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Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2025 2:47 pm
by Zju
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:48 am
by WeepingElf
That's a good one! Thanks for sharing.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2025 7:02 pm
by Raphael
I just spent several hours trying, and failing, in Linux, to edit an existing mkv file with an existing subtitle track down to a much shorter clip while keeping the subtitle track intact. No matter which software or which tricks I tried, the end result was always subtitle free. Made me sometimes feel like Avril Lavigne - why do the designers of open source video editing software have to make everything so complicated?
Any ideas?
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2025 7:11 pm
by Raphael
Raphael wrote: ↑Fri Sep 19, 2025 7:02 pm
I just spent several hours trying, and failing, in Linux, to edit an existing mkv file with an existing subtitle track down to a much shorter clip while keeping the subtitle track intact. No matter which software or which tricks I tried, the end result was always subtitle free. Made me sometimes feel like Avril Lavigne - why do the designers of open source video editing software have to make everything so complicated?
Any ideas?
Turns out it's actually relatively simple if you use ffmpeg and do some web searches.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2025 4:44 pm
by Raphael
A bit over a week in, my Mom's transition to Linux, caused by Microsoft's "brilliant" business decisions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, seems to be coming along fine, despite some teething issues. Honestly, I had worried that it would be worse.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 12:20 am
by Raphael
There are now, not one Google bot, but
two Google bots crawling the ZBB. Where will it all end?
- 2googles.jpg (195.1 KiB) Viewed 5537 times
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 4:21 pm
by Raphael
Continued: How on Earth can the Google Adsense Bot view a User Control Panel?
- itsdoingwhat.png (43.29 KiB) Viewed 3570 times
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:25 pm
by Raphael
For the first time in my more than 20 years of using Linux, I managed it to upgrade to the next version of my distro using the regular upgrade tool, instead of doing a completely fresh install of the newer release. Everything went faster, and a lot more smoothly, than I would have expected.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:38 pm
by Travis B.
Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:25 pm
For the first time in my more than 20 years of using Linux, I managed it to upgrade to the next version of my distro using the regular upgrade tool, instead of doing a completely fresh install of the newer release. Everything went faster, and a lot more smoothly, than I would have expected.
You know, I got my current laptop in something like 2017, and I have installed my distro on it
once -- when I bought the machine. Since then, I have been solely upgrading my existing distro, with few hiccups (the main hiccups were that at different times either gdm3 or lightdm were borked, and I had to switch display managers to have a usable system, and that eventually the display drivers were all changed up on me, which caused all kinds of hilarity).
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 4:04 pm
by Raphael
Travis B. wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:38 pm
You know, I got my current laptop in something like 2017, and I have installed my distro on it
once -- when I bought the machine. Since then, I have been solely upgrading my existing distro, with few hiccups (the main hiccups were that at different times either gdm3 or lightdm were borked, and I had to switch display managers to have a usable system, and that eventually the display drivers were all changed up on me, which caused all kinds of hilarity).
I had somehow always assumed that doing a clean reinstall in that situation is easier, more straightforward, and has less potential for things to go wrong, than a by-the-book upgrade. But now I'm in charge of computers with several user accounts, which makes installing or reinstalling distros more of a headache.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:01 pm
by malloc
The charging port on my phone broke off and slid inward, making it almost impossible to connect with the charging cord. Not sure if that's even something I can fix although it's probably time for a new phone given the advanced age of this one. Unfortunately this does mean I will need a new phone number, which will cause no end of headaches and put me in considerable danger of missing critical appointments and such.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 3:58 pm
by alice
malloc wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:01 pm
The charging port on my phone broke off and slid inward, making it almost impossible to connect with the charging cord. Not sure if that's even something I can fix although it's probably time for a new phone given the advanced age of this one. Unfortunately this does mean I will need a new phone number, which will cause no end of headaches and put me in considerable danger of missing critical appointments and such.
Don't panic - your provider should allow you to keep your existing phone number, in case of situations such as this.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:07 pm
by Raphael
alice wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 3:58 pm
Don't panic - your provider should allow you to keep your existing phone number, in case of situations such as this.
Don't be too sure of that, alice. That might be how things are done in Scotland, but that doesn't automatically mean that it's how things are done in Missouri. If what you describe is the standard policy in Scotland, that might well be because of some pre-Brexit EU regulation that the post-Brexit powers-that-be didn't get around to repealing yet. And in most of the USA, the state of consumer protection regulations is one big disaster.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:10 pm
by Lērisama
Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:07 pm
alice wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 3:58 pm
Don't panic - your provider should allow you to keep your existing phone number, in case of situations such as this.
Don't be too sure of that, alice. That might be how things are done in Scotland, but that doesn't automatically mean that it's how things are done in Missouri. If what you describe is the standard policy in Scotland, that might well be because of some pre-Brexit EU regulation that the post-Brexit powers-that-be didn't get around to repealing yet. And in most of the USA, the state of consumer protection regulations is one big disaster.
If it's a mobile phone¹ isn't the only thing you have to do to change over the sim card? Keeping your
landline phone number when a change happens is a massive hassle though, and I wish you much luck in that case.
¹ I assume it is, if it's a charging cable socket thing that broke. The landline ones tend to be quite sturdy, while the mobile ones are annoyingly easy to brake
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:12 pm
by Travis B.
In the US you can easily keep your phone number when you change phones or even providers. The only but is that if you are changing providers you may need to provide a special code for your old account if you have set one to prevent someone else from taking over your phone number out from under you (this does happen!).
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:15 pm
by Raphael
Lērisama wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:10 pm
¹ I assume it is, if it's a charging cable socket thing that broke. The landline ones tend to be quite sturdy, while the mobile ones are annoyingly easy to brake
I'm generally a bit confused about that. I haven't managed it to turn malloc's report into a coherent mental image of what happened yet.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:27 pm
by Travis B.
Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:15 pm
Lērisama wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:10 pm
¹ I assume it is, if it's a charging cable socket thing that broke. The landline ones tend to be quite sturdy, while the mobile ones are annoyingly easy to brake
I'm generally a bit confused about that. I haven't managed it to turn malloc's report into a coherent mental image of what happened yet.
I'm picturing that malloc broke the charging port on his cell phone, and is now panicking based on the idea that he'll somehow need to change phone numbers now (which he certainly won't).
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:35 pm
by Raphael
Travis B. wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:27 pm
I'm picturing that malloc broke the charging port on his cell phone,
Well, how do you break a cellphone charging port? All the cellphones I can remember owning had charging ports that were simply openings in the surface! The idea sounds like an assault in which an orifice was cut off to me.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:46 pm
by malloc
Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:35 pmWell, how do you break a cellphone charging port? All the cellphones I can remember owning had charging ports that were simply openings in the surface! The idea sounds like an assault in which an orifice was cut off to me.
The charging port broke free from the exterior frame of the phone and slid inward, making the charging plug unable to reach the metal socket. If necessary, I could make a chart since admittedly this does sound rather odd.
Re: The Computer And General Tech Thread - Software, Hardware, Questions, etc.
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:53 pm
by Lērisama
Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:35 pm
Travis B. wrote: ↑Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:27 pm
I'm picturing that malloc broke the charging port on his cell phone,
Well, how do you break a cellphone charging port? All the cellphones I can remember owning had charging ports that were simply openings in the surface! The idea sounds like an assault in which an orifice was cut off to me.
It's the connecting tongue of metal in the middle of the opening that usually causes the problems. I also have no idea what's going on in malloc's case.