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Are expensive HDMI cables worth it?

Dave Farquhar Saving money March 3, 2021January 31, 2021 0 Comment

The markup on cables is huge. The markup on premium cables is even bigger. That’s why the cable you need to connect your device to your TV frequently doesn’t come in the box. Making matters worse, it’s hard to know which cable to buy. Are expensive HDMI cables worth it? Are they worth the extra money?

It’s more complicated than it used to be, since an 8K HDMI cable is different and does cost more to make than a 4K HDMI cable. But all other things being equal, there’s no difference in audio and video quality between two cables with the same specs and a different price.

Is AT&T Fiber good? Is AT&T Fiber worth it?

Dave Farquhar ISPs March 2, 2021February 28, 2021 0 Comment

Is AT&T Fiber good? Is AT&T Fiber worth it? As an IT professional who works from home full time and relies on my Internet connection to make a living, I have strong opinions about that. I think it also puts me in a good position to answer those questions.

While AT&T Fiber isn’t perfect, it does have a lot going for it. Depending on what your other choices are, it may be the best option in your area. Here’s how to know.

How to coupon Harbor Freight

Dave Farquhar DIY, Saving money March 1, 2021 0 Comment

Is coupon a verb? Probably not. But someone asked the question, so let’s talk about how to coupon Harbor Freight, and if my former English teacher is reading, sorry, Mr. Reiss. Maybe he’ll forgive me when he sees how much money he can save, right? At any rate, the rules changed in 2021, so let’s talk about the new rules.

The rumor is that Harbor Freight doesn’t do coupons anymore. While they do a lot fewer coupons now than they used to, Harbor Freight does still issue coupons. That means there’s still opportunity for savings.

Amstrad PCs: The PC1512 and PC1640

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing February 25, 2021January 30, 2021 0 Comment

The Amstrad PC1512 and PC1640 were inexpensive Korean-made PCs that took Europe by storm in the mid 1980s. Amstrad was the UK’s largest computer maker, and it hoped to replicate that success in the United States as well. Here’s an overview of those machines, and why that effort was less than an overwhelming success.

FPGA vs retro hardware

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing February 24, 2021January 25, 2021 0 Comment

My roundup of Commodore motherboards turned up on a vintage computer discussion board. A minor aside that I mentioned in passing turned into a major topic of discussion. And then the conversation turned in an entirely different direction. What about going with an FPGA solution, rather than vintage hardware? With an FPGA approach you can be certain you’re getting what you want. But what are the drawbacks of FPGA vs retro hardware, if any?

A purist will object to modern FPGA approaches, usually for more than one reason. But there can be practical advantages to an FPGA solution, and it’s also possible to blend it with a more traditional approach.

Fix the WordPress critical error on your website

Dave Farquhar Wordpress February 23, 2021January 24, 2021 0 Comment

I built a shiny new server recently. Then I spent three hours trying to migrate my site to it. So it goes. But even after the site mostly worked right, WordPress gave me a critical error on my website every time I tried to save a post. Here’s how I fixed the problem.

The message there has been a critical error on your website, please check your site admin email for instructions can be scary, especially when you check your e-mail and there’s nothing there. I found the WordPress dashboard can help.

Monitor for a Commodore VIC-20

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing February 22, 2021 0 Comment

Someone asked in a vintage computer forum recently what the correct monitor would be to use with a VIC-20. Commodore never sold a white monitor the same color as the VIC. Its first color monitor was the 1701, which matched the C-64. If you want a period correct Commodore VIC-20 monitor, you have a couple of options. If you want a holy grail story, the matching monitor for the VIC-20 is a good one.

Commodore cancelled the VIC-1510 monitor for the VIC-20. But there were some third party monitors from the 1980s that look the part.

Make a Word hyperlink UNC path

Dave Farquhar Office, Software, Windows February 20, 2021command prompt, Once Windows, UNC 0 Comment

I had an issue in a document with a hyperlink to an existing file. The file existed on a network drive, so the link worked fine… until someone with different drive mappings than me had to look at the document. Then the link didn’t resolve and the person got an error message. A confusing error message. It turns out it’s tricky to make a Word hyperlink UNC path.

Fixing it wasn’t as easy as it should have been. Read more

Late majority in marketing

Dave Farquhar Investing February 18, 2021February 15, 2021 0 Comment

The late majority is an important concept in marketing and business. This is the phase when an idea goes completely mainstream. If it’s your idea, this is the phase when you’ve made it. If you’re competing against this idea, you’d better be ready to be counter culture. I’ll provide you the definition, and some examples from somewhat recent history.

Gzip vs Zip

Dave Farquhar Software February 17, 2021February 15, 2021 1 Comment

Zip and gzip are two similarly named utilities, and they perform similar functions, but they are unrelated. They also have slightly different use cases. Let’s take a look at gzip vs Zip.

Simply speaking, Zip and gzip are implementations of the same compression algorithm for different operating systems, so they are similar but not exactly compatible. Zip originated with MS-DOS, while gzip originated with Unix-like operating systems, notably Linux.

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