Birthday gift for me [System 76 Darter Pro]

[MurphCID]

We are almost there: Debt free. My wife is wonderful, that is why we have been together for 31 years, I could not go on without her. As for her car, it works fine, but had certainly been abused...long story there. I do not get on her for her sewing stuff, we each have our hobbies. Two more payments and NO MORE credit card payment! Yay! As for your last statement that is so true, it is getting hard for me to get into and out of her car due to back issues.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've been debt free for the past decade. It's a glorious feeling I've become quite accustomed to having. The only regular payments I have are the normal monthly and yearly expenses, such as rent, utilities, insurance, and taxes. I use my only credit card so rarely (I can't remember the last time I ever actually used it for a purchase, maybe 20 years ago), to keep it from being canceled due to inactivity, I use it for paying a fixed monthly bill via direct withdrawal and have it paid off monthly with an automatic transfer. I keep it for emergencies, such as a breakdown when on the road, but, so far, I haven't had one. I do have three debit cards so I'm only spending money I actually have.

[chiefjim]

A credit card can actually save you money. Starting with one with serious cash back, like a Citi/Costco Visa. Use it for stuff you would have purchased anyway, like gas and groceries. Each year the cash back offsets the membership completely with ample funds remaining to give me another great grocery stock up trip.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

A credit card can actually save you money. Starting with one with serious cash back, like a Citi/Costco Visa. Use it for stuff you would have purchased anyway, like gas and groceries. Each year the cash back offsets the membership completely with ample funds remaining to give me another great grocery stock up trip.

My problem with that is I would have to remember to manually pay off the balance every month. With my ADHD, that is so not going to happen.

[chiefjim]

A credit card can actually save you money. Starting with one with serious cash back, like a Citi/Costco Visa. Use it for stuff you would have purchased anyway, like gas and groceries. Each year the cash back offsets the membership completely with ample funds remaining to give me another great grocery stock up trip.

My problem with that is I would have to remember to manually pay off the balance every month. With my ADHD, that is so not going to happen.

I solved that with the bill pay service from my credit union. They get the bill directly. If below the amount I have authorized it gets paid automatically. If above I receive a message allowing me to act on it first.

Happy knowing if I'm away for a family emergency, or if I'm the emergency, the credit card and other bills will be paid on time.

[MurphCID]

New adventures on the Darter Pro. I got a wild hair up this weekend, and re-installed POP OS and did my best to configure Gnome (hated it), tried XFCE and Cinnamon on POP OS, and just decided to re-install Mint Cinnamon. I just did not like how POP OS handled things, and missing my regular way of doing things. Power showed much improved over Mint, which shows that the System76 folks have added "tweaks" for their system. The icons and fonts appeared "clunky" compared to Mint. Also Gnome was just not my cup of tea no matter what I did to make it look better. Their version of XFCE is ok, but just too different for me at this moment. It is not bad, just not for me. Their version of Cinnamon is...clunky for lack of a better word.

I tried the encrypt the laptop feature and it became a pain in reality. I like the concept, but in practice it was just too much of an issue. Also the Pop Shop while nice, was not what I wanted. removing software such as removing LibreOffice and replacing it with the flatpak version was difficult, you could not right click and remove, you had to go into Popshop and remove it from there. I guess Elementary OS is different than what I am used to, because Mint just works better to my mind.

My wife got me a gift which arrived this weekend as well. She decided to get me a new laptop (14") size. I have such a wonderful wife (and children since they told her what to buy) I am doing the road test going on this weekend. I was shocked, not what I would have ordered but hey, its a gift, so I am not going to complain. I had been fussing about needing/wanting a smaller laptop and have had such stress from work that they took mercy on me. Work has been so bad I almost put in my papers to retire, and it has been horrible for the last month.

[chiefjim]

My wife got me a gift which arrived this weekend as well. She decided to get me a new laptop (14") size. I have such a wonderful wife (and children since they told her what to buy) I am doing the road test going on this weekend. I was shocked, not what I would have ordered but hey, its a gift, so I am not going to complain. I had been fussing about needing/wanting a smaller laptop and have had such stress from work that they took mercy on me.

So what is the game plan for the new laptop? Dual boot with Linux? Swap out the hdd/sdd with one to be used exclusively with Linux? Erase all traces of 'Doz assuming that is what it came with?

[MurphCID]

My wife got me a gift which arrived this weekend as well. She decided to get me a new laptop (14") size. I have such a wonderful wife (and children since they told her what to buy) I am doing the road test going on this weekend. I was shocked, not what I would have ordered but hey, its a gift, so I am not going to complain. I had been fussing about needing/wanting a smaller laptop and have had such stress from work that they took mercy on me.

So what is the game plan for the new laptop? Dual boot with Linux? Swap out the hdd/sdd with one to be used exclusively with Linux? Erase all traces of 'Doz assuming that is what it came with?

100% Mint

[antikythera]

I was tempted to try PopOS on my laptop but I am getting decent enough battery life with LMDE4 after a bit of tweaking. Have fun with the new portable, your lovely Wife and kids will benefit from it too. A less stressed out Murph and I hope you find a safe way to treat them all for this unexpected present

[MurphCID]

I was tempted to try PopOS on my laptop but I am getting decent enough battery life with LMDE4 after a bit of tweaking. Have fun with the new portable, your lovely Wife and kids will benefit from it too. A less stressed out Murph and I hope you find a safe way to treat them all for this unexpected present

Thank you, today was decent. I am thinking of fresh baked scones, their favorite meal, and i will even sit and watch a "chick flick" with them to start....

I noticed that I was being an @sshole on other forums, being argumentative at work and to people, being anti-social, so I took a few days off, and need a few extra to unwind.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Just got an email from System 76 and they are sending screws. Very nice of them. I will absolutely use Loc-Tite Blue, Thank you.

Be sure to use it sparingly! Even a drop would be too much. I put a drop on a small piece of packing tape on my desk, then dip the first four or five threads into the drop and tap off any excess onto the tape. The remaining Loctite will be displaced to the rest of the threads when you reinstall the screw.

[MurphCID]

Just got an email from System 76 and they are sending screws. Very nice of them. I will absolutely use Loc-Tite Blue, Thank you.

Be sure to use it sparingly! Even a drop would be too much. I put a drop on a small piece of packing tape on my desk, then dip the first four or five threads into the drop and tap off any excess onto the tape. The remaining Loctite will be displaced to the rest of the threads when you reinstall the screw.

Thanks. I got a packet of ten screws today. I am impressed. And not only by the huge package they used to ship the screws in. My oldest daughter laughed herself silly looking at the huge package which contained a tiny packet of screws.

[MurphCID]

My boss decided she wants to check out the Darter Pro, but she wants a Windows version, so I directed her to Pro-Star for the Windows version. But I am going to let her try it tomorrow. I think she will love the keyboard.

[MurphCID]

I used the firmware updater to update the BIOS on the Darter Pro. DO NOT DO THIS! I now have a dead system caught in an endless loop of reboots. The message which pops up is gone in a flash. I have updated the bios once before with no issues. This time something REALLY BAD happened to the system. I received an email from them telling me that the update was available, and tonight it was. Boom, seemed no issue, downloaded like before, then WHAM-O dead system. If you have a System 76 laptop, especially the Darter Pro DO NOT UPDATE THE BIOS! It killed my system.

[DAMIEN1307]

Sounds like i will have to re-evaluate my thoughts about even considering, let alone purchase anything from System 76...DAMIEN

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I used the firmware updater to update the BIOS on the Darter Pro. DO NOT DO THIS! I now have a dead system caught in an endless loop of reboots. The message which pops up is gone in a flash. I have updated the bios once before with no issues. This time something REALLY BAD happened to the system. I received an email from them telling me that the update was available, and tonight it was. Boom, seemed no issue, downloaded like before, then WHAM-O dead system. If you have a System 76 laptop, especially the Darter Pro DO NOT UPDATE THE BIOS! It killed my system.

That may have been a problem associated with just the Darter Pro. My WS is still working as before after I updated earlier today. I get notified of updates from System 76 through the Update Manager, not email.

[MurphCID]

I used the firmware updater to update the BIOS on the Darter Pro. DO NOT DO THIS! I now have a dead system caught in an endless loop of reboots. The message which pops up is gone in a flash. I have updated the bios once before with no issues. This time something REALLY BAD happened to the system. I received an email from them telling me that the update was available, and tonight it was. Boom, seemed no issue, downloaded like before, then WHAM-O dead system. If you have a System 76 laptop, especially the Darter Pro DO NOT UPDATE THE BIOS! It killed my system.

That may have been a problem associated with just the Darter Pro. My WS is still working as before after I updated earlier today. I get notified of updates from System 76 through the Update Manager, not email.

Yeah, I am one upset old man right now. I think it is a Darter Pro issue. Also in all honesty, I might have gotten a lemon.

[antikythera]

Damn, that's unfortunate. They can reflash the eeprom module for you back at base but obviously you'd need to ship the Darter Pro back to System76 and if it's out of warranty you may get charged for the fix too.

[MurphCID]

Damn, that's unfortunate. They can reflash the eeprom module for you back at base but obviously you'd need to ship the Darter Pro back to System76 and if it's out of warranty you may get charged for the fix too.

No it is in warranty, and the System 76 people have been pretty good (they sent screws for the back...free), so I expect them to fix it, so I will send it back. Only problem is the wife has "repurposed" the box for her sewing stuff. But I will bubble wrap the heck out of it, and send them a laptop pillow. I should hear from them today when I get home.

Here is a copy of the email I received from newsletter@system76.com:

Update Now for Open Firmware

System76 Open Firmware is now available for Gazelle and Adder WS owners! Updating your firmware brings you fast boot times and increased security. Follow the link below for instructions on how to update.
If you're using the Darter Pro, your computer will automatically update to receive open source System76 Embedded Controller Firmware. This gives you access to important functionality, such as your keyboard, fans, and battery.

[MurphCID]

I am really impressed. System 76 called me personally, and wanted to see what they could do. Not only that, I was told the problem was on their side with a bad firmware that got pushed out for the Darter. They are going to completely take care of me, so I will ship the laptop to them friday. I have nothing but praise for them on their response to this.