Below are a handful of product-related design ideas I’ve had over the years. Feel free to use them if you work on such a product, my only stipulations are that I get written credit, and you let me know about it!
- cell phones with GPS messaging support should have settings for auto-accepting calls and messages from various groups, especially if there’s additional costs associated with using GPS messaging
- settings should include: auto accept messages from everyone, contacts only, favorites only, no one
pre-reqs
- blank ext4 formatted flash drive for original ChromeOS firmware backup
- flash drive with UEFI compatible Linux distro installed
Steps
- powerwash and shutdown
- open back cover and disconnect battery. Plug in power cable and blank ext4 flash drive
- Enter Recovery Mode: press/hold ESC and Refresh, then press Power for ~1s; release all 3 keys
- Press CTRL+D to switch to Developer Mode; confirm when prompted
- Press CTRL+D on Developer Mode splash screen to boot in Developer Mode
- (On first boot, system will securely wipe all userdata, this takes a few minutes)
- open a VT2 terminal (from login screen: CTRL+ALT+F2, login ‘chronos’)
- run the mrchromebox firmware utility script using instructions from https://mrchromebox.tech/#fwscript:
- cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh && sudo bash firmware-util.sh
- select option 2
- go through firmware backup process
- new UEFI firmware will install
- reboot
- plug in flash drive with Linux distro on it
- install Linux distro (I went with Fedora 39 since wifi was flaky under Debian 12)
- reboot, install updates, reboot again
- install sound drivers with https://github.com/WeirdTreeThing/chromebook-linux-audio
- I had to run this with “force” flag since the Sona’s audio chipset has a bug currently
- reboot again and should be good to go!
useful sites
- HP chromebook 14 x360 specs - https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06160945
- disassembling and disconnecting battery - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/HP+Chromebook+x360+14-da0011dx+Battery+Replacement/159088
- disabling write protect CR50 via battery - https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/comments/vbz1d5/how_do_i_disable_write_protect/
- installing UEFI firmware - https://mrchromebox.tech/#fwscript
- additional tweaks post-install - https://www.quantulum.co.uk/blog/debian-on-a-chromebook/
My first Gambler 500 experience was an absolute blast. I heard it best described as a “Burning Man for Redneck, Car Nerds”. Even though Butterface, my team’s 1988 Mercedes 190E, didn’t even make it to the campsite in Chemult, Oregon, I still had a great weekend and the smiles per mile factor was through the roof. So many hilarious cars, questionable modifications, and goofy people having a good ol’ time out in the blazing hot desert.
Read More ...Here’s an ongoing list of emojis that I wish were part of the Unicode standard
- zombie or walking dead
- blushing face that isn’t a smile with a slight blush
- hug that doesn’t look like two high-fives
I was driving to work a while back and came across three of what I think are the best looking “normal” cars (read: normal cars as not sports cars) in one 15 minute drive…
- Ford Fusion (Americas Gen2: 2013-2015…): Aston Martin grille
- Mazda 6 (Gen1: 2004-2008, Gen3: 2011-2015…):
- Dodge Dart (2012-2015…):
I’ve actually driven a Dodge Dart, not bad at all for a normal economy car. Would have been more fun in manual, the auto had a bit of a mind of its own…
Read More ...Wow it has been a long time since I’ve posted on here, oops! Anyway, today I’m going to give my initial impressions of my new Sangean WR-22 bluetooth FM radio / alarm clock. I purchased it so that I could be awoken to music in the morning (or news, depending) rather than the super obnoxious “beep beep” of my old buzzer-alarm clock. Much more pleasant to wake up to!
Pros:
- sound quality is great for only having one speaker, a little bass heavy but that can be adjusted
- setup is pretty easy with the menu and spinning tuning dial for selection, however turning on and off an alarm (say for a day you have off work, or don’t have a set wake up time) is kind of a pain
- you have to scroll through all the alarm settings to turn it back on again, as if you were setting up a new alarm for the first time. no quick toggle to turn on/off a saved alarm
- easy to read screen, button layout pretty simple and well labeled
- looks sharp and modern, but not too over the top. Top and front pieces on black model appear to be glossy painted metal, as opposed to brushed metal or coloured wood
- might be a magnet for finger prints…
- granularity of volume control (a pet peeve of mine) is just about right; small notches!
- bluetooth is easy to pair, although I’ve barely used it. Haven’t used USB or Aux yet, but I’ll try those out at some point.
Cons:
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