My 40th Thread...Linux Life

[target2019]

P4460 Kill A Watt EZ

I have a kill-a-watt EZ which is a more simplified version of the kill-a-watt.

I use only for measuring the watts of some items, not for measuring how much I can save based by my electric bill (though that can be done with the device).

I placed a label as a reminder on the device as the watt menu is several levels down.

The Kill-A-Watt meter has a Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_A_Watt

Your EZ model "is an enhanced version, based on the Prodigit 2022, which includes a backup battery to store measurements even when disconnected from electricity. It has the same capabilities as the P4400, and can be programmed with electricity cost information, which enables it to display the cost of the electricity consumed since reset. From this, it can calculate cost per hour, day, week, month, or year."

Has its use revealed anything interesting about power consumption of some devices or appliances?

 

[easysurfer]

The Kill-A-Watt meter has a Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_A_Watt

Your EZ model "is an enhanced version, based on the Prodigit 2022, which includes a backup battery to store measurements even when disconnected from electricity. It has the same capabilities as the P4400, and can be programmed with electricity cost information, which enables it to display the cost of the electricity consumed since reset. From this, it can calculate cost per hour, day, week, month, or year."

Has its use revealed anything interesting about power consumption of some devices or appliances?

That's right. I forgot about the measurements stored even when disconnected.

I haven't really used the device for much more than looking at how many watts something consumes. For example, if I need a new power supply for my desktop, I use the device to see how many watts my current desktop uses so I make sure to get a big enough power supply.

I also use to look at vampire electronics use. Leaving a monitor on, even on power saver mode used to bug me. But using the Kill-a-Watt EZ I saw that really didn't consume much wattage so leaving the monitor on (rather than manually turning on/off to save a bit of energy) doesn't really bother me much anymore.

 

[jollystomper]

...But I found a Shell script to output just the raw numbers. See below for the output. Unimpressive to most who read the post, but oddly fulfilling to someone who explored ways to create ASCII artwork images from scans and photos in the '90s.

This link has all you need to know about ansiweather.
https://github.com/fcambus/ansiweather
...

Thanks! I had been looking at a couple of other command line weather options (like wttr.in). But this leaad me to explore the OpenWeather API ansiweather uses, which lead to to the GoogleMaps API which I had not used in a while, but can use to get lat/longitude data and pass to the OpenWeather API, Then remined me I have a census data downloaded with all kinds of zip code level information, so perhaps I create a MongoDB database from it to integrate with this stuff... sometimes these rabbit trails can be fun!

 

[target2019]

That's right. I forgot about the measurements stored even when disconnected.

I haven't really used the device for much more than looking at how many watts something consumes. For example, if I need a new power supply for my desktop, I use the device to see how many watts my current desktop uses so I make sure to get a big enough power supply.

I also use to look at vampire electronics use. Leaving a monitor on, even on power saver mode used to bug me. But using the Kill-a-Watt EZ I saw that really didn't consume much wattage so leaving the monitor on (rather than manually turning on/off to save a bit of energy) doesn't really bother me much anymore.

I purchased the K-A-W around same time I joined E-R, and probably heard about it here. I had two (2) CRT monitors in use at that time The 19" Dell was rated at 110W maximum. The Apple 750AV 17" maximum was 150W! Power consumption in standby was 11W. During that time I developed a habit of turning off the monitor, and making sure the computer energy panel put them to sleep rather quickly. Using the K-A-W on each device helped me estimate use for a year by monitoring for a week or so.

Think I'll look at printers, desktop PC, switch, etc. as a separate project.

 

[target2019]

Thanks! I had been looking at a couple of other command line weather options (like wttr.in). But this leaad me to explore the OpenWeather API ansiweather uses, which lead to to the GoogleMaps API which I had not used in a while, but can use to get lat/longitude data and pass to the OpenWeather API, Then remined me I have a census data downloaded with all kinds of zip code level information, so perhaps I create a MongoDB database from it to integrate with this stuff... sometimes these rabbit trails can be fun!

I had to look up MongoDB. I've seen the term in print, but nothing beyond that.

"MongoDB stores data in flexible, JSON-like documents, meaning fields can vary from document to document and data structure can be changed over time."
https://www.mongodb.com/what-is-mongodb

And the name Mongo comes from the word humongous. That's clever and memorable.

 

[target2019]

Americana

Life has become a series of days delimited by unconscious switching between video, music, social media, and writing. On each front the old Linux bit anchor has been rock solid.

For audio, Spotify fills our music bucket. We're using a family subscription provided by the kids. After creating and sampling playlists, I've found that Spotify Release Radar is a smart go-to when all else fails.

The speakers plugged into the notebook are Altec Lansing ACS340, about 20 years old, and I'm glad I never tossed these on the recycle heap. I don't recall the original cost when purchased with a long-forgotten Dell Dimension T550, but the speakers still sound very good in my office.

I found PulseEffects in the Software Manager for Mint. I only made one setting change by going to the Equalizer sub-menu, and selecting ziyad_perfecteg. This improved acoustics by boosting lows and highs, and holding back mids. You can go much further with the tool of course. Below is a capture of PulseEffects with Spotify in background.

While banging out this article, Spotify Release Radar found an incredible instrumental version of Wichita Lineman. This is from a just-released album called Americana. The artists are Gregoire Maret (harmonica), Romain Collin (pianist), Clarence Penn (drums), and Bill Frisell (guitar). They “team up to paint an egalitarian vision of the American Dream, exploring the varied roots of American music.” A screen capture of the album and tracks is below.

Americana: https://www.actmusic.com/en/Artists/Gregoire-Maret/Americana

 

[target2019]

A Better Screen Font

Back in the day I was a font wrangler. My Mac systems always had scores of font families for desktop publishing. Later versions of Windows came with a good selection, and adding the built-in Adobe faces for LaserWriter use was good enough.

I miss some fonts, though, like Verdana, Trebuchet, Arial and other Microsoft TrueType fonts (TTF). With hours and hours of web browsing, legibility is important. The problem I was seeing with Linux web browsers was that the font weight seemed skimpy on my 10-year old screen. On an older monitor the appearance is “washed out” or grey. With a dark theme the situation may get worse.

Wondering if I could snag my favorite MS screen fonts, I discovered that it is possible to install MS TrueType core fonts for the web. It was not simple to do so, though.

Open Software Manager and search for ttf-mscorefonts-installer. This will install MS core fonts:

Andale Mono, Arial, Arial Black, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet, Verdana, and Webdings
​

But don't fall down the rabbit hole as I did. During the installation there is a EULA screen to which you need to agree. I got frustrated here because clicking on any screen element did not work or allow me to proceed. Somehow I closed this, and the installation went forward, but failed (no fonts added). I uninstalled/reinstalled a few times, with the same problem. If you stumble here remember this incantation after closing out the installer:

sudo apt-get purge ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Try the installation again. When you get to the EULA, remember to use the TAB key and SPACEBAR, or TAB key and ENTER to proceed with the installation. You can't click the radio button to agree. You must TAB to the radio button and press your SPACEBAR. Then TAB and ENTER to proceed. How quaint.

In the Font Selection configuration panel for system, I now use Verdana for default. In web browsers I've changed to Verdana for sans-serif font. Trebuchet would be another good choice here.

I realize there are other built-in choices like Vemana2000, but in my opinion MS Verdana is superior.

Another advantage to having the MS TTF fonts is that documents started in MS products may use Arial, for instance. If you're moving documents back and forth from Windows to Linux, after installing the MS core fonts, you'll see the expected font.

 

[target2019]

Chromium OS - CloudReady

Never know what you'll find in my basement. Even though I've been recycling old hardware for a few years, there are still holdovers to play with.

While updating an iMac 2011 all-in-one (and who knows why), I found an ancient 2007 Dell Latitude D630 notebook a customer from long ago gave me. I think it started with Windows Vista. I had forgotten about this, and after booting I noticed a CloudReady startup screen. From memory, I think that was something I found out about on E-R.org.

CloudReady is a Chromium OS you install on a an older PC to make it more useable and user-friendly. The desktop environment is much easier to manage than other operating systems. Once logged in you have just the Chromium browser, so it is very similar to a ChromeBook once installed.

“Like Chrome OS, Chromium OS is based on the Linux kernel, but its principal user interface is the Chromium web browser...” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_OS

You are able to install other apps, although I'm unsure of how this is done as I did not try anything other than the browser. After reading the following disclaimer, you'd likely have to investigate further to see if your go-to app can be installed separately.
https://cloudreadykb.neverware.com/...dy-Support-The-Google-Play-Store-Android-Apps

There is a support forum where you can get answers.

After logging in to laptop I found that the 32-bit version was no longer supported and would not see updates in the future. I'd have to make a USB installer for a 64-bit version. I decided to try that out, hoping that it would work on a 32-bit processor in the Dell D630.

I started at https://www.neverware.com/freedownload#home-edition-install and chose the option for *Download the USB Maker*. Launched the program on my PC, inserted an 8GB memory stick, and waited about 20 minutes for the installer to be created.

I should emphasize that this installer will completely erase your hard drive if you decide to install after going live with the memory stick. If you don't want to wipe out a drive, then please don't proceed.

From there you boot the laptop or computer with the USB. This may take some head-scratching and learning and configuration. My D630 has a boot screen invoked by F12. The test was at hand.

The boot USB worked, and I had to enter my gmail credentials as well as WiFi password. I was on the live desktop pretty quick. I poked around and found an Install button on the tray (or dock) at left side of screen. Chose to go ahead with that, and the process took about 10 minutes. Your remove the USB boot stick when complete, and reboot into your new OS. You do have to re-enter your gmail credentials and network password again. It's happy computing from that point forward.

Now that I think about it, installing CloudReady may be a good solution to formatting old systems before you recycle or give them away.

 

[ERD50]

....

After logging in to laptop I found that the 32-bit version was no longer supported and would not see updates in the future. ....

Now that I think about it, installing CloudReady may be a good solution to formatting old systems before you recycle or give them away.

Good to know, that could come in handy.

In a similar vein, I was dong some work on my "2nd computer", the old laptop that was my daily driver 5 years ago when I replaced it with the one I use now (soon to be replaced). Since I don't use it much, I haven't updated the Linux OS, it was still 16.04 Xubuntu (the xfce version of Ubuntu). But I wanted to install an app that required a at least 18.04. OK, time to update (esp since 20.04 LTS is now out).

That's when I find that Xubuntu 20.04 (and maybe 18.04) doesn't support the older 32 bit machines. I've heard about Mint from many places, including here, and I found there is an xfce version of Mint, so I installed that - all went well.

Though it's pretty common knowledge, I'll repeat it here for those not aware. I highly, highly recommend that when you install any Linux OS, you create a separate partition for "/HOME" and "/" (root). If you do this, when you upgrade, or switch to a new/different OS (which can co-exist on another "/" partition), you point the new OS to the existing "/HOME", and all your docs and most of your settings will be picked up by the new system. This made upgrading easy.

-ERD50

 

[jimbee]

That sounds pretty slick, target2019, thanks for the info.
One point about the Dell D630, I think the processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo, which can run the x86-64 instruction set (64 bit).

 

[target2019]

That sounds pretty slick, target2019, thanks for the info.
One point about the Dell D630, I think the processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo, which can run the x86-64 instruction set (64 bit).

It is Intel Core 2 Duo. Thanks for pointing out that it can run 64-bit.

Was surprised to read that some are installing CloudReady on various old Mac laptops.

 

[easysurfer]

Target,

Thanks for the detailed description of using the Dell D630. I have a Dell D620 and that's one of my play around laptops. It works adequately with MX-Linux installed.

 

[target2019]

Played on-line Tetris game for an hour.

It found Logitech unifying receiver and installed driver automatically. Attached a wireless mouse. Ouch, that touchpad is painful after awhile.

Play Store is not available, just the Chrome Store. So CloudReady is more limited than I had thought.

The home edition of CloudReady is said to support Flatpak without installing anything additional. Going to look into it...

 

[easysurfer]

Funny, I have the same laptop but with an AMD processor and did pretty much the same thing with Linux. I also had Linux Mint 19.3 on it (XFCE version) but decided to play with other distros just for the fun of it. Currently playing with Peppermintos and having a lot of fun with it. It's a speed demon. If you haven't already recommend getting an SSD. I purchased a 120 gb for $20 and with Linux tiny size that's plenty of room.

I've been getting the distro hopping itch again. Currently, for Linux am using MX-Linux. Have used Peppermint OS in the past and was thinking about giving Peppermint another look. Browsing through Peppermint's community forum, I read that sadly Peppermint's Guru, Mark Graves passed away unexpectedly in Jan 2020. So now the folks there are trying to recover the best they can with the loss. This is sad. The times I've posted there with some Peppermint questions, he was so super helpful.

 

[ejman]

I've been getting the distro hopping itch again. Currently, for Linux am using MX-Linux. Have used Peppermint OS in the past and was thinking about giving Peppermint another look. Browsing through Peppermint's community forum, I read that sadly Peppermint's Guru, Mark Graves passed away unexpectedly in Jan 2020. So now the folks there are trying to recover the best they can with the loss. This is sad. The times I've posted there with some Peppermint questions, he was so super helpful.

Sorry to hear about Mark Graves passing. I hope the distro can be maintained going forward as the tiny size and speed are quite nice particularly in older slower computers. On another laptop (Dell Latitude 6440) I have Mx-Linux and Manjaro for dual booting. Must say I'm really liking Manjaro and use it most of the time.

 

[easysurfer]

Sorry to hear about Mark Graves passing. I hope the distro can be maintained going forward as the tiny size and speed are quite nice particularly in older slower computers. On another laptop (Dell Latitude 6440) I have Mx-Linux and Manjaro for dual booting. Must say I'm really liking Manjaro and use it most of the time.

Yes, it is a tough loss. From what I've read, he took over with Pep OS 6 and now they are on Pep OS 10. I just remember posting any questions no their forum, and he'd be so quick to respond and give a solution with examples. Others on their forum are also very helpful, but he was truly a guru for Pep OS.

I haven't tried Manjaro but have heard good things. I think a decision as to what distro to use, along with fit (like a smaller distro for older machines) is just the feel of which one gets used most often.

 

[easysurfer]

Sorry to hear about Mark Graves passing. I hope the distro can be maintained going forward as the tiny size and speed are quite nice particularly in older slower computers. On another laptop (Dell Latitude 6440) I have Mx-Linux and Manjaro for dual booting. Must say I'm really liking Manjaro and use it most of the time.

I decided to play around a bit with Manjaro. Have it installed on an old laptop.

 

[ejman]

I decided to play around a bit with Manjaro. Have it installed on an old laptop.

Hope it works well for you. Prior to trying out Manjaro I only used Debian based distros (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Peppermintos, MX-Linux) and was curious about an Arch based distro. I've been using it for about a month and I'm really liking it so far. It does take some getting used to it as there is a lot more flexibility (and opportunity to bork things I guess) but so far its been very stable even though its a rolling distro.

 

[easysurfer]

Hope it works well for you. Prior to trying out Manjaro I only used Debian based distros (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Peppermintos, MX-Linux) and was curious about an Arch based distro. I've been using it for about a month and I'm really liking it so far. It does take some getting used to it as there is a lot more flexibility (and opportunity to bork things I guess) but so far its been very stable even though its a rolling distro.

I've been happy with MX-Linux. But now since I prob won't look again at Pep OS, doesn't hurt to not put all the eggs in one basket. I do kind of like the thought of a rolling distro with Manjaro.

I watched someone's review comparing MX-Linux with Manjaro. I think he had a fair comparison. Said if you are looking for a distro that's more nimble with great tools, go with MX. If you are looking for one with a more polished look and wider community support, lean towards Manjaro.

 

[ejman]

I've been happy with MX-Linux. But now since I prob won't look again at Pep OS, doesn't hurt to not put all the eggs in one basket. I do kind of like the thought of a rolling distro with Manjaro.

I watched someone's review comparing MX-Linux with Manjaro. I think he had a fair comparison. Said if you are looking for a distro that's more nimble with great tools, go with MX. If you are looking for one with a more polished look and wider community support, lean towards Manjaro.

I have an issue with MX-linux that I could never resolve to my satisfaction. I use my laptop as a music server thru a USB DAC to my main stereo and there was a slight pop/crackle every minute or so when using both Spotify and my regular music players. I tried all kinds of "fixes" both on the Mx-linux forum and others and went down multiple rabbit holes but could never quite resolve it. It's no fun listening to music while waiting for the next inevitable pop. Installed Manjaro and it was perfect from the get go, no tweaking needed.

 

[easysurfer]

I have an issue with MX-linux that I could never resolve to my satisfaction. I use my laptop as a music server thru a USB DAC to my main stereo and there was a slight pop/crackle every minute or so when using both Spotify and my regular music players. I tried all kinds of "fixes" both on the Mx-linux forum and others and went down multiple rabbit holes but could never quite resolve it. It's no fun listening to music while waiting for the next inevitable pop. Installed Manjaro and it was perfect from the get go, no tweaking needed.

I hear you. Sometimes looking for another distro that works is the best solution.

I actually had a similar situation as you but with a sound issue moving from Pep OS to MX-Linux. A program under Pep recorded the sound at a very low volume whereas MX-Linux has no issue.

 

[neihn]

I install Centos 8.1 on one of my old laptop and use it as my music player that connects my Yamaha A-S801 DAC via USB. Play bit-perfect with deadbeef music player, it is highly configurable player, if you are familiar with foobar2000, it is like that in linux. Bit perfect playback skip the OS audio mixer which resamples the sampling rate to match what your DAC capability (for example, if your DAC is capable of 24bit 192khz, and your music is CD quality at 16bit 44.1khz. the OS mixer will resample it to 24 192khz, alot of time it would add more noise and cracking doing that), I highly recommend bit-perfect if you are using an external DAC and amp.

The reason I use deadbeef, because it allows me to set up for bit perfect. And the reason for Centos, simply because I use for work and there are installation bits is around. You can pick any flavor of linux, and just install deadbeef and play around with it

Google for bit-perfect and deadbeef.

 

[ejman]

I install Centos 8.1 on one of my old laptop and use it as my music player that connects my Yamaha A-S801 DAC via USB. Play bit-perfect with deadbeef music player, it is highly configurable player, if you are familiar with foobar2000, it is like that in linux. Bit perfect playback skip the OS audio mixer which resamples the sampling rate to match what your DAC capability (for example, if your DAC is capable of 24bit 192khz, and your music is CD quality at 16bit 44.1khz. the OS mixer will resample it to 24 192khz, alot of time it would add more noise and cracking doing that), I highly recommend bit-perfect if you are using an external DAC and amp.

The reason I use deadbeef, because it allows me to set up for bit perfect. And the reason for Centos, simply because I use for work and there are installation bits is around. You can pick any flavor of linux, and just install deadbeef and play around with it

Google for bit-perfect and deadbeef.

I installed deadbeef in MX-linux and tweaked every tweak I could think off but unfortunately no joy. I think I'm done with MX-linux sound tweaking for a while - happy with Manjaro.

 

[neihn]

Here's screen shot of my DeadBeef

 

[easysurfer]

Hope it works well for you. Prior to trying out Manjaro I only used Debian based distros (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Peppermintos, MX-Linux) and was curious about an Arch based distro. I've been using it for about a month and I'm really liking it so far. It does take some getting used to it as there is a lot more flexibility (and opportunity to bork things I guess) but so far its been very stable even though its a rolling distro.

I sort of dropped off away from civilization the past couple of days as been spending much of my time kicking the tires of Manjaro installed on my low powered Dell D620 Laptop. In comparing with my current preferred distro, MX-Linux there is a lot to like of both.

I do like the software management of Manjaro. Seems very initiative. I was able to install a CD/DVD program that worked right from the repo. The same program, months ago with MX-Linux I must have had and older version as had to go into the terminal and use that to install some other parts to get it to work. Also, with Manjaro, seems like their forum is more noobie friendly with their own new folks section. On the other hand, seems to me like with MX-Linux, many of the users there are not so much the new to linux crowd.

As for speed between the two, on my low powered Dell, MX-Linux was definitely quicker. Of course on a more powerful machine the difference may not have been as noticeable.

Playing around, I purposely, messed up the MBR of my Manjaro test computer, then used the MX-Linux tool's Boot Repair from MX-Linux's live CD to fix the MBR. No problem to fix. That's what really shines I think with MX. Swiss army knife.

Anyhow, enough tire kicking for now. I like both distros .