MINISFORUM UM350

I bought MINISFORUM UM350 without a second thought (:-), and I would like to play with it in various ways. However, for the time being, I intend to use it as it is on Windows, so it should not be too much trouble just to use it.
I thought I would be easy to start, but it took a long time to set up at the first startup. It seems that it is not stopping, but I think it must be strange that it is as slow as a dynabook N40 (excuse me!). I wondered if it was an initial defect. But as it turns out, it seems to be incompatible with the local language keyboard.
After about 2 hours? I finally finished the setup, I immediately tried to remove (uninstall) the keyboard driver from the device manager. Normally, it is better to be careful when deleting a driver of this kind, but as my experience shows, even if you delete the driver, it will be installed again soon automatically.
After removing the driver, I rebooted the PC. It seems to be running smoothly. So I'm happy (:-).

Second Physical Computer

I had been playing with Ubuntu on my old Dynabook N40, but the freezing phenomenon on it, even I am not so demanding as a thin client, did not stop (;-s). I am feeling that I have reached my limit. It is more fun to play with Cloud Computing nowadays than to investigate the cause of freezing.
At last I bought a mini PC that I had been considering before (:-), a model called MINISUFORUM UM350 with Ryzen5 3550H, 16G memory, 256G SSD, which is quite an exuberant spec for a Linux person. It is a good time because I could buy it for around $400. It was Windows 10 that was installed on the PC, but did I immediately switch to Linux? No, I am going to use it as it is for a while at least (:-o).

Fountain Pen

I’m playing Linux in my home computer and with the Cloud, but I always forget where I wrote my work history immediately (:0), so I am rather using paper notebooks than software tools. I was not so particular about fountain pens, but once I started using them, I found out that there is so called converter and tried to use it. At first I didn’t know what a converter was. Usually a cartridge is used just to connect to a fountain pen, but a converter has the same connection as a cartridge and is designed to suck up ink from an ink bottle after it is attached to the fountain pen. In other words, it is designed to convert a cartridge fountain pen into an ink-sucking fountain pen.

I am using very normal ink right now, but when I run out, I’d like to try something a little more particular next time. By the way, a converter uses about 0.5cc for one shot and the ink bottle is 60cc, so I have to replace it 120 times before it runs out. I would like to use the next ink as soon as possible, but it seems that I have to write a lot of letters for that (:-).

Keyboard Operation on RPA

I'm playing with RPA using Sikulix on my Cloud Computer, and the basic concept of Sikulix is Image Matching. RPA is to save a button, field, or message in an image and write the logic to match it.
However, this is a little bit SLOW. The search is done on the screen to find a match with the corresponding image, so it is a reasonable process, and it can be said to be unavoidable. In this case, it is necessary to think about what can be done with scripts and keyboard operations. I have previously introduced the use of RPA notifications via e-mail or LINE.
It is useful to know that Windows can be operated with the keyboard alone more than expecting, which improves the efficiency of RPA.

1. Alt key family: Window size change, etc.
2. WinKeys family: Windows standard shortcut keys
3. Function family: Shift + F10, etc. Substitute for right button menu of mouse.
4. Tab key: Move between fields, links in the browser, etc.

When I actually tried this with Sikulix, I also found that it requires a lot of fine tuning at the execution stage. It takes quite a while for the app to accept the next key after starting up or transitioning menus. Of course, it takes a few seconds at most, but if the RPA executes type() without a pause, it usually results in an error. Naturally, the time varies depending on the performance of the machine and the load, so we have a function that waits for a certain amount of time after a key is entered in the type() function, and we fine-tune the waiting time according to the condition of the execution, but if the function is executed for a long time, the time still does not match up and an error occurs. This is a point of another difficulty that has not existed in previous command-line programs.

Keyboard Operation on Windows

I usually play around with Linux at home, but I also use Windows at work. However, I do not tinker with Windows in any way, but use it as it is with the minimum necessary knowledge, so I do not understand the details (:-h). However, since I am a command line enthusiast by nature, I try to use the keyboard for various operations to the extent I can. For example, I have been using the keyboard to launch Notepad for 20 years.

WinKey + r + notepad

WinKey + r + notepad

I have been doing so for many years. Of course I use Windows shortcut keys (ctrl+c / ctrl-v, etc.), but it is my policy to do as much as possible by keyboard operation rather than shortcuts (:-). The benefit for :

(1) You don't have to reach for the mouse.
(2) Once you get used to it, it's faster than using a mouse.

I think my habit and philosophy of using vi for a long time is also reflected here. It's hard to get people around me to agree with me when I tell them about it (:-s), but I've enjoyed the benefits of this for so long that I can't change it now. I use only basic things as much as possible, and I rarely set up shortcut keys by myself. So even if the version of Windows is changed, I can use most of the functions as they have been for a long time.

Keyboard Operations	Function
Show Full Screen	Alt + Space + x
Return from full screen mode	Alt + Space + r
Resize the Window	Alt + Space + s + cursor, last Enter
Move the Window	Alt + Space + m + cursor, last Enter

It seems that there is not much demand for the last Window move, but sometimes an app goes out of the screen due to a bug in the app, a change in monitor resolution, or some other reason, especially when the upper part of WIndow is hidden. It is useful in such cases.
The WinKey is used to organize the on-screen display of the Window.

WinKey + cursor

WinKey + cursor

This will put the Window on the right half of the screen or on the bottom half of the screen. Also, if you are using multiple screens on your monitor, you can use

WinKey + Shift + cursor

WinKey + Shift + cursor

This will move the application between monitors. Online meetings have become common nowadays, but I think it would be cool if you could move an application to a shared monitor with a single keyboard operation instead of using the mouse to bring it to the other monitor when giving a presentation (:-).
I rarely change settings when using Windows, but there is one thing I always do, "pin it to the taskbar". When I pin it, I can launc the app :

WinKey + number

WinKey + number

Number is from left to right. In my case, Mail, Browser, and Control Panel. This is so convenient. And I always put the fourth one as POWER OFF (lol), so I create a Windows shortcut key (shutdown -s -f -t 0), and drag and drop it onto the taskbar, and always put it on the fourth one. I know that if I press the wrong key while I am working, I will be in trouble (:-), but I have only made a mistake once so far. I can't stop doing this when I want to leave as soon as possible after work, because I can't be bothered to press the "shutdown" button with the mouse. That is take too loooong for me (:-)