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On the other hand, I am a letter carrier here in Regina, and yes we are famous for some of the worst windshield in Canada. That makes me hate winters.....

Brutal doesn't begin to describe how much of a frozen hell that must be :|

easier said than done man, the are NO JOBS here in michigan right now. im on 4 job boards, mi works, 5 temp agencies and still nothing. good thing my wife and i just got a couple of grand back from the federal government to tide us over for awhile.

Might be time to leave Michigan doesn't look like it will get any better there in terms of jobs for a long time especially with the trouble in the auto sector.

i don't know why but im really depressed right now. maybe it's the winter here in michigan that's got me down ? i mean im happily married, we just had a baby. but on the down side ive been out of work for along time and it really sucks because i cannot find anything. i love x-mas and new years but for some reason im not as excited this year so far.

does anybody else get down and out in the winter months ? :(

You are down because you are unemployed.

Has nothing to do with the season.

Where I live we have long-time unemployed.

This is because they refuse to do low paid work, such as McDonalds type, street cleaning or other low paid laboring jobs like fruit picking.

Me when I was in-between jobs I went out and delivered newspapers, worked (22 years ago) at Wimpy, McDonalds, Burger King Casey Jones, did the graveyard shift at 7-11.

Go do a job like working in a fast food restaurant, whilst doing that apply for better paid work.

If you wish to do something you are not qualified for then take a course so you can do it.

Lazy people are usually unemployed.

Myself I want to be an environmental health officer, so I am now doing a course to get 1 qualification and I have the other qualifications so I can then enrol and train over the next 4 years.

Men were born to work, it's in our make-up, so be a man and go work, whatever it is it will do for now.

You are down because you are unemployed.

Has nothing to do with the season.

Where I live we have long-time unemployed.

This is because they refuse to do low paid work, such as McDonalds type, street cleaning or other low paid laboring jobs like fruit picking.

Me when I was in-between jobs I went out and delivered newspapers, worked (22 years ago) at Wimpy, McDonalds, Burger King Casey Jones, did the graveyard shift at 7-11.

Go do a job like working in a fast food restaurant, whilst doing that apply for better paid work.

If you wish to do something you are not qualified for then take a course so you can do it.

Lazy people are usually unemployed.

Myself I want to be an environmental health officer, so I am now doing a course to get 1 qualification and I have the other qualifications so I can then enrol and train over the next 4 years.

Men were born to work, it's in our make-up, so be a man and go work, whatever it is it will do for now.

Who are you to judge him like that? He is unemployed, he may live where there are no McDonalds etc or he may have tried and may be over qualified (that can happen!).

Honestly, the guy is down and is asking for advice and you come along making out that he is lazy for not being able to get a job. Unless you know all the facts, dont comment in such ways.

Oh, and i believe it would make things worse in the winter, because at least in the summer he can get out and go for walks. Over there, i guess its colder than the UK with snow etc, so walking and getting fresh air is less likely. That mixed with the unemployment issue, does not make a good combination.

Ill wait for your usual flames telling me im racist for writting the above ;)

They say people are sadder during the winter months because the sun sets earlier. Anyway, I think you should cheer up and enjoy life. You say you're unemployed so it's probably a good idea to find a job. Write up a resum? and just send them everywhere. You're bound to get a couple of replies. Heck, even one is better than nothing.:yes::

winter without snow is sad :(

thats my delima

Exactly.

Nothing nicer than waking early on a winters day and seeing from your window a white blanket covering as far as

the eye can see.

Hopefully, flakes still gently falling from the sky makes it even more delicious.

Who are you to judge him like that? He is unemployed, he may live where there are no McDonalds etc or he may have tried and may be over qualified (that can happen!).

Honestly, the guy is down and is asking for advice and you come along making out that he is lazy for not being able to get a job. Unless you know all the facts, dont comment in such ways.

Oh, and i believe it would make things worse in the winter, because at least in the summer he can get out and go for walks. Over there, i guess its colder than the UK with snow etc, so walking and getting fresh air is less likely. That mixed with the unemployment issue, does not make a good combination.

Ill wait for your usual flames telling me im racist for writting the above ;)

I totally agree just because someone doesnt have a job doesnt altomatically mean he is lazy, alot of people just cant find jobs right now even in the city centre of Glasgow jobs are hard to come by its just the way everything is right now

I totally agree just because someone doesnt have a job doesnt altomatically mean he is lazy, alot of people just cant find jobs right now even in the city centre of Glasgow jobs are hard to come by its just the way everything is right now

Welcome to Neowin mate (Y)

yeah, the current state of the economy means that everywhere is tightening their belts, even places like McDonalds is having to.

I totally agree just because someone doesnt have a job doesnt altomatically mean he is lazy, alot of people just cant find jobs right now even in the city centre of Glasgow jobs are hard to come by its just the way everything is right now

In 1928 my grandfather could not find work in Northern Ireland, so he travelled all the way to Surrey, England and worked his backside off

laboring at 15.

He then fought in the war 1939 to 1945 + the extra year or so were he was stationed.

He then trained as a joiner.

If you cannot find work in Glasgow then move.

My local Asda needs staff, you want to work then get on your bike and find it.

In 1928 my grandfather could not find work in Northern Ireland, so he travelled all the way to Surrey, England and worked his backside off

laboring at 15.

He then fought in the war 1939 to 1945 + the extra year or so were he was stationed.

He then trained as a joiner.

If you cannot find work in Glasgow then move.

My local Asda needs staff, you want to work then get on your bike and find it.

Yeah your right. He should up and leave indeed.

Dont worry about your family having to be hyked across the country or the fact that you may not be able to find a home in the new place, or theimpact it may have on your kids if you have any, so long as you can get a job working in ASDA, you'll be fine.

Really leesmithg, times are very different now. My dad worked his bum off back in his day and was never out of work. he could happily go from one job to another and would not think twice about moving out of town for work.

Now days, local councils will give you a pain, you have to go on a waiting list for council housing. You may come up against resisdance, because you have a council house where you are now, so both councils may take away some benifits etc if you move.

To be honest, you should stop living in the past. Its a whole different ball game now and with the added presure from the economy, its only getting harder.

I want to move back home, but i cant and am somewhat stuck in London now. If i want to move back, i need to do it bit by bit. (however that does avoid the point a bit as my reason is because i have work.)

In 1928 my grandfather could not find work in Northern Ireland, so he travelled all the way to Surrey, England and worked his backside off

laboring at 15.

He then fought in the war 1939 to 1945 + the extra year or so were he was stationed.

He then trained as a joiner.

If you cannot find work in Glasgow then move.

My local Asda needs staff, you want to work then get on your bike and find it.

no offense man but some people are just ignorant. maybe where your from the job situation is ok but here in the states, especially michigan there are NO jobs. we are in a deep recession and more people are out of work than working and it will get worse with the auto industry crashing. it's not that easy to just pick up and move somewhere else when money is tight, my wife and i have had to resort to selling items to save money. id love to go work at some fast food joint but they only pay minimum wage and that wont cut it for me since my whole paycheck would go towards child support. you cant find a job if there is none out there.

no offense man but some people are just ignorant. maybe where your from the job situation is ok but here in the states, especially michigan there are NO jobs. we are in a deep recession and more people are out of work than working and it will get worse with the auto industry crashing. it's not that easy to just pick up and move somewhere else when money is tight, my wife and i have had to resort to selling items to save money. id love to go work at some fast food joint but they only pay minimum wage and that wont cut it for me since my whole paycheck would go towards child support. you cant find a job if there is none out there.

I dont know what kind of degree you have but have you ever thought of doing civil service? I got a civil service job as a network tech in a library and as the economy worsens more people use the library and my job is safe.

In ny usually you have to take a test but i am not sure about other states/countries. That could be an idea.

I dont know what kind of degree you have but have you ever thought of doing civil service? I got a civil service job as a network tech in a library and as the economy worsens more people use the library and my job is safe.

In ny usually you have to take a test but i am not sure about other states/countries. That could be an idea.

im only a high school graduate. i have 11 years experience in mechanical / machine / building maintenance. i also have 6 years hands on experience in building and servicing pc's. the problem is im not "certified" in anything.

ill put it to you this way, im in 4 different temp agencies and none of them have any work right now, not even general labor, that's how bad it is here. :crazy:

something has got to be done in this country to fix the unemployment situation and quick.

im only a high school graduate. i have 11 years experience in mechanical / machine / building maintenance. i also have 6 years hands on experience in building and servicing pc's. the problem is im not "certified" in anything.

ill put it to you this way, im in 4 different temp agencies and none of them have any work right now, not even general labor, that's how bad it is here. :crazy:

something has got to be done in this country to fix the unemployment situation and quick.

go to your local counties website. See what jobs are available. Dont take this the wrong way but you can do building maintanance for civil service.

I am serious check out your local counties website for civil service jobs.

I actually adore this time of year.

Fall is my absolute favorite season, and winter is a close second. When I was in high school, summer was mostly important to me because of summer vacation. Now, it just doesn't compare.

There are certainly advantages to every season, and there are things I love about every season--these are just the seasons I prefer; and I'm up here in Michigan with you ;). I don't think it's been cold enough, and certainly not enough snow!

Actually, once fall rolls in, I get more depressed when the sun is shining. I don't want to go outside, I don't want the unobstructed light shining in and when I do have to face those days, I'm generally pretty crabby. I prefer the cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy days and they sincerely make me happier. Sure, I love sunshine in the summer, but even then, after a week straight of cloudless, sunny skies, I start to feel down and crave a cloudy, rainy day.

In fact, I generally go through a pretty bad bout of depression around late June-early July, and while there are many factors that play into it, I'm sure the weather has something to do with it as well.

On another note:

Congratulations for your new baby! And I want to sincerely wish you good luck in your job hunt. The economy has been terrible here in Michigan, and a lot of people are hurting because of it; I'm sorry to hear that you're one of them. It makes me sad that so many Michiganders are having to move out of Michigan because of the poor economy; I adore this state.

-Emily

no offense man but some people are just ignorant. maybe where your from the job situation is ok but here in the states, especially michigan there are NO jobs. we are in a deep recession and more people are out of work than working and it will get worse with the auto industry crashing. it's not that easy to just pick up and move somewhere else when money is tight, my wife and i have had to resort to selling items to save money. id love to go work at some fast food joint but they only pay minimum wage and that wont cut it for me since my whole paycheck would go towards child support. you cant find a job if there is none out there.

Well move to another state.

You say you will work for minimum wage which is more than you got already, so what gives?

Work gives you pride, my fiance for example has a masters in teaching with inclusion, she is currently working for ?6 per hour as an LSA, till she finds a career that fits her

qualifications, she is mixed race also which is another thing against her in kent.

So we (when I finish my degree) will move to Canada.

Till then she is applying all over Britain and Europe (to countries she speaks the same language, France and some German).

Where I live 7 months of the year there are thousands upon thousands of jobs picking fruit and vegetables and laboring/farm work.

The lazy white unemployed trash where we live won't do the jobs, their grand-parents did when they travelled out of London to hop-pick.

It was like a long working holiday.

They eventually stayed and council housing was built for them.

We have to import, Russains, Czechs, Slovaks, Pols and other Eastern Europeans to do the jobs.

Even our bus company 'Arriva' is employing Eastern Europeans to drive their busess.

They even do a better job than the indigenous population.

If you want a job, you will travel.

Well move to another state.

You say you will work for minimum wage which is more than you got already, so what gives?

Work gives you pride, my fiance for example has a masters in teaching with inclusion, she is currently working for ?6 per hour as an LSA, till she finds a career that fits her

qualifications, she is mixed race also which is another thing against her in kent.

So we (when I finish my degree) will move to Canada.

Till then she is applying all over Britain and Europe (to countries she speaks the same language, France and some German).

Where I live 7 months of the year there are thousands upon thousands of jobs picking fruit and vegetables and laboring/farm work.

The lazy white unemployed trash where we live won't do the jobs, their grand-parents did when they travelled out of London to hop-pick.

It was like a long working holiday.

They eventually stayed and council housing was built for them.

We have to import, Russains, Czechs, Slovaks, Pols and other Eastern Europeans to do the jobs.

Even our bus company 'Arriva' is employing Eastern Europeans to drive their busess.

They even do a better job than the indigenous population.

If you want a job, you will travel.

please re-read what i typed. :blink::

okay we will move, send me some $$

Well move to another state.

You say you will work for minimum wage which is more than you got already, so what gives?

Work gives you pride, my fiance for example has a masters in teaching with inclusion, she is currently working for ?6 per hour as an LSA, till she finds a career that fits her

qualifications, she is mixed race also which is another thing against her in kent.

So we (when I finish my degree) will move to Canada.

Till then she is applying all over Britain and Europe (to countries she speaks the same language, France and some German).

Where I live 7 months of the year there are thousands upon thousands of jobs picking fruit and vegetables and laboring/farm work.

The lazy white unemployed trash where we live won't do the jobs, their grand-parents did when they travelled out of London to hop-pick.

It was like a long working holiday.

They eventually stayed and council housing was built for them.

We have to import, Russains, Czechs, Slovaks, Pols and other Eastern Europeans to do the jobs.

Even our bus company 'Arriva' is employing Eastern Europeans to drive their busess.

They even do a better job than the indigenous population.

If you want a job, you will travel.

When my dad worked all over the contry i had to move from place to place trust me its not as easy as you make it out to be ! you cant just up and move with a young family it doesnt work like that

When my dad worked all over the contry i had to move from place to place trust me its not as easy as you make it out to be ! you cant just up and move with a young family it doesnt work like that

excatly, some people just don't think before they speak.

i just called a few of my temp agencies and they flat out told me jobs have been at a stand still for the past 3 1/2 weeks. :o

but back on topic, i still hate cold weather, now both of my kids are sick. :wacko:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Thanks
    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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