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[76.72 --> 81.46] I put Windows on it specifically just to update the firmware on this dock.
[81.90 --> 86.42] Get all the way through the rigmarole of installing Windows, which is still a pain in the ass.
[86.80 --> 89.98] And then I go to update the firmware on the dock and it says,
[90.58 --> 92.84] Thunderbolt firmware mismatch.
[93.50 --> 94.50] Thunderbolt 3, isn't it?
[94.90 --> 95.58] Oh, no.
[95.58 --> 96.06] Right.
[96.30 --> 100.04] So you can't update a Thunderbolt 4 device from a Thunderbolt 3 device?
[100.20 --> 100.98] Oh, no, you can.
[101.58 --> 108.80] So I got in touch with CalDigit support, which took me about a week and a half to get through the hoops I needed to get through via email.
[109.46 --> 118.44] They then informed me that my firmware on the T480S was out of date and I needed to use the firmware update tool to update the ThinkPad's firmware.
[118.92 --> 119.44] God.
[119.44 --> 122.70] And for some reason, it wasn't working from Windows.
[122.98 --> 128.90] So I wiped Windows and I used FWAPD on Linux to update the firmware on this freaking laptop.
[129.46 --> 131.04] You could have just used a live image, Alex.
[131.16 --> 131.56] Amazing.
[131.86 --> 132.52] I love this.
[132.66 --> 133.70] Brent, I could have, couldn't I?
[134.06 --> 134.32] Yeah.
[134.88 --> 136.52] I love this so much.
[137.08 --> 138.68] You must have been like in a fugue state.
[138.78 --> 139.92] You were just trying to get this done.
[140.48 --> 143.26] You know, I was losing the will to live slowly but surely.
[143.82 --> 147.14] Anyway, long story short, eventually I got the firmware update done.
[147.14 --> 149.50] It took way longer than it should have done.
[150.16 --> 155.90] We're talking like two weeks to finally get everything, all the moon and the stars aligned correctly to make this thing happen.
[156.36 --> 159.38] I go to open my laptop today to record this show and guess what?
[159.78 --> 160.16] Uh-oh.
[160.44 --> 162.84] The USB devices didn't show up.
[162.94 --> 163.82] So it was all for nothing.
[166.20 --> 172.54] This does confirm my personal bias in that I think CalDigit makes the worst Thunderbolt docs.
[172.54 --> 179.60] And I know some podcasters out there, big talk CalDigit, but I've never liked them.
[179.72 --> 183.20] And I've owned one CalDigit and I never went back.
[183.28 --> 187.64] And I've owned two OWC Thunderbolt docs and never had problems.
[187.64 --> 189.66] But I don't know if they've been Thunderbolt 4 docs.
[189.72 --> 191.04] They might have been Thunderbolt 3 docs.
[191.14 --> 194.00] But I also think the OWC docs look better.
[194.22 --> 195.68] I think they're better looking docs too.
[196.14 --> 196.80] So there's that.
[196.96 --> 197.90] I'll put a link in the show notes.
[197.90 --> 202.38] I swear by my TS3 Plus, that thing has been extremely solid for me.
[202.98 --> 215.82] I had a bad experience with the TS3 Pro, the smaller one from CalDigit, where it caused a broadcast storm of packets on my network and literally took out my entire LAN until I unplugged the thing whenever the Mac went to sleep.
[216.84 --> 222.74] So, you know, out of the three CalDigit products I've bought, only one has functioned as advertised so far.
[223.30 --> 224.66] It's not going so well.
[224.66 --> 229.76] Alex, can I ask why you thought you should upgrade to the Thunderbolt 4?
[230.18 --> 236.82] Well, I need, you know, in my house, I have a home set up, like in my family room, where I sort of hang out and record podcasts and stuff.
[237.02 --> 241.42] And then I have a home office downstairs and work provided me with a MacBook.
[241.84 --> 249.80] And so I thought, oh, wouldn't it be great if I just had a Thunderbolt cable in each place and I can just plug in whatever computer I have and I'm good to go.
[249.80 --> 254.28] So this TS4 has 2.5 gig Ethernet as well.
[254.36 --> 256.54] So I thought, hmm, that's a tasty little upgrade.
[257.00 --> 258.44] I also love the idea.
[258.72 --> 261.28] I've had some success, but again, it's all Thunderbolt 3.
[261.98 --> 267.64] I know this sounds weird, but I really love Thunderbolt and I wish it was more widely used.
[267.72 --> 272.50] There's definitely some uptake in the PC side of things, but it's still predominantly a Mac tech.
[272.98 --> 274.44] And it's so much better than USB.
[274.44 --> 275.56] It's just too expensive.
[276.20 --> 277.60] When it works, it's fantastic.
[277.86 --> 283.64] But, you know, you look at how USB is with USB hubs and switches and all that kind of stuff.
[284.18 --> 288.68] I need all that for Thunderbolt 2, however technically difficult it is to implement.
[289.18 --> 293.52] And I need it to not cost three or four hundred dollars every time I want to buy a peripheral.
[294.22 --> 295.94] It reminds me of Firewire back in the day.
[296.04 --> 296.86] It is very much.
[297.10 --> 299.42] Same, same like, I think they're cousins.
[300.08 --> 301.16] Same kind of lineage.
[301.16 --> 305.58] Alex, I know that you've been continuing to de-Google like I have.
[305.92 --> 308.48] This trend has not slowed for me.
[308.68 --> 316.76] I am so far Google Photos free once again after getting sucked back in a year ago when they got me some free storage.
[317.44 --> 325.42] And I have yet to delete the photos, but I have a full side, like, secondary system that's working all the way.
[325.54 --> 326.18] It's backing up.
[326.24 --> 328.62] I'm trying Storage-A for the first time.
[328.62 --> 334.62] I don't know if you've played around with those guys, but it's pretty cheap, decentralized S3 compatible storage.
[335.00 --> 337.08] And I'm using that with Duplicati to do backups.
[337.24 --> 338.46] Like, I'm making moves, Alex.
[338.82 --> 341.34] The de-Googling thing is continuing even while on the road.
[341.78 --> 345.82] Next step is I'm going to try out Graphene OS on my Pixel 3.
[345.94 --> 348.22] Not there yet because I had to find the Pixel 3 first.
[348.22 --> 350.80] That's great to hear.
[350.98 --> 357.84] I've been looking at Photosync on iOS this week, which also supports S3 storage backends.
[357.92 --> 359.74] I'm not quite ready to talk about it in the show yet.
[359.84 --> 363.08] Like, I'm still figuring it out and making it work as I want to.
[363.54 --> 364.52] You figure it out.
[364.94 --> 365.34] Thanks, Brent.
[365.34 --> 365.84] Figure it out!
[366.18 --> 367.90] We didn't welcome Brent to the show yet.
[367.98 --> 368.44] Hello, Brent.
[368.52 --> 369.00] How are you?
[369.30 --> 369.80] Oh, hi.
[369.86 --> 370.40] I'm doing well.
[370.86 --> 375.30] I'm being reminded that almost exactly a year ago, we were doing the same on the road trip.
[375.42 --> 379.46] I was sat in this very seat doing a self-hosted with you both.
[379.56 --> 381.32] And we were talking about de-Googling.
[381.42 --> 383.46] We talked about Maps at that time.
[383.64 --> 385.94] So it's kind of our yearly review.
[386.28 --> 387.26] And the Maps thing has stuck.
[387.26 --> 390.42] You know, since then, I am still Google Maps free.
[390.94 --> 391.04] Wow.
[391.14 --> 395.02] However, I realized kind of recently that I do use Waze on occasion.
[395.70 --> 398.44] And that is actually a Google product.
[399.20 --> 399.90] So there's that.
[400.08 --> 400.34] They got you there.