Tired of Windows, Don't want to pay the $$$$$$ for Apple, Join the Linux side!

JPutnam

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Jun 30, 2017
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If anyone would like to learn about Linux, virtual machines, networking, or anything computer related post here. Computers was my first hobby, started when I was 10 on Windows 3.1, and have been using Linux for the past 12 years. That was how I got into Arduino which is one of the best ways to do little electronic mods to our vehicles. Like my home-made Aduino remote start with SMS capabilities.
 

Reprise

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That's really generous of you. Like you, I go back a long way with computing - back to '93 or so - back then, the 'World Wide Web' was juuust getting started - most of the activity was on Usenet, for crying out loud! And 'online' meant you were using one of the 'new' 56K modems - which really maxed out at 53K...now everyone has fiber to the premises... :: laughing::

I use Linux daily in my work, although I don't get to do too much 'programming', per se. For me, that ended about 20yrs ago, with C. I can still do a script, if needed, but it's not often I even need to do that anymore.

Anyway, let's see if you get any takers!
 

JPutnam

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I didn't start using Internet really until I joined the military and moved to the east coast. I could get on at school, but at home it was a joke. You would be lucky to get 36. We completely skipped the DSL phase and went straight to fiber. All the schools and rich neighbors had a fiber lines that were awesome for all those late nights on Napster. Thank God I didn't have to fight with AOL that much.
 

djthumper

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Nov 20, 2011
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Man you guys are young... I mostly am using windows at work since that is my primary support area. I also support several Macs and then we have unix/linux servers. I actually run all 3 at home. I was on AOL when it was just a BBS and had the pain of those slower modems.

Mud, gopher, usenet and other IIRC channels was the way to get around. had to know unix just to get email.
 
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Nexus1155

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Jan 26, 2012
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It's funny that you grow to feel like everything is slow over time. Even the fastest cable I have right now I still complain about the speeds. Well, the packets are bigger at times, but still. It just can't keep up.

Linux is all fine and dandy, but if I need anything specific to a windows environment I don't want to run wine, I want to run windows. If I ever run Linux, it's usually Backtrack on a CD or pen drive whatever the latest flavor is.

Arduino is awesome. I haven't dug into it yet, but the possibilities are endless. I would want it to have a separate battery connection other than draining from the main battery waiting for a signal just in case you leave the car for a week and not having to jump it, but that's just me being anal.
 

JPutnam

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Jun 30, 2017
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Linux is all fine and dandy, but if I need anything specific to a windows environment I don't want to run wine, I want to run windows.

That is why my main system is Linux Mint so that if it crashes it takes literally minutes to revive fresh and I have Windows in a virtual machine. So much easier than having to do the dual-boot crap. Seriously, that will make someone drop interest in the OS in about 3 cycles. Plus, with Windows in the VM I can take multiple "snapshots" and go back to one instead of doing a full refresh. The new recovery Windows has is great, but it takes forever...

I would want it to have a separate battery connection other than draining from the main battery waiting for a signal just in case you leave the car for a week and not having to jump it,

Actually, if you use the 3.3v Arduino Pro Mini the battery drain is almost null. Never once had a problem with mine, and the vehicle has sit for weeks before. It all depends on the power supply and how your circuit is laid out.

Besides, a knock-off Arduino Mini is only $1 on ebay! Why wait, try it out.
 

JPutnam

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Arduino mods is what I'd be interested in. There are soooo many applications but I just don't know where to start

Well, right now I am working on a remote start and am looking into making a PWM fan controller to get rid of the stupid fan clutch and get and electric one. Now that I think about it, the only problem I really have with my fan is warm A/C at idle. Maybe if I set up something to make the fan run 100% when under 1000 rpm and A/C on it would work better... New thread idea.
 

littleblazer

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Jul 6, 2014
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Well, right now I am working on a remote start and am looking into making a PWM fan controller to get rid of the stupid fan clutch and get and electric one. Now that I think about it, the only problem I really have with my fan is warm A/C at idle. Maybe if I set up something to make the fan run 100% when under 1000 rpm and A/C on it would work better... New thread idea.
Even with full lock at idle the air will be warmer. My thermal clutch stays locked up most of the time and slowly creeps ups at idle. Granted it hits about 50 degrees and holds but still.
 

JPutnam

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Well then I guess I will have to get an electric fan. I kinda don't want to because I feel that even with a broken clutch the fan will still move air freewheeling vs a shot electric fan, but I have not heard of to many people having problems with the setup in the LS vehicles. PCM of NC makes a nice setup I might have to copy. For the price I might just buy theirs.

http://www.pcmofnc.com/product/i6-trailblazer-plug-and-play-fan-kit-3/
 

littleblazer

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Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Well that's the beauty of mine, it runs 34 the rest of the time so I can live with it slowly creeping. I've read of the efans being marginal... creeping to 50 out the vents on a borderline 100 degree day is pretty okay and it does it less once the car is cooled. If you go fans you should go to the larger radiator to help compensate. The issue isn't so much the fan not pulling enough air but more that the air flow path isn't great. The grill is only about half if that of the surface area of the coil. If you were to remove the front bumper I theorized that flow would be greatly improved. I know that the voys air is more stable in traffic but the grill opening is a little larger so that could do it. Most people once I get the truck moving (my trailblazer) turn the air down because it gets meat locker cold in there driving around even in the heat of summer. I'm talking below 40 degrees out the vent which is just stupid. I'm not going to derail this thread anymore especially since it's kind of tech in a non tech section. Tomorrow is looking to be pushing 90 degrees and humid so if you or anyone would like some hard data i could get it. At the end of the day it's your truck and it may respond or be totally different than mine so all in all its up to you.
 
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Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Have a look at this thread and my answer regarding e-fans:
Any one using this I6 Trailblazer Plug and Play Fan Kit from PCM OF NC?

And this one is also of interest for how the PCM controls the stock electro-viscous fan clutch:
Anybody use HPT to increase factory rad fan aggressivness ?

That being said, the big problem with e-fans is finding an easy way to control them via the PCM. Best way would be via a "translator" of the PCM's PWM signal to control relays for 50% and then 100% fan power. For example, if the translator senses 22% PWM signal from the PCM (221f), it would turn on the fans at 50%. Then, it it senses 39% (228f), kick them on 100%.

All that to say, you're better off just getting a thermal clutch and a tune.
 

Reprise

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Man you guys are young...
Don't be ageist...LOL. I actually started several years before that, on a System/36 - with 8" floppies.

My first PC was an XT - with 'turbo' mode...and a 6" thermal printer...woohoo! LMAO :woohoo:

I remember loading DOS from 5.25" floppies every time I powered it on. 'HARD Drive?' Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis... "640K is enough for *anyone*!"

I remember when HDDs were referred to as Rochester Disks. And that the ones for the IBM PCs were 5.25" wide - same as the floppies. And a 'big' one held 30MB - why, it would take *years* to fill that up! :laugh:

I had an account on CompuServe (see, I remember how it was spelled!). And a lot of the time, I was connecting at 3600 bps...plenty fast, for what amounted to a BBS!

I remember WordPerfect, with that beautiful white text on blue screen.

I remember when Windows 3.0 came out - and everyone had to rush out and get WP for Windows...but I liked the text interface better, so I stuck with it until Win31 came out - at that point, I had to stop being a Luddite and convert to WYSIWYG

Speaking of GUI...then I finally made the move to Excel from...Lotus 123!
I remember my first formula...lol...as if it were my firstborn :smile:

My first programming language was GW-BASIC. Then I moved on to COBOL. Finally, I was ready for C . Not C++ ...what did one need OOL for? I don't need pretty screens...I need to get WORK done! If it's good enough to launch the birds, or keep you breathing - it's good enough for anything an end-user might need to use it for!

I still to this day prefer CLI when I use Linux. And I use vi as my editor. Cause every POSIX-based system has it.

"When did the world begin?"
"About four and a half billion years ago?"
"Nope... January 1, 1970" :cool:

Am I 'old enough' for ya now? ROFLMAO ;-)

(I wonder how many of our younger members will say "what the hell is he talking about?") :squint: :weird:
 
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Mar 30, 2016
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Don't be ageist...LOL. I actually started several years before that, on a System/36 - with 8" floppies.

My first PC was an XT - with 'turbo' mode...and a 6" thermal printer...woohoo! LMAO :woohoo:

I remember loading DOS from 5.25" floppies every time I powered it on. 'HARD Drive?' Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis... "640K is enough for *anyone*!"

I remember when HDDs were referred to as Rochester Disks. And that the ones for the IBM PCs were 5.25" wide - same as the floppies. And a 'big' one held 30MB - why, it would take *years* to fill that up! :laugh:

I had an account on CompuServe (see, I remember how it was spelled!). And a lot of the time, I was connecting at 3600 bps...plenty fast, for what amounted to a BBS!

I remember WordPerfect, with that beautiful white text on blue screen.

I remember when Windows 3.0 came out - and everyone had to rush out and get WP for Windows...but I liked the text interface better, so I stuck with it until Win31 came out - at that point, I had to stop being a Luddite and convert to WYSIWYG

Speaking of GUI...then I finally made the move to Excel from...Lotus 123!
I remember my first formula...lol...as if it were my firstborn :smile:

My first programming language was GW-BASIC. Then I moved on to COBOL. Finally, I was ready for C . Not C++ ...what did one need OOL for? I don't need pretty screens...I need to get WORK done! If it's good enough to launch the birds, or keep you breathing - it's good enough for anything an end-user might need to use it for!

I still to this day prefer CLI when I use Linux. And I use vi as my editor. Cause every POSIX-based system has it.

"When did the world begin?"
"About four and a half billion years ago?"
"Nope... January 1, 1970" :cool:

Am I 'old enough' for ya now? ROFLMAO ;-)

(I wonder how many of our younger members will say "what the hell is he talking about?") :squint: :weird:

Although I'm familiar with some of the stuff you're talking about, I'm still amazed, must've been quite an experience witnessing the evolution of an industry :2thumbsup:
 

JPutnam

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Jun 30, 2017
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I can't say I remember the 8", but I did play Oregon Trail on 5.25". The first computer I bought was a Micron 386DX with turbo and I was proud when I added my first memory modules to go from 4meg of ram to 8. Stupid thing didn't even have a sound card.

I started working for Micron making DRAM and flash in 2010 after I left the Army. I remember them asking me what I knew about the company during the interview. I told them my first computer was a Micron. "Micron made computers?" was the response I received from one of the engineers. They During the introduction of the new flash chips that were the size of a pinky nail and could hold 64GB I told them that was 1000x the size of the hard drive on my first computer. They still think I was BS'ing that one.
 
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djthumper

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Nov 20, 2011
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VIC-20, TRS-80, Apple II... Casette drives, 8" floppies, 1200 baud phone coupler, had to connect to the local college to have access to the "internet". Basic, Fortran, COBOL, Pascal...

It has been an amazing trip with computers over the years.
 

Tiggerr

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Jun 6, 2013
1,324
Perrysburg, OH
VIC-20, TRS-80, Apple II... Casette drives, 8" floppies, 1200 baud phone coupler, had to connect to the local college to have access to the "internet". Basic, Fortran, COBOL, Pascal...

It has been an amazing trip with computers over the years.

Yep I'm that old too..lol!!:Banghead:

Who'd have thought back then what would come of it all...

The computer power we carry in our pockets these days beats out an old mainframe...
 

JPutnam

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Jun 30, 2017
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Just thinking about that when I was looking at the specs for my Gear S2. It doubled my computer in high school.

The issue isn't so much the fan not pulling enough air but more that the air flow path isn't great. The grill is only about half if that of the surface area of the coil.

That is a great point. I didn't even think about that. That is like the equivalent of having someone troubleshoot the Internet connection with the modem unplugged. I usually look for the obvious problem first and that is definitely one. Good catch.
 
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Reprise

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The computer power we carry in our pockets these days beats out an old mainframe...

It surely does. The only thing the big iron had over it was more storage, and the hypervisor / VM. But there was a cost to pay for that - in the millions of dollars - in both acquisition & maintenance. Provided a decent living for a lot of us here, methinks (or, at least, a lot of us in this thread).

Talk about Moore's Law - on steroids (granted, it took more than 2yrs to get from 'there' to 'here')

People don't realize what they hold in their hand, and in a larger context, what the transistor and the IC have given them. The Shuttles had 1% of the computing power...of an Xbox. Don't even get me started on what the Apollo program used - to get to the *moon* and back. Our 8088 XTs that we're all reminiscing about ran rings around what they had - and that was 30 years ago.

As small as the smartphones are now, I always dream of a foldable membrane - something you can fit in a wallet (which are already considered archaic), light as a feather, thinner than a sheet of paper, and in a larger form factor to provide the same size screen as the laptop I'm typing this note on. It could be attached to any surface, so you wouldn't have to worry about it blowing away outdoors, for example.

The step after that won't even have a physical device to handle - it'll put everything on a virtual HUD - like Tom Cruise used in 'Minority Report' You won't even need to 'speak' to have a 'call' - non-vocalized thought transference to / from the users, at that point. Everyone 'plugged in' to the interwebz (shudder the thought) :sadcry:

Ok - I've kind of hijacked this thread - but I wonder what some of you think the future holds, from a technology standpoint? (trying to stay away from the questions / opinions about the ramifications of those coming advances, where possible.) Perhaps we should start a separate thread on that, since there appear to be a goodly number of technologists here.
 
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JPutnam

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I was just watching the last Fast and Furious and noticed my nightmares are being realized. A hacker tapped into dozens of vehicles (mainly Dodge, bad advertising if you ask me) to form up and use as an insane battering ram.

Tesla cars scare me, along with the whole DARPA automated projects because it will get to a point you can't drive your own car. Please kill me at that point. It is already bad enough the government is using the Digital Millinium Act to limit owners working on their own vehicles. There argument is that the infotainment systems can be used to download pirated information. True, but pure socialistic BS.
 

littleblazer

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Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I was just watching the last Fast and Furious and noticed my nightmares are being realized. A hacker tapped into dozens of vehicles (mainly Dodge, bad advertising if you ask me) to form up and use as an insane battering ram.

Tesla cars scare me, along with the whole DARPA automated projects because it will get to a point you can't drive your own car. Please kill me at that point. It is already bad enough the government is using the Digital Millinium Act to limit owners working on their own vehicles. There argument is that the infotainment systems can be used to download pirated information. True, but pure socialistic BS.
The dodge isn't that far off actually. A couple of years back some news station did a segment on it and the jeeps and most other products by dodge were amongst the easiest to take control of. Guess they cheaped out there too lol.
 
Mar 30, 2016
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I was just watching the last Fast and Furious and noticed my nightmares are being realized. A hacker tapped into dozens of vehicles (mainly Dodge, bad advertising if you ask me) to form up and use as an insane battering ram.

Tesla cars scare me, along with the whole DARPA automated projects because it will get to a point you can't drive your own car. Please kill me at that point. It is already bad enough the government is using the Digital Millinium Act to limit owners working on their own vehicles. There argument is that the infotainment systems can be used to download pirated information. True, but pure socialistic BS.

That is really scary and more than that is not being in control of the car. You also have driver assist as in brake assist, lane keep assist etc etc. If it was like that I'd stay home them get on the road
 
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Tiggerr

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Jun 6, 2013
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I was just watching the last Fast and Furious and noticed my nightmares are being realized. A hacker tapped into dozens of vehicles (mainly Dodge, bad advertising if you ask me) to form up and use as an insane battering ram.

Tesla cars scare me, along with the whole DARPA automated projects because it will get to a point you can't drive your own car. Please kill me at that point. It is already bad enough the government is using the Digital Millinium Act to limit owners working on their own vehicles. There argument is that the infotainment systems can be used to download pirated information. True, but pure socialistic BS.

What's scarier still is the government being able to take control of your car anytime anywhere... freedom is dying...hello totalitarianism... 1984 just a bit late...
 

JPutnam

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Jun 30, 2017
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More reason to live my Trailblazer. The new vehicles are boring to drive anyway. There is no life in them.
 

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