00:15:20 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): There is no Q&A tonight as this is a regular monthly meeting. The next Q&A session will be on Wednesday, February 19th.. Questions on any computer-related issues are welcome, as are mini-presentations of your favourite computer program or on an interesting topic that you would like to share with the group. Send your questions or the details of what you would like to share to: SuggestionBox@opcug.ca (Note that questions, comments, and shares can be anonymous if requested.) 00:16:35 Ma Vo: on the topic of monitors... I recently saw a YT video about salvaging the monitors of old laptops and using them as supplementary monitors 00:16:41 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Anybody want to be an OPCUG Director? Apply: SuggestionBox@opcug.ca!!! 00:19:16 Stew Bruce: Oh, what the heck. I'll volunteer to be a "Director without a Clue" 00:21:43 Tom Trottier: You can be Colonel Mustard 00:23:09 Margery: Thanks to all involved. 00:23:42 Carol Pearson: Thankyou to all the board members 00:24:09 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): @Stew We are going to develop a Director with a clue! 00:25:55 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Special Membership Offer! Join OPCUG before March 31st Pay the annual membership fee of $20.00 Receive a free-year’s membership Two years for the price of one! https://opcug.ca/join-or-renew/ 00:25:58 Bill: We really appreciate all you have done for O.P.C.U.G over the last 20 years. As well as all the time spent in talks and preperation for them. 00:26:17 Bob Herres: Reacted to "We really appreciate..." with ❤️ 00:28:11 Tom Trottier: This week's grocery sales https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/1io4v0t/weekly_grocery_review_sales_for_feb_13_19_2025/ 00:29:05 Tom Trottier: https://opcug.ca/presentations/2025-02-BuyPC.pdf 00:29:07 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Download the presentation as a PDF file: https://opcug.ca/presentations/2025-02-BuyPC.pdf Any questions: Chris.Taylor@opcug.ca 00:30:25 Jocelyn Doire: To get an idea of how much gray hair our members have, you can check our PizzaQ group picture available at https://opcug.ca/history/Pictures/PizzaQ/2024/ 00:32:46 Tom Trottier: Laptop also protected vs power failure 00:33:49 Timothy: Laptop advantage: you can still work on it when there is a power outage. 00:34:32 Tom Trottier: 17" laptops usually have a numeric pad - useful for accounting 00:34:43 Coreen: limited USB ports if you want to be wired 00:35:29 Tom Trottier: Thunderbolt / USB4 ports good for adding storage, docks, monitors, 00:35:42 Timothy: Laptop disadvantage: some laptops are harder to install or update componets. 00:36:24 Coreen: overheating 00:36:38 Tom Trottier: Usually laptops can upgrade: SSD(s), RAM, WiFi - but nothing else 00:37:28 Tom Trottier: Externally you can add SSDs, expensive GPU. 00:38:29 José Costa: Desktops are noisier than laptops 00:38:40 Jocelyn Doire: The keyboard of laptop is often very annoying for those that type in French, the keys for the accents keep changing places from brand to brand 00:39:33 Tom Trottier: For other languages, you can get key stickers and remap the keyboard 00:39:44 Tom Trottier: Even for APL! 00:41:38 Tom Trottier: APU usually includes a GPU (graphics processing unit) inside the chip. 00:42:23 Tom Trottier: Big servers usually have 2+ CPU chips 00:43:25 Tom Trottier: (assuming tasks are CPU-heavy) 00:45:04 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Intel processor families https://www.intel.ca/content/www/ca/en/processors/processor-numbers.html 00:46:26 Stew Bruce: Computer cores remind me of combustion engines. I core-1 cylinder, 2 core-2 cylinders, 4 core- 4 cylinders etc.... 00:47:48 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Decoding Intel Pentium & Celeron https://www.intel.ca/content/www/ca/en/processors/processor-numbers.html 00:49:08 Tom Trottier: Mobile first because 1) power important in server farms 2) most PCs are laptops now 00:49:36 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): AMD families https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_processors 00:50:25 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Naming conventions changing …becoming much more confusing Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3jDxPXZuPE 00:52:24 Tom Trottier: Newest Intel CPUs have some Performance cores, and some Eco cores... Like phones 00:52:40 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Comparing CPUs https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare 00:52:49 Tom Trottier: Comparre CPU speed: https://www.passmark.com/search/zoomsearch.php 00:55:33 Tristan: Currently, AMD tends to be more power efficient for equivalent specs. 00:56:27 Timothy: Mouth drop on prices. 00:57:23 Tristan: The most important factor, is to determine what you will do with a PC. If only browsing and office suite, basically anything will do. It is items like gaming, virtualization and graphics rendering; which require more computing power. 00:59:28 Tom Trottier: M1,2,3,4 are all ARM processors - RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) - instructions are fewer & smaller, work faster, but you need more instructions to get things done. Vs CISC (Complex....) More variety of hardware instructions, some very long, some very slow, but need fewer of them to get things done. 01:00:25 Tom Trottier: Clarification: risc - you need to EXECUTE more instructions to get things done. 01:01:16 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Qualcomm list of native ARM apps https://www.qualcomm.com/products/features/windowsapps 01:01:26 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Many non-native apps will run using emulation https://www.pcmag.com/articles/how-well-does-windows-on-arms-prism-emulation-work-we-tested-with-31-apps 01:03:38 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Copilot+ PC experiences are coming https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/copilot-plus-pcs 01:06:13 Tom Trottier: Gates said 640k is enuff for everyone..... 01:08:21 Tom Trottier: RAM increases performance because when the OS runs out of memory, the OS sends stuff to your SSD & reads in the stuff it put there previously. RAM runs in nanoseconds, SSD runs in millliseconds 01:09:02 Tom Trottier: PCs can take 4GB SSDs 01:09:14 Tristan: Those NVMe SSDs like in the picture, are amazingly fast. My PC starts in less then a blink. 01:09:38 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): @Tom 4GB SSD's? 01:09:44 Tom Trottier: Yes, I use 01:10:07 Tom Trottier: 4+ 512 - 2 SSDs, Alienware M15 R5 01:11:58 Tom Trottier: oops, 4TB 01:12:10 Tom Trottier: https://diskprices.com/ 01:13:14 Tristan: Sadly, the dedicated GPUs are a bit crazy in the pricing these days. 01:13:23 Tom Trottier: Discrete GPU useful for Video/photo editing, and of course, games! 01:14:39 Tom Trottier: Also GPUs use more power, generate more heat. 01:14:50 Tristan: The best bang for the buck currently, seems to be the most recent descrete Intel GPU (Battlemage). 01:15:32 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Video ports https://opcug.ca/qa_recordings/20221130_PowerPoint.pdf 01:16:00 Tom Trottier: Integrated GPUs, on the same chip as CPU are getting faster and faster, and can now handle most games, some at reduced resolution 01:16:50 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): HDMI & DisplayPort – uses https://www.rtings.com/monitor/learn/hdmi-vs-displayport 01:18:19 Tom Trottier: USB-C, Thunderbolt also support video signals on PCs and monitors. So HDMI may not be necessary. 01:19:30 Coreen: how reliable are the converters and splitters? 01:20:20 Tom Trottier: They are cheap and dependable, at least top 1080p 01:20:20 Bob Herres: Chris What is your "fancy monitor divder"? 01:20:54 bea: I had one that died after 5 years 01:21:13 Stew Bruce: Regarding all this hi def resolution, I really need new glasses and am just happy to see anything. 01:21:25 Timothy: I get a smaller display on my TV when I connect my laptop to it. 01:22:22 Carolyn: Using multi-monitor set-ups can be very hard on the neck 01:22:52 Tristan: @Timothy did you close the lid to your laptop? On many once close the lid, it will auto adjust the resolution to match the maximum of the attached display. Otherwise it matches the resolution of the laptop screen. 01:23:08 Bob Herres: Replying to "Chris What is your "..." I may t ry "one Super Large" monitor if I can divide it into 3 or 3 // I'm not sure yet...Fancy sections sound interesting 01:23:12 Timothy: ops I mean my desktop screen expands bigger on the TV. 01:24:14 Tom Trottier: Replying to "Chris What is your "..." Yes, Fancy Zones in Powertoys lets you map you monitor and snap apps to various sub-panes 01:24:38 Timothy: Replying to "@Timothy did you clo..." Haven't tried that. 01:24:56 Tristan: HDMI has a built-in device to muck up the image, if connect a DVD player to a PC. A form of copy protection. 01:25:20 Tom Trottier: I've run my 4K TV from my HDMI cable from PC 01:25:34 Tom Trottier: Casting usually limited to 1080p 01:27:10 Tom Trottier: 1080p runs well on Logitech 920's on USB 2! It compresses to H.265 I think 01:28:00 Tom Trottier: Logitech webcams have software which can zoom in/out 01:28:53 Tom Trottier: Logitech 920 78 degrees 01:29:08 Tristan: Can even get webcams with an integrated ring light now. Such as the Razer Kiyo. 01:29:27 Tom Trottier: I like sidelight to make me thinner! 01:31:04 Stew Bruce: Chris, have you any experience (first or second hand) with bone conduction headphones? 01:31:57 Tristan: Saw a very neet foldable keyboard, at work the other day. Called the ProtoArc Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard, on amazon. 01:33:51 Timothy: I have an external Floppy drive that will work with Windows 10 via the USB port. 01:34:23 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): @Tim Do you have any floppy disks? 01:34:26 Tom Trottier: You can get a USB hub on a cable to run to the front 01:34:28 Bob G: use a hub 01:34:51 Timothy: Replying to "@Tim Do you have any..." Yupper. 01:34:56 Tom Trottier: I have a floppy that plugs into my Thinkpad 701 01:35:57 Tom Trottier: Need special USB C cables for >30 watts or so 01:37:03 Tom Trottier: Fancy USB C hubs can handle power delivery 01:37:08 Tristan: For simple needs, like a keyboard and mouse, you can also use a USB switch for multiple PCs. 01:37:55 Timothy: some external DVDs need to use 2 USB ports to work. 01:38:27 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): @Tim And they come with a splitter cable 01:38:59 Timothy: Yes they do. 01:38:59 Coreen: Sometime you use your laptop to charge your smartphone. 01:39:24 France Picard Ottawa: Reacted to "Sometime you use you..." with 👍 01:39:31 J Enid Robins-Hollm: Why would you need to do power delivery? 01:40:10 Tom Trottier: SD card readers - difference between UHS I vs UHS II - II is faster - check your SD card 01:40:15 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Wireless standards https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac-2013 01:40:29 Coreen: ethernet adapters get warm 01:45:29 Tom Trottier: DVDs only need 2 usb plugs if the source is USB2 vs USB3 01:46:27 Tom Trottier: You can also get USB ethernet or wifi adapters for more speed 01:46:55 Jocelyn Doire: What is/are your preferred place to buy a desktop and laptop? 01:47:27 Tom Trottier: Many NUCs available. The Apple Mini is one! I use one for Opnsense firewall 01:47:43 Tristan: I have a NUC and they are great. I use it to run several home services (video streaming, Git repository, Retro Gaming, etc). 01:48:09 Tom Trottier: NUCs - https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/ 01:48:50 Tom Trottier: Or store on previous drives you have obsoleted! 01:49:11 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Backups https://www.google.com/search?q=backup&sitesearch=opcug.ca https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/program?text=backup 01:49:41 Tristan: ZimaBoard and ZimaBlade, are x86 very small form factor, for playing around with. 01:51:18 Tom Trottier: I bought this one for my OpnSense firewall https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0BMVDJ5D4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 01:51:19 M. Sharon Jeannotte: I need to buy a new laptop to move to Windows 11, but I need someone to help me set it up. Staples told me that I would have to do it myself, but I have a lot of programs and files that I need to transfer, and I'm not sure how to do that my self. Can anyone suggest a tech person who could help with this? Thanks. 01:52:19 Tom Trottier: I used PCmover program - cost $40 or so, worked 97% 01:53:03 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): The presentation is available for downloading as a PDF file https://opcug.ca/presentations/2025-02-BuyPC.pdf Questions Chris.Taylor@opcug.ca 01:53:05 Serge-Érik: A 2-in-1 laptop is better for tall people because you can tilt back the display panel further than regular laptops for better viewing. Also, I personally use a DeepCool Cooler so I need the display tilted even further to properly see the screen. 01:53:35 Gail Eagen OPCUG Secretary: Thank you, Chris! 01:53:42 Michelle Faber: Thank you 01:53:50 France Picard Ottawa: Reacted to "Thank you, Chris!" with 👍 01:54:06 Timothy: Great presentation Chris. 01:54:06 Serge-Érik: Thanks, Chris! 01:54:10 Glen: Can you mention what Copilot apps are assisted by an onboard NPU on your personal computer? The Copilot message app does not seem to be enhanced by an onboard NPU. Questions are forwarded through the Internet to remote AI servers working with immense databases to process the question into answers. 01:54:20 Michelle Faber: Good night. 01:54:29 Bob Herres: Wow Fantastic Chris! Thank You!💗 I can't say I'll remember everything, So I'll be coming back the website, to review this, for future reference! 🙂 01:54:57 Eldon Gaw: this was an excellent presentation Chris. Thank You so much... 01:55:39 Bob Herres: Reacted to "this was an excellen..." with ❤️ 01:55:41 Carol Pearson: Thanks certainly helpful! 01:55:46 Coreen: Thank you! 01:56:01 Ma Vo: I found that it is almost impossible to get a laptop with a "102" keyboard with full size keys (I do use the numeric keyboard a lot and I hate the "split" keys for pgup/pgdn, etc...) 01:56:04 M. Sharon Jeannotte: Great presentation, but I still need help with set-up! 01:57:12 Michele M: Many thanks for yet another great informative presentation. Chris 01:57:30 Jocelyn Doire: @M. Sharon Jeannotte, if you are member, you can check our one on one remote assistance at https://opcug.ca/one-on-one-remote-assistance/ 01:57:40 Tristan: Given Microsoft is pushing copilot PC, I would guess it is primarily for M365 and Windows AI features. 01:57:46 Eldon Gaw: I'm thinking there are a lot of good used computers available too. In years gone by I have had very satisfying results with two different retail outlets down town. 01:58:04 Timothy: I look more for the amount of RAM and Hard drive/SSD size for current and future usage. 01:58:23 Bob Herres: Reacted to "I look more for the ..." with ❤️ 01:58:34 Tom Trottier: For portability, also consider the weight. 01:59:05 Eldon Gaw: Is the snapdragon processors you are talkig about for computers the same snapdragon processors being promoted in may cell phones now? 01:59:16 Tristan: If up for the challenge, it can be fun to build your own PC. Then you get everything you want, without major compromises. Depending on the budget of course 😉 01:59:51 Bob Herres: Reacted to "If up for the challe..." with ❤️ 02:00:28 M. Sharon Jeannotte: Replying to "@M. Sharon Jeannotte..." Thanks! 02:02:05 Timothy: Snow has started in the Barrhaven area. 02:02:11 Rosemary: Lots of very helpful information and discussion. Thank you! 02:03:15 Tristan: With a docking station, you can use a single USB-C to power a laptop and use external screens, keyboard, mouse. 02:03:52 Peter Au: Chris, thank you for the presentation, it is very helpful. 02:04:01 Bob Herres: Reacted to "Chris, thank you for..." with ❤️ 02:04:34 Glen: Thanks 02:04:40 Jocelyn Doire: The best computer is my old computer, it works, I already have it and it's free! 02:04:44 Tom Trottier: @Chris - you should run this presentation thru the club every 2 years to get suggestions/comments 02:04:50 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Special Membership Offer! Join OPCUG before March 31st Pay the annual membership fee of $20.00 Receive a free-year’s membership Two years for the price of one! https://opcug.ca/join-or-renew/ 02:05:30 Bernard Lipski: t 02:06:02 Eldon Gaw: thank you for that clarification re snapdragon Chris. 02:06:11 Bernard Lipski: Thanks for a great presentaion 02:07:27 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): The next Q&A session will be on Wednesday, February 19th.. Questions on any computer-related issues are welcome, as are mini-presentations of your favourite computer program or on an interesting topic that you would like to share with the group. 02:07:46 Timothy: If you do use an older computer, you just don't allow it access to the internet. 02:08:04 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): Questions for next week to SuggestionBox@opcug.ca 02:08:12 Bob Herres: I'm very hopeful my Next PC will serve me Hot Pizza using AI --TY Chris 02:08:27 Alan German (OPCUG Special Events Coordinator): @Ti, Or dual boot with Linux 02:08:28 bea: thanks that was very useful 02:08:38 Bob Herres: Reacted to "thanks that was very..." with ❤️ 02:08:42 John F.: Great! Thanks. 02:08:50 Tristan: @Bob Herres with the heat the Intels produce now, it may cook that pizza. 02:09:00 Bob Herres: Reacted to "@Bob Herres with the..." with ❤️ 02:09:00 Eldon Gaw: leave it to Alan to get the last word in! 02:09:17 Alice Nakanishi: Thank you! 02:09:33 Tristan: Thank you Chris! Great presentation. 02:10:34 Eldon Gaw: get one that will shovel snow and its a winner!! 02:11:21 Bob Herres: Reacted to "get one that will sh..." with ❤️