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Joined 5 months ago
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Cake day: June 10th, 2025

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  • Start with building a very cheap computer with your kid.

    You can buy parts for cheap or sometimes get them for free from e-waste processing places. You can do the screws to the case, but let the kid put the parts in place while you explain what they do.

    Parts are easy to handle, just make sure to not damage the components as they look cute and are a bit malleable, but put too much pressure you can destroy it (not sure a kid will be strong enough for that).

    It is as easy as building Lego, or putting a cartridge on an old console. This will help to make the computer less scary.

    Make sure that you can do it yourself and test the parts first before involving your kid, so they do not get too frustrated if it fails.

    This will cover hardware.

    You can also help them to install the OS.

    After, make a list of the programs you want your kid to be aware of: calculator, place to write text, anything you think it will be useful. Take some time to explain them, and do some exercises with each - let’s write a letter to a friend, etc… Let them play around with it without judgment. (remove things you don’t want them to use).

    If you want to give the child some background in how software works, Logo was very popular with kids at the school.

    Logo is this little turtle that you give orders, similar to imperative programming language used in most softwares.

    Change colour to green, walk forward 50 steps.

    And the turtle would draw a green line on the screen.

    There are plenty of options for software that provides that, here is an option https://apps.kde.org/kturtle/

    And, of course, try to break these in multiple days, building a PC, installing OS and playing with programs can be overwhelming for some kids.



  • PS5 works great on Linux, everything works: from gyroscope to touchpad. But the stick drift and battery life are the two main downsides. One of mine started drifting after 2 years, the other is still ok, but I have been using a GameSir with Hall-Effect for a while now as my main controller.

    Not sure where you are buying it from, get it from a place with easy return policy as the quality may vary. Amazon was rigorous with their products, ebay only gave me headaches with refurbished stuff.

    It is easy and cheap to find replacement parts but fixing it is very time-consuming task and require the right tools https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/DualSense+Joystick+Replacement/142488
    Sadly, when I did mine, there were not many hall-effect sticks replacement for PS5, and the ones around had terrible calibration. I will probably update with hall-effects when they die again.

    There are plenty of budget controllers with Hall Effect or TMR sticks, that might be worth looking into GameSir, 8bitdo, gulikit…
    Just make sure you can do everything with hardware for a smooth Linux experience (some controllers require a Windows only app for basic setup or update firmware). It is also worth to search for the “model you are interested and Linux” to find problems related to the device.