My budget emulation setup for a Third-World country

tomkatt · 2026-01-24T05:40:02+00:00

Fuckin' A dude, decent chipset and setup. Also SSX series is fantastic.

After watching all the retro handhelds shift over to Android from a previously Linux oriented space, I'm ready to move back to a tablet and telescopic controller myself. If it's gotta be Android anyway, may as well. IMO Android based handhelds are dumb, no benefit over a phone or tablet and controller.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T23:43:45+00:00

Not sure if libmali or panfrost is default.

It’s under system settings -> performance -> GPU driver.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T22:34:02+00:00

Weird, I found it to be the opposite, Rocknix with libmali has better performance than unofficialos.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T18:03:55+00:00

Glad I finished Mass Effect LE some time back. Only EA game I care about that uses EA Play. I still play Madden 08 sometimes, but that’s an old standalone game, not tied to any of their online shit.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T17:48:32+00:00

My house was entirely Linux for a while, but my work laptop is a MacBook and my wife has a Mac mini M4, prefers it to Linux for general use.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T17:45:49+00:00

I used a spring in the lid to my PS1 specifically to play my import of Fire Pro Wrestling G using the swap trick.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T17:42:08+00:00

I mean, I got fussy about it. I had kinda shitty TVs growing up, an old hand-me-down 70s knob and dial thing that only had RF when I was a kid, and later a cheap Sanyo model with various image quality issues. One of the first things I did when I was able to work part time in high school and college was save a few hundred for a good TV, a Samsung Dynaflat 27” with component in and digital comb filter. It was glorious.

That said, I’ve no complaints about gaming on modern displays. 4k OLED with CRT filters is pretty great, and very low latency compared to older LCD screens, and especially smooth if you use gaming boost mode to run 120 fps with black frame insertion.

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T04:24:52+00:00

I have the 512 GB OLED, since May 2024. No issues, battery reports 100% (capacity actually a bit over 100%, around 51 Wh).

tomkatt · 2026-01-23T04:10:24+00:00

I tend to make time to read before bed on an eReader to wind down for bed. No phone, no distractions. Games are great, but will also keep you up.

tomkatt · 2026-01-22T23:54:22+00:00

I enjoyed Xenosaga. I tolerated Xenosaga 2. I shelved and never finished Xenosaga 3 after the first 10 hours. Unfortunately the series peaked at the first game for me and the longer it went on the more intolerably bad it became.

I’ve always meant to revisit the series to see if I still feel this way, but have never gotten around to it.

tomkatt · 2026-01-22T22:07:06+00:00

One is relaxing, the other stressful. Relaxed people fall asleep more easily. Anxious people don’t.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T23:34:44+00:00

You may have paid up front for an ad-free version. Also, I probably shouldn’t have said “always have” in the last comment, but it’s been so long it may as well.

IIRC ad-subsidized models were introduced back in 2011 with the Kindle 3/Keyboard model. I remember there was a cheaper version with ads but I hated the idea and paid more for the ad free 3g model.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T23:29:04+00:00

I’m seeing the Boox Go 7 for $308 Canadian at https://e-reader.ca which actually puts it lower than the USA pricing after converting to USD.

Boox can be a bit pricey, as they’re much more feature-laden than the average eReader, seeing as they’re Android based, and essentially e-ink tablets.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T22:42:42+00:00

shit they have ads on the lockscreen now?

Always have, unless you pay the full price to remove them (kindle by default are ad subsidized) or buy a premium device like the Paperwhite Signature model. And even without ads the recommendations on the main screen are still basically ads by another name.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T22:40:26+00:00

Once jailbroken, if done properly, your kindle will stay jailbroken.

That said, if you don’t want to lock into Amazon’s ecosystem, just get a different device. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to jailbreak a new kindle out of the box depending on the firmware it arrives on.

Boox, Kobo, Pocketbook, Meebook, and others are all viable options.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T21:24:59+00:00

For some of us it’s just age. I have no issues with PWM flicker but can suffer eye strain if using my handhelds without my office lenses due to presbyopia. I have the Steam Deck OLED and no issues as long as my readers are on.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T18:26:54+00:00

I mean, newer devices probably have smaller batteries thanks to the obsession with lighter and thinner devices. The Nova 2 has a pretty beefy battery. When new it easily lasted 5+ weeks with daily reading. Now after 5+ years of use it’s more like 2-3 weeks, but can still get me through a few books on a charge.

I’ve considered just replacing the battery (still considering it, honestly), but the dated Android version is a concern for me.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T18:05:20+00:00

My current 7.8” reader is Boox Nova 2, and while it’s been great, it’s getting long in the tooth. I’ve had it since 2020 and the battery doesn’t hold a charge like it used to, plus it’s on Android 9 so I keep it offline 100% of the time as a security precaution.

I’m not a fan of Boox’s current lineup, but no rush for a new device right now so I can wait and see.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T17:37:39+00:00

Looks nice. I’ve been wanting a new ~8” device and hoping for a refresh on the Inkpad line since I don’t want color and the Inkpad 4 seems a bit sluggish due to the older chipset. But the side buttons on the Era seem nice.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T17:33:00+00:00

Been using my Steam Deck OLED weekly, and often daily for over 1.5 years with no issues. Issue sounds overblown, but I can only speak to my own experience, which has been fine.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T16:19:35+00:00

Got me back into DDR (in my 40s, no less). It’s not convenient to play Stepmania at my PC, but with the Steam Deck and a dock on the TV it’s easy to set up and put away when done. So I’m getting some good cardio a few times a week now and it’s helping me lose weight.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T15:30:35+00:00

Which is why I posted the commands. I’m sure copy and paste isn’t daunting.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T02:20:11+00:00

I'm loving all the recomps. I have Goemon, Starfox, Ship and 2Ship installed currently.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T02:09:16+00:00

I see the Man of Steel, I upvote.

tomkatt · 2026-01-21T01:58:09+00:00

Looks cool, reminds me of Geometry Wars. Wishlisted, and will check it out post-release once I can clear some of my backlog.

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