Hey all, hope you're doing well today. I'm visiting NYC for the first time with my wife in January (she's been a couple of times already), and I would greatly appreciate any advice or recommendations you could offer! Of course I have to do the obligatory Broadway show and pizza, and I have this nifty little guidebook, and wow as I write this I am such a tourist.

Thanks!

Desk space at my home is very limited.

Right now I have a set of speakers hanging out behind my external monitor, but I'd really rather get rid of them entirely and just have the speakers/soundbar built-in to the monitor itself. It would give me a lot more room to work with because I'd be able to push the monitor back further on the desk.

Also, presumably (and correct me if I'm wrong here), having the speakers powered by the monitor and fed audio through HDMI would free up a lot of cabling clutter as well. My setup is already very messy (2 laptops and a KVM switch), so cleaning it up will give me some relief (my theme of 2023 is "Simplify").

I know nothing about buying computer monitors. When I look them up, I'm not even sure which type I should be looking for (IPS? OLED?).

I do plan to game on it, but most gaming-focused monitors seem like overkill for someone like me who will primarily have it hooked up to a middling 5-year-old laptop that plays mostly indie stuff. I do occasionally play the more intensive/prettier game, but those are usually usually far between and definitely not a priority that's worth spending a bunch to target. I tend to tank the graphics settings on games like that anyway to keep my laptop from becoming a cooking surface, and I'll take a smoother framerate over better eye candy all day, every day.

What are the trusted brands (if any)? What pitfalls should I look out for? If anyone can help point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it!

My use case: general browsing and (mostly casual) gaming

My computer: System76 Oryx Pro 5 (2019), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, Pop!_OS 22.04

My budget: ultimately whatever is necessary to get a quality product, but hopefully no more than $300 USD or so?

Preferred Size: 24" -- absolute maximum I could do is probably 27"

Key Feature: built-in speakers or soundbar

Let me know if there's any other key information I can provide that would help.

Questions I Have:

• Will buying a higher resolution monitor (e.g. 4K) tax my graphics card more because it's rendering at a higher resolution, or can I just scale down the display resolution to something less intensive?

• Same question as above, but for refresh rate.

• Would audio be transmitted over HDMI, or would I have to have a cable from the headphone jack (or some different method I'm not aware of)?

Open to anything from Hallmark-style movies with particularly ridiculous storylines, horror movies with a Christmas twist, or childhood classics that are a lot crazier than we might remember them as children.

Hey all!

My wife and I are waiting to board our flight to Norway to spend Christmas with her family in Sarpsborg. However, we'll be spending about 10 days there and spending out nights in a hotel in Oslo, so we'll def have time to ourselves without family obligations. If anyone (local or not) has recommendations for favorite restaurants or cafés, please share them here! Especially stuff on the cozy and cheap(er) end.

So usually every couple weeks I make a pot roast on the weekend, however my crock pot broke I discovered, just prior to making it. My girlfriend and I need to eat it prior to leaving town this Thursday after work. As I have work all week, I don't have time to make an 8 hour pot roast, so I need an idea of what I can do with this thing.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a nice chef knife (or small set of cooking knives) for Christmas.

I'm looking around medium end so I'm wanting to spend 100-200 bucks, I'd prefer a small set of 2-4 knives, no large 12-16 sets as I don't believe those are good value.

I've heard good things about Wusthof and Henckels from my friends but I wanted to get a wider net of recommendations just in case before I made a decision

I'm a pretty conscientious person and I like to research stuff before I buy it - I'm not obsessive about getting The Best Whatever In Class, but like anyone I'm interested in a good deal for a product that suits my needs.

Between the prevalence of review-stuffing bots, Google's results getting worse, and reviewers themselves sometimes having questionable financial backing, I'm finding it harder and harder to find reliable information. So the gold standard is personal recommendations from real people!

I checked and it's been a while since we've had a general recommendations thread on Tildes so I thought it might be nice to start up another one with the influx of new folks!

Possible points of discussion:

1. Are you looking to buy something and hoping to hear from people about what's good and what's bad? Post the type of thing you're looking for in a top-level comment and others can chime in!

2. Is there a product you enjoy or that has improved your life, fills a niche or special requirement really well, or stands out to you as being a big improvement over its competitors? Is there a particular company you had a great experience with? Share with others who might also benefit!

3. Is there a product you tried, HATED, and want to warn people about? Something that's all hype, no substance? I think that also fits here.

4. Are there any reviewers or sites you trust in particular?

Hello,

If this topic came up and such a recommendation has been made, please just point me to that post.

I would like to read an introduction to the Israeli-Arab conflict.

I would like the book:

1. to be written by an author with relevant credentials
2. to not be written for academics
3. to not be written by an Arab, Israeli, or European author
4. something that was published before the October 7th invasion of Israel

Thanks much

I'm about to embark on another work trip, and will have most of a day + four evenings to explore. Meals are reasonably well planned, but I need some help convincing my traveling companion that the Mall of America around the holidays (!!!!😣) isn't the peak of excitement in the area.

Left to my own devices, I'd probably spend the day at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I'd welcome suggestions for anything reasonably accessible with a rental car, not too far from the University of Minnesota area.

If I do any holiday shopping, I'd like to find local handcrafted goods, art, and curiosities. Maybe Midtown Global Market, since that's one of the meal destinations? Not-too-loud venues for live music? My thanks in advance!

Note: I have done some homework, but many area destination recommendations appear to be oriented around summer tourism and outdoor attractions. It's likely I'll be back in January as well, so indoor places are preferable.

Second note: Just discovered the Dayton's Project holiday market, which might fit part of the requirements.

Hello!

For the past few years, I've been an avid reader of fantasy and fiction. I've explored numerous books and sagas within these genres, ranging from well-known titles to some relatively underground gems. However, I've encountered a recent issue with my reading habits.

Firstly, reading has always been my preferred and "healthier" form of entertainment from a productivity standpoint. Compared to games or TV/movies, it has been easier for me to set aside a book when it's time to focus on work or study. Lately, though, I've become deeply engrossed in series with multiple entries. When a book's plot captivates me, putting it down becomes a challenge. This was particularly true with the Expanse series; by the fourth book, I was completely immersed in the narrative and characters. Unfortunately, the series comprises nine books, leading me to avidly read subsequent books almost obsessively and, regrettably, procrastinate on important tasks.

Admittedly, this lack of discipline is my own fault. However, I believe that if I had access to interesting short stories, I could read them during breaks or brief moments of leisure, satisfying my entertainment needs without committing to a lengthy plot. Recently, I enjoyed "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, which exemplifies the kind of short story I'm seeking. Another example would be "The Jaunt" by Stephen King.

Unfortunately, I'm unfamiliar with how to access such stories. It seems that short stories are often published in niche magazines, a trend that appears to be more specific to the US culture. I primarily read on Kindle, so if you know of a way to download these types of stories in bulk in epub format or specific book compilations containing short stories, I would greatly appreciate your recommendations!

Time Period: 1995-1999

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So I've just been using basic earbuds my whole life, never felt like spending big bucks on good headphones. Recently though, I've been really interested in what I've been hearing about IEMs. Youtubers and forum users have been name dropping a few of them, such as Moondrop Chu/Chu II, Salnotes Zero, etc. So I looked them up, and was shocked to find how cheap they are. They're like $20, in the same price range as the crappy earbuds I buy anyways! These kind of headphones seem like a whole world I know nothing about, with pros and cons I don't fully understand, so what would be the best recommendation for a first set?

Today when I opened Messenger Lite there was a message from Meta saying " your chats will be moving to Messenger" and that Messenger Lite will stop working on September 18. I actively switched from Messenger to Messenger Lite several years ago because the regular Messenger app was draining my battery. Are there any alternatives to Messenger Lite on Android? Perhaps even FOSS?Or will my only option be to move to the old Messenger app if I want to use Facebook messenger? I have some work related groups on Messenger that would be tough to move to another platform, so Please don't just say "use Signal" or something similar.

Hey folks, I have been following The Trevor Project's survey for a few years now and their 2023 one is just presented in a fantastic, easy to read and understand way so I think it's a great resource and worth sharing

The Trevor Project 2023 Survey on Mental Health in LGBTQ young people

BUT, I'm also looking for similar reports focusing on other minoritized populations in particular, or (whether in part or in full) focusing on the age ranges covering college students. I'm struggling to find something nearly so comprehensive, but I'm also not sure I'm looking in the right way. The Steve Fund seems to be a great resource for mental health for students of color, for example, but doesn't have obviously available data like this

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I just got into watching physics simulation videos on youtube, stuff like marble races, marble battles, Multiply Or Release, and various other simulation content. Absolutely enthralling stuff for someone like me who enjoys simply watching an environment do its thing.

I wanted to get into making my own sims/scenarios and was wondering if you all on tildes had some recommendations. I've been trying algodoo and it seems very nice but I've heard its mostly abandonware and theres some features I find lacking. So I wanted to look into options for my little tinkering. I understand that there may not be a perfect one but I'd love to have some options to try and tinker in, and my research has led me to lots of them that seem at first look to be purely for academic purposes.

To crystallize my desires into a definite paragraph:
I'm looking for physics sim software recommendations to make my own marble races and other simulated 'games'. I don't mind having to learn it from scratch(including scripting language). I dont care if its paid or free. Ease of use is great but Non-essential since it can likely be learned over time. Preferrably not abandonware, or at least feature-rich if development has been completed. and lastly, performance is definitely important since I'll likely be building some grand designs as I settle in.

By no BS I mean none of those online requirements or ink subscription nonsense.

Scanning isn't a huge focus but having at least some multi-page scanning functionality wouldn't hurt.

I've heard Brother is the go-to brand in the past but are they still? I thought I heard they were also starting down the anti-consumer path but I could be wrong.

I'm not kidding when I say I print like half a dozen times a year so whatever type of printer it is the ink/toner/whatever needs to have a long shelf life.

Thanks!

I have self-hosted my email for many years, but am finally encountering some straws that may be breaking the camel's back. A few email providers are now rejecting my server's mail, Microsoft in particular (@hotmail, @outlook). (In case you're wondering, I already set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC, etc. and none of that is the issue.) Self-hosting was fine, and the technical admin work was never really an issue. I'm just tired of the external factors that are beyond my control, like belonging to an IP range that is scored badly by some random blocklist company.

So, I'm now shopping for a good email provider. Privacy and security are important to me, and I am more than willing to pay for email, so all the usual "free" email providers are out of the question. (Update) Also, client access (IMAP, SMTP) is a must.

For now, I am eyeing

• Fastmail Standard plan @ 5 USD / mo
• Proton Unlimited plan @ 10 USD / mo

Proton is looking to be my choice among those two, as I like the replyable email aliases feature. 16 times the storage doesn't hurt, either.

Any other recommendations in the same vein as these two, and in the same price range?

I've stumbled across other fantasy with a similar feeling, but curious if you all have some specific direction to point me in. I've read all of her other books so other books of hers are already off the list. I think the qualities that I enjoyed so much about it were:

• decent writing style
• light love story that wasn't the total focus
• well developed characters
• fun plot that wasnt over complex but still intricate enough to feel satisfying at the end
• magical element with some novelty to it

I read a few others in the past that felt the same, the one that jumps to mind is Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. Something about the plot or writing in these books is really gripping for me, keeps me hooked, and is really satisfying. I'm open to any suggestions you can throw my way, and thank you in advance!

Set your Wayback machine to the early 2000s, and you'll find me in hog heaven, building and racing old muscle cars from a catalogue of real world parts that interacted as they would in real life. EA released this game as a racing MMO, but I spent most of my time treating it as a single player game, building my hot rods and racing against the computer.

In 2003, they pulled the plug. Since then, nothing has come close. There are mechanic simulators, but you don't get to drive the cars when you finish them. Then there are the racing games, but none of those have the.level of detail in the build and tuning portion that MCO did. In MCO, you needed to actually build your engine in a way that the parts would work well with each other in order to get the best performance. It wasn't simply an upgrade chain, as you could easily spend ten grand on parts and come out with a 200hp brick.

Most recently, my search has led me to a.game called Revhead from Australia. It scratches a LOT of the itch, but it's still missing a lot of the stuff I miss from MCO. You can build cars with parts and race.them, but the build still feels like a more money=more power equation instead of an exercise in research and testing to figure out the perfect recipe for my particular driving style.

Am I chasing a pipe dream in the hopes that there is a.modern equivalent for that old gem?

I am a couple weeks away from running out of daily contacts. Going to the optometrist every year when nothing has changed is a giant ripoff. I just noticed that the site I've used previously from the UK will no longer deliver to the USA. Does anyone in a similar situation have a store they order from?

Basically the title. I've been told my voice is too soft on zoom in spite of having tried many options. Before I buy new hardware, I'm asking advice. I have to record a presentation soon, so this is important.

What advice can you give?
Thank you

Hi folks

Keeping in with the theme of people of Tildes are generally really good people (hopefully), I may have a gig early next year that I want a quote on for a network redesign. It's not massive at 3 sites of roughly 100 people per site, 2 sites are dark fibred together, a couple of IPSec routes between UK and USA. It's mostly building out IP subnets, correct router and firewall configs, vLANing up the sites correctly.

If anyone is interested or knows anyone, please reach out to me on this thread for a bit more info, we can take it from there.

Else, I'm going to reach out to some UK based tech companies for the work. You may ask "Why not do this yourself?" That would require planning and testing which I don't have enough time for; I'd rather a Pro designed, and implemented.

My husband and I will be alone this Thanksgiving, so we decided to cook a smaller bird than a turkey, specifically a duck. I like duck and frequently order it at restaurants where available, but don't have much experience. I found a low slow roasting recipe that looks promising. I'm already familiar with soup making.

What advice do you have re sauces and meals using leftovers?

I was wondering what the best open source EPUB reader was, for both Android and Windows 10/11. It's ok if it's a different app for each platform.

I don't need to be able to convert EPUB to proprietary formats, I just need to be able to read some DRM-free EPUBs I have, preferably on an app that's open source so just does its job without collecting a bunch of data.

As title says, once Valve announced the OLED deck, I saw the refurbished originals go on a deep discount and figured it was time to buy in. So I ordered a refurb 512GB and I’m so excited for it to arrive! Been in a gaming rut for a long time now and, having never been a PC gamer, I’m look forward to checking out a bunch of games I’ve never played before.

What tips do you have for a first time Deck owner?

Any essential games I should be sure to get?

And finally, is it possible to get games I own on the Epic Games Store (I collected all their free games over the years) or Xbox Game Pass PC games on my Steam Deck?

The end of the year is approaching fast and I still have some educational budget to spend. Therefore I would love to hear your suggestions for educational resources to spend some money on.

I'm open for all suggestions, but I would love to dive more into low level programming. I spend most of my work time as a backend dev. And it is nice for a change to something else than REST-endpoints.
At the beginning of the year, I bought the amazing Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom and I'm enjoying tremendously.

So any recommendations going into the same direction or similar deep dives into topics like OS-dev, Game dev/graphics (tiny renderer comes to my mind) or writing emulators would be appreciated.

To get the discussion started, my top recommendation for his year would be Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom.
If you are interested in the inner workings of interpreter and compilers and want a nice "program-along" book get it. I would recommend the paper-version, it is a beautiful book.

Time Period: 1990-1994

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I'm trying to find some recommendations for more laid-back, relaxed games. Something than can be worked on over time. I'm thinking stuff like Stardew Valley, games where there's no time limits hanging over your head, super fast-paced keyboard mashing, that kind of stuff. I'm burned out on action games at the moment, so I've been looking into colony sims and the like where you mostly build stuff, farm, explore, etc. Some minor combat like Stardew Valley is fine. Bonus if it has online co-op.

My only caveat is I only use PC (Steam), I don't own any consoles except for a PS4 I haven't used in at least two years. Thanks!

EDIT: One game I came across that I've kind of enjoyed which is fairly laid-back is Arcade Paradise. You play someone whose father gives ownership of a run-down laundromat which you gradually convert into an arcade. You have to take care of the place and make money by doing laundry (initially), cleaning up trash and making sure the toilet works. However, you can also play with all the arcade machines and each one has a unique game, plus you can withdraw money from the machines as part of your income. It's a fun time-waster.

We’re finding it increasingly difficult find meaningful time to spend with the kids. They’re teens but still want to do stuff together and yet with all the extracurricular and us working it’s hard to just be together. They also have their own preferences and sometimes it’s hard to find common ground.

Was hoping to find some inspiration and ideas. Thanks in advance.

I wish to know more about science in general and books are a good way to do that. We have a good assortment of science-minded people on Tildes, so I think it would be interesting to know what everyone recommends. The one requisite is that the books must be adequate for a general audience. This means that the books must not require the reader to hold a STEM degree or even have a particular aptitude for STEM.

Just so it is abundantly clear: I am looking for books that people with an arts and humanities background can read. Laypeople. "Dummies".

I'm asking more about books that are intros to a specific field than introductions to science in general.

Thanks!

I am looking for an e reader with specific features, honestly I don't know if what I want even exists, but I figured this might be a good place to ask. Here's my wants:

• Charge via USB-C
• Open, allows .epub files (I understand some brands don't)
• interfaces with Calibre
• Does not have any wireless radios ie bluetooth, wifi (I know lots of people would say just turn those features off, but I would just prefer the device doesn't have them to begin with)

Have you guys seen any devices that meet this criteria?

My girlfriend has started a small business and is looking into a blogging platform. What she has tried so far hasn't been great. She has decided to go the WordPress route and this is where I am involved.

Any suggestions for hosting providers? What features should I be considering or anything else I should be aware of when it comes to picking a provider?
Right now I am looking at Bluehost vs Hostinger. Bluehost just seem to be the most advertised. Hostinger seemed to offer more for the same cost.

Well, maybe they're not that odd, but I've not really been paying attention to what phone manufacturers are up to these days, so I need some help with what will work for me. I've previously had a huawei p10 lite (which I only sold after the news of them selling data to the Chinese government), Pixel 3a (i used that until it dying breath and then sold it for parts), and now I have a RealMe 8 5g, but I'm having charging issues with it. I might look at getting it fixed, but depending on the cost I might sell it on and buy something else.

MUST HAVES:

• Headphone jack. I'll die on this hill and I will get a phone with a headphone jack as long as they are available to me.
• good battery. It's the main reason I went for the RealMe 8, the battery has just been fantastic so far.
• No bloatware. I'm ruling out Samsung, and anything similar that is full of extra junk I can't get rid of. As close to pure android as possible is best.

IDEAL

• good for games. the heaviest duty game I play on my phone is TFT, and then I move around between various puzzle and idle games for when I'm travelling or on my lunch break, but I don't need it to be super powerful.
• wireless charging. Nearly put this as a must have, but I could definitely live without it.
• Not chinese made/owned. Also nearly put this as must have, but I don't want to limit myself massively.
• under £250 I very rarely spend even that much on a phone, but I'm open to treating myself a bit.

I don't care about the camera really. I'm a photography hobbyist and so if I want to take good photos for memories I'll just take a camera with me. If it's good then thats a bonus but its near the bottom of my list of things I think about.

What would there be out there for me? I've always liked the look of Sony phones but they're typically a lot of money, how do they fit in with my requirements? I've also been looking into the Fairphone but it really is out of my budget, and i don't know how it runs.

Thanks in advance for any help :)

I live in a pretty compact house, and have my work office upstairs in a corner of one of my kids bedrooms.

Obviously, gaming in there after they are asleep is a no go! Our one tv is usually given over to my wife on evenings I break out the Steam Deck - which has been my first foray back into gaming since having kids and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

However, I'm interested if anyone has found a neat solution to use it in e.g. desktop mode without a conventional monitor or TV to dock with, that I could break out quickly on a breakfast bar and then stow easily.

I'm envisaging some kinda of Frankensteined cheap laptop shell housing to contain the screen and keyboard-

Steam Deck -> USB C Dock -> HDMI out to laptop screen and USB out to keyboard.

Anyone familiar with something resembling this kind of setup, or something similar?

Asking on behalf a friend. They just got burnt by a harem series that started out silly and fun, but the harem ended up including the protagonist's cousin, another character's mother and then a loli character (who was 18) and her now-loli grandmother. Just too creepy and uncomfortable for them at that point, and those particular tropes can be... kinda all over anime.

So, we're looking for lighthearted comedy series that don't feature incest or romance with loli characters. My friend did say that they're okay with some fan service, and that they'd prefer a cute art style rather than realistic. Doesn't have to be a harem series either, just lighthearted and fun. My tastes lean towards more serious, dark or action-y works (in part because some of these tropes are so dang common), so I can't recommend much to them.

I did recommend The World Only God Knows and they said it seems right up their alley, and they also said they'd check out Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. So that could help as a reference.

Recently I've been really nostalgic for really simple, daily turn-based games. Not sure how many people here may have played Empire, but this is what I'm talking about. I very fondly remember dialing in (with a modem) to 4-5 different Unix based BBSes just to play Empire every day. Each day your turn may take 10 minutes. This is the key thing I am nostalgic about...really low time investment every single day, but in a game with lot's of other players.

Other games that I really enjoyed back then were the BBS "door games" like Tradewars. Tradewars can still be played via telnetting into various BBSes that people are keeping up and running.

So, now that I've set the scene, what are the really simple games out there that you may play that are daily turn-based?

Second question, what would people think about a web based version of Empire? I'm thinking of building it, if I don't find the existence of it somewhere already. I think it would be really cool to have someone drop by the web site, click play, and have them thrown into a map with other players (up to 30 per a map or so).

I've been trying, without success, to find a good video game that is in the D&D/Pathfinder type genre, but without mature content. Some very light profanity would be OK. I really want to avoid games that objectify females, which, unfortunately, a lot of games in this genre does. Preferably something that can be played solo, even if that's in a multi-player environment. I'm good with new games, old games, indy games, high priced games, whatever. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone have any short-to-medium length content that clearly introduces the ideas of Jung?

I don't mind it being dense philosophically, but there's sort of this deliberate obfuscation of ideas that Jungian content creators utilize towards some end.

In philosophy, specific terms and jargon is necessary to ensure philosophical precision of the idea being presented. If one looks up said jargon, they can gain context about what's being communicated.

As far as Jung content online goes, there's a lot of jargon being used, but I'd wager about 50% of it is made up on the fly. When looked up, the term often either doesn't exist, is an adhoc portmanteau of two random terms, or simply doesn't make sense within the context it's used. Why? It seems like they deliberately are obfuscating their ideas for seemingly no reason. Perhaps there's a perceived invulnerability to criticism if your position on basic ideas can't be nailed down?

It seems that Jordan Peterson is the most prominent idea-obfuscator in this tradition, but I understand why he does it; some of his audience likely wouldn't care for the fact that he's likely what they'd describe as an atheist if you were able to pin down the ideas he conveys (e.g., Christ is but one of many manifestations of a Jungian archetype.)

Kinds of content I'm looking for:

• Newb friendly
• Clearly communicates ideas
• Philosophically precise
• Critical, but not polemic (i.e., no "debunking" videos)
• Video/audio/books preferred

Thank you in advance (:

So, I used to think I hated all love songs.
I disliked them because, in the ones that id heard were the type that found on the FM radio stations, and those tend to fall into a couple broad categories:

• I just met you, and I want to marry/stalk you
• You broke up with me, and I will do anything to get you back
• Your with someone else, and Im trying to win you over

My view on them changed when I found I'll Take Lonely Tonight, A song about the temptation of cheating in an established relationship.
While not a song I can exactly relate to, it still struck me, because its, well, respectful.
Its respectful towards the woman offering the one night stand, but still describes a deep, enduring love between Tim and his wife,
that he would rather spend the night on his own then break their trust.
(I guess it probably helps that I already like tim minchin, especially his newer, more subdued works.)

Since then, Ive only discovered one other song that scratches that same itch: Like my Father, a song about how the artist's parents relationship set the standard she strives for in her own relationship (My parents relationship was very much a role model for my marriage today, so this one hits me in the feels)

Im actively looking for other similar songs, and would appreciate any other suggestions.

Every few months I get the itch to support journalism and expand my news from the low quality high fluff news sources that tend to be free and subscribe to some long-form sources of news, opinion, and investigative journalism, but every time I go through the same process of pricing subscriptions, struggling to decide which one, and then finally just giving up and not subscribing to any of them.

If money was no object I'd probably subscribe right now to:

• The Atlantic
• The New Yorker
• Harpers
• The Economist
• National Review
• WSJ
• NYT

(trying to focus on a variety of political leanings, but mostly from generally high-factuality sources)

I like Apple News+ in concept, and the price is decent, but after a trial subscription I felt like the UI was difficult to navigate, difficult to search and filter, and the news sources were still a subset of the entire publications. I also have to wonder whether the journalists are sufficiently compensated by Apple or whether they get pennies compared to a direct subscription.

So, I come here seeking recommendations -- perhaps somebody here has found a good solution to this problem?

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For the first time in my adult life I actually have some real discretionary money, and the one personal purchase I've wanted to make for a long time is a VR rig. I was hoping for input I can be pretty sure isn't tainted by capitalism/ads.

Cost-vs-value will matter a lot, but the actual cost isn't too big a concern anymore. Budget up to maybe $3-4K if it's really worth the money.

And to note, I already have a pretty gnarly personal computer that is more than capable of running VR games (Ryzen 9 3900X 12-Core / RTX 3090 / 32GB DDR4) -- I just need the rig.

Just saw this other thread about the FNaF movie actually doing quite well at the box office, which apperently is much newsworthy and something I should care about. This here thing is popular, this and that is trending, read all about it. Yay. Well sure, it's quite nice they made their money back, but I felt it looked a bit overproduced and cookie-cutter like. Okay, haven't actually seen the blessed movie, but I've decided to hate it, so there!

I know about David Lynch, I know about Cronenberg, I know about J-horror, all that old stuff, but are there any contemporary horror movies which will screw me over? Something a bit more art-house and crazy? I've been a bit away from movie for the last decades, but I'm unsure if I'm out of the loop, or if there is anything to be out of the loop about.

Looking for a good wireless (probably bluetooth, but happy to hear if something other than bluetooth is recommended for a good reason) keyboard to use with my home laptop/dock setup.

I've ben using my laptop's keyboard while plugged into my dock which is probably less than ideal ergonomic-wise and am looking to improve things.

I don't need to be a fullsize or compact keyboard - I think my sweet spot would be middle size with a number pad. I'm somewhat aware of mechanical keyboards but will admit my complete ignorance as to their benefits (other than sounding nice when you type?) and so am open to those if there are more tangible benefits that I'm just totally ignorant about. Battery life would be important as charging it constantly could get a bit annoying.

Appreciate any input you all have!

I've just come from my latest rewatch of Blade Runner and its sequel. Two of my favourite films ever. I always find myself totally engrossed in the atmosphere of the films, and I often crave more of it.

I'm on the search for a good, over-the-ear headphones that actually blocks out background voices (not just noise). My wife and I share a home office and she is on a lot of calls. I'm looking for headphones that are comfortable to listen to for long periods of time and really muffle the outside world. I have two headphones I've been using, Sony MDR-7506 and Bose QC45. The Bose does great with blocking out ambient background noise like fan hum. However this has the effect of accentuating my wife's voice. Her voice is tinny but more clear even when listening to music. The Sony does a better job of blocking all noise and attenuating her voice, but I can still hear it.

Wired is better since I run multiple computer through a mixer so I can hear all the computers at once when I have the headphones on.