Ubuntu and Firefox update (#E15)

Funny how UI changes in some of the most popular websites on earth can nudge you upgrading stuff. Oh, and how crappy (defective) hardware can finally flip the switch.

I’ve recently heard about the Ubuntu 20.10 release (Groovy Gorilla), which made me remember I’m still on 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver). Since I’m only jumping from LTS to LTS releases as my hardware gets older, I was determined to make the 20.04 (Focal Fossa) jump once I hit 256 days of uptime with my laptop.

I didn’t. Testing some old, almost forgotten, Ultrabay slice battery last week

+++ ThinkPad Battery Status: BAT1 (Ultrabay / Slice / Replaceable)
/sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT1/manufacturer               = SONY
/sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT1/model                      = 41U4890
/sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT1/manufacture_date           = 2007-10-10
/sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT1/first_use_date             = 2012-07-20
/sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT1/cycle_count                =     44

caused an unexpected shutdown. […]

2nd November 2020 2nd November 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

Calore Z1362/R1 waterbed heating controller repair (#P30)

An emergency repair from last Friday night, you know, the ones with the deep green WAF that could offset all your wrongdoings of the entire week if there were any…

I’ve been sleeping on a waterbed for 12 years now; it was the first major (read: expensive) thing I bought after I started going to university. Sleeping on a sofa bed doesn’t really work long-term, but that’s what you do as a broke student with no family to step in. Said waterbed sprung a leak earlier this year on one of the corner seams, so the inner mattress part got replaced (plus the worn topper). […]

18th October 2020 19th October 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

3D garbage model creation with your phone (WHL #61)

Virtual product review for today – an Android app that promises 3D model generation from just a bunch of photos. Extreme spoiler (yes, keyword placement for Google): It doesn’t work, and charging for it is basically a scam. It’s called Scann3D and it is brought to you by a company called SmartMobileVision in Hungary with a defunct website.

Ready for a quick marketing wank?

Scann3D deploys patent pending photogrammetry technology to enable true 3D model capture and reconstruction for smartphones and tablets. Your device becomes a standalone tool to turn images into 3D models – all your images are processed by and on it.

[…]
4th October 2020 4th October 2020 By Bzzz In 2 Comments

Server migration before server migration (#E14)

Quick update post: My all-time favourite hoster Uberspace veeery recently announced that the entire U6 generation of their servers will be moved to a different data center this very evening, as the old one will be torn down. Wan Hung Lo was hosted on those. Starting time about 8 o’clock in the evening local time, downtime probably four to eight hours in total, but servers are moved in smaller batches.

With two hours notice I decided to upgrade to the U7 server generation which everybody will be forced to by the end of the year (EOS of CentOS6 with EOM by Uberspace). […]

22nd September 2020 25th January 2021 By Bzzz In No Comment

Kalorik JU1400 comparison (WHL #60F1)

Just a minor comparison post as I’m in the mood to clean up my place and take things apart. An intent that usually only achieves one of those things, as taking apart stuff makes a larger mess than just the original thing sitting somewhere…

This is (well, was, but it’s not broken in a destructive teardown, just taken apart so that it theoretically could be reassembled) the vacuum cleaner that I think my mom bought without asking in September 2007 when I was about to start studying. Clearly got less use than the family vacuum of similar vintage, just due to the sheer size difference of the places, let alone I did not friggen vacuum every week. […]

20th September 2020 21st September 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

Sport exhaust pop and crackle of a…Dirt Devil M2881-0 vacuum cleaner? (WHL #60)

Someone had fun. With the old crap that everyone technical gets for free when visiting family. This time: An old vacuum cleaner, probably close to ten years old. Described to me as “makes weird noises, shut off immediately” (sure). Oh, and of course it was someone else that used the thing when it went from fully working to probably defective. Aah, family.

Plugged it in at home and had a giggle:

People spend thousands of Euros to make their shitty cars even more ridiculous, and here’s my extremely low riding Dirt Devil asphyxiating on pop and crackle noises :lol:

Alright, further disassembly just reduces weight and didn’t uncover anything stuck inside. […]

13th September 2020 14th September 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

Thermalright True Spirit 120 Rev. A BW 4U fan mount rebuild (#P29)

Technically the second step to the Fujitsu Esprimo board modification in #P28, but not necessary for regular ATX cases that are just big enough to fit a tower cooler, especially nowadays. Well, I always got special problems with my special builds, so I needed to address that.

With the Intel board mount, the Thermalright True Spirit 120 sits ever so slightly higher up in the case compared to the AMD one. It not only interferes with the card holder which is fixed by drilling two more holes in it, but the appended fan holder also touches the case lid. […]

30th August 2020 30th August 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

Dental Impression Mixing Dispensing Gun Universal Dispenser Gun 1:1 /1:2 Silicon Rubber Dispenser Gun 10:1 50ml Dentist Tools (WHL #59)

Some filler content (ha, pun intended) for THAT time of the year. I want my beloved winter back, and I want it to last all year round. Fuck that …intergluteal cleft sweat.

So what do we have today? A 2K epoxy dispenser gun. I bought this to test (and use) some 10 epoxy cartridges that randomly appeared at work – nobody uses this type, nobody even has a dispenser for it (we only have 2:1 and 4:1 glues, no 10:1), and it was expired like a year ago. As it is hard to justify buying an original dispenser gun for the extreme rip-off price of like 70€ for glue that is likely not even usable, I kindly disposed of the cartridges, bought the dispenser with my own money, and had a shot. […]

16th August 2020 9th August 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment

Fujitsu Esprimo E920 D3222-A12 12V/11Vsb to ATX conversion (#P28)

Recent hardware acquisition: Parts of an Esprimo E920 system (board, CPU, RAM and power supply) for replacing my main desktop system, a good old FX-6300 with 970 chipset board.

Why would I post about this? Well, it’s not a drop-in replacement. DIY required, since those OEM things always have some custom oddities. In this case it’s two (and a half) of them:

  1. Power supply has no ATX mounting bracket
  2. Power supply and board are not -12V/3V3/5V/5Vsb/12V units but 11Vsb/12V only
  3. Board has no I/O shield, just fitting case cutouts

Note that there are datasheets of this very Fujitsu board out there that show a regular ATX connector with all the standard voltages required. […]

2nd August 2020 3rd August 2020 By Bzzz In 3 Comments

High Speed 4 Ports LED USB 3.0 HUB With On/Off Switch Power Adapter USB Hub For Desktop Laptop and the CAT S61 (WHL #58)

This post is filed under “old, forgotten crap that has issues with recently added hardware”.

Well, this might be the new record holder for ancient reviews – but only due to recent events. I bought this USB 3.0 hub for 3.59€ with free shipping back in July 2017 (pricing hasn’t changed all that much). It was a purchase following up the 3+1 Gigabit/LAN adapter described in WHL #34. I still run this thing to support four USB3 keystone modules that are roughly 2.5m away from the mainboard. That’s not only difficult for the USB signalling at the highest speed setting, but also a strain when running high power devices such as 2.5″ hard drives or a mobile phone that needs a bit of juice. […]

19th July 2020 18th July 2020 By Bzzz In No Comment