At a lake or in a lake?
1 Like
Hahaha!
Typos are the best 
From experience I can say: AT a lake, not IN a lake!
1 Like
I didnāt anticipate how much external drives and memory card prices would increase. 320 euros is so much! Damn AI ruining everything! I wonder if the prices will keep increasing. Is it better to buy more hard drives now. 
How much worse can this get?
I use an ASUS mesh system, which is quite good. Very high bandwidth everywhere, even outside of the house.
But if I could buy a system again, I would go for the good old German āFritzboxā system.
The parents of my girlfriend have that and itās absolutely great, not only range and bandwidth, but also all the additional devices and features for that ecosystemā¦
1 Like
I read an analysis that the prices will get much higher this year ā¦ and the prices will be on a very high level well into the 2030s/35s. if the whole AI industry does not crash - which I hope for very much.
Except for all the other stupid side effects of AI, the prices of anything with memory will increase. Thatās not only PCs & laptops or mobile phones. Itās TVs, cars, everything.
So, most people will not afford to have new devices ā¦ I ask myself, how AI will get to the people without them having phones or PCs.
What will life look like, if people canāt afford gadgets or cars?
Personally, I donāt mind a Thoreau lifestyle. The UNA bomber did it and he became famous
1 Like
These graphs are scary to see. They might correspond to peopleās stress levels charts! I think I better buy more cloud storage and a bigger hard drive before they become too expensive. I would buy a bigger ram card for my laptop, but my current laptop needs to be screwed open to make any changes. I have to check how simple it is. I donāt want to break anything. I really liked when laptops had easily removable batteries and a lid for the memory cards. It was so easy to put more in.
1 Like
What is the exact model of your laptop?
It is little over 5 years old. A Lenovo Ideapad L340 gaming 17,3" FHD 9300H/GTX1650/16/1000SSD running Windows 11.
Do you have a model# (on the back of the laptop)?
Some models have soldered RAM.
If it is this one, everything is easy-peasy!
1 Like
The model is 81LL, and it looks like the one in the video, just a little bigger (17,3ā). It originally would have come with 8 GB RAM, but I asked it to be changed to 16 GB. It is fast and works fine. I donāt necessarily need more ram, but more is always better.
It works faster now with Windows 11. The previous versions of windows used to always use as much ram as possible with background processes. My previous PC had 4 GB RAM and Windows 8. I put 8 GB RAM on it, and Windows 8 quickly took advantage of the extra ram like a vampire bat, running more processes in the background.
But my current PC with my own installation of Windows 11 (without a Microsoft account or boatload) runs so smoothly and fast.
16GB is ok! Donāt expect anything to need more RAM in the next few years, as there will be no market for that (except when you do 3d rendering etc.).
I think weāll see more 8GB machines in the midterm, or even machines with good old DDR4ā¦
My main machine has 32 GB RAM, and I rarely use that - even for more extreme cases.
Just have a look if your machine has a SSD (likely - use to Crystaldiskinfo to verify). If it has that and at least 500GB, its sufficient for most cases.
Crystaldiskinfo will also tell you if your storage device is still ok. If you have more than 90% for your SSD, thatās quite okā¦
Also: you can always attach an external USB drive for data.
So: nothing to do
1 Like
Not all range extenders are created equal with respect to the speed (data rate) that they support. I learned that the hard way when I quickly had to replace the first one I bought with a second one. Iām currently using the tp-link RE700X AX3000 Mesh WiFi 6 Extender and am happy with it.
2 Likes
True! Some will halve the data rate, others will use a separate frequency for connecting.
I cannot stress enough how great the Fritz stuff is:
If you buy into their ecosystem, you can do home automation, use their IP phones (or use your smartphone with the Fritz app as an IP phone) and do a lot of other stuff.
Installation, administration and use is a breeze! Itās really consumer focused!
I had quite a lot of routers, ASUS, DLink, Netgear, CISCO etc, as I tested those as a product manager for IPTV/Streaming. The Fritzbox was always better.
Still I was reluctant to buy, cause they did not appear ātechnicalā, and everybody here has it. But that was just a snob attitude.
The Fritz stuff is truly great!
Important: the routers have a modem built-in, so you need to know if it works with your internet provider. Here in Germany, every major provider is supported, no matter the technology they use (DOCSIS/cable, DSL, FTTX, etc.)
1 Like
Damn. No support for any fiber provider in France. Sigh.
If youāre happy with your system, no reason to change. But Perplexity says:
The FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro is a highāend DSL & fiberāoptic router that supports GPON and AON via an SFP module, so it can work on a fiber line in France, but how you configure it depends on your ISP (e.g., Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues).fritz+2
1. What the 5690 Pro supports in France
-
It has a fiberāoptic modem (via SFP) and a 2.5āGigabit WAN/LAN port, so:
-
You can connect it directly to the fiber (GPON/AON) if the ISP allows it.avm+1
-
Or you can run it behind your providerās ONT (e.g., Orange Livebox, SFR / Free ONT) on the 2.5āGigabit port.fritz+1
-
-
AVM explicitly states that the 5690 Pro can be used on most DSL and fiberāoptic lines in Europe, including fiber with GPON/AON.fritz+1
2. Basic fiber setup (generic France FTTH)
Use these steps if your ISP does not require its own ONT:
-
Pick the right SFP module (GPON for most French FTTH) and insert it into the fiber port on the 5690 Pro.avm+1
-
Connect the fiber cable from the wall outlet (PTO) to the SFP and power on the FRITZ!Box.
-
Open
http://fritz.box, log in with the password on the label, and start the FRITZ!Box Assistant.fritz+1 -
In Internet > New connection, choose āFiberāoptic lineā and select your ISP (or āOther ISPā if your provider is not listed).fritz+1
-
If your ISP uses VLAN (common in France), enable āUse VLAN for Internet accessā and enter the VLAN ID your provider gives you (often 83x for Orange, other values for SFR/Free).lafibre+1
If your ISP requires its own ONT / modem, skip the fiberāoptic setup and instead:
-
Connect the ONTās Ethernet port to the 2.5āGigabit WAN/LAN of the 5690 Pro.
-
In Internet > New connection, choose āVia a modem provided by your ISPā.avm+1
3. Country and ISPāspecific notes
-
Go to System > Country / Language and set France so phone and network settings are adapted to French standards.[be.fritz]ā
-
AVMās official guide for the 5690 Pro lists multiple ISPāspecific instructions (Telekom, Proximus, etc.); if your French provider is not listed, you simply use āConfigure for fiberāoptic lineā and manually enter VLAN/PPPoE if needed.fritz+2
If you tell me which ISP youāre using in France (e.g., Orange Fibre, SFR Fiber, Freebox Fiber, Bouygues), I can give you the exact menu path and whether you should use GPON directly, VLAN tags, or just run the 5690 Pro behind the ISPās ONT.
1 Like
My rĆ©sidence was cabled for fiber by Bouygues, so thatās what I use. Orange (my cellular provider; the ONLY one with decent coverage) keeps trying to get me to switch, butā¦I asked them if they could use my existing fiber network connection. Nope. Theyād have to start from scratch from Girondeās Haut-Giga interface box across the street and add a parallel switching system in my building. Not gonna happen. The other owners would probably have a fit and fall in it.
I really appreciate the detailed assistance. Hartelijk bedankt!
Thanks! 
I will look into all that. The thing Iāll have to try first is to buy an USB WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 adapter to my PC, because my PCās hardware is old, and its 802.11n adapter can actually use only half the speed of my WiFi. Maybe just by getting an adapter my problem could be solved for less money.
I tested with my phone, and the speed it gets from my WiFi at the computer room is much higher than the speed the PC gets. So my WiFiās signal reaches the room alright, but the old hardware on my PC canāt use it to full extent. It is possible that even with a better router I would still need to buy an adapter so that the PC could use more speed. Right now it can only use 2.4 GHz, the maximum speed it gets is 72 Mbps, and the speed varies between 20 and 40 Mbps. With my phone connected to our WiFi right by the side of the PC, the WiFi speed on my phone is a lot higher than that.
So Iāll get an adapter first, and then look into routers. Our WiFi could get faster too with a new router.
PS: I might buy a TP-link Archer TX20U Dual-band WiFi 6 adapter. It might solve the problem, or half the problem.
Itās much better to get a PCIe WIFI adapter, like the Intel AX210. You donāt loose a USB port, there are no conflicts and you get modern Bluetooth on top.
A card like that costs about 20-25ā¬ (Amazon).
I just put those in all of my laptops and Dell PCs.
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0B293H4S8
It would be great to know the EXACT model of your laptop, so I can tell you if it fits.
Replacement is easy, except connecting the two very thin antenna cables, if you are a āGrobmotorikerā like me. They have tiny plugs, and you need to be patient and careful. Itās not rocket science, but again: be patient and careful!!! Put on your glasses and donāt use brute forceā¦
2 Likes
Hereās just another reason why Iām super happy to live in the EU and why Iām moving away from Google and Mickeysoft. I watch Elās videos daily.
1 Like
Well, I am known not to be political, so I will not say anything about other countries.
I think I can make a humanistic & utterly non-political statement here: Europe is one of the last remaining civilized regions. Itās not perfect, of course. I have many reasons to complain.
But itās great to have modern democratic systems, good social security and affordable/free healthcare system, great science-based education for everybody, almost no violence on the streets (no mass shootings or official entities shooting citizens), free speech limited by laws that make sense. We donāt start wars anymore or invade countries (at least recently), we are moving to green energy, we are not structurally racist and have rules that protect us from ruthless big tech companies. We donāt hate somebody if they do not agree with us.
Of course, thereās a lot of back & forth. And of course we have forces that want to destroy this great European idea and want to go back to a āthe good old daysā of semi-dictatorships and oligarch-driven economy.
Iām sure, I forgot a lot - but Iām really proud to be European, now more than ever!
If we can find our own strength (again), stop to be such pussies - while maintaining a civilized & rule based approach - I think that Europeās future is golden.
This personal endeavor is my little contribution: independence of all nations & companies that clearly want to harm us!
So, welcome to Europe @TheMaartian ! Glad to have you
1 Like