Latest reviews

5 stars
Interesaj kaj diversaj temoj kaj gastoj. Serioza kaj grandkvanta laboro.  eo

Se vi estas komencanto en Esperanto, kaj volas aŭdi normalan, facile aŭskulteblan Esperanton, kun gastoj el diversaj lingvofontoj, jen ĝi. kern.punkto estas la plej bona reprezentanto de Esperantujo, kiam temas pri podkastoj. La diverseco de gastoj (de malsamaj devenoj) estas granda, kaj tio pli bone reprezentas la sondiversecon de Esperanto ol aliaj podkastoj. Se vi ne plu estas komencanto, ne zorgu! kern.punkto taŭgas por ĉiuj, kiuj volas aŭskulti interesan diskutadon aŭ demandadon pri iu temo, sen esti ĝenita de muzikoj aŭ malseriozaj deflankiĝoj.

Ankaŭ la temoj estas tre diversaj. En la frua komenco, ili ĉefe temis pri aferoj konstruitaj, elektronikaj kaj komputilaj, sed nun estas tre granda diverseco, kaj tio estas tre bona por kompensi la malplenecon de podkastoj en Esperanto. Mi mem ŝatus pli da epizodoj pri biologio kaj sano, sed mi komprenas se la teamo ne sentas sin sperta pri tio aŭ ne povas facile trovi taŭgajn gastojn. Foje kelkaj temoj ne interesas min kaj mi duonaŭskultas, sed almenaŭ mi lernas kelkajn vortojn en Esperanto pri fakoj malofte priparolataj Esperante. Sed kiam la temo interesas min, mi ŝategas! La retejo de kern.punkto eĉ foje donas ligilojn, per kiuj oni povas pluesplori la temon, kiun oni malkovris/ŝatis.

Epizodoj kutime estas longaj je horo. Laŭ mi, tio estas nek tro longa, nek tro mallonga. La temoj estas serioze preparitaj, kaj la gravaj demandoj estas respondataj kun la bezonata, sen provi rapidigi aferojn pro artefaritaj tempolimoj. La epizodoj estas facile aŭskulteblaj ĉene per la apo Esperanto-radio Muzaiko, kaj AntennaPod, kiam oni estas ekzemple en veturilo al laborejo.

Hodiaŭ, kern.punkto estas tre granda. Ĝi eble estas la plej prestiĝa podkasto en Esperanto. (Ofte ĉeesti kongresojn helpas). Se vi ne konas la podkaston, estas grave ke vi konu ĝin, almenaŭ pro ĉio kion ĝi faris por Esperantujo. Aldone al ĉio, ili estas malfermitaj al la reagoj de aŭskultantoj. Oni povas facile kontakti ilin per ilia telegrama grupo, kaj oni foje povas rekte fari demandojn al gastoj kadre de rektaj elsendoj!

Se ankaŭ vi ŝatas kern.punkto, vi verŝajne ŝatos movada-vid.punkto, kiu havas tre similan stilon, sed prias Esperantajn aĵojn kaj agojn.


5 stars
Home Automation developed the way you want it

I really wouldn’t have Home Automation up and running in my Home if it wasn’t for Openhab. I’ve tried other mainstream home automation developers and found them to be too tied in to how they feel home automation should be and obviously flaunt their own and only their own products.

What I mean by this is that Openhab is vendor neutral, open source software. Lets break this down, it’s vendor neutral which means that it will work with a multitude of products from different companies so you can setup your own home with technology the way you like it and the list of products is ever expanding, they already support hundreds of products already . Open source means it open for any one to look through the code and develop it to create enhancements, better security or simply to check that no little nasty bugs or malicious code is part of it . Usually this means that should someone create an enhancement or security feature they give this back to the developer of the original source and thus a community is created where every one benefits from everyone’s input .

Now Openhab isn’t for everyone as it does require a certain amount of technical knowledge to begin with , however if your willing to learn new things and are interested in home automation, that is continually being developed by a community of people who are passionate about home automation, then Openhab is definitely for you.

I started off with Openhab with only a relatively small knowledge about home automation, software , hardware and computers in general. Now I consider myself someone who is reasonably good and I can achieve most of the what I want to create in Home automation. Should I find myself needing help with a project, Documentation is no shortfall with Openhab. But the largest benefit is the support provided on the Forum without which I wouldn’t have managed to develop anything.

Openhab is the complete package it supports a large number of products from different companies , it’s getting more user friendly by each passing day and the support for people needing help is exceptional.


5 stars
Nextcloud self hosted cloud storage made Easy

Honestly I don’t really need to review this, as word of mouth seems to be spreading this with out help, but here is my assistance to the cause so to speak .

Ok so in the modern age of Cloud storage, security and privacy of ones personal information, having a cloud storage that you control and only you can access seems to be impossible. Its either firmly in the hands of the tech Giants or pretty hard to create and maintain for the average person with very little if any technical know how.

Nextcloud is a brilliant solution for people seeking a personal cloud storage that they own and control and that’s not controlled and stored by a tech giant your forced to trust with your data. The solution is to self host your own cloud , but its not so easy to get going if your not so tech savvy…

Step in NextcloudPi.

NextcloudPi was developed as a solution for the non technically minded people to create a personal self hosted cloud storage and it be secure and as user friendly as possible. A full set of instruction found here on how to self host using nothing more than a Raspberry Pi or other Single board computers ( Link here for what this is here ), are available on the site. This of course is still a work in progress and will become even more user friendly and easier to implement as time goes by.

So far NextcloudPi has helped thousands of people self host a secure and easy to use cloud service and is something I personally use myself with great success I might add.

I would like to give enormous credit to the developer whose alias is Nacho Parker and would recommend that you donate should you find that with the Help of NextcloudPi you created a personal cloud storage solution .


3 stars
Plaĉa renkontiĝo kun junuloj kaj maljunuloj  eo

Mi partoprenis PEKO-n 2018 de ĵaŭdo ĝis dimanĉo (mi nur maltrafis la unuan nokton) en Tilff ĉe Lieĝo en Belgujo. Surprize granda estis la ĉeestantaro, se oni konsideras, ke la retpaĝo kaj aliĝilo aperis unu monaton antaŭe.
Same kiel en aliaj jaroj la ĉeestantoj estis la Verdaj Skoltoj, do adoleskuloj, la samaj maljunuloj kiel ĉiam en belgaj renkontiĝoj, kaj kelkaj hazardaj homoj inter tio.

La bazaj kondiĉoj estis prizorgitaj. Ĉiuj dormis en etaĝaj litoj, la manĝo estis baza sed bone farita, kaj la trinkejo preskaŭ ĉiam funkciis kun volontula homforto de la Skoltoj. La programo estis iom malriĉa. Okazis kelkaj ekskursoj, sed mi ne eltenis atendi malrapidan francan klarigan, sekvitan de malrapida esperanta traduko kun malrapida promenado. Plej amuze estis la neantaŭplanitaj arbaraj ekskursoj kun la Skoltoj, kun speciala danko al Cédric.

Estas mirinde, ke la organizanto Valer sukcesis preskaŭ sole ĉion organizi, sed venontjare mi tamen esperas je pli granda teamo, por havi pli frue retpaĝon kaj pli multe da programo.


5 stars
Dumb-proof way to virtualize

This program is very easy to use for anyone, even those who don’t understand much about virtualization, which is honestly great. Other virtualization apps can look complex and daunting to beginners, so it’s very good that GNOME Boxes exists.

For simple use cases, there are no reasons I can think of to not use it. Works out of the box, as intended.


4 stars
Great game, but use a Pro Controller for the best experience

NeoGeo, a name that conjures up many memories for me. I played many of them in the arcades in the 90’s, including titles such as Samurai Shodown, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury and many other hits. I never really got to play the Last Blade, however. It was only until recently that I really could experience the joy that is the Last Blade. Coming in at $7.99 USD on the Switch eshop, it’s just at the right price to dive right in! I’ll go over the presentation, the controls, the difficulty, the sound and music and finally an overview of the whole thing.

When you first start the Last Blade, you’re asked to select from one of several modes. You can choose Japanese, American, Caravan or High Score mode. I won’t go into the latter modes, Caravan and High Score, because I didn’t find those interesting. Once you pick Japanese or American, you’re given a choice of which user to select to play the game with. After that, the intro starts up and you’re asked to “insert coins” as you would in a real arcade. To do so, you press the L button to insert coins and the R button to start(as player one). You’re then presented with a choice of combatants, each with their own unique special moves as per the usual fighting game rules. After picking one, you can choose either Power or Speed mode. I haven’t played the game long enough to understand the real differences between them. Regardless of your choice, you’re whisked away to the first fight! The presentation for all the above is completely flawless and one of SNK’s best, with I feel the only games rivalling it’s presentation are the sequel, Garou: Mark of the Wolves and King of Fighters.

Now for the controls. The controls are very tight and it’s very easy to pull off combos, even despite the age of the game. Certainly, you do need practice, and that’s one of the downsides of the game I’ll get into later. Anyways, the controls are very responsive and usually only need a little push to really pull off anything. I’d say it’s also one of the game’s best features. Also I would recommend the use of the Pro Controller or an arcade stick, by say, Hori, for the best experience with the controls.

As for the difficulty, it’s rather hard, especially if you’re not good at fighting games. I’ve had years of experience in fighting games, but I am by no means a master at them. The last boss also exhibits what some would call “SNK Boss Syndrome,” which means that they are really are cheap and unfair. I found this to be true a little, and it took me at least 10 tries to beat the boss. There are options to lower the difficulty, but what is really glaring is the fact that you can’t switch the game to what is called “AES” mode. NeoGeo, the console, was no different from the arcade version, but there was the fact that many games, when you used them in a NeoGeo console, would often have a menu of options that you could select from, and that usually included a training mode. This port lacks the option to switch to console mode, sadly. In any case, because of the difficulty, I would recommend that you mostly play this with your friends to have the best time.

The music and sound are amazing, and just a joy to listen to no matter what. Sometimes the music is purely ambient, however, but other times it’s got such a Japanese feel you can’t help but be surprised out of what they could do with the NeoGeo’s hardware. You’ll want to find the soundtrack online after listening to the music in the game! As for the sounds, they’re all hard hitting, and the sound effects do the game real justice. There’s no tinny or otherwise out of tune sounds here.

Overall, I’d say the game is definitely worth it, especially if you have a Pro Controller or 2, and a friend. It’s unfortunate about the lack of a AES mode, but maybe one day they’ll do us a service and patch it in. I’ll give this 4/5 stars due to the facts mentioned above. Great game, just needs some adjustments in this port.


3 stars
Great deck, could be even better

This collection of Anki decks for Japanese learners, spread over 10 parts, is an absolute must for beginners. It includes standalone expressions as well as phrases with said expressions. It also contains images and, most importantly, audio produced by native speakers. This is where it really shines and makes it all worthwhile.

Having said that, the lack of linear progression throughout the decks is pretty bad. You learn the common expression 素晴らしい (subarashii) only by the time you get to deck 7! This happens often and feels like a wasted opportunity to make progression more meaningful.

Also I take issue with the fact that there are so many lent expressions from English (the so-called garaigo). Those are often nearly identical to the English words and don’t really need to be memorized with flashcards since they are so easy.

All in all, it’s a fun deck to churn through and I can recommend it!


4 stars
Not sure if I am using this service as I should but trying it out lol

So, as this was a good series overall I feel like I deserve to give it an extra other comment/review.

I was “spoilt” on the ending but what can you expect watching a pretty major series nearly eight years after it was broadcasted ?

Warning: The text below contains spoilers.

Not sure about all this purgatory or anything or about that last “death scene”. (well, the one with all of them, not just Jack’s eye, to be clear).

All in all, I feel that the mystery about that other timeline was probably not necessary and it added extra mystery that didn’t get that nice of an end. Oh well. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

The ending wasn’t a dissapointement however and the not being such a “happy ending” is refreshing sometimes. Not sure about Hugo and Benjamin though; they act as if they were #1&#2 so weird.

Okay, this is a 12am rambling under the influence so let’s stop it here.

All in all, I would defintely recommend this, the ending didn’t ruin the show one bit, in my honest opinion.


4 stars
Beautiful hotel at the slope of Mount Vesuvius with amazing view

I was there in 2016 with my family and had a great time. We stayed there for five nights and in four of them we were the only hotel guests of ‘Il Sentiero’, what means that the full staff always had time for us and the dinner was not only in time, it also was delicious. The breakfast however was average, but not bad.

The most amazing thing on the hotel is it’s view. From the rooftop one can see the whole Gulf of Naples on the one side and the hillside of Mount Vesuvius on the other one. There is also a large garden from where you also have nice view, but it’s obstructed by some trees. The garden itself is pretty and features some deckchairs to relax. At the beginning I missed a swimming pool, but in the end I didn’t care anymore. There are enough other things to do in the area, like hiking. A small path leads up to Mount Vesuvius (which is where the hotel actually has it’s name from), but it seems to be rarely used and requires hiking boots.

Since the hotel is very secluded, the driveway is pretty small and contains some potholes, but it’s manageable to drive it. There is also a large (if not huge) parking space near the hotel and comparing it to the size of the hotel I was wondering if it ever was full. I found out soon, because at one evening there was kind of a fashion show in the hotel’s garden. It was pretty loud and some of the guests were lingering on the floor outside of our room.

The room itself was not the best thing on the hotel. The furnishings were okay, but the showerhead was broken and we had to hold it all the time while showering. There were also a lot of ants in the room and I was wondering why they gave us this room since there were no other guests.

But all in all I enjoyed my time there, but I don’t know how things are looking now since it was already two years ago.


4 stars
Why this is my favourite simulation game

When I played this game for the first time in 2013 I already felt like a truck driver, although I played it with mouse and keyboard. Comparing it with other so called ‘simulation games’ especially the graphics and physics behavior of Ets2 are standing out. Last year I bought a steering wheel and pedals only for Euro Truck Simulator 2 (and its American counterpart) to have an even more realistic experience. And that’s what a simulation game should aim on, not releasing a new game every (two) year(s) like Farming and Bus simulators do. That’s another great advantage of Ets2: The game has been released in 2012 and still gets free updates with more or less cool features, as well as paid DLC.

The DLC politics is always a problem of simulation games. But it’s not that extreme with Ets2 like with Train Simulator where you have to pay 3.600€ to unlock all features. Yes, Ets2 has some DLC too, but they are from high quality and don’t cost that much. Some of them also bring cool new game mechanics, like special transports.

The problem I have with Ets2 is that you can see that it’s a game from 2012 in some parts. The original map (Germany, UK, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium) looks very monotonous and doesn’t really represent the countries. If you have some of the map expansion DLCs it seems like you drive through an entirely different game if you come from Italy to Germany, or France to Belgium. Some of the trucks also seem to be stuck in 2012 but that’s a license problem, I guess.

So in the end I would say that Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a great game for truck fans, travel fans (like me) or people who are just looking for a relaxing game.