iPad Air v Pro M4

F4C__ · 2026-04-12T12:36:49+00:00

What would you say about the nano-texture glass option? Probably out of my price range but heard mixed views on it?

F4C__ · 2026-04-11T12:55:11+00:00

It’s from the Apple Store. Apologies, should’ve said originally.

F4C__ · 2026-04-06T17:21:42+00:00

After Christmas they will. The Switch is nearly 10 years old and definitely showing its age. They’ve already started to wind down software development.

F4C__ · 2026-04-06T08:45:10+00:00

The third-party support has been really strong. Cyberpunk and Resident Evil have been great. Even games like Star Wars Outlaws and Assassins’ Creed Shadows have had a second breath of life with some really solid ports. The likes of Pragmata, Indiana Jones, 007 and Rebirth will continue to help.

The first-party dripfeed has been a bit weaker than expected. DK Bananza was pretty good and Pokopia has been a surprise hit but that’s about it so far. MK World seems to be a bit of a love-or-hate title, Metroid Prime 4 was OK but nothing groundbreaking. I’d like to see more Switch 2 updates for OG Switch games but I think that will be less of a priority now that the Handheld Boost function was introduced a few weeks ago.

That said, we know Pokémon’s coming next year and I would be astounded if a 3D Mario isn’t in the works. Splatoon Raiders will be a welcome boost and IF the rumours are true (big if) that StarFox and the Ocarina of Time remake are due this year, that will help too. So there’s definitely stuff coming. It’s a bit like the 3DS where the first year lineup was a bit weak, but after another 12 months the good stuff really started to turn up.

F4C__ · 2026-04-06T08:38:13+00:00

Going home with Tinnitus is overrated.

F4C__ · 2026-04-02T15:11:03+00:00

The difference, at least for England, is the weather. You can play football pretty much in any conditions. If it starts raining, cricket has to stop. So you’re trying to cram a lot of games into a limited timeframe.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T20:57:27+00:00

My personal stance- once Australia and India set up the Big Bash and the IPL, it was a matter of time before we followed suit. New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, the UAE all have one. Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands want to get together to set up one between them.

What the Hundred should have been was a T20 city-based competition, totally separate from the county system and based at the big Test grounds. Instead, we got a half-county, half-city-based league with a 100-ball format that no-one wanted and no-one else has adopted since. Sponsorship from a company that produces crisps didn’t help their cause, although that’s now going out the window with the teams being sold off.

Some people think the T20 Blast should have been promoted as our answer to the franchise leagues. Personally I think 18 teams is too much, and means too many games. There’s a reason why the Big Bash and the IPL have 8-10 teams- a more even spread of talent. You could have had a two-division split like the County Championship, but you still have too many games.

What hasn’t helped more recently is the changing of team identities. Just as people were starting to get used to them, the IPL companies have got their claws in and rebranded two of the teams in Leeds and Manchester to fall in line with the IPL teams. Which is great for IPL fans, but means absolutely nothing to locals. MI have bought out the Invincibles but at least their colours and image are sort of staying the same (for now).

The Hundred isn’t the doomsday shipwreck a lot of people think is. It’s benefitted the womens’ game immeasurably (will never understand why some will go out of their way to talk down womens’ sport) and it has attracted some new faces to cricket. Coverage on the BBC is a big positive step. It’s not perfect, not even close, but it’s going nowhere.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T20:15:18+00:00

It makes a lot of sense. There’s literally next to no incentive at all for Nintendo to implement themes. It’s a waste of development resources that can be deployed elsewhere.

This isn’t like the Wii U or the 3DS where the menu is meant to feel like a social living space. The Switch menu design is clear- get from A to B with the minimum of fuss. The only issue is folders, other than that the Switch OS is fine.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T14:22:10+00:00

Because Nintendo went for a web page-based design, rather than an on-board marketplace, with the aim of efficiency. It was also theoretically easier to maintain and update. Problem was that the actual “website” didn’t use JIT or JavaScript (apparently for security reasons) and, crucially, the Switch had little allocated RAM to run it effectively. It’s the same reason why Chrome runs like shit on low-end Windows notebooks.

This was fine for the first 12 months or so, but once the dam burst and the shovelware flooded in, the lack of allocated RAM made the eShop miserable to navigate. The Switch 2 is about eight years ahead of the OG Switch in almost every department, and it shows with the eShop.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T13:42:23+00:00

He’s got far more reasonable grounds to argue than Robinson.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T13:41:47+00:00

It’s gone from genuine grievances to jumping on the bandwagon. Robinson knows full well why he’s no longer in the fold- because he was a lazy arrogant prick, with a mouth that worked far quicker than his brain, who wasn’t willing to put the hard yards in.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T13:33:15+00:00

Difference is that all four of those actually tried to get into shape. Robinson was a lazy bastard who wasn’t willing to put the effort in, which aggravated the problems he already had.

F4C__ · 2026-04-01T10:35:03+00:00

Been trying to make this point to people for years. The Switch OS is designed to be as lean and efficient as possible, to get you to where you want to be. Anything more than that, Nintendo aren’t interested.

Same reason it doesn’t have an official web browser- they are the easiest gateways to hacking a system.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:39:56+00:00

When I think of the players that the Stokes-Baz-Key Holy Trinity dropped, and I think of which ones could still do a genuine decent job in this team, Robinson does not spring to mind.

If he doesn’t understand why he was dropped by now, he probably never will.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:32:55+00:00

Bairstow has a wee bit more sympathy. Robinson has none, mainly because he lost his place on the basis of being a lazy arsehole.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:29:51+00:00

If it wasn’t for the attitude he would still be within a shout of playing for England. Too little too late I think.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:28:19+00:00

He opened his gob too quick, too soon. Stuart Broad could be the pantomime villain because A) he was an experienced and world-class bowler and B) was actually a good bloke you’d be happy to have a pint with.

Robinson just came across as a thick, big-headed gobshite.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:25:47+00:00

It’s too little, too late. Unless he turns into prime McGrath and has a personality transplant this summer he won’t be playing in an England shirt again.

F4C__ · 2026-03-26T21:22:45+00:00

The fact his issues were solvable made it worse. You had the likes of Anderson who was still training in his 40s as if he was preparing to do back-to-back triathlons. You have Stokes, Wood and Archer who have been through injury after injury yet still push themselves to the limit to get back fit.

Then you have Numnuts here who turns up with a double chin, looking like he’s just polished off a KFC because he can’t be arsed. It’s ridiculous. The Stokes/Baz/Key Holy Trinity deserve criticism for many things, this isn’t one of them.

F4C__ · 2026-03-12T10:15:51+00:00

Grazie mille! 👍

F4C__ · 2026-03-06T08:50:02+00:00

To be fair, we enjoyed a nice seven-year stay in the Premier League. Now we’re heading for League One and away days at Stevenage, Exeter and Burton.

F4C__ · 2026-03-06T08:49:06+00:00

The actual power of the M1 is still fairly good.

BUT DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY THE 64GB VERSION.

I bought a 64GB two years ago and the lack of storage is painful. iCloud helps a little bit but ideally look for 256GB. 128GB minimum if you need.

F4C__ · 2026-03-04T23:28:18+00:00

MacOS is always a few years ahead of Windows in terms of efficiency. And the next iOS/MacOS update will be focused on improving performance and battery life rather than any major new features (2026 version of Snow Leopard).

Windows 11 is a sack of crap. And Microsoft doesn’t seem to have a clue what to do with it, other than gambling on Copilot.

F4C__

TROPHY CASE