urbackup failures

File backups are failing now when the external drive isn't mounted. On the laptop it doesn't get mounted automatically (unless I access it via the file manager). On the desktop I usually never connect it anymore, so it's also never mounted. So at least on the desktop I removed the backup directory for it:

sudo urbackupclientctl remove-backupdir -d /media/luc/Sea

SAMBA talking Linux to Linux

Well it kinda works... as long as you don't have french accents in your filenames :=<

Conclusion: reverted back to autofs and NFS in order to move files from WS1 to the laptop. Too much of a headache otherwise.

Linux Mint "personal" PATH. Also, chords!

From the default .profile created in my Linux Mint home directory:

# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi

# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/.local/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
fi

So these are the preferred locations under Mint? Just moved my ~/System/bin folder under ~/.local/bin and that worked fine.

Also, chordii is available from the repo so no problem to reinstall it.

Darktable 3.0.1 : move to external HDD and backup thereof

On WS1, moved 2020 RAW files to /media/luc/Sea/RAW/2020. Went fine (after moving the connection to a USB2 socket -- USB1.1 was sooo slooow). Then tried to backup WS1 including the external HDD. That didn't work after changing the urbackup server group configuration, even after restart of both server and client software (no reboot). So used urbackupclientctl add-backupdir on the client, to add the directory. That seems to do the trick.

Darktable metadata import problem

 Looks like it has to be done a certain way in order to work as I want:

• The "apply metadata on import" has to be unchecked (otherwise metadata gets set from the values in the various fields underneath)
• The checkmark "to be imported" has to be checked in order for Darktable to read these fields from the imported file (and/or .XMP sidecar, if present)
  

Darktable 3.2.1

 On the Medion I installed 3.2.1 (WS1 still has 3.0.1).  Works fine.

• I don't have my full set of hierarchical tags yet.  I guess that will be created as I import more photos with existing tags in them.
• Took me a while to find how to configure Rapid Photo Downloader output directory structure.  I had missed the cog next to the directory name, where this can be defined
• Same for the metadata export. Looks like it's now optional in Darktable 3.2.1 and needs to be activated.  Turns out there's also a cog wheel next to "Export" button, where this is defined.
• Pay attention to import dialog : the metadata can be assigned there, field by field (looks like it could overwrite stuff).
• A first attempt at importing 3.0.1 RAW files (with XMP) resulted in photos without metadata.  Reverted that.
  

Linux Mint

Linux Mint installed fine on the E15302.  Not sure any GPU is being used at full potential but for the rest everything seems to work fine again.

Note to self: when "burning" an image to an USB stick, don't let it go into a partition : use the device name as output for cp or dd.  The UEFI stuff didn't accept any partitioning on the USB stick and refused to boot from it.

I received the USB/Ethernet hub : works fine.  Also received the 4TB external drive, works fine (on WS1 for now).  I have to test Darktable on the Medion then devise a migration strategy (!).

Medion E15302, my new laptop

Yes I have this Dell E6220 still working fine.  However due to the recent promotion at ALDI I am now also the owner of this Medion laptop for 599€.  AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, Full HD IPS 15.6" screen, SSD (512 GB), 16 GB, aluminium top plate.

Some serious drawbacks though:

• Only 1 USB-C and 1 USB2 ports
• No Ethernet port (Wifi only for the networking interface)
• HDMI output (yes) but none other (VGA, DisplayPort, ...)
• Hangs during Ubuntu install - so far - maybe due to the proprietary GPU.

For the ports issue I bought a combo USB3 x 3 ports + Gigabit Ethernet x 1 port, connected to the USB-C port.  So far so good.  I also ordered a USB3 external HDD (Seagate Backup Plus 4TB) including a small USB hub x 2 ports.  I might want to migrate to Bluetooth mice and keyboard in the future.  The main issue is still the Linux install.  Maybe I will try some other distro (Manjaro, Mint, Arch, ...)

Booting into UEFI works with holding F2 during power-on.

Umidigi A3X, my new smartphone

 Since two weeks I have received my new phone.  The previous one wasn't really broken but the side buttons (power and volume) had become flimsy and had their own life without me pushing any of them.  So it was slowly beginning to get me mad using the phone.

I looked at what was available and my requirements included RAM (> 2GB), a recent "clean" Android release, a fingerprint sensor, a good camera, a nice screen, storage expansion via microSD...

I settled on the Umidigi A3X, with 3GB RAM and all my other requirements above plus some.  Man I was happy I did.  The phone is pretty nice and works very well since I have it (two weeks of almost constant daily use).  However the battery will not last an entire day if you use it really constantly -- but what i mean is I am using it very frequently for relatively short periods of time all over the day (phone calls, e-Mail, SMS, chats, RSS feeds mainly).

I also use it for GPS functions (when hiking or mountain biking).  I use navigation apps (OSMAND) and also as GPS tracker.  I find the GPS very accurate and reliable compared to my previous phone.

I am a hobbyist photographer, so having a perfect smartphone camera wasn't really a requirement for me (I have enough good cameras already) but my phone had to have some decent camera so I can take a picture when I'm out and the camera is in the bag or at home.  Well simply said, this is the best smartphone camera that I have owned since I use smartphones (and I started in 2010).

Build quality and ergonomics seem fine to me.  The size is perfect (a tad smaller than my previous phone) and fits nicely in my shirt pocket or other small places.

So far I'm pretty happy with this purchase and I would certainly recommend it.