Livescribe has been around for years. It was really useful in school.

I believe there is battery tech that is newer but being deployed into production that is iron based. It is heavier and less energy dense than lithium. But for power grid level deployment that should be fine and iron is a bit harder to catch on fire.

As for food functionality it is very comparable to software remote control of a computer. There are 3 key features that stand out:

• It does not rely on the target machine being booted into the OS. This means you can access it even if it crashes or locks up.
• It can “push” the power button on the machine. This requires an accessory that plugs into the motherboard. So you can force a machine off or cold boot a system.
• You can mount a boot ISO. This is like having a bootable flash drive in the target machine so you can install an OS remotely.

Edit: Because this is essentially full access to the machine as if you where physically at it, it should be considered a security risk. Not saying that you need to be scared of it, but you should be aware of the risk and protect it from unauthorized access.

My guess is the will keep making GPUs for data center and keep consumer GPUs on a very limited product line/budget.

If the iGPU is getting the job done, I would leave that alone. You could add a GPU and pass it through to a gaming VM. But that is an entirely different project.

Actually the air shuttle service was available to all employees assuming 1) They had an existing route for your source/destination 2) It was a valid business reason they would be paying travel expenses for anyways.

Edit: But your implied point that it probably cost a lot of money is true.

The headline is bullshit. The 100 million is for all food/drink services, not just coffee.

That is like $3 a day per employee.

Proxmox is basically a VM management software that runs in a Debian install. You may be able to add it to your current install, but I am not certain about that.

First based on everything I have ever heard, don’t host your own email server. If you want to learn it that’s fine, but don’t do it for something you actually rely on. My understanding it’s a constant miserable slog to keep it functioning.

Second for getting started, get a cheap used computer and install Linux on it. Also be prepared to wipe it and install something different. Docker may be a good place to go next. You can find lots of guides online, there are tones of apps setup to run with docker you can test out. You could also explore virtual machines. Both have the advantage of making it easier to experiment with different things.

Let’s say that yes, you pointed them to “networking”. The issue is that they have a specific problem and you are pointing to a topic so broad and deep with no specific direction. But you also say “it’s basic”. Well if it truly is basic and they still don’t get it, this would be a clear indication that they need some level of hand holding. Last if your feeling “that is a lot of work, I don’t want to do that” no problem you don’t have to. But in that that situation I would suggest reviewing before commenting: is it going to get the person closer to a solution? Is encouraging to the person? Am I indicating I also have this problem indicating someone else could step in and help multiple people at once? Is it funny? If it’s no on all those, maybe don’t comment.

I think the important factor is that you have contributed nothing of value to help this person learn. You could have linked to a useful resources, you have suggested Google searches to point in the correct direction. But you basically said “This is easy, RTFM”. Next time at least send them the manual they should read.

I think an important detail is likely missing. My experience as a software engineer intern included getting paid well and full benefits as an employee. So legally I was an hourly employee and I think the label of “intern” was to set expectations work/performance/responsibility.