'No Stupid Questions' (NSQ) Internet & Technology Edition

DavidS877 said:
Get different physical hardware for the router and the Wireless Access Points as often the optimal location for one is not the optimal location for the other(s). I run PFSense(I think I'd use OPNSense if/when I start over) for routing on a mini-PC
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Good info that I decided to hold onto for a while now that I have the opportunity to plan and put some things into action. I managed to get switched over to fiber (about 300 MBPS) so now the only thing on the network is really an ONT all-in-one (specifically a Nokia ONT XS-2426G-B), and I've put the old coax-ware in storage. I was basing most of my direction off FUTO's self managed guide and swapping hardware NIC's sounded like a great feature ("set it and forget it" is certainly a bonus) until you realize the electricity cost of running a full desktop PC 24/7.

Is there a certain mini-PC you'd recommend in current year, or some SFF PC with a low enough power draw? Right now my main goal is to just get pfSense (for longevity) and Pi-Hole running to block trackers and ads off my network as a start, and get some extenders later on.
 
heloderma_suspectum said:
Is there a certain mini-PC you'd recommend in current year, or some SFF PC with a low enough power draw? Right now my main goal is to just get pfSense (for longevity) and Pi-Hole running to block trackers and ads off my network as a start, and get some extenders later on.
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I just go to Amazon, type in "4 x 2.5G small PC" and check what comes up. I just got a new one but haven't put it into service yet, thought 2.5G would show up from my ISP sooner than it has. As usual it's some random Chinese model, they all look the same. Personally I don't worry about power as I have about 30 other things that use more power.

I haven't looked at Pi Hole lately but PFSense/OPNSense can do most, if not all, that the PiHole does by loading the same blocklists into the Unbound DNS server on the router just without a pretty GUI.
 
UnsufficentBoobage said:
My Honor 8a seemingly had stopped updating and is stuck on Android 9. So some internet pages stopped opening in its now-outdated Chrome, and I am at loss what browser beside Firefox (it kills my phone and it already does not open shit, like KF, for example) I can use.
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android 9 is ancient now. you should start thinking about updating.
 
UnsufficentBoobage said:
My Honor 8a seemingly had stopped updating and is stuck on Android 9. So some internet pages stopped opening in its now-outdated Chrome, and I am at loss what browser beside Firefox (it kills my phone and it already does not open shit, like KF, for example) I can use.
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Install F-Droid. Install FFUpdater from F-Droid. There are a bunch of open source browsers on there you can dick around with and see what works best for you. As far as I know they're all safe, but honestly who the fuck knows these days. Just look at what happened with notepad++.
 
Is there any way around that "Error 153" BS on YT embeds in Firefox? I hear it's because of some "refusing blank referrer" BS. Seems the only "solutions" I have been able to find so far are vids by Indians about "clicking on the 3 dots" in "Google Chrome" and "clearing the cache" on a "smartphone", which of course does not work with Firefox on a PC (and may not even work in "Google Chrome" on a "smartphone" either). Is there some setting or cryptic about:config thing to get around "refusing blank referrers" bullshit?
 
Is there a thread for setting up an OpenClaw to, like, gamble on stocks for you?
Or failing that can any autist give me starting pointers and a warning that it’s a stupid idea?
 
HiveDull said:
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but what are good alternatives to Discord? My use case is mainly text, voice chat, and screen sharing.

Thanks in advance!
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i am thinking of moving to session, matrix or element.io, not really sure at this point, i am gonna wait until they actually plant the id verification system into the program.
 
The Feline Solution 2 said:
I am moving some files from my C: to my D: and i just noticed that the transfer speed is being quite erratic. Is it the SSD after all?
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these are death signs, prepare to bury the poor guy but order a replacement, if you want to abuse your SSD then i genuinely recommend WD Red ones or even dc600m's, kioxia CD6's too, them things are made to take a hell of a beating in write/read, that's why they are so expensive.
i mean unless you have ancient intel board then you can always look for a P4800X on ali, if you dig enough you can even find a optane to be the cache for your HDD's, lul.
Adash said:
In the year 2026, is there any way to purchase a 1TB M.2 SSD for actually affordable prices? I really regret not buying them earlier. I was contemplating buying a broken laptop and harvesting the SSD, but those usually come with only 256gb, and they've usually already been harvested anyway. Oh well.
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only chink ones thanks to this damn bubble, if you wish to have a "decent" seal of approval from gamers nexus you can always check the video he made on it and here's the list for you to look around:
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they are still chinese-made though so if you had bad experiences with chinesium they might trigger your timbers...
 
Anyone have any earbud recommendations for the following requirements:
  • wired
  • play/pause button or function on the earbuds themselves or on the cord slightly below them (this has been the biggest sticking point by far for some reason - I've repeatedly had my time wasted with the "play/pause" button instead being for a cheap built-in microphone input instead of audio output (or just literally not working/existing in the first place despite the product description)).
  • preferably cheap, I'm no audiophile, I just want something to pop in one ear at work so I can listen to music/videos while being able to hear my surroundings and quickly pause without having to fumble around with muting audio if someone needs to ask me something.
 
I want to ask you guys about soldering.

I've been meaning to get into learning how to do this at an amateur-/hobbyist level, mainly to solder keyboards.

Some time ago, I went down to the local hardware store and bought what I now know is a budget-soldering iron that is so budget that it's virtually useless for any SMD soldering. After I bought the soldering iron, I asked around on a forum that deals with mainly all things electronics what they thought of it. After the guys on there told me that I could probably solder just as well by heating the hook of a clothes hanger, I realized that I need better stuff if I'm going to solder surface mount devices. I returned to soldering iron I had bought and went deeper into investigating what I need for SMT soldering.

I've since learned that I first and foremost need a soldering iron where the heating element and sensor are inside the tip. This is where I'm stuck at currently. Solder wire, flux, cleaning pads and technique will have to come after I've actually bought the soldering iron I intend to use.

Now, soldering irons which use tips that have integrated heating elements are much more expensive that other soldering irons, but this is what gives them the finesse to work properly on surface mounted devices. If I wanted to spend 1000$ on a soldering station, I could of course go for JBC or Weller, but I'm not in the mood to spend that kind of money at all. Rather, my budget lies somewhere between 50-100$. From my amateurish research, I've found that this would make brands like QUICKO an option.

I came across the YouTube-channel SDG Electronics, and he made an excellent review on one T12 station from KSGER and one from QUICKO.

Still, I've heard that KSGER and QUICKO can have dangerous problems with grounding. I'm not that technologically proficient with electronic devices to trust my ability to modify these cases to ground them myself. There are videos on YouTube, but I feel that these are the kinds of things that are better left to the professionals. I suppose this is the price you pay when you shop around the budget clones of more reputable and higher quality brands.

I wanted to ask those of you who know how to solder what you think of KSGER and QUICKO? Are they worth giving a shot, or would you prefer something else?
 
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