I'm getting a little bit worried these days about the tracking features in chrome and was looking into Zen Browser. Does anyone here use it? Any thoughts?
Also looking for any simple non tracking browser alternatives!
We've had discussions around here before about where we get our news, and one of mine has been The BBC. I've used them as an occasional source for several years now. It seems that today (Nov 15th) marks a shift in their policy regarding access to their online site. BBC.com is no longer readable for free. I can look at their headlines, but as soon as I try to read an article, a subscribe pop-up appears, and there is no way around it. Archive sites will still have the articles, yes, but that is a different subject entirely.
As far as I'm concerned, that drops them from my list of news sources. I have tentatively replaced them with Reuters, which is visually clunky, but still free. The AP site, PBS and National Public Radio are other sites I frequent. For a British viewpoint, I'm also trying out The Guardian, which bombards me with SUBSCRIBE notices, but those can still be zapped out of sight.
Are there any other obvious sites I haven't mentioned? Not interested in right-wing propaganda by the way and I find most of the major American networks intolerable.
I'm looking to host a small community in Portuguese. Reddit is not an option for me, but self-hosting is both expensive and outside of my abilities. I would also rather avoid Discord.
Looking for some games to play with my 11-year-old and wife together (2 player games are OK too!). It's so hard to sift through hundreds of thousands of games on Steam, so thought I'd poll folks!
Hey all I own a pixel 8a if that's relevant and am looking for a controller that is Bluetooth and costs 50 dollars or less on Amazon. I'm not too picky as long as it can hold the phone and is of good quality. Thank you!
Ever since I was a kid, the kitchen TV has been on in the morning while we eat breakfast and get ready for school. I remember Flipper and Rocky and Bullwinkle being on when we were younger and then Katie Couric and Matt Lauer on The Today Show later on.
As an adult, I've been looking for something linear to watch in the morning while I eat breakfast to put a stop to my bad habit of doom scrolling. I have about 30-45 minutes between walking my dog and logging onto my work computer where I eat breakfast and sit at the kitchen table. This is kind of "me time" to get ready for the day and try to get my brain to ramp up into work mode that has taken the place of my morning commute ever since COVID now that I work remote. Here's what I've tried and why I don't like them:
I'm mostly interested in major world events, economics, tech, and business. I specifically do not care to hear about pop culture and sports (that's for after work) and I'm so tired of hearing about American political theater (although I'd like to know when something concrete happens).
So yeah. What do you watch in the morning? Do you have any suggestions?
I have a Starlabs Labtop in great shape that I would like to sell. Problem is, I can't garner much interest on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace. Are there any computer Buy/Sell sites in Canada such as Pinkbike.com for used bicycles?
I've been learning Godot for the past few months and I'm happy to report that it's been going well. Little by little, things are clicking into place. (I hugely, highly, undoubtedly, recommend GDQuest courses)
I'm ready to start working on a small project to test out my skills, and it's going to be a top down pixel art game.
But to be completely honest, I suck at drawing. I suck at drawing as in, I can make stick figures at best. So forget any fancy software for drawing in general like gimp or photoshop.
What I'm looking for is a software meant for pixel art and that makes my life easy, in both drawing and animating. Bonus points if it allows me to trace (I'm not planning to copy/steal art, but I do need reference points, at least for now)
Do you guys have any recommendations? It can be free or paid. I don't mind paying as long the software is worth it.
My current phone is about 6 years old and has a lot of signal problems and I replaced the battery about 6 months ago and the new battery is even worse than the original one was and I think it's time to get a new phone.
Things I want in my phone:
Things I don't really care about:
Things that might be nice:
I hope this phone lasts another 6 years and will be pissed if it lasts under 4 years; at that lifespan and amount of use I get out of it I'm pretty price-agnostic. I live in the USA but expect to travel to Europe a few times next year so it should do decently well when traveling. Network is T-Mobile.
This is not SUPER urgent right now so if your advice is "wait til January because the XYZ phone releasing then is probably better than anything available right now" I would be willing to do that. But my current phone is really not doing great.
Happy to answer any other followup questions if anyone has any!
Thanks!
Now that it is finally fall weather in the Midwest, I have been back to making stews/soups.
My current go-to’s are Zuppa Toscona, Pozole Rojo, and I just made some Kartoffelsuppe (German Potato Soup with Sausage), but I’m looking for more! Any stew-like meal that’s hearty and warm - I like to make a big batch Monday night & eat it for lunches throughout the week, so preferably ones that reheat OK.
I love the Dapanji I’ve had from a local place with hand-pulled noodles, but that seems a bit out of my skill level or comfort-zone to try to make.
What are some of your favorite stews (preferably with recipes)?
Source: bupkis.org
Source: bupkis-org.github.io
Servings: 8
German Potato Soup with Bratwurst is an easy comforting recipe to add to your soup rotation this fall. It takes just 30 minutes to cook, and celebrates German cuisine, even if you can't get to Octoberfest.
Source: theviewfromgreatisland.com
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Prep: 15min
Cook: 30min
Total: 45min
Variations:
Stir in some sour cream, off the heat, to the finished soup.
Season with caraway seeds.
Add a leek, trimmed, diced, and well rinsed.
Add peeled and diced celeriac or turnip.
Puree the finished soup to a creamy consistency before adding the sausage.
Brighten the flavor with a small touch of apple cider vinegar.
*recipe adapted from Ren Behan
I have a decent sized library of probably around 2-300 books, and it has been on my list of projects to-do to make a catalog/database for my library to quickly reference what I have. Do any of you catalog your libraries and if so what do you use for it?
I know Libid and LibraryThing are two of the big website/app ones, and it could be done with a Google Sheet or similar, but I was wondering if anyone here has any experience before I really get started.
I decided to spin off this topic based on the discussion in the Leaker reveals which Pixels are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking.
Since I kinda by chance got rid of my dependency on Google Photos (as I installed Immich on my server which does the same but on my own hardware) I decided I want to try and de-Google my life more.
I was thinking about using my own domain to send e-mail from, but since I don't run e-mail server myself and I don't even want to - because of security reasons from multiple directions - I would like to use some paid e-mail service provider that would host the e-mail for me and I would append my domain to it.
I probably know technicalities on how to do that - through setting DNS MX record on my domain provider and pointing it to my e-mail provider. But I don't know which provider to choose.
I would like to sync my contacts (not through import/export feature via .vcf file, rather automatic synchronization like Google/Microsoft/Apple accounts do), I would like to sync calendar and have the ability to share it with other people (can be another account on the service if not outsiders) and of course e-mail, preferably one that doesn't rely on their own app so I can use ie. Thunderbird.
I would like to kindly ask anyone here in audience to share their experience with their providers, if you use some. It would be great if you used the service as I would do or if you could try my proposed usage on your account.
Thank you all who respond to me. I may have questions if you do :-)
I know about Fastmail which is appealing for not being US (things are kinda unsettling there right now), for having contacts, calendar and plenty space, but isn't exactly cheap - not expensive though. I know about Tuta, which is cheaper for 1-3 accounts but not for 4 and above, it has less space (still enough) but I don't know about contacts there at the moment. I found this Wikipedia comparison page and had a look there, but I would like to hear personal experiences and thoughts.
A new entry to go with my previous two posts in the same vein NYC and Denver, but this time in...
The "Going on a trip and have zero idea what to do as a non-tourist..." isn't entirely true like it was in my post about NYC as anyone that has seen me talk about sumo can imagine, but everyone was extremely helpful and threw out suggestions I wouldn't have even thought about looking for in previous posts. So here I am again to bug you wonderful people for Tildes Travel Guide III: Tokyo Trilogy Part Minus One
The overarching details:
And so I beseech you fellow Tilderinos, as someone that doesn't care about being a tourist and doesn't have a social media presence to feed I'm-here-and-you're-not selfies to, what should someone with nearly a week entirely alone with nothing but free time in Tokyo actually do?
...that's the point.
I know what I like.
I know what I don't like.
I don't know what I don't know about and experimenting and trying new things is paramount to life.
After watching The Omen a while back and recently watching The First Omen, I realized I rather like media that combines supernatural elements and religious mythology. Not that I am religious myself but I seem to like religion with a supernatural twist.
Like Supernatural the TV show but in movie format.
Are there really good moves that live in this venn diagram? They don't necessarily have to be horror but that's just what I have come across so far.
Recently, I discovered a desire to play some small, easy-to-pick-up, not-demanding-on-hardware video games with short gameplay sessions that also require some skill to master. Many years ago, I played a few games that I liked very much. But now their online lobbies are dead, so I have to discover something new. So, what indie competitive games do you play?
I spent a lot of hours on CS2D and Altitude. CS2D is like Counter-Strike, but with a top-down view. It simplified the necessary skills for a shooter but was still fun to play. This game had all the modes from classic CS, but with small additions. I liked two modes the most: capture the flag and deathmatch with lasers. CTF mode had quite long sessions, even lasting for hours when teams were balanced. It was also fun to build turrets, walls, and spike traps, which made it possible to play a completely new class compared to CS — the engineer. The mode with lasers was fast-paced chaos that actually had its charm.
Altitude was a 2D shooter with airplanes and a side-view. I played a lot of the soccer mode. In this mode, two teams spawned on a football field with two goals at each end of the pitch. The ball was magnetic, which helped to catch it, and you could shoot it, allowing you to pass. I liked how each class of airplane was pretty well-balanced for this mode, allowing players to fill specific roles on the team and enabling dense and fun gameplay.
I'm looking for something similar that I can run occasionally on my laptop and that has an active community.
use postman quite a bit at work as a backend developer and the recent updates have added alot more bloatware to the program.
All I want is a simple program that does HTTP requests and not get account promo and collections and their cloud stuff shoved down my throat.
And my work computer is maintained by a central system so I can't freeze my Postman application at a past level, it auto-updates.
So I am wondering if there is a good alternative that just does HTTP requests and nothing else?
As some of y'all know, I moved recently to NYC (Brooklyn specifically) and now that I've settled in a bit more, I was wondering about volunteering my time to help out the less fortunate, especially with the holidays and everything going on with the government shutdown.
I've been juggling the thought of doing a soup kitchen or something but just wondering if anyone else had any interesting/unique/critical need things that they do! I hardly do volunteering unfortunately, always was more of a donating my money kinda guy.
I did fairly well on my SAT's, (10 years ago so idk how much help I can be) but I was thinking of volunteering to teach kids or something but not too sure if a weekly commitment is too much for me or not.
Pretty much the title. I want to move away from OEM 1st party controllers due to quality and inevitable joystick drift. I have an 8bitdo Ultimate, but it's not working for me on CachyOS.
Anyone else have experience with good quality controllers on Linux? The Flydigi Vader Pro 5 caught my attention, and I am a pretty competitive person for certain games (mainly Halo 3 and Halo Infinite), and like tight controls for platformers and souls-like games as well.
Edit: I primarily used my controllers wireless, especially on the living room PC. I am more okay with wired on my personal computer.
Found a solution!!
Edit as of Tuesday, October 28th 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1iceer5/8bitdo_controller_fixes_for_linux_my_impressions/
Fixes for 8BitDo controllers running under Linux.
sudo mkdir /etc/udev/rules.d
sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-8bitdo-xinput.rules
ACTION=="add", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2dc8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3106", RUN+="/sbin/modprobe xpad", RUN+="/bin/sh -c 'echo 2dc8 3106 > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/xpad/new_id'"
sudo udevadm control --reload
Change Product ID according to your controller:
Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate/Ultimate C 2,4Ghz: 3106
Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate 3-Mode 2,4Ghz: 200f / alternate Product ID: 201b
Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate 2C 2,4GhZ: 310a
I've had my Steam Deck a few months so I'm comfortable getting around. That said, it could do a lot that it isn't. Partly because the default desktop experience is so barebones and has kinda bad ergonomics.
I know there's emulation and such that I'd be interested in. I'm a linux nerd so don't be shy. I'd say the main thing I'm looking for is for the Desktop mode to be more of like a "default to Couch Mode: unlocked, but can go to a (nice) desktop if need be". I really like the idea of playing my GOG games, emulators, etc all in one menu that's ergonomic to controller. I have a file server handy as well, anything good to do with that in conjunction?
Besides that, what good/cool uses have you found?
I've been trying to use Gimp to replace other options for years now, but it feels so abstruse and severely inefficient. I used to use Photoshop around 15 years ago but have stuck with Paint.NET since - my problem is that I now use Linux and paint.net isn't available natively. I was using Pinta, but it just is like temu paint.net, and I wanted something more/better (also it has a number of bugs that can easily frustrate me and often crash/hang when doing work on larger files or for longer times).
And for decades, people (both Windows and Linux users) have tried selling me on Gimp. I've tried over and over to get into it, but nothing made sense and it took way longer to do simple things than I thought it ought... but I'm trying for reals about 10 years since my last attempt.
Please does anyone have a page that explains how to do things without everything being convoluted? There seem to be no ways to turn commands into keybinds or icons I can just click, and all the keyboard shortcuts I find are in relation to nothing I want to do. Ultimately, I prefer keyboard shortcuts, but I can do icons as well.
Latest example: I want to draw a rectangle outline. Should be simple, but there is no tool to draw shapes (at least that I can find, and the tutorials online don't seem to imply the existence of one either). Okay... I have to select the rectangle select, then I have to go to the menu (Edit) and choose Stroke Selection... which pops up another menu with a ton of options. That's great and all, but in every other program I've ever used (even MS Paint!) you just click an icon and make the rectangle. If you want to alter the shape or something you right click or hold click, or maybe you can bring up a menu. But if I want to make a number of rectangles over and over? Even with keyboard shortcuts I have to make the rectangle (no issues there), then click Edit, "s" apparently takes me to the stroke menu, then enter. Bloated at best.
So, if anyone has a good tutorial or something similar that can help me out here, or an alternative Linux-based raster graphics editor that is free, I would greatly appreciate to know of it/them. I really want to like Gimp, and I'm hoping someone here can either help me get into it or direct me elsewhere. Thanks!
Edit: I realise I forgot to mention, I did use Krita for a bit. It felt like an in between Pinta and Paint.NET, but iirc, it crashed somewhat often or had enough bugs that I went back to Pinta.
I heavily utilize ChatGPT to generate .ics files to populate my Apple Calendar with various events, but I have been wanting to upgrade my time management and also use the Reminders app.
I recently used ChatGPT to help me populate a Trello board with tasks associated with a project I am working on, but I was getting annoyed with having my workflow split across Apple Calendar and Trello. I exported my Trello board as a CSV and was trying to have ChatGPT turn it into a file I could import into Reminders, but as it turns out, this is not easy.
.ics files do contain syntax for reminders tasks with due dates that populate the Apple Calendar, but generating an .ics file with only reminders tasks and importing into Calendar doesn’t actually work. Calendar recognizes that the .ics contains Reminders tasks and opens Reminders to import the tasks, but Reminders returns an error because it doesn’t support import, it only supports export to Calendar.
I found that Reminders has a Reminders.scpt dictionary file within the .app package that details .applescript commands that can create new tasks, so I fell into the world of AppleScript. The issue with AppleScript is that it was created in the 80s and hasn’t been updated since 2013. It has no native CSV support and is pretty clunky.
AppleScript does have text file support, so I was able to have ChatGPT convert my CSV into a .txt that I could parse with AppleScript. This allowed me to automate the creation of tasks in the Reminders app from my Trello CSV, but it was annoying and I still feel like there must be a better way.
Does anyone here use AppleScript regularly and know its full capabilities?
Also, are there any good resources out there for learning more about AppleScript? The Apple documentation is very out of date and it seems like more of a legacy language than something Apple regularly maintains.
What's your video game(s) that is like comfort food to you? The ones you can always play no matter what kind of mood you're in?
I wanted some help with a homelab server I am in the beginning stages of designing. I am looking for a flexible and scalable media and cloud system for home use, and I thought this community would be a good place to source feedback and recommendations before taking any real next steps! I really want to check that I am approaching the architecture correctly and not making any bad assumptions. I am open to all feedback, so please let me know what you think!
I already run a simple home server and I have typical homelab FOSS apps, such as jellyfin, navidrome and audiobookshelf, but I am also interested in migrating away from cloud storage using nextcloud, immich, etc. In an ideal world, this setup would also allow me to leave windows on my main machine and use a windows vm for business related work that can’t be done on Linux. I will likely be the one primarily using the services, however I could expect up to 10 - 20 users eventually.
This might be a stupid setup right off the bat, which is why I wanted to discuss it with you all! I have read a ton about using TrueNAS as a WM within Proxmox, but I just like the idea of different machines handling different tasks. The idea here would be to set up the TrueNAS server so it can be optimized for managing the storage pool to allow for easy growth. While the Proxmox server can handle all the VMs and connecting users, with higher IO, etc.
I am less familiar with the specs I will need for a good Proxmox server, but here is what I am thinking.
I have been building PCs for a while and undertook building a home server a few years ago. I loved the experience of learning Linux (the server is running Ubuntu), picking up docker, and learning more about the FOSS community has been a joy! Part of this project is to learn along the way but also have a setup that I can build towards over time! Proxmox, TrueNAS and zfs would all be new to me so I really see it as an opportunity to explore. I want a solid media and cloud server setup, while also giving myself the freedom to explore new operating systems and general hypervisor functionality.
This weekend I lucked into three documentaries on YouTube and I’m looking for more. Each of them has small production teams, from 2 to maybe a dozen people, and they were excellent. I’m wondering if anyone else can recommend similar style documentaries. The one caveat is that I want to avoid a bunch of repeat topics— it seems like I could easily find a dozen or more videos on people doing ultramarathons. I’m interested in a greater variety of hobbies or sports.
Listers — birding — 2 hours, 2 guys, very good (probably better than you think)
The Finisher — Barkley Marathon — first female finisher.
King of Moab — 240mi ultramarathon in Moab desert
Day In The Life of The #1 BBQ In Texas —I don’t really care about BBQ (not saying it isn’t tasty), but this was delectable to watch.
there is 2 pieces of media I want to get subbed and dubbed in different languages.
problem is, whenever I try to look into this, I get results of places that offer their services to companies only.
Are there no places that offer subs and dubbing for tv shows and movies?
I recently got my first vinyl (Breach by Twenty One Pilots) for my birthday. I've had it on streaming nonstop but want to play it properly and start a small collection.
I've seen a lot of recommendations for the Audio-Technica AT-LP60 as a beginner option (affordable and apparently decent quality) but also read that spending a little more can get something more "serious", though I need speakers too.
The thing is that it needs to be new gear only or easy to buy: My partner plans to gift the setup for Christmas and marketplace/used gear is hard to source locally where we live, so that's probably out. We have a budget of around €150 for the turntable and other €150 for the speakers, or €300 total. Open to a modest stretch if it avoids an early upgrade. Manual or semi-auto is fine but preferable plug-and-play.
Prefer compact powered speakers with good near field clarity, not necessarily loud since they'll sit behind my PC monitor on my desk.
If I'm considering the AT-LP60, what's the smartest "slightly more €" upgrade path for a first set-up?
For small desks, which powered speakers pair well with entry-level turntables (good clarity but not boomy)?
Anything to avoid or other advice you may have for a beginner?
Appreciate any guidance. I’m looking forward to spinning Breach and building out a few more records.
Ps: Already ordered anti-static inner sleeves, outer sleeves, and a carbon-fiber record brush to keep things clean!
I recently had a bad monitor failure after six or so years of normal use. Specifically, my LG 34GK950F-B had an electrical failure that, in a limited sense, caught a ribbon cable inside on fire. It is exactly the same failure as shown here, and I add a few images of documentation of my case here.
Anyhow, I am now in the market for a new ultrawide, and I need one as soon as yesterday since my desktop currently has no display - I have been tunneling into it to do anything. General recommendations would be nice - but a few things specifically:
This post is a bit stream-of-conscience, so if any other questions or requirements come to mind I will edit it.
Edit: I guess as much as I don’t want to spend a ton, I will also end up using this display for at least another five years - I don’t mind spending a little more to account for that.
Hello! Hopefully this is the right place to ask this, but I was wondering if anyone here was using a SAD lamp, and if you have any recommendations.
Tangent:
I currently live in a fairly dark apartment, and have a cheapish SAD lamp that is pulling double duty to not only brighten the room, but also keep me from going crazy in the darker winter months. It seems in an age of smart-everything, I've struggled to find something to replace mine with.
I currently have a Verilux HappyLight, but it kind of sucks ass. The power cord always falls out, pressing the power button might be enough to loosen the power cord. The settings have to be set every time you turn it on. It's just total garbo in my opinion. I looked at smart bulbs, but they don't seem to hit the lumens I'm looking for.
I think part of the issue with my current setup is that I have to actually turn the light on, which you would think would be fairly easy, but with the issues above, and my sheer laziness it's basically an impossible task.
What I'm looking for is something that can be automated, I think one of my major issues I've had in the last year is that I haven't been able to wake up to the morning sun as I had previously. It takes hours before I actually feel awake. I've gone from a morning person to some sort of bizarre afternoon person.
Anyway, I'm looking for others experiences and recommendations.
I'm streaming Firefox to watch Riverdale, so I opened up Chrome to browse while I wait for them to join. Youtube has ads on it, and I realized I can't grab uBlock or anything (meaningfully) privacy focused. So, I wanna try out one of the cool new browsers, what do people use and recommend?
I'm on Windows and a proper techie, so give me anything that's a bit strange and off the wall as well! The only one I tried out recently was Comet, but it needs more time to bake, total waste of time IME. I remember using IceWeasel for some reason lol
Hello fellow readers! I am finally close to finishing the book I am reading (maybe 2 weeks away or so - I am kind of a slow reader). That book is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. However, I am already getting excited about the next book and I have a few on my "to read" list. I have read nothing by any of these authors, so I am going in blind, based only on some browsing and very basic non-spoiler reviews. Please, no spoilers. I thought it might be fun to post this here and see if your thoughts can help me prioritize my "to read" list and pick the next book I'll read. I think I am leaning towards "The Tunnel" or "The Seventh Function of Language", but anything on the list will be very fresh to me.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Life: A User's Manual | Georges Perec, David Bellos |
| Lives Other Than My Own | Emmanuel Carrère, Linda Coverdale |
| The Door | Magda Szabo, Len Rix +1 |
| The Melancholy of Resistance | László Krasznahorkai |
| The Seventh Function of Language | Laurent Binet |
| The Tunnel | Ernesto Sabato |
| The Pillars of the Earth | Ken Follett |
Hi all! I'm someone who has ADHD/Autism spectrum issues and am dealing with problems related to executive function. To the point, I'm asking for help with a specific idea of better managing getting things done.
What I'd like is a job tracker / ticket management system that would make it easy for me to keep track of all the different individual to-do items (I.E. jobs / tickets) that I have, keep notes on what I've already done, and have a separate notes section for 'this is what still needs to be done on this item'.
Currently I have this information kind of scattered through different areas / folders. Calendar, work documentation folders, personal notes, etc...
Needs:
Nice to haves:
My main desktop is Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon in case anyone needs that detail. That is the computer I want to install the ticketing system on.
I've done some searching so far but I'm hoping that by laying out exactly what I'm trying to do with it someone here will have specific advice. My search results so far have found people recommending projects for others who have different use-cases or needs than me.
A mentor and friend of mine has lost his eyesight. I would like to share some music and musicians with him that he might enjoy listening to and help him fight boredom/ find comfort.
I know he likes jazz. I know he likes classical, but he is familiar with all of the obvious suggestions. He formed his musical taste before metal or rap/hiphop were popular. Melodic songs would be welcome.
I'm hoping that some people here can share tracks/records/musicians that he might not have found while he was busy with his career and not actively exploring music.
I don't have kids, but I'm wondering about success stories parents have had with raising theirs in this sometimes scary world. Online, we hear about brainrot and inappropriate Youtube videos, and social media horror stories, and some of that could be massively overblown, I have no idea
So to flip that around, what are some good ways people have found comfortable having their kids spend their time?
Hi, Tildes. Another rambly post in an attempt to get authentic advice. Thanks in advance. :)
--
I'd like to crowdsource your experiences before making a big purchase (a camera made for selfies). If anyone was in a similar situation did you like having your phone and your camera separate, etc. I currently have an iPhone SE 2022 to provide more context.
Why I'm considering buying a camera:
Why I'm hesitating:
I've done SOME research as well into this while I've been back and forth this idea for months: If I crack and decide to get a proper camera (without your advice of course), it would be a Sony ZV-1F. But open to suggestions for other models too! It's just to give an idea for people to understand what I'm sorta kinda looking for.
Hi, Tildes!
I'm being pressed to pick a present for myself (around 100€) and it happens the headphones I use for gaming at home (HyperX Cloud II) are starting to fall apart after several years of use. Whenever I buy tech, I usually spend a long time researching with the goal of finding the highest price-quality ratio for my budget, something that would last me a long time without glaring issues; but I've been having trouble doing that in this case.
I often hear from audiophiles that gaming headphones are generally overpriced for their quality - something I can definitely imagine - and that you should try and go for a good headset with a separate mic. But despite my searching, I haven't seen anyone actually recommend any specific combo of headset and mic that fit my budget. If I may say, I'm also somewhat starting to doubt the advice of audiophiles: I've seen threads of people saying they didn't sense a difference in audio quality between their gaming headphones and the new audiophile headphones they were recommended, or even that they found it to be worse, and the response was that they'll get used to it or that they just have a bad ear (said a lot more aggressively than how I'm paraphrasing), which is making me think it's more of a subjective difference. Then again, I'm not very well educated about audio!
What I need is a pair with surround sound, appropriate quality for the price point, that will last me a long time and without mandatory crappy software associated. This is for gaming, enjoying music and general use (I've been meaning to pick up some music production casually but this is very much secondary). For the mic, I just need something decent that won't be a pain to listen to for my friends on call and that doesn't cut me out when I laugh or whistle as my current mic does (sometimes someone tells me a joke and then doesn't hear my reaction at all and I feel very bad about that). Preferably one that doesn't take too much space on my desk but I have no scale of that, so I won't be picky about it. (EDIT: to be clear, it can be an attached mic, desktop mic, whatever mic, so long as it works!)
Before considering the headphone + mic combo idea, I was looking at the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 or Logitech G PRO X because both were recommendations I saw, but the former has a fairly bad mic and the latter forces you to use G HUB, which pains me. What is there that's better for this usage?
Thanks in advance!
With October approaching, it's time to play some horror games! Horror is my favorite genre. It's chock full of emotion and creative game design. It's a genre that has to continuously reinvent itself to avoid getting stale, which leads to dozens of incredible games.
The games I'd like to play for the first time are:
Now for some recommendations:
Are there any games you're looking forward to playing?
Do you have any recommendations?
So I have a car that's ~10 years old and I like to listen to music as I drive. I was relying on the CD player, but it only works intermittently these days, so I'm looking into alternatives.
I'm not big on connecting my phone via Bluetooth for security reasons, battery life concerns, and poor connection for streaming. I've got radio of course, but it's slim pickings where I live.
I starting looking into digital audio players. They sound ideal - compact, big offline library, physical controls - so I was hoping someone on Tildes can recommend one to me. Alternatively, if you've another solution, I'd love to hear it.
Hi! I'm looking for some fun and interesting casual puzzle games. Some of my favorites, in no particular order, are:
Hello everyone,
Gamers’ I need your advice. Due to a serious family illness, my nieces and nephews age 4 to 15 will be spending a lot of time at my home for the foreseeable future.
I also have a college age kid, who is home occasionally and will play a few sports games and fighting games. He is head of the Fighting Game club at his universities club.
I am looking to entertain the kids as we move towards winter and also keep my house in one piece.
I purchased a NS2 w/ Mario Kart World, Minecraft, Shinobi, SFVI, NBA 2k26, Star Wars Outlaws and BoTW.
I am going to purchase a few more Switch 2 titles and a few Switch 1 games. (Hopefully on a B2G1) sale. I do not need to purchase all at once. Likely, I’ll buy 1 or 2 a month. Or hope for a b2g1 sale.
I am LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS from everyone.
I already preordered Dragon Quest 1&2HD2D and Mario Galaxy 2.
Games I am considering.
Luigi mansion 3
Sonic racing Cross World
Persona 3 reload
Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (you can play as Peach?)
Mortal Kombat Collection
Madden or EA FC
Metroid Prime 4 ( I don’t know what to make of this game. Is it Metroid BoTW?)
Bomberman R
Paper Mario Thousand year door
Links awakening or echoes of wisdom?
I am looking to have some variety so there is something for everyone.
These kids already have a Switch 1 w/ mario kart 8D, smash, Mario 3d World, Minecraft and a bunch of Kirby games.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
Side note: My kids had a Wii U when they were young and i am somewhat familiar with those games.
Is anyone familiar with data removal services like Incogni, DeleteMe, PrivacyBee, etc? Do they work? Are they safe?
I just found out that bone conduction headphones exist, and I’m admittedly intrigued.
I usually wear only one earbud because I like to still be able to hear my surroundings (transparency mode doesn’t feel the same to me). My husband feels similarly and also hates the feeling of in-ear buds. So a pair of two of these might work nicely for us.
Does anyone have any hands heads on experience with them (any make/model)?
Would you recommend them?
How is the sound quality?
Are they comfortable to wear?
How do they compare to standard headphones?
I'm wanting to automate a thing on my android phone.
I would like to activate and deactivate alarms based on calendar events (by keywords in their name or description).
This college term I was signed up to a class on Digital Electronics, and it kicked my butt on the very first week because the learning materials were extremely obtuse; I actually dropped the course because I could not see myself being able to keep up no matter what I did, especially because my university does not allow late work. I'm going to have to go back to it next term in order to get my degree, so I'm looking for any learning resources anyone can recommend me to give me a head start.
Just to be clear, I'm primarily looking for good resources that covers basics like boolean algebra (which I already understand but am terrible at) and logic gates. I know we'll be using VHDL later, so those will also be appreciated.
Some background: this trip was originally my 40th birthday present from my now ex-wife. We've since divorced and I'm insistent on going by myself, as something always seems to come up and ruin my overseas travel plans. So, I want to treat this as a sort of growth/healing/looking forward trip.
About me: I've traveled quite a bit but I've never been outside of North America. Europe is completely new to me. I am very fond of football, food, beer, hiking, history, and new experiences. I prefer to stay away from tourist traps and I'd rather find hole in the wall type places that are recommended to me by locals. When I travel somewhere, I want to immerse myself.
I'll be there for ~9 days and I have the first 5 days fully worked out. What I need help with is figuring out what I want to do in London for the last 3 days of the trip before I head back to the airport. Other than going to a Fulham game next Saturday, I'm completely wide open. I would prefer to stay in the greater London area since the first half of the trip already involves quite a bit of travel.
I'd love to hear your recommendations do's/don'ts, or general guidance. I'm open to pretty much anything.
We had this topic a couple of months ago where Framework was mentioned in a few response threads, but the overarching discussion was across a wider subject.
My 2016 (I think? It was snagged from e waste) era thinkpad is struggling to keep up with my usage of it. The screen is small, the keyboard sucks, the touchpad is not quite right, it is beyond its useful life.
I like the idea of a Framework laptop. I am leaning toward getting one on principal. It seems like this company is going to survive for a while. I think the last thing I am looking for is anecdotes.
If you use or have used a Framework as a daily driver, what are the pros and cons that you have with them compared to a similar less-modular system? How is support?
Hey all, I'm just curious what bands or songs you keep in rotation for your kids. I usually split this question into two lists: one that is for songs specifically geared towards kids or otherwise your kid loves to hear, and another for songs that are somehow enhanced in the context of your children (and example for me is Perfect Day from Lou Reed).
If you want to give any additional context to your answers, great-- but not required. That might be approx age or the decade you had kids, or some story about it. And yes, many kids just listen to whatever stuff the parents would normally listen to, including mine, that is normal, but not really the question here.
I'll start with one and come back later with more:
Hi all,
I've got (probably) a few thousand family photographs that I plan on scanning/digitizing. These photographs are organized into dozens or hundreds of envelopes with month/year and sometimes event description written on them. I'm on the fence between using a service to do it or DIYing it with a scanning machine.
The way I see it is -
Service pros:
Service cons:
DIY pros:
DIY cons:
I would love to hear if anyone here has experience doing this and what techniques or pitfalls you may have discovered along the way.
Sorry to be picky, but it's hard for me to find games I enjoy - and part of that is I don't really know where to look.
I'm a fan of games with no/skippable story, no/limited exploration, no/limited unlocks, no/limited power ups - but high in strategy and/or skill based games that are pretty simple while still giving depth to it (aka something that can be picked up and put down without issue, eg picking right back off where you were after not playing for months). Online is okay but no login bonus/requirements and something that can be played at ones own pace.
I think what I'm looking for and what I'm NOT looking for would be easiest by giving examples:
One of the big things that makes me asks this is that I find collectible card games (eg Hearthstone, MTG, Marvel Snap) to really fit the mold that I'm looking for, but the toxic skinner box of their economy to not be worth having in ones life. I don't want "daily quests" to be something I worry about.
I found Slay The Spire to be okay, and have mostly been jamming Balatro as of late...but it's very annoying that basically all card games I can find now are basically Slay The Spire knockoffs. Going back to the "no/limited unlocks" and "no/limited power ups", that rouge-lite aspect to them really ruins the games to me - I get that there's the macro strategy about picking the power ups and what not, but it personally ruins the actual gameplay aspect to me and just feels too much "am I going to high roll or low roll?". Runetera's Path of Champions also fits this mold that, to me, was ruined by the power ups. I've heard good things about Monster Train, but the fact it gets compared to Slay The Spire has led me to skipping it.
To give an example of card games I enjoyed, Marvel's Midnight Suns I thought was quite fun. It was nice that you could completely ignore the story and RPG aspects of the game to solely focus on the card combat. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales has interested me since I've heard good things about Gwent, but since it's a Witcher game I don't know if that means it's mostly a story-based game and the gameplay is just a means to server the story. I've been enjoying the duet expansion of Wingspan and see that it has a video game counterpart, so that might be interesting to try out for single player (but I also don't want to get burnt out on the game to be able to continue to play the board game)
Autobattlers (which I basically consider deck builders) like Hearthstone's Battlegrounds I enjoy, outside of the fact that by being an online multiplayer game you have to give 100% focus on the game. I also quite dislike the constantly changing cards and what not with just how much information there is to the game (it's a big reason I haven't picked up other autobattlers like the League of Legends one). Are there any good offline autobattler-type games?
Going off card games for strategy games...I do enjoy simulation games like Civilization to an extent, but the "one more turn" aspect of them really hurts - very rarely do I want to go back to a campaign I've already started and have to re-figure out what my plans were. Something that is either a lot quicker of a loop or a lot easier to drop back in would be interesting to me though.
Tetris is probably one of the easiest games that fit the mold I'm looking for - strategy game that has very simple game play but a lot of depth to it. Shoutout to the old tetrisfriends.com website, though playing on it so much kind of burned me out from the game (definitely used to get the Tetris effect lol)
X-Com 2 has been of interest to me since I enjoyed the game studio's Midnight Suns as mentioned above, but it's been hard to get into the start of the game and it's not exactly the easiest to play on a Steam Deck. I do think I'd enjoy it though.
Going more skill-based group, Cuphead and Furi are two of my favorite games I've played in the last decade. I've definitely been leaning more strategy games though as I've gotten older, but still down for anything that is pure straight awesome gameplay without any other fluff like those two.
This post is probably getting long enough lol. But thank you for any suggestions/pointing in directions for me to look
I add hot sauce to nearly everything savory that I eat, but I've never really had a go-to brand. Usually I've got a ton of tiny no-name-brand bottles around from various gift baskets that my wife or her family got me as christmas or birthday gifts, or my wife will pick up random stuff she finds on sale when grocery shopping. But those are pretty hit-or-miss whether they're actually any good or not, and I crave consistency, so I've decided that I want to find a good all-round sauce (or perhaps a brand of sauce with a few variants), ideally something I can purchase a decent quantity of at a time, either online (direct from the company or Amazon or whatever) or reliably from a grocery store, and just replenish whenever my reserves start to get low. Ideally something that won't break the bank, too, considering I go through it at a decent pace.
I like the taste of Frank's, but I'd rate its heat at a 0.5 and I'm looking for something at least 7 or 8 (or higher). I've tried Tobasco and it's pretty mid on all aspects (and way too watery). I really dislike the flavor of Sriracha--it hits me completely wrong for some reason. I recently tried some Cholula extra hot and its heat is acceptable, flavor-wise nothing amazing but right now based on price/availability it's my top contender. I know there are better sauces out there, and brands that I've either forgotten or never even heard of because I'm not a connoisseur and never really paid much attention, and I don't have the vocabulary to really speak to what I'm looking for flavor-profile-wise, so my question is basically the title: What's your go-to hot sauce? Not necessarily your favorite, but the default you'll happily reach for regardless of what you're putting it on and that you've always got stocked?
edit--Too many responses to reply individually, but thank you all for all of the suggestions! I definitely plan on checking several of the new-to-me sauces out in the coming weeks.
Mastery in any field or craft is welcome - construction, sculpture, martial arts, music, cooking, motorsports, you name it - but heavy preference for videos with camerawork and/or explanation that allows the viewer to appreciate the level of technique, precision, efficiency, and focus on display.
Also, I'm really referring to the practical demonstrations rather than analytical breakdowns after the fact, but if you have one of the latter and feel strongly about it, feel free to share. Long watches welcome.
Examples:
Jacques Pépin deboning a chicken from 5:00 onwards
A showcase of the incomparable Zinédine Zidane's ball control
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith plays 'blind' covers of Thirty Seconds to Mars and Bring Me The Horizon