and avoid it, but if I barely tilt, it touches the oversensitive touchscreen. First world problems.

Same. I had to uninstall due to the battery drain issues. Pixel 6 Pro. Battery life is not something I am willing to compromise on.

Sames. They make sweet monitors.

I do a lot on my M1 air and I haven’t even considered I would have RAM issues with 16GB. Windows, I would be getting 64GB to not be miserable. I don’t run as much as you all the time, but having a container or two going, far too many browser tabs, PDFs, 3-4 intellij projects, discord, teams, and probably other things I am forgetting about is the norm. I even have AutoCAD open sometimes.

The biggest difference is Mx is arm based, which goes a long way into getting better performance and battery life. I really need to look up again how Apple manages memory, swap, and performance in general. I just checked Activity Monitor and even with most of the memory showing as used, I don’t even notice. If my laptop were to die tomorrow due to my clumsy fumbling, I am getting another Mac. My only wish is getting Vulkan support. That would be amazing. Not going to hold my breath on that though.

Now, 8GB is a crime and it is not something I would recommend for any laptop/desktop, no matter what it is running. Not saying it wouldn’t work ok on a Mac for someone who only uses it for web browsing, but it is utterly ridiculous that 8GB is even an option these days. This is a dumb hill for Apple to die on and 16 should be the absolute minimum.

I have a debloated W11 VM on my proxmox server that I have used only once and is only there for some unknown emergency. With a little fiddling, I got it to idle under 4GB. I don’t plan to run servers on my laptop and invested enough on a little server rack to give me things like file servers, VMs, more permanent containers, and somehow got talked into making a gaming VM that I use at LAN parties. The 3U case for the main server travels very well.

Personally, I would try and get some of your server stuff off your machine. You can even take a look at some docker swarm or similar k8 concepts to reduce your container load. RPis are another good choice for some lower load server operations. I have a little RPi swarm that is powered by PoE+, though I plan on trying k8 on them soon to get some experience. RPis are also small enough that you could throw one in your bag if you needed something portable and are fairly inexpensive. Just a thought and may not be possible with your server applications.

Thank you! I didn’t really understand what drivers did in the whole scheme of things and it makes me appreciate what these engineers do. Now to go down another rabbit hole of videos.

I just got an Arc recently after not having any kind of PC build for over a decade. Still figuring out all of the things I want to do with it, but I haven’t had any complaints with performance on the couple things I tried. Looking forward to spending more time with the hardware and watching more videos!

I almost panicked and thought it was WSL until I got to the Android part. Never knew it was a thing. Still sucks for developers who depended on it.

I had to Google it too! “In other words”

The only semi nice thing my car did for the touchscreen is let you put shortcuts at the top, which is just the stupid screen for the heated seats. Everything else has a button in a easy to reach spot. I use Android Auto and I only have to bring up the actual car menu every few months, and not while driving. It isn’t a perfect infotainment system, but it has certainly been the least annoying.

I set up a script the other day to check the repo every half hour or so and download any updates. I will give myself a reminder tomorrow to post it on Dropbox or something, if you don’t find it elsewhere.

They also have a list of items you can and cannot agree to, instead of just 1. So agree to 1, and say no to the rest sort of deal. You can also set the TV to non-US and get a little less bullshit.

I have one too. Go take a look at Cable Matters. I am able to play games at 4k120 with my mac. See if something will work for you and you can always send a message to their customer support to ask questions.

I miss the giant almanacs the car insurance company would give you each year that had all of the US states in them. We would plot routes for cross country trips. I can use a paper or digital map, but I do like using something like Google Maps to see traffic, construction, and accidents when I travel. I use it at home when going into certain areas as I have no idea what state the current construction disaster is that day compared to a few days ago.

Otherwise, I find it important to learn how to navigate cities without maps. When I moved, I used to drive around the city in random directions to see how it looked, what the street names were, and get a sense of the layout. If things started to look like gang territory, or super shady, I would just turn around.