strid3r

Happy belated, Todd!

I think it's a little MS and a little Apple. It's specifically a MS tech/feature, but Apple deems it a security risk to be able to embed files like that into another file so they don't want to bother with it.

How much time do you want to spend on it? The easiest/timely solution here is the drilling method. Although it won't technically erase the data on the disks themselves, you'll have damaged them enough that it's not viable to extract data off of. If you want to take the really secure method, I would "zero" out the drives (you can do this via command line on Windows) or encrypt them, then drill. If you don't have a drill, encrypting the drive or zero-ing it several times should also do the trick. Just keep in mind encrypting and zero-ing out drives can take some time.

For "plain" USB-C cables, I like the Anker Powerline (in general, their cables seem to be pretty decent for aftermarket). If you're going to need a Thunderbolt connection or will need to charge a MacBook, you'll want to opt for a higher-rated cable.

For those of you who use Apple Music, there's some sort of memory leak issue in Catalina with how it handles album art syncing. My coworker found out the hard way...

Sounds like you want something like AirParrot? https://www.airsquirrels.com/airparrot/

I use a 2012 Mini myself as an entertainment center for 1080p output (YouTube, Twitch, Plex client). The new 2018 Mini's are nice and offer a nice spec boost, but do have some weird compatibility issues with the HDMI port where they just won't output to a display (using the USB-C ports work just fine, make sure you buy the right cables). This issue seems to be related to the T2 chip and encryption, but YMMV. If you do get an older Mini, I'd recommend at least 8GB ram and an SSD.

Disclaimer: I'm in IT and my workplace is nearly all Apple/Macs. The butterfly keyboards are a bit love/hate and definitely not as robust as the pre-Touchbar keyboards. Issues/considerations for the Touchbar machines include: failure of individual keys due to dust/dirt getting underneath. In my experience, it's fixable 90-95% of the time with canned air, the other times, you have to send it in. Also, when Apple has official documentation on it, you know it's an issue. the early butterfly keyboards are almost as loud as some of the click-y mechanical keyboards. Some people don't mind, but I've had users tell me they get looks in cafes and coffee shops. include dongle and adapters in your budget, because all the ports are USB-C. more fragile design: the space tolerances in the Touchbar machines are smaller and thus more prone to fatal/major damage if dropped or struck. We've had a handful of users get cracked screens from being jostled around in their backpacks, so this might be an important consideration if you are rough with your machine or need something more rugged. I'll be pretty happy to see them ditch the butterfly design myself. I also wouldn't mind if they made the chassis a little larger to allow for better cooling and general overall ruggedness instead of chasing the smaller-every-revision goal.

Happy belated, Todd!

Happy belated, Todd!

I have a hard time recommending any HP Pavilion model as they have historically had some of the most problems when it comes to consumer-class laptops. I'd recommend getting a Dell Inspiron for the price range, something like this: https://slickdeals.net/f/10926875-new-dell-inspiron-15-laptop-w-nvidia-gtx-1060-maxq-700 Asus and Lenovo also generally make good consumer laptops. If you don't mind used, Amazon sometimes has good Open Box deals.

Happy birthday, Todd!

Feel better soon!

Happy belated Todd!

Happy Birthday Todd, hope you have a great one.