On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 11:56 AM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
> Just adding my two cents after reading this thread. > > Cooling (just an opinion, not based on diverse experience): > > - Pi 4 does not need cooling but it apparently makes a difference in > performance under load. > I found this about heat and thermal throttling for the Pi: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/thermal-testing-raspberry-pi-4/ Very interesting read ( a bit lengthy but fully worth it ) > - passive cooling is "good enough". I use a FLIRC case > <https://www.amazon.ca/Flirc-Raspberry-Pi-Case-Silver/dp/B07WG4DW52/> > Passive means that it won't wear out. > A lot more choices are available now. > The price ($21.15) isn't too horrible. > They have another case which looks interesting: https://youtu.be/79HG6ZUblZs He actually has temperature readings over 20 minutes under load. > > | From: Aruna Hewapathirane via talk <talk@gtalug.org> > > | This is not for me. My uncle lives in Edmonton. He is in his late 70's > and > | getting on. > | I visited him recently and he has an ancient desktop and my aunty has a > | laptop. Both > | run Windows 10. > > The step from Win10 => Linux might or might not be hard for them. You > don't really want to find out the hard way. For example, they might > need some initial help that is hard to do remotely. Forcing them into > new habits might or might not go well. > You know I never gave this much thought. I have been using Linux for so long now it never occured to me. But your so right. I may need to rethink all this again. Thank's for the pointer. After reading what you said I googled around and found this: https://youtu.be/h0_kEV-gdtI This is more proof of concept and wifi does not work. I wonder how functional and actually useful it would be ? But windows can be installed on the Pi :-) > > I did switch my father from Windows to Linux when he started having > trouble (in his late 80s). He barely noticed. But I wasn't a plane > trip away. > Yes and return fare to Edmonton is not cheap :-) > > I guess you want two desktops. It might be best if they are very > similar so that they can help each other. > Makes sense. But uncle has a desktop and aunty uses the laptop. Uncle dislikes the lap and aunty does not much care for the desktop. > > How much of their old systems is salvageable? > Most everything.. > > - keyboard, mouse: USB, right? > Yep ! > > - display: CRT or LCD? Connectors: VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, or HDMI > (likely some subset)? > > - cables, desks, ... > > The Raspberry Pi family is meant to invite play. Unfortunately, > that's kind of the opposite of what you want. You can paper over much > of that by configuring it yourself. Little things like power on / > power off remain as possible problems. > > The first time you turn on a new conventional PC involves a lot of > busywork. Windows requires a fair amount of stupid work. Some people > even find that unboxing and plugging all the cables in is challenging. > Other than that, I'd suggest ordering a PC of some sort to be > delivered to their house: no additional expense. > > These days, notebooks are the right choice for most people. Less > cabling, less trouble moving, less space, not too expensive. On the > down side, the screens may be too small for folks with vision > problems. > > I don't know how important price is to you. You could consider refurb > stuff from Dell Financial Services. Not the cheapest but they are not > fly by night. Supplies are a bit limited because of the lock-down. > Price is very important right now. > > <https://www.dellrefurbished.com/> > > Shipping isn't free. > > There are also small X86 PCs. They are often as expensive as > notebooks. But they might let your customers keep their existing > keyboard, mouse, and monitor. For example, I have a few ThinkCentre > M93p "tiny" computers. > > These people currently have them starting at $170. Not cheap. > Getting old. Still getting updates from Lenovo! > < > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-hKAmQahPcEV_h5mwflWGLWCQtqkKOBDbsakv4ee2u0/edit#gid=0 > > > > Dell has SFF (Small Form Factor) PCs (a little larger than "tiny"). > Here are some > < > https://www.dellrefurbished.com/desktop-computers?filter_brand=188&filter_chassis_type=242 > > > > > | The modem+router is in their basement. The house has 3 > | levels. So > | the wifi signal has to get through two floors for my uncle and one floor > | for my aunty. > > Mentioned before, but: > > Surely there is a way to move the modem/router. > > - if it is DSL, all you have to do is move the modem/router to another > phone jack > (and juggle the filters) > I will ask uncle to check and get back to me. That seems simple enough to do. > - if it is cable, all you should have to do is move the modem/router > to a different cable jack > > It would be odd if there were not a jack elsewhere. > Again I will ask uncle to check and let me know. > A Raspberry Pi's WiFi might not be great (I don't know). After all, > its antena is just a squiggle on the PC board. > > | Most > | times things are extremely slow. > > Why? Often a hard problem to answer, but without knowing why it is hard > to know the best fixes. > > - old WiFi standard (eg. 802.11b)? > > - too many neighbours using the channel? > > - leaky microwave oven? > > - substandard broadband service? > > | I could run an ethernet cable from the > | basement and wire > | a direct connection but did not have the time to do that this time. > > That should not be necessary. I do like wired connections for > security and for fewer/simpler ways of going wrong. I no longer even > wire my TV PCs. > > | If there is anyone in Edmonton in the Castledowns area who has the > | experience and a few minutes > | to spare would it be possible to have a look at my uncle's basement and > see > | what would be the > | best way to solve this ? > > There surely is, but asking the GTA LUG might not be the best way to > discover them. Certainly you might find GTA people with Edmonton > connections. Google finds: > <https://groups.io/g/elug> > Thank you for the Edmonton lug info. I will follow up. And that's one hell of a 2 cents :-) I would have never figured they may not be comfortable suddenly being shown a desktop that is not Windows. Thank you so much for all the pointers and apologies for the delayed response. Aruna --- > Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org > Unsubscribe from this mailing list > https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk >
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