David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
A friend is buying a house, or trying. And like many people of a certain age, he has very few adult friends who have ever gotten a mortgage. I have, so I know it’s a scary process. So let’s talk about what paperwork you need for a mortgage pre-approval, and how hard the process is.
The Intel 386 SX CPU quickly replaced the 286 CPU in the early 1990s. For a time, it was a very popular CPU, especially for people who were wanting to run Microsoft Windows 3.0 or 3.1. Yet the two CPUs run at nearly identical speed. So what was the big deal? The 286 vs 386SX argument could be confusing in 1991, and it’s not much clearer today.
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If your gas stove isn’t lighting, and by that I mean burners are clicking or won’t light, or light unevenly, I have good news for you. You don’t need a new range. I don’t know how many homeowners throw out perfectly fixable ranges over this problem, but I know it’s too many. You can fix this problem for around $2 if everything goes well. Even if everything doesn’t go well, you can fix it for around $80. But $2 is more likely.
If your gas stove won’t light, it’s usually a problem with airflow. Replacing the burner heads usually solves the problem, or you can save money by soaking the burner heads in vinegar.
To say the IBM Model M keyboard has a cult following is an understatement. Although it fell out of favor for a time, it’s made a comeback in recent years. Mechanical keyboards as a whole have also made a comeback in recent years. Cherry MX Blue switches are popular because some say they have a clicky IBM like feel. So let’s take a look at the IBM Model M vs Cherry MX Blue.
A coworker asked me what the difference was between the Apple Macintosh and the Lisa. Admittedly, it’s hard to compare and contrast the two. But the Lisa was more than just an expensive Macintosh. Let’s take a look at the Apple Macintosh vs Lisa.
Back when the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities came to light, we had a spirited discussion after work about the mitigations. On some systems, The mitigations required a BIOS update. My boss asked, who updates their BIOS? Fair question. So should you update your BIOS?
I said I wanted to start using that as a job interview question. I could be convinced either way, but I want someone to be able to defend their answer. So let’s go over the pros and cons of updating your BIOS.
There are many types of wood glue, and it can be confusing which one to use. Specialty glues are more expensive, but are they better? Let’s take a look at hide glue vs PVA wood glue and when each one is appropriate.
MS-DOS 6 introduced a boot menu capability, a capability PC DOS inherited. This capability had the potential to eliminate custom boot floppies, but not a lot of people used it in my experience. I have them set up on my retro PCs to good effect. So here’s the DOS boot menu explained, with useful examples.
Membrane gaming keyboards cost less than mechanical keyboards, but they’re expensive enough that they’re worth fixing. Here’s how to clean a membrane gaming keyboard when it gets fouled with debris.
My friend just bought a new house. And let’s just say the previous owner didn’t take very good care of it. One of the problems he noticed, once he fixed other problems, was beat up baseboard trim. The easiest thing for him to do is paint it. Here’s how to paint baseboard trim white.