Ten Good Reasons to Use LibreOffice

 It's hard to believe I've been using LibreOffice and its parent application, OpenOffice, for more than two decades. And you know what? The more I use it, the more I find to like about it. Even though my employer supplies me with M$ Office for free, I still keep LibreOffice on all my computers and use it by default for most of my personal projects. Below are ten reasons (in no particular order) why I use it over M$ Office:

10. It's free—You just can't argue with that price. Why shell out for M$ Office when LibreOffice doesn't cost you a cent?

9. It's a single application—Having a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation package, drawing application, database, and equation editor in a single application makes for a more streamlined workflow than the M$ approach of several separate, yet loosely linked applications. As a single application with integrated modules for its various main functions, LibreOffice takes up less disk space without redundant code in each application. It is also less hungry for RAM and processor cycles.

8. Its interface is customizable—Users have far more latitude to make LibreOffice their own than they have with M$ Office. A number of different icon sets are available, as are various color schemes. You can even apply themes designed for the Firefox Web browser. Best of all, one can choose between a traditional interface with drop-down menus and a tabbed interface, reminiscent of recent versions of M$ Office. For what it's worth, I prefer the drop-down menus.

7. It's under active development—LibreOffice has version updates coming out on a regular basis and it has continued to evolve beyond its parent application, OpenOffice, which has not seen a major update since 2014. 

6. It's free and open source—The source code for LibreOffice is readily available to all comers and anyone with the requisite programming skills can modify it and create their own version of the software, just as LibreOffice's developers did with OpenOffice, when they forked the project more than a decade ago. Due to differences in licensing, LibreOffice can incorporate any features from OpenOffice, and has done so, but OpenOffice cannot do the same with LibreOffice.

5. Development is done by volunteers—Those who maintain and develop LibreOffice are all volunteers, whose sole motivation is to create the best possible software they can, not to make a profit. If you know how to code, you are free to join in the fun.

4. It opens and saves M$ Office files—You can work in LibreOffice, save your files in the appropriate M$ Office file format, share it with a M$ Office user and they'll be none the wiser. Its filters are that accurate. As a bonus, it also fixes broken files. I have many times tried to open an M$ Office file that Word or Excel or PowerPoint  thinks is corrupt, only to have LibreOffice open it accurately and with ease. After saving the file in LibreOffice, I can open it in the appropriate M$ Office app with equal ease.

3. It's the default office productivity suite in Linux—Major Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint were quick to drop OpenOffice for LibreOffice as their included office suite, once it made its debut, and it remains as ubiquitous in the Linux world as M$ Office is on Windows.

2. It's cross-platform compatible—LibreOffice is supported on Windows, Mac OS, and most major Linux distributions. M$ Office is available only on Windows and Mac OS. Android and iOS users can use Collabora Office, which is based on LibreOffice. Chromebook users can also run LibreOffice under the Crostini Linux environment, or run Collabora Office as an Android app, so everybody can play.

1. It's not from Microsoft—Microsoft not only takes your money but also your data. LibreOffice is just one more way to keep more control over both.

What's in the Box?

 I've always loved CD boxed sets. They're a great way to take a deep dive into an artist's or band's catalog—more than one would get from a 'greatest hits' CD—without having to buy every album. Most also come with a booklet that goes much more in depth than an album's liner notes, along with other occasional bits of memorabilia. Some box sets, such as the Who's Thirty Years of Maximum R&B, provide a mix of singles, album tracks and rarities, while others like Citizen Steely Dan, comprise the entire contents of all their studio albums. 

I recently acquired a nine-disc boxed set from Pink Floyd called Shine On that presents repackaged and remastered versions of their popular albums—A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), Meddle (1972), The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979), and A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1988), along with a bonus disc of early singles, a collection of postcards of the album cover graphics, and a 112-page hardback book.

I remember when this set arrived in record stores in 1992. It was frightfully expensive at around $200. I paid less than a third of that for my copy and felt like I got a good value for the money, considering I only had two of those titles already in my CD collection. The titles included in Shine On bring together Pink Floyd's most commercially successful albums, offering a solid collection of 'must-haves'. 

For some buyers, it might well represent just about everything by Pink Floyd they're familiar with, but there's more Floyd to be experienced, especially their early material, which is given somewhat short shrift in this collection, especially the contributions of founding member Syd Barrett. His work is most heavily represented in their first album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), which is not part of the set. Barrett's presence in Shine on is limited to a couple of tracks on A Saucerful of Secrets and the bonus disc.

Shine On omits most of Pink Floyd's output from the 1969 through 1972, including More (1969), Ummagumma (1969), Atom Heart Mother (1970), and Obscured by Clouds (1972). The next few albums after Saucerful are considered by many to represent an extended transition period from the Syd Barrett period to their classic progressive/stadium rock era. More and Obscured by Clouds are both movie soundtracks, created to fit the themes of their respective films, while Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother are both interesting experimental efforts, but for whatever reason, they were not well liked by the band's members. Also, Ummagumma is part studio album and part live album (one disc of each), The live portion revisits Barrett-era material, while the studio portion is essentially a collection of solo efforts by the four principal members. This combined dynamic may have technically disqualified it from consideration as a studio album.

The other conundrum is the omission of The Final Cut (1983). A follow-up and thematic extension to The Wall, it was bassist/vocalist Roger Waters' final album with Pink Floyd and the band's only album without keyboardist/vocalist/arranger Richard Wright, who had left the band after The Wall tour, but would return for its later projects, initially as a session player, but eventually as a full member. Wright and the remaining band members, David Gilmour and Nick Mason, may have concluded The Final Cut was essentially more of a Roger Waters solo album and thus disqualified it on those grounds.

All that said, the inclusion of A Momentary Lapse of Reason might seem as an odd a choice as the exclusion of its predecessor, being as as it is the sole representation of the post-Waters Pink Floyd. Then again, it was their only post-Waters studio album at the time. Although Waters was angered that his former band mates chose to continue Pink Floyd without him, instead of ceasing as a band as he would have preferred them do, Gilmour, Mason, and eventually Wright, saw it as a continuation of what had come before, just as the band had continued without Wright on The Final Cut. 

What also has continued is box sets. After Shine On, Pink Floyd put out two additional box sets, both consisting of all 14 remastered studio albums, called Oh, By the Way (2007) and Discovery (2011). But having Shine on in my collection, I don't feel the need to own either of those larger sets; instead, I may just grab a copy of Atom Heart Mother at some point down the road and call it a day. 

UPDATE--As it turned out, I ended up acquiring all of the remaining Pink Floyd albums I was missing, and now have the complete Pink Floyd discography in my collection.

E15's Unexpected Surprise

 It is almost ironic that in this day and age, where our society is supposedly moving away from internal combustion engines and toward battery electric vehicles, there is now a baffling array of gasoline grades available. Since the late 1980s, when leaded gasoline was completely phased out, most stations have offered three grades: regular (87 octane), mid-grade (89 octane) and premium (93 octane), but several new options have appeared in recent years like E85 (up to 85 percent ethanol) and E15 (15 percent ethanol), as well as non-ethanol formulations on the other end of the spectrum. This all begs the question of which is best for your car. The answer, of course, is 'that depends'. Different formulations are optimized for different types of vehicles.

To fully understand the differences among these fuel grades, not including diesel, we first need to understand what octane is and what it measures. Many people mistakenly believe octane is a measure of the fuel's potential power and that higher octane fuel will deliver higher performance, but it's a little more nuanced than that. Octane is a measure of gasoline's ability not to detonate under pressure. Higher performance engines often require higher octane fuel because they have a higher compression ratio, which delivers a bigger bang, if you will, when the fuel is detonated. For this reason, higher compression engines, including those that use superchargers or turbochargers, will not run properly on regular fuel, but the opposite is not true for more conventional engines. While higher octane fuel is not an issue for them, there is no real benefit, either. 

With that bit of knowledge in hand, let's look at the various gasoline grades and what vehicles they're best for:

Regular (87 octane)—More often than not, this is the fuel you need. It works in most cars, unless they have a high-performance, high-compression engine. If your car specifies "Unleaded Fuel Only", regular gas will work just fine. It will also work in flex fuel vehicles, but more on that later.

Mid-Grade/Plus (89 octane)—This is often the forgotten 'middle child' at the gas pump. This is the same octane rating as leaded regular gas, which has not been available in the U.S. since about 1988, and is best suited for older cars that ran on leaded regular. It will deliver slightly improved performance and fuel economy in some other cars, but the ever-widening price spread between it and regular often makes it somewhat of a false economy.

Premium (93 octane)—As mentioned earlier, this is the specified fuel for higher compression and forced induction engines. In most cases, a car requiring premium fuel will spark knock on regular, a result of premature detonation, although there are some exceptions, such as Cadillac's NorthStar V8, which would automatically adjust itself to run on regular, albeit with a modest loss of performance and fuel economy.

Non-Ethanol (90 octane)—Up until about a decade ago, most gasoline did not contain ethanol (corn alcohol), but today's gasoline is typically an E10 (ten percent ethanol) blend. Most cars run fine on E10, but some do not. If you have a car with carburetor, especially an old muscle car from the '60s, this might be a viable option, but for most applications the benefits are marginal at best, especially at a premium of around a dollar a gallon over regular.

E85—As the acronym suggests, this as an up to 85 percent ethanol blend, or more accurately, 51-85 percent. Regardless of the exact ratio of gasoline to alcohol, this fuel should only be used in flex fuel vehicles that are designed for it. The best way to tell if you have such a vehicle is to look for 'Flex Fuel' badging on it and a yellow factory supplied gas cap. I owned a flex fuel vehicle, a 2011 Chevy Impala, for a few years, but I never put E85 in it because the owner's manual stated due to the lower energy contained in ethanol. it would yield reduced fuel economy and performance. The few times I saw it at a gas station, the price was so close to that of regular gas, that running it seemed to present a false economy; that is, the lower fuel economy negated the cost savings. That said, ethanol does burn cleaner than gasoline and it is American made, so those might be significant feel good points for some people.

E15 (88 octane)—This fuel is designed to run in any 2001 model or newer passenger car or light duty truck, flex fuel or not. It has a slightly higher ethanol level than conventional gasoline, which gives it a slightly higher octane rating. Still, many drivers are skeptical of E15 because of the conventional wisdom that non-flex fuel vehicles can only tolerate up to 10 percent ethanol, and this was why I always ignored it, despite it being a bit cheaper than regular.  

That price spread suddenly opened into a chasm last week, when a local station ran a promo, knocking the price of E15 down to $1.35 below that of regular 87 octane. After some online research to assure myself that it was safe to run in my car, I topped up my tank ahead of a 200-mile road trip. The results were, to say the least, unexpected. I figured that if fuel economy were off even by as much as 5 mpg, I would still be coming out ahead, but instead, I actually got better gas mileage than on regular 87 octane fuel. While I usually average 32-34 mpg on that trip, my round trip average was 36.3 mpg. I was astonished enough that I refilled the next day with more E15 (still at the bargain price of $1.91 a gallon) to test it out on regular, in-town driving. So far, in-town mileage is comparable, so I'm declaring this experiment a success, in that E15 fuel has proven itself an economical alternative, at least in my car. While I may not use it exclusively, I will consider it a cost-effective alternative and will use it when appropriate. Late fall and early winter are when I see the best fuel economy, but it will be interesting to see how it holds up in the warmer months, when I am using the air conditioning and the summer's heat is putting an additional strain on the engine.

Check back for periodic updates...

SPEAKING OF UPDATES--It's been about eight months since I discovered E15 and I have continued to use it at least as often as I use regular gas. Although no longer as deeply discounted as it was, it's still a good 30 cents cheaper, and these days, every little bit helps. My long-term observations are that there is no noticeable difference in performance, but a slight dip in fuel economy, about 2-3 mpg on average, especially in hot weather. The difference during cooler weather, where the air conditioning is not needed, is almost nonexistent. 

All that said, I convinced a friend to try a tank of E15 in her 2001 Pontiac minivan, and the results were less than stellar, with a check engine light and hesitation occurring shortly after the fill-up. The problem went away once there was enough room in the tank to add a few gallons of regular gas.

Have I Developed a Love/Hate Relationship with Apple Products?

 I've owned and used Apple products for more than 30 years, beginning with an Apple Mac Classic and monochrome StyleWriter ink jet printer I acquired shortly after I started graduate school in 1991. I've been through a string of Macs since then, and use a rather aged MacBook Pro as my daily driver at home. Along the way, I've had about three iPads and am on my second iPhone (never looked back at Android after getting the first one in 2016). I also had some fun a few years ago, refurbishing and upgrading old iPods, but my more recent technology acquisitions have been decidedly non-Apple. I wonder why that is.

I am no fan of Microsoft, so I do my best to stay away from Windows (I wish my employer felt the same way), but that's not to say I'm not open to new things. My latest laptop is a Chromebook, and for a tablet these days, I'm using an Amazon Fire 10 HD. For home automation, I also seem to be all in on Google Assistant instead of Apple Home.

The common denominator in those choices seems to be price. While iPads start at around $400, I got the Amazon Fire tablet on sale for well under $100. I got the Chromebook for a couple hundred dollars when I needed something to get me through until I could find what I really wanted, but the Chromebook ended up being something I could live with for the price. It's a fine secondary laptop, but will never achieve daily driver status.

The choice of Google Assistant happened more because of a freebie than anything else. I had not even considered home automation beyond a couple of KASA smart plugs when I got an offer for a free Google Nest Home Mini smart speaker from Sirius-XM. In addition to being able to listen to music, I could now control certain lamps, connected to the aforementioned smart plugs, with my voice. 

All of this might lead a casual observer to conclude that, over time, I've been gradually turning my back on Apple and its products, but that simply isn't true. It's more a matter of matching functionality to cost. Some Apple products, such as iPhones, are totally worth the price, while iPads, given the limited uses I have for a tablet are less so, especially considering that much less expensive alternatives are available that do everything I need a tablet to do. The same holds true of my Google Nest devices. My needs were essentially non-existent and were thus easily filled by a free device. 

Where the equation gets more complicated is with laptops. My Chromebook was amazingly inexpensive, but that low price came with its own costs. It does what it does reasonably well, but there's simply a lot it can't do. Realistically, a Chromebook can satisfy about 65 percent of my computing needs, and that's pretty good for the price, but it doesn't make that remaining 35 percent go away. I've also tried inexpensive Windows laptops, but those aren't exactly satisfactory, either. That's why I have an almost decade-old MacBook Pro for daily use. Surprisingly, other than degraded battery life, and the fact that it's no longer receiving operating system updates, it's pretty sprightly for its age. One thing's for certain; factoring longevity into the equation makes a Mac more affordable than it would first appear. The trick, I've found, is not to cheap out, but to buy absolutely the most Mac you can afford, as upgrading later is going to be more expensive and perhaps even impossible.

Two other parts of the Apple ecosystem I haven't explored are Apple TV and the Apple watch. As with Apple Home, streaming with Apple TV never made it to my radar. My first foray into streaming was with an Internet-enabled Panasonic Blu-Ray player, capable of streaming Netflix and Hulu. Within a couple of years, I had transitioned to Roku boxes, which are cheap and adequately serve my needs. 

I have, at times, been intrigued by Apple Watches, but not enough to lay down a few hundred dollars for one. If they were to incorporate a glucometer function into the health monitoring functions, I might consider it. For now, I will continue to check my sugar levels on my iPhone, using Freestyle Libre sensors.

The bottom line is that while I don't lock myself into the Apple ecosystem, neither am I abandoning it. I use it where it makes sense and look for alternatives where it doesn't. 

UPDATE: In the fall of 2023, I made an impulse purchase of a seller-refurbished Dell Latitude 7490 notebook computer, running Linux Mint in lieu of Windows, ostensibly as a replacement for my Chromebook, with which I had become increasingly dissatisfied, as covered in other posts on this site. What I wasn't expecting was that this computer would prove so satisfactory that it also replaced my now twelve-year-old MacBook Pro. I kept both machines running side-by-side for a few months, while actively using the Dell. Eventually, I shut the MacBook Pro down and have only fired it back up a couple of times since, mainly to transfer files to the Dell via a Web app called Snapdrop. I keep telling myself that I may someday get another MacBook, but to date "someday" has yet to arrive.

Putting it All Down on Paper

With the ubiquity of smart phones, a paper datebook may seem to many a bit of an anachronism, a reminder of how things were done way back when, yet many people, myself included, still use them. Despite my affinity for most things digital, I still like them. A few years ago, at the suggestion of a life coach, I acquired a portable sized Day-Timer and liked it fairly well; however, the Day-Timer page refills were very expensive and the binder could hold only about three months' worth of pages at any given time, so I always kept the previous month, the present month, and the next month to come in my binder. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. As it was explained to me by my life coach, I could write dates further in the future on the monthly planner pages and then transfer them to the daily planner pages whenever a new month was inserted. The process of transferring them would also help cement them in my mind.

The expense and complexity of the Day-Timer system eventually sent me searching for a better solution. For several years, I settled for employer-supplied date books, but they continued arriving later and later, so I decided the time had come to return my Day-Timer to service. I just had to find a more affordable alternative to the Day-Timer brand refill pages.

What I found, for a small fraction of the price of genuine Day-Timer inserts, was the At-A-Glance 'My Week' insert packs from ACCO Brands. They are the same page size, but unlike the Day-Timer pages, which show two days on facing pages, the At-A-Glance pages show a whole week on two facing pages, albeit in a little more cramped view, with hourly appointment slots instead of 15-minute slots on the Day-Timer pages. After using them for three or four years, I have found that the At-A-Glance page format has not, in any way, cramped my style, in fact, I prefer the At-A-Glance format to the Day-Timer format because I only have to change out the pages once a year, instead of once a month. 

A datebook is intended to be a productivity tool, but recording too much detail can have the opposite effect. The Day-Timer approach is simply too granular for my needs. Honestly, I feel that if I were to document my life in the way the Day-Timer's layout suggests—filling in as many spaces as possible on as many pages as possible, I would never get anything else accomplished. In addition, my sometimes random though processes occasionally require a certain amount of free text area on which to jot down thoughts and document additional details that wouldn't fit on a line in the weekly calendar. Having the freedom to write a page of notes and put them in the datebook adjacent to the relevant date is often far more useful than some of the pre-printed Day-Timer pages I have had. Of course, sticky notes—2 x 2 inches of smaller—are a viable option as well.

The Day-Timer starter pack that came with my binder provided a small pad of about twenty sheets of lined note paper, but refills for those are so frightfully expensive that I find myself excessively husbanding those pages as a scarce resource, to the point of avoiding using the few sheets I have, and even writing on them in pencil so I can erase and reuse them later. The At-A-Glance refill packs do not include lined paper at all, although ACCO does sell small packages of those sheets as a separate—and absurdly expensive—product. Fortunately, I found a generous supply of lined paper in the proper 6.75-inch-by-3.75-inch, six-hole punched size on eBay that was cheap enough that I won't have to worry about 'wasting' a sheet again for the foreseeable future. 

One of the great advantages of a refillable, binder style date book is its flexibility—put what you need in and leave the rest out. These days, I find myself systematically removing pages that do not serve my needs to make room for more lined note paper. I find a paper datebook, properly configured with what I need and will actually use, provides an excellent overview of one's working life, and that writing things down by hand seems to better cement them into my consciousness. Besides, a paper datebook requires no batteries. It's just a simple, efficient, and practical solution for keeping my life straight. Looking at the pages in my Day-Timer, there are sections that I use and those that I do not. If I am realistic about my usage patterns, I could remove the unnecessary ones to make it more useful. Here's what I use and what I don't:

• Month-at a glance calendar—I use it to plan ahead, but I primarily use the Week-at-a-glance pages instead.
• Week-at-a-glance calendar—This is the primary feature I use. I consider it to be indispensable and the very reason I by a new set of refills each year.
• Contact list—I prefer the contact list on my iPhone and never use the one in my Day-Timer. These pages could easily be eliminated. 
• Vehicle mileage/expense log—Another set of pages I never use and could eliminate without missing them.
• Ruled note pages—Perhaps the most flexible section that I have not been using for fear of running out. Now that I have plenty of these pages, I intend to use them much more liberally.
• Reference pages—The starter pack came with a few pages of reference material, such as a list of telephone area codes, a map of U.S. time zones, metric conversion chart, etc. I seldom use, but handy when needed and they take up little space, so they're worth keeping.
  

My Tech Stable

 Like many people, I use multiple digital devices in a typical day, including laptops, tablets and my smart phone. I don't know how unique I am in this, but the devices I use represent an eclectic assortment of platforms, this is despite the fact that I primarily identify as an Apple user. The list below will outline the devices I use regularly; that is, at least several times a week, why I chose them and why I keep them around.

 iPhone SE (2020)—In the spring of 2020, I upgraded from the iPhone 6s I had been using since late 2016 because of one app it wouldn't run. I monitor my blood glucose levels with Freestyle Libre 14-day sensors and wanted to use those with the smart phone app instead of a separate monitoring device. The phone has been paid off for several months now, but I am in no hurry to upgrade. I am definitely a fan of the enhanced value proposition brought by Apple products' comparative longevity and will definitely opt for an iPhone when the time comes to replace it.

Amazon Fire 10 Tablet—This is a bit of an anomaly in that I 'downgraded' from an iPad to an Amazon tablet, but when I found myself in need of a new tablet two years ago, I couldn't justify the expense of another iPad, considering the limited uses I have for a tablet. I only ever use a tablet for reading eBooks on the Kindle app, checking emails and light Web surfing, all of which the Fire tablet does quite well. I caught this one on a Black Friday sale for half price and I had a $25 Amazon gift card to put toward it, so I was able to pick it up for less than $50, which was a steal, considering it's really all the tablet I need. I had owned a couple of Fire tablets before it, and this is the first one that really felt ready for prime time. Fire tablets aren't the greatest tablets out there, but for the money, their value proposition is undeniable.

Chromebooks—I have two of them, a 14-inch HP and an 11.6-inch Lenovo. I bought both of these devices for the simple reason that they are lightweight, wildly inexpensive, and thus well suited as grab-and-go devices that I don't have to worry about, should they become lost or damaged. Chromebooks have limited functionality, compared to Windows or Mac OS computers, and thus will never have first-string, go-to status for me, but for Web, e-mail, and light productivity tasks, they are at least adequate. I use the HP Chromebook primarily to provide Zoom connectivity allow virtual attendees log onto certain meetings I regularly attend. Because of its smaller size, the Lenovo is the computer I most often use on the go. In many ways I use the Chromebooks in much the same way as I use a tablet, but I much prefer the notebook computer form factor. Looking ahead, I could possibly see a Chromebook tablet as a viable alternative to both a Chromebook and a Fire tablet, but not necessarily anytime soon.

HP Windows Laptop—This was never a great laptop and at about five years old, it has not aged gracefully at all. I keep it around because my employer is a Microsoft shop and I occasionally need a level of compatibility not offered by my other non-Windows machines. It stays on my dining table, where I mainly use it to read emails while I eat breakfast. This computer could barely run Windows 10 out of the box and does not meet the requirements for a Windows 11 upgrade, so the next likely step for it is a Linux installation. It may be my Apple snobbery coming through, but I could never see myself using a Windows computer as my primary personal machine.

MacBook Pro—This decade-old Apple laptop is my go-to home computer. It has aged out of all but security updates from Apple but it still performs circles around my Windows laptop. It is a testament to the value proposition of Apple products. Yes, they cost more but they last longer and have fewer issues along the way. I occasionally consider upgrading to a newer MacBook, but cost is usually a deterrent. As long as this one continues to function properly, and it can run recent versions of the software I need, it will continue to serve as my main computer. I've been an Apple user for more than 30 years and I don't see that changing any time soon. When this machine needs replacing, it will be with another MacBook*.

The one device not mentioned on the list above is my employer-issued Lenovo ThinkPad X1 laptop. I did not include it because I did not select it and I have no say in how long I will keep it. As a general rule, my employer replaces computers every four to five years, sooner if they develop a significant malfunction. I will say that it is a pretty nice setup as it came to me with a large Dell monitor with built-in docking station. All peripherals and network connections are made via the monitor, which connects to the laptop with a single USB-C cable. This provides the best aspects of both a desktop and a laptop computer. 

*UPDATE: Well, things didn't exactly turn out that way. The MacBook Pro is now mostly retired in favor of a Dell Latitude 7490 notebook computer, running Linux Mint, which I had gotten to replace the increasingly unsatisfactory Chromebooks. For what it's worth, I do not see myself acquiring a Chromebook laptop/tablet combo. The Dell has proved to be so satisfactory that I installed Linux Mint on my Windows laptop to create a dual-boot system, but I quickly ended up retiring it in favor of yet another Dell 7490 with Linux Mint. While I have not completely ruled out another MacBook at some point in the future, These days, I'm just loving Linux.

Getting to the Point(er)

 One of my minor pet peeves with graphical interfaces on computers, regardless of operating system, has long been the mouse pointer/cursor. By default, it's usually very small and unobtrusive, and either black or white, which makes it somewhat hard to see and easy to lose track of. This is not a new problem. I have been losing track of my mouse pointer for about as long as I've been using a mouse. Of course, now that I am approaching the upper reaches of middle age and my eyesight isn't what it once was, the issue has become increasingly acute. Fortunately, I have found that I can easily address this problem on all three platforms I use regularly—Mac OS, Chrome OS and Windows—without installing any additional software. As a result, my mouse pointer is larger and more visible on all of my screens. Not only are they larger, but at least on my Windows and Chrome OS computers, they're also an obnoxious shade of purple for added visibility. Colored pointers are also now an available option under Mac OS Monterey, but I'm running a slightly older version that doesn't include this feature, so mine remains black.

The process for each platform is a little different, but not difficult. On Mac OS and Chrome OS, the settings are found under the accessibility settings, while on Windows, they're under the Mouse settings. We'll take each in turn.

Mac OS—Open System Preferences and click the Accessibility icon. In the dialog box that appears, select 'Display' on the menu at the left and then click the 'Cursor' tab at the top of the box and you will get a slider to adjust the size of your pointer. As mentioned earlier, Mac OS Monterey also includes an option to select the colors of the fill and outline of your pointer. Even without the option to change the pointer color from black, it is still quite helpful for it to be a bit larger. My only question is why these settings are located under 'Display' instead of under 'Pointer Control'. 

Chrome OS—For all their simplicity, configuring Chromebooks can be more than a little complicated when it comes to accessing advanced settings. At least this one didn't involve activating any experimental feature flags, as is so often the case, such as turning on the ability to disable and enable the touch pad. 

To access these advanced Chrome OS mouse settings, you need to go through several layers of menus. Begin by clicking the clock in the lower right corner of the screen and then clicking the gear icon at the top of the menu that pops up. For simplicity's sake, I keep that gear icon pinned to the 'shelf' at the bottom of the screen. Once you're in the Settings screen, scroll to the bottom and click 'Advanced' to see more settings. Click 'Accessibility Features' and scroll down until you see a group called 'Mouse and Touchpad'. You will see a switch on the right side labeled 'Show large mouse cursor'. Click this to turn it on and you will see a slider, with which you can adjust the size of the pointer. Just below this is a 'Cursor color' menu to select a color. 

Windows 10—Windows takes a slightly more logical approach, actually grouping these controls under the mouse settings. To access them, click the 'Start' icon in the lower left corner of the screen and select the gear icon to open the System Settings. Select 'Devices' and then 'Mouse' on the following screen. Scroll down and you will see a heading called 'Related Settings'. Under that, you will see 'Adjust mouse and cursor size'. Click that and you are presented with controls for both the size and color of the mouse pointer. 

 Somehow, I had stumbled onto this setting on my Windows laptop long before I searched for them on my MacBook Pro and Chromebooks, but I am now glad to have a larger pointer on all of those machines, plus my office computer. A bigger cursor is a small thing, but it does make a real difference. Even though this setting is buried under a few layers of menus in all three operating systems, it's definitely worth seeking out.

Keurig 2.0—Big Upgrade for Little Money

 I freely admit that I am often a late adopter of new technologies, tending to wait until I can get what I want on the cheap--like thrift store cheap. This has certainly been the case with Keurig coffeemakers. It seemed like everyone was getting them when they first came out back in the early and mid-2010s, but I held out as I watched the wave of castoff drip coffeemakers on thrift shop shelves crest. Then, in about 2017, I spied a one-cup Mr. Coffee, built around the Keurig system for about the cost of a fast food meal and I decided that was cheap enough to give it a try. 

Not surprisingly, I was immediately hooked on the convenience and variety, and every year or two, I'd find an irresistible deal on a newer, fancier machine at a dirt cheap price and decide an upgrade was warranted, and move my previous favorite to my office to make room for the new one at home. The previous office machine might get donated back, passed on to a friend or family member, or simply put on a shelf as an extra, in case one of my daily use machines went bad.

Seeing a Keurig at a a thrift shop at all used to be a novel experience and it would never stay on the shelf long, but in the last couple of years, first generation Keurigs have started proliferating the shelves and the occasional 2.0 machine began to catch my eye. Inevitably, it seemed, they were missing parts, usually the drip tray, and they always wanted a premium price, even in rough condition, so I decided to content myself with what I had.

That all changed a few weeks ago, when I spotted a Keurig 2.0, complete for $15. I initially resisted it, but eventually gave in to temptation a week later and went back to have a second look at it. The machine was still there, but there was another one next to it on the shelf, in slightly better condition for $10. Such are the vagaries of thrift store pricing. Then, as icing on the proverbial cake, I found the stainless steel carafe to go with it on the next aisle over, priced separately for $4, so I bought both.

Even though I have been using Keurig machines for five or six years, I've always kept a drip coffeemaker next to it for those occasions when I wanted to make a pot of coffee. It's not every day, but sometimes, that's just what's needed. This new acquisition offered the potential to streamline things down to only one machine.

Making a pot of coffee with the Keurig requires one of two things: extra large--and extra expensive--K-cups or a large capacity, reusable coffee pod. Either of these options unlock extra menu options for the carafe and large commuter mugs. Since I have a good amount of loose ground coffee on hand for the drip coffeemaker, I opted to go that route and ordered a two-pack of reusable pods online. To be honest, I rarely see the larger K-cups in the store and they're usually over-priced when I do.

As I suspected would happen, my first attempt, using the same two scoops of coffee grounds that I would put in the drip coffeemaker, resulted in somewhat weak tasting coffee, albeit a little better than I had experienced with single-cup reusable pods. On my second attempt, I employed a trick I had successfully tried with single-cup pods on other machines, which is to add a tiny amount of instant coffee, which yields stronger flavor without inflicting instant coffee's often bitter edge onto it. 

With that little adjustment, I have decided the flexibility of the Keurig 2.0 is sufficient to justify not only the cost of acquisition but is justification to finally retire the drip coffeemaker. I know that I will not use the carafe every day, but on the occasions when I want or need to do so, it combines the convenience of the Keurig with the larger capacity of the drip coffeemaker into an excellent single solution. 

UPDATE—Now that I've had this machine for about a month, I've found it to be a worthwhile investment. The drip coffeemaker is retired and off the kitchen counter, and the few times I have wanted a pot of coffee, the carafe setup has been more than adequate. My only minor gripe about the machine is I can't manually shut it off. The virtual power button on the touch screen will turn it on, but then touching it after making a cup o coffee will not turn it off. I do not know whether this is a design feature or a malfunction, but the easy workaround is to set the automatic shutoff for 15 minutes. All in all, it's a quirk I can live with.

UPDATE: January 2025--A few months ago, I found a better solution for the weak coffee problem when using ground coffee in the reusable pods. I got hold of a coffee grinder and grind things up a little finer. It yields richer tasting coffee without resorting to adding instant. 

Let There Be (More) Light

A few years ago, I decided my front walk area was too dark at night, so I replaced a non-functional gas post light with a solar LED fixture that fit on the gas light's post. Equipped with a simple photocell, it turned itself on at dusk and usually remained on until the battery ran down, putting out enough light to be ornamental but not enough to make a functional difference. The fixture was fairly expensive and the internal battery, which was charged by the solar panel on top, only lasted a short time before it would no longer take a charge. Replacements were expensive and hard to find.

In time, I decided I needed something more practical, so I got a couple of motion activated, solar powered LED floodlights, which helped greatly; however, because of their placement between the two front windows, the ends of the walkway were still in relative shadow. 

For whatever reason, most likely laziness, that remained the status quo for several years, but as one light has grown noticeably dimmer over they years, I finally decided more light was needed, so I ordered two more solar lights of a similar design. 

The new lights arrived yesterday and I promptly installed them. Even with a proper masonry bit, drilling holes in bricks is no easy task, but now that they're up, the walkway is without shadow from end to end. The new fixtures are not identical to the old ones; they actually offer more illumination with their 144 smaller LED's versus the old ones' 20 larger LED's. While the older ones have their LED's only on the front, the newer ones have them on the front and sides, offering a wider spread of illumination. 

Perhaps the biggest difference is the presence of a push-button switch on the front of the new ones, which toggles between four operational modes--constantly on (dim), dim/bright (contstantly on dim, automatically going to full brightness when motion is detected), (off/bright) (off until motion is detected, then to full brightness), and completely off. I'm using the off/bright mode to mirror the operation of the older ones, which have no switch and are simply motion activated. 

The beauty of these motion activated lights is that they are only on for less than a minute at a time, providing light only when it is truly needed. This means the internal storage batteries are never fully depleted. Also, each one costs about the same as a conventional floodlight bulb and they require no wiring. They are completely self-contained and are ready for service almost as soon as they are mounted. A simple, practical and cost-effective solution, these lights are an excellent value, well suited for the needs of renters and home owners alike. 

 

Another Week, Another Chromebook

 About a week ago, I did a slightly naughty thing. I bought a new laptop that I absolutely didn't need, but it was an insane deal I just couldn't pass up. I got wind of this dirt cheap Lenovo Chromebook bargain at Best Buy from an article on Chrome Unboxed called "A $79 Chromebook That's Actually Worth Having". Yeah, that really isn't a typo. I actually snagged a brand new Chromebook for not quite the cost of two tanks of gas. 

It's a Lenovo 3, 11.6-inch Chromebook, which is listed for $99 at bestbuy.com, but with a free My Best Buy membership they whack another $20 off. Oh, and shipping is free as well. I opted for free home delivery, which took about four days (ordered on Friday night, arrived the following Tuesday morning), but I could have picked it up for free at my local Best Buy store in as little as an hour after ordering--assuming the store was open when I placed the order, which it was not. Being lazy and better able to resist attempted up-sells online than in person, home delivery was the more attractive option. 

So, what is a $79 laptop even like? Well, first off, it's a Chromebook, so it's basically a glorified browser in a box. The intent is that you will use it primarily with Web-based functions, via the built-in Chrome browser, but there's actually a little more to the story since you can run Android apps, installed from the Google Play Store, as well as Linux apps in a virtual machine environment called Crostini--provided you're not afraid of using the Terminal command line to install applications. It's actually easier than it sounds. I have the latest Debian Linux builds of LibreOffice productivity suite, Thunderbird email client and and Extended Service Release (ESR) of the Firefox Web browser, as well as a simple solitaire game called Aisle Riot and a MahJongg tile matching game,  These cover the basics and that's really what the Chromebook experience is all about. 

The screen is small, only slightly larger than my 10-inch Amazon Fire tablet, but reasonably sharp. The keyboard is a bit cramped, yet responsive, the speakers are tinny, and the track pad is, well, a track pad. All that said, the build quality is decent, not outstanding, but decent--and surprisingly better than one might expect for a notebook computer at this ridiculously cheap price point. 

As I've said before, the secret to satisfaction with a Chromebook is to have reasonable and realistic expectations. Accept it for what it is, don't expect it to be something it's not, and you'll be fine, especially for the price you're (not) paying for it. Compared to computers running Mac OS, Windows, or even Linux, Chromebooks have relatively limited capabilities, so while there are Chromebooks with price tags in excess of $1,000, it's more reasonable to expect to pay a limited price for one.  Honestly, you wouldn't catch me spending more than about $300 for one. 

Since I now own two Chromebooks, the above mentioned Lenovo and an HP Chromebook 14a, it begs the question of which I prefer. In terms of what's under the hood, they are very comparable. The big difference is the screen size and I have to say the HP's 14-inch screen is a clear winner there. The Lenovo's 11.6-inch screen offers barely enough real estate to be usable and the smaller form factor makes the keyboard feel relatively cramped, although still usable. The one thing the Lenovo has over the HP is its two USB-A ports, compared with the HP's single USB port, which is perpetually occupied by a receiver for my Logitech wireless mouse. 

 I have worked around this for the HP with a portable USB-C docking station, which incorporates a couple of USB-A ports, SD and micro SD card slots, HDMI video and a pass-through USB-C port. It seems to work best with the power cord plugged into the USB-C slot to power both the computer and the docking station. The Lenovo's second USB-A port is nice for allowing the flexibility to plug a mouse receiver into one and a flash drive into another. 

So, who is a Chromebook for? The likely answer is probably most of the computer-using public. It's a minimalist platform for people with correspondingly minimalist computing needs. If you spend the majority of your computing time surfing Web pages, checking emails, watching videos and maybe doing a little online shopping, then a Chromebook is all you really need. For me, a Chromebook will never be a daily driver. It just feels too constraining and I do have a need for functionality it cannot readily provide. That said, the ability to install and run certain Linux apps does help. I'll readily admit that I had no real need for a second Chromebook, but I'm sure I'll find a few uses for it, especially as I generally prefer the laptop form factor to that of a tablet computer. 

Addendum, 9 September
Now that I've had this $79 Chromebook for a few weeks, I have to admit it's growing on me. I frequently take it to work with me for quick, personal tasks, for which I would prefer not to use my work computer. Operationally, it actually feels a tad faster than my HP Chromebook 14a, but the compact size is, at best, a bit of a mixed blessing in that while the cramped screen real estate is often a strain on my middle-aged eyes, especially since the resolution is maybe one step above mediocre; however, the device's small size and accompanying feather weight make it an ideal grab-and-go machine. Also, the keyboard has a nice, positive touch that makes it pleasant to use, despite it being a little cramped. 

For me, Chrome OS is generally less annoying than Windows (I still consider myself to be a Mac user, first and foremost) and truly succeeds in combining simplicity with functionality. Although I can get work done on it fairly easily, it's still not my favorite computing experience and it will never be able to fully replace a Mac OS or Windows laptop. Oddly enough, when I look at the devices I use regularly, this diminutive Lenovo Chromebook comes closest to being a solid replacement for a tablet. Honestly, except for reading e-books, I much prefer the laptop experience, even a limited one like a Chromebook, to that of a tablet with a virtual, onscreen keyboard. The next time I need to replace a tablet, perhaps I'll consider something like a Chromebook Duet. We'll see when the time comes.

In the end, when I consider how little I paid for this little laptop--less than a tenth what I paid for my first desktop computer in 1991--a Mac Classic with a monochrome ink jet printer bundled in for about $1,600--it's an incredible value for what it is, especially adjusted for three decades of inflation, and I don't regret this (admittedly superfluous) purchase one bit.

Addendum, 3 October
I have identified one minor gripe, more aesthetic than functional, about this Lenovo Chromebook, and that is the satin finish on the lid, which shows finger prints horribly. They can be wiped away (mostly) with a soft cloth, but it still detracts from the look of the thing, especially considering how much I carry it around and handle it closed, mainly putting it in and out of its bag. By comparison, my work computer, a Lenovo ThinkPad X1, has a matte finish that does not show fingerprints nearly as much. As I said, it makes no difference from a functional standpoint; it just looks messy.

Got Meter?

 Whether you call it a multimeter, multitester or VOM (volt/ohm/milliammeter) or just a meter, it's an essential piece of electrical test equipment that deserves a place on any workbench or toolbox. So what are these devices used for? 

A VOM is actually four measuring devices in one. They can be used to measure AC or DC voltage, amperage and resistance or continuity. Some even have additional functions such as a thermometer. Common uses include measuring voltage checking whether a circuit is live, testing batteries, and determine exact levels of voltage, amperage and resistance.

Analog or Digital?
One of the first things you are likely to notice when looking at meters is they have one of two types of displays—analog or digital. Analog meters, which have a needle indicator pointing to numbers on a scale (or often multiple scales) have been around for about a century while digital meters with numerical displays first appeared some 40 or so years ago and have steadily grown in popularity over time. Which type of meter to buy is largely just a matter of personal preference. The perform exactly the same function.

Analog Advantages
Traditional analog meters have a small learning curve as one learns which scale to read for a particular function. These are labeled and often color coded to correspond with the scales on the selector switch. Sometimes a scale requires multiplying by tens or sometimes hundreds to take an accurate reading. The main advantage of an analog meter is it's easier to see how much a reading varies. 

Unlike a digital meter, which uses battery power for all functions, an analog meter uses it only on the resistance scale, where it sends a small current through a circuit to measure resistance. On the voltage and amperage settings, the device is measuring power flowing through the circuit without the need for any other power source. 

Some of my favorite vintage analog meters are from Radio Shack (Remember them?), sold under their Micronta brand. Models worth looking for include the 22-202, 22-203, 22-204, 22-210 and 22-214. Although these models have been out of production for years, they are plentiful on the second-hand market so hold out for a good example. Also worth considering, if have the money to spend is a Simpson 260. The epitome of professional grade, this venerable line has been in constant production since the 1930s and is still made in the USA. Most models use standard AA, D and 9v cells but some take obsolete 15v batteries that are absolutely unobtainable. New Simpson meters are priced in the hundreds of dollars but good second-hand units are available for far less.

Digital Precision
Digital meters show exact numerical values but they can be hard to read if that value is shifting too rapidly. Nonetheless, they are often preferred because they have fewer moving parts and thus are often more durable than their analog counterparts. Because they have largely replaced analog devices, economies of scale often make digital meters a little less expensive than a comparable analog device.

New digital meters range in price from a few dollars to hundreds.  Harbor Freight has even been known to give away their cheapest digital meter for free with a coupon. 

What to Look for in a Vintage or Second-hand Meter
As mentioned above, I prefer older, analog meters because they are usually built better than newer analog models but there is also a bit of risk involved. Three signs of trouble to watch out for are damage or excessive wear to the exterior, signs of battery leakage, and burn marks on the interior circuitry.

If the meter looks beat up on the outside with lots of dirt, scratches, cracks or missing pieces of plastic,  chances are it has seen some heavy use or even abuse. Check the knobs and switches to make sure they move properly. If they don't, this is also a sign the meter should be avoided. As a final part of the exterior inspection, look for missing case screws as they are a sign someone has been inside it before. 

Because these meters can often sit idle for long periods, battery leakage is fairly common. Residue from alkaline batteries can easily be cleaned off with white, distilled vinegar. Buff the contacts with sandpaper and everything should be fine as long as the residue was confined to the battery compartment. Even if the batteries appear good, check the expiry date, replace any that are excessively old and make a habit of checking them periodically for leakage.

Burn marks are a sure sign that a meter has been subjected to an overload and the meter should be avoided unless you are comfortable replacing the damaged components, which will usually require some soldering skills. Of course, an overload could also damage the circuit board itself.

Finally, check the fuse(s). A cylindrical glass fuse can also be examined visually to see if the filament is intact If a fuse is opaque or discolored, it is probably bad. The definitive test, of course, will be with a multimeter set on the ohms setting. If the needle moves all the way across on an analog meter or you see the number one on a digital unit, you have continuity and the fuse is good. No movement or the number zero indicates a blown fuse. Make sure you replace it with one of the same rating. Even though fuses may look alike, they have different amperage ratings. Read what's inscribed on the metal contacts at the ends of the fuse or even better, check to see if the fuse requirements are on the device itself or the instructions, if you have them.

My Favorite Wireless Input Devices

It's been almost a decade since I last used a desktop computer as my daily driver but I've never been able to acclimate myself to a touch pad. For me, they are awkward to use and since I have the bad habit of 'lazy' wrists resting on either side of the touch pad, I tend to brush against it and send my cursor caroming off in random directions. The solution for me has been to use an external mouse and disable the trackpad. To be clear, I am not going in and cutting wires. All major operating systems—Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS—offer a procedure to turn the touch pad off and back on. Windows and Mac OS can do this automatically when an external mouse is connected to or disconnected from a USB port. And when I'm using a laptop as part of a permanent workstation, such as my desk at work, I also like to use an external keyboard, just because it gives me greater flexibility to achieve a more ergonomic setup.

To be sure, there are a lot of great third party input devices—keyboards, mice, trackballs, etc. out there but many of them have a problem in common—cables. Over the years I have come to greatly prefer the experience of a wireless input devices. These basically come in two flavors: Bluetooth and USB. The former offers the advantage of not requiring a USB port but this is often at the expense of a stable connection. For that reason, I much prefer a wireless USB mouse or keyboard.

The thing is, not all wireless USB peripherals are created equal. Most such devices come with a dedicated USB receiver that is paired with the device with which it shipped and only that device, which presents two major disadvantages. First, if you have multiple wireless devices, each one requires its own USB port. Second, if you lose the receiver, which today very tiny, the device itself becomes useless. Fortunately, one manufacturer has solved this problem.

Logitech, with its Unifying Receiver system, allows up to six devices—mice, trackballs, keyboards—to be paired with one receiver. By doing this, the disadvantages named in the above paragraph are effectively negated. A keyboard and mouse, or even multiples of each, only require a single USB port to from which to operate and lost USB receivers can easily be replaced. 

I have acquired several Logitech keyboards and mice second hand for a pittance from thrift shops and as often as not, the receiver is not present. When I see one that looks promising, I look not only for the receiver but for the asterisk logo, indicating compatibility with a Unifying Receiver. If this logo is present, then I know the device can be used, even if it no longer has its own receiver.

To pair a device with a different receiver, one must download the Logitech Unifying Receiver software from Logitech's Web site, launch it and follow a simple set of on-screen prompts to turn the device off if it is already on and then turn it on to be recognized by the receiver. Once paired, the receiver and input device(s) will work with any computer the receiver is plugged into, regardless of whether the Logitech software is present. But because the software is available only for Windows or Mac OS, users of other operating systems such as Chrome OS or Linux, will need to pair their devices and receivers on a Mac or Windows PC and then transfer the receiver to the Chromebook or Linux computer. On dual-boot systems containing Windows or Mac OS in addition to Linux, one can simply reboot into Linux after pairing under one of the aforementioned supported operating systems.

It should also be noted that while multiple devices (up to six) can be paired with one receiver, the opposite is not true. Multiple receivers cannot be paired with a single device. One cannot, for instance, pair a mouse with separate receivers plugged into two different laptops. One must move the receiver from one device to another. This happens because whenever a device is paired with a new receiver, any previous pairing of that device with another receiver is broken. That said, it is not necessary to re-pair existing devices to a receiver when a new one is added, provided the total is no more than six devices.

The way I see it, Logitech's Unifying Receiver system adds great value to compatible input devices and to my knowledge, no other manufacturer offers anything similar. For this reason, Logitech devices bearing the asterisk logo are the only ones I'll consider buying—new or used, with or without their receiver.

Addendum—Since I have accumulated and used several Logitech wireless keyboards, it would seem appropriate to my impressions of each that I have owned. They are listed in descending order by model number. In general, I will say that none of the keyboards below are actually bad, but the user experience differs greatly.

K850—This is my most recently acquired keyboard and my favorite for several reasons. First, it is the only one I own that is both Windows and Mac OS compatible and automatically detects which platform it is connected to. It can also be paired with up to three wireless receivers. Selecting between them is accomplished via three numbered buttons, just to the right of the F-keys, which double as media keys when pressed in conjunction with either the fn keys on the bottom row. The power switch is located inconspicuously along the right side, just below the top right corner. The crowning glory, though is the ergonomic design of the keys, raised in the middle and lower on the outer edges for a more natural wrist position. It also has a padded, non-slip wrist rest for added comfort. 

K520—I actually have two of these, not because I like this model so much, but because the first one I found had significant wear and I subsequently found one in pristine condition. This model is roughly the same size as the K850 and has separate multimedia keys, as well as special functions included on the F-keys. The power switch is located at the top right corner. Like the models below, it is Windows only but will work with Mac OS, although the modifier keys are mapped differently, such that the Windows start key takes the function of the Apple Command key and the Alt key is mapped as the Option key; however, these are easily reversed in the Mac OS System Preferences. The keys are comfortably rounded but their action is a little imprecise—not bad but not great, either.

K360—The most compact of the four Logitech keyboards I own,  It has flat, square keys, similar to those of a laptop keyboard. The power switch is located conveniently at the top right corner. It has separate media keys that are small  but well labeled. The F-keys double as special function keys. I like the action of the keys, which have a nice amount of resistance. It is my second favorite of the four keyboards.

 K330—This is perhaps my least favorite of the four Logitech keyboards I own. It is Iinteresting that it is no larger than the K850, but it feels considerably bulkier. It has a separate row of very small media and special function keys that are labeled in a way that makes them difficult to read. My least favorite feature, however, is the power switch, which is located on the bottom of the keyboard, where it is difficult to reach, especially by feel.