u/Sebastianj7210

[supprimé]

Hey everyone! So, after a long time I decided to upgrade my old cheap controller. I'm on PC, and I basically play racing games with the controller (WRC, Dirt Rally 2.0, some old school NFS)

Since I'm not competitive nor anything, I'm looking at budget controllers of an acceptable quality. In my country (Argentina) not too many are found, so I'm between two that I've found: the Machenike G1, and the GameSir Nova Lite. Both are almost the same price here, around USD 35/40 (the Machenike is a little bit cheaper).

Hardware seems to be better on the Machenike. As far as I know it uses hall effect stick sensors and TMR sensors for triggers. According to hardwaretest the sticks have less circularity error (the GameSir has 1.8% and the Machenike has 0.3% error), the triggers are more precise (less dead travel), albeit the force on triggers isn't exactly the same, right trigger feeling lighter than the left one. The Gamesir has also hall effect sticks, but standard carbon triggers. Buttons feel the same, though the GameSir face is more clear.

Despite the hardware differences, the Nova Lite fits my hand a little bit better. My fingers almost naturally fall on the triggers, and also the triggers on the Nova Lite have longer travel, which should allow a finer throttle and brake control (nevertheless, if the trigger sensor is bad, then it would make no sense to have a longer trigger throw). I guess I could add some trigger extensions to the Machenike, but not sure.

So, if anyone has suggestions, which one should I keep?

Thanks in advance

Hey there! So, I recently bought a Nova Lite gamepad, but I'm finding some issues connecting it. I'm using it for Windows 11 only.

Basically, to correctly connect in Bluetooth mode I have to be in fw4200. I downgraded it (came with 7000), and succesfully connected to Windows 11 as an Xbox controller, so in my games (basically Dirt Rally 2.0 only) all buttons were correctly mapped. Without downgrading the firmware, I was having several issues. With this firmware, 7000, I was able to connect with the dongle (nevertheless, I wanted to use bluetooth if possible).

However, after a couple of bluetooth disconnects and some weird issues where there was a significant lag, I decided to try the dongle. However, even if the controller and dongle apparently pair correctly, Windows 11 does not recognize the controller. After several searches, found that I needed to upgrade firmware to correctly connect via dongle.

So, all in all, looks like the following (all this applying only to windows 11):

• If I want to use bluetooth, I have to be in FW4200
• If I want to use the dongle, I need to upgrade firmware

Is this correct?

Thanks in advance!

Hey there! So, after a lot of years with my beloved HP calcs (20s, 48gx, 50G, Prime) I'm in need of a new one. The 20s has stains on the display which are getting bigger by the time, the 48gx is slow and cumbersome for what I do (and some keys are starting to fail), the 50G is developing the issue of vertical dead lines which are on the right side so stack is invisible, and the Prime is being used by the girl, who uses for teaching. So, I need a new calc. I don't have huge requirements really.

• Portable, smaller than the 48 and 50, ideally smaller than the Prime too
• Persistence: if I power it off or if it auto powers off, I want to get back to the exact place where I was (this is something I always missed on my 20S compared with all the rest).
• Stats: quick descriptive stats on univariate datasets (mean, mode, average, median, q3, q1, min, max, range, interquartile range if possible too). Combination, permutation, etc., are all basic functions which should be present on any calc that responds to the above.
• Cheap (else I would just get another Prime, this one will be carried with me, who knows where it will fall inside my backpack).
• Ideally a good "stack" (memory of the last calculations) and ability to just edit a given one and run it again.
• If it has a solver, that can solve for any variable in the equation, it would be perfect
• Preferably textbook entry (lazy here since I learnt RPN)
• Backlight, but that's a rara avis.

I don't need it to be particularly speedy since as you can see, I'm not doing numeric integration or complex calculus.

So far the only thing that I've found is the Sharp EL W506T. Apparently it saves pretty much everything, which is great. It is slower than a casio 991EX and here in my country it's more expensive, but looks like except for backlight, ticks all the boxes.

I could get a TI 36X Pro for almost the same price, but I never used a TI calc before (they're kinda rare here), not sure but looks way bigger, and I don't know the features it has beside the website, which is... not good since TI has the school business for them so all the info looks related to using the calc in the US educational system.

Any input will be more than welcomed!

PS: I'm in Argentina. Calcs are very rare. Just some TI, some HPs, and pretty much any Casio.

Hey everyone!

I'm a university professor and I usually carry my own projector with me, as most places where I teach don't have enough projectors or don't have a booking system (so sometimes there are plenty and sometimes there is none). I generally look for the following

• weight and portability: since I need to carry it with me all day long, I generally look for a small projector, around 2 to 3kg (4 to 6 lbs approximately). I usually carry it on my bicycle, given that I use that as a daily transport.
• brightness: since most rooms where I teach don't have appropriate dimmable lights, I generally look for something at least of 3000 lumen ANSI
• connectivity: generally HDMI is enough, though wireless is a welcome. However it's not required, since most wireless systems involve casting through the institutional WiFi and that has some limitations and performance issues.
• Resolution: not a huge issue since I use it mostly to show PowerPoint presentations or Excel.
• Throw: this was overlooked when I bought my current projector 10 years ago. I really look for a short throw projector because in a crowded classroom it's almost impossible to locate the projector in an adequate place and have beside it my notebook. Between the usual clumsy places where I need to put it (commonly between the students), the cables, the plug extension, and the notebook, my current projector has been close to falling so many times that I started to look for a replacement.

I currently have a Ricoh PJ WX 2240, which fulfills all my needs except the short throw. To get a 100" diagonal I need to put it at 3.5/4 meters from the blackboard, which is the big issue I mentioned above. It is almost perfect except for that. So I started looking for some way to solve these issues.

• Option 1: an HDMI transmitter and receiver. This is the cheapest option. Here in my country it costs about 100 USD. Would not solve the issue of hacing the projector in a difficult place, but the notebook would stay at my desk. However, my Ricoh has more than 10 years. Though the lamp is pretty new (about 100hs), the rest of the projector still has 10 years on its shoulders, I'm not sure when it's going to simply reach the end of its life. It's the cheapest option, but not sure if the best. Would also need to carry a phone charger for the HDMI receiver since the Ricoh 2240 does not have a USB port to power it. Seems a little bit cumbersome
• Option 2: get a new projector. The one I'm looking for is the BenQ MX825STH. Looks like its the same size, it has a short throw so probably I can keep it at my desk in the classroom, and would solve the main issues. But don't know if it's the best choice. Consider that I'm in Argentina, so my options are kinda limited. Also, looks like it's designed to be mounted on the ceiling and not sure if it's meant to be moved (on the other hand the Ricoh came with a bag and feels pretty rugged, never had an issue).

Price wise, I can get that BenQ for approximately 600USD. Don't think that's a good price but it's the best I can find. Certainly looks like it makes sense to get a new one since for example the lamp for my Ricoh here costs 200USD.

I'm all ears for suggestions and inputs, because I'm going almost blind on this search.

Thanks to all!

Hey there!

I know this has been asked before, and I've found several different inputs from this. I'm about to get a new laptop and I've found a good deal on a very lightly used Snapdragon X Windows laptop. However I do need it to run R. Budget is really limited, thats why I wanted to get this laptop. So, can anybody tell me if R and R Studio run fine on Windows on ARM?

I haven't found anything systematic. Some people apparently run the x86 or x64 (not sure if only one of those, or both) fine over the emulation layer, and some other people run R and RStudio for Linux over WSL. A third mention is for Positron, which I've never used.

Any hint will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Seb

So, year and a half later, missions are still locked inside career mode. These missions were highly promoted pre-release, without clearly communicating that they would be available only in a specific game mode.

A year ago It was discussed the possibility of unlocking them so experienced flyers (who not always have the time to engage in career mode, like me) could also fly missions, but so far there isn't anything in the game, and no further news.

Does anybody have any info on this?

Thanks as always!

Seb

So, I bought two of this, one for my mom and another one for me. The one for me was because I really like the radio and the sound for FM, and the one for my mom was her b'day gift so she stops using her old radio which uses two D size batteries every week.

Sadly, seems that the old lady thinks that plugging the USB-C charger is like using a shovel, so it lasted a month and I have to replace it. It's destroyed.

Does someone have a picture of the board so I can see which is the specific connector I have to buy? I don't want to open the radio, check the USB port, wait for the connector to arrive, etc., because seems that taking it apart won't be as easy as other radios, since it has the solar charger, the crank dinamo, the flashlight, etc.

I haven't been able to find any video taking the D-608WB apart sadly (plenty of 808 videos, nothing on this one), even a single board pic, so any input will be more than welcomed.

Thanks in advance!

Seb

I've had stainless steel cookware for ages, but of course, it's not the only thing I have. I'm not a chef, just an amateur cook. I also use some teflon pans for those things that always stick to stainless, I have cast iron pans, I have carbon steel pans too, etc. However, I reckon that the most used cookware is stainless steel. It has good heat retention, good heat transmission, it’s easy to clean, and eventually, if something sticks too badly, I can leave it overnight with soapy water and next morning I clean it while I make my everyday coffee (because the day does not start until I’ve had my coffee).  

I've been reading this subreddit for ages, and I'm surprised for some questions I see usually appear. I’ve see some people expect stainless to behave like non stick pans (either via Leidenfrost effect, or just by high temps), people surprised or afraid when something sticks, and I think a lot of us miss some of the chemistry and physics behind cooking, so we end up having a bad experience (or what we think is a bad experience). I’ve also seen several comments, deeply buried, with very good info.

So, in order to help others from my humble experience, and to help those that have posted very good things in lost comments, I wrote this short list of observations to help in not having a bad experience cooking with stainless steel and have reasonable expectations.

 Of course, the idea of writing this post is to have some comments, corrections and insights, and eventually have a quick guide. I'm going to try to be as simple as possible. I’ve split these observations in sections. I tried to be not too long, but also not extremely short in the observation. I’m a firm believer in thinking that the more everyone knows, the better we do. So, here we go.

1. The Leidenfrost effect (do we really need so high temps?)

Several tutorials (some with several hundreds of thousands of views) state that to avoid food sticking to stainless steel, you must reach the Leidenfrost effect. In short, the Leidenfrost effect is basically achieving a temperature high enough that, when you drop some water on the pan, water vaporizes almost instantly, creating something like a "vapor cushion" or barrier between the waterdrop and the pan, thus dancing around the pan surface. This temperature is usually way above 100C, and generally around 200-230C.

It is basically correct that the Leidenfrost effect requires such high temperatures -if not, the water drop would cool down the pans surface). However, we have to assess if for cooking such high temps are needed -or even adequate. First, those temps are commonly too high for most oils and most forms of fat. Butter at that temperature burns very quickly, and if you're using oil, you really need to get a high smoking point oil. Second, is that there is no way to have this Leidenfrost effect happening on something that isn't composed of water. Any piece of protein will actually touch the surface of the pan, and will have a very accelerated Maillard reaction, borderline scorching or burning.

So, while the Leidenfrost effect is quite useful for some purposes, for some others is kind of problematic. Generally, we would use lower temperatures. The Leidenfrost effect temperature is good for searing, but in that case, you'll probably want to turn down the temps after you've achieved the desired browning. All in all, for most cooking needs we do not need such high temperatures, and such high temperatures do not ensure that food will not stick.

 Let’s see what happens with temperature then.

2. The results of using a very high temperature

By using such a high temperature, we're way above the temperatures that we need for the three things that happen when cooking, basically

• Oil polymerization
• Sugar caramelization and
• Maillard reaction on protein.

Let’s briefly describe these processes.

Shortly speaking, polymerization is a chemical process where the original fat molecules -called monomers- start to link together, thus creating a long interconnected chain, called polymers. Polymerization happens to oil, and it creates the light brown patches well known to all of us. These can vary in its characteristics, but generally, it's a (sometimes) sticky light brown patch on the pan surface. It’s a very well-known process with carbon steel pans, and it’s what happens when you season a carbon steel pan (a process that should NOT be done on stainless steel cookware, it simply won’t happen).

This is oil polymerization

The other important process is caramelization. It is a well-known process, but let’s make a short recap. When you heat up a sugar, it breaks apart into monosaccharides, basically glucose and fructose. If you continue adding heat, these molecules start to recombine into polymers (which is basically what we call caramel) and releases some other compounds which give caramel the taste we know, which is different than straight sugar. However, very high temperatures lead to sugar carbonization.

The third reaction is the Maillard reaction which is basically the browning process from the interaction of proteins, sugar, and aminoacids that give the food that nice brown color. In all cases, the end result of using extremely high temperatures is carbonized residues (black residues).

The thing here is that these reactions happen way below the Leidenfrost effect temperature. While as we said, the Leidenfrost effect happens at 200-230C, both caramelization and Maillard reaction happen around 150-180C. Trying to get a reasonable Maillard reaction at 200-230C leads to an accelerated reaction, which first makes for a very quick browning (sometimes desirable, for example, searing), but if it’s not taken care of, leads to quickly scorched and burnt food.

This is carbonization and polymerization. Sometimes, it happens (for example, if you sear at very high temperatures), and it’s not a failure or an error.

So, while Leidenfrost effect is helpful, it’s usually way too high for most cooking needs and will scorch the food if left at that temperature. As a rule of thumb, you must leave the protein still until it “unsticks itself”. This is because either a caramelization process, or a Maillard reaction, will generate a layer very easy to unstick. If you’re cooking vegetables, like potatoes, wait until the brownish layer is done and the vegetables (potatoes for example) unstick when you move them with a spatula, and then turn them over the side. For this, you have to use a not so low temperature, but also not that high. Since all pans are different, and all stove tops are different, you’ll need to tailor this with your experience.

3. Stainless steel does not behave like nonstick cookware. You need some fat!

Oil, or other forms of fat, are necessary when using stainless steel. It will not, and will never, behave like nonstick pans, or carbon steel pans with a nice polymerization. Stainless steel is not nonstick cookware, and things will stick to it (and you will eventually learn how to use them without having food sticking to it, after all every week we see people doing pancakes and eggs without having anything seriously sticking).

However, we must always consider that, even with the adequate amount of oil, some things will stick to it, because it's simply a piece of stainless steel against which we are putting something that naturally sticks to the material when going through the cooking process. For example, if you do a heavy meat seasoning, most probably the seasoning will stick to the pan, and probably burn a little. This is acceptable and it's how cooking works, so do not think too much about it.

First, use adequate amounts of fat, be it oil, grease, butter, or whatever. I can’t stress enough that with stainless still, it’s almost impossible to avoid using some sort of fat.

Second is to use the adequate temperatures. If you're using too high temperatures, burning and scorching will happen, with stainless steel or any other cookware (but you’re not ruining the pan, like it could happen with a Teflon pan). The difference is that, from time to time, burned and scorched residues stick to stainless a bit more than to other materials. At too low temperatures, both caramelization and Maillard reactions will be incomplete or very slow, and will lead to food sticking to it However, at the proper temperatures you can avoid thin layers of oil polymerizing, and also avoid having burnt or scorched food sticking to the pan.

The third one is to have reasonable expectations. When we use stainless, we're making a trade off. We're avoiding the care that carbon steel needs, and the care that teflon pans require, and we're able to work with very high temps. In exchange we have to accept that some burning will happen. For me, it's an acceptable trade off, but I never expect my stainless steel cookware to be impolute after cooking. I expect some brown spots, I expect some patches always. I just simply wait for the pan to get to room temperature, then just add some water and dish soap, leave it there for an hour, and scrub. I never had anything sticking to the pan really bad. In the worst cases, nothing that steel wool won’t remove in a couple of passes. These things are reasonable. A fourth one, would be to use always a thin stainless-steel spatula to unstick things from your stainless steel pan. I use an el-cheapo one, which works wonderfully.

This is fine and does not mean you suck at using stainless steel cookware

4. Natural derivatives: cooking residues in the pan (aka you’re not doing anything wrong)

Black spots mean something has scorched, and it's probably severely stuck to the pan. Then we have brown spots, which can be incomplete polymerized oil (the light brown ones generally), and then the dark brown ones, which are residues from either caramelization or Maillard reaction residues. This is totally normal -after all, it's not a nonstick pan! It will happen, and it's perfectly normal. You can't expect stainless steel to behave like carbon steel pans with a good polymerized oil layer, or like a non stick pan.

If you frequently have light brown very stuck patches, it's because oil is polymerizing, and commonly incomplete polymerization (more if it's sticky). Some polymerization is expected, mostly in the edges of the cooking surface and the sides of the pan. This is because oil starts to flow from the sides to the center, a thin layer remains on the sides, and it polymerizes. However, this is not the same polymerization that happens when you're seasoning a carbon steel pan. Polymerization temperature happens in a wide range, from around 160C to 260C. However, lower temperatures leave incomplete polymerization (sticky layers), while higher temperatures leave carbonized layers which quickly flake. So, having those is reasonable in some occasions, but can indicate also that you're working with wrong temperatures on the wrong things.

Dark brown residues are pretty common. They're residues from Maillard reactions, and it's ok. It happens generally when you cook meat, chicken, not so often with fish. Fish tends to stick a little bit more, because it has more water.

What I wanted to say is that this is perfectly normal. What you have to look for is how the food is cooked, not so much how the pan is after cooking. It's like looking at the blender after blending some food. Well... it will have residues from what was blended. However, these cooking residues can help us to improve the cooking process and diminish them to a non worrying issue.

See all the black and brown residues on the bottom and sides? That’s perfectly fine!

5. Cleaning the stainless pans.

Lastly, there's the myriad of posts about how to get them off. Barkeepers Friend is almost a given, however it not always available (for example it does not exist in my country). I simply use a mix of dish soap and baking soda. Do not be afraid to leave some soapy water for an hour, overnight or whatever you prefer to make things easier, and to scrub the pan with the green stuff of a sponge, or with steel wool. It's stainless steel, that's why we have it. It resists. Just as we are not afraid of using a steel spatule on a stainless steel pan, we should not be afraid of cleaning it with steel wool. Of course, do not use a rotary 80 grit sandpaper, but do not be afraid of applying some elbow grease.

I hope this helps!

PS: Most (I think all) of the pics used here are from this very own subreddit. I hope this is OK!

So, some months ago I posted here about using a Surface Go first gen as a tool for teaching and working. I basically use Office 365, Chrome and PowerBI. Some SPSS too, but isn't an absolute requirement.

I'm a teacher, and my beater laptop isn't giving enough battery life since I have a two hour class in the morning, then another three hour class at night, with almost no chance of charging the device in the day.

Use case: I'd need it to be able to have at the same time running a meeting app (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams), with generally 50 assistants, an Excel workbook, generally not too heavy in size but with graphs and pivot tables, and generally also a powerpoint presentation. I also need it to have video output, though I understand this is not a problem because the USB-C port has video output with no need of any special adapter (though not sure about this).

Situation is the same as three months ago: following your advice, I didn't buy the Go first gen and neither bought anything else because I haven't found anything reasonable.

I can get a Surface Pro 9 (SQ3 ARM processor), used but in almost new condition, seller says battery is at 100% (don't know if Surface have any way to test this) with the keyboard (but no pen) at approximately 600USD. I'm not in the US, I'm in Argentina, so getting a new one is almost impossible, and price seems reasonable.

Any input will be more than welcomed, and thanks in advance!

Best

Seb