Poll: Using an external keyboard with laptop - personal/domestic use

[JohnW2]

But getting back to electrical matters, I've actually had electricians tell me with complete certainty that the dividers between sections of trunking only insulate one way Yes, some believe that you can only put the mains in a certain section, and ELV stuff (e.g. my network cables) in another specific section.

Ah, maybe that was perhaps the same 'electrician' who, very many years ago (and just before I 'sacked' him) tried to vigorously insist that I needed a second RCD close to a shower, since, "by the time it got back to the RCD in the (admittedly fairly distant) CU" any leakage/imbalance current would have fallen to too low a level to trip the RCD

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Mind you, one day one of the factory lads brought a radio to me for repair. It had been dropped in a vat of wax (but very quickly retrieved) and was completely encased in the stuff. But it was a decent make (Icom I think) and "waterproof", so once I'd picked the wax out of the grills etc it worked fine. ...

I seem to recall that, very many moons (decades) ago, I guess before better encapsulating options were readily available, I sometimes saw small assemblies of electronics 'encapsulated' in blocks of some sort of wax (at least, that's what it appeared to be). If that recollection is correct, I presume it must have been a wax (or whatever) with a relatively high melting point, and a practice reserved for electronics which didn't generate significant amounts of heat!

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

I wouldn't use the work laptop on it's own except by necessity - for one thing I can barely read the screen as it's "full HD" on a 13" display, and I'd rather forgo the extra screen space and keep the lid closed. ... Oh yes, and many laptop users (until March) rarely (or never) actually used it away from their own desk - it only ever travelled the distance from the locker to desk in the morning, and back again in the evening. ... But for personal/home use, that would be the exception from my observation.

Indeed, that's all as i would expect.

Although the current voting is pointing in the direction I was expecting, I was initially surprised by the number of people (currently 17%) indicating that they always used an external keyboard for home/personal use. However, I was probably overlooking the fact that an appreciable number of home users use a laptop as if it were a 'desktop', which rarely, if ever, moved from the same place on the same desk/whatever. In that situation, it would not be surprising if a significant proportion of them were using external keyboards and/or monitors (and certainly mice!) - and, in some senses, that doesn't really 'count' as 'using a laptop' (since it isn't being used as a laptop)!

I suppose it's somewhat analogous to the situation if I were asked to participate in a survey of 'combi microwave oven' owners. We have had such a thing for many years, but I can't recall having ever used it as anything other than a microwave oven. Hence, since I might as well have had a straight microwave, my value to such a survey would be limited to indicating what proportion of users didn't actually need such a product!

The numbers continue to creep up, but I'm still hoping for a few more votes before it closes (currently 3rd November) - it's definitely a case of "the more the merrier"!

Kind Regards, John,

 

[JohnW2]

deleted [wrong thread!]