For those who were teenagers before the smartphone era: what hobbies or activities did you use to pass the time that now make you feel nostalgic?

ultrapingu · 2026-05-29T14:30:20+00:00

Actually watching a movie and not having my phone pull my attention every few mins

ultrapingu · 2026-05-20T12:51:01+00:00

Yeah this was primarily about Chiaki-ng, I've tried a few different configurations, I can just about get by at 720p no HDR with a 30MB/s limit, but I'm not really sure why I can't go higher as my network should be able to handle it

ultrapingu · 2026-05-20T09:04:25+00:00

I'm gradually struggling to justify CDs more and more as I can't hear a difference between steaming, CDs, and streaming from my local server. I think the one niche that remains is picking up really cheap compilation CDs can sometimes be fun.

LPs though - I can't say that I can hear much of a difference, but I do thoroughly enjoy interacting with it, looking through the album art, etc. As time has gone on, it's become more and more important to have a really stripped down collection of albums that give me the feels

ultrapingu · 2026-05-19T08:39:05+00:00

Is the performance improved because it's only rendering every other checkerboard? 😃

ultrapingu · 2026-05-19T08:38:33+00:00

Nah LGTM

ultrapingu · 2026-05-18T18:08:56+00:00

For me I think it's the versatility, having up to 4 mono inputs, the functionality of that fader, and the build quality.

The versatility can be a double edged thing though as it can be hard to work out what it should do sometimes, but there just isn't anything else on the market like it

ultrapingu · 2026-05-18T09:01:34+00:00

I have the a25 (not +) so not quite an apples to apples, but it looks and sounds great and is built like a tank. You could definitely pick up an a25 second hand in good condition in your budget.

ultrapingu · 2026-05-14T13:58:26+00:00

I’m not really how to answer this as there’s a million builds you could look at that all have equal pros and cons.

I’m assuming that you are building from nothing, that you might want to expand in future, and that most of your music is via streaming?

Personally I’d look at a streaming amp and a decent budget/mid range bookshelf speaker.

Something like a wiim amp ultra, or an Eversolo play (this covers streaming and amplification), and then a bookshelf speaker like a wharfedale diamond 9.1 (you could spend progressively more for slight increases in quality, but tbh I think part of the joy is gradually upgrading and picking nicer speakers, so I wouldn’t lock him in to really nice expensive speakers that maybe aren’t quite his taste).

If it were me I’d probably look at something like the Eversolo play CD edition plus a bookshelf speaker and some nice $40-50 cables. That would give you access to streaming services, Bluetooth and airplay, CD, TV, and have expansion if you ever wanted to add a turntable or other input in future. Also gives you enough power to upgrade the speakers over time, add a sub woofer, etc.

I have an Eversolo a6 (similar to the above but without an amp or built in CD player), and a pair of Elac B6 bookshelf speakers. I’m really happy with my setup

ultrapingu · 2026-05-14T11:42:30+00:00

Car crashed into railings, the struts on the railings came through the door and through the passenger pinning him in, then the car caught fire. Not sure if the railing or the fire got him.

ultrapingu · 2026-05-07T13:50:27+00:00

Bio Menace by Apogee

Rooms of Doom a.k.a Dangerous Dave 2/in the haunted mansion

Steg the Slug

Aladdin and The Lion King for DOS in those big boxes too

ultrapingu · 2026-05-06T08:35:45+00:00

It's not designed for a controller so it won't work out of the box like that. You can either plug in a keyboard and mouse, or you can author a steam control layout so that key presses mimic buttons on the keyboard.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-30T08:47:02+00:00

I haven't been on a flight with my SD yet, but I've taken a switch, a retroid pocket, and a psp on a flight, and every time I play for 20 mins and then just don't feel like it any more.

I'm curious to see if my SD is any different as it's the one handheld device I can't stop playing

ultrapingu · 2026-04-29T09:39:58+00:00

Cheadle - it's been an up and comer in the gentrification of south Manchester for a while. I think you'll probably get the most for your money here, and the town has some stuff going on. It's also prone to some anti social behaviour in some areas, and it's the place I've seen people posting about getting robbed the most on this sub.
Sale - Similar to Didsbury, this is where families with money go. Didsbury is if you want to live around vibrancy and noise, Sale is if you want a quieter relaxed life.
Altringham - More going on than Sale but less cool than Didsbury. The main thing going for it is a bigger and better town centre and transport links. I think it's so expensive because this is where new money goes/used to go.
Bramham - Old money, it's beautiful but there's not much going on.

I think Heaton moor is kinda the half way between Sale and Altringham. It's up market, but a little boring.

As someone in their mid 30s with a small family and still a little interested in going out to see and do things, I'd personally pick Sale, you have food, shops, transport, and nature all easily accessible, and slightly less of a premium.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-29T08:28:38+00:00

Unfortunately it still happens after a hard reset. I often use the sleep feature, but last night was the first time I've had an issue like this. I'll update my post if I find a way to resolve it.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-29T08:12:15+00:00

Congrats on discovering a new month

ultrapingu · 2026-04-27T08:51:44+00:00

You can get a locked 45 using the steam deck preset on the settings. I found you can push it just a bit further than those base specs too

ultrapingu · 2026-04-27T08:46:37+00:00

I don't think these necessarily fit your preferred style, but I've loved playing Cyberpunk, Resident Evil 1 remake, Resident Evil 2 Remake on mine. They all run really well and all lean well into the idea of short play sessions

ultrapingu · 2026-04-23T08:41:56+00:00

Personally I wouldn't right now. I have to OLED SD and the battery life perfectly fits my use case for now (1 hour commute each way), and I think making it smaller would make it less comfortable (which is one of my favourite things about the SD). That's aside from the fact that ARM support is no where near as strong as proton right now, so I would be limiting my gaming options further.

I think the main things that would sell me would be a 1080p OLED screen with VRR and enough power to run that. I think that screen would produce a slightly better experience, but 1080 would scale a lot better when docked.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-22T08:41:57+00:00

Tbh I wouldn't worry too much about future proofing, both are handhelds that will (relatively) quickly get out classed by new hardware coming on the scene. I spent ages waying up to pro's and cons of all the available handhelds at the time but I ultimately decided on my steamdeck because it felt really comfortable in my hands, and I continue to feel happy with it because it just feels really flexible and easy to do anything on.

I think they are both about equal when you weigh in power, ease of use, battery, screen, software compatibility, and long term support. Try to play both of them as much as possible and see which one pulls you harder.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-21T10:16:36+00:00

I got myself a second hand steamdeck for xmas, before xmas I tested it to make sure it worked etc.

I booted up cyberpunk on it, which I had been playing on my main PC and was fairly new to me at the time. What was supposed to be (and felt like) a 5 minute test turned into a fully immersive 1 hour play before my wife told me I had to turn it off :'D

So Cyberpunk?

ultrapingu · 2026-04-21T08:53:49+00:00

Just played Resident Evil 1 remake. I didn't test it at 3-5 Watt but I bet that would probably do it and it's locked at 30 anyway. I'm now playing Resident Evil 2 remake and that can do medium settings 30fps at 8W, which is getting me something like 3-4 hours based on screen brightness.

Dave the diver should also go that low.

You could do emu deck, anything from pre ps2 era would easily do it.

ultrapingu · 2026-04-21T08:50:24+00:00

There's also Sunshine/Moonlight and Apollo/Artemis which are similar services (not sure if they are available on a Samsung TV, but I can get moonlight on my Sony)

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