This is a slight historical re-write.

Blizzard’s parent company since ‘98 (Vivendi) was the larger of two companies at the time of the merger in ‘08, and put forward $2b towards the merger vs. Activision’s $1b.

Vivendi remained the majority shareholder of the new entity, and chose to appoint Bobby Kotick as the CEO.

Activision-Blizzard didn’t buy-out majority control until ‘13 - well after the enshittification began.

…and more importantly, what about NFTs?!

Again not the original person you asked, but I found Bazzite a tad too restrictive - I couldn’t for the life of me get PIA’s VPN client installed (for all of those Linux ISOs on my home server).

Ended up switching to CachyOS, which is also very gaming-focused (and Arch-based, if that matters at all!). It’s a bit more open, allowing you to fiddle (or not) with everything a bit more than Bazzite.

As an aside, my only hang-up is that it sometimes hangs while trying to boot up the GUI (not sure why, hasn’t bothered me too much), and it can’t wake from Sleep - but I’m pretty sure that’s just something misconfigured in the BIOS.

I’ve heard good things about IKEA electronics and white-goods also; for instance their LADDA batteries are apparently Eneloops, their dishwashers are/were Bosch, and they partnered with Sonos for their speakers also.

Costco apparently does quite similar with their Kirkland own-brand products - but at least here in Australia they haven’t offered (m)any electronics yet.

Oh, this 100%!

I ended up buying a cable tester in order to sort, identify and validate the rats nest of USB C cables we’ve accumulated.

Once identified, I use a little bit of coloured electrical tape around one end to keep them categorised. I originally wanted to use silicone o-rings or mini clips for this purpose - but didn’t have any luck finding something suitable.

It shouldn’t have to be like this, manufacturers should clearly label both transfer and power delivery capabilities on the cables themselves.

For this reason alone, I’d give plenty of kudos to LTT for doing just this with their recently launched line of True Spec cables. Every cable moving forward should be produced to this same standard.

TBF, charge-only USB-C cables are great for data security when needing to charge your device from a public / untrusted port.

I thought USB 2.0 Type C cables were covered by the spec also, but I honestly have no idea.

Beyond just the pedophilia, his (Epstein) operation was largely one of socialising, and securing (probably coerced) introductions from people he helped facilitate and now held blackmail over.

e.g. using blackmail material on a Bill Gates to secure an introduction to another wealthy and influential individual, offering them a “massage” and then producing kompromat at a later date to bring them into his circle.

Now don’t get me wrong, everyone who found themselves in this position was a willing participant, not a victim - but I can understand how so many oligarchs eventually found their way into his little black book.

I remember the horrendous response times of the original GameBoy’s LCD panel, and when I mentally compare it to modern COLOUR panels…

…all I can think is, never say never!

What you’re looking for are commercial screens. They’re a bit more expensive for a comparable panel, as they are intended for 24/7 use- but are about as dumb as they get nowadays.

Silly goose, after 8K is 16K!

Historically, GOP candidates have benefited from lower voter turnout (Trump ‘24 being the only notable exception in 40+ years).

By disincentivising Dems and Independents from voting because “both sides bad” and “nothing gets better” it’s increasing the chances of a Republican victory, and accelerating your nations decline.

Your primaries are the period you’re meant to vote for your preferred candidate, whereas in the general election you vote against the candidate you hate more.

They’re trying to redefine it to Profitable Computing:

I want AI in games; Actual Innovation!

I’m in a similar situation with my wife not being particularly interested in games - I’ve had some success in playing LA Noire with her guiding the investigations and interrogations. The jazz soundtrack in particular helped convince her, funnily enough!

Not quite perhaps what you’re looking for, but may work for others with hesitant non-gamer partners.

I thought they were Canadian, though? Weird…

It is a pretty common phrase in Australia - though mostly among older, more “stereotypical” Aussies.

But like with most things here, it all but surely originated in Europe and was brought over by migrants sometime between 50 and 100 years ago!

It’s weird seeing that branded as Sage - I’m so used to seeing it as Breville here in Australia.

Had that one for ages (a decade or so?), before it finally gave up the ghost. I replaced it with the glass version, and that’s been kicking on for a few good years now.

Literally hard for me to consider any other brands of kitchen appliances, honestly - Breville is my default pick now, whenever possible.

I think it mostly just didn’t feel like a Max Payne game because of the setting. Not New York? Not Max Payne.

Gameplay wise, it was definitely on the right track; and in a way - I remember it fondly as was the last time Rockstar seemingly experimented with game mechanics ahead of incorporating them into the next GTA game.

Started with the first GTA on the PlayStation; I used to rank Vice City as my absolute favourite entry in the series - but as I’ve matured over time, I’ve come to find GTA IV (or more specifically, The Ballad of Gay Tony expansion) has taken over the top spot - though VC is still a close second.

If you haven’t played TBOGT in a while, I highly recommend revisiting it - there are a lot of parallels to VC in terms of overall feel and the general “fun” tone.

This is an interesting development, for sure - and not one we will be able to accurately gauge the net impact of for a while.

It does feel like CD Project want to move it off their financial documents (P&L, cashflow, balance sheets etc.), while Michael wants to double-down and focus on building out the historical catalog.

Success will really depend on if GOG can remain profitable through lean years without having to ultimately rely on compromising their morals; and whether they will continue to receive support from modern publishers to help fund the more niche projects.