Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 November 4

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November 4

Is there any current manufacturer of Canadian multilingual keyboards?

I would like to know whether keyboards compliant with CAN/CSA Z243.200.92 and approved by the Office québécois de la langue française still exist. I wasn’t able to find a recently produced keyboard in e-commerce websites (eBay, Amazon) which can be shipped to Europe. I would like to test it. Thanks in advance.--Carnby (talk) 16:18, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Getting the most out of a laptop battery, when all you want is a typewriter

How can I obtain the longest running time when I only want to type a text on my laptop? Is any OS (maybe some Linux dist) optimized for this? I don't need any fancy graphics, indeed, I don't need any at all. If necessary I can work in a command-line type of environment, no matter how ugly it looks like. If emacs is available, that would make me happy, but it's not a must.--Hofhof (talk) 18:11, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Use a Linux distro and boot to command-line, I guess. emacs is available on every general-purpose distro, and it works just fine in a terminal (unsurprisingly, as emacs is older than modern personal computers). I'm not sure you'll see much of a difference with modern hardware though. But I could be wrong, and obviously you can experiment and compare battery life with a full GUI environment versus CLI. If you really want to maximize battery life, you'll likely want to do some fiddling with system settings, including possibly the kernel. PowerTOP will likely be useful for figuring out what's using power, and you can find tons more advice with Web searches for things like "linux laptop power saving". (If you settle on a distro, try adding your distro name to the search as well.) --47.138.165.200 (talk) 23:10, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Building on this, some distributions, such as Ubuntu, offer server or minimal versions that install without a graphical user interface. Otherwise, many will install a GUI by default, which you can uninstall or disable on startup ([1]). In addition to PowerTOP, this page lists a few ways of getting battery statistics from the command line. Graphics aren't the only thing to worry about, however. Any process running in the background can put a drain on the battery, however slight. With that in mind, you could look at lightweight Linux distributions that run only essential services to save on space and resources. clpo13_(talk) 23:27, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

I largely agree with 47. An issue with "however slight" is dimishing returns. Modern computers and OSes are quite effective already at saving power during periods of low usage, so while you will likely get some savings from turning of non essential services, the level often won't be that high. You're quickly going to reach a level where you're talking about minutes or even seconds of savings on hours of usage. Especially if you avoid installing (including preinstalled by the computer manufacturer) unnecessary junk. I'm assuming of course the OP wants to be able to see what's on the display so there's a big chunk of power usage you can't actually affect much, and what you can do is mostly dependent on brightness and what you see on the bulk of the screen. Also since these power saving modes are generally reliant on interaction between the OS/drivers and hardware, you need to make sure your OS is sufficiently advanced to use them, otherwise you could increase power usage. Nil Einne (talk) 13:19, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

A couple suggestions:

1) Use light colored text, maybe green or red, on a black background. Most of the pixels are in the background, and keeping that black may limit power usage by the display. You can change the color once done typing.

2) Write up and edit your text on paper first. Then, once it is perfected, type it in. This avoids having the laptop on during the thinking and editing processes. StuRat (talk) 15:44, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

I'd say 1) is outright wrong. And a bad idea too, if you care about the strain placed on your eyes.

2) is not within the OP's question. He clearly asked about how to use a computer efficiently. Llaanngg (talk) 18:18, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

1 is sometimes true, depending on the technology, which is why I said "may" instead of "will".

2 is within the range of the Q. To use a laptop most efficiently, you will only use it for what is necessary. Staring at the screen, wasting power, while trying to think of what else to say, is not efficient use of laptop power. StuRat (talk) 03:58, 6 November 2016 (UTC)

1 is correct for CRTs, where the savings can be in the double digits (on a 19" CRT, an all white screen is 25 watts hotter than the XP default wallpaper). On simple TFTs, it increases wattage slightly (2 or 3 watts on an older TFT - not only does the backlighting draw power, but the LCD is working as hard as it can to block all that light). Some TFTs detect a scenario where the screen is mostly black or dark and reduce backlighting; my Toshiba TV does that, and it can be annoying at times.

Reducing the brightness before a long typing session should work better than any color changes unless the backlighting power is fixed, but on recent laptops, it hardly ever is. - ¡Ouch! (^{hurt me} / _{more pain}) 16:03, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

To be pedantic. Black pixel power-saving depends on the the technology that the screen uses. Do black interfaces really save power on AMOLED displays?. Total agree with installing a min linux distro though. Puppy Linux is very small without having lots of things running in the background and it runs emacs. Working (or typing) in a dark corner of the room obviously helps to keep the screen brighness down but from your question I guess your asking about using it places where there are no sockets. In which case, consider a multi purpose Power Bank. How to Charge a Laptop With a Power Bank--Aspro (talk) 18:23, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

Buy a AlphaSmart Neo2, made by by Renaissance Learning. Less than $30 used, and it is so durable that the used ones look like new ones. Great keyboard. Runs for over 700 hours on three AA batteries.

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00T0ZG06O/&condition=used
• http://the-digital-reader.com/2015/11/13/in-praise-of-the-alphasmart-neo/
• http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/portable-word-processor/
• http://www.williamlanday.com/2009/05/29/things-i-love-the-alphasmart-neo/
• http://geardiary.com/2010/07/25/the-alphasmart-neo-the-ultimate-draft-writing-tool/
• http://tools-for-thought.com/2008/03/17/writing-the-alphasmart-way/
• http://tools-for-thought.com/2008/05/27/further-thoughts-on-writing-the-alphasmart-way/
• http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1741938,00.asp

I bought one and after a month I still use it daily, so I bought two more in case one or two of them ever breaks. One of the best decisions I have ever made, IMO. --Guy Macon (talk) 17:51, 5 November 2016 (UTC)