I don’t play D4 anymore so I can’t say if this still works, but back when I did, I used to launch it (ie the Battle.net launcher) from Steam, as a non-Steam game.
I also used the latest Proton-GE as the compatibility tool, so that’s something you could try as well.
It’s easiest to just register a domain name and use Couldflare Tunnels. No need to worry about dynamic DNS, port forwarding etc. Plus, you have the security advantages of DDoS protection and firewall (WAF). Finally, you get portability - you can change your ISP, router or even move your entire lab into the cloud if you wanted to, and you won’t need to change a single thing.
I have a lab set up on my mini PC that I often take to work with me, and it works the same regardless of whether it’s going thru my work’s restricted proxy or the NAT at home. Zero config required on the network side.
This shouldn’t even be a question lol. Even if you aren’t worried about theft, encryption has a nice bonus: you don’t have to worry about secure erasing your drives when you want to get rid of them. I mean, sure it’s not that big of a deal to wipe a drive, but sometimes you’re unable to do so - for instance, the drive could fail and you may not be able to do the wipe. So you end up getting rid of the drive as-is, but an opportunist could get a hold of that drive and attempt to repair it and recover your data. Or maybe the drive fails, but it’s still under warranty and you want to RMA it - with encryption on, you don’t have to worry about some random accessing your data.
You seem to know your stuff, so I have a question - growing up, we had a monochrome CRT monitor with a sepia tint to it, and I’ve been looking for such a monitor for a long time, with no luck. Most of the mono monitors I’ve come across online are either greyscale, amber or green. I can’t find a sepia tinted one. I know my monitor wasn’t unique since I clearly remember some of my friends having similar sepia tinted monitors, so I’m sure mine wasn’t a glitchy or something… but I can’t seem to find any evidence such a monitor even existed. Any ideas if this was really a thing, or have I somehow mixed up the colors in my memories?!
I would recommend going for an all-AMD laptop, with a Ryzen 7xxx/8xxx series CPU, such as the Framework 13/16. You can go for either the APU version (integrated graphics) or one with a discreet Radeon card if you’re a serious gamer (the 16" Framework comes with a Radeon RX 7700S). If you’re unsure about the gaming performance, you can look up your respective APU/GPU model on YouTube - there should be plenty of videos demonstrating GPU performance. notebookcheck.net is also a good site to check.
Also, with an all-AMD setup, you’ll have very little issues with Linux compatibility. AMD Linux drivers have been making some great progress thanks to the Steam Deck and Valve (and also AMD’s recent opensource initiatives - like the plan to opensource ROCm and even GPU firmware), so it’s a pretty exiting space to be in.
But whatever option you end up going for, avoid nVidia - you’re just asking for trouble, if you plan to run Linux with it. Now there are some interesting opensource driver projects such as Nova and NVK, but it’s still a while (years?) away before they may reach maturity, so I wouldn’t recommend them at this stage.
Starts with a T and ends with an a?
I recently bought the OG Dragon’s Dogma for $6. There are a ton of QoL and fun mods that improve gameplay, no DRM crap, and the game performs really well overall. Zero reasons IMO to buy DD2 right now and put up with an inferior experience and Denuvo.
I haven’t tested it myself, but you’ll need to install gamescope and the Vulkan HDR layer, then set the launch options to use it.
Of course, you’ll also need a monitor that supports it, and a cable that supports it as well (I recommend using a DisplayPort 1.4+ cable).
Edit: Here’s a detailed how-to: https://zamundaaa.github.io/wayland/2023/12/18/update-on-hdr-and-colormanagement-in-plasma.html
Yes, it maintains its config across reboots, it uses a systemd daemon that handles the backend. On most distros it should just work automatically, but if not you can edit the config.yaml file to set up your permissions there.
1. If you don’t mind using an older version of Photoshop (CC 2021), you could try this installer: https://github.com/LinSoftWin/Photoshop-CC2022-Linux
2. I would recommend using Vesktop instead of the official client - it’s faster, has better privacy, and best of all, screensharing including audio works like a charm.
4. You could run your games thru gamescope - and as a bonus, you can use features like FSR for better quality or performance.
No flaming here, but your first mistake was trying Ububtu - it’s not the best in terms of hardware compatibility, and they (Canonical) often make controversial software/development decisions, which makes it one of the most hated distributions in the Linux community.
Your second mistake was trying it on a Mac. Now don’t get me wrong, many people do run Linux on a Mac, but it’s not quite plug-and-play (compared to PC), and not everything may work as intended. Since you’re new to Linux, I wouldn’t recommend your first experience of it to be on a Mac. And to be clear, this isn’t Linux’s fault - since Apple (or whichever chipset maker) doesn’t provide Linux with any official drivers/code, the devs have to figure stuff out themselves by reverse-engineering stuff, and as expected not everything may work.
If you’ve only got Macs around and you don’t have the patience to troubleshoot Linux issues / read manuals etc, then the easiest way to try it out is in a virtual machine like Parallels or VirtualBox. The performance might not be the best, but at least everything should work out-of-the-box. As for the distro, since you’re a Mac user, you’d probably feel more at home with elementary OS. Other options you could try include Pop!_OS, and Zorin (the Pro edition even has a macOS-like layout).
Once you’ve tried Linux in a VM and decide you’d like to use it full-time, the best way to experience it is on native Linux-first hardware - basically PCs which come with Linux out-of-the-box, such as those made by System76, Slimbook, Star Labs, Tuxedo etc.
I have, actually. I’ve converted both my elderly parents and aunt and uncle, over a decade ago, to Linux. They were first running Xubuntu, and now they’ve been running Zorin for the past couple of years. Both of them use an pure-Intel PC/laptops (no nVidia, no proprietary drivers) and they have zero issues. All they need is a browser for Facebook/email/etc, some light document editing, and the occasional prints/scans.
Linux works 100% perfectly for their needs, since all they’re doing is basic computing tasks. In fact the whole reason why I switched them over in the first place back then was because I got tired of doing tech support every time their Windows crapped out.
Why do you assume you’re going to do tech support? Does your MIL have any specific proprietary software or hardware requirements?
Like I cant reasonably put my MIL on a linux laptop that I put together for her and expect her to have a good experience
Why not?
And refactor the code a bit to be on the safe side - change the name of the project and remove any references to litigious companies. And use an anonymous handle + VPN/proxy chains so they can’t sue you.
Honestly it boggles my mind that devs contribute to emulators like these using identifiable names and traceable IPs, when everyone knows how these greedy corporations operate. Did no one learn anything from the Sony vs Geohotz case, or all the subsequent takedown against emulators? Why do these devs keep falling into the same trap again and again?
Heh yeah Galactic Battlegrounds is so unfairly underrated IMO. People who knew of it brushed it off saying it’s just a reskinned AoE - but there’s so much more to it. I fell in love with it all over again last year, after I discovered a couple of excellent mods: the first being Expanding Fronts, which brings new civilizations, units, maps, music and QoL improvements. The other being cnc-ddraw - which fixes graphics/compatibility/resolutions and does some excellent upscaling. The game is so much fun with this, been playing local multiplayer with my friends using ZeroTier and we have massive battles against bots, its amazing.
I don’t know about second best, but it’s in the top 5 for sure. The other three for me being the Rogue Squadron series, Galactic Battlegrounds and tie between the two Episode I games (Phantom Menace and Racer).
Apologies, I saw one of the reviews mention VESA, but looks like it was for a different model (I hate that Amazon bundles together reviews of different models on the same page…).
Anyways, you could always get something like a generic VESA mounting kit.
The Minisform EM680 should meet all your listed requirements.
Also, in the future (or for other models), you can always use a USB-C to Barrel Jack adapter - assuming of course, your USB-C supply meets the PC’s wattage requirements.
BTW, there’s a dedicated community for Mini PCs where you can post your future queries at: [email protected]
Sounds like an issue with your WiFi adapter/driver. You can verify this by creating a mobile hotspot on your phone and connecting your PC to it and see if you get the same issue, if you do then it proves it’s got nothing to do with your router.
Another thing you can check is your journalctl logs - run
journalctl -fbefore launching the game, then run the game and quit it when you run into the DNS issue, and check the logs at the time the issue occurred. If there’s indeed a hardware/driver issue, the errors should show up in the logs.If it’s a driver issue, there may not be much you can do about it besides reporting the bug and implementing some sort of workaround (eg using a VPN). Of course, depending on the error, there may be a fix you can apply, like turning of aspm for your chip. A better option would be to replace the WiFi chip/adapter you’re using and get something that’s better supported under Linux, like something with an Intel or Atheros chip. But check journalctl first and see how it goes from there.