DON'T use SSD's as backup drives!

This is not news, but still something that most people don't know, mostly because the manufacturers don't tell this.

SSD's are advertised as being the successor to normal Harddrives, and for daily use that might be true, but not as backup drives. 

They will loose data over time if just in a drawer and not connected to electricity.

If you take them out once in a while and use them, then you might be ok, but if left and forgotten, then there will most likely be data loss.

And that is exactly what nobody wants. 

Summer Gadget buying advice!

Summer is close and many people will be buying gadgets, here is a few tips regarding  Smartphones:

1. If you buy with big screen then make sure the capacity of the battery is equal or more than 4000mAh, preferably 5000 mAh and up.

2. Save yourself the headache of broken screen and purchase a flipcover together with the phone - even if the phone has Gorilla glass it can crack.

3. Do some research on the model, especially battery and CPU - www.gsmarena.com is a good place to start. Also search Google for known problems with the model.

4. Be extremely careful if you think of buying from Facebook market or other pages on Facebook, there are alot of fake phones.

5. Make sure the model support fast charging, especially here in the Philippines(since brownout is freely suplied by Power Companies).

6. If chinese phone then make sure it doesn't have alot of ads or useless pre-installed Aps, like some Xiaomi and Vivo phones has. Going with the international or EU version could be a good choice.

6. Make sure the phone is supported with updates for the next couple of years.

7. Make sure the phone is at least protected by IP see explanation here https://www.audioreputation.com/ipx-ratings-explained/

Happy hunting😊

Do NOT trust Xiaomitime.com!

In the start of 2025 Xiaomitime reported that Redmi Note 12 4G Tapas would get HyperOS 3.0, and even their "HyperOS Downloader App" claimed this. 

And by that they allowed and enabled Xiaomi to sell more of the Redmi Note 12 4G Tapas they had in stock, devices that were promised by Xiaomitime to get HyperOS 3.0.

Xiaomi Philippines has confirmed to me that Redmi Note 12 4G Tapas will not recieve HyperOS 3.0, but will recieve security updates until 2027.

Xiaomitime lied! 

The HyperOS Downloader App, which in fact is not Xiaomitime's App as they claim, but made by a third party company and the real name is Memeos 3.0 Enhancer on Play store, now report that Redmi Note 12 4G Tapas will not get HyperOS 3.0.

Users of this App should be very careful in what they do and not use it to modify their phone in any way, the App is not stable and might send the phone into boot loop. 

On my own phone when I uninstalled the App it left something behind, that immediately after the uninstall, started to cause problems with my Apps including Play store, I had to re-install a couple of Apps and Clear cache on Play store.

The phones own security App could not open, and I had to install Avast which found something left behind by the Memeos App, and removed it.

Directly after my phone were working correctly again and the phones own security App could open.

This is virus and malware behaviour, when an App is uninstalled it should not leave something behind that causes problems, and I am not talking about log files.

Do NOT trust this company or that app! 

Ram use of Linux Mint!

There is a misconception among new users and some old ones, that Cinnamon uses a lot more Ram than other Desktop Environments(DE) in Linux Mint versions.

Cinnamon uses approximately 650 - 900Mb(Megabyte) on idle.

Cinnamon uses 100 - 200Mb more than MATE idle.

Cinnamon uses 150 - 300Mb more than XFCE when idle.

It is not a lot, but if you are trying to use Linux Mint on very old hardware that uses 2Gb Ram and no longer can be upgraded, then I can see why you might want to squeeze the last drop out of it. 

Any more Ram use is caused by apps you use. 

In this case Linux Lite or Lubuntu might be a better alternative, Linux Mint can run on 2Gb Ram, with limited functionality on the apps side, not the DE itself. 

4Gb Ram is better, even more is better.

SSD instead of Harddisk is better. But that is the same in most Linux and Windows Versions.

Some very small and lightweight Linux distros run entirely in Ram, so only access to Storage drive is download/upload or running apps which also use minimal Storage use. 

Someone could possibly build a new distro based on Linux Mint, with less hardware requirements, but that is another story. 

Don't buy 2nd hand Chromebooks, it is not worth it!

The following is not news, it has been covered in several magazines and online platforms, so why would I repeat it? 

Because in the Philippines there is a booming market selling these Chromebooks. 

Most are advertised as being laptops, they are not laptops! Its gimmick the seller is imposing on unsuspecting buyers. 

For the most Chromebooks work just fine if you only want to browse the internet or do some mild office work, but they are not workhorses like a laptop! Also most of the functions are online. 

On a real laptop you can work offline if you want to.

Chromebooks are not ment to be upgraded, they are basically Netbooks with a bigger screen, CPU and battery, but where on Netbooks you mostly could upgrade the ram(limited though) and the storage, this is for the most not possible on Chromebooks because ram and storage is soldered(on some you can upgrade the storage), you can add a memory card though, but it is ultra-slow and should only be used for personal files. 

Chromebooks are also not supported for very long time, if you have reached the end of software updates, you can't just install a newer version of Chrome OS, like you would be able to do on a laptop.

It will take research and some tinkering that could end you up with an expensive paperweight. 

If you are Technical minded, some, but not all, Chromebooks can be updated to newer version of Chrome OS or ChromeOS flex or Linux, if you remove a screw inside and flash the firmware, but it is not a guarantee that it will work and not something a normal consumer should do because of the riscs involved - Remember Paperweight!

Chromebooks have like many newer laptops built-in battery, which only last for a couple of years, finding a replacement might turn out to be a nightmare because spareparts were not part of the "plan" when these came out. There are some after-market batteries, but quality is not really the same as the original.

Failing parts on Chromebooks is usually, battery screen and keyboard, on most Chromebooks the keyboard is located under the motherboard, meaning that in order to change the keyboard you first have to remove the motherboard, and there are so many things that can go wrong, so this should for the most, be left to professionals to do, which increases the cost of upgrades and repairs.

All in all, just get an upgradable laptop instead, but make sure it doesn't have soldered ram or soldered storage! And make sure it can run Linux or ChromeOS Flex, I will not recommend Windows for privacy reasons. 

For most, Core i5 - i7 should do, stay away from Core i3 it will be too slow for real work. And make sure to get a laptop with an SSD and a battery that lasts more than 2 hours, unless there is an outlet anywhere you travel. 

Also, stay away from dealers that only give 1-3 months warranty, that mean they only stand by by the product they sell for those 1-3 months and anything that happens after that period, is on you.

If you are Technical minded like me, its ok because you can do all the repairs yourself, but if you are not, then it can end up costing almost half of what you paid for the laptop in the first place. 

I mostly buy my laptops from private people and do all the repairs myself, then use the laptop for about 8-10 years with a few upgrades in between, until the laptop can't work anymore(electronics don't last forever) or the cost of parts is higher than to buy another second hand laptop.

And I, doesn't mean you have to, always buy Lenovo Thinkpads of T, X, W and L(budget) series, and always do research before buying.

There used to be companies making Barebone laptops that you could buy from new, and just upgrade yourself, but that is not seen very often anymore.

If you want to run Linux, there are manufacturers that deliver laptops with it pre-installed, like Tuxedo, System76 even some Lenovo laptops, just search for it. 

But you can for most just install it yourself on your own laptop, just do your research first, but that is another story.

Good luck 😉😁