>>26096

I'll take both of youse cunts at the same time.

>>26097

Yeah well I'm bringing me brother, and he used to be in the cadets.

>>26098
I've had your bro and he's a pussy.

>>26099

Yeah well your brother is a female to male tranny and he has a pussy.

>>26100
Isn't that a bussy?

>>26083
No, too many comments can be as bad as none at all. A line or two at the start of each method/function (depending on what you're programming) and then a line or two above any complex logical blocks. You don't need to overdo it.

>>26083
No. If used sparingly but judiciously comments can be of immense help for future readers but they're not "free".

Comments act as noise when trying to read code so the value they add must be worth the distraction.

They also require maintenance just like the code does, otherwise they risk drifting from the code they comment. Whoever gets to work on the code next then has to track down whether the comment provides the correct intention but the code is wrong or if the code is correct but the comment's outdated.

>>26083

Good code should be fairly self-explanatory. If you're writing a lot of comments, it's usually a sign that your code is overly complex and insufficiently modular. Comments should be the exception rather than the rule, used to mark out gotchas or clarify things that are unavoidably complex.

Since any "coolness" is voided by its being fizzbuzz, you may as well opt for complete clarity.

>>26088
You're quite right. If anyone brought me fizzbuzz in an interview I would walk; lack of imagination.

>>26070
Shutting it down, I close everything before doing so since I know it can mess up a shut down.
Also had no power cuts, otherwise the clocks in the house would need resetting.

>>26071

The disk check function usually starts up after an unexpected shut down. Sometimes you can get infected with malware which refuses to close properly before shut down, and it's possible that malware's inability to properly close, rather than its needing to be automatically force closed, is being treated by windows as an improper shut down, promoting a disk check.

That's one possibility. I don't know anything about Windows 10, but that sort of thing is common with Windows.

If windows programs are running I wouldn't have thought it's a problem with the BIOS, but I don't really know what I'm talking about and am only replying to post my own problem.

I've managed to lock myself out of my windows 7 machine with a poorly managed password change. I've found this program, NTpasswd (http://www.pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd), that looks like it'll help but I'm having trouble creating a bootable USB with it. The helpfile says to 'install the bootloader' and gives this command:

j:\syslinux.exe -ma j:

Does this look like the command for a specific operating system? I'm trying to use it with Lubuntu, which isn't working, and am wondering if I use a friends windows machine it might work (different commands and all that).

I'm not too fussed about losing my computer; taking apart the components and learning how to make a new one is pretty fun. I'd just like to recover a few files and websaves I'd made.

Live and learn, make backups often.

>>26073
I did that years ago and got by just using the windows installation disc.

I think this is basically how I resolved it:

https://www.howtogeek.com/96630/how-to-reset-your-forgotten-windows-password-the-easy-way/

>>26074
Thats great, thank you. I just hope the PC will boot from USB; it seemed to have problems booting from disk, even when altering the BIOS, when I tried to re-install the OS.

What's the deal with headphone amps/DACs? Apparently some headphones are so hard to drive that you need a dedicated amp to even consider using them.

How much of this audiophile spiel is snake oil and how much of it is legitimate? And even if you do need a good amp, wouldn't a regular stereo receiver do as good of a job as a dedicated headphone amp, particularly on the lower end of the price range? If I'm not mistaken your average stereo receiver doesn't have its own headphone amp, but rather takes the signal from the main amp through resistors and into the headphone circuit. On that basis it seems that the average stereo receiver should be better at driving headphones than the average dedicated headphone amp.

>>26049

Thanks for the fingerprint lad, BRB stealing your identity.

>>26055

Stereo receivers usually have a perfectly satisfactory headphone amp, as do most audio interfaces and mixers.

The problem is generally with battery-powered equipment. To save on cost, weight and power consumption, they tend to use a fairly weedy headphone amp IC that is designed for sensitive, low-impedance earbuds. Some of these amplifier chips deliver as little as 25mW peak, but a very large pair of headphones could need as much as 400mW to perform properly at high volume.

The most common symptom of an inadequate headphone amp is poor bass response. Poor transient response is also fairly common and occasionally you'll hear distortion during high-energy sections of audio.

If you're plugging AKG K701s or Beyerdynamic DT990s into a phone, you'll probably want a little FiiO amp to get the best out of them. Otherwise, the benefits of a dedicated headphone amp will be fairly minor.

DACs are an altogether more complicated topic, but diminishing returns kick in fairly quickly here. Some cheap consumer hardware is equipped with a genuinely bad DAC, but you don't have to spend a fortune to get something very good. The difference between a £150 audio interface and a £2000 converter from the likes of Prism or Benchmark is so subtle that 99% of people won't hear any difference.

>>26055
Have a read through this blog. https://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/

He's an electronic/sound engineer who's worked in the industry a long time, he was so fed up with the state of the industry that he started a project to design what he considered the ideal headphone amp and USB DAC, and made the designs open source.
There is a wealth of technical information there on the why and how of headphone amps and DACs, as well as great detail on the problems with a lot of supposedly audiophile level equipment. (He makes a case that a lot of high level kit, rather than just suffering from diminishing returns, actually have many design flaws.)
https://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/what-we-hear.html
https://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/testing-methods.html

If it piques your interest, being open source there are a few different people making the amps with a bit of variation between each. Here's a UK maker of them:
http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/headphone-amplifiers/ehp-o2-portable-headphone-amplifier/
And there's this guy in Switzerland making them, the price is higher, especially given the current exchange rate, but it has more customisable inputs and outputs.
http://www.headnhifi.com/O2-desktop-amplifier

>>26058
Thanks for those links, interesting reading.

>>26054
>Sennheisers are a pale shadow of the headphones they used to be.
I'd have to agree, and it's been that way for 10+ years. I've known good Sennheisers, but the last pair I had felt like cheap plastic toys, and sounded like shit; they cost £80. I was almost happy when they broke after a year or two.

https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go

>>26037
Yeah I have a GiffGaff SIM they are pretty reasonable actually.

Internet in shock as users recommend Giffgaff without spamming referral links.

Plusnet have a 5GB a month deal for the same price as Giffgaff's 2GB plan (£10).

>>26028
We're not hosted in the UK so I imagine nothing will change except you may have to use a proxy or VPN to access the site.

>>26028
It, and a million other sites shut down, porn is no longer normalised and kids are no longer traumatised. Unicorns, fluffy bunnies, and Theresa May's sex tape remains hidden.

Or VPNs abound, kids buy USB sticks full of filth from corner shops and pass it around.
Less technical pornhounds join my not-a-VPN redirector from >>26004 , hope I'm honourable and not logging their depravity for those nice YMCA chaps, and carry on with their pleasures.
I'm so looking forward to Tumblr, Facebook, Wikipedia, Youtube etc. all becoming unreachable because there's filth on them. The mental gymnastics needed to exempt them is going to be a joy to watch, after they collectively flip Theresa the bird.

>>26030
My phone network doesn't let me get on the smutty side of Tumblr. I assume because some of the words in their website addresses have naughty words and Three's filter picks it up.

>>26031

It won't even let me on the Mass Effect wiki.

Everyone will be on TOR or something like it by the end of this decade.

>>25978
All the ones with Hauwei chipsets are well known to be backdoor-d to fuck. They have AT commands that allow you to turn on the microphone or camera, without any indication, for instance.

>>25979

Huawei don't make SoCs or baseband chipsets.

>>25979
That's an anti-Chinese myth.

Anyway, I'd rather the Chinese than Theresa knowing what kind of porn I watch.

>>25981
As has been addressed previously, there are numerous examples of popular imported handsets from China having backdoors identified and exploited by researchers. It's not just "the Chinese" who have access to your information, it's anyone with the knowledge and incentive.

>>25980
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HiSilicon

>>25958
The monthly deal is quite good - it is worth getting the subscription I think just so that the security holes are updated regularly.

>>25949
>Nuts how the technology has come on since this post
It is, although tbh I'm more amazed that mechanical mods (i.e. no control circuitry whatsoever on the lithium battery, just a button to fire) are still being made. And people are still buying them, because they're pretty, or something?

Actually, vapelad, why do people still buy mechanical mods?

Oh and I definitely wouldn't describe the smell of unflavoured liquid as "neutral", but more musty than chippie. I'd guess your mum's just trying to put you off using the thing at all so I doubt she'll be happy either way.

>>25950

>Actually, vapelad, why do people still buy mechanical mods?

Fuck knows. I don't see many of them these days, but it seems unbelievably daft that anyone is still risking an explosion for the sake of a worse vape. The responsible retailers have stopped selling unprotected devices and most others seem to just be getting shot of their old stock. A lot of "mech mods" still on the market have a sneaky hidden protection circuit, which seems particularly odd - for an extra £2 in components they could have made it VW/TC.

I suspect there are still some remnants of the daft macho vapebro subculture; some subset of that group think that a DNA250 or an RX300 isn't quite manly enough. I still can't quite believe that a 300 watt box mod is a thing you can buy.

>>25952
>I don't see many of them these days
I was in a vape shop earlier today and they had a few fancy-looking brass ones (no prices, but no way they were less than £100). That's a canny point about them having "stealth" protection circuitry, I can well believe that's true. Still fucking stupid.

>I still can't quite believe that a 300 watt box mod is a thing you can buy.
I think my gaming PC hits just a little over that when running Furmark. Who on earth can even inhale this, and what kind of coil/wick arrangement do they use? A year back I dicked around with an RDA on ~0.2 Ohm dual claptons, got up to ~60W before the vape became simply obnoxiously thick, not to mention it was a massive hassle to run (and of course it ripped through juice like nobody's business). I've ended up with RDTAs, dialing everything right down to about 20W max between 0.5 and 1 Ohm single-coil clapton.

That "cloud chasing" is anything other than a temporary novelty is just confusing to me, but everyone needs a hobby I suppose. I can't imagine what a 300W vape would even feel like, but personal preferences aside... there's no way that's healthy, surely?

>>25954

I've had a go on a 300w Sigelei at full power. Even with 1mg liquid I nearly fainted after the first puff. The vapour was boiling hot and so dense I could practically chew it. I had a sudden pang of empathy for Thomas the Tank Engine.

The really extraordinary thing was the atty - a Smok TFV12, the most insane piece of vaping hardware I've ever seen. It's a standard tank with disposable coils, but they offer a 14-coil head rated for 350w. I tried it at 70w and it produced literally no vapour. The box describes the tank as "explosion proof", which I assumed was a daft bit of poorly-translated engrish until I had a go on it. It's basically a thermonuclear reactor with a drip tip.

http://www.smoktech.com/atomizer/tfv12-cloud-beast-king

>>25935

In the adult world we call those PAs and yes, what I really want is a PA that works 24-7 and I don't need to see or pay.

>>25934
There are some Android apps which family your daily routine. Try 'life rpg' or similar.

This will allow you to micromanage your day, but you may need a separate app to trigger events based on alarms. I used to use one called alarm clock plus which had me perdoing sums to turn the alarm off and could probably be used for events.

>>25934

Learn Python then.

An app called Timetune has helped me do this.

>>25931
Don't forget Tasker, for your Android smartphone.

Lifehacker is basically an infinite repetition of 'use Tasker and IFTTT to automate your life'.

>>25940
If you do roll our own, avoid the obvious mistakes built into the off the shelf ones.

https://hackaday.com/2013/12/06/skyjack-a-drone-to-hack-all-drones/

>>25941
That is specifically one of the pitfalls I'd like to avoid - too many drones use shitty Wifi networks for communication. I would like to do the whole thing with a proper radio control setup - thats still quite hackable but not in as many interesting and varied ways as Wifi.

Spent a lot of time looking at Arduino based setups - http://www.arducopter.co.uk for instance.

I'd recommend starting out with an Almost-Ready-To-Fly or Ready-To-Fly product from Eachine. If you're starting out you will crash a lot, so it's worth starting out on something cheap and small. The Eachine E010 looks like a toy, but it's a really good trainer quad for indoor or backyard flying. It can be easily upgraded to FPV at a later date.

https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-E010-Mini-2_4G-4CH-6-Axis-Headless-Mode-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-p-1066972.html

When you're ready to upgrade to a full-size 250 quad, you'll need quite a lot of stuff. It's all fairly cheap individually, but it does add up. This video covers what you'll need and how to use it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Q2KdhtmFA

You'll also want a big packet of spare propellers, a spare motor and speed controller and a couple of extra batteries. If you've got a lot of money to spend and you're serious about the hobby, I'd suggest going with the FRSky Taranis radio and the Aomway Commander FPV goggles.

There are some fairly strict legal restrictions on drone operation. You really need to be aware of the rules, because the Civil Aviation Authority have handed out some massive fines to people who were flying like twats.

If there's no camera at all on your quadcopter or plane, it's just a radio controlled model and can be flown anywhere that is reasonably deemed to be safe. If you stick a camera on, then your model becomes a "small unmanned surveillance aircraft" and the rules get a lot stricter. You can't fly within 50 metres of any person, vehicle or structure that is not entirely under your control, within 150 metres of any "congested area", or more than 400 metres above ground level. If you fly with FPV goggles, you must have a competent observer with you, monitoring the flying area to prevent collisions.

Message too long. Click here to view the full text.

>>25922
I'll never understand why companies persist in thinking putting magnets in electronics is a good idea.

>>25923
So you have to buy another one.

Holy shit tablets have come a long way since I got mine. Looks like it's time for me to upgrade. Is any particular manufacturer considered to be leading the field at the moment?

I can't compare it to Android tablets but the Kindle Fire tablets are pretty good value for money. Only problem is that they are by default hooked into Amazon's app store not Google Play, so quite a few apps available on Android are either not maintained as frequently or completely absent. I'd say it's great for reading ebooks and light internet browsing but if you have want to use a lot of specific non-Amazon apps you may be out of luck.

>>25926
You can root them then replace the hideous launcher, disable the ads and install Google Play. I've been using my a while just for reading and a Spotify remote. I can't complain for £30.

>>25914
So where do they get used en masse? I know they're in quad copters and that kind of thing, anything else justifies mass production and brings the price down?

>>25915
Almost anything you see that's USB charged and not obviously 18650-shaped, will have pouch cells. They're available in hundreds of shapes and capacities, and generally work well, within their limits. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Polymer-battery-wholesale/1681007_510525232.html
Shipping is a bitch, though.

>>25915

Quadcopters and other RC thingumabobs use pouch cells, because you can achieve a higher discharge rate at the same weight. Cylindrical cells are mainly used in bulk applications - electric cars and bikes, power tools, that sort of thing. A cordless drill might use eight 18650s, an electric car might use a couple of thousand. The market for cylindrical cells is gradually moving towards the 21700 size, which is slightly more energy dense.

Pouch cells can be economically produced in fairly small quantities, so you can often design the battery to fit the product rather than vice-versa. This is a big advantage for mobile devices where every millimetre matters.

This thread continues to deliver. Good job lads.

>>23774 Blue Tac lad, come on... easy option.

Amazon sell a Pantum laser printer for 31 quid. It's wireless and black and white and I swear by mine.

>>25903
Most of them. Epson are a bit odd - some of their inks are somewhat odd, with pigments held in a solvent that smells funny. (My R2400, for instance - pigment inks, and 8 colours. Tesco value ink isn't going to do the job for that. I buy the inks by the 0.5l and pipe them in to fake cartridges, CISS-style. )

So - maybe. Check t'internet.

Use knock-off toner cartridges. The print quality is very slightly worse than using original toner, but it's perfectly acceptable for office use. Knock-off drums are more of a mixed bag, so if you're buying a second-hand printer you might want to inquire about the condition of the drum.

You can get a perfectly good WiFi laser printer for £60.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brother-HL-1210W-Mono-Laser-Printer/dp/B00NUB8J3Q/

>>25909

Inkjets don't really make economic sense unless you print an awful lot of photos. Online photo printing services are much better value for the occasional set of prints.

>>25910
Seems like the toners are quite cheap, and can be refilled at home anyway. Might go for that one.

Shame it's not cheaper on ebay. Was hoping for something in the £40 region, with a toner that's good for 10,000 pages or something, like the HP ones.