As an aspiring founder myself (34/M working in tech but not an SWE) I immediately started using ChatGPT in late 2022 for help with ideation and coding (the latter it kinda sucked with but has gotten better) and I've found it to be TREMENDOUSLY helpful. I most like using it to build out process flows for development, data modeling based on features/functionality, and even gaming out edge cases or attack/abuse paths (free accounts, spamming new users etc).
My only issue with the above is there's still the inherent problem as a new founder of "you don't know what you don't know" - ie knowing what to ask is very important to getting quality guidance/assistance as an output, as well as the longer you chat with these LLMs, the worse they remember all of the nuances of you business as the logic/complexity grows and evolves.
So, I'm curious to hear what others experiences have been here. Do you use GenAI a lot, a little, only for specific things etc?

DAY: MAY 26 2024
5-26-2024

AI CHATBOTS ARE INTRUDING INTO ONLINE COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CONNECT WITH OTHER HUMANS

A parent asked a question in a private Facebook group in April 2024: Does anyone with a child who is both gifted and disabled have any experience with New York City public schools? The parent received a seemingly helpful answer that laid out some characteristics of a specific school, beginning with the context that “I have a child who is also 2e,” meaning twice exceptional. On a Facebook group for swapping unwanted items near Boston, a user looking for specific items received an offer of a “gently used” Canon camera
5-26-2024

MICROSOFT’S AI CHATBOT WILL ‘RECALL’ EVERYTHING YOU DO ON A PC

Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you’re doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next. The software giant on Monday revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal
5-26-2024

AI RELIES ON MASS SURVEILLANCE, WARNS SIGNAL BOSS

The AI tools that crunch numbers, generate text and videos and find patterns in data rely on mass surveillance and exercise concerning control over our lives, the boss of encrypted messaging app Signal told AFP on Thursday. Pushing back against the unquestioning enthusiasm at VivaTech in Paris, Europe’s top startup conference where industry players vaunt the merits of their products, Meredith Whittaker said concerns about surveillance and those about AI were “two framings
5-26-2024

THE ‘DEAD INTERNET THEORY’ MAKES EERIE CLAIMS ABOUT AN AI-RUN WEB. THE TRUTH IS MORE SINISTER

An example of a shrimp Jesus image on Facebook with no caption or context information included in the post. Credit: Facebook If you search “shrimp Jesus” on Facebook, you might encounter dozens of images of artificial intelligence (AI) generated crustaceans meshed in various forms with a stereotypical image of Jesus Christ. Some of these hyper-realistic images have garnered more than 20,000 likes and comments. So what exactly is going on here? The “dead internet theory” has an explanation: AI and bot-generated content has surpassed the human-generated internet. But where did
5-26-2024

WHAT ARE DEEPFAKES AND SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?

Deepfakes are creating havoc across the globe, spreading fake news and pornography, being used to steal identities, exploiting celebrities, scamming ordinary people and even influencing elections. Yet a worldwide survey found 71% of people have no idea what deepfakes are. Deepfakes are digital photos, videos or voices of real people that have either been synthetically created or manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) and can be hard to distinguish from the real thing. You’ve probably seen a deepfake video or photo without even realizing it. Computer-generated Tom Cruises,
5-26-2024

META INTRODUCES CHAMELEON, AN EARLY-FUSION MULTIMODAL MODEL

Chameleon represents all modalities—images, text, and code, as discrete tokens and uses a uniform transformer-based architecture that is trained from scratch in an end-to-end fashion on ?10T tokens of interleaved mixed-modal data. As a result, Chameleon can both reason over, as well as generate, arbitrary mixed-modal documents. Text tokens are represented in green and image tokens are represented in blue. AI researchers at Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and many other products, have designed and built a multimodal model to compete with
5-26-2024

ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES MAY YIELD SIGNIFICANT HEALTH AND CLIMATE BENEFITS, COST SAVINGS

Replacing diesel school buses with electric school buses may yield up to $247,600 in climate and health benefits per individual bus, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers found that these benefits—including fewer greenhouse gas emissions and reduced rates of adult mortality and childhood asthma—and their associated savings are strongest in large cities and among fleets of old (2005 and before) buses. The study, “Adopting electric school buses in the United States: health and climate benefits,” was published in the
5-26-2024

WEARABLE DEVICES GET SIGNAL BOOST FROM NEW MATERIAL

Strain-invariant stretchable wireless system enabled by dielectro-elastic composite. A new material that moves like skin while preserving signal strength in electronics could enable the development of next-generation wearable devices with continuous, consistent wireless and battery-free functionality. According to a study published today in Nature, an international team of researchers from Rice University and Hanyang University developed the material by embedding clusters of highly dielectric ceramic nanoparticles into an elastic polymer. The material was reverse-engineered to not only mimic skin elasticity and motion types, but also
5-26-2024

AI DOMINATES ANNUAL PARIS STARTUP EVENT VIVATECH

Vivatech will host more than 150,000 guests, 11,000 startups and 450 speakers over four days. Thousands of tech enthusiasts filed into Europe’s self-declared biggest startup event VivaTech in Paris on Wednesday, with artificial intelligence stealing the show this year. Over four days, the event, now in its eighth year, will host more than 150,000 guests, 11,000 startups and 450 speakers, according to the organizers. The star turns will take to the stage on Thursday—former US climate envoy and secretary of state John Kerry is expected to make a push for
5-26-2024

AI POISED TO USHER IN NEW LEVEL OF CONCIERGE SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC

AI concierge’s fundamental forms. Credit: Journal of Service Management (2024). Concierge services built on artificial intelligence have the potential to improve how hotels and other service businesses interact with customers, a new paper suggests. In the first work to introduce the concept, researchers have outlined the role an AI concierge, a technologically advanced assistant, may play in various areas of the service sector as well as the different forms such a helper might embody. Their paper envisions a virtual caretaker that, by combining natural language processing, behavioral data
5-26-2024

AGE VERIFICATION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA WOULD IMPACT EVERYONE—RESEARCHERS ASK PARENTS AND KIDS IF THEY ACTUALLY WANT IT

by Justine Humphry, Catherine Page Jeffery, Jonathon Hutchinson and Olga Boichak, The Conversation This month the Australian government announced a A$6.5 million commitment to trial an age-verification program that will restrict children’s exposure to inappropriate online content, including pornography and potentially social media. The announcement came out of a National Cabinet meeting geared towards addressing gender-based violence in Australia. Much has been said about age-checking technologies in the weeks since. Experts point out implementing these tools effectively (so they aren’t easily by-passed) will be complicated—and any such system could come
5-26-2024

IS IT SAFE TO FLY? AIRLINE SAFETY EXPERT ON MODERN COMMERCIAL FLIGHT

In light of recent news regarding congressional action on aviation safety, Penn State News spoke with Amy Pritchett, department head of aerospace engineering and professor in Penn State’s College of Engineering. Pritchett previously served as the director of NASA’s Aviation Safety Program and currently chairs the National Academies committee chartered to research and advise federal regulators on emerging trends in aviation safety. In
5-26-2024

USING SMART DEVICES TO SCHEDULE ON-DEMAND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CAN SAVE TIME AND MONEY

Suburban residents often face challenges receiving reliable and accessible bus transit—riders often complain about infrequent schedules and long waiting times. Often, transit agencies are unable to provide additional buses because population density in such areas is usually low. On-demand transit (ODT) is an innovative transportation approach that enhances the accessibility and quality of service while reducing operating costs. Despite the rapid growth of ODT services in various cities across Canada and the United States, the mechanism of
5-26-2024

UNDERWATER SIGNALS GENERATED BY OPEN SEA AIRPLANE CRASHES COULD BE KEY TO DETECTING FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MH370

Location of the CTBTO’s hydroacoustic stations H11N and H11S (white triangles); the impact location of three aircrafts (indicated in yellow): F-35a, Transair Flight 810, and Asiana Flight 991; and the distances and bearings relative to the hydroacoustic stations (presented in magenta). The cyan star shows the location of earthquake M 4.8–9 km S of Y?kaichiba, Japan, 2014-03-07 18:34:20 (UTC) 35.611o N 140.552o E 23.9 km depth. Signals captured on underwater microphones could be key to locating airplanes such as MH370 when they crash into
5-26-2024

SURVEY INVESTIGATES AI TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CLASSIFICATION AND CREATION OF ART

A comprehensive survey has looked at the intersection of art and artificial intelligence (AI). The team has focused on how AI technologies are employed in the classification and also the creation of artworks. Andrej Šimi? and Marina Bagi? Babac of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb have analyzed and categorized a number of research papers in this field to understand the methodologies, techniques, and outcomes in this emerging field. They discuss
5-26-2024

CYBERSECURITY LABELING FOR SMART DEVICES AIMS TO HELP PEOPLE CHOOSE ITEMS LESS LIKELY TO BE HACKED

Smart devices like baby monitors, fitness trackers and internet-connected appliances will soon be eligible for labels certifying that they meet federal cybersecurity standards. Federal officials said Wednesday that the first “Cyber Trust” labels could appear in time for the holiday shopping season. The White House announced the labels last year to help consumers avoid devices that are vulnerable to hacking. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File Consumer labels
5-26-2024

WORLD LEADERS STILL NEED TO WAKE UP TO AI RISKS, SAY LEADING EXPERTS AHEAD OF AI SAFETY SUMMIT

Leading AI scientists are calling for stronger action on AI risks from world leaders, warning that progress has been insufficient since the first AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park six months ago. Then, the world’s leaders pledged to govern AI responsibly. However, as the second AI Safety Summit in Seoul (21–22 May) approaches, 25 of the world’s leading AI scientists say not enough is actually being done to protect us from the technology’s risks. In an expert consensus paper published in Science, they outline urgent policy priorities that global leaders
5-26-2024

MICROSOFT’S AI CHATBOT WILL ‘RECALL’ EVERYTHING YOU DO ON A PC

Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you’re doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next. The software giant on Monday revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal
5-26-2024

AI TRAINED TO DRAW INSPIRATION FROM IMAGES, NOT COPY THEM

Powerful new artificial intelligence models sometimes, quite famously, get things wrong—whether hallucinating false information or memorizing others’ work and offering it up as their own. To address the latter, researchers led by a team at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a framework to train AI models on images corrupted beyond recognition. DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are among the text-to-image diffusion generative AI models that can turn arbitrary user text into highly realistic images. All three are now facing lawsuits from artists who
5-26-2024

AI CHIPS COULD GET A SENSE OF TIME WITH MEMRISTOR THAT CAN BE TUNED

Tunable composition and structural disorder in single-crystalline ESO thin films on epitaxial YBCO electrodes. Credit: Nature Electronics (2024). Artificial neural networks may soon be able to process time-dependent information, such as audio and video data, more efficiently. The first memristor with a “relaxation time” that can be tuned is reported today in Nature Electronics, in a study led by the University of Michigan. Memristors, electrical components that store information in their electrical resistance, could reduce AI’s energy needs by about a factor of 90 compared to today’s graphical
5-26-2024

WHAT GOOGLE AI MEANS FOR YOU—AND YOUR SEARCH RESULTS

Google recently unveiled plans to integrate its search engine with artificial intelligence (AI). The company is debuting a new search engine feature called A.I. Overviews, which generates an overview of the topic a user searches and displays links to learn more. Traditional search results still appear underneath, but A.I. Overviews, Google says, will parse various pieces of information to give you a quicker answer. The new feature has raised concerns from some web publishers, who worry it will deal a heavy blow to their site traffic. Currently, A.I. Overviews don’t
5-26-2024

RESEARCHERS ANALYZE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AI-GENERATED DEEPFAKES

Credit: AI-generated image Most of the deepfakes (videos with fake hyper-realistic recreations) generated by artificial intelligence (AI) that spread through social media feature political representatives and artists and are often linked to current news cycles. This is one of the conclusions of research by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) that analyzes the formal and content characteristics of viral misinformation in Spain arising from the use of AI tools for illicit purposes. This advance represents a step towards understanding and mitigating the threats generated by hoaxes in our society.
5-26-2024

INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUP SUGGESTS GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF AI IN SCIENCE

(AI) generates texts, videos and images that can hardly be distinguished from those of humans—with the result that we often no longer know what is real. Researchers and scientists are increasingly being supported by AI. Therefore, an international task force has now developed principles for
5-26-2024

IMPERCEPTIBLE SENSORS MADE FROM ‘ELECTRONIC SPIDER SILK’ CAN BE PRINTED DIRECTLY ON HUMAN SKIN

Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that’s a finger or a flower petal. Credit: University of Cambridge Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that’s a finger or a flower petal. The method, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, takes its inspiration from spider silk, which can conform and
5-26-2024

BREAKTHROUGH OR BOAST? THE QUEST FOR COMPARABLE RESEARCH RESULTS

More international attention is being paid to the importance of common standards for performing scientific experiments and measuring their results—a field called metrology. In late 2019, physicist Dr. Lorenzo Pattelli was part of an Italian-Chinese scientific team working on a cooling technology that is fast gaining attention as the Earth gets hotter from climate change. Called passive daytime radiative cooling, or PDRC, the technology uses engineered materials to reflect away the sun’s radiation. The idea is that, amid heat waves, PDRC panels would cool buildings without the need for energy-intensive
5-26-2024

AI-ENHANCED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TOOLS COULD HELP GIG WORKERS SOLVE PROBLEMS

Researchers at Northeastern University have created artificial intelligence tools to help gig workers organize, collect their own job-related data, analyze their work problems and come up with a strategy to implement solutions. “Building solid AI-enhanced solutions to enable gig workers’ collective action will pave the way for a fair and ethical gig economy—one with fair wages, humane working conditions and increased job security,” says Saiph Savage, assistant professor and director of the Civic A.I. Lab at Northeastern’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences. Gig work is typically performed by a freelancer
5-26-2024

AI-POWERED TRADING STRATEGIES TAME MARKET SWINGS

Average financial indicators feature importance. Credit: Quantitative Finance and Economics (2024). DOI: 10.3934/QFE.2024007 The dynamic landscape of cryptocurrencies, marked by rapid growth and high volatility since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009, has attracted significant attention from investors and traders. The emergence of new digital currencies challenges traditional financial models, necessitating advanced analytical tools to navigate the market’s unpredictability. The quest for effective trading strategies has led to the exploration of AI and machine learning techniques, which promise to enhance decision-making in this speculative yet lucrative field. Researchers from the University of
5-26-2024

NEW ROBOTIC PALM USES SOPHISTICATED TACTILE SENSORS TO MIMIC HUMAN TOUCH

“I’ll have you eating out of the palm of my hand” is an unlikely utterance you’ll hear from a robot. Why? Most of them don’t have palms. If you have kept up with the protean field, gripping and grasping more like humans has been an ongoing Herculean effort. Now, a new robotic hand design developed in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has rethought the oft-overlooked
5-26-2024

SCARLETT JOHANSSON SAYS A CHATGPT VOICE IS ‘EERILY SIMILAR’ TO HERS AND OPENAI IS HALTING ITS USE

Scarlett Johansson poses for photographers at the photo call for the film “Asteroid City” at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, May 24, 2023. OpenAI plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some drew similarities to Johansson, who famously portrayed a fictional AI assistant in the (perhaps no longer so futuristic) film “Her.” File OpenAI on Monday said it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices that “Her” actor Scarlett Johansson says sounds
5-26-2024

AI HEADPHONES LET WEARER LISTEN TO A SINGLE PERSON IN A CROWD BY LOOKING AT THEM JUST ONCE

A University of Washington team has developed an artificial intelligence system that lets a user wearing headphones look at a person speaking for three to five seconds and then hear just the enrolled speaker’s voice in real time even as the listener moves around in noisy places and no longer faces the speaker. Pictured is a prototype of the headphone system: binaural microphones attached to off-the-shelf noise canceling headphones. Credit: Kiyomi Taguchi/University of Washington Noise-canceling headphones have gotten very good at creating an auditory blank slate. But allowing certain sounds
5-26-2024

NVIDIA’S PROFIT SOARS, UNDERSCORING ITS DOMINANCE IN CHIPS FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg Nvidia on Wednesday overshot Wall Street estimates as its profit skyrocketed, bolstered by the chipmaking dominance that has made the company an icon of the artificial intelligence boom. Its net income rose more than sevenfold compared to a year earlier, jumping to $14.88 billion in its first quarter that ended April 28 from $2.04 billion a year earlier. Revenue
5-26-2024

EIT-BASED TACTILE SENSOR PROVIDES NEW APPROACH TO FINE MOTOR SKILLS ASSESSMENT

Researchers from SIT Japan showed a peg-shaped sensor for classifying adult pinching motions. Reconstructed images reach 79.4% accuracy, while voltage vectors achieve 91.4%, hinting at automated finger motion analysis potential. a) The microcontroller and sensing device are connected by a wire. (b) Hand model pinching the sensing device with two fingers from the horizontal direction and the reconstructed image. Credit: Hiroki Sato from SIT, Japan. Fine motor skills play a crucial role in human cognition, influencing everything from daily activities to the development of advanced tool-based civilizations. Yet, quantifying and
5-26-2024

EUROPE’S CLIMATE LAWS COULD SPELL THE END TO LOW-COST FLIGHTS—BUT WHAT ABOUT PRIVATE JETS?

The era of low-cost air travel in Europe may be over for good, thanks in part to recent EU environmental policies. All in all, this is good news for the climate. But many low- and middle-income people who used to travel around the EU will no longer be able to do so, or at least will be able to do so much less often. Yet the same policies will have little or no impact on the use of much more polluting private jets, which typically cover distances served by commercial
5-26-2024

ROBOT-PHOBIA COULD EXASPERATE HOTEL, RESTAURANT LABOR SHORTAGE

Using more robots to close labor gaps in the hospitality industry may backfire and cause more human workers to quit, according to a Washington State University study. The study, involving more than 620 lodging and food service employees, found that “robot-phobia”—specifically the fear that robots and technology will take human jobs—increased workers’ job insecurity and stress, leading to greater intentions to leave their jobs. The impact was more pronounced with employees who had real experience working with robotic technology. It also affected managers in addition to frontline workers. The findings
5-26-2024

TWO TYPES OF LLMS FOUND ABLE TO EQUAL OR OUTPERFORM HUMANS ON THEORY OF MIND TESTS

Performance of human (purple), GPT-4 (dark blue), GPT-3.5 (light blue) and LLaMA2-70B (green) on the battery of theory of mind tests. a, Original test items for each test showing the distribution of test scores for individual sessions and participants. b, Interquartile ranges of the average scores on the original published items (dark colors) and novel items (pale colors) across each test. An international team of psychologists and neurobiologists has found via experimentation that two types of LLMs are able to equal or outperform
5-26-2024

SANOFI ALLIES WITH OPENAI, FORMATION BIO FOR AI USE IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT

AI is playing an ever greater role in developing new medicines, as well as identifying new applications for existing drugs. French pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced Tuesday a partnership with ChatGPT-founder OpenAI and US biotech firm Formation Bio to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in developing drugs. AI is playing an ever greater role in developing new medicines, as well as identifying new applications for existing drugs. It can be used for example to find new molecules more quickly and to improve clinical tests by vetting which patients would be
5-26-2024

USING AI, MASTERCARD EXPECTS TO FIND COMPROMISED CARDS QUICKER, BEFORE THEY GET USED BY CRIMINALS

A sign indicating MasterCard credit cards are accepted is posted at a New York business, Jan. 21, 2015. Mastercard said Wednesday, May 21, 2024, that it expects to be able to discover that your credit or debit card number has been compromised well before it ends up in the hands of a cybercriminal. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File Mastercard said Wednesday that it expects to be able to discover that your credit or debit card number has been compromised well before it ends up in the hands of a cybercriminal.
5-26-2024

NEW FLEXIBLE FILM DETECTS EYELASH PROXIMITY IN BLINK-TRACKING GLASSES

When attached to eyeglasses, a clear, flexible sensor can detect how close eyelashes are to the lens, enabling blink tracking. When another person’s finger hovers over your skin, you may get the sense that they’re touching you, feeling not necessarily contact, but their proximity. Similarly, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have designed a soft, flexible film that senses the presence of nearby objects without physically touching them. The study features the new sensor technology to detect
5-26-2024

GAMERS SAY THEY HATE ‘SMURFING,’ BUT ADMIT THEY DO IT

Online video game players believe the behavior known as “smurfing” is generally wrong and toxic to the gaming community—but most admit to doing it and say some reasons make the behavior less blameworthy, new research finds. The new study suggests that debates about toxicity in gaming may sometimes be more complex and nuanced than is often acknowledged, according to the researchers. Online video games use what are called “matchmaking systems” to pair players based on skill. “Smurfing” is when players cheat these systems by creating new accounts so that they
5-26-2024

HUMANS BARELY ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AI-GENERATED MEDIA

AI-generated images, texts and audio files are so convincing that people are no longer able to distinguish them from human-generated content. This is the result of an online survey of about 3,000 participants from Germany, China, and the U.S. This is the first time that a large transnational study has examined this particular form of media literacy.
5-26-2024

CAN AIRPLANE TURBULENCE REALLY KILL YOU? AIRCRAFT PROPULSION EXPERT WEIGHS IN ON SINGAPORE AIRLINES DEATH

One person was killed and several dozen more injured Tuesday when a flight from London to Singapore encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” and plummeted roughly 6,000 feet in a matter of minutes, according to The Washington Post. All told, there were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, according to Singapore Airlines. The deceased passenger reportedly suffered a heart attack during the mid-air tumult. The Boeing 777-300ER operated by Singapore Airlines diverted to Bangkok, where it landed at 3:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday following the in-flight incident. The New York
5-26-2024

HOW INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES’ ARE CAUTIOUSLY EMBRACING GENERATIVE AI

U.S. intelligence agencies are scrambling to embrace the AI revolution, convinced they’ll otherwise be smothered in data as sensor-generated surveillance tech further blankets the planet. They also need to keep pace with competitors, who are already using AI to seed social media platforms with deepfakes. But the tech is young and brittle, and officials are acutely aware that generative AI is anything but tailor-made for a trade steeped in danger and deception. Years before OpenAI’s ChatGPT set off the current generative AI marketing frenzy, U.S. intelligence and defense officials were
5-26-2024

3D PRINTING ROBOT USES AI MACHINE LEARNING TO CREATE A SHOCK-ABSORBING SHAPE NO HUMAN EVER COULD

Inside a lab in Boston University’s College of Engineering, a robot arm drops small, plastic objects into a box placed perfectly on the floor to catch them as they fall. One by one, these tiny structures—feather-light, cylindrical pieces, no bigger than an inch tall—fill the box. Some are red, others blue, purple, green, or black. Each object is the result of an experiment in robot autonomy. On its own, learning as it goes, the robot is searching for, and trying to make, an object with the most

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. So I iust got a pc last year after about a decade on macs and it's been great for what I needed it for but I'm starting tk want to get back into pc only games and it falls short by far. People are always saying building a pc is cheaper than what you'd buy pre built so I think it's that time. I've done small things like ram and hd installs, and taken apart pcs so I think I'd be fine with a guide but where I lack is my knowledge of parts.
So- If anyone doesnt mind, could someone tell me what the best build for a gaming pc with lets say a 1.5k$ USD budget would be? I will say in advance I want atleast an RTX 4070 in it but please feel free to make any suggestions as I am a noob in this.
I hope this post doesn't go against any guidelines and if it does I apologize. Thanks in advance. 👍🏽

I’ve heard and seen hundreds upon hundreds of arguments from people who are trying to morally defend pirating music, movies, or games online, but I don’t find any of them compelling.
It’s just wrong. These items aren’t necessary, so if you can’t afford them, it’s not a huge deal. Plenty of movies and shows are pretty cheap or even free nowadays, especially on sites like YouTube. I’m not saying “screw poor people”, I’m saying, if you can’t afford an item, it doesn’t justify stealing it. Could you do it? Sure. It’s not my place to tell you what you can and can’t do. But that doesn’t make it morally ok.
The ONLY times I find it ok are when there are no other options (maybe it didn’t release in your region or isn’t available to buy anymore) or when it’s PURELY for preservation. But dumping movies, music, and games online, no matter the age of them, is wrong.
Especially for games, people act like they are doing the world a service, I just don’t understand how. Change my view!

As an aspiring founder myself (34/M working in tech but not an SWE) I immediately started using ChatGPT in late 2022 for help with ideation and coding (the latter it kinda sucked with but has gotten better) and I've found it to be TREMENDOUSLY helpful. I most like using it to build out process flows for development, data modeling based on features/functionality, and even gaming out edge cases or attack/abuse paths (free accounts, spamming new users etc).
My only issue with the above is there's still the inherent problem as a new founder of "you don't know what you don't know" - ie knowing what to ask is very important to getting quality guidance/assistance as an output, as well as the longer you chat with these LLMs, the worse they remember all of the nuances of you business as the logic/complexity grows and evolves.
So, I'm curious to hear what others experiences have been here. Do you use GenAI a lot, a little, only for specific things etc?

Being 20 years old, my social life is practically nonexistent, and everyday existence feels extremely tough and incredibly lonely. I find it hard to bear looking at myself and struggle with feelings of worthlessness and failure. Friendships, romantic relationships, and a family support system are all missing in my life. The profound loneliness I experience, coupled with social anxiety and autism, creates a sense of detachment as if I'm simply going through life watching others live and while I don’t, this feeling like an outsider or alien in my own skin.
The endless feeling of loneliness has engulfed me entirely. Throughout the past year, I made countless attempts to break free from it, venturing out to public places like groups and bars, only to end up stuck in a repetitive cycle of going to college and then back home. Turning to online dating was another effort, but it proved futile as I received no matches: It's disheartening to realize that even the online world poses challenges. This situation is further compounded by the fact that Ilack a close-knit family to turn to; the absence of family support only adds to my sense of isolation.
I am convinced that there is no place for me in this world. All I can foresee is a future filled with misery and isolation. I have a plan to end it all, and I believe it will bring me peace. I can't continue like this. Thank you for reading, and I hope you find solace in your own journey.

Hi there! I'm thinking of getting a handheld console to play Final Fantasy 14 online on the go/ on my coach or in my bed everywhere I can. Which one would you choose? My main choices are Rog Ally or Steam deck? I can take into consideration Legion Go if you'll say that it's a it's a better choice.
I don't mind playing plugged in or caring energy backup with me. Most importantly, looking for the best portable experience I can have playing FInal Fantasy XIV :D I've got seriously addicted to it.
I'd really appreciate any helpful advice from you guys. Thank you!
Ps. Maybe I will play other games as well XD (maybe Baldur's gate, Elden ring, not sure about fps games maybe if it's a worth experience)
pps; Sorry for my English. I'm definitely not a native XD

A server for grown-ass adults. Ages 20+ only.
Are you an adult with adult responsibilities, a job, a family, or just simply don't have the free time you used to? Despite all that, do you still love to roleplay, but are sick of being left in the dust by teenagers with nothing better to do?
Welcome to Campfire, where we're all grown-ups trying to fit a fun hobby into our responsibility-laden lifestyles.
We host multiple universes, both sandbox and structured, for a variety of fandoms. There is a heavy emphasis on Marvel and DC, but it's not all that we do nor all that's allowed. There are currently Supernatural, Star Wars, and Star Trek areas. We allow players to build and run their own mini-games within the server, meaning that there will always be a place for you to play your favorite canon or OC.
Our primary focus is to find a group of friendly writers willing to explore fun concepts with each other in a safe, open-communication environment that supports the rigors of adult life.
https://discord.com/invite/BUDk7vyNNv

I can't be the only one here who thinks it would be awesome if they added it as an official gamemode into the game.
Each server would have roughly 200 players, with 50 players on each team (Potentially more if the server can handle that amount of players). It would feature Rust's first ever "matchmaking" feature. You'd be able to press a button and be assigned to a server with good ping and put into a team with the lowest amount of players to keep things balanced (Just random matchmaking, no SBMM at all). The fun part about this is that you can leave the server at any time, and someone else will hopefully join to take your place. This means that for the first time in Rust's history, you can play casually, and actually get some sleep!
I think this gamemode would be great for a more casual/solo player who doesn't enjoy the base game. If you lose a kit, you can just grab another one and go out to farm some more equipment for your faction. Need some sleep? Just leave and someone will take your place.
You can't choose what team you join unless you are invited, however. You can invite your friends to join your kingdom if there is space, and even send a "tag out" invite, where as soon as it is accepted, you leave the server and swap places.
When you join a faction/server, you can keep a track of how things are going at any time. Maybe you could even get notifications when big events happen, such as a faction-wide message or the destruction of a faction. This would work really well with the rust app.
The map would be large and randomly generated as usual. However, there will always be an Outpost in the centre of the map. Maybe a stable on the left-middle and right middle of the map, as well as fishing villages at the top North, south, east and west of the map. This would admittedly be tough to balance, but higher tier structures would be near the middle, with lower ones on the outskirts.
The server would be divided into 4 factions. The Red faction, the Blue faction, the Yellow faction and the Green faction. Each faction would have a big castle or fort that they'd spawn with. On the second floor, would be a massive, special tool cupboard with a ton of health that cannot be healed. When this cupboard is destroyed, the faction is wiped out.
There would be a large area around this castle where only members of that faction can build. This would be the "Kingdom". Structures built in this radius would be supported by the main cupboard and at a 50% resource discount. This would encourage players to build a proper kingdom with plenty of farms, defences etc in this radius to protect the main base and support the kingdom.
Players of a faction can be vote-kicked. Anyone can call a votekick to get rid of a known troll/griefer. The majority of online players in a faction have to agree for the vote to pass. You can also call votes on other things and they can be customised.
You can still build normally outside of the radius, but the drawback is a 50% increase in tool cupboard costs. This means you can still build structures to store resources, defend tactical locations etc, but big bases will be much more difficult to maintain, to encourage players to instead build around the kingdom and make it harder to control locations.
Structures built by players of a faction are tinted/painted in the corresponding colour so they can be easily identified.
There are so many incredible things in this game. Trains, cargo ship raid, oil rig raids, air crates etc, but they're inaccessible for the vast majority of people interested in this game. Most solos are lucky to get a T2 workbench. Having a pre-established mega-clan to join is perfect for allowing players to experience everything this game has to offer.
I think a gamemode like this would be amazing for all the people who've been wanting to get into Rust, but are put off by how unfair the game is to smaller groups/new players. The stories and events on these servers could be legendary.

Hi! Trying this again in the hope of finding some new people to talk to 🙂 I’m a 26M from Scotland, UK, pretty chilled out and happy to talk about/listen to just about everything.
As for my hobbies - I am a MASSIVE horror fan and I love everything creepy/scary,
I watch/play football to keep fit and I like gaming(PS5) whenever I have the spare time, always looking for game recommendations and people to play with.
I love being outside, finding places to explore and most importantly spending time with my dog (feel free to send me pet photos too!) 🐶
I also have a lot of tattoos and love to see other people’s work, I’m always looking for new ideas and I love seeing what other people have so feel free to show me yours!
I don’t mind moving to a different platform too if it’s easier, Reddits chat system is terrible. Send me a message if you like 🙂

Hi! Trying this again in the hope of finding some new people to talk to 🙂 I’m a 26M from Scotland, UK, pretty chilled out and happy to talk about/listen to just about everything.
As for my hobbies - I am a MASSIVE horror fan and I love everything creepy/scary,
I watch/play football to keep fit and I like gaming(PS5) whenever I have the spare time, always looking for game recommendations and people to play with.
I love being outside, finding places to explore and most importantly spending time with my dog (feel free to send me pet photos too!) 🐶
I also have a lot of tattoos and love to see other people’s work, I’m always looking for new ideas and I love seeing what other people have so feel free to show me yours!
I don’t mind moving to a different platform too if it’s easier, Reddits chat system is terrible. Send me a message if you like 🙂

Hi all,
I have been exploring the possibility of buying ACVI, and I would like an outside opinion on this. Often when a game comes out on both PC and Xbox, I have a difficult time deciding which platform I should buy it for. I don't currently have Xbox live, so if I were to get it on Xbox, I would solely have to play campaign. However, If I get it on my mid-range PC (while my PC does meet the minimum requirements by more than a comfortable margin) I worry about a loss in graphical fidelity because this game looks insanely beautiful. Feel free to add your input about the difference in control schemes if you are especially opinionated on the matter.
For reference, I have an I9 2700k and an RTX 3070, as well as 16 GB DDR5.

Hello, I used to cast CS:GO a few years back. Casted for CEVO, GameFace, N3rdstreetgamers LAN, Challengermode and more. I've casted for a few things in Valorant but again this was a few years back now. Lately I've been wanting to get back into it as I've returned to playing the game again. In Valorant I was ASC3-IMMO and played in teams as well as IGL'd at IMMO3 Level so I add that level of personal experience to my casts as I understand the game a decent amount at this point.
I'm 25, UK, use an Audio Technica AT2020 + Scarlet 2i2 for mic quality. I have experience working in production as well as hosting and interviewing players. I'm able to create overlays and animations for things I cast for that also add another element to the broadcasts.
I'm looking for an event/tournament interested in having someone cast their matches. As well as if a team that's playing in an event wouldn't mind having their games casted too. I'm mainly a play by play caster but as said before I've got some experience with hosting etc too.
Thanks for reading, if you know of anything feel free to message here or DM me on Discord: ObzTicle.
Cheers!

Hi! Trying this again in the hope of finding some new people to talk to 🙂 I’m a 26M from Scotland, UK, pretty chilled out and happy to talk about/listen to just about everything.
As for my hobbies - I am a MASSIVE horror fan and I love everything creepy/scary,
I watch/play football to keep fit and I like gaming(PS5) whenever I have the spare time, always looking for game recommendations and people to play with.
I love being outside, finding places to explore and most importantly spending time with my dog (feel free to send me pet photos too!) 🐶
I also have a lot of tattoos and love to see other people’s work, I’m always looking for new ideas and I love seeing what other people have so feel free to show me yours!
I don’t mind moving to a different platform too if it’s easier, Reddits chat system is terrible. Send me a message if you like 🙂

Need some advice.
Hello, I need some big time advice on what to do. Myself and my boyfriend have been together for 7 years. Not exactly sure how to do this but I am (F19) and he is (M19). He lives in Michigan and I live in California. We both met on an online game. We were planning on meeting eachother in person with my family and myself driving to Michigan and camping. Plans fell through and we had planned to fly. I have never been on a plane before, so it gave me a lot of anxiety thinking about it. I’ve also been dealing with the 1 year anniversary of my grandpa passing recently and the grief has just hit me and I am struggling a lot. My boyfriend still want us to come and is telling me to just get over my fear. I have a hard time traveling in general, I don’t like changes to my environment. So this is all giving me anxiety. I did tell him we’re not coming due to my mental state right now and he has been very distant, very blunt about things and I don’t know what to do. He can be very stubborn and I just feel so lost I need advice please.

Might be asleep though so may respond in the morning!
Hey, I'm Sarah, 26 and from the UK and I'm looking to make a few new friends 🧡
A little about me I'm into gaming, anime, sleeping 😴, animals!! And tbh I will try just about anything atleast once 😝
Honestly I such at this kinda thing so if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I'll try and be as open as possible :).
I will talk to just about anyone however if I end up getting alot of messages I may not be able to respond to all so please bare that in mind :)
Also have a good day!

I (30F) was diagnosed in March of last year (RH-). I'm currently on sulfasalazine and, while it is moderately controlled, I feel like I'll need to go see the rheumatologist again soon. I'm at a point where I can't do a lot of things throughout the day with my hands. I'm a teacher and completing my masters online, plus I have 3 kids to care for. I'm finding it incredibly difficult to finish homework (or work work) when there is a lot of typing and/or scrolling involved. Cooking is getting hard and peeling potatoes is almost impossible. I'm also a reader and love video games, but holding a book or controller for long periods is rough.
When I do any of these a lot in short periods of time, my right-hand pointer finger starts to basically seize up. It twitches a lot at first, then it's almost like it's cramping and tries to close itself up repeatedly. I'm not sure if I need different meds (haven't seen many people mention sulfasalazine on here, mostly hydrochloriquine and methotrexate) or if there are things I can do to help at home. Heat seems to help and I want to cry if I have to hold something cold for too long (yet I overheat when moving around or outside so damn easily).
What has worked for you in terms of hand pain? Could it be that the medication just isn't right for me (based on experiences with it)?

Platform(s): I only saw this being played with my dad on his mac desktop, don't know if its available somewhere else
Genre: I guess it could be called a puzzle game. it had different levels to it after you completed one. You walked around in third person.
Estimated year of release: I have no clue because I was youngish when I would play with my dad but probably 2010s-2016ish or before 2018.
Graphics/art style: -The game kinda looked cartoony in a way. -The bombs you would throw to free the little guys stuck in the blocks looked different depending on what they did. Some were solid-colored, striped, and maybe spikey? Some bombs stuck to the blocks and some blocks rolled, and some blasted on impact.
Notable characters: -The little characters stuck in the blocks looked like little black stick figures with kinda big heads and white eyes. You looked just like a larger version of that. I remember you could even customize your character and make it wear cowboy boots or whatever. -The characters also might've been robots??
Notable gameplay mechanics: -The whole point was to save these "kids" stuck in blocks by throwing bombs to blow the blocks up. pretty sure the blocks had a color and a bomb could only destroy it if it was the same color. -Sometimes you could throw the bomb into a portal if the block you needed to destroy wasnt accessible -Pretty sure to move you had to click where you wanted to go
Other details: -The little people would be calling you to come help them. Their little high-pitched voices would say "over here" and call you over by saying "mister!"

I understand that Dr. K’s personal story (addiction to games) and initial reason for streaming is gaming related. However, it’s my belief that in order for him to reach a wider audience and help more people on the internet, he should rebrand himself as a social media/internet (with video games perhaps as a subcategory) psychiatry expert. He obviously has the expertise, and I think this would not only improve his reach online, but how seriously he is taken by other experts and professionals granting him even larger mainstream platforms to speak on. There is no doubt that he is a top professional in his field, I just sometimes think it’s necessary to “play the game” so to speak in order to make a greater difference, and in my mind that would be expanding his platform to largely focus on social media and internet addiction since it is more applicable to more young adults and kids and is having such adverse effects on generations growing up now (poor performance in school, twisted world views from internet influences, dissatisfaction with life, etc.) In my opinion, our addiction to short dopamine spurts provided by social media has been utterly detrimental to everyone (all ages, my parents are addicted too), and I think Dr. K would be great as the face of a movement to address unhealthy media use at large.

Summary: Your last encounter with Captain Kismet was unsettling, but has not put you off your goals or your plans. But the would-be space pirate king/queen is not one to give up, and unfortunately they’ve tracked you down at the worst possible time...
Part 1 Here
Word count: approx 1900
Must give credit, Ok to monetize. If you use this script, leave a link to your fill in the comments!
Feel free to change around suggested SFX, omit, or to create your own soundscape. Always okay to gender swap, change pronouns, change names, etc. Small line adjustments for easier flow are fine, but please no major changes to the story unless you ask first!
__Script begins__
SFX: a dungeon, complete with dripping walls and the occasional rattle of chains. In the distance, an eerie electronic humming/chanting.
SFX: the door swings open. The electronic sound gets louder.
Captain! Fear not - I’ve come to rescue you!
SFX: (alt voice) Get in there, pirate scum!
After one or two small details to work out. Oof!
SFX: a thump of the speaker shoved into a cell
SFX: the CLANG of metal bars slamming shut
My goodness, you hyperdrive cultists really go all out on the atmosphere. Did you import the moisture just to make your cells unpleasantly damp? (calling out after the guard as the guard retreats) My compliments to the Great Ascended Pooh-bah Muckety Muck Whatever!
SFX: the dungeon door swings shut
Whew, I thought that acolyte would never leave. Built like a bunkercraft under the robes, wasn’t he? You’ve got to hand it to the Holy and Agile Order of Interplanetary Paths and Engineering, they must have their followers on a killer work-out routine.
...
Captain? My darling. Speak to me. Are you all right?
...
Are you sure? You’re hitting your head rather rhythmically against that wall.
...
Hm. Think the translator glitched there, I heard that as “what fresh hell is this”? Doubtless some quaint and clever human turn of phrase, meaning ‘what undiluted rivers of joy I feel, now that Captain Kismet has arrived to save me in my hour of need.’
...
Yes, I did notice that I’m in a cell too. Sadly, not in the same cell as you. These cultists really have no sense of the thing. I should be kneeling over you, tenderly wiping your bruises and cuts...
...
They didn’t actually hurt you, did they? Don’t get me wrong, a little roughed up is a nice look on you, but, hm. Which one was it that laid hands on you?
...
Never you mind why I care. Idle curiosity. Which one was it?
...
The one in the robe and the overstylized mask. Hahaha. No matter. Plenty of folk matching that description running around.
...
What am I doing here? I told you, human. I came to rescue you. You hear that outside?
SFX: slight raise on the drone swells
It’s the beginning of the Puissant Calibration, where all four of Kayo’s moons and that one big asteroid will all come into alignment. Every priest, sensei, hieromonk, and intern in this temple are going to have their eyes on the skies. That’s our opportunity to escape - with this.
SFX: rustle of fabric
...
That’s right, Captain. A universal key and galactic lockbreaker combination micro mini multitool. They say only seventeen were ever made. Just four still survive. And this one is mine. You just sit right there, my dear. I’ll have you out in two shakes of a gambada swan’s tail feathers.
SFX: beep beep beep - then a sad ‘game-over’ boooooop.
Huh. That’s... oh, it’s not... Hmm. No wifi down here. Okay. No problem. Let’s try...
SFX: a mechanical whirrr - and a harsh Ka-CHUNK.
Oh, shoot.
...
No! Nothing’s wrong! That’s, ahem. That’s the beauty of the universal key and galactic lockbreaker combo multitool. There’s always another tool to multi. Let’s see, we’ve got the uh...
SFX: clink of the tool
...
The lock is what? ... Just.. an old rusty lock? No electronic component? No clockwork mechanism? No high powered laser booby traps, no crystal rods rigged to explosives?
...
(heavy sigh) No problem. No problem at all! An old fashioned solution for an old fashioned problem. Diamond edged nail file. Coming up.
SFX: Metal sawing as the speaker gets down to it.
...
Yep. Just a little elbow grease here, and we’ll be on our way, Captain.
...
Oh Captain, of course I found you. Our destinies are meant to intertwine, the fates themselves are pulling us into orbit. Also, it was fairly obvious if you were going to break out the prisoners in the slave mines, you’d need a route out of the system. So I asked myself, Kismet, what is the most insane way possible that one could get their hands on the Agile Order’s top secret interstellar telemetry data? And then wouldn’t you know it: here you were. Waiting for me.
...
The lock is coming just fine, thank you.
...
That’s where you’re wrong, my dear. I assure you, I am absolutely used to working with my hands. Once we get out of here, I’d be happy to show just how dextrous I can be.
...
(taken aback) I - I’m sure I don’t know what you mean by that. Me? Grow up on the Imperial planet? Please, Captain. I think you have me confused with someone else. The Imperials would shoot me out of the sky if a pirate like me dared to even approach their star system -
...
(suddenly harsh) Don’t speak that name here.
...
Oh, very good. Very clever, Captain. I see you’ve done your research too.
I am not an Imperial. Not... anymore. I never really was, not in any real sense of having any power. Six hundred and seventeenth from the throne doesn’t get you more than a one bedroom apartment, a military commission, and the occasional appearance in the duller celestial tabloid rags.
...
Yes. I suppose that is more than many people get in this galaxy. How did you know?
...
Don’t be coy. No one else has even suspected the circumstances of my origin. You figured it out in weeks. What did I give away?
...
I recognized you as human? How did that...
Oh.
Oh, of course. How else could I so confidently recognize a human unless I was familiar with them. And where else in the galaxy are humans so concentrated except in the Imperial palaces.
...
Don’t be dramatic. “Imperial slaves” is a rather prejudicial descriptor. Humans are highly valued contributors as administrators and teachers and, and...
...
“Pets” is hardly accurate either - Ugh. Why am I defending the Empire to you? You know what? Yes. You are absolutely right. Humans have been treated dreadfully by the Imperial family. Snatched off your home world, forced into service. One of the many sins the Empire has to answer for.
...
I am not trying to force you into the same situation - ! (clears throat, gets ahold of themself). Captain. I left the Imperials because I could no longer sit back casually and watch it happen any longer. The casual cruelty towards anyone who wasn’t us, building a pyramid of our peoples so we could hold the top for ourselves. I came to believe that there could be a different kind of system, one built on freedom and merit. You know how I came to believe in that?
...
Humans.
...
Every human I’ve ever gotten to know, I’ve admired. Even with the might of the Empire on your necks, there’s this unsquashable idealism inside you. This unshakable belief that things could be better. That things should be better. A rather inspiring perspective. One that I’ve taken with me.
...
That’s absolutely right, I take what I want. I’m making my own mark in this galaxy, with a name all my own, a family I choose myself.
Imagine my surprise and delight when I made it out here and found a human with the same ideas, same ideals, just waiting for me.
...
Yes, yes, not literally waiting for me. But - can’t see you see how this is meant to be? For both of us! I’m building the kind of kingdom that a human can be at home in. I’ve longed to see what any one of you would be capable of, if only given the freedom to exercise that intelligence, that passion. Now here’s the best human in the galaxy, right in front of me.
...
Don’t be modest, my dear. You are absolutely the best human I’ve ever met.
...
What’s that supposed to mean, “I think like an Imperial”? My dear Captain, why are you so resistant to this? Can’t you see I’m offering you a place at my side? Help me take this quadrant and we could rule. You would be second only to me! What could possibly be a worthier goal?
...
Ugh. Look, if breaking into the necronium mines means that much to you, I’ll help you.
...
Oh ho. Now I have your attention, don’t I? How very foolish of me not to realize sooner. Of course - my help in liberating the necronium mines: that’s your price.
...
Everyone has a price, human. That’s not thinking like an Imperial. That’s thinking like a pirate.
....
You’re a very strange pirate indeed, Captain. Because you’re not after the necronium or even the equipment and mining stations and spacecraft, are you? You’re out to free the slaves. How deliciously naive.
...
Oh, I believe you can. With the crystal encoded keys and the secret maps of the Holy and Agile Order, you’re most of the way there. The question is - after you liberate the captives, where do you intend to go with them?
...
Don’t turn away from me. I want to know. How will you fit them all into that little minnow ship of yours? Where will you bring all those thousands of half-starved, penniless, desperate fugitives? It seems to me that what you might need, more than anything, is a safe little corner of the galaxy where penniless, desperate fugitives might hide from the long tendrils of Imperial law. Hmmmm. Now I wonder who might be able to offer that to you...
...
...
You know exactly what I want in return.
...
You’re really considering it, aren’t you? You wouldn’t consider coming to my side for yourself, not for power, not for comfort. But for thousands of people you’ve never even met... Oh human. I’m going to such incredible things with you beside me.
...
To have you? Darling, I’d take in millions of refugees in exchange for you. A {king/queen} needs subjects after all. And I wouldn’t mind my own direct source of necronium while I’m at it...
...
No, I’m not going to put different slaves in the mines. We’ll... hire laborers. Hm, maybe some of the slaves would prefer to stay and run it themselves once we take over... Yes, yes, this is going to be quite an operation. But worth it. For you. Lay out your terms. And you’d better hurry, it sounds like the Holy Molys upstairs are hitting the exciting part.
...
Agreed. Safe passage for all to my harbor planet.
...
Oh, you don’t miss a trick, human. Safe and free passage. No debts owed, absolute freedom to stay or leave.
...
Food and housing for one galactic year!? Oh my dear. Don’t play your cards too aggressively.
...
We’ll see what we can do. We have some weeks to plan all this -
...
It can’t wait?
...
In ten days!? Oh my darling. I’m flattered by your confidence in me, but there is no way in the thirteen halls of hell we’re going to take over the largest Imperial prison mine in ten days-
...
Hey, calm down-. ... Lower your voice. Lower your voice! They’ll hear us!
...
I am not - Now, that is just uncalled for. I am making an extremely generous offer. What is your rush? You have a burning need to rescue the slaves that are there right now?
...
You... do. Don’t you? How foolish of me. This is some moral crusade. You’re saving... who? A friend? (building jealousy) A lover?
...
Never you mind why I care. Who is it?
...
A mistake? Oh no, Captain. My dear, dear human. You can’t go back on our deal. Not when we’re starting to get somewhere. You know so much about me. We’re just starting to learn about you - What’s that you’ve got there?
SFX: A rusty key squealing in the lock. The clunk of the lock cracking open.
...
You... had the key all along?! Captain, you -! .... Oh, of course. You knew about the Puissant Calibration. You’ve been waiting, here in the dungeon, to time your escape. You clever little...
...
Darling, surely you’re not going to leave me here?
...
Shades of deja vu. You’re right, I can get myself out of this. But more to the point, can you get yourself away from me?
SFX: a distant explosion. The chanting abruptly cuts off, replaced with distant shouts and screams.
Or to be more specific, you think you can get yourself away from the full might of my pirate armada?
...
That’s right, darling. Never say I don’t learn from my mistakes. The full might of my fleet is here to take this temple, this planet - and the spaceport, where I assume you’ve got that little minnow stashed?
...
(voice starts to fade as the listener runs) Run all you like, human! Even if you get away, I know where you’re going next. And I know where your heart lies. Run! Run faster! You can’t outrun Captain Kismet and your fate! (fading laughter)
__End Script__

I will follow the instructions.

Is this a brand new build, or an upgrade to an existing build?

Brand new build.

Please list any existing parts or monitor(s) you have that you would like to re-use with this build. For upgrades, a PCPartPicker list of your full build is extremely helpful. Be as specific as you can be here, including links or exact model numbers of each component whenever possible.

Brand new build.

What will this PC be used for? Examples include things like gaming, general/multimedia use, photo/video editing, coding, AI/ML, etc. Include specific games and applications you intend to run, and any particular performance goals you have, as each may have different specific hardware needs.

This PC will be strictly used for iRacing.

What country will you be purchasing in? If you are in the US, do you live near a Micro Center? For other countries, please check if your country is supported by PCPartPicker by using the country selector dropdown on the top right - if not, please provide some links to reliable local vendors you are comfortable ordering from.

US. Microcenter within an hour drive.

Do you need one or more monitors included in the budget? Please list how many and any size/resolution/refresh rate preferences if needed.

No.

What is your preferred and maximum budget range for this build, in local currency? Parts lists may sometimes have additional shipping costs. Please note whether prices in your country include sales tax or not, and adjust your budget accordingly. Typically VAT countries will have it included in the part list prices, whereas regular sales tax countries like the US and Canada will not.

Maximum build budget $350

Do you need WiFi, or do you have a wired ethernet connection available?

WiFi Needed

Do you have any specific size or noise requirements for the build?

No noise requirement. Size, the smaller the better, but no requirement.

Do you have any aesthetic preferences for color or lighting? Describe what you're looking for, or feel free to provide some links to examples that may help. Some people prefer an inobtrusive stealth build, while others may prefer a case full of rainbow RGB.

Minimalistic white or black.

Any other specific requests or requirements? Examples might include a specific minimum amount of storage, or a particular CPU socket for a future upgrade path, etc.

I am not looking to run at the highest quality. Just need it to play the game sufficiently within budget. If I could run a VR headset on this, awesome, if I need to protect for this upgrade in the future, include in build.