The thing that sold me on the Steam Deck: mods. Mods for minecraft, mods for skyrim, mods for stardew valley, mods for SteamOS itself. I can customize it like no other console, and I don't even need to hack it first.
Not enough people seem to get that the Steam Deck isn't just a console that runs PC games, it's also a console that runs mods. The first games I played on mine didn't stretch its graphical capabilities, they were just games like Stardew and Minecraft that I could have played on the Switch, but only on the Steam Deck could I play them my way.
maybe something like a Raspberry Pi and set him up with html? html and js is still a great way to learn, you get immediate feedback!
cards, dice, icehouse pyramids, and tiny plastic ducks
yes there are and yes they do! actually that's the sole reason I decided to get textured vinyl instead of smooth, I like the touchpads being a bit textured.
the good news is that they made a TON of them and you can pick one up in working condition for like $50 on ebay still.
i designed this and ordered a print from mightyskins, it came out pretty good!
agreed, i prefer third party docks to the official one, especially if you want to put a silicone case on your deck.
Everything from this 2023 reddit post
i also carry in my purse:
I used to carry a battery pack but its heavy and rarely used, so now I just carry a second usb-c cable and a c-to-c extender and hopefully i'll be able to reach an outlet.
Probably Emacs. /j
Yes, we have ghost communities. No, it's not a problem. We're not here to entertain you 24/7.
The Reddit communities that drove the most engagement were also the most toxic. The good part of Reddit was, and to some extent still is, the slow-moving communities that act as magnets for scraps of obscure knowledge.
Have patience.
I carry a spare usb stick and some low-capacity microsd cards, because sometimes its just easier to hand someone a file the old fashioned way.
Sometimes I do play games on my phone, but whenever possible I use a usb or bluetooth gamepad, because touchscreens aren't supplanting buttons any time soon.
And of course the Steam Deck is my favorite gizmo, not just because it can run every PC and emulator game, but also because it doesn't have any bullshit preventing me from installing mods. If phone modding was easy and accessible i'd be willing to spend more on a phone.
I've written about this on my blog: https://nycki.net/blog/2024-09-21-01-ethics-of-reuploading/
in brief: I think the right to keep one's memories should usually come first over another's right to be forgotten, but its ultimately a consent issue.
using an android phone running retroarch, an 8bitdo Zero Two wireless controller, and this 3D printable mount https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5998094 .
works pretty good for gb/gbc titles, and its much smaller than other controller attachments! I've been using it for some gba stuff too, like Game and Watch Gallery 4 or Pokemon: Too Many Types, which don't require the L/R buttons.
if this makes you want to buy a controller, I recommend the 8bitdo Micro, which is the same size but with two extra buttons.
inspired by The Best Way To Count.
made this to demonstrate mermaid flowchart generator
Homeworlds is a pure strategy game played using a set of colored pyramids. The colors and sizes represent different resources, and the goal is to build an interstellar supply chain to destroy your opponent's home planet.
Because the game is pure strategy, there's a risk of the meta becoming stale someday. Chess and Go are intimidating to new players because you basically have to study centuries of meta before you can do anything new in them.
So I've been thinking about ways to modify Homeworlds to be "imperfect strategy". This is my favorite pitch so far: the Secret Weapon.
When building your homeworld at the start of the game, each player also secretly places a 12mm dice under a large opaque pyramid. I'm using black 'mids here because they're not used for any purpose in game. The number on the hidden die represents one of the four resource types: 1 = yellow (warp), 2 = red (steal), 3 = green (replicate), 4 = blue (transform).
Once per game, without costing an action, you may reveal your Secret Weapon. Immediately take any piece of that color from the bank, and build it at your homeworld.
I haven't playtested this yet, so let me know if you do. I'm hoping it would lead to situations in the early- to mid-game, such as "hmm, I think it's safe to build a large piece, because you can't steal it this turn... unless your secret weapon is red, of course." The bluff and counter-bluff would make it impossible to play perfectly, so the meta would always have room to evolve.
I still use firefox despite their questionable leadership, for one major reason: it prevents Google from setting whatever web standards they want. Sites that aren't standards compliant will usually still work in Chromium-based browsers, but they will break in Firefox, and then I can report the bugs.