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2026-09-04 17:46:03
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,117|7636|PNW

Xbox is watering down Game Pass and putting a time limit on cloud gaming
https://www.polygon.com/xbox-game-pass- … ime-limit/

Game Pass Ultimate subscribers only get 15 hours of 'free' cloud playtime a month

Starting in November, Xbox is implementing monthly time limits on cloud gaming across all Game Pass tiers. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will get up to 15 hours of cloud gaming, Premium subscribers will receive 10 hours, and Essential subscribers will get a mere five hours. According to Xbox, these changes supposedly stem from the costs of rising cloud playtime and a larger cloud gaming player base. But oddly enough, Xbox reassures players that this change will only affect 4% of subscribers.
the very best version of the service gives a modest gamer a little less than a week's worth of cloud gaming, per month?

full disclosure, i'm not an xbox person (and the ms store, as i've stated before, is asinine). you can't tell me though that microsoft is struggling to support the habits of customers who represent only 4% of their total subscribers. trimming the fat from a literal anorexic. file under unnecessary corporate surgeries.

i think back to techbros in the 2000s lauding the future, digital-only life. now we've got sub-VHS quality netflix, a billion streaming options, and we're back to the endless, intrusive commercials people went online to escape from. meanwhile i can pop in a second-hand cartridge from 1992. or a dvd i bought during the W administration. 4k discs give me 4k quality on a 4k tv. they'll only stop working when they wear out. not when the company pulls the plug, or alters the terms of the agreement (amazon!).



i've spoken out against 'stuff clutter' before, but maybe having some stuff is better than a bunch crappy stuff that you don't even own.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2026-09-04 17:47:43)

2026-09-04 22:48:27
RTHKI
mmmf mmmf mmmf
+1,760|7602|Cinncinatti
I never understood cloud gaming.

As far as digital ownership, I haven't bought a physical game in over 10 years but if steam turns to the dark side I'll just pirate old games

I've rented digital movies but never bought, never would unless I could download the file drm free like my music.
I have a bunch of acquired tv/movies but rarely watch em cause I have Amazon/apple/YouTube/etc I can watch stuff on. I do not mind ads outside of political nonsense talking about illegals and transgender kids which I've had to block several times, thanks YouTube.
Heck when I watch stuff it's mostly as background noise while I edit photos.
https://i.imgur.com/tMvdWFG.png
2026-09-05 03:27:45
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,117|7636|PNW

not that consumer hardware should be dying, but cloud gaming makes sense considering that it is. all the same, i resent being expected to compute on a lease.

big game is taking aim at steam for being noncompetitive or something, idk. governments are getting in on it. valve isn't a perfect company, but hopefully they weather the storm.

i think ublock is still effective on yt, amazon? are political ads really spamming youtube with stuff going after trans kids? lmao, considering the mellow stuff youtube has slapped wrists for.

i have a bunch of expired digital copy slips from dvds. some of them would probably work. i dunno, is ultraviolet even still around? e: no

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2026-09-05 03:29:51)

2026-09-06 06:14:20
RTHKI
mmmf mmmf mmmf
+1,760|7602|Cinncinatti
I put YouTube on TV when editing photos so I don't mind ads much there. Still use ublock on phone and computer.
And yea, Vivek has a lot of money behind him. The Democrat candidate has the classic ads with no or less obvious AI use. None mentioned trans kids until recently. Actually it's the local House race not gov that mentions trans kids. The governor race says Amy Acton shut down Ohio. No, the Republican governor did that and conservatives abused her into resigning.
https://i.imgur.com/tMvdWFG.png
2026-09-07 02:55:39
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,854|6970|eXtreme to the maX
I think I shall continue amassing CDs and DVDs.
#BoycottBurgerKing
2026-09-07 17:23:50
uziq
Member
+575|4317
CDs are next due for a hipster revival. could see that one coming after ~15 years of vinyl fetishisation.

probably the majority of people are better off sticking to a CD and DVD collection. lower cost of entry and don't require so much damn maintenance and fussing. and it's much easier to move house with a record collection's worth of CDs.
2026-09-08 02:19:51
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,854|6970|eXtreme to the maX
One of my first CDs is corroding, there are holes in the aluminium.

I should probably burn my itunes library to CD before that feature is removed - if it hasn't already.
#BoycottBurgerKing
2026-09-08 11:15:27
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+692|4584
Cell phone bans are ruining my life.

They passed a cellphone ban in NJ. The school must enforce it.

The cellphone bans also apply to teachers.

They sent out an email warning teachers that notifications for Ring cameras are a violation of the cellphone policy. Phones must be silenced.

Meanwhile the district will send a million emails a day. I had to take off my smart watch today because it was so bad but at the same time I must have my phone on silent.

...

They are also cracking down on uniforms this year. So I had to have a conversation with a student about whether or not the shorts she was wearing were a violation of the uniform policy. I eventually just apologized to the student and told her I have to look it up. The kids are surprisingly understanding of that.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
2026-09-08 18:05:11
uziq
Member
+575|4317

Dilbert_X wrote:

One of my first CDs is corroding, there are holes in the aluminium.

I should probably burn my itunes library to CD before that feature is removed - if it hasn't already.
i mean, any physical medium is going to suffer from long-term degradation and decline. books aren't immune. hard drives most definitely aren't immune. CD's are a lot more hardy than vinyl, that's for sure, and less fussy about how they're stored.

physical back-ups and digital clouds are the best bet for a reason. i'm going to set up a NAS in RAID this winter as a little project and put all of my digital media collection on there. back-ups of back-ups with handy remote web access. a lot less work than burning stuff to CD.

Last edited by uziq (2026-09-08 18:09:33)

2026-09-09 03:25:16
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,117|7636|PNW

if your physical media isn't being handled by a bunch of inept spastics with greasefingers, it can last a really long time actually (caveat, other factors, mfg flaws, w/e). i've always been warned that my discs would start to peel apart and rot or whatever. i've got a stack of unimportant cds just sitting here, uncased, and they all still work years past what i've expected. then again, i'm not smudging them, scraping them against surfaces, or storing them face-down on grit.

"oh no, has this dvd went bad?"
"gimme a sec." i pull it out, and most of the time this is what i see:
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/famous-water-ice-moon-subsurface-oceans-europa-planet-jupiter-natural-colours-isolated-black-background-d-112967791.jpg


why is there food debris on it? is that chicken? disgusting. take better care of your libraries. this from people who used to buy or make separate copies of stuff for their kids because kids are rough on movies. lmao. even personal libraries have enshittified.

still, +1 for physical media. -1 for digital media that alters terms or discontinues entirely.

 

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