10/08/2008

BlackBerry Storm


First we had the Apple iPhone 3G, then word about the Google 1G came out(and the word on this is that it's already sold out on pre-order), and now we have yet a new competitor in the market, the BlackBerry Storm. It's the first ever touch screen BlackBerry unit amd for now it will be exclusively for Verizon. Hmmmm, let's sum this up: Apple iPhone 3G is for AT&T, Google G1 is for T-Mobile, and Blackberry Storm is for Verizon. Are we missing any other major phone companies up there? Well, I can't think of anything at the moment, but if I am, just let me know.

Anyway, let's see what all the comotion is about. At this point, there's still no word on the release date nor the price, so I guess you'll have to wait it out. Anyway, let's get down to the core of every phone, its features! Here are a list of many of the Blackberry Storm's features. Enjoy.

Features:
- Dual-mode CDMA and GSM radios for full-on world calling
- GPS with turn-by-turn directions
- Bluetooth, includes a A2DP profile for stereo Bluetooh headsets
- 3.2 Megapixel Camera with flash abd auto-focus
- 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches (roughly same size as iPhone & Google G1)
- 480 x 360 pixel screen (multi-touch support; two-finger gestures)
- "ClickThrough" feature: "lets you distinctly feel the screen being pressed and released with a gentle click for a highly intuitive experience"
- Ambient light sensor
- Accelerometer, automatically turns screen when you hold phone sideways
- Landscape mode = full QWERTY on-screen keyboard; Portrait mode= SureType keypad
- E-mail, POP & IMAP e-mail servers; SMS, picture, & instant messaging
- Full-on Office document editing: Word, Excel, & PowerPoint
- Blackberry "Store" for application downloads
- Full HTML browser; double-tap zoom, tap & slide scroll
- Video & Music player, full screen video playback
- 3.5mm jack for earphones
- 1 Gigabyte of storage
- MicroSD expansion slot for extra 16GB flash memory

It sounds like a pretty nice phone, but there's one thing that's missing: Wi-Fi. There hasn't been anyword on Wi-Fi yet, what a drag. There's also some rumors going around that the price will be $199 with a two-year contract. Anyway, you can see a list of all the spec on the BlackBerry page right here. I'm not a BlackBerry fan and I already have my eyes set on the Google G1. How about everyone else, anyone looking forward to buying this thing?

10/06/2008

Google G1 "Google Phone" - Pros & Cons

Ah, finally the iPhone has a worthy competitor, the Google G1. It's a phone similar to the iPhone, but has some more distinct features like the QWERTY keyboard and a 3-D view of Google Maps. Here are some basic pros and cons after testing the Google G1 prototype version. Enjoy.

Pros:
- QWERTY Keyboard
- Touch-Based Onscreen User Interface
- $179 (Cheaper than the iPhone)
- Trackball for extra navigation
- Third Party Programs available through "Market"
- Virtual Side & Task Bars
- Fast notifications & fast response times
- Web Browser
- Google & Other Email/Instant Message Services
- Google Maps 3D Street Views
- Youtube Videos
- Copy & Paste feature
- High Resolution Camera (Higher than iPhone's)
- Very customizable desktop/home screen
- Removable battery
- Music Player
- Amazon MP3 Download Service
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, & GPS

Cons:
- Only for T-Mobile Network
- Must have a Google Account to use phone
- Can't synch with Microsoft Exchange
- Can't synch with Microsoft Outlook
- 30% Thicker than iPhone
- 20% Heavier than iPhone
- Somewhat smaller screen than iPhone
- Can't tap/pinch screen to zoom like iPhone
- Doesn't record video
- Only 1 Gigabyte (Although can upgrade to 8GB)
- Can't use standard headphones without a special adapter
- Can't change view of website/photo by rotating phone physically
- Can't scroll through photos by "flicking" screen

All in all, it's not perfect, but it does have some new features compared to the iPhone. And hey, it's $20 cheaper than the iPhone!

10/03/2008

Sara Palin's Intelligence



Here's a small script of the interview with my own side notes and comments:

Question: "What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?"

Answer: "I've read most of them, again for a great appreciation of the press, for the media..."

- That wasn't the question bitch. She asked you for titles, not amounts.

Question: "And like what were [they] specifically, I'm curious..."

Answer: "Ummm, all of em', any of em' that, ummm that have been in front of me for all these years..."

- Bitch, do you not understand the question? She wants to know specific names of the magazine and/or newspapers. And seriously, can you read any newspapers or magazines that are behind you? I sure can't.

Question: "[Can you] name a few?"

Answer: "I have a vast variety of "sources" where we get our news to. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kinda suggested, it seems like, wow, how could you keep with-emm in touch with the rest of,(very slight pause) Washington DC may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska. Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America..."

- Wow, where to start with this one? Well, first off the question is "Can you name a few?" The correct and honest answer would be, "No." Instead, you choose to try change the topic by introducing Alaska into it. Alaska not only has no relevance to the question, but now you're also making Alaska look bad because of your moronic response. Wait, what did you just say? "I have a vast variety of "sources" where we get our news to..." Wait, the main question asks where you've gotten your information from, why the fuck did you just say "to"? Not only have you not answered the question, you went on further to make an extra fool out of yourself by saying "to," and as if that wasn't enough, now you're making Alaska look bad. "Alaska is like a microcosm of America." I'm sure it is; I'm sure it is. For those of you who don't know what a microcosm is, well, here's the definition: a little world; a world in miniature. You're telling me that Alaska, some desolate state that's to the west of Canada, is a microcosm of America? You gotta be fucking kidding me. You guys don't even have any fucking magazines/newspapers up there, and you're trying to tell me that you're a miniature version of American as a whole. Need I say more?

10/02/2008

Chinese Spongebob Squarepants

"Americans Are NOT Stupid"

Just sit back, hit play, and start laughing your ass off.

Side note: What the fuck is CNNNN?

Hey look, our fellow Brits are just as smart!

New Blog: MMOG-Blog

It's my new gaming only blog, all game related posts will go there from now on.

The MMOG-Blog.

9/30/2008

Real-Life Halo 3 Equipment

When I first saw the first video I was left speechless. I didn't know if I should praise the kid for making all of the Halo 3 weapons and Spartan armor out of only cardboard and tape or if I should cruelly shun him for having absolutely no life what-so-ever, so I didn't even bother writing up a comment on his video. Instead, I am here, writing a blog post to inform you all about this magnificent discovery.

The first video is the first one I found. His stuff is sub par, but pretty damn good for only being made out of cardboard and tape. He also has a lot of the Halo 3 weapons too. The second video is the second one I found; it features an full Halo 3 Elite suit. It's also pretty bad ass and looks pretty good too. The last is my favorite, a red colored Spartan VI suit. It's by far the best I've seen, and the guy ever sells them on his website, Mind to Life Arts. A costly $600 per complete suit, but hey, look a the bright side, you'll be scoring all the Halo 3 fan girls at cosplay conventions.





9/13/2008

.doc File Converter

So, I had to go and print out some files for class that were in Miscrosoft Word's .doc format, but it was okay since I looked at it ahead of time and figured I'd go pirate myself a copy of Word before the class day came. Well, what do you know, I forgot all about and now it was the night before. I could have still tried to go find a copy of Word on some torrent site, but finding a legit copy with a crack/keygen and getting it all setup would probably take too long, let alone finding one with a lot of seeds.

Of course these days you don't really need to download a whole application just to view a file with a different file extension, you just really need to find a good file converter and you're good to go. I managed to find one, download it, and try it out. It was a 30-time-use trial, and you would have to buy the full thing for over thirty dollars. I really don't like having a bunch of random ass programs on my computer for different things, so I got rid of it.

At last, salvation came. I found a website that lets you convert .doc files into a .pdf file format. PDF stands for portable document file and can be easily read by an Adobe Acrobat Reader. Since my computer came with Adobe Acrobat Reader on it when I bought it, my problem was solved. This is how it works: you upload your .doc file on their website by using their upload form, the site converts your file, your file is then displayed in an open Internet Explorer window (or whatever browser you use), and now you can edit, save, or print the converted file. Simple and easy to use, and it's free. I don't know if there's a file size limit on the site, but I easily got my 10~15kbs files converted in mere seconds.

Here's the site: www.doc2pdf.net

It's free, and they also have an image file converter. If you can, donate to the site so it can stay up as long as possible and remain free to use. If this post helped you out, write a comment and say thanks, so I know this isn't just another dead, useless blog. Thanks.

8/29/2008

Call of Duty 4 - PC Version


Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a fairly older game. It's not really old, but it did come out last year, but that doesn't mean that it's not worthwhile at all. In fact, it's one of the top first person shooters for the Xbox 360 gaming console right now. I don't know the exact number, but I believe it was something like forty million copies that were sold of the game since it was first released. Anyway, I'm not going to be talking about Xbox 360 here, but about CoD4(Call of Duty 4) on the PC(Personal Computer).

So I've had CoD4 for the Xbox 360 almost ever since it was first released, but over the last week or so, I've been hitting up internet cafes and playing CoD4 on the PC with a few friends, so I figured I might as well get it for PC since most of them don't have an Xbox 360. Of course since I already have a version of CoD4 for Xbox 360, there's no way I'm spending another sixty bucks so I can play it on my PC. What better way to get something so great and expensive for free other than torrents. If you don't know what torrents are, damn you've been missing out on some great opportunities.

Anyway, since I'm sure almost everyone has played CoD4 at least once I'm not going to get into detail about what the game's about and its mechanics. I'm just going to be comparing the Xbox 360 version with the PC version. If you've never played CoD4, well you better get your ass to the nearest game shop and buy it. No money? Then get the PC Version and download it from a torrent. It's illegal, but free, and come on, it's not like you've never illegally downloaded anything before. Yeah, you like getting all those songs for free on Limewire right? Well, it's illegal. Anyway, to save you some time looking for the torrent, follow this link and get it from there. There are a lot of people seeding it, but a lot more leechers too, but it's probably the best one out there and depending on your speed and the number of seeds, you should get it down in a day or so. It took me about twenty-two hours to fully download, but for a game its size, that's a pretty good time.

The torrent comes with a No-CD crack for single player mode, and also with a Key Code Generator for multiplayer play. The only downside is, all of those keys are being used. You won't imagine how many people are playing CoD4 as you read this blog, but they are there, using those CD Keys, not allowing you to play. Hey, you are getting the game for free, so don't get your panties in a twist about not being able to play. Thankfully, there's a solution: Private/Cracked Servers. Here is a list of private servers that you can play on, Private-Servers. And this is how you log on to the servers. First you open up your CoD4 multiplayer client, press " ` " on your keyboard, of course don't press the quotes, those are there to show you what you need to press, which is the key located directly to the left side of the "1" on your keyboard. After you've done so, an input box comes up. Type in, without quotes, "connect 87.106.210.231:28960" It'll connect to the game if your ping is low enough. If your ping is too high, get a better connection. If the server is full, go get a new one from the list. Anyway, that's how you get onto CoD4 on your PC for free.

Anyway, getting back to the point, CoD4 is pretty much the same on PC as it is on the Xbox 360. There are a few differences though. One of the first is, well you get to use your keyboard and mouse to play the game. If you've never used your keyboard other than to type up an essay, well you're screwed. The keys are fairly simple to use, and once you get used to them you'll do just fine. You can change the key up if you want as well, but for me I just left most of them as they were. You can use any mouse, but if you want to make things easier on yourself, you can get a gaming mouse. I use a Logitech G5 and with it I have a few more buttons on my mouse to make combat easier for myself. If you really want to, you can use a controller, but if you want to experience a new way to play, just use your keyboard(or if you're used to a keyboard & mouse, use your controller).

I've only played the PC Version for a few days, and I'm already level twenty-three. I don't remember the title rank, but it's around that number. Gaining levels is easy, especially if you do the challenges. I've heard things about the game messing up and resetting your ranks though, so watch out. From what I've seen, your rank info is stored on your hard drive, so it seems that your account details, ranks, and weapons are client-side, which means if you had the tools to do it, you could probably modify it all, but I really don't care for it so I haven't bothered looking up how to do it for this game. Movement is a little different on the PC as well. You can move forward, backward, left, and right like always, but unlike on the console you can strafe left and right a lot easier and the PC version also allows you to lean left and right to take a peak from the side of a wall or window unlike the console version where you would have to move your whole body to take a peak. I have noticed that running and jumping in the game is a little buggy because your character won't always run when you hit the run key and there seems to be a delay on jumping as you are running as well.

Well so far that's all I've noticed from just a few days of playing it on the PC, perhaps there are a lot more differences between the console and computer, but I have yet to discover them. If this article helped you out, please take the time to say thanks or something in the comments. If you want to help me out, click on the google ads on the side of the page. Thanks.

8/22/2008

Stone Art



Let me start his off by saying, "What the fuck?" The box he's standing on says "Stone Art," but I see no stones nor do I see any art. I'm sure after reading this there will be some people out there that are going to hate me for pointing out all the misleading points in this guy's presentation, so in advance I'm just going to tell you to shut the hell up and stop wasting your time trying to get me to show sympathy for the performer's mistakes. Anyway, there are two major flaws in this "Stone Art" performance, both are pretty obvious, but I'm sure most people out there will not even realize them.

Let's start off with the first point, "Stone Art." Where the hell is the stone? I see no stone anywhere. I see a man failing to impersonate a stone, but I see no stone. "OMG! There's a stone right over there on the ground!" If you just thought that to yourself, get the fuck off of my blog and never return. This man dressed up in an all grey outfit, standing completely still, is a good impersonation of a stone. I'll give him that, he has the balls to stand on a fucking box all day for a few dollars. Not many people are willing to do that, let alone get a real job. His "stone" impersonation is going great, but as soon as someone drops some change in his box, he starts to move. Okay, I don't know what kind of world the rest of you guys live in, but I have never seen a stone start moving unless some outside force interferes with it. Immobilization is good; movement is bad, very bad. Other than his movement as a "stone," are the clothes he wears. Why the fuck is some of his apparel silver?

My second point, "Is he a stone-man or a fucking robot?" Every time he moves he makes a fucking robotic buzzing noise. What the hell? Seriously, get your act straight; stones don't make any sound, let alone sounds that robots make. I wonder if any one has ever realized any of this before. The case is probably not because people are too busy taking photos and pooling all their money together so they can dump it in his bucket so he can give them a lollipop or a kiss on the hand.

If this was truly "Stone Art," he would stand there the whole day without moving, just like a stone. He will not use the restroom and refrain from moving at all costs whether his bucket of cash gets looted or if someone were to punch him in the dick. And on top of it all, he will not make any robot sounds. If I were to ever met a "Stone Art" guy like that, I'd fucking throw my wallet into his cash bucket.

Get back.

8/18/2008

"No Homo"


"No Homo" is a phrase that's somewhat new and it's been going around for quite a while now. Usually it'll be used after an affectionate moment so everyone who witnessed that moment doesn't think you're a homosexual. Here's an example, the person talking is a male for your information: "Hey John, you look mighty sexy in those jeans, no homo!" That was a very homosexual thing for one male to say to another, and anyone who saw or heard it would most definantly assume you're gay. But wait, you said "no homo" at the end of that compliment, so that automatically idvalidates anyone from assuming you are a raging homosexual, right?

No, wrong. I believe the "no homo" phrase is complete bullshit that some guy pulled out of his ass one day after he was caught in some gay situation. Of course, him having the straightest reputation around cannot even merely show some manly compassion for his best friend or everyone else would think he's actually gay! So, Viola, "no homo" and I'm instantly straight again. It's like a magic eraser that cleases the faggotry away from you so you can live again like every other straight guy out there. Seriously, that's so much bullshit I cannot begin to comprehend how people accept it. It's like, "I just ass raped your brother last night while your dad was sucking me off. Don't worry, I said "no homo" so I'm still straight. Right on!"

P.S. I love you guys, no homo.

8/10/2008

World of Warcraft


I've always wanted to play World of Warcraft so I can see what all the fuss was about, but I never really wanted to because it costs money to play and because I heard it was extremely addictive. The other day I saw an ad somewhere that was advertising a World of Warcraft(WoW) ten day free trial. So, I figured, what the heck, let's give it a try, it's only ten days and chances I won't far enough in the game to want to buy the full thing.

After finally setting up my account, and filling in fake personal info in all those fields they make you fill out, I was ready to kick some ass. On a side note, I really have no idea why the hell they need your state, address, phone number, and all that other personal info. Are they going to track you down if you mess around on the game? Who knows. Getting back on track, WoW was a whole milestone from what I've heard of it. I've heard things like the graphics are bad, and game play sucks. Honestly, it was nothing like that when I played, so I have no idea what people are talking about. This is how I would sum up my feelings about how great this game really is, "WoW, this game sucks! It's possibly the shittiest game that I have ever laid eyes upon. Seriously, I would rather play Runescape than Wow, and if that doesn't tell you something, you must be mentally retarded."

Let's start with the graphics. I've heard things about how crappy the graphics are, but actually seeing them for myself in-game was just unimaginable. I loved being able to change my character's appearance from looking like crap, to looking like a putrid pile of shit. I even traveled to a semi-populated town where I found some higher level characters. They had higher level equipment, but it still looked like some kind of crap made out of clay or something. This one guy had a sword that was on fire, it was an improvement in graphics, but still not good enough. Sorry, but Blizzard you seriously need to improve WoW's graphics a lot. It's not the year 2000 anymore guys, get on your asses and start rendering up a more realistic world.

The gameplay wasn't any better, so that didn't win my heart to play either. I can't stand a game with bad graphics, but if the controls are a mess, there's no point in trying to continue the game. It's pretty nice using your keyboard to move, but why the hell can't I use my mouse and click on a spot where I want to move to? Is it so hard to put that into the game? Attacking is similar to a lot of other MMORPGs, the classic hack-and-slash, but WoW has a certain change that really annoyed the hell out of me. In order to start the hack-and-slash sequence after clicking your mouse to attack, you have to be facing the monster you want to attack and you also have to be in range. What the fuck? Why can't I just click my mouse so my character can automatically get in to position and initiate the hack-and-slash sequence of attacks where I can then use whatever skills or spells that I want while my character is doing its part? This game's a joke, thank god I only used a trial version to play and didn't waste my own hard earned cash on this crap.

The game did have something I liked though, so don't think I hated everything about it. When you would die, you would become a ghost and you would have to look for your corspe in order to come back to life. I found that feature interesting, but everything else was horrible.

If you're thinking about starting to play WoW for the first time, please just get the ten day trial and save yourself from wasting any money on this pile of putrid roadside skunk shit.

8/08/2008

Britney and McCain in 2008


I'm not into politics, nor have I been following the political campaigns of the '08 elections, but that doesn't mean I can't share this video with you. I think it's kind of funny. Maybe it's actually funnier if you were following up on the McCain campaigns, but I haven't so I wouldn't know. On a side note, I have to say Britney Spears looks pretty hot in this video; it's unfortunate that I cannot say that about her anymore. Anyway, enjoy.

Boston Dynamics Big Dog


This is by far the scariest robot I've seen to date. It's gait just scares the shit out of me, and that weird buzzing sound it makes just adds to it. The first part of the video where it shows it in the woods is pretty creepy by itself. Now imagine yourself in those woods at night and you heard and saw that thing getting close to you. I don't know about you guys, but I would get the hell away from it as soon as possible. To top it off, its ability to balance itself and not fall over is amazing. In the clip a guy kicks it on the side, and it recovers from the kick without even falling. It can walk on what looks like any type of terrain. The video shows it walking on rocks, snow, bricks, and even on ice. It's pretty amazing, and pretty creepy at the same time. I wonder what they're going to use it for. It's probably going to end up as a military bag carrier or something like that, but maybe the new versions of it might have guns attached and all that other good stuff. Enjoy the video!

8/07/2008

Punch 'Em In The Dick

This is truly one of those rare songs out there that actually sound good for their genre. Hey, but don't take my word for, listen to it yourself and see what you think. The song is by Juicy Karkass and you can go to his myspace page here to listen to his other songs.

Juicy Karkass - Punch 'Em In The Dick




Download

8/05/2008

Be KANYE NOW


I was coming home today when I saw an ad about some pills that you can take to become Kanye. I stopped and read it over to see if it was real, or what the deal was with it. I have no idea what all of this is about, but I'm sure it's tied into that infomercial and probably something I missed on Comedy Central. Please, do tell me what's up, I want to be Kanye too.

8/02/2008

"Love Bot" Femisapien


I was going to write a blog on this, but after watching it and reading all of CanadianVandal's annotations on it, I realized that all of those annotations summed up everything I wanted to say. Thank you CanadianVandal, you've saved me a hell load of time from writing up on this. Sadly, the annotations only work when you're on Youtube.com itself, so please go and watch the video here for the full effect. One last thing that I think is necessary was this user's comment:

clownzmustdie92 (15 minutes ago)
"maybe in a few years...." 'it'll have a vagina!"

LOL, what a robot!

7/31/2008

EXTEEL


The name of the game is Exteel(Official Site Here), it's from NC Soft, it's a massively multiplayer online third person shooter, and best of all, it's free. It's based on some kind of war between machines or something. I've never bothered to read up on the story behind it so I can't tell you what it's about. It does remind me a lot of Gundam, and that's why my call name in game is ZakuIIS.

The controls are simple, WASD to move, space to jump, double-tap a movement key to do a dash, R to change between your two weapon sets, the mouse to change the camera angles and view, and the left and right mouse buttons to shoot/slash/block depending on what kind of equipment you're using. Nice and simple controls, I wish every game would be like that. There are levels and ranks in the game. I'm guessing the military rank is just for show, and your level lets you upgrade some stats like health, speed, armor, aim, and other abilities. You start with a basic unit, or mobile suit as I like to imagine them, and can either buy new separate parts such as head, arms, legs, etc. or if you save up enough credits you can buy a full set of armor for your whole body. Then come the equipment which includes pistols, sub machine guns, rifles, long range rocket/grenade launchers, swords, shields, healing guns, under-arm blades, and these things that look like those jousting pikes. After the weapons you get the extras which are just different paint jobs, faster respawn charges, and repair kits.

After I stopped playing about a month or two ago, and coming back just yesterday, the game hasn't improved that much, but there are some new things that they've added. A few new weapons and paint jobs were added, and a lot of the equipment that you had to use NCCoins(the game's micro payment option to enhance your gaming experience) to buy has been released so you can purchase it with credit you gain in the game. A new game mode, Capture the Flag, has also been added and after a few rounds of playing it myself I think they worked it out well.

All in all, if you like Gundam and fast paced Third Person Shooters, you should definitely check out Exteel. If I had to rate this, I would give it an 8.5/10, only because I think they should have added some more armor types and weapons to the game.

Infinity Online (Gameplay)


Infinity Online is an action style Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or MMORPG for short. If you take some time to look at the video you'll get to see how badass this game looks. The minute I saw this I just wanted to download, install, and start tearing this shit up, so I did. The only problem is, common with a lot of other kick-ass MMORPG's out there, the game is not available to North America. What kind of bullshit is that? I really don't get it, why do they have to block us from playing it? If I really wanted to I could probably change my IP and use a tunneling service to play it, but I'm too lazy to do that and playing with that tends to lag up the game a lot.

The minute it hits North America, my ass in on that game so I can soon come to the realization that they totally fucked us over and gave us the first version of the game which sucks balls while everyone else gets the newest badass version to play. This happened with a game I thought was great, just like this game. It was called Cabal Online. The videos looked oh-so-awesome, but when it finally came to America, half the stuff shown in the videos was missing. It's a load of bullshit, but I guess that's what happens when a game is free and foreign. Well that's all I have to say, have fun and enjoy the video because that's probably the closest we'll ever get to playing that Infinity Online.

7/30/2008

【デスノート】ネイティブ松田ぁああああ【ネイティブフェイス】


This is one of many examples of why Youtube is one of the greatest websites known to man, right next to Google of course. What a great song don't you think? After going through a few of these I've come to the conclusion that they are created by a person called Nico Nico, but that's all the info I have so far.

And yes, I put the video on auto-play so it can torture you as soon as you see it. One last thing before I leave you alone with this masterpiece, what is the anime series called featured in the video? Thanks and enjoy!

I just found out that the Anime that this is from is Death Note. I should have know, how silly of me... And I just turned off autoplay because it was getting too annoying.

7/29/2008

Vista "Cancel or Allow" & HDD Issues

I've always heard about how bad Windows Vista was since it first came out. I always figured that there was no need to get Vista, and with all those complaints about all those Vista problems, who would actually buy it? Well aside from all the complaints people were raising, the cool new aero effects looked pretty nice, but then again visual effects like that do tend to slow your computer's performance down and this was probably the case for most people getting Vista on their decently old computers. I was perfectly happy with Windows XP, but now all the new computer come with Vista pre-installed and after buying a brand new kick ass machine, I figured I might as well leave Vista on it and get used to it. It's not so bad, and I heard Vista Service Pack 1 fixed most of the problems people were running into. Since this is a new machine, I can keep all the cool Vista effects running without having to worry about performance issues as well. It's a win-win game right? Not really. I have run into some problems after about a month's use of Windows Vista and I'll talk about them here and give you some solutions that I found for them.
The first major annoyance is what gives Mac users their little hard-ons every time they see it pop-up on a Windows Vista computer. Yes, you guessed it, the "Cancel or Allow" security feature that Vista comes with. It was designed to protect us from unauthorized programs from staring up and performing tasks by themselves if Vista doesn't recognize them. Every time such an action would occur, your screen goes dim and an alert window like the one above would appear and you would have to choose if you want to allow to program to go ahead and do what it has to do, or cancel it and block it from running. It's a nice security add-on, but the way it works on Vista is just a major nuisance. You get an alert window for every little thing that you try to run. You like to download music, pictures, games, or anything else right? Well guess what pops up every time you try to download something? Yea, you guessed it, "Cancel or Allow". If I had to rate this feature on an annoyance scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10 without hesitation. After a few days of putting up with this, I found a way to turn it off by mistake. I needed to find a solution to play a MMORPG and this was one of the solution, and what do you know, it actually worked. No more alert windows ever again. To get rid of this alert, you'll have to disable the User Account Control (UAC). It'll make your system less secure, but a hell lot less of a nuisance. Here is a nice simple guide on how to disable the UAC, click here.

The second thing I've noticed on my new computer ever since I got it was that every day a few gigabytes(GB) of memory would randomly disapear. After about a month of using this computer, I had about 100GB of space used up on my drive and I had no idea why the usage was that high. I have downloaded games, music, pictures, and other things, but my memory usage for all of those things would be 10GB max. I was confused as hell and tried running a tool that came with my computer that checks for Hard Disk Errors and fixes them. After running the tool and about an hour and a half of waiting, it was able to free up about 9GB of space, but I still had a lot of space missing. So I decided to just my friend Mr. Google to find out what the deal was and I came to find out Vista's System Restore feature was eating up loads of my space to create restore points. The worst part is, it creates them automatically almost every day and it doesn't even let you know that it's doing it. This is not really a bad thing because if something messes up and you need to restore to an earlier time, you'll have it up and running. I also found out that Vista's default settings are set to use up to 15% of your hard drive's space for its restore points. I have a ~500GB Hard Drive, and I found out that Vista was using up about 75GB to create restore points on my HDD. To free up that space, I simply deleted the restore points that were created and regained all of that wonderful space back.

This is how I deleted the restore points if anyone wants to know:
1. Go to "My Computer"
2. Right click on "C:" or your main Hard Drive which is "C:" by default.
3. Click on Properties
4. Under the "General" tab by the pie chart of your C: Drive click Disk Cleanup
5. Wait for it to finish scanning
6. Click on the "More Options" tab
7. Under "System Restore and Shadow Copies" click the "Clean up..." button
8. Hit delete and you're done

That's how to delete the restore points and free up all of that space, but now you have to change the amount of Disk Space that you want to allow System Restore to use to create its restore points. I changed mine from allowing the max amount of space (~75GB) to only allowing it to use up 5GB of space to create the restore points. Here is a simple tutorial on how to configure this amount, click here to view it. All in all, the less space you give it will lower the amount of restore points you have when you have to do a system restore, but if you know what you're doing on your computer and don't run around downloading everything you see, you won't have to use the System Restore option that often.

I hope this helps someone with these issues, and if it does leave a comment to say thanks.

7/28/2008

CAPTCHA Codes


CAPTCHA codes have been implemented into various websites for security reason, the main one being to stop bots, or automated programs, from performing various tasks like creating multiple accounts, positing multiple times, or trying to login to an account multiple times. This all seems like a good reason to have CAPTCHA codes in use, but the bottom line is CAPTCHA codes are just a plain old dick to have anywhere.

Here are a few examples of how annoying these things can be. Myspace has now implemented these codes all over their site to prevent bots from doing such things as message people, edit profile and group settings, and even post comments. It's cool and all having these to block out bots that spam, but if when can't send a simple message to a friend without having to enter some random word into a box so Myspace can make sure I'm not a bot really pisses me off. Now every time I have to make a change to my layout on a group forum on Myspace, I have to enter some randomly generated text into a box. And since the way Myspace is coded, I have to code my layout through their editor and having to guess and test different positionings of my layout and having to go through the CAPTCHA code every time is just a pain in the ass. Seriously, why would you put this security measure on the editing options? If someone were to hack into my Myspace, which will never happen, and wanted to mess with my layout, they can easily enter the CAPTCHA code in once, delete my whole code, and save it. CAPTCHA is just a waste of the "human" user's time and the "robots" can easily get past them if they wanted to.

It's not just Myspace, Facebook has these shits all over the place too, but it removes them after certain amount of time. If I wanted to setup a bot to add a million users on Facebook by itself it would be pretty easy. First you'd have to add about a hundred users by hand yourself and go through all their CAPTCHA crap a hundred times. After you do that about a hundred times they'll think you're a "human" user and stop giving you the CAPTCHA code to enter so all you have to do now is setup that bot and spam away! Of course I haven't tried using any bots on Facebook yet so I wouldn't know if they have any other security measures, but from I've seen there shouldn't be a problem at getting a bot to work on their site with any big difficulties.
If there's a CAPTCHA code you have to fill in order to sign into an account, the site developers need to seriously learn how to run things differently. The main reason that that CAPTCHA was placed there was to probably stop people from setting up a bot to try to log into your account multiple times. There's a simple solution to this, ban the guy's IP or something after five failed attempts or so. If he's the real owner of the account, there should be a "I forgot my password, please email it to me" link close by that he can use to retrieve his forgotten password.

CAPTCHA codes would be less annoying if they actually give you a word in plain and legible text to type in the box, but most are nothing like that. Many will have weird lines and shapes floating over the text to make sure that you're a "human" and I've seen some on Rapidshare that have cats and dogs hiding in the letters and you have to only enter the letters with the dogs, not the cats. This is probably the most annoying CAPTCHA code I've ran into. Seriously cats and dogs? The cats look just like the fucking dogs and every time you enter it in wrong it seems like they give you a new one that is a lot more difficult to read and pick out than the last one. After a good fifteen tries I finally was able to get it right and finally download my file. Those cAsE-sEnSeTiVe CAPTCHA codes were nothing compared to this abomination.

The bottom line is CAPTCHA codes are a waste of time and space. If you see a CAPTCHA code on a website, post it up here in a comment so I can check it out and maybe write a complaint to the site's tech support center.

7/24/2008

Logitech G5 Laser Mouse


I've been using a Logitech G5 Laser Mouse for a few months now, I would say maybe four to five if I had to put a number on it. Anyway, this mouse is a pretty nice mouse and can handle a lot of clicks. It is wired, but then again I prefer wired because this way you won't have to worry about the wireless connection cutting out or your mouse running out of battery. Now let's review some of its features.

It is a laser mouse, not a ball mouse so it is more precise when you drag it around and can be used on any surface unlike the ball mice which really need mouse pads or else they are not as effective. It has extra buttons on the side which you can customize to perform different tasks with the software that comes with the product. It also has three default modes of speed you can choose, and if you have the software installed you can create up to five custom speeds. It has a scroll wheel as well which is pretty nifty. If the speeds aren't enough, you can also slip a weight cartridge into the mouse to balance out the weight. This proves useful if you are playing a game and need to add more weight to steady your sniper's scope, or if you need less weight for faster reflexes and reactions times in a fast paced game.

The design is also pretty nice looking, but this is probably the mouse's only flaw. The design is nice, but the rugged skin around the mouse can be a plus or a minus. It can be for better grip, adding to the mouse's grip design, or the feeling of it can just annoy the hell out of you. I must say I was annoyed with the skin the first few days of use, but after a while you'll get used to it. The skin also starts to wear off after a few months of good use, but the laser pointer's performance itself is still in great shape.

NOTE: I wrote this for another site that was supposed to give me $2 for each post, little did I know they stopped doing that a long time ago, so I quit and posted it here so they can ban me for "copyrighted" content or whatever.

Axe Detailer

I really don't understand commercials like these. It looks like they are advertising the whole shower system they have installed here with all the hot chicks in latex suits. If that's what they were selling, I'd buy it, but all they have to offer is a simple two-sided shower scrubber. I haven't bought or tried the Axe Detailer, but I'm sure it not different from any other shower scrubber, except maybe this one is black and you don't see many black scrubbers, well at least I don't. It has two sides, big deal.

Anyway if all that mechanical stuff is supposed to portray the future of taking a shower, it failed. As technology grows everything tends to get easier, and taking a shower through a series of robotic powered mechanisms controlled by women doesn't seem very convenient. Don't get me wrong here, I'd love to take a shower in a place full of women, but I'm saying I'm sure they'll probably invent some kind of spray that you can use to clean yourself in the future instead of actually bathing. If some of you out there are going they already have that, it's called Axe deodorant spray, I hope I never meet you in real life. If you are just going to hide your stench with deodorant instead of taking a shower, just stay away from me.

7/22/2008

The Dark Knight: My Review

***This article may contain spoilers.***

I went to see this movie just like any other movie, but not like how everyone else went to see it. There was a huge hype over this movie months before it even opened. There were those Harvey Dent logos and "movements" if you will, around the city advertising the Dark Knight. When the trailers came out people were going crazy over them, especially the Joker. It was unfortunate that the star behind the Joker, Heath Ledger, passed away, but with his last performance as the Joker, I'm sure no one will ever forget how great of an actor he was.

My take on the movie was just like any other movie, I really don't care about it much until I actually go and see it. The heaps of advertising behind it were a waste in my opinion. If the movie is good, and there are fans behind it, they will see it, no need to over do it. I had a friend who was in love with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, and was driving me crazy trying to get me to watch the trailers. I watched the trailers, and to me the performance was nothing special, even if the actor behind it was alive or dead. After actually seeing the movie, my mind has changed. I do forget, trailers only have some of the good scenes in them, not all. I absolutely loved the Joker's character and performance in that movie His performance was enough to drive Batman out of the movie, if anything the main character of the movie was the Joker himself, with his stellar performance and also probably some hype behind the fact that this was Heath Ledger's last movie.

The opening scene of the movie was one of the best scenes there was. It opened up as a bank job led by the Joker and the enviornment made me think to myself, "Hey, this movie looks badass already. It doesn't look like another shitty comic book superhero movie." His strategy of taking out each of the men he hired one by one so he can take all of the shares was genius. The part with the bus bus killing the last of the men was a great addition/ In my opinion that was one of the best openings I've seen in a movie and I felt bad when I saw a family come in the theater right after the opening scene was over knowing that they've missed possibly one of the best scenes of the movie just because they came in a little bit late.

Despite the characters in the movie, the use of gadgets really got to my liking. The Bat-Mobile looked like it was completely redesigned and the motor-bike detachment feature on it was a nice addition. Just the design itself of the vehicle was enough to get to me, but the extra add-ons really blew my mind on how far you can go. That thing looked like a semi-tank, built strong to last long, but sadly that wasn't the case around the end of the movie. As for Batman's armor itself, well I really can't say it was the best I've seen, but decent nonetheless. The timed bombs and grapples were nice too, but I can't say they haven't been overused in a lot of similar movies.

All in all, if you haven't seen this movie yet, go see it and don't ask questions. It was well worth my money, and it was a decently long movie as well. So get out there and see the Dark Knight, and if you've already seen it please take some time to comment on my review. Thanks.

7/17/2008

ABC's Wipeout Review

A clip from ABC's Wipeout


The Background:

Wipeout is a recently new reality TV show on ABC. Every episode starts out with two dozen contestants who are all looking to win the grand prize of $50,000, but they must first conquer a set number of obstacles and only a handful will be able to compete for the money at the very end.

My Thoughts:

Although I enjoy watching out-of-shape Americans desperately trying to make a quick buck on reality gameshows, this show just doesn't beat some of its other competitors out there. I gotta say the two hosts and their side comments can be pretty funny at times and some of the contestants act like clowns and little girls, but I would much rather enjoy one of the other challenge based shows that are out there.

For starters, you can take a look at Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, MXC, that usually airs on SpikeTV. This show is very similar to Wipeout, but I do not believe the players are playing for any cash prizes, but I could be wrong. Anyway this show can have anywhere up to hundreds of contestants and the way the show lays it out has them split into two teams. The challengers and hosts are all Asian, and I'm sure MXC is just the American version with its own voice-overs and scoring. The show will stage something like the Computer Programming Team vs the Construction Worker Team, or anything random to that extent and the hosts will make funny side comments about the contestant's actions and "wipeouts" during the show just like in ABC's Wipeout. I find this show's obstacle course much more challenging and funnier than that of Wipeout's. If I had to sum it up any simpler, I would say Wipeout makes up all of their obstacles up last minute. If you look at the courses in Wipeout since the first episode that aired, not much has changed, maybe they put some foam on that slide in the last level or changed a jump in the first level, but all in all it's pretty much the same everytime and it gets relatively boring.

Another example of a show similar to these is Ninja Warrior that is shown on G4. This show unlike the two previous ones is not all about laughs and people getting dirty, but about physical fitness and glory. Although there is no cash prize at the end, the select winners, or those that successfully complete all three obstacle courses within the alloted time, will get their names published on a trophy or something of the like for being the only few that ever defeated the course. This show starts with over 100 contestants who will all go through the first obstacle course, but only a select few will actually complete it and move on. At the start of the second course there are usually five or six competitors who would have actually made it, and usually one or two get eliminated by the start of the third course. All in all, it's a great show to watch and see what people are truly capable of.

To sum it up, I would watch these other two shows over Wipeout any day. What do you guys think?