After months of debating about pre-ordering the Framework Laptop, I finally placed an order for the base DIY model as my next laptop, even though my portable preference has long been Apple laptops running macOS.

For the next month, I’m trying to daily drive a Linux desktop environment, and playing PC games is something that might keep me running Windows on my primary desktop computer after this trial.

My enthusiasm for the new DIY Framework Laptop and the Linux-powered Steam Deck, coupled with the release of Ubuntu 21.10, has led me to install a Linux desktop environment on one of my computers.

I’m super excited about the Steam Deck, Valves new hand-held gaming PC that runs AAA games on Linux.

Pre-ordering were crashing the reservation system, and I had issues for 40 minutes trying to get it to accept my credit card. But eventually I got an email confirmation; however, I missed the 2021 shipping window.

The specs seem pretty good for running current and previous-generation games. but there will eventually be newer games that will push it a bit. Even newer current-generation games might.

I wonder if publishers end up considering its support like they do for consoles, or if Valve revises the specs in a shorter window than consoles.

But maybe Valve doesn’t even need to worry about the specs for future games. Game streaming could be the future of this form factor. Xbox Cloud seems like a possibility on the Steam Deck since you can install Windows, and you will probably be able to stream games to it from your local PC like you can from other Steam clients.

Maybe Valve will even launch an Xbox Cloud competitor, which could prolong the hardware’s life.

Windows 11 has been officially announced, and it didn’t really meet my expectations. Judging from the work that has gone into UI tooling for developers, I was expecting a cleaned-up, slimmed-down, refined operating system. Instead, Windows 11 doesn’t seem all that different from Windows 10, except for the addition of another design system layer and deeper integration with Microsoft cloud services.

My Mac mini with an Apple Silicon CPU arrived. I went with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD configuration. I am excited about this transition, not just because of the massive jump in performance, but because it feels like the Mac platform is taking center stage again.

I did hit a few snags with the hardware and operating system on my first day. It wasn’t a simple drop-in replacement for my 2018 Mac mini on my desk, and one of the first things I wanted to understand was how to reinstall or factory erase macOS on Apple Silicon.

I recently acquired an Amiga 500 with some physical damage and unknown operating state. However, I’ve never owned one before and was initially ill-equipped to even check if it indeed still booted.

My original plans for 2020 were to write more and complete more projects. And you would think that being locked up in a house all spring and summer would be the perfect time to do those things. However, I have kids and a job that increased in demand due to the circumstances, and so my projects were put on hold.

I’ve got a handle on things now and have made a few new purchases this summer: a NeXTstation Color Turbo, a Commodore 64, and an Amiga 500.

When the iPad first came out in 2010, I immediately bought one. Holding it and interacting with it felt like the future of computing. But as the years went by and I upgraded to newer models of the iPad, I never really felt the same excitement. The software experience seemed stagnant, and I ended up using it more for reading and watching videos than anything productive.

Somehow, the iPad Pro evokes the same excitement the original iPad made me feel. The thinness of the case, the larger screen, and using Face ID feels like the future of computing again. I hope the Magic Keyboard can elevate the iPad above more than just a consumption device.