Recently in Technology Category

After my last "thing" about Opera, I thought that I'd write something "real" before I head to bed. I have a busy day ahead tomorrow so I was thinking that I'd sit here for not and... yeah, so here I am.

Today I downloaded Trace for my iPod Touch and have played the hell out of it. It reminds me of Kirby's Canvas Curse but made with pictures that I draw on my iPod when I'm bored. Still, one of the most amusing iPod/iPhone applications I've ever played with. (It's a free download. You can grab it here.)

I also grabbed Aqua Forest which is a free download right now. (I can't promise it will be when you make it there.) I kept making clogged drains and drawing in poop logs. Ah, how much fun is that. It's a physics simulator thing that has a lot to do with water and steam and stuff. And some, uh, white globby stuff which I'm not going to mention what I think THAT is. But it's a bit fun if you ask me. It's like Enigmo, but if you ask me, it's easier and there's no point to it. So it's right up my alley. You can grab that one here.

Anyway, they were cool highlights for the day.

The weekend is approaching and I'm going to take this Friday night easy. I'm just going to go to sleep early, wake up early and go to the mountains to look at a house. It will be a bit weird living about an hour away from the city at first, but I don't think he'll buy it.

So yeah, that's it. It's just been me and my iPod Touch and my horrible temper. I sorta slammed down my Macbook today. One of the things I hate is when people are being Sir Points-Out-The-Obvious-alot. And like a broken record. Totally irriattes me. Some people just don't know when to shut the hell up. Apparently I don't work enough. I guess in Chinese culture, the more hours you work the better person you are... which I so don't believe in. Maybe that's why I probably won't retire until I'm like 84. ;)

Anyway, goodnight.

The good people at Opera have released an update to their web browser. And uh, that's awesome. You might be asking yourself why that's so awesome and why I have even mentioned it here.

Did you know that I extensively test my website with Opera? Well I do, and I always have. I know that if it looks OK (or acceptable) in Opera, I know that it will most likely look good in other browsers.

They've added some cool stuff too like Opera Link (which lets you synchronize custom search engines and typed history), Feed Preview (which lets you see it in a clean and efficient layout formatted for your window size when you click the feed button), Speed Improvements, and a few other things. They've created an ad for the launch which I like:

I have to admit that it's a lot better than the crap Microsoft is churning out lately. Even those stale "I'm a Mac" commercials... but anyway... download it if you want. I like it. And I'm honestly not just saying all of this because I'm getting something out of it. I think Opera is software that's treated like a red-headed stepchild.

Download Opera 9.6

For a little cheering up, I decided to treat myself to a new game and it's been awesome so far. It's called:

I hadn't really read much about it really recently but I read somewhere that it was considered to be vapourware but honestly I can't remember where I read that.

So what exactly is Spore?

Spore is a multi-genre "massively single-player online game" developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. It allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a unicellular organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture. It has drawn wide attention for its massive scope, and its use of open-ended gameplay and procedural generation. (as stolen from the Wikipedia article here)

So yeah, from the makers of The Sims. You basically start out as a cell and as you eat either plant cells or "meat" cells, you grow in size. After a while, your cell grows legs and hops out of the water and on land where the creature runs around either killing things and eating them, or making friends with them. Then after that (which I haven't really gotten to yet), you form tribes, gather food, make friends or enemies with other tribes and yeah, personally I am not sure what comes after that.

Why do I like Spore?

Any game that gives me tons of options to customize just about everything in the game is fun for me. That's what I liked about Simutrans. But this post isn't about that, it's about Spore. As I make creatures, they're uploaded to the internet (which you can turn off if you want). And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what I've created:

So yeah, great fun, eh? Those are the only ones I've actually shared with the real world. I've made some pretty nice ones. It reminds me of genetic modification for some reason or saying something like "Here, bird. Go have sex with this gorilla and have babies." Scary stuff there. It's fun because the bird, for example, sings, flies and beats the crap out of other things with its claws. Yes, my bird has claws. Its name is Chanary. Which reminds me of something else... this is so Pokemon-ish. (I am a Wiki-linking machine today!)

If you want a trial of the Spore Creature Creator (which is fun in itself), you can go to the Spore website to get it. It's a pretty hefty download of about 190 MB (for those of us who have limits).

So far it's kept me amused for a long time but right now, it's no Sims.

What don't I like about Spore?

The game has some pretty weird requirements if you want to install it. Have an older Macbook? Tough. It doesn't really like shared memory graphics cards.

• Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher
• Intel Core Duo processor
• 1024 MB RAM
• ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
• At least 4.7 GB of hard drive space for installation (plus more for creations)
• Will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) Mac systems
• Internet connection required for registration (so you can play)

Going back to the system requirements, I didn't have a problem installing it or running it for that matter. It requires 1 GB of memory for Macs and that's what I have. I need more. Sometimes things do get a little rough around the edges, but that's OK.

I'm also not liking all the downloaded creatures that show up in my games. Some are Russian names, some are Japanese... and what good is that for me? I wish there was a way to get rid of that or just rename them. Or something.

So what do I recommend?

If your computer can run it (aka you just got your computer fairly recently and for the Macbook, JUST got it), then try it out. All in all, I really like it. I didn't want to sound like a review for this post, honestly. It will be a good replacement for WoW when I ditch it in a few months. :)

So far it's been awesome.

Good day to all of you (or those who want me to say it to them). I've been a bit quiet lately because I have been finishing up my clinical practice. I am not "officially" done yet. I still have another 5 days that I need to fit in within the next two weeks. Then I'll get my license. So that's a major milestone. It's been a tough time and I honestly didn't think I'd make it, but it's the home stretch now and I'm only a few steps behind the finish line. That's some good news.

My sister also posted a picture of me which I stole and will post here. I am not sure when it was taken, most likely Christmas 2006 [edit: actually it is... pay close attention]. (I haven't updated my gallery in a while, and I apologize for that. Since the bulk of my class is done, then I will have more time to devote to add a few pictures.)

The past few weeks have been decent I have to say. I'm still having problems dealing with the stresses of my life, but one way or another, I will get myself sorted out.

Ah, oh yes, and the iPhone is finally coming out here in July. I might get one and replace my iPod Touch with it. I mean, why bother having two things that do the same exact thing? Did Apple really think about this thoroughly? The data packages here, like anything communication-related, will cost an arm and a leg. I was telling Ronald that it will probably cost an arm and a leg. For example:

Get a staggering, huge 100 MB to use with your iPhone for $34.99 per month! Double that overly huge amount to 200 MB for only $30 more per month! It's a wonderful, great deal! Hurry, add it to your plan which charges phone sex rates and you'll ONLY be paying over $500 a month!

Yeah, it's really like that here. It's cheaper for me to call the USA than it is to call anywhere here. So I guess depending on the plans, I'll decide whether I need one that much. I honestly don't want to pay over $4,000 for a phone per year.

Anyway, enough bitching. You people know how cheap I am when it comes to these kinds of things. :)

The new Wii game Wii Fit was released on the 8th of May this month. I was at the store that day and Kmart sold out of them. JB-HiFi had them in stock for $119. So, why didn't I buy one? Why oh why didn't I buy one?!

It's like all the fun again of finding a Wii again.

And what happened today is even shittier. There is a store here that has a US presence. To be nice, I won't call it by it's name, but I'll use a pseudonym and call it EB Games (AKA the store I hate in the US called Electronics Boutique). I remember I went to their store to buy Zelda: Twilight Princess (which is still one of my favorite games) and I brought an ad in for Big W (the Wal-Mart knockoff here) with an advertised price of $44. They asked, "So does Big W have any in stock?" And stupid me, after going to their store, said "No, no they don't" so I didn't get the game for $44.

(I'll also add that after that I went to another store where the guy said "That's a ripper price." And I said, well, yeah, whatever, can I get it here? Then he checked the computer which said the lowest they could go was something like $93. He said that he couldn't give that price to me because it was "too low". So I was like, fine, go fuck yourself.

I went to Kmart and they didn't ask any questions. They did it. The guy at the counter said, "Hey, that's a really good price. Maybe I should get it too." So yeah, that was months ago.

Anyway, at the store I decided to call EB Games (which IS what it's called - I changed my mind). I really wanted Wii Fit because, well, I just wanted it. I was shopping around and someone screamed across the store: "How much is your Wii Fit" and they said $149.95 (because EB Games nor Electronics Boutique NEVER EVER has anything on sale that's decent.) So the woman said "Well I saw it for $119, why would I pay $149 when I can just wait for it?" Then the lady behind the counter said "Oh it's the last one but I'll give it to you for $119." Then the other lady said "I don't have an ad with me." And the lady behind the counter said...

"That's OK, I'll go ahead and give it to you for $119." No questions asked. Stupid bitch.

So, I have sworn off that store in this country too. I hate that company, I swear I do. The service is always sparse at best and the prices are always shitty. I should have said "Well, I saw it for $10 at this Chinese store in China." Maybe I'd get a fucking break then.

Getting this "game" is going to be HARD. You know, thinking about it, I don't play with my Wii (ha ha) much. The more I think about it, the more I think I should have just grabbed an XBox. Nintendo's stuff, I've noticed, is always crippled in one way or another. They have the capabilities, but never want to implement good stuff. I mean, take a look at what the PS3 (and even PS2) can do, then compare. Then look at the XBox 360. Nintendo is always lagging behind. Sure I like Metroid and Super Mario Brothers, but I am tired of not being able to pop in a DVD or something because I can.

If given a choice and someone said "Here, trade me this XBox 360 for your Wii," I'd so do it.

And no, this isn't because I didn't get Wii Fit today. This has been on my mind for years.

Bottom line: I hate EB Games and/or Electronics Boutique. They fucking suck.

How many of you are members of every social site available? What I mean is sites like MySpace, Facebook or Bebo? Yeah I have my share and I'll admit it to you and the world, I have one just because everybody else has one. I sorta slacked off my MySpace account because I was realizing that family members (the pre-18 year olds) wanted to be my friends. Well, my private life involving my partner and I is just that, private. The last thing I need is my cousins blabbing everything to my aunts, uncles and grandparents about how frustrated I am with my sex life. Or, you know, my strong affection for asian men with a buzz cut or/and in business suits because things like that are secrets!

You may have noticed that I don't have them listed with my website at all unless you want to go look at the sidebar. I think that's a little unfair so I will go ahead and make some suggestions and give you my opinion on these sites. That's because I know you want my opinion, RIGHT?

MySpace: Always cluttered, always overrated. Always looking like someone barfed a theme on profiles... great fun. You'll notice that I don't have a theme except "MySpace Boringness" because what exactly are you expecting a page that has my dislikes and favorite stuff to look like? Vegetable soup? All the spam irritates me. All the stupid bulletins irritates me. The only thing that I do like is that I can read about people in high school who apparently do a bit better than me but they're still living in the same backwoods town I lived in. I am across the world and believe me, I'm proud of it. You can see my MySpace page here.

Facebook: All the application invites are enough to turn a nun to drinking. I especially like the applications that don't let you see these crappy "quiz results" (aka another excuse to advertise something) without inviting 20 friends. I don't even HAVE 20 friends on Facebook. I guess I'll never figure out what Disney princess I am. What I do like is the simplicity. You can view the stuff you want and ignore the crap you don't care about. View my Facebook account here.

Net4Mac: New. It's only for Mac elitists, you know, people like me who run around bashing people who don't use Macs because when God said let there be light, he was talking about the Apple on the back of the laptops. Oh, no... no, really. I don't care. What pisses me off is that you have to use their software to access it. It's only for Macs. It's basically a web browser that restricts you from going to other websites. That's it... so why can I just save myself the download time and use Safari? There's no point. I remember some of the questions was "How many iPods do you own?" and "What kind of printer do you use?" Who the heck cares? I don't. I am not going to date someone because they have an iPod or iMac. I couldn't care any less than I do now. And since this is a Mac-only thing, I can't link to it. I'm definitely not going to tell you to download any software.

Right now, the possibilities are endless. Join one or join all! I just find my website to be the best option. No restrictions what I can say, do or think. If you know of some super cool ones, let me know! :)

This post will be a simple one. Nothing too emotional and needless to say, nothing too interesting either. I can promise you that.

I did sign up for a new Fanbox account but I don't think I'm going to use it very much. It's slow, impractical and just so buggy. So why am I mentioning it? Well it is an interesting concept. What concept is that, you may ask? Well it's a web-based operating system. I'm not sure if a lot of you have seen one before but I really believe that they'll come bigger and better. I'm sure Google, Yahoo-Microsoft and AOL will want a bite out of it too. In a way, the concept has existed for years but now people are finally doing something about it. But yeah, I don't have the patience and definitely don't trust online applications that much, you know, like word processing and presentations and junk. Anyway, that's the nerd part of me talking.

Speaking of nerds, I have updated my links page on my website. I added a few new websites, changed some podcast information and a few other things. I also made idioPod.com kinda-sorta redirect to my personal website. Not sure if I will cover the costs for that domain next year. I just didn't want anybody to steal the name!

It's 9:40 and I'm tired for some reason. My holidays are almost over so I will have to go back to my regular sleep pattern. I also need to stop playing nerdy games so much.

That is about it for now. I was at perverted-justice.com and there are some really, really sick people in this world. It's funny, in some of the IMs those old guys send to those "little girls", that's what people sound like when they chat with me. There were so many times when I was like 15 or 16 and talking to guys who wanted to get in my pants - I could have turned them in and been a very happy guy knowing I kept these guys far away from people my age. I think the main idea of that is to not let the internet ruin your child's mind. God, and parents need to watch what their kids are doing... really.

Anyway, I've raved and ranted so I'm done. Lesson learned: all that is technology, doesn't change the world for the better.

I thought I'd do something a bit different for this post. I know, three posts in a day, I'm on a roll! A lot of people have this Mac vs. PC debate on their minds and needless to say, a lot of the people who come here use Macs. (Still more Windows machines though) In this post, I'm going to explain a few things and you can enjoy reading them if you want to.

Why Did I get a Mac?

There was the disaster of Windows Me: I was getting very frustrated with the machine freezing all the time. At that time of my life, I was doing website design quite extensively and I had freezes at least 10 times a day if not more. Were there viruses on it? No. Me was just a crappy OS. After about 6 months of working on something and having the PC freeze, I said my next computer would be a Mac.

That's when I bought one of the very first iMac G4s and wow were they sexy. I still have mine though I gave it to my nephew. I had really wanted an iMac G3 for a long time because I thought those were cute enough to get attention. The G4 really got me attention. I used it up until Hurricane Rita came and tore our house apart and ruined mostly everything inside. Luckily, my bedroom was untouched and my iMac was still alive though something blew out the ethernet. I was going to get it fixed but it would have been very expensive so I just waited.

My experience with Mac OS X was frustrating at first because I started out at 10.0. The OS had issues, issues and more issues and to me, it was quite limited at what exactly I could do. And also, to me, the thing shouldn't have even been released. The interface was buggy, slow and at best marginally responsive. But still the experience was much better than Windows Me.

So after that, I upgraded to 10.1 which was a little better. It wasn't until 10.2 that I labelled my Mac as a must-have.

In October 2005, before my iMac G4 had its ethernet port fried, I got a Compaq Presario, you know, one of the $700USD ones. I have to say that it was a good computer. Much, much, much better than the earlier laptops but it was heavy, ran hot and I was so used to Mac OS X at the time, I just couldn't get used to it. Using Windows was like a 70 year old person trying to use a computer for the first time. I couldn't find anything and couldn't get anything done. So I sold that about 3 months after I got it if not that long. I sold it to Brandi who has had it sense. She likes it.

Before I sold my Presario, I went ahead and bought an iMac G5 with the built-in iSight. I loved that thing but knew when I got it that I wouldn't be able to bring it with me to Australia. So I let my sister have it and use it while I was away. The thing ran very, very hot and that kind of upset me. My cousin who was working in IT said a lot of them where he was working melted and they were having all kinds of problems with them.

But before I got rid of it, I bought a Powerbook G4 which I still have next to my bed. I didn't really want it to begin with, actually. I wanted a Macbook Pro but they just came out and the lady at the store said a G4 will be fine because my software Photoshop and Dreamweaver weren't Intel-happy yet. So I said, yeah, that's fine and bought it for a price that was almost just as much as a new Macbook Pro.

So yeah, I owned 3 computers at one time. I got made fun of for that too!

So that brings me up until now where I am in Australia and have a new shiny iMac Intel. Owning a Mac has been a pleasurable experience but it wasn't until this Mac that I had migration issues from my Powerbook to here. Most of my software is fixed but there is a lot that just won't run very well. I have 10.4 installed on the Powerbook and 10.5 installed on the iMac.

So in summary, I own a Mac now because that is what I'm used to. Do I feel any superiority over anybody else because I use one? No, not really. Sometimes I do say "well, if you owned a Mac, that kind of thing wouldn't happen." No one really asks me for Windows help anymore. :) Now, for about 4 hours a day, I do Mac support. I like my Mac and I'm so used to the interface that it's been hard (but not impossible) for me to use XP or Vista.

So Why Do I Own an iPod?

I've owned a few MP3 players and found the iPod is the best for the most part. I've owned about 5 of them all together but my favorite so far has been the 1st generation iPod. I never had any problems with it. The one I have now I have developed a love-hate relationship with. I've owned a 2nd generation iPod, a 3rd generation iPod and now a 5th generation iPod. I'm looking to get another one.

iPods integrate nicely with the Mac OS. But having said that, the nano integrates nicely with the Windows version too.

So Why Do I Own a Mac?

I have found that graphics and audio are better on Macs but having said that, I have done much better projects on a PC. I own a Mac now for podcasting, music production and website design. Plus I love the design. So many times people ask me "So, where's the computer" and I pat the back of the monitor and say "It's right there." And then I hear "wow". "Where do the DVDs go?" I point to a slot on the side. "Oh, wow." Classy machinery at its best. When was the last time someone said "wow" about a computer made by eMachines? (Very low cost PCs, folks)

Am I a Mac Elitist?

No, I'm not. I've used PCs since then but as I said it's a little tougher for me to do now. I have to admit that I do like Windows XP. I have used Windows Vista a little bit but I'm honestly not too impressed. Yes, there is a lot of eye candy like what we've had on Macs for years, but it is still a bit clunky. It is pretty but so many people have issues with it. It barely runs on a new laptop my partner bought!

People are free to use whatever they want. At the end of the day, if you get your work done, who cares what kind of computer you use? Use what works for you. Too many times people have told me things like "Macs are just too complicated" thinking that I would argue with them but I'm not going to bother. I just reply, "Well, it took me to learn, I won't lie about that but it can be done." And that's it. I don't mention how much I hate Microsoft because well, I don't. MS Office on Mac is pretty awesome if not the best suite available. Yes, Microsoft forgets we exist, but all in all, they're a company just like anybody else.

Do I Push People to Download Safari (or Other Apple Software) for Windows?

No. People are free to use what browser they want to. I am passionate about web browsers. I still haven't figured that one out yet. My favorites are Flock, Firefox and Opera. I just recently switched to Safari 3.1 as my default browser on my Mac.

I do push people to download iTunes though because I think it's must-have software. I think iTunes is good software. And with iTunes you get Quicktime. (And let me tell you, Quicktime for Mac is much better than on Windows, software-wise.)

To Be Continued...

I don't want this to be a book to read so I will continue this a little later when we'll get to the nitty-gritty. :) So yes, stay tuned and I am hoping you'll be back to read on.

I'm going to admit this right now and say that I've been playing World of Warcraft (WoW) way too much. I think I played from about 8 or 9 am until about 6 pm. You know how I bitch and complain about the bandwidth limit (a very low 5 GB between 9 am and 1 am and the other 5 GB the rest of the time)? Well I have already used a bit over 1 GB of transfer in about 3 days. So...

You know, it could be worse. It could be a lot worse. I have been reading some of the stories at WoW Detox which is a site about quitting playing WoW.

This addiction is just as bad as cigarettes and booze because yeah this stuff will definitely rot your brain. Not only that, it will shred apart your interpersonal relationships. It will put a cramp in your finances if you're skipping work to play. Maybe you'll get fired or run out of sick leave when you really need it.

And if you still want to play and don't want to become or get more addicted, I have these suggestions:

1. Set a schedule: Wouldn't you rather be doing something else at certain times of the day? Shouldn't you be?
2. Use WoW account parental controls, for yourself: Have someone you trust like a family member set the account's parental controls to keep you from playing at certain times if it's that bad.
3. Use your computer's parental controls: Again, have someone who you trust limit when you can go online to play or use the program itself. I know this is possible with a Mac but not so sure about Windows.
4. Don't join/create guilds: They just keep you busy. You're more inclined not to play if you're doing mostly everything yourself. Joining a guild is also not a substitute for socializing.
5. Ask yourself what's more important: Is this game more important to you than your friends, family and pets? If it is, you need to seriously stop. Spending some time with other people besides your guildies isn't going to hurt you.

And if you're way too far gone and need to quit, I have these suggestions:

1. Save money: If you quit now, you'll save approximately $15 a month. Find something else to do with the $180 you save per year by taking the family on a day trip or buy yourself a few movies or exercise equipment (and actually USE it).
2. Not only close your account, but uninstall the game: You're much more inclined to sign up for a new account if it is still installed on your computer. So get rid of it. Throw away the CDs if you have to.
3. Get a new hobby: With the time and money you were spending playing this game, you should find a new hobby such as learning Photoshop, PHP, swimming, painting or something else.
4. Give your CDs to a friend to either use or destroy: Don't give it to someone without a strong will. You don't want to pass on addictions.
5. Get professional help: Some people are seriously this far gone and that's depressing. If you're really having that many problems, get counselling.

I'm not going to lie to you. I have actually set up the parental controls on the account to stop me from playing at certain times so I won't use up all the bandwidth. Plus it encourages me to get out and enjoy life a little bit. (And right now I am "allowed" to play but I'm not.) Am I addicted? No. Am I in denial? No. I usually don't get very much value from my money I do pay for it. And I can guarantee you that I won't have this account forever. I play about half the year. And when I'm here in Australia, Gilbert comes in and asks "Are you playing that stupid game?" and I stop or he'll keep complaining about it.

And is this directed at anybody in particular? No, it's really not. It's just sad to see what happens when things take over people's lives whether it's alcohol, drugs or video games. The days that I am bad with it is like yesterday when I don't have much to do. So that is all the advice I have on that.

Okay, so you have all these extra videogames laying around and you don't play them, right?  So why not trade them in for something fresher and newer?  That's what I say.  Playerchain.com let's you easily do video game trades and what is even more shocking that they will give you the full market value of your trade.  There are absolutely no late fees and additionally, it's free to join.  And we all know that free is one of my favorite words!  (Especially when it's very stylishly underlined) :)  It's time to stop taking your games to the game stores and getting next to nothing for them.

Additionally, no credit card is needed, no money is involved with trading, no late fees (as I said earlier) and no commitment at all.

Really interesting concept really and I went to their website to see what was going on.  Looks pretty cool.  I'll definitely have to give it a go.  Not that I have too many games that I'm finished playing but it would be nice to know that the options are there after I add more to my Wii collection.  I have been eyeballing Metroid Prime 3 for a while.  I have really been looking forward to playing it and instead of paying out the nose for it, hey, at least I have options available, right?

Head over to Playerchain.com now.