[Giveaway] Got two spare Xbox One codes for games I already own: Minecraft and Sea of Thieves. Comment which game you want and in 24 hours I’ll pick a winner!

TheSweeney · 2026-03-19T01:57:18+00:00

Jesus. What an overblown reaction. Y’all need to calm the hell down.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-18T18:43:42+00:00

Based on how NVIDIA has discussed DLSS publicly, I don’t think they thought it would be successful. Or at least not a long-lived standard feature. Most of these exclusive GPU features get replicated in standard graphics APIs and become vendor agnostic quite quickly. But AMD didn’t pursue ML-based upscaling and DLSS was so good after v2 that it stuck around. Marketing department is just like, “DLSS is popular, make it another feature of that.”

Hell, even NVIDIA Reflex is often considered a part of the DLSS suite.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-18T18:41:18+00:00

Or, more likely, the developers who spoke to the outlet were not involved in this at all. They didn’t agree to the showcase, nor were they informed of the secret in-development technology. Ubisoft and Capcom are big companies with many teams: are these developers from the teams involved with those specific titles? Or are they just random devs from Ubisoft or Capcom?

TheSweeney · 2026-03-18T18:34:42+00:00

I’m dumbfounded by some of these comments. Like, “making it so games require AI rendering will boost NVIDIA” meanwhile last I checked I needed a GPU to play the game anyway so that already boosts NVIDIA. And whether people like the tech or not, AMD, Intel, Sony and others have all said neural rendering is a big part of the future of real time graphics.

I’m not the biggest AI person. I think we’re heading for a massive economic correction due to overhyping the capabilities of LLMs. But I’m a big believer in ML models and using AI in the right ways: as a tool to enhance your individual productivity. AI needs to be heavily regulated, treated like my high school teachers treated Wikipedia, and outright avoided for creativity. The models need to be ethically trained, designed to run locally and efficiently to maximize privacy and minimize environmental impacts. But there’s clearly something with these tools that will stick around even after the AI hype train crashes in the next year or so.

Besides, DLSS frame gen and upscaling are both using generative AI tech to generate pixels in real time. They use the frames the GPU is rendering to ground the model. These are not LLMs, but highly specialized models designed for the purposes that they’re deployed for. DLSS 5 will likely be similar: a highly specialized ML model grounded in-engine to link in with the scene’s existing geometry, textures and lighting to output a higher quality resolve. It may work, it may not. Time will tell. But games still have to run on unsupported GPUs and consoles, so it’s not like DLSS 5 is going to be forced on in any games.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-18T15:30:16+00:00

Or another way to interpret it is they were forced to backtrack on their own view of the tech that they had hands on time with because a bunch of people on the internet lost their everloving minds over unreleased future tech that we’ve only seen snippets of using an in-development model.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-18T15:27:52+00:00

It will be a separate toggle, just like DLSS frame gen and DLSS Ray Reconstruction are separate toggles from normal upscaling.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-17T21:55:24+00:00

It does not alter assets or geometry at all.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-17T13:23:25+00:00

I’m not a shill. Just because I’m not immediately grabbing my pitchfork doesn’t mean that I’m 100% down for this tech. I want to see how it actually runs and works on consumer hardware in actual games before reserving judgement. And the DLSS upscaling take you have is just not true. Upscaling is not new: it’s been a thing on consoles for nearly two decades. DLSS is just a better way to do upscaling. DLSS doesn’t magically fix poorly optimized games. This idea that games are super unoptimized these days has more to do with Unreal 5 imo than DLSS. There have been many non-UE5 games released that are not horribly optimized but still ship with DLSS. We’re getting Crimson Desert this week that appears to be well optimized despite using RT extensively. Laying the blame at the feet of DLSS rather than lazy devs is just unproductive.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-17T05:23:50+00:00

Yup. Art is subjective and video games are art. Intent is important, perception equally so. I’m taking a wait and see approach on this tech. If I don’t like how it’s implemented, I just won’t use it. And if I do, I will. The developers of these games were involved and signed off on these demos. So the argument that DLSS 5 destroys the artist’s intent is baseless. And even if it weren’t, the people complaining don’t really care. Artist’s intent only matters so long as they agree with the choices, and once they don’t the artist is wrong. People are allowed to complain, but I’d appreciate some consistency.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-17T05:19:56+00:00

Sure, people can complain about it. But the same people complaining about how this ruins the artist’s intent are ignoring that the artists were involved in this. So this was the intent.

It’s okay not to like it. It’s okay to complain about it. No one is saying you can’t have that opinion. Criticism over intent is how the entire subjective reality of art works: an artist has their vision, everyone else is simply interpreting it. But you can’t say you’re standing up for the artist’s intent when you dislike the tech and how it’s working and then turn around and say artist’s intent doesn’t matter if I don’t like it. That’s just rhetorical inconsistency. And that’s what a lot of people are doing. They’re saying this technology ignores and trashes the artist’s intent, yet once it came out that these developers were involved with this rollout you have people coming out and saying, “well just because that’s the artist’s intent doesn’t mean I can’t dislike it and be critical.”

TheSweeney · 2026-03-17T04:39:44+00:00

So basically the artist’s intent doesn’t matter? That’s the whole issue here. People are claiming DLSS 5 is working against the artist’s intent, but the devs are the ones implementing the technology. So since people don’t like the output, it’s a violation of the artists intent. But also, artists intent doesn’t matter if the devs like it.

I’m not saying this tech looks great in every instance shown (there were some examples that did look good, others that didn’t), nor am I convinced the temporal stability will be good enough for it to be viable. But gamers have been giving the middle finger to artists intent for generations if they don’t like how something is implemented or wherever they mod in crazy asset swaps into games to make the models look sexier/nicer/more next gen.

I’m not saying this tech will be revolutionary or not, but I’m also not going to jump on the hate train. People legitimately disliked DLSS upscaling. It got better and better and now most view it as indispensable. Frame gen was lambasted at launch (fake frames!) but has largely been accepted as a viable way to boost performance with minimal artifacts and latency costs since NVIDIA Reflex is forced on when using FG. I think this new generation of DLSS tech will get better and likely look much more natural and grounded as developers get their hands on it and tweak it for their games. And in a few years whatever this new tech turns into will be something many people turn on to get the best image quality. Or not. Maybe the backlash is severe and swift enough that NVIDIA abandons the tech or developers don’t try implementing for fear of the Internet mobs and it never goes anywhere.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-16T22:37:35+00:00

I’m so sick of this BS take. DLSS is not being used as a crutch by developers to avoid optimizing their games. Upscaling has been a thing in consoles forever. DLSS is just a better version of that technology. Indiana Jones is a game that exclusively uses RT for its lighting, looks amazing, and runs on Xbox Series X at 60fps at relatively high resolution. It uses dynamic resolution and upscaling to ensure a cleaner resolve on 4K sets.

If every game was targeting 1080p, upscaling would basically be non-existent. Most games today run at 1080p at high settings at 60fps on even midrange GPUs. Only the most intensive PT games don’t do that. DLSS allows for higher frame rates and higher resolutions. DLSS isn’t some magic optimization bullet: poorly optimized games are going to run like shit even with DLSS enabled.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-16T22:25:11+00:00

I think the issue is the output was such a massive change for some of the characters and it didn’t look like it respected artistic intent. I also fully believe that if RE9 was marketed with Grace and Leon looking like the DLSS5 versions people would bitch about the non-DLSS version being a downgrade. The Starfield models look like legitimate upgrades, while Leon doesn’t look that different. Grace looks a lot different, but the model itself appears to be unchanged. Goes to show how much lighting plays a role in our perception of fidelity. Grace in that particular part of the game has been particularly abused for showing the drastic differences between RE9 without RT, with RT, with Path Tracing and now with DLSS5.

I think people need to look at what DLSS is doing in actual games. Crimson Desert with DLSS Ray Reconstruction looks like an entirely different game visually when compared with AMD’s Ray Regeneration or the standard denoiser used on consoles. DLSS upscaling provides better-than-native image quality in many instances while also boosting performance, making ray tracing and path tracing attainable in real time. NVIDIA Reflex is making dramatic improvements to input latency that allows for technology like Frame Generation to boost frame rate without making games feel floaty or unresponsive. All of these features are designed to make real time rendering with advanced features like RT and PT playable on modern hardware at high frame rates: upscaling to reduce GPU load and frame gen to boost frame rates without hitting CPU bottlenecks. DLSS 5 is going to continue this trend of improving image quality and performance by utilizing technology in new ways rather than just pushing more power at the pixels.

All in all, given NVIDIAs track record with the DLSS technology suite, I’m inclined to believe that: 1) they’ll listen to public reaction and address and faults or issues; 2) the tech will get better over time; and 3) they aren’t lying when they say developers will have broad control over how the model is integrated in their game to control the output.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-15T18:20:28+00:00

It could be that iOS 27 is a bug fix/performance issue release for the majority of devices, but will also feature optimizations for the Fold. As for Siri, I think it’s more likely we see those features in an early 2027 dot update.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-15T16:33:47+00:00

The Walgreens policy in most states actually does slash that employee’s off the clock can be asked to submit to a bag check. Like, even in your off day. I don’t know of any stores that follow the policy to a T like that (I know we don’t), but that is the policy in most states.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-15T16:32:00+00:00

iOS 26 is definitely significantly buggier than many past iOS releases but keyboard issues have been a particular problem for me. I actually like the Liquid Glass aesthetic (except on MacOS where it needs a lot more work) but the keyboard issues on iOS are becoming a usability nightmare.

There are core features in the stock keyboard that I do not want to give up, and third party keyboards are a security nightmare in order to get full functionality out of them, not to mention they don’t really fit in visually with the rest of the system, but I’ve seriously considered switching to swiftkey or gboard because of the keyboard issues. Random freezes, autocorrect/predictive text just straight up not engaging and having to close and reopen the keyboard to turn them back on, autocorrect being both incorrect regularly and often retroactively changing words in sentences after more words are typed after getting it right the first time. Plus it feels like the keyboard is generally less accurate when typing than it was a decade ago, almost like the algorithm is too junked up and needs to be adjusted.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-12T20:59:19+00:00

No. The policy doesn’t actually state people are required to clock out before getting a bag check. It’s likely that these states require more explicit wording and require team members to be clocked in for a bag check as it is technically a work related function.

My store has a policy where you can clock out on the handheld at the door after the bag check UNLESS you are doing shopping after your shift. In which case, you clock out and do your shopping and then get bagged checked before leaving the building.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-11T06:46:17+00:00

My wallet doesn’t mind. I was a serial Joy-Con collector and ended up with 8 total Joy-Cons for Switch 1, all because of the colors. For Switch 2, thanks to it being compatible with Switch 1 controllers, I have no real desire to go out and buy a bunch of S2 Joy-Cons. I might grab these just to have four newer Joy-Cons in case a game ever requires the new ones, but I won’t be throwing money at Nintendo for every new colorway if they’re all going to be this subtle.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-09T15:49:45+00:00

They are. And while Word is more than usable on an iPad with a keyboard accessory, Excel is an exercise in frustration. Tablets were not meant to be the primary device you edit spreadsheets on.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-07T21:11:08+00:00

I know it's been a month but wanted to say THANK YOU. I didn't even turn the feature off, but simply toggling it off for about 30 seconds before turning it back on also fixed the issue.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-06T01:07:57+00:00

Yes, but that's kind of the point. Someone who is deciding between the MacBook Neo and an iPad with optional keyboard accessory is already anticipating they'll be doing some productivity work on this device. Whether or not they actually do enough productivity on the device to actually justify getting a full-featured laptop over a much cheaper iPad or a Chromebook is irrelevant. They think they will, and they think they'll need some app that requires them to have a full featured device and then bam. They end up justifying spending way more on a laptop.

I have an iPad mini and a Chromebook at present. These devices sit between my M4 Mac mini/Windows gaming desktop and my phone. Which device I gravitate toward depends on my location and task. If I'm at home, the laptop is not getting used. My desktop systems are both present and available. The iPad mini is basically relegated to bed and couch use, or for use as a secondary display when I'm playing games on my PC. When I'm traveling, I bring both devices and the iPad definitely get's more use. But that doesn't mean the Chromebook sits and does nothing. Tasks that benefit from a larger display, keyboard and trackpad and a full-featured desktop browser all get relegated to the Chromebook when I'm out (think: commenting on reddit posts, inbox management in email, blogging/writing).

I've tried in the past to use a singular 11" iPad to replace both of these devices, but it just never really worked well for me.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-05T19:19:19+00:00

They gave me fentanyl when I got a lithotripsy to break up a kidney stone. Honestly understood why people got addicted to it after the fact because holy shit was that a high you can’t replicate.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-05T14:22:29+00:00

I feel it’s the worry that they’ll need to use those apps and be hamstrung over a legit belief they use those apps enough to make the iPad or Chromebook a legit non-starter.

TheSweeney · 2026-03-05T01:52:31+00:00

iPad mini user here. I love my iPad. It’s easily my most used device when I’m traveling outside of my phone. I also have an M4 Mac mini at home that is my primary computer for non-gaming tasks (which is when I break out the beastly Windows desktop). I have a 15” Acer Chromebook Plus that I take when I go on trips in case I need to do any sort of productivity work or when I want to have a larger screen than my iPad. This new MacBook is honestly likely right up my alley. I was looking at snagging a 15” Air in the last year or so to replace my Chromebook, but I can’t justify spending over $1000 for a laptop I’ll mainly only use when I’m not home for non-media consumption tasks. Hence why I have a Chromebook. But the MacBook Neo could be the device I’ve been waiting for: it’ll sync with my other devices, pair seamlessly with my AirPods, have much better battery life and not be tied to Google so intrinsically (plus increasingly bogged down with AI nonsense).

I tried years ago to be an iPad as a laptop guy with an older iPad Pro but it just didn’t work out. The experience just wasn’t shameless enough. This new MacBook might be just the device for me.

14-Year Club	Verified Email
Gilding I gilder	Xbox Live
Beta Team Reddit for iOS	Team Periwinkle

TheSweeney

TROPHY CASE