I've seen people say that these things create a lot of static, but I've also seen a lot of youtubers use them anyways when soldering and working on electronics.
Do I need to get an ESD-resistant mat like this? Or would any silicone mat do just fine? Thanks.
Just wanted to do a follow-up post and share some highlights from the last city council meeting (4/23) where Flock was finally brought up again in agenda item #7.4
Link to the full video is here. Resident comments start at around 46:15, and city council discussion begins at 56:47
The agenda item discussed was for a grant application aiming to use federal dollars to pay for the city's contracts with Flock. The project's cost (per year, I believe) comes out to $370,452 and the city currently has plans to install 72 cameras throughout College Station.
Some key points from the meeting:
I can understand why the council approved the grant (it was made clear that whether this item was approved or not, it wouldn't change the city's current contracts with Flock), but it doesn't change the fact this is all still being paid for with our taxpayer dollars, whether it's collected by the city or the federal government, and as such, we deserve a say in whether they stay up or not.
I want to thank everybody who showed up to speak, y'all did great! A lot of good questions were raised by both the council and residents, and if you want to join us at the next city council meeting today (5/18) at 6 PM, you can sign up to speak here. The deadline to sign up is at 2 PM.
Hi y'all. So I've been gathering supplies to get started soldering (gonna be recapping surface-mount and through-hole capacitors) and I've been a little overwhelmed with all the information online, with all the different suppliers and tools/materials needed, on top of having to avoid counterfeits.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out which flux to get. I've seen many recommendations for NC-559. But there seems to be a bunch of rebranding & legal shenanigans going on with this brand, as well as a lot of fakes out there. When I went to the page for Stirri-V2-TF (formerly 559-V2), it's described as though it's only meant to be used with hot-air, not a soldering iron.
I've also seen recommendations for SMD-291 as a clear, easy-to-clean flux, so I'm leaning towards this one.
I get that the flux inside the solder cable is usually enough, but if I ever need flux on its own, which should one I get? Is ifixit.com a good site to get solder and flux from?
As someone who will be getting their first car soon, I'd like to know how I can limit/disable all of the invasive data collection & internet connectivity that many newer cars seem to have.
For context, it's a 2019 Kia Sportage LX AWD. I skimmed through Kia's privacy policy, only to find that it lets them collect all sorts of personal info, including:
>Social Security number, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number; account log-in, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account; precise geolocation; racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs; union membership; genetic data; unique biometric information; citizenship or immigration status; contents of certain mail, emails, and text messages; or health, sex life or sexual orientation information.
How much of this do they actually collect? Who knows. But considering this, and all the data breaches that happen on the regular, the possibility for cars getting hacked, and the strong financial incentive for companies to collect and sell data, I'd say these concerns are pretty well warranted.
I don't mind if I lose built-in GPS, voice-command, bluetooth functionality, or any other smart features. All I need is a reliable vehicle that can get me from point A to point B.
Some suggestions I've seen in other subs include removing the antenna, which doesn't sound too hard. I've also heard that you can just pull out one of the fuses, but how would I know which fuse to pull? Would it be a safety risk if I pulled the wrong fuse? And what if the module is integrated or built into an important component of the car? How would I even know? Here's the fuse panel page if you want to take a look for yourself.
Sorry if any of these are dumb questions. Once again, I've never had a car before. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Edit: Oh right, almost forgot to mention. This is a hand-me-down car from a family member. That, and my finances are kind of tight right now, so it's not that easy to just buy an older car.
As someone who will be getting their first car soon, I'd like to know how I can limit/disable all of the invasive data collection & internet connectivity that many newer cars seem to have.
For context, it's a 2019 Kia Sportage LX AWD. I skimmed through Kia's privacy policy, only to find that it lets them collect all sorts of personal info, including:
>Social Security number, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number; account log-in, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account; precise geolocation; racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs; union membership; genetic data; unique biometric information; citizenship or immigration status; contents of certain mail, emails, and text messages; or health, sex life or sexual orientation information.
How much of this do they actually collect? Who knows. But considering this, and all the data breaches that happen on the regular, the possibility for cars getting hacked, and the strong financial incentive for companies to collect and sell data, I'd say these concerns are pretty well warranted.
I don't mind if I lose built-in GPS, voice-command, bluetooth functionality, or any other smart features. All I need is a reliable vehicle that can get me from point A to point B.
Some suggestions I've seen include removing the antenna, which doesn't sound too hard. I've also heard that you can just pull out one of the fuses, but how would I know which fuse to pull? Would it be a safety risk if I pulled the wrong fuse? And what if the module is integrated or built into an important component of the car? How would I even know? Here's the fuse panel page if you want to take a look for yourself.
Your thoughts?
I was disassembling my steam deck, but this little yellow spot caught my attention. There's a little hole in corner of my battery, not sure if it's just some outer wrapping, or if the battery is actually punctured. Is it safe to continue using?
I really don't want to replace it if I don't have to. The battery was working just fine before disassembly, and iFixit replacement kits for the LCD model are out of stock (and also cost $135). No idea when they're going back in stock, if ever.
Anybody else have this issue when upgrading their SSD?
I tried replacing my storage with a 256 GB SSD, and though it was a struggle to slide the EMI shield onto the new SSD, I was able to get it on. I screwed the SSD in place, reassembled everything back to the way it was, and when I was nearly done, I noticed that one of the backplate screws wouldn't screw. That, and the case wouldn't seal on the edge near the microsd slot. I tried hard to force it together, but I don't want to try any harder, lest I break something inside.
I know that this SSD is a little thicker, but is it really thick enough to be an issue here? Or did I mess something up in reassembly?