u/satellite_station

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice from people who have actually used Traktor on ultra-portable Windows devices.

My goal is not to build a gaming PC or a production workstation. I already produce on a iMac and practice on a Macbook Air.

I'm building a dedicated live performance setup for two musical projects, and I want a small Windows machine whose only job is to run Traktor so I don't have to take my MacBook Air to every show.

My two setups are:

Setup 1

• Traktor Pro 3
• Maschine Mikro MK3 for one Track Deck
• MPD218 for 1 Remix Deck
• Traktor Kontrol F1 for 1 Remix Deck
• A handful of effects
• Performance oriented rather than traditional DJing

Setup 2

• Traktor Kontrol S4 MK3
• Two Traktor Kontrol F1s
• Remix Decks and Track Decks
• Again, focused on live performance rather than traditional DJing

Between both projects combined, I'll probably have no more than about 100 songs in my Traktor collection. I won't be doing marathon club sets or constantly analyzing new music; this is essentially a dedicated live performance machine.

I'm mainly looking for something with:

• Small footprint (around GPD Pocket size)
• Built-in screen and keyboard
• Windows
• Preferably 16GB RAM
• Reliable USB connectivity
• Easy to throw into the same bag as my controllers

I recently came across the ONE-NETBOOK One-GX (i5-10210Y / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD), and it seems almost perfect size wise. However, I found a review claiming the CPU was locked to 1GHz due to a BIOS issue.

Has anyone here actually used a One-GX for Traktor or another DJ application?

Also, are there any other ultra-portable Windows machines you'd recommend? I'm thinking along the lines of:

• GPD Pocket series
• OneMix
• CHUWI MiniBook
• Or any other mini laptops/UMPCs that would work well for this purpose

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have actually performed with these kinds of devices. Since this machine will only be running Traktor, reliability, portability, and a small stage footprint are much more important to me than gaming performance.

Thank you for reading.

Hey everyone, I have a question for my fellow Black atheists.

First off, for context, I live abroad. I also speak three languages, and although English is my native language, it’s actually the one I use the least in daily life.

Recently, I’ve gotten into the habit of saying “Inshallah.” When talking to my friends and family on social media. Lol, my family is overwhelming Christian, but they haven’t mentioned it.

At first it was kind of ironic, but over time I’ve found myself using it sincerely, not because I believe in Allah or God, but because it expresses something that English doesn’t quite capture for me.

When a friend tells me they’re hoping something important works out, saying “I hope so” can sometimes feel a little too light, while “God willing” feels like I’m making a statement of belief that I don’t hold.

“Inshallah” somehow lands in the middle for me.
It got me thinking about other expressions we inherit from religion.

For example, I still say “bless you” when someone (I personally know) sneezes. I don’t attach any religious meaning to it anymore; it’s just become part of the language.

Do any of you have phrases like that? Religious expressions you’ve kept using even after leaving religion because they’ve taken on a secular, linguistic meaning for you?

I’m curious what everyone else’s examples are.

**edit: I just remembered that you can say “fingers crossed” in English.

I guess I can always go back to that, if anyone should ever have an issue with my use of “inshallah”.

Happy Juneteenth.

I’m a Black man who’s been living in Japan since 2008. Before that, I grew up super upper-middle class in America.

Both my parents are Black Americans, what people now might call FBA or ADOS. I agree with those terms, although I don’t think they should be used as a way to be anti-immigrant or anti-African. I do think Black Americans deserve to have our own recognized place within the diaspora, and I’m very proud to be Black American.

We overcame slavery. We overcame this country constantly trying to tear apart and dismantle the things we built for ourselves. We’ve gone on to influence not just America, but the entire world. Not just non-Black people, but people throughout the diaspora too. I think the sooner we stop the diaspora wars and realize that everyone brings something unique to the table, while also giving proper respect and appreciation to each group’s contributions, the stronger we’ll all be.

Back to the point…

I love being Black. I really do.

Growing up, I was usually the token Black kid, not because I chose to be, but because that’s where my parents put my siblings and I. We were often the only Black family in our neighborhoods. We went to private schools. Both my parents were Christians and Black conservatives. My dad passed away in 2011, but before he did, he was already starting to move away from conservatism because of the way Obama was being treated by Fox News and the Tea Party.

My parents were basically Cosby Blacks without the quaaludes.

I didn’t grow up around what people think of as stereotypical Black culture, at least not the version they see in movies, music videos, or online. But I still had Black family, Black cousins, and some Black community. For example, my parents put me in the McKnight Achievers, which is now called Thurgood Marshall Achievers. My parents were proud to be Black, and they made sure we were too.

Usually when you meet Black people who grew up like I did, there’s sometimes this weird aversion to other Black people. They think Black people won’t accept them. Maybe one kid made fun of their Airwalks (iykyk) twenty years ago and they decided that every Black person hated them.

“tOo WhITe FoR tHe BlAcK kIdS, tOo BlAcK fOr ThE wHiTe KiDs 🤡”

I never had that experience.

Honestly, growing up around mostly white kids, I was tired of them by the time I was 12 or 13.

I remember constantly getting asked if people could call me n-gga while giving me permission to call them cracker in return. I remember thinking that wasn’t remotely the same thing, but also having no desire to call anybody a cracker in the first place. I remember getting snitched on for things that weren’t event bad, and deciding white kids really seemed to love snitching.

Maybe all kids love snitching, but I only had one sample group.

And if I’m being completely honest, I also wanted to be around prettier girls.

My cousins would bring pictures of their friends from school and I’d be like, “Damn, y’all got pretty girls over there.” By the time I was 13,I was asking my parents if I could go to public school because I wanted more diversity and I wanted to be around peers I actually found attractive. I couldn’t keep pretending every blonde girl with blue eyes was automatically the standard of beauty.

Eventually I moved to Japan when I was 21, and I’ve spent most of my adult life here.

There are Black people here. There are Africans, Caribbeans, Black Americans, and people from all over the diaspora. Looking back, I was lucky because I had all kinds of Black friends once I got
to high school. I had alternative Black friends who were into the same music I was. I had more stereotypically Black friends too. I never thought I was better than anybody, so I ended up with a pretty wide circle.

But back to my point.

When I think about being proud of being Black American, sometimes it isn’t even about culture.

I love the culture. I love what we’ve overcome. I love our history.

But if I’m being completely blunt, I really love being Black physically.

I love my skin. I love my hair. I love my build. I love my nose. I love my lips. I love everything about being Black.

Like if I wasn’t Black, my whole aesthetic and life would be corny. I’d be a white guy with tattoos and locs, sorry I mean “dreads” 🤭🤢in Japan…. lol naw, that’s like cultural appropriation final boss.

Whether I was in America or whether I’m here in Japan, I was lucky enough that my appearance generally worked in my favor. I was always a tall, skinny Black dude with pretty boy features. And by pretty boy, I don’t mean anything deeper than the fact that I stayed clean-shaven, took care of my skin, and cared about how I presented myself. I was using over the counter Noxzema because I thought if I didn’t, I’d wake up covered in pimples. (90’s kids will understand)

Even back in America, it was honestly inappropriate how many older Tuscan Mom white women and older gay white men tried to approach me.

And out here in Japan or anywhere outside of the US? I’ve learned that people everywhere appreciate a clean cut, well spoken, Black man. Even if they hate Americans (see white people).

So I guess that’s my Juneteenth reflection.
I’m proud of being Black American. I’m proud of our culture. I’m proud of what we’ve survived and what we’ve contributed to the world.

But more than anything, I just genuinely love physically being Black.

I thank god every day that I was born in a Black body, even though I’m an atheist.

I wouldn’t want to be any other ethnicity. And if somebody told me I had to be, my first question would probably be, “Can I be half Black?”

I love my skin. I love my hair. I love my features.
I just love being Black.

Happy Juneteenth, y’all.

Hey everyone,

My band Moondahlia is playing a live show at Nakameguro TAP room on June 13 (Saturday).

Entrance is free and doors open at 19:00.

Everyone is welcome.

We play instrumental electronic pop music.

Here is a video of us performing on Room 303.

Would be great to see you there!