(25 Feb 2020, 9:18 am)streetdeckfan wrote The issue with Darlington Station is it's a bit of a trek to get to anything. Well, it's more of an issue of having to walk back up the 'hill' to get back to the station. At that point I'd rather just catch the X1 to Bishop which takes basically the same amount of time anyway! (Or even faster when you inevitably spend half an hour waiting to get in to the station!)

Biggest issue with Darlington Station for me is the automatic ticket gates which force you to stay in the station, I understand why stations have them but it's annoying when you have a lengthy connection time, recently looked into journeys that had a 50 minute connection time at Bradford Interchange, there's literally nothing you can do within that time as everything else is on the opposite side of the gates, that's why I like York Station as if I have a bit of a wait I can go outside and do whatever, spotting usually.

(25 Feb 2020, 11:52 am)Jimmi wrote Biggest issue with Darlington Station for me is the automatic ticket gates which force you to stay in the station, I understand why stations have them but it's annoying when you have a lengthy connection time, recently looked into journeys that had a 50 minute connection time at Bradford Interchange, there's literally nothing you can do within that time as everything else is on the opposite side of the gates, that's why I like York Station as if I have a bit of a wait I can go outside and do whatever, spotting usually.

The few times I've been the gates have been open so I haven't had to deal with that!

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

If you've got a rail ticket that permits break of journey, then you should have no problems being released through the gates and then allowed back in again.

However, sometimes it can be a bit tricky finding anyone to ask …..

(25 Feb 2020, 1:56 pm)Ianthegoon wrote If you've got a rail ticket that permits break of journey, then you should have no problems being released through the gates and then allowed back in again.

However, sometimes it can be a bit tricky finding anyone to ask …..

IIRC, any Northern ticket allows to break your journey, although I'm not sure if that's still the case if you buy it in conjunction with an advance ticket from another operator

On Thursday Lisa Shaw on BBC Radio Newcastle was playing songs from June 1974 on her Time of Our Lives feature. It was great as well as topical of her to include Alan Price's Jarrow Song, as he is from the area and the song is about an event (a people's march for jobs) that started in Jarrow.

Demonstration by Black Lives Matter and counter demonstration by military veterans in Newcastle. Its interesting to listen to the different points of view.

Charles

Got a week off work 

I have a job induction today at 4pm. I've had no self employment (which is bulk of income) work since March and surviving on a part time wage struggling to make ends meet I can't wait.

I've applied for over 100 jobs since March

My broadband is up for renewal so I've been shopping around.

I got in touch with Vodafone (my current ISP) and was told if I signed up for a new 24 month contract I would pay £22.95 instead of £23 per month.
But I noticed in a message I got from them that my current plan will continue at £23 a month after my plan expires.

So I asked them if that was the case and they told me it was. I asked again if "I'd just be tying myself into a 24 month contract to save 5p per month if I renewed" and they told me that was the case.

This was a big surprise to me as every other ISP I've ever used has doubled the price at the end of the contract, and would certainly have tried get me to sign up for the 24 month contract!

As a side note, I'm thinking of switching to Virgin as they're now in my area, if anyone has experience with them, are all the negative reviews about their network stability true?

(19 Feb 2021, 2:55 pm)streetdeckfan wrote As a side note, I'm thinking of switching to Virgin as they're now in my area, if anyone has experience with them, are all the negative reviews about their network stability true?

I've got a few friends with Virgin and, while they generally praise speed, the stability is an issue. I'm not sure it goes down often, it's more that when it does go down its for a longer period of time than you'd expect. I've checked the trending tab on Twitter when it's been down before and the amount of tweets along the lines of "how long for this time" are too many to mention.

I went into McDonalds today to discover that they have the self serve tomato ketchup back!

IMO it tastes much nicer than the packet stuff, and I don't have to be self conscious about asking for so much ketchup anymore!

decided to get bus to work. and the diver suggested the Gateshead rea ticket rather than a tyne and wear one as so save 1.40... nearly enough for a pint in spoons on jackson street later!

Finally got my new Steam Deck delivered today, came in much earlier than anticipated.
I flogged my last one to CEX for a £150 profit a few months ago and just ordered another one.

(23 Sep 2022, 10:11 am)streetdeckfan wrote Finally got my new Steam Deck delivered today, came in much earlier than anticipated.
I flogged my last one to CEX for a £150 profit a few months ago and just ordered another one.

Which version did you get?

(23 Sep 2022, 7:40 pm)Unber43 wrote Which version did you get?

I just ordered the 64GB version this time, the first one I ordered was the 256GB as I panic bought it within the first minute that it was released!

(23 Sep 2022, 7:55 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I just ordered the 64GB version this time, the first one I ordered was the 256GB as I panic bought it within the first minute that it was released!

Let me know what you think of it please, I might get one however I am not sure whether the games would run that great.

(23 Sep 2022, 8:18 pm)Unber43 wrote Let me know what you think of it please, I might get one however I am not sure whether the games would run that great.

What games are you thinking? If they're free, or I've got them in my library I can give them a go and let you know.

The only games I've tried so far are GTA 4, Dirt Rally, Human Fall Flat, and Fall Guys, and they all run great

I regret not trying GTA V when I had the 256GB model though as I can only imagine how slow it'll be downloading it to an SD Card!

(23 Sep 2022, 8:26 pm)streetdeckfan wrote What games are you thinking? If they're free, or I've got them in my library I can give them a go and let you know.

The only games I've tried so far are GTA 4, Dirt Rally, Human Fall Flat, and Fall Guys, and they all run great

I regret not trying GTA V when I had the 256GB model though as I can only imagine how slow it'll be downloading it to an SD Card!

Idk, they would be mainly games on Xbox Gamepass, and the Spider-Man games, maybe Forza and CS. 

SteamDeck is really a great idea for people who can't afford £2k for a good PC, however the 64GB may be limited in the games you can't download as I know GTA on PS5 is like 110GB, so i would probably get the 128GB and just download one game at a time.

(23 Sep 2022, 8:41 pm)Unber43 wrote Idk, they would be mainly games on Xbox Gamepass, and the Spider-Man games, maybe Forza and CS. 

SteamDeck is really a great idea for people who can't afford £2k for a good PC, however the 64GB may be limited in the games you can't download as I know GTA on PS5 is like 110GB, so i would probably get the 128GB and just download one game at a time.

I already have a £2k gaming laptop, so I really have no need for the Steam Deck lol, I just thought it would be fun to have! I've bought a 512GB SD card to go in it, from what other people are saying, there's basically no performance hit for using the SD card over the integrated SSD.

The issue with Gamepass is that you'd have to install Windows on the Steam Deck as it runs Steam OS, which is based on Linux. You can install Windows, but I'm waiting until they release the ability to dual boot before I give it a try.

(23 Sep 2022, 9:03 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I already have a £2k gaming laptop, so I really have no need for the Steam Deck lol, I just thought it would be fun to have! I've bought a 512GB SD card to go in it, from what other people are saying, there's basically no performance hit for using the SD card over the integrated SSD.

The issue with Gamepass is that you'd have to install Windows on the Steam Deck as it runs Steam OS, which is based on Linux. You can install Windows, but I'm waiting until they release the ability to dual boot before I give it a try.

I suppose you can use it on the X21 for the 2hours if you've got enough data. 

Have you tried to use it in public, whats the data usage like?

(23 Sep 2022, 9:05 pm)Unber43 wrote I suppose you can use it on the X21 for the 2hours if you've got enough data. 

Have you tried to use it in public, whats the data usage like?

I haven't tried the Steam Deck out and about yet, but I have been known to get the laptop out on the X21 and play some games!
Online games use surprisingly little data, usually only like 50-100mb per hour.

Tbh, I have unlimited data so it's really not a concern for me! If anything, the more the better to get my moneys worth!
Last Christmas I had to download GTA V on my brother's new PC and TalkTalk being TalkTalk meant the internet was slow AF, so since I get 5G at my mother's house I decided to just turn on the hotspot and use that instead, I think I ended up using just over 100gb in a few hours!

(23 Sep 2022, 9:16 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I haven't tried the Steam Deck out and about yet, but I have been known to get the laptop out on the X21 and play some games!
Online games use surprisingly little data, usually only like 50-100mb per hour.

Tbh, I have unlimited data so it's really not a concern for me! If anything, the more the better to get my moneys worth!
Last Christmas I had to download GTA V on my brother's new PC and TalkTalk being TalkTalk meant the internet was slow AF, so since I get 5G at my mother's house I decided to just turn on the hotspot and use that instead, I think I ended up using just over 100gb in a few hours!

Well I have 100GB Date roughly. 

I think I might get one if my commute times are over an hour on the same but, the X21 would be perfect you get a table and bring your laptop or just sit and bring the SteamDeck, also what made you choose a gaming laptop over a PC?

What is the battery life like?

(23 Sep 2022, 9:24 pm)Unber43 wrote Well I have 100GB Date roughly. 

I think I might get one if my commute times are over an hour on the same but, the X21 would be perfect you get a table and bring your laptop or just sit and bring the SteamDeck, also what made you choose a gaming laptop over a PC?

What is the battery life like?

Portability is why I pretty much always choose a laptop over a desktop. I've always worked from home (way before it was cool), so having a laptop meant I could work from anywhere. My main reason for getting a gaming laptop wasn't really for gaming, I just needed a relatively powerful laptop, and gaming laptops are usually the cheapest way to get them. For work, while I spend most of my time in Excel and Word, I also some how end up doing Photoshop and video editing, despite that not being anywhere near my job description! Plus, in my spare time I do a lot of 3D modelling and 3D printing, so the extra power helps.

I also have a little 14" Ryzen 3 laptop that I carry around with me everywhere, and to be honest it does 95% of what I do perfectly well. The only thing it doesn't do very well is play games. I mean, it plays them, but barely!

With the Steam Deck, I seem to be getting anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending on what settings I'm playing at, which is pretty respectable I think.

(23 Sep 2022, 10:14 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Portability is why I pretty much always choose a laptop over a desktop. I've always worked from home (way before it was cool), so having a laptop meant I could work from anywhere. My main reason for getting a gaming laptop wasn't really for gaming, I just needed a relatively powerful laptop, and gaming laptops are usually the cheapest way to get them. For work, while I spend most of my time in Excel and Word, I also some how end up doing Photoshop and video editing, despite that not being anywhere near my job description! Plus, in my spare time I do a lot of 3D modelling and 3D printing, so the extra power helps.

I also have a little 14" Ryzen 3 laptop that I carry around with me everywhere, and to be honest it does 95% of what I do perfectly well. The only thing it doesn't do very well is play games. I mean, it plays them, but barely!

With the Steam Deck, I seem to be getting anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending on what settings I'm playing at, which is pretty respectable I think.

Thanks for all the info, you should ask for a payrise. 

Personally I think for me to get the SteamDeck it would have to have about 6 hours of charge.

(23 Sep 2022, 10:40 pm)Unber43 wrote Thanks for all the info, you should ask for a payrise. 

Personally I think for me to get the SteamDeck it would have to have about 6 hours of charge.

Even the Switch can barely manage 6 hours, and that's nowhere near as powerful!

(23 Sep 2022, 10:52 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Even the Switch can barely manage 6 hours, and that's nowhere near as powerful!

True.

Kind of bitter sweet, I lost my headphones last week (they're probably somewhere in the house but I'm too lazy to properly look)

So I decided to just buy the Soundcore Life P3s as a temporary measure since they're on sale at the minute for Black Friday and I'm well impressed with them!
The bass is excellent, like for £50 bluetooth earbuds, it's really good. It's punchy but even with the bass boost on it's still remarkably clear. The only downside is the highs can sound a little bit distorted, but again for the price they sound great.

The only downside is they don't have the in-ear detection to automatically pause, but I'll live without it for now

(23 Sep 2022, 9:16 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I haven't tried the Steam Deck out and about yet, but I have been known to get the laptop out on the X21 and play some games!
Online games use surprisingly little data, usually only like 50-100mb per hour.

Tbh, I have unlimited data so it's really not a concern for me! If anything, the more the better to get my moneys worth!
Last Christmas I had to download GTA V on my brother's new PC and TalkTalk being TalkTalk meant the internet was slow AF, so since I get 5G at my mother's house I decided to just turn on the hotspot and use that instead, I think I ended up using just over 100gb in a few hours!

How is your experience on the Steam Deck so far?

(29 Nov 2022, 9:10 pm)Unber43 wrote How is your experience on the Steam Deck so far?

Honestly, it's been great. Battery life is long enough to the point where it doesn't bother me, but it certainly could be a bit longer. I'm the kind to forget to charge it!

The only game I've really been playing recently has been Fall Guys and it's been running excellently. Despite being technically unsupported, it seems to be less buggy on the Steam Deck than it is on my friend's Switch!

I've been replaying GTA 4 and it's been running as smooth as it did on my gaming laptop back in the day (that was >10 years ago, christ!)

I gave up trying to get GTA V to work properly, since I only went for the 64GB model this time, it has to install to the SD card, and it doesn't like it.

(30 Nov 2022, 9:38 am)streetdeckfan wrote Honestly, it's been great. Battery life is long enough to the point where it doesn't bother me, but it certainly could be a bit longer. I'm the kind to forget to charge it!

The only game I've really been playing recently has been Fall Guys and it's been running excellently. Despite being technically unsupported, it seems to be less buggy on the Steam Deck than it is on my friend's Switch!

I've been replaying GTA 4 and it's been running as smooth as it did on my gaming laptop back in the day (that was >10 years ago, christ!)

I gave up trying to get GTA V to work properly, since I only went for the 64GB model this time, it has to install to the SD card, and it doesn't like it.

Yeah, I think a better battery life is needed, £350 for the 64GB is a great price however I think 256GB is the minimum I would go for, so I could maybe download a few extra games incase I get bored.

What is it like for data usage when you're out and about?