I never had a thing for cars. Sure, I like looking at them, but I never wanted one really. I know how to drive, but only up to the third gear. Heheh. But there is one car that I will forever salivate on: the Volkswagen Beetle. It is the single cutest car on earth, and I will forever admire its sheer beauty. [Read more…]
Archives for August 2007
The MERC Stealth gaming keyboard
PC gamers are a rare bunch of tech geeks. They have this constant itch to upgrade to the newest and fastest parts, trick out their PCs with so many lights and cooling solutions you’d think it’s a christmas ornament in danger of heat exhaustion, and get the latest gadgets that would help them increase their frag count.
One peripheral that is creating a bit of interest among gamers are the so called gaming keyboards. A lot of gaming keyboards have actually been released in the market, but the MERC Stealth keyboard offers a unique and definitely bad ass looking design that will not only help enhance gameplay, it will surely turn heads too.
The secret is in the hybrid design of the keyboard. There is a normal keyboard here folks, but the enhancement comes in the added pad of 34 gaming keys on the left side of the keyboard. This means that your hands, after a bit of a learning curve, will fall naturally on the keys making you push the keys more intuitively and without the fear that you may press the wrong one. The keyboard is not only functional, it’s also pretty too. It comes with backlighting and four colors to choose from — the girlfriend will definitely play with this feature the most.
At a price of about $90, the MERC Stealth could possibly be the latest “must-have” gadget in the serious gamer’s arsenal.
[tags] MERC Stealth, gaming, PC Gamers[/tags]
Being the ‘IT Guy’
Unfortunately, for a while now, I’ve been the ‘IT Guy’. By that I mean I have had an interest in computers for a long time. It began way back when I was just about eight years old I think – when I owned my first computer, the Spectrum 128k. Here in England it was never as popular with as the C64 but it had some great games for it. That’s what drew me in. That and seeing the results of a flashing screen after copying a full page of code from a magazine!
This techno-lust continued in the form of a GameBoy, a SNES and finally my first proper PC – a 486. I loved my 486, not least because I grew to understand DOS, but I also had my first play on DOOM. Magnificent stuff. From here I got Internet access and finally a new PC. Broadband soon followed as well as HTML, digital cameras, modding and hardware experimentation.
This brings me to modern day. I’m on to my second laptop, third printer and I have a few IT qualifications. I also run a couple of websites and contribute to others. All in all, I’d say I’m pretty tech savvy. This has resulted in my reputation. The eponymous ‘IT Guy’.
The fact is this has meant I get bothered with all manner of queries, questions and sometimes faced with bizarre assumptions. Some obvious questions are ‘can you fix my computer?‘ – the answer sometimes being yes, sometimes being no, but when someone can’t even tell you exactly what is wrong – ‘the screen isn’t working’ this can be difficult. People tend to think that you’re somehow hardwired to understand the machine intimately just because you can connect a printer to a computer.
Other queries I’ve had can be more complicated. These include the eponymous ‘which Internet Service Provider should I use?’ – this being a big issue in the UK at the moment with all manner of offerings, some expensive, some free, some even throwing in a free laptop. I’m actually going through the process of assisting my folks choose which ISP to contract with.
I’ve also worked in an IT support role that has provided some challenges, some difficult moments but also some interesting posers of the following:
1) What is the Internet?
2) When I click, some words come up (they were right clicking)?
3) Now that I have my website, where is it?
4) How do I get the disc into the hard drive?
5) My computer has gone off. What can I do about it?
As you can see, some of the questions are a little ‘out there’. I didn’t mind too much, just because not everyone has had the chances to get used to technology as I have. On the other hand, sometimes people make strange leaps of logic. The idea that I know about everything of everything with IT is pretty strange itself.
Being interested in technology has brought some fantastic benefits to my life. I have my websites, the pleasure of writing for Gadzooki and being able to do many things for myself that I otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to do. I enjoy helping people, but I sometimes think that they would be better off helping themselves as they could learn more. However, if you’re fearful of breaking your computer it’s probably better that you leave it to the experts!
directx10 cards obsolete
At the recent Siggraph 2007, Microsoft made an announcement that floored gamers. The company said that the current crop of DirectX 10 hardware (meaning graphics cards) will not be able to support the upcoming DirectX10.1 that will be bundled with Windows Vista Service Pack 1. What they probably wanted to say, but were just too chicken to actually say out loud is that those who sprang for those nifty video cards in the pricey $200 – $600 range in the hope that they will be ahead of the pack when DirectX10 capable games arrive and also as a way of futureproofing their systems are now effectively left with obsolete cards.
Microsoft, the reigning kings of euphemisms, tried to spin it a different way. They said that DirectX 10.1 merely makes some optional features compulsory. It may somewhat lessen the whole impact of the announcement, but the company still cannot deny that they are effectively leaving gamers who have invested in DirectX10 capable cards with expensive hardware that went from Ahead of the curve to middle of the pack, faster than they can say “Service Pack 1”.
[tags]Microsoft, DirectX 10, Siggraph 2007[/tags]
Spotlight: Yahoo. New and Improved?
I think I lived under a rock for some time, where Yahoo is concerned. I’m a rabid Google fan, and almost all the main Internet services I use are Google-based.
But there are two services that I use that are not Google-owned: Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Mail. Recently they’ve done some improvements, and I was… Shocked, to say the least.
Well, the e-mail storage becoming unlimited in space elicited not much of a shock in me. Rather, my reaction was: “Well! It’s about time!” But what made my jaw drop was…
Yahoo’s “OMG”.
OMG indeed!
[Read more…]
Geek Stuff
What fun way to mix toy building and computers. I remember when I was a kid I had a LEGO set, that you can put a motor on it to make it run. heheh.. now this geek’s wish has come true. I recently ordered a Robot kit the one in the picture and now i’m anxiously waiting for it. A remote camera robot, this cute little thing is survelliance robot on its way to its black ops mission, or another trip to mars.
From Thinkgeek…
Hardware Specifications
Robot moves at 20cm – 40cm /second (about 1/2 mile/hour or 1 ft/sec) with variable speed control and differential steering
60MIPS ARM7TDMI 32-bit processor
Digital video camera with resolution from 80×64 to 640×480 pixels (Currently only up-to 320 x 240 supported in software)
Four infrared sensors detect object proximity and allow communication with other Robots
Zigbee USB 802.15.4 wireless module included (Range 100m indoors and 1000m line-of-sight)
Updatable internal robot firmware
Internal 7.2V 2AH Li-ion battery pack, provides operation in excess of 4 hours
Included AC Adapter for Charging Robot (100-240V 50/60Hz)Software Specifications
JAVA based Control Application Runs on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
Robot firmware source code, written in GNUARM-compatible C, is available under open source (GPL) release
A geek toy indeed…
Nokia Recalls BL-5C Batteries
Nokia has announced today the recall of BL-5C battery packs manufactured by Matsushita for the period December 2005 to November 2006 for risk of overheating or explosion due to short-circuiting (rare cases, but potentially realy harmful). The affected phone models are as follows:
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60
According to the press release, approximately 100 incidents of battery-related mishaps have so far been reported. This is due to the chemistry of Lithium-Ion based batteries, which can be volatile if not packaged or handled properly. Li-Ion cells found in laptops and other devices also pose the same risk. But you don’t need to worry if you handle your batteries properly (e.g., by not subjecting them to extreme temperatures, shocks, punctures, and the like), and if these are not found by the manufacturer to have come from a defective batch.
If you own any of the above-cited phones, you can check whether your battery is part of the recall by entering in its 26-digit serial number on the Nokia recall page.
The “high” cost of graphics
When the first video cards started appearing around the middle of the 90’s, I admit I was quite skeptical about the whole thing. Why the need to get separate hardware to handle graphics when the games I was playing then (Heretic, Doom 2, Command and Conquer, Quake 2, Diablo) didn’t really need it? I thought it was just a gimmick cooked up by hardware manufacturers to increase sales. I was smirking the whole time when Rob, a friend of mine, spent so much money on a Canopus 3D card. “What a lemming”, I thought to myself.
But a few months after I read an article on what video cards can do, and how it can actually help free up the processing power of the CPU by having a dedicated chip handle all of the graphics calculations. I got a little convinced about the need for a graphics card after reading it. But what really convinced me was when I saw my first graphics accelerated game. When I saw it, I knew that I wanted one then and there. Of course, it took me a couple more years before I actually bought a video card (as part of replacement computer).
I’ve been using video cards ever since but even though, I am an avid PC gamer, I have never gone overboard when it comes to my hardware. I also love the bells and whistles that the latest, fastest video cards offer but I am not insane enough to buy a card that is worth a low end desktop computer. I think it’s a waste of good money. Why? Well, because of depreciation. Take for instance the new GeForce 8800 GTX cards from Nvidia. This top of the line card costs about $570 right now. But you’d be lucky to even sell it for $450 a year from now. And the longer you keep it, the more it depreciates.
I’d rather buy a mid end card for my gaming needs. It costs less, gets sold much faster in the second hand market and I don’t have to throw away my hard earned money. The bottomline is, I’ll never be a lemming.
[tags]video card, Nvidia, 8800 GTX[/tags]
Gamer Score Point Addiction
Recently, I’ve been playing a few more games on the 360 and the PC. One thing I’ve noticed though is that I’m less inclined to play any game that doesn’t give me achievement points. Stupid I know. However, I’m not the only one to pick up on this trend. Matt and Todd over at SAG (Short Attention Gamer) have both commented and said that of course the game should be the reward in itself, yet this is not the case for a lot of Xbox 360 gamers.
I have a Gamer Tag (blackvv – feel free to add me to your friends list) and I am surprised to admit that I actually care about the score that I get. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to run out and buy every EA game (well known for having much easier ways in which to earn your Gamer Score Points) – but I do actually want to see a score of over 5,000 if possible, as apparently that’s when you have ‘made it’.
Some games give you a real sense of achievement for getting the points. Forza 2 for instance is an excellent example of having to work for your points. The game requires you to complete each section in order to achieve the points that you need – you can’t just plod through it ad hoc. You can however hire a driver to win your races if you have half decent cars!
Even the official Xbox site has an ‘achievements annoymous’ section – quite worrying really! Carrie Gouskos has also written a feature about this strange addiction over at Gamespot. There are of course a few reasons why the points are popular.
Firstly, it’s quite like a game in and of itself. Can you really do the 25-metre jump and then go on to kill 10,000 zombies? Whatever the game, there might be a weird way in which to get some points. Second, you can see your progress through the game, and when matched with True Skill Points, is a great way to show off to your friends.
Overall, Gamerscore Points are a really good feature on Xbox Live and I can’t wait to get some more of them. Of course, I really want to earn them on some of the upcoming games such as Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed and Blue Dragon.
A wireless dilemma
I recently bought a wireless keyboard and mouse combo set because I wanted to unclutter my work desk. There are just too many wires snaking in and out of my PC that I’m already endangering my pet dog’s life. I thought that by removing at least two cables from my PC it will be result in a slightly more organized mess. And hey, who doesn’t want to have a cool wireless device on their desk?
I bought a relatively cheap A4tech R7 set and proceeded to install the drivers on my PC. I have to admit I loved the freedom that a wireless keyboard brings. For one, I can type even when my feet are propped up on the side of my desk (my ankles swell if I sit down for a long time) and the mouse, unshackled from wires, meant that I can use any surface as a mousepad. Everything went great for the next two weeks. It was on the third week that I started encountering problems.
First, I discovered that my keyboard does not work anymore on the dual boot screen, which is on the DOS level. I couldn’t solve the problem so I just attached my old keyboard for making the OS choices. Then I noticed that my mouse began to act very sluggishly. Sometimes the problem was intermittent but soon it worsened so that from the initial boot up it was already sluggish. I replaced the batteries twice, reconnected the connection with the RF unit to no avail. The final complication that happened was when I booted up my PC and discovered that my keyboard was also not responding like it used to. It was slow to respond to key presses. I tried everything I could think of and even tried consulting online articles on wireless input devices. Nothing worked. It dawned on me that there may be some interference at my house that I couldn’t pinpoint.
Frustrated and at my wits’ end trying to solve the problem I finally made a crucial decision… I unplugged the RF unit, removed the batteries on the keyboard and mouse, replaced it in its box, took out my old optical mouse and attached it to my PC.
I’m now back to where I started — using a wired keyboard and mouse. My desk may look cluttered but at least I can actually get some work done.
[tags]wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, A4Tech[/tags]