[huckleberrypie]

According to Nintendo's online repair tracker, my Gamepad has been serviced and is on it's way back to me. It could be the same one with a new touch screen, or a refurb. Either way, it will be good to actually toy around with Super Mario Maker again.

As for Skype, I only open it when I chat with family. After it's done, I immediately exit, and make sure the system tray icon is closed. That could be why I haven't been inundated with spam messages myself.... yet.

Well at least you got your gamepad repaired, but that is still a definite bummer for those who have a Wii U.
In my case, I'd end up with the same damn message asking for that scummy invite to an adult site, well at least that's what I presumed. All of them from zombie accounts. And what's insulting was that Microsoft is doing little about it!

[cpd2009]

My Wii U gamepad has been returned, and looks nearly brand new. Touch screen once again works as it should. One of the few good things about Nintendo is they do repairs and refurbs extremely well. Their refurbs are almost like buying new according to various accounts on Nintendo-themed subreddits.

In any future moves, I will either put a screen protector or some sort of soft microfiber cloth and cover the screen in order to prevent a deep scratch from appearing again.

I also went to an auction yesterday. There was a 32'' Sony Bravia TV up for bid. Why would I consider downgrading from a 40'' to 32''? The Bravia had three HDMI, two component inputs, and one AV port. My current TV only has one shared component/composite in addition to it's three HDMI ports. When you have all three HDMI ports used, component is a good alternative and my Wii U and Xbox 360 output HD over component. I could just use a component switch box, but such boxes downgrade the analog HD picture slightly. With my TV and/or switch box, a mild ghosting effect is present if you run HD component through said box.

Ultimately, what prevent me from bidding on the Bravia is that particular model was from their "L" series, a lower-cost model with 720p picture. :/

[huckleberrypie]

Got my hands on an HP laptop yesterday when my aunt and I went to the computer store. I settled for one that ran on an AMD A6-9220 as this is my secondary device and I don't plan to game on it aside from the occasional lightweight title.

[cpd2009]

I guess I could invest in a new laptop for myself since old Greta is now a little over six years old, and Windows 10 isn't a perfect OS for her anymore. She also has Nvidia Optimus graphics, with a dedicated GeForce 610m in addition to standard Intel HD Graphics.

Finding a Linux distro what will play nice with this setup is tricky. I found that Kubuntu is more or less a perfect fit since all you really have to do is install the most recent proprietary Nvidia drivers and it will properly detect any Optimus setup. The downside is that there is no on-the-fly graphics switching yet. You only have a choice of either running the desktop with the GeForce or the Intel graphics, located in the Nvidia control panel. It's a tad inconvenient if you want to run a game and need to manually switch to the Nvidia graphics and restart the PC, but it's progress. Other Linux distros don't play nice with her Optimus setup, either requiring more configuration, or simply not working at all.

I wouldn't know how the AMD Linux drivers are since I don't have a Radeon card, so if you were to try Linux yourself, it's best to run it under a VM. Another bad thing about the proprietary AMD drivers is they tend to limit compatibility to the most recent GPUs, and forcing legacy cards to run off the open source drivers. With Nvidia, many distros keep older drivers around for cards all the way back to the RIVA TNT series, which is rather amazing.

[huckleberrypie]

I guess I could invest in a new laptop for myself since old Greta is now a little over six years old, and Windows 10 isn't a perfect OS for her anymore. She also has Nvidia Optimus graphics, with a dedicated GeForce 610m in addition to standard Intel HD Graphics.

Finding a Linux distro what will play nice with this setup is tricky. I found that Kubuntu is more or less a perfect fit since all you really have to do is install the most recent proprietary Nvidia drivers and it will properly detect any Optimus setup. The downside is that there is no on-the-fly graphics switching yet. You only have a choice of either running the desktop with the GeForce or the Intel graphics, located in the Nvidia control panel. It's a tad inconvenient if you want to run a game and need to manually switch to the Nvidia graphics and restart the PC, but it's progress. Other Linux distros don't play nice with her Optimus setup, either requiring more configuration, or simply not working at all.

I wouldn't know how the AMD Linux drivers are since I don't have a Radeon card, so if you were to try Linux yourself, it's best to run it under a VM. Another bad thing about the proprietary AMD drivers is they tend to limit compatibility to the most recent GPUs, and forcing legacy cards to run off the open source drivers. With Nvidia, many distros keep older drivers around for cards all the way back to the RIVA TNT series, which is rather amazing.

Too bad laptops and/or prebuilts that don't come with an OS (or at least come with just FreeDOS as a nominal bundle) are rare and hard to find, let alone ones that come with Linux. I could've gotten away with a more capable laptop for less if it didn't have Windows or some other bloatware but alas...

[cpd2009]

Since hearing about Valve's apparent plans of introducing some kind of Wine compatibility feature to it's native Linux client, I think my switch to Linux is permanent. Outside the occasional bugs, Kubuntu is a nice refreshing change for me and I have had experience getting some of my Windows games to run under Wine, using PlayOnLinux as a front-end.

[cpd2009]

I forgot... here's an update on my search for a new smartphone. Because of costs and the fact the battery in Oscar is acting up (it only charges to 98% now, which is concerning), I'm a bit limited to whatever Tracfone compatible devices are available in my area. The requirements are the phone needs to use the Tracfone prepaid mobile phone service, the device needs to run Android 6 or 7, quad core CPU, expandable memory, and integrated FM radio. So far, two devices I found locally fit these requirements; the LG Rebel 3 LTE and the Alcatel Zip LTE. The LG Rebel 3 appears to get excellent reviews, while the Alcatel ZIp is a bit mixed.

There was a prepaid Moto phone at ShopKo, but it's not Tracfone compatible. :/

[huckleberrypie]

I forgot... here's an update on my search for a new smartphone. Because of costs and the fact the battery in Oscar is acting up (it only charges to 98% now, which is concerning), I'm a bit limited to whatever Tracfone compatible devices are available in my area. The requirements are the phone needs to use the Tracfone prepaid mobile phone service, the device needs to run Android 6 or 7, quad core CPU, expandable memory, and integrated FM radio. So far, two devices I found locally fit these requirements; the LG Rebel 3 LTE and the Alcatel Zip LTE. The LG Rebel 3 appears to get excellent reviews, while the Alcatel ZIp is a bit mixed.

There was a prepaid Moto phone at ShopKo, but it's not Tracfone compatible. :/

I'd say go for the Rebel then! Though based on what I gather my only beef with that phone is the rather low-res screen, but eh, it's not that of a showstopper.

[cpd2009]

Even though I'm now committed to using Linux, I'm still not entirely settled down on what desktop environment I will use. KDE Plasma 5 is wonderful on Pearl, but not so much with Greta. It's stable for the most part, but I still feel I could use something that is a tad bit faster and lean on memory usage.

I'm testing Xubuntu on Greta today. It's Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop. Running Xubuntu in VirtualBox was amazing, despite lack of graphics acceleration.

I plan on sticking with the Ubuntu-based distros due to their easy hardware setup and proprietary driver installation.

[huckleberrypie]

Even though I'm now committed to using Linux, I'm still not entirely settled down on what desktop environment I will use. KDE Plasma 5 is wonderful on Pearl, but not so much with Greta. It's stable for the most part, but I still feel I could use something that is a tad bit faster and lean on memory usage.

I'm testing Xubuntu on Greta today. It's Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop. Running Xubuntu in VirtualBox was amazing, despite lack of graphics acceleration.

I plan on sticking with the Ubuntu-based distros due to their easy hardware setup and proprietary driver installation.

Yeah I tend to gravitate towards them as well being they're designed with convenience in mind. I don't mind the more advanced distros though as long as they suit my needs.