- entry 2025/05/06

New things

Not going to a vide grenier

That I really didn't feel like going to.

So I had a look at leboncoin.fr to see if anybody was selling a laser printer nearby, just in case. The name is literally "the good corner" but the way it is being used is referring to spotting a good deal. Anyway, the site lacks the finesse that eBay offers, so I mostly got a bunch of inkjet printers and other random computer things.

Something that caught my eye was this.

Oh, jeez, AZERTY.

A little Asus laptop running Windows 10. For thirty euros. Listed near Christmas last year, so either there's something wrong with it or the seller forgot to remove the listing.

But, no. He had it, it was indeed thirty, and he's happy to meet me at 2pm in the car park of a nearby(ish) supermarket. So I went and a friendly looking bloke turned up right on time. The battery had been partly charged and the system was sleeping so it woke up when the lid was opened. The touchpad worked and the start menu opened. So I handed over some banknotes and he gave me the computer, power pack, and threw in a wireless mouse. I see this all the time at work - it's amazing how often people just don't get on with touchpads.

An Asus E200HA

• It'll be a very integrated device - there's no changeable battery or access to update RAM or storage. Maybe by taking the thing apart...?
  There is, otherwise, a minimum of I/O. On the left is a USB3 port, a weird little HDMI port, a slot for an SD card (a 128GB card is fitted), and the socket for the power supply.
  On the right, there's a headphone/mic socket, and a USB2 port. That's it. Dinky speakers underneath and, well, that's all.
• The hardware will be adequate but not exciting.
• The default C: drive will be too damn small.

Of course I made it QWERTY!

Let's look in terms of hardware. It's an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 which is a quad core x64 processor clocked at 1.44GHz (max is 2.4GHz). I'm not sure if it's four actual cores or one execution unit faking multiple cores (like my Pentium4's "HyperThreading"), part of the Intel Cherryview chipset.
Physical memory is 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM on an 800MHz clock, and 1GB of video memory.

Squint!

As expected these days, there is WiFi (2.4GHz; Qualcomm Atheros) and Bluetooth. Not much to say here. WiFi connects and works, and Bluetooth was used to throw some screenshots to my phone.

The screen is an AU Optronics display panel with a resolution of 1366×768, and it appears to have six bits per primary colour. So, what, is this thing only capable of 250K colours? I think I'll have to fiddle around to see if this is correct or if HwInfo got that wrong, as I'd have expected more from a display panel from 2014. Measuring diagonally I get a little under twenty five and a half centimetres, which is about eleven and a half inches. It's not a bad size.

The battery is an Intel "SR Real Battery", a ~8.4V Lithium Ion battery that is supposed to be 18750mWh, but I'm only going to get 14336mWh because the battery wear level is 23.5% with a cycle count of 191. Given that this machine isn't that new, the cycle count seems low. I think my EeePC 901's battery cycle count - if it was capable of reporting it - would real "HolySh!t".

The storage is some sort of 32GB SSD, about 16GB of that is taken up by Windows 10. My version is an ancient build (1607?).

While it can run Windows 10, it is slow. I think a lot of this might be down to the updates going on in the background. Updates that Windows might install, but more than likely will fail to install, but leave thousands of tiny files and gigabyte sized downloads behind. The problem with this is not only a flagrant waste of disc space, it's that if one wants to shut down or reboot, you'll be staring at that bloody spinny-circle thing for ever and a day.

I am currently trying to get the system updated to the latest (22H2) version of Windows. And the system really isn't sure whether it should be speaking to me in French or English. I did install English but it was originally a French install and I think it's just going to be bloody-minded about it. The last-ditch attempt would be to create some sort of bootable media and install from that, but I'm trying to upgrade rather than a full reinstall as there's a load of Asus-specific rubbish here, for things like the key shortcuts (like Fn plus various keys to things like switch screen, turn off the WiFi, etc).

I pretty much use Android these days. I might try to see if I can get my ancient old photo editor running on this PC (I assume x64 can run Win32 apps?) but the main reason for getting this was to play around with a more up to date version of the Arduino IDE with ESP32 support added.

This was... fifty-fifty. Yes, it did work. But I've had to delete it because it took forever to build the default camera example. It took a small eternity to install the ESP32 toolchain, until I discovered that it looked like it was taking something like five gigabytes. What!?

Okay, the Windows 10 installer was smarter than the upgrade assistant. Instead of choking, it told me that I didn't have enough space, so would I like to temporarily use external storage to hold the installation files? I chose a USB3 actual-spinning-rust harddisc. So now Windows 10 is fully installing and will keep my apps and settings. It says, in French, that "Cette opération peut prendre un certain temps". That, "un certain temps" is a cute French phrase meaning "don't expect this to be quick".

Anyway, Microsoft's store didn't seem to want to work because even while I installed the latest version of the Edge browser, an ancient old one is kicking around and the store wanted to link into that even when the newer one was set as the default browser. Which meant I couldn't update the Netflix app (error H404 when starting). And... that's about it. I poked around in the settings a bit. I also deleted Microsoft Office as it told me it was a trial version that expired forever ago.

I wonder if this thing can boot Linux? Or more to the point, will the UEFI allow it to boot something that isn't Windows? There doesn't appear to be a startup hotkey to get into the BIOS, it's some weird-arse method where I have to go into settings, find the recovery options, then hold Shift and right-click "Restart now" and keep holding Shift until it says Please wait. Then I have to wander through a naff-looking UI to find the advanced options and then choose the one about modifying the machine's settings.
Oh, for fsck's sake! Just let me press F2 or Del during power-up, okay? Because that palaver is utterly daft.

Luckily, the main drive is NTFS and that supports Junction Points (like symbolic links, but since Microsoft devised them, they're kind of eccentric, some might say broken) which means that I might be able to reinstall the Arduino IDE in C:\Program Files (or whatever) but actually stash it on the SD card. Sure, it might be a little bit slower, but it's already the speed of honey near zero Kelvin so I don't imagine I'd notice much...

In terms of UI, Windows 10 is recognisably Windows, while at the same time seeming to be a retrograde step from the XP that I'm used to. It seems like whoever designed the UI paradigm is absolutely in love with squares, and the window drawing seems to have been simplified down to the bare minimum. It is also strange what when loading anything with admin access (like the command line so I can screw with the hibernation file to get some more disc space) it sort of makes the entire desktop vanish so you have to give your full concentration to a dialogue box asking "Are you sure you want to give this app the ability to mess with your system?". I guess they learned a lesson from the disaster that was XP, but whatever, I kind of wish there was a "Don't ask again for this app" option, so I could let "Cmd" run without the constant whinging.

Dinky little printer

I see CAT, I upvote! ☺

It accepts paper that is 57mm wide, and it appears to print a maximum width of 48mm. The printer claims a resolution of 203dpi, which means there are around 380 pixels across. A rubber wheel advances the paper in tiny steps, so it's possible that the vertical resolution is similar.

The app is a bit clunky to use, but it allows one to make a "document" by combining various elements - including QR codes, formatted text, images, and clipart. Alternatively you can create a list using various cute layouts, and finally you can print photos. The latter is quite variable, given that it's a black and white device that uses dithering to simulate greys. Ironically, the preview given on the screen manages to look rather worse than the actual printout.

Here's a scan of two photos of Anna.

This is better than I expected for monochrome.

And here is... I asked ChatGPT for a scary story about a haunted printer. I pasted the story into the note editor, made the text small so it would take about 12cm of paper, and... sorry, this sort of thing amuses me.

A very literal "short story".

Silvercrest pasta maker

Enter Lidl. Who have just offered a pasta maker with a bunch of different moulds for sixty euros. It's still expensive, but it's in the range of "possible maybe" rather than "no chance". I decided that I would leave it to chance. I'd pop around Lidl after work on Monday, and it it was there...

Two were left. Then one was left.

I made a quick batch of egg pasta yesterday. Roughly 250g of Brittany flour (local, in other words), an egg, and some water. The very first attempt was an abject failure, I think my dough was too wet due to my egg being a little large. You see, the weird thing about this sort of pasta maker is that it doesn't actually make a dough. It tosses flour and water to make something that looks like a bad crumble mix. It looks way too dry to be useful.

Step one - mix the ingredients.

Then the motor changes direction and you can hear it being loaded as it tosses scoops of the flour mix into a little slot at the front. A worm gear pushes this up towards the end spout, and there the flour mix isn't so much kneaded as extruded. It is pushed, under considerable pressure, through the plastic mould. To give an idea of the sorts of pressures involved here, the pasta will arrive in your hands warm. That's simply friction heating.

After breaking the dough into little pieces and throwing some more flour in and running the kneading process again, it started making linguine.

Step two - squeeze like the world's worst constipation.

The kneading cycle runs for about four minutes. The extrusion cycle runs for about 12 or so, but mine was done in a little over six.
There are four buttons. On the left, the power button. The next one toggles one/two scoop mode (for how many scoops of flour, thus how much pasta it is making). One scoop is plenty for one person. The third button is the kneading button - you put dry flour into the machine, and slowly add the water as it's throwing the flour around.
And finally, the extrusion button. You must advance each step manually, and you must also knead before you can extrude. You can't go straight to extrude. But you can press knead/extrude (depending on current state) to pause the cycle if there's something that needs done.

It made a nice bowl of egg linguine.

Step three - cook; Step four - enjoy!

If there are to be downsides, I would say that for me, I worry about how long the thing will actually last. You can definitely hear the motor feeling the pain as it's pushing out the pasta. The user guide says that if you've used the machine for half an hour, you should leave it for an hour and a half to cool down. Hmmm...
The other downside is that it's a right pain to clean up. Flour and water made quite a solid gunk. I guess people more advanced than me might simply chuck all the bits into a dishwasher. I am the dishwasher!

The moulds are:

• Spaghetti
• Spaghettoni (square spaghetti)
• Tagliatelle
• Papperdelle (wider than tagliatelle)
• Linguine
• Penne
• Macaroni
• Lasagne (strips)
• Ravioli (with a thing that crimps the lasagne sheets)

I might try the penne mould next.

Now, of course, I can branch out not just in textures (plain wheat versus hard (durum) wheat) but also in ingredients. For instance, dissolve salt into the water and make spaghetti, the result will be noodles. Or how about mixing chopped basil, black pepper, or chili pepper into the flour to add flavour to the pasta? Obviously this is limited in that which can pass through the extrusion so it's mostly "anything powdered". But, hey, how about a fruit salad atop some honey-nutmeg pasta? Yup, whatever weird ideas you can come up with, they're possible. But I'm kind of not that adventurous.

Windows sucks

Anyway, time to feed kitty and then myself.

Update: Just as I finished uploading the last picture, the computer started up. It is running Windows 10 version.... 1607. Microsoft setting new records in how to be interminably useless. I mean, the machine has been doing WHAT for the past few HOURS? How can I perform a full system update and be right back where I am now? Seriously, how is that even possible? It's now saying it's downloading the 22H2 update, which no doubt it'll fail to install.
Thank you, Microsoft, for reminding me why I stopped using your products with XP. I'll leave this running overnight (I'm not expecting much) and if it doesn't update (it didn't in the past), then I think I'll just kill the auto updater, install ArduinoIDE on it, and just use the machine for that one task. I'm not going to waste much more time on this. It's a little PC that cost €30 so it's not a big thing really.

I'll leave you with this photo. It's an ESP32 connected to an OV5640 camera module. The original image is 2560×1920. I can't run this habitually though, as the OV5640 runs really hot! But, hey, it works and that's sort of why I wanted a more up to date PC.

The difference in image size is quite something.

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Rick, 7th May 2025, 08:17

It was left on overnight to download updates. It completely failed to reboot at any point during the night. I rebooted when I got up, and it tried - and failed - to update anything. I went to shut down the machine and, well, I have just arrived at work and looking at the security camera, the thing is still in the process of shutting down. Because "reasons" there is no way to interrupt or defer this happening other than to pull the plug. Because your time, patience, and sanity are all irrelevant, clearly.    Poking around, it looks like Windows is 16-19GB, it then downloads several GB of updates, which it unpacks to several GBs of many small files, and then it wonders why there's no space left. I have a 128GB SD card and a 1TB USB3 harddisc and it doesn't think to use either of those.    Seriously, how is it that this pathetic mess is *the* mainstream OS?

William Black, 7th May 2025, 08:25

I prefer RISC OS and its shortcomings.

YogiCK, 7th May 2025, 14:33

Well... you bought crappy crap laptop, not worth even 30€ you paid for it. It's essentially your old EeePC from 2009 with bigger screen. So it's not so strange that it cannot cope with modern OS. World has moved on, current standard is fast M.2 SSD 500GB with ~2000MB/s burst transfer, not fatal eMMC 32GB slower than old mechanical HDD.

William Black, 7th May 2025, 14:54

Modern OSes are a pile of LLM-infected bloatware. If I could program like Rick, I'd be 100% RISC OS. The modern computer world disregards the environment, privacy and mental wellbeing.

William Black, 7th May 2025, 14:57

Rick, I was going to install Free Pascal on my Mac. I then discovered I'd have to download 2GB of crap from Apple for the thing to run. It's utter madness, the bloat of modern systems.

Rick, 7th May 2025, 19:11

YogiCK: Now now, this machine actually shipped with Windows 10 as standard, so the manufacturer figured it would be good enough. As is the case with Asus, it's a not-so-bad bit of budget tech with a rather underspecified main drive that soon gets to be a problem, especially when paired with a braindead OS that when it has a problem installing a large update, will simply try again and again and again.    The current standard may well be a half-terabyte SSD, however this thing is about ten years old, what was typical back then? When I came to France in 2002, little MP3 players powered by a single AA or AAA cell were commonplace, and really fancy ones might have had 512MB and an LCD, the more basic ones may have only had 128MB onboard. That's MEGA, not giga. These days you can buy a 32GB (giga) USB stick for about a tenner. Times change...     William: Bloatware, indeed. There was a time, back when you installed Windows using floppies, where it would ask you what bits you would like to install. Now it's everything plus the kitchen sink...  ...and THEN you need to go to the manufacterer's site to grab a load of system-specific drivers to replace the default ones built into Windows.    Does Free Pascal come with an entire editor suite and debug tools? Surely there's something to explain what all that 2GB is for?  The madness of bloat is very well exemplified looking at Android apps. My bank app? Fifty megabytes. The weather app? A hundred and ten. That's like twenty four copies of the entire RISC OS ROM, just to tell me the weather.

jgh, 7th May 2025, 20:11

The only "APP" I should need to do anything online is a ***** web browser.

Rick, 7th May 2025, 21:22

...and email, and FTP, and SSH, and... 😉

Joseps, 8th May 2025, 10:59

I've been often able to open crap adware websites "disable your adblock" using google translate, when standard options do not work. You just have to reject the Google request in the private window, and free to go. Translate to whatever other language you prefer, and you can always use the "see original" toggle.    Also, using Librewolf that vide-greniers site seems to miss my adblock in a private window.     I agree with YogiCK, 30€ can sometimes be way to much money. I have honestly kindly rejected even as gifts some of those Eeepc friends/family were to dispose. Same goes for basic "Leclerc/Tesco/your stores of choice equivalent" cheapest laptops that average Joes buy really cheap and not a year later crawl to even run the desktop. Those are slow even with light linux distros. Do not worth the time and frustration.

William Bla k, 8th May 2025, 14:38

Yes it does, but it's a small download. The 2GB is from Apple, adding to the OS.

Rob, 8th May 2025, 19:45

If you dislike the Windows 10 UI after using XP, you're really going to enjoy writing about Windows 11 ...

Rob, 8th May 2025, 19:48

There are also a number of Windows 10 debloater scripts you can run that will get rid of a lot of the unnecessary junk, telemetry, etc. They really do help on underpowered machines.

Angela Ripon Cathedral, 9th May 2025, 02:13

I'm not a Kuwaiti girl, but you could use a tiny OS that is easy to learn and lacks bloat entirely. And that you know how to program well. Or you could punish yourself in some bizarre, chocolate-saturated attempt at punishing the people on the forums.

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