• krellor@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    I have two for my kids, and will be getting a third. With the dock, it acts as a regular desktop computer with monitor on an arm, mouse, keyboard, etc, giving my kids an inexpensive desktop computer that can play games. It’s emulation is so robust that I downloaded battle net from Blizzard, added the installer as a non steam game, ran it with proton compatibility, and they can now play diablo 2 resurrected.

    In desktop mode it is just a regular Linux desktop, so they can browse the web, and I have a nuc running Windows that they can remote into to learn Windows OS stuff as well. It is a way better experience for them than any other micro PC you might find for $400. And it can be mobile. Pretty crazy device.

    That said, I wouldn’t need one for myself unless I traveled a whole lot more and wanted my steam fix on the road. But for a kids first desktop they are amazing.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      When you say “kids,” what do you think the age floor would be for such a setup? Do you think being able to read is a prerequisite?

      • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        If you mean pure desktop, probably whatever age you’d need to be to use windows. Switching from Windows to Linux is an adjustment for most normal people, but a big part of that is because they’ve been using windows for years and are used to their design choices. At the end of the day, though, in either case, shortcuts on a screen are shortcuts on a screen, and you’re not going to be ready to manage either OS for a good while.

        In terms of using it as a handheld, the flow is pretty easy, but it’s really big and heavy for a little kid.

      • krellor@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Ages 10 and 7, and I will be setting one up for my 5 year old. The two older kids can easily switch between game mode and desktop, run teamspeak and switch to their games, browse the web, etc. They needed a little help to get going but now are self sufficient and play multiplayer trailmakers all the time. The five year old will just do game mode with a cheap wired Xbox type controller to play kid games.