Category Archives: Technology

Jan 26 2010
Technology

Another Ode

Twas the night before Apple, and all ’round the net,
All the rumors were flying, but no real news yet.
Speculations were read, with the utmost of care,
With the hopes that the keynote, soon would be aired.

Apple faithful were restless, their iPhones held steady,
In hopes that Cupertino soon would be ready
To announce a new tablet, for which they’d been fawning,
Ever since Newton left consumers, well. . . wanting.

A capacitive screen, is a definite must.
Since fans of multi touch gestures are us
A size 10″ screen is most likely, “Yes.”
But a front facing camera, perhaps GPS?

Wifi is a given, and the app store is too,
As for syncing iLife, well now that’s nothing new.
Perhaps unlocked iPhones, for non AT&T folks
Since that network’s the butt of quite a few jokes.

Then fanboys will come from within every city
To post about how Apple’s business is shitty.
More rabid than wolves, to the forums, they’ll fly
And tear apart lie after lie after lie.

So iPad, iSlate,
or whatever you’re called.
(I’ll admit that these names
have me somewhat appalled.)
On the web I will read
and on printed news too,
“Apple tablet is out!
It’s brand spanking new!”

So tomorrow I’ll find, on my usual sites
News about Apple with included soundbites.
I’ll witness his Steveness, his demeanor quite proud
About Apple solutions, he’ll talk to the crowd.

But then he’ll announce, how much it will cost
As banks everywhere groan from cash reserves lost.
But there’s always a point, in my ears it will ring,
“Thank you all for coming. But there’s just one more thing.”

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Jan 16 2010
Games, Technology

Xbox Live vs PC

This is really more about the paid online service that comes with the Xbox and specifically, how it works with one game.

Specifically, in this case, Borderlands.

In order to start a multiplayer game of Borderlands on the PC.  I had to remember my GameSpy account.  And that was a pain.  Then there was something that I had to do on my end, either placing my game machine temporarily in the DMZ or port forwarding.  Then there was the bit where I had to double check windows firewall rules and it still didn’t work.  Eventually we figured it was the GameSpy network itself, because a couple of hours later, it was working.

I know it’s not the same, but the ability to send an invite in game and then just have the other person pop in is worth the $50 a year to me.  When I want to start playing a game with my friends, I don’t necessarily want to spend a half hour troubleshooting connectivity issues before we even get started. That’s what makes the xbox live work so well is the drop in and drop out functionality.  When you send an invite, it’s the same method for each and every game you play.  You hit the jewel, see if your friend is online and send the invitation.  They accept it.

I remember when that half hour troubleshooting was the first part of playing video games with your friends.  The half hour was spent was setting up the computers and configuring them to use the same network.  Additionally, they were all in the same room you were playing in.  None of this headset stuff, you just yelled at them for camping the spawn.

Or better yet, actually walked over and threatened bodily harm.

Ah, the good old days.

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Jan 12 2010
Technology

Really does make a difference

I really didn’t think that internet speed was going to be a make or break Quality of Life issue for me.

I’ve gone over to cable from DSL, and while the speed varies from time to time, it’s still about four to five times than what I was getting with my old provider.  And there was nothing wrong with my old provider, other than they were unable to give me the good price to bandwidth ratio that cable is providing.

At fifty percent of the cost and seven times the bandwidth, it’s kind of a no brainer.

But I didn’t realize how much I was streaming.  Before, I was waiting for videos, pausing them and doing something in another window until enough had buffered so that I could watch it all the way through.  Now, I can pick the highest quality and watch right from the get go.  My digital purchases happen in minutes instead of overnight.  My Netflix streaming is the highest quality and it starts so much quicker.

I’m not going to say that it’s made a difference in my life, but I’m saving money and getting better service (which in turn improves my other internet related services) at the same time.

Sep 03 2009
Technology, writing

Old Tech

I threw away some old Motorola Talkabouts today.  So old that they did not even have LCD screens to show you the channel ID and the security code.  Instead, you did some strange button combination that required fingers to be in different places on your hand.

That button combination is now lost in the sands of time.

When it was performed successfully, the radio would then speak the numbers aloud, in an unsettling voice that would vary the emphasis between syllables.

“Seven.  Thirteen.”

I remembered carrying them with me in my daily bag.   “Just in case,” although the cases wherein I needed them were always few and far between.

The times that I did use them regardless of whether or not I needed them were far more often.  Like grocery shopping, or running into the drugstore while another person waited in the car.  Over time, they’ve saved me perhaps two  minutes while I told someone to meet me at the storefront instead of having me walk back to the car.

I remember using them, clipped on my belt, to coordinate friend’s moving days.  I remember scheduling lunch at some of the earliest Anime conventions I attended.  Coordinating student events in college was also another use.  I remember using them, for some reason, while shopping in White Flint mall.

Now, text messaging is far more efficient and reliable.

I looked at them before I threw them out.  The rubber had taken on the greyish white tinge of decay.  One of them was missing a volume knob.  The weight of one indicated that I had left batteries inside, and I knew that opening the battery compartment was a bad idea.  The manufacturing date was June, 1998.

They had been in the drawer for probably over a decade, following me from dorm room to a house that I rented to a condo I rented to a house that I now own.  They probably stopped working two or three moves ago, maybe longer than that.

It was time to let them go, but not the memories that accompanied them.

I made a mental note to take the batteries out of the six other radios that I had, and dumped them in the blue bin that my building uses for electronic devices trash.

Aug 26 2009
Games, Technology

Champions Online

I’ve been playing the Champions Online Beta now for a couple of days and I can honestly say that I am probably going to get my money’s worth.  Especially since I went ahead and dropped the money for the lifetime subscription.

That is, unless it folds in six months.

Champions hopefully, will not fold in six months.  The game is fun, and while it is far from perfect, I like the character customization, the power selection options and the gameplay. They’ve added blocking to the MMO formula, and in a surprise move, it’s not simply a stance you take.  It’s an active skill that you hold down before an attack lands.

So in order to be successful, selective use of blocking is required.  It took me a while to get used to pressing block and not waiting for the background dice to roll a “miss.”  Once I figured that out, I had a great time figuring out the timing and mitigating damage in between my attacks and enemy attacks.  It’s a simple mechanic, but one that keeps you actively involved in the combat.  So it gives the game more of an action RPG feel.  This is in contrast to the typical “click buttons until the cooldowns are over then click them again” mechanic prevalent in most MMOs.

Not that Champions is not an MMO.  It has the social aspect of teaming, loot, leveling, and everything that one expects from that genre.  Unfortunately, the beta also had the unexplained crashes, lockups, and server hangups that one also expects from that genre.

I feel like I’m in the same car, only there’s been an engine swap and there’s a new coat of paint.  Which isn’t surprising considering the other product that Cryptic developed was another Superhero themed MMO called City of Heroes.

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