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Mein Lieblingshotel für Stadtbesuche in Karlsruhe. Zentral gelegen, modern und bezahlbar. Mir gefallen die recht kleinen, aber schlau ausgelegten Zimmer.

133 Boutique Hotel Karlsruhe
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See https://www.petermeinl.de/about_me
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Mein Lieblingshotel für Stadtbesuche in Karlsruhe. Zentral gelegen, modern und bezahlbar. Mir gefallen die recht kleinen, aber schlau ausgelegten Zimmer.
This post describes how I typically set up and configure my Windows machines.
[compatibility issues with Windows on ARM are marked red]
See Using the Windows Dev Kit 2023 ARM Mini-PC as Office Computer
I am slowly migrating to Windows 11, see Windows 11 ist (noch?) nix für mich.
For details on Windows features and configuration, see Paul Thurrot’s Windows field guides:
– Windows 10 Field Guide
– Windows 11 Field Guide
[In case you are angry at Microsoft making it difficult to install Windows without using an MS account: One reason for this might be that on modern HW Windows by default encrypts the system partition with BitLocker. If one loses the BitLocker key, one will lose all data in case of problems where the key is needed. Thus, Windows automatically stores the BitLocker key in the MS account.]
Even though being German, I prefer English as display language because the UI texts are shorter, there are no translation errors and it is easier to search for help with English texts and error messages. Sadly MS and many app developers confuse display language with locale, often resulting in apps with German UI even though I intended English.
Set up a sign-in PIN. This is safer than always using your password.
In addition, I configure a fingerprint if the machine supports this.
Update Software to the newest version:
Configure a backup tool
I don’t use File History because it does not support Boxcryptor encrypted files. It looks like MS has deprecated File History (for OneDrive folder backup?).
Create a first backup to make it easy to revert to this point.
File Explorer options
[ToDo: try using the winget installer. It seems to offer most of my apps]
Windows apps
MS Office settings. For apps Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote:
Ninite is very handy to install common apps and automatically keep them updated.
I am using this for years: reliable, minimal UI – highly recommended!
The initial Ninite install is free (without any registration). The Ninite Updater costs $10/y.
For alternative installers see Start Windows Sandbox With Preinstalled Apps.
Web Browsers
For minimal Windows VMs I sometimes use the Debloat Windows PowerShell scripts by Chris Titus.
Uninstall unwanted Apps.
Windows 11 is less stubborn here and lets you uninstall more unwanted stuff.
Remove unwanted shortcuts.
Disable unwanted Windows startup entries
Pin frequently used apps to taskbar
Add frequently used web sites to desktop
Resize desktop icons (depending on monitor resolution) by selecting all vie CTRL+A and CTRL+MouseWheel
Create ‚config completed‘ backups to make it easy to revert to this point.
Store the Windows product key in 1Password
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\BackupProductKeyDefault
With Win11 I miss Win10 Live Tiles. Was using a full start screen with large Live Tiles for Mail, Calendar, 5 MS Weather tiles for different locations I like to travel to, 3 MS To Do lists and 3 MS Money medium tiles for funds and currencies I am interested in. I don’t get the rationale behind those Win11 widgets: no full screen, no multiple instances and these pesky clickbait news stories which you cannot get configured away, however hard you try [Jan 2023: getting rid of the clickbait cards is slowly improving].
I like the new windows snap layouts in Windows 11. Snapping a Window can be initiated by moving it to the screen edges or by hovering over (not clicking!) the Windows minimize button.
With single monitor setups I frequently use the multiple desktops feature:
This post describes my experience using the Windows Dev Kit 2023 ARM Mini PC as my office computer. This is not the usage scenario intended by MS, but I wanted to see how the little ARM machine fares as an office PC before using it for my app development.
[compatibility issues are marked red]
Microsoft Learn: A video with details and some specification info
Main specs:
Start-up times:
Crystal Diskmark
Arm-native dev tools:
More Info:
I bought my Dev Kit PC in the German MS Store. It was delivered within two days.
When ordering, one must accept a no refund policy. I doubt this is legally binding with German online shopping consumer rights, but one should expect difficulties, when trying to return the machine.
The Dev Kit PC comes with a 2 year warranty. For hardware or warranty support you can create a support request on the Support for business services hub page.
You can order a replacement for a defective device via your MS account under Devices.
The Dev Kit PC comes without any user manual. There is only a leaflet describing the buttons and ports – with a link for more detailed information at Microsoft Learn: aka.ms/arm-dev-kit-tools. This is totally sufficient for me.
Windows 11 Pro and Office Apps are preinstalled.
The display on my monitor was garbled when connected via a mini DP to DP cable, but readable enough to go through the Windows configuration. I later switched to a passive mini-DP to HDMI(*) cable and then to USB-C. Windows setup might also work with a monitor connected via USB-C, but it will take about 25s before anything is visible.
Completing the basic Windows setup was quick and easy. For my complete typical Windows setup, see My Windows 10/11 Setup.
To be able to completely reset the PC in the future I made a copy of the Windows serial number, see ‚System, about‘. If needed, a Windows recovery image for the Dev Kit PC can be obtained here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image. Don’t select a product there! Only enter the Windows serial number.
Here my office workplace with the Dev Kit ARM Mini-PC in the back, standing upright in the back – I hope this positioning does not cause thermal problems:
Her my current office workplace with a Huawei Huawei MateView 28″ 3:2 3840×2560 164 PPI monitor.
The incredible amount of cables I removed when switching to the Dev Kit PC unplugging my old tower PC – only connecting to it via RDP now:
Boxcryptor(*) works fine. This is a pleasant surprise, as I consider zero-knowledge encryption of cloud data a must-have, see Thoughts and Experiments on Cloud Encryption and Datenschutz (Ende-zu-Ende Verschlüsselung, …). Boxcryptor installed and configured without any hitches. Even Windows indexing of the (decrypted) x: drive works – after setting ‚Enable Windows search‘ in Boxcryptor advanced settings and adding x: to Windows indexing. [In Nov 2022 BoxCryptor was sold to Dropbox. I don’t know if and when Dropbox will offer good and safe E2EE encryption. The alternative Cryptomator does not support Windows on ARM.]
My Brother HL L2340DW printer(*) was detected via WiFi and works without installing any drivers – albeit printing is slow with long pauses between pages.
The Logitech X300 wireless speaker(*) and my old Microsoft LifeCam Cinema(*), including their microphones, work fine without installing any drivers.
The external Thinkpad keyboard(*) and MS compact mouse(*) work fine. They are connected to the USB-Hub of the Samsung Monitor. I use a Thinkpad keyboard to make switching between my desktop and Thinkpad notebook easier.
The simple and cheap Inateck USB C 7-port Hub(*) works fine.
Firefox, my preferred web browser for researching stuff (see Recherchieren – Warum, Wie und Womit), works fine with the newest updates after some initial hiccups. All my FF add-ons work fine too.
Windows Sandbox works. But web browsing is barely quick enough – slower than in Sandbox on my 12J old i7 desktop PC. Developers need VMs for testing and I assume the Dev Kit PC is too slow for running developer or test VMs. One will have to stack some Dev Kit PCs, use other machines or Azure instances – which is OK for me. [After some Windows updates and letting Windows run for a couple of days to let it ’settle in‘ the Sandbox performance is OK].
Casting audio and video to my Google Home devices including my Panasonic TV works fine using Chrome and Edge browsers.
Portfolio Performance works fine. This is a Java app!
AusweisApp2 (App to authenticate using the German identity card) works fine.
cyberjack RFID standard USB smart card reader works fine after installing its ARM drivers.
Sysinternals Suite seems to work fine. There is an ARM version! Did not try all tools.
Macrium Reflect refuses to install with an ARM CPU. As a workaround I tried using ‚Backup and Restore (Windows 7)‘ for backups, which is still available in Windows 11 (under Control Panel). Windows 7 backups work, but its image restore does not work – it does not find the backup images on my external SSD. As a workaround I bought an external NVMe Enclosure(*) to clone my Dev Kit SSD using an Intel machine to be able to restore my current Windows installation (have not tried this yet).
I am evaluating Zinstall FullBack, the only Windows ARM compatible backup tool I found. FullBack does not use disk imaging/cloning, but might be just what I need: a local, encrypted and ransomware protected backup allowing to restore my files and Windows settings to previous states.
My preferred VPN Private Internet Access does not support Windows on ARM. For my desktop PC this is not so important.
Could not get my ScanSnap iX500(*) Scanner to work with Windows 11 ARM. The SW does install fine, but does not recognize the scanner via USB or WiFi. Sadly it also does not work with Hamrick’s VueScan . As a workaround I configured a WiFi connection to the Scanner with an Intel machine and use it with the ScanSnap Android app on my Pixel phone or connected via USB to my Intel notebook.
I assume that most utilities and drivers for Scanner and (multi-function) printers that implement configuration options and features will not work until the makers supply ARM drivers.
Printing to my Brother HL L2340DW(*) is very slow – there is a long pause between pages. On Win10 Intel it prints fast without pauses between pages. The ‚Start printing immediately‘ setting is not the problem, as I use this on all my installations. Win11 ARM currently supports this printer only via WiFi not via USB.
All my three different Monitors do not work properly when connected via the mini DP port. I consider the Dev Kit PCs mini DP port unusable.
The Samsung S27A850D display is garbled. The Dell U2410 frequently turns on and off. I tried four different mini DP to DP cables. This passive mini-DP to HDMI(*) cable and this active mini DP to HDMI adapter(*) work, but not reliably: With the passive cable my monitor sometimes goes black, but wakes up when mousing to it. With the active Adapter the monitor sometimes goes black which can only be fixed by hard rebooting the PC.
My new Huawei MateView 28 monitor does not work at all with a mini DP to mini(!) DP cable or the above-mentioned active adapter. This display does work with the above-mentioned passive cables but my mouse and keyboard do not work with the monitor’s USB ports.
Somewhere I read the Dev Kit PC mini DP is an embedded DisplayPort(eDP) to Mini DisplayPort – which might be related to the problem.
The Dev Kit PC sporadically looses the WiFi connection to my Brother printer. Solved: This was not a connection problem. Somehow the paper size in Windows printer settings was set to letter instead of A4, even though in Windows setup I selected Germany as locale.
I did not find a good solution for scanning. Simply using MS Lens on my phone is not a good option, because I like the multi-page scanning and quality of the iX500. Currently I use the ScanSnap app on my Pixel phone or my scanner connted to my Intel notebook.
Firefox crashes frequently. I assume this will get this fixed quickly.
Fixed with FF version 106.0.3, installed on Oct. 31.2022.
The Dev Kit PC does not charge via USB-C.
I experience Windows Hardware errors about every 3 days. The event log shows Windows desktop manager restarts followed by display driver resets at these times. Changing ports and cables did not help. This may be a Windows hardware or display driver problem or a Firefox bug. The MS diagnostics toolkit does not run on the Dev Kit PC, even thought it supports the Surface 9 ARM with the same hardware. Here the reliability monitor status of my current machines:
I had a few File Explorer crashes.
Sporadically after wake from sleep my monitor resolution is not detected properly (instead of 3840×2560 something like VGA seems to be used). This can only be fixed by hard rebooting the PC.
USB-C charging, Thunderbolt 4 ports. For the reasoning behind using standard USB-C ports see Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (5G) review: An Arm tablet actually worth buying.
Status feedback via LED blinking when booting the Dev Kit PC: After pressing the power button the white LED turns on and then there is no additional feedback until the Windows Start screen shows. Especially with monitor problems one does not know what is going on.
MS should document the mini DP special cabling requirements.
They do now. But this does not solve the mini DP port problems.
For me personally, the Dev Kit Mini-PC currently is the perfect office desktop PC, especially from a value for money perspective. It just came at the right time, as I am currently downsizing to a more minimalistic lifestyle: smaller apartment, less and simpler hardware and less and simpler travel gear.
The Dev Kit Mini-PC is surprisingly small – which I really like. The performance is totally sufficient for all my office tasks. I never play games or do video editing, thus I know nothing about performance and app compatibility in these areas.
This is the quietest PC (Desktop or Notebook) I ever had. The fan usually does not run at all and when it runs, there is just a little low-frequency hum – not the high-frequency hissing noise of notebooks. I assume the fan only exists to prevent throttling. I did not experience any coil whine.
In contrast to my old desktop PC with the Dev Kit PC when waking up my Outlook inbox is immediately up-to-date and Windows updates are installed. I assume this comes from supporting the sleep state „Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected“ and Windows Modern Standby. My 4y old Thinkpad X1 Tablet notebook supports this too.
I cannot generally recommend it for office use because of the questionable future of Windows on ARM (considering the developments by AMD and Intel), the display port problems and missing drivers for peripherals like printers or scanners. I don’t see any benefits of the ARM versions that are convincing for „normal“ users: yes, a little longer battery life, maybe a quieter machine, but still no real instant-on (MS does advertise this feature, but the Dev Kit PC does not work instantly as a smartphone does). I don’t understand the rationale behind the Dev Kit PC as a device to test ARM apps. Devs want to test their apps in an environment the users work in, which for ARM devices means a mobile, device with a directly attached touch screen, running on battery – none of which the Dev Kit PC offers.
However, my past assumptions about the success of technologies were often completely wrong – even in SW development, my field of expertise. E.g. I did bet on the Windows Phone and UWP and many years ago on the BiiN fault tolerant computer, jointly developed by Intel and Siemens.
[ *) This post contains affiliate links]
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Windows Sandbox is a standard Windows feature, providing a lightweight desktop environment (Windows virtual machine) to safely run applications in isolation. In a Sandbox you can safely test apps or browse „unsafe“ websites. In contrast to „normal“ VMs Sandbox starts quickly, e.g starting Sandbox and installing Firefox takes less than 30 sec on my notebook.
Windows Sandbox comes preinstalled with Windows. One must only manually enable it via „Turn Windows Features on or off“.
One of the main features of Windows Sandbox is that it erases all state when closing. While this ensures not leaving any traces on your host machine, I find it cumbersome having to install commonly used apps every time I start a Sandbox.
To automatically install apps when starting Sandbox, I use the <LogonCommand> of a Windows Sandbox configuration file to run installers at Sandbox startup.
[ToDo: Experiment with the winget installer]
The free Ninite installer is the fastest installer option and provides unobstrusive status info with a Sandbox LogonCommand and :
[BTW, I am using the paid Ninite Updater on my Windows machines to keep apps automatically updated. I especially like its minimalistic UX and installing most of my apps on a new machine with a single command.]
The following .wsb file starts Sandbox and automatically installs Firefox and 7-ZIP via Ninite. It gives the Sandbox 6GB RAM too.
<Configuration>
<MappedFolders>
<MappedFolder>
<HostFolder>C:\Tools\SandboxConfig</HostFolder>
<SandboxFolder></SandboxFolder>
<ReadOnly>true</ReadOnly>
</MappedFolder>
</MappedFolders>
<LogonCommand>
<Command>"C:\users\WDAGUtilityAccount\Desktop\SandboxConfig\Ninite 7Zip Firefox Installer.exe"</Command>
</LogonCommand>
<MemoryInMB>6144</MemoryInMB>
</Configuration>
If Ninite does not offer the apps you need, the RuckZuck installer might do, see the RuckZuck app catalog.
The following .wsb LogonCommand uses RZGet to install Brave and 7-Zip:
<Command>C:\users\WDAGUtilityAccount\Desktop\SandboxConfig\RZGet.exe install /verbose "Brave" "7-Zip"</Command>
If you need more install features or more control, you can run Chocolatkey via a PowerShell script as LogonCommand.
Doing More with Windows Sandbox describes a complex Sandbox configuration using PowerShell.
To install Chocolatkey via Powershell use:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
By default Windows Sandbox does not allow PowerShell scripts to run. My scripts do not disable this restriction generally, they only bypass it for their execution.
To force showing the PowerShell output of the Sandbox LogonCommand I start a PowerShell from within PowerShell [found no cleaner solution].
.wsb file starting a PowerShell script:
<Configuration>
<MappedFolders>
<MappedFolder>
<HostFolder>C:\Tools\SandboxConfig</HostFolder>
<SandboxFolder></SandboxFolder>
<ReadOnly>false</ReadOnly>
</MappedFolder>
</MappedFolders>
<LogonCommand>
<Command>powershell -executionpolicy bypass -command "start powershell {-noexit -file C:\Users\WDAGUtilityAccount\Desktop\SandboxConfig\InstallChocoAndApps.ps1}"</Command>
</LogonCommand>
<MemoryInMB>6144</MemoryInMB>
</Configuration>
PowerShell script installing Chocolatkey and apps:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
$ElapsedTime = [System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch]::StartNew()
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
choco feature enable -n=allowGlobalConfirmation
choco install brave
choco install firefox
choco install 7zip
Write-Host "Elapsed Time: $($ElapsedTime.Elapsed.ToString())"
Exit
Von allen mir bekannten Ernährungsberatern finde ich die Aussagen von Dr. Ekberg am plausibelsten und sehr klar präsentiert. Seine Empfehlungen passen gut zu meinen Vorlieben beim Essen. Leider äußert er in einem seiner letzten Videos Unsinn zu Mobilfunkstrahlen – das teile ich ausdrücklich nicht.
Für Reiche gibts einige wenige Wohnschiffe auf welchen man Appartments kaufen oder mieten kann.
Review der MS The World mit Infos zu weiteren Schiffen.
Homepage: MS The World – Residences at Sea
Auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff reisen ist zwar nicht mein Ding, aber manche scheinen dort sogar dauerhaft zu leben – u.a. aus Kostengründen:
Couple live aboard cruise ships after calculating it makes more ‘financial sense’ than a mortgage
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