For me I was looking for reliability, so I ended up with Prusa. But I ended up with them thanks to a few simple rules I followed.

1. Can the machine and it's parts be replaced with off shelf components?

2. Does it use, or is the platform compatible with open source slicers (Prusaslicer/Cura)?

3. Does the community support the device with mods on 3D model repositories (Thingiverse/Printables)?

4. Does the manufacturer have a track record for support (or the lack thereof)?

Before I got my Prusa, the Creality Ender 3 was the goto, and it was a really reliable machine. For my printing needs I need a direct drive print head, and a better auto bed leveling routine. But the Ender 3 s1 looks pretty good as an alternative.

Pro: Price, Convenience, Looks

Cons: Much like buying an "iPhone" from Temu, the price is usually reflected in the quality.

Don't get me wrong, there are cheep smart watches if you look for them or go second hand. But what you'll find advertised on Temu isn't it.

Build quality is usually the first to suffer, but you'll find mislabeled battery info a 500mah instead of the promised 1000mah. Or an LCD instead of an OLED.

But those are things we can adapt too. The biggest problem is software. That'll do and close enough has been the name of the game for years now. And sometimes "smart" just means it can (badly) track your steps and pretend to check your heart rate with a led pretending to be a sensor.

Alternative

If you are looking for any budget electronics try looking for last years or a few years ago models. I got a Garmin Forerunner 235 in 2022 for 1/5 of its asking price because I found a deal on eBay.

I'd also look into the landscape of the market you are buying into and seeing who is actually making these things, and what is running on it.

For smart watches I found the answer was

Apple

Android with Watch OS (Samsung google and many more)

Garmin

If the watch isn't running android watch os or is made by Apple or Garmin. Assume its good too be true and look into it more, or look elsewhere.

Good news China is lazy and one clone usually is made by many factories and someone else made a video about it. Might not be the same name, but it'll be close enough.

Pepper Grinder (Steam/GOG/Switch/PS4/PS5/XB/ONE/S/X)

Released in March of the is year (and in August for non switch consoles) Pepper Grinder is a traditional 2D platformer with a world map, levels, and a gimmick of using a drill to travel underground like a dolphin through water.

Its platforming has a good rhythm to it, with a nice momentum when you go in and out of the dirt. The best way I can describe the game is that it feels like a Mario Gimmick level that's been expanded to its own game.

If I had any complaints about this game, is that the boss fights are a bit too tedious. Not impossible as I've been able to beat them. But requires a bit more precise movement than the levels which preceded it.

Overall though, I haven't played a 2d platformed in ages which I've actually wanted to go through in ages. And it is a welcomed addition to my gaming library.

They are Tech Drawing then cleaned up with InkScape.

https://wiki.freecad.org/TechDraw_Workbench

Favourite as in the one I love the most. Model 1 Genesis, or Virtual Boy. Love their aesthetic.

Favourite as in best Library. PS1/PS2. Massive library of games which are still being enjoyed decades after they were launched.

Favourite as in still using. By my books, I’d consider the PS Vita as retro now, if not then the Nintendo DS/PSP.

The sticks are DS stylus’s

The ovals are controller spools for wired controllers.

The boxes are Apple Pencil cases.

And there is a Virtual Boy Tripod mount and a GBxCart case in there too.

The rest is display stands for portable systems.

Bold assumption to think that I have a Neogeo pocket color. (I'm broke)

I have a dell laptop with that port too. Upgraded my CD drive to a CD/DVD combo drive

Pokemon Sapphire/Emerald/Ruby/Leaf Green/Fire Red were my goto especially for grinding. From sound and memorization along you can play pokemon without looking... Or at least I could.

Zelda Oracle of Ages is another game which I found calming. Its more puzzle than combat, but there is still combat. Not goof got meeting but good for afterwards.

The GBC Harry Potter games or Prisoner of Azkaban are fun RPGs that I played before Pokemon. A fun time too, and can almost be played under a desk (don't ask how I know)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, rogue like endless(ish) dungeon crawler. Amazing story, but the post game is just a grind perfect for fiddling as you are just doing the same thing for 99 levels... Until you find the boss. Better on DS with Blue rescue team, but red on GBA is a good choice.

Outside of mega man battle network, the rest of my games are platformers which don't fit the bill

My desktop is now unplugged, I am too terrified to plug it back in. Send help

At it's current pace, it might take 7.5 million years

As I said above

I have a Floppy to USB adapter inside my rig, and since my motherboard has an unused set of USB 2 headers, I just plugged it into that.

So 1 adapter and 1 usb header, and it reads it as a USB Floppy, which I believe Linux has drivers for.

The device is shown as /dev/sdd (sda is 1TB SSD, sdb is hdd#1, and sdc is hdd#2)