I'm usually on the backside of the technology wave. It's less expensive there.

Whos is the best AI of all? Deepseek. Grok. Gemini, ChatGPT?

This page contains notes I have gathered working on usually older PCs. Recently I found macbook pros and imacs interesting as the equipment is old around 2010 but still in high quality shape. Sort of a recycling hobbiest into cheap high quality tech.

Putting linux mint or ubuntu on one of these older machines breathes new life. Also increasing memory  and upgrading drive to ssd will improve performance. Both options are very inexpensive. I put the model number of device into grok and ask what type of memory to add. Then purchase the memory from Amazon. also check youtubes on replacing the memory so you know you can do it. Don't neccesarily have to max out memory. 16 gigs is usually good.  Memory is around 20 dollars these days 5-30-2025.

The ssd drives are sometimes a little harder to get at. Again check you can do it then purchase a drive from Amazon. 

Ask AI if drive will work. 250 GB drives are usually large enough to make a old PC hum. 

GOOGLE KEEP DELETION RECOVERY

I deleted a 3 month list in google keep accidentally and could not get it back on iphone. I go to another pc that  is not online and open the file. I saved it in a notepad type program made a backup on google drive and then started my long list again. 

I was saved.

filetype:ppt cyber security.

search operators supported by Google.

"exact phrase": Double quotes indicate that you are looking for pages with the exact word or phrase. For example, one might search for "passive reconnaissance" to get pages with this exact phrase.

site:: This operator lets you specify the domain name to which you want to limit your search. For example, we can search for success stories on TryHackMe using site:tryhackme.com success stories.

-: The minus sign allows you to omit search results that contain a particular word or phrase. For example, you might be interested in learning about the pyramids, but you don’t want to view tourism websites; one approach is to search for pyramids -tourism or -tourism pyramids.

filetype:: This search operator is indispensable for finding files instead of web pages. Some of the file types you can search for using Google are Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word Document (DOC), Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (XLS), and Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation (PPT). For example, to find cyber security presentations, try searching for filetype:ppt cyber security.

Movie plays but NO SOUND on ROKU

I had a movie on usb and went to play it in ROKU. Video part played fine but no sound. I asked deepseek and gave this command and it worked. Now can watch video with sound on roku.

ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

got this from deepseek and it worked. I copied a movie to my home directory and renamed it input.mkv then ran ffmpeg line above. This made the new output file with sound. The sound is working now with roku.

Linux MINT

How to upgrade Linux Mint in terminal? sudo apt update then sudo apt upgrade

In your terminal run command: ``sudo apt install mintupgrade''. After installation run command: ``sudo mintupgrade''.

Aug 6, 2022

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sudo ufw deny 111 #closes port 111 with Uncomplicated Firewall ************************

nmap 192.168.1.0/24   #scan local area network with nmap 

##Cntrl + C copys to memory. In Terminal Cntrl + Shift + V pastes into terminal. 

#Pound sign and after are comments.

nmap 192.168.1.0/24  >> NMAP2024.txt #makes a file called nmap2024.txt in your home directory

nmap -sV -sC --script vuln 192.168.1.0/24 >> ShowsVunerabilites.txt # shows vunerabilities on your system takes 30 minutes to run

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sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

sudo apt autoremove <-- seems to clean stuff from drive

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SEE Journal in terminal

journalctl -xe

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Install video codecs mint

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras (maybe try tab to ok now once it stops on OK)

failed because I didn't try tab

sudo apt --configure -a

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

To choose OK on Microsoft ULA 

Press tab and then arrow keys to toggle to the Ok (or yes) and accept the eula.

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Read txt file in home folder generated by nmap help

nmap -help >>nmaphelp.txt

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Trim cleans up ssd drive making it faster and lasts longer according to google

sudo fstrim -v /

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Hot corners find Hot corners in application list and enable

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In software manager choose setings 3 lines upper right  enable search in software descriptios to get better search results.

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In software manager install anki a nice flashcard application helps with human memory

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Installing linux mint 22 on 2011 Macbook Pro.

Installed Linux Mint onto ssd in compatibility mode.

 I used nano and edited the grub file adding nomodeset right after quiet splash. 

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Then the problem was I could not run update-grub from terminal. Got it done by steps below and luck.

I kept running sudo nano /etc/default/grub booting from install usb with compatible video selected.

That kept failing, I must have been editing grub file on USB. Not on installed system.

Fix. I made  a USB install with Ubuntu. Booted to try Ubuntu. Chose file explorer Folder icon in Ubuntu.

Chose ssd drive with system files on it and navigated to /etc/default/grub added nomodeset behind quiet splash and saved.  Chat gpt said for 2011 macbook pro -->nomodeset  i915.modeset=0

This worked "quiet splash nomodeset i915.modeset=1"

Exit ubuntu install and back to linux mint install usb. 

Now I need to run update-grub

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trying 

Replace nomodeset i915.modeset=1 with AMD-specific options, such as:

Copy code

nomodeset radeon.modeset=1 #radeon didnt work for me

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lspci | grep -ii vga   #<-- shows vga compatible controllers

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sudo fdisk -l    #<------------------------ shows Linux filesystem on /dev/sda2

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1.)  sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt  #mounts location so i can accesss it?

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sudo nano /mnt/etc/default/grub   opens grub for edit? cntrl+x exit nano <--edited grub on usb not the one i wanted. You may have better luck

2.) sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev

3.) sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

4.) sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc  sets up access for next

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5.) sudo chroot /mnt

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6.) update-grub  #it finally worked just did update-grub in chroot took awhile

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I went to chat.openai.com and can copy terminal commands directly into terminal

Use CNTRL + SHIFT + C to copy in TERMINAL

LINUX FEDORA

update in terminal

sudo dnf upgrade

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see wifi networks in terminal

nmcli dev wifi

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wifi problem wifi shuts off after suspend

You can create a file called something like /etc/modprobe.d/disable-power-saving.conf and inside it simply put:

options iwlwifi power_save=false

Then reboot and check it worked by running:

iw phy0 info | grep -i power

You should see something like this:

SM Power Save disabled

I saw Device supports per-vif TX power setting

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Install VLC Videolan 

Install Repository

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Check repository

dnf repolist

Install video codecs

sudo dnf install gstreamer1-plugins-{bad-*,good-*,base} gstreamer1-plugin-openh264 gstreamer1-libav --exclude=gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-devel

sudo dnf install lame* --exclude=lame-devel

sudo dnf group upgrade --with-optional Multimedia

Install VLC

sudo dnf install vlc

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INSTALL SPOTIFY
Debian / Ubuntu

Spotify for Linux is also released as a Debian package. Our aim is that it should work with the latest Long Term Support release of Ubuntu, but we will try to make it work for other releases of Ubuntu and Debian as well.

You will first need to configure our debian repository:

curl -sS https://download.spotify.com/debian/pubkey_6224F9941A8AA6D1.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/spotify.gpg

echo "deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list

Then you can install the Spotify client:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install spotify-client

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ubuntu on imac

imac shows folder at boot.

Install ubuntu with manual setting instead of automatic. Make boot partition 500 mb. Automatic install made boot partition was to big over 1 GB.  Format it vfat or FAT32 and point it to /boot/efi

size other partitions 

/home being the big one 

/swap same size and gb memory 4GB memory = 4GB swap

Other quirk in manual partitioning was I was not getting next ungreyed till I set first partition / ext4 and 50GB.

This automatically popped in the second partition/boot/efi I resized this to 500 mb

and set type to FAT32

Below recommended partition scheme for 1Ubuntu 24 manual install 1 TB ssd drive.

Root: 50 GB  mount point / type ext4

EFI: 300 MB mount point /boot/efi make it 500MB type ext4

Boot 1 GB Holds images mount point /root type ext4

Swap: 8 GB make it equal to ram memory mount pont blank type swap

Home 940GB rest of drive mount point /home type ext4

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IMAC 2010 fan goes to full speed

I understand the core issue now - the applesmc module needs to be reloaded before the fan control files appear. Here's a complete automated solution that handles this at boot:

1. Create a Reload-and-Set Script

#terminal commands below

sudo bash -c 'cat > /usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager << "EOF"

#!/bin/bash

# Reload module

sudo modprobe -r applesmc 2>/dev/null

sudo modprobe applesmc 2>/dev/null

# Wait for control files

for i in {1..10}; do

    if FAN=$(ls /sys/devices/platform/applesmc*/fan2_manual 2>/dev/null); then

        echo 1 > "$FAN"

        echo 2000 > "${FAN%_manual}_output"

        exit 0

    fi

    sleep 1

done

exit 1

EOF'

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager

2. Configure Password-less Sudo for Modprobe

#terminal commands below

#probably need to insert your own username here in echo line below

echo "tom ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/modprobe" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/imac-fan

3. Create Systemd Service

#terminal commands below

sudo bash -c 'cat > /etc/systemd/system/imac-fan.service << "EOF"

[Unit]

Description=iMac Fan Manager

After=multi-user.target

[Service]

Type=oneshot

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager

RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

EOF'

4. Enable the Service

#terminal commands below

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl enable --now imac-fan.service

5. Add a Cron Backup (Runs Every Minute)

#terminal commands below

(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "* * * * * /usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager") | crontab -

Verification:

#terminal commands below

systemctl status imac-fan.service

cat /sys/devices/platform/applesmc*/fan2_input 2>/dev/null

Key Improvements:

1. Automatic module reload at each execution

2. Dual protection (systemd + cron)

3. No password required for modprobe

4. Wildcard paths handle changing locations

5. Persistent across reboots

The system will now:

• Reload the module

• Wait for control files

• Set your desired fan speed

• Retry automatically if needed

To adjust speed later:

#terminal commands below

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager  # Change the 2000 value

sudo systemctl restart imac-fan.service

tom@tom-im2725:~$ cat /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.*/fan2_input

1998

tom@tom-im2725:~$ 

you fixed it thanks

🎉 Success! Your iMac's fan is now locked at ~2000 RPM and will automatically maintain this setting on every boot. Here's what we accomplished:

Final Solution Summary

1. Automatic Module Reload

   • Forces the applesmc driver to reset at boot

   • Waits for fan control files to appear

2. Permanent Fan Speed Lock

3. bash

4. Copy

5. Download

echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.*/fan2_manual

6. echo 2000 | sudo tee /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.*/fan2_output
   (Set to 2000 RPM — safe for SSDs, quiet enough for daily use)

7. Self-Healing Protection

   • Systemd service (runs at boot)

   • Cron job (checks every minute as backup)

8. Temperature Safety Net

   • CPU/GPU fans still auto-adjust

   • Monitor temps anytime with:

   • bash

   • Copy

   • Download

   • watch -n 2 "sensors | grep -E 'Core|Package'"
     (Safe range: <80°C under load)

If You Need to Adjust Later

• Change fan speed:

• #terminal commands below

• 
  

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/imac-fan-manager  # Edit the "2000" value

• sudo systemctl restart imac-fan.service
  (Min safe RPM: 1500 for SSDs)

• Revert to auto-control:

• #terminal commands below

• 
  

sudo systemctl stop imac-fan.service

sudo systemctl disable imac-fan.service

crontab -e  # Delete the cron line

• echo 0 | sudo tee /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.*/fan2_manual

Final Checks

✅ Fan speed stable:

#terminal commands below

cat /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.*/fan2_input

✅ Service running:

#terminal commands below

systemctl status imac-fan.service

✅ CPU temps normal:

#terminal commands below

sensors | grep Core

Enjoy your quiet, cool iMac! If you ever need to tweak the settings, just follow the adjustment steps above. Thanks for your patience throughout the process! 🚀

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XSCREENSAVER ON UBUNTU 24

At boot choose gear at bottom to change screen system from wayland to x11 or something like that.

Then you can install xscreensaver. Try switching back to way land on next boot and see if xscreensaver works.

TERMINAL COMMAND TO SEE IF UBUNTU 24 is in Wayland or X11  echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

GROK 3 said below

It’s great that you’re exploring XScreenSaver on Ubuntu 24.04, and your observation about it working under Wayland (likely via XWayland) is spot-on—though it might feel a bit unexpected! Let’s break this down and address your concern about whether running an unsandboxed XScreenSaver could expose you to security risks.

XScreenSaver is a venerable, well-tested screensaver framework originally designed for the X11 display server. When you switched back to Wayland after installing it, what’s likely happening is that XScreenSaver is running through XWayland, a compatibility layer that lets X11 applications work in a Wayland environment. This explains why it still functions despite Wayland’s lack of native screensaver support. It’s a cool quirk, but not necessarily “weird”—just a testament to Linux’s flexibility.

Now, about the “not sandboxed” warning from the App Center (likely referring to a Flatpak or Snap version not being available): this means XScreenSaver, when installed via traditional methods (e.g., apt install xscreensaver), runs with the same privileges as your user account and isn’t isolated in a container like sandboxed apps are. Sandboxing (used by tools like Flatpak or Snap) restricts an app’s access to your system, limiting what it can touch—files, network, hardware, etc. An unsandboxed app, by contrast, has broader access, which could increase risk if the app were malicious or exploited.

So, are you opening yourself up to being hacked? Here’s the reality:

1. XScreenSaver Itself Is Trustworthy: XScreenSaver has been around since the early 1990s, maintained by JaTom Gatelymie Zawinski, and is widely regarded as a safe, open-source tool. It’s included in Ubuntu’s official repositories, which means it’s vetted by the Ubuntu team. There’s no evidence of it being inherently malicious or a common attack vector.

2. Unsandboxed Risks: Since it’s not sandboxed, XScreenSaver theoretically has access to anything your user account can touch—your files, network, etc. If a vulnerability were discovered in XScreenSaver (or one of its many graphical “hacks”), and an attacker tricked you into running a maliciously crafted screensaver configuration or binary, they could potentially exploit it to escalate privileges or cause harm. However, this would require:

   • A specific, unpatched flaw in XScreenSaver (none are widely known as of now).

   • You downloading and running a compromised screensaver module from an untrusted source (e.g., not the official repos).

3. X11 and XWayland Security: X11 historically has weaker isolation than Wayland. Under X11, any app can potentially snoop on others (e.g., keylogging or screen scraping), though XScreenSaver itself isn’t designed to do this. When running via XWayland on Wayland, some of these risks are mitigated because Wayland’s design isolates applications better—but XWayland still bridges that gap, so it’s not as locked down as a native Wayland app would be.

4. Practical Risk: In practice, the risk is low unless you’re in a high-threat environment (e.g., targeted by sophisticated attackers) or you install random, unverified screensaver modules from sketchy websites. If you stick to the official Ubuntu packages and don’t mess with custom configs from untrusted sources, you’re unlikely to face issues.

What You Can Do

• Keep It Updated: Regularly update your system (sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade) to ensure XScreenSaver and everything else have the latest security patches.

• Check Permissions: Run ps aux | grep xscreensaver to confirm it’s running as your user, not root (it shouldn’t be root unless something’s misconfigured).

• Limit Exposure: Avoid installing third-party screensaver hacks unless you trust the source.

• Switch to Wayland Alternatives (Optional): If you’re really worried, there’s no native Wayland screensaver yet, but you could explore workarounds like mpvpaper (for video wallpapers) or just let Wayland blank the screen naturally. These aren’t as fun as XScreenSaver’s trippy visuals, though!

Bottom Line

Running XScreenSaver unsandboxed on Ubuntu 24.04 with Wayland isn’t a glaring security hole. It’s a low-risk setup for most users, especially if you’re cautious about what you install. The “not sandboxed” warning is more of a general heads-up than a red flag specific to XScreenSaver. Enjoy the retro vibes—it’s probably fine! If you’re still uneasy, let me know, and we can dig deeper into hardening your setup.

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Can not install mac os on 2011 mac 

[FIXED] High Sierra “The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted” Error. High Sierra Internet Recovery is Still Online, but Broken!

Fix #3 Change the NVRAM Software Update URL

This fix is quick and easy and can be cleared out with a simple NVRAM/PRAM Reset.

Once in macOS recovery, click “Install or Upgrade macOS High Sierra”.

On the next screen. From the menu bar at the top select “Window” and then “Installer Log”

This above is a great troubleshooting tip because you see what is happening in the log right away.

Now click the continue arrow next button. It will stall again, and show the error.

You will now see the error log at the bottom.

Click the “Continue” Button. It will take 10-20 seconds for the recovery error to show up. when it does, go to the log at the bottom.

Scroll up to the very top and look for this line below

Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog: Error Domain=MSUProductManagerErrorDomain

I found the https://swscan down further in log.

Now click “Edit” from the top menu bar and select “Copy”

You now have the URL Copied. Click the “OK” Button on the recovery error to exit back to the main menu.

Now click on the top menu bar “Utilities” and select “Terminal”

Now you are in the Terminal app. Let’s paste the last section that we grabbed from the log. Click “Edit” from the top menu bar and select “Paste”

Highlight this url

https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog

Remove the s in https

final command in terminal

nvram IASUCatalogURL="http://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog"

do not reboot try install again

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WINDOWS  CHROME BROWSER

Here’s how to run Chrome’s Update:

1. Open Chrome on your device.

2. At the top-right corner of the browser you will see three dots next to your profile image. Click on the three dots.

3. A pop-up window will appear beneath the dots. Scroll down through the list and select the Settings option near the bottom.

4. This opens a new page with find a variety of customization options from changing the layout of the browser to the various permission settings that decide which online programs can access your device.

5. Chose about Chrome in bottom left.  This will update Chrome browser.

6. Type clean in searchbox at top center to find security settings.

INSTALL PRINTER ON CHROMEBOOK

At lower right click on notifications.Click on gear to bring up settings. At bottom of settings click advanced. Find printers and click add printer.

Go to windows computer and click print test page for the printer. Notice printer name near top of test page.

Go to browser and go to router. 192.168.1.1 Login to your router. See what address your printer is at. Usually under attached devices on router site. Look on router for router login if needed.

On chromebook go to add printer. Use printer name

Use address like this  for "EPSON-ET 2800 Series" printer 192.168.1.22:80

Used address like this for "Pantum Wireless"  192.168.1.32

I then hit cntrl + P to print and change custom pages to one to print one test page.

I will remove printers that are not there.