In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 6:00:04 AM UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:
>> On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 10:16:50 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>
>> > Thanks for clearing that up. It turns out I guessed right, but
>> > you never can tell.
>> I was worried that I would be criticized for failing to recognize
>> obvious sarcasm.
>
>I should apologize. My mutant superpower is that people tend to think I
>know what I'm talking about. I haven't sworn to use my power only for
>good, but I do try to mitigate it by throwing out things that should
>make people wonder if I even know what I'm saying; it doesn't always
>work.
>
>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>key.

No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
those keys, as well as those that do.

The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)

>
>What this lead me to thinking was to replicate the right-hand side of
>the keyboard on top of the mouse for people who find it inconvenient to
>take their hand off the mouse to type

See upthread, wherein I worked with a Mac trackball under my
right hand so I could take notes.

>(the exact opposite of sensible
>people who find it inconvenient to take their hand off the keyboard to
>mouse)

Sibling!

>we then replicate the left-hand side of the keyboard on a second
>mouse -we either have to find a need for a second mouse, or just leave
>it free-rolling.

See upthread again, wherein I discuss having no room for such an
arrangement.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 9:54:03 AM UTC-6, pete...@gmail.com wrote:

> It's sorta special pleading, but: https://www.ultrapc.ma/
>
> That's .ma as in Morocco.

I am happy for them that their currency is convertible, so they can
have modern computers like we do.

Unlike, now, the people of Russia, whose leader has gotten their
country into trouble.

John Savard

On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:42:58 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
>Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 6:00:04 AM UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:
>>> On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 10:16:50 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>>
>>> > Thanks for clearing that up. It turns out I guessed right, but
>>> > you never can tell.
>>> I was worried that I would be criticized for failing to recognize
>>> obvious sarcasm.
>>
>>I should apologize. My mutant superpower is that people tend to think I
>>know what I'm talking about. I haven't sworn to use my power only for
>>good, but I do try to mitigate it by throwing out things that should
>>make people wonder if I even know what I'm saying; it doesn't always
>>work.
>>
>>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>>key.
>
>No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
>found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
>those keys, as well as those that do.
>
>The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
>corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
>the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
>afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
>Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
>scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
>plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)

FWIW, the Windows-specific keys while they can be annoying, are
sometimes useful. For example hold down the Windows key and tap the
"+" key and the screen magnifies. Repeat to get more magnification.

The other Windows-specific key gets the context menu, which is the
same as the right-click menu and provides a variety of options that
the developer of whatever software you are using thought would be
convenient to have ready-to-hand.

The Logitech gamer keyboard that is my normal working keyboard has a
button that turns those keys off.

>>What this lead me to thinking was to replicate the right-hand side of
>>the keyboard on top of the mouse for people who find it inconvenient to
>>take their hand off the mouse to type
>
>See upthread, wherein I worked with a Mac trackball under my
>right hand so I could take notes.
>
>>(the exact opposite of sensible
>>people who find it inconvenient to take their hand off the keyboard to
>>mouse)
>
>Sibling!

I still miss Wordstar, which was designed so that nearly all common
editing operations could be performed with one's fingers on the home
row.

>>we then replicate the left-hand side of the keyboard on a second
>>mouse -we either have to find a need for a second mouse, or just leave
>>it free-rolling.
>
>See upthread again, wherein I discuss having no room for such an
>arrangement.

On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 09:08:34 -0700, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 21:32:36 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>Heydt) wrote:
>
>>In article <gs5j5hpeuj6uldn57kkfj7266ud8ditquq@4ax.com>,
>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:10:40 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>
>>><snippo>
>>>
>>>>I've got a trackball already. (I don't have room on my tray for
>>>>a mousepad.) But my right thumb is the one that's *supposed* to
>>>>depress the left button, and the muscle that would make that
>>>>happen was the second casualty of my ALS. (The first was my
>>>>legs.) A secondary thumb muscle still works to depress the
>>>>button, if I put the thumb exactly on the correct quarter of a
>>>>square inch of the one-by-two-inches left button, which means I
>>>>have to look at the trackball to find it. I then have to reach
>>>>over with my left hand to move the ball *exactly* across the line
>>>>I want to copy. This task grows less worth the effort as time
>>>>passes.
>>>
>>>I just did a test in Agent:
>>>-- move the mouse cursor over the link
>>>-- press the popup menu button
>>>-- select "Launch" by pressing the highlighted letter "L"
>>>... and the link comes right up!
>>
>>If I have anything like Agent on my several-years-old Win7 box,
>>nobody has ever told me about it. Nor does my trackball (also
>>built by Logitech) have a popup menu button: just left, right,
>>and the ball.
>
>Agent is a newsreader (which also does email). Since you post here,
>you must have "something like it".
>
>Whether it works the same way, of course, remains to be seen. But, if
>you are using a trackball to select the link, it must be able to
>respond to the trackball, including a right-click popping up the
>context-sensitive menu.

Dorothy uses trn on *nix (I forget which flavor), not something
designed for a GUI.

>>>The point of this is, you may not need to click the mouse, at least
>>>not to follow a link, depending on how the program you are using
>>>behaves. Other actions may be possible. There may be software out
>>>there that can allow you to map, say, a function key to produce a left
>>>button click.
>>>
>>>The product looks like a very nice trackball. But so is my trusty
>>>Logitech TrackMan Marble, purchsed 10.5 years ago and still going
>>>strong.
>>>
>>>Note: the "popup menu button" is that weird-looking thing that brings
>>>the same menu as pressing the right button on the mouse. The
>>>difference being that, when accessed through the keyboard the "hot
>>>keys" are underlined (or otherwise emphasized), while when accessed
>>>through the right mouse button, they usually are not.
>>
>>I'm fairly certain there's nothing like that on my box or my
>>trackball.
>
>The button is on the keyboard. Well, provided the keyboard is modern
>enough. If it isn't, there /might/ be a way to map it to a function
>key or multi-key combo (that can be done with one hand, since one is
>on the mouse leaving only one for the keyboard, I presume).
>
>Ctl and Shift, after all, are already able to interact with the
>trackball. So there is some precedent for this.
>
>>>Note to the ultra-PC: I am using "left" and "right" because my reading
>>>of her description leads me to believe she is using the trackball with
>>>her right hand and with the left button as "primary".
>>
>>And you're right^H^H^H^H^Hcorrect.

In article <bf85bd79-e729-4a62-83c2-31adc23817f4n@googlegroups.com>,
Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 9:54:03 AM UTC-6, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> It's sorta special pleading, but: https://www.ultrapc.ma/
>>
>> That's .ma as in Morocco.
>
>I am happy for them that their currency is convertible, so they can
>have modern computers like we do.
>
>Unlike, now, the people of Russia, whose leader has gotten their
>country into trouble.

I hereby award you the RASFW Gold Star with Banana Clusters for Heroic
Understatement. Wear it with pride.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

In article <fubm5h98n2k3hnm6s1p7lat7oeq9q2ir27@4ax.com>,
J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 09:08:34 -0700, Paul S Person
><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 21:32:36 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>Heydt) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <gs5j5hpeuj6uldn57kkfj7266ud8ditquq@4ax.com>,
>>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:10:40 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>>
>>>><snippo>
>>>>
>>>>>I've got a trackball already. (I don't have room on my tray for
>>>>>a mousepad.) But my right thumb is the one that's *supposed* to
>>>>>depress the left button, and the muscle that would make that
>>>>>happen was the second casualty of my ALS. (The first was my
>>>>>legs.) A secondary thumb muscle still works to depress the
>>>>>button, if I put the thumb exactly on the correct quarter of a
>>>>>square inch of the one-by-two-inches left button, which means I
>>>>>have to look at the trackball to find it. I then have to reach
>>>>>over with my left hand to move the ball *exactly* across the line
>>>>>I want to copy. This task grows less worth the effort as time
>>>>>passes.
>>>>
>>>>I just did a test in Agent:
>>>>-- move the mouse cursor over the link
>>>>-- press the popup menu button
>>>>-- select "Launch" by pressing the highlighted letter "L"
>>>>... and the link comes right up!
>>>
>>>If I have anything like Agent on my several-years-old Win7 box,
>>>nobody has ever told me about it. Nor does my trackball (also
>>>built by Logitech) have a popup menu button: just left, right,
>>>and the ball.
>>
>>Agent is a newsreader (which also does email). Since you post here,
>>you must have "something like it".
>>
>>Whether it works the same way, of course, remains to be seen. But, if
>>you are using a trackball to select the link, it must be able to
>>respond to the trackball, including a right-click popping up the
>>context-sensitive menu.
>
>Dorothy uses trn on *nix (I forget which flavor), not something
>designed for a GUI.

I quote a recent message from Sean the Sysop:

"The operating system has been updated from FreeBSD 11
to FreeBSD 12. This is a major update, and there may
have been things I missed. Please let me know."

>>The button is on the keyboard. Well, provided the keyboard is modern
>>enough.

For some values of "modern" and "enough." I quote Hal's favorite
engineering proverbL "Efficiency depends on what you want to
effish."

>>Ctl and Shift, after all, are already able to interact with the
>>trackball. So there is some precedent for this.

/tries

So they famous are. And I have one of each under my left hand.
You may have just solved one of my current problems; thank you.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:42:58 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
>Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 6:00:04 AM UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:
>>> On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 10:16:50 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>>
>>> > Thanks for clearing that up. It turns out I guessed right, but
>>> > you never can tell.
>>> I was worried that I would be criticized for failing to recognize
>>> obvious sarcasm.
>>
>>I should apologize. My mutant superpower is that people tend to think I
>>know what I'm talking about. I haven't sworn to use my power only for
>>good, but I do try to mitigate it by throwing out things that should
>>make people wonder if I even know what I'm saying; it doesn't always
>>work.
>>
>>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>>key.
>
>No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
>found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
>those keys, as well as those that do.
>
>The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
>corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
>the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
>afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
>Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
>scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
>plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)

Perhaps a new keyboard, one which occupies less space, would help.

Then again, small keyboards tend to "lose" the numeric keypad.

If you (or, more likely, Hal) are persistent enough (ie, ignore about
four rows of ads, mostly for wireless full-size keyboards), Amazon
"small keyboard" in Computers has a selection. Including wired
keyboards, which I suspect is what you would want.

BTW, if your computer has the old mouse/keyboard ports, you may find
that the new computer your medical people are "encouraging" you to buy
doesn't have any. There used to be USB cables that split into two
ends, one for the old PS2 mouse connector, and one for the old PS2
keyboard connector. Your Logitech may already be a USB device; a new
keyboard certainly will be. Technology marches on!

>>What this lead me to thinking was to replicate the right-hand side of
>>the keyboard on top of the mouse for people who find it inconvenient to
>>take their hand off the mouse to type
>
>See upthread, wherein I worked with a Mac trackball under my
>right hand so I could take notes.
>
>>(the exact opposite of sensible
>>people who find it inconvenient to take their hand off the keyboard to
>>mouse)
>
>Sibling!
>
>>we then replicate the left-hand side of the keyboard on a second
>>mouse -we either have to find a need for a second mouse, or just leave
>>it free-rolling.
>
>See upthread again, wherein I discuss having no room for such an
>arrangement.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 17:15:36 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 09:08:34 -0700, Paul S Person
><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 21:32:36 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>Heydt) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <gs5j5hpeuj6uldn57kkfj7266ud8ditquq@4ax.com>,
>>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:10:40 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>>
>>>><snippo>
>>>>
>>>>>I've got a trackball already. (I don't have room on my tray for
>>>>>a mousepad.) But my right thumb is the one that's *supposed* to
>>>>>depress the left button, and the muscle that would make that
>>>>>happen was the second casualty of my ALS. (The first was my
>>>>>legs.) A secondary thumb muscle still works to depress the
>>>>>button, if I put the thumb exactly on the correct quarter of a
>>>>>square inch of the one-by-two-inches left button, which means I
>>>>>have to look at the trackball to find it. I then have to reach
>>>>>over with my left hand to move the ball *exactly* across the line
>>>>>I want to copy. This task grows less worth the effort as time
>>>>>passes.
>>>>
>>>>I just did a test in Agent:
>>>>-- move the mouse cursor over the link
>>>>-- press the popup menu button
>>>>-- select "Launch" by pressing the highlighted letter "L"
>>>>... and the link comes right up!
>>>
>>>If I have anything like Agent on my several-years-old Win7 box,
>>>nobody has ever told me about it. Nor does my trackball (also
>>>built by Logitech) have a popup menu button: just left, right,
>>>and the ball.
>>
>>Agent is a newsreader (which also does email). Since you post here,
>>you must have "something like it".
>>
>>Whether it works the same way, of course, remains to be seen. But, if
>>you are using a trackball to select the link, it must be able to
>>respond to the trackball, including a right-click popping up the
>>context-sensitive menu.
>
>Dorothy uses trn on *nix (I forget which flavor), not something
>designed for a GUI.

1. There are such things as character-based UIs that respond to
rodents. I still have the MIX library for building such things around
somewhere. I said nothing about "graphical", although Agent's UI is,
indeed a GUI.

2. Since she is /using/ her trackball to select and (with some effort)
click on a link posted here, clearly whatever she is using does, in
fact, work with a trackball. Somehow.

>>>>The point of this is, you may not need to click the mouse, at least
>>>>not to follow a link, depending on how the program you are using
>>>>behaves. Other actions may be possible. There may be software out
>>>>there that can allow you to map, say, a function key to produce a left
>>>>button click.
>>>>
>>>>The product looks like a very nice trackball. But so is my trusty
>>>>Logitech TrackMan Marble, purchsed 10.5 years ago and still going
>>>>strong.
>>>>
>>>>Note: the "popup menu button" is that weird-looking thing that brings
>>>>the same menu as pressing the right button on the mouse. The
>>>>difference being that, when accessed through the keyboard the "hot
>>>>keys" are underlined (or otherwise emphasized), while when accessed
>>>>through the right mouse button, they usually are not.
>>>
>>>I'm fairly certain there's nothing like that on my box or my
>>>trackball.
>>
>>The button is on the keyboard. Well, provided the keyboard is modern
>>enough. If it isn't, there /might/ be a way to map it to a function
>>key or multi-key combo (that can be done with one hand, since one is
>>on the mouse leaving only one for the keyboard, I presume).
>>
>>Ctl and Shift, after all, are already able to interact with the
>>trackball. So there is some precedent for this.
>>
>>>>Note to the ultra-PC: I am using "left" and "right" because my reading
>>>>of her description leads me to believe she is using the trackball with
>>>>her right hand and with the left button as "primary".
>>>
>>>And you're right^H^H^H^H^Hcorrect.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 09:08:21 -0700, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 17:15:36 -0400, J. Clarke
><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 09:08:34 -0700, Paul S Person
>><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 21:32:36 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>
>>>>In article <gs5j5hpeuj6uldn57kkfj7266ud8ditquq@4ax.com>,
>>>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:10:40 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>><snippo>
>>>>>
>>>>>>I've got a trackball already. (I don't have room on my tray for
>>>>>>a mousepad.) But my right thumb is the one that's *supposed* to
>>>>>>depress the left button, and the muscle that would make that
>>>>>>happen was the second casualty of my ALS. (The first was my
>>>>>>legs.) A secondary thumb muscle still works to depress the
>>>>>>button, if I put the thumb exactly on the correct quarter of a
>>>>>>square inch of the one-by-two-inches left button, which means I
>>>>>>have to look at the trackball to find it. I then have to reach
>>>>>>over with my left hand to move the ball *exactly* across the line
>>>>>>I want to copy. This task grows less worth the effort as time
>>>>>>passes.
>>>>>
>>>>>I just did a test in Agent:
>>>>>-- move the mouse cursor over the link
>>>>>-- press the popup menu button
>>>>>-- select "Launch" by pressing the highlighted letter "L"
>>>>>... and the link comes right up!
>>>>
>>>>If I have anything like Agent on my several-years-old Win7 box,
>>>>nobody has ever told me about it. Nor does my trackball (also
>>>>built by Logitech) have a popup menu button: just left, right,
>>>>and the ball.
>>>
>>>Agent is a newsreader (which also does email). Since you post here,
>>>you must have "something like it".
>>>
>>>Whether it works the same way, of course, remains to be seen. But, if
>>>you are using a trackball to select the link, it must be able to
>>>respond to the trackball, including a right-click popping up the
>>>context-sensitive menu.
>>
>>Dorothy uses trn on *nix (I forget which flavor), not something
>>designed for a GUI.
>
>1. There are such things as character-based UIs that respond to
>rodents. I still have the MIX library for building such things around
>somewhere. I said nothing about "graphical", although Agent's UI is,
>indeed a GUI.

That's nice. If you want to rewrite trn to incorporate a context menu
go right ahead. It's open source after all.

In article <drdo5hlkgggu753il72nkhil5c0sbedesq@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:42:58 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>Heydt) wrote:
>
>>In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
>>Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>>>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>>>key.
>>
>>No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
>>found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
>>those keys, as well as those that do.
>>
>>The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
>>corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
>>the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
>>afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
>>Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
>>scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
>>plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)
>
>Perhaps a new keyboard, one which occupies less space, would help.
>
>Then again, small keyboards tend to "lose" the numeric keypad.

Which I use to navigate the LotRO landscape. Back in the early
2000s, Asheron's Call used the numkey pad for the same purpose,
and I had a laptop that lacked one. Hal managed to find me one
that plugged into the side of the laptop.

What I need is to get the current keyboard fixed, which isn't
going to happen this year. A house we own but don't live in
turned out to need $6K in repairs. We are probably going to have
to postpone moving out of Vallejo, too, and will have to find
somewhere else in Vallejo to move into (Vallejo is cheap, and I
think I've already described my difficulty getting up and down
the outside stairs).
>
>If you (or, more likely, Hal) are persistent enough (ie, ignore about
>four rows of ads, mostly for wireless full-size keyboards), Amazon
>"small keyboard" in Computers has a selection. Including wired
>keyboards, which I suspect is what you would want.

Can't afford any new equipment for at least this year, maybe two.

>BTW, if your computer has the old mouse/keyboard ports, you may find
>that the new computer your medical people are "encouraging" you to buy
>doesn't have any. There used to be USB cables that split into two
>ends, one for the old PS2 mouse connector, and one for the old PS2
>keyboard connector. Your Logitech may already be a USB device; a new
>keyboard certainly will be. Technology marches on!

See above.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 4:26:52 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> A house we own but don't live in
> turned out to need $6K in repairs.

While I can see that the need to come up with $6,000 can leave you
quite short of money, having a house you can sell would seem to be
something that could raise quite a bit of money. Of course, the situation
may be more complicated than that.

John Savard

On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

> What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
> have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
> videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
> borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
>
> Sometimes there's just no way.

I don't know if I have good news for you here.

But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
money you don't have.

Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
someone in your family.

Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
value of the dollar.

John Savard

On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 4:57:11 PM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>
> > What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
> > have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
> > videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
> > borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
> >
> > Sometimes there's just no way.
>
> I don't know if I have good news for you here.
>
> But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
> several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
> money you don't have.
>
> Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
> husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
> computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
> alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
> someone in your family.
>
> Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
> to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
> that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
> specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
> and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
> costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
> value of the dollar.

I am short of money myself _this month_, but that's due to some very temporary
expenses. That won't be true come payday.

I did some web searching, and I found this:

http://www.globalstewards.org/donate-computers.htm

Apparently, Vallejo is within Marin County, on its eastern edge, if a map
on Wikipedia is to be believed. So Hal might be able to purchase something at
Renew Computers.

John Savard

In article <37756da4-78a9-4c08-a4c6-786b5478c36en@googlegroups.com>,
Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>
>> What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
>> have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
>> videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
>> borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
>>
>> Sometimes there's just no way.
>
>I don't know if I have good news for you here.
>
>But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
>several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
>money you don't have.
>
>Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
>husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
>computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
>alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
>someone in your family.

I don't *want* to run Win10. I have heard horrible things about
it (though not so horrible as about Win8).

>Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
>to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
>that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
>specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
>and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
>costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
>value of the dollar.

You do your thing.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

In article <5cfef2ee-6e1e-4164-9058-576bef878d26n@googlegroups.com>,
Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 4:57:11 PM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:
>> On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>
>> > What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
>> > have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
>> > videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
>> > borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
>> >
>> > Sometimes there's just no way.
>>
>> I don't know if I have good news for you here.
>>
>> But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
>> several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
>> money you don't have.
>>
>> Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
>> husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
>> computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
>> alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
>> someone in your family.
>>
>> Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
>> to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
>> that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
>> specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
>> and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
>> costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
>> value of the dollar.
>
>I am short of money myself _this month_, but that's due to some very temporary
>expenses. That won't be true come payday.
>
>I did some web searching, and I found this:
>
>http://www.globalstewards.org/donate-computers.htm
>
>Apparently, Vallejo is within Marin County, on its eastern edge, if a map
>on Wikipedia is to be believed.

No, it's in Solano County, across the northernmost and shallowest
arm of San Francisco Bay.

I've known Google, in its many forms, to make that kind of
mistake before. I googled a while back for a primary care doctor
with some experience with ALS in Alameda County, one county over and
one down of where we are, and got one site. In Marin.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:18:23 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <drdo5hlkgggu753il72nkhil5c0sbedesq@4ax.com>,
>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:42:58 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>Heydt) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
>>>Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>>>>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>>>>key.
>>>
>>>No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
>>>found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
>>>those keys, as well as those that do.
>>>
>>>The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
>>>corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
>>>the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
>>>afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
>>>Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
>>>scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
>>>plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)
>>
>>Perhaps a new keyboard, one which occupies less space, would help.
>>
>>Then again, small keyboards tend to "lose" the numeric keypad.
>
>Which I use to navigate the LotRO landscape. Back in the early
>2000s, Asheron's Call used the numkey pad for the same purpose,
>and I had a laptop that lacked one. Hal managed to find me one
>that plugged into the side of the laptop.
>
>What I need is to get the current keyboard fixed, which isn't
>going to happen this year. A house we own but don't live in
>turned out to need $6K in repairs. We are probably going to have
>to postpone moving out of Vallejo, too, and will have to find
>somewhere else in Vallejo to move into (Vallejo is cheap, and I
>think I've already described my difficulty getting up and down
>the outside stairs).
>>
>>If you (or, more likely, Hal) are persistent enough (ie, ignore about
>>four rows of ads, mostly for wireless full-size keyboards), Amazon
>>"small keyboard" in Computers has a selection. Including wired
>>keyboards, which I suspect is what you would want.
>
>Can't afford any new equipment for at least this year, maybe two.
>
>>BTW, if your computer has the old mouse/keyboard ports, you may find
>>that the new computer your medical people are "encouraging" you to buy
>>doesn't have any. There used to be USB cables that split into two
>>ends, one for the old PS2 mouse connector, and one for the old PS2
>>keyboard connector. Your Logitech may already be a USB device; a new
>>keyboard certainly will be. Technology marches on!
>
>See above.

FWIW, a computer that can run Windows 7 can very likely run Windows
10. Windows 11 is another story--it's got very specific hardware
requirements, which I suspect are intended to churn the market.
Note--don't get Windows 11 if you can avoid it--I think Microsoft
tried to reverse the adage that odd numbered versions of Windows are
good--their _own_ stuff has trouble running reliably on it.

In article <745db5bf-488d-4d55-8691-23b7d5319140n@googlegroups.com>,
Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 4:26:52 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> A house we own but don't live in
>> turned out to need $6K in repairs.
>
>While I can see that the need to come up with $6,000 can leave you
>quite short of money, having a house you can sell would seem to be
>something that could raise quite a bit of money. Of course, the situation
>may be more complicated than that.

Yes. The house is managed by an ultra-reliable agency, rented by
very dependable tenants. (Did I mention it's in the southernmost
part of San Diego County, closer to Tijuana than to San Diego? No,
I don't think I did.) The rent they pay every month is a large
part of our income ... but we won't be seeing any of it for at
least the next two months. (Meanwhile, the savings account has to
be drained to pay $3K of the repair bills.)

It's been in the family since 1964, when my late father-in-law
bought it for what now counts as peanuts. If we *had* to sell
it, we'd never get out of Vallejo. As it is, we may spend the
next four years in Vallejo (till Vincent graduates from high
school), and we'll have to move anyway to a house in Vallejo
that hasn't any stairs. Because I can't walk, and I have to go
up and down the ten front stairs on my behind, with Hal and Meg
and/or Walkyr lifting me under the armpits.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 01:15:12 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <5cfef2ee-6e1e-4164-9058-576bef878d26n@googlegroups.com>,
>Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at 4:57:11 PM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>>
>>> > What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
>>> > have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
>>> > videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
>>> > borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
>>> >
>>> > Sometimes there's just no way.
>>>
>>> I don't know if I have good news for you here.
>>>
>>> But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
>>> several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
>>> money you don't have.
>>>
>>> Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
>>> husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
>>> computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
>>> alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
>>> someone in your family.
>>>
>>> Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
>>> to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
>>> that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
>>> specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
>>> and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
>>> costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
>>> value of the dollar.
>>
>>I am short of money myself _this month_, but that's due to some very temporary
>>expenses. That won't be true come payday.
>>
>>I did some web searching, and I found this:
>>
>>http://www.globalstewards.org/donate-computers.htm
>>
>>Apparently, Vallejo is within Marin County, on its eastern edge, if a map
>>on Wikipedia is to be believed.
>
>No, it's in Solano County, across the northernmost and shallowest
>arm of San Francisco Bay.
>
>I've known Google, in its many forms, to make that kind of
>mistake before. I googled a while back for a primary care doctor
>with some experience with ALS in Alameda County, one county over and
>one down of where we are, and got one site. In Marin.

Well, that might tell you something.

OTOH, doesn't Medicare directories of doctors that accept Medicare?
Searching /that/ might work. And then, if you have a secondary
insurer, verifying that they take /that/ as well on /that/ insurer's
list (if appropriate).
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 01:08:54 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <37756da4-78a9-4c08-a4c6-786b5478c36en@googlegroups.com>,
>Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>
>>> What I have at present is a Win7 box, which I fear I'm going to
>>> have to replace shortly. My neurologist likes to
>>> videoconference, and his system use Win8 and up. (I'll have to
>>> borrow Meg's laptop for the next visit.)
>>>
>>> Sometimes there's just no way.
>>
>>I don't know if I have good news for you here.
>>
>>But it would seem that if your current system runs Windows 7, and is
>>several years old, you may have an option for upgrading without spending
>>money you don't have.
>>
>>Maybe none of your children are as much "into" computers as your
>>husband Hal. But I would suspect that it is entirely possible that a
>>computer able to run Windows 10 (don't even think of Windows 8.1, let
>>alone Windows 8) might well be available as a hand-me-down from
>>someone in your family.
>
>I don't *want* to run Win10. I have heard horrible things about
>it (though not so horrible as about Win8).

I've been using it for some time now, and it isn't all that different
from prior versions.

But you don't need it if all you need it for can be done with Meg's
laptop.

>>Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
>>to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
>>that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
>>specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
>>and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
>>costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
>>value of the dollar.
>
>You do your thing.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 21:26:41 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:18:23 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>Heydt) wrote:
>
>>In article <drdo5hlkgggu753il72nkhil5c0sbedesq@4ax.com>,
>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 16:42:58 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>
>>>>In article <06f94665-34e5-4994-8e6d-5bd8da42eb30n@googlegroups.com>,
>>>>Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>Dorothy, did you mention once having an old, firmly-clicking keys style
>>>>>keyboard? It may not have the newfangled windows key or pop-up menu
>>>>>key.
>>>>
>>>>No, it doesn't. There are blank spaces where such keys would be
>>>>found. Unicomp, bless its heart, sells models that don't have
>>>>those keys, as well as those that do.
>>>>
>>>>The model I have also has a built-in trackball in its upper right
>>>>corner, but it's broken (that keyboard has seen a lot of use in
>>>>the last several years). It's been repaired once, but we can't
>>>>afford to have it done again at present. So I have a standard
>>>>Logitech sitting to the right of the keyboard, for which there is
>>>>scarcely room. (It's a hospital tray on wheels, with room for a
>>>>plate and a cup of coffee. Remember that I am bedfast.)
>>>
>>>Perhaps a new keyboard, one which occupies less space, would help.
>>>
>>>Then again, small keyboards tend to "lose" the numeric keypad.
>>
>>Which I use to navigate the LotRO landscape. Back in the early
>>2000s, Asheron's Call used the numkey pad for the same purpose,
>>and I had a laptop that lacked one. Hal managed to find me one
>>that plugged into the side of the laptop.
>>
>>What I need is to get the current keyboard fixed, which isn't
>>going to happen this year. A house we own but don't live in
>>turned out to need $6K in repairs. We are probably going to have
>>to postpone moving out of Vallejo, too, and will have to find
>>somewhere else in Vallejo to move into (Vallejo is cheap, and I
>>think I've already described my difficulty getting up and down
>>the outside stairs).
>>>
>>>If you (or, more likely, Hal) are persistent enough (ie, ignore about
>>>four rows of ads, mostly for wireless full-size keyboards), Amazon
>>>"small keyboard" in Computers has a selection. Including wired
>>>keyboards, which I suspect is what you would want.
>>
>>Can't afford any new equipment for at least this year, maybe two.
>>
>>>BTW, if your computer has the old mouse/keyboard ports, you may find
>>>that the new computer your medical people are "encouraging" you to buy
>>>doesn't have any. There used to be USB cables that split into two
>>>ends, one for the old PS2 mouse connector, and one for the old PS2
>>>keyboard connector. Your Logitech may already be a USB device; a new
>>>keyboard certainly will be. Technology marches on!
>>
>>See above.
>
>FWIW, a computer that can run Windows 7 can very likely run Windows
>10. Windows 11 is another story--it's got very specific hardware
>requirements, which I suspect are intended to churn the market.
>Note--don't get Windows 11 if you can avoid it--I think Microsoft
>tried to reverse the adage that odd numbered versions of Windows are
>good--their _own_ stuff has trouble running reliably on it.

Microsoft certainly thought so when they rolled out Win10. I kept my
netbook on Win 7 Starter because it was not all that robust and I
wasn't using it for much anyway; also, it was 32-bit with a VGA port.

Neither of my Win10 computers will run Win11 -- the processors are
just too old to have what Microsoft requires. So it goes.
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 16:32:29 -0400, J. Clarke
<jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 09:08:21 -0700, Paul S Person
><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 17:15:36 -0400, J. Clarke
>><jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 09:08:34 -0700, Paul S Person
>>><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 21:32:36 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>In article <gs5j5hpeuj6uldn57kkfj7266ud8ditquq@4ax.com>,
>>>>>Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:10:40 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>>>>>>Heydt) wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>><snippo>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I've got a trackball already. (I don't have room on my tray for
>>>>>>>a mousepad.) But my right thumb is the one that's *supposed* to
>>>>>>>depress the left button, and the muscle that would make that
>>>>>>>happen was the second casualty of my ALS. (The first was my
>>>>>>>legs.) A secondary thumb muscle still works to depress the
>>>>>>>button, if I put the thumb exactly on the correct quarter of a
>>>>>>>square inch of the one-by-two-inches left button, which means I
>>>>>>>have to look at the trackball to find it. I then have to reach
>>>>>>>over with my left hand to move the ball *exactly* across the line
>>>>>>>I want to copy. This task grows less worth the effort as time
>>>>>>>passes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I just did a test in Agent:
>>>>>>-- move the mouse cursor over the link
>>>>>>-- press the popup menu button
>>>>>>-- select "Launch" by pressing the highlighted letter "L"
>>>>>>... and the link comes right up!
>>>>>
>>>>>If I have anything like Agent on my several-years-old Win7 box,
>>>>>nobody has ever told me about it. Nor does my trackball (also
>>>>>built by Logitech) have a popup menu button: just left, right,
>>>>>and the ball.
>>>>
>>>>Agent is a newsreader (which also does email). Since you post here,
>>>>you must have "something like it".
>>>>
>>>>Whether it works the same way, of course, remains to be seen. But, if
>>>>you are using a trackball to select the link, it must be able to
>>>>respond to the trackball, including a right-click popping up the
>>>>context-sensitive menu.
>>>
>>>Dorothy uses trn on *nix (I forget which flavor), not something
>>>designed for a GUI.
>>
>>1. There are such things as character-based UIs that respond to
>>rodents. I still have the MIX library for building such things around
>>somewhere. I said nothing about "graphical", although Agent's UI is,
>>indeed a GUI.
>
>That's nice. If you want to rewrite trn to incorporate a context menu
>go right ahead. It's open source after all.

You are missing the point:

since she is /using/ the trackball to launch a link in a usenet post,
whatever she is /using/ clearly supports rodents.

The map is not the terrain! Reality wins!
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 9:29:49 AM UTC-6, Paul S Person wrote:

> But you don't need it if all you need it for can be done with Meg's
> laptop.

That's sort of true. But maybe it is inconvenient for Meg to come to
lend Dorothy her laptop, and so she can only ask for this favor
occasionally.

Also, if Dorothy wants to browse sites on the Internet, Windows 7
no longer recieves security updates from Microsoft, unlike Windows
10, so it really isn't safe to do so with her existing computer.

That's basically why I felt it was worth mentioning that computers
that can run Windows 10 ought to be available inexpensively.

John Savard

On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 9:39:17 AM UTC-6, Paul S Person wrote:

> since she is /using/ the trackball to launch a link in a usenet post,
> whatever she is /using/ clearly supports rodents.

On top of that, Windows 7 is _not_ a flavor of Unix, at least not
the last time I looked.

John Savard

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:18:23 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>>Perhaps a new keyboard, one which occupies less space, would help.
>>
>>Then again, small keyboards tend to "lose" the numeric keypad.
>
>Which I use to navigate the LotRO landscape. Back in the early
>2000s, Asheron's Call used the numkey pad for the same purpose,
>and I had a laptop that lacked one. Hal managed to find me one
>that plugged into the side of the laptop.

I have a USB numeric keypad which is about 5" x 7" that I got in a
computer shop in Hong Kong some 10 years ago but don't use. I prefer
the wide keyboards with keypad on right which I buy the cheapest I can
get and buy 2 at a time as I've toasted several (usually 1 or 2 a
year) with coffee spills.

>>If you (or, more likely, Hal) are persistent enough (ie, ignore about
>>four rows of ads, mostly for wireless full-size keyboards), Amazon
>>"small keyboard" in Computers has a selection. Including wired
>>keyboards, which I suspect is what you would want.

I avoid wireless for key things like keyboards but use a wireless
mouse. Since I am left handed and the computer sits behind me in the 4
o'clock position (easier access to the router) I have a small USB
wireless mouse extender which is essentially a USB female port my
dongle fits into as between the wireless router, 2 monitors and my
main computer box there is a fair bit of RFI (radio frequency
interference) in this room.

>Can't afford any new equipment for at least this year, maybe two.

My wife passed about 6 weeks ago and I am still trying to figure out
what to do with her computer. My daughter wants it moved from where it
was as milady died at home and 6 weeks later that room (which contains
our TV, her computer and the dog's bed) still looks about the same as
that horrible night so she won't go in there (she was the one who
discovered her unconscious and called 911). I will probably move it in
here eventually as use it for a file server as I have 3 external USB
hard drives.

Am trying to avoid spending money right now as our 20+ year old
furnace is going to need replacement soon. We're not strapped but will
be soon if we don't seriously tie down expenses - (funeral, flowers,
post-funeral reception, furnace, federal taxes which happens to be
around now)

Not a great time for us but we're managing - Easter was VERY tough
since of course the whole theme of Easter is resurrection which is the
one gift I'd love to be able to give her but can't. A lot of the
Easter music will bring tears to the grieving so I knew I had to just
get through it.

On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 01:08:54 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <37756da4-78a9-4c08-a4c6-786b5478c36en@googlegroups.com>,
>Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 9:16:48 PM UTC-6, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>
>I don't *want* to run Win10. I have heard horrible things about
>it (though not so horrible as about Win8).

What specifically have you heard? I had Win 8 on my work machine and
hated it but for me at least the Win 10 move has gone extremely well
on both work and home machines. Obviously your hardware has to be able
to handle it but my 10 year old i7 laptop which is far less capable
than this machine handled it A-OK.

>>Myself, I am hanging on to my previous computer, as I sometimes want
>>to run some programs I haven't attempted to install on my current system;
>>that old system was originally bought for $200 used at a local store that
>>specializes in computers purchased from businesses that replaced them,
>>and it runs Windows 10. And this is in Canada, where computer stuff usually
>>costs about 50% more than in the U.S. if one neglects the difference in the
>>value of the dollar.

This machine is effectively a mid-size file server as I do a lot of
downloads. My wife's machine is used mostly for e-mail, web browsing
and Facebook so much less. Both have no trouble with 10.

I don't plan on considering Win 11 until after their first service
pack. "If it ain't broke..."