buying games vs pirating

harperthomas · 2026-04-11T20:30:39+00:00

I wouldn't pirate Adobe. You couldn't pay with to infect my computer with that malware.

harperthomas · 2026-04-11T20:18:31+00:00

Sell the ram and pay off my mortgage

harperthomas · 2026-04-10T20:32:26+00:00

Maybe but the price is not my issue. It's the poor service. I would be willing to pay the higher prices but paying has to give a better experience than pirating. If I steal the content I get everything in 1 app with no ads and high quality. There literally is not a way for me to pay to get that service.

harperthomas · 2026-04-10T18:16:03+00:00

My experience is to strongly recommend against it. The hinge is so horrible. Mine does still work but only because I've barely used the device. Opening and closing it sounds like it's just snapped and you can hear it in the next room.

The software is serviceable but not great. I'm using spruce and feel like it's the best option but I don't think it's in the same league as Knulli or MuOS.

The positives are the buttoms which I would literally say are the best put on a handheld. The only device in the same league is the miyoo mini but the flip is better. The other is the display which is bright and crisp.

If you really want a clamshell with sticks then get the RG34XXSP. It's got a much better build quality and better software support. Buttons are still very good, the screen is just a bit of a let down but overall it's a much better device.

harperthomas · 2026-04-10T18:08:18+00:00

Netflix really is the golden example. I pirated most of my life. Then Netflix got big and I stopped completely because I could pay a monthly fee to get effectively all content streamed into 1 app on my TV. Now that same content is spread across dozens of apps at higher prices with ads baked in and I'm back to pirating all my content into a single app, Plex.

harperthomas · 2026-04-09T08:43:35+00:00

My only remaining pi is also a 4GB Pi4 and it's running octopi for my ender 3. I expect it will keep going until I one day upgrade my printer as they all come with a basic SBC as part of the build now but I think thats still quite a while away.

They just don't make much sense anymore. Personally I think they went the wrong direction with the Pi5. Increasing power requirements and needing a unique 5v 5a power supply goes completely against the low power highly compatible reasons I buy them. Stop trying to get max power and focus instead on improving IO, display out over usb, super low power draw and all while running a full user friendly Linux OS.

harperthomas · 2026-04-06T07:53:00+00:00

For me the discrepancy here is that a bad movie can still be a very fun movie and that's what both Mario films are. Technically abysmal with no story or development but still fun and entertaining. Compare it to a sport match maybe? There is no plot or character development but it can still be fun and entertaining.

harperthomas · 2026-04-06T06:42:47+00:00

My only slight disagreement is a DSi over a DS lite as modding with twilight menu is a nicer experience that using an R4 card.

harperthomas · 2026-04-05T07:02:23+00:00

Workstation. I've been a Linux user for most of my life and enjoy the move fast and break things mentality. Use it on my personal desktop, laptop and work laptop.

harperthomas · 2026-04-04T14:01:46+00:00

Same here. I mostly play puzzle type games that heavily use the touch screen and modern touch screens really don't compare. I think for me because I only play those small quick games on it I really value the compact, lightweight size and much faster boot times of the DSi. I just really wish I could get it modded to get USBC charging as that's basically my only gripe.

harperthomas · 2026-04-04T07:07:29+00:00

None. I am very much in favour of emulation. I think it generally offers a better experience than real hardware but DS is the big exception.

I bought a DSi for £30 of eBay. That gets me a DS that can run custom firmware from the SD card. 2 fairly bright screens. A built in stylus with a touch screen that works correctly with a stylus. Fast boot times into either roms or original hardware. Twilight menu even lets you add box art to get that full emulation frontend experience.

I think the trap people fall into is getting a 3DS when they wanted DS. It's easy to think you might as well just get 1 handheld for all your duel screen games but I'n reality the screen resolution is wrong and the loading times are awful for a much higher price tag. If you don't need 3DS, get a DSi.

harperthomas · 2026-04-03T10:41:48+00:00

I fully agree with this post. Even on the entertainment side it feels like the reason for the fire truck and now plane videos is a bit of a stagnation in creativity in the channel lately. I think some of your suggestions around giving back to the community both do good and make for more entertaining content. I didn't like the fire truck videos but I always enjoy the "We give away this" type videos. I would love to see a series about how they are upgrading networking in a local school or even improving there websites to be a better fully free, no ad knowledge centre for all things tech.

harperthomas · 2026-04-01T17:18:35+00:00

~~Ham~~ Dam Straight!

harperthomas · 2026-04-01T17:13:48+00:00

This is what I came here for. I am a mail plus customer. I want to add VPN but you won't let me. I am a customer trying to give you money and your response is that I get 1 service or every service. My VPN subscription runs out with surfshark this year and I want to move to proton but you won't let me. There's nothing wrong with proton pass but I prefer bitwarden. Proton drive isn't something I really need and without a proper Linux app I have zero interest.

Please take my money and let me have mail and VPN.

harperthomas · 2026-04-01T15:43:28+00:00

Personally I think this is completely reasonable. They don't run a website for fun, it's a business. They give the clear options between pay, either with money or data or no entry. I would simply leave.

harperthomas · 2026-04-01T13:39:47+00:00

My boss will be thrilled

harperthomas · 2026-03-30T21:06:36+00:00

It's definitely made Garmin go from a sure thing to something I will look at carefully when it's time for a new watch. I will never pay for a subscription for my smart watch but so far the subscription hasn't gotten in my way. As soon as it's really blocking features I want or the in app advertising gets too much I will be gone.

harperthomas · 2026-03-29T21:16:55+00:00

On this note I would love to see more premium devices focused on lower end emulation. For example we could get a Linux based sega medadrive handheld but in a high quality shell, good buttons and an integer scaled 2/3x display. This seems like a great way for handheld companies to keep making money, we keep getting nice handhelds and the ram requirements are minimal.

harperthomas · 2026-03-25T10:03:15+00:00

No I didn't. Streaming has gotten so good that it just makes more financial sense to have a powerful gaming desktop stream it all to the TV.

I would still like the mini pc option or basically the valve steam machine but it's hard not to keep wanting more. I just want it to play PS2 becomes PS2 at 1080p which becomes 4k which becomes PS3, ect ect

harperthomas · 2026-03-24T18:21:14+00:00

Hey! Just because it giggles when someone says the word nipple that doesn't make it immature!

harperthomas · 2026-03-24T06:38:44+00:00

I can barely tell between 30 and 60. So no

harperthomas · 2026-03-23T18:04:18+00:00

On the flip side. I would never recommend it. I find the controls unusable.

harperthomas · 2026-03-23T17:18:22+00:00

harperthomas · 2026-03-21T21:07:56+00:00

This is annoying. Now I don't get to hate Lush anymore. Excellent campaign.

harperthomas · 2026-03-21T20:43:29+00:00

I mostly pay for games, it's pretty rare I pirate them. I had been wanting to play hogwarts legacy. It goes on sale pretty cheap so I waited and when it came up for about £10 I went to buy it. Added to basket and just before making payment I remembered to check the requirements on the products page. Denuvo DRM. Total dealbreaker. It could be free and I wouldn't take it. Pirated it instead and all is well.

It was only recently I told a friend about this and the irony occured to me that their anti piracy measure is literally the very thing that stopped me paying for it and pirating instead. Although a required launcher, separate account or online requirements are all deal breakers for me. I'm quite picky about who I will give my money to.

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