I use an audio interface with bookshelf speakers… mostly overkill for people who don’t make music because they have xlr and line level inputs for using a professional mic.
Do you have room in your computer setup for two bookshelf speakers at ear height? Because otherwise, I’d recommend a sound bar type of deal.
Everything search app is easily my most used on my Windows PC. Instant, as-you-type file search by name with detail sorting and wildcard support. I set a keyboard shortcut as well. It puts Explorer search to shame. As good as Spotlight, which I was missing from when I had a Mac in 2008.
LaunchyQT - modern fork of Launchy that actually gets development. App launcher, dead simple.
FanControl - Fan curve software with all the features I want including hybrid temp sources, sensible automatic settings, visual graphs with an intuitive interface.
AutoHotKey - Hotkey scripting language that I can use even as someone who barely codes.
Transcribe! - Not open-source but it’s a reasonably priced audio and video slow down app for transcribing.
I’ve had good luck with the For Dummies series but those are more like tutorial books and make sure it isn’t an out of date edition.
Edit: Also check out simple English wikipedia for short summaries that never use jargon unless it’s defined.
I’ve never used chatgpt like that, but it’s probably okay to do so. One benefit is that you don’t have to keep track of the details yourself or juggle a game system because the LLM does it for you. Here is a hackathon full of gpt prompts that might raise your game: https://flowgpt.com/bounty/PEeCw9RxAzmqEC7xt4KM4?promptId=FMEKZxl7wKLFlEwguqDY9
Keep in mind though that there is an entire cottage industry of very fun solo tabletop rpgs that you can play yourself. Here is a blog describing some different categories to help you search for one. There are also many top ten lists to point you in a good direction.
Itch.io has tons of them. Here is a tag cloud that will make you feel like a kid in a candy store: https://itch.io/physical-games/tag-solo-rpg/tag-ttrpg
Extra simple and perfect for a one shot or two: Definitely Wizards
Not quite as simple but I adore this game (free demo on the page): Wanderhome
Edit: just found out Wanderhome is included in this huge TTRPG bundle right now.
Klipsch has been a consistently good brand for a long time. I checked on ebay and there’s some great ones for $200 to $300. Only 2.0 setups for that price, though.
You will need an amp for those unless it’s got a built-in amp (some models have that).