Playing on Xbox Series X. I am about 2/3 the way through the game and upgraded tonight. First impressions - there’s more pop-in, there’s more unreal-engine bullshit like ghosting, I don’t like the greenery because I preferred the brownery of the previous versions, there’s more bugs like the torch not making a noise when switched on/off etc, I could go on…

But, and this is a massive but which overrides all of the above, it just feels more immersive. I think it’s the camera angle or something, but now I really feel like I’m in the zone, not hovering just above it. The creatures and other stalkers seem to be more at my level/height, and it just feels like I’m more immersed in the world.

I hope the new issues that have been introduced are resolved soon, but in the meantime I’m enjoying it.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/[email protected]/p/2257419/oc-academic-textbooks-being-discarded-from-abandoned-university-buildings-more-in-comme

Aberystwyth University closed one of its campuses a few years ago. The place has been left to rot, but recently they’ve started clearing the place out, and removing all the old scientific textbooks. Most of them look untouched. Wonder how much this lot would have set students back if buying new.

Aberystwyth University closed one of its campuses a few years ago. The place has been left to rot, but recently they’ve started clearing the place out, and removing all the old scientific textbooks. Most of them look untouched. Wonder how much this lot would have set students back if buying new.

Fully expect this to just be me, but the way the tall, angular Beorma Tower looms over the curved rear of the Selfridges building is architecturally erotic.

I've been a PixelFed user for a few years now after having binned off Instagram a long time ago, but I've always kept an eye on Vernissage's development. Pixelfed has had very little in the way of updates in several months despite having the far larger user base, whereas Vernissage has been steadily releasing updates for its comparatively tiny set of users, and not long ago released an iOS app which I thought I'd try out, which turned out to be superb - it's so much better looking and performant than the official Pixelfed app. The downside for most (I imagine) would be the lack of an Android app.

Whereas Pixelfed is geared towards being an Instagram replacement, Vernissage seems to be tailored more to the Flickr/500px proper-photographer type crowd. While I was in the market for an Instagram replacement, Vernissage is the platform I've found myself increasingly using simply because of how well presented it is.

I was wondering if anyone else who is interested in photo sharing has tried both, and what their opinions are of them. There's tons of chatter on Mastodon around Pixelfed, but a lot less about Vernissage.

Links to the main instances:

https://pixelfed.social/
https://vernissage.photos/

Pretty old apple tree in the garden which produces hundreds of not-great-tasting apples every year looks like it’s in a bit of a state. I had to cut back a weird branch that had been cut before, presumably because it shot out horizontally, and there’s a ton of rot.

It’s not in danger of hitting any buildings if it ever does fall, although could maybe take out a distracted child or two if I’m lucky.

Is there anything I can do to save it?

I’ve often heard that the reason Windows has suffered from bloat and so much has been built on top of ancient underlying technologies, partially to ensure compatibility with old software.

If something like Windows 11 requires specific hardware in order to install it, why does it need to accommodate compatibility for archaic devices/software?

Would it not be preferable for Microsoft to start from scratch with an OS that is considerably more efficient and cut-down for newer devices, similar to something like Apple’s MacOS transition from Intel to Apple Silicon, and just provide security updates for the legacy operating systems that would be in use on un-upgradable hardware?

I have a Logitech K860 keyboard that I use with a work Windows laptop and a personal M4 MacBook Air, both via bluetooth. I'm constantly switching between the two devices during the day, and the bluetooth switching buttons are great for that. Switching to the Windows machine is instant, but when switching to the MacBook there's always a 2 or 3 second delay before it connects. Is there anything I can do to improve the device switching speed to the Mac?

It snapped and wound itself back inside the mechanism inaccessibly, and I became the freak wandering round with a belt attached to his dog, trying to make it home before his trousers fell down.

I have a 2014 Volkswagen Touran. The Touran isn’t even a particularly big vehicle - it’s built on the same chassis as a Golf. On a long solo drive today, it occurred to me that the car has a ludicrous amount of cup holders.

I have the 7 seat variant, with two fold-down seats in the boot. There are 15 cup holders in total:

2 in the glovebox lid. 

1 in the driver’s door. 

1 in the passenger door. 

3 in the centre console at the front. 

2 flip-out ones in the centre console at the rear. 

1 in the rear passenger side door. 

1 in the rear driver’s side door. 

1 in the rear passenger side tray table. 

1 in the rear driver’s side tray table. 

2 above the rear wheels for the boot passengers. 

Bearing in mind the only cup holders accessible to the two rear-most passengers are the ones above the rear wheels, there are 13 cup holders for the 5 other passengers. I’m not sure what to think about this .

I’m using the latest versions of Voyager and Interstellar from the App Store on iOS 26.2. If I go to my account and try to view my previous posts, only one is displayed, and oddly it’s not even the most recent one. It’s the same single post on both apps

If I use Piefed on the web (.social), I can see all posts I’ve made.

Is there a problem with the API used by the apps?

Props to this small indie developer who’s worked tirelessly to launch this relatively unknown app promptly on Apple Watch

We’ve been an Xbox household forever, but recently I stopped paying for Game Pass due to the price increases. Last night my daughter was complaining that there was “nothing to play”.

There are 416 owned games available for download on that Series X which have been accumulated over the years through purchases or Xbox Live Gold or whatever, and she’s barely scratched the surface of them.

For the total life of my PS1 ownership when I was her age, I owned 5 games.

“In my day…”, etc etc

Took this photo this morning while having breakfast at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel in Powys, Wales, which has incredible views of the lake.

And if so, what are you getting?

I had been planning to upgrade this year, but haven't been massively swayed by any of the phones. I can afford to upgrade, and would get £220 trade in with Apple which I'm unlikely to get next year, but battery health is still 83% for me after 4 years and easily sees me through the day. Any recommendations would be good, even if that's to sit out an upgrade this year.

I couldn't work out initially what someone would have done to create this ring in the filth of my car's rear window. Turns out it was the fluffy part of a dandelion seed attached to a thread from a spider web, spinning as I drove.

Literally unplayable