So for various reasons I can't use paper books very well. I've been reading almost exclusively on epaper for... 15 years or so now?

My current reader is a Kobo Aura One which has done very well but is starting to get a bit tired - the screen is a bit scratched up and the battery life is measured in days rather than weeks (at around 1hr/day reading with the frontlight on low). Plus the usb socket has done that annoying thing where the cable needs to be at the exact right angle in order to charge.

So I'm in the market for a new one. I'd like it to be >7 inches, 300ppi (same spec as the Aura One or better). Overdrive support is nice but not essential. EPub support is a must, as is orange/red frontlighting. Linux slightly preferred over Android. Battery life in weeks. Waterproof doesn't matter. Cloud sync, bluetooth, audiobook support, apps (other than a decent reader), note-taking - I don't care about. It's for reading books, nothing else. Budget is not a huge issue but I don't want to spend more than I have to.

I have had zero time for the last few weeks to look into what the market is doing now and it's been many since I paid much attention to the world of ereaders, so anyone who is more up to date than me who can offer some suggestions would be much appreciated.

I haven't really messed with printers in probably 15 years or more, but it felt like any time they were brought up, there were two flavors:

• Older printers, which decided if they wanted to work or not based on absolutely nothing at all
• Newer printers, which are covered in DRM and mostly a nickel-and-diming scam

Now, for the former I remember having some issues, but generally just clearing the printer's cache (or whatever it was called) would fix most of the problems. I think the bigger issue is that I always helped people set up cheap Walmart-sold inkjet printers that had more hardware issues than software, along with ink that would go to shit instantly.

But I was out today at a thrift store and they had a Brother for $25, with an entire extra unopened toner cartridge (I think that's what it's called?). I asked them if it worked, they said it did, but if it didn't I could return it by tomorrow.

So I brought it home, assuming something would be wrong with it, but in about 10 minutes I had it plugged in, connected to my wifi network, and connected to my computer. I tried scanning-- it worked fine. I tried copying-- it does that no problem. It took longer to install the drivers on my PC than set up the printer itself.

So are printers really as straight-forward as I experienced with this cheap used one, or am I just lucky?

I'm normally the tech guy in my social circles and can make good recommendations but its been a few years since I was a collage student so when one of my associates who is about to start her college journey as a dental student asked me for my recommendation, I wasn't sure exactly what to recommend.

My first thought was an iPad paired with an Apple Pencil and a Logitech portfolio case. This was because she mentioned lots of note taking and drawing. I figured that option gave her the most bang for the buck and versatility to accomplish any tasks necessary while also having longevity to get her threw the next few years. As for what model, I haven't really figured out just yet.

My main drawbacks here are that iPads still don't fully replace a Mac or PC. I don't know what software her college will require and while many schools are modernizing some are still not quite there yet and may require specific software that can't be run on iPads.

Of course the solution to that problem is to purchase a MacBook as well. That should handle most any applications and maybe make longer essays and research papers easier to get through. Ideally that would be option number one, but obviously that's very expensive, and while I do not know what her and her families fiscal background is like, I think its safe to assume that in this economy, even with educational discounts, that's not the most feasible option for most students.

On the other hand just purchasing a MacBook instead of an iPad would work but not be as versatile since apple has yet to produce a 2in1 like the Microsoft Surface. Speaking of 2in1's I thought about the Microsoft Surface and even some Samsung 2in1's with their s-pen equivalent, but longevity has never really been Windows or Chromes OS's strongpoint. Not to mention I really am not a fan of Chrome OS and its many limitations. I know there is a lot of schools that use them, but they also tend to end up unfixable and unsupported.

Again... its been a minute since I was a student, so maybe there are things that I am not thinking about or realizing. I told her I would think about it and come back with some recommendations so I figured I'd ask here for some real life experience while I do some research on the subject.

EDIT

• Her major is dentistry
• She curranty has an iPhone
• I'll ask her to check her schools requirements
• I'll reply to everyone soon, I just wanted to make those things known for everyone.
• Thanks for all the input so far!

I'm looking to buy a new ebook reader to replace my old Paperwhite. I would like to be able to read comics on it as well as normal books. I know there are finally some color screen ebook readers on the market but from what I have read, they're not great for comics yet. Most of the comics I read/want to read are black and white anyway, so I figure my best bet is a b/w reader with a decent sized screen. Does anybody here have experience reading comics on ebook readers with or without color? Can anybody recommend a reader for this purpose?

Edit: Or is a tablet still the best choice for comics?

I need and want to buy a portable AMP and DAC. I have no experiance in this, a beginner. I want to choose between Fiio Btr5 and Fiio KA3. I also don't want to deal with battery issue in long term but bluetooth portability feels more convenient.

Can't decide what should i buy. Any advice

Just wondering how other technically inclined individuals go about this.

For my daily driver machines I usually buy Macs and build towers, which are simple enough — on the Mac, figure out needs and slightly overbuy, and on towers put some research into parts to find those with the best reviews and bang for buck. Pretty straightforward.

I also keep around a generic x86 laptop though, and I might be replacing the one I have currently in the coming months. Shopping for its replacement unfortunately is not so clean and simple. There is to my knowledge no laptop-shopper analogue of PCPartPicker for laptops for instance and retailer search tools are terrible (especially Amazon's), which makes filtering out the noise practically impossible. It gets even harder if you're looking for certain features and especially less tangible things like build quality, QC, and battery life. Review sites often aren't of much help, with skin-deep reviews that frequently miss major points and pay little mind to things that may become issues in long-term usage.

And yet clearly, plenty of people are buying laptops, which brings me back to the topic question. How does everybody go about their laptop shopping?

I have tried Calibre & SumatraPDF, I was so excited for Calibre until it never worked properly on the one textbook I needed. For example, whenever I went to the next page it would stall on loading forever, and this is apparently a known issue that's [according to the posts I read from the owner] caused by a graphics driver that I'm not interested in delving into just to read an ebook.

The ebook itself is pretty large with a lot of mathematical equations and images, but nothing my computer should be stalling on. The issue with SumatraPDF is that it can't seem to render the mathematical equations properly, and I couldn't find any simple way to load them without having to do more work.

For the past 5 years or so, Ive been using a Samsung J36v as my primary mobile phone. I mostly bought it in the wake of my CDMA based dumbphone being, effectively, bricked by verizon shutting down the 3G network in my area. It wasnt my first choice, but it was dirt cheap and served my needs well enough.

However, the last couple of months, the microphone has just... died. Got quieter and quieter, until now I need to plug in headphones in order for a person at the other end of a call to hear me, let alone understand me. I think I need a new phone.

While Im not a fan with the software side of my current phone (locked bootloader, loaded with bloatware from the factory), I rather liked the hardware, as it had a swappable battery (like, not just easily replaceable, but swappable with only ones fingernails), an sd card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. All of these features are ones that I regularly use.

Because of this, anytime I look for a new phone, they just seem like an expensive downgrade. I dont care too much about the SOC performance so long as its reasonably modern and can be expected to be usable for 5ish years. (I dont do gaming, YT watching, etc. Just signal, discord, call, text, and gps navigation). The things I do care about is a user-replaceable battery (screws are fine, but no solvents or heat needed), the ability to install either stock android or lineage-os or /e os (to get rid of carrier bloat), an sd card slot and physical SIM card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

However, I havent been able to find anything on the market like that. I tried the pinephone a year ago, and while Im a competent linux sysadmin, I was never able to even get MMS texting working reliably, and calls would not always be received while sleeping. Ive been reluctant to try other phones since then due to being afraid of spending money on something that wont work. At this point, its seriously affecting my mental health, as I go into a bit of a panic attack whenever Im reminded of the fact that my current phone is failing.

So Im asking for help. Ive compiled a ranking of the features I need/would like on a new phone, ranked from 'wont even consider a phone without it' to 'would be really nice to have, but I can still use it as a phone without it'.

Must haves (not an option without it)

• Needs to run some form of reduced-bloat android. I use signal and discord to communicate with my network, and while I could give up discord, only using it in the browser or desktop, I cannot give up signal.
• Needs to have a user replaceable battery. Doesnt need to be hot-swappable or anything like that (though that would be awesome), but needs to be replaceable without having to break the screen. (so, no requirement to break adhesives to replace the battery)
• needs to have a physical SIM card, and be carrier-unlocked. Me and my wife will be moving overseas in a year or so, and I will need to change carriers during that move.
• Must be able to use both USA and EU 4g bands. (for same reason as the SIM card)

Really, really nice to have

• Sd card slot. I dont stream music, and have a rather large collection of music on my home server. The storage space to sync that to the phone for offline playback would be a massive plus.
• capable of running a degoogled andriod version. While I could make do with stock google android (at least I wouldnt have the 'official nfl app' force-installed on me), it would be really nice if the phone was supported by either lineage-OS or /e OS.

Nice to have

• a 3.5mm headphone jack. I have trust issues with bluetooth, never had a BT device that worked reliably. I want to keep my copper wire headphones in use, and having to choose between charging the phone and using a DAC dongle doesnt really cut it.
• usb-c charging. Yah, usb-c is nice, but its actually less of a concern for me than the above categories. My micro-usb on my current phone has lasted 5 years, so I wouldnt be too fussed if my next phone used micro-usb.

I want to upgrade my gaming setup, but I want to move towards a desktop replacement laptop for the compact form factor to free up desk space or even get rid of a desk altogether. I also want to try out Pop!_OS since I know it has good Nvidia drivers and that most games are compatible with Linux nowadays.

Has anyone had any experience with switching to Pop!_OS from Windows? What is software compatibility like? Pros and cons?

Also is anyone here using an 18 inch gaming laptop? I'm interested in huge laptops since I'm not really planning on taking it on the go.

I'm in the market for a 3 monitor setup. I've got a huge desk and about $2k to spend. Ideally, I'd like three matching monitors, but here's the catch. I want the middle "main" monitor to be my gaming monitor (120-144hz) while the side monitors can be 60hz. It'd be awesome if there was a brand that sold the same form factor (same base, bezel, etc).

Thoughts?

Hiya -

I'm looking for some help because despite a lot of Google quality time, I'm sincerely struggling to get a solution.

I have a Plantronics 4220 wireless headset that I use for work (and also to connect with Bluetooth to my PC at the same time between calls), and somehow the audio is starting to flake out. It's like it only gets audio in one ear, but if I tilt my head slightly it'll get into the other ear or sometimes both. Pretty weird... it's something I might expect from a wired headset where the cord itself is dying, but not on a wireless one like this.

Anyhow, I'm very comfortable with tech stuff (building my own rigs for like 20 years now), but I've never really felt comfortable about iFixit kind of solutions where tools or hardware is involved with the hardware. I'd pretty much just rather throw a little money at a pro who can fix it in 5 minutes and charge me $50 or whatever, lol.

However when I am going to look for places that might offer repair services, all I'm getting are locations in the US... but I'm in Canada. Specifically Ontario. Anyone have a source (from personal experience or otherwise) on how I might best look up a place I can get this fixed at? Figuring out what to search for on this subject seems oddly arcane!

I game a lot, and I have many ear piercings (the troublesome ones are industrial and cartilage and for ear buds, both tragus, but I'm looking for just normal headsets). Most headsets make my ears ache after 20-45 minutes. I can almost pick out how much they're going to hurt when I try them on, and nothing at my local Best Buy has anything available that feels right. Additionally, many are heavy and sit on the top of my head like a brick - before I completed my ear decorations, that was usually my peeve.

Currently, the only headset I adore is SteelSeries Siberia (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SN9RN8). I can wear them for hours. Sadly, I cannot get a replacement. I tried their Arctis 5 and immediately sent it back. The Siberia does not have a mic, so that's basically the only reason I am wanting to get another set.

If anyone can recommend something with the following characteristics, I'd be willing to drop a pretty penny on them... not that I can afford to, but it'll be an investment if it lasts as long as these Siberia have!

• Preferably cloth ear surface texture;
• Preferably something that doesn't sit heavily on the head - though the ones I've tried that clamped for staying on my ears would give me headaches as well;
• Must be wired. No bluetooth. Caveat: if it has a usb dongle, could be doable. (My computer does not have BT capabilities.) I hate things running out of battery though, so it will have to be good;
• Must have extendable head band up top, if its method is not gripping on your ears without head support;

I'm sure I've missed something, but if there's a fellow ear-pierced gamer whose had issues with many headsets but found the perfect one, please recommend! Thanks!

Recently, I've been thinking pretty hard about how to archive data. Optical media is out, due to my (possibly irrational?) fear of disc rot. HDDs just break with extended use, SSDs have been known to die with either overuse or just existing for an extended period of time. What's left?

I have heard of tape (of some kind) being used for backup in some bigger operations, but with my experieces with VHS, and to a lesser extent, cassettes, they seem to be very susceptible to mould.

Any suggestions?

My T430 has been my main PC for a while now. Since upgrading the ram to 10GB's and switching to Linux Mint, I could not be happier with it.

I'm not very tech-savvy, so this whole project has been a great excuse to learn more about computers in general.

What is everyone else's Thinkpad project?

The idea is to get a console to play raging in complexity from the NES, SNES, up to Nintendo DS and PSP. Anything above that is not a priority or a necessity. But it would be nice to have a screen large enough to handle DS games in some form. Can I find anything decent in that price range?

Thanks :)