Fones, Computers and Other Technical Junk

#151

I seem to remember that when I finally learned how to configure my little modem and got online in early '95, the people at CERN in Switzerland published a list of all the new websites that had been created each week. There were literally dozens of new websites every week, and you could travel the world!

There were probably a thousand new sites while I wrote this post.

Gregg · #152

Foggy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 11, 2023 10:03 am I seem to remember that when I finally learned how to configure my little modem and got online in early '95, the people at CERN in Switzerland published a list of all the new websites that had been created each week. There were literally dozens of new websites every week, and you could travel the world!

There were probably a thousand new sites while I wrote this post.

Foggy's original modem be like...

#153

A friend has been hoarding her floppy disks from Apple II days for years. Naturally, she has a lot of data on them which she would like to access.

Is there a way of accomplishing this? 'Easily' would be the preferred method.

qbawl · #154

Azastan wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:42 am A friend has been hoarding her floppy disks from Apple II days for years. Naturally, she has s lot of data on them which she would like to access.

Is there a way of accomplishing this? 'Easily' would be the preferred method.

Definitely possible if the floppies aren't badly damaged but 'Easily' may be a stretch. Are the floppies 3.5" or 5.25"? Iirc the floppy drive hooked up via a serial port (not usb serial). Your best course of action might be to google around and find a nearby Apple ][ / Mac User Group. Then get in touch with them and they might have some practical suggestions. I have an Apple III, an Apple ][ plus, An Apple ][ GS, an Apple ][c, and Several Macs but unfortunately I no longer have any working floppy readers.

#155

I don't know what type, I forgot to ask. She's got issues with her eyes, and doesn't stay on the computer for long, but it's material she would desperately like to recover since all other permanent records have been destroyed through the passage of time.

#156

Amazon sells external floppy disk readers for about $20. They appear to work for both PCs and Macs. Read the descriptions to see exactly what you need to do in order to hook them up to your current Mac.

qbawl · #157

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 1:08 pm Amazon sells external floppy disk readers for about $20. They appear to work for both PCs and Macs. Read the descriptions to see exactly what you need to do in order to hook them up to your current Mac.

Two issues though I only found one 5.25" drive on Amazon, though I may have missed some, but the price for that one was ludicrous. (north of $500). Most early Apple ][ floppies would not be 3.5" though later ones might be. More of an issue would be what format the data is in and how it is encoded. If it is plain text ascii you should be good to go, however if an early '80s word processor created the document you might find the data littered with formatting codes. But if you are dealing with plain text on a 3.5 floppy for $20 you can't go wrong. Also too some newer Macs (and PCs?) only have USB-C ports so a dongle may be required.

#158

She says they are 5.25 disks, well preserved, and she did most of them on an Apple IIC but also also had an Apple IIE if that makes a difference?

I did ask for 'easily', which I know means one thing to me, and another thing to nerds, but the easier it is to understand, the more likely that info will get preserved.

So, any further recommendations?

This has actually been really helpful, by the way.

RTH10260 · #159

Apple had it's own file system structure, so easily readable only on an Apple device from the period. Apple migrated very soon from the 5" floppy to the plastic covered 3 1/2" floppies. Back in the days I remember doing file transfers using a serial cable to bring content to a different machine and storage device. There are still serial-to USB dongles on the market to assist. As for "well preserved floppies", the issue is magnetism, one cannot be sure that the magnetic floppy platter retained its content. After the many years there may also be an aging proble with the inner liner of the floppy.

qbawl · #160

I found this site that lists Apple ][ User Groups with location. https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/apple2/faq ... ntact.html
You can probably find one near you. I was a member @ www.applesiders.com in Cincy Ohio way back in the day (pre Macs). I just checked and they are still around and have a sig (special interest group) for Apple ][. Most of the sites listed will be Mac oriented but they will at least have an Apple ][ sig or they wouldn't be in the list.
Good Luck.

#161

Thank you! I'll send this info on and see if it helps her to recover her data.

#162

I picked up my new iPhone 15 Pro Max on Saturday, replacing my 6-year old iPhone 8 Plus. While I loved my iPhone 8, it would not get the iOS 17 update and, without that update, I couldn't update my 1-year old Apple Watch to its newest OS.

Anyway, I'll get money back from Apple when I send them my old iPhone, so I received the box to send it back in today, delivered by FedEx. I met the FedEx driver outside and she said "Do you mind telling me what this is? I must have delivered 20 of these so far and it's driving me nuts not knowing." So I told her that every person receiving this box probably picked up a new iPhone this week. She was so glad to know!

#163

Congrats! I'm still on the fence.

Frater I*I · #164

I'm dumping Apple phones, this is the third one in a row where the battery has gone to hell...

I'm gonna try a Samsung Galaxy next...

#165

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:43 pm I picked up my new iPhone 15 Pro Max on Saturday, replacing my 6-year old iPhone 8 Plus. While I loved my iPhone 8, it would not get the iOS 17 update and, without that update, I couldn't update my 1-year old Apple Watch to its newest OS.

Anyway, I'll get money back from Apple when I send them my old iPhone, so I received the box to send it back in today, delivered by FedEx. I met the FedEx driver outside and she said "Do you mind telling me what this is? I must have delivered 20 of these so far and it's driving me nuts not knowing." So I told her that every person receiving this box probably picked up a new iPhone this week. She was so glad to know!

Enjoy!! I worked on the zoom lens system back in 2013/14 (yes, it's been in development that long).

#166

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 4:38 pm I'm dumping Apple phones, this is the third one in a row where the battery has gone to hell... I'm gonna try a Samsung Galaxy next...

I've been using Samsung Galaxy products for the last six or seven years - and I just love them. I've had very lttle trouble with any Galaxy products. In general, they've worked as advertsed right out of the box. If you end up with more than 1 Galaxy product (for example, you get a Galaxy Watch, Tablet or Laptop to go with your phone), the interconnectivity between them is fantastic.

Frater I*I · #167

Kriselda Gray wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 8:40 pm
I've been using Samsung Galaxy products for the last six or seven years - and I just love them. I've had very lttle trouble with any Galaxy products. In general, they've worked as advertsed right out of the box. If you end up with more than 1 Galaxy product (for example, you get a Galaxy Watch, Tablet or Laptop to go with your phone), the interconnectivity between them is fantastic.

I'm thinking of going with the Fold 5, been wanting a folding phone since I saw the first episode of Westworld...

#168

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 10:16 pm
Kriselda Gray wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 8:40 pm
I've been using Samsung Galaxy products for the last six or seven years - and I just love them. I've had very lttle trouble with any Galaxy products. In general, they've worked as advertsed right out of the box. If you end up with more than 1 Galaxy product (for example, you get a Galaxy Watch, Tablet or Laptop to go with your phone), the interconnectivity between them is fantastic.
I'm thinking of going with the Fold 5, been wanting a folding phone since I saw the first episode of Westworld...

You want a folding screen phone, but you're worried about iPhone battery reliability???? Um, OK.

#169

My current pet peeve is that when you shut down a music player app, it doesnt effing shut down.

I'm sick to bloody hell from walking into a meeting, sitting down, and 5 minutes later my tablet magically starts up again screaming Martha Wainwrait's "You're a bloody mother-effing a-hole" at full blast.

If I shutdown an app I bloody well want it to stay the fuck shut down.

p0rtia · #170

#171

I've gotten into the habit of showing what apps have recently been run, then flicking off the music app so that it does not start again.

Frater I*I · #172

somerset wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 10:48 pm

You want a folding screen phone, but you're worried about iPhone battery reliability???? Um, OK.

I've never had a folding screen fail me, granted, I've never owned one...

However I've had 3 Iphone batteries fail me in just over a year, including a thermal runaway that caused the entire casing to separate...

qbawl · #173

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 10:05 pm
somerset wrote: ↑Wed Sep 27, 2023 10:48 pm

You want a folding screen phone, but you're worried about iPhone battery reliability???? Um, OK.
I've never had a folding screen fail me, granted, I've never owned one...

However I've had 3 Iphone batteries fail me in just over a year, including a thermal runaway that caused the entire casing to separate...

Obviously, "you're not holding it right!"

#174

I am still really enjoying my Google Pickle 5a. I would recommend, 5 stars.

:fivestar:

#175

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... ing-issues

Apple is facing complaints from users about overheating in relation to its new iPhone 15 models, with some customers claiming the titanium frame becomes too hot to hold.

The iPhone maker’s community forum is carrying customer feedback about the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, claiming that the handsets are overheating.

“I’ve had the new iPhone 15 Pro and it’s so hot, it’s too hot to hold,” wrote one user. Another wrote: “My skin hurts! What is going on with iPhone 15 Pro Max?”

There are several posts on the Apple forum referring to overheating of the iPhone 15 Pro series, with one user posting a photo of their iPhone 15 next to a thermometer recording a temperature of 44C (111F). There are also posts on X and Reddit.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International Securities, said any overheating issue was probably due to “compromises” in the phone’s design as the company attempted to reduce the product’s weight.