I suppose my setup already has “Xcode command line tools” installed, so gcc works as expected. It’s been a while but IIRC the process for installing the command line tools is pretty self explanatory.

I remember WSL being a whole process to setup, but it’s been a while, and as you might guess, I’m a lot more familiar with Mac than Windows.

What I do know is I had to support a Python project on all 3 OSes and Windows was by far the hardest to get working. We were deliberately not using WSL for that scenario.

Mac is very similar to Linux in that it comes with bash (these days zsh) and a lot of the command line tools you’d expect on Linux, including gcc and python3 installed by default. You’ll want them to have a decent text editor with code coloring. Sublime is what I was taught to use in university.

Windows is more difficult. The command line is very different (it inherits from DOS instead of Unix like both Mac and Linux). It doesn’t come with Python pre-installed. I’ve generally installed git-bash when working on Windows. There are some Python libraries that work fine on both Mac and Linux but have issues on Windows.

You could look into VSCode which is a decent IDE that works on all platforms. Of course, an IDE can be a bit of an information overload for a beginner, especially something like VSCode that’s constantly pushing AI features and plug-ins.

I think the one I have is the BP60NB10 LG Slim Portable. It looks like prices are at around $100-$130 for it online now though, I think they are not made anymore. I got mine up at a local computer store a long time ago.

I strongly recommend this webpage: https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19634

There are some external/portable USB blu ray drives that work with MakeMKV and cost like $30.

I have set up WireGuard manually running on a home server. It’s not that hard to set up IMO but that definitely depends on your experience level.

Other than that I’d second Tailscale which is similar but easier to set up

People who’s opinion tends to be “anything ‘the west’ does is bad and anything ‘the east’ does is good”, regardless of the specifics of what you are talking about.

In smash bros, turn the launch multiplier all the way up and turn on sudden death mode so everyone starts at 300%.

Go to one of a few levels (the underground area of Hyrule Temple works, the underground area of Skyworld is better, but it’s best if you make a custom stage)

Getting hit once will send you bouncing around the screen! You only ever die if you get unlucky. It’s hilarious, and we call it “Pinball Mode”. I’ve made a couple custom stages to improve on the experience.

It’s the most plug-and-play Linux has ever been from my experience.

Backend programming is almost all Linux. I have two computer science degrees and have only ever used Windows for gaming.

Occasionally I will prefer Steam to take advantage of Steam matchmaking

Replacement 3DS circle pads:

https://handheldlegend.com/products/analog-circle-pad-replacement-for-nintendo-3ds

Replacement joycon sticks:

https://handheldlegend.com/products/tmr-joystick-assembly-for-switch-joy-cons-and-switch-lite

This site has a lot of good stuff

I’ve always liked those magnetic levitating globes!

(You can also find magnetic levitating <insert TV show prop here> for a variety of tv shows and video games)

What’s the difference?

This is a pokemon if I’ve ever seen one

Unless something has changed, Amazon Music only offers low quality mp3 downloads, and sometimes even includes audio watermarks.

I’m gaming on Bazzite gnome Wayland with a 3090. There’s been some tweaking to get HDR and VRR working but no major issues.

This is why I use CloudFlare. They block the worst and cache for me to reduce the load of the rest. It’s not 100% but it does help.

I add non-Steam games to Steam just so I can use Steam Input for controller rebinding

Your ISP can’t tell who you are contacting if you are using a VPN, but websites will track you by other means.

Analogue Pocket also supports 3rd party emulator cores, so you can very easily play ROMs or even other consoles.