Admit your ignorance - things you've only just realised/learned

[Beebo]

I was doing a cryptic crossword earlier and discovered that a Segway is a Segway, but it is not a segue!

It was a recent Wordle answer.
I didn’t realise the pronunciation either until then.

 

[albion]

The mini heatwave really hit France.
As high as 29.5C in the south region. And still February !

 

[presta]

Today's new word: Potemkin regulator.

 

[presta]

I was doing a cryptic crossword earlier and discovered that a Segway is a Segway, but it is not a segue!

It was a while before I realised that a segue is a segue and not a segway.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The mini heatwave really hit France.
As high as 29.5C in the south region. And still February !

Meanwhile in Finnish Lapland I'm told by a friend they've had their coldest winter for 50 years, and a big change from the (relatively) warm winters of recent years. Cold enough to close the airports for a while because the de-icing machines couldn't operate.

 

[DaveReading]

Today's new word: Potemkin regulator.

That's two words.

 

[captain nemo1701]

I've watched it for my whole life, but only a couple of years ago I realised that Thunderbird 1 goes down the ramp into the launch bay with the name on the fuselage facing the camera, but a second shot from the side show sits still readable...since when did TB1 swivel 90 degrees?.

I often delight in asking Star Trek: The Next Generation newbies did they spot the 'little figures' in the opening credits?.
After Brent Spiner's name appears, keep focused on the conference lounge windows on the top 'bubble' of the saucer section as the ship moves under the camera.

A tiny figure moves left to right, gives you a realisation of how big the ship is!.

The "little figure" sometimes noticed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) opening credits is a piece of hand-drawn animation used to create the illusion of crew members walking inside the Enterprise-D's conference lounge.

There are also tiny visual gags 'Okudagrams' named after the shows graphic artists, Mike & Denise Okuda, in the large 1701D graphic in engineering : a duck, a mouse, a Porsche, a DC-3 plane, the Nomad space probe (TOS episode 'Changeling') and a hamster in a wheel are hidden in various rooms/shuttle bays.

 

[ColinJ]

I discovered that my old Logitech mouse can be used with my new Macbook. That may not sound surprising but the mouse is a wireless one which communicates over a 2.4 GHz link to a USB-A dongle. The thing is... the Mac does not have a USB-A port!

I just remembered that I had bought a USB-C to USB-A OTG converter cable so I could upload routes from my Android tablet to an old Garmin GPS device. I wondered whether that might work with the Mac, so I gave it a go and it did.

The trackpad on the Mac is excellent so most of the time I will be happy to use that, but I would prefer to use a mouse when doing a lot of intricate work.

Bonus discovery - I plugged the mouse dongle adapter into my tablet and that worked straight away too without any faffing about.

I wonder if it works with my phone...? Yes, it does!

I am used to spending hours trying to sort out tech problems so it surprised me that this worked without me having to do anything other than just hook the dongle up.

 

[Pblakeney]

I discovered that my old Logitech mouse can be used with my new Macbook. That may not sound surprising but the mouse is a wireless one which communicates over a 2.4 GHz link to a USB-A dongle. The thing is... the Mac does not have a USB-A port!

Is your MacBook not simply using Bluetooth as a wireless method?
I've been using one for decades.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I discovered that my old Logitech mouse can be used with my new Macbook. That may not sound surprising but the mouse is a wireless one which communicates over a 2.4 GHz link to a USB-A dongle. The thing is... the Mac does not have a USB-A port!

I just remembered that I had bought a USB-C to USB-A OTG converter cable so I could upload routes from my Android tablet to an old Garmin GPS device. I wondered whether that might work with the Mac, so I gave it a go and it did.

The trackpad on the Mac is excellent so most of the time I will be happy to use that, but I would prefer to use a mouse when doing a lot of intricate work.

Bonus discovery - I plugged the mouse dongle adapter into my tablet and that worked straight away too without any faffing about.

I wonder if it works with my phone...? Yes, it does!

I am used to spending hours trying to sort out tech problems so it surprised me that this worked without me having to do anything other than just hook the dongle up.

USB is quite a simple thing

and the mouse is (probably) just taking power from the USB thing and communicating with the mouse using it - all hidden from the mac
then its USB stuff to the Mac will just be basic USB mouse stuff
in these case older ones work better as they are more basic
it is the fancy pants new things that have problems as they need new drivers rather than using default ones that have not changed for years!

 

[ColinJ]

Is your MacBook not simply using Bluetooth as a wireless method?
I've been using one for decades.

its USB stuff to the Mac will just be basic USB mouse stuff
in these case older ones work better as they are more basic
it is the fancy pants new things that have problems as they need new drivers rather than using default ones that have not changed for years!

The mouse is one of those old basic ones that doesn't use Bluetooth.

I had been watching a fancy pants new mouse on eBay but then realised that I do not need one of those for occasional use.

I had imagined that the dongle would need drivers installing so I was surprised when it didn't.

That's £50-100 saved!

 

[Pblakeney]

USB is quite a simple thing

and the mouse is (probably) just taking power from the USB thing and communicating with the mouse using it - all hidden from the mac
then its USB stuff to the Mac will just be basic USB mouse stuff
in these case older ones work better as they are more basic
it is the fancy pants new things that have problems as they need new drivers rather than using default ones that have not changed for years!

I am currently using a Logitech MX Master which is fairly fancy pants.
Macs don't use drivers. Things either work, or they don't. 😉