Quoting: vic-baykeep your room tidy, pay attention to your electric equipment and nothing bad will ever happen, unless a cat or a mouse chews on wires.

Or a rabbit, LoL. Long, long ago my girlfriend's dwarf bunny chewed partially through the monitor cable while I was using the computer. The screen went from full colour to shades of green. The rabbit survived. She changed his name to Merlin.

Merlin liked to play with my brother's Siamese cat. He would sneak up behind the cat and bite its tail then run away, expecting to be chased.

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Not my kind of game (i.e., it's multiplayer) but it sounds like it will be hilariously fun.

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And in this case they've kept up the older version in an opt-in Steam Beta too, best of all worlds.

Doing it the right way too! Keeping support for the legacy and retro gamers.

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Quoting: KimyrielleI need my PC for work anyway, so the gaming part is just an added plus. That being said, some edge cases aside, when people live in such tight places that a desktop really wouldn't fit in anywhere, I can't quite understand the appeal of gaming laptops either. They are much, MUCH pricier than a comparable gaming PC, so heavy that you barely can consider them a mobile device, and have no battery life worth mentioning. On top of being ergonomically inferior.

But hey, I am not telling people what device to play on. :)

Oh, I get that. I don't think anybody commenting on this article is saying that -- just expressing their personal preferences.

I never used to prefer laptops for gaming, unlike a number of my friends who do buy those high-priced genuine gaming laptops. Things change, however. My wife and I downsized to a small living space. We don't have the luxury of setting aside a space for a desktop PC, which, in my opinion, takes up far more space than a laptop. We don't even have a television, much less the space for one. It is much easier to simply pack away the laptop after a gaming session or other usage.

Laptops are also much more energy efficient than desktops, especially gaming desktops (built a few in my time). We live off-grid with limited power, so a laptop suits our lifestyle better. I tend to choose a more general purpose business-class laptop with an entry or mid level discrete GPU because they are generally more energy efficient and lighter weight than a gaming-class laptop. (I wish I could afford a Framework-style modular laptop but I have other priorities for my money.)

No, I cannot run the latest AAA games, but they don't interest me anyway.

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Nvidia just released 580.159.04 today.

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I didn't know there was such a thing as Denuvo Anti-Cheat, but I don't generally play the kind of games that require Anti-Cheat. So, they do both DRM and Anti-Cheat then. From the reactions here, both are a pain in the butt.

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Quoting: SalvatosI could see the argument working for laptops too, but gaming on a laptop is just sad as far as I'm concerned.

Clearly, you must be just speaking for yourself. I've been gaming on laptops for nearly 15 years now and I couldn't be happier. I also know a number of people that prefer to buy gaming laptops over desktops. Of course, with the advent of the handheld PC, their preference may change. Me? I find the screens too small on a handheld PC. I wouldn't mind a laptop with a 15in screen and the Steam Deck/Machine guts, however.

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I very much like the improvements to the cover/card image management. Time to upgrade!

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Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneDo I have a cellphone? Yes. But it also runs Linux on purpose to have a lifespan that exceeds any smartphones lifespan [...] There are a lot of people doing the same as me.

Kind of off topic here, but in support of your statement above, my wife and I have the same model of cellphone and we have been using them for 8 years. The phones are perfectly functional (aside from sending and receiving multimedia texts) but they don't support VoLTE, so voice is done over 3G while data uses 4G LTE. Needless to say, 3G is being phased out in Canada and we are under pressure from our carrier to get a new phone. But, you have to admit that 8 years was a good, long run in the cellphone world. Neither my wife nor I have bought into the idea of disposable equipment that both Google and Apple push so heavily in the cellular industry.

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Quoting: g000hLet's go through your arguments then, shall we? First, you agree with some of my points, so I'll only counter where your points differ:

While Amazon does host third-party sellers, your declaration that this facilitates small business overlooks the predatory nature of the platform's ecosystem. Amazon is both a referee and player, making it a clear conflict of interest. During 2020, Amazon systematically used non-public data from third-party sellers to identify successful products and then launch competing Amazon Basics versions to undercut them. Additionally, Amazon takes advantage of algorithmic bias when promoting marketplace items prioritising products with higher profit margins for Amazon even if they are more expensive or lower quality than third-party alternatives. Often sellers that try to sell outside Amazon's ecosystem are penalised.

The existence of other competitors does not disprove the abuse of market dominance - It merely indicates the market is large enough to sustain a few giants. However Amazon is the largest of these with the greatest marketshare, and is still the one to focus attention on. Amazon has successfully driven out competition in niche markets. The book industry (for instance) is nearly monopolised by Amazon. forcing independent bookstores to close or struggle immensely.

Before Amazon there were thousands of independent online retailers. Now the market is heavily consolidated, thanks to Amazon's damaging influence. The presence of Temu and Ali Express does not negate the fact that the biggest player, Amazon, has used its logistics network and capital reserves to engage in predatory pricing (selling below cost) to crush competitors. Only to raise the prices later, once dominance is secured.

Your contention that supporting local business requires dropping globalist capitalism, i.e. some things need global scale: This is a false dichotomy. One can advocate for fair labour practices, ethical tax contributions, and consumer protection without rejecting globalisation or efficiency of scale. The issue is not globalisation itself, but the unregulated concentration of power that allows a single entity to dictate terms globally.

Your argument relies on a "straw man" fallacy, i.e. that criticising Amazon equates to wanting to abolish all global trade. The reality is that Amazon's specific business practices - data exploitation, predatory pricing, and anti-competitive behaviour - These all harm the small businesses and consumers. Amazon is a monopoly that uses its size to stifle market diversity.

GOOD. Instead of throwing out generic talking points, you are now addressing specific concerns.

The book industry issue is complicated. Blaming just one source, Amazon, is as much a "straw man" fallacy as you accuse me of below. The retail market has changed. Small publishers, instead of just wholesaling to bookstores, are now selling direct. Consumers seem to have embraced "mail order" over brick-and-mortar stores. I have no problems finding small online retailers for most books that interest me. E-book formats certainly haven't helped the situation. Like computer video game stores, the bookstores are being forced to adjust. To argue that globalism has not played a part in this complex issue would also be naive. I, for one, lament the loss of the local bookstore. Browsing online is just not the same as browsing the shelves in a bookstore.

Your argument relies on a "straw man" fallacy, i.e. that criticising Amazon equates to wanting to abolish all global trade.

I made no such argument. You're reading too much into my comment. By all means, criticize Amazon but be specific about your complaints. Using generic talking points just diminishes your argument.

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