HAPPY EASTER
.......To say my fantasies have gone downhill in my old age is an undersatement. Nowadays a daysdream consists of kicking the crap out of the obnoxious teen who floods my wireless network. He's a bastard, but I call him a Noid because thats about how annoying he is. He repeatedly bombards my 802.11 g network with ip requests, flooding and eventually failing the network. He is obnoxious and irritating, but at least I know he exists. I finally ironed out the other bugs with some firmware updates (who knew linksys had incompatible problems with its own products? only linksys apparently). WEP security is a problem simply because who wants to 'maintain' the protocols by sending out new keys every week? The other alternative is to just stop broadcasting the network name, (SSID) a temporary solution at best.
........2hotspot came up with an interesting answer. With their software I set up my wireless router as a 'hotspot' and required people to log in. Think of it as a Starbucks hotspot for your house. Pretty badass for me let alne the average non corporate coffee house.
........Finally, I've decided, my next computer will be an Apple. Since they have boldy bridged the gap between gaming and themselves I feel its only a matter of time before I find a laptop with enough graphical horsepower to satistfy my needs, Command shell ease, and, lets face it.... eye candy.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Starforce update
I do not want to get to wrapped up in this sort of banter as it just winds up looking fanatical, but this bears addressing.
I must admit, It takes a large pair of 'cahones' to build a fake web site that simultaneously praises your own product and denounces all problems as the ramblings of hackers and pirates. The site lists other programs that have similar permissions as Starforce, note the majority are antivirus programs.
Until this point I honestly had hope that the idea behind Starforce being run by a collection of jackasses was only a possibility. Hopefully companies like UBISOFT will realize the type of mistake they have made in endorsing that POS that is STARFORCE. This type of behaviour truly benefits no one and, in the end, screws the user that much more.
What really gets me is that, even in their own forums, customers are chastized for calling shenanigans on the devs of this company. They still completely deny their product has ANY incompatibility, they simply respond with 'where is your proof?' or 'I went to school so my product is beyond reproach'. This type of ridiculous circular bullcrap is the norm in politics right now, I can see it catching on to other industries as well.
Ugh, to say I'm disgusted is an understatement.
I must admit, It takes a large pair of 'cahones' to build a fake web site that simultaneously praises your own product and denounces all problems as the ramblings of hackers and pirates. The site lists other programs that have similar permissions as Starforce, note the majority are antivirus programs.
Until this point I honestly had hope that the idea behind Starforce being run by a collection of jackasses was only a possibility. Hopefully companies like UBISOFT will realize the type of mistake they have made in endorsing that POS that is STARFORCE. This type of behaviour truly benefits no one and, in the end, screws the user that much more.
What really gets me is that, even in their own forums, customers are chastized for calling shenanigans on the devs of this company. They still completely deny their product has ANY incompatibility, they simply respond with 'where is your proof?' or 'I went to school so my product is beyond reproach'. This type of ridiculous circular bullcrap is the norm in politics right now, I can see it catching on to other industries as well.
Ugh, to say I'm disgusted is an understatement.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Game copy protection (Star-force)
“….user that run in to compatibility problems are beginner level hackers….”
Huh? A blanket statement like that is dangerous and reckless, especially as a figurehead for your company. What is he THINKING? I, like many other people own starforce protected games, and have had numerous problems with it. Aside from random crashes; the program gradually slows your disk/cd/dvd drives down to PIO mode, something akin to speeds in the DOS game days. Usually the only solution is to reinstall the entire system, how many casual gamers know how to do that? According to the article,
“…Compatibility problems do occur with any protection system, and the statistics of Starforce lie within a standard.”
The problem is no one knows what this standard is. Starforce forums regularly delete posts asking for help or expression of anything but glee for their products. It’s not uncommon for the Admins to accuse the customers with a problem of piracy, and theft. Got a problem? You are a pirate. Random computer behavior? You were trying to circumvent the copy protection. It sounds Cliché’ to say it, but in Starforces eyes you are 'guilty until…' well you're really just guilty. Unlike every other copy protection scheme on the market (safedisk, laserlock, tages) and unlike hardware vendors, the folks at Starforce haven’t even listed compatibility errors- not a single one. Despite the complaints, according to them- every piece of hardware is 100% reliable. Makes one wonder what ‘standard’ is being touted and compatible. I wonder what percentage of gamers built their computer themselves. Moreover, wouldn’t they like to know what hardware is incompatible?
What’s going on? Regardless of the real reason for problems with Starforce, it is not making any friends, with its closed policy and shoot first forums, this is simply not the behavior of a company with nothing to hide, A simple piece of PR her eand there and a compatilibility list would go a long way to repairing the damage they have done to themselves. Regardless of their tactics and regardless of 'the real story' - I would love to know how to speed up my DVD drive again.
Friday, March 24, 2006
please register to use this feature
RANT mode on:
Nothing irks me more than the near compulsive need of more and more web sites that demand my personal details. I have no desire to register just to access a friends link about a tap dancing cat. As frustrating as it is, this is indicitive of how much 'they' want from us.
Now realize what has me so worried. Ideas for what has been deemed 'internet 2.0' have surfaced as a near eventuality for some. The idea is to create a tiered internet, with services beneath premium that limit the data you download and sites visited. Some look at this as extortion while others see it as the next step.
Unfortunately it all comes down to money, and the telcos that run the pipes of the internet demand a piece of the pie. They own the pipes; how dare you have a business that generates traffic on them.
Consider, though, the impact this concept will have impact on the websites themselves. Websites will have to pay fees based on the amount of traffic they generate. If you hate giving out your information NOW, imagine how bad it will get.
-In an effort to wring any profit from your browsing as possible, sites will not only require you to register, but will probably ask to sell your data.
-Want to read that news story about your favorite baketball team? register or you cant see it, how about that recipe that google just showed you? REGISTER to browse the recipe list.
In essence, by destroying the ability to browse the internet without commitment, Internet 2.0 is shooting your fanbase in the foot, alienating the only thing that makes a website money- PEOPLE.
Nothing irks me more than the near compulsive need of more and more web sites that demand my personal details. I have no desire to register just to access a friends link about a tap dancing cat. As frustrating as it is, this is indicitive of how much 'they' want from us.
Now realize what has me so worried. Ideas for what has been deemed 'internet 2.0' have surfaced as a near eventuality for some. The idea is to create a tiered internet, with services beneath premium that limit the data you download and sites visited. Some look at this as extortion while others see it as the next step.
Unfortunately it all comes down to money, and the telcos that run the pipes of the internet demand a piece of the pie. They own the pipes; how dare you have a business that generates traffic on them.
Consider, though, the impact this concept will have impact on the websites themselves. Websites will have to pay fees based on the amount of traffic they generate. If you hate giving out your information NOW, imagine how bad it will get.
-In an effort to wring any profit from your browsing as possible, sites will not only require you to register, but will probably ask to sell your data.
-Want to read that news story about your favorite baketball team? register or you cant see it, how about that recipe that google just showed you? REGISTER to browse the recipe list.
In essence, by destroying the ability to browse the internet without commitment, Internet 2.0 is shooting your fanbase in the foot, alienating the only thing that makes a website money- PEOPLE.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
small update
Microsoft products for productivity are great, assuming you have the cash (anyone got a spare $400 so i can write a book report?). There are alternatives though, like open office. Ajaxwrite is a great idea, assuming it can be pulled off. Imagine an office suite that is avalible via the web, able to work on any platform (mac, PC, Linux etc.) , will work with current microsoft office standards, and is completely free. I'm sure the free part is whats pissing the most people off.
-stray
-stray
Friday, February 17, 2006
I tried to link a humorous clip on social networking but the best I could do is Demitri Martins video index. (click social networking).
Until recently I was a frequent visitor of the Daily Show; Comedy central has now become my nemesis. Their unfortunate move to 'secure' the website has left me, and others no doubt, frustrated. This new security gives us the viewers paltry load times and the outright demand I use Internet Explorer for their features. Comedy Central seems convinced someone is going to pirate all 5000-low-resolution-tiny-bit-rate video clips from the site.
WTF?
In browsing the latest headline I came a great new site. They even have a (god help me), 'blog this' button to redirect the link the story from your webpage. While this sounds interesting, the majority of the people who blogged on the subject just linked the story.... no hey this is awful or wow this is great, they just linked to the linking of the original story which was a link to begin with. The efficiency of this escapes me since no one offers a bit of commentary short of xxxx has the full story....
Lets all guess how long it'll take for the press to label this some dumb pseudowitty headline like Vice-President-shot-someone-in-the-face-gate...
Until recently I was a frequent visitor of the Daily Show; Comedy central has now become my nemesis. Their unfortunate move to 'secure' the website has left me, and others no doubt, frustrated. This new security gives us the viewers paltry load times and the outright demand I use Internet Explorer for their features. Comedy Central seems convinced someone is going to pirate all 5000-low-resolution-tiny-bit-rate video clips from the site.
WTF?
In browsing the latest headline I came a great new site. They even have a (god help me), 'blog this' button to redirect the link the story from your webpage. While this sounds interesting, the majority of the people who blogged on the subject just linked the story.... no hey this is awful or wow this is great, they just linked to the linking of the original story which was a link to begin with. The efficiency of this escapes me since no one offers a bit of commentary short of xxxx has the full story....
Lets all guess how long it'll take for the press to label this some dumb pseudowitty headline like Vice-President-shot-someone-in-the-face-gate...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Hmm Febuary, my most despised month. I could refer to the roots of this holiday or just pooh pooh the whole thing. Its all the same to me, but you have been warned.
Google has been making some crazy headway with their new features. So much of that makes sense to me, I'd rather not have to download another client, the last thing I need is something else to install. The last thing the US population needs is another facet of the internet to learn. (How this can be helpful if you cant ACCESS the internet I'll never know).
Recent missives in the leak department from apple have make me rethink my needs for a ipod, especially if its a pda. Since 90% of the images of this pda-psaudopod are phtoshopped mockups, I wont indulge linking to imposters.
Google has been making some crazy headway with their new features. So much of that makes sense to me, I'd rather not have to download another client, the last thing I need is something else to install. The last thing the US population needs is another facet of the internet to learn. (How this can be helpful if you cant ACCESS the internet I'll never know).
Recent missives in the leak department from apple have make me rethink my needs for a ipod, especially if its a pda. Since 90% of the images of this pda-psaudopod are phtoshopped mockups, I wont indulge linking to imposters.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
To say I read stuff like this and became giddy is an understatement. Apple has unveiled an impressive bunch of hardware to debut onthe X86 hardware. Whats this mean? A whole bunch if you are a fan.
Plenty of new stuff to see at the CES show too, lots of Ipod and Ipod Video killers. in essence the more choices we have the better it gets!
If it seems like I am speaking russian right now, Im probably rambling too much... someone stop me....
Plenty of new stuff to see at the CES show too, lots of Ipod and Ipod Video killers. in essence the more choices we have the better it gets!
If it seems like I am speaking russian right now, Im probably rambling too much... someone stop me....
Monday, December 12, 2005
We're seeing an interesting portion of evolution in the making regrading technology.
Engineers have, in the past, been tethered by what features we can fit where in say a handheld or laptop. Its getting to the point now where sacrificing function for form is a thing of the past. Smaller things do more, taking up less space, and the true ingenuity comes not from what can be packed into what; but what good that is to the average user.
Laptops can now be fitted with modular components ot be upgraded at a later time. Modems, video cards and soon sound cards are add ons where there was once a static use. With the advent of PCI-express, components have more than enough bandwidth and take less space.
The only limits are becoming (if not already) the minimal size a device can be and still retain its functionality. The Human hands are a factor that is not shrinking with the rest of the industry. How many devices can be fit with a QUERTY keyboard? Ideally we can see devices like the palmtops of the industry.
In the past there were laptops and htere were pdas, Whats to come when the laptops shrink to the size of a pda? or the pdas gain the funcitonality of a laptop? The blurring of these lines can only make things more interesting for the industry.
S
Engineers have, in the past, been tethered by what features we can fit where in say a handheld or laptop. Its getting to the point now where sacrificing function for form is a thing of the past. Smaller things do more, taking up less space, and the true ingenuity comes not from what can be packed into what; but what good that is to the average user.
Laptops can now be fitted with modular components ot be upgraded at a later time. Modems, video cards and soon sound cards are add ons where there was once a static use. With the advent of PCI-express, components have more than enough bandwidth and take less space.
The only limits are becoming (if not already) the minimal size a device can be and still retain its functionality. The Human hands are a factor that is not shrinking with the rest of the industry. How many devices can be fit with a QUERTY keyboard? Ideally we can see devices like the palmtops of the industry.
In the past there were laptops and htere were pdas, Whats to come when the laptops shrink to the size of a pda? or the pdas gain the funcitonality of a laptop? The blurring of these lines can only make things more interesting for the industry.
S