Recent Posts

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 10
11
General Discussion / Re: How are you guys holding up?
« Last post by idolminds on Thursday, February 20, 2025, 08:28:57 PM »
I'm just wondering what the breaking point is going to be, or if there is one. All the things he is doing have very obvious negative outcomes. Like shits going to be falling apart by summer.
12
General Discussion / I've moved to Linux
« Last post by scottws on Thursday, February 20, 2025, 04:03:22 PM »
I forgot to tell everyone: I switched to using Linux as my daily driver! I've been using Ubuntu 24.04 on my Lenovo ThinkPad for about three months now and it's been great!

I made the move because my CPU was the last one not supported by Microsoft for Windows 11, so I was stuck on Windows 10 and EOL for that is looming later this year. The laptop itself was still perfectly serviceable, so I decided to try using Linux instead of buying a new laptop. Hilariously, Microsoft ended up backtracking on the Windows 11 support requirements about a week after I blew Windows away. Whatever.

Pros:
  • All of the hardware, except my fingerprint reader, worked out of the box on first boot. There were no special drivers I needed to install. The fingerprint reader itself is sadly vestigial now, though.
  • It's extremely stable. No more killing explorer.exe and relaunching it periodically or anything like that. Everything just works, always, period.
  • The volume and quality of tools for managing digital music libraries, mass tagging, and organizing the file system are simply unmatched.
  • Lots of applications are deployed as "snaps" or "flatpaks" now, which are basically like pre-built containers but for desktop software. So they are extremely simple to install and update. They even have a bit of sandboxing, increasing security.
  • Gaming on Linux has come a long way. There are tools like Steam, Heroic Launcher, and Lutris that make running games on Linux extremely easy. Basically just download and launch and it works. Gamepads, like my 8bitdo SN30 Pro just work too without issue. Not all games run though, especially any games that use kernel-based anti-cheat methods. I'm using integrated graphics on this thing anyway, so my options are already extremely limited.

Cons:
  • LibreOffice (still) sucks compared to Microsoft Office. It just does. It's like an Office 2003 competitor.
  • A lot of things are still terminal based.
  • The competing UI toolkits (e.g., Qt and GTK+) can be annoying because an application you like might be designed for KDE & Qt rather than GNOME & GTK+. You can still install it, but it will also install a ton of dependencies from the other UI framework and will look out of place next to the rest of the apps.
  • I do miss right-click and drag to another folder to show options from Windows. Linux doesn't have that. At least GNOME on Ubuntu 24.04 doesn't, not without a GNOME extension that may or may not exist.
13
General Discussion / Re: How are you guys holding up?
« Last post by scottws on Thursday, February 20, 2025, 12:45:03 PM »
Not great, Bob!

The only way I'm able to cope day-to-day is to be a bit of an ostrich. It's simply insane what's happening. They are pulling a Nazi or post-Soviet Russia move. I can understand a few self-interested bad actors that want to tank the country, but half of congress?! Sure, they have some self-interest too, but I would think they'd have more interest in a country where the law means something so business could actually function with a degree of predictability.

To me the scariest thing that they are talking about is getting rid of military generals to install sycophant versions. I can understand why they'd want to do it, to prevent the military from seeing what they are doing as a coup and making steps to stop it.

But it is terrifying. I can't imagine how we'll ever have fair elections ever again. My wife and I are honestly considering emigration to New Zealand, Spain, or Germany. I'd say Canada or one of the Scandinavian countries would be on the list, but I'd like to avoid a cold climate if possible. I'm also scared that they'll do things to make it difficult to emigrate, such as limiting travel, seizing funds, or preventing accessing funds internationally. I don't know how likely that is, but there is plenty of precedent from other authoritarian regimes.
15
General Discussion / Re: How are you guys holding up?
« Last post by Pugnate on Monday, February 17, 2025, 09:57:28 AM »
Yeah. Some judges seem to be trying but I’m guessing his Supreme Court will side with him.
16
General Discussion / Re: How are you guys holding up?
« Last post by idolminds on Sunday, February 16, 2025, 11:31:13 AM »
Its rough. And having people in charge not seemingly doing anything about it is maddening.
17
General Discussion / How are you guys holding up?
« Last post by Pugnate on Saturday, February 15, 2025, 11:54:28 AM »
It feels like President Musk and Fuhrer Trump are out to destroy the United States and maybe the rest of the world. How are you all holding up? Every day feels like another crazy episode.
18
General Gaming / Re: The Currently Playing Thread / Recently Finished Thread
« Last post by scottws on Friday, January 17, 2025, 01:35:23 PM »
So update on Tunic... I'm going to put it all in spoiler tags because one of the keys to really enjoying this game is going in cold with zero knowledge about anything and avoiding online hints.

(click to show/hide)

It's a heck of a game and I definitely recommend anyone check it out.
19
General Gaming / Re: The Currently Playing Thread / Recently Finished Thread
« Last post by idolminds on Tuesday, December 03, 2024, 10:36:58 PM »
Tunic is a great game. Its gonna surprise you.
20
General Gaming / Re: The Currently Playing Thread / Recently Finished Thread
« Last post by scottws on Monday, December 02, 2024, 09:59:58 AM »
I recently switched an old ThinkPad that couldn't take Windows 11 over to Ubuntu and have been experimenting with gaming on it. It plays Civ V from Steam just fine and I discovered Heroic Launcher (for GOG and Epic games). I bought and have been playing Tunic.

It plays, technically. I had to lower the resolution a bunch, turn off AA, and turn of shadows and depth-of-field. Intel graphics, curse you! Works fine with my 8bitdo SN30 Pro gamepad. People say it has a lot of Zelda influences. I see it a bit in the combat, but I feel more Metroidvania vibes from it honestly in terms of the world exploration. I'm still pretty early in the game. It's pretty good so far!
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 10