Hi. AVG's been bugging me with reminders to renew my subscription recently, but I don't have the money for that. I've been using AVG Free for years, but each time I trial the full edition it seems to install as a separate program, and then I have to manually revert back to the free version once the trial's up. The only other anti-malware I use is MalwareBytes (free again).

I'm not too worried about using a VPN, and have been advised to avoid the free ones anyway. I'd really just like a decent alternative to AVG Free that won't mess with my Steam games or pester me to upgrade several times a day. I have almost no experience with other anti-malware programs, so I'd rather ask people in the know for advice than just install something straight away and find out that it does one of the aforementioned annoying things.

...Should I use a free VPN? I'm trying to save as much of my scant moolah as I can, and I do occasionally torrent things, but the free ones are allegedly a little shady.

Being cooped up inside has made me realize how much time I spend in front of screens, for work and for play. I think it would be healthy for me to try to find something that's not screen related to do but remain socially distant, and I think learning to play an instrument would be a good candidate.

The problem is, I don't know which one to learn. When I was in middle/early high school I played the drum set, but having moved out on my own I certainly don't have the space for that anymore. I also thought about the recorder, since people play cool medieval music on it, but I'd rather not subject my neighbors to the shrill monstrosity that is someone learning to play recorder. I like the type of music that can be played on a guitar, but ideally I'd like something physically smaller, and perhaps a little more interesting. Also, for social distancing's sake, it would be ideal if it was an instrument where it is possible to teach oneself how to play.

Am I overcomplicating things and should just learn guitar? Are there any instruments that hit inexpensive, self teachable, small, and can be used in music in ways similar to a guitar?

Hi,

I’m usually just overthinking my note-taking setup with plaintext markdown notes, but recently I had to create and share (as PDF) some rich text documents as well. What I’m looking for:

• Collaborative editing to some extent (ideally real-time like Google Docs..)

• Rich text formatting

• Export as PDF (or even Word if possible)

• Web & mobile app (iOS)

I’m aware of Microsoft 365 with Word online and Google Docs. I really can’t stand Word online, it feels so super slow one can barely use it. I also feel the same about the application for macOS. It’s just this gigantic thing I don’t need. I want some headings, basic formatting, lists etc.

And then there’s Google Docs. It just feels wrong. It’s a weird editor, especially on mobile, it’s in this format I can’t grab, it feels like the files are not under my control.

I’m also aware of some self-hosted solutions like ONLYOFFICE and probably some NextCloud addon/solution. But these are things I don’t want either since it’s usually a hassle to install them, keep them up to date and take care of the data.

I’m just hoping that I’m missing out on something else available except the Microsoft and Google solutions.

At some point I just thought I might stick to Markdown files and export them as PDFs or even Word documents, but I don’t know about any reliable online collaboration solution for markdown docs either.

I've had a Nexus 6P for the past 3 years. It's been a good run, and I've swapped the battery out once before (1 year ago) but it's time for a replacement. At this point, it's not charging properly, and turning off randomly.

What phones are you all using? Any you'd feel good about recommending? I'd be interested to hear thoughts on current smartphones, as it's not something I've looked into for a while.

Some things I liked about the Nexus 6P:

• Camera (12.3MP) was really good back when I first got it and still holds up (just shuts down when I take photos now)
• Larger form factor (not a dealbreaker though)
• Android
• Convenience of having photos uploaded to Google Photos automatically
• Battery life (in its prime) was actually decent

I'm in EU, and ideally I don't really want to spend more than 300 euros.
Thanks all, keen to hear people's thoughts...

Appreciate any kind of response/advice.

Just finished (re-)watching the Friends TV series ... End of the last episode, sitting in the empty apartment (Joey: "Has it always been purple?" Phoebe: "Do you realize that at one time or another, we've all lived in this apartment?")

Got me thinking, more as a plot contrivance than the actual plot, a story about an apartment, spanning a century or more, and the various people that lived in it, jumping back and forth across time, linking them together through history ... perhaps even, a la "Ship of Theseus", spanning multiple centuries and multiple homes/dwellings that occupied the same space.

So specifically, I'm wondering if anyone can think of any novels that adopt this idea, or anything similar, as a primary vehicle for their storytelling?

I have a vague recollection of a short story or novella in 2ndary school, about the life of a redwood, and the various people and animals that lived in and around it over the centuries ... and also I recall reading "A Winter Tale" by Mark Helperin -- a semi-fantastical novel about the city of New York ... oh look, apparently, they made it into a movie, too.

But those two are the only examples I can think of that come close to this idea.

PS: I love to write fiction, and someday I may even finish a novel ... but generally, I get about halfway through, figure out how it's going to end, and then lose interest ... so if anyone with more ambition likes the idea, you're welcome to it.

ETA: I'm not looking for the 10,000 variations of "oooh, haunted by the ghost of a person that died here 20 years ago". Broader, covering a longer timeframe, multiple substories interwoven into the same living space, you get the idea.

I limited the intake of high volume news and I'm currently taking a break from social media. I've been enjoying to occasionally visit blogs directly as my source of online reading. I tend to enjoy short essays, opinions, and honest observations. What blogs have you been following lately that you think are worth taking a look at?

P.s.
If it's your own, please shoot me a direct message: I'd love to check it out.

As some of you may know, I now have a virtual girlfriend. I also suffered an automobile accident. So yeah I'm kinda fucked and my movements are restricted.

That's not something I planned, but it happened and we're getting out of things to do. There's not a lot going on our lives to talk about either. But we love each other (I think?) and wanna spend time together online.

She's an actress and there will be another player friend, so RPGs are likely a good idea and she's very open to it. I think she wants to be some kind of cool illusion witch, so the scenario will have to be medieval. I'm also a fan of RPGs and narrated games on the Cthulhu universe. Not the kind of thing I'd use to woo a woman.

All my games have been presential. I know of the existence of Roll20, but (1) it looks big and comprehensive and I'm super lazy (2) I think I could probably go with something way simpler. I don't care much about maps, miniatures, or anything advanced. I'd be DMing and games are abstract by nature. A super simple system like Risus (but maybe a bit complex) might be okay, or probably a very slimmed-down version of the Storytelling System. I'm open to suggestions regarding system, I'd just like to point out that I am literally ADHD so most things people consider light and easy to follow are a nightmare for me. On the other hand, I'm a very creative master a player and this helps me quite a bit when it comes to interpretation!

I need a system that :

• is free without caveats (or just a minimal and not at all annoying caveat)
• store character sheets and calculate their evolution
• performs rolls
• is online, lightweight (our machines are quite weak) and possibly mobile friendly
• simple and easy to use for someone with zero experience in RPGs (her)
• has no video or audio capabilities. Seems unnecessary since we're always on WhatsApp.

I nearly sent this text to the only man who I can imagine would take my call on the subject, but I've chickened out and decided it will be easier and probably more fruitful besides to post it to the forum I trust, rather than use up my allowance of inane, insecure questions for him..

"I think that was a boring question I asked you, here is a different one-- I hate all my shoes, they're inconvenient and bulky. I don't mean to press you into service as an ambassador of anything, but I remember you wearing flip flops most days and that example has lingered with me as one of practicality and personal style. The problem is I can't bring myself to browse either online or especially in person, I become immediately frustrated and anxious as I open up to the possibility of needing to deal with my body in any sense, let alone to shop for it... if I could live without them (my feet) I would, I have decided. Can you recommend a source for slip on summer shoes which is not off-puttingly branded or grossly masculine? I mean that in the sense that their primary aesthetic cannot be "Don't look at my feet! Suffice yourself with the knowledge that they are Large and In Charge!!"

There are a ton of recommendation lists out there right now, each with a ton of titles. While it's nice to see that the topic is being addressed by so many different voices and from so many different angles, it can also make it so that it's difficult to know where to start or where to go next.

I'm curious as to which books about racism people here would recommend. Please share not only what the books you've chosen are about specifically, but why you are choosing to recommend them.

Every sub on Reddit seems so runover with politics, technology/programming/linux subs are so overriden with whatever new idiot bill the american government is trying to pass. Are there any decent niche subs on the rise right now? Most of the ones that make it on /r/all are all kinda trash and feel like theres some agenda behind the posts

Here's a fresh new thread for book recommendations! The last thread from a year ago got bumped and saw some new top-level activity but few votes or responses on the new requests. I think it's probably not visible in a lot of people's feeds due to its age, and I was planning on rebooting it anyway, so here's a fresh topic we can use for new recommendations that will be visible to all.

Top level comments should fill in the blank with some sort of descriptor identifying a kind of book you would like suggestions for.

Replies can then recommend books to that individual.

Examples of what top level posts might be are below. Get as generic, specific, abstract, or out there as you want!

• Recommend me a book that will make me cry.
• Recommend me a book with a great twist.
• Recommend me a book that deals with loss.
• Recommend me a book about the fall of the Roman Empire.
• Recommend me a book with a main character in her 80s.
• Recommend me a book to help me learn PHP.

Thread reading tip: use the "collapse replies" button to see only top-level requests.

Not leaving the house much these days (due to social distancing and also insane heat in NYC right now) means I've got some time to kill that I'd like to spend productively.

I took MIT 6.00.2x: Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science a few years back when I was refreshing my Python skills. I think it's been updated a bit since then. It was a high quality course and I enjoyed it, though there are so many Python-related courses these days, I can't guarantee it's the best.

I'm currently taking:

1. Model Thinking on Coursera from the University of Michigan. I don't know where I saw this recommended (maybe on Tildes or Hacker News?) but it's quite good so far. Scott Page teaches about how to use various models (mental models, computational ones, etc.) for breaking down and analyzing various problems and systems. I've only just started but I quite like it.

2. Testing and Monitoring Machine Learning Model Deployments on Udemy. Taking this along with a few coworkers since it's relevant to what I do. Only just starting but appears to be quite good and works through a well-documented example project on Github.

I've also come across a few that seem like they might be good courses for the future:

• Bayesian Methods for Hackers
• Probalistic graphical models on Coursera (3-part sequence, not free)
• Computational probability and inference

Now your turn: what have you taken? What did you like or not like, and why? What do you want to take?

This may seem an obvious question, but not as much as it seems. She uses Windows, I’m currently using Linux/macOS. How to instruct her to install her Python environment? Should I use Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or another solution? Is there and easy way for live-drawing (online blackboard) to explain things to her visually? And, perhaps most importantly, how can I do that for free?

Currently, I've been playing board games which always have the same kind of (standard) mechanics (worker placement, card drafting, etc), which after a while, starts to feel kind of the same but what changes is the theme.

I'm looking for recommendations on board games which have unique mechanics. It could a completely new mechanic or simply a mechanic which already exists but then the game uses it with a twist.

For example:

• Trickerion use of worker placement but the workers have actually different values.

• Tzolk'in and the use of gears.

Inspired by this post, I was wondering what RSS feeds you all subscribe to and how you read them.

Here are mine:
http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/topNews
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/headlines
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/world
http://feeds.nature.com/nature/rss/current

I'm just started using Newsboat, a CLI RSS reader, to read in a few feeds (Reuters was one of them :( ) and it's pretty refreshing to get a text-based newsfeed with no distraction. Though, the feeds I'm subscribed to only give me a brief blurb of the news...

Basically, an equivalent of JustWatch.com for music. I just tried looking up an obscure song to see if any streaming services had it and am amazed I can't find some sort of dedicated aggregator. I remember someone posting links in previous threads to a website that had various streaming options for each particular song recommended but I can't even remember what site that was.

I’m looking for a device that can track runs, whether it’s a watch or small device, which just exports raw GPS data via USB. I don’t want it to have Bluetooth, and it’s not enough to be able to disable it, I would just like it to not have any wireless radios whatsoever. Have you guys ever seen anything like this? I feel like it doesn’t exist on the market.

So I've been trying to get started on drawing, mostly about characters I wanted to draw, sometimes a bit of scenery.

Thing is, besides the very basics of exercises, like shapes / line control / hand-eye coordination, I really struggle to find any other resource, like anatomy, movement, and such.

Do you have any book or online resource to recommend?

Tildes has had a couple of threads about podcast recommendations in the past, but most of them are over 18 months old now, and podcasts are always evolving, and we have new members who may not have participated in those threads before—I certainly only picked up podcasts in the last few months.

So. Three questions!

• What podcasts are you listening to?
• What podcasts have you dropped, or picked up, in that time?
• If you had to recommend a couple of podcasts to others, which shows would you pick? Why do you recommend them? Got a favourite episode?

I'm looking for a ~24" 1080p monitor -- nothing flashy, purely for TV and movies.

Right now I have a crappy Dell TN. I don't mind it, but the viewing angles aren't great.

I just started looking tonight. A lot of posts are saying that VA is ideal, IPS has light leaks, and TN has the typical viewing angle issues.

The main things I am concerned about are:

• I'm close to this monitor (VESA mounted where you'd have a second monitor)
• Color reproduction is important -- same with decent contrast
• I often watch stuff in a dark room

I don't really care about specific models (regional availability), but I'm hoping to find out which panel is ideal. Does anybody have any experience with a VA panel?

You know how sometimes there's that hit song (or artist) that's super popular but you just don't like it? Sometimes it's because it's ubiquitous to the point you begin to resent it, but sometimes it's actually because the song isn't really that good. Those songs will be considered classics in a couple decades though, and there probably won't be too much push back on that from people who were around when it first came out. Some of my uncles used to be DJs, and they've put me onto old bands I'd never heard of before, but by all accounts the music they think was the best was popular back then too.

I'm sure we can all name examples of current music hits/acts that probably will perhaps undeservedly achieve that classic status in the future, but what about past music? Personally, I'm all about the deep cuts, and sometimes I wonder if I would have liked some of the bigger acts if I came up during those eras. For example, no matter how I try I can't really get into the Beatles, but I'm not sure how much of that is taste and how much is just being from a subsequent era that had already absorbed all the changes they made to pop music.

Of course, radio was a lot more important in the old days, and people having a lot less access to their own choice of music back then as compared to now would have shaped their tastes, but let's try to leave that aside.

Edit: I'm not just talking about rock music, btw. If you think Chopin is overrated, by all means, make your case.

Sorry if this is a silly question, but I keep running into situations where a small CLI or GUI tool that could be handed a single file and hand me back an encrypted version would be useful. I've done some googling, but all I typically turn up is blogspam about random Windows-only tools that seem to be of dubious quality.

Anyone know of a good tool for this type of thing?

Back in the day I was a hardcore Google Reader (RIP) user, and following that I continued to use https://feedly.com/ for many years, but eventually I found myself falling behind on all my feeds and stopped checking it.

Recently, I signed for Inoreader and I've started reading more blogs again. It also has the nice feature of letting you subscribe to email newsletters too, which is quite nice since I find them annoying to deal with in my email inbox but convenient in the feed reader.

I'm wondering what blogs and newsletters folks on Tildes subscribe to.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Blogs:

• bellingcat: Independent investigative journalism often based on online "open source intelligence." e.g. The Boogaloo Movement is Not What You Think
• BLDGBLOG: Geoff Manaugh's blog about everything related to the space we inhabit, both built and natural. e.g. Underground Cathedrals of Radiation and Zones of Irreversible Strain
• Flowing Data: Nathan Yau's blog about data visualization. e.g. Racial Divide
• Idle Words: The blog of Maciej Cegłowski, creator of the Pinboard bookmarking service. Covers tech and lots of unrelated topics. e.g. Superintelligence: The Idea that Eats Smart People

Newsletters:

• BIG by Matt Stoller: A newsletter about economics and in particular the economics of monopolies and disruptive startups. e.g. The Slow Death of Hollywood
• Data is Plural: A weekly newsletter of fun/weird datasets.
• Normcore Tech: Vicki Boykis' newsletter about tech and tech-related things. e.g. The Reign of Big Recsys
• Uses This: Brief interviews with all sorts of creators about what tools they use to do what they do.

This is just a slice. I can share my entire list if people are interested. But I'm curious about what feeds others enjoy, on anything from film and furniture to "movie-set" urbanism. What are you reading?

I watched Knives Out last night with my mother and we loved it. We used to love watching Hitchcock films, I’m in the mood for something more recent with a similar vibe. Like a modern Agatha Christie murder mystery. Any suggestions?

In the DC canon, The Mobius Chair is a time-space/dimensional vehicle operated by the New God Metron. It allows him to travel and observe the universe, but the one I'm making is nowhere near as functional.

I've come into a recliner chair with a cupholder on each armrest, and I already had a split keyboard. My plan is to use the cupholders as a mount for both ends of the split keyboard, so that I could use the entire run of armrest and have my hands lay naturally on the keys. Goals are to minimize weird stretching and be able to comfortably type for long stretches of time, to put off stuff building this that I planned to work on this weekend, and to look super boss, though not necessarily in that order.

If I want ultimate angulation and the best range of motion, I was thinking about something like a cupholder with a phone or a tablet mount, like this one, but if anyone has recommendations for what would be best to work with, or have done something like this before, I'm all ears.

I've been on a long and steady roll reading classic literature, both fiction and non-fiction. I think it's important to get a perspective from earlier times that influenced our current culture and also because many of these works have withstood the test of time.

However, I'm having real trouble reading some of the non-fiction e.g. Plato's Republic and Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals. With both fiction and non-fiction I accompany my readings with Sparknotes to make sure I'm not missing anything important. In the case of non-fiction I often can barely get a cohesive thought out of the original text. In some cases the text is too old to be understood on it's own and in others the author has great ideas but poor writing (e.g. Nietzsche, famously). But Sparknote's is much too brief—I'd like a more involved experience.

My request is this: I'm looking for books (or resources to find such books) about classic non-fiction that

1. distill the concepts without watering them down
2. provide context with either modern culture and/or other works that are related
3. are written for an intelligent layman; prose meant to communicate to a non-expert audience but with scholarly rigor

Basically, I read at a high level but I am not a professional scholar of literature, philosophy or history, yet I would like to have a bridge to such an understanding.

EDIT: I found this site to be exactly what I was looking for: https://plato.stanford.edu/index.html

I've been out of PC gaming for at least 10 years. Although I have a PS4 and I loved playing God of War 4 and Witcher 3.

Through what might only be described as a mishap, I've ended up building a computer with a kickass GPU. 3700X, RX 5700XT, 2TB Gigabyte Aorus NVMe. The works.

Build's half done, I plan on dual booting hackintosh & windows 10 -- the latter I haven't used in many years as well, I'm a UNIX guy.

What should I even install on this thing? I've been very disconnected from the gaming industry and I've no idea what games are new or good or cool to show off what my hardware can do

My Anniversary is coming up and I'd like to do a movie night for my wife. She likes romantic films but I don't so we don't often watch them together.

I'd like to come up with 3 or 4 of the best romantic movies ever to watch together as a gift to her. Since I don't ever watch these kinds of movies I don't know what's objectively good.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who responded! There are so many great options that I'm going to make a list of all of them to draw from on other special occasions too!

We're trying to start a Gamecircle (kind of like a Bookcircle) with friends and accuintances and I'm looking for some good Games to start. It is a daunting task to be honest, as there will be some first time gamers taking part. And for me as a singleplayer for year (mostly factorio and some round and grand strategy games) I dont even know where to start looking.
I'm looking for something like mario kart, which is easy to understand and fun for everybody to play, for the first months. Not cost more than 10$, be aviable through steam or gog or itch.io, preferably cross-platform (steam play works fine too).

On another note, has someboy tried something like this? how did/does it work out? What would be your Advice?

The cheap bluetooth sleep-mask with built-in headphones I ordered off Amazon stopped working (big surprise) and I'm in the market for something similar but of good quality. Requirements:

• Wireless
• Comfortable to wear while I'm lying on my side

It doesn't have to be part of a sleep mask, and it doesn't even need to have great audio quality. I use it more for audiobooks and white noise than music. I just want something that's going to work with no issues and last for a while.

Latest update here. Thanks to everyone who helped me out!

I have an Nvidia Shield hooked up to my TV, and it's great for Android games and emulation. I'm looking for similar hardware that will allow me to play my Steam library on the TV.¹ It doesn't have to be as small as the Shield TV, but I'm not interested in having a giant tower hooked up in my living room. Basically, I want what those old Steam Machines promised before fizzling out.

What I'm looking for:

• Pre-configured
• Able to support wireless controllers through Bluetooth
• Able to play smaller, less demanding games flawlessly
• Would be nice if it could play more demanding titles, but this is not a must
• Has decent cooling (I'm worried that boxes not designed for gaming will get way too hot)
• Price point: undetermined so far -- I'm willing to pay what I need to, but I want to see what's out there before committing to anything
• Would like to be able to set it up to basically be a seamless "console" if possible, where I can boot right into Steam (or easily get there with a controller) and not have to use a keyboard and mouse (I do have a Steam controller but I would rather use an 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ as my primary input method)

Searching around, here's what I've found so far:

• The System 76 Meerkat is a mini PC that looks great (and I'm partial to the company), but I don't know how it would perform with gaming. Also, I haven't decided if I want the (small) amounts of friction that come with gaming on Linux on my TV or not.

• Intel NUCs seems to be popular, and they have some gaming-focused models at higher price points.

• The MSI Trident 3 is explicitly gaming-focused and has a dedicated cooling system. Might be overkill for what I need though?

Here are my main questions:

1. What other hardware options are out there that I don't know about?
2. What hardware profile and price point should I be targeting for my needs? How little is too little, and how much is too much?
3. Are there any pitfalls to this kind of setup that I'm not aware of?

I'm open to any and all suggestions, as this kind of stuff is all a bit over my head so it's hard for me to even know what I'm looking for. I haven't even decided that this is definitely something I'm going to do yet, since there's such a wide range in price and performance. Instead what I'm trying to do is figure out what my needs are and then which models (if any) would fit them best.

1: I do have a Steam Link and have tried the app, but the quality for me has been spotty enough that I would rather have native hardware playing them than trying to stream it from my laptop.

I have Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Showtime. Possibly Disney+ soon too, but I'm guessing Disney doesn't do a ton of anime (other than Spirited Away? Does that count?).

I'm looking for a good anime show to start watching - I'm brand new to the medium. I've seen guides here and there, but there are so. many. options. so I've had decision paralysis choosing which to watch first.

I guess I'm looking for a bingeable show that's funny and has feel-good characters, but I'm not set on anything specifically. Some, but not a ton, action would be good too I guess. I'm also fine starting off with a lesser-known show if there's a good one!

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Thanks to whoever moved this to ~anime - didn't know it was a thing! It's been a while since I've been on Tildes so I forgot exactly how it worked.

EDIT: This is an old thread that's fallen off many people's feeds. See a current version here.

Top level comments should fill in the blank with some sort of descriptor identifying a kind of book you would like suggestions for. Be as generic or specific as you want.

Replies can then recommend books to that individual.

Examples of what I'm thinking for top level posts, in case my description was unclear:

• Recommend me a book that will make me cry.
• Recommend me a book with a great twist.
• Recommend me a book that deals with loss.
• Recommend me a book about the fall of the Roman Empire.
• Recommend me a book with a main character in her 80s.
• Recommend me a book to help me learn PHP.

I love comics and graphic novels, but I haven't devoted a lot of time to manga despite it being in line with my interests. A lot of the stuff I come across seems aimed at younger audiences or is highly romance-focused, neither of which really appeal to me. I'd love to get some good recommendations for manga that is more meant for adults (but is not "adult manga") or that just tells really good stories.

To get a feel for what I might be interested in, here's a very limited list of what I've enjoyed so far:

• My Brother's Husband was cute and resonant. I like nearly anything that tackles LGBT/queer issues.
• I read a scanlation of Homunculus and enjoyed its oddness and artwork.
• Ichi-F was really good too. I like non-fiction, which I realize is rare in manga.
• Death Note, despite not being what I'm actively looking for, was a great page-turner.
• Opus was a meta-manga that I enjoyed, despite probably not being able to appreciate it to its fullest given my lack of exposure to the form.

EDIT: I added links in case anyone is unfamiliar with those titles. Also, I forgot to add that I'd prefer manga that are finished rather than ongoing, and I'd prefer ones that don't have a huge number of volumes, though neither of these are definite requirements -- just preferences.

This story was basically the last straw, but the bigger frustration is that I ordered a NAS on Black Friday that STILL hasn't shipped. I have zero trust in this company to actually deliver me what they claim to be anymore, and their listings are crap.

So instead of just spending my time whining (like the Ars comment section seems to be), I'd like to brainstorm alternative places to buy stuff. The main problem is breaking the Amazon habit, especially as it dominates all Google results for whatever you're looking for.

Nothing will ever be as much of a "one stop shop" as the A->Z store, naturally. But I think I'll just set myself up some bookmarks and go to one based on what I'm looking for. Also, while I get that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, there is definitely a sliding scale of better and worse so that should weigh into things.

So let's go by category. I'm just listing out places where I've started to look for things instead. Please feel free to make suggestions. Whatever people recommend, I'll edit back into this list. If you include any general comments about what you like or what they could do better on any of your recommendations or any of mine let me know.

Groceries (Dry goods and sundries)

• Target.com
• Jet.com
• WalMart.com
• CostCo
• Chewy.com: For dog/pet supplies

Groceries (Fresh/perishable and specialty foods)

• Peapod (is this still a thing? Has anyone used it?)

Electronics

• BestBuy.com
• WalMart.com
• Target.com
• Drop.com: Unfortunately, it's whatever happens to be a deal at the time. So good to check in on and get alerts if there is something you're waiting for but not reliable.
• TechnaBob: Same as Drop
• NewEgg: Obviously
• Monoprice: For cables and other staples.

Clothes (basics like socks, t-shirts, underwear, etc.)

Clothes (designer)

• Gilt.com is basically for overstock and weird fashion items. Sometimes there are good finds there though, particularly good deals on designer versions of basics.

Random stuff (specifically random "flea market" type sites)

• Meh.com
• Etsy (for handicrafts and consignment/antiques, although this is also starting to get lousy with shitty knockoffs)
• eBay (can be pretty dodgy, once again crappy knockoff scammers ruin everything)
• CraigsList (if you're okay with used)

Other (specialty sites for very specific things)

• Drop: For stuff in drop communities. Currently they have a very active one for mechanical keyboards along with audiophile gear, writing/stationary, EDC, and random tech.
• The Clymb: A deal site for camping clothes and outdoor gear
• REI.com: More outdoors gear

We don’t have a console and I’m a full time Linux user so gaming hasn’t been the best of experiences for me.

Today a Chromecast Ultra and two controllers arrived on our doorstep that my wife apparently ordered and wow is it awesome.

Zero input lag, 1080p with the option to go 4K, and some solid options for games that are playable instantly.

So far we have The Division 2, Grid, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Destiny 2, Monopoly, and a couple other indie games. There are some big titles coming - I’m most excited for FIFA and Madden - but I’m looking to find out if you guys have any suggestions for games.

We are looking for some fun two player action.

Also, if anyone else on here has Stadia, I’ll add you!

I'm about to finish my semester and, since I've been taking a lot of walks lately, I figured I should listen to some audiobooks. In particular, I'd love some suggestions for nonfiction audiobooks. I recently read Boom Town by Sam Anderson, a sort of pop history about Oklahoma City and its basketball team, and I listened to Silver Screen Fiend, by Patton Oswalt, about his addiction to movies.

Are there any audiobooks you recommend? Preferably they would be good books that also have particularly good audio versions (well-produced).

Thanks!

My sleep mask is falling apart. I'm in the market for a new one. I could just get any 15 euro mask but it seems like it's a category of products that is riddled with cheap crap and overpriced gadgetry.

I don't mind a high budget mask if it's legitimately good quality and will last a long time. I'm also open to try the "smart masks" that can play music or white noise or whatever but again, it has to be good quality.

Caveat: I'm in europe, and a lot of US brands aren't available here. But if it's really good I can import it.

I'm running out of time to finish the spend requirements on a credit card promotion. I was planning on buying a VR headset, but I realized there was something that would actually be much more useful; a new router.

The market for consumer routers has been really strange; We are on the sixth generation, yet it's super common for consumer routers to be two or three generations behind, especially the less expensive ones. So much of the stuff on the market only goes up to 802.11n, and half of the time the firmware they include is halfway broken or is missing important features.

So I'm looking for a router that is relatively future-proof. I want Wifi 6. I want something that won't be interrupted by the microwave. Open source firmware would be excellent, but not a requirement. I don't need mesh networking; my house is not that big. I do want it to be relatively inexpensive; I'd consider $300 to be a hard limit unless someone has a persuasive arguement to justify the cost.

I would also prefer to avoid Netgear. I have no idea how they stay in business with the mountains of problems I have had with their products and their horrible support. The last time I owned a Netgear product, I was forced to give them my email address to download the driver and they illegally added it to their marketing mailing list without my permission. I don't do business with people who betray me.

Got it last summer and been having and absolute blast with it, got a macro tube and a bigger 55-300 lens to play with. But time and time again I keep running into annoying little limitations.

This model doesn't have a shutter release input thing, so remote shutter is locked behind a falling apart android app>bluetooth connection. There's a tonne of small little things like this that I wish I looked into before making the purchase

Essentially - right now I'm thinking that I want to upgrade the actual dslr before investing any more into lenses, but I'm a bit too out of touch to know what the good models to go for 2nd hand or whatever.

Are there any tildoes out there that have some experience with older but capable bodies?

While I've been teaching myself my first programming language (Python), I've been getting more into using the terminal as much as possible to build familiarity and get comfortable. This has opened my eyes to so many useful utilities and makes me curious as to what there is out there that I haven't heard of yet.

My favorites so far:

exa - A modern version of "ls"

youtube-dl - Download videos from youtube.com or other video platforms with various options

hledger - Plain text double-entry accounting software based on ledger written in Haskell

thefuck - App that corrects a spelling mistake in the previous command by typing "fuck"

spicetify-cli - Customizes the Spotify client with themes and extensions

spotifyd - Lightweight Spotify daemon

spotify-tui - Control Spotify in the terminal

neofetch - Launch tool that can display ASCII art or pictures and general system information

I'm on macOS but I'm almost certain all of these are cross-platform.

What are your favorite or "must-have" CLI packages?

Hi all -- I have had a Moto G5+ for the last two years, and have been largely happy with it. However, it's recently developed some serious issues w/ charging -- it tends to not ever get past ~45%, and the battery indicator seems to be ... disconnected from how long the phone actually lasts. I have attempted cleaning out the charging port (there was a lot of caked-in dust), changing the charging cable and port, to no avail. It works ok-ish for the moment, but I have largely been limiting it to emergency usage and I suspect it's on it's way out.

So, I find myself in the market for a new phone. In the past I have typically gone with whatever the cheapest reasonable Android phone has been (hence, the G5+ which I really do like quite a bit besides the poor camera). I am not a heavy phone user, and I really don't care about having the latest and greatest, my priorities are:

• long battery life (my Moto G5 lasts two days fully charged)
• cheap (say 200-300$, the SE on this thread is probably the upper bound of what I'd want to spend)
• reasonably performant
• preferably reasonable privacy protections (probably a pipe-dream)

The Moto G series have checked all boxes (apart from privacy) in the past, but I am considering whether I can take this opportunity to rid myself of another Google device in my life. I was thinking potentially going for a refurbished iPhone, but I really have no idea what to be looking for there. I haven't used an Apple device since my iPod (iTunes on Windows PTSD is real, and I don't even want to think about Linux support), and I am more than a bit hesitant to tie myself into their ecosystem, but it's hard to deny their superiority from a privacy standpoint.

I had also considered a Librem 5 at one point, and would be willing to spend a bit more for something so privacy oriented. But the 6-month order window, and other things I read about Purisms' roll-out have left me a bit wary there.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I listen to music throughout each day but one of the most challenging things for me is finding good music to unwind and fall asleep to. What do you listen to before bed or while trying to fall asleep?

These are currently on my sleep rotation:

Sigur Ros - ( )
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
River Boat Sleep - Guided Meditation

I've tried listening to a lot of piano and classical but I get so invested in what they are playing that I can't fall asleep.

Grandma is understimulated in assisted living, and while Mom is looking into ways to either bunk with her, or drag her back to our place, I'm exploring other options. Her apartment does have wireless internet, so we could set up some sort of telepresence or video calling device, but even something as simple as a Relay or a KC2 isn't great, because it loses power, and needs to be explained to her.

I'm thinking that we might have better luck with a Tablet or a PC solution, and I do have a Kindle Fire (5th Gen?) and an off brand Windows 10 tablet around, and I am open to a Pi Project or speciality devices, but it has to be simple enough to plug and play, and the dream would be if it could start a video chat without the receiver having to pick up, or at least as simple as a nurse being able to come in and start a call. Any suggestions?

I'd like to ask for recommendations for FLOSS (Free/Libre, Open-Source Software) games, playable on Linux or Android. I saw an old thread on this topic, but it's over a year old, so I thought it'd be okay to ask this year. Genre-wise, I'm pretty open. RPG, adventure, FPS, RTS, TBS, 4x, puzzle, sidescroller, platformer, single-player, multi-player, online, offline... whatever. I would prefer not needing to have original (commercial) game assets.

Fine print: I do like a good FPS, but, having played commercial titles on PS3 and PS4, I've found that the FLOSS FPSes I've tried just don't hold a candle to them. Also, I prefer having a short TTK (think: hardcore mode, R6S, BFV), and every FLOSS FPS I've tried has had a long TTK.

I've already played:

Linux:

• Wesnoth
• 0 A.D.
• roguelikes (currently have an active character in Angband)
• Ur Quan Masters
• Minetest
• bzflag (long ago)

Android:

• SuperTuxKart
• Pixel Dungeon
• Andor's Trail
• Mindustry
• Pixel Wheels
• Vector Pinball
• Minetest
• Wesnoth
• HyperRogue

What I haven't played, but might check out:

• FreeOrion
• Endless Sky
• Glest, MegaGlest
• Warzone 2100
• Zero-K
• KeeperRL
• OpenRCT2
• Oolite