Correct, that’s why my comment also mentions the return of brick and mortar. I’m aware of retail stores and how they used to operate, having worked retail for years while I did school

It’s costs a lot to store unsold inventory. It costs a lot to ship it from store to store to try to get it to sell (based on their inventory metrics they want to place that product in stores that will be able to sell that product). Not all stores carry enough (or at all) of the item you want to buy. Brick and mortar could return, but we still have that problem of stocking stores.

I proposed an option I could see happening if it somehow became the norm to tip your delivery drivers. Maybe we would see drive thru pickup services.

If the future brings about a shift where delivery corporations reduce costs by outsourcing employee pay to the working class, then we must opt out of delivery companies bringing products to your door.

There will be a return of brick and mortar retail, or an opportunity for corporations to enter the market with new drive up delivery lockers where you can pick your shit up through a drive through window - McPackage (not sexual).

If there’s one slightly good thing about capitalism, it’s the blood-thirsty competition. Some corporation wants your money, and they’re gonna do what they can to capture the market and get your money. Drive up package pickup sounds really cool for a $79 annual subscription (until it eventually enshittifies). I’d love minimising the time I need to be home, the concern of missing a delivery, a porch pirate stealing a package, something getting damaged or lost in transit, etc.

Edit: I’m aware you can pay for P.O. Boxes and parcel lockers from delivery companies, but they will become anachronistic. Expensive monthly fees, small lockers, and inconvenient because you have to find parking at your strip mall, walk in, wade through people, and get your stuff from a small area. I can see drive up package pickup (McPackage) taking off if tipping your delivery drivers becomes the norm.

A cheap solution that might solve your volume problem is to add on an adapter that features a volume rocker dial. You can plug that into your phone and then plug your headphones into that adapter.

Something like the below screenshot. Hopefully it won’t muddy audio quality, so check this out and see if it’s something you can give a go.

My eyes naturally found Golden Sun in your comment, so I immediately upvoted before I finished reading your thoughts.

Now I’m curious about Urban Rivals and will check it out since I haven’t played browser games since ~2000-2006.

Wow, 7 TB in a month?

Slaps roof of internet router

You can fit a lot of Linux ISOs in that data cap!

Microsoft Edge: “Thank you, Chrome, for sharing the load.”

The ultimate gamer high is to take a deep breath from the Steam Deck exhaust, lick a Switch cartridge, hold your breath, and then chug down a G Fuel.

When you’re in the on-ramp and they’re not letting you merge on the highway.

“They will answer to the King of Gondor.”

Downshifts valiantly, brap brap brap, merges.

“You will suffer me.”

I drive a hot hatch and purchased aftermarket jacking rails for it. The rails are two long pieces of steel that I bolted underneath the car to distribute weight. I can jack the car up from anywhere along those rails.

Alternatively there are also jack pads you can buy for pinch welds. It’s just a block that you set on top of your jack. As you raise it to the point of the pinch welds, the jack pads surrounds it and helps distribute weight and support the car better.

Battery is easy to replace, I think. They’re soft packages now. Turn on the vehicle and make sure it is operating. Do not turn off the car. Then, just slide under the car, puncture a hole in the battery and use a catch can to get all the battery juice. It may be too spicy so don’t drink it, I think. Don’t let it get in your eyes, but if it does, lemon juice in the eyes for 15 minutes will do the trick. Then water your eyes and clean with a clean towel.

Once it’s done draining, tape the hole shut (I recommend brand name gaffer tape or flex seal). Then flip up to the top of the car and puncture a new hole in the top of the battery. Fill it with new battery juice if you have enough containers, else it’s fine to just drop as many AA batteries as you can down the hole and try to fill it up. You may need to get D batteries also in case you don’t have enough AA batteries since D batteries are bigger. I wouldn’t recommend trying to shove a car battery from an ICE car in there, it wouldn’t fit in the hole for one thing and then you’d have to make a bigger hole. Once done, tape that sucker up. Then turn off the vehicle. Easy 8 hour job that you can do in… maybe like 8 hours. It’s normal for it to clang around and sound like shit for the first 7 years, but eventually the juices will melt the housings for all the AA and D batteries you shoved in there and then it will be liquid again by the time you’re ready to replace it.

/s

Don’t buy from them. They don’t seem vetted.

Here are alternative known good sellers that also offer great discounts:

• Humble Bundle
• Green Man Gaming
• Fanatical
• Game Billet

There are others that are legitimate.

Avoid places like the site you listed, and also these ones especially:

• G2A
• Kinguin

If you buy from Eneba, G2A, Kinguin, etc. you may be fine. However, there’s risk that you may not be fine and have a key that was purchased via a scam or stolen credit card. Then that game which is linked to you can be deactivated from your Steam account, possible Steam account ban, etc. Don’t buy from them because you just don’t know where that key may have come from.

I guess “They” could have been me. I am voting blue, hopefully I didn’t vote blew and accidentally summon Helene with my democrat science/leechcraft.

Wow, so according to MTG, I guess Democrat technology has really advanced over the past few years!

I love using CRT shaders on a game by game basis. As others commented, if it’s more detailed artwork, I’ll flip it on. Other times I don’t like how it looks with some classic games.

The only mod I do want is a way to replicate, on a modern monitor, the feeling of turning it off and putting your arm against the screen to get that sweet sweet static discharge that only CRTs could give you.

Edit: Removed my joke at the end of my original comment.

Remember when all three of these companies used to be great 20 years ago? Such a shame how far they’ve fallen.

I’m playing Beyond Good & Evil on GameCube for the first time, and this game is an absolute gem. Makes me miss how great Ubisoft used to be. They started turning into hostile trash somewhere around ten years ago.

Barges into room.

Them: “Are you hacking, son?

Me: “No.”

Them: “Cool. I’m just a hotel employee, and I only have understanding of computers at an end-user level. Plus, I see you’re not wearing a hoodie and sunglasses while being hunched over a laptop. Have a nice day and enjoy your stay at the Hilton!”

Exactly, and this is additionally why it is predatory: you can’t opt out.

It’s similar to Facebook. If you never in your life ever created a profile, well, Facebook has one for you regardless.

The only way you can opt out of bluetooth beacons is to not bring your phone/smart watch/etc, or have either a hardware switch that disables your network functions or put it in a faraday cage. Also, because of data profiles and associations, if you’re walking into a store with your partner, expect that your partner should do the same or else it’s all moot. You’re associated with your partner and thus tracking and profiling occurs anyway.

No tinfoil hat needed. Retail stores are equipped with bluetooth beacons that tracks and monitors customer behavior. This in turn can be sold for targeted advertising. Another scary thought is that the tracking is so precise, it measures the distance your phone is from a product, including height. How high is the phone from the ground? The data points can be extrapolated to influence product placement: what products and prices influenced a customer to bend down and look at/interact with the product? How long were they in close proximity with the product? Based on the phone’s orientation, were they bent down to look at or passing by the product (indicating that they stopped for a separate reason and not necessarily for the product)? Did they buy it? Were they looking for coupons in my “retail store app” while next to the product, or somewhere else in the store? Where do customers often stop or gather in order to browse through coupons? Could we place Y products there? Where should we put the product in stores to maximize sales? What ads can we send to them as they arrive at the store? Based on aggregated data with the rich profile we built for this customer, are they likely to sign up for our rewards credit card? What is this customer’s income level? Have they purchased X product recently? What part of town do they live in? What products are popular there? Et cetera ad nauseum.

Tracking is so predatory. Makes me look at my smart phone with disgust as the years go by, and I periodically grapple with the decision if a smart phone is even right for me or if it’s time to stick to a computer and a truly dumb phone going forward.

Some public info about Bluetooth beacons: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluetooth-wireless-tracking-privacy.html

Want to find Bluetooth beacons? Simply install a Bluetooth scanner app from your phone and head to a store to see them.

Here’s how Shopify engages businesses on how to utilize Bluetooth beacons with their software package. Bought anything online? That site was most likely powered by Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-beacon-technology-for-retail-stores

Loose and lose bother me. When I see these words used incorrectly, I become mildly irritated.

I figuratively would of had fewer of a reaction if less persons made that missed steak… literally.

There’s the official Jellyfin app for Apple TV. It works very well with only minor UI bugs when browsing libraries. Nothing that detracts from or reduces the quality of the service.