Who's treated themselves to some new hardware recently?

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Billtoo
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Who's treated themselves to some new hardware recently?

#16 Post by Billtoo »

I haven't been able to get it working in EasyOS or Puppy but I bought an inexpensive usb Bluetooth speaker at Walmart.
It works well in Mint,Ubuntu, etc.

It has good volume level.
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bigpup
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#17 Post by bigpup »

Have to add bluetooth software.
Tried adding the bluetooth support with maybe something like this.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=109828
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Mike Walsh
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#18 Post by Mike Walsh »

Finally decided to treat myself to another wireless keyboard.....this time, for the big Compaq desktop.

I've been using the venerable, trusty old Logitech K270 wired, full-size keyboard for around the last 4 years. It's a lovely keyboard, and I've got very used to it; I'm just 'miffed' about the lead snaking over to the back of my desk....it always seems to be 'snagging' on other things. I was having a nose around on the Currys/PCWorld website, here in the UK, and noticed that Logitech now seem to have a wireless version of the same item; the MK270.


Image


Not only that, but it appears to only be available in tandem with the M185 mouse, being sold as a 'combo' bundle....both being already paired to the same LogiTech Unifying Receiver (a piece of tech pioneered by Logitech, where you can have up to six separate items all running from a single 'dongle'). It's a neat idea, that cuts down on loads of different receivers.....and it's handy having them ready paired for you, since the pairing technology only actually works in Windoze. (Doesn't work under WINE; I've tried it. Doesn't want to know..!)

Another mouse! (*Groan*) :lol: Actually, I don't mind the M185; it's a good, small, straight-forward wireless mouse (I've got one already), but I can use the new one without needing to plug another receiver in.....

The row of 'media' buttons mostly work.....around 75%. In the 'buntu-based Pups, the volume up/down/mute keys work, with an on-screen display; they work in the Slackos, too, but no OSD. The calculator button actually starts galculator; astounding. (That's in 'buntu Pups; not in the Slackos, though.) And the 'play/pause' key starts your default media-player; again, 'buntus only.

I'm quite happy with it, I must say. If I get 4-5 years out of this one, that'll do me.....and for a 'Black Friday' bundle price of just under GBP £20 all-in, ya cannot complain..! :D


Mike. :wink:

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nosystemdthanks
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#19 Post by nosystemdthanks »

ive got a used laptop (new to me) with 8gb of ram-- this is twice as much as ive ever had on any machine.

when i get a new laptop it is typically dirt cheap, as i wait around for something no longer wanted by its owner. this one was well under $100 usd. (relevant: https://freemedia.neocities.org/zero-dollar-laptop.html)

yes of course i load my entire os into ram-- whether i base it on refracta, debian, void linux, or puppy.

though tinycore makes this a bit more tedious because of the way it handles tcz (sfs) packages. it doesnt have to, its the default design choice they made (and there are things you can do about it-- which i also think are a little tedious.)

puppy was the first os i ran entirely in ram and ive loved that feature ever since. with 8gb, you dont necessarily need swap either-- i enable it if im going ot be doing some very serious processing of something. but for those tasks, 8gb plus os + running apps is probably enough! at least until the web finds a way to double the browser ram again. web browsing takes almost as much ram as windows these days-- shameful. (yes i block scripts whenever reasonable.)
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Billtoo
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Who's treated themselves to some new hardware recently?

#20 Post by Billtoo »

I use a usb sound card on my Compaq Presario desktop, it's a Sound
Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro .
I saw a usb powered speaker advertised and bought one of those, it
plugs into the headphone jack on the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro and the
usb connecter to a nearby usb port, there is also a microhone jack on the
Sound Blaster X-Fi Go Pro (that I don't need/use)
This setup works well with kodi and vlc, haven't found a way to use it
with nexuiz.
The speaker volume is good, and the sound quality is good enough for my
tin ear :)

I have it clamped to the side of the table that the monitor sits on.
-----------------------------------------
EDIT:
This setup works well with kodi and vlc, haven't found a way to use it
with nexuiz.
In Fatdog-800 alpha I opened the control panel and made it the default sound card, then rebooted.

Can hear the guns blazing now.
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belham2
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Re: Who's treated themselves to some new hardware recently?

#21 Post by belham2 »

Billtoo wrote:I use a usb sound card on my Compaq Presario desktop, it's a Sound
Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro .
I saw a usb powered speaker advertised and bought one of those, it
plugs into the headphone jack on the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro and the
usb connecter to a nearby usb port, there is also a microhone jack on the
Sound Blaster X-Fi Go Pro (that I don't need/use)
This setup works well with kodi and vlc, haven't found a way to use it
with nexuiz.
The speaker volume is good, and the sound quality is good enough for my
tin ear :)

I have it clamped to the side of the table that the monitor sits on.
-----------------------------------------
EDIT:
This setup works well with kodi and vlc, haven't found a way to use it
with nexuiz.
In Fatdog-800 alpha I opened the control panel and made it the default sound card, then rebooted.

Can hear the guns blazing now.
Hi Bill,

Hey, you know we have the same Compaq computer, so I can I be a dimwit here?

I've always struggled with sound with it, but it sounds like you got it licked.

What exactly, in totality, do I need to get to make my setup like yours?

I look on Amazon and found the "Sound
Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro"
for $19, what else (connectors, cables, and especially which 'Powered USB Speaker'?) do I need to get???

It'd be nice if this old Compaq could come alivejust a bit. Also, I am a country mile from being a stickler for sound quality. I just want to hear something, anything, lol.....and you sound (no pun intended) like you got it solved for out machine :wink:


Thanks for any help/hints/tips!

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nic007
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#22 Post by nic007 »

I bought a VGA to TV converter so I can connect my old laptop to TV.

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Billtoo
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Re: Who's treated themselves to some new hardware recently?

#23 Post by Billtoo »

belham2 wrote: I look on Amazon and found the "Sound
Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro"
for $19, what else (connectors, cables, and especially which 'Powered USB Speaker'?) do I need to get???

It'd be nice if this old Compaq could come alivejust a bit. Also, I am a country mile from being a stickler for sound quality. I just want to hear something, anything, lol.....and you sound (no pun intended) like you got it solved for out machine :wink:


Thanks for any help/hints/tips!
Hi belham2,

I bought my presario in 2009, one of the last sold as an HP compaq I think:
# uname -ra
Linux fatdog64-11b 4.19.1 #1 SMP Wed Nov 7 18:52:51 EST 2018 x86_64 Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5200 @ 2.50GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
#
I have an older presario from 2004 that just had a hard drive failure recently so I've retired that one.

Anyway, the usb powered speaker came from Staples for 30 canuck-bucks.

I find it handy because I don't have to get on hands and knees to pull the connector from a pair of powered speakers that I was sharing with a couple of other computers,doing that ain't easy when you're old :)

Good luck.
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Mike Walsh
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#24 Post by Mike Walsh »

Lashed out again! - (kind of...) - in the 'Black Friday' sale event.

I decided it was time to replace the (very) cheap'n'cheerful headset I've been using for the last coupla years. So I've treated myself to a Logitech H340 'digital' headset...one of these:-


Image


Nice short, neat mike 'boom' instead of the long, whippy one with the old headset. Has its own built-in sound card (needs selecting, but not much in the way of setup required).....and the sound quality is exquisite. The sound card is obviously why the USB connector is big and 'chunky'....but boy, does it make a difference.

https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/product/usb-headset-h340

Normally retailing at around GBP £30, I snagged these for a tenner. And along with Fredx181 having released some up-to-date compilations of ffmpeg, to replace the ancient default Puppy versions, audio recording is once again an entirely feasible proposition for me. Bacon Audio Recorder, mhWaveEdit, etc.,they all now do what they're supposed to (at long last!)

So a decent mike & headphones were finally in order.... :D


Mike. :wink:

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#25 Post by rufwoof »

Next move OSS Mike ??? :)
[size=75]( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) :wq[/size]
[url=http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=1028256#1028256][size=75]Fatdog multi-session usb[/url][/size]
[size=75][url=https://hashbang.sh]echo url|sed -e 's/^/(c/' -e 's/$/ hashbang.sh)/'|sh[/url][/size]

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Mike Walsh
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#26 Post by Mike Walsh »

rufwoof wrote:Next move OSS Mike ??? :)
No, mate; ALSA will do me. I'm not that much of an audiophile..! :lol:

As long as I can get crisp, clear treble, and some deep, rich bass, I'm a happy bunny.....


Mike. :wink:

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Flash
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#27 Post by Flash »

I bought a Sabrent AU-MMSA USB sound card at Fry's electronics for $5. I plugged it into my computer (currently running Upup Bionic Beaver in RAM) and the Alsa sound wizard saw it. So I activated it, plugged some amplified speakers into its output and it worked. I thought it might have at least a small amplifier in it, but apparently not because I could barely hear anything when I plugged in some un-amplified speakers. It's basically just a D-to-A converter without an amplifier, but it works in at least Upup BB without having to install any hardware in the computer. It would work fine with headphones or amplified speakers.
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Mike Walsh
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#28 Post by Mike Walsh »

Flash wrote:I bought a Sabrent AU-MMSA USB sound card at Fry's electronics for $5. I plugged it into my computer (currently running Upup Bionic Beaver in RAM) and the Alsa sound wizard saw it. So I activated it, plugged some amplified speakers into its output and it worked. I thought it might have at least a small amplifier in it, but apparently not because I could barely hear anything when I plugged in some un-amplified speakers. It's basically just a D-to-A converter without an amplifier, but it works in at least Upup BB without having to install any hardware in the computer. It would work fine with headphones or amplified speakers.
@ Flash:-

That's almost exactly the same one I'm using with the old Dell lappie. Because it only has two USB ports (and if I don't have the external HDD plugged into one of those, for some reason Puppy won't shut down properly), the other one is occupied by a 7-port powered USB adapter. The webcam, mouse & wireless keyboard dongles are all plugged into that.

It is possible to set Retrovol to control it directly, but I honestly find it quicker & easier to simply open uo

Code: Select all

alsamixer
....in a terminal, leave it running on another desktop, and control it from there. As you say, they don't have an amp built-in; out of curiosity, what slider controls do you have showing for yours?


Mike. :wink:

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Flash
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#29 Post by Flash »

Mike Walsh wrote:... out of curiosity, what slider controls do you have showing for yours?
I don't have it plugged in any more but I think there were only three sliders: one was the master volume, one was the mike volume or gain and I don't remember what the third one was.

I only bought the thing because it was so cheap and to see how loud it would be. Since it is no louder than the built-in sound of the motherboard, I lost interest in it. It's there if I need a sound card though.

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#30 Post by Puppyt »

Guilty here too of some Christmas spluging on the hardware. Treating myself? Consider it more an act of altruism:

For my Lenovo X130e I bought a 500GB Samsung Evo SSD, and an 8GB DDR3 stick to take it to 10GB total.

So the Panasonic CF-52 wouldn't get upset I gave it the 320GB HDD from the X130e, plus I bought it a twin-port 3.0 USB /54 Expresscard. The card refused to load with the correct drivers in any of the Linux versions I threw at it, so it was given to my parents' Dell 1525 - and runs OOTB in Vista (!!? Circa 2008 I believe).

Not to be outdone, the Lenovo T60 got its original 80gb HDD temporarily replaced with the hand-me-down 160gb from the CF-52, and also a new Cardbus CF-card adapter. Even with a new 128gb udma7 CF-card however it runs as slow as a USB 2.0 card reader - so will look to either use the 44-pin ATA-CF card adapter I have on hand to convert it into a mock SSD - or, wait for the arrival of the "SATA3 mini-to-mSATA adapter" so that I can *actually fit* my new 128gb SATA3 SSD. Economies being what they are currently - the 128gb CF-card was nearly 3 times the cost of the 128gb SATA3-mini SSD, and the former was more expensive than the 500GB Evo SSD. (Dammit)

...when I made the trip interstate recently to upgrade the parent's Dell 1525 ram (and usb ports, supervise new keyboard replacement, advise on replacing their HDD with an SSD option *and* complete their conversion to Puppy Linux), I sussed out options to turn their old lappie into a music server. Bought a bluetooth DAC box to sit connected with their speaker system, and a BT card to fit with their Dell (a 1395 something if memory serves). After ordering the latter - I realised that a Blutooth USB dongle was likely a better "future-proof" option. So one is on its way for me to experiment with on my own Puppy music server before I launch a parallel setup at theirs, in the New Year. Nonetheless I am jealous of the USB DACs and Bluetooth speakers already listed in this thread.

So a couple of mis-steps in hardware purchases that will need to be re-thunk in due course. Another was the USB-PS/2 adapter and "converter" for a project to root a retired smartphone and hook up old PS/2 mouse and keyboard. Of course it didn't convert - a complaint and refund later, along with a replacement twin-plug adapter/converter, is otherwise looking encouraging.

Now I'm thinking that I could whack the 128gb CF-card into my (daughters) Dell 1100 (with fully-functioning coffee-free original keyboard) and convert the DVD into a caddy for a recycled HDD somebody else on the forums has going in their similarly-vintaged models...(not naming any names, MW)

(P.S. I have a replacement USB 3.0 54 Expresscard *and* USB 3.0 multi-card reader coming for the CF-52 - a surprise for it :) )
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#31 Post by sheldonisaac »

Puppyt, your splurging makes mine look puny.

Last week somewhere online I saw a 64GB microSDXC card, and got it with part of the $50 from Amazon for signing up for their credit card (hope it doesn't get me into trouble).

Anyhow, I'd wondered whether it would work with my oldish equipment:

The card slot on this Dell E6410 laptop saw it as a blank 64GB exFAT drive.

The 2003 Casio Exilim camera wouldn't turn on with the card in it.

The LG cell phone didn't like it, offered to format; I said OK.
As a result, it became FAT32; and the phone accepts it.

So does the Sony Blu-Ray player, via a USB card reader.

The computer still recognizes it.

And a years-old Sansa Clip+ media player does, too.

But the camera still won't use it.


Sheldon
Dell E6410: BusterPup, BionicPup64, Xenial, etc
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Mike Walsh
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#32 Post by Mike Walsh »

@ Sheldon:-

Probably won't work with the camera simply due to its age. I believe that support for SDXC cards wouldn't have become 'standard' until several years after that camera was built.

Just my two-penn'orth, FWIW.


Mike. :wink:

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#33 Post by Flash »

There might be a firmware upgrade for the camera that you can download for free and install. Firmware upgrades often include the ability to use larger memories.

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#34 Post by sheldonisaac »

Flash wrote:There might be a firmware upgrade for the camera that you can download for free and install. Firmware upgrades often include the ability to use larger memories.
Oh, thanks! I looked there, and got to
https://support.casio.com/download.php?cid=001&pid=1389
It seems they don't have a firmware upgrade for my model EX-Z40
Dell E6410: BusterPup, BionicPup64, Xenial, etc
Intel DQ35JOE, Dell Vostro 430
Dell Inspiron, Acer Aspire One, EeePC 1018P

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#35 Post by BarryK »

Well, this is "new" for me!

I picked up a 10 year old Compaq Presario PC from the road verge.

Posted about it, with photo, on my blog:

http://bkhome.org/news/201811/compaq-pr ... verge.html
[url]https://bkhome.org/news/[/url]

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