Uncrowned Guard

I mostly buy the CDs at stores as they have the best sales.  But I also buy a bunch off Amazon.  We use Plex Media Server for our music and I love it!

On 12/12/2020 at 11:38 AM, Nova said:

I have been gaming on laptop too. I think Asus and MSI are in competition for the gaming laptop space now and they are getting stronger too. I always wanted to move to Macintosh but now that gaming laptops are out. I don't see myself switching to the Apple macbook next few years. I guess there isn't much need for that right now. 

I am also a Laptop Gamer and I would truly love to see Apple make a true gaming device. 

Ya, the opinion pieces are getting out of hand and the fact that so many are based on politics is slightly concerning.  I think many forget that these services often push sides to get more views and therefore more income, but the practice is getting a bit out of hand.

I have noticed that AMD still needs some work in the server market.  Our home server still needs Intel due to many server apps using Intel only features like quicksnyc.

I would say that I am spiritual when it comes to faith, but don't really follow any standard following.  However, I do love being involved in the community and it is hard to avoid the local customs and such.

18 hours ago, Paige said:

Windows made a phone?  I know they have that dual screen one now, but was is similar? 

OOF 😂

They were just regular phones that ran Windows 8 and then Windows 10 Mobile instead of Android or iOS.  A very email/work based phone OS.  I suppose you could say a follower to Blackberry's work based OS, but I don't really feel that is accurate. 

On 4/27/2021 at 10:21 AM, ZandraJoi said:

I'm an introvert so I'm not a social person anyways. I find ways to keep myself occupied. We have a house, acreage, furkids. There's always 'something' that can be done. I also am on several forums & try to challenge myself with learning new things. 

Learning is an awesome way to burn off boredom.  Plus keeping up with a house and furkids is more than enough time.

On 5/5/2021 at 3:30 PM, Paige said:

Hobbies!! It took years for me to find some useful hobbies that I actually enjoy to do all the time.  Anime is a big outlet for me as I can sit and watch it nearly all day!

Anime will certainly eat up a good amount of time forever lol.

I wanted to try the remaster and get back to you on this, but that is not going well on PC.  So I will sick with GTA V, but GTA has never really been a major series for me.

I have no art skills.  I have tried and it seems like I just get worse over time 😅

I have two, but they are mostly all empty at this point.  Nearly everyone is stored digitally anymore, but some things do need a paper copy.

Appleseed is my favorite movies, well I guess movie series.

6

4

Both Windows 10 and the new Windows 11 allow users to set their default internet browser, but users have continued to complain that the non-Edge browser experience is lacking due to Edge still being a mandatory default browser setting in many areas.  Items like the built-in Windows search, Cortana, and certain built-in links that use an internet browser have been locked to whatever Microsoft chooses, which is currently their browser Edge.

Firefox has always pushed for user choice in-browser experience and after Windows 11 made changing the default browser a painful and needlessly extensive experience, Mozilla (the owner of Firefox) started working on a way to better serve people not using Edge (nearly everyone).  EdgeDeflector was also a rising star in grabbing links meant for Edge and sending them to the browser that the user uses.

With nearly unanimous user praise, the Windows feature that awkwardly made the built-in search and other features a burden to users was about to be fixed by multiple companies and Microsoft has decided to pull the plug on the fix.  Microsoft has announced that they will be patching the search features so users cannot use their default browser and have pressured Mozilla into dropping support for continuing to try a fix the problem. 

Sadly, it appears many users will have to continue to avoid using the many built-in UI features and Cortana at this point if having numerous browsers open together is unwanted.  This has been considered an odd move as it both reinforces the antitrust laws being pushed currently on the major tech companies and pushes against what users want and generally just end up finding a workaround for anyway.

Image: Ralf - stock.adobe.com

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Both Windows 10 and the new Windows 11 allow users to set their default internet browser, but users have continued to complain that the non-Edge browser experience is lacking due to Edge still being a mandatory default browser setting in many areas.  Items like the built-in Windows search, Cortana, and certain built-in links that use an internet browser have been locked to whatever Microsoft chooses, which is currently their browser Edge.

Firefox has always pushed for user choice in-browser experience and after Windows 11 made changing the default browser a painful and needlessly extensive experience, Mozilla (the owner of Firefox) started working on a way to better serve people not using Edge (nearly everyone).  EdgeDeflector was also a rising star in grabbing links meant for Edge and sending them to the browser that the user uses.

With nearly unanimous user praise, the Windows feature that awkwardly made the built-in search and other features a burden to users was about to be fixed by multiple companies and Microsoft has decided to pull the plug on the fix.  Microsoft has announced that they will be patching the search features so users cannot use their default browser and have pressured Mozilla into dropping support for continuing to try a fix the problem. 

Sadly, it appears many users will have to continue to avoid using the many built-in UI features and Cortana at this point if having numerous browsers open together is unwanted.  This has been considered an odd move as it both reinforces the antitrust laws being pushed currently on the major tech companies and pushes against what users want and generally just end up finding a workaround for anyway.

Image: Ralf - stock.adobe.com

On 10/31/2021 at 5:31 PM, Nerdface said:

Have you ever dabbled with water cooling, or have you been tempted to do so?

I'm not 'hardcore' enough to contemplate such a setup. To me, water and electricity in close proximity is a bad idea.. 🤣

I have had a water cooler and noticed about no changes over a standard air cooler, although my system as the time was a full ATX and not overclocked.  So the space saving design of the water cooler was mostly lost.

I am confident with the premade water coolers, it is surprisingly rare hear of any issues with them leaking.  However, the hardline and other user put together stuff is worrisome to me as you need to fill it is with tiny funnels that my big hands would probably mess up.

NVIDIA Broadcast is a noise reduction application that uses the power of its RTX GPUs to pull off some impressive tools for streamers and content creators.  The tool suite offers solutions to improve webcams, headsets, and mics and Logitech plans to add these features directly to some of their modern headsets and Blue Yetis mics.  However, before you get your hopes up, a NVIDIA RTX GPU is still needed on the PC to support these features, so don’t plan on setting these items up and using the new features on your phone, console, or any other non-RTX device.

Users can currently get these features via beta drivers on the Logitech G HUB or they can just use them via the already included software that came with their GPU.  However, this is certainly a nice touch for those that do not enjoy running numerous background apps or struggle to remember turning the correct settings on/off before they record. 

It is an overall great combination either way as Logitech devices (especially Blue Yeti) are quite popular with content creators and the Broadcast app’s features have been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback.  Find a list of supported devices below (and don’t forget that any device can use the features via the Broadcast App itself):

• G733 Gaming Headset
• PRO X Gaming Headset
• PRO X Wireless Gaming Headset
• Yeti X Microphone
• Yeti Classic Microphone
• Yeti Nano Microphone

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NVIDIA Broadcast is a noise reduction application that uses the power of its RTX GPUs to pull off some impressive tools for streamers and content creators.  The tool suite offers solutions to improve webcams, headsets, and mics and Logitech plans to add these features directly to some of their modern headsets and Blue Yetis mics.  However, before you get your hopes up, a NVIDIA RTX GPU is still needed on the PC to support these features, so don’t plan on setting these items up and using the new features on your phone, console, or any other non-RTX device.

Users can currently get these features via beta drivers on the Logitech G HUB or they can just use them via the already included software that came with their GPU.  However, this is certainly a nice touch for those that do not enjoy running numerous background apps or struggle to remember turning the correct settings on/off before they record. 

It is an overall great combination either way as Logitech devices (especially Blue Yeti) are quite popular with content creators and the Broadcast app’s features have been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback.  Find a list of supported devices below (and don’t forget that any device can use the features via the Broadcast App itself):

• G733 Gaming Headset
• PRO X Gaming Headset
• PRO X Wireless Gaming Headset
• Yeti X Microphone
• Yeti Classic Microphone
• Yeti Nano Microphone

Welcome to Uncrowned Addiction!  Any questions, just ask!

I still miss my Windows Mobile phones.  Used them up until around 2017, but now I'm on Android as my old Lumia got too old. 

17 minutes ago, Paige said:

I can't see this saving their image.

Unlikely to say the least, but people seem to care very little about their reputation going off the usage of their products now.

It does seem to be a bit much (or I suppose not enough? 😅) even for Hooters.  I would imagine someone pulled this to try and get more ppl into the buildings with COVID going on and all that, but doesn't seem to in touch with the workers or the cultural changes of today.  I'm not going too far down the rabbit here as it is a restaurant that runs by hiring attractive woman and putting them in skimpy clothes, but a low cut tee shirt and shorts is a bit better than underwear for a uniform in a place that I do not believe has an age restriction.

Facebook has been pushing out updates about a potential name change and the news has been all over the place when it comes to the reports.  We still don’t know all the details, but the Facebook platform that many of you are using will still be called Facebook.  The company is reported to be looking into a new name for the Facebook parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, etc. in a move that is very similar to how Google recently renamed itself to Alphabet.

The Verge originally reported that the company was looking into a new name to better fit the “metaverse” that they have created, and it also seems to be a move to further the Facebook brand from the gaming side of their company.  The company is working on a social VR game called Horizon Worlds and it sounds as if the company plans to name the parent company something based on “Horizon”.

The name change isn’t anything out of the normal as the Facebook brand no longer fits well with many of the products the company handles, but it can’t be overlooked that the move is also likely due to the vast amounts of bad press Facebook has been getting hit with lately.  It wasn’t all too long ago that the company faced a huge uproar simply due to requiring users of their VR gear to login via a Facebook account, so it is very likely their new push into VR also includes trying to remove the old name.

The company seems to be set to announce these changes and what the “metaverse” will be during their Oct 28th developer conference.  It is sure to make headlines and we will have to wait and see to find out what they have planned for the future of the social media juggernaut company.

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Facebook has been pushing out updates about a potential name change and the news has been all over the place when it comes to the reports.  We still don’t know all the details, but the Facebook platform that many of you are using will still be called Facebook.  The company is reported to be looking into a new name for the Facebook parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, etc. in a move that is very similar to how Google recently renamed itself to Alphabet.

The Verge originally reported that the company was looking into a new name to better fit the “metaverse” that they have created, and it also seems to be a move to further the Facebook brand from the gaming side of their company.  The company is working on a social VR game called Horizon Worlds and it sounds as if the company plans to name the parent company something based on “Horizon”.

The name change isn’t anything out of the normal as the Facebook brand no longer fits well with many of the products the company handles, but it can’t be overlooked that the move is also likely due to the vast amounts of bad press Facebook has been getting hit with lately.  It wasn’t all too long ago that the company faced a huge uproar simply due to requiring users of their VR gear to login via a Facebook account, so it is very likely their new push into VR also includes trying to remove the old name.

The company seems to be set to announce these changes and what the “metaverse” will be during their Oct 28th developer conference.  It is sure to make headlines and we will have to wait and see to find out what they have planned for the future of the social media juggernaut company.

The latest Apple Event has turned some heads with some radical changes to the MacBook Pro lineup and an impressive M1 Pro/Max chip performance.  You can check out the entire event HERE and I would suggest watching it if you are a fan of the Pro series as the changes were overall excellent and well appreciated!  The performance of the new M1 Pro chip was shown with impressive performance and the higher tier M1 Max chip looks insane in both power and efficiency.

The MacBook Pro also features improved IO in the form of Thunderbolt USB, multiple USB C ports, HDMI, 3.5mm audio, and even an SD card slot!  These features are a huge welcome for many users struggling with dongles to perform simple tasks.  The show went into detail to show off the device having an impressive audio amp for that 3.5mm port and the keyboard is back to a standard keyboard with function keys! 

Although speaking of features, we cannot skip the newest feature of the device, the notch.  Yes, you read that correctly, the MacBook Pro comes with a notch in the screen for its webcam.  Now, we are going to say to not panic about this notch as it is not as bad as it looks. The notch fits in the top taskbar of apps, and on iOS, this is a rarely used space.  It also features a “compatibility” mode that will fill in the top with a black bar and users can avoid the notch interfering with the menus or other functions.  Thankfully, the 16:10 aspect ratio of the screen is measured WITHOUT the notch area factored in.  So in theory you are still getting the same screen, but if you want to deal with the notch, you get some extra space.

So for usability, the notch may be a strange design choice that no one was asking for, but it won’t affect your daily tasks.  However, we do have to call out Apple on one aspect of the notch.  It was reported that Apple planned to hide the notch as much as they could via dark backgrounds and such, and that appears to be true.  So not cool at all Apple, but things should be fine if you plan on picking up one of these new devices!

Image: Farknot Architect - stock.adobe.com

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