@edps
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Thanks guys – looks like a Grandchildren’s Birthday present list too!
It looks like there is even less reason to go for the top of the range options.
The SD drive appears to be almost as fast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AIY5wH77Po
The SD drive test is a bit odd, and suggests that Steam have not put in enough bandwidth for the SSD case.
One post says that even the screen can be upgraded,
https://store.ifixit.co.uk/products/steam-deck-512gb-screen
It looks like a quite difficult replacement, and beyond my current abilities!
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Deck+Screen+Replacement/148986
Dave is of course correct, but I’d still make a recovery drive as it makes life easier. As you have bought a commercially made box, you will probably find that it already has a rescue partition on it which coupled with a boot drive makes you ‘nearly’ fireproof.
@Drezha As you will gather I do not own a Steam Deck, but the grandchildren are encouraging me to learn about it. I gather that Ubisoft Connect is the main reason that people cannot get Ubisoft games to run. However, it appears from this link that Ubisoft Connect can be jigged to run on the Steam Deck.
I’m not so sure about FarCry 1&2 as these even run quite badly on a full Windows VM due to graphics issues.
Unfortunately the idiots have won again. link
I now look forward to how these idiots will do all the marvelous things like controlling our borders (hah!) and open up our trade borders to the worlds fastest growing markets (ignore the risk that more UK people will be out of work due to cheap imports).
It will also be VERY revealing to compare the EU deal with CFTPP and the one we get!
I really wish that @VFM were back on this forum to defend the high economic costs and lack of benefits that Brexit has brought.
As usual there is a Redditt on upgrading the Deck. I think he is now toying with getting the basic one and upgrading as future birthdays etc come along.
Apart from the usual twitchy moment when you reflash a ROM the upgrade looks pretty easyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPqa6D2smpY
Plenty of nvme options too:
https://arvrtips.com/best-steam-deck-ssd-upgrade/
Not sure why they don’t go to 1Tb but I guess the form factor limits options.
Thanks for the reply. That was useful as the grandchildren are pestering their father for a Steam Deck.
@PM other than limiting the number of portable games is there any great downside to the smaller storage model?
Probably not, but the scammers just register a new site. If you search on-line for Amazon scams there have been a rash lately. A search shows half a dozen different sites all with a similar message.
e.g.“Amazon: We detected a login into your account from a new device on 27/09/2022 at 15:10:08 UTC. If this wasn’t you, you can terminate that session via: [https://checkup-amazon.com].”
The “Amazon:” seems to be a common opener.
Please report attempts to Amazon, and if necessary use a PC or similar to change passwords etc.
I really should have added a link to a Wired article that features the German founder of Mastodon:
What is interesting is that this is a distributed Open Source system in which anyone can set up a server!
Wired Extract:
“…the Mastodon protocol allows anyone to use open-source software to boot up a server that hosts a Twitter-style community with its own rules. Together those servers form a collective of interlinked communities dubbed the “Fediverse.” People can join a server that matches their interests and community standards, but also connect with users on other servers, or block all content from a particular server completely.”
November 11, 2022 at 5:08 pm in reply to: Russiagate, Geopolitics, National Politics, Gas, Ukraine and us #70237I have never believed in just looking at one source of information, so I try and see what the Russian and German media are saying with respect to the war in Ukraine.
The Russian pronouncements on their set-backs in Kherson are predicably that their withdrawal was a tactical action to strengthen supply lines and organise their defences behind a river line. AFAIK there have been no reports on how well they have carried out the very difficult task of conducting a fighting retreat across a river, but as Western press have not referred to it as a bloody shambles it is reasonable to assume that Russia has achieved its objective in a reasonable state of order. What the Russian press then infer is that they will now be content to conduct remote economic infrastructure warfare and let winter play its part. They are also counting on Western fatigue in terms of continuing to support Ukraine’s economy and war efforts.
As Germany are the biggest EU contributors to Ukraine’s efforts it will be interesting to watch their reactions, Politico has a good article on Germany which I would paraphrase as saying that Germany is now rudderless and does not really know what to do. I would guess that Winter and the impact of high gas prices are going to play major political roles in what Germany does next.
The next four months could well see a stale mate developing. As even the US has started direct discussions with Russia, in my view the Ukraine Government would be wise to use this period while they still have some bargaining chips. Unfortunately Both Russian and Ukrain leaders have talked themselves into holes so negotiations will definitely need third parties to help (and blame).
I find it hard to believe that either side are going to come out winners on this, and 100,000+ military deaths on both sides will have been for nothing very tangible.
John, this September 2022 article igives a good comparison between Win10 and Win11. As I said no killer aspects except perhaps security. The article does however suggest that Win11 is a better Gamer box than Win10.
Once set up TPM+Secure Boot is invisible, but you must remember to make a Recovery Drive if you don’t then TPM/Secure Boot will gang up against you when things go pear-shaped. Btw NOTE the size of recovery drive that is required – even a 16Gb drive is TOO SMALL!
However other than the bloated size of the recovery drive there really isn’t anything more than you already have done for Windows 8 onwards. (Win7 had a much nicer backup system).
I switched to Win11 some while ago. I really do not know how to advise you. If you have the gear, know how to set up tpm etc and have the spare time then I would say go for it, as it costs you nothing to do at the moment but may later on.
I think Dave is being a little unfair in his comment.
Win11 is really built for a Corporate environment in terms of security. As such I would say that Win11 is perhaps 10% more secure than Win10. On the two PCs that have migrated I have seen no downsides, but the migration exercise is non-trivial in setting up a secure TPM environment. Buying a box with it installed is a lot easier!
Win11 is prettier, and slightly different in its operation, but it does not require much to make the transition.
Good points:
A much improved file manager, and slightly more logical Settings/Control Panel demarcation. Basically Settings is the simpleton level and Control Panel is the down and dirty level, but of course much higher level than PowerShell. Win11 PowerToys are better than the Wiun10 version, and offer useful things such as file unlocking a Hosts file editor and instant shortcuts for every installed program.
Bad Points:
Harder than Win10 to set-up screen shortcuts for non-Apps
Although the TaskBar offers very useful App screen shortcuts I have yet to find ways of putting Shortcuts for everything I use regularly onto the TaskBar.
Nearly gave me heart failure when a Toast message first appeared – this is a security problem warning system plus other messages that runs separately from your AV etc.
Generally I have no regrets in installing Win11, but no real ‘killer’ points to date.
November 8, 2022 at 5:08 pm in reply to: You have been scanned by Big Brother (NCSC) – If you have a server #70223Yes Dave, those were the days when most big companies had competent in-house IT and diligent SysAdmins who got reamed out by their reasonably knowledgeable Director if things were a bit out of kilter.
Today almost everything is outsourced to some off-shore sweat-box where there is little or no personal responsibility. I really wonder if Logs ever get read if nothing obvious has gone wrong – though I bet a box is ticked saying that they have!.
btw I believe that JohnBarry purchased a Beelink a little while ago and I think installed a second M2 sata drive in it. You may wish to pm him and ask for his experience.
I can vouch that the U59 will take a second SSD.
When you have made an initial selection I do suggest that you contact Beelink and ask if your selection allows the installation of a second 2.5 inch SSD. My guess is that it will, but I think that caution should rule the day.
You can get adapters for most monitor inputs at Amazon etc. Try a search on monitor adapters and look for the correct adapter. My personal choice is to go with a cabled adapter as it eliminates a potentially dodgy connnection.
I am in fact very impressed by Beelink support, they respond both quickly and accurately.
I picked up the Beelink U59 for my wife.
This is a middle of the range box, as SWMBOs use is probably a bit more serious than your friend. There are others that you can examine by going on to Amazon and searching for Beelink. The £170 Intel J4125 Processor may be more appropriate for your friend, while the more expensive 12Gen ones would give my current setup a bit of competition, and be more than adequate for most gamers.
I would personally steer clear of any boxes that do not have Win11, as Win10 loses support in a couple of years time and the CPU/peripheral reqs for Win11 are a mess and you may select a box which can never be upgraded.
Actually the Beelink that I linked to is a brand new mini-box with a modern CPU that is secure enough to run Widows 11 (included in price). It also has full fat wifi and ethernet. Although it comes with a decent sized SSD there are connections in the box to also add your own SSD if you want (useful for taking data off the old PC, assuming not lost).
I personally gave up building my own new PCs a couple of years ago as I found it very difficult to compete with the prices that OEMs could offer. It also avoided the mobo/cpu/OS/GPU compatibility lotteries.
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