RV_

Thanks Ray, somber for me and most veterans. Here's that story. https://www.military.com/holidays/memorial-day/how-decoration-day-became-memorial-day.html It became Memorial Day the year I first enlisted in the USAF 1971. Both mine and Lynn's parents served in the USAF as we did for 27 years. We lost friends to war and peacetime military accidents. One kid I grew up with was killed in Vietnam, not in combat, but when the jeep he was in rolled over on post. We have a member here Dick Acker who fought in the Ia Drang Valley with Gen Hal Moore as chronicled in the book "We Were Soldiers Once And Young" written by Joseph Galloway who was embedded with Moore's unit and was in the middle of the battle with then Col. Moore. The movie does it little justice but the book gives a feel for what combat is like more than anything I have ever read.

Bruce,we are talking about DashCams that record in a loop usually saved to a card in the camera to record accidents and anything one might want to save. However navigation is entirely possible using GPS only, using GPS satellites. But only on a navigation device like a phone or GPS. Usually not a dash cam. We are not discussing navigation head units which we did discuss in another thread here. But navigation is done with GPS satellites, not Internet. Today I would buy a car only with navigation and dashcams built in. Mine has eight external cameras and one inside the cabin. In reading some of the WiFi equipped Dashcams I can see no use I would put it to. Excerpt: "The Wi-Fi feature allows a smartphone to be paired to the dash cams. Unlike a regular Wi-Fi network signal that gives you internet access, the purpose here is just to connect the dash cam and smartphone together. Once connected and the dash cam’s app is opened, you can view, download footage and change settings straight from the app." https://www.blackboxmycar.com/pages/gps-wifi#:~:text=The Wi-Fi feature allows a smartphone to be,footage and change settings straight from the app.

Before we start I know some folks have not had this kind of fail by T-Mobile (TM) and love them. So I am not trying to convince just pass along some recent TM experiences. This was my experience with T-Mobile for the four days I had it with their new phones activated by them in person. I did not have this device but same hassles you will read in the comments about not getting a refund and having to fight them for months as I did. I got another service using Verizon towers that worked without help. I really wanted the free Samsung phones and their service to work. But I got an even better deal from an MVNO which now costs about the same as Verizon. But I am grandfathered in for much less. On this one go to 4 minutes into the video.

Excerpt: Yes longer is better but soon quantum computers and AI may make passwords of any length breakable quickly. But until that comes to pass I am not disagreeing with that. But I do use the random words outlined here: "The 4 Random Words Method One of the simplest yet most effective strong password ideas is to throw 4 or more seemingly random words together. Just make sure that: The password is at least 12 characters long. The words do not have any natural flow to them (such as My Name Is Steven). You separate words with either spaces, punctuation, or special symbols. Some examples of these passwords (and how to remember them) include: Phoenix Drive Cafe Office ("I work in Phoenix and drive by a cafe every day on my way to the office"). Seattle, Kindle, Coffee, Planes ("Seattle is the birthplace of Amazon, Starbucks, and Boeing"). Minnesota Airplane Boston Christmas ("I live in Minnesota but fly back home to Boston every Christmas"). The time needed to crack the Phoenix Drive Cafe Office password: 2 million years" The article that is from shows there is more than one way to skin a cat, including yours here: https://phoenixnap.com/blog/strong-great-password-ideas Safe Travels!

I used that as well Linda. For those who don't get it, when your hand is on the bottom of the steering wheel and you move your hand to the left with the steering wheel the trailer being backed will turn left, turn the bottom of the steering wheel to the right the trailer turns right. Go to 2:10 into this video for a demo. The whole video is excellent: https://www.cthermal.com/projects#flowchart

Vehicles can have cellular connections they pay for that connect just like your phone or uses your phone to connect like Android auto. Vehicles can have a Wifi Hotspot from your phone or the cellular car connection if so equipped. You will need a subscription to that service. Excerpt: "How In-Car Internet Works Getting Wi-Fi in your car is similar to using Wi-Fi at home, and you connect the same way with a Wi-Fi name and password. The only difference is your car uses a cellular signal like your smartphone. Homes have an internet receiver that transmits to nearby devices through a router, and a car does the same. So while your house likely uses a dedicated ISP, often with hardwired cables, vehicles connect to the internet through a cellular data connection." Source with much more: https://www.reviewgeek.com/110237/is-car-wi-fi-worth-it/#:~:text=The only difference is your car uses a,to the internet through a cellular data connection.

And now we do the same thing here: US Lithium mine creates its own power and a bunch for Grid use. Could we get almost free energy? I believe so and we have the tech.

Are you running Windows 10 or 11 or Apple? My Windows 11 unit does that but my Window 10 system does not. You are running 11? If so that glitch may be fixed on the next updates. I just updated my Firefox browser on my Win 11 system and it does not do that anymore so far.

Already being constructed. Big objections to EVs are power and costs. This type of solution answers both. For those who don't open links here's the synopsis. This is already in operation and it essentially drills down to geothermal power, uses that to generate clean energy, then they use the mineral rich steam as a lithium source: The power of California’s Lithium Valley CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power project is situated within the heart of one of the largest known geothermal resources in the world. The Salton Sea Geothermal Field in Imperial Valley, California represents a proven and defined geothermal power and mineralized brine resource. Source with much more: https://www.cthermal.com/projects#flowchart

I was a scout but my own service 1971-1998 taught me that we were honored on Veteran's Day, and we honored our comrades in arms who gave all on Memorial day, and why. My dad was a Brit and served in the foreign service as a Diplomat. He abandoned us and we never heard from him again until his death when I found he was Honorary Consul to Mexico at Acapulco and found a wonderful brother from his second marriage. We stay in touch. Thus I observe Veteran's day for all our vets and simultaneously post on Remembrance Day for my other family I never knew, and my friends in the British Commonwealth today. My poem and honor applies to our dear allies in the British Commonwealth like Canada and Australia. Their fallen are honored on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, called Remembrance Day. We play Taps at 3pm. They play "Last Post at 11 AM." Here in the US I can understand some confusion since we also honored our war dead on Armistice Day which took place on the 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month to honor only our war dead. Then we changed it to Veteran's day on Nov 11. I can understand the confusion of some folks who celebrated our living Vets on the same day our allies celebrated their dead. Excerpt: "The United States Congress adopted a resolution on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.[6] A Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made November 11 in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'".[4] In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day".[7] US Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954. It had been eight and a half years since Weeks held his first Armistice Day celebration for all veterans.[8] Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.[4][9] The National Veterans Award was also created in 1954. Congressman Rees of Kansas received the first National Veterans Award in Birmingham, Alabama, for his support in offering legislation to make Veterans Day a federal holiday.[10] Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October (October 25, 1971;[11] October 23, 1972; October 22, 1973; October 28, 1974; October 27, 1975; October 25, 1976, and October 24, 1977). In 1978, it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11. While the legal holiday remains on November 11, if that date happens to be on a Saturday or Sunday, then federal government employees and a number of organizations will instead take the day off on the adjacent Friday or Monday, respectively.[12]" Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day So now you know the rest of the story. Is it any wonder we are confused thinking we honor our living vets and our war dead on Nov 11 the day most of the rest of the world honors their war dead only as we do this weekend with our memorial day.

👍👍

You're welcome. Glad it struck a chord.

Even better when the words do not go together like: snaillightningd0nut!

Yep but like I said the WiFi ones are not going to be invading privacy unless you let them by both having a car with WiFi built in like mine, and allowing it to connect either via your car or your phone. Again, I see no need for WiFi in a dash cam because if you're in a wreck you are there and loop recordings on flash drives or SD cards will catch it. If one does want to observe their car when parked and they are not in it those systems Dutch pointed to will serve. I have been out of it for three years and they have come a very long way. If one wants to connect with a DashCam by all means do you. 😉☺️

Infrastructure. Gary had it. I don't think working it out will be the difficult part. But the folks that wear tin foil hats will be up in arms no matter. See the Koch brother remaining (big oil) will continue to spend money for misinformation articles and anti EV campaigns. But they already lost. Back in the day we called it paradigm blindness.

I posted my Memorial day post elsewhere on these forums so rather than post it twice. Here's the link - click on the title:

No simply put. Dash cams are not usually where you can access WiFi. They use USB Flash drives like my Tesla or Micro SD Cards. Having said that if your vehicle is always connected like mine it is possible. I have a couple of old phones I thought about playing with to make them dash cams recording in a loop. They would not be connected because of no Sim cards other than in my daily use phones. But if a dash cam had WiFi it would be useful only to they could connect wirelessly to my home WiFi system for updates to their software or firmware. People have to pay for bandwidth to store videos so would not do it without a fee. But I have not seen WiFi dash cams. Just WiFi home security cameras do that as a primary functions like my Ring security Cams. If you do find one make sure you secure it with a good password.

I wish all my fellow RVrs full time or part a great holiday weekend. And to Remember those who gave all. Memorial Day Begun in 1866 to honor Civil War Combatants, it was later expanded to honor all brave men and women who served this country in all wars. Between cookouts, picnics, vacations and sales, Memorial Day may be losing its meaning! Please take one minute, at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day to Remember and honor those brave men and women, who paid the piper that we may dance. A Day to Remember By Derek Gore They gave their all, their lives, and the futures they held dear, They left behind a legacy of sadness and of tears. A folded flag, the sound of Taps, the pride mixed in their leaving, With heads held high, and tears in eye, the loved ones still are grieving. Remember them. Went in harm's way, so young, and they never will grow older, Leaving memories, and pictures, citations in a folder. They left their sons, their little girls, to grow up wondering why, Their daddy that they loved so well, went off to war to die. Remember them. For some it changed, and mother, was the casualty of war, The arms that hugged them never would again, forevermore. Yet all were sons and daughters, and left behind an ache, In the hearts of those, whose turn should come, before their children's wake. Remember them. Some say that they rest in peace, and who am I to doubt it? The higher purpose it was served, the enemy was routed. Some came home, some never went, some only watched the news, But they will never hold their child, or argue current views. Remember them It wasn't meant, in leaving, when they all marched off to war, That we'd be left without them, from the cannon's deadly roar. I'm sure that they, would rather, have been here for all of us, But someone had to fight those wars, someone pay the cost. Remember them At 3 PM, this Monday, my flag will fly half mast, As all across the nation, floats the somber sound of Taps. It's only for one minute, or maybe three or four, In tears, I will remember, those who died in every war. © RV Roadie / Derek Gore 2002 Taps and Amazing Grace can be downloaded here to play at 3PM on Memorial Day local time for a national moment of remembrance: http://www.mymorninglight.org/taps/ How to observe Memorial Day: Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act adds the flying of the POW-MIA flag on all Federal and U.S. Military Installations on Memorial Day. The POW-MIA flag is to be half-staffed until noon along with the National flag. Other traditional observances included wearing red poppies, visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes, and visiting memorials. Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years and many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of the day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored or neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 1950s on the Thursday before Memorial Day, 1,200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years. To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in December 2000. It asks that at 3 p.m. local time all Americans “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.” Source: USMEMORIALDAY.ORG

Nice rig Rod! Blaise, welcome to the forums. Did you buy a Travel Trailer, Fifth wheel, or Motor-home? New or used? You won't get the quality rigs for the for the price of average. But we can't answer that without some more info like TT, Fiver, MH, what brand, and what issues you are having.

Excerpt; "A Tesla (TSLA) vehicle was the globe's best-selling car in the the first quarter of 2023 as Chief Executive Elon Musk recently hinted new Tesla products are coming, that he is open to advertising and confirmed a Cybertruck delivery event will take place this year. The Tesla Model Y was the world's best-selling vehicle in Q1, according to data compiled by industry analyst JATO Dynamics for Motor1. The Model Y had 267,200 sales in Q1, according to data from 53 markets and estimates for the rest of the world. The result comes as Tesla has cut Model Y prices early in 2023. Meanwhile, Tesla held its annual shareholder just days after Musk announced there will be a new person heading up Twitter, signaling to TSLA investors he will have more time to spend on the global EV giant. During the gathering, Musk announced a spur-of-the-moment decision to possibly change Tesla's advertisement strategy. "I believe in taking suggestions, so we'll try a little advertising and see how it goes," Musk told investors. The Tesla chief later told CNBC there is "perhaps some good logic" in going with paid ads. The decision marks a change of heart as Musk has for years suggested Tesla does not need to advertise. "Tesla does not advertise or pay for endorsements. Instead, we use that money to make the product great," Musk said in a 2019 tweet. While Musk did not announce any new products , saying "this is not the time," the Tesla CEO did say there are two projects in the pipeline. "I just want to emphasize that we are actually building a new product," Musk said. "There are two new products I think you will be very excited about." He also shot down rumors he is stepping down from his role as Tesla CEO." Source: https://www.investors.com/news/is-tesla-stock-a-buy-or-a-sell-right-now-as-elon-musk-teases-cybertruck/?src=A00220&yptr=yahoo

Excerpt: "Ford Motor Co shares jumped by more than 7% on Friday after the No. 2 U.S. automaker announced a deal allowing its electric-vehicle owners to access rival Tesla Inc's charging stations in North America. Tesla's Superchargers could become the standard for EV charging in the United States, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC, but added: "With adapters and software, we really don't have to make a choice right now what the standard is, but I think it's going to play out in the free market." Ford shares were up 7.6% at $12.25 in afternoon trade, while Tesla shares rose 7.5% to $197.95. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg praised the Ford-Tesla deal, but told CNBC that the Biden administration would not dictate an EV charging standard. "Tesla has built an extraordinary network ... For them to be part of this effort I think is terrific news." Access to charging stations is considered one of the main hurdles so far to broader acceptance of electric vehicles, analysts have said. Farley added that General Motors Co and other automakers are going to "have a big choice to make" in selecting between Tesla's EV chargers and the Combined Charging System (CCS). CCS is a competing charging-plug standard for DC fast-charging. GM said open charging networks and standards are the best way forward to enable EV adoption across the industry, and it has worked with other automakers to develop an open connector standard in the CCS, which is a "a truly universal solution" available now for fast charging. "We believe the move will ultimately increase BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) penetration in North America, and in a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats rationale, increase Tesla sales," RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note. Since 2012, Tesla has developed and deployed its own high-speed vehicle charger, called Supercharger, which can add up to 322 miles (518 km) of range in just 15 minutes." Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-ceo-says-tesla-superchargers-135606447.html

Excerpt: Finland's renewable power strategy is paying off as its energy has fallen into negative prices. A new nuclear reactor, as well as unexpected floods, are leading to a glut of clean energy. It is a striking reversal from last year, when Finns slashed their usage after cutting ties with Russia. into the environment around the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The Three Mile Island partial meltdown was not as damaging as the nuclear crises at Chernobyl or Fukushima: Nobody died because of the accident, but 2 million people were exposed to small amounts of radiation, and 140,000 people evacuated the area. The plant's owner, Exelon Corporation, closed Three Mile Island on September 20, 2019, due to financial struggles. C Now there is enough electricity, and it is almost emission-free," Ruusunen told Yle, adding that Finns could "feel good about using electricity." Finland went from energy poverty to glut in just a few months The news is a remarkable turnaround for a country that only a few months ago told its people to watch their energy consumption." More here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/electricity-prices-in-finland-flipped-negative-a-huge-oversupply-of-clean-hydroelectric-power-meant-suppliers-were-almost-giving-it-away/ar-AA1bFDnC?OCID=ansmsnnews11

How to DIY and set up a dual boot system with Windows and Linux. This is not hard and if you don't know how to do a full system image to restore if you screw something up don't even try this. If you do then this is a great tutorial. Excerpt: "I've likely used more operating systems than 99% of my readers. I cut my teeth on IBM 360/OS in the 70s. Since then, I've used every Apple and Microsoft operating system you've ever heard of, and many you've never known, such as A/UX and Microsoft Xenix. I've also used well over 100 different Unix and Linux distributions. So, when I say Linux Mint 21.1, the latest long-term support (LTS) version of Linux Mint, is not just the best Linux desktop, but the best desktop, it means something. Also: 8 things you can do with Linux that you can't do with MacOS or Windows The only way you'll know if it works well for you, of course, is to try it yourself. Here's how to first give Linux Mint a spin. It's simple to try it. And, then, if you like what you see, I also explain how to replace Windows with Mint. Materials needed: Windows PC, Internet connection, and a DVD-RW or USB Stick with 3 or more GBs of storage. Estimated time: (2 hours). Estimated cost: $5 How to try Linux Mint 1. Download a copy of Linux Mint sjvn Unlike other operating systems, Linux distros like Mint make it easy to give them a test run before installing them. To do this, first, you must download a copy of Linux Mint. Unlike Windows, when there's only one desktop interface, you get your choice of three different Mint desktops. These are MATE, Xfce, and its default desktop, Cinnamon. If you have a 2012 or newer PC, go with Cinnamon. If you have an older machine, try Mate, and if your PC is really old or doesn't have much horsepower, use Xfce. Also: Want to save your aging computer? Try these 5 Linux distributions Depending on your internet speed, downloading Mint could take a long time. The distribution now weighs in at 2.5 gigabytes. 2. Make sure your copy of Mint is the real thing sjvn Next, you should make sure that the image file you just downloaded is the real McCoy. You do this by downloading the sha256sum.txt and sha256sum.txt.gpg files. You should be able to find them in the same place you downloaded the ISO image. When you download them, do it with your browser's "right-click->Save Link As…" command. In the next step, head to the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) page. Once there, download and install the Windows installer, download.sig. Then, run the installer. It doesn't matter if you run it as an ordinary user or as an administrator. Either way works. Also: The best Linux distros for beginners Now head over to the Download folder. Once there, hold Shift while right-clicking your download folder and open a command window. When done, run the following command CertUtil -hashfile filename.iso SHA256 Eventually, it will return an alphanumeric sequence that's called a hash. If this hash is identical to the one listed in your sha256sum.txt, then the integrity check passed, and your ISO file is good to go. If not, delete the ISO file and download a copy. 3. Burn Mint to a DVD-RW or USB Stick sjvn Now, you're ready to burn the image to either a DVD disc or a USB stick. If you have an old copy of Windows, you may not an ISO burner program. In that case, you must download one. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. All of these are free programs. Also: How to get started with Git on Linux Windows 11 users can just use the operating system's built-in ISO burner functionality. To burn your ISO file to a blank DVD-RW or USB stick, insert the disc into your DVD-RW burner drive or USB stick into a USB port. Then, open the folder containing your ISO file in Windows File Explorer. Typically, that's the Download directory. Next, click on your Mint ISO file. On the top of File Explorer, you should see the Burn option. Select it and burn the image to your DVD or USB stick. If you're using a USB stick, set it up with persistent storage. With this, you can store your programs and files on the stick. This way, you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. This is very handy, and there's always at least one Linux Mint stick in my laptop bag. Finally, if you used a DVD, check your newly burned disc for errors. Over the years, I've had more problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs from bad discs than all other causes combined. 4. Reboot Image: J.A. Watson Next, place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot. During the reboot, stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this varies according to the system. Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells which key or keys you'll need to press in order to get to the BIOS or UEFI. Likely, candidates are a function key or the "esc" or "delete" keys. For a recent list of the major OEMs, see How to Enter the BIOS on Any PC: Access Keys by Manufacturer. If you don't spot it the first time, don't worry about it. Just reboot and try again. Also: Emmabuntüs is a Linux distribution geared toward those who don't know Linux Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled "Boot," "Boot Options," or "Boot Order." If you don't see anything with the word "boot" in it, check other menu options such as "Advanced Options," "Advanced BIOS Features," or "Other Options." Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the DVD or USB drive. Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint. 5. Start Linux Mint sjvn Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint. So far, you haven't installed anything on your PC, but you are running Mint. Use this opportunity to play with Mint to see if you like it. Review: Private Internet Access: A cheap, powerful, open-source VPN Using a DVD drive, Mint will run slowly, but it will run quickly enough to give you an idea of what it's like to use Mint. With a USB stick, it runs fast enough to give you a good notion of what working with Mint is like. Indeed it's fast enough I use Mint USB sticks for work, sometimes on office PCs. 6. Fix Nvidia graphic problems Some Nvidia graphics cards don't work well with Mint's open-source driver. If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the "nomodeset" boot option. You set this to the Start Linux Mint option and press 'e' to modify the boot options. Then, replace "quiet splash" with "nomodeset" and press F10 to boot. On older PCs using BIOS, press 'tab' instead of 'e.' Mint will run slower this way, but it will boot and run. If you decide to install Mint, you can permanently fix the problem with the following steps: Run the Driver Manager Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed Reboot the computer 7. Back up your system Like what you see? Want to use Mint? Now, you're ready to install Mint. First, make a complete backup of your Windows system. Installing Linux in the way I'm going to describe shouldn't hurt your Windows setup at all, but why take any chances? Also: How to easily back up your Mac onto a USB drive (and feel like James Bond doing it) It used to be that installing Linux on Windows PCs with UEFI and Secure Boot was a major pain. It can still be an annoyance, but Ubuntu and Mint have made booting and installing with Secure Boot systems a non-issue. All pre-built binaries intended to be loaded as part of the boot process, with the exception of the initrd image, are signed by Canonical's UEFI certificate, which is implicitly trusted by being embedded in the Microsoft signed shim loader. If, for some reason, you can't install Mint with Secure Boot running on your PC, you can always turn off Secure Boot. There are many ways to switch off Secure Boot. All involve going to the UEFI control panel during the boot process and switching it off. 8. Install Linux Mint sjvn Next, make sure your PC is plugged in. The last thing you want is to run out of battery power during an operating system install! You'll also need an internet connection and about 8GBs of free drive space. That done, reboot into Linux again. Once you have the Mint display up, one of your icon choices on the left will be to install Mint. Double-click it, and you'll be on your way. Also: The absolute best Linux distros for programming You'll need to walk your way through several menu choices. Most of these decisions will be easy. For example, the language you want Mint to use and your time zone. The one critical choice will be how to partition your hard drive. 9. Partion your hard drive sjvn Partitioning a hard drive can become very complicated, but fortunately, there's an easy choice to enable you to dual-boot both Windows and Mint. Simply pick the first option on the Installation Type menu: "Install Linux Mint alongside them." Also: The best external hard drives you can buy This procedure will install Linux Mint next to your existing Windows system and leave it totally untouched. When I do this, I usually give half my PC's remaining drive space to Mint. You'll be asked to choose which operating system you want to boot by default. No matter which one you pick, you'll get a few seconds to switch to the other operating system. If you want to, you can also specify exactly how you want your hard drive to be set up. Only power users should try this. If you go this route, I suggest you use Ext4 for your main Linux file system. 10. Add Linux Mint finishing touches sjvn You'll also be required to give your system a name, pick out a username for yourself, and create a password. You can also choose to encrypt your home directory to keep files relatively safe from prying eyes. However, an encrypted home directory slows systems down. It's faster, albeit counterintuitive, to encrypt the entire drive after you have Mint up and running. Mint's setup menu enables you to automatically create a system snapshot with Timeshift. This way, if something goes wrong later, you can restore your system files and get back to a working system. It does not, however, save your documents and the like. It just saves the system files needed to run Mint. While you're at this, set up a regular Timeshift schedule. Timeshift can save your bacon if something goes awry. Also: How to install Linux on your Raspberry Pi Next, you can have it check to see if your computer needs any additional drivers. I highly recommend you run this. After this, you can choose to install proprietary multimedia codecs, such as drivers to watch DVDs. I think you should do this, as well. You should then update your system to the latest software. Unlike Windows patches, when you update Mint, you're updating not just your operating system but all the other programs such as the default web browser, Firefox; office-suite, LibreOffice; and any other programs you've installed from Mint's Software Manager. This is very handy. To do this manually, click on the shield icon in the menu bar. By default in the Cinnamon desktop, the bar will be on the bottom part of the screen and the icon will be on the right. It will then prompt you for your password and ask if you really want to update your system. Say yes, and you'll be ready to give your new Mint system a real tryout. The setup routine also lets you look at system settings and find new programs with the Software Manager, but since you're probably a new user, you can skip those for now. That's all there is to it. I've installed Linux hundreds of times, and it usually takes me about an hour from starting my download -- the blessings of a Gigabit fiber internet connection -- to moving from booting up to customizing my new Mint PC. If you've never done it before, allow yourself an afternoon or morning for the job. Have fun, get work done, and enjoy. FAQs What are Linux Mint's system requirements? If you have a computer from the last decade or so that still works, it can almost certainly run Linux Mint. Technically, Linux Mint requires: 2GB RAM (4GB recommended). 20GB of disk space (100GB recommended). 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don't fit on the screen). You can probably buy an old PC from a junk shop, and it will run Mint. I've done that very thing. Is there any problem with running Linux Mint and Windows on the same PC? No. It will take about ten seconds, plus the boot time, to switch from one operating system to the other, but that's it. If you want to run them at the same time, that's a different thing entirely. To do that, you should look into running one in a virtual machine (VM) such as Oracle VirtualBox or running Linux under Windows using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2.0. In these configurations, both operating systems will run a bit slower. But unless you're editing video or playing complex games, you shouldn't see any real slowdowns. Can I run Microsoft Office on Linux? sjvn/ZDNET Yes. There are complex ways to do this using programs such as WINE, Crossover Linux , and WinApps for Linux but the easiest by far is to simply run Microsoft 365, formerly Office 365. You can, of course, also run many great Linux desktop programs such as GIMP for photo editing, LibreOffice for office work, and Chrome or Firefox for web browsing. https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-replace-windows-with-linux-mint-on-your-pc/?utm_source=pocket_saves

Excerpt: "I've never been a big fan of the Windows interface. But I do see the appeal. The traditional desktop layout is efficient and covers all the bases. If you want to quickly launch a favorite app, click an icon on the panel or desktop. For launching any other app, scan through the desktop menu. Do you have a folder you frequently access? Add a shortcut to the desktop. It's all there, ready to go. If that UI sounds not only familiar but also desirable, Ubuntu Cinnamon has you covered. The desktop offers a very traditional layout with all the features you're accustomed to using… but with a decidedly open-source spin. You'll find plenty of open-source software installed by default. Click the Menu button (lower left corner) to reveal everything categorized so you can easily find what you're looking for. Also: This official Ubuntu Spin might just be the perfect intro to Linux Pre-installed software includes the likes of: LibreOffice (office suite) Firefox (web browser) Thunderbird (email) Celluloid (video player) Rythmbox (music player) GIMP (image editor) For those who prefer to house folders on the desktop (for easy access), simply right-click anywhere on the desktop and select Create New Folder. Also: Want to save your aging computer? Try these 5 Linux distributions Another very nice feature of Ubuntu Cinnamon is window snapping. With this take on the desktop, you can snap windows: Splitting the screen in half vertically. Splitting the screen in half horizontally. Splitting the screen into four quarters. Working efficiently with four apps snapped into corners. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET I'm a big fan of window snapping and use it every day. Not every desktop includes four-corner snapping and I'm here for it. Who is Ubuntu Cinnamon for? This is an important question to ask, primarily because the Cinnamon desktop is directly linked to Linux Mint. And given how popular and user-friendly Mint is, why wouldn't you just opt for that OS? To make this question even more confusing, Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. So, why not cut out the middle person and use Ubuntu with Linux Mint's desktop? Also: How to replace Windows with Linux Mint on your PC There's no hard and fast way to answer that question. The difference between Linux Mint and Ubuntu Cinnamon lies in the details, most of which really won't matter to new users trying to decide which operating system to choose. Even the file managers are the same. From the user's perspective, the primary difference is found in the number of pre-installed software. Linux Mint includes a number of applications not found in Ubuntu Cinnamon. For example, Linux Mint includes the likes of Warpinator (send and receive files across a network), Redshift (color temperature adjustment tool), and Hypnotic (watch internet TV), Library (view recent files). One big difference is that Ubuntu Cinnamon uses GNOME Software as the app store, whereas Linux Mint offers mintinstall. Source with much more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/ubuntu-cinnamon-is-for-users-who-prefer-the-familiarity-of-the-windows-desktop-but-with-the-freedom-of-open-source/

1. Scan documents If you have ever had to sign a physical document and then submit it digitally afterwards, you know how much of a hassle it can be to print out, scan, and then email the document. The good news is that you no longer have to turn to your clunky scanner. With both iPhones and Android devices, you can use the smartphone to scan a document and export it. Also: How to scan and fax from your iPhone On iPhones, all you have to do is open your Notes app, click the camera icon, and then hit the "scan documents" button, and you're set. On an Android device, the process is even more seamless. All you have to do is open your camera app, hover it over the document, and tap "scan document" for Pixel phones, or the yellow "T" icon for Samsung devices. 2. Start your car Before you get your hopes up, your ability to use your phone as a key or car-starter will depend entirely on the model, make, and year of your car. Thankfully, a lot of cars have this type of functionality. Two reasons why you might want to take advantage of this feature include the ability to remotely start your car from the comfort of your own home or setting the car temperature just the way you like it before you get in. Also: The best car gadgets If you're interested in this feature, look up your car on the web and see if there's an app that can help. For example, Ford has an app called FordPass, which allows Ford car owners to unlock and lock cars, remotely start the car, and even schedule remote starts from the app. Android devices have a feature called digital key on select smartphones, which works in tandem with your car manufacturer's app or the manufacturer's email to make your phone a digital key. 3. Help you change channels There are few things more frustrating than getting ready to watch a show, sitting on the couch, settling down with your blanket and snacks, and then realizing you can't find the remote. Once this realization hits, you have to dig to find the remote, only to find out that the batteries are flat. To spare you this trouble, many TVs are capable of syncing to your smartphone to turn your device into a remote. If you have an iPhone, you can use it to control compatible TVs including Roku or Fire TVs, or an Apple TV 4K. It's as easy as being logged on to the same network as the TV, going to the screen-share option, and then hitting the remote icon. If you want to use your iPhone as a remote control, we have a handy how-to. Android smartphones have the same capability with Android TVs. All you have to do is open the Google TV app, tap the remote icon on the bottom right, and then scan devices and choose your device to complete pairing, according to Android. In addition, Android has TV remote apps for Roku and Fire TVs, and even third-party remote apps for Apple TV. 4. Measure stuff Don't have a tape measure? No problem. You can take measurements of anything you need to on your phone using your smartphone's camera and AR technology. All you have to do is drop a point at the beginning of the object you're measuring and pin another point at the end to get the exact measurement. Also: 8 cool ways to use LiDAR on your iPhone and iPad iPhones come with the Apple Measure app preloaded, but if you're an Android user, don't fret. You can simply use Measure Up, Google's tool that lets you do what the Apple Measure app does, but on your phone's browser instead of via an app. 5. Take photos for you Have you ever wanted to take a picture, but had no one to take it for you? The scenery is beautiful and your outfit is perfect, but you can't spot anyone around -- so your photo opportunity is ruined. Sure there is your phone's timer, but that can be near useless because you have to set everything up for just one photo to be taken. Thankfully, Lens Buddy is an app made to solve that problem. Also: Shaky photos? You're holding your phone wrong. Try this With Lens Buddy, you can fully customize the timer, including the speed and intervals of the pictures, so you can get the perfect shot. Instead of having to set up a ten second timer for your phone only to snap one photo, you can set a timer that takes many photos over a customized interval (ex: every three seconds) for as long as you'd like. With Lens Buddy, you have a lot of options to pick from from one session instead of just one. The app is only available on iOS. However, there are camera-timer alternatives in the Google Play Store, such as Selfer, which does the same thing. 6. Monitor your heart rate Despite the plethora of smartwatches and fitness trackers on the market, it is possible to monitor your heart rate with just your smartphone. Heart-rate monitoring apps use your back camera and flash to determine how much blood is pumping through your skin, and get your heart rate through a practice called photoplethysmography. To get your results within seconds, all you have to do is place your finger over the camera and flash. Also: The best fitness rings These mobile heart-rate monitoring apps do not come with your phone as standard, but can be downloaded in your smartphone's app store. To figure out which one to download, I recommend going to the app store and downloading a free app with the most positive reviews. There are many perks to regularly tracking your heart rate, including being more in-tune with you body. I personally used one of these apps to monitor my irregular heart rate and, ultimately, got my heart condition diagnosed. 7. Hold your medical insurance card If you own a smartphone, you are likely familiar with the concept of a digital wallet. With a digital wallet, you can add cards, boarding passes, tickets, and more to your smartphone for easy access when paying or entering certain events. Also: How to add your driver's license to Apple Wallet But did you know that you can also add your health insurance card? I love this feature because my pesky health insurance card always gets stuck to other cards in my wallet just when you need it. Also: How to add your transit card to Apple Wallet For your convenience, many insurance providers, including Cigna and Aetna, allow for mobile access to your insurance card. All you have to do is download the app for your insurance provider and sign in. There, both iPhone and Android users will find your mobile health insurance card, which you can then present at any healthcare provider. If you are an iPhone user, you get the added perk of adding it to your Apple Wallet. Bonus feature Just as a reminder for those of you who might have forgotten: as well as working as a compass, flashlight, TV remote, and thousands of other functions that you can download as apps, your smartphone can also... make calls. Yes, really!" Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/seven-things-you-didnt-realize-your-phone-can-do/