#Dual port memory

[miche2lym]

https://www.futureelectronics.com/p/semiconductors--memory--RAM--nvram--quantum-trap-nvsram/m95m02-drmn6tp-stmicroelectronics-3034532

EPROM, FIFO's, Flash Memory, what is SRAM, Static RAM, SRAM transmission

M95M02 Series 2 Mb (256 K x 8) 5.5 V Serial SPI Bus EEPROM - SOIC-8

[fortune-maiden]

There are a million games I could be playing but you know what I haven't replayed in years? Hotel Dusk.

I'm very curious if I could play this game and reach the best* ending without 1) looking at a guide and 2) getting any game overs

*best ending that I know how to get because apparently I've never actually gotten the best possible ending lol

[rxx2addn]

https://www.futureelectronics.com/p/semiconductors--memory--RAM--dram--component-dram/d2516ecmdxgjdi-u-kingston-9123747

High-Speed DRAM memory, Memory Organization, Dual Ports memory, PSD, FIFO's

DRAM Chip DDR3/3L SDRAM 4Gbit 256M X 16 96-Ball FBGA

[fanaticsnail]

Eyes Meeting

Masterlist Here. Part 2 here.

Word Count: 3,625

PLOT: Sanji is in a relationship with the ships chronicler. Zoro accidentally stumbles across them engaging together in intimacy. As soon as his eyes meet with the chronicler's, he is enchanted by their beauty in their bliss. Warnings: Smut, voyeurism, mdni, p in v, oral f receiving, "good girl" gendered term used, consent, throuple chemistry.

(Image Source)

Tag list: @sordidmusings@feral-artistry@gingernut1314, @vespidphoenix

The first time Zoro caught you and Sanji, he was placed with the task to request a meal for the Captain of the Going Merry. Luffy was hungry, and the chef was nowhere to be found. Zoro checked the kitchens first, followed by the crew quarters; the only members of the Straw-Hat crew located were Usopp and Nami, both hyper involved with their own personal tasks of tinkering and corroborating their findings before making port at the next suitable docks. 

Luffy was sleeping in the mens joint crew quarters, splayed over all four hammocks with his body melting between each of the woven sheets. No chef, no chronicler in sight. 

As he was about to give up the search for his two missing crewmen, he heard a chorus of voices melding together in the barrel of the crowsnest. It sounded like hushed conversation; no doubt sharing of ingredients needed to be procured and restocked in the next town. As Zoro made the climb of the ropes, he prepared a pre-emptive quip to piss off the chef in his head - all thoughts halting as his head peered over the barrel edge of the crows nest. 

Shirts askew, the darkened tie atop Sanji’s neck was firmly clutched within your fisted grasp. Pants pooled below his hips, your bottom half completely removed from your body all together and cast off beside you. The chef caged you beneath him, your hair splayed carelessly below you as Sanji thrust into you with the firm slap of thighs and hips meeting. Your legs were hooked over Sanji’s hips, his hand desperately raking up your flesh and grinding his pelvis into you with every deep thrust. 

Dual groans and mewls were cast into the air, silenced only by your restraint as Sanji continued to drill your bodies to chase their highs. You arched your back, cocking your head over to the side as Sanji pressed a desperate flurry of open-mouthed kisses against your pulse. Your eyes were closed, jaw slack and brow furrowed as Sanji continued to please you; blissfully ignorant to the presence of the swordsman who was completely oblivious to the fact that the two of you were in a relationship.

Until you opened your eyes. Eyes meeting immediately with the surprised expression of the tri-wielding swordsman. As soon as Zoro made eye contact with your glazed-over, lust blown eyes; his face tinted the deepest shade of red it could muster with its elevated flush. His breath hitched in his throat, the quip he had planned on uttering was flung hastily from all memory. He had never seen something so beautiful, yet so forbidden, in his life. You were breathtaking; even when caged below someone like the shit-cook. 

You quickly scrambled beneath Sanji, tapping his shoulder repetitively and warning him with your voice calling up at him. Snapping his eyes up, his gray gaze was met with the descending moss-colored hair as he bobbed beneath the wooden frame and hastily scrambled down the woven rope attached to the mast. 

-

“What is it, Dove? Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” Sanji hastily asked you, drawing up his right palm to collect your cheek. Your eyes were still wide with panic as they met your lover’s, who’s affectionate and concerned gaze immediately melted your heart.

“No, Sweetheart, nothing like that,” you reassured him, pressing a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose, “We-... -We had some company, that's all.” Sanji’s eyes widened, looking over to the edge of the crows nest. 

“Who saw-,” he began, halting his words as you confirmed his greatest insecurity.

“Zoro,” you sympathetically confessed. Immediately, Sanji’s cock softened; the mood tinting the air no longer filled with lust and desire at the utterance of his name. Sanji groaned in frustration, looking down to where your bodies once met and noticed the fresh pool of arousal coating your entrance. Perplexed and confused, he continued to look down at your core before looking to seek out your face; noticing you were glancing off to the side of where Zoro was priorly standing.

“And-... And you enjoyed him watching us? Us together?” His question sounded more like a statement, reaching down with his fingertips to pry apart your glistening folds. You gasped at the contact; shame and surprise both falling to you as he drew his fingers away from your entrance and presented to you. 

“Look, Dove! Look how wet you got!” He chuckled, his cock beginning to spring back to life at this small amount of knowledge. “Ohhh,” His taunting voice teased you, a suggestive and playful smile toying with you as he drew his hands up your thighs once more, “Somebody’s got a kink.”

“And you don’t mind-... Truly, Sanji? That this is-...” you trailed off, avoiding the unspoken question. Sanji sighed out a huffed laugh, looking down at you as he repositioned himself above you.

“My darling,” Sanji began, drawing up his hand to swipe a stray hair from your forehead to reveal your concerned face up to him, “I can share, you know. If that’s something you’re interested in, I am capable of playing nice.”

He slowly dragged his throbbing cock back into you, hunching his shoulders and huffing out a panted and strained breath of bliss. You threw your head back as you took in his entire length, body once again stretching to accommodate for his mass. 

“Even if it is with that stupid Moss-Head.” 

-

The second time he caught the two of you, he thought he was safe. It was two hours past midnight; the ship was lulling steadily with the crashing waves meeting the hull. The dull snores protruding from Usopp’s mouth was eclipsed by the growling roar of Luffy’s - both inhibiting the swordsman from acquiring adequate slumber. 

“Fuck this,” he uttered under his breath as he threw his legs over the side of the hammock and began his slow ascension towards the kitchens. Beer, he needed a beer. Perhaps even two. With a sake chaser, even. 

As the door opened, he first didn’t even see your body sitting within the right angle of the corner booth. Your eyes shut, head lulling back as you grasped the wooden table with your knuckles shaded almost white at the firmness of your closed fist. If he didn’t notice you, he surely didn’t notice Sanji beneath the table; with his tongue eagerly lapping your needy and desperate clit and raking his way down to your quaking entrance. 

Heavy thuds of boot covered feet broke you from your trance, Sanji’s tongue halting its movement momentarily as you both held your breath. Still as marble statues, you waited for the sleepless knight protector of the crew to retrieve what he desired and leave the kitchen for your private moment. 

Until you felt Sanji’s smiling lips press a mischievous kiss atop your inner thigh and trail dangerously close to your desperate, twitching and quivering clit. Your eyes widened in panic as Sanji tested a small, kitten lick against the pearled bud; prompting you to bite down hard on your bottom lip to halt a cry of bliss. 

At this muffled sound, Zoro paused his hands as they gripped the glass neck of a brown beer bottle within the refrigerator unit. He knew what was behind him. He could recognise that beautiful muffled melodious cry anywhere. That sound plagued his thoughts, eclipsed his dreams and drew many a fantasy to the forefront of his mind as he chased his own release within his fisted grasp. 

Zoro took in a slow and concentrated breath, retrieving two bottles of beer from the fridge within his right hand and turning towards the scene laid out before him. He completely ignored the fact he could see the matte, leather bottoms of Sanji’s black boots, and focussed solely on your expression.

“Chronicler,” he addressed you, gazing his hazelnut orbs directly into yours. You bit back another cry as Sanji pressed an open-mouthed kiss atop your sensitive nerve.

“S-Swordsman,” you managed to squeak out, hastily bringing your hands below you to attempt to draw Sanji’s face away from you. Sanji caught your wrists in his grasp and pinned them to the chair beside you. 

“You want a beer?” Zoro asked, his brow arching up as he slowly raked his eyes over your face. Your pulse was elevated and physically throbbing against your throat, your jaw clenched tightly shut and breath hitching.

“That sounds wonderful,” you grit your teeth as you attempt to halt Sanji’s lewd actions by closing your thighs around his head. He huffed out a laugh, bullying your legs to remain open as he dove back into making love with you with his tongue. He lapped, kissed and swirled his soft organ against you. Each twirled motion of his tongue had the pleasant scrape of his oral frenulum piercing against your flesh. 

Zoro narrowed his eyes, darting them between your lust-blown orbs. Your lip quivered, a lustful whimper threatening to spill over as Sanji continued flattening his skilled tongue against your clit and labia. Zoro’s jaw hung slack, watching your face attempting to hold back its contortion in bliss with sheer willpower and control alone. In two quick strides, Zoro was at the seat directly across from you and kicked it out with his right foot.

“This seat taken?” He arched his brow up, darkening his eyes at you with his own lust dictated with his blown pupils. 

“Be my guest,” you managed to huff out, fighting with all your might to halt your eyes from rolling back into your skull as Sanji’s firm grip continued to hold your hands in place. The approach of your stuttering climax was approaching dangerously close to the edge; your sanity almost tipping over as Zoro continued to make nonchalant and polite conversation with you.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He asked you, uncapping both of the beer bottles and placing one in front of you.

“Not y-yet,” you gasped, choking as Sanji began to bob his head with each motion against you. The coil within your abdomen began to twist, your toes and calves numbing and tingling indicating how close your climax was, “You?”

“Somethin’ keepin’ me up,” Zoro nodded, raising the neck of the beer bottle up to his lips and maintaining eye contact with your own. You strained against the desire to rock your hips against Sanji’s face, keeping still your only course of action to remain concealed as to what exactly was occurring below the table. 

“O-Oh?” you quirked your head, a small strained laugh of anxiety falling from your lips as you began to panic at how close you were. 

As Sanji continued to work you up, nuzzling his face against your core and trailing sensual kisses and romancing your glistening folds with his skillful ministrations; all you managed to relay to the swordsman a small strangled apology.

“I-I’m sorry, Z-Zoro,” you whimpered, your eyes filling slightly with embarrassed tears, “S-San-... Sanji!” At that, the coil within the pit of your stomach snapped, your eyes unintentionally closing as your brows furrowed in bliss. Jaw hanging slack, you cried out an unrestrained strangulation of groans and whimpers as you unintentionally rocked yourself against Sanji’s face. Riding your high, the swirl of pressure slowly turned into overstimulation with the fervor to which Sanji continued to dine on your arousal; lapping and cleaning as you gushed on his face. 

As soon as you recovered, you reopened your closed eyes; noticing the concentrated and unwavering expression of the swordsman in front of you. He was hypnotized. He was stuck in a trance, experiencing empathetic pleasure from watching your face contort in bliss as Sanji pleased you. Embarrassment was quickly replaced with shock as Zoro stood from his place against the table and hastily drained the remainder of the beer bottle. 

He placed the empty glass container back down atop the table and stepped over to you. You fought the urge to cower away from him as he claimed your chin within his right thumb and index finger.

“Did you just cum on the cook’s face?” he asked you, face serious and eyes unblinking as he siphoned your post-orgasm honesty from your parted lips.

“Yes,” you confessed breathily, panting and recovering from your prior high. He hummed, looking down his nose at you before hastily stooping down towards you. Bringing his nose almost brushing your own, he circled your face with his own while remaining to firmly grasp your chin within his calloused fingertips.

Zoro smirked, huffing out a breath from his nose and drawing his lips up to press a chaste kiss atop your forehead. You gasped in shock, not expecting such a display of affection from the swordsman. 

“Good girl,” he smirked, releasing your chin and turning to walk away from the two of you. Pausing at the door of the kitchen, he turned to witness Sanji crawling out from beneath the table and drawing his smiling lips up into a cocky smirk.

“You’re an ass,” you whispered your reprimand at the chef, prompting an unrestrained chuckle to fall from his lips gleefully. You hastily drew your hands up and collected the beer Zoro offered you earlier and hastily guzzled down the liquid as a balm for your nerves. 

“Yes,” Sanji confessed to you with a chuckle, “But I’m your ass. And you,” he stepped closer to you, “Oh you. You loved that.”

-

The third time Zoro caught the two of you, you were again in the kitchen. As the Going Merry docked at port; you and Sanji opted to remain behind to keep the ship secure and ensure all stock was listed in full. Nami nodded, accepting that as a viable option for two crewmen to remain behind. Usopp shrugged and uttered words of bringing back tales of their adventures upon their return. Luffy was in too much of a rush to sample the local delicacies to pay any heed to the amount of crewmen remaining behind, his nose and stomach immediately leading him onward in venturing inland.

But Zoro knew better. He knew that as soon as the crew were off on an adventure; the two of you would be tearing off each others clothes and fucking over every inch of undisturbed surface presented - no longer plagued with the confines of remaining quiet to not disturb the slumber nor focus of the crew. 

And that is exactly where he found you, looking deeply into the eyes of your blond lover with a playful smile; one mimicked by the man in front of you. He stood in the doorway as inconspicuous as he could make himself - only to have that illusion shattered by a single call from the blond chef.

“Yo, Moss,” Sanji called over to the door, “You there already?” Zoro did not want to talk to the shit-cook. His cock was straining uncomfortably against the front of his pants, brushing the sensitive tip against his rough pants.

Zoro growled in frustration at him, stepping to fall into the light of the kitchen. Zoro was met with the sight of Sanji hoisting you upwards by your thighs and placing you against the teal benchtop. Your missing bottoms were lying askew with Sanji’s shirt and tie on the floor, as Sanji stood between your legs, fumbling with his belt but otherwise completely bare. Your bra strap hung limply from your shoulder, your breasts remaining perfectly secure within the cups but marked with a litter of kisses trailing up your clavicle to your pulse. 

“You staying for the show?” he teased him, releasing his pretty cock from the confines of his pants and teasing the tip between your folds. Shock and panic was written over your face, unsure of how to react to such a suggestion. 

“You want curbside?” Sanji called over his shoulder at the swordsman, slowly stretching you with his shiny tip; pulsating with the heavy flow of arousal, “Or front row.” 

Immediately, you clutched Sanji’s shoulders and raked your nails along their muscular curvature. Zoro couldn’t look away, your sultry eyes beckoning him to step closer with each slow blink. As Sanji began to pick up the pace of his thrusts, Zoro was pulled closer into the kitchen. 

Closing the door behind him, he, at first, attempted to play his enthusiasm down and made his way over to the sink. His actions halted at the first strangled cry of pleasure being pulled from your throat by the deep thrusts of the chef within your warmth. 

“You can call him over, you know,” Sanji whispered in a voice only audible to you before pressing a chaste kiss on your jaw, “You can even kiss him if you want.” At that small encouragement from your lover, you glanced over to the swordsman standing by the table; his knuckles white as they clutched the countertop.

“Zoro?” You called to him in a hushed whimper, drawing his attention immediately to you. Eyes meeting, he immediately began walking towards you and taking his desired place beside you. Sanji was relentless, not easing up his bullying pace against your entrance. With each thrust, your body quaked and legs shaked with the intensity of your excitement at this new aspect of your relationship. 

Your toes curled as the angular tip of Sanji’s cock brushed with the sensitive upper middle of your walls, stimulating your g-spot and causing you to cry out a strangled whimper of bliss. Snapping quicker, Sanji continued to thrust and propel the both of you to your mutual orgasms - your walls thumping and squeezing his sensitive shaft with each drag within your core.

“You gonna cum?” Zoro asked you, his face dangerously close to yours, “You gonna be a good girl and cum on the cook’s cock?” You whimpered again, nodding in confirmation as Sanji continued to brace you against the countertop. 

Hesitantly, Zoro broke eye contact with you and met Sanji’s eyes; wordlessly asking if it was okay to touch you with a pointed look. Sanji continued thrusting, nodding before placing his forehead against your shoulder and chasing his high. The swordsman drew back his eyes as he collected your cheek within his palm and pressed his forehead against yours. 

“You’re taking his cock so well,” he complimented you, raking his hand down to grasp the back of your neck; the back of his hand almost brushing with Sanji’s cheek as he continued thrusting into you. Sanji reached down and began to stimulate your throbbing clit with circular motions. Your lips hung agape as the peak of your orgasm began to toy at the final barrier - refusing to break until Sanji met his climax. 

“Go on,” Zoro encouraged you, brushing his chapped lips against your open mouth and gave you one final command, “Cum for him. Cum on his cock. I want to hear your pretty sounds as you come undone on his cock.” Zoro drew you in for a long kiss on your forehead, Sanji’s whimpers against your ear indicated he was about to spill his load within you. 

“Oh, Dove-... I-I’m-... I can’t-... hnfmm-...” Sanji’s strangled cries were paired with ropes of thick cum painting your walls with their pearled beads. As soon as his stuttered movements began to frantically chase and thrust, your walls began pulsating as white sparks danced behind your eyes. Zoro broke the kiss, his eyes meeting your own as you screamed past the overstimulation of your electric orgasm. 

“O-Oh, fuck,” Zoro whispered, his precum soaking his pants through his underwear. His cock twitched without stimulation, quivering in empathetic pleasure as it begged for a simple brush of movement. Without thinking, Zoro immediately thrust his hand into his pants, strangling his shiny knob in an attempt to halt his orgasm to no avail. 

His palm was coated with the sticky strings of his orgasm, shuddering as he rode his triggered orgasm against his fist to chase his release. He gyrated into his hand, riding with the same staggered thrusts that Sanji was stimulating you with. Zoro placed a bruising kiss against your forehead as he continued to ride his high into his palm - surprise overcoming the three of you at this unrestrained collective bliss. 

As you all came down from your mutual highs, Sanji removed himself from your arousal coated walls - a pool of mixed fluids leaking from your hole as you all began to regain composure. 

“So,” Sanji began, walking his naked form over to the sink and preparing several elements to clean the mess he created with you, “You like to watch.” Zoro growled, prompting Sanji to laugh in response. 

“I like to watch the chronicler, not you, chef,” Zoro growled, before realizing exactly what he was confessing. Shock overcame you once more. Too tired to care anymore, you turned to the swordsman and placed your hand on his shoulder; turning him to meet your eyes once more. 

“I like you watching us, Zoro,” you confessed with a shy smile. He returned your soft smile, pressing his forehead to yours and sighing down into your face. Sanji turned back around, witnessing his lover press themselves against the knight of the Going Merry. He smiled at the sight, knowing truly how it felt to be loved by you. He was surprised at how much he, too, enjoyed being watched by the swordsman.

Perhaps he enjoyed being watched so much that he might desire to be the one watching next time.

[tjalexandernyc]

All these books feature trans and nonbinary main characters. All these books got jokes. All these books have painfully earnest queer love stories that end happily 🌈😘

Some quick rundowns!

Chef's Kiss (2022) is the story of grumpy pastry chef Simone and her new sunshiney coworker Ray working at a gourmet magazine that's trying to pivot to video. They end up being forced to collaborate on a series while Ray comes out as nonbinary at at work. It's a slow burn with lots of hurt/comfort and craft beer. I have been told reading this has made people very hungry.

Chef's Choice (2023) is a sequel to Chef's Kiss but can stand alone. Luna, Simone's roommate, loses her job and is approached the same day by a French guy named JP who needs to hire a fake girlfriend. For inheritance reasons, they have to learn to cook a specific menu of haute cuisine to appease his culinary empire family. There is only one bed and lots of cheese plates. I THINK this is also the first (only?) T4T romance published by a big 5 house. (If anyone knows of any others, please tell me!)

Second Chances in New Port Stephen (2023) is about Eli, a trans man who returns to his hometown in South Florida for Christmas after many years away and the first time post-transition. He reconnects with his first boyfriend and childhood best friend, Nick, who is now a divorced single dad. This is a dual POV second chance romance about memory and trauma but I promise it's funny. It's also a tribute to elder millennials turning 40 and probably my most personal book so far. I have been informed that Nick's father, Mr. Wu, is the only perfect man and I tend to agree.

Triple Sec (2024) is about Mel, a bartender at a swanky NYC cocktail bar, who has an instant connection with a beautiful patron, but is crushed to find out Bebe is married. Luckily, polyamory exists and Bebe and Kade, her genderqueer wife, have an open marriage. Told in three parts, the story covers the budding romance between Mel and Bebe, the unexpected attraction between Mel and Kade, and finally all three of them getting together, with Mel's citywide cocktail competition happening in the background. It's fluffy, steamy, and has a fun little tie-in for fans of the Chef's books. This might also be the first poly romance published by a big 5? Contemporary, at least.

If you want to support my queer, trans books, please pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore or online, or get one from your library, or tell a friend you think might dig them. I want to keep writing books for queer and trans people for a very long time, and the only way I can do that is with your help!

[elderscrollsconceptart]

i've said this before but: i, personally, am *not* looking forward to any TES remake made in Unreal. i think it handles certain physics and lighting aspects much, much worse than Havok, the engine that original Oblivion uses [and technically also Skyrim, though heavily modified by that point]. i think UE5 is likely to kill a lot of the charm and unique feel of Oblivion, and i'm a lot more hopeful about things like Skyblivion. i've never loved an RPG made in Unreal, and Oblivion is one of my favorite games of all time partially because of the versatility of Havok. obviously i could be wrong, and honestly i hope so! but given bethesda's track record [and microsoft in general, which is their parent company], i think it's likely to be a lot... flatter than the OG.

So Ive been thinking about this constantly for the past few months. It's definitely possible the remake won't match the "vibe" of OG Oblivion. That concerns but as well. Half of Oblivion's charm is how janky and lowkey..bad? It is 😭 Thats not a knock btw! Games and genres often become DEFINED by their flaws despite their positives! Skyrim is awesome but id bet one of the first things the average gamer remembers about Skyrim is the ridiculous "giants hit you so hard you fly into space" bug. For Oblivion it's the absurb (and endlessly memed) behavior of it's NPCs.

I wouldn't be shocked if the outsourcing studio drops the ball as Oblivion is a huge and clunky game to begin with. Even a remaster would be hard to do. That said, all negativity/optimism we can have at this point is wholly based on leaks and assumptions so it's fair to reserve final opinions until we actually get a real look at the remake if/when it releases.

I will be honest and say I'm personally cautiously optimistic about the remake since as charming as the OG is, it's a technical and unoptimzed mess beyond the memes and charm of silly physics glitches. I love OG Oblivion! I also want to be able to play it without having to do a bunch of mods to (try!) to make it work on my PC.

IMO literally all the remake/remaster would need to do is improve things like draw distance, get rid of the absurd CPU restrictions the OG has, and make Oblivion run stable on modern hardware.

I've talked about it before but id very happily accept a 1 to 1 port of Oblivion for modern hardware if all they did was ensure the game ran smoothly. I've genuinely only been able to have a single full playthrough of Oblivion, and that was on the xbox 360. He'll I'd take a Switch port of Oblivion if it was in HD at least. I just want a stable game experience that doesn't require me to have an old dual core CPU or try a bunch of janky 12 year old INI tweaks and memory patches.

I've tried probably half a dozen times to get the game working on PC with the necessary performance patches/stability fix mods and I *still* can't get the fixes to last thru an entire playthru before some stability issue major quest bug forces me to quit.

Morrowind has OpenMorrowind which makes the game fully stable and playable on modern hardware (like my phone!) Daggerfall has Daggerfall Unity which has innumerable improvements and also allows the game to be played on modern hardware with little issues. Skyrim has been ported to everything except apple smart watches and is playable basically everywhere with only moderate stability issues.

Oblivion is the *only* semi-modern mainline TES game that is super jank out the box and doesn't have some "fixed" version that allows it to be playable and stable on modern hardware. If something like OpenOblivion existed, an official remake/remaster wouldn't be necessary

I will reiterate the super frustrating CPU restrictions the PC version has unless you use mods to circumvent them. Game literally will start crashing on you if you have a multi core CPU. Old games tend to have technical problems like this, but given almost every other mainline TES game has a safe and stable version that exists for modern hardware, its not fair that Oblivion gets ignored in this matter. We deserve a permanent and officially fixed version of Oblivion, be it a remake or a remaster. We shouldn't just rely on mods and fan projects to fix old TES games.

Daggerfall is another good comparison since yes, by remaking Daggerfall in Unity you DO lose some of the original game's charm, but you also gain a shitload of stability and graphical improvements which make the game accessible to modern gamers.

In lieu of a fanmade Oblivion project in the vein of OpenMorrowind/DaggerfallUnity, Oblivion NEEDS a remaster or remake to make it accessible on modern hardware. Skyblivion is cool! But it still looks like Skyrim with different architecture. That's not a knock on that project, it's just true since it's literally the Skyrim engine. In the same way Morrowblivion looked like Oblivion despite being a "remake" of Morrowind into Oblivion's engine. Skyblivion is a FULL remake of Oblivion (with some changes from what I understand) but we still deserve an official Oblivion remake/remaster.

Skyblivion doesn't negate an Oblivion remake and an Oblivion remake doesn't negate Skyblivion. If anything they compliment each other since they each would be doing things the other isnt/cannot do.

An Oblivion remake/remaster might suck (or it might be great!), but regardless of our feelings on the matter, its simply true that the OG grows less and less accessible the further we get from it's release 19 years ago...We deserve to be able to play Oblivion on modern machines. I hope the remake allows us to do that (and that it comes out to begin with lol)

Peace out yall ✌️

[xehanortsreport]

a list of facts about xenoir chevaroux, warrior of light

fun facts im porting from bsky bc...i love my blorbo! Spoilers for like. Every FFXIV Expac up to current (7.1).

1. Xenoir may be a practitioner of thaumaturgy and black magic by trade, but he is considered a natural talent in the field of summoning. Despite not being heritor to the Allagan Summoner job stone, he is able to summon not only egis but also primals themselves as though tamed beasts. These primal entities are incapable of tempering on their own behalf. Much like Fandaniel's Lunar Primals, Xenoir can, if he chooses, make these entities temper on his behalf. He hasn't done this, however, and has no idea he even could.

2. Xenoir is not a native Etheiryan, and therefore is not a shard of any ancient, Azem or no. He is, instead, one of the clutch Midgardsormr brought from the Dragonstar all those years ago. Rather than hatching with his broodsiblings, he was instead given to Hydaelyn as part of the pact between her and Midgardsormr. Hydaelyn would keep him unhatched within the Aetherial Sea until the time came for the Warrior of Light to exist. She then took his soul and implanted it into the womb of his mother, where he was then born as the human (well, y'know) we know and love (?) today.

3. Because of the previous, Xenoir's soul is insanely dense compared to the souls of the Sundered. I view Dragon souls as being dense even compared to the Unsundered. If the average Unsundered is a normal star, he is a black hole; the gravity of his soul is nigh inescapable. It is this density that allows him to tame Primals, and even allows him to singlehandedly maintain Charibert as a Primal tethered to and powered by his soul, sustained by his aether and their combined memories alone.

4. Xenoir's facial tattoo is a rite of passage from his father's side. The subculture of Hellsguard Roegadyn he descends from have a tradition in which children have their faces tattooed with a magic sigil on their 14th birthday. This ritual is performed by an established seer in their family, who commune with the messengers to the Gods in order to divine the path the child is destined to take. Xenoir's tattoo means "fortune".

5. SPEAKING OF MESSENGERS, let's talk about Mammon. This will be a long one I'm porting from the other site. Mammon is the primal Xenoir ends up channeling in AUs where he's not the WoL. He's an angel-like being in the folklore of his father's people and is not worshipped outside of their group. Mammon is said to be a messenger between Nald, Thal, and the living, taking the form of a serpent with heads on both ends.

The dual-headed aspect represents it's ability to report to both twin gods at the same time. This is an adaptation of a Meracydian snake god, from where the Thorn people originally hailed, and was mapped onto Nald'thalian worship when they were enslaved by Allagans and brought to work in Thanalan.

Its primary purpose in worship is to deliver the especially poor and downtrodden from things like debt and poverty by essentially brokering an IOU between the Traders and the devout. It is said that Mammon will take on the burdens of debt for a time and grant the worshipper peace and amnesty from financial woes. However, that worshipper must then promise to pay a regular tithe to the Traders as soon as they are in better financial straits.

As such, the worship of Mammon as a messenger and aspect of the Traders eventually became known within communities of the severely impoverished and minority groups within Ul'dah, and has been picked up by second-generation Ala Mhigan refugees in particular. Xenoir's mother, Antoinette, was first taught of Mammon via her encounters with Xenoir's father, Weeping Thorn, and from there Xenoir included Mammon in his faith as an entity he would pray to during his childhood in the Brume.

Later on, Xenoir would take advantage of this particular aspect of his faith to feed his power as a primal; as a loan shark, his very actions would drive an increase in the frequency and intensity of prayers to Mammon among his clients, creating a feedback loop that makes him a relatively powerful force. Outside of this particular AU, however, Mammon is just one of the spirits he prays to.

6. Speaking of Xenoir's paternal family, his Draconic heritage isn't the only reason his summoning is so powerful. His paternal lineage is extremely talented in the art of summoning (or "calling" as they call it). This has caused no end of strife for them.As stated prior, the Thorns are a subset of Hellsguard Roegadyn hailing from Meracydia. They were taken captive by Allag for their summoning prowess and forcibly relocated to Thanalan, their powers manipulated to the Empire's ends.

Eventually, a segment of their people managed to break away and flee across the salt, seeking freedom beyond the Empire's reach. They eventually sought sanctuary in Xak Tural and were helped by a tribe of Shetona who agreed to let them share their land in exchange for the protection offered by their calling powers. Agreeing to the covenant, the peoples lived side by side for generations.

Again, the Thorn family fragmented as a portion decided to return to Thanalan to seek what remained of their culture there. Among them were the clan that eventually begat Weeping Thorn, Xenoir's father. The rest is history...to be another point in this thread lmao.

7. The Gem of Shatotto is embedded under the skin on the back of Xenoir's neck. To the uninformed, it simply looks like a large raised scar; most assume it's a wound from his battles.

Because the secrets of Black Magic are so dangerous and potent, he decided it would be best to guarantee it never left his person - and what more permanent solution than having it physically stuck to him? He intends to pass it on at the end of his journey via a private cremation; whoever he chooses to succeed him can then pluck the stone from his ashes.

8. At around the age of 13, he and his mother escaped from Ishgard (and i do mean /escaped/ - more on that later) and they took residence with his father in Thanalan. Here, Xenoir began apprenticing under his father, a mortician operating out of Vesper Bay.

Xenoir would perform such services as making candles, cleaning bones for those more interested in keeping those rather than an entire body, serving tea to mourners, and keeping the shop dusted and swept.

9. After being trained at the Thaumaturges' Guild in Ul'dah, Xenoir has gained a vast array of knowledge and skills. He is able to embalm and craft his own embalming agents from scratch, perform autopsies and dissections, surgically perform cosmetic alterations on a corpse, and can apply corpse makeup and corrective putty sculpting for those willing to shell out the gil.

He also creates anatomical drawings as a hobby and sells them to student chirugeons for them to take home.

10. Related to the above, he's a pretty decent artist. He's enamored by the living figure, and while journaling on his travels often includes accompanying sketches of people and animals. This forms the basis of his later journey into Pictomancy.

11. Xenoir LOVES food, I mean LOVES it. In another world, he'd probably become a culinarian. One of the first things he does whenever he touches down somewhere new is immediately seek out the local eatery. His favorite dishes are either heavy on the umami or heavy on the sweet.

Current favorite dishes include moussaka, hamsa curry, coconut cake, beef bourguignon, coq au vin, oden, beignets, lemon curd tarts, coffee biscuits, and carrot pudding.

12. As a child in the Brume, he used to be known as "the little magpie." In order to help support his disgraced mother (as his father was unable to access the city), he would often snitch on "heretics" and sell them out to the Temple Knights.

The Knights would in turn often throw him some stale heels of bread, other food scraps, or (if they were especially generous) a gil or two. As a result of this, while he was able to keep himself and his mother afloat, he became a pariah among other children and scorned by the adults. Not helping this was his eagerness to help nobles frame their lessers by planting damning evidence at their behest.

Being only around 10-12 at the time,he never did fully grasps the wrongs of his actions, and instead internalized the lesson of "money is the key to respect."

13. Xenoir's eventual adoption of the machinist's trade is as much a psychological boon as it is a physical one. He first picked it up because the Light poisoning on the first nearly completely snuffed out his Black Magic. He almost died multiple times only to be rescued by someone else.

The entire experience left him feeling weak and hollow. Even though he had vast depths of aether to spare, because he had singlemindedly focused on one discipline, he was unable to defend himself the moment it became unusable.

Though he's loathe to admit it, the image of Emet-Selch shooting G'raha left a significant impact on him. The simplicity of a firearm that could be used with or without magic. Thancred offered to hook him up with the art of GNB, but at that point he was tired of interacting with the Scions and wanted to seek refuge somewhere else. No destiny, no Hydaelyn, no, Zodiark, just a path carved with his own two hands. Machinistry it was, then. Being able to build his own firearm and know he had a simple, physical source of protection should his magic fail him again was life-changing.

...I will pause here for now bc I just realized I wrote a lot more than I thought I did! To be continued...?

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 10: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - BeOS 🎄💾🗓️

BeOS, developed by Be Inc. in the mid-1990s, was an operating system for multimedia applications, multitasking, and multithreading. Initially designed for the BeBox—a proprietary hardware platform featuring dual PowerPC processors—BeOS was later ported to the Macintosh and x86 architectures. Its kernel was monolithic, and the system was primarily written in C++. It featured a 64-bit journaling Be File System (BFS), which supported metadata and allowed rapid file queries and fast performance for multimedia tasks. Despite its technical strengths, including support for symmetric multiprocessing and a responsive graphical user interface, BeOS struggled to gain market traction. Development ceased in 2001 after Palm Inc. acquired Be Inc.'s assets. BeOS continues through Haiku, an open-source project aiming for binary compatibility with BeOS R5.

A bunch of resources and links for this one!

🖥️💾🎨📀

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[perseidlion]

How the Cat King Got His Groove Back (Ongoing, soft E)

The sky over Port Townsend was slate gray as it often was for weeks on end in the winter. The air was damp and heavy, with the ocean breeze cutting right through even the warmest jackets. Winter was usually free of snow in the Pacific Northwest, but the endless stretch of gray and drizzle was just as depressing as any deep blanket of snow. Perhaps moreso, because at least in snowy climes, the sun occasionally came out to play. 

The Cat King’s cannery was drafty and cold. Even his loyal subjects had abandoned him for spots beneath houses and under staircases where they huddled together for warmth.

It had been about a month since the Dead Boy Detectives had come to town and stirred up everything like a whirlwind. Cat had felt more energized than he had in decades, and not just because one of said detectives was curiously handsome and fascinating. 

But in their wake, they’d left an eerie calm. Their time in town had been short, but they had a reputation for a reason. They’d solved nearly a dozen cases, small and large in their short time. Some of the cases had been outstanding for decades. They’d also vanquished Esther Finch, the powerful and vain witch who had been causing trouble in town longer than the Cat King had ruled. 

Esther was a scourge who crossed lines even some of the darkest creatures would not. Plus, she’d beaten him to death with her cane, taking one of his precious lives in the process. Which was just…so rude.  Cat would be lying if he said he didn’t miss her a little - if only for the chaos she brought. She was a piece of shit, but she was a piece of shit who kept life interesting. 

And things were just so…quiet without her particular brand of chaos. 

And without him.

Cat stretched his toes out and off the edge of the stack of palettes that served as his throne. He was draped in a heavy black fur coat to try and hold back the chill. When he exhaled a deep-chested sigh, his breath condensed like cigarette smoke. 

He felt numb. He knew he should get up and at least use his magic to kindle a fire in an oil drum or envelop himself in a protective haze of magic. But the cold that pricked his skin and the draft that trickled between the fur of his coat at least let him feel something. He’d been considering the possibility of moving for a good long while, but couldn’t will his limbs to do more than shift a bit to make sure his body was covered by his coat. 

Cat would swear up and down that he was an independent creature, one who went where he pleased and made love to whoever he liked. But the truth was, he was a profoundly lonely creature who covered up that loneliness with tricks and flirtations. 

He wasn’t fully a cat. When he transformed into his feline form to join the feral colony of Port Townsend, they all knew it was him. They treated him with deference and respect, but they also othered him. He could be human whenever he wanted, which set him apart even more than his position.

Cat wasn’t fully human, either. To the residents of Port Townsend, he was known as the town’s slutty weirdo who was always followed by feral cats. They were used to him by now, but just because they didn’t hassle him didn’t mean he was one of them. His dual form meant he was trapped between two worlds, only really at home with other creatures who had a foot in both worlds. And most of them, he’d already alienated or had some sort of beef with - or were just not creatures whose company he found entertaining. The result was, he didn’t really have any friends in town to speak of, which only added to his loneliness. 

Finally, Cat got up the energy to drag himself to his feet. He took a series of lazy, heavy steps down off the platform, his fur coat dragging along the dirty ground. As he walked aimlessly through the warehouse, he chased echoes of memories. 

First, he passed the stain of blood on the ground where his previous body had been beaten to death by Esther. The reminder of that pain made him wince involuntarily. But then he saw echoes of Edwin when he caught the first hints of lust in his eyes, followed by the indignant British snark of him protesting his punishment. He closed his eyes and remembered what a pair of ghostly lips brushing his cheeks felt like when Edwin came to say goodbye. 

Cat turned and caught his reflection in an old, half-broken mirror propped against one wall and partially covered by a dropcloth. Slowly, he turned to face the mirror head-on. He lifted a hand to summon his magic, paused, rethinking it for half a moment, then he swirled his wrist.

The purple fog that accompanied his transformations with an affectation - a magician’s trick to make the whole thing seem more impressive. His magic in its natural state was subtle and quiet, as befitted a creature of stealth. The shift to his body happened in a blink. 

Edwin’s reflection stared back at him from the mirror, one hand still held delicately in the air, clad in a brown leather glove that matched his brown overcoat. He was a perfect copy, save golden, slitted eyes. He stepped up to the mirror and swept the gloved hand across the surface to clear it of some of the dust. Then he tugged off his glove and caressed his own cheek. He closed his eyes and let his fingertips creep over his lips. He nuzzled his own palm and exhaled warm breath against his fingertips.

When Cat opened his eyes, it was Edwin’s green eyes gazing back at him. Edwin’s face full of sadness and longing. Edwin’s face aching with loneliness. He pulled off the other glove and held his own hand, tracing knuckles and fingertips. He held his own hand and squeezed it. 

Keep reading on Ao3

(This fic was originally a short called Ennui that just consisted of the first chapter. Now it's an ongoing fic with shapeshifting shenanigans and some light Catcrow elements, though the shapeshifting/identity swap stuff is the focus over the ship.)

[fatihulusoy]

Greetings yet again folks! Before today's news i should ask this: what would you think when wearable tech is mentioned? AR/VR glasses? A smart watch? a pair of fancy glasses? nfc based products or was it something else for you?

what if i tell you there is a battery that is so stretchable and bendable that can be tailored between linings of your clothes now what would you think?

Meet the age of stretchable batteries people!

in that case i should mention when people of today was so busy with nonsense politics and rightist or leftist ideas there were quite a race between the biggest tech schools and companies for manufacturing this tech such as apple, samsung, stanford, Yokohama National University, zotach (japan based wearable tech company), sydney's UNCW, Australian research comity and more.. you get the idea..

so what is this tech in its core?

basically building more softer and more long term reliable materials to replace our common daily use batteries

in term of materials it nearly uses our common li-on batteries but these are mainly works like electrodes and often use polymers, hydrogels, and other flexible materials for electrodes and electrolytes. we can see in recent inovations include the use of stretchable conductors like gold nanowires or carbon nanotubes.

BUT what these mambo, jambo, wombo, combo means for public eye?

much longer active use time, higher adaptability, flexible form factor yet lower energy and power density.

for now this tech has been used in certain medical implant cases, wearable techs, tv's, and watches for now but there is some attempts to imply this in to textile industry recently..

and japan is seems like ahead of the race for now with Zotac’s VR GO 4.0 backpack

this is a backpack pc and its power source is tailored between in entire foam/ fiber pad. this "pc" is specifically made for VR/AR and streaming which includes

11th Gen Intel Core Mobile i7-11800H processor, an NVIDIA RTX A4500 graphics card with 20GB of GDDR6 memory and 7,168 CUDA cores, 16GB (32GB maximum) of DDR4 RAM, an M.2 slot for storage, a 2.5′ SATA 3 hard drive/SSD bay for storage, three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.1 type-C port, DisplayPort, and a 12V DC outlet, all powered by dual 86.4 watt-hour hot-swappable batteries.

like i said this tech is still under developement stage and people still trying to make this tech better than other compettitives...

time will show us what will it gonna be turn out at the end..

lastly.. see you guys tomorrow...

sources:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202204457

[ssaraexposs]

BTA // BSD

ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA

BTA ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA: A young man with dual personalities - an exterior personality and an interior one. His exterior personality is one of a polite and honest young man, although due to his shyness he is constantly concerned about other people's reactions. On the other hand, his interior personality which appears during battle with Taints is one that is a mixture of a strong pride and unashamed cruelty. Although he has only vague memories of when his interior personality surfaces, he understands and accepts that they are merely two sides of the same coin.

BSD ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA: Atsushi's traumatic past affects much of his daily life, and he is tormented with nightmares, flashbacks, and the internal monologue of the orphanage director who abused him. He has a severely low sense of self-worth and is somewhat naïve, which causes him to initially feel helpless when confronted with dangerous situations. When paralyzed in guilt and/or fear, he has difficulty reacting or understanding what to do. He also tends to react strongly and believe things at face value, trusting others' judgment above his own and even abandoning his own instincts. All things considered, Atsushi cares deeply for his fellow Agency members and for the well-being of civilians, especially during dire situations. On various instances, Atsushi would not hesitate to help and save others, even those he has never met before.

He has a strong sense of morality, which also directly stems from his upbringing. He believes his worth in life depends on his ability to protect others and has an aversion to the abuse of one's power and to preventable deaths. He even tries to help even his enemies at times and would often feel sympathy for most of them, as seen through his interactions with Kyōka, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sigma and even Fukuchi during his supposed death.

Although still struggling with his self-esteem mostly due to the words of the late orphanage director, Atsushi gradually improves his confidence and sense of self. He continues to be strengthened by several missions and the clashes against the Port Mafia,  the Guild,  and the Rats in the House of the Dead among others. His will hardens in these tough situations, and he becomes steadfast, reliable, and intensely caring. As Akutagawa mentioned based from their various clashes, when pushed to adverse situations, Atsushi comes back as a "more bothersome enemy".

BTA ATSUSHI VA: Kaito Ishikawa

BSD ATSUSHI VA: Yuuto Uemura

https://bungo.fandom.com/wiki/Nakajima_Atsushi

https://bungostraydogs.fandom.com/wiki/Atsushi_Nakajima

[howzitsa]

MSI H610M-E PRO Intel LGA1700 M-ATX Motherboard MSI PRO series motherboards help users work smarter by delivering an efficient and productive experience. Featuring stable functionality and high-quality assembly, PRO series motherboards provide not only optimized professional workflows but also less troubleshooting and longevity. MSI motherboards feature tons of convenient and smart designs for DIY users, and countless system tuning and troubleshooting tools are at your disposal to push your system to new heights and satisfy even the most demanding tweaker. This makes it so easy to install your own motherboard without any issues. MSI motherboards let you manage speeds and temperatures for all your system and CPU fans. Total Fan Control allows you to check your primary system characteristics in a simplified graphical interface. You can also set up to 4 temperature targets for CPU and motherboard, which will adjust the fan speeds automatically. Detecting CPU & GPU temperatures and automatically adjusting fan duty of system fans to a proper value by adopting MSI AI ENGINE. The most important thing about DIY is expandability. MSI PRO series motherboards feature plenty of possibilities for prosumers’ needs. Stable LAN, faster storage and USB transfer speeds and other expandable connectors are ready to enlarge your flexibility. Stay connected with Intel® LAN, optimized for stable internet throughput and ideal for championship-level online playing. MSI PRO series motherboards are designed to satisfy any professional workflow. Elevate your listening pleasure and enjoy the extreme sound quality. Moreover, with years of experience in creating performance-enhancing tools that are easy to use, only the highest quality applications are at your disposal. The extensive features let you fine-tune your system to deliver reliable maximum performance. MSI lightning Gen 4 PCI-E is the latest and the fastest PCI-E data transfer solution with 64GB/s of transfer bandwidth that has doubled compared to its previous generation. PCIe 4.0 maintains both backward and forward compatibility with older and newer specifications. Optimized by steel armor design, your motherboards can support the weight of heavy graphics cards. MSI conducts thorough memory testing with the most popular memory brands under extreme conditions to ensure your system runs stable no matter what. Our memory partners include brands like Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, G.Skill and many more to optimize memory modules and configurations. Core Boost technology combines MSI’s premium layout and optimized power design which allows for faster and undistorted current delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision. Not only supporting multi-core CPU, also creating the perfect conditions for your CPU overclocking. FEATURES: Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® processors for LGA 1700 socket Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 3200(MAX) MHz Core Boost : With premium layout and digital power design to support more cores and provide better performance Memory Boost: Advanced technology to deliver pure data signals for the best performance, stability and compatibility Lightning Fast Experience: PCIe 4.0 Audio Boost: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality Steel Armor: Protecting VGA cards against bending and EMI for better performance, stability and strength. SPECIFICATIONS: Socket: 1700 CPU Support: Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors up to i9 Chipset: Intel® H610 Chipset DDR4 Memory: 3200(MAX) / 3000 / 2933 / 2800 / 2666 / 2400 / 2133 MHz Memory Channel: Dual Channel DIMM Slots: 2 Max Memory (GB): 64 PCI-E x16: 1 PCI-E x1: 1 SATAIII: 4 M.2 Slot: 1 TPM (Header): 1 LAN: 1x Realtek® RTL8111H Gigabit LAN controller USB 3.2 ports (Front): 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 3.2 ports (Rear): 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 2.0 ports (Front): 4 USB 2.0 ports (Rear): 4 Audio ports (Rear): Realtek® ALC897 Codec VGA: 1 HDMI: 1 DirectX: 12 Form Factor: mATX Operating System: Support for Windows® 11 64-bit and Windows® 10 64-bit WHAT’S IN THE BOX: MSI PRO H610M-E DDR4 Intel 1700 mATX Motherboard – Black x1 SATA Cables x2 EZ M.2 Clip x1 I/O Shield x1 Quick Install Guide x1

[psycheterminal]

HOW TO SWITCH TO LINUX

So, we're going to go through this step by step.

Before we begin, let's keep a few things clear:

Linux is not Windows, it is its own system, with its own culture, history and way of doing things.

There are many "distributions", "distros" or "flavors" of Linux. What works for you may be different from what people recommend.

You'll want to read up on how to use the terminal; the basics an absolute beginner needs is short, but important. It's not hard to learn, just takes a bit of time and effort.

ADOBE DOES NOT WORK ON LINUX.

WINE is not a Windows Emulator, it should not be treated as such.

Proton is a compatibility tool built on WINE by Valve, which has its own compatibility database, called ProtonDB. It still isn't an emulator and can have quirks.

Not everything will work on Linux. Dead by Daylight actively blocks Linux players from joining a game, as an example. The Windows Edition of Minecraft is another. (But the Java Edition does!)

There are many FOSS alternatives to popular programs, but they may lack maturity and features compared to their commercial counterparts.

You might want to invest in an external drive. It'll keep your files safe and you'll be able to move all your files to a

Step 1: why do you want to switch? Are you concerned about privacy? Are you wanting to boycott Windows? Is 11 not an option for your hardware? Want to try something new? Be honest with yourself on what you want to do. Write down your hardware specs. You'll want to know what kind of processor, RAM, video card and memory you're working on.

Step 2: Make three lists: Programs you need for work, programs you use at home (that aren't games) and games you like to play. Check each of these for if they already have a Linux port. For games, you can check if it's Steamdeck compatible! For those where you can't find one or it's not clear, you can check for the program on WINE HQ and ProtonDB (for games.) Not all of them might be compatible!

There might be Linux-based alternatives for several things, but keep in mind that Adobe does NOT support Linux and does NOT work on WINE! Sea of Thieves and LibreOffice works, Dead by Daylight and Scrivener do not.

Step 3: Get a GOOD QUALITY USB drive stick! I recommend one that's at least 30 GB. That sounds like a lot, but operating systems these days are huge-but there's some fun stuff you can get. It's really important that you get a good quality one, not just a random stick off a reseller like Wish.

Step 4: Remember when I asked you why you were switching? Time to pick a Linux version. There is no "one, true Linux" version-the operating system is open, groups make their own versions and put it out into the world. If you're confused, check out Distrowatch. Read a list here. Download an option-if you have a few sticks around, try multiple ones.

Step 5: Plug in your USB and use either UNetbootin or Rufus to create your boot device. Rufus might be easier if you're not super computer savvy. When looking over the options, make sure there's some storage, set it to most of what's left. Take out your boot stick for now.

Step 6: Find out how to boot to your BIOS. Every computer has a BIOS. Check out your model of laptop/motherboard to figure out what it is. Arrange boot order so that your USB gets checked first.

Step 7: If you have an external drive, move all your personal stuff, game saves, etc to it or purchase cloud drive storage for it. Always back up your files, and with multiple methods.

Step 8: You aren't going to be installing Linux quite yet; instead, boot it up from USB. Note, it'll be a bit slow on USB 2.0, though a USB-3 device and slot should make matters easier. Test each version you're considering for a week. It is super important that you test! Sometimes problems crop up or you turn out to not like it!

Step 9: Once you find a distro you like and have tested, consider if you want to dual boot or completely wipe Windows. Some programs for work might require Windows or you might have a few games that ONLY work on Windows and that's perfectly fine! Just keep in mind, as of Windows 11, this option is not recommended. If you want to use dualboot, you want to keep Windows 10 and NOT update. There's great tutorials on how to make it happen, search engines should be able to point you to one.

Step 10: Fully install Linux and immediately update. Even the latest installers will not have the current security patches. Just let it update and install whatever programs you want to use.

Step 11: Enable compatibility tools in Steam if you're a gamer. File, options, compatibility. Also, check the Software Store in your OS for open source re-implementations for your favorite older games!

You're now a Penguin!

[griefabyss69]

can i ask how you installed linux on your laptop? ive been thinking about doing it for a while but dont really know what i need to do to prep for it

I'm just a beginner too so I totally understand how confusing it all seems but it's not too bad if you take your time! This is going to be as quick as possible, and I'm going to assume you're choosing the Linux Mint version of Linux because it's a widely accepted opinion that it's the best for people new to this OS. (You can always add another version of Linux or change to it later on once you've had success with this!)

Note: You'll need a USB stick with at least 4GB on it, and you will want to have it dedicated to the Linux install

Back everything up! How you do this is up to you. I did it by saving anything important to an External HD (I already have a clean install of windows on a CD). If you don't have a clean install of your current OS, you can burn a restore point to a CD or DVD, or put it on a USB stick. Note: You'll be able to access all of your files on your current harddrive even after partitioning and booting on Linux! So you don't need to make two copies or transfer things over. If you have an account for your browser, sync your tabs/passwords/history/etc for a muuuuch smoother transition! Linux comes with Firefox already installed, so if you don't currently use it but want to make the change, you can port your bookmarks in from Chrome.

Get information about your system: You'll want to know your current OS (mine was Windows 7), what graphics card you have, how much RAM (memory) your computer has, and what kind of booting your system does (BIOS or UEFI), and of course, how much space on your harddrive there is. Note: I use "harddrive" to mean wherever you're installing your OS, some people install it on an external HD, or an SSD and run it from there.

Pick which distribution of Linux to install: While you can install whichever one you want, Linux Mint is the safest bet for someone new to Linux - if your computer can run a Windows or Mac OS, it can run the version of Linux Mint called Cinnamon. And that's the one that's the most user friendly. It's a great way to learn how to use the Terminal (like command prompts on Windows) in a low stress way because you still have the User Interface. It also has a robust community with plenty of information/resources out there! Super helpful. If your computer doesn't have enough space (though Cinnamon does not take up much at all, I think people say something around 165GB for Linux Mint Cinnamon), Mate is smaller and XCFE is the smallest, though they are less beginner friendly.

Decide how you want to install it: Here is an installation guide I used to get Linux Mint. Some of it I had to read a few times and only really understood once I did it, but with my backups I did it without fear. I recommend doing a Dual Boot system if you have the space, partitioning your hard drive is not nearly as complicated as I thought it'd be and also it's good for if Linux doesn't have a version for some programs you like to use. Here's another installation guide, though I think it only focuses on going from Windows to Linux. It has some great tips for post-installation though if you're not going from Windows. It also assumes you didn't pre-partition your harddrive. I partitioned mine before installation so I used the "Something Else" option when it asked me which type of install I wanted. There are instructions on that in the first installation guide! P.s. - If you're on Windows 7, the recommended USB writer program isn't available for you. I used USBImager!

Wrap up any loose ends and do web searches for anything you're not sure of. Bring things up on your phone for reference while you're mid-install. NOTE: When you boot your computer from the USB Stick with Linux Mint on it (I'm assuming other varieties of Linux too?), you have the option to try it out without installing it. Then while you're trying it out if you're ready to install it, there's an icon on the desktop you click. If you don't install it, none of your settings or anything will save and the next time you boot from the USB stick it'll be a fresh version of Linux.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/ There are mountains of information in here! And plenty of them are helpful for beginners. https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/first-mint-cinnamon.html This is helpful too!!! The whole site is.

If you don't like how something looks/feels/works, there's probably a system setting for it. Do a Timeshift snapshot when you first install Linux, then one after you've spent time setting everything up! That way you're covered. After you do that second Timeshift you can start looking for programs to install if you'd like! Definitely look up tutorials/etc on that.

Okay I hope this was enough to get your started and cover a lot of bases! Remember to have patience, re-read stuff, take breaks if you're confused, and that like a million people use Linux Mint successfully so once you get through the hard part (pre-install and installing) it's pretty smooth sailing.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

[mobilebyaldine]

Top 5 Rugged Smartphone Cases for Ultimate Protection

In today’s world, our smartphones are essential for staying connected, working, and capturing memories. However, accidents like drops, spills, and scratches are inevitable. To keep your device safe from the rigors of daily life, investing in a rugged smartphone case is a smart choice. Rugged cases are designed to provide heavy-duty protection, ensuring your phone can withstand the toughest environments while staying fully functional.

If you’re in Aldine and looking for the best rugged cases, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our curated list of the top 5 rugged smartphone cases to consider, along with the benefits they bring to your smartphone experience.

1. OtterBox Defender Series

The OtterBox Defender Series is a gold standard when it comes to rugged smartphone cases. It’s designed for those who need superior protection against drops, dust, and scratches.

Key Features:

Multi-layer protection with a solid inner shell and a durable outer cover.

Port covers to keep dust and debris out.

Built-in screen protector to safeguard your display.

Why It’s Great for Aldine Residents: With the unpredictable Texas weather and an active lifestyle, this case is perfect for those on the go. Whether you’re working outdoors or enjoying weekend adventures, the Defender Series offers reliable protection.

2. Spigen Tough Armor

Spigen’s Tough Armor case strikes a balance between rugged protection and sleek design. It’s an excellent choice for those who want heavy-duty defense without the bulk.

Key Features:

Dual-layer design with a TPU interior and polycarbonate exterior.

Air Cushion Technology to absorb shocks from drops.

Slim profile for easy handling.

Why It’s Great for Everyday Use: If you’re commuting around Aldine or spending time in bustling environments, this case provides all-around protection without weighing you down.

3. SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle Pro

The SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle Pro is a favorite among rugged case enthusiasts, known for its durability and functionality.

Key Features:

Built-in screen protector and shock-resistant bumpers.

Precise cutouts for easy access to ports and buttons.

Includes a detachable belt clip for convenience.

Ideal for Outdoor Enthusiasts: For those who love outdoor activities around Aldine, this case is a perfect companion. Its rugged design ensures your phone stays safe during hikes, camping, or sports events.

4. UAG Monarch Series

Urban Armor Gear’s Monarch Series is designed for extreme durability without compromising on style. This case is built for those who demand the best in terms of protection and aesthetics.

Key Features:

Five-layer construction for ultimate protection.

Meets military drop-test standards.

Lightweight and easy to grip.

Why It’s a Premium Choice: If you’re a professional in Aldine who wants a rugged yet stylish case, the UAG Monarch Series delivers on both fronts. It’s ideal for business settings and outdoor adventures alike.

5. Lifeproof FRĒ Series

The Lifeproof FRĒ Series is the go-to choice for those seeking rugged, waterproof protection. This case is designed to keep your phone safe in all kinds of environments, from rainstorms to poolside fun.

Key Features:

Waterproof up to 2 meters for 1 hour.

Dirt-proof, snow-proof, and drop-proof design.

Built-in screen protector and sealed ports.

Perfect for Water Lovers: If you enjoy spending time by the water or dealing with unexpected weather in Aldine, this case ensures your phone is safe from moisture and dust.

Why Rugged Smartphone Cases Are Worth It

Rugged smartphone cases aren’t just for clumsy hands—they’re essential for anyone looking to extend the life of their device. Here are a few reasons to invest in one:

Drop Protection: Accidental drops can cause costly screen repairs or even render your phone unusable. Rugged cases absorb shock and protect your phone’s vulnerable edges.

Weather Resistance: If you’re caught in Aldine’s sudden downpours or working in dusty environments, a rugged case offers protection against water and debris.

Longevity: A durable case prevents everyday wear and tear, keeping your phone in pristine condition.

Enhanced Grip: Many rugged cases feature textured designs that reduce the chances of your phone slipping from your hand.

Peace of Mind: With a rugged case, you can focus on your activities without constantly worrying about damaging your phone.

How to Choose the Right Rugged Smartphone Case

Not all rugged cases are created equal. When shopping for a case in Aldine, consider the following factors:

Compatibility: Ensure the case is designed for your specific smartphone model.

Protection Level: Look for cases that meet military-grade drop standards if you need extra defense.

Functionality: Some rugged cases include extras like belt clips, kickstands, or built-in screen protectors.

Weight and Bulk: Choose a case that balances protection with portability.

Style: Many rugged cases now come in stylish designs, so you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for durability.

Where to Buy Rugged Smartphone Cases in Aldine

For the best selection of rugged smartphone cases, visit Mobile by Aldine. We offer a wide range of protective cases for various smartphone models, ensuring you find the perfect fit for your needs.

Whether you need something waterproof, shock-resistant, or lightweight, we have options that cater to every preference and budget. Shop online or visit us in-store for personalized recommendations and expert advice.

Final Thoughts

Investing in a rugged smartphone case is one of the best decisions you can make to protect your device from life’s inevitable accidents. From the robust OtterBox Defender Series to the sleek UAG Monarch, there’s a rugged case for everyone.

At Mobile by Aldine, we’re here to help you find the right case to keep your phone safe and functional. Explore our collection of rugged smartphone cases and take the first step toward ultimate phone protection.

Check out our full selection today at Mobile by Aldine.

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Hello, could you tell me a little more about your ipod set up, how you acquired it and how you use it without itunes needing to be involved? I would like to have a dedicated piece of hardware that plays all kinds of files but I only have linux on my computer so no itunes. Interested in how other people manage this and get rid of streaming :)

for sure!! i'm using a refurbished ipod 5th gen from elite obsolete electronics (here-- lots of options! not just 5th gen either), and i'm running rockbox on it (here), another OS (its dual booted in case you ever need to get to the apple side of the thing). I remember having to fiddle around with rockbox a bit to get it where I needed it to be, but the site has a lot of excellent documentation. I just drag and drop my music onto the ipod with the rockbox side of things. (It's been a bit since I've actually had to port music onto it and my memory is pretty abysmal for those sorts of things, otherwise I'd elaborate on that end more).

Between Elite Obsolete & Rockbox there's a lot of really well made guides and supports on getting stuff running. I'm on Windows so I know less of the Linux side of things (for now, a friend's machine is still on my desk waiting for me to dive in and start learning aksdjfsdfh). With a portable disk drive and pair of wired headphones I feel very unstoppable