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Monday, August 29, 2005

Why Google Talk isn't so great.

A great article has surfaced about the current state of IM and it's possible future. It goes on about how Google has the power to change the way IM is now and get rid of the 4 huge closed IM protocols to adopt 1 open protocol everyone can communicate on. The article is a little lengthy but very worth the time to read it.

I'll try and summarize it here for you. Basically, when email first started taking off, there were a half a dozen email protocols, each requiring you to be on their network to use it. So you could only send email to other people on your same network. Then came SMTP, which was an open protocol that let you send an email to any network. How this works is, the SMTP server you are on, finds the SMTP server you are sending your mail to and sends the message there. That server then serves you the message. Quite simple, and it got rid of all the annoyances that were involved with sending email to users that weren't in your network. Now, if you look, we have the same problem with IM today. For almost 10 years, very little has changed with IM. We have ICQ, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo!. All of these are closed networks. You need an account on each network to talk to others on that network. ICQ and AIM are now (kind of) on the same closed network, but that doesn't help very much.

Google just released their IM program called Google Talk which includes a very open IM protocol called Jabber. Jabber has been around for a while but hasn't gotten the huge support it deserves. The great thing about Jabber, is it's not centralized. There is no 1 big server you reside on. Just like your email account, your Jabber ID includes a name w/ a @somewhere.com. This way, when you send a message, Jabber knows where that message should be going and looks for the Jabber server somewhere.com. Meaning, just like email today, if everyone was using Jabber, we would all be able to talk to anyone with one client on 1 network. It's great that Google has adopted the Jabber protocol, but they left that part of Jabber out. Google Talk still only talks to those on the Google Talk Jabber server.

The point I'm trying to make now, is read that article and send Google an email telling them to change their ways. Google is big enough to change the way we communicate w/ IM. Make sure Google lives up to the 'Open Communication' they talk about all the time. It's still early enough to make a difference here!

Friday, August 26, 2005

Do you watch The Family Guy? Of course you do. One of the most recent episodes was called Petarded. Peter ends up winning a game of Trivial pursuit after Lois rigs the game and then takes an IQ test to find out he's actually below the 'retarded' line. You can put your name or anyone you knows name on the chart that was displayed in this episode Right Here! The picture is very small but you should still be able to read it. Have fun!

Trailer Crashers

Wanna be part of the movie, The Wedding Crashers?? Here's your chance. Go here to 'crash the trailer' and put yourself (and an optional friend) in the movie. Pretty funny and actually pretty cool.

My girlfriend and I starred in a trailer!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Google Talk Released

Google Talk has finally been released after weeks of speculation. It's actually not too bad. It's completely integrated with GMail and gives your notifiacations and everything when you get new mail. It's built on the Jabber network, so if you don't want to use their program, you can still connect with various IM programs like Trillian or iChat. It includes Voice Over IP. I like it. Very simple interface. Very clean. Download it now.

Trouble with adding music to iTunes?

I've spent the last few days retagging (with MusicMatch 10's SuperTagging feature. Works really well!) all of my music so that I could add it all to iTunes. I like iTunes. Very well done for a media organizer, and I'm pretty anal about my organization. So after all of this was done, I started adding music to my iTunes library. Took a while, but it was finally done and I was happy. For a moment anyways, I started to notice that some of my MP3's were missing from iTunes. I tried to drag those individual directories onto iTunes and nothing helped. No error message. Just nothing happened. Baffled, I did some research online and found that this wasn't actually that common of a problem. A few people had this problem but no real answers about why or how to fix it.

Here is what I have noticed about this weird 'bug'. I've seen some suggestions that your music was tagged in an improper format and that's what caused this. This is impossible because ALL of my music has been tagged with MusicMatch 10 now and not all my files are having problems. So I decided to erase my entire iTunes library and start over. I decided to take each individual album and start dragging them one at a time into iTunes. What I realized is that downloaded music, or music I more recently ripped to my computer added fine, but I found that a large quantity of my albums that I had ripped about 3 or 4 years ago (using whatever MusicMatch was newest then) were the problem files. Here's how I fixed it. It's really simple, but it takes some time.

Download CDex and install it. You might want to fiddle with some of the settings as their default is 128Kbs.

When that's all installed. Find out which items are not being added to iTunes and move those folders to a temporary folder.

In CDex go to the Convert menu and click Re-Encode existing compressed audio. This will give you a few options, browse for the folder you saved all your delinquent albums on the top and click the Search SubFolders check mark and make sure the 'keep existing directory structure' is checked. Then Click Select All and let it go.

CDex is a great program that re-encodes your MP3s with whatever codec you might want to use while still keeping all of your tag information. It uses LAME by default which is fine and dandy by iTunes standards. If you have a lot of files, you might want to just leave your computer going for a while. I've found it takes about 15-20 seconds per song to encode.

When it's done doing it's thing, just find the folder it saved all your music to (You should have set this in your options, but by default it goes to your My Music folder) and move the files back into your music collection.

Try and add these files into iTunes now. If it works, GREAT! You can go ahead and delete that temp directory with all the old MP3's in it. If it doesn't work, I don't know what to tell you. This worked for me. Hope this helped anyone!

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Revolution controller really is great?

Peter Molyneux has created such unique games as Black and White, Fable, and The Movies. He was questioned at the Leipzig European Games Convention about the Revolution controller. Here's what he had to say.

"There is a line at the end of the book 'Game Over' and it is: 'Never underestimate Nintendo'. That is all I can say about the controller."

Sounds like all this waiting could prove for something truly great.

Some more Xbox 360 news.

I know I haven't updated in a week and this is kind of old news, but I'll post it here anyways with my own spin. Microsoft has been busy promoting their newest console, Xbox 360. They've officially announced the packages that will be available at launch and how much they will be priced for. There will be a base bones version of the newest Xbox as well as a more 'leet' version. The bare bones will sell for $299 and the better version will sell for $399. The systems will be designed as follows. The uber version will include your console, a wireless controller, faceplate, headset, detachable 20GB harddrive, an ethernet cable, and component cables (for connecting to HDTVs). They've also stated that a remote control will be included for a limited time. The core package will include just a wired controller, your console, a faceplate and standard A/V cables.

Let's figure this out now for anyone thinking about buying the cheapo version. Do you want to save games? Your system doesn't have a hard drive so let's add $40 for a memory card. Now say you want to play on Xbox Live!, you'll need a headset for another $20. Now let's add that remote you get for a limited time for another $30. Your at about $90 if you add that stuff to your system after buying the core version. But that's not including the hard drive which runs for $100. So buying the more expensive version will actually save you money in the long run when that awesome game comes out that requires the hard drive. I say go with the $399.

In other pricing news, there's been some rumors that have said that games will run for $49.99 just like the current generation as opposed to $59.99 like some sites are advertising. Faceplates will retail for about $20. The wireless network adapter will (again) run for $99. And wireless controllers will run for $50. Sounds pretty standard. Nothing too surprising here.

Flat Panel TV prices fall again..

By this fall, prices on flat panel TV's over 40" are expected to take another nose dive of about $500 on sets currently going for $3,500. So for all of you who have waited for get the TV, this price break may be the time to act. I know I'll be acting. The increasing demand and even greater increasing supply coupled with cheaper methods of production and lower cost parts will cause this drop and could mean even bigger drops by some company's who wish to compete. With this price break coming just before the Xbox 360, I see it as a way to spend that money you saved on your new TV to buy yourself an Xbox 360. That's what I'll be doing.

VRTV?

Looks as if Japan is getting together a lot of brains to develop a Virtual Reality TV system and commercialize it by the year 2020. Their plans are to make high definition images in full 3D projected from a panel on the floor that will also allow for the sense of touch and smell. I can just imagine watching the cubs almost make the playoffs in 2020 (again) but by sitting around the TV with friends and getting up to smack the pitcher on the ass when he pitches a good inning. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Virtual Keyboard?

This has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. It's a very small gadget for phones or PDA's (and it looks like it can be embedded into them as well) that uses lasers and inferred to project a full sized keyboard onto a flat surface. If this really works as well as it's supposed to, this would eliminate the painful process of inputting data into your PDA which, in all fairness, was made to have data input into it. I really can't wait to find out if this really works.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Upgrade Needed

You know, I never thought my computer was all that old. I mean, I'm pretty die-hard on having the latest and greatest technology and all, but I've had my computer for about 2 years and it's been doing me just fine. Until now that is. I've just downloaded and installed Quicktime 7 (preview 3) for Windows so I could try out some of the new HD quicktime movies and I can't run them for the life of me. I checked the minimum system requirements and I can play the 480p videos, but the 720p requires at least a dual 2.8GHz intel or faster with a gig of memory and 64MB of video RAM. I have one of the 2.8's. My computer is an Athlon XP 2800+ w/ 1.25GB ram and a Geforce 6800 Ultra OC. Not a terrible computer but when I get some extra money, I really need to upgrade that motherboard and CPU. I can't have this not being able to watch a video on my computer crap.

Flash Zelda

I don't remember Zelda ever being like this. This is a fun little Zelda Flash game that's almost feels like it's mocking Zelda.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Praise Jesus, Don't shoot that hooker.

Christian video games are trying to replace Grand Theft Auto with.. Um.. Jesus. Christian video game developers think there is too much blood and violence in today's video games that that people should be playing games based on Jesus.

“Some of the games that are out in the mainstream market right now introduce a lot violence, blood, guts and gore,” Bean said. “We found there is a need for an alternative, for families to be able to find fun and entertaining games that reinforce positive images.”

I, for one, would not be entertained by a family game that tried to teach me about Jesus. But the christian video game developers are trying to break out of their christian book stores and their niche market and actually hit the main stream. Now since I have never seen or even heard about a christian video game, I don't know how easy this is going to be for them.

“I play a lot of Christian video games,” Tolin said. “They don’t have fights. You just have to follow Jesus and pick up little crosses for points.”

Does that sound interesting? Or fun? Ya. I didn't think so either.

“I think for Christian video games to really carve out a piece of the market, the games will have to look like they are truly competitive in terms of quality with the mainstream secular games,” explained gaming expert Adam Sessler, who hosts X-Play on G4 TV.

Now theres something I can agree with. A game about following Jesus and picking up crosses along the way for points doesn't sound fun. I think the only way these games will break out of their shell and into the real market is if they concentrate less on making a game that's all about following jesus or answering trivia questions about the bible and more time on actually coming up with a good and solid idea for an actual fun game. This is just stupid. I don't even know why I posted it. If you want to read more, head here for the full article.

More to come from Nintendo

I'm sure a lot of people have packed away their GameCube already. I'll be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that I really like Nintendo, I would have thought they dropped off the face of the earth. But fear not my friends. Nintendo still has plenty up it's sleeves this year and it should all be starting very soon.

The first little gem that we can all look forward to very soon is a Press Conference. Nintendo has scheduled a 60 minute press conference in Germany on August 17th. The title of the press conference is 'Expand the Definition of Gaming'. This is Nintendo and we all know how mysterious Nintendo loves to be, but my hope is that they get on the ball and release some concrete Revolution information. A look at the new controller would definitely be buzz worthy and give Nintendo some much needed publicity.

The next thing everyone needs to look forward to is Nintendo's first DS seller. This is (in my opinion, and from what I've heard, many other's opinions as well) the first game coming out for the Nintendo DS that will actually sell systems. I'm talking about, of course, Nintendogs. Those who haven't heard of Nintendogs see the name of a really stupid game but those who have played it will tell you very different. This game sold millions of systems in Japan when it was released in March and I can definitely see the same thing happening here. What do you do? Why, you raise a dog silly. It's a simulation game and it looks absolutely stunning and fun. Sound childish? Ya, I'm sure the kids will love it. I'm sure the girls will fall all over it. But I, too, am definitely looking forward to this one. Head over here if you want to check out some videos and more information. Keep your eyes peeled as the game is set to drop on August 22nd in 3 flavors, each with different breeds of dogs.

September is another slow month for Nintendo, but hopefully no one will care because they will have the buzz about the Revolution going through their heads and Nintendogs to play. Bright and early in October, though, Pokemon XD for the GameCube will give us all something to do. Nintendo is saying this is the first real RPG Pokemon game for the GameCube but I don't see much difference in Pokemon coliseum. But this should prove to be a great game none the less. You will be in another dimension trying to capture and revive all the dark pokemon. This should be out in the US on October 3rd.

Rumors surround the release of the next two games I will be talking about. There really hasn't been anything conretely released from Nintendo to say exactly when these games are coming out. Late October seems to be a good estimate because Nintendo's WiFi connectivity for the DS has been rumored to be out around the end of October. With WiFi connectivity on the DS, a whole slew of new options opens up for developers. Games can be played with anyone, anywhere, as long as they are written to go online and that the DS is played near a hotspot. Nintendo is doing a lot of work to make sure that this all goes flawlessly. For those without a wireless router, Nintendo is even planning to release a USB adapter that will let your DS piggy back on the internet connection your PC has. WiFi is going to be great and I really can't wait for it.

But what good is WiFi if you don't have any games to play on it? How about Super Mario Kart DS? One of two official Nintendo games announced to use the WiFi connection. Mario Kart DS will allow players to link up with up to 8 players with only one cart. Now this feature on the GBA was kind of gimmicky and only allowed for a very limited play selection, but it's nice to be able to test it out for free. There will be over 30 tracks that have been taken from all the various Mario Kart games. From the original all the way to the newest GameCube game as well as some brand new tracks. Best of all is that you will be able to play your buddy down the street, or your cousin who lives 3 states away. It's Mario Kart online folks. What more do I need to say?!

The second WiFi game coming out for the DS is what I personally bought a DS for. I knew the game was coming and I didn't care how long I had to wait. Well, the wait is finally almost over for Animal Crossing DS. Any true fan of Nintendo knows how great Animal Crossing was. For those who don't know, Animal Crossing is a very unique 'Life Simulator' for the GameCube. The graphics were nothing to brag about and it was definitely one of those games you never wanted your friends to see you playing, but it was fun as hell. What made it most fun was how open ended it was. You could do whatever you wanted. Design clothes, talk to neighbors, dig for treasure, fish, catch bugs, write letters, leave messages for other human players in your town, and a lot more. One of the things that made is so fun was that the town really felt alive. Animal Crossing used the internal clock of your GameCube to see what should be happening. When it was night time, it was dark outside. In the winter, there was slow on the ground. On Halloween, there was something special going on in Town Square. There were plenty of days and times where things only happened then. And there was so much to collect. It was definitely one of the first and only games I played every day for more than a month and didn't get sick of it. So what's so special about Animal Crossing DS? I'll give you a couple of examples. The smallest one, the graphics have been improved. Graphics meant nothing to this game but it's still nice to know they polished some things up. Your town is portable. Animal Crossing is one of those games you can play for hours or for minutes. It just seems more natural that you can take it where ever you want and pick it up for a couple of minutes or for a few hours. You have a touch screen! No more console controller input for typing messages and letters! The second screen is used for the sky. The only time you saw the sky in the GameCube version of Animal Crossing was in a reflection in the lake. Now you should be able to see balloons let go by other people, the stork delivering the mail, and they've even mentioned being able to see the stars at night and being able to make special constellations that are only seen from your town. There's also a bigger store in this version that adds on a place where you can design and change your hairstyle. No longer will you need to always wear your hat. I repeat, this is the game I bought the Nintendo DS for and I am counting down the days until it's release and until I can play online. Thank you Nintendo!

This would be enough for me, but I have more. The GameCube isn't out of it yet. The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess is set for release in mid-November. The game everyone has been waiting for since before the GameCube was released is coming and it's not very far away. I loved The Wind Waker. The graphics were crisp and I really didn't care that it was cell shaded. But this game looks just amazing. It seems like Nintendo raises the bar with every Zelda game they release and this one shouldn't be any different. This game will look and play much darker than the last Zelda game. There isn't a lot of information on what kind of new things the game will introduce, but we do know that Link will be able to transform into a werewolf somewhere in the game. It should be fun.

Now, I could talk about other things. Things that aren't really that super duper but will probably be a lot of fun. Like Mario Baseball. Looks like a fun game to play but I'm not waiting for it or anything. The point of this article is simple. Nintendo isn't out of it yet. Nintendo still has what they do best, make great first party games. And with all the new Nintendo games coming out by the end of this year in addition to all the new Revolution information that should be coming soon, this should be prime time for Nintendo Fan-boys like myself to start drooling.

Nintendo WiFi Test

Nintendo needs your help. Go here (I think you might need a My Nintendo account) to take a quick survey. You tell Nintendo a little bit about your network connection right now and download a program that will test your connection. Nintendo is trying to get a feel for how everyone connects to the internet so when they release their WiFi plans in a couple of months everything goes without a hitch. You also get a pretty neat Animal Crossing clock for helping out.

Very Funny Toyota commercial

A very funny commercial for Toyota. Just watch it.

Stare at boobs

This is a cheap little game but it's quite funny and actually a little bit challenging. You have to stare at your buddy's sister's boobs without getting caught. The face you make when you win is hysterical.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Half-life 2: Aftermath Trailer

Half-Life 2 was definately one of the best games for the PC in some time and an expansion pack is coming out that lets you pick up right where the end of the game left off. Here's a quick trailer. Kinda more like a teaser if you ask me. But if you have some spare bandwidth, give it a view.

Free publicity for Rockstar's Bully

Bullying Online is a Anti-Bullying group that has been speaking out about Rockstar's new game, Bully. They say that a game like this, despite it's M rating, will still get into children's hands and that bullying is not an acceptable topic for a video game. Personally, I think if your so sure that kids will still play this game, regardless of the rating, why don't you do something to stop them instead of infringing on someone else's rights to artistic freedom.

"Such games give the impression that these types of experiences are normal. We are very concerned that they have an effect on young people. We are contacted by up to four children a day who are suicidal, and many many more who have suffered injuries and trauma."

All of this up-in-arms crap over a couple of screenshots. That's all they've seen. The definitely seem to be playing into Rockstar's hands and offering up a nice heaping supply of publicity.

BrowserShots.org

BrowserShots.org is a pretty nifty site for you web developers out there. I don't think it's perfect, but it at least gives you a pretty good representation of what your site will look like in all the popular browsers (and resolutions). The site just got dugg to the front page a day or two ago so when I tested it, there was about a 7 hour wait for the images. Still useful though.

Nintendo: A Fan-Boy

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a Nintendo Fan-Boy. I love Nintendo and (almost) everything they do. I love how innovative they are and how much they love to take chances. I didn't own anything but Nintendo systems up until this generation (PS2 was my first non-Nintendo machine). I don't care what people say about them being a kids company. As much as their games look cute, I can't help but have a blast playing them. Animal Crossing was (and kinda still is) one of my favorite games on the GameCube and I specifically BOUGHT the NintendoDS because I knew that Animal Crossing was coming to that sometime in the future. So for all of you nay-sayers. I say suck-it. Cause anyone who spends a little bit of time can see that everything Nintendo talks about is true. Let me explain.

What I mean by this, is that Nintendo doesn't really falsely advertise itself. Nintendo has been repeating, through the entire GameCube generation, that it's a family software company. Nintendo makes games that kids can enjoy and so can teens or adults all the same. They say this all the time any time someone tells them they are a kiddy company. They deliver every time as well. I can't think of very many Nintendo (first party) products that aren't fun as hell to play regardless of their cuteness. Nintendo is also convinced that the gaming industry is at a cross-roads where something needs to change. They started what they are calling a 'revolution' with the Nintendo DS because it's different. As different as it is, it's still a blast. Nintendo will continue with the console code-named Revolution and possibly change the way we all look at games today. I hope this works out for them. I really do. I know I will be first in line to get one when it comes out regardless of what they finally announce, because I know Nintendo and I know it's going to be good. Nintendo very rarely disappoints me.

Rarely does come with an exception here. One that I've become 'OK' with. Nintendo has no third party support as far as I'm concerned. When I look at my collection of video games now. My GameCube titles consist, almost exclusively, of only first and second party titles. This is where I've come to terms with this. If Nintendo decided to only do first and second party games, I think it would be just fine. A system with only exclusive titles. This would be a revolution to me. A system that didn't care what games were coming out on the xbox and playstation. They stopped TRYING to be the only system in everyone's home. This would just change a lot of peoples view on Nintendo.

What's my point? I don't really think I had one. I just felt like writing. Let me try and conjure one while I type this paragraph here. I guess my point is that people put too much pressure on Nintendo to be that great system that everyone wants. I think the best analogy I've heard for Nintendo systems is that it's a Desert system. It's great and it's cheap but you really can't have it by itself. I really can't wait for Animal Crossing DS and Nintendo's WiFi plans. To see Nintendo finally step up and put it's games online, I really have faith that this is going to work really well. Nintendo, just keep doing what your doing and stop worrying about the third parties. Keep the exclusives coming and you'll do just fine.

DaVinci Code Movie: Plot Change?!

OK! This is really getting ridiculous! Sony Pictures has actually been speaking with catholic and Christian groups to find out how to make The DaVinci Code less offensive for them. I honestly don't understand how Dan Brown could let this happen nor do I understand how he could have looked over that part of the contract that said 'We can change the entire plot of your book if we want'. I love The DaVinci Code. One of the main reasons I love it is because it brings up questions and concepts that society (i.e. the church) tries to hide or cover up. I understand that Sony wants to make money on this movie, but doesn't the fact that the name of the book often comes with 'best selling' somewhere within a few words of it. People like the book the way it is. Don't do this to a great book Sony. Please don't.

God's Blog

Bored? Check out what God himself has to say about the world we live in.

Wednus Windows

Want something fun to play around with? Try the Wednus Windows javascript library. Lets your very easily create and modify virtual 'windows' on a website. Everything is skinnable and the library is GPL'd so you can have at the code. I was looking around for a window manager for javascript for a while and I have to say this is definitely the easiest to use and most fun.

Man dies from a Video Game Heart Attack

In the what the hell is this world coming to news, a 28 year old man in South Korea died of what is thought to be a heart attack from playing 49 straight hours of Starcraft at an internet cafe. With very little to eat and no sleep, I guess his body just gave himself the finger and went belly up. Now I love Starcraft as much as the next guy, but 49 hours?! What kind of internet cafe wouldn't do something about the man who hasn't moved for 2 days? Just plain stupidity on more than just the man playing video games part.

The Coffee has gone cold

Rockstar Games has finally released that patch for the PC version of GTA: San Andres. For all of you who own the game and feel very deeply offended by the sexual content that was unlocked when you downloaded and installed the Hot Coffee mod, fear not! This patch will fix your game so you won't have Hot Coffee any more. The scenes have been removed from the underlying code and it's been said that some other bug fixes were introduced as well as support for 720p and 1080i resolutions. So give it a download if you would like.

The Dark Side of Phobos

A collaboration of 23 tracks was released by the OC Remix team of remixes of all your original Doom favorites. The Dark Side of Phobos is available in both downloadable mp3 form, or your can grab the torrent which has both the mp3s and the lossless flac audio files. The mixes are very well done and I am quite enjoying them as I write.

Project Offset

Project Offset

Out of no where comes a game that looks extremely promising. Project Offset (I'm guessing the name will probably change) is an FPS set in a very beautiful epic fantasy world. If you check out the two demos they have on their site you can see just how pretty this game looks. I'm very excited for this. The team is only 3 people strong and they are currently self-funding their efforts and it looks like they're doing a great job at it. I just hope someone picks them up before they can't sustain themselves any more.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Why I can't wait for IE7

I hate internet explorer. I don't so much mind Microsoft. They seem to be cooling down on the whole monopoly thing and I think that's because they realize there are other alternatives out there and being the 'cool friendly guy' is starting to be their new thing. Why do I hate Internet Explorer? Honestly, it's not a terrible web browser if you look at it from a simple and easy to use standpoint. If you look at the fact that it's built right on into the operating system and it loads very quickly. Internet Explorer OK for the end user. Get to the point? I hate Internet Explorer because I'm not just an end user. An end user has to worry about one thing. Loading their web browser and typing in an address. The rest is just magic to them. Me? I have to worry about how my site is going to look in both FireFox and Internet Explorer because FireFox hasn't completely taken over the market share that IE has yet. I have to continually test my site in both browsers because even if something looks very good in FireFox, there's a pretty good chance that IE just trashed the hell out of it. IE7 is actually trying to change that. The newest release (beta 1) of IE7 isn't all that impressive from a developers standpoint but there are promises on the IEBlog that state very clearly that IE7 will be very compliant with web standards. I really can't wait until beta 2 when I can actually test these claims. But next year, when Vista is released, and most people download the newest IE7, it will be a sweet day when I can program a site entirely for FireFox and then open up IE7 and have it look the same. I can't wait for this day.

311 on MySpace

I don't like MySpace. My girlfriend loves it but I just don't see why it's so special. But there is a very specific audience on MySpace and 311 is tapping into by streaming their entire new album on myspace to anyone who wants to listen. In a day when the RIAA will sell their own children for any information about someone downloading music without buying it, it's good to see that some bands understand why the internet is such a great place for music.

GoogleIM

Google just can't get enough these days, and I love it. Google seems to be doing a wonderful job of making web (and un-web) applications that are both very useful and very much different from the rest of the web. Google's latest? How about Google IM? Google is supposed to announce, very shortly, that they have acquired Meetro which would give google a pretty nice (and different) Instant Messenger program. Meetro differs from other IM programs because it's main use is to find people near by you with similar views and interests so that your communications can extend outside the virtual world you love so much. Meetro works with AIM, Y!, and ICQ and there are plans to make it compatible with MSN and Jabber in the near future. Keep your browser pointed here for more info when Google officially announces their acquisition.

B.i.G.?

Cable providers have a lot of competition lately in the broadband internet arena. Verizon just started rolling out a FiOS (Fiber to the Home) broadband internet connection which gives customers a standard of at least 5Mbps down and 2Mbps up. This cripples the current cable standard of about 3 or 4Mbps down and a lowly 256kbps up. But now even Verizon has some competition. Nethercomm Corporation has developed the ability to offer 'limitless bandwidth' though none other than your natural gas lines. This could be quite a big blow to both Cable and Telecomm companies since this would allow Television, phone and internet services all to come through your gas line. The current max bandwidth capabilities for your cable and DSL internet would be around 100Mbps, same goes for FiOS. Nethercomm is stating a cap more around 10Gbps. Fret not my lovely audience. Even though this type of technology sounds like it's decades away, it's actually getting ready to be deployed right now. With no modifications needed to existing gas lines, you could be getting your internet via your gas line by the end of next year.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Kid throws tantrum during xbox game

This kid didn't have the common sense to turn off his mic while he was having a fit because his mother wouldn't get him some chocolate milk. I want to guess he's about 12. One of the members on his team started to record it and even followed him around and zoomed on his face so you could see the kids mouth move while he was yelling at his mom. Very funny clip. Check it out.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Halo 2 Update

I've started playing Halo 2 more lately. Even got my friend, Jeff, playing more. He's the kind who really doesn't like all the 'kiddos' on Live! who just scream and are just really annoying online. Couple that with the fact that these kids do nothing else but play Halo 2 on Live!, it makes for some unenjoyable experiences. But we all played for a while not too long ago. We had a blast. I've been playing a lot of Team Skirmish when the rest of my friends aren't online. I used to really like the Big Team Battle, because it was just so fast and fun and big. But for some reason, Big Team Battles tend to lag. It's not a huge lag. It's not unplayable. But I would rather play smaller tighly knit games where I can actually talk to the other 3 players on my team and have them respond. Yesterday I went from a level 5 to a level 11 in just about 6 or 7 matches. I just ended up being on a good team for each match and every time I won, I gained a level. I didn't mind.

I think that's all I got for my Halo 2 Update. I'll add more later. I can't wait for the extra levels to be free. 3 more weeks for that.

About time

I'll admit it. I've been slacking off around here. But before you jump down my throat about it, let me explain. There have been various reasons why I have been neglecting my blog. Most of it centers around laziness. I've been using the new Dear Park Alpha 2 for a while (It's the code name for the next Firefox 1.5) and It's been working grand, but a few days ago (probably just after my last post) I decided to download the newest Dear Park build. Wasn't having any problems, just thought I'd give it a shot. So I installed it and was all ready to blog my little heart out, but for some really strange reason, Dear Park didn't work with Blogger.com any more. Now if I wasn't lazy, I would have downloaded v1.0.6 of Firefox like I just did now and went about the blogging. This didn't happen. My other reasons for neglecting you is that I've been scouring the wed for some cool javascript libraries I could use to make my next uber-cool project. You'll find out more here in the future and I'll definately post here when I feel the site is ready for beta. But I just assure you that it will be cool. I've also started taking up C++ and started trying to learn Javascript at the same time (I've only got a pretty basic understanding of both of these languages). So that's why I haven't been here. Sue me.