DdCno1

There's a German word called "fremdschämen", which roughly translates to "second-hand embarrassment". It think it's appropriate here.

At the very least put a space bat between thingy and CC.

This is the tech bro equivalent of posting this kind of message on Facebook:

https://i.imgur.com/In7lZg5.png

It doesn't work. If you don't want things you post publicly on the Internet to be scraped, don't post things publicly on the Internet.

Yes, since gog is PC-exclusive, so is gog-games.

Forcing console manufacturers to open their systems to third party stores might be coming in the future, at least in the EU, which could also provide avenues for piracy.

Gog.com are selling DRM-free games, so there's no copy protection, Internet activation, mandatory launcher, etc. It used to stand for "good old games", but they also have new titles these days. Same parent company as The Witcher developers. There is a launcher, but it's entirely optional - you can just pay prices that are generally comparable to Steam and download the installation files for a game, which require no Internet connection at all (apart from some edge cases, e.g. a very small number of multiplayer games).

Gog-games meanwhile is a piracy site that redistributes these DRM-free installers to people who are not inclined to pay for the privilege. What makes them preferable to other sites is that you get the trustworthy installers from gog and do not have to fiddle with potentially malicious cracks yourself. They are also uploading to fast file hosts. One thing they are particularly useful for is preservation, games that are now delisted on gog.com and elsewhere, only available there if you have purchased them in the past. The rather decent licensed Back to the Future game from Telltale for example can't be bought anywhere anymore (since the license for the movie franchise was only granted for a few years), but it's still available in its most convenient shape on gog-games.

They released a few statements about being upset about people sending demanding/rude messages to them. They also complained about the cost of hosting (there are no ads on the page). Originally, they wanted to only open for people who are donating, but they appear to have backtracked on that, at least for now.

It's a common issue on the Internet. The moment you're doing anything, especially for free, you are basically inviting vitriol.

Humor doesn't translate well into Russian, does it?

The sensible approach is to get an Android TV device that you have more control over. You basically have the same freedom with it as with an Android phone or tablet. Plug it into the TV and use the TV only as a monitor/speaker.

Warning: Do not buy cheap Chinese off-brand Android TVs from drop-shipping hellholes like Amazon. These commonly come with malware from the factory. Invest in a quality device with the features that you need.

If you're on a budget, it's possible to make do with a Fire TV Stick, which are often on sale for next to nothing - just don't expect blistering performance or a good UI. They are still Android underneath that awful UI though. You have to fight Amazon's attempts at funneling you towards their own content, but it's doable.

If you want a device that you can easily use for a long time without having to worry about it getting obsolete, get an Nvidia Shield TV or Shield TV Pro. Pricey, but - in my eyes - worth it. At first glance, these may look like every other streaming box, but they justify their relatively high asking prices. For starters, the support for these devices is astonishing, with even the first generation from 2015 still receiving updates. While the current hardware generation is from 2019, it has features you can't get anywhere else, like for example real-time AI upscaling of low-res content in certain apps and (on the Pro model) the ability to serve as a media server instead of just a client:

Hook a storage device up to it (or mount your NAS), add media to them (digitize your home media collection or acquire media from other sources), and use the Plex server application to turn this tiny thing into your own private Netflix that never sees anything delisted. It has enough power to allow you to watch video locally and, at the same time, transcode (=turn media into a format the other device can handle in real-time) up to two more videos (depending on the video files) for other devices in and outside of your home network. This means you could watch something on your TV and at least one other person could watch content you have curated (they don't need a Shield TV - Plex clients are on a wide variety of devices). Given that this is a device that fits into the palm of your hand and needs less than 10W, that's quite astonishing.

Isn't it way past bedtime for you two in St. Petersburg?

Would you mind elaborating?

A former teacher of mine recalled how when he was a student in the 1980s, he watched this film with the local priest. His face grew increasingly red over the course of the film and when the final crucifixion scene with the singing was on screen, the priest finally snapped, jumped up from his chair and angrily slammed the VCR onto the floor.

We are all counting on you.

Anyone who has ever had to maintain old code will tell you that this more civilized age is right now and that the past was a dark and terrible time.

Seriously, there were no standards, there was barely any documentation even in large organizations and people did things all the time that would get you fired on the spot today. Sure, you had the occasional wunderkind performing amazing feats on hardware that had no business of running these things, but this was not the norm.