Beta Ship

Most important Linux tip/trick EVER!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:29:22 GMT

I don't know about you guys, but something about Linux has really pissed me off for a long time. I've been fighting to figure out what it is for years, and I just did, and fixed it.

FONT RENDERING!

I was finally able to put my problems with Linux as a desktop OS squarely on the font rendering. I always new I didn't like it, but I didn't expect it to make such a big difference in my view of Linux overall. It actually takes about 3 steps to get it fixed, and it's great!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=208396
http://www.sharpfonts.com/

Go, do it now, thank me later.

Dear April 15th,

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:07:50 GMT

Due to time constraints, your expected arrival date needs to be pushed back around 10 workdays. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this might cause, and we will make sure to have a complimentary gift basket ready when you arrive.

Thanks,
The accountant's slave.

Must-have Firefox Extensions

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:40:20 GMT

Like most of you, I use Firefox as my main web browser. The number one feature of Firefox has always been the Extensions. Here are some that I have found very useful, and the most important to everyday surfing:

Adblock Plus: With automatically updating ad-filter lists, it catches pretty much all ads, even practically brand-new ones. Has the ability to Whitelist sites if any issues are found, or if you just want to support BYOND.

Download Statusbar: A nice little tool that ads a bar at the bottom of your browser to tell you how your downloads are doing. After using this tool, I can't stand being without it.

FireGestures: Quick and simple mouse gestures for Firefox. Want to go back? Mouse at the bottom of the screen? Too lazy to move it all the way up to the top? Just right click and drag left. My favorite extension of all.

Hide Menubar: Damn that menubar taking up screenspace! Hide Menubar lays the smackdown on the menubar, saving you an entire line of data. A simple press of the Alt key makes it pop back up.

NoScript: Hate being rickrolled? NoScript can help. It disables javascript/Flash/Quicktime/Pretty much anything besides HTML/CSS on sites that aren't whitelisted. The true advantage is not rickroll blocking, but rather security. Who knows what security problems might be in Flash, Adobe Reader, Quicktime, or Windows Media Player. WMP specifically allows people to access IE, so it makes Firefox as insecure as IE. NoScript fixes that.

Tab Mix Plus: Doesn't do anything you couldn't do with About:Config, but makes tab settings a lot easier to edit. Highly recommended for quickly reconfiguring tab settings.

All the extensions listed above are compatible with Firefox 3 beta 4.

Microsoft+Yahoo!=Not Happy Google.

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:29:27 GMT

For those of you who don't keep up with Google's press releases, my RSS feeder just threw this over the wires: http://www.google.com/press/annc/ 20080203_yahoo-and-future-of-internet.html

To summarize, Google is very angry about the possibility of Microsoft buying Yahoo!. Google is really showing it's fangs with likes like "Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?" YIKES!

Well, lets see how Microsoft snaps back.

[Review] Burnout: Paradise

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:59:40 GMT

Let me start out with the important parts.

Total: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Graphics: 7.5/10
Menu System: 4/10

Alright, from the get go, you might notice a kinda strange item in my bullet score list. The Menu System. I only put it in there because it actually hurts the game in so many ways. Let's start by saying, every time you enter a race, you have to wait about 10 seconds. Every time you fail a race, you have to wait about 10 seconds. If you start a race, and decide you don't want to do it, the only way to cancel it is to go into showtime(basically crash mode), then when you finish showtime, you have to wait about 30 seconds for it to finish the recap of how you did. If you look at your big map, it stops your boost, which on some cars means, basically, you lose the race because they require a full boost meter before boosting. All together, the menus killed this game. Murdered, really. Even pausing the game means waiting about 5-10 seconds before you can start racing again. Oh, and for a game that's all about the crashes, it's really annoying to be punished for every crash by having to watch your car in slow motion for about 15-20 seconds, and not being able to skip it.

Menus aside, the graphics are great. It looks amazing for as big as the world is, and not a single loading screen short of changing cars in the junkyard. Even the startup load time is very short. What really brought the score down from a 9.5ish to an 8 was the way crashes looked. They just didn't feel right. When you crash at 390MPH into the corner of a brick wall, I expect the car to crumple at the point of impact and bow. It really felt like there were pre-determined crumple zones. With them, you can see the cars crumple up in very predictable ways. It's fine the first time you play the game, but it gets old fast, especially with the mini-cut scenes that happen every time you wreck.

The sound was top notch. I don't exactly have a great stereo system, but I did really enjoy listing to everything happen. Passing by cars makes a satisfying whooshing noise. Crashing creates all types of thuds and bangs. The sound track is very good for this type of game, mostly rock, and a good mix of it. I did here at least one of the current top 10, which annoyed me a little, but you actually have a button on the control to skip it, so no biggy... unlike that damn local radio station that plays that song 10 times a day.

And that brings us to gameplay, arguably the most important factor. This game is fun, REALLY fun... for the first 4 hours. Then it becomes hard, REALLY hard. But I'm not the type to shy away from a good challenge, so I do plan on trying to beat the game, even if I go insane trying. The different gamemodes all have their similarities, but differ in important ways. I did find, however, that there are way too many of some challenges, like races, and way too few of others, stunt runs. Stunt run is my favorite gamemode, but there are about 4 stunt runs in the whole game, but about 20-30 races. The takedown gamemode is a lot of fun as well, but it gets brutal after a while, and the same can be said for "marked man", another gamemod. Marked man requires you to get from point A to point B without being taken down more than three times. The challenge? Everyone is targeting you.

Some other things: I have yet to play online, so this score is ignoring how fun online may be. Switching cars in the junk yard takes way too long. There are no licensed cars in the game, but the pretend ones are great, and by the time you put in a few hours, you start understanding what a brand like "Hunter" means, just like you see a Ford, a Mazda, a Lambo, or a Porch. They say there are 75 cars in the game, but that's a trick number. There are really about 32 cars, all with second paint jobs that change the stats slightly. That being said, all 32(or so) cars handle differently. Each one has a size and shape that really matters. A big truck is very front heavy, so it spins out easy when trying to really gun it. A light Asian car really sticks to the ground and has the weight distributed evenly. You feel these mechanics at play in the game, which is a lot more than can be said about most games. Also, be warned that larger vehicles can take down people easier, but they also crash a lot easier when doing power slides. Those light Asian cars can take a side impact at 150Mph, while the big American cars will destroy themselves at 90Mph because of their added weight. It's a small but really smart feature.

I really wanted to give Burnout: Paradise more. I wanted to come on here say "OMG GUYz, Burnout is the best evarz! 11/10!". But sadly no, it was merely a measly 8/10. A solid score, but not gunna win any awards that way. I recommend it for a rent, but not a buy. I would say buy it, if it had multi-player split screen. It's always fun to tear through a city with a friend. So I'm going to say this about the game: Good, but not great. Hopefully Burnout: Paradise II will fix everything I was upset about.

Burnout: Paradise

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:47:37 GMT

Seems my local GameStop got Burnout in today, so I'm going at lunch to pick it up. The release date was today, so I'm a little surprised that they have it today, as release dates tend to be ship dates, not the date the store gets it.

Look forward to my review here in the next few days. I'm really excited to play it as I had a blast in the demo(I think I've clocked more hours in the Burnout demo than I put into BioShock).

I will miss the old crash mode, but hopefully I wont feel bad because it isn't in there. For those of you who have never played a Burnout game, Crash mode gave you the challenge of crashing into a setup intersection to do the most possible damage. They replaced that with a similar feature that allows you to crash and start chaining crashes by guiding your car as it flies through the air. Doesn't sound like a good trade off to me, but I understand that the open nature of Paradise makes it hard to have intersections setup for crashing.

Oh yeah, reports are that there is no split-screen multi-player! Why is this being phased out? Not all of us have room in our houses for two big screens and two PS3s, much less the cash. Racing games are supposed to have single console multi-player. That simple.

But the online in the demo was so incredibly smooth I honestly thought it was some sort of high tech wizardry! So when me and my friends want to play Burnout online, it wont be a fight. Still no replacement for single console multi-player.

Before I get too down on it, I must say, this game looks and feels amazing. Not a fan of racing games? Has your car spent so much time with the brick wall that it has proposed? Don't worry about it, handling in Burnout is amazingly simple... and when you do screw up, the car/wall marriage is beautiful!

This, however, isn't a review. I haven't played the full game. But I will later today, and hopefully I'll love it.

Are you left handed?

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:32:56 GMT

We lefties are a minority in most/all countries, so I'm wonder if the same could be said about BYOND. I don't think most right handers understand the challenges left handers have to deal with in life. Specifically in hand writing, where lefties have to push the pen, unlike righties who have the luxury of pulling the pen. Computers are also a task that pose slight challenges to lefties. The mouse is a right handed tool, requiring precision that a primary hand does best at. So us lefties are stuck at a bit of a disadvantage in using it, but as long as you were raised using a mouse with your right hand, it's not too bad.

Another common problem is scissors. Most of them are ambidextrous, but whenever we grab a pair that are righty only, it can be painful to use them.

So just answer, I'd be happy to know the results.

Day Dreaming is Fun.

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:49:30 GMT

While spending some time doing a boring task, my mind wondered onto the idea of time travel. In the past, I've always subscribed to the "If it's possible, it probably just branches off". Today, however, I was day dreaming and thought this up. What is the only true time line follows time travel.

I'm not sure how to word that, but the basic idea is that when you travel back in time, instead of branching off the time you arrive, time itself loops, effectively ending the time ahead of you, and resetting the time to you arrive at. Let me make a little chart...

I doubt it is even close to possible that I am right about that, but it is interesting to think about.

That would, however, introduce a problem with bringing energy in from inside the loop to out, so you could just keep doing it over and over again, gaining power each time, thus pulling power from nothing. You could then say, to correct this, it takes all the power existing from the point you want to arive at to go back. Meaning no added energy could be brought back, problem is, you would be part of that energy(and also matter, because it matters too!), meaning that in order to time travel, you need at least one immeasurably small amount of energy/matter more than the universe contains.

Also, if my idea was true, would it not, then, be completely unethical to use time travel at all, considering it would end(not really kill) all lives before hand. It would also suggest that the end of the universe would be unlikely, because it would always get looped eventually(some race or another would invent time travel, and loop it back).

It boggles my mind thinking about it, possible or not.

My Well Rounded (Video)Podcast List

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:05:12 GMT

Diggnation: An overview of what's popular on digg.com for the week. And the hosts drink while reading. Beer spills a plenty. Co-Starring Kevin Rose, a TechTV vet.

GeekBrief.TV: A quick look at a pretty gadget or two.

WebbAlert: Morgan Webb just summarizes what is popular on the web lately. She is on my remove list for doing advertisements without claiming it is first(or having a fadeout or something to note the flow has changed). She is new to podcasting, so I'm trying to be nice.

TEDTalks: Feel like getting a little smarter? TED is here to help. Smart people talking about interesting stuff.

EPIC-FU: More web review. Just what's hot on the web.

Tekzilla: About 30 minute if technology news. Some of you might recognize Patrick Norton the Tech TV of old, or that Street View the Google Maps van snapped of him.

Science Channel Video: A mix of extra information from the Science Channel. Things that don't make it on the air.

Experiment of the Week: A quick little experiment involving something you mess with everyday. Watch this a bit and you will start wondering how everything works.

Discovery Channel Video Podcast: Extra scenes from normal Discovery shows. See behinds the scenes at Mythbusters, Man vs Wild, Future Weapons, and more.

Channel Frederator: Grownups can enjoy cartoons too! The Frederator is here to bring us cartoons by the average man. Don't expect episodes of the same cartoons over and over again, but rather something new from someone new every episode.

Ask A Ninja: We all have questions for Ninjas, but it's hard to flag one down. Ask A Ninja Ninja is here to help. Here's my question: Why are pirates so much better than ninjas?

Boing Boing TV: Random stuff. Who knows what they will play next. Good for a laugh.

Onion News Network: Fake news that is serious business. You will laugh at every episode of this.

dl.tv: More tech news from more of the old TechTV gang.

Cranky Geeks: Just as the name suggests, it's geeks being cranky about stuff. It's nice to hear people who aren't afraid get bitchy about tech.

I opted out of mentioning a few that I don't much like, but some people might. If you wish to view any of these podcasts, I recommend Miro as a great video podcast player.

My Well Rounded (Audio)Podcast List

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:18:45 GMT

Thanks to my purchase of an iPod about 6 months ago, I've become completely addicted to podcasts. I hardly watch TV or listen to the radio these days, all because of podcasts. So to help you guys out, I'm going to give you my podcast list. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment with a few.

1UP Radio: A pack of different shows all produced by the 1UP network. A great set of podcasts including "1UP Yours", "GFW Radio", "EGM Radio", and a few others without brand names.

60 Second Science: A quick tidbit of information to make you say "Really?" on a daily basis. Interesting and insightful, and perfect to pass a few second while in a line.

Buzz Out Loud: CNet's podcast of indeterminate length. Normally running about 45 minutes, you will be interested in every second. A technology podcast with a good host mix.

FLOSS Weekly: A less than weekly take on what's happenin' in open sourced software.

New York Times Front Page: Just a quick summary of the New York Times front page. About 5 minutes of information to tell you if you need to pick up a news paper that day.

The Tech Guy: An actual radio show in podcast format, Leo Leporte takes calls and helps people with their tech problems. Anything that plugs into the wall is game.

NYT Tech Talk: A quick summary of what's happenin' in the tech world.

NYT Science Times: A quick summary of what's happenin' in the science world.

Security Now!: A great podcast to make you realize how bad of an idea it is to save all your passwords in a document called passwords.txt in My Documents. Also, sticky notes under the keyboard are a bad idea as well.

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: Smart people talking about stupid things people tend to do. A weekly review of the unskeptical things that happen and skeptical views of current affairs.

This WEEK in TECH: Leo's back with a panel of guests. They talk over the week's news regarding technology.

And that's it for my audio podcasts. I'll try to show up next week with my favorite video podcasts.