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The Portable, Powerful Steam Deck Is My Favorite Way to Play Games

February 27, 2023 Audrey

When the Steam Deck handheld gaming console launched last year, it was tough to tell whether the device was a portable PC or a Nintendo Switch competitor. It was also unclear whether the Steam Deck would succeed or fail.

Preorders took months to arrive, software support and compatibility were shaky, and the battery life was (and still is) decidedly unimpressive. But after a year of effort and updates, this little $400 device has become my favorite way to play games, and I’d recommend the Steam Deck to anyone who likes to tinker but doesn’t want to build a gaming desktop.

I’ve always been drawn to handheld gaming gadgets, starting with chintzy Tiger handhelds and moving my way up through several Game Boys, numerous Nintendo DS units, the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita, and a whole host of Android-based emulation devices. I find playing games on a handheld console, even with a small screen, to be more immersive than playing on a giant television or monitor. Like reading a book, using a handheld feels like a private moment, just for me. The Steam Deck is the current embodiment of everything I’ve been looking for.

The Steam Deck is a handheld PC, or a PC-based portable console, made by Valve, a company that was once known for games such as Half-Life, Portal, Counter-Strike, and DOTA 2 but is now more known for its digital PC game store, Steam. The Steam Deck runs a custom version of the Linux operating system called SteamOS (though the device can also run Windows, if you choose to install it).

The Steam Deck has a lot going for it. The machine’s portability gives you the flexibility to play anywhere. It has a massive catalog of games, so you can easily find something to play. It’s built on an open-source operating system, so you can tinker with it for hours on end. That openness comes at the cost of usability—it’s not as plug-and-play as, say, a Nintendo Switch. But it’s also not as complicated as a gaming PC, and because it’s repairable, you can extend the life of the device for as long as its software is supported.

The Steam Deck, show in front of a light blue background, with its screen displaying its game library menu. — Photo: Dave Gershgorn

I was skeptical when Valve announced the Steam Deck in July 2021. At that point, the device was only available for preorder, with the first batch of deliveries scheduled for the following February. Valve has a history of releasing underperforming physical products, ranging from a more traditional console-like computer to a controller that didn’t sell well. Before the Steam Deck, countless companies had tried to pull off a handheld PC with mediocre (or just really expensive) results. And when the Steam Deck shipped, early reactions seemingly validated my initial skepticism. Reviewers were lukewarm on the Steam Deck’s Linux-based software, and although most people still saw some promise in the device, getting over the compatibility issues and software quirks that early adopters faced was a difficult hurdle. At the device’s launch, many

Alienware x14 review: A portable gaming laptop that doesn’t suck

February 20, 2022 Audrey

For years, Alienware eschewed thin-and-light gaming laptops, opting instead to make slightly bulkier systems with more affordable pricing. But all that changed last year with the introduction of its X-series notebooks. And now, Alienware is pushing its quest for sleekness even further with the new x14, the company’s thinnest and lightest gaming laptop yet. To add even more rum to the punch, the x14 is also one of the first gaming laptops available featuring Intel’s latest 12th-gen mobile CPUs. And while the x14 isn’t without its quirks, the result is a machine that makes me wish Alienware had gotten into portable gaming rigs years ago.

Design

Sporting Alienware’s Legend 2.0 design language, the x14 is without a doubt a striking system, though ultimately you’ll need to decide how much you fancy its sci-fi aesthetics. What’s not in question is the laptop’s thinness, which stands at just 0.57 inches thick while weighing barely more than four pounds. That’s even thinner and almost a pound lighter than the x15 (0.63 inches and 5 pounds), while making Alienware’s more mainstream M15 R7 seem almost bloated (0.8 inches and 5.3 pounds).

Pros

Slick design
Vibrant screen with Dolby Vision
Highly portable
USB-C power brick
Good performance and value for the size

Cons

Somewhat cramped keyboard layout
No side-mounted ports
Noisy fans
Mediocre 720p webcam
Short battery life during gameplay

Unlike its larger siblings, the x14 lacks the extra light ring that normally wraps around the backside of the system.

Now I’m not normally the type to lust after a few ounces or tenths of an inch getting shaved off a device, but on the x14, every little reduction matters. That’s because while most gaming laptops don’t even come close to fitting in my everyday messenger bag that’s not meant to stash anything larger than a 13-inch ultraportable, the x14 actually fits, if just barely.

That means I’m much more likely to bring this thing with me on trips, which is kind of the whole point of a thin-and-light gaming notebook. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate beastly 17-inch gaming rigs, but when my back starts to hurt at the mere thought of carrying one around, in practice those systems often function more like mobile desktops than any sort of travel-friendly gaming machine.

Alienware's new dual-torque hinge for the x14 helps increase screen stability white reducing excess size and weight.

The main innovation on the x14 is Alienware’s new dual-torque hinge which adds strength and stability to the laptop’s display, while once again reducing weight and thickness compared to previous X-series machines. And, as you’d expect from Alienware, the x14 comes with customizable RGB lighting on its lid and keyboard. That said, compared to its larger siblings you do lose the extra RGB light ring that would normally outline the system’s rear ports. (Fun fact: That pill-like shape is actually called a stadium.) Inside, there’s a lovely soft-touch finish on x14’s wrist rest, which may feel a bit cramped for people with larger hands.

Display and sound

On the x14 there’s only one display option, and it’s a good one. The 144Hz 1,920 x 1,080 screen is plenty sharp, while support for NVIDIA’s G-Sync helps

Brunswick tech school moves into portable classroom, opens doorways for new programming

February 19, 2022 Audrey

The sign for Location 10 Specialized High University in Brunswick with the new moveable classroom at the rear of. C. Thacher Carter / The Moments Document

Design on a new portable classroom at Area 10 wrapped up previous thirty day period, opening the door for expanded programming at the Brunswick complex higher school.

The six-classroom, 6,144 square-foot area – which is individual from the key setting up – hosts early childhood education, foundations of engineering, social scientific studies and English classes. According to Location 10 Superintendent Paul Perzanoski, this will give the university excess workshop place for a new HVAC system launching following yr.

“It’s an proper classroom room,” said Perzanoski. “One of the greatest items is it enables the faculty to develop its systems around time.”

Location 10 delivers arms-on classes these types of as constructing trades, nursing, culinary arts, metal fabrication and welding as very well as auto collision and repair service.

The school serves grades nine by way of 12 mainly by a fifty percent-day plan. Pupils from the Brunswick School Office, Maine School Administrative District 75, Regional School Unit 5, Harpswell Coastal Academy, Lisbon Significant University, Morse Large College and those who are homeschooled are suitable to enroll.

The new facility also offers place for social distancing in light-weight of COVID-19 and an business office for the school’s initially nurse who was hired previous 12 months. Building started out in July 2021 and concluded in mid-January 2022.

It expense around $73,000 to put in, additionally supplemental charges for energy, plumbing, cable and fire alarms. Location 10 will lease the facility for five years at about $8,900 per month, with the solution to acquire it afterwards.

A person of the lecture rooms within the new facility at Area 10 Specialized Significant Faculty in Brunswick. C. Thacher Carter / The Situations File

Region 10 seniors Alyshia Lee, 18, of Bowdoin and David Partridge, 17, of West Tub both of those reported on Wednesday that they have been taking pleasure in the further space the facility offers, and over-all, spoke very of a specialized training.

“I joined Location 10 for form of just a improve of operate, and also just not obtaining to focus on only performing the core classes like math, science, English,” mentioned Lee. “I seriously love undertaking some thing diverse.”

Equally students are at the moment enrolled in the school’s pre-apprenticeship application, which, as described by Partridge, is like “adulting the course,” where by learners find out dependable budgeting, taxes and other write-up-graduate competencies.

“My grandfather sort of encouraged me to be part of Area 10 due to the fact he wished me get into the behavior of discovering a trade,” claimed Partridge, who enrolled in the vehicle collision maintenance system for two several years.

In 2021, The Times Report described that Region 10 noticed a improve in fascination — receiving more than 400 purposes for the current term. There are 302 pupils enrolled at the college this yr, in contrast to 262 in 2020-21 and