Getting a laptop computer that is working well for me has been a struggle.
For years, people have told me how much cheaper it is to buy a Windows machine than it is to buy a Mac. For years, I told them to find one with the screen resolution and graphics hardware and it would be practically the same price. It had been for the longest time. Displays for laptop computers are not inexpensive but high quality displays are really expensive.
I got this 2017 Omen by HP laptop at about 25% discount. It has an Intel i7 7700HQ quad core processor, Nvidia 1050 GPU with 2 GB of RAM, and the system came with a 1TB hard drive and 8GB of RAM. It seemed to crawl most days. The mid-2012 MacBook Pro had 16GB of RAM and a 480GB SSD with an Nvidia 650M GPU.
I found G.Skill RAM that I trusted that wasn't too expensive at the time and bought 32GB in two sticks. I also found an HP m.2 SSD that seemed a good fit--an EX920. Given that I've been working in retail and Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day has been so brutal, I had few chances to get anything installed. (I actually thought that, having a decent background with computer hardware installation since around 1981, I might be able to do the work myself but was proven wrong rather quickly. It was much easier to modify each of my Apple Macintosh machines.)
I went to a phone repair store that was close, where I had some work done in the past, and the technician I knew was gone. The person who might be able to do the work wasn't there that day, and since time wasn't convenient, I didn't return. I went to a "computer services" shop (that looked like a pawn shop) and that shop's computer person wasn't there, either.
Last week, I decided to check another phone repair shop and found that they did computer work. I called and was told that it would be US$30 to install the RAM and m.2 drive. That was much lower than the $130-$250 I expected.
Wednesday, I went to the store and dropped off the computer. They didn't give me a receipt--scary--but they sent my phone text messages to inform me on their progress. US$30 to install the hardware and US$35 to clone the drive was given to me as the quote. Thanks very reasonable.
Today, Friday, I went to see about the computer. Things happened in the store and the progress was a bit delayed when "things happened", which was expected. Thankfully, it wasn't some catastrophe where the hard drive didn't work at all. He was "optimizing" it, so he told me that it would probably be three more hours.
I ate so-so VietNamese food at a new restaurant for way too much money, walked to a store to shop a bit, and got the text message that my machine had been finished. I returned as quickly as I could walk.
I paid and I started the machine. We looked and there was an update that required a restart. I checked to see if the RAM and drive had actually been installed. I wasn't accusing. I just worry a lot. If you can imagine something going wrong almost every time I do something, you'd be cautious, also.
Having the machine at home now, I'm pleased to say that my usual 51-66% RAM usage is around 19-22% now. I'll be able to get started on my skate park videos finally. I still need to select from thousands of clips. I won't have to worry about my software being unhappy with the environment on which it's running, though. Hopefully, Magix Movie Edit Pro Plus will be good.
As I've played a few games, the response is generally good but there are still delays. I wonder if the operating system needs to mold itself to the new drive. This machine is still labeled by HP as a casual gaming machine, which is all I needed anyway. It still seems strange that UT2004 was smoother on a 2012 MacBook Pro than it is on a 2017 Windows machine purposed for gaming.
Update 2019.02.16: Windows 10 seems much better, although it does seem to be off in Never-Never land far too often still. Who knows what it's doing? As soon as I launch Task Manager, whatever was happening stops. Defragmentation tends to continue, so I'm sure it's not that. Feedback Hub is running, but why? Microsoft does not want to know what I think of their collection of patches that they consider an operating system. Back when a machine was limited to 64KB (or even 4MB) of RAM, it seemed that everything had to be tight. Sloppy writers didn't make it. Atari's implementation of GEM and DR-DOS weren't great but they were quick and efficient.
Firefox and Chrome both seem to handle scrolling more smoothly.
Games still seem just a bit better, which doesn't seem enough for the difference of having 4 times the RAM and a much, much faster drive.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Sprint has improved dramatically
Every year around Christmas here, I complain that the shopping area has horrible service with Sprint. As of the Christmas season 2018, I can complain about it no longer. We didn't get 100 Mbps service but the service was never unusable as it had been in the past few years since I arrived in 2014.
Further, I had jury duty in Stockton, which has generally had the worst of everything and I had a solid 4 bars downtown, especially on the 7th and 12th floors of the court house, but even on the ground it was exemplary.
I haven't had a lot of praise for Sprint, except for EVDO/3G in 2005 when the others were far behind them, and several years later when WiMAX was delivering data well before LTE was available in even a few places.
I'm pleased to say that the company has done better lately and I'm not sure why but I hope they continue to improve. I'm almost okay with the T-Mobile merger, as long as we don't end up on GSM. I hate having a voice conversation with anyone on T-Mobile because of the way it distorts and echoes.
VoLTE (Voice over LTE) should have been implemented already, so that we could rid ourselves of GSM and CDMA. I expected it would be in place in 2015, even if it wasn't widespread, but it doesn't seem to have gone very far at all.
Update 2019.02.24: Sprint is now advertising that LTE Advanced is in use. They also have "Calling Plus" for Android-based phones, which appears to be VoLTE, as they mention that you can use the internet while on a call, etc.
Apparently, 5G service will be launched in a few cities in May. It seems that they've not bothered with Philadelphia or Miami, which is a big change from earlier times.
Don't you love how AT&T/SBC is finally going to LTE Advanced and is calling it 5Ge, as if it's something better than everyone else. It's similar to when they enhanced their 3G service and called it 4G, even though it wasn't much different from T-Mobile. By the original definition LTE Advanced is 4G, and we're not quite there yet, as far as a nationwide implementation goes. I still see 1xRTT on occasion.
Update 2020.02.17: Apparently, 2020 is the year that 5G will penetrate our lives. According to news, Verizon couldn't cover the Super Bowl stadium with 5G service, so I'm not sure how great it's going to be. I'm still waiting for 4G/LTE Plus to be everywhere--and for 2G to go away.
Update 2020.04.24: The Sprint/T-Mobile merger happened and the two companies are cooperating on LTE, but will remain two operations otherwise. I'm glad that they're not getting rid of CDMA. I wonder if MetroPCS is still using CDMA, as they were prior to their acquisition by T-Mobile. They were known as the worst carrier, but I'm not certain that they were the worst.
In any case, it should be interesting to see how everyone's service goes. Hopefully, it's better and Verizon and AT&T sweat some.
Further, I had jury duty in Stockton, which has generally had the worst of everything and I had a solid 4 bars downtown, especially on the 7th and 12th floors of the court house, but even on the ground it was exemplary.
I haven't had a lot of praise for Sprint, except for EVDO/3G in 2005 when the others were far behind them, and several years later when WiMAX was delivering data well before LTE was available in even a few places.
I'm pleased to say that the company has done better lately and I'm not sure why but I hope they continue to improve. I'm almost okay with the T-Mobile merger, as long as we don't end up on GSM. I hate having a voice conversation with anyone on T-Mobile because of the way it distorts and echoes.
VoLTE (Voice over LTE) should have been implemented already, so that we could rid ourselves of GSM and CDMA. I expected it would be in place in 2015, even if it wasn't widespread, but it doesn't seem to have gone very far at all.
Update 2019.02.24: Sprint is now advertising that LTE Advanced is in use. They also have "Calling Plus" for Android-based phones, which appears to be VoLTE, as they mention that you can use the internet while on a call, etc.
Apparently, 5G service will be launched in a few cities in May. It seems that they've not bothered with Philadelphia or Miami, which is a big change from earlier times.
Don't you love how AT&T/SBC is finally going to LTE Advanced and is calling it 5Ge, as if it's something better than everyone else. It's similar to when they enhanced their 3G service and called it 4G, even though it wasn't much different from T-Mobile. By the original definition LTE Advanced is 4G, and we're not quite there yet, as far as a nationwide implementation goes. I still see 1xRTT on occasion.
Update 2020.02.17: Apparently, 2020 is the year that 5G will penetrate our lives. According to news, Verizon couldn't cover the Super Bowl stadium with 5G service, so I'm not sure how great it's going to be. I'm still waiting for 4G/LTE Plus to be everywhere--and for 2G to go away.
Update 2020.04.24: The Sprint/T-Mobile merger happened and the two companies are cooperating on LTE, but will remain two operations otherwise. I'm glad that they're not getting rid of CDMA. I wonder if MetroPCS is still using CDMA, as they were prior to their acquisition by T-Mobile. They were known as the worst carrier, but I'm not certain that they were the worst.
In any case, it should be interesting to see how everyone's service goes. Hopefully, it's better and Verizon and AT&T sweat some.
Monday, January 14, 2019
FujiFilm's Mirrorless models Are Finally Great
Ever since the FujiFilm introduced the X-Mount and the X-Trans color filter array, I've waited to see what would happen.
I tried the X-T1 in a camera shop and decided that it was too slow and sloppy for my needs. In fact, it seemed a very casual camera body, much like the Sony mirrorless models. When a body has loads of enhancements but requires complete manual control to keep up with action, what does it really offer?
Having used various SLRs in the 1970s, manual control wasn't a big deal. Keeping up with the action could be. Back then, I appreciated the shutter speed ring around the OM-1N lens mount that kept my focus on the action, rather than having to reach across with my left hand to futz with the dial on the top panel.
In 2012. that didn't make sense to me. In 2018, it makes even less sense. However, the newest image processor in the X-T3 is quite capable and various parts have been modified to make the X-T3 the envy of most APS-C and micro Four-Thirds users--if they could just admit it.
At this point, I wouldn't recommend any APS-C Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Pentax models, although Pentax' weather-sealed bodies are quite good and offer plenty on a budget. Tight budgets notwithstanding, the X-T3 is the best compromise, even without In-Body Image Stabilization. (I'm still of the opinion that the Panasonic G85/G80 with Dual I.S. is a better option for great video and good lenses on a budget, plus it's part of a very compact system.)
People starting today, should seriously consider what FujiFilm are offering. They have two good systems now and will continue to improve, especially as they gain more, impassioned users. The company has pulled back from their frequent firmware updates but if they get it right first, they don't need to fix it or add features afterward.
It's somewhat amusing that the X-T100 pulls at me the same way the Fujica ST-605 did. Reviews mention shortcomings, but those shortcomings, such as slower than anticipated auto focus, aren't that different from the first two generations of the X-series camera bodies. The X-T1, for me, seemed quite unusable but plenty of people have done well with it.
I tried the X-T1 in a camera shop and decided that it was too slow and sloppy for my needs. In fact, it seemed a very casual camera body, much like the Sony mirrorless models. When a body has loads of enhancements but requires complete manual control to keep up with action, what does it really offer?
Having used various SLRs in the 1970s, manual control wasn't a big deal. Keeping up with the action could be. Back then, I appreciated the shutter speed ring around the OM-1N lens mount that kept my focus on the action, rather than having to reach across with my left hand to futz with the dial on the top panel.
In 2012. that didn't make sense to me. In 2018, it makes even less sense. However, the newest image processor in the X-T3 is quite capable and various parts have been modified to make the X-T3 the envy of most APS-C and micro Four-Thirds users--if they could just admit it.
At this point, I wouldn't recommend any APS-C Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Pentax models, although Pentax' weather-sealed bodies are quite good and offer plenty on a budget. Tight budgets notwithstanding, the X-T3 is the best compromise, even without In-Body Image Stabilization. (I'm still of the opinion that the Panasonic G85/G80 with Dual I.S. is a better option for great video and good lenses on a budget, plus it's part of a very compact system.)
People starting today, should seriously consider what FujiFilm are offering. They have two good systems now and will continue to improve, especially as they gain more, impassioned users. The company has pulled back from their frequent firmware updates but if they get it right first, they don't need to fix it or add features afterward.
It's somewhat amusing that the X-T100 pulls at me the same way the Fujica ST-605 did. Reviews mention shortcomings, but those shortcomings, such as slower than anticipated auto focus, aren't that different from the first two generations of the X-series camera bodies. The X-T1, for me, seemed quite unusable but plenty of people have done well with it.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Playing Games on the Cheap
I balked at every new game console where the games were US$59.99. I'm not the kind of person to enjoy that, even though I spent a small fortune with the Atari Jaguar, and had hundreds of games for the 8-bit Atari computers.
Having a Macintosh from 1993 to 2017 kept me focused, especially when I stopped buying desktop machines. Steam arrived when I had my intel-based polycarbonate MacBook G3 and I took advantage of Portal and Half-Life 2 for free. I bought very few games because few developers invested in Mac OS X. I bought Unreal, Unreal Tournament, UT 2003 (a mistake), UT 2004, and missed out on UT3 when some company wouldn't license their technology for Mac or Linux.
Having had the "casual gamer" Omen by HP laptop computer since April, I started off with Steam--sort of reviving my purchases. Of course, I didn't use cloud saves since my connection was poor, so I had to start fresh.
At this moment, Steam shows 47 games, which includes some VR variant, which I cannot play. I don't believe I exceeded US$19.99 for any of the games, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.
As I like to release frustration with arena shooting games, Toxikk has become my new favorite for starting a quick game. The full game was a little over US$5.00 and it has a lot of what made Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament 2004 fun. If you want something with a plot, this isn't it.
That game would be Life is Strange 2. It's so serious at times, I had tears in my eyes at one point. I've seen the underbelly of the west coast since moving back in 2014, and this game seems too familiar. It's so well made that has a feeling of reality, although the voice acting might not be what it should be. (The Galaxy on Fire series of mobile games have the worst English voice acting ever.)
Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux are similarly serious but seem more of the fantasy shooter variety. It's good to see some video games that are based on books.
I've spent a lot of time with UT2004 and UT3 lately, but continue to go to Toxikk for quick matches.
Life is Strange 2 is taking a lot of time. I've tried to go back to Half-Life 2 and the rest of the Valve Software games but my heart just isn't in it since my progress is gone and I have to fight through each area again. I'd rather spend the energy on something else.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is somewhat appealing, especially since the Spyro games aren't going to be available to me any time soon.
I've given up on Gone Home and A Story About My Uncle far too quickly. I will likely be bored and try them again.
I tried the free version of Counter Strike: Global Offensive but I'm just not sure I care.
Picked up the Freemium Asphalt 9: Legends and it's not bad with the controller and it's so small, since it's a mobile game that almost anyone could fit it on their machine. It could use some powerful CPU/GPU combination, though. I should be thankful for Windows Phone, even though it isn't really available any longer. The Asphalt series is good fun and I now have three of them.
Update 2018.12.06: I saw an article saying that Epic Games was starting a store, so I downloaded the application and found that the newer, trial of Unreal Tournament was available. I tried it for one day and the next day they announced that they are canceling it but that they are going to make the earlier games available through the store. Since I bought them through Steam, I'm not sure what good that will do for many. At least, Toxikk is available.
Update 2019.01.11: I've picked up two new games for free from the Epic Games store: Subnautica and What Remains of Edith Finch. They both seem good. It's interesting that they're going to offer a different game for free every two weeks.
On the other hand, I picked up Star Trek Timelines for Windows/Steam and it is pretty difficult to play with the mouse, as it hasn't really been converted from the touch screen game that it is on iOS and on Android. It would probably be okay in tablet mode on the Lenovo Flex 3 that I once had, since it had a touch screen, but it's frustrating with the mouse. What once fit on 480x320 is now on 1920x1080 and nothing has changed in the screen usage. As well, the battery usage would be horrible as it keeps the inbuilt GPU and the audio busy, even when I'm not playing it, mostly as it does on mobile devices.
Update 2019.02.02: It's time for Chinese/Lunar New Year and Ubisoft has a sale, including a very free Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. I also ended up with Watch_Dogs Complete (or was it Gold?) Edition and Watch_Dogs 2 for decent prices, although I exceeded US$20 for Watch_Dogs 2.
With the UPlay application, I am now acquainted with three different stores/launchers, plus the EA Origin launcher I used for a brief time on Mac OS X. Sadly, Steam does something to make it difficult to use controllers--even their own controller, which is a magnificent hodpodge of mouse and controller and keyboard in one.
Update 2019.02.17: Just added GoG store and launcher. They seem to be more for independent gamers and especially, those who are growing to hate Steam. I'm finding way too many interesting games, and not enough time to play them. By the way, GoG is from Warsaw, Poland and therefore, you will probably incur extra charges for currency exchange.
Having a Macintosh from 1993 to 2017 kept me focused, especially when I stopped buying desktop machines. Steam arrived when I had my intel-based polycarbonate MacBook G3 and I took advantage of Portal and Half-Life 2 for free. I bought very few games because few developers invested in Mac OS X. I bought Unreal, Unreal Tournament, UT 2003 (a mistake), UT 2004, and missed out on UT3 when some company wouldn't license their technology for Mac or Linux.
Having had the "casual gamer" Omen by HP laptop computer since April, I started off with Steam--sort of reviving my purchases. Of course, I didn't use cloud saves since my connection was poor, so I had to start fresh.
At this moment, Steam shows 47 games, which includes some VR variant, which I cannot play. I don't believe I exceeded US$19.99 for any of the games, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.
As I like to release frustration with arena shooting games, Toxikk has become my new favorite for starting a quick game. The full game was a little over US$5.00 and it has a lot of what made Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament 2004 fun. If you want something with a plot, this isn't it.
That game would be Life is Strange 2. It's so serious at times, I had tears in my eyes at one point. I've seen the underbelly of the west coast since moving back in 2014, and this game seems too familiar. It's so well made that has a feeling of reality, although the voice acting might not be what it should be. (The Galaxy on Fire series of mobile games have the worst English voice acting ever.)
Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux are similarly serious but seem more of the fantasy shooter variety. It's good to see some video games that are based on books.
I've spent a lot of time with UT2004 and UT3 lately, but continue to go to Toxikk for quick matches.
Life is Strange 2 is taking a lot of time. I've tried to go back to Half-Life 2 and the rest of the Valve Software games but my heart just isn't in it since my progress is gone and I have to fight through each area again. I'd rather spend the energy on something else.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is somewhat appealing, especially since the Spyro games aren't going to be available to me any time soon.
I've given up on Gone Home and A Story About My Uncle far too quickly. I will likely be bored and try them again.
I tried the free version of Counter Strike: Global Offensive but I'm just not sure I care.
Picked up the Freemium Asphalt 9: Legends and it's not bad with the controller and it's so small, since it's a mobile game that almost anyone could fit it on their machine. It could use some powerful CPU/GPU combination, though. I should be thankful for Windows Phone, even though it isn't really available any longer. The Asphalt series is good fun and I now have three of them.
Update 2018.12.06: I saw an article saying that Epic Games was starting a store, so I downloaded the application and found that the newer, trial of Unreal Tournament was available. I tried it for one day and the next day they announced that they are canceling it but that they are going to make the earlier games available through the store. Since I bought them through Steam, I'm not sure what good that will do for many. At least, Toxikk is available.
Update 2019.01.11: I've picked up two new games for free from the Epic Games store: Subnautica and What Remains of Edith Finch. They both seem good. It's interesting that they're going to offer a different game for free every two weeks.
On the other hand, I picked up Star Trek Timelines for Windows/Steam and it is pretty difficult to play with the mouse, as it hasn't really been converted from the touch screen game that it is on iOS and on Android. It would probably be okay in tablet mode on the Lenovo Flex 3 that I once had, since it had a touch screen, but it's frustrating with the mouse. What once fit on 480x320 is now on 1920x1080 and nothing has changed in the screen usage. As well, the battery usage would be horrible as it keeps the inbuilt GPU and the audio busy, even when I'm not playing it, mostly as it does on mobile devices.
Update 2019.02.02: It's time for Chinese/Lunar New Year and Ubisoft has a sale, including a very free Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. I also ended up with Watch_Dogs Complete (or was it Gold?) Edition and Watch_Dogs 2 for decent prices, although I exceeded US$20 for Watch_Dogs 2.
With the UPlay application, I am now acquainted with three different stores/launchers, plus the EA Origin launcher I used for a brief time on Mac OS X. Sadly, Steam does something to make it difficult to use controllers--even their own controller, which is a magnificent hodpodge of mouse and controller and keyboard in one.
Update 2019.02.17: Just added GoG store and launcher. They seem to be more for independent gamers and especially, those who are growing to hate Steam. I'm finding way too many interesting games, and not enough time to play them. By the way, GoG is from Warsaw, Poland and therefore, you will probably incur extra charges for currency exchange.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Buying enough RAM to make the i7 7700HQ happy
Okay, I've had this 2017 Omen (by HP) 15t for around six months. It's decent at most everything, making it a good successor to the mid-2012 MacBook Pro quad core i7 with 16 GB of RAM and 480 GB SSD.
When things get tough, it shows how slow it is. The 8 GB of RAM shows up as about half in use when doing simple things. When I go to edit photos, I'm in trouble, with RAM generally full and virtual memory has to resort to the 7200 rpm hard drive. Intolerably slow would be the key phrase but it's possible to remember with 4 MB of RAM was a full set and my Atari 1040 ST (with modification) would fly at 8 MHz. That was a monochrome system with a 640x400 display.
The MacBook Pro supported 1440x900 and this Omen has a 1920x1080 display--the not so good display, that is standard. Hey, if I can edit from lesser displays in the past, can I work with lesser displays in the present? Of course, I can.
However, using Phase One Capture One Pro has been a bit tedious, especially if I'm using Luminar 2018 at the same time. If I try to also use Magix Movie Edit Pro and/or Xara Designer Pro, things might grind to a halt.
I just ordered 32 GB, in two RAM sticks, with sales tax, etc. for just a bit less than the two pieces were by themselves just a few weeks ago. G.Skill RAM works well and is trusted. My needs may not be as specific or hard core as the gamers who would also buy products from the brand, but high performance, reliable products are necessary.
I considered 16 GB but half of my 8 GB is in use doing almost nothing. Trying to make video with 16 GB might leave me with almost nothing and virtual memory will ruin the performance and I'd be back to intolerably slow performance, plus I'd spent money to arrive there. Considering the drop in price, it didn't make sense to go with the lower capacity.
I also ordered a toolkit from iFixit, so I should be able to open the machine and put things right easily. Previously, I had two Husky drivers (from Home Depot) and two Kobalt drivers (from Lowes), which helped quite a lot. I made the modifications to the MacBook Pro quickly and easily, while being watched, just in case. It helped train them, also. I've watched the video reviews of this machine and they opened it fairly easily. It's just a matter of remembering which screws go where, just like always.
I will have to wait for drive improvements. The machine has an M.2 slot, so it's perfect for a Samsung 970 EVO drive. 1 TB is much more affordable than the 6 Gbps 480 GB drive I put into the MacBook Pro in 2013. I'm just wondering if I happen to have a Samsung 2.5 inch 512 GB SSD drive that I bought a few years ago. If I can transfer everything to a 1 TB M.2 drive and switch the 1 TB hard disk drive for an SSD drive, also, things will improve. However, saving money takes time.
Wish me luck!
Update 2019.01.08: I've got the RAM, but couldn't install it, due to a plastic plug covering one screw. I'm still working on solutions, but I'm about to have someone else install it, and the HP EX920 M.2 1TB I bought for very little. Hopefully, the cost of installation won't break the bank. I've had some noise lately, and I'm not sure whether it's one of the fans or the hard drive. In either case, a gaming laptop computer needs everything working at full throttle.
Update 2019.02.15: It's done. Both have been installed for US$30 and another US$35 covered cloning the drive data. That's actually less than I spent on tools to do the work myself.
The machine still doesn't feel faster than the mid-2012 MacBook Pro.
When things get tough, it shows how slow it is. The 8 GB of RAM shows up as about half in use when doing simple things. When I go to edit photos, I'm in trouble, with RAM generally full and virtual memory has to resort to the 7200 rpm hard drive. Intolerably slow would be the key phrase but it's possible to remember with 4 MB of RAM was a full set and my Atari 1040 ST (with modification) would fly at 8 MHz. That was a monochrome system with a 640x400 display.
The MacBook Pro supported 1440x900 and this Omen has a 1920x1080 display--the not so good display, that is standard. Hey, if I can edit from lesser displays in the past, can I work with lesser displays in the present? Of course, I can.
However, using Phase One Capture One Pro has been a bit tedious, especially if I'm using Luminar 2018 at the same time. If I try to also use Magix Movie Edit Pro and/or Xara Designer Pro, things might grind to a halt.
I just ordered 32 GB, in two RAM sticks, with sales tax, etc. for just a bit less than the two pieces were by themselves just a few weeks ago. G.Skill RAM works well and is trusted. My needs may not be as specific or hard core as the gamers who would also buy products from the brand, but high performance, reliable products are necessary.
I considered 16 GB but half of my 8 GB is in use doing almost nothing. Trying to make video with 16 GB might leave me with almost nothing and virtual memory will ruin the performance and I'd be back to intolerably slow performance, plus I'd spent money to arrive there. Considering the drop in price, it didn't make sense to go with the lower capacity.
I also ordered a toolkit from iFixit, so I should be able to open the machine and put things right easily. Previously, I had two Husky drivers (from Home Depot) and two Kobalt drivers (from Lowes), which helped quite a lot. I made the modifications to the MacBook Pro quickly and easily, while being watched, just in case. It helped train them, also. I've watched the video reviews of this machine and they opened it fairly easily. It's just a matter of remembering which screws go where, just like always.
I will have to wait for drive improvements. The machine has an M.2 slot, so it's perfect for a Samsung 970 EVO drive. 1 TB is much more affordable than the 6 Gbps 480 GB drive I put into the MacBook Pro in 2013. I'm just wondering if I happen to have a Samsung 2.5 inch 512 GB SSD drive that I bought a few years ago. If I can transfer everything to a 1 TB M.2 drive and switch the 1 TB hard disk drive for an SSD drive, also, things will improve. However, saving money takes time.
Wish me luck!
Update 2019.01.08: I've got the RAM, but couldn't install it, due to a plastic plug covering one screw. I'm still working on solutions, but I'm about to have someone else install it, and the HP EX920 M.2 1TB I bought for very little. Hopefully, the cost of installation won't break the bank. I've had some noise lately, and I'm not sure whether it's one of the fans or the hard drive. In either case, a gaming laptop computer needs everything working at full throttle.
Update 2019.02.15: It's done. Both have been installed for US$30 and another US$35 covered cloning the drive data. That's actually less than I spent on tools to do the work myself.
The machine still doesn't feel faster than the mid-2012 MacBook Pro.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Luminar (2018) is the quickest way to huge edits
I've used a few raw development applications by now:
Phase One Capture One Pro
Ichikawa Software Labs Silkypix DS
Olympus' free Viewer
Adobe Lightroom (original beta)
I started with Capture One 3.x way back in 2006. Good raw development application software was difficult to find. Thankfully, Olympus bodies produced fine JPEG files. If I had been using Canon or Nikon, I would have been in more of a hurry.
When Luminar became available on Mac OS X, I had already been using the company's Creative Kit 2016, which had a single application for a major functionality. Luminar put those together in a simplified way.
Thankfully, Apple created CoreImage functionality and that took away some of the complexity, especially when dealing with raw files--if Apple got it right.
The company's software gave me a reason to experiment and it made it quick and interesting. With Luminar, many transformations became so quick simply because I didn't need to switch from application to application. I could have dramatic results within minutes.
If you look at Capture One Pro or Silkypix DS, they both support saving a group of settings to give photos a certain look quickly. Those in Capture One Pro especially tend to be holding to a less dramatic upheaval than Luminar. Given the target type of photographer, that might be appropriate. I appreciate some restraint, but I'm learning that my audience may want a bit more spice.
Now that I'm using the Windows version of Luminar, things are less certain than on the Mac but just as interesting. They have many things planned but I would just like to be able to switch quickly between a number of files within a folder. I photograph sports, so I might end up with hundreds (or more) of photos from a meet or tournament. I can't guess at which one is which, especially when Windows doesn't support the raw files.
At this point, I will have Capture One Pro open and switch to Luminar for special edits, which is difficult to do with the current 8 GB of RAM. (I'm working on that, but don't know whether I will be okay with "only" 16 GB or need 32 GB, especially for video projects.)
I'm looking forward to more experimentation with Luminar. Hopefully, they can provide a healthier interface to files, so it's easier to use in a professional workflow.
Update 2018.11.02: The company released the AI Sky Enhancer filter. It's supposed to only work on sky and clouds. I'm not certain how wonderful it is because I have yet to make extensive use of it.
Included is a side-by-side sample of a fairly busy sky at sunset photo to show the differences. This may be a bad example but it does show differences.
Update 2018.12.06: Skylum have announced that the update to Luminar that adds Libraries will be available on December 18th.
Update 2019.01.08: For anyone interested, I've been trying to use Luminar 3, with the updates, and it is miserable. I am certain that everything will be much better in time, but I don't even feel it's worth using at this time.
The first time I started it, it took forever, as if it was an early (alpha/beta?) release of a product. It asked what I wanted to have in libraries. What I selected was completely duplicated, but with a current date, so that it made a mess of searching and use of the Photos application. After the fix update, I tried a few photos and with each style I tried, it created an image.
They have a great many things to handle. Until they get them under control, I will use Luminar 2018.
Update 2019.02.19: Luminar 3.0.2 is out. I updated but will continue to use Luminar 2018 because I don't have to guess at how it will work.
Update 2020.01.22: Luminar 3.2.0 is out, even though the company has moved to version 4 of the software, featuring Artificial Intelligence sky replacement and portrait enhancement.
I appreciate that they went further to fix version 3 a bit, but I'm still not ready to move to version 4. Luminar is a great tool for huge edits BUT is in no way essential to my workflow. Until Luminar 2018 becomes incompatible with a future Windows 10 update, I will continue to use it when I feel the need for more stylish editing. I would say that they're fighting Adobe Photoshop Elements, which is using AI in their latest version, but it seems multiple applications are trying AI at some level.
By the way, Affinity Photo, Publisher, and Designer all work together quite well, if you're looking for a light suite of applications that tackles quite a lot, but is rather inexpensive. They all work with Windows, Mac, and iPad. I haven't been tied to Adobe since 2006 and don't like that they pile on enhancements without fixing bugs first. The people at Skylum seem to be doing that with Luminar, but they're not entrenched as Adobe are.
Update 2020.02.17: I receive e-mails from Skylum practically every week. They apparently need me to purchase Luminar 4. I'm not interested. They'll be sad. I'm sad that I paid for Luminar 3.
The best way for them to make money now is to make all those Mac-only apps into style packs and sell them. They did a set for the black and white application that I used to use and those styles helped me recover part of what I had felt I lost.
I appreciate that they want to move into AI, as did Adobe, but I'm not that interested. I haven't even bought the latest Phase One Capture One Pro update. It has a lot to offer, especially since the year ago version, but I'm not really in the mood and I don't photograph nearly as often.
Phase One Capture One Pro
Ichikawa Software Labs Silkypix DS
Olympus' free Viewer
Adobe Lightroom (original beta)
I started with Capture One 3.x way back in 2006. Good raw development application software was difficult to find. Thankfully, Olympus bodies produced fine JPEG files. If I had been using Canon or Nikon, I would have been in more of a hurry.
When Luminar became available on Mac OS X, I had already been using the company's Creative Kit 2016, which had a single application for a major functionality. Luminar put those together in a simplified way.
Thankfully, Apple created CoreImage functionality and that took away some of the complexity, especially when dealing with raw files--if Apple got it right.
The company's software gave me a reason to experiment and it made it quick and interesting. With Luminar, many transformations became so quick simply because I didn't need to switch from application to application. I could have dramatic results within minutes.
If you look at Capture One Pro or Silkypix DS, they both support saving a group of settings to give photos a certain look quickly. Those in Capture One Pro especially tend to be holding to a less dramatic upheaval than Luminar. Given the target type of photographer, that might be appropriate. I appreciate some restraint, but I'm learning that my audience may want a bit more spice.
Now that I'm using the Windows version of Luminar, things are less certain than on the Mac but just as interesting. They have many things planned but I would just like to be able to switch quickly between a number of files within a folder. I photograph sports, so I might end up with hundreds (or more) of photos from a meet or tournament. I can't guess at which one is which, especially when Windows doesn't support the raw files.
At this point, I will have Capture One Pro open and switch to Luminar for special edits, which is difficult to do with the current 8 GB of RAM. (I'm working on that, but don't know whether I will be okay with "only" 16 GB or need 32 GB, especially for video projects.)
 |
| Left-original, Right-altered |
I'm looking forward to more experimentation with Luminar. Hopefully, they can provide a healthier interface to files, so it's easier to use in a professional workflow.
Update 2018.11.02: The company released the AI Sky Enhancer filter. It's supposed to only work on sky and clouds. I'm not certain how wonderful it is because I have yet to make extensive use of it.
Included is a side-by-side sample of a fairly busy sky at sunset photo to show the differences. This may be a bad example but it does show differences.
Update 2018.12.06: Skylum have announced that the update to Luminar that adds Libraries will be available on December 18th.
Update 2019.01.08: For anyone interested, I've been trying to use Luminar 3, with the updates, and it is miserable. I am certain that everything will be much better in time, but I don't even feel it's worth using at this time.
The first time I started it, it took forever, as if it was an early (alpha/beta?) release of a product. It asked what I wanted to have in libraries. What I selected was completely duplicated, but with a current date, so that it made a mess of searching and use of the Photos application. After the fix update, I tried a few photos and with each style I tried, it created an image.
They have a great many things to handle. Until they get them under control, I will use Luminar 2018.
Update 2019.02.19: Luminar 3.0.2 is out. I updated but will continue to use Luminar 2018 because I don't have to guess at how it will work.
Update 2020.01.22: Luminar 3.2.0 is out, even though the company has moved to version 4 of the software, featuring Artificial Intelligence sky replacement and portrait enhancement.
I appreciate that they went further to fix version 3 a bit, but I'm still not ready to move to version 4. Luminar is a great tool for huge edits BUT is in no way essential to my workflow. Until Luminar 2018 becomes incompatible with a future Windows 10 update, I will continue to use it when I feel the need for more stylish editing. I would say that they're fighting Adobe Photoshop Elements, which is using AI in their latest version, but it seems multiple applications are trying AI at some level.
By the way, Affinity Photo, Publisher, and Designer all work together quite well, if you're looking for a light suite of applications that tackles quite a lot, but is rather inexpensive. They all work with Windows, Mac, and iPad. I haven't been tied to Adobe since 2006 and don't like that they pile on enhancements without fixing bugs first. The people at Skylum seem to be doing that with Luminar, but they're not entrenched as Adobe are.
Update 2020.02.17: I receive e-mails from Skylum practically every week. They apparently need me to purchase Luminar 4. I'm not interested. They'll be sad. I'm sad that I paid for Luminar 3.
The best way for them to make money now is to make all those Mac-only apps into style packs and sell them. They did a set for the black and white application that I used to use and those styles helped me recover part of what I had felt I lost.
I appreciate that they want to move into AI, as did Adobe, but I'm not that interested. I haven't even bought the latest Phase One Capture One Pro update. It has a lot to offer, especially since the year ago version, but I'm not really in the mood and I don't photograph nearly as often.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Windows Fall Update 2018/1809
It is with a bit of regret that I updated so quickly from 1803 to 1809. A few hours later, there were articles about data loss.
I'm not really seeing a lot of visual changes. I tried the new screen shot functionality and it didn't work as I expected. I tried Windows + Shift + S to activate it and used the mouse to frame a window. The screen shot included the background and that window, rather than just the window.
For some reason, I expected just the window. Why it excluded the other windows but not the background, I can't imagine. It seems a convoluted way to capture it and still make you edit the screen shot to exclude the rest of the display.
This morning, the Disk Defragmenter was running on its own. I suspect this could account for data loss. I'm not sure that anything is missing, but I'd rather not experience this. In any case, Microsoft has pulled the update until they figure out what happened.
Quite a few extra instances of tasks seem to be running now, in contrast to a couple of days ago when 1803 was active. I'm hoping for the best, but I expect it will be a couple of weeks until things are updated again. I may pass out from holding my breath.
Update 2018.10.10: The fixes arrived fairly quickly and I'm wondering if they just moved the problem (as they did in the old days) or they actually fixed it. Since data loss is not minor, they probably found the actual problem and fixed it.
Update 2018.11.04: Still having various small issues. Can't decide whether they're from the update or something else. I'm guessing that there is a combination of problems that has been exaggerated by the update. Putting the machine to sleep seems particularly difficult now.
Update 2018.11.23: I can sign into my account more quickly but it still takes a very long time until I can do anything, with everything checking something at startup time.
You'd think that Windows 10 would be a great operating system by now. Windows 7 showed that Microsoft could almost erase its history of half-ass work. Windows 10 needs one person to guide it and tell people what's wrong and to have enough power to have others fix it. Every company that develops products needs a mad genius of sorts.
Update 2018.11.28: Apparently, my interface to iCloud hasn't been working, so Apple worked that out. Every other day, it seems that there is a new problem with the Windows update. I haven't had this much "fun" since Windows 95.
Update 2018.12.06: The other day, I looked to see if any other updates were available to make things more reliable. What showed up was a surprise--a cumulative update for 1803. Considering that I've had 1809 for a bit, I'm not sure how I can be put back to 1803. I'm now wondering if I have some sort of dreadful mix between the two.
Update 2019.01.08: The 1809 update arrived again. This time it took a whole day, possibly because my main drive is failing, but it didn't seem to be making quick progress with the internet connection either.
The good thing is that the computer seems settled now. Things seem to work more smoothly and consistently. Hopefully, they take a long time to test the 1903 update before they let anyone have it.
Oh, and there have been mini updates off and on since the 1809 arrived. Apparently, security updates are still a priority. It's good to see Adobe Flash security updates but why do I want Flash installed at all?
Update 2019.02.15: I continue to read that there are problems. It seemed that I was getting daily Windows updates. Does any of this make sense? I hope to never be a guinea pig again.
Update 2020.02.17: I've been on 1909 for a while. Microsoft still doesn't test things well and their latest security update seems so broken that they removed it to be fixed.
I'm not really seeing a lot of visual changes. I tried the new screen shot functionality and it didn't work as I expected. I tried Windows + Shift + S to activate it and used the mouse to frame a window. The screen shot included the background and that window, rather than just the window.
For some reason, I expected just the window. Why it excluded the other windows but not the background, I can't imagine. It seems a convoluted way to capture it and still make you edit the screen shot to exclude the rest of the display.
This morning, the Disk Defragmenter was running on its own. I suspect this could account for data loss. I'm not sure that anything is missing, but I'd rather not experience this. In any case, Microsoft has pulled the update until they figure out what happened.
Quite a few extra instances of tasks seem to be running now, in contrast to a couple of days ago when 1803 was active. I'm hoping for the best, but I expect it will be a couple of weeks until things are updated again. I may pass out from holding my breath.
Update 2018.10.10: The fixes arrived fairly quickly and I'm wondering if they just moved the problem (as they did in the old days) or they actually fixed it. Since data loss is not minor, they probably found the actual problem and fixed it.
Update 2018.11.04: Still having various small issues. Can't decide whether they're from the update or something else. I'm guessing that there is a combination of problems that has been exaggerated by the update. Putting the machine to sleep seems particularly difficult now.
Update 2018.11.23: I can sign into my account more quickly but it still takes a very long time until I can do anything, with everything checking something at startup time.
You'd think that Windows 10 would be a great operating system by now. Windows 7 showed that Microsoft could almost erase its history of half-ass work. Windows 10 needs one person to guide it and tell people what's wrong and to have enough power to have others fix it. Every company that develops products needs a mad genius of sorts.
Update 2018.11.28: Apparently, my interface to iCloud hasn't been working, so Apple worked that out. Every other day, it seems that there is a new problem with the Windows update. I haven't had this much "fun" since Windows 95.
Update 2019.01.08: The 1809 update arrived again. This time it took a whole day, possibly because my main drive is failing, but it didn't seem to be making quick progress with the internet connection either.
The good thing is that the computer seems settled now. Things seem to work more smoothly and consistently. Hopefully, they take a long time to test the 1903 update before they let anyone have it.
Oh, and there have been mini updates off and on since the 1809 arrived. Apparently, security updates are still a priority. It's good to see Adobe Flash security updates but why do I want Flash installed at all?
Update 2019.02.15: I continue to read that there are problems. It seemed that I was getting daily Windows updates. Does any of this make sense? I hope to never be a guinea pig again.
Update 2020.02.17: I've been on 1909 for a while. Microsoft still doesn't test things well and their latest security update seems so broken that they removed it to be fixed.
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