dovka twitters
For those of you that haven't noticed the wonderful side-bar app that Jon coded, we now have a nice little Twitter streamer. I also thought some nice links would be in order, feel free to follow Dovka-ers on our many adventures, in our many acres as we drink from many toilets.
Anthony (_parable)
Jon (_jon)
Ethan (1p5v)
Liam (_yen)
Johnny (JohnnyDubble)
Some other interesting twitters I follow:
Mars Phoenix Lander - First person perspective on the Mars Phoenix Lander, neat idea.
Thursday The band Thursday has a neat studio journal, unfortunately every album they've released since Full Collapse has been a disappointment.
Although, according to this, UK users can no longer receive SMS updates. Poor fellows.
Some other great sites I frequent:
Official Ubuntu Forums - A great resource for all things *buntu.
Deezer - Online music streams, great for work.
OpenDrive Access your hard-drive from anywhere.
Today's Big Thing - Whatever the latest internet video-fad is.
A more complete, and actual blog, post to follow.
Anthony (_parable)
Jon (_jon)
Ethan (1p5v)
Liam (_yen)
Johnny (JohnnyDubble)
Some other interesting twitters I follow:
Mars Phoenix Lander - First person perspective on the Mars Phoenix Lander, neat idea.
Thursday The band Thursday has a neat studio journal, unfortunately every album they've released since Full Collapse has been a disappointment.
Although, according to this, UK users can no longer receive SMS updates. Poor fellows.
Some other great sites I frequent:
Official Ubuntu Forums - A great resource for all things *buntu.
Deezer - Online music streams, great for work.
OpenDrive Access your hard-drive from anywhere.
Today's Big Thing - Whatever the latest internet video-fad is.
A more complete, and actual blog, post to follow.
open computer
If you've been hiding under a rock the last week (or just don't follow technologically by repeatedly refreshing 20 different tech-blogs, you might now have heard of Psystar, but if you have, you no doubt have heard about the companies new, ultra-cheap Mac.
Yup, somebody finally flipped ol' Jobs the bird, and is selling a Mac computer. Originally dubbed the OpenMac (Psystar has since changed it to the Open Computer to avoid a potential copyright infringement suit, ironically). Psystar argues that they are not selling anything illegal; all the copies of Leopard are authentic and purchased from Apple or a licensed Apple Vendor and the machine itself uses a clever series of emulation layers to run Leopard (the fact Apple switched to Intel chipsets probably helps, too).
While Psystar has been in various forms of trouble all week; they were dropped by their payment processor for a Terms of Service Violation (more than likely with some added pressure from Apple's lawyers), and the store is now mysteriously down, it brings to my mind one critical idea:
Apple software can run on any machine, and the fact that you need to shell out $1299 CDN for a base model Apple-brand machine is ludicrous (Psystar was selling their Open Computer for $299 + Leopard Licensing Costs). Apple maintains a small market share, and perhaps most of this is caused by price. I know that, personally, I wouldn't mind a Mac, especially as my gaming needs shift away from PC and towards consoles. But there is no justification for the price tag when I can go spend a few hundred dollars on a system and stick a legal copy of XP on it, or a free copy of Ubuntu.
For the time being, I'll wait and see if Psystar comes back, and maybe I'll order a machine from them, it's still cheaper than the real thing, even if it's not as sleek.
Update: http://gizmodo.com/380488/psystar-exposed-looks-like-a-hoax - contrary to the URL string, Psystar is proving to be legit, customers are receiving the Open Computers as ordered and Psystars store has come into existence. (Thanks Lawrie for the link).
Yup, somebody finally flipped ol' Jobs the bird, and is selling a Mac computer. Originally dubbed the OpenMac (Psystar has since changed it to the Open Computer to avoid a potential copyright infringement suit, ironically). Psystar argues that they are not selling anything illegal; all the copies of Leopard are authentic and purchased from Apple or a licensed Apple Vendor and the machine itself uses a clever series of emulation layers to run Leopard (the fact Apple switched to Intel chipsets probably helps, too).
While Psystar has been in various forms of trouble all week; they were dropped by their payment processor for a Terms of Service Violation (more than likely with some added pressure from Apple's lawyers), and the store is now mysteriously down, it brings to my mind one critical idea:
Apple software can run on any machine, and the fact that you need to shell out $1299 CDN for a base model Apple-brand machine is ludicrous (Psystar was selling their Open Computer for $299 + Leopard Licensing Costs). Apple maintains a small market share, and perhaps most of this is caused by price. I know that, personally, I wouldn't mind a Mac, especially as my gaming needs shift away from PC and towards consoles. But there is no justification for the price tag when I can go spend a few hundred dollars on a system and stick a legal copy of XP on it, or a free copy of Ubuntu.
For the time being, I'll wait and see if Psystar comes back, and maybe I'll order a machine from them, it's still cheaper than the real thing, even if it's not as sleek.
Update: http://gizmodo.com/380488/psystar-exposed-looks-like-a-hoax - contrary to the URL string, Psystar is proving to be legit, customers are receiving the Open Computers as ordered and Psystars store has come into existence. (Thanks Lawrie for the link).
rip arthur c. clarke
2007 in review
Music
Thrice – The Alchemy Index, Volumes I & II: Fire & Water
The California four-piece that is Thrice continues their evolution with a sonic tribute to the four elemets: Earth, Air, Water & Fire. Each album attempts to create the atmosphere of the element; Fire is heavy, destructive, agreesive, while water is soft, calm, melodic. Each CD also feartures a sonnet for the named element.
The Fire Album is amazing. The aggression is forefront with heavy riffs, thundering drums and vocals to tear one's face off. But, the band manage to blend in meleodies, harmonics and even choirs to remind that fire isn't just a destroyer, but also a creative force.
Water is a calm tempo, featuring the phenomenal instrumental track, Night Diving. This album makes ample use of electronica elements; keyboards, synth pads and the like.
Coheed And Cambria – Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume II: No World For Tomorrow
The saga continues. As Clauudio Sanchez, the vocalist/lead guitarist/mastermind behind the plot of Heaven's Fence takes us deeper into the Keywork. This album cements Coheed And Cambria as the leading guitar-rock gods in modern music.
Anberlin – Cities
I cannot say enough about this release, one of the most diverse pieces of plastic in my collection. Anberlin moves away from their agro-punk roots and delves into a more indie/punk/rock territory. The end result is a CD I cannot stop listening to, with every song being completely unique to itself, but telling a greaster story of love, loss and redemption. Bonus points for the anamzing finale song, *fin.
Funeral For A Friend – Tales Don't Tell Themselves
This album was a toss-up as to whether I wanted to include it on the list or not. For the sake of the fact that some of the songs are utterly epic in scope, I've left it on. However, the CD tires me quickly, FFAF have yet to master diversity on an album.
NOFX – Wolves In Wolves Clothing
It's NOFX. I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said.
Television
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Verdict: It's surprisingly good, if not predictable. A good tie together for the events between movies.
Scrubs – Final Season
A show I loved through the first three seasons, the last few have been a flunk with pointless plots, side-tracks and fourth wall-breaking. I'm sad to see it go, but at the same time hope something better will take the time-slot.
The Office (US Version)
This show really only seems to appeal to those that work in an office. The humour is fantastic, and the cringing moments of Steve Carrells character, Manager Michael Scott, remind me of so many well-meaning, but ill advises managers.
Robot Chicken
Proof that Seth Green should quit Family Guy and do this full time. One of the most diverse shows, with amazing stop-motion work. The Star Wars episode, full of Star Wars parody, leaves me in stitches every time.
Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe
If you've ever wondered about those disgusting jobs that nobody would ever want to do; like clean out a sewage tank, this is the show to watch. Mike travels around the US and the world to show the jobs that people do, to keep society moving.
Games
Halo 3 (XBOX 360)
The "conclusion" (?) to the Halo trilogy introduced new gameplay elements, brought us across the universe, and then ended worse then ended with a complet WTF moment that left me googling to make sure I hadn't skipped a level or gotten a faulty disc. It's not that the story ended badly, it just…ended. Without a real climatic battle. I was expected to actually play the huge Diorama Bungie had constructed. Oh well, maybe for Halo Wars.
Call Of Duty 4(XBOX 360) – Apparently you can beat a dead horse a little too long. Activision finally brings the COD series into modern times, after 3+ games themed in WW2. The result is an amazing, if too short, single player campaign and the strongest online contender since Halo to the XBOX Live market. Outstanding graphics, great weapons and a challenging game play still abound.
Mass Effect (XBOX 360)
Bioware is known for creating in depth games, but I think they've not only beaten their own bar, but soared over it at Mach 5 from 40,000 feet. Mass Effect contains, literally, Thousands of voice acted dialogue trees, where your answers determine the tone, length and helpfulness of a conversation. React to sarcastically and a friendly NPC may stop giving you vital information. Only complaints: Combat system is a littlee touchy and the land-roaming Shark is an annoying side-track.
BioShock (XBOX 360)
What if a game allowed you to have super powers like an X-Man and use guns like Rambo? BioShock does both beautifully. Use Plasmids to modify your skills; Shoot flames, suspend enemies in the air, mind control your foes and more. The game's setting can't be overlooked either; a creapy dystopian 1930's underwater cities, with hundreds of kilometers of pathways, rooms, hidden passages and more to explore.
And for the bonus round….
Wireless
Switching from a GSM phone to a CDMA….bad choice. I can't get along well with such a locked down handset that won't even let me edit the configs.
DSL Internet
Awful for the first month, once the kinks were worked out it's been great. Would still prefer cable, but at the deal I got (Free Wireless Modem/Router, Free XBOX 360 Elite + Forza Motorsport) + XBOX Live Gold Membership + Wireless Adapter) I can't really complain.
Landline
What a waste, we used 20 mintues total over 4 months.
Blackberries
Fuck. Off.
Living in the United States for 6 weeks
Enjoyable, not paying for anything was great. Houston is a great city, I'd go again.
Mutual Funds
Need to stop losing money at some point before I retire.
LG TVs
Are fantastic, please buy yourself one or twenty.
LG Cellphones
Equally as fantastic. Better than most entry levels I've used.
Dell PCs
My father bought one, after I spent 3 hours cleaning the crap off it, it still runs slow as hell. Dell says the performance in Normal, I find background processes that won't die properly. Advise my father to return computer. Two months later Dell refunds him.
Kool-Aid
At 13c a package, by far the best juice in existence still.
Nintendo DS
Hurts my neck, but touch-stylus games are incredibly fun.
Thrice – The Alchemy Index, Volumes I & II: Fire & Water
The California four-piece that is Thrice continues their evolution with a sonic tribute to the four elemets: Earth, Air, Water & Fire. Each album attempts to create the atmosphere of the element; Fire is heavy, destructive, agreesive, while water is soft, calm, melodic. Each CD also feartures a sonnet for the named element.
The Fire Album is amazing. The aggression is forefront with heavy riffs, thundering drums and vocals to tear one's face off. But, the band manage to blend in meleodies, harmonics and even choirs to remind that fire isn't just a destroyer, but also a creative force.
Water is a calm tempo, featuring the phenomenal instrumental track, Night Diving. This album makes ample use of electronica elements; keyboards, synth pads and the like.
Coheed And Cambria – Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume II: No World For Tomorrow
The saga continues. As Clauudio Sanchez, the vocalist/lead guitarist/mastermind behind the plot of Heaven's Fence takes us deeper into the Keywork. This album cements Coheed And Cambria as the leading guitar-rock gods in modern music.
Anberlin – Cities
I cannot say enough about this release, one of the most diverse pieces of plastic in my collection. Anberlin moves away from their agro-punk roots and delves into a more indie/punk/rock territory. The end result is a CD I cannot stop listening to, with every song being completely unique to itself, but telling a greaster story of love, loss and redemption. Bonus points for the anamzing finale song, *fin.
Funeral For A Friend – Tales Don't Tell Themselves
This album was a toss-up as to whether I wanted to include it on the list or not. For the sake of the fact that some of the songs are utterly epic in scope, I've left it on. However, the CD tires me quickly, FFAF have yet to master diversity on an album.
NOFX – Wolves In Wolves Clothing
It's NOFX. I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said.
Television
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Verdict: It's surprisingly good, if not predictable. A good tie together for the events between movies.
Scrubs – Final Season
A show I loved through the first three seasons, the last few have been a flunk with pointless plots, side-tracks and fourth wall-breaking. I'm sad to see it go, but at the same time hope something better will take the time-slot.
The Office (US Version)
This show really only seems to appeal to those that work in an office. The humour is fantastic, and the cringing moments of Steve Carrells character, Manager Michael Scott, remind me of so many well-meaning, but ill advises managers.
Robot Chicken
Proof that Seth Green should quit Family Guy and do this full time. One of the most diverse shows, with amazing stop-motion work. The Star Wars episode, full of Star Wars parody, leaves me in stitches every time.
Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe
If you've ever wondered about those disgusting jobs that nobody would ever want to do; like clean out a sewage tank, this is the show to watch. Mike travels around the US and the world to show the jobs that people do, to keep society moving.
Games
Halo 3 (XBOX 360)
The "conclusion" (?) to the Halo trilogy introduced new gameplay elements, brought us across the universe, and then ended worse then ended with a complet WTF moment that left me googling to make sure I hadn't skipped a level or gotten a faulty disc. It's not that the story ended badly, it just…ended. Without a real climatic battle. I was expected to actually play the huge Diorama Bungie had constructed. Oh well, maybe for Halo Wars.
Call Of Duty 4(XBOX 360) – Apparently you can beat a dead horse a little too long. Activision finally brings the COD series into modern times, after 3+ games themed in WW2. The result is an amazing, if too short, single player campaign and the strongest online contender since Halo to the XBOX Live market. Outstanding graphics, great weapons and a challenging game play still abound.
Mass Effect (XBOX 360)
Bioware is known for creating in depth games, but I think they've not only beaten their own bar, but soared over it at Mach 5 from 40,000 feet. Mass Effect contains, literally, Thousands of voice acted dialogue trees, where your answers determine the tone, length and helpfulness of a conversation. React to sarcastically and a friendly NPC may stop giving you vital information. Only complaints: Combat system is a littlee touchy and the land-roaming Shark is an annoying side-track.
BioShock (XBOX 360)
What if a game allowed you to have super powers like an X-Man and use guns like Rambo? BioShock does both beautifully. Use Plasmids to modify your skills; Shoot flames, suspend enemies in the air, mind control your foes and more. The game's setting can't be overlooked either; a creapy dystopian 1930's underwater cities, with hundreds of kilometers of pathways, rooms, hidden passages and more to explore.
And for the bonus round….
Wireless
Switching from a GSM phone to a CDMA….bad choice. I can't get along well with such a locked down handset that won't even let me edit the configs.
DSL Internet
Awful for the first month, once the kinks were worked out it's been great. Would still prefer cable, but at the deal I got (Free Wireless Modem/Router, Free XBOX 360 Elite + Forza Motorsport) + XBOX Live Gold Membership + Wireless Adapter) I can't really complain.
Landline
What a waste, we used 20 mintues total over 4 months.
Blackberries
Fuck. Off.
Living in the United States for 6 weeks
Enjoyable, not paying for anything was great. Houston is a great city, I'd go again.
Mutual Funds
Need to stop losing money at some point before I retire.
LG TVs
Are fantastic, please buy yourself one or twenty.
LG Cellphones
Equally as fantastic. Better than most entry levels I've used.
Dell PCs
My father bought one, after I spent 3 hours cleaning the crap off it, it still runs slow as hell. Dell says the performance in Normal, I find background processes that won't die properly. Advise my father to return computer. Two months later Dell refunds him.
Kool-Aid
At 13c a package, by far the best juice in existence still.
Nintendo DS
Hurts my neck, but touch-stylus games are incredibly fun.
xbox 360 dashboard update
Microsoft has finally released the long-awaited Fall Dashboard Update for the XBOX 360, in Winter. The newly revised Dashboard features support for the new Game Store, which offers downloaded versions of original XBOX games for about $20 (CDN), or 1200 Microsoft Points.
As of launch, 7 games are being offered: Halo: Combat Evolved, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Psychonauts, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, Fuzion Frenzy, Indigo Prophecy and the original Fable (no Lost Chapters here).
Indigo Prophecy totalled in at 1.9 GB download, and went pretty quick, about an hour and it was installed. The game is transitioned pretty well to the 360 and still excellent.
The update took about 3 minutes to download on my DSL connection, and hasn't bricked the console yet.
Some other changes are the moving of the Themes and Gamer Pictures option to the Games Store, as well as the intergration of the XBOX LIVE Arcade to the store, instead of it's old location in the Games blade.
Another new feature in the Games Store are Game Add-Ons, right now the content is pretty limited, but these are basically the XBOX Live version of patches; the Bioshock add-on includes some new Plasmids and Gene Tonics.
No new TV or movie content, yet. Still waiting on those NBC Sitcoms to be delivered direct to my 360.
Some new free themes are also available, most of them from the 'Xbox Originals' area. I added the Fable theme.
As of launch, 7 games are being offered: Halo: Combat Evolved, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Psychonauts, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, Fuzion Frenzy, Indigo Prophecy and the original Fable (no Lost Chapters here).
Indigo Prophecy totalled in at 1.9 GB download, and went pretty quick, about an hour and it was installed. The game is transitioned pretty well to the 360 and still excellent.
The update took about 3 minutes to download on my DSL connection, and hasn't bricked the console yet.
Some other changes are the moving of the Themes and Gamer Pictures option to the Games Store, as well as the intergration of the XBOX LIVE Arcade to the store, instead of it's old location in the Games blade.
Another new feature in the Games Store are Game Add-Ons, right now the content is pretty limited, but these are basically the XBOX Live version of patches; the Bioshock add-on includes some new Plasmids and Gene Tonics.
No new TV or movie content, yet. Still waiting on those NBC Sitcoms to be delivered direct to my 360.
Some new free themes are also available, most of them from the 'Xbox Originals' area. I added the Fable theme.
jack thompson
Most of you know/hate Jack Thompson. He's the insane lawyer who sues you for not agreeing with him, the guy who hates videogames…and most lately, it's been suggested he undergo psychiatric evaluation.
More Here
All I can say is: about time!
More Here
All I can say is: about time!
"hell, it's about time."
As most of you are (hopefully) aware, Blizzard announced Starcraft II this weekend in Korea. I won't bother reciting the details of the announcement or video, which you can read and see here.
What I'm wondering is how Blizzard plans to overcome what could be a serious challenge in their development; resources. I don't mean crystals and gas like in the game; I'm talking video and RAM resources on systems. Most of you are probably vexed as to why I'm bringing it up. But, if you stick your dusty Starcraft 1 CD in your drive and start playing, you'll notice that the game is unit intensive (anybody remember building fleets of 15 carriers on Battle.NET just to have the game lag out? or your machine go insane?). Well, imagine that scale of units, with the obvious new attention to detail that Blizzard can afford to pay to units with the advances in processor and video technology since their last event?
While the company was pretty okay when Warcraft III came out, there is some serious competition in the RTS market now; C&C 3 showed a huge amount of promise, Supreme Commander is a fantastic (albeit large game). And, I'm sure that Blizzard is planning on enlarging the map sizes far beyond the original Starcrafts size and scope, and obviously upping previous unit caps, all the while having to ensure the company doesn't alienate gamers who don't embrace the top-of-the-line machines.
But, I could be wrong, Blizzard has shown great skill at fitting the best quality game into the smallest possible packages before, and hopefully Starcraft II won't fall back on those previous promises.
As for me, I'm looking for to this game. I'm even debating digging my original Starcraft CD and Brood Wars CD out for a jaunt through old memories.
What I'm wondering is how Blizzard plans to overcome what could be a serious challenge in their development; resources. I don't mean crystals and gas like in the game; I'm talking video and RAM resources on systems. Most of you are probably vexed as to why I'm bringing it up. But, if you stick your dusty Starcraft 1 CD in your drive and start playing, you'll notice that the game is unit intensive (anybody remember building fleets of 15 carriers on Battle.NET just to have the game lag out? or your machine go insane?). Well, imagine that scale of units, with the obvious new attention to detail that Blizzard can afford to pay to units with the advances in processor and video technology since their last event?
While the company was pretty okay when Warcraft III came out, there is some serious competition in the RTS market now; C&C 3 showed a huge amount of promise, Supreme Commander is a fantastic (albeit large game). And, I'm sure that Blizzard is planning on enlarging the map sizes far beyond the original Starcrafts size and scope, and obviously upping previous unit caps, all the while having to ensure the company doesn't alienate gamers who don't embrace the top-of-the-line machines.
But, I could be wrong, Blizzard has shown great skill at fitting the best quality game into the smallest possible packages before, and hopefully Starcraft II won't fall back on those previous promises.
As for me, I'm looking for to this game. I'm even debating digging my original Starcraft CD and Brood Wars CD out for a jaunt through old memories.
it's only a browser
Okay. I'm weighing in on Firefox.
I'm not a huge fan of this browser. To be honest, the moment I find something better I'm dumping it. It's not that the browser is crap. There are some wonderful features like Morning Coffee and the like that make my web-life a little bit easier. It's free, which is a big bonus, it's secure…but there's one aspect of the Fox I can't get past; the user-base.
A quick google brought me this and a slew of similar mindless garbage. My biggest pet peeve with Firefox users is this Mac-like attitude of superiority. "Oh, you use IE? Poor you."
It gets worse when you come up against a Foxfanboy who also has his own website, in my IE days, I actually stopped visiting sites which would proudly tell me "Get Firefox, 'cause it's better than your crappy Micro$oft browser." The statement might be true, but if I'm using Internet Explorer, chances are I have a reason. Mainly because most large corporate websites are still pretty IE heavy, and Firefox makes a wonderful mess of my banks website.
In short, fuck Firefox. It's a program. Get over it.
I'm not a huge fan of this browser. To be honest, the moment I find something better I'm dumping it. It's not that the browser is crap. There are some wonderful features like Morning Coffee and the like that make my web-life a little bit easier. It's free, which is a big bonus, it's secure…but there's one aspect of the Fox I can't get past; the user-base.
A quick google brought me this and a slew of similar mindless garbage. My biggest pet peeve with Firefox users is this Mac-like attitude of superiority. "Oh, you use IE? Poor you."
It gets worse when you come up against a Foxfanboy who also has his own website, in my IE days, I actually stopped visiting sites which would proudly tell me "Get Firefox, 'cause it's better than your crappy Micro$oft browser." The statement might be true, but if I'm using Internet Explorer, chances are I have a reason. Mainly because most large corporate websites are still pretty IE heavy, and Firefox makes a wonderful mess of my banks website.
In short, fuck Firefox. It's a program. Get over it.
ummm...apple?
Apparently Apple thinks people may be using their iPods for very evil deeds:
You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.
Source: Apple's iTunes software, version 7.0
You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.
Source: Apple's iTunes software, version 7.0
