Kawaii Koneko

Haha, you're right about them spoiling you. I drive a 2004 Lexus LS430 with the Ultra Luxury package which is a fourteen year old luxury car and it has totally spoiled me. There are so many cars that I like but then I look at them and I see they don't have adaptive cruise or something like that and it turns me off. Hell, just a vehicle not having air conditioned seats is a turn off for me now. I have to remind myself that cars are more than that, especially when it comes to the interesting ones like the Fiat 500 Abarth, Miata, E39 M5, MR2 (any gen), etc. I mean, the E39 series is one of my favorite BMWs of all time and now I get turned off by them not having features on my Lexus despite the fact they aren't meant to be what my full size luxury sedan is lol. I disagree though about these features being contrived. I think improving the automobile has been a natural evolution since the first one was invented. I think it is totally natural for luxury cars to exist in the way they do. I'm not talking about the subscription stuff but just the features in general. I think you are really missing out by just viewing the vehicle as a point a to b device, like some sort of trolley. You only live once so you might as well enjoy the best things in life that you can afford. I suspect we won't see it for things like that as they have become so standard on higher end vehicles these days. I can honestly see a justification for something like Auto Pilot, especially if it is using cellular towers for information or something like that. I'm not very familiar with Tesla's Auto Pilot but I know it is something that is constantly being developed and updates are sent to the car so it is kind of like service to begin with. I actually wouldn't be too upset if I had to pay a subscription for it... if I even had a Tesla lol. That was a great series. I watched it a few days ago and was pretty impressed with what an amazing job he was able to do. That said, what does this have to do with what we are talking about? You should make a new thread about it as it would be pretty cool to chat about it.

Maybe they took a look at gaming and realized that despite everyone complaining about microtransactions, people still keep buying them. Personally, I don't think this will translate well to cars long term though. I guess it depends on if your state or local municipality charges an excise tax or not and how this whole subscription model affects the value of the car. Will what would normally be an $80k BMW fully loaded still be priced at $80k with inactive options or will it be priced at $70k with possible subscriptions making up the difference? Or will BMW still charge the $80k? That is going to make big difference for how much excise tax your government can collect every year. If they still charge the same price, the government won't lose any money when it comes to sales tax. If there is a discount, the government will still be able to tax the subscription and make money from that. Idk if I would say they are overpriced. You aren't going to get the same experience you get from a Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Jag, etc in a Ford or Dodge. I just think certified pre-owned makes more sense due to the insane depreciation of some of the aforementioned brands.

The good thing about this is that if you are shopping used, you don't have to worry about finding one equipped with the options you want. You just subscribe and they are there. And after buying new or leasing, you can retroactively get an option you skipped out on. That aside, this is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. I'm sure consumers will not react well and just go with Mercedes or Lexus instead. Let the free market teach BMW why this is a bad idea. Then again, maybe people will just go along with it and when other brands see it doesn't hurt BMW's sales and didn't result in consumers migrating to their brand, they might follow suit. Sucks but that is how the free market works. Let's just see how long it takes for the government to start further over-regulating and mandating these features as standard.

Do you have a scanner? It might just be a stored code that you an clear and be on your way.

Just a thought, if you have a decent desktop, you could just run an HDMI cable to your TV and use it as a second monitor. I did that with my gaming PC. I had my desktop stuff running on my desktop monitors and my TV setup as a third or fourth (can't remember exactly). It worked pretty well but I'm single so I didn't have to worry about any conflicts with other people competing for usage. Personally, I feel like a dedicated PC is way overkill and not worth the effort if all you want to do is stream. Like others have said, just get an Android streaming box. They are quite capable these days and should you want to go down the route later of storing movies locally, they can handle it with programs like Plex or Kodi. The Shield Pro for example can handle 4k HDR Vision and even has Atmos support. The storage is for the OS and installing apps and games.

That's because they are mad scientist. It's so cool. I've wanted to get into the Fate series but never have. When I do start watching it, I plan to watch everything in order it was released. That's A LOT to get through lol. But as an outside observer of the show, it seems like it has gone in the direction of a much lighter tone with more cute girls being cute.. and Astolfo being... I'm not sure what Astolfo is. Trap or trans, IDK. All I knew is they seem to have taken over the internet and have become even more popular than many of the CIS girls. Anyway, I don't mean to hijack the OP's thread but is it true that the series is a bit more comedic and fan-servicey than it used to be?

So I have this habit of crossing my legs when I game. It doesn't matter if I'm on the couch or a computer chair. Doing so not only feels natural but allows me to rest my arms on my legs for added stability. It makes a big difference when using a controller. I can tell that I play better with the stability. With m/k it is easier to get away with resting my wrist and/or arms on the desk but I still feel better cross legged. The bad thing is that I end up very sore and have to straighten my legs every 40 minutes or so because they start to hurt. Idk. I guess I can't win now matter how I sit. I also played PayDay 2 for days straight when I had a nice stretch off from working. I did it using a controller on the One X. It got to the point my hands and wrists hurt so bad, I had to stop playing. I thought the pain would go away but it didn't. Typing and gaming was very uncomfortable. I did reduce my game play to games that didn't require such intense finger movements but I still was uncomfortable. I ended up going to a doctor and they said I probably had carpal tunnel syndrome. They told me to wear one of those wrist brace things. The problem has mostly gone away after months of not pushing my hands and fingers to work hard while gaming. I still get the feeling sometimes and occasionally have to take something OTC for the pain. Not often though. I'm 34 btw. I hate to see what might happen when I hit 50. I'm not giving up gaming though. I'll get surgery and resort to other means of easing the pain if I have to before I give up gaming.

Yeah, that's a good idea. I should have thought of that lol. I guess I'll probably go find a manual online. Still would be nice if someone knows though and has a picture of it filled up as much as possible.

That's a good thought. So some kind of control for the rear zone climate control if the vehicle is equipped with the quad zone climate control? I'm wondering if that would be a simple on and off switch or individual controls for left and right in the rear... I found another picture. As you can see this one has control for the left and right vents but also what looks to be a button for turning the rear vents on and off but no individual temperature controls. I'm not sure if that would be another option or if on/off is your only option for rear control. This one lacks the auto or rest mode button but as you can see, it has been moved above the controls. So I am assuming button layout and locations greatly changes based on elected options... Still, I'm wondering if it is even possible to fill them all up or if there will be blanks. There are still four blanks here so I'm wondering what else would fill them up.

Hmm. I've never heard anything about auto tire fill up on the 955/7. I know that vehicles equipped with the air ride have an onboard air compressor but that requires you to hook up a hose to nozzle under the passenger seat and fill up each tire individually. I'm not aware of needing to push a button to activate it either; it just works while the car is running. But if you could ask your grandpa if he knows, that would be awesome. I did think of joining a Porsche forum to ask but I figured I would ask here first.

Does anyone know anything about the 955 and 957 Cayenne? I'm curious about the blank buttons around the climate control buttons. As you can see in the picture below, there is a vent selection on the left, the eco mode button, and then the rest buttons for maintaining temperature when the vehicle is off. I've seen other pictures (can't find one now) for Cayennes equipped with the dual zone vent control where there are vent selections on the left and right of the control area. But in that case I did not see a rest button, just the eco one. Not sure if rest was an option or what the deal is there. Anyway, can anyone tell me what would fill all the buttons? What buttons would be there on a fully loaded model? Would there still be blanks that were never used? If anyone has a picture of what that would look like, I would appreciate it.

Am I missing something? I didn't see anything about specs in that tweet about the profiles. Most speculation has been that the Series S will have the same CPU as the Series X but less memory and a weaker GPU more akin to the One X. I would be very surprised if MS released a next gen console less powerful than the One X even if it is the budget model. I just don't think it goes with their strategy this next generation. But hey, I could be wrong lol.

I've been considering modding my Vita. I need to look at the possibilities because I haven't paid much attention to Vita modding news. I also have a PS/Vita TV that I might do some things to. I agree that it makes more sense to mod a Vita. The screen is a HUGE improvement over the PSP and having dual analog sticks makes a world of difference. It is just a much better device for emulation and the like IMO. That's a shame. Screen protectors and cases are so important for handhelds. I've learned the hard way in the past when I thought I would be careful and didn't need a screen protector lol. Yeah, the Vita has actually held up in value really well. Just the handheld itself seems to command an easy $150 plus and I see a lot on eBay going for over $200. If you do get one, I recommend the OLED version. That screen looks really nice. I bought mine after the Slim came out so I got really lucky and scored a brand new 3G OLED version before the prices skyrocked for new boxed units. Interestingly, the OLED doesn't really seem to be much more expensive than the OLED version now, at least for used ones. Seems they are rather close in price so I would get the OLED.

It definitely does but it is definitely the biggest deviation from the books. That is partially expected due to where the final book ended but they definitely took some big liberties. I'm fine with that though. It works well to move the game's story forward. I do agree that anyone can pick up Exodus and enjoy it because while the story is definitely connected to the previous games, they did a good job of telling a rather self contained story. So really it does a good job at offering new players something they can enjoy while still rewarding players who played previous games. Personally though, I would recommend playing the first two games first. It makes the game much more rewarding. After playing through the dark and cramped Metro of the first two games, it feels like a real accomplishment to finally be out on the surface. There are definitely things that you understand right away if you have played the previous two games. The game makes most of what is going on clear but playing the first two gives you a lot more context. And if you read/listened to all the books, you will definitely notice some inconsistencies right away. But like I said, I'm with that. It works for the game and even the author said he is totally fine with the games deviating from the source material. Honestly, I would maybe consider reading the books first. I beat 2033 Redux and a couple levels of Last Light Redux before I stopped and listened to all three books. It actually made the games more enjoyable as I compared the story to the game. It didn't really spoil the games either since the games had their own versions of many events in the books.

How about this? It's a little more than what you posted but more capable and USB 3. Seems to be a popular choice with a good rating. The micro sd to Duo adapter looks just fine. I'm pretty sure that's the exact same one I have. Have fun modding your PSP. I softmoded mine the day I bought it lol. I never even used the UMD drive on it because I just stored my games on a 32GB micro sd. I did buy physical copies of my games but then would download a copy online to easily transfer it. That allowed me to keep my PSP games sealed. Plus, I was legally and morally in the clear since I owned the game. I did however download the fan translation of Dangaronpa because at the time it wasn't localized in the US. It was on of those moments where it made modding the PSP totally worth it. When the game finally came out in the US I did buy it on the Vita and PS4 though so I made up for downloading it lol.

Honestly, I think this is a brilliant idea. Price is going to be a huge factor this generation as it sounds like both the PS5 and Series X are likely to be fairly pricey. I can't possibly imagine having anything less than $500 and I think $600 might be a real possibility. This is a huge barrier to entry for a lot of people. Personally, I have an XBox One X which I upgraded to on launch day from my OG XBox One. I would say that half of the randoms that I talk to online are still playing on the original or S. So clearly there are a lot of people who choose the cheaper variant and I expect that trend to continue. Having a system that is more powerful than the X but less than the XSX would still be a great upgrade for people who want a next gen system but don't want to drop $500-$600. The X is currently selling for $400 so I can imagine them being able to sell something with similar but upgraded hardware for $300-$400. Now we know for a fact that Sony is releasing a second console but as far as we know, the only difference is the lack of a disc drive. Eliminating the disc drive doesn't really grant them much flexibility in terms of pricing. On the other hand, a beefed up X will easily be able to undercut the PS5 digital edition. So we are going to have a situation where the PS5 and XSX are around the same price but when it comes to the discounted versions, the XBox version will be at a huge advantage in term of price. Sure, the digital edition PS5 will be considerably better performance wise but that will cost a lot more and at that point, you might as well just step up to the PS5 with a disc drive because I don't see there being a huge price difference. I also think that the cheaper XBox should have a disc drive. I suspect that a lot of people on a tighter budget won't have super fast internet. A lot of them are probably on the cheaper plans and will have to wait hours to download games that easily range from 50-100GB these days. It adds so little cost but will remove a lot of frustration for gamers on a budget. Anyway, take a look at Digital Foundry's video about the discless PS5. They make it pretty clear that Sony doesn't really have a lot of wiggle room in pricing by simply removing the disc drive. No because the less powerful XBox will still be more powerful than the current X. It will still be an upgrade.

They already have sex toys that you can control with your smartphone so it isn't unreasonable for your brain to go there.

Where did you get yours? I seriously can't recall ever seeing one in the store and I've had a One since launch day so since then I have regularly perused the XBox section at Wal-Mart and Best Buy when I was near one. I find it interesting that you like the added balance because when I had one on my 360 controller back in the day, I only attached it when messaging because I hated the way it made the controller feel. I'm not sure if you used one on the 360 but if you have, can you comment on how it feels on the One vs the 360? Do you feel like it is a marked improvement? And how are those buttons to type on? They look way too close together to accurately type whereas the third party ones seem to have some decent space between keys. I found the Amazon listing and given that the most recent review is from 2018, I do suspect it has been discontinued. MS doesn't even have a listing on their online store either. When did you get yours?

For the 360 or One? Official 360 ones were quite common and you can still get a new one on Amazon for like $25 USD. As for the One, I never even knew MS made one but looking on eBay, I see there are currently a mere two listings and they are not cheat cheap. My guess is they were discontinued quickly so they are rare. MS probably phased them out since it is generally quicker and easier to just use the XBox app. Just use a wireless keyboard. I had a pad for the 360 and you can't really type all that fast on something that size. I use a keyboard now and people are always asking how I can respond so quickly lol.

If that is the case, I think you should downsize your plans here. Just start tinkering around and make some demo games just for the sake of learning. The last thing you want is to get in over your head, especially if you are thinking of actually charging people. I think Steam is already overflowing with games made by people without enough experience or resources which often just leads to dropped development and lots of bad reviews. Agreed. I can't see many people actually buying a game that is LAN only. People don't want to have to convince their friends to buy it as well just so they have someone to meet up with IRL to play the game. But having LAN support is always a nice bonus in addition to online MP.

Can't put a price on the freedom that having a vehicle to drive gives you. And being in college, I would want something to go out with friends in and pick up a date with. If economics are an issue, maybe just downsize to something like a Miata that gets decent mileage and has an actual air conditioner. No way in hell would I give up a vehicle with actual AC and heat. Do you really want to arrive at class all sweaty? That said, why not just get a moped? They get insanely good MPG and you can actually drive them in traffic so you can get where you want much faster. Sure, you don't get any exercise but you can just get a normal bike for nice days when you want some. They are pretty cheap too. You could get something like this. Sorry, I know I'm suggesting something other than what you asked but I do genuinely think a moped makes more sense if you really can't bring a vehicle with you. I would just use your phone for any GPS or music needs to help keep costs down.

Maybe it is now. It has been awhile since I checked. Last I knew there were some personalization restrictions in place until you activated it. Maybe that's changed.

Was going to say that. Win 10 is practically free for end users at this point. MS gives you the ISO on their site and there doesn't really seem to be any serious penalties for not buying a key. Any restriction they put on you can just be bypassed anyway. If he thinks just entering a key purchased third party is going to magically give him a virus, he probably shouldn't be building a PC. No offense. Maybe you should just build it for him so he doesn't ruin anything, provided you have experience with hardware yourself.

So you pirated the games... Eh, seems pretty reasonable for what was a $60 game. Maybe a little high as $20 seems like the sweet spot for a $60 game once it gets to a certain age but I wouldn't say it is unreasonable.

A LAN only game with no online mp is unlikely to get any interest. Times have changed. Might as well just implement P2P support with the option for custom servers. LAN support is a plus but there is no way you are going to convince people to buy a game that they can only play at LAN parties.