Devices: Phones, Tablets, and More
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IR-controlling the new air conditioner in the vintage server room
When sizing replacement A/C units, remember that in the United States manufacturers only reported the ASHRAE BTU cooling capacity until 2017 (this is a nice explanation). The old LG was a 11,000 BTU unit (LP1111WXR) using R-401A which I bought off-the-rack from Home Depot and installed and insulated the duct myself, suitable to cool the volume of a medium-sized bedroom. Or, a medium sized bedroom with a whole bunch of computers in it. Fortunately the heat doesn't end in my corner of sunny So Cal until around November, so when I went shopping Home Depot still had a selection of portable A/Cs in stock even this "late" in the season. Although the new one I selected (an LG LP0721WSR) says it's "only" 7,000 BTU, that's actually using U.S. Department of Energy standards, which is the newer measurement. Convert it back to ASHRAE BTUs and it's a 12,000 BTU unit per LG's spec sheet — but full tilt pulls "just" 970W as opposed to the 1200W of the old unit, and is about 75% the size. The difference is not only better technology but the greater efficiency of R-32, requiring 40% less refrigerant for the same cooling and having almost 13% greater cooling capacity. Unlike vintage computers and vintage nerds, vintage air conditioning units just don't age well. (* A note here: Home Depot and LG are not sponsors. I'm just a customer telling you what I bought.)
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Learn About the US Power Grid, the World’s Largest Machine
Watch this TedEd lesson by Henry Richardson, directed by Anna Benner, to learn about the US Power Grid and the 7,300+ plants that comprise it and how renewable energy factors in.
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Ryzen 9 based miniPC supports quad displays with 8K@60Hzresolution
This past week, Beelink released the GTR6 mini PC which is built around the powerful Ryzen 6900HX processor from AMD. The GTR6 is enabled with Wi-Fi6, Bluetooth 5.2, one 2.5GbE LAN port and up to 64GB DDR5.
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iTWire - Oppo takes next logical step, launches first tablet in Australia
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has taken its first steps into the tablet market, announcing the launch of its Pad Air tablet — yes, the name does ring a bell — in the Australian market on Monday.
The company said in a statement the device — to be sold for $379 and available for purchase from 27 October — would round out its offerings which include smartphones, wearable and hearable devices.
It described the tablet as "extremely light", adding that it "features a gorgeous two-tone metal splicing design and comes equipped with the new ColorOS for Pad, improving the user experience with smart and smooth interactions".