I’m happy with my Brother laser. Can’t comment on their recent models as it’s 10-15 years old! It was about £200 up front and a replacement toner is about £60, but it lasts and lasts rather than inkjet which seemed to need new cartridges every month. No issues with needing internet, and it accepts third party toner fine (though I’ve had quality issues with some brands).

I’m very pleased with my Canon PowerShot G5 X MkII. Originally bought for concerts etc. where big / changeable lens cameras aren’t allowed, but I’ve been using it more and more because it’s good enough and is less effort to lug around than my mirrorless. The main downsides for me are (1) it doesn’t cope as well with low light and (2) it can’t do proper telephoto (it’s 24-120mm equivalent).

We (uk scout group) use g suite or whatever they call it these days. The Google connection isn’t ideal, but we get it completely free, the t&cs and level of control over it are a lot better than consumer gmail/drive, the learning curve for techphobic users is about as shallow as possible, and we don’t have to spend volunteer time on maintaining the platform. So definitely worth it for us but your situation may vary.

Personally I’d steer clear of the cheap polyester ones on Amazon. I’ve had some luck with the more expensive microfibre ones but the cost does start adding up.

I’d second the point about upholstery fabric. I’ve made one from upholstery velvet which I’m happy with, it hangs well and I got the fabric pretty cheap but once up, the pile does need brushing in a consistent direction to make it catch the light consistently.

You’re not wrong, though I was a musician before a developer, so it always kind of made sense to me.