Technology

A trip down OneNote lane

I’d kind of forgotten how I used OneNote for a few years as my note-taking app1Skip to the last paragraph to find out why I am randomly discussing OneNote. It’s multiplatform–basically everything but Linux2Unless you use the web version–and while the UI is a bit odd, it makes sense once you realize it apes real world use: a series of notebooks (sections), each with their own pages (sets of notes).

Unlike something like Obsidian (which I use currently) it’s all in a proprietary format and your notes are saved to a folder somewhere on OneDrive, so exporting your notes to another program is not exactly a straightforward task (I only see an option to export pages as PDFs). Which also explains why none of my OneNote notes are in Obsidian.

On the plus side, this is a full WYSIWYG app, so you can easily add audio, video, images and other files, mess around with different fonts and styles and basically go crazy doing things that are impossible in a plain text file. That has definite appeal to a visually-minded dope like me.

I’m…somewhat tempted to try it again. I shouldn’t. Having text-only notes keeps me focused or sane or something. I don’t need to be able to dictate my notes using a microphone.

Do I3No, I do not. Yet I want to do so now. Badly. I am bad and should feel bad.?

Look, I’m sticking to Obsidian and there’s nothing I can do to convince me otherwise. Probably almost for sure.

This post brought to you by the seeming death knell of Evernote and the comments offering suggestions for replacing it.

UPDATE, a day later: I haven’t started using OneNote again, but I have started to copy and paste relevant notes from it into Obsidian.

New Outlook (is better than New Coke)

As seen in the top-right corner of the standalone Outlook app:

Toggling this on switches you from the incredibly dense and old original Outlook UI to a new one that is intended to ultimately become the replacement for all versions of Outlook and the mail app on Windows 11. It’s vastly simpler and streamlined, and will probably make old time Outlook grognards from 1997 crazy.

I decided to try it because a) I like trying new things, and b) I’m kind of dumb when it comes to being sensible and sticking to things that just work on computers.

It turned out to be a very slight change from the web-based version of Outlook I normally use. At a glance, it appears to be the exact same interface, just wrapped up as a separate app. The only real difference I’ve found is using it means you miss a few amenities you might get from your normal browser that would automatically kick in (blocking trackers, etc.) but in exchange New Outlook allows me to actually add and maintain my Gmail account, so I can keep tabs on the few messages I still get there without having to log in to another mail service.

It also tidies up my browser a bit, possibly freeing up a few more resources that I would probably never really notice being freed up, anyway.

Overall, it’s not bad, but it’s pretty much identical to what I’ve been using for the past few years. The Dark Mode still looks off, somehow. I think it’s a combination of the way it mixes the darker shades with the standard Office/Windows colours, along with new email (normally bolded) being harder to scan at a glance.

Overall, I am left mildly pleased (by being able to add my Gmail account), but otherwise :shrugemoji:

On a scale of 1 to 10 actual physical envelopes used for mail you can touch and sometimes smell, New Outlook rates a 7.

My thoughts on threads

selective focus photography of assorted coloured thread spools
Hooray for threads. Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com

Meta (née Facebook) launched its Instagram-adjacent Twitter-like social media platform Threads this week and at the moment it has proven very popular, picking up 70 million or so users in its first day. That’s nearly twice the population of Canada.

I don’t have any thoughts on it, actually. That makes the title of this post clickbait, probably. Sorry1OK, a thought: I logged in and spent a few moments getting a firehose of random stuff from random people. I failed to see the appeal and logged out. This is one of those “not for me” things. I’m good with that.!

Actual physical threads can be nice, though, if you’re talking about clothes or the string-like stuff clothes are often made from.

Here are more kittens.

Addressing concerns of my blog being scraped by AI

It’s 2023 and that means the big thing is AI (that’s Artificial Intelligence, not some guy named Al). If you are reading this in some other year, you may be wondering what the fuss is all about from your tiny, climate-ravaged hovel. Or you may be wondering the same as a gleaming machine built on AI yourself! Who can say what the future holds?

As for the present, it started in 2022 when AI-generated art became a thing. That’s still ongoing (see the controversy over Marvel using AI-generated art for its opening credits to Secret Invasion), but things kicked into high gear right near the end of the year when OpenAI unveiled its ChatGPT website to the public, allowing you to query an AI built on all kinds of data scraped from the internet through 2021. You could ask for recipes, have it write haikus, or generate code, or just write your crappy books and list them on Amazon for you. There are concerns, as you might imagine.

Given the recent implosion over at Twitter over what Elon “Galaxy Brain” Musk has called “extreme levels of data scraping”, I wondered, might my own humble blog be subjected to the same? It is, after all, a treasure trove of my collected thoughts and wisdom, stretching back 18 years! In internet time, that’s like going back to the dinosaurs. Or at least mastodons (not to be confused with the social media platform). What can I do to protect my sacred words from evil, exploiting AI? How could I stop some young lad from going down the wrong path by using text from creolened.com to, in some small way, help write his homework, leaving him bereft of critical thinking and writing skills, and therefore destined to a life of petty crime and indolence?

I have the answer.

I’ll fill every post with words I’ve made up. Eventually, Nedlish will become the universal language Esperanto could only ever dream of becoming. This is a perfect plan. Let’s get started.

  • narnar
  • flembock
  • poddle
  • wistern
  • lugpuppy
  • droofus
  • edumatainmentification
  • yubbo

More to come. Get to work, AI, on the glorious Nedlish future!

Solution to multi-monitor wallpaper issue in Windows 11

man in white dress shirt sitting on black rolling chair while facing black computer set and smiling
No one ever looks this happy at a computer. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

For future reference.

Problem: When setting a different wallpaper for each monitor in a dual-display setup, Windows 11 will arbitrarily change both wallpapers to another random wallpaper (in my case it often chose one I was using last winter) or it will change the wallpapers to a solid colour (the same for both monitors).

Solution: There is no solution! At least not one that I found that worked reliably. The fix is to simply stop using a different wallpaper for each monitor. Once I went with the same wallpaper for both displays, the problem went away. I assume this is a bug/quirk in Windows 11 and will be one of those things some people may never encounter and others, like me, will never have fixed.

Alternate Solution: Buy a Mac. This works without issue on Macs, you just have to live with the other multi-monitor weirdness, like “Why can’t the dock stay on both displays at the same time?”

Using Linux Mint, Part 4: End of line (for now)

Tonight I pulled the plug on my Linux Mint installation, fixed the boot launcher to boot straight into Windows (farewell, grub!) and reclaimed the space on my main drive that had been reserved for Linux, allowing Windows to once again hog all of it.

I may try Linux Mint (or another distro) in the future because I’m still interested in messing around with it, but if I do, I will put it onto its own drive. I’ll still need to dual boot, but won’t have two OSes sharing space on the same physical drive, which puts constraints on both.

The main reasons for nuking Linux Mint for now is related to something I saw (that I cannot find now) stating that Linux is 98% there for most people–which seems excellent! But that last 2% may include a vital piece of software that isn’t available, and becomes a dealbreaker. Linux Mint is free, which is great, but once you eliminate the price and just look at what it offers vs. Windows 11, it comes very close in most regards, but ultimately falls a bit short–for the average computer user. And for me.

I could use Firefox, Discord, Signal and Obsidian. This was nice. But I could only use the online version of Word. OneDrive likewise is reduced to the web version without using third party solutions that aren’t officially supported (and may come with subscriptions). The photo-editing software is not what I want, and just getting photos into the OS is more of a hassle. The game support is actually decent, but imperfect. Again, that 2% is the killer.

In the end, Linux Mint was fun to play around with, to experiment in, but just didn’t have quite what I needed to be a primary OS. In terms of how I’d rate them in overall functionality for my own use:

  1. Windows 11 10/10 – does everything, though not equally well
  2. macOS 8/10 – comes close, but falls down on gaming and third party peripheral support remains spotty for me.
  3. Linux Mint 7/10 – falls down on photo-editing, some specific apps it lacks, cloud storage and gaming (to a smaller extent)

Quote of the Day for June 26, 2023: Boring (and the need to be bored)

As seen on Mastodon:

I’m feeling more and more that smartphones are an enemy of creative thinking. If creativity requires boredom, a device that ensures you’re never bored is an effective barrier.

The internet is wonderful, but never being left to your own thoughts breeds conformity.

Ben Werdmuller

Werd, Ben1I swear I didn’t do this entire post just for this horrible bit of wordplay. But I maybe did just a little..

I’m not sure if I’d say the lack of boredom leads to conformity, per se, but I think it does dull the mind, and easy access to the internet 24/7 can train you to perpetually stimulate your brain, even if it’s with vacuous nonsense, which is found on the internet (and for most people via their smartphone) in quantities that are effectively endless. The smartphone makes it all the more insidious because of its ubiquity. Everyone has one, and it’s always right there on your person, in your pocket, or in your hand and…hey, put the phone down and look at me! Have you ever noticed how often people will take the slightest gap in a conversation as an opportunity to pull out their phone and start interacting with it? Think of those halcyon days of yore, where a few moments of thoughtful silence were just that.

Writer/artist Austin Kleon has written about the need for boredom as well: Boredom is a pit stop.

Being bored sometimes is good. Having a few minutes to just lose yourself in your own quiet thoughts is good. The next time you feel restless and pick up your phone, set it back down and give yourself a few minutes to just marinate in your own thoughts. You might come out of it pleasantly energized. And if you can’t set the phone down, maybe consider one of these.

DuckDuckGo-Go ~or~ Hey, let’s try yet another browser

UPDATE: I have discovered that DDG has imported a bunch of wrong/old passwords from Firefox, forcing me to copy/paste or—gad—actually remember my passwords. This is a dealbreaker. Off with you, Ducky!

I have been using Firefox for about 500 years, or since it basically launched back in 2004 (while this is 18 years ago, I actually would have guessed Firefox was older still). I have only deviated a few times from it since then:

  • I tried Google Chrome but for reasons I can’t specifically recall now, did not care for it. And this was before I was fully cognizant on how Google is a data-sucking machine.
  • Microsoft Edge. Mainly the Chromium version and it’s not bad, but while it offered some neat tricks (before Microsoft started to lard in more questionable features) it didn’t offer anything compelling enough to get me to switch over full-time.
  • Vivaldi. This is the “tweak to your heart’s content” browser that should be perfect for a tech nerd. And yet, I find its UI utilitarian and off-putting. It looks like something designed in the 90s. I keep it around as a Chromium alternative.
  • Arc. This is currently in beta and Mac-only (a Windows version is due later in 2023) and it really does some new things, mostly by rethinking how tabs should work in a way that I have to admit, I really don’t like. I’m not one of those 100-tab guys, so I’ve never felt having a dozen or so tabs open is a big issue. It feels like Arc is trying to solve a problem I don’t have and feels weirdly confining as a result.
  • Safari. I’ve never really used Safari very much. Every time I do, its UI just grates on me. It has to be different, but not better. Poo on you, Apple.

Today, after reading about DuckDuckGo launching a Windows version of its privacy-focused browser, I decided to give it a shot—on the Mac. It lacks extension support, so this is a good test of how much I rely on extensions for my browsing experience.

In the first few minutes it seems clean and unobtrusive. I’ll report back later if it drives me crazy. I now have six (!) browsers installed on my Mac:

  • Firefox
  • Safari
  • Edge
  • Vivaldi
  • Arc
  • DuckDuckGo

Windows 11 reset, several days later: Kind of a bust

In some ways, the reset of Windows was a success. It got rid of a lot of junk I’d collected over the years on my current PC, and now I’m just installing stuff as I need or use it, resulting in a leaner, tidier system. This pleases the OCD side of me.

But in other ways, it has not really helped, which makes me believe my issues are either hardware-related, a result of some weird software interaction, or a manifestation of minor and probably bored demons.

  • The wallpaper issue, which I was relatively sure the reset would resolve, continues unabated. Sometimes the wallpaper changes to one I used last winter (always the same one, which seems like it should be a clue) and the past two mornings it’s just changed to a solid colour (also the same colour).
  • Diablo 2 crashed upon exit. So much for stability! At least it didn’t take down the entire system.

I suppose I should be happy this is all I’ve encountered so far in terms of bugs or glitches. But I am in a position now that would have been unthinkable in the olden days: If I could do everything in Linux–yes, Linux!–I would ditch Windows. But alas, I cannot.

I’d also switch full-time to a Mac, which comes tantalizingly close to doing everything, but still sucks for gaming. It’s getting a little better, though. Good enough for me? Probably not. Plus, Apple locks things down way more than I like.

Anyhoo, I have installed more stuff:

  • PowerToys (I started to miss some of its features)
  • Vivaldi (which will be my Chromium-based alternate browser for now)
  • Stella (an Atari 2600 emulator I’d been mucking around with just prior to the re-install)
  • Diablo 3 (I know, I know)
  • Diablo 2 (technically it was still installed, the battle.net launcher just couldn’t “see” it)
  • EarTrumpet, which allows me to better manage multiple audio sources

Also at the suggestion of a gaming pal, I bumped up my mouse DPI from 1600 to 3200. It definitely takes less movement to do stuff, which is good. I am still overshooting a bit, but will hopefully adjust. I’m still trying new things, look at me! Maybe I’ll get into metal next.

Haha, no.

Radioactive mutants following the Windows 11 reset

A few glitches and things following last night’s reset of Windows 11:

  • Despite uninstalling all the non-included software, my Start menu settings were preserved, which means it’s littered with uninstalled apps. This is suboptimal, but not a dealbreaker or anything. I can manually prune the Start menu by going here: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs, and I’ve kept some of the stubs as reminders of stuff I may want or need to install later.
  • The wallpaper–which had been randomly changing on its own despite me turning off or tweaking every conceivable option to make sure it wouldn’t do that–had randomly changed when I logged back in this morning. I went through to see if one of the possible triggers had gotten reset in the reset. It’s resets all the way down.
  • I’ve re-installed Signal–because I was using it!
  • I re-installed ShareX because it is totally skookum for screenshots, of which I take a lot
  • I remembered to bump the refresh rate of the monitors, since they support 144 Hz
  • I still haven’t opened Edge
  • I disabled those weird streaming Steam audio settings I’ll never use but always show up as options cluttering yup audio settings
  • The audio on the monitors, which have speakers that can be described generously as “tinny” seem louder than before. Maybe that’s just me.

I can’t say I regret the reset yet. But it’s still early!

Next on the list:

  • Install Unity

More will follow along after Unity, but that will get me going.

UPDATE: The following additional software has been installed, as noted below.

  • Unity Hub and Unity editor
  • iCloud for Windows. It’s crappy, but it lets me get photos from the iPhone into Windows.
  • Steam client. Once Steam found all existing games, I uninstalled a bunch of them.
  • Epic Games Launcher. I tried the same thing here, but it doesn’t work as seamlessly, so I just nuked a bunch of game folders. At least I know there’s no lingering registry entries! I installed Torchlight 2 as a test case.
  • Canon EOS3 Utility software. To allow photos to be transferred from my camera to the PC.

I dropped a tactical nuke on Windows 11

Tonight I was playing Diablo 3 (I know, I know) and it started getting very laggy. Then it froze. Then I realized my entire PC had seized up, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. I thought about it, then decided to go ahead and nuke my Windows 11 install, using the handy Reset PC function:

I chose the less destructive first option, Keep my files.

The process went smoothly and a little faster than I expected. When it was done, I was prompted to log in and was greeted by all the yucky Windows 11 defaults and none of my previously installed apps. Windows 11 comes with a fairly large number of apps on its own, however.

I am now following my usual rule (that I always end up breaking) of only installing apps as I need them. We’ll see how it goes.

The list of re-installed software so far:

  • Firefox (I got this through the Microsoft Store, so I didn’t even need to open Edge to get it and switch over)
  • Discord (I tried getting this through the store, but it threw out an error, so I got it from the Discord site)
  • Obsidian (from the website, it’s not on the MS Store)
  • MS Office (from the included stub app)
  • Diarium (from the store)
  • TickTick (from the website)

As of this post, that’s it! This covers the essentials I use on a daily or near-daily basis. After this, I’ll only install an app when I am about to use it and gasp in horror because it is not there. Totally.

There are plenty of apps I’ll continue to install, but only as I use them. I mean it this time. Totally.

In terms of drivers, the only ones I’m really concerned with are for the mouse and video card. I decided to install the GeForce Experience to make the Nvidia drivers easier to install, but logging into it has turned into a gong show because it doesn’t seem to remember me. Or I don’t remember it. Fun! Actually, having investigated some more, I managed to get into my Nvidia account, get logged into the GeForce Experience app…only to have it tell me I already have the latest drivers installed. OK!

Anyway, I think this is enough PC fun for one night.

If Windows 11 continues to misbehave after this, I will do one of the following:

  • Go with the full nuke option
  • Curl up and cry
  • Both
  • Donuts!

All that I can’t leave behind

With apologies to U2.

We went on a two-day trip to Kamloops for a wedding, so I packed way more stuff than I would ever need for two days. This is my way. But just going by the tech stuff, let’s see how sensible I was.

Things I packed and actually used

  • iPhone 12. I mean, I carry this with me all the time, so it doesn’t really count. But I’m putting it here anyway.
  • Apple 12 watt USB charger and lightning cable (to charge the phone)
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop (2018 vintage). Used for journaling and my to-do app.
  • Canon EOS M50 camera. I took about a hundred or so shots with it.

Things I packed and did not use:

  • Kobo Libra e-reader. I did not e-read.
  • iPad Pro with pencil. I did not draw, noodle around with, or at any time take the iPad out of my backpack.
  • My drawing glove. See above.
  • The charger for the ThinkPad. Not needed!
  • USB-C charger for iPad. Not needed, obviously.
  • A USB-C to USB-A cable I packed for some reason. This wouldn’t have actually connected to anything I had with me. Whoops!
  • Sony wireless headphones. Never listened to any music.
  • Probably a few other miscellaneous cables.

Lesson: Pack sensibly for a two-day trip, not like you’re going away for two months.

I am confident I will never learn this lesson.