Weekly tech discussion and tech support thread
(lemmy.world)
Random question that crossed my mind yesterday:
In the era of NVME and SSDs, why is RAM still a thing? Is there any reason (other than technological inertia) that we should have two different kinds of memory, when the primary reason for that is no longer relevant?
RAM can serve up data in memory 1000 times faster than a NVMe drive
Also RAM doesn't have a limited number of lifetime writes.
Yes, I get that. But I'm really wondering why that is? If memory is digital, and storage is digital, why not develop a RAM-less architecture? Why not have a storage bus with the same throughput as memory does currently? Is it just because of the cost of the chips?
RAM is fast, but volatile (i.e. data does not persist through loss of power. you turn off your pc, you lose all your RAM).
SSDs are slower than RAM, but you get non-volatile storage (the NV in NVME). That is, the data persists through power cycles.
If you can invent non-volitile storage with the performace of ram then you could make a lot of money. If you want a RAM-less design, I hope you're happy with a multi-minute boot up time for each app.
You can easily set up a RAM disk in Windows or Linux - an area of storage which appears to the OS as a storage device, but uses a reserved area of RAM to store the data. You could play around with that to see the performance difference between a RAM disk and a regular disk. You get a massive read/write boost at the cost of reduced memory for the rest of the system, and volitile storage as above. Now imagine the opposite: all memory reads and writes would be reduced by the same degree in a RAM-less system. Check Task Manager to see how much memory I/O is going on at any time - it's a lot.
You could also force your machine into Swap by using one app to fill the whole of RAM, then using the swap file on disk as the overflow. See how system performance feels under those conditions. It's really bad.
I stumbled upon a useful website but come to find out its also a web app?!
The domain is .app. So what is cool is I was able to create its own entry in my phones app list by clicking the add to Home Screen button on Firefox.
My question is where can I find a website with lists of these with categories even
I didn't have much success with search engine queries. Thanks!.
OK after more digging they are called Progressive Web Apps (PWA'S)
Now that I found proper term I am getting many results.
I don’t have anything to add, but +1.
A few useful web apps I’ve found are duolingo and Uber, which have native notifications on iOS without needing to install an app.
Thanks for reply. Do those have an .app extension? Where can they be found ?
I'm looking for a router that I can access using 192.168.x.x and does not require me to create an account and share data to access. So not Netgear.
Take a look at openwrt, I have enjoyed the gli.net devices running openwrt but openwrt runs on many devices that you may already own.
Can you expand on what you’re looking for exactly? Most consumer routers will let you customize the subnet range (192.168..).
Anybody use this site for custom cursors before? Is it safe? http://www.rw-designer.com/cursor-set/wii-cursor-by-stefano-tinaglia
Any suggestions on where to start with troubleshooting an external hard drive that isn't being detected? For context, it's a very old 1TB HDD that is in its own case. I'm not really sure how I can open it because the case has no screws. It worked last week and suddenly stopped. Usually the led indicator blinks when I plug it into my laptop's usb port, but now it just stays the same color (meaning no activity).
In desperation I'd first try (if you haven't already) all the different usb ports in case it's a faulty port. Then a different USB cable, assuming it's not built into the case. If it has some external power supply I'd try a different one if possible.
Beyond that, by "very old" do you mean spinning rust, or are they SSD?
Either way, there's always a way to get into the case, if it's a popular enough drive/case, there may be a video on how to do it. Depending on they type of drive there maybe more you can check on the inside.
After you find out how to remove the enclosure you can direct attach the drive to a computer to rescue the data. If that isn't working you can try to get an exact model of the drive and swap out the logic board. Of that doesn't work, some of the old school spinning rust drives could get a bit of revivication by freezing them (helped with some mechanical alignment).
I'm thinking about going the colour LED home lighting route + IoT + sensors. But the non-proprietary options often include things like microphones... and God knows what the apps and protocols are doing.
The software part is not a problem for me, anything unix is fine. Unfortunately I have zeroish experience with physical electronics work or PCBs, but would love to learn. I was considering buying the components and some entry level welding kits / electronic tools.
Anyone got any suggestions for what supplies I should be buying for DIY low-voltage electronics learning? Any words of wisdom for an electronics newbie, especially around safety and not destroying expensive bits? I'm trying to not start fires or create more electronics waste or make my health worse.
For bread boarding with basic electronic components, Ben Eater has a handful of kits for sale at eater.net and very detailed video series to go along with them. He also has a 10 video playlist called Digital electronics tutorial that is a great start to understand the basic components you would likely get in a "starter electronics kit" you can buy from any place electronic components are sold. There are tons of other great videos there too.
Along side that, learning how to program and use something like an Arduino or Raspberry Pi is essential. There's all different types of boards, the bigger ones with lots of IO pins will probably be most convenient while bread boarding, but you'd want a smaller version for permanent builds. I have the one from Ben Eaters shop "Mega 2560 Arduino-compatible board" and it's been real fun to play with. There are TONS of video on learning how to use them, I wouldn't even know where to suggest you start.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=poWJTSV4Yio&list=PLowKtXNTBypETld5oX1ZMI-LYoA2LWi8D
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
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this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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