Vista is HERE

Except, um, not. Is this the next big thing since sliced slices? OR is this just another Windows Me in waiting? WHO KNOWS?

One thing is certain. The torrent circuit has at least one torrent at 700 seeders and over 10,000 leechers. 10 THOUSAND. Not too shabby.

Did anyone tell them Microsoft can disable it remotely? Ah, I guess they'll just try their luck.

Me? Nah. It's almost always better to play wait and see.

Oh. Other things. Nah. Nothing big happening. Life just ain't so exciting anymore.

So,
¯\(º_O)/¯

My my my...

... how time flies.

Don't look at me. I ain't got any news. Or work. But, hey, they're evidently paying me to sit down, shut up, and look pretty.

Two out of three ain't bad.
 

Recovery

First off, I really wish Blogger would stop begging me to sign up to their new system. I did some undercover work checking it out and it's just more AJAXy.

I don't know what to make of AJAX. It's a pain in the butt most of the time. I switched my Yahoo mail to use the new snazzy AJAX mode and I hated it. It was slow, cumbersome, and, you know what, there's nothing really wrong about the old interface. There's this whole push lately for replicating the desktop look and feel on the web and I think it's not appropriate. I mean, cars could be built fly-by-wire, right? I mean, we've got the technology. Well, I for one don't want a car that I can't feel. If you've ever skidded in the rain you know how to pulse on the pedal and what to do with your hands and you feel the wheel resist and bend and resist. With racing lessons from long ago I forgot most of the explanations and scientific reasonings behind it all: I could probably derive it again but my physics section of my brain has been stunted for a few years. Anyway, it's become ingrained in my muscle memory. If I was just playing with a racing wheel and going through the motions I'd never get it done. (Safely.)

Besides, there's ALREADY the problem of malicious web sites impersonating genuine Windows dialog boxes to coax you into installing malware. Do we really need to make a habit of making the web look like your desktop? I say, no. People talk about how efficient AJAX is, since you only load what you need.

Think back to 10 years ago. They were talking that shit about Frames, too. Does anyone use Frames anymore? I thought so. We'll see how far AJAX stuff goes before people snap out of it and go, "whoa, I must have been SOOOOO wasted."


In other news, I finally got my Game Boy Advance stuff out of storage. Right now I've got 8 Game Boy Advance compatible game "systems" within arms reach. 2 of them are SPs still in box for future scalping, one is the Game Boy Player, one is the DS, and one is the Micro. How does it feel? Ahhh... sexy?

My first GBASP, the US Cobalt Blue, did get some damage, though. It acted wonky starting up... considering it's the first time in a YEAR it's been powered up I'll give it a pass. More interesting is that it wasn't even charging when I plugged it in. It's possible that the battery was almost completely empty. You can't let Li-Ion batteries drain completely: they need some residual charge to "jump-start" the recharging process. It's also possible that the socket has been abused. I used to charge my SPs using a 3rd-party docking cradle. The Japanese Light Blue one worked nicely. I'm still miffed that the light blue color was eventually released in the US with the newer screens. It's too bad. Although it does mean that it was exceptionally stylish, and by association I am, therefore, exceptionally stylish.

One sad part about the dark blue one is that it developed a dust dot on the screen. Maybe half an inch down right smack down in the middle. Oh the humanity. I had heard of an electrostatically charged comb can "pull" it to a side where it'll be behind the dark frame. But I don't own a comb. We'll see. I am most certainly NOT going to open it up. I don't think I have a room clean enough to do anything in. What really bugs me is, how did that dust dot get there if it wasn't there before? I had a TI-82 nerd calculator. And the LCD screen got really dirty on the inside... like the screen doesn't have any kind of fittings to keep out dirt. I imagine the GBASP has something like that on the inside since it's Nintendo. (even the GBA Micro has a rudimentary foam seal.)

Oh well. Whatever. I've wasted enough time. I was off Monday but I buried myself in storage digging those things out. Damn, I got games I totally forgot about. Too bad I don't have the time to play them.

THEFT

Plagiarism is my personal peeve. The idea of someone working hard doing what they love only to have it taken from them and passed off as someone else's makes me burn up with anger. And when that stealing results in COMMERCIAL GAIN that's even worse and I just want to start a massacre.

Please check this out and spread it around!!!

TOYS

Huh? What? What'cha lookin' at me for?

Oh, heh, no, that's ok. Sure, I guess I will.

iPhone is pretty cool. I don't want to call it a hybrid device, but it's basically a handheld computer merged with a cell phone. Apple muscling in on Windows CE and Windows Mobile? Yeah, well, way it goes. One-two punch for Motorola? Yeah, with their failed iTunes integrated phones, totally.

But, really, it's too soon to say. It's definitely sexy. First off: touchscreen. I like touchscreens... when attached to a stylus. Finger touchscreens are irritating. You will never be able to keep the screen clean enough. Also of concern is that this is a cell phone... it'll be in pockets and things and true capacitive touchscreens are pretty sensitive to scratched screens. Ask any Palm owner, and check sales of those protective films.

Of course, it could be a RESISTIVE touchscreen. Those are tougher. The DS uses one. Let me tell you, those are irritating without a stylus. I used to service an internet kiosk with a completely touchscreen display. You might still find one of the exact models I serviced still set up in Flippers North. And? Well, the resistive film gets loose over time. It cannot be glued to the surface since the actual contact of the film to the (mostly) transparent mesh is what makes it physically work. So imagine a sheet of plastic wrap extended above a bowl. Freshly done it's great. Now, stress the plastic a few times with light pressure and that springy elasticity wears out. Same thing.

In the end you would see iridescent artifacts on the screen where film wear bunches and flexes in front of the LCD. Since LCDs are precise display devices (unlike CRTs which have, essentially, analog color screens) this will amplify this effect. I'm curious if Apple REALLY solved that. Capacitive touchscreens have always been much preferred for being unable to wear out since they don't have a top loose film.

As far as using a stylus instead of your finger, I doubt it. Looking at the demo on apple.com shows instances where it's really useful to do inputs with two fingers (say, zooming). Now, of course, they could have designed a matte-finish plastic film that will go easy on the fingerprints. BUT as anyone who's had people poke and prod at their laptop screens before will tell you, it ain't perfect.

Now, WiFi is cool. Skype functionality would have been even cooler. Like, use your cell phone features only when you're out of range of a WiFi hotspot. Since it's a full fledged computer with OSX running on it I'd expect apps to be written for this purpose. But it's not official which means you'll never get official support. It's always been the caveat with those kinds of hacks. Unfortunately, the included browser (Safari) is gay. Horrible horrible. Show me some mac guy browsing web sites with Safari and I'll show you either someone who has to do it so they can check their sites for compatibility, or someone who hasn't heard of Mozilla. Again, there probably will be a port but out of the box it might be a little disappointing.

Now, size. 4 Meg or 8 Meg. Obviously it's a pure flash device, but that's really stingy. I mean, this thing can show video, play a bunch of music, AND run apps. I'd go so far as to say the 4 Meg probably won't be very functionally useful. I'll accept that some of the installed stuff is on a separate rom space from the flash, but even then how much space is 4 Meg, really? I've got about 800 songs on my 4 Gig Nano 1st Gen. And it doesn't do video. And it doesn't store all my telephone contacts. And it doesn't have any pictures, particularly any taken with a 2 megapixel camera.

Next, who's it from? Cingular?! No unlocked versions "for years". That's just a slap in the face in my book. Then again, it's Apple. They've never had any problems locking their software to their hardware only. It's a philosophical design, I guess, so it extends to cell carrier. With prices starting at $499 it also seems pretty pricey.

But, hell, the original 5 Gig iPod was that same price. A leap forward? Nah, I won't say that. But give it 5 years and we'll have some really amazing cell phones, I'd wager.

...

Wait, what, that wasn't what you were waiting for?

Ok then. I like pumpkin pie. There.

One Year Ago

Let's see... a year ago Flipper's closed. And, almost as if guided by the Invisible Hand, Destructoid has a short essay on the decline of American Arcades. It's a pretty interesting read, and so are many of the comments.

(and, um, while I'm at it referencing Destructoid, check this out: Vagina? Yeah, that might get your attention.

Yes yes yes, it's technically labia but I hate trying to be highbrow about things.)

Plus, while I'm shooting out news from AROUND THE WORLD!!!111, here's one from the totally obvious pile: dance games burn more calories than treadmills.

I can't believe weekends are so short. Ah well.

Lies and the Lieing Liars who Tell Them

The following lies are what I'm dealing with right now:

1. The recruiters lied. I'm not in a permanent position. I asked my boss when I pick out my insurance and benefits and stuff and he tells me that I need to check with my recruiters since it's all through them. I thought it was suspicious, but, hey, I'm open to alternate ways of doing things. Well, I checked with them and it's a CONTRACT position. I am LIVID. I'd up and quit but right now it's just my pride that's bigger than my wallet. It's still a big name on the old resume, and tech people do contract stuff ALL the time. So in 3 months time when the contract is up I can look for work again and put them on my resume and just say "ah, it was a contract job."

This also means I don't get benefits, either. Looks like I'm putting away more money than I might otherwise do... which is too bad since I'm trying to REFILL my empty savings account. Also included: no paid sick days, no vacation, no health, NOTHING.

Sure, it's possible they hire a contract as a permanent employee. Supposedly it happens all the time. But it's not a guarantee. To me that carries the same weight as "well, I guess something could happen overnight like nuclear war and the sun won't come up tomorrow." Sure it's possible but how likely is it to happen? Today?

2. Free Training
Turns out 20 hours a week minimum is the way it is 4EVA. The changing of my schedule was only if I got a job during the waiting period after I sign the paperwork but before I take possession of the laptop. Gah. How am I going to pull 20 hours a week when I'm working full time and, you know, sleeping every night? If I quit, I pay back all the money the government paid ($6,665 to be exact), lose my portion of the fee for me to start classes ($330), lose the laptop, lose the books, and will never be eligible for any government grants ever again.

And to think I used to think my case manager was a little hottie. WOMEN = EVIL. Don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.

Um, well, I guess that's it for now. I'm sure there are more but I'm too busy to think right now. I should have been asleep an hour ago. ><

Happy New Whatever

2007. Um, yay, and stuff.

When you think about it, it's all just nonsense. Some old dude sat up and said "This is the first of the year" and it became so. It's just a set of number values. It's cyclical in nature and adjusts for the seasons and things but "date zero" was arbitrarily selected. So, essentially, if they had arbitrarily picked another date, we could be celebrating New Year in summer, for example. (Would it still be called January, though?)

I could write about my brother's party that got carried away. I could write about the big hole in my bathroom shower wall as a direct result. I could write about my resolutions and how I'm going to make 2007 fap-tastic. But I'm not. That would take a long time to type out, and it's not that interesting anyway.

8pm on January 1st I went to sleep. I wanted to be fully refreshed and ready for my work starting in a few hours from now. I was woken up by clicking. It's one of my hard drives! WAH! Screw everything else.

Riddle: When is it time to give up anime?
Answer: When the hard drive crashes dirty.

Worse yet, the loud clicking (usually an indication that the heads are out of alignment and can't seem to get back into it) woke me up and I felt completely refreshed and wonderful. Which would be fantastic if it were 6am in the morning. It's 1:30am. Now I gotta wind down and get to sleep.

Wah-mbulance? Maybe.