[nmglug] Meeting notes from 02/02/23

[Ted Pomeroy]

NMGLUGers, We had a good meeting with 5 in attendance via jitsy. In no
particular order I will jive some notes:
Converting MacBks: we noted this can be frustrating. I have worked with the
desktop products, but not the laptops. I found Rods Books most helpful
https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ is the link to the rEFInd pages. This is
Rod's boot manager (not loader) that helps to allow booting of external
media. the use of blacklists is a problem built into the products in
question. At this point I have given up on doing any attempts in this area.
The proprietary parts and bridges built to frustrate the repair and
conversions leave little leeway for progress.
Buying a laptop at a good price: I purchased a laptop for under $100 on
Ebay. My process is to think about repair and use. I wanted a multi-core,
multi-thread processor, at least 4 GB ram and an accessible HDD. I found a
refurbished Dell Latitude and it was delivered with 8 GB ram and a slightly
newer version than listed. No webcam, hefty at about 5 lbs., but portable
around my apartment or to a cafe.
Others recommended an Asus VivoBook 14"; a currently available machine at
retail outlets. I confess, my personal approach has been to rehab machines
10-5 yrs old for price reasons. I have also helped others repair/extend
life of their hardware on a budget. Several seniors are using Ubuntu or
LinuxMint with my help and occasional interventions.
Thunderbird Mail Reader: Mark suggested that lack of support and general
cumbersome settings makes most mail readers difficult for basic users. I
agree, but I have one user who prefers Thunderbird to web/browser login to
mail. I did not mention it but too many older users rely on the computer to
save passwords, so they can forget them.  Difficulties do arise from this.
As a somewhat promiscuous user of various hardware I have noticed that my
web-based email will alert me when I log in from a new machine or visit
someone and use an alternate OS. They certainly are keeping track of these
details and letting me know.
On February 16 the plan is to meet at Violet Crown in Santa Fe. At least
two of those present agreed to be there. Mark your calendar for this date
if you can attend. In-person meetings are more fun.
Thank you, Ted P
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