Yeah, we’ll see. I presume it’ll be fine… Or cool enough not to melt the PLA

… usually comments like this imply I goofed on spelling, but I can’t see which word it was. Can you point it out to me plz?

Only if you live in the US or UK. Lol I didn’t realize Amazon’s international kneecapping of their products moved to include hardware along with software.

For context if you are Canadian you don’t get access to overdrive or audiobooks on Kindle. Fun fact this also includes their fire tablets.

Welp I guess this also includes NSO games.

I’m not worried, after all I didn’t use any emulators

For me I was looking for reliability, so I ended up with Prusa. But I ended up with them thanks to a few simple rules I followed.

1. Can the machine and it’s parts be replaced with off shelf components?

2. Does it use, or is the platform compatible with open source slicers (Prusaslicer/Cura)?

3. Does the community support the device with mods on 3D model repositories (Thingiverse/Printables)?

4. Does the manufacturer have a track record for support (or the lack thereof)?

Before I got my Prusa, the Creality Ender 3 was the goto, and it was a really reliable machine. For my printing needs I need a direct drive print head, and a better auto bed leveling routine. But the Ender 3 s1 looks pretty good as an alternative.

I’ve use metal watch bands for years instead of silicone. Current one was for my Pebble time I got from Fossil and it’s still going strong.

I personally use a metal watch band for myself. I react poorly to p/leather and silicone and I’ve used a watch band I first got as a substitute for my Pebble Time. Might be from Fossil, but any old stainless steel metal band works for me.

Ditto, but I don’t exercise as much as they do so I assume its longevity is based off of how much you sweat.

Pro: Price, Convenience, Looks

Cons: Much like buying an “iPhone” from Temu, the price is usually reflected in the quality.

Don’t get me wrong, there are cheep smart watches if you look for them or go second hand. But what you’ll find advertised on Temu isn’t it.

Build quality is usually the first to suffer, but you’ll find mislabeled battery info a 500mah instead of the promised 1000mah. Or an LCD instead of an OLED.

But those are things we can adapt too. The biggest problem is software. That’ll do and close enough has been the name of the game for years now. And sometimes “smart” just means it can (badly) track your steps and pretend to check your heart rate with a led pretending to be a sensor.

Alternative

If you are looking for any budget electronics try looking for last years or a few years ago models. I got a Garmin Forerunner 235 in 2022 for 1/5 of its asking price because I found a deal on eBay.

I’d also look into the landscape of the market you are buying into and seeing who is actually making these things, and what is running on it.

For smart watches I found the answer was

Apple

Android with Watch OS (Samsung google and many more)

Garmin

If the watch isn’t running android watch os or is made by Apple or Garmin. Assume its good too be true and look into it more, or look elsewhere.

Good news China is lazy and one clone usually is made by many factories and someone else made a video about it. Might not be the same name, but it’ll be close enough.

Pepper Grinder (Steam/GOG/Switch/PS4/PS5/XB/ONE/S/X)

Released in March of the is year (and in August for non switch consoles) Pepper Grinder is a traditional 2D platformer with a world map, levels, and a gimmick of using a drill to travel underground like a dolphin through water.

Its platforming has a good rhythm to it, with a nice momentum when you go in and out of the dirt. The best way I can describe the game is that it feels like a Mario Gimmick level that’s been expanded to its own game.

If I had any complaints about this game, is that the boss fights are a bit too tedious. Not impossible as I’ve been able to beat them. But requires a bit more precise movement than the levels which preceded it.

Overall though, I haven’t played a 2d platformed in ages which I’ve actually wanted to go through in ages. And it is a welcomed addition to my gaming library.

Favourite as in the one I love the most. Model 1 Genesis, or Virtual Boy. Love their aesthetic.

Favourite as in best Library. PS1/PS2. Massive library of games which are still being enjoyed decades after they were launched.

Favourite as in still using. By my books, I’d consider the PS Vita as retro now, if not then the Nintendo DS/PSP.

Bold assumption to think that I have a Neogeo pocket color. (I’m broke)

Pokemon Sapphire/Emerald/Ruby/Leaf Green/Fire Red were my goto especially for grinding. From sound and memorization along you can play pokemon without looking… Or at least I could.

Zelda Oracle of Ages is another game which I found calming. Its more puzzle than combat, but there is still combat. Not goof got meeting but good for afterwards.

The GBC Harry Potter games or Prisoner of Azkaban are fun RPGs that I played before Pokemon. A fun time too, and can almost be played under a desk (don’t ask how I know)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, rogue like endless(ish) dungeon crawler. Amazing story, but the post game is just a grind perfect for fiddling as you are just doing the same thing for 99 levels… Until you find the boss. Better on DS with Blue rescue team, but red on GBA is a good choice.

Outside of mega man battle network, the rest of my games are platformers which don’t fit the bill

They

Pokémon Emerald, and PixelJunk monsters.

I prefer GOG but not enough to not buy from Steam. And each store has its pros and cons.

As a single player gamer, I love the DRM free nature of GOG, especially for classic games like Rollercoaster Tycoon or SimCity 3000. I have older PCs lying around and being able to play my games on them is very very nice.

On the other hand, updating my game is a chore and GOG Galaxy while cool isn’t polished, and very buggy especially only Linux via Wine. I wouldn’t even consider online multiplayer games unless it had its own server.

Compared to Steam which works with Linux by default, no Lutris or Bottles configuring to get games to work. Updates are seamless and online multiplayer is built into the client. Let alone remote play, steam families, big picture, and all the other features it does.

My only gripe with Steam is the GIANT question mark on what happens to my games when they pull support. I mean I can’t even play my older games any more on my old Windows 7 machine, and its not like Fallout 3 is getting updates.

So my priority is thus: GOG then Steam, if its single player and the price is similar (±$10). Steam then GOG if it makes sense or I need steam features (I.e. I got Stardew Valley on Steam since my SO has it there too and we can play together). Finally if the game is around $5 get it on either, or maybe both if I like the game.

For the first time in over 10 years. LBP Vita. Wanted to record it and just got sucked back in.

Also playing LBP PSP but not getting as sucked in

I do not consider a Mac for a gaming machine since it’s library is extremely limited compared to a pc.

With that said, a steam dec+Mac would be a good combo.

Depends on use case. As others have suggested please ensure that she is in the discussions.

M powered macs are both a blessing and a curse. They are fast, battery efficient, and have the ports you need with the Pro.

But they force you to be stuck with the storage amount you leave the store with, no ability to upgrade, and a reduced software library thanks to the removal of x86 code. If she plays games on her machine, she’s going to have a bad time.

Meanwhile, Windows machines haven’t changed much since 2015. Yes they can still do everything that they could, so software isn’t an issue and games play better than they ever did. But the cost is the amount of extra research you need to do to ensure you are getting a good machine.

My current windows laptop looked good on paper, but the battery life turned out to be worse than I expected and the speakers are so quiet I can’t hear them.

With that said. If you have the budget, the Macbook is the better work machine in my view. Especially if your are just typing. We are leveling out on storage and RAM requirements, so long as you get more than 256GB of storage (1TB recommended 512GB min) and at least 8GB of RAM anything you get will feel snappy and quick.

However if she intends to use it for more, I.e. games, video editing, photo shop, connecting other devices to it like a Garmin. Then you should ensure that whatever you get can do it. (Web browsing doesn’t count any more)

You can’t just fallback on Linux just yet, as there is only a few distros for it and software is still limited.