The Spam Thread!

[huckleberrypie]

Lately, Google has been plugging Chromebooks to no end on YouTube. The ads feel misleading, showing off people doing office work and playing high quality AAA games like you could on a real laptop. They also tout "built in virus protection", which adds to the false image that Chromebooks can be full laptop or desktop replacement.

But Chromebooks require an internet connection to use most of these advertised features. And if you want to play real AAA games on these, you need to use a cloud gaming service. Chromebooks simply aren't powerful enough to run major AAA games natively. They are more designed for things like Angry Birds or Candy Crush. And as Google Stadia has proved, cloud gaming still has a way to go before it becomes the norm. There is still issues with input lag and video lag during time-sensitive games.

I never have been comfortable with Chromebooks due to their online-only requirement. I also hear that after five years or so, Google stops sending ChromeOS updates to older Chromebooks, which is another form of planned obsolescence. Look at my old Gateway laptop. It was a baseline Pentium dual-core laptop from 2012 that would still do well with MS Office and YouTube, provided you give it necessary upgrades. It would run even better on Linux, and you can still install Windows 10 on it without much issue, granted if you have an SSD.

I get the impression that Chromebooks are more like thin-clients designed for those whose use case is to mindlessly mill about on Facebook or check emails. Having what amounts to an airline or semi truck cockpit is overkill, but I am OK with it as long as I get what I want from a more feature-complete experience.

[Stella Grapes]

I made the top 1% of Duolingo learners this year and I haven't even used Duolingo for a full year! I must be smarter than I realize!

[huckleberrypie]

I made the top 1% of Duolingo learners this year and I haven't even used Duolingo for a full year! I must be smarter than I realize!

Congratulations!

[cpd2009]

I made the top 1% of Duolingo learners this year and I haven't even used Duolingo for a full year! I must be smarter than I realize!

I've never heard of Duolingo until now. Had to Google it. Looks interesting, since at times, I do want to learn a second language, namely Spanish.

At a local department store, they have a Kurio SmartWatch model C165000 on sale for only $16 USD. I took a peek at the manual online, and given it's low price point, I may just pick it up. The Kurio is meant to be a kids smart watch, but it has some rather interesting features such as built in games, camera, and drawing app. I'll watch some YouTube reviews of it first. The battery life is about what you'd get for such an inexpensive kids smart watch. The manual says it has 10 Days standby time, 1 day of normal use, and 2 hours heavy use.

Christmas is coming closer every day, and I'm prepared to spend it socially distanced at my apartment. I can use FaceTime with my mom now, so it won't be so isolated. I just don't want to take the risk traveling since millions of Americans ignored the advice of medical experts and traveled on Thanksgiving which could cause... um, problems within the next week or so. I have instructed my family to wrap the gifts and send them to my apartment address so I can have actual presents under the tree.

[cpd2009]

And.. the Kurio watch is a dud.

Took photos for a forum thread reviewing the watch and plugged it into a spare USB port, but nothing. No charge indicator on the screen, and nothing happens when you press the button on the side. I left the watch plugged in for at least an hour, and tried different USB ports on different computers. No dice.

I'll try a different microUSB cable, but if that doesn't work, then I will get the watch exchanged for a different unit.

[huckleberrypie]

I made the top 1% of Duolingo learners this year and I haven't even used Duolingo for a full year! I must be smarter than I realize!

I've never heard of Duolingo until now. Had to Google it. Looks interesting, since at times, I do want to learn a second language, namely Spanish.

At a local department store, they have a Kurio SmartWatch model C165000 on sale for only $16 USD. I took a peek at the manual online, and given it's low price point, I may just pick it up. The Kurio is meant to be a kids smart watch, but it has some rather interesting features such as built in games, camera, and drawing app. I'll watch some YouTube reviews of it first. The battery life is about what you'd get for such an inexpensive kids smart watch. The manual says it has 10 Days standby time, 1 day of normal use, and 2 hours heavy use.

Christmas is coming closer every day, and I'm prepared to spend it socially distanced at my apartment. I can use FaceTime with my mom now, so it won't be so isolated. I just don't want to take the risk traveling since millions of Americans ignored the advice of medical experts and traveled on Thanksgiving which could cause... um, problems within the next week or so. I have instructed my family to wrap the gifts and send them to my apartment address so I can have actual presents under the tree.

I'm tempted to get a VTech KidiBuzz for me to muck around with, but as I had so many gadgets at my disposal I guess my quota is full.

[cpd2009]

Got the Kurio exchanged... only to have it do the same thing the previous unit did.

Until I plugged it into my Dell gaming rig instead of my Mac computers. Nothing appeared on screen as before, but I decided to let it sit there for another hour or so. When I came back later to check on it, the battery charge indicator was going.

So either the Kurio had to remain plugged in for a long while for the battery icon to appear, or it just liked my Windows PC over the Mac.

Anyway, it's charged, set up, and ready for review. I'll do that tomorrow.

[cpd2009]

Familiar with the Steamed Hams meme? I'm not that well versed in it, but this adaptation of the meme is still rather funny. Turn on the captions for more fun!



Steamed Hams, with half of the dialog generated with an AI, similar to those AI music videos. I'd like to give these a shot, but theres a bit of a learning curve and a tutorial you need to watch before you can try it.

[cpd2009]

Looks like I will be getting some gift cards for Christmas this year. My family isn't doing many shopping trips because of the pandemic, so a gift card would be a great substitute. Congress is also inching closer to a deal that would send out more direct stimulus checks to most tax-paying Americans, but nowhere near as much as the previous checks in April.

One of the things I am considering using the gift cards or stimulus check for is a new "New" 3DS XL, or specifically the red colored model. The cartridge slot on my current Galaxy 3DS is becoming increasingly flaky as of late. I have to remove and reinsert some carts a couple times before the 3DS will read them. And earlier today, the 3DS wouldn't even turn on until I removed the cart that was already inside the slot. Maybe playing different games will fix the slot, but I have read stories of other 3DS owners that ended up having cartridge issues as well. I always keep a cartridge inserted to keep dust out of it, so I doubt it's dust causing the problems.

Nintendo no longer sells refurbished 3DS consoles on their website, so I'll have to source it from a thrift store or eBay. GameStop also has refurbished 3DS consoles, but that store isn't to be trusted. A YouTube guy named Spawn Wave does videos on refurbished products ordered from GameStop and it's a mixed bag. Some consoles are fine while others still have problems despite being "refurbished".

[huckleberrypie]

Looks like I will be getting some gift cards for Christmas this year. My family isn't doing many shopping trips because of the pandemic, so a gift card would be a great substitute. Congress is also inching closer to a deal that would send out more direct stimulus checks to most tax-paying Americans, but nowhere near as much as the previous checks in April.

One of the things I am considering using the gift cards or stimulus check for is a new "New" 3DS XL, or specifically the red colored model. The cartridge slot on my current Galaxy 3DS is becoming increasingly flaky as of late. I have to remove and reinsert some carts a couple times before the 3DS will read them. And earlier today, the 3DS wouldn't even turn on until I removed the cart that was already inside the slot. Maybe  playing different games will fix the slot, but I have read stories of other 3DS owners that ended up having cartridge issues as well. I always keep a cartridge inserted to keep dust out of it, so I doubt it's dust causing the problems.

Nintendo no longer sells refurbished 3DS consoles on their website, so I'll have to source it from a thrift store or eBay. GameStop also has refurbished 3DS consoles, but that store isn't to be trusted. A YouTube guy named Spawn Wave does videos on refurbished products ordered from GameStop and it's a mixed bag. Some consoles are fine while others still have problems despite being "refurbished".

No wonder why people tend to view Gamestop-refurbished consoles as a cruel joke.

Fortunately on my end I haven't had issues with the cartridge slot on my 2DS slab. And like you I tend to keep a cartridge inserted as a dust deterrent.