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Steam Deck: First Impressions

Read More Steam I’ve put down my $5 to preorder my Steam Deck. I decided to get the $400 entry model. I think that is a fantastic price, considering that I looked at similar handheld PCs, such as the Aya Neo and OneXPlayer, and they are usually $1,000 or more … Elden Ring Yes, I’m finally playing Elden Ring, the game that literally everybody was playing in February 2022. The game went on sale on disc, so picked it up. I popped in the disc, expecting to play the game. Guess what? … Cyberpunk For some odd reason, Best Buy, allowed me to pick up my pre-order for Cyberpunk 2077 video game for the PC. The game is not officially out until December 10, 2020, on a variety of platforms: Windows …

I’m so excited to finally get my hands on the Steam Deck

Downloading queue

As soon as I opened the case, I immediately booted it up and started downloading Elden Ring. On my slow hotspot connection, it was going to take 11 hours to download 50GB. In the meantime, I did download some smaller games to test out the unit, particularly older games like Galaga or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Those ran as I would expect: amazingly well. What I’m more interested in is if the Deck can handle modern graphically-intense games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk (which does not run well on the PS4).

What I’ve experienced so far, it’s a really good system. As you may or may not know, the SteamOS is actually running in Linux. What that means is that anything that can run on the Linux desktop mode, you can run it on the Steam Deck. So there are a lot of enthusiasts that have created various software to modify how Steam function and look.

I did briefly explore Desktop mode by changing some themes and downloading Firefox. It’s not a great experience on Desktop mode because the Steam Deck wasn’t designed to run in desktop. For example, after downloading Firefox, I couldn’t get the touchscreen keyboard to load up, and it was generally slow and not as responsive.

For most people, I suggest just sticking to the SteamOS. That’s what I’m going to do from now on (although it’s good to know that I can muck around with Linux if I get bored in the future).

The Steam Deck screen looks great. Games looks great on it. The audio is very loud and very good for its size. Controllers is good too. I like the D-Pad, I like the buttons. Some people complained that the Deck has a very loud fan. Maybe it’s just their device, but mine didn’t make that much noise. The Deck does get hot, and you can feel the heat leaving the vents on top and on the back.

The AMD Zen 2 CPU, combined with 16GB DDR5 and custom GPU, it’s very fast. Much faster than the Switch and better than the PS4. All this power needs a super fast charger, which Valve included out of the box: a 45-Watt charger.

The ability to use any hardware or software that is supported on Linux, you can truly use the Steam Deck as a desktop/laptop.

There are some minor complaints I have about the Steam Deck. I’m just nit-picking, they’re not really complaints, but more like what I hope can be improved in the next generation Steam Deck. I think the device is very big. Holding it, looking at it, I don’t really think it’s meant to be a pocketable handheld gaming device. It’s almost double the weight and size of the Nintendo Switch, and certainly much, much larger than the portable Switch Lite or the PlayStation Vita.

My Steam Games

I own over 300 games on Steam, but only about 80 of them are Deck Verified… which means they will run on the Deck without any issues. Some games will run on Steam Deck, but it’s not optimized for it. For example, some text might be too small to read on a small screen. So the problem is that developers needs to update their games to run on Steam Deck - and on older titles, that might not be possible.

I wish there was a cover over the MicroSD card reader. I accidentally ejected the card a few times, which I’m very worried about damaging my expensive 1TB SD card. It’s a valid concern. On my camera and one any phones that accepts MicroSD cards, there is a cover that keeps the card safe in its place.

I absolutely hate the two mousepads/touchpads on the Deck. I hated it on the Steam Controller, I absolutely hated it on the Deck. If they got rid of it to make the Deck smaller, I will co-sign that.

I also wish there was another USB-C on the bottom of the device. Right now, there is one USB-C port on top, so all the Docks designed for the Steam Deck looks … ugly. On the Switch, the USB-C is on the bottom, so you just “dock” it in the stand and voila, it’s charging and in its stand. Since the Steam Deck has the USB-C on top, it’s not as elegant. You have to bring up the chord and manually locate the USB-C and plug it in. Not great.

I wanted to buy a third-party Steam Deck Dock, but I’m waiting for the official Docking Station to be release. Valve is having some supply issues so they haven’t announced or released the Dock yet.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Hakos Baelz Gaming PC

Read More iBuyPower Since owning the new iBuyPower’s Fallout computer, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer. I’ve been really into RGB lighting for my computer and recently purchased …

The Hakos Baelz Gaming PC announcement couldn’t come at a better time.

I am actually in the market for a new computer. My current iBuyPower desktop computer needs an update. The exhaust fan is starting to make a lot of noise, so it’s preventing me from doing audio recording. I know I can fix it with a replacement fan, but I don’t really know the make and size. Plus, the video card (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) is old and upgrading the card will require replacing my power supply. Also, currently, for whatever reason, I can’t get Windows 11 to install on the current computer.

Anyway, so I have been looking at some HYTE Y60 PCs, as it looks very cool with it’s clear glass front and side view of the computer’s interior. Plus, I like the fact that the case was designed for the new generation of GPU. In older computer case design, which didn’t take into account of the weight and size of GPUs, you had something called “GPU sag”. The Y60 case solved this by routing the PCIe to the bottom, so your card can stand vertically. So, yes, I have been looking closely at these Y60 computers.

If I were to buy a Y60 pre-built computer, I would want a unique one like the Hakos Baelz RDY Gaming PC, which has custom artwork on the glass, complete with a free custom Hakos Baelz desk pad. Why would you want a generic case when you can get one with artwork… especially, if the prices are basically the same.

There are two version of the Hakos Baelz computer, costing $2,100 and $2,700. There is a $600 difference gets you an i9, GTX 3080 card, and a 2TB NVME.

Hakos Baelz	Hakos Baelz Pro
Windows 11 Home	Windows 11 Home
Intel® Core™ i7-12700KF CPU	Intel® Core™ i9-12900KF CPU
MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4	ASUS PRIME Z690-P
32GB DDR4 3600 G.SKILL RGB RAM	32GB DDR5-5200MHz G.SKILL RGB RAM
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 - 8GB	MSI GeForce RTX 3080 - 10GB
1TB WD Black M.2 GEN4 NVMe SSD	2TB Samsung M.2 NVMe SSD

While I want the Hakos Baelz Computer, I’m probably not going to buy it. I need to wait and see what other options I have. Wouldn’t it make sense to license other popular brands? Sticking with anime, how about Robotech, Lone Wolf and Cub, Fist of the North Star? Or a Batman computer? How about a He-Man computer? You can even jokingly dub it “Most Powerful Computer in the Universe.” Or a Transformers computer? You can call it Teletran One and have a custom gimmick transformable computer part. The possibilities are endless.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Steam Deck Update

Technical Specs Processor AMD APU CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz Storage 64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1) 256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or x2) 512 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or x2) Display 7" - 1280 x 800px (16:10 aspect ratio) Optically bonded IPS LCD Expansion UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHC USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K or 4K Read More Steam I’ve put down my $5 to preorder my Steam Deck. I decided to get the $400 entry model. I think that is a fantastic price, considering that I looked at similar handheld PCs, such as the Aya Neo and OneXPlayer, and they are usually $1,000 or more …

When I placed my $5 deposit to buy the Steam Deck in Aug 2022, I was convinced that I wouldn’t get it until 2023. I was so wrong.

I recently got the alert that I have three days to purchase the Steam Deck. So it took a little over a month to finally fulfill my order. It could be that someone else turned down their Steam Deck, due to disinterests, or the email went to a spam filter, or lack of funds, and I may have gotten their Steam Deck… or it could be that Steam really was ramping production to meet demand. Either way, I’m so excited to finally get my hands on this thing.

I bought the cheapest one, because all three version are basically the same device (same chip, same speed), with the only exception of storage. The cheap version comes with 64GB, but I can always expand it with an SD card.

Again, I have been shopping around at various hand-held devices, such as the OneXPlayer and Aya Neo, and they are all very expensive (about $1,000). The only advantage is that those devices runs the full Windows operating system by default, so you can play GOG or Epic games.

With the Steam Deck, you have to go through a lot of trouble to install Windows on the device. Since the hardware is so new, and Windows doesn’t really support it, getting Windows to run on the Steam Deck is difficult.

Now that I’m waiting for the Steam Deck to ship to me, I am shopping for some new Steam Games. I’m excited to see that Sony is making some of their PlayStation games available on Steam, including God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, and Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition. All of which are Steam Deck verified (meaning they will run on the Steam Deck without issues). Since I probably will never buy a PS5, these PS games are the only way that I’ll get to experience them.

Also, it’s laughable, but none of the PS games will install on my Steam Deck because they’re all over 64GB in size. I probably need to invest in a 1TB SD card ($140) or 512GB card ($70).

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

WPS Office

WPS Office wps.com Free Includes Writer, Spreadsheet, Presentation, and PDF Editor Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS Install on any device you own Compatible with MicroSoft Office Does not need to be online Read More MicroSoft Anyway, when I saw that the new MicroSoft’s Surface Pro 7 (with keyboard cover) on sale for $600, I couldn’t pass it up. Currently their price is $700, but MicroSoft’s website is still showing $600. …

I used to love MicroSoft Office. Well mainly for Word and Excel, but when MicroSoft decided to go to a subscription model… I decided it was time to move away from Office. Previously, I had Office 2003, which is a little dated and won’t work on Windows 10. I tried the new Office 365 and I liked the new updates, but I still wasn’t willing to pay for a subscription.

After hearing from so many people asking to just purchase the software, instead of “renting” their software… MicroSoft caved in and gave us the Home & Student Edition, which has a one-time payment. Unfortunately, their asking price is expensive. We’re talking over $150 for one computer (although Amazon has it on sale for $100), it’s still not worth it to me.

Like I said, I have looked for alternative to Office. I’ve tried out the free Office Libre, which I do not like at all. I tried out Google Suite, which is very basic, and you constantly have to be online.

Nothing worked for me…. that is until I discovered WPS Office. The Office includes WPS Writer (a knockoff of Word), Presentation (a knockoff of Powerpoint) and Spreadsheet (a knock off of Excel), as well as a PDF Creator (which works like Adobe Acrobat).

What I mostly needed was WPS Writer. Wow, this software is identical to MicroSoft Word. It reads and open and edit Word Documents, including the latest docx files, without any issues, it’s practically Word.

All the shortcuts and all the amenities of Word can be found in WPS. I just can’t believe it’s completely free. There are ads, but they aren’t intrusive. The ads are mostly trying to get you to upgrade to their Premium subscription, which costs $30 a year.

I’ve been using it for nearly a month now, and I can say that I am officially abandoning Word, in favor of WPS. If you want to give it a chance, or looking for a free Word alternative, check out WPS.

The $30 annual subscription for WPS Premium gets you the following.

PDF editing

File format conversion

Same account can be used up to 3 PCs and 6 mobile devices

No advertising

20 GB of Cloud storage

Cloud collaboration

I think if you want the online access (between your computer and mobile device, such as an iPad), the 20GB storage might be worth the $30/year fee… but for me, the free version works for me. I think if they offer some sort of one-time payment, I would be more eager to go that route.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer: Abandoning Home Internet

Read More Visible I’ve been using internet-only telephone service called Visible for three months now… and I feel I’ve experienced all the pain and strain of using their service. The short story is that this is a very inexpensive mobile service . …

I no longer have home internet. I was paying $35, then $50 a month, for home internet with a DSL company, which I won’t mention its name… but they’re nationwide. Internet was slow at 3 mbps, but it was fine for what I was doing. I wasn’t streaming HD videos (I still buy Blurays) or doing live streams.

For the first time, I decided to abandon home DSL internet. All this was made possible when I was getting unlimited data on my phone, via Visible, a company by Verizon. I know many people have problems with Visible, but I’ve been using them for over a year, and it works for me.

Of course, leaving home internet, there will be some drawbacks. None of my “internet of things” devices will work correctly now. For example “smart screens” or internet security cameras. You can still access the camera using a local network (that’s not connected to the internet), as long as you are signed into that local network. Still, it’s not convenient and these constantly connected devices won’t work properly.

The other drawback is that Visible only allows you to connect one device to your phone, using your phone’s hotspot or tethering method. I suggest you read Visible’s website for details about its hotspot restrictions…. however, you can get around the one device limit by using an iPhone (Apple uses a different method to connect devices that bypass Visible’s restriction). So in November 2021, I purchased the iPhone 13, and have been very happy with both the device and my ability to connect multiple devices.

Speaking of hotspot, there is a 5 mbps cap when you tether. That’s still faster than my old DSL service! I found that, especially when I upload files, it’s much faster than DSL.

Pricing for Visible, right now, is $25 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Starting in October, they are changing their prices to $30 or $45, which I previously mentioned in Sep 2022. Hey, even at the more expensive $45 (which promises a faster network and expanded network), I might be willing to pay more, especially if now I am paying for both a phone and personal internet combined. Even at $45, it would still be cheaper than my ex-DSL service.

My other concern is that my Xbox always want a connection. I’ve taken precautions and have ended my Xbox Game Pass in August 2022. All the games I want are on the system, and if I need to buy new games, I will have to buy a disc. Besides, it’s been proven that buying discs (especially used games), they are much, much cheaper than buying a digital copy.

In a few months, I’ll keep you updated if my experiment goes horribly wrong or if this is be the right move for me. I sometime feel like I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I will have to look around for some other alternative solution to home internet. Any suggestions?

-- Weekend Gamer

PS, by the way, Visible is not the only unlimited data in town, there’s Tello, at $30 a month for unlimited data. Tello’s restrictions is that if you go over 25GB, they throttle you to 2GB. Mint offers unlimited for $30 a month, but you have to pay 3 months in advance ($90) and they cap your hotspot to only 5GB.

If I’m really desperate to have my internet photo frame or home security cameras to connect to the internet, I would probably buy a Tello line and leave that phone at home, plugged in with the hotspot turned on. Tello doesn’t have restrictions on how many device can connect to the hotspot... so that might work. Those home security cameras probably won’t even go over their 25GB limit. Perhaps I will look into buying a Tello line in the future to see if that might work out for me.

Read more Technology.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Site Update: Visible to remove Party Pay

Read More Visible I’ve been using internet-only telephone service called Visible for three months now… and I feel I’ve experienced all the pain and strain of using their service. The short story is that this is a very inexpensive mobile service . …

I’ve been using Visible since May 2021, and I have to admit, I love it. For $25 a month, I got unlimited talk, text, and, most importantly, unlimited data. It made me re-think the way I use the internet on my phone, since I’m no longer watching how much data I’m using. You basically use the phone like you were on WiFi, like allowing Google Photos to upload original image sizes or downloading massive Podcast or stream Vudu or Amazon Prime.

The best part is that of the price, you can tether or use your phone as a Hotspot, so one other device can use the internet (for example, my iPad or laptop).

That’s not to say that Visible (a division of Verizon) doesn’t have their issues and problems. I mentioned that this is entirely a “do it yourself” service, if you need tech support, you’re pretty much out of luck.

Still, if you set it up, I think $25 for an unlimited phone service is an amazing deal. You are not going to see that kind of low price from any phone company.

So, some bad news.

One of the key thing I liked about Visible was their Party Pay option, which gives you a $15 discount, if you’re party of a large group. Think “Family Plan”, but none of the party is related to you. Visible will be removing the Party Pay option in October 18, 2022, as they introduce two phone options: a regular service ($30) and a “plus” service ($45).

Look, even an increase to $30 (a $5 increase for me), I think is fine, as long as the service remains the same. I fear that the $30 will be an inferior version of the “plus” service, that’s what I’m afraid of… which means that the service will be a $20 increase for me if I need that “plus” service. $5 is acceptable, $20 is not okay with me.

You can read about it on their website:

Existing members will be required to get a new SIM card to take advantage of all these capabilities. All members, new and existing must update their device software before activating their new Visible or Visible+ plan. Devices that are currently certified for use with Visible services including our new plans are listed in the compatibility checker.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Tamron 50-400mm E-Mount lens coming September 22, 2022

Read More Tamron Maybe Tamron heard me, and announced that they are working on the Tamron 50-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD (Model A067) on July 28, 2022. The new lens will be coming out Fall 2022 … Sony I’m in the market for a new high end camera, so I was debating on buying the Sony A9 (used) and Sony A7 IV, as they were about the same price. For non-Sony camera enthusiasts, let me break down …

You know I’m in the market for a long-reach telephoto lens for usage at live concerts. Right now I’m using the Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 Di III RXD Lens (since Sep 2021). While it’s a very fast lens (at F2.8 at the short end), I would trade that to get more reach... since I rarely shoot at 28mm.

When I read that Tamron was working on a 50-400mm lens called Tamron 50-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD (Model A067), it was perfect for my needs.

Recently, Tamron released some additional information about the upcoming lens, including a release date of September 22, 2022, via their products page. One of the key features that I am looking forward to is that the lens will have stabilization called VC (Vibration Compensation) built into the lens! This is much-needed key feature that was absent in Tamron’s 28-200mm. While I didn’t mind it as much (as my camera had a five-axis stabilization in the camera), this is a feature that many shooters are asking for.

The other new thing I’ve learned is that the lens will have an optional tripod mount with Arca Swiss-compatible quick shoe. This suggests to me that the lens is heavy, even though the website lists it to weigh about 2.5 pounds.

For power users, you can set focus limits with their “Focus Limiter” (you would want to do this if you know you’ll never need a certain number set so you can focus faster), which I probably won’t use... but I appreciate the option. Based on the photo, I see you have physical buttons to set your custom focus - so it’s great to see that you can revert back to the default, if your custom is not working for you.

You can get half-macro photography, with a distance of about 10 inches, so if you’re into shooting very close subjects, this is for you. I probably won’t be using this too much, but I like to have this ability.

While most people won’t care for it - I find that the 75° zoom ring rotation arc is very useful. Imagine going from 50 to 400 with just a twist. On one of my old lens, I would have to turn the lens almost a half circle!

The best part is that the lens is about 7 inches, which is a good size for something that can reach 400mm. Of course, it is about 2 inches longer than my 200mm, but that’s the price to pay for more reach.

Speaking of price, that is the one thing that Tamron didn’t mention. I am going to guess that it will cost about $600-$800, based on similar lens.

I guess I’ll find out for myself, when I buy the lens in September or October (depending on availability).

Update: Pre-orders from retailers lists the lens at $1,300... much more expensive than its competitors.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Weekend Gamer Update (August 2022)

Read More Steam Weekend gamer here. This weekend, we will look at Steam’s Steam Deck (not to be confused with Elgato’s Stream Deck). For some months, I’ve been eyeing on the handheld AYA Neo as a … Nintendo Switch I’ve wanted the Nintendo Switch since I first heard about it last October 2016. The system launched in March 2017, but it immediately sold out everywhere. … Xbox So, I joined Game Pass. There are two price points, the $10 per month pricing is strictly for Xbox games, and the $15, called Game Pass Ultimate includes PC, EA and Xbox Gold (you need this to play online … Sony Still, you know I’m still somewhat interested in seeing the next generation of gaming consoles… and today, Sony showed up what the upcoming PS5 will look like. And holy crap, it is so ugly. …

It’s the weekend, and here’s your Weekend Gamer update.

I’ve put down my $5 to preorder my Steam Deck.

I decided to get the $400 entry model. I think that is a fantastic price, considering that I looked at similar handheld PCs, such as the Aya Neo and OneXPlayer, and they are usually $1,000 or more. Even though Steam said they are ramping up production, and it’s listed as delivery date of “October-December 2022”, but I doubt that I will get my Steam Deck until 2023. The company already announced they are working on a Steam Deck 2. I think the smart move is to just wait for the second version, as it will fix all the problems in the first version...

I think my main reason for wanting a portable PC game console is that increasingly I’m very unhappy with the performance of my Nintendo Switch. I recently launched Diablo II on the Switch and it was just unplayable. Whenever there are hundreds of enemies on screen, the Switch just crawls to a snail’s pace. The Switch desperately needs a refresh. Come on, it’s been five years already!

Also, after six months, I finally cancelled my Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The main reason is that I honestly did not have the time to fully take advantage of Game Pass. I love the fact that I could I try out the full games that I normally wouldn’t pay money for... And for titles that would normally cost $60! It was a huge savings, but at the end of the day, I would just rather buy (and own) the games that I like. What I am trying say is that I end up just playing the games that I already paid for.

I had a problem with Game Pass removing some games when they end their license agreement with Xbox. It’s very frustrating to play a game one month and then come back a few months later only to find out that game is no longer accessible, because it left Game Pass.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back was when Microsoft announced that they will no longer be offering free downloads to Xbox 360 games in their subscription services (they simply ran out of games to give away). The one saving grace of Game Pass was that you were allowed to keep one Xbox 360 game for free (yours to keep forever!)… and it was going away as of October 1st.

Having said all those negative things, I still believe Game Pass is worth that $10 (or $15), because if you just play one game, you’ve literally made up the price of admission. It is excellent value for the money... but I didn’t have the time for it. When I find myself with more free time, I will definitely reactivate my Game Pass.

The opposite of not good value is PlayStation 5, which is still impossible to find in retail stores. I’ve seen a lot of Xbox Series X in stores recently. I’ve yet to see one PS5 in stores. In a move that I think is a mistake, Sony announced that they are raising prices for the PS5. While the USA is not one of the region that is getting a price hike, the announcement does not bode well.

Everything I’ve researched about PlayStation 5, from ripping people off on digital games to extra $10 charge for PS5 games to Sony blocking games from Game Pass... it tells me that PlayStation is very anti-consumer and they are only interested in profits.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Ripping 4K

Read More Handbrake Handbrake is my choice for ripping DVDs. It's by far the slowest ripper I've ever used, but what it lacks in speed, it does make up for being free. There are some presets, but personally I've been ripping at the best …

If you know me, you know that I own multiple thousands of DVDs and Blurays. Since the early 2000s, I’ve been ripping my DVDs, as a form of backup… and also a way for me to easily access my films and television shows. In those early days, I did recommend a paid program called DVDFab … but, as the program shifted to a subscription model for Bluray, I couldn’t support the software anymore. You can buy a “lifetime” subscription for $200, but I chose not to.

Instead, I went with a free Bluray ripper called MakeMKV, which I really liked. It’s free as long as you get a new license from them every month. I did that for a while, until I got sick of the license expiring every month… so I did pay (or “donate”) for the software. I’ve no regret about the one-time payment, it’s probably the best purchase I’ve ever made, considering that I use it on all my Blurays.

Very recently, I bought True Romance on 4K from Arrow Films. It was very expensive, I thought it would just come with a Bluray for me to rip… but it did not. I own a lot of 4K discs, and all of them came with a Bluray, so naturally, I just thought this new release would automatically come with a BD. To add insult to injury, Arrow Films, charging as much as they do, they have never offered a free digital or streaming copy of their films.

Without a BD, I had to teach myself how to rip from a 4k UHD disc. This is how I did it:

#1 UHD 4K Blu-Ray Reader
I bought Archgon’s External USB 3.0 UHD 4K Blu-Ray Writer Super Drive for $125 from Amazon. The aluminum encased drive will read UHD, read/write Bluray, M-Disc BD-R, DVD, and CD… and will work for PC and Mac. It comes with a travel protective case and all the necessary cords to plug into your computer.

In order to get the drive to rip 4k, you need to flash the drive image to from BU40N to BU40N 1.03MK. You can download all the drivers and the “MartyMcNuts” Flasher on forum.makemkv.

#2 MakeMKV
Once you flash your UHD drive, MakeMKV will be able to read the disc. I normally rip all the English audio tracks (some are audio commentaries that I want to hear) and I rip the subtitles.

The 4K files are huge. True Romance was over 70GB. You have to remember that the size of DVDs are only 4.7GB.

#3 Handbrake
The raw file is too large, so you’ll need to shrink the film to a more manageable size using the free Handbrake. My personal preference is 720p, which is “good” quality and the file size is small enough that you can locally stream or put on a USB drive for travel. Unfortunately, re-sizing the 4k resolution to 720p, took my computer over 9 hours to encode. If you have a really fast computer, I’m sure you can make it go a little faster… but if you have a slower computer, I’ll bet it might take a day!

These are optional steps:

Optional: Subtitles
You can use Subtitle Editor to extract the subtitles to a text file called *.SRT. From there you can attached it to Handbrake to offer select-able subtitles.

Optional: Tagging
I use MetaX to tag all my files with artwork and metadata. The software used to be free, but they are now a paid software. I used it a lot, so I just paid $10 for it.

I hope this helps you. It was a learning experience for me, particularly about flashing the drive to the correct firmware. If you don’t want to go through the same problem I went through, they do sell “pre-flash” drives from resellers. I’m certain there’s an upcharge.

Between you and me, I probably won’t be buying too many 4K discs (especially if it doesn’t come with a Bluray), because it just simply takes too long to encode a 4k file.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ @weheartmusic

iPad Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro 12.9

Read More iPad I’ve been living with the iPad 12.9 Pro (2017 Model) since March 2018. After using the iPad daily for about two months, here are my thoughts …

I caved in and bought a used iPad Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro 12.9 (2020). You see, between my Asus Electropunk Laptop and iPad, there is no comparison in terms of portability. The laptop weighs a ton, I never want to travel with it. Instead, if I need to do some work, the iPad and Keyboard combination works best for me.

Previously, I was using the iPad and Keyboard Folio, which is fine, but I didn’t exactly love the typing experience. Plus over time, the Folio is showing some wear and tear.

The shocker of the iPad Magic Keyboard is that it costs $350 new. This is really an insane amount of money to pay for a keyboard… and I felt like it was the barrier to entry for those in the market for a keyboard for their iPad. There are many third party keyboard maker, but I decided to go with the Magic Keyboard because it uses the smart connector.

After playing around with it, like putting the keyboard light brightness to the max, I was shocked that within a few minutes, I went from 100% charged to 84%! I turned off the light on the keyboard immediately. Wow, what a battery drainer.

In the few minutes since I started typing this review, I started noticing the battery quickly dropping. It went from 84% earlier to 81% in a few minutes… Judging by the battery drain, I feel like you need to plug this in if you intend to do a lot of work on the iPad.

The best perk about this keyboard is that you can assign the four physical button at the bottom-left of the keyboard. The four keys are Globe, Control, Option, and Command. I’m a PC user, so using the CMD+C or CMD+V is annoying to me, because of the layout. I’m just used to the Ctrl key to be the furthest left of the PC keyboard. Thankfully, you can reassign the Globe key to CMD, making a better keyboard (in my opinion).

I also like the mousepad, but it doesn’t always work with all the applications. For example, it doesn’t seem to work with Google’s Keep. I am assuming it will work better with native Apple Applications, such as Safari or their iOS Mail App.

The other thing you should know about the Magic Keyboard is that it is a little heavier than the folio. Weight may be necessary so it can anchor the “floating” iPad. As for versatility - it is only a keyboard or it can only close to protect the iPad. That’s all you can do with it.

If you need to use the iPad as a tablet, like reading digital comic books, you have to remove it from the keyboard. I think it was intentionally designed this way… which I don’t like. You see with the Folio, you can just fold the keyboard all the way to the back and use it as a Tablet, if you don’t need the keyboard.

In the end, if you need a keyboard for your iPad, I would recommend either the Folio or the Magic Keyboard, it just depends on how much money you want to spend. I have to admit, typing on the Magic Keyboard is 100% better than on the Folio.

I think my biggest concern is the battery drain. It’s already at 70%, as I finish writing this.

Update: I thought perhaps it’s just a fluke that the keyboard was draining the iPad’s battery like water (even if you have the lights on the keyboard turned off)… but after using it for a week, I can confirm that you need to plug in the keyboard if you intend to type a lot. If you are not using the keyboard, obviously it won’t draw power.

The magnet is very strong and can really hold the iPad in place. You can rock it around in a moving vehicle and know that it won’t go flying off.

PS, the other cool thing about this keyboard is if you need to lock your iPad, you can use the keys: CTRL+CMD+Q and it will lock the iPad right away.

Photo below is my Magic Keyboard with Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (from Mighty Skins) and my iPad with Death Dealer by Frank Frazetta from Skinit. I’ve previously ordered a Skinit for my Xbox Series X, and I love it. The printing looks very good and it seemed durable.

Apple Magic Keyboard and iPad Pro 12.9

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