#like I got new ram for my pc. and it rocks. and I’ve needed to do it for a Long Long time

[conspiring-limabean]

I had spent years wanting nothing more than to get out of the place I used to live and move back up north and just rotting in a pool of depression because of how much that place fucking sucks, and when I finally got the chance to move back up north I like. Told myself not to hype it up too much because it isn’t going to fix everything, there’s other problems in my life that I’m going to have to work on still and I was really worried I would move to the new place and still be depressed but this time have no more scapegoat “this will fix me if I can get there” solution to hang onto because now I’ve achieved the thing I had always told myself would fix my depression. but like. no i was right. I’ve been here a few months, more than enough time for depressive phases to come and go and my mental state is so much infinitely better here. Like I actually want to go outside. I actually enjoy looking out the window. the bad thoughts still appear as I know they always will but fighting them off is so much fucking easier. The depression doesn’t stay when it comes knocking. There are still the few other life problems I know I need to solve but now I actually have the self confidence to try to do so instead of wallowing in untamable anxiety afraid of heading anywhere else because I might do it wrong

[ireddeadredemption2pc-blog]

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC

Red Dead Redemption2 PC

The old west feels brand new again.

Oh Jesus Christ, what have you done? “Thomaschen 978 wants to know why a dozen carcasses and a couple of horse corpses are placed on rail tracks bordering the early industrial city and are the New Orleans stand-in St. Denis.” You killed half. village.” PC Games For Free

We are on round two of the recurring corpse pile. My poses got the idea to jump in front of the train after a few rounds of Lose Your Friends and Toss Them in the Sea in the Couple Friendly Strangers. Like GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 has its own bowling minima, we explain to Chen in a roundabout way that provokes his fear. Die in the shared open world of Red Dead Redemption 2 and you’ll react fast enough to move your corpse around. Best RPGs games pc

The boy is in line with us. We should make it bigger. As the train comes around again, another pose tries to take us out. The chain defends us but does not bring it back to the tracks. He goes away screaming. Death of a true warrior.

Red Dead Redemption 2 could be the biggest, most humble videogame ball pit for an annoying story about impulsive children, the forced disintegration of the community, or simply a quiet and reflective hiking simulator. It’s just about what you need it to be, and it’s good at it.

Just hours before the corpse-bowling, I was alone through the icy forests, stepping into the long shadow cast across the snow by the rising moon. I heard a gunshot from a distance. The tracks of some wolves marked snow in the same direction. I saw them who won. Anytime I pay attention and look closely, RDR2 is the result of my curiosity. Best Racing games on pc

The mind-numbing expanse that makes up the vast world of RDR2 speaks to the creative force of a development team with an intense, obsessive dedication to realism (and all the money and time needed to do so). Like how my friends’ characters flare up when I fire a gun at them, how animal carcasses disintegrate over time, how NPCs react according to a sloppy or bloody outfit, how to stir through a doorway. Scares everyone everywhere.

It is hard to believe that RDR2 is so deep and wide and is also a harmonious, playable thing. I was already playing it for days worth the console version. This is why I am particularly disappointed that it ended up on the PC to some extent.

For every non-taught multiplayer adventure, disconnect or crash on the desktop, desktop. The rock star’s best storyline and character so far has been filmed through Frame Hutches’ slideshow and addressed over the launch weekend.

RDR2, one of the best Western games and one of the best open-world games I have ever released with enough stability issues, is recommended for the hard way until everything is completely smooth.

Morgan trail

EVERY PRETTY VISTA IS SOMETHING TO LOSE THROUGH ARTHUR’S EYES.

The story genre of Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the dying days of the Wild West. The sprawling industrial world faced the bandits and social downtrodden of Arthur Morgan’s small band, an imperfect but loyal, loving and self-reliant community.

Capitalism is reducing its value as resources to humans. Indigenous USA America is driven from the plains to make way for ‘civilization’ and commerce. The forests are brought down for timber, the hills are cut down for coal, and Morgan’s chosen family is caught in the middle, forced to flee, assimilate, or respond with violent protests is done. They do all three.

This is Rockstar’s most serious drama, and it’s really, really long. If you are running, the story ends after 40 to 50 hours and then continues for 10 to 15. The main story missions of Red Dead 2 feature distinctly rockstar fare: ride to a destination that is talking to everyone, tightly scripting though, entertaining things, riding, and chatting to the final destination.

Missions are often thrilling action sequences or artificially mundane pictures of wrench labor and trade, full of long-winded Bespoke animations, and outstanding performances. They are only hopelessly harsh, to the point where it feels like I am following the stage directions rather than playing the role of a vagabond in the Old West.

Step out of line in these campaigns and this is a failed situation. As opposed to Red Dead Online, there are very few of them that encourage players to think for themselves, each designed to advance the story. The RDR2 show is at least a spectacle of the slow pace of life in the Old West.

This is not the death and theatricality of a lifetime; My favorite missions include shoveling, drinking wine with a friend, proposing an old romance and riding a hot air balloon. Working through a greater rut, stricter tasks are considered meaningful in the end anyway, inspired by extraordinary, ambient world-building and characterization.

Side missions, minigames, small activities, and random world events — whether they hunt great guns, capture a play, or stumble upon a woman trapped under a horse — all set Arthur’s character and setting in subtle, rich ways. Please inform.

Nested in the third act of a fully animated and voice theatrical performance, something like 10 minutes, it is possible that the response button is pressed after an artist has included a telephone. Arthur would shout, “Hell with the telephone!” It is an optional activity, a long one, and an option is to react in that short window. I think most players will remember this, but this is Canad Response 1 through 3 because this is something Arthur would say, a rageless goofy set his way in the right way.

He would write complete, real diary entries about the 50-hour campaign, sketching memorable scenes and depicting the state of affairs of his chosen family, which people once knew changed their fortunes between hope and despair. It is meant to be a completely alternative reading, but a refreshingly intimate take on a masculine figure that unsettles many doubts and hopes as to the next person.

He sings himself on a lonely ride and lowers his old body in the mirror. He will have an exciting conversation with the horseshoe woman as he gives her a ride into town, both commenting on the troubles of working for wealthy, ungrateful men as a growing necessity. I feel it all. Best horror games on pc free

Hillbillies can capture him after making the camp, a couple may try to rob him after inviting him to dinner, a man with snakebite can come out of the forest by stumbling and tell him to suck venom is. These haphazard encounters portray brutal life on the fading frontier, as nature pushes back against inner poppers who want to change it. Arthur is the perfect vessel to see it

This is because Arthur Morgan is one of the darkest human characters I have played during a great turning point in American history, playing a playful, cruel and compassionate role according to differing theories.

The game world, beautiful as it is, is made more beautiful and tragic by how it is ready to play it on every occasion. Every beautiful vista has something to lose through Arthur’s eyes, power lines and train tracks, cut through the skies, and the rest of his life is slowly filling with factory smoke. Just about everyone sees a sad end in RDR2, too. This is a story that I might not sustain every moment, but I will not forget its brutal arc or the man in the middle of it all. God damn is it sad? An apocalypse that led to this.

Ren Der Reflection

Assuming that you are able to run it at high settings, the biggest strength of RDR2 is how it exquisitely renders the Old West setting on PC, drawing more attention to the nuanced details that make it. This is one of the best looking games I’ve seen and a rare experience that justifies a new GPU or CPU.

Better draw distance and a greater range of vegetation detail were added, making some vistas look photographic. Long shadows vary from walking or roaming between places to rides, to cute nature tours. Due to animal attacks, bullet holes, rain, mud, or rapid flow of blood, the markings on the clothes are caused by very high-resolution textures, which tell a very little story about your friends.

A new photo mode makes it easy to share those moments of amazement. The way the player rides on RDR2 for just sightseeing and sounds is an important feature. I am desperately trying to get an artistic portrait of my horse’s silhouette to sit against the moon, yet another self-proclaimed goal was tolerated by this ridiculously large complex game.

With 2080, i9-9900K and 32GB of RAM, I can run RDR2 mostly on ultra settings with some resource-intensive settings completely off or switched off. But some hardware combinations are proving troublesome for RDR2, leading to random crashes in some APIs and, more recently, to a hotfix, leading to hitching problems for some 4-core CPUs.

During the first weekend, I couldn’t spend more than an hour without crashing on the desktop, though Vulcan switched from DX12 (which gives me better framerates) back to static stuff. Sometimes the UI malfunctions and I cannot select a select or purchase option, the map fails to appear, or I get paged unexpectedly from game servers.

The graphics settings are almost too much as well, and probably confusing. In our test, only a handful of settings affected performance by more than 1-2 percent. Large residuals, the mapping between MSAA, volumetric lighting, and parallax occlusion, affect performance by 5 to 25 percent. Most of them don’t make a big visual difference anyway and are best left out.

The way the settings are presented is made to feel underdeveloped: a huge list with unclear presets that require tinkering to make RDR2 run in a satisfactory framerate. It is hard. The PC should be the best place to play, not the best place to play, after all, after a few patches. It’s a shame for a game to look good. upcoming pc games

Cowboy poetry Red Dead Redemption 2 PC

Like in singleplayer mode, in Red Dead Online I can make my goals reasonable and watch them. The problem is, it is basically hamstrung by a frustrating multiplayer leveling system that locks basic equipment and cosmetics behind long XP requirements that can meet hours, perhaps days,

The option is spending gold, premium currency, items and clothing to unlock them immediately. A fishing pole is not available until level 14. A damn fishing pole in an outdoor recreation game. This is not spectacular and is a terrible way to invest players.

out a basic suite of tools (fishing rod, bow, varmint rifle, nice hat, etc.), Red Dead Online opened up widely. I have largely ignored traditional matchmaking modes such as gunfights and horse races, cheap thrills, I will play much better versions in different games, to have fun. It led to the most inventive, serene, real, and sometimes buzzing echo I’ve ever had.

I once walked into the middle of a fire in Blackwater and took the player corpses one by one to the church cemetery. Some were captured and participated in the ‘burial’ of their friends. A corpse thanked me for the gesture. Later, in an extended streak of criminal activity, my pose and I caught another player and instead of killing them on the spot, we rode into the swamp and threw them into the garter infected waters. I got the idea to act like a friend. Best pc games 2017

On a less absurd note, I set myself a constant goal of earning strictly enough money from hunting to buy cool-weather gear and a fine rifle. I am going to hike in the mountains and find the best way to hide there, a wild mountain man adorned with animal skins, which almost touches the floor.

In the meantime, I’m stopping gunmen across the city by running through the streets and calling for a parley. I am participating in an eight-player ballroom. I am living the life of a normal cowboy in the best shepherd game. I hope it clears up soon.

RDR2 PC System Requirements

OS : Windows 7 SP1 64bit

Graphics   Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280

Processor:   Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD FX-6300

Memory:    8 GB RAM

DirectX:   Version 11 Or 12 Support

Storage: 150 GB

[rekkingcrew]

Rek DMs, Some Thoughts

Buckle up, it’s Edge of the Empire tabletop Roleplaying time.

Yeah, I know I don’t post here much. I’m still doing the devaron’s angels thing, which is scratching a lot of my online itches, and I’ve got a part time job and full time parenting. 

I’d really planned on doing regular updates of what happened each session. Aaaaand that didn’t happen. Which is a shame, I’d love to be able to have those summaries to look back on. But here’s the short version:

The gang, who are a crew of space chancers and criminals rolling around in a stolen police ship, were doing odd jobs together for a while, including some for the empire. Their contact, a Pantoran spymaster whose cover was as a children’s entertainer, congratulated them on their most recent heist job (where the campaign started in medias res), and gave them a new job: deliver a mysterious sealed orb to the leader of the peskiest rebel cell in the general area, led by a Rodian pirate by the name of Cheng Maxeda. They said maybe, took the orb, and then checked around and picked up a delivery job for their local Hutts going the same direction for some extra cash. 

They were brought in because the Hutt shipments had been interfered with by somebody. Their Hutts weren’t sure who, but were damn sure they were going to pay. The gang defeated a whole crazy mess of people who were being lead and bolstered by a falleen who had been surgically altered to boost their pheromone output. Then they picked up the package and made the poor decision of looking inside. It was the carbonite frozen but still living body of the cop who’d previously owned their ship that they were now knowingly handing over, because they couldn’t bring themselves to cross the Hutts. 

Moral issues aside, it was an easy job, they got well paid, the team failed a bunch of social roles and divulged more information than they should have to the Hutt point man, and Brick, the party’s wall of meat, got signed up for a pit fight. He won his round, but imperial troops broke up the match before he could win completely. TK cornered but lost a rebel bomber, and Eshi got contacted by a rebel who recognized him from a bit of backstory. Nyla chased down one of the other gladiators, an old clone with a sword who’d entered the fight because the prize included a bacta dunk and he had a friend who was hurt and dying after being caught by the Hutts trying to bust up a slaving operation. And that’s when the bomb went off, destroying some major imperial instillation bits and projecting a 40 foot holo-image of Cheng the punk rock rodian pirate queen striding across the smoking crater proclaiming she had come to liberate the outer rim. The party was presented with three job options: 1) after Brick’s pit win, the Hutts were down some muscle for a convoy and ready to pay reliable thugs 2) the rebels were looking for a study ship to bust up the hub of a spy satellite network 3) the clone and his weequay buddy (Edge and Horm) still wanted to stop the slave convoy (which was, as the party figured out, job 1). They opted for job 2, leaving town amidst a firefight with the imperials, and brought along Edge and Horm, providing Nyla with a sword fighting trainer who’d studied under a jedi, without being a jedi himself. 

The guys busted up the satellite base by hijacking a shipment truck coming in (I’d provided them information for a couple of routes, including asteroid hopping amidst giant vacuum-proof winged frog monster creatures, and they figured this best matched their skillset). Inside they found tech that looked a whole lot like our droid character TK, a completely brainwashed cyborg engineer, and the control rods that were their target. TK, who is a droid with multiple program personalities, suddenly and without warning displayed a program personality they had never seen before and destroyed the computer mainframe, remembering nothing afterward. The cyborg also had hardware a good deal like Nyla’s, and contained a message begging for help from someone held against their will and being moved between facilities. They blew up the station, retrieved valuable tech, and flew off, triumphant, to get their payment from the rebels. 

The rebels welcomed the gang, who got to know the faction a little bit better. TK nearly started a gunfight, Nyla got a haircut, and Brick and Eshi developed mouse droid beer pong in order to provide historically unique droid bits to an eccentric collector for the last bit Eshi needed to build his machine from the prototype he’d stolen from the corporate sector in his backstory, which runs on two kyber crystals and provides a similar benefit to the force power “foresee”. He used this to figure out the sphere they were carrying contained an intensely virulent ship killer plague that would likely kill them as well, and they resolved to throw that in the sun. The gang foiled an assassination attempt on Cheng and got a new assignment: break her old pirate buddy out of maximum security prison (again, they were presented with several possible assignments, some of which tied in to other plots.) Nyla and Cheng also worked out mutually that they were both force sensitive. 

The prison break went off well. It was a sort of siberian gulag set up on an ice planet, plus some eight foot carnivorous burrowing worms- yeah, those walls are pretty short, prisoners, but where are you gonna run? The gang picked up some extra supplies by agreeing to break out a Hutt operative while they were there anyway. After some exciting sky battles, Nyla and Eshi turns the ship’s forward shields into a battering ram. They made short work of the guards inside, but discovered that there was an unexpected other party there- a wookie bounty hunter who was looking into the disappearance of the guy they handed over to the hutts. That guy was a tough fight even for the team’s big heavies, and they set a load of prisoners free to help them- taking the risk that the maximum security violent shipjackers would not decide to jack their ship to escape. Luckily between the two heavies and the giant devaronian pirate they just released, they were able to intimidate them into just accepting a ride off planet. Nyla, meanwhile, fought the wookie’s cat beast in an enclosed tunnel and nearly died, but won a pretty hard solo battle, enabling her to pick up the Hutt contact and a delirious nautolan who she had a force feeling about. Eshi forgot he was a reptile and went out in the ice with no coat, then defeated his own personal corpsec bounty hunter’s attempts to come at him with robots. With great success, they headed back to rebel space, got paid, and received a message that their former imperial employer was officially fucking pissed at them. Also, the nautolan was force sensitive and having visions of the inquisitor who tried to murder Nyla. 

Faced with mounting tension and the inability to continue lying to each other, the team pretty much spilled all their secrets to each other in the absolute most fun room mate meeting I have ever witnessed. Nyla is a force sensitive ex-imperial pilot ace, TK has an extra personality, Eshi has an I-assassinated-a-king level bounty and a machine that tells the future, Thirteen (the bothan spy) knew all this and told no one, Brick likes light beer, etc. They decided they really need to murder the children’s TV spy master as their next move. Their bothan spy provided them with a dossier on him and his six lieutenants. Nyla and Thirteen went to go meet the spymaster and try to throw him off, and had to fight the stealth assassin lieutenant, which they survived. Eshi hacked the slicer lieutenant and stole her state of the art surveillance droids. Brick checked up on the Hutt-embedded spy and learned she was a pretty awful person. He also ended up scheduling a rematch with the douwutin he beat in the pit fight, who the Hutts later dropped a word in that they wouldn’t mind if he just happened to kill in that fight. The group’s one cop friend, a red-string and corkboard conspiracy melitto, got attacked by assassins, because the spies and the governor were working against each other. Nyla and TK accidentally killed the master of disguise spy lieutenant without realizing who he was. They turned the surveillance droids on the Hutts and found out the Hutt-embedded spy was working against the spymaster as well. 

The spymaster was scheduled to attend the Chancellor’s day gala on Naboo, which is fancy far outside of anything the party is probably capable of pulling off, but I wanted to give them the opportunity to try. One of the spy lieutenants there, a slimy alderaanean lesser noble, has found a packet of forbidden information that had been stolen and hidden there, and the spymaster is going in person for the hand-off. Rebuffing an offer from the planetary governor, the group made a very temporary alliance with the Hutt spy to kidnap the noble spy and use him to force a meeting with the spymaster on their terms. And that’s where we are now. 

___

All in all, I’m really pleased with how this is going. I’m having a lot of fun and my players are absolutely great. I’d... assumed that would take less time to type up, and it’s leaving out a whole lot of stuff. I started this in October, so that’s about seven months worth of weekly sessions. That it breaks pretty easily into arcs, I feel, speaks pretty well for what I’d intended of it. I have SO MANY FUCKING named NPCs. It’s over 50 at last count. Factions are helping a lot. Each faction has a main plot that’s going to move along no matter what the PCs do, hitting beats whenever I need something interesting for the background. 

I’d like to keep making some posts here about what I’ve learned, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and about each player and their character. I personally think it’s interesting, and it helps me collect my thoughts. But for now I think I’m going to bed. 

[whiskeyworen]

That was a hell of an Adventure!

More Sea of Thieves adventures here! So last night, me and my friend decided to bite the bullet and try for the first Tall Tale mission series; Shores of Gold. It was pretty neat that every character we interacted with actually had dialogue and animation beyond the usual idles, and that even the skeletons talked, at least to each other (on islands where we had the mission stuff. Normal skeletons just babbled that grating rasp they usually do). It should have been an easy run but... as usual, the Seas were against us.

Right from the get-go, we ran into issue; upon leaving port, we discovered there were at least THREE active Player Galleons in the area, and most of them were... let’s just say they were either orbitting or at station-keeping near the islands we absolutely NEEDED to go onto. A few of them we waited out until they decided to do other stuff, but at least twice, a Galleon would suddenly turn around and start moving to get into a firing position, and we were forced to flee. One of the times, the other ship (while firing at us from long range) had caught some fantastic wind and had managed to cut across our course. I saw them coming, and had planned to swoop right by under their bow and kind of do a quick 90 turn and head on a new tack while they struggled to turn their pig of a ship (I’ve done this before with great success), but I misestimated just how good that wind of theirs was. So instead of cutting across their bow... I plowed our sloop almost perpendicular to them, catching them just off the starboard bow. Tremendous impact. My friend was already below decks filling holes, so before impact I was letting him know what was coming and to be FAST on those repairs. BLAM! Smashed into ship. My friend ran up to the deck, unloaded a surprising FIVE cannon shot directly into their starboard lower hull, before rushing back down to patch the holes my blunder had knocked in us. I turned us 90 to starboard to cut us away from the ship, and put us at full, perfect wind away from them. Our aft was exposed to them while we ran, but given the fact we’d just punched a LOT of holes in their hull, and galleons are bitch to fix even with full crew, we managed to gain a lot of ground. That must have been enough for that crew, because instead of chasing us, they turned and either headed back to port, or headed out on whatever their mission actually was. I’d like to think my kamikaze run on them scared the crap out of them. Or that they were so low on repair tools they needed to find landfall fast to keep the boat floating. LoL A few other galleons later, and a few Megalodon attacks later, we managed to get to a few of the islands we needed. Uneventful stuff, honestly. Well, except for that time another team had come swooping in, and we had to book it. As a matter of security, only one of us was ever off the ship at a time, so the other could escape getaway with our ship. This saved our hides no less than FIVE times. At one point, during a ‘Hunt the Skeleton Lord’ mission, my friend was left on shore while I had to run for open water. I didn’t go far though; a little ways away there was a cluster of jagged, giant rocks in rough water. I carefully moved directly between them, to a place no ship would want to chase me without CAREFUL moves, and killed my acceleration. Not anchored; I wanted a bit of drift. I sat there, relaying what I was doing while my friend relayed his encounters on the island. Apparently he ambushed a team of FOUR and beat the tar out of them, and then used the island’s guns to punch about ten holes in the hull of their parked ship. He told me later that they seemed really unskilled in combat, and we found out much later that they had left a bunch of chests either half-dug or undug all over the place. My friend felt bad because it’s very possible he’d encountered a squad of true new people, under the guidance of one medium player, and he’d absolutely destroyed their treasure hunting fun. I felt bad too..for a moment. Then I pointed out that this crew might have been the ones chasing and firing on us earlier. In which case, they’re not all THAT nice...just unskilled.  Once they get skilled, they’re a threat. Fastforward a while, and we finally get back to port to finish the Shroudbreaker mission (part 1 anyway), and I’m scouring the island for supplies. Then...this happens. Me: *turns a corner and finds a badly beaten Sloop parked off shore, completely opposite of where ours was supposed to be parked* “Oh shit! There’s a sloop here! Get the ship and get the hell out of here!” Friend: “Uh, yeah I know. There’s someone on OUR ship right now.” Me: “What?! What are they doing? Can you fight them off?!” Friend: “They’re.. They’re repairing our hull?” Me: “Repairing our... what? They’re actually fixing the ship??” At this point the other Sloop comes apart as the player scuttles her. Friend: “Yeah. They fixed one of the holes I missed I guess. And now they’re cooking food.” Me: “I’m totally confused now. You mean they’re not trying to raid us?” Friend: “Doesn’t look like it. I’m checking our stuff, but I don’t see anything missing. They’re just...cooking food below decks right now. You gotta come see this.” So I did. Sure enough, waiting for me on the upper deck with a freshly cooked splashtail was a female avvie player by the name of BlackByrd something. Had a bunch of numbers. They offered me the fish, which I took, gave my thanks, and then... they went to a part of the ship and started fishing. I didn’t know what to make of this. We had a mission to do that might take us into Red Water territory (with the mission making the area safe for us), but if this person hung onto our ship, they’d die when we hit red water. They hadn’t done anything hostile, and in fact, were just... they were just fishing. So we took a break. All three of us just fished for like, an hour, cooking food and stuff. It was surreal. Finally we decided to head out. Seems that BlackByrd didn’t have a mic, and was playing the PC version of the game, because they had access to the chat window. So we headed for a few of the closer island to get stuff we needed, while they kept fishing off the bow of the ship. Sadly, our surreal little experience with our hitchhiker finally came to an end. Not a bad end, but a sad one. As we started to head into the Wilds, Blackbyrd stopped fishing and came up to the wheeldeck and waved at me. So I waved back. They turned to my friend and waved to him, and he too, returned the wave. Then they jumped overboard. I guess it was time for them to go, or they didn’t want to go on OUR adventure, preferring to fish instead. I wish them the best. They reminded me that not ALL players want to massacre each other. There were a few other encounters, but the last one that stood out was a Skeleton ship that had somehow managed to not only jam its bow into the docks of Plunder Outpost, but had physically bottomed out her hull on the shoreline beneath, stopping her dead. We didn’t think Skeleton ships could even get NEAR outposts, but this one looked legitimately docked (which can’t happen. It was just jammed in so perfectly). Of course, we took a bunch of potshots at it, and cracked its hull with our only explosive barrel. We even got aboard and raided a few of its treasures before the crew realized we were there. (literally walked on from the dock. That’s how close they were) Btw, this was a tough ship; all the deck crew were gold-plated skeletons, while they had about 7 below decks crew of Crew Skeletons (as opposed to normal skeletons). Crew have slightly higher reflex rate and MUCH better aim. Long story short, that ship bellied out enough that game physics required it to roll off the sandbar and into deeper water. So we chased it around the island, before I managed to trick it into literally ramming the side of the island where it is rocky. She LIFTED out of the water. Only her rudder was still in the soup. By this point we were angry that such a simple shipkill had become an annoyance (seventeen Jigballs fired at us, as well as continuous Anchorballs gets you that way), so we used up the last of our cannonshot pounding her until she finally keeled. She keeled right at the secondary docks, so we just parked, waited, and claimed our glory. Missions accomplished, next step completed, and treasure turned in, we logged out for the night. It wasn’t the best run. But it was interesting. Hope BlackByrd caught a nice fish while we were gone.

[forumsblog858]

Homeworld 2 For Mac

Homeworld 2 For Macbook Pro

Homeworld 2 For Mac Catalina

Homeworld 2 Mac Download Full Game

Homeworld 2 For Mac Iso

Homeworld 2 For Mac High Sierra

Gameplay Sound Graphics Value

Publisher:Aspyr MediaGenre: ActionMin OS X: 10.2.6 CPU: G4 @ 800 MHz RAM: 256 MB Hard Disk: 1600 MB 8x CD-ROM Graphics: 32 MB VRAM

Nov 24, 2004 Hi folks, So I picked up homeworld 2 for mac having played it on a friend's PC, but really missed the ability to add mods for multiplayer games when i played it on mac. I even emailed Aspyr, but they were no help. Then the other day i came across a an explanation for how to do it, at least.

Homeworld 2 November 1, 2004 | Michael Yanovich

Pages:123Gallery

Secondly Homeworld 2 was written and ported to the Mac in such a way that you can take advantage of many of the great game mods out there. I've run the version of the game wherein all the ships are Legos, for example.

The Homeworld Remastered Collection introduces Relic's acclaimed space strategy games Homeworld and Homeworld 2 to modern players and operating systems using the newest sophisticated graphics rendering technology, plus a fully remastered score and new, high fidelity voice recordings by the original actors.

Click to enlarge

I never played the original Homeworld – it didn’t make it over to the Mac and I don’t own a PC – so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got this game. I’d just heard lots of positive buzz, and something about a real time strategy game set in outer space. So I wasn’t surprised when that’s exactly what I got. What did surprise me is how exceedingly cool this game is.

But first, a few words about most RTS games in general. In my experience, single player campaigns start off fairly slow and easy and gradually introduce new units as the storyline progresses. Many players finish up the single player campaign and then move on to multiplayer battles over the internet, where experience levels really matter. That is to say, most of us can beat a single player game with enough save points and a couple of tries. You just don’t have to be an especially good player. But multiplayer games tend to fall into two categories. The first, games with a few friends, all of whom know the game basics but aren’t particularly amazing. Then there are those players you frequently run into in online ladder games, opponents who are really great players. They know the ultimate build sequences, unit locations, rush strategies, resource gathering patterns… they have the entire battle plan in their head before they even start a game.

Well, maybe it’s just me but Homeworld 2 seems to require you be the second kind of player – the highly skilled one – to really get into this game. This is clearly not meant for casual gamers, and frankly I felt a bit overwhelmed at times. But even in the midst of a heavy battle where I was getting my butt kicked, I loved this game!

There seems to be a decent story here, which is told in stylized animated cutscenes with top notch voice acting. I confess to not fully understanding the major plot points, mainly because the “Here’s what happened in the last game” intro wasn’t particularly clear. But whatever. Seems like humanity’s survival is in jeopardy and you must lead a ragtag fleet of ships through space on a lonely quest for a planet known as Earth. Oops, that’s Battlestar Galactica. Sorry! Anyway, change the word Earth to Homeland and you’ll be relatively close to this game’s plot.

I know I’m in the minority when I say stories aren’t that important in many games. If I wanted a plot I’d watch a movie or read a book. Gamewise, the only story points I care about are the ones I need to know in order to play the game. But I will admit that these cutscenes were entertaining enough that I actually paid attention to what was going on, which seemed like a lot of “we’re getting our butts handed to us, let’s run before we lose more ships,” followed by a brief, “Whew, we’re safe! Let’s rest. What? Drat! They found us! Quick, fight them so we can run again!”

Homeworld 2 For Macbook Pro

And that’s fine by me. It kept me focused on the end goal of saving our species from the alien hoards. But in all seriousness, there does seem to be enough of a plot to keep story fans satisfied in between epic battles. And that’s what this game is all about. Epic. Freakin’. Battles!

Pages:123Gallery

In 1999, Relic Entertainment’s groundbreaking Homeworld took the gaming world by surprise. Still widely regarded as the gold standard of space real-time strategy games, it successfully coupled lush graphics with a sleek interface that made manipulating camera angles and toggling between build and formation menus in 3D space incredibly easy. Homeworld 2 takes the original and upgrades it. With a new game engine, especially during massive battles of all ship classes, you can’t help but admire its finer points, from its lovely dynamic lighting to its chilly “realism.â€

The Homeworld universe is “hard†science fiction, as opposed to, say, StarCraft. The large, complex battles it depicts have an austere, clinical feel that’s more admirable than immersive, regardless of the camera angle. But it’s great hard sci-fi, and the visuals really suck you in —literally—as you zoom in closer like a jeweler with a loupe, and the distant flashes gradually coalesce into thousands of stories unfolding. For a game totally devoid of visible living organisms, Homeworld 2 compensates by making you care about simulated husks of flying machinery. Your people live inside those fragile husks, fly them, die in them—the exhaust trails become their souls. As in Homeworld, you feel for these poor trusting bastards scrounging for asteroids out in the middle of genuine nowhere.

Which is partly what makes much of the martinet story campaign such a bummer. Homeworld’s poignant air of cosmic mystery is largely absent; here everything’s all grueling puzzle and puzzling grind. Instead of offerings like Homeworld’s wonderfully eerie Garden of Kadesh, the sequel gives you exhausting debacles like the fourth mission, in which doing things in sequence directly opposite from what’s suggested is not only possible but proves a tenth as ulcerous, and the outright sadistic red herring of the tenth one. There’s no let-up, just an overriding sense of attrition and hopelessness as you watch your entire “persistent†fleet get persistently pulverized many times over.

It’s not just the difficulty either, but the logic. The third mission introduces marine frigates, which “capture†enemy ships in multiplayer, but in single-player only give the misleading impression of being able to do so (including attaching to the ship and displaying a steadily increasing “capture barâ€). Also annoying is the automatic collection of resources. The lack of such an option was, ironically, one of the few valid criticisms leveled at Homeworld. Here, automatic collection occurs the second you’ve completed your mission goals, which entails starting the next level short-handed.

The storyline has its moments, but after Cataclysm’s strange, daring waters, Homeworld 2’s scavenger-hunt plotline feels for most of its length like an almost spitefully conventional rehash, top-heavy with extra-galactic ancient races that no longer exist except as convenient plot devices. (The whole thing’s an anthropomorphized riff on David Brin’s Uplift novels, which take space combat imagery to heights Homeworld 2 can only dream of). Your new enemies, the Vaygr, have swanky vertical missile launchers but don’t seem inherently distinct as a culture from your own Hiigarans; they are supposed to represent a “conglomeration of races.â€

Homeworld 2 For Mac Catalina

Homeworld’s interface involved toggling to separate screens for building ships and researching technologies, but there were few options, it never seemed cumbersome. Here the menu takes up a third of the screen, obscuring your view of the luscious space graphics, and you can’t move or shrink it. Hitting R minimizes the research menu, but B doesn’t minimize the build menu. For all their bigness, the menus don’t seem to use their space wisely; it makes you long for the minimalist simplicity of the sensors manager.

Many basics feel harder, although you get used to them. You now build the smaller ships in complete squadrons, presumably to make the battles bigger and more spectacular, but clicking on an individual ship gives you the relative health of the entire squadron at the bottom of the screen, which is less precise. Why not an AI setting to have ships auto-dock when they’re near death? Why can’t collectors auto-repair? Why no patrol? How about being able to assign docked craft to groups? Alt-bandboxing a group of ships that includes hostiles doesn’t show a list of all those selected, as it did in the original and Cataclysm

The beloved formations such as sphere and claw have been abandoned for new, more efficient “strike groups,†fleets that can include multiple ship types but move at the speed of their slowest unit. Familiarity with these is a major factor in combat, but the rock-paper-scissors consequences of using each type are barely touched on in the slender manual, itself a mockery of the original game’s thick, detailed documentation.

For all its clumsy new baggage and rushed feel, Homeworld 2 takes itself seriously, designed from the ground up as a reward to the faithful rather than an olive branch to the casual newcomer. The lucky few up to its Sisyphean challenges will find themselves rewarded for their loyalty.

Homeworld 2 Mac Download Full Game

System Requirements: Pentium 500 MHz, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB Video, Win98

Homeworld 2 For Mac Iso

Buy Game www.gog.com store.steampowered.com

Download Demo fileplanet.com

Vintage Website www.relic.com

Homeworld 2 For Mac High Sierra

Tags: Free Download Homeworld 2 PC Game Review

[fromtheground39-blog]

10 Years of Gaming PCs - 2015 - 2019 (Part 2)

ah PC gaming in one way or another. It'S provided countless hours days weeks, even years of entertainment to generations of enthusiasts around the globe or discs, as it were. These last 10 years have been something of a roller coaster, ride for enthusiasts and novices alike, and today we begin our story, one of sloth and greed, of loss, rebirth and a never-ending thirst for more so make yourself comfortable. As we take you back in time and celebrate PC gaming in the only way, we know how I feel like a bunch of gaming PC's, it's gonna be fun. You ready, oh, and it's brought to you by actually powered by C sonic and brought to you by LG's ultra gear. Ultra wide gaming displays yeah any news crew ever to the first chapter of our story begins way back in the long long ago, time known as 2009, the 44th President of the United States of America was inaugurated. The Twilight series made its debut and James Cameron's Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, depending on your take on those events. It was either a great year or one that you'd rather forget but fear. Not 2009 was a pretty good year for PC gaming. We got Borderlands, Batman, Arkham Asylum left, 4, dead, 2 and Dragon Age Origins just to name a few to run those games Intel had just launched the core. I series as a replacement for the core twos that had gone toe-to-toe with AMD in the years prior. As a result, while the Linfield core i7 handily outperformed its core 2 quad predecessors, the price for those older chips fell steadily as the new platform found its legs and they remained a highly popular choice for builders, especially with early ddr3, costing a pretty penny and not Significantly outperforming the outgoing ddr2, so our build then is equipped with everything we need to make a great 2009 gaming machine, a Core 2 quad, q96 50 with gorgeous Zellman flower cooler on it, 4 gigs of ddr2, 800, dual Radeon, HD, 59, 70s in crossfire and, of Course, Windows 7, all for just under 18 hundred US dollars at the time, so I was actually pretty into both of these games. I guess I'll go with Dragon Age. It'S probably the more graphically demanding of the two and a have. You actually tried these games. I loaded them up to make sure they launched in that they're in the right resolution. But aside from that, Oh nope, you're, gonna, have to create a character and everything I actually probably don't have to do that I could. I could remote into my computer at home and load up my safe. I think I still have it alright. So, theoretically, I've thrown my old save file for a lira in here, but I don't know vps hosting seattle if it's actually gonna work. There'S a previous folder that has like a portrait stuffin, it man. I remember this. Alright, let's see if it's in their caverns whoa. Actually that ain't bad. I think I was kind of an evil character, which is why my face ends up looking kind of like scary and stuff arcane bolt winters grasp slowdown, you hoser finding the controls a little clutch in it in this after this. After so long, all right, obviously don't know any of my my binds here. Oh it's immune to fire, not that makes sense how about some lightning for you there. You know it's funny new games or they definitely look better, but this looks all right. Doesn'T it yeah? I mean like most of the graphical fidelity is made up in the lighting. I think, because the textures don't really hold up very well today, no they've aged for sure that was definitely a trip down nostalgia Lane. But one thing I won't miss is how loud gaming machines were back then and how bad the cable management options were. This case sucked the following year, saw Bioshock 2 hits Steam libraries along with Battlefield, Bad Company, 2 sip 5 Mass Effect, 2 and Starcraft 2 wings of Liberty. Carrying on this pattern of sequels AMD's new Phenom, 2 X, 6 offered more threads than the core twos did at a price much lower than the core AI series, particularly when it comes to the supporting hardware. This made it a favorite among enthusiasts, looking for something better than a Core 2 quad and a multi-threading workload without breaking the bank, because, while it was slower per thread, it held its own in most titles, wider availability of ddr3 made for a lower early adopter tax. Although ddr2 would remain much less expensive for some time to come, our 2010 gaming PC, therefore, is equipped with a phenom, 2, x6 10:55 T 4 gigabytes of ddr3 1333 and twin Radeon, HD 6970 s still rocking Windows, 7 or again just shy of 1800 dollars in 2010 well remember when you could right-click on Network crap in the bottom right and then you would well ok when it wasn't broken like that yeah and then you could just go to your network configurations. I did do that all right. So what are we trying to run out here again, 34, 40 by 1440, so full ultra wide. As you can see, it doesn't exactly scale the intro graphics, very well. No, but once again the textures are a little rough and a mocap technology definitely had a long way to go back then, compared to now you can definitely tell when things like godrays are hard-coded versus dynamically generated by the engine by the light sources. Yeah in this case, if you removed all the geometry in the scene, those godrays would still be there. He looks like he just smelled something bad, so this game apparently scales to ultra wide by narrowing your vertical field of view. That'S not a great gaming experience. Ultra wide support has definitely gotten a lot better over the years, so our number 10 bulb is actually cut off, and so is our point decrease button here. Well, I'm not sure how to proceed from here. To be honest, wha-wha 2011 brought us a huge number of hot titles like portal to Sky roll. Oh, that's! A pretty dead beam, sorry Skyrim, deus ex human revolution and everyone's favorite masochism, simulator, Dark Souls but 2011 was also a dark year for AMD. With the release of Sandy Bridge and Intel's new consumer LGA 1156 platform, until not only had a very fast line up of CPUs at their disposal, but a cost-effective one at that, AMD's response in the form of bulldozer failed on all counts, giving them a reputation as The cheap option that would take years to overcome now because in the early days hyper threading had a tendency to negatively impact gaming performance. There was very little reason to go with the high end core i7 2670 500k with 4 gigs of ddr3 ram, whose price had come down a fair bit since 2010. Now, this time around, we've gone green team for our graphics card, because in videos, GTX 590 outperformed AMD making it the goat card for over-the-top monster machines. But it was also around this time that enthusiasts began to shy away from dual GPU solutions due to the prevalence of micro, stuttering. The GTX 590 would be among the last such consumer cards from Nvidia this year we picked up check this link right here now an SSD for the first time, bumping our total build price to nearly 1,900 dollars, and that SSD option is something we'll be keeping in. All future builds unlike Windows, 7. For which, sadly, the road ends here, one thing that was a big deal that we didn't cover in the blurb for this year is that the define was pretty much the defining case of this time. Unlike the p180 series from an tech that preceded it, it was actually affordable, so you could get a nice looking quiet, discreet case. Without now I actually never actually played Skyrim when I was big into oblivion, but I never played this one. This is the one that everybody played. I know right, I got ta say the texture quality, even just in the loading screens, is feels more than a year ahead of what we were just looking at. That'S a huge difference, and this is even without the modding community. Coming in and fixing it for us yep, however, the 8k texture packs that were available for this wasn't actually 8k, but you know: should we just jump to one of the towns sure you watch out boom yeah you like that boom right fist, let's just oh he's, Got a sword boom, wow, wow, wow, oh great, a sword. Go nice, just got a knife or maybe he only had a knife in the first place. Wow. Oh, I have an axe. How do I equip it? Let'S go axe, some shiz lightning axe, oh wow! This is how waiting works in this game, yeah that is so ugly and unnecessary wow. This is really a much much better looking game, though it's still, it still doesn't hold up that well compared to modern stuff, like you can really tell a lot of the assets and the trees are obviously reused. Shadows are very lifeless feeling mm-hmm. It'S a shadow map. The trees don't move, you know, yeah no breeze, but one of the things that was really great about this game was draw distance like you could really look out into the distance and feel like you were in an immense world. Well, the world didn't end in 2012. It wasn't an outstanding year for gaming as a whole, either standouts include far cry 3 XCOM enemy, Unknown Borderlands, 2 and csgo. The CPU world, meanwhile, arguably came to a halt. Ivy Bridge was a modest tick to Sandy bridges, talk representing a die shrink and not much else. Pci Express 3.0 became a thing and they updated the integrated graphics and improved quick sync support, but neither of those things were earth-shattering at the time. Still, as gamers moved on to the new architecture, the lessons of the previous generation carried forward to this one to so many went with the core i5 this time around, and so did we, the 35 70k powers, our rig this year, along with 8 gigabytes of very Inexpensive RAM and the Radeon HD 7970, which, despite its slightly lower performance out of the gate, mostly kept pace with Nvidia's Kepler and eventually I performed it in the long haul, thanks to its larger frame buffer. At least this build costs less than last year's at just over 1,800, but we're now also running Windows 8, so have fun. With that, I never actually played Far Cry 3, even though I played the first one and loved. It played the second one and literally had my save game tanked because it had autosave and then it auto saved when I was too far from anywhere to recover from some poison or something oh, tennisforum.com/members/346995-routerhost.html?simple=1#aboutme the malaria yeah. So I couldn't I couldn't do anything so my save game got played. This is a crappy game anyway. So yeah didn't bother with this one, even though it was supposed to be good yeah, they skewed a little bit less towards the realism aspect of this one. You know, as far as I know, I was the first North American retailer to bring in the define r2 really yeah. We brought in almost a container of them at a time when they were basically a completely unknown brand. It was like a huge gamble for me as a product manager. They had their issues. I remember there was a big scandal where there learn the facts here now their front USB was like wired up wrong or something Oh, and they had to send us a bunch of like replacement USB harnesses, and I was like what am I gonna do with these, like. You expect me to have someone go in the back and replace all your stupid front panel, cabling literally open every case. I guess they expected them to like be shipped with the cases or something that was ultimately the solution making the customer deal with it, but it was not a good time. People were not happy. Facial animations have come a long way in even just a few short years now. They'Ve come a long way further. Since then, these releases here with specular, highlights, are much better than previous. Yet like we're getting to the point now where I'm not gonna play this game and go oh there's a little yeah see the highlights on those packages yeah, and you can see them in people's eyes too yeah the eyes, especially it gives them a lot more Life vegetation still looks pretty static. Mutants on this is pretty good as well, but I can tell that, like it kind of cuts off around there part of it too, is that they've also applied a depth of field effect. That was something that didn't come into play until around this time. Yep 2013 brought comparatively few, but major releases like battlefield, 4, dota, 2 and Saints Row. 4 AMD wasn't having much fun, though, and their desperate attempts to compete by both lowering their prices and increasing their clock speeds and therefore power consumption never quite managed to break them. Free of the rut they found themselves in has well, then, was the next talk, and this time around, we actually did get a bit of a performance boost, even if it was a single-digit one. Thanks to a move to Intel's 22 nanometer FinFET manufacturing process, hyper-threading also became more useful this year. As the concept of streaming your gaming began to take off in earnest, and the core i7 4770k was also clocked higher than the core i5 variant. So that's what we went with along with 16 gigs of fast ddr3 ram and a geforce gtx 780 Ti Kepler. Second outing certainly did a lot better than the first and unfortunately, for AMD. Radeon, still to this day, hasn't made a return to the top of the benchmark chart. This year, windows 8.1 made its debut, but I don't know that anyone actually cared outside of the fact that it was a free upgrade for Windows 8 users which I guess might have helped a little with the ballooning prices of enthusiasts PC hardware. This build all told commanded, a total of just over 2,100 u.s. dollars now. This is where we get into the games. That really make me say, is this even that old like I could play this game today, and it would be perfectly fine. This is battlefield. 4 textures look freakin, awesome, high res lighting. Reflections are handled differently depending on the type of surface that the light is hitting can actually see objects that move into the god rays, get illuminated by them. Like my gun. A lot of the improvements here aren't even just in technology they're, also in style like you, can really just tell how much more attention to detail is put into mocap yeah character models. These are so detailed compared to the ones that we were looking at at the beginning hall that bloom, yeah and lens flare love it like a really complex lens flare to the final year, represented in this first part of our series is 2014, which was another relatively Light year for high-profile releases with Dark Souls, 2 alien isolation, shadow of Mordor and The Sims 4 representing as for hardware and it's Ivy Bridge all over again. But worse. Tik-Tok and boars law largely fell apart this year and instead of a new microarchitecture or anything of substance, we got Haswell refresh literally just the core clock, improvement and, admittedly much needed more efficient Tim. We did get a new chipset to go with it, though, which, for the first time implements nvme support, not that anyone had any use for that at the time. But hey a features, a feature. So we went with a core i7 4790k, along with 16 gigabytes of ddr3 just like last time, but now we're dropping our hard drive in favor of a faster large SSD. The other main difference is in Nvidia's Maxwell based GTX 980, a complete rework of Kepler that improved efficiency and overall performance to running on the same process. Node. That was a pretty impressive feat and AMD wouldn't release their response until the following year. Mercifully, total cost is down significantly this year, and this will also be the last year that we build with Windows 8.1 with that said, I'm sure that there are still some fans of it out there somewhere. So this is alien isolation and yeah. One of the things that you'll notice - it's got Medicaid, yes, yeah, that's kind of the aesthetic of this, but it was also something that kind of became popular in around this time. Right. Real-Time Instagram filters yeah. So, as you can see, it's like fine when we're looking right at it, but if we move the camera yeah you get that red fringing on it yeah. I think I'll go green over here. That'S cute, yep lighting effects are so natural and it's amazing how much of a difference that makes I mean the graphics card manufacturers are constantly talking about how lighting is such a key component to making a game look more natural and more immersive, but, as we've gone Through this six years of gaming PC's, it's like yeah, certain things have improved like textures, but lighting is definitely the one that has been the most game-changing pardon, the pun, yeah and, like this watery effect here, the way the light plays off. Of that. That'S something that just didn't happen in previous generations, so much subtlety to it like just areas on the carpet that are more lit, like we've, got actual light, bounces yeah. So as we come out here, we can see that you know the carpet here. Well, it's not really carpet but like it's way less well, you lost shiny than this. This trim is yeah. It used to be that, like going back to really old games like doom three, just like the entire environment felt shiny if they wanted to have light reflecting off anything like they elect subtlety yeah, Full Article and in this case you can kind of see here like the way They did with the bump mapping here yeah. It looks shiny, but also greedy at once, which is a really difficult thing to pull off on previous generations. I remember it being a big deal to even be able to reflect the environment scope before this. Oh yeah yeah used to be like he was read an orchestra. You could have something that was either like a static scope or you could have a low resolution or a high-resolution reflection yeah, and there was a significant performance penalties for enabling it. It was a discrete menu option. Man, this the steam effects here, looked great yeah. The fact that, like when you go by them and the the light is no longer I mean it's that's kind of a screen space thing, but it kind of also works because it no longer is in your your field of vision. So it kind of just fades out so this first half of the last decade represented a steady decline in hardware improvements in innovation year over year. But somehow, on the software side of the gaming industry, they still managed to squeeze far more realism and image quality out of said hardware. Now some believed that this decrease in performance improvement would continue ad infinitum as a result of the death of Moore's law and the future. Indeed looked pretty dim. In 2014, it seemed as though PC gaming would begin to drop off, along with the decline in PC shipments. In general, but stay tuned folks, because for part two, where we go from 2015 all the way up to today. Well, let's just say if you're new - and you don't already know how this ends, I think you're gonna be surprised at where things go from here. What will be a surprise is this segue to our sponsors for today's video, LG and C sonic, who provided these monitors and, of course, literally powered all of our systems here? So if you guys are looking for a great gaming experience, LG's Ultra Gear gaming monitors are a fantastic choice. We'Re gonna have those linked in the video description and also down. There is gonna be some c sonic power supplies, no matter what kind of a rig you're, building small form-factor large power, sipping power, chugging, doesn't matter see Sonic's got you covered. So thanks for watching guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do, but it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button or check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured in the video description also link down, there's our merch store, which has cool shirts like this One and that one and that hoodie and our community forum, which you guys should totally join

[galacticdrift]

Tagged by @mischaetc! Tagging: the other Procyon folks, if they feel so inclined.

5 Things…

…You carry in your bag

Laptop

Wireless mouse

A book on email marketing

(I honestly forgot what else is in my backpack so I had to check) Bandaids

Like 23 hair ties, even though it’s been ages since I’ve had hair long enough for it

…Found in your bedroom

A variety of cool rocks

like, a lot of books, one whole wall is just bookshelves packed full of books (and a 6th, half-height shelf for rolled-up tshirts), I use them as sound insulation against the next unit over

My Journey cosplay outfit

An old dead computer tower

A baby gryphon puppet, which I just tried blowing the dust off of and ended up blowing various pieces of feathers & fur off of and now I feel like a murderer

…You’ve always wanted to do

See the aurora borealis (or australis, I’m not picky)

Go traveling, like the stupid classic white-boy backpacking

Go to space!

Win money at the card tables in Vegas

Fly an airplane. Or an Iron Man suit, I’m not picky.

…That make you happy

My cats!

This time of year here in Seattle -- late spring, when the sun finally comes out and mostly burns off the clouds, and suddenly it’s sunny and beautiful basically all the time, but it hasn’t gotten miserably hot yet

When some tumblr-classic post finds new life because of a recent media event/meme/whatever (like the one pic of the cheap pink car hitting the expensive black car that’s now about Semple vs Kapoor)

I recently got new bedding for my bed and it’s comfy and feels nice and I like it

I think? the elevator in my condo building? that’s been broken for A YEAR?? might finally be fixed soon????? FINGERS CROSSED

…You’re Currently Into

Audio Drama/Fiction Podcasts -- if that’s too broad, I’m currently OVERCOME WITH EMOTIONS about the upcoming last 2 eps of Greater Boston S2, and eagerly anticipating the upcoming S3 of Mabel

Uh, I’ve been reading a lot of fanfic for fandoms I’m not really in (or barely in), like McHanzo and Superhusbands. Sometimes you just want to read about some idiots in love, y’know?

My local QFC sells a mini sourdough round that’s basically the perfect size to make one-person pull-apart cheesy bread

Also on the subject of food, I got lunch from a poke place last week for the first time and it was really good. Looking forward to going back/trying other poke places in the future.

I got new toe shoes when they were on sale recently, and though previously I was having trouble finding a model and size that fit well, this pair does and I’ve been wearing them all over the place.

…On your to-do list

Well, I’ve got more writing to do for Under Pressure *sweats*

...catch up on WTNV?

there’s also like 3 dozen other audio dramas on my “gotta try this out” list

PC upgrades -- I could probably get some decent improvement just from a new video card, but really I should replace the whole CPU/motherboard/RAM chassis as well

I need to go to the dentist for the first time in *mumblemumble* years

…People may not know about you

I sang (very, very alto) in an SFF-themed a capella group in college. I don’t think there’s any audio/video recordings left out there...

I went to Space Camp as a child. People may not know this but I defy any of you to claim it’s an actual surprise.

I was a fencer throughout middle & high school (foil, epee, and saber) and even went to the Junior Nationals one year (in the lowest bracket, but still).

I was also stage crew in high school -- lights and stage manager experience.

...Which is how I got the somewhat Harry Potter-esque scar on my forehead. (*jazz hands* THEATER!)

[the-fitsquad]

Totally free Download And Install Of Windows 7 Ultimate (Genuine)

Ergonomics is becoming much more accepted and practiced in the world these days. Use of such Third celebration application, Third Party Content or Third Party Solutions is topic to the terms and circumstances of the applicable third celebration license agreements, is the sole responsibility of the third celebration originator of such software program or services and you agree to appear solely to the applicable third party and not to Equator to enforce any of your rights. Nonetheless, today’s workstations are engineered to outperform desktops in information evaluation, image manipulation and information transfer. Click the circular button which says “Adjust for very best overall performance”, and click OK. Now Windows 7 must be using the standard classic theme, and all the desktop animations in Windows 7 need to be off. Modular workstations can simply be adapted into any residence office or corporate operating environment.

With an ergonomic workstation effectively set up, you will uncover that you are much more efficient and in a position to get far more productive function completed all through the day and that you will really feel far better as properly. Take pleasure in 2X much better graphics1 and an automatic burst of power for greater efficiency to perform and play. The mass media are hence instruments for Baudrillard of a “cold seduction” whose narcissistic charm consists of a manipulative self-seduction in which we take pleasure in the play of lights, shadows, dots, and events in our personal thoughts as we modify channels or media and plug into the assortment of networks – media, computer, info – that surround us and that enable us to turn out to be modulators and controllers of an overwhelming panoply of sights, sounds, info, and events.

Developed for hardcore Microsoft devotees, the Insider programme offers members access to pre-release builds of Windows software, with the caveat that they’re probably to be buggy and rough about the edges. The new mobile workstations supply HP Expert Innovations, which includes HP QuickWeb three,(10) HP Power Assistant,(11) HP Connection Manager and HP ProtectTools,(12) which includes normal drive encryption for information protection. The requested operation is not supported by this version of the directory service. The Derby firm gave DEVELOP3D a preview of this new Intel technology inside a pre-production machine, which featured a pair of Intel Xeon E5-2687W CPUs, a specialist workstation chip from the new E5-2600 series. (Optional) If your organization utilizes a safety info and event management (SIEM) solution, make certain that the PAW is configured to forward events to the method making use of Windows Event Forwarding (WEF) or is otherwise registered with the answer so that the SIEM is actively receiving events and information from the PAW.

Ergonomics is an essential consideration for any workplace and another benefit of modular office furniture is that you can be assured you are meeting the ergonomic needs of your workers. Help for HP’s Z Workstations enables users, who previously didn’t have the budgets and programming expertise, to tap the energy of GPU computing to solve their growing scientific and engineering troubles. The activation server reported that it failed to insert item important binding. Discrete graphics with committed 2GB memory from NVIDIA or AMD. This figure shows how reversing the handle partnership and accessing user apps from an admin workstation gives the attacker no path to the targeted object. A complicated arrangement of multi-user workstation desks can supply optimum workspace organization.

This can be a significant advantage for workstations that store thousands of files in Office or send e-mail files as attachments. The conductors will add that auto(s), up to their 6 cars per train like caboose limit, to their switch list, and take the bill with them clipping it to the board. A split chassis architecture enables rear access to the 1700 W energy supply with a locking mechanism, 24 DIMMs and a total of 9 PCIe slots (7 complete length, full height PCIe slots and two internal PCIe personality” slots) for specialized workflows. ROUND ROCK, Texas, July 24, 2012 – Dell these days announced the next generation Dell Precision mobile workstations for engineering and design specialists who need to have uncompromising performance and dependability wherever their demanding perform requires them.

The much more powerful graphics cards can be also used to speed up rendering instances in supported applications. Of course, Windows ten desktop SKUs such as Pro and Enterprise will continue to exist, with all the identical functionality and attributes you’d anticipate from a desktop OS. Microsoft won’t be taking functionality away, and it won’t be de-emphasizing desktop with WCOS. Comparing a CAD Workstation to a individual Pc is a bit like comparing a sports automobile with a normal loved ones saloon i.e. they both have a 2. litre engine, they each have suspension, they each have four wheels and of course 4 tyres and brakes, so it is easy to assume they are the identical. The graphics card may be a consumer-grade GeForce, but it really is the leading-finish GTX 1080 model, which has massive performance possible with the right software.

Mobile desks can be ported: If your laptop desk is mobile then you can take it with you to various locations such as your office and the airport. As for the ideal specs for a graphics card: purchasing for these is potentially the most confusing component of acquiring any Computer. The dilemma is graphics card developers keep changing their rules for what the specifications on the cards truly imply. Tiny, side-by-side workstations are perfect for these who operate on computers and never want much space for dealing with clients. Do not settle for a desk with out a keyboard tray or some other way to set the keyboard height and angle properly. For the ssd I would go for anything a bit greater performance, anything like the Samsung 850 pro would have far more functionality even with smaller files (which cad typically is) even though the difference isn’t that massive.

The U.S. Division of Education’s (USDE) gainful employment regulations need disclosure of particular system data for applications that lead to certificates or diplomas and are financial help eligible. The advantage of higher price tag motherboards for Xeon processors is that they try to stay away from the users to shoot their own feet. An ergonomic sitting posture at the screen and the correct parallel arrangement of the monitor, keyboard and documents are specifically important for fatigue-totally free and comfy vision at a computer function station. The HP Z840 ($ten,044 as tested) is a high-finish workstation desktop created for hypercritical engineering and scientific tasks on projects that could potentially influence thousands, if not millions, of people.

I use a an i5 laptop cpu from 2010 for SolidWorks occasionally. I got windows eight product activator finder for my Sony Pcg-gr200k laptop from about five weeks ago, you could attempt. In current years, the gap in between higher-finish desktop PCs and skilled workstations had all but closed, but the release of Haswell-primarily based Xeon processors with assistance for DDR4 RAM has re-established the divide. The IO operation at logical block address %two for Disk %3 (PDO name: %four) failed due to a hardware error. Once the guest has settled the account the FOA ought to offer the guest with a copy of the folio. Created for a wide-variety of demands, the HP Z820 gives unbelievable power at whisper-quiet levels. This hi fi gizmo also consists of USB MIDI capabilities and portable SD card data storage.

These days I will be offering information on the Ergotron WorkFit-P Sit-Stand workstation (US$299), an innovative thought to help expertise workers get on their feet for at least component of the day although operating alternatively of getting glued to a desk chair. Of course, it is music production software which has new cutting edge technologies out. The solution introductions are component of a series of launches that will continue more than the next few months, providing businesses the broadest mix of merchandise to refresh their aging desktops, workstations and notebooks. I’ve spent 20+ years instruction Content Creators on how to profit from their work via organizations like the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Digital Video Professionals Association (DVPA), National Association of Photoshop Specialists (NAPP), Wedding and Event Videographers Association (WEVA), and the Computer Graphics Society (CGS).

If you fancy oneself a energy user, HP’s got a “world’s first” trick up its sleeve that may lure you in. Earlier these days, the Palo Alto outfit took the wraps off its newest all-in-a single , the HP Z1. This workstation is a mere distant cousin to HP’s consumer-focused Omni and TouchSmart lines – not that that is a bad point. Our EZ370 music production pc remedy is primarily based about the midrange Intel Skylake i5 chip giving you a total of 6 cores of processing energy with the choice to match a i7 series chip and the capacity to overclock either choice. The self Hatred or low-esteem of African American people has definitely been overworked but is worthy our consideration in this discussion. HP’s workstation laptops are thin and light, offer you an optional touch screen, integrated numeric keypad, and exceptional battery life and can be configured with discrete graphics and mobile Xeon processors.

When you first launch VMware Workstation, you happen to be greeted with a welcome screen that permits you to swiftly produce a new virtual machine (VM), edit networks, connect to a remote server, and much more. Today’s organization Computer users need more processing power than ever prior to to run increasingly demanding applications, to guarantee they can multitask with no disruption, and to help shield against safety threats,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and basic manager, Computing and Graphics Group at AMD in a statement. A higher-finish desktop card aimed at gaming usually like it only sees a few hours at a time of maximum usage. By the way, my guess is that Amazon would favor not to have folks saying that their clients who are getting difficulty employing buyer service characteristics are lazy, or stupid, or, god forbid, “old.” My guess is Amazon would choose to discover a consumer service method that works excellent for everybody, so that absolutely everyone has a genuinely fantastic shopping knowledge.

When searching to purchase the best mobile workstation for your organization requirements, you’re not just searching for a extremely strong (and more costly) function laptop, but rather a versatile device that provides the exact same level of energy you’d count on to uncover in a desktop Computer, but within the mobile laptop kind factor. Industrial Pc Workstations Shield Pc Gear and Enhance Processes, Boosting General Productivity. This beast of raw energy is hardware in its prime, an industrial grade resolution to all CAD commitments. Tesla’s massively multi-threaded, parallel-computing architecture, the CUDA C and Fortran language environments, and OpenCL support give the utmost performance for your application. To get hardware and software assistance as shown in the list beneath, your laptop must run either the Mac OS X operating program (version 10.7 or later) or the Windows operating method (version 7 Enterprise or version 8.x Professional).

Even much more, Computer workstations are capable of supporting a massive number of connected devices, and usually include higher-bandwidth buses for maximum data transfer rates. AFC’s wall mounted healthcare pc workstation is a versatile and state-of-the-art equipment to help healthcare and healthcare providers. Very carefully developed by our in-residence workstation specialists, the CyberStation Graphics variety is ready to deal with the most demanding rendering at ultra-high speeds with multi-threaded, higher performance processors. Workplace furnishings is an very essential and integral portion of a operating atmosphere it contributes to generating the workplace a healthier and content location for an employee to be in. Even though various operate environments dictate the use of various office characteristics such as equipment, furnishings, space etc.

In between the two most developed types of GPU rendering available now (AMD-backed OpenCL and NVIDIA’s proprietary CUDA), CUDA presently provides better functionality. CSVFS failed operation as volume is not in redirected mode. I have not constructed a box from scratch yet, but I’ve been upgrading, re-purposing and modifying hardware and operating systems for my specific workflow for lengthy time. The Lenovo Thinkpad series is an additional professional grade laptop series that is perfect for workstation overall performance. It’s the 1st workplace program to support casual work and to provide comfort at the desk, in circulation spaces, and in group areas—all within a constant design vocabulary. “Adobe is thrilled with our collaboration with HP, which we know will further fuel creativity and give Inventive Cloud members more power and freedom to develop wherever inspiration strikes,” Mala Sharma, vice president and common manager of Inventive Cloud solution, advertising and community at Adobe, stated in the release.

Laptop workstations are created with a number of casters that roll smoothly more than workplace floors and often lock into location for stability. Object or information matching the name, range, or choice criteria was not located within the scope of this operation. The new SGI – that is, the mash-up of the old SGI and Rackable – has just announced the Octane III, an workplace-friendly (1-by-two-foot) tower that can sit under a (relatively big) desk whilst permitting up to 80 higher-efficiency cores with its practically 1TB of memory. Oh and relating to the price, it comes with a 4K monitor, Thunderbolt ports, HP’s nifty Remote Graphics Software program and a three-year onsite warranty, upgradable to 5 with defective media retention. Intel’s C612 chipset can assistance dual, subsequent generation Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 or E5-2600 v4 series processors.

Dual eight-core Xeon processor and Nvidia Quadro graphics. HP Z Workstations have been on the market place for more than 30 years assisting you to be inspired. If you have a modest house and want to develop a unique space for your house organization, it is time you looked into property workplace workstations. GSA’s Federal consumers buy among $1.5 and $two billion every single year in computer systems and telecommunicaions hardware, software and solutions from more than 1,000 organizations with A number of Award Schedules. Effortlessly work on highly complicated scenes with fluid project interaction with Digital Storm CAD workstations that support up to 128GB of high-efficiency DDR3 memory. That is why our workstations and desks some in endless distinct variations to suit any person requirement.

Altwork is a group of knowledgeable technology specialists, long-time buddies, and family who’ve worked on almost everything from developing the world’s fastest recumbent bicycle, to security computer software utilized by the US Government, to Burning Man art automobiles. 4. The cashier is responsible for the guest folio till the guest departs. With a variety of furnishings collections to shop from, you can very easily purchase workplace chairs and desks, office cabinets, bookcases, shelving and a lot more. For example, the Dedicated Hardware profile (separate PAW and day-to-day use workstations) might be unsuitable for an administrator who travels typically – in this case, you may select to deploy the Simultaneous Use profile (PAW with user VM) for that administrator. The HP Z620 workstation also caters to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, which rely on higher efficiency, expandability, and ultimate reliability in order finish their projects (e.g. BIM and CAD) on schedule.

It’s rare for a piece of computer software to strictly demand a graphics card any longer for most kinds of 3D computer software. If you contain distinct items at your workstation like a printer, storage cabinet or any type of office accessories which you can use often, preserve these factors in a particular spot where you can very easily access them. Peripheral equipment such as network and memory boards as nicely as a substantial application base are readily accessible from a lot of sources. Hopefully if you happen to be in the industry for workstation-class machines, you’ve discovered a factor or two and can ask your sales representatives some pointed queries about their goods. Appropriate now, no particular hardware is needed for most CAD application. 11 NVIDIA® Quadro® mobile specialist graphics support up to four independent displays when utilizing a HP ZBook Dock with Thunderbolt 3 (sold separately) or DP 1.2 hubs with MST.

A better way to maintain their items and software up-to-date without having breaking their budget. CELSIUS H770: a mobile workstation with NVIDIA Quadro graphics, a 4K resolution show, the newest mobile Intel Xeon processors and Fujitsu’s distinctive PalmSecure technologies. A workstation is a specialized, single user laptop that generally has much more energy and functions than a common desktop computer. Building a photo editing personal computer for your photography, graphic style, or video editing business allows you to choose high high quality parts that will carry out effectively for a lengthy period of time. Nonetheless, if this device have been to have hit the market, it would have likely had the greatest camera of any tablet at the time. This computer software also makes it possible for organization owners to access their data and communicate with their employees, regardless of where they are.

Moreover, users can see two apps side-by-side in split-screen mode, so they can easily perform across, for example, e mail and a word document at the very same time. HP as a company strives to provide hardware, software program, and solutions that assist decrease the carbon footprint of your IT environment. HP recently unveiled the latest updates to its Z-series workstations. CELSIUS W570power+: far more than a CAD powerhouse, this model is the smallest VR-Prepared desktop workstation on the industry and it can be configured with the most current Intel processor technology and with NVIDIA Quadro P4000 graphics in a compact 21-liter design. Our MG model workbenches and our Monobloc benches are developed to make the transport and storage of the benches simpler and to keep their sturdiness unchanged.

Jim Zafarana, vice president and general manager for HP’s Industrial Solutions Business Unit (a 27-year HP employee), and Director of Workstation Engineering Ron Rogers (a 30-year HP employee) are common members of the veteran management right here, most of whom have been employed right here for many years. Pc is Waking up, but after windows boot, there is no network conections and untill disable and allow network card there is NO conection. Couple this with up to two separate, but integrated graphics cards and the capability to run up to four full-performance 3D monitors or eight 2D monitors simultaneously and you have a designer’s dream machine. Just getting the Z8 box with out considerably inside will expense you $2,439, but if you want, say, a pair of the most current Xeon Platinum 8180M chips with 28 cores each and every and two of NVIDIA’s 24GB P6000 Quadro graphics adapters, those products alone would run you a cool $35,000.

Working from home need to be an enticing idea for many people, but reality suggests that not absolutely everyone seems to be cut out for it. Net forums committed to discussion of the perform-from-home experience function countless threads about telecommuters, self-employed experts and company owners possessing a hard time becoming productive. The Z2 Mini G3 Desktop Workstation can either be placed on a flat surface, mounted behind a show, or beneath a desk. 64-bit computing on Intel® architecture needs a personal computer program with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating program, device drivers, and applications enabled for Intel® 64 architecture. Train eight had to turn their engine on the turntable, then create it. Some of their vehicles were buried behind loaded vehicles and had to be dug out.

It mixes standard x86 CPUs with specialized processing units that aid the chip take on heavy workloads. HP supplied me with a Z800 comprehensive with two Intel® Xeon® W5580 processors at three.2GHz , 12GB RAM, a NVIDIA Quadro FX4800 video card, and operating with Windows Vista. Desks, hutches, writing tables and more perform together to make your space functional and comfortable. Welcome, then, to the Surface for Windows 8 Pro , which promises all the niceties of the Surface RT – compelling design and style, construct high quality, efficiency – with full support for x86 Windows applications. Interest in Mac devices is rising as Apple has worked to make their devices integrate better with Windows primarily based networks and as software help on Mac devices has enhanced.

from KelsusIT.com – Refurbished laptops, desktop computers , servers http://bit.ly/2NczzVv via IFTTT

[danielphowley]

Dell's XPS 13 (2018) is easily one of the best laptops you can buy

The Dell XPS 13 has been one of my favorite laptops since the company first revamped the line with a near-edgeless display and super-slim design in 2015. And like Apple and its MacBooks, Dell has decided to offer incremental, but meaningful updates to the XPS 13 over the years.

Which brings us to the latest incarnation of the Dell XPS 13. Available starting at $999, the 2018 version of the XPS 13 includes a thinner display bezel, improved performance, realigned webcam and, most noticeable of all, a beautiful rose gold and white color combination to compliment the current silver and black offering.

Dell’s clearly got a winner on its hands, and when it comes to the competition for your cash, this notebook comes out on top.

Rose-colored glasses

Dell’s latest XPS 13 is the first to be made available with a rose colored chassis and white keyboard deck, for an extra $50, of course. The styling has received rave reviews around my office, save for the white keyboard deck and palm rest, which at least one coworker found off-putting.

The reason you don’t see many white palm rests is because they tend to stain easily. To ensure the XPS 13’s palm rest stays clean, Dell manufactured it with woven glass fiber. I’ve had the notebook for a few weeks, and haven’t noticed any stains from things like sweat, oil, food or drinks, which would typically accumulate on my laptops’ palm rests.

(Ed.’s note: That’s gross.)

If you opt for the rose gold XPS 13, you’ll also get a white keyboard deck and palm rest. Choose wisely.

Outside of its new color scheme, the updated XPS 13 trims about 0.14 inches off of last year’s model, making it one of the thinnest 13-inch laptops on the market. In fact, the XPS is slimmer than all of Apple’s (AAPL) MacBooks, as well as Microsoft’s (MSFT) Surface Laptop and Surface Pro with that device’s keyboard attached.

In reality, though, the weight and thickness of most modern laptops have reached a point where you won’t notice much of a difference between one or the other. It’s more about bragging rights now than anything else.

More screen

Since its debut, the redesigned XPS 13’s claim to fame has been its near-edgeless InfiniteEdge Display. For 2018, Dell went even further in its attempt to make the laptop’s bezels disappear by shrinking them by 23%. I didn’t notice the change at first sight, but if you’ve got a 2017 or older model, you should see the difference.

The base model XPS 13 comes with a 13.3-inch, non-touch, 1,920-  x 1,080-pixel resolution panel. You can, however, upgrade that to a 13.3-inch, 4K touch screen panel with a 3,840- x 2,160-pixel resolution. The Surface Pro comes with a 12.3-inch, 2,736- x 1,824-pixel display, while the Surface Laptop gets a 13.5-inch, 2,256- x 1,504-pixel screen.

The XPS 13’s 13.3-inch InfiniteEdge display offers crisp, colorful visuals.

Apple’s MacBook features a 12-inch display with a 2,304- x 1,440-pixel resolution. The MacBook Pro gets 2,560- x 1600-pixel panel. All of these screens, with the exception of the base XPS’s, are more than crisp and sharp enough for everyday users and photo editors.

The one notebook that falls short is the MacBook Air, which is still rocking with an ancient 1,440- x 900-pixel resolution screen. Going from my trusty Air to any of these other laptops is always a shock when I see how their screens compare with Apple’s offering.

Colors look absolutely stunning on the XPS 13, thanks to its 1,500 to 1 contrast ratio, which makes blacks look infinitely deep. Even desktop icons pop on this display. Especially dark shows like “Stranger Things” also look fantastic, but you do end up seeing reflections in the panel.

There’s just one problem with the XPS 13’s screen: it messes with the position of the laptop’s webcam. With such a small bezel, there’s no place for Dell to fit a webcam above the display. With older models of the 13, Dell moved the webcam just below the bottom left corner of the panel. Naturally, that resulted in whoever you were talking to getting a weird look up your nose.

Unfortunately, the XPS 13’s camera still looks straight up your nostrils.

For 2018, however, Dell centered the bezel below the screen. It makes for a slightly better experience, but anyone you talk to is still going to get a great view of your nostrils. And forget about typing while using the webcam. Unless you recently got a manicure, you’re not going to want the person you’re chatting with to get an up-close look at your nail beds.

Power and battery life

My review unit came with an Intel (INTC) Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage space, a 4K touch screen, and handled all of my daily tasks with ease. I ran Chrome with 20+ tabs, streamed Spotify and was chatting on Slack and didn’t run into any issues. For the kind of power this XPS is packing, it would be more of a story if it did have a problem handling any of those simple processes.

For 2018, Dell said it managed to increase the XPS 13’s power by improving its internal heating system. It now uses Gore Thermal Insulation and a dual fan and dual heat pipe setup to help move heat away from the processor and graphics chip. Doing this allows the XPS 13 to maintain stable performance levels longer than competing devices.

But don’t expect to do things like play the latest and greatest games on the XPS 13 at their highest settings, though, as it only packs an Intel graphics chip. I managed to fire up “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” but the graphics were so low that every characters’ head looked like it was covered in individual pixels rather than hair.

The Dell XPS 13’s rose gold chassis is a stunner, but it’ll cost you an extra $50.

If you really want to get your game on, you can plug an external graphics card into the XPS via its USB C port, and get gaming. Naturally, that requires you have a graphics card and adapter readily available, but it can be done.

The XPS 13’s battery was also a solid performer. I worked through my entire workday, eight hours or so, without having to worry about the machine giving up the ghost. That said, the XPS’s 4K display does eat through power faster than the standard 1080p screen, so make sure to take that into account when configuring your system.

Pricing and the competition

At its base price of $999, the XPS 13 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 1080p, non-touch display. 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is small potatoes in today’s world, though, so I’d recommend moving up to the $1,199 model to get 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

If you’re itching for more power you can get a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $1,399. If you want that sweet 4K display, you’ll have to add an additional $400. And if money is no object, you can get an XPS with a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 4K display for $2,299.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro is slightly more expensive in each of its configurations thanks to the fact that you’ll need to spend an additional $130 on a keyboard cover to use the device as a laptop. The Surface Laptop, on the other hand, starts at $799 with a much less powerful processor. For $899 you can get a similar configuration to the base Dell XPS 13, but you’ll also have to upgrade the machine from the Windows 10 S operating system it comes with to full Windows 10 for $49.

The XPS 13 is one of the thinnest 13-inch laptops in the world.

You’ll end up spending slightly less on the low- to mid-range Surface Laptop, but you don’t get that 4K display found on the XPS 13. And when you push the Surface Laptop’s specs to match the top-of-the-line XPS, you end up paying $2,699.

On the Mac side of things, a base MacBook Air starts at $999, but comes with a fifth-generation Core i5 processor. That’s three generations behind the processors available with the Dell. You do get 8GB of RAM for that $999 price, but with the older chip and lower resolution screen, it’s not really a bargain. What’s more, Apple is rumored to be updating the Air in the spring, so it’s probably not worth buying the Air until we find out more about Apple’s plans.

The MacBook, for its part, starts at $1,299 with a less powerful Intel m3 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You’re basically paying for the MacBook’s slender frame and sleek design, but that’s a lot to ask. Jump up to a Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD and you’ll pay $1,399.

Apple’s MacBook Pros all start at higher prices than the XPS, with the base model coming in at $1,299. But the Pros are designed for use by professional video and photo editors and pack a heck of a performance punch, so it makes sense that they’d cost more.

Should you get it?

The Dell XPS 13 is the best Windows 10 laptop in terms of overall value and looks. It’s also less expensive than Apple devices, which makes it a solid option even for Mac fans. If you’re in the market for a new PC, and don’t mind its odd webcam placement, the new Dell XPS 13 is easily a top pick.

More from Dan:

Trump is wrong about video games and violence

Vero is the anti-Facebook social network everyone is talking about

Sony’s PlayStation Vue just became an even better cable TV killer

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus bring major camera improvements

What to do when you’re hacked

Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn

[nameinbullets]

Negative Gamers

First off, don't get me wrong - since I started playing video games, I've met some bloody fabulous people. Key shout out to the three Maori dudes with deep voices that implied heavyset figures, who immediately restored my faith in the general population of Fortnite players.

Also, special shout out to TobyJamesApps. One day, I will meet you in a game again, and you will be the one humiliated.

But that's not even where this, and I'll admit, anti-gamer prejudice comes from. See, a few years back when I was 18, I dated a guy who was a hardcore gamer. This was around the time CoD Black Ops came out, I think (I can't and don't really feel like keeping track of that particular franchise). Obviously, being a fan of first-person shooters, Alex was all over that shit like hot potatoes.

I'm a fairly curious person. If I see people enjoying something, I'll give it a go myself, especially if I'm invited to do so. Being thar my only gaming experience at this point was SingStar and Sega, I was uncertain about the controller setup, and voiced my concerns of not knowing how to play.

"Don't worry," Alex told me, "We'll be right here to help you."

His older brother and other friend nodded along each time he said this. They all said multiple times that they'd help me learn. So eventually, I caved.

An Xbox controller was put in my hands. Alex picked a character for me and gave me the weapons he figured I would use best. He didn't explain anything about the weapons and their features, just chose everything for me. He didn't even tell me how he did it. Then handed me the controller and said "press this button".

Then, the nightmare truly began.

Remember how I said I had no gaming experience beyond Sega? Yeah. I think he totally forgot that. I went straight into the player versus player match with the others, all of them against me, and they just started talking casually. No cares in the world. Me?

"Which screen is mine? Wait... you're all moving and that one isn't,, okay that's me.Sohis one moves me, right? Ah okay yeah I see. What does this one-- okay now I'm seeing feet? Oh, that's the camera. Okay so how do I shoot? Which? No that's aimin-- oh, there it is--"

I didn't get much further because that was when Alex's brother, Andrew, found me and killed me the first time. At my indignant cry of protest, he shrugged it off and said "You wanted to play!"

I figured out how to run, thank god, and found a decent hiding spot next while I figured out the controls. Problem is, the guys could see my map, which told them where I was, and they were able to find me using that info.

I never figured out how to even reload or switch guns. After actually hitting Alex on the shoulder to get his attention, I got my first piece of information from him - how to crouch. By the end of the match, I had racked up a grand total of 48 deaths and 0 kills - and all the boys had killed me several times each.

Afterwards, when I voiced my irritation to Alex, he promised to be better next time. Stupidly, I believed him. When "next time" happened, the only thing I learned was how to read the end of game score board - which told me that between themselves, the boys had focused almost entirely on killing me because I was an easy target.

This cycle went on for longer than it should have, me trying to share my boyfriend's interests only to be gunned down by him and his brother and friends, who often laughed about my "hissy fits" when I "didn't get my way". Being the type of person I am, I soon ended the relationship (turns out he was a poisonous guy anyway, he has since become next-level stalker trying to get me back).

"But that's CoD players!" was the phrase uttered by every Skyrim fanatic I encountered when that game came out. That's all good - I have my prejudice but when I meet individuals then they are treated as individuals. Meaning, I have prejudice against you until one of us says "hello". Then, it's a clean slate.

I mean, hey. I'm female. I'm used to being judged before I've even been met. But I'm used to seeing that prejudice carry over when I meet people.

Anyway, getting off track. So a bit after Skyrim dropped, so did my sister's first kid. Her partner was a security guard at the time, and father of the child. In those first nightmarish weeks of being a young parent, my sister enlisted my help since Matt was too busy with work. Upon arriving at their place most Monday afternoons, I discovered that "Work" apparently also included Skyrim.

I saw this go on for a few weeks. If Matt wasn't at work or asleep, he was on his game. I myself told him when I was napping to "put the fucking game down and go look after your son". I had always thought Matt, like Alex, was a fairly decent guy. I was dead wrong, it seems. But my sister was happy to stay with him because it meant two working adults bringing money into the household, and in this day and age and on her wages she could barely afford to support herself let alone a kid.

The clincher came when GTA Vice dropped. Matt had been nagging my sister about getting it on preorder, and she had said no so many times. They couldn't afford it. I was out shopping with them the day it dropped, and halfway through the shopping, Matt disappeared. He returned again when we were at the register, and my sister mustn't have seen at the time, but I watched him trying to discreetly tuck a yellow shopping bag into the bottom basket of the pram. Only two stores at that shopping centre had yellow bags - JB HiFi, and GameTraders.

When they put the shopping through, the card for the joint account was declined. My sister was confused, since there should have been an extra hundred dollars in there, but she couldn't go through the transaction history. She had left her card at home, and Matt's card also declined since his Xbox membership has gone through and he'd bought a bunch of downloadable content for gaming the day before. I paid the shopping since I had money and they needed it (Sister's face when I handed over $300+ cash). As I folded up the pram and put it back in the boot when we got to the car, I pulled the GameTraders bag out, held it up so my sister could also see, and asked what Matt wanted me to do with his new GTA Vice and chat headset.

Bitchy move, yes. But gaming is not an occupation, nor should it ever take precedence over shit like food and your own kids.

I've had various run-ins with gamers since then, most of which have been negative. I will say that I have met some people who aren't anywhere near as bad as the stereotype I've been led to believe. Some gamers are genuinely good people who treat it as a hobby, an addition to their lives, and not the main focus.

It was after a lot of pushing from one of my friends that I eventually went out and spent $250 on a pre-owned Xbox One. While I was looking at the various pre-owned games that I could get in a bundle with the console, Destiny 1 popped up. After I explained that I'd like to get that to learn the controls on and get used to gaming, he said to me:

"You'll have me there to guide you and help you learn."

Naturally, I believed him. He'd proven to be a trustworthy friend so far. But that phrase was almost exactly what Alex had said to me years ago when I was indecisive about playing with him.

Nevertheless, I eventually saved up and got the console, game, and an Xbox Live membership (what do you mean it costs money?). I set the game up, and since he was asleep at the time, stumbled my way through the first two missions. Then I asked if he wanted to join me, but got no answer. I assumed he was working, so I stumbled my way through the next four missions alone, slowly figuring out the game mechanics as I went. I held off doing one of the strikes for almost a week, waiting for this friend to become available. How was I to know that there was a faction rally for D2? Moreover, why should I expect my friend to fulfil his promise when he wanted to focus on participating in said faction rally?

I got through the strike alone, thank you very much. It was hellish, but I made it. And I proudly stated that I got through it alone to my friend, who seemed to ignore my comment. I mean, okay maybe it was a bit boastful, but considering how new I am to gaming in general, I thought defeating one of the major bosses was something that deserves a congrats. Oh well.

I played through the rest of the game, before he finally decided to join me for the final three missions - which, I might add, he completely dominated in. Also, did you know you can kill your teammates in D1 by ramming them into a rock with your speeder? I didn't. That was something he showed me. That was really when it began to resonate with me how similar all of this was to Alex.

We finished the main campaign. I wanted to complain about how he basically robbed me of majority of kills and I missed out on a bunch of XP because of it, but felt like by doing that then it's just sound like me bitching even more. So I shut my mouth and told myself to be grateful he actually fucking joined me in-game.

When we finished the campaign, he told me "If you get Destiny 2 then I'll definitely play with you."

So far, I've had it for a week. I've finished the campaign (on my own), maxed out my levels, and soon I'll be able to do the hardcore stuff like leviathan rid and Nightfall strikes. I joined his clan and have been maxing my clan XP limits within a day. I've improved overall in my ability. But he's too focused on levelling his characters on PC, and apparently doesn't want to come back to Xbox to join the friend he promised to help.

Fucking... At this point, I'm tempted to leave his clan right before Curse of Osiris drops. He's struggling to find clan mates as it is - maybe ditching him to find some group that'll actually fucking help me is the best option?

[kelsusit]

Cow Boxes For Computer systems?

Do you care much less about the maintenance of your Windows Dell pc when you could very easily do it? When upon a time (study: the 1990s), the difference in between a true workstation Computer and a desktop or consumer program have been not possible to miss. Workstations weren’t just souped-up versions of customer systems with a lot more RAM or a larger-resolution show. They ran various operating systems, utilized distinct CPUs and graphics options, and had specialized hardware components that have been hard or, in some instances, not possible to fit into a normal x86 consumer method. As the WinTel alliance gained industry share, these variations have been increasingly confined to niche hardware, until they all but vanished.

Vinnit Alex is an eminent author who provides concrete info about computing devices like computers laptops, mini laptops and pc accessories, only soon after making use of them and examining them thoroughly. Dell mini laptop, HP mini Laptop and Lenovo mini laptop are some of the devices. The XPS 8900 comes with 16GB of installed memory, which is double what the normal is for most organization computers in the exact same price range. You can upgrade to as considerably as 32GB of RAM, and the motherboard can help up to 64GB. Even the least costly computer in the XPS 8900 series has 8GB of RAM. With so much RAM, you can run the most information-intensive applications with ease, and you have a adequate ceiling for years to come as apps increase their memory needs.

The Dell Inspiron 13 could possibly be the most newest laptop computer by means of the Inspiron household individuals along using the extremely very first 13 incher Inspiron. It may possibly be regarded a spending price range laptop pc and begins at near to $699 although offering excellent specifications. When I got this call, I told the guy all the computer systems in my property run Linux. It took him 5 minutes to convince him that, if I am running Linux, I have no need to have for his fake Microsoft tech support, because I wouldn’t have any viruses-let alone viruses that my non-existent Windows error report method would be alerting him about.

It was in 1985 that the Turbo Computer was developed and it sold for much less than $800. It contained an Intel 8088 processor that ran at eight MHz, which is significantly slower than the computers that we use today. Computers today are operating in gigahertz, which are hundreds and even thousands of times more rapidly than the 8 MHz processor that Michael Dell was installing in his computers at the time. But the truth is that this was the ideal that could be completed in 1985. The technology was building.

When Dell shifted to massive-scale operations, the company initially retained the direct-to-consumer technique. Nonetheless, amongst 1990 and 1994, Dell Computer did distribute its computer items through such retail outlets as Wal-Mart, Staples, and in a number of Latin American nations, Xerox. Even so, by 1994 Michael Dell had realized that the profit margins related with promoting through retail distribution channels were also tight. Therefore, the firm discontinued retail sales to refocus on its direct selling efforts.

So who are the folks who usually buy these refurbished computers? Students who have price range constraints, cheapskate bosses, businessmen who are nonetheless starting and a lot more. The bottom line is, when you want to acquire a personal computer that performs like new but expenses low, get one thing refurbished. The Software program Licensing Service reported that the pc could not be activated with a Volume license solution key. Volume-licensed systems call for upgrading from a qualifying operating technique. Please get in touch with your technique administrator or use a various type of important.

Whilst the modern technology is about slimmer and transportable gadgets, desktop pc has its own merits to appreciate. The present desktop computer systems being equipped with attributes like customization potentiality and monitor size surpass laptops in several places. Michael Dell spoke at Fortune’s Brainstorm:Green conference right now, and he took the wraps off this funky bamboo-encased eco-Pc idea. Mentioned to be Dell’s smallest-ever personal computer, the machine is 81 percent smaller than a common desktop and utilizes 70 percent much less energy. There’s no word on what is inside but, but Dell says the machine is due to be released later this year, and must expense in between $500 and $700. Hit the study hyperlink for a couple a lot more shots, and verify out a render right after the break.

We are proud of our partnerships with significant brands, which permit us to provide you these excellent products at the least expensive rates. As a completely registered Dell companion, we have the prestigious status as 1 of the UK’s official stockists, distributors and resellers for an unbeatable variety of Dell items. We supply Dell and other brand laptops, computers, notebooks and accessories to some of the largest corporations in the UK. We also supply thousands of homes, schools, and tiny organizations with the greatest good quality refurbished Dell laptops and computers.

DELL individual computer systems, data storage devices, servers, network switches, personal computer peripherals, software, cameras, HDTVs, Monitors, LCD, LED Monitor, MP3 players, printers aur dusri electronics manufacturer karti hai. DELL electronic commerce aur supply chain management khas taur par direct sales model aur configure to order methodology jo kay individual computer systems jo kay customer specifications ke mutabiq banaya jat hai is mein bohat well-known hai. DELL company hardware vendor kay taur par shuru hui thi lekin baad mein IT Market mein enter ho gai jab isay Perot Systems ne 2009 mein khareed liya tab se le kar aaj tak DELL ne kafi firms khareedi hain.

You see, I could not connect to the Internet. I named my ISP (Comcast) and set up an appointment ($50) for a technician to come and verify out the dilemma. Soon after troubleshooting it was clear the difficulty was with the personal computer. I was in a position to connect to the World wide web utilizing my trusty Dell laptop (I purchased 2 desktops and two laptops). Good quality-wise, Dell computer systems undergo a road ready analysis” to guarantee item durability. Their computer systems are compatible with distinct operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Unix variations.

An Operating Method is a Pc Computer software that (like Windows 7) serves as a link among the Hardware and other software program the personal computer demand to function. I discussed this extensively in my post titled:” What is the meaning of Operating Method” So there could be no personal computer with out an OS. This is why great consideration is invested on its design, evaluation and upgrade no matter whether for a computer technique or equivalent gadgets like a Smartphone. The Dell computer corporation, headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, delivers everything from servers to laptops, printers to workstations, all with round-the-clock consumer service, also. Fortune magazine named Dell America’s “most admired” company.

I am glad to study from you as regards the computer repairs Job,also for accepting the supply.Nonetheless We have Over 400 laptops to be decided to Start sending the laptops in tiny Units of 20 for each week, i count on that you need to have been completed with the repairs of 20 laptops weekly until the complete laptops are repaired.I want to believe you are fit for this Job,I am supplying you $500 weekly Also i want you to know that Our Donors will be sending you a Certified-check which you have to deduct your weekly payment $500 plus $100 just incase one thing comes up and you need to have some income, so you will deduct a total of $600 from the Payment delivered and send the remaining income to the Freight forwarder agent who will provide the laptops to you in units on a weekly basis.

On my last reinstall my account with Dell expired, so instead I went to a local computer repair shop that had opened up on my block. As opposed to the techs at Dell who for some explanation had been not familiar with old operating systems or the appropriate drives for old Dell computers, the geek at the repair shop was familiar with almost everything and gave me each relevant instruction as an alternative of tinkering with all the files initial. This time I am saving the appropriate procedure on a hub so hopefully it will not get lost again. If I can not don’t forget the install procedure I will borrow a pals laptop and reread this hub. Perhaps there are some of you getting the exact same issue, reading this hub from a library or buddies personal computer. Hopefully this will support you too.

4. Guttag K, Van Aken J, Asal M. Requirements for a VLSI Graphics Processor. IEEE Pc Graphics and Applications. Jan. 19866:32-47. Location the laptop personal computer pc knowledge up and open up the fluid crystal monitor lid all the way. put a little, flat-head screwdriver in to the crucial he said pad bezel’s appropriate side. The bezel is normally a thin strip of protective plastic situated 1 of a lot of fluid crystal monitor and essential pad assemblies. Pry the bezel from the laptop’s best casing and set it aside.

I’ve had my Dell Inspiron Laptop for about 3 years. I noticed my pc screen was beginning to blink whilst I was employing it. At initial the blinking would come and go after the computer was on for a even though. After a couple of much more days the blinking began to occur far more often, still right after it was on for some time. A few much more days later the screen went blank on me and then returned to standard. When the screen became black I knew the pc was still on due to the fact I could see the energy lights remained on, the fan would nonetheless go on and off and if I rebooted the laptop noise came through the speakers like regular. A handful of days later there were far more black outs and it was occurring even if the computer was just turned on. My worst dream came true when the screen went blank on me a single day and the display never came back on.

The owner of a broken laptop might pick to repair the laptop or get a new one. It really is important to think about the positive aspects of each selections. The age of the pc need to be one particular element used to decide if it is worth fixing. Unless the pc holds sentimental value, probabilities are that replacing an old laptop will be a lot more beneficial. An additional essential element to take into account is the functionality of the laptop. Determine if the computer’s operating method is conducive for the tasks that it is employed for. If not, a newer pc might help total tasks easier.

The organization accepts any make, year or model of desktops and notebooks and they even require not be manufactured by Dell or ! The owner of an empty Dell personal computer can even just sit back and loosen up as Dell will gladly pick the unit up from the owner’s house. The well known Pc and laptop manufacturer Dell has had a rough few years attempting to regain its position in the worldwide computer business. There are no specific OSHA standards that apply to pc workstations or very low frequency electric and magnetic field exposure. Existing OSHA standards on electrical security, radiation exposure, and noise apply to all workplaces like workplace environments. In most instances, only a couple of common market standards such as electrical or radiation hazards may possibly apply.

Additionally, several of these firms are also providing online pc service, which is rapidly obtaining common with the buyers. In online personal computer service, you can have your pc or laptop repaired of Samsung, HP , Dell, Lenovo with out even moving it to any other location. Drivers Download Free of charge site provides you the latest graphic, audio, bios, Bluetooth, network, monitor, touchpad, and other hardware drivers for you to download and update, so you can get pleasure from your Dell computer music, film and game.

A Dell laptop pc will enable you to take all your data and work on it without possessing to loose precious time with your pals, family or even resting by the side of the lake. Modern day technologies even enables you to hook to the world wide web without the want of possessing a wired modem, as a result enhancing the versatility that the Dell laptop computers have. • The errors like blue screen errors, pc shut down, windows up-gradation and many much more troubles are fixed inside the short span of time with the Computer help delivered on time.

This is my first weblog so please excuse the all round appear. I will post my most recent communications with Dell computers following their technical assistance gave me directions that lead to the demise of my hardrive and all of its contents. Please feel free of charge to post your story. Laptops could require repair for numerous various motives. One particular of the most typical causes of laptop malfunction is a outcome of computer software issues. Software issues may consist of a laptop virus, programming errors, or a combination of each. When application malfunctions, other crucial programs are adversely affected.

Filed under: Tagged: boxes, computers from KelsusIT.com – Refurbished laptops, desktop computers , servers http://bit.ly/2Aag50G via IFTTT

[harrison-abbott]

Uncle Paul Short Story

UNCLE PAUL

 I

 I’m packing the boxes away in my new flat. We’ve just moved in. My flatmate isn’t here yet, so it’s me alone trying to build a new place to stay. It’s good to change, and I’m looking forward to the new semester. My phone then rings in my pocket – it’s an unrecognised number.

    “Hello?” I answer.

    “Hello, there, I’m not sure if I’ve got the right number … Is this Polly?”

    “It is, yes.”

    “Hi Polly, it’s your Aunt Dell calling. I have some things to ask you … If that’s okay?”

    I don’t recognise the woman’s voice; I know that I’ve met my ‘Aunt’ Dell maybe twice in my life. By her staggering, nervous tone I anticipate that what she’s going to ask me won’t be fruitful.

    “Do you know that your Uncle Paul died?” She says.

    “Uncle Paul? … He died? How?”

    “He had a heart attack, last night.”

    “I’m so sorry … for your loss …” and I wonder if this sounds callous, because it seems like I care less about my own Uncle than a woman who has been his wife for barely three years – and it’s more callous because that’s exactly how it is. But Dell sounds broken, and I’m ready to listen.

    “I’m so sorry for calling you,” she says, “but I know that you study in the same city as John worked. And I just didn’t have any one else to ask of a favour …”

    “That’s okay, just ask away?”

    “I feel stupid for asking you – because I know that your Mother and your Uncle didn’t get on … But would you be able to come and help me move some things out of his flat? Just moving a few things of his into the car. It will only take a little while, and I’ll give you some money; I know what it’s like to be a poor student – haha!”

    “Eh, yes, sure I can do that … When can I come help?”

    “This evening? Around 6?”

    I look at the time: it’s 15:50.

    “Do you remember where he lives?” Dell says. I say no, I never visited him at his house. She gives me the address and I write it down on my hand. I’m about to ask if I’ll just give her a call if I get lost, but she hurriedly bids farewell and hangs up. Remaining standing in the flat, I marvel at how lives can change so instantly.

   II

      As I’m sitting in the tram on the way to Uncle Paul’s house, I think about him, and the family. Wow, I never would’ve thought Paul would die; he seemed too huge and rollicking for death. Everybody always seemed scared of him, but I wasn’t – at least not in my student years. They were scared because he was loud, clever, and used his acerbic tongue to hurt a lot of people. As he did with my Mother – and Dell was right – my Mother and Paul had some underlying feud not many people could understand. They’d barely spoken to each other for about a decade; my memories of Paul were fragmentary, from childhood Christmases, where something dramatic always seemed to happen. After a time, the infamous John disappeared.

   So when I moved to this city here to study, I was aware that Paul worked here as well. I knew that he lived alone; he’d had to move here to find work, thus had left Dell living elsewhere, but they were still together. He lectured at the other University – not my one. I never expected to see him; I just figured he wouldn’t want to see the daughter of his sister, who he seemed to hate. Until one random afternoon he called me up. Don’t even know how he got my number. Suddenly here was this man, who’d always been mythical in my mind, outpouring all these words. A real powerful talker; the phone-call lasted 25 minutes and I enjoyed it. He invited me out to dinner, and I accepted.

    We sat down to order in the restaurant and the first thing he did was mock me because I’m a vegetarian. Then when I asked for just water as a drink, he laughed out loud – not even because he was amused, he was just being mean. I was mildly offended, but not really. As soon as I started talking about books and music with him, he warmed to me. We knew all the same material; he respected my taste. Now and then he’d say something inflammatory about my mother or my brother, and I’d just ignore it because I didn’t have a response. I could see how intelligent he was, and also how rude he could be: those were the two main sides with Paul.

    He gave me a lift home afterwards. Soon as we got in the car he put on a CD of the blues-rock band Little Feat. He blasted the volume up and we zoomed down the main street with this music blaring. I would remember the song from then on, and it sounded terrific. I remembered his chain-cigarette-smoking, too, and his bizarre road-rage. I mean, the streets that week-day evening were silent, yet he’d get angry at the slightest thing. I was trying to direct him to where I lived and he’d be shaky, crazy over nothing. I finally said, “Okay just pull over here,” and he violently veered the car to the roadside. With a gruff handshake, we said bye. And I haven’t seen him since then: three years ago. And now he’s dead.

III

      I get off the tram and set toward Paul’s neighbourhood. It’s a fair hazy evening. I find the house easily – it’s modest and motionless; I wonder what Dell’s doing inside, or if she’s even there. As I say, I barely know her, and don’t know how she’ll react when I see her …

    Ringing the doorbell, she appears a second later (she’s obviously been waiting), and when I see her face there’s a controlled pain in her face. She tries to smile and she hugs me with a certain warmth. Once again I give my condolences. She’s small and thanks me but I can tell nothing’s going to comfort her for a long time.

    Inside the house, she makes me a cup of tea, and stands, watching me drink it, making conversation. I can tell she wants me to drink it fast so we can get to work with the packing, so I do, and ask her what the job is.

    “Oh, right, yeah. So we have to move a few boxes from his study … Because I knew they were important to him. Some of his writings. That okay?”

    “Yes let’s do it.”

    Paul’s office is a half of what you’d expect for a university lecturer. A litany of books hang by handsome shelves; stacks of papers ram a desk with shiny wood. The other half is almost childish, or forgotten, somehow; two defunct PCs sit in the corner; cigarette ends are stuffed myriad into ashtrays; unwashed glasses of wine, mugs of coffee linger wherever. He also has a great collection of music with hundreds of CDs.

    “I know he would have wanted the things from his desk … All of these papers,” Dell says, “So can you help me with these? And there are his journals on the shelves up there; I’m so small I can’t reach them – haha.”

    “No problem, let’s go.”

    I take my shoes off and use a chair to stand up and get the shelf journals. There are so many of them, and John has been an author within them so often; some from the 80s, 90s in faded yellow jackets. I put them in one of the cardboard boxes Dell has brought. They’re quite small – the boxes – and in fact there are only two. Dell fills the other one with the things from Paul’s desk. I begin to realise that Dell hasn’t needed any ‘manpower’ with asking me to come here and work boxes. It’s that her husband’s just died last night, and she needs somebody to be here with her. I’m guessing that they called her from the hospital and she came last night, and stayed over here in the house. Then the house must’ve been unbearable without Paul’s presence. She was close enough to him to know he would’ve wanted his journals and papers preserved. But not strong enough, after his departure, to move them away by herself.

    “Wow,” I say to her from the chair-top, “I didn’t know Paul published all this material.”

    “Yes, he was a very clever man …”

    I’d meant it as a compliment, but obviously it didn’t work. Dell hangs her head, with that same wince in her brows. I wonder what she’s thinking; about her own life? Or what she’s going to do next? She’s old herself, in her 60s – if indeed that’s old. Doesn’t have kids herself, I don’t even know if she has other family. Paul was married twice before Dell, and those women, alongside the children he bore with them, didn’t speak to him after separation. Maybe Dell’s just sad, and I shouldn’t judge. But I can’t think of anything else to say, and we pack the things up in silence.

    After I’ve finished moving the journals, I offer to help Dell at the desk, but she waves me away. I’m then left hovering in the room, so I wander towards the music collection, for something to occupy me. Looking over all Paul’s music, I witness the same joy and intrigue over each album I know: that wealth of art. There are collections here I’ve always wanted to own, and with horror I find myself thinking well if Paul’s dead now I can surely take them for me? but the thought vanishes with shame.

    The CDs are lined alphabetically, and I come to the letter L; tracing my finger through the spines I find an album called ‘Sailin’ Shoes’ by Little Feat. It’s the same album Paul put on when I was riding home with him years earlier. I stand looking at the spine, and I want to pull it out and just hold it, but I don’t.

    Dell proclaims that she’s finished packing. I elect to take the boxes down stairs: “No, no, Dell! Let me lift the boxes – I’m strong.” She smiles and accepts; the boxes are of course massively heavy but I pretend they aren’t. Dell leads me outside and opens the boot of her car, thanking me all the time.

    We stand awkwardly after I’ve put the second box in, with she fidgeting, holding her car-keys.

    “Thanks for your help, really – did you leave anything inside the house?”

    She’s wanting to head off, I catch on, so I say I have my coat inside; she waits by the front door and when I return, locks it. What will become of the rest of the house, who will come for the rest of the stuff? I’m unsure. Dell opens her car door and says she has to shoot. There is a brisk hug and cold kiss on the cheek. I tell her “see you soon” but I know that’s as likely as I’ll see Paul again soon. Dell whips into her car, then drives off. I wave foolishly on the pavement. I wonder whether she could’ve offered me a lift, but then, what exactly would I say to her during the car-ride …

    I make my way back to the main street to get the tram.

 IV

      It’s early evening as I ride back home. I text my flatmate with the day’s story; I want to talk to somebody about it, but she’s not answering. I don’t text my mother about it for obvious reasons; there’s a shame there in knowing that her brother has died before she knows.

     The soothing metallic sound of the tram is all there is, and I think about Paul. About his life. Why was he so mean, when he could be so intelligent?

    His father – my grandfather – used to beat him when he was a boy. Him and my grandmother, and my mother, too, but not so much my mother. He beat up Paul almost every day, I’m told. It usually happened in the mornings, for some reason, or at the dinner table: grandpa would just thrash him for the slightest thing. Mother would talk about it sometimes, very rarely. I asked her what she would do when the beatings took place, and she said she would go outside the house and scream. A little girl and she had that much moxie, or rather only terror and indignance. Then when the beatings kept going she went down to the local church finally and told the Minister about it. This was the 1950s wherein the dark secrets of urban households were overlooked or merely acknowledged. The Minister came to the house and spoke to grandfather about it. But I’m told it didn’t stop – the violence – until one day when Paul was 15 he fought back against his father. He was big by then, and I didn’t see the fight but apparently grandfather didn’t go near Paul again, at least not in that way.

    Then Paul became this renowned academic man. But lots of people wondered why he could be so unpleasant, many were afflicted by his meanness.

 V

      The flat is even more silent when I enter it. I put the radio on because it’s eerie and my mind needs company. Should probably unpack the rest of the boxes away before my flatmate gets back tomorrow. I enjoy the energy of unloading the stuff, putting it away: gives me something to focus on. But I find I’m getting angrier as I’m doing it, flustered: I keep dropping things. Then when I’m moving the plates into the kitchen cupboard, I drop one of them and it smashes on the floor.

    It’s time to do something else. I go into my room and open the window and look out across the city; the flat’s quite high up and it’s a glorious view. At my desk I stick some music on the laptop, but it’s not loud enough: I unpacked my speakers earlier. I find them and set them up. Then with the new volume, I think which song I’m going to play … And there it is: Little Feat of course! ‘Sailin’ Shoes’ – I press play and I jump up, whilst the theatre of noise relays.

    I watch out the window at the sky and how the sun’s ending light works against the dreary high-rise flats. This song is so good: Paul will never hear this song again. There’s a sound frankness of that. There is no ‘but’, or, ‘oh but he was a great man’: Paul’s gone and that’s it. He died in this ugly city, wherein the sky and things like music have only temporal distractions. That’s what Paul sought for his whole life, and what he never found

[coldstarlightharmony-blog]

Survey: Acer Aspire R7 tries truly difficult to address needs nobody has Awkward frame consider and aimless outline abandon us befuddled and unsatisfied.

"Infomercial gives." It's an expression my significant other and I use to portray the stance and expression that appears in the start of most infomercials—the ones that begin with expressions like, "Are you felt burnt out on of not having the capacity to pour your pop like an ordinary person?" It's constantly joined by film of individuals hurling their hands in disturb in the wake of neglecting to fulfill undertakings that the greater part of us can manage with no issues.

The Acer Aspire R7 gives me infomercial hands. Always.

I get that PC OEMs are confronting diminishing edges as non-customary figuring gadgets keep on gaining notoriety, and I get that there's shareholder weight to think about the following enormous thing in the compact space with a specific end goal to keep income up and hit the quarterly direction. However, the Aspire R7 is lamentably not the following enormous thing. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination beyond any doubt what it is, truly, or what its objective market is, or what specific undertaking or errands it should exceed expectations at that different gadgets don't as of now improve.

What hath Acer fashioned?

We got a few hands-on time with the Acer Aspire R7 back toward the beginning of May, when Ars Senior Products Specialist Andrew Cunningham called it "the most bizarre convertible PC we've ever observed." Having spent two or three weeks with the gadget, I can approve that. In the hours I've spent utilizing it, I never became completely OK with its format and capacity, and I came to disdain its weight and general disagreeableness.

The Aspire R7 is a convertible, that charlatan item class that ended up noticeably famous with OEMs after the dispatch of Windows 8. It includes an expansive 15.6" touchscreen mounted on a twofold jointed pivot, called the "Ezel Hinge" by Acer's advertisers. The Ezel pivots at both closures, enabling the screen to be raised, brought down, and turned. The R7 utilizes its huge pivot to change over between a customary portable workstation like appearance, a console improved tablet-like appearance, an upheld tablet, and a full hand-held tablet.

The way that the gadget has certain set "modes" into which you should change it isn't promptly evident at to start with, thus Acer has invested a considerable amount of energy guaranteeing that clients see how the R7 functions. Its site contains various livelinesss demonstrating the R7 happily flipping forward and backward; the gadget likewise accompanied a pack-in bit of paper graphically clarifying its diverse designs. New clients can even tap on a video on the distinctive modes inserted in the Task Bar for reference.

Putting aside the pivot and its suggestions for a minute, the R7 is positively not terrible equipment. It has a double center 1.8GHz Ivy Bridge Core i5-3427U, a low-voltage 22nm CPU with hyperthreading, and a maximum evaluated TDP of 17 watts. It has 4GB of welded in RAM, and the setup we assessed accompanied its one RAM space loaded with a 2GB SODIMM, yielding an odd-yet not-awful aggregate of 6GB. Its coordinated Intel HD 4000 GPU is consummately satisfactory for non-bad-to-the-bone gamer utilization. We would have gotten a kick out of the chance to see the new Haswell CPUs show up, yet Ivy Bridge isn't an awful performer.The portable PC/convertible/whatever-we're-calling-these-things characterizes robustness; it's 5.29 lbs of aluminum, plastic, and glass. The Ezel Hinge and its hostage touchscreen need even a small piece of tumble or play—the screen moves with adjusted expert on the pivot and the pivot thusly turns against the portable workstation base with without squeak smoothness. The screen stayed precisely at whatever edge I situated it without moving up or down. Truth be told, now and again it required maybe a lot of push to move the screen, and I'd wind up moving the whole tablet around on its little elastic feet. In any case, I'd much rather have a pivoted show like this sprung on the firm side than free to move around at will side.

The show itself is huge and brilliant. The IPS board underpins entirely expansive survey edges, which is vital on the grounds that the R7's shape-changing plan implies that the screen is probably going to be seen from a wide assortment of separations and positions. The LED backdrop illumination was even and with no conspicuous problem areas or dying. Its 10-point capacitive touch layer additionally gave me no issues—it reacted to touches and drags promptly with no observable lag.Unexpectedly, I like the console. I end up detesting most island-style consoles, however this current one's very decent. The keys require a modest measure of push to discourage and after that in a split second plunge their full short length to hit rock bottom definitively. There's no feeling of mush, thank heavens. What's more, the backdrop illumination, however it seeps out from under the keys, is to a great degree splendid at its maximum setting.There are likewise some reasonable estimated (for a convenient) speakers on the base of the gadget—a couple of 2W "Dolby Home Theater" marked grilles. The sound leaving them sounded very clear at low-to-medium volume. I don't know that slapping a "Dolby Home Theater" mark on them implies you'd need to utilize them to tune in to a motion picture at full volume, however for easygoing tuning in to gushed sound, they were splendidly fine.That is tragically the finish of the positive things I need to say in regards to this gadget. In every day utilize it performed enough, however it certainly wouldn't win any honors for speed. I didn't try running any organized benchmarks since Ivy Bridge is an altogether known amount now; the greater part of its equipment is as of now all around reported. (You can check our Asus ZenBook Prime and 2013 MacBook Air surveys for hard numbers on the off chance that you need them.)

The absence of a SSD for its essential working framework didn't make as large of an effect as I thought it would—at any rate, not at first. The R7 accompanies a 500GB 5400 rpm hard circle drive, however it's expanded with a 24GB mSATA SSD that capacities as a reserve for the working framework boot documents and for oftentimes got to applications. Subjectively, it was slower than utilizing a SSD yet considerably quicker than utilizing only the hard circle drive—which I got the chance to take in a ton about.

In any case, to begin with, we should discuss the R7's flippy screen and pivot. The issue with the R7 is that in spite of the fact that it has four essential "structures," it's not especially helpful in any of them—similar to how Astrotrain wasn't a decent space transport, prepare, or robot.The R7 is a terrible fit for a customary note pad—truth be told, a few outline decisions make the gadget exceedingly disappointing to utilize. The way that it weighs very nearly five and a half pounds (that is around 2.4 kg) makes carrying it around a clear errand. In all actuality, it's not as substantial as the 7.7 lb HP Elitebook 8770w, however the Elitebook was a scaled down CAD workstation with gobs of CPU and GPU and RAM—the R7 is an average spec semi-versatile.

In the wake of pulling the R7 to Starbucks, the topsy turvy plan of the console and trackpad immediately made me surrender portable PC mode. The trackpad is arranged over the console, and the console is about flush with the front edge of the tablet. This prompts two issues: to begin with, with the R7 in my lap, I couldn't locate an open to writing position. Mousing was also disappointing, since the main place to rest hand or arm while working the trackpad is decisively on the console. Prompt infomercial hands.

Ezel mode

Along these lines, I changed the portable workstation (ch-ch-ch-ch-ch) to its "Ezel mode," where it would seem that a console prepared tablet.The rationale for situating the trackpad over the console turns out to be clear: it's so you can pull the screen forward this way and utilize the R7 as a tablet-with-console. This doesn't change the way that the console is as yet disappointing to use with no considerable separation amongst it and the front edge of the portable PC, yet it does in any event spare you from the trackpad.As an interface gadget, the touchscreen worked fine. Windows 8 remained Windows 8, with all the great and awful that suggests. I gave working in this design a genuine go, however most of the assignments I needed to do included working not in touch-accommodating Metro tile arrive but rather at the order line and in non-Metro customary applications. Only utilizing the touchscreen to connect with non-Metro applications was exceptionally all in or all out—not each tap went where I implied for it to go. Infomercial hands.

Show mode

That night, I sat down at the kitchen table with the R7 while my better half and I watched Archer and gone for the R7 in its "show mode," with the screen gliding noticeable all around held by the pivot and the console confronting far from me. I could see the utilization on the off chance that we'd been really watching Archer on the R7, yet we weren't—we were home, so we were watching it on the significantly bigger TV. I perused the Web for somewhat, looking into Archer trivia as we played through our backlog.This was really the most valuable and regular the R7 had felt in the whole time I'd been utilizing it. Its over the top weight didn't especially make a difference when it was on the table before me, and the screen appeared to skim unequivocally before me, not moving or truly notwithstanding squirming as I tapped it.

Be that as it may, as I perused around, I started to notice irregular things happening. Site pages would re-stack as I was gazing at them; superfluous letters would show up in inquiry fields as I wrote. The mouse cursor would gradually float over the screen and incidentally enlist clicks apparently at irregular.

A suppressed chuckling uncovered the guilty party—my dear spouse was secretively tapping the incidental key or touching the trackpad as I worked. R7 clients observe: when you have the R7 in upheld mode like this, the console and trackpad confront far from you... furthermore, they stay live. Infomercial hands once more.

Tablet mode

The R7 can likewise be utilized as a full tablet, in the event that you are the Hulk or conceivably a gorilla. It is essentially too substantial to hold before you for augmented periods.It additionally doesn't really overlay flush as a tablet either.

[daneeboundblog]

Update

So this post in gonna go up on DeviantArt, Tumblr and on Google+, the latter of which will be linked from Twitter to tell you what’s gonna be changing on all my SM Sites in the future

Now, since I began working full-time again I’ve been kinda neglecting some of my Sites on the internet recently.

Particularly DeviantArt – on which I’ve posted several translated Issues of the Web Comic Pillow Talk, from my Friends Luiz from Brazil and Matthew from the U.K. – and the Double Cherry Community on Google+, which is all but dead now :(, and the Double Cherry YouTube Channel, which I had no concrete plans for, whatsoever.

I didn’t have much time to do all of this, because of my job, my Let’s Channel on YouTube, doing some tinkering on my new Computer, and spending the little free time I had left on playing some games (‘cuz nobody likes the man burning out)

However, since I’m about to leave the old Office Job (and because it’s the new year) I’m making some changes to my Online presence, that should give me more flexibility and all these outlets some purpose

1st, Google+ (general)

my Google+ Profile, and to you on Google+ reading this, yes I am still alive, but because of the above mentioned circumstances, I haven’t found any time to do anything on G+. not too mention, that on my old Computer (you know the Lenovo H330 with the Pentium G620 and the Intel integrated Graphics that served my for over 6 years?) there was eventually a limit to how many Tabs in a Web Browser I could have open before the whole program slow to a crawl (that was an issue on both Chrome and Firefox).

And since I wasn’t expecting to do any major upgrades to my Computer up until last year I’ve been neglecting G+ in general for a while.

The good news is, now my new rig is (almost) ready to rock, (with an i5 3550, a GeForce 1050 Ti and 16 GB of DDR3 RAM,) I can now load all the Websites I want, with the only bottleneck being my Internet Speed (at least until Web 3.1 comes along)

With that said, in future I like to have my G+ Profile to be an extended arm of my Twitter, so whatever goes on Twitter also goes on Google+, and if I’m running out of Space on Twitter, I’ll post it on Google+ and link to it on Twitter

And speaking of Twitter…

2nd, Google+ Community

the Double Cherry Community on Google+ will be closing. I opened it up so that people can share anything related to Video Games, be it news, reviews and general fan-made stuff and have it all in one place.

That ended up not working out though, since after 6 months of the Community’s existence, literally I and Frieder were the only ones posting to it I lost its meaning really quickly.

And because I cannot figure out a meaningful way to use Google+’s Community feature moving forward, I opted into the termination of the Community

3rd, Twitter

I’m currently using two Twitter Account, one for all my personal Stuff and one, exclusively for my YouTube Channel (as in notifications of newly uploaded Videos a-a-a-a-a-a-and nothing else).

Now the Issue is that I (almost) exclusively tweet in English on my personal Twitter,

however, I do YouTube Videos in German, so the one Twitter Handle linked to it ended up underutilized.

So, with the second Twitter Handle, I plan on using it as a quote unquote „German“ Version of my personal one, while also allowing me to tweet some stuff that wouldn’t particularly apply to someone who only speaks English (in addition to it being the one Twitter Handle my YouTube Channel autotweets new Uploads to).

That’ll involve however the change of the Twitter Handles from @DaneeBound and @DaneeBound_CHA to something more appropriate.

4th, DeviantArt

To some this might be new, since – well – I haven’t told you on G+ over there, and on Twitter I only posted something about it twice (I think), but up until a few months ago, I regularly did German Translations of the Web Comic „Pillow Talk“ from Luiz (BR) and Matthew (UK), and I’m planning to do more of them in the future.

This Project has been put on hold for (again) the above mentioned reasons, as translating something from one language to another is not as easy as it seems. Because there is more to it than just translating words or sentences. In some cases, a metaphor that may work in English, doesn’t work at all in German. For example in Issue 32 of Pillow Talk, the Character is summoning a Gardevoir to use the Move Flash to light up a dark cave. This was a play on a particular meme that circulated around that time, where people would draw Gardevoir using Flash in a Battle, and that Gardevoir revealing her private sections to the opposing Pokémon. Now in Luiz’s take on it the Gardevoir actually revealed a Flash Light that was bound to their leg.

While this is a good Metaphor in English, when you translate it directly to German, you lose the Joke, because the Move Flash is strangely called „Blitz“ in German (lit. Lightning or the Snap of a Camera) and the German Word for Flash Light is „Taschenlampe“ (lit. Pocket Lamp).

While in the example I just mentioned, I couldn’t really do anything about it, if there is a way to not have the joke lost in translation, and if I don’t know it myself, I have to look through a Thesaurus, which takes a lotta time.

Thankfully in the near future I should have more time to, hopefully regularly, update this Project

If you haven’t seen the series yet, go to https://tapastic.com/episode/563435 for the latest issue in celebration of Final Fantasy XV, and with a cameo from yours truly

The Translation Project meanwhile you find on DaneeBound.Deviantart.com .

5th, YouTube

now, for the three of you that regularly watch my Videos on YouTube, you may have noticed that, right now I only have 4 active Projects (down from the 8 I had at the beginning of 2016)

Reason being, that (again) I had actual work to do after I began working full-time again, so having less projects to work on gives me more time to focus on my Day Job, without begging my superiors to use the one PC that is connected to the internet in the office every lunch break, because the day earlier I couldn’t finish an upload of a video or the Video Rendering finished after I had already gone to Bed (Curse you, Pentium G620) and I had to be out and about at 6 AM, with no guarantee that if I had set up the upload process before I had to leave for work that my mum would leave the Computer on like I always write on a sheet of paper to leave on my desk before I had to go.

Now in the last month I got a new PC and I got a bunch of new Hardware that should address some of these issues.

My new Rig is equipped with an Intel Core i5 3550 (a little bit older, but still competitive with newer Quad Cores, since the improvements from Generation to Generation of Intel’s Core Series CPUs have been negligible at best), a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, which can run almost anything at 1080p and 60FPS that I threw at it and 16 GB of DDR3 RAM with room for an upgrade to 32 GB, should I need it (also in the mix are 2 1 TB HDDs, the first one’s for the OS and all Programs, the second one’s for all the Games).

It’s not perfect, The PSU is a bit noisy and Cable Management is pretty much non-existent. But I’ll plan on having those issues resolved the coming weeks.

In terms of Video Editing, my new Rig smashed my old one in pretty much every step. Most notably, whereas rendering a 25 min Video may have taken up to an hour and a half on the old Computer, the new one is done after just 10 minutes (that’s what upgrading from a Pentium to an i5 with a GTX 1050 Ti can do to you)

So with all that said, expect to see more Content on my Channel in the future. I am already planning to bring some big heavy hitters old and new, especially with the Nintendo Switch coming in Spring

5th and a half, Double Cherry on YouTube

Now this is a weird one for me. The Double Cherry YouTube Channel is a joint-Venture between me and my friend Dave to post some random Videos on that we really wanted to make, but didn’t really sit well with the Content of either our Channels.

The Name Double Cherry was also chosen, because I planned to integrate it somehow into the Double Cherry Community on Google+, but since I’m no longer doing Community Stuff on G+, that plan fell through.

Now I haven’t talked to Dave about this yet (in fact he’s seems to have been so busy lately that he even had to neglect his personal Channel) but one particular Video I did a while back for this Channel has been picking up a lotta Steam over the course of the last year. It was a GameXplain style Comparision Video where I compared the performance of two Versions of Minecraft (original Java Version and the Windows 10 Version) on my old rig (the one with the Pentium G620 and no discreet Video Card)

basically that Video showed, that the Windows 10 Version of Minecraft ran a lot better on my old Computer than the Java-based Original. I however didn’t run any special Benchmarking Software back then, I just let the very clearly visible Framerate Drops speak for themselves. And that Video in particular got a lot of views and many people were showing up in the comments giving their two Cents (you could even argue that that Video did better than all of my 1000+ Videos on the Let’s Play Channel combined).

I have no concrete plans laid out for Double Cherry’s future, but that particular Video may steer the wheel quite a bit. I just need to talk to Dave about it whenever get the chance to.

And that’s about it then. Thank you for your attention, and I see you again in 2017.

Happy (late) new Year

DaneeBound