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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • He means that windows is built on a fairly open system that allows too to install and manage your own drivers, updates, etc. Over the last several years MS has been trying to lock this down and be more like a managed service/phone, not a computer you own.

    If the PC were to be invented today, he’s saying it would be like a phone with limited freedom and most people wouldn’t care. He’s right and that’s sad. We take for granted what we have with older versions of Windows and Linux. It is being pulled away from us and that’s why I’m trying to move off of Windows instead of go to 11.


  • That’s a big deal then. So far I’m not aware of any controllers that have all of the following:

    • Analogue triggers
    • Gyro input
    • Back buttons
    • Xbox layout (preferred)

    The dual shock is close, but no back buttons and not my prefered layout. All the Nintendo clones have digital triggers, and almost none have gyro input that steam can use. This will make 8bit the best possible Steam Deck companion until a proper Steam Controller 2 comes out.

    Edit: This would also add the ability to map extra buttons to new functions instead of a duplicate of the buttons that already exist. I’m waiting to hear the details but I’ll likely buy one if all this is true because I haven’t seen anything else offering this level of functionality.






  • It’s absolutely a physical limitation and to argue otherwise is a waste of time. You can use complex multiplexing algorithms to squeeze more out of a single wireless channel, but at the end of the day you’re sharing that airspace with anything from another WiFi signal to a microwave oven. To go faster with wired all you have to do is, like you said, add another pair.

    EMI can be sheilded, yes, or you can move to optical and then you’re literally transferring at the speed of light on a dedicated medium. You simply can’t do that with radio. It’s not physically possible unless there is some signaling technological breakthrough that we have not yet conceived.










  • I don’t share your optimism on this. I see what you’re saying where some of these features can seem gimmicky, however there is quite a list of flagship features that they have excluded that are not gimmicky and in fact quite mainstream.

    Qi2 (magnetic alignment wireless charging) is not gimmicky at all and is incredibly useful ever for the average person. Apple users love this and there are lots of accessories for it.

    Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are in most high end phones and solve the problem some people have with the optical ones Google continues to use. It also doesn’t flah you in the face at night.

    IR cameras for more accurate face unlock allow the feature to work in low light instead of the algorithms google is using on a regular camera.

    They opted not to use the new GN2 camera sensors, instead sticking with the older model.

    I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Google is releasing a midrange phone with midrange specs at a flagship price, hoping their software will make up the difference. For some it will, for others it won’t.

    I’ll be waiting to see how the 8a turns out because I am willing to accept these corner cuts at a midrange price.


  • I think that’s giving them a bit too much credit. Also, when I say design I don’t mean they have to ditch the visor, which honestly is the only unique thing they have. I’m saying do something different with the camera punch hole like Samsung did when they put a screen in front of it, or add repairability features, or mag charging, etc.

    You’re right that we’re in an era of every phone being a flat slab so you want some visual differentiator, and I honestly think the visor (back when it was all black like the pixel 6) looks better than the exposed grouping of cameras the iPhone has. They can keep that overall look for all I care, just… try. Try to do something interesting or novel, or don’t ask flagship prices.