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It doesn't help that some of the late-model Intel Macs were serious dogs... I looked at an ailing 2017 MacBook (rebooted itself over and over) and they seem to be notorious for logic board failures. The 2019 16" MacBook Pro had a self-destructing SSD interface that fried data... not the kind of quality you'd want for spending $4,000 (and the butterfly-switch keyboards had enough problems that I had to bring a few into service). AppleCare is a quandary - it's great if you can afford it, but it's so expensive that it's difficult to justify. The current lineup is great for performance and battery life and the Mac Mini is one of the few inexpensive products. I think the base M4 is enough power for the vast majority of users - just get enough memory and storage for your needs.

The base model M4 Mini is basically the best deal in computing right now. It's so good that it has more or less killed the used Mac market. Except for a few exotics, it's difficult to sell Intel based Macs at all. I'm seeing them pile up on the MV Stuff 4 Sale group. No one is selling Apple Silicon models.

Deck, Farmer's Market Porchetta Sandwich.

I don’t get the “Apple is expensive” rhetoric. They’re comparable in price and have better performance and features than other first tier manufacturers.

I have to agree. There are lots of things wrong with Apple (and not just from 2025), but when things are working, Macs can be brilliant. I've been contemplating the upcoming Window 10 shutdown with some trepidation - Microsoft gave users a lifeline with an extra year of support, using a Microsoft account (and their Backup cloud service), but that's a deal with the devil, where you hand them all your data. What could possibly go wrong? I spent nearly half an hour looking at Microsoft Edge browser settings and I think it is sending a ton of private data to Microsoft. Many of the settings are extremely disturbing - it is using some kind of AI to "help" write your text and "accelerate" your browsing. Clearing your cache and cookies won't work any more, from what I can tell - I think it is retaining more information elsewhere, both on your system and in the Microsoft cloud. Windows 11 has been getting more and more scary, with Microsoft ramming Copilot, OneDrive, Teams and other stuff users don't want into the operating system along with new terrifying bugs and increasing surveillance with every update. You can attempt to keep abreast of all the problems - PCWorld does a good job documenting the carnage: https://www.pcworld.com/windows/news Google just forced Gemini AI on Android users - you have to opt out if you don't want Gemini sending messages, initiating phone calls or setting timers on your behalf. They're also cutting battery power to the Pixel 6a phone battery. It's all sounding really dystopian. On the Linux side, things are slowly getting better. It's still an arcane system for non-nerds, but each year the mainstream distros get easier to install and run for newbies. I wouldn't recommend stepping into Linux for non-hobbyists - I've installed Ubuntu and it's been mostly OK but you still need to know what you're doing and avoid running a new update version for over half a year. I was able to find software equivalents for many popular Windows and macOS apps, but I think Linux evangelists are misguided when they claim that it's a suitable desktop system for mainstream users. Going back to Apple - it's apparent that they have a lot of strengths as a vertically-integrated company with a well-developed ecosystem, but the high price of their hardware and relatively small market share can cause problems for home and small business customers. The sad tale Pars posted above about the M4 Mac Mini could be a warning sign.

DTS gonna be EPIC next spring!

Just dropping in to say Hi and glad to see F1 fans still here. A fairly decent season so far, hoping Ferrari can pull their thumbs out. Cheers!

Blasphema?!? {...or science...}

Things have been so chaotic recently that I'm not sure I mentioned this or not: My M1 lappy had a major problem. First one of the TB ports stopped working, then the keyboard began to fail. I lost use of left arrow key, which was a nightmare. I am constantly using arrow keys to highlight text. I began to get the "MacOS doesn't recognize this keyboard" messages ...on a laptop. I had the option to renew my AppleCare this past February and didn't. Big mistake. It cost me three times that to get this machine fixed. With that said, when one gives APPL nine hundred fucking dollars, they really deliver. They sent me a super neat box to ship it out and got the machine back to me within 5 business days. Here's the punchline. It's an entirely/mostly new machine with my SSD in it. I am on this laptop more or less constantly. The only objects I own where I know the nicks and scratches better are things like my Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 Mk I that I've had for 20 years. Apple is a weird as shit company and I could write a book about them. It'd be titled "Why Apple Sucks Balls, But I Swear On Steve Jobs' Smug Grin, Windows And Android Are Worse At Every Fucking Turn."

Some interesting vehicles at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Megavalanche Alpe d'Huez is my favorite race to watch.

Unholy carp, that hits hard. I don't usually listen to lyrics, but because of the title was intrigued enough, and ... I mean...just... Limerence was a very important word to me in the late 90's, as learning of its existence helped me to get over a girl. Learning there was a word for what I was feeling let me know that I wasn't alone in feeling it.

I just watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 1) over the last week...for free on YouTube. Back to studying...

weeee

150ma for -60 50ma for -250

Lucy Dacus - Limerence

Дякую. Thank you very much for your support. sorry, 150ma spec for -60 or -260 ?

150ma spec for +/-500 50ma spec for +/-250 150ma spec for -60 50ma for +/-15

Hello. My experience has shown that it is better to make several transformers to service amplifiers. For option T2, I would like to use four transformers. 2х for heating lamps. third for +250v and -260v. fourth for +500 and -500v. I have a question for experts. What currents should be at the transformer output 50 or 100 mA?, in order to hold the load +500v. The same question for voltage +250v. P.S. Sorry if everything is not clear, I use Google translator.

That's about as far as they can take these cars without becoming silhouette racers... you'll see different levels of extreme car building in the various classes of WTAC (a Porsche 968 has done really well). The cars have massive power and aero to achieve record times (RWD, AWD, FWD)... without the restrictions you seen in regular wheel-to-wheel GT racing. In Japan, Tsukuba's track is used for many Time Attack competitions and WTAC has been doing the same in Sydney for years (there was a lot of coverage on the website www.speedhunters.com). Classes: https://www.worldtimeattack.com/competitors 2024:

Heather Nova - Breath and Air. Been a huge fan for years, she has an inner passion that I just love. Even though I don't think all her newer music is as strong as much of her earlier work, she still has that passion I love. I FINALLY got to see her live in a small setting, a semi-acoustic set with her brother (who goes by Misha); this was maybe 2-3 years ago, after having 2 different shows cancelled before that. A wonderful experience, got to chat a tiny bit after the show, she is very nice and gracious, really appreciates her fans. Example:

Reminds me of some of the Steel Panther stuff..... EDIT: D'oh! Didn't read that one of the Steel Panther guys is in it! Makes sense....

When a comedy band writes better rock songs than most rock bands