NESlog

Monday, 21 September 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 9.1: Wii Homebrew Guide
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's roughly 2:00 CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

WARNING: Too Damn Late is not written in front of a live studio audience. Since it's written after midnight, the contents in here are uncensored by anybody as an act of first ammendment rights. Therefore, if you are easily offended by swear words or outrageous thoughts, STOP READING THIS BLOG ENTRY NOW!!! I don't want to hear any complaints from anybody because you read this with ample warning. I don't writing these warnings, but I do so to protect myself here. By reading beyond this warning, you hereby consent to such adult content. VIEWER DESCRETION IS ADVISED!

With the installation of the Homebrew Channel (as noted in TDL 9.0), it's now time to pick up some apps for the Homebrew Channel! While there's various way to obtain, install & load apps, I'm taking the simple "SD Standalone" option as it's a fairly simple, but takes a little effort to do. Please be aware that if you're going to install a lot of homebrew apps (or a lot of files on hand), you'll want a large SD card that your Wii can support. For those running an older version of the Wii Menu system (pre-4.0), your Wii can only support up to 2 GB's. For those running Wii Menu 4.0 or newer, you can go up to 32 GB's. The exact size of the SD card you pick up will vary on your budget & your space needs, but it never hurts to go as large as you can afford to.

All the major homebrew apps are available at www.wiibrew.org, but I'll only go list the apps that I've actually tried. Just follow the installation instructions for each app & you won't have any major problems. For those who are totally fucking paranoid about stuff, I've included an "Operational Risk" rating, which give you an idea on how risking an app is.

Safe = There's practically no risk of problems, you can run this without fucking up your Wii.
Relatively Safe = There's a few potential pitfalls that could cause problems, but the most of the app is safe. Pussies are like to turn around here.
Relatively Risky = There's a couple of pitfalls here that could brick your Wii that only the adventurous users may partake.
Risky = There's a lot of experimental stuff here that could easily fuck up your system. Only maniacs with a crapload of cash (to replace their Wii) or developers should apply.

With that said... let's get to the apps!

1) MPlayer CE
App Type: Media Player
Operational Risk: Safe (Basic) - Relatively Safe (Expanded features)
Media files required for enjoyment
NOTE: Additional components required for maximum enjoyment... Online access for Wii strongly advised.

MPlayer CE is multimedia player that has a pretty impressive file support list. While the interface is a bit minimalistic, it does the job fairly well despite it being a read-only deal. You can access files from the SD card, any supported USB devices (requires cIOS for USB 2.0 support, see above note) & even DVD's (requires DVDX OR cIOS for support, see above note). If you have your Wii online, you can even access shared network files (via SMB), FTP, Shoutcast or even YouTube!

As noted, the controls & interface are a bit minimalistic, but it functions well enough to be enjoyable. If you really want full enjoyment, you'll need to go online to install the additional components as well as minimize the legwork if you want to play any new media files without having to pull out your Wii's SD card. The video quality is pretty good, but you'll likely run into framerate problems with high-definition video (like DVD or any H.264 videos). These performance issues are with the Wii's hardware itself & cannot be fully fixed.

I will note that if you choose to install cIOS for expanded support (for DVD & USB 2.0 support), there are some risks involved with installation. However, you shouldn't worry too much as long as you have a stable internet connection & power connection (you may want to use an uninterruptable power supply with your Wii... just to be safe) during the installation process. Offline installation is NOT SUGGESTED because it's a bit more complicated than desired for added support.

If you like to listen to music OR watch videos AWAY from your computer & on a larger screen, it's worth the download for the convience... especially if you can get the network file sharing to work.

2) FCE Ultra GX
App Type: NES Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
NES Roms required for enjoyment

For those who enjoy the playing NES games on the Wii, but may not have access to the Wii Shopping Channel or choose not to pay for those games for whatever reason you have... you'll likely enjoy this. However, you'll need to provide your own NES games (which can be picked up from your preferred ROM site).

FCE Ultra GX's control style is surprisingly easy to get down without looking at the WiiBrew.org page. All you do is select the game you want from the ROM list, hit A & flip the Wiimote to it's horizontal orientation. When you want to tweak the video settings, controller settings (between 2 controllers, 4 controllers or Zapper mode), load/save save states OR want to quit, just hit Home on the Wiimote. The makers of FCE Ultra GX's menus run similarly to the Wii Menu that it's very easy to operate.

If you want to play a Zapper game, you'll need to switch the control style to "Zapper" mode & switch your Wiimote back to the horizontal orientation as it'll use the Wiimote's IR system aim. The crosshair on screen will show you where you're pointing, when enabled. Other than that, you use B to fire & - to change options (as you cannot shoot off-screen).

FCE Ultra GX doesn't have a perfect 100% compatiblity rating, but all but ONE game I've played on it worked perfectly. The one game that I'm writing off is more of a graphical issue that makes it practically unplayable (unless you like seizure inducing flashes through the entire game). The only other tweak I had to do was adjust the video to better suit my TV (which you'll have to do yourself), but it's one thing you won't have to change unless you change TV's.

For NES lovers on a tight budget, this is a must-grab app!

3) SNES9X GX
App Type: SNES Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
SNES Roms required for enjoyment

From the maker of FCE Ultra GX comes THE SNES emulator for the Wii. SNES9X GX has the same game support & interface as FCE Ultra GX, but you now get to play the SNES games instead of NES.

Unless you're going into Super Score, Mouse, or Justifier mode (which uses JUST the Wiimote), you'll most likely want the Wii Classic Controller OR a Gamecube Controller for maximum enjoyment as they carry a more proper button layout. HOWEVER, you can customize the controls if you want.

As with FCE Ultra, SNES9X GX doesn't have a perfect 100% compatibility of all games. There's only a few games that SNES9X GX failed to run. The one uses the FX chip technology & the other game requires extra software that the emulator does not seem to support. Video settings, as usual, will need to be tweaked for maximum enjoyment.

If you're a SNES lover... this would be a no-brainer! Just remember that you'll have to provide your own SNES ROMS (which can be picked up from your preferred ROM site).

4) Visual Boy Advance GX
App Type: SNES Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
GBY/GBC/GBA Roms required for enjoyment

Again, from the maker of FCE Ultra GX & SNES9X GX comes the another masterpiece of homebrew applications! Visual Boy Advance GX (aka VBA GX) is the emulator for the old portable Nintendo systems. It supports Gameboy (GB / GBY), Gameboy Color (GBC) & Gameboy Advance (GBA) roms... just like a Gameboy Advance system does (except for the GBA Micro)!

For GBY & GBC games, you can get by with just the Wiimote (as they use the NES controls). However, you'll likely want a Gamecube Controller OR the Wii Classic Controller for the GBA games as they have a few extra buttons that they have & are placed in more natural configurations. The only problem I had with VBA GX was that the video was oversized at 100%, causing me to miss some details on my TV. A quick scale-down to 90% in the video settings fixed this. HOWEVER, screen configuration is subject to your actual TV.

If you like the NES or SNES emulators & enjoy the portable games, it's only natural to pick this up. Just remember that you'll have to provide your own GBY/GBC/GBA ROMS (which can be picked up from your preferred ROM site).

5) Hu-Go! GX
App Type: Turbograx-16 / PC Engine Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
TG-16 / PCE Roms required for enjoyment -- TG-16 CD games require extra work

Hu-Go GX is an emulator for Turbograx-16 (aka PC Engine elsewhere). While the Turbograx-16 wasn't that popular in the US, it has some relative success in Japan & elsewhere. It can be played with just the Wiimote, but you can use other controller options as well.

Hu-Go GX is OK, but there's a few issues I've ran into. First of all, there's minimal documentation for it. Therefore, you need to be a little adventerous to figure how to run it & enjoy it. Second, TG-16 CD games require more work (& space) than most standard TG-16 games. Again, since there's practically no documentation on how to get them to work... you're on your own. Finally, the natural file-save system (that's normally used with the games) doesn't seem to work. This tends to drag down the enjoyment of Hu-Go GX as it forces you to start all over again for the games that support save files.

If you're a game enthusist, you'll likely give it a spin... otherwise, you'll likely skip this.

6) Genesis Plus GX
App Type: Sega Genesis / MegaDrive Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
GEN/MD Roms required for enjoyment

Genesis Plus GX is an emulator for the Sega Genesis (aka MegaDrive outside the US). The Sega Genesis was the major competitor with the Super NES during the 16-bit gaming era & contains some hits. It can be played with just the Wiimote, but other controller options are available as well.

The interface for Genesis Plus GX isn't as user-friendly compared to the Nintendo-system emulators, but it works OK. It works, but there is some room for improvement with this emulator. On the upside, Genesis Plus GX includes Game Genie support natively.

If you were a Sega Genesis fan, you'll likely enjoy this.

7) Wii 2600
App Type: Atari 2600 Emulator
Operational Risk: Safe
Atari 2600 Roms required for enjoyment

Wii 2600 is the second Atari 2600 emulator that I found every enjoyable. While it's actually the second Atari 2600 emulator I tried, Stella Wii just wasn't as user-friendly as Wii 2600 despite the fact that both emulators use the same core.

Wii 2600 does have a Wii-related configuration screen so you can make changes for games that utilizes the paddle controller (like Breakout) instead of the standard controller. Once you hit "Start" on the emulator, it'll boot up the Stella core. Pretty much all you'll need is the Wiimote for everything, but you can use other controller configurations (like the Gamecube controller).

While you won't be able to play games that require the datapad controller (there are a few that use it) since it's not supported by controllers (you may be able to handle it through a USB keyboard), you should be able to enjoy the majority of games from the Atari 2600 library.

8) Piero's Wiicross
App Type: Picross Game

Operational Risk: Safe

Piero's Wiicross is a fairly simple Picross game that you use the Wiimote either in the vertical (with IR) or horizontal (without IR, my preference) orientation or other control styles to play the game. It's a fairly simple game that has you complete picross (aka nonograms) as fast as you can.

It may not be something that everbody will enjoy, but I find it as an interesting puzzle choice to blow a few minutes on.

That's all I have for now. It's 3:15 AM & I'm heading to bed.

Posted by TStodden at 3:18 AM CDT

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Too Damn Late -- Episode 9.0: Hack Your Wii (or Do What NintenDON'T)
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's Midnight CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

I've recently committed the "cardinal system sin" of modifying (or hacking) my Wii after the warranty expired by installing the Homebrew Channel on my own Wii. While I will admit to being tempted with the offerings that modding my Wii, but I held off until the warranty expired & the install method was easier. Now that I've done it, I'm a bit happier with my Wii.

With the new hacking methods & user-friendlier installers, it's easier to modify your Wii. You can get the Homebrew Channel installed & running on your Wii in as little as 10 minutes. You will need an SD card (up to 2 GB's, Wii 4.x users can use SDHC up to 32 GB's), an SD card reader for your computer & an internet connection. You can get a 2 GB SD card for $10 & an SD card reader for about $15, if you don't have these already. Otherwise, you're ready for the 4 simple steps:

MOD WARNING: While the Homebrew Channel is consider "Unlicensed, Unauthorized Software" by Nintendo. Please be aware that by installing the Homebrew Channel, you will be voiding your warrant on your Wii & violating the AUP. Nintendo may disable or silently uninstall the Homebrew Channel from your Wii OR do other stuff with future updates... YOU ARE INSTALLING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! THEREFORE, I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FUCKING INCIDENTS THAT CAUSES YOUR WII TO TURN INTO A $300 BRICK AS YOU'RE THE ONE DOING IT TO YOUR OWN WII!

STEP 1: Download the Installers

This is a 2-part deal, but it's easy. The Homebrew Channel site (HBC.HackMii.com) will give you some of the instructions, but there's pretty much two places to go. First is the BannerBomb Exploit site (bannerbomb.qoid.us) The BannerBomb files exploit part of the Wii Menu system that causes the Wii Menu to crash & allow other code to run. File "aad1f_v108.zip" is the one that works for most people & should be the one you grab. In the event that it doesn't work, you'll have to pick up another file from the site & try again.

Second is the HackMii installer from www.bootmii.org/download. There's only one version here which contains what you need (& then some) with it.

STEP 2: Prepare the SD card

This part will take a little work, but it's fairly simple. If you already have an SD card you're using in your Wii, you'll want to back up your entire SD card onto your computer for safekeeping. If you're using a new SD card, it should be empty. The SD card should be in FAT/32 format, depending on what version of the Wii menu you're running. If you're running an older Menu version (pre-4.0), you can only use a 2 GB SD card in FAT format. If you're running 4.x & have an SD card larger than 2 GB's, you can only use FAT32 format. If you can't figure out what the fuck I'm talking about... don't bitch at me as your computer will usually give you the preferred format to work with it.

Once you can see your SD card on your computer, open it up, back up any files you want to keep on your computer & wipe your SD card. Now that your SD card is empty, it's time to place the installers on the SD card! Open up the root-level of the SD card (it should be something like "X:\", but replace X with the appropiate drive letter. If you're running Linux, good luck figuring this out!).

Open up the Bannerbomb installer zip file & drop the contents of it onto your SD card. It should be named "private". Next, open up the HackMii installer zip file & copy the "boot.elf" file onto your SD card.

Before you close the window to your SD card, there should be two items listed:

X:\private\
X:\boot.elf

If there's anything else, delete it. Otherwise, close the window & remove your SD card.

STEP 3: Installing the Homebrew Channel

Once you have the SD card installed in your Wii, turn it on & head to the Wii Options Menu. DO NOT ACCESS THE "SD CHANNEL"! It won't do anything except to prove that you're a goddamn idiot for doing so. Once in the Wii Options Menu, select "Data Management" & then "Channels". In the Channels section, click on the "SD Card" tab.

You'll be prompted to "Load boot.dol/elf?". Just hit "Yes" to get started with the installation. You'll get a black screen with white text that's an anti-scam warning. If you don't get this, go back to step 1, pick up a different version of bannerbomb & try again.

After you press 1 on your Wiimote (once that prompt appears), you'll get some "test results" about the three items that you can install here: The Homebrew Channel, DVDX & BootMii. If there's something that isn't noted as "Can be installed", you won't be able to install it. Just hit A to proceed into the main installer menu. Just push up & down to navigate & A to select an item. Please be aware that you'll have to confirm anything you want to install (or uninstall)

You'll want to install The Homebrew Channel as that's the main reason why you're going through all of this crap. DVDX is an optional item, but I suggest installing it as well since a fair number of homebrew apps can use it's support. BootMii is totally optional, if your Wii will allow you to install it. HOWEVER, BootMii carries some risk of bricking your Wii as it tampers with your the Boot System of your Wii, so you can make your Wii a bit more "international" as well as modify the look. While it can be relatively safe, one ill-timed power outage can turn your precious Wii into a fucking brick. I can't stop you from actually installing & using it, but it's something I'm not willing to risk.

Once everything you want is installed, hit "Exit".

STEP 4: Enjoy the Homebrew Channel!

When you hit "Exit", the installer will load up the Homebrew Channel itself. Since your SD card is empty, you won't have any Homebrew apps listed here. Just hit Home on your Wiimote & select "Return Home" (& confirm) to take you back to the Wii Menu.

Once you shut off your Wii, you can remove the SD card & restore everything you had on it. If you have your Wii online, you can pick up updates to the Homebrew Channel as well as pick up apps directly through the Homebrew Channel. Otherwise, you can download the homebrew apps from www.WiiBrew.org & install the homebrew apps onto your SD card manually.

That's all for this episode of Too Damn Late. It's roughly 2:00 AM CDT & I'm taking a minor break before moving onward.

Posted by TStodden at 2:02 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 21 September 2009 4:20 PM CDT

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Sunday, 20 September 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 8.0: Your personal web server in 4 steps
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's 12:41 AM CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

This episode of TDL was inspired by the temporary outage of G-mail & a bit of "wishful thinking" of Ms. Olivia Munn (of AOTS) about starting up her own e-mail service. While it's not fucking rocket science, it does require some technical knowledge to set up your own personal web server WITH e-mail service. Anybody can do it about 4 relatively easy steps.

STEP 1: Check with your ISP & your TOS/AUP FIRST!

You're probably wondering, "Why would I have to check with my goddamn ISP about hosting my own web server? I'm playing for my connection, I can to whatever the fuck I want!" It's that attitude that'll either get your ISP pissed off at you for violating their Terms Of Service (TOS) or the Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP), kicked off & banned from their services, or find a big ass "Fuck you" in the form of a $100+ or even a $1,000+ bill in bandwidth overages.

Usually written in the TOS or AUP for personal, most residential connections FORBIDS you from hosting your own server for ANYTHING. While you can get away with file transfers to friends & some P2P stuff, it forbids you from hosting any type of server, be it temporary (like hosting an online game server) or permament (web server) on your connection. It doesn't prevent you from playing online games, it just means you can't serve as host. There's practically two reasons for this.

1) Limited transmission bandwidth between users & your server

Some low-end ("bargain basement") residental connections are only 128 KBps down & 96 KBps up... Usually 256 KBps down & 128 KBps up. Your upstream becomes your user's downstream. So if only have like 3 users accessing your would-be server on top of your normal activities, they would only be able to utilize 36 KBps on average.

If you're serving a small community of say... 30 users at one time, your 128 KBps would get broken down to an average of 4.25 KBps... or about the average speed for internet users... BACK IN 1996!

2) Added strain on usage limits

Usage limits & HOW they track internet usage will vary between ISP's, but those who combine BOTH up & downstream usage... this can cause some problems, especially with those "bargain basement" connections!

Again, if you're using a "bargain basement" connection, you're probably not planning on using the internet that much & would likely have a usage limit of say 10 GB's. Let's say your server has rougly a 75% connection load 24/7 for a month. That 96 KBps (= 128 KBps * 0.75) * 60 sec/min * 60 min/hr * 24 hr/day * 30 days/mo = 248,832,000 KB or 248.832 GB's a month! That's an overage of 239 GB's (as ISP's will round up to the next GB)! At the rate of $1 per GB over... Your Internet bill that would normally be $30 / mo. balloons into roughly $270! Talk about a nice "Screw You" from your ISP here!

Considering these issues & the "fine print", you'll likely need to discuss with your ISP on how to handle your server "request". Some may charge you an extra $5/mo. for this variance in their policy to cover the server's load while others will force you to convert your connection into a "Commercial" connection that allows servers & have the extra bandwidth to better handle servers. Any way you consider, you'll be paying a premium for the right to host a server.

STEP 2: Connect a computer to be your DEDICATED server

Once you get things settled with your ISP, you'll need a computer to serve as your personal web server. While practically any computer with decent computer specs will work. Any computer than can handle Vista or Windows 7 SHOULD be able to handle web serving stuff. However, DO NOT ATTEPT TO USE THE COMPUTER THAT YOU USE ON A DAILY BASIS!!! Unless you're willing to put up with performance drops that'll occur when you have multiple users (including the fucking spam bots) accessing your server, it's just better for your sanity to keep a separate computer for this.

Once you have this computer connected to your network, you'll need to find the LAN IP address (it'll be like 192.168.*.* deal). Just go to Start -> Run & enter "CMD" in the prompt in XP to pull up a DOS prompt. In Vista, hit Start & enter "CMD" in the search field & hit enter. Once you're in the DOS prompt, enter "ipconfig" & it'll give you 3 items, one of them will be your LAN IP address (as it'll be something like 192.168.1.102 or something similar). Jot it down as you'll need it later. Now enter "exit" in the DOS prompt to close it.

Next access your router & look for the "Port Forwarding" option. Once there, enter the LAN IP address for the following ports:

Port 80 -- Website Server port
Port 3306 -- MySQL Server port
Port 23 -- FTP Server port
Port 25 -- E-mail (POP3) Server port

These are the ports that most website servers use. The "Port Forwarding" option will redirect all requests from others to the proper computer this way.

STEP 3: Install AND COMFIGURE your Website server program

How it's time for the big step! While there's plenty of Website server suites out there, I prefer to go with Apache Friend's XAMPP for your "Master Server" program as it contains pretty much everything you'll need to have a fully functioning webserver.

1) Website Server -- Apache

Apache is a base program as it'll server all your basic needs for website services. It's works without problems as it has php included for the advanced web language... nuff said.

2) Database Server -- MySQL

Unless you want a very static website, where you have to update things manually, you'll need some type of database to store data for dynamic websites. The database server is MySQL as it's fairly free, open source & used by a LOT of websites. While it can be intimidating to manage at the server level, all you really need to know is how to create a blank database for other items (like phpBB) can use.

3) FTP Server -- FileZilla

NOTE: FileZilla MUST run as a network service on the computer to operate!

If you want access stuff on your web server OR give access to others (like friends) for some reason (like hosting a large file your friends want), you'll want an FTP server on hand. While it'll take some time to set up the user accounts, you'll need to do it so you can keep your friends (or unwanted users) from fucking up your website or the computer (for really malicious assholes).

PLEASE NOTE that an FTP server is TOTALLY OPTIONAL as you can completely run your website without having an FTP server & those who are totally paranoid about security will want to pass on this. FTP services are convient for those who don't have physical access to the server, but it can be one way to totally fuck up your computer if you didn't configure it properly & some asshole starts toying around with everything on your computer (by giving them unrestricted access to your C drive).

4) E-mail Server -- Mercury

Mercury is the e-mail server included with XAMPP & primarily configured for POP3 services, which allows your website server to hold the e-mails for the user until they pick them up. If you want to do IMAP services (which allows syncronization between multiple devices), you'll have to read up about it.

Anyway, Mercury allows you to send & receive e-mails through it. Just set up the accounts you'll want & it'll handle it. Right now, you don't have a specific domain name yet... but don't worry about that now as Mercury will roll with the punches.

STEP 4: Pick-up or Buy & Configure your Domain Name

This is the FINAL STEP here as it's what people will enter to access your web server. If you really want to, you could spend the $30 / yr with a DNS server (like Register.com or Go Daddy) for a professional domain name like "www.MyPersonalServer.com" to use with your web server. HOWEVER, for those who aren't willing to spend the big bucks for professional domain name, you could settle for a less professional domain by using DYNDNS.org's redirecting services. With DynDNS, your domain name will be more like "MyServer.dyndns.org" or one of their 30+ domain names to go with. DynDNS provides this redirecting services for FREE as an alternative to providing others with your actual IP address (from your ISP).

If you have a dynamic IP address (one that periodically changes, common with residental connections), you'll most likely will need to use DynDNS's services as they have a utility program that will help keep your site address directed to your web server. I can't be certain if they charge you if you provide your own domain name, but you can check that out at www.dyndns.org.

Commercial Connections usually have a static IP address (one that stays the same all the time... assuming you keep your ISP happy with money) & therefore should not need to use DynDNS's dynamic IP updater.

There you go! You now have your own web server to do whatever the fuck you want with it... as long as it complies with the law & any restrictions your ISP enforces. Once you take care of your ISP, you should have everything ready to go in about an hour or less (depending on your connection speed). While you should have the basics (like an anti-virus program & a firewall, just to keep hackers, assholes & idiots) to prevent any major fuck-ups that could hurt other computers (as some viruses like to spread through networks) on your network, that should be it.

Do as you please with it... just don't go crying to me if you can't figure out how to do something with your server. This is a totally DIY deal! I can't tell how to do every goddamn thing with your webserver & I have no idea (nor the patience) to turn it into the next Facebook, MySpace or YouTube! That's for you to figure out & how to profit from it!

That's all I have for now... It's 2:27 AM CDT & I'm off to bed.

Posted by TStodden at 2:29 PM CDT

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Saturday, 19 September 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 7.0: Freeloader's Guide to Computing
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's Midnight CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

Note: This episode of Too Damn Late contains some useful material & therefore will naturally contain generally less swearing & objectionable material tha normal.

For some reason, I'm just having a streak of calmness here... but this will likely be the last one of these for a while, so DON'T get use to this. Anyways, with episode to make XP look like Vista or Windows 7 & another to tweak XP to work a bit better for you, this episode finishes up the trifecta with software you can pick up to be productive with your computer. I'm avoiding all the anti-productivity software (games) for now as there's just way too many places to find those. I'm also skipping some of the biggest name software like Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird as practically everybody have heard of them.

AVG Anti-virus
Type: Anti-virus program
free.avg.com

I know it's a bit cliche, but a good anti-virus program can keep you from pull your hair out. AVG is one of the few anti-virus programs that don't carry an annual subscription fee (which can run between $30 - $50 / year), which makes it good for freeloaders. While the makers of AVG will try & push it's fully commercial version, they offer their basic version for free.

I prefer AVG compared to other anti-virus programs like Avast or ClamWin Anti-Virus as it has the most common automated features that users of the commercial anti-virus programs depend on without all the strings. AVG is the one anti-virus programs that had plays well with others. Just as long as you make sure that you keep the program core up to date, you shouldn't have any problems.

Open Office
Type: Office Suite
www.openoffice.org

This is one of the more known free programs that some people still haven't heard of, or at least knowledge of Open Office gets drowned out by the commercial programs like Microsoft Office. In fact, most people can't describe Open Office without mentioning MS Office as they're practically the same thing. The only difference is the programming license & cost (It's FREE).

As the name states, Open Office is an open-source office suite. It contains all the major programs that you'll use in an office suite, but different (more generic) names. If you've used Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher & Access), you'll have practically no problems transition into Open Office. Even though Open Office prefers to store documents in the Open Document format, but Open Office allows you to work with Microsoft Office formats. The one big feature that Open Office has is that you can export any office document into an PDF file. You have to pay $50 to get this feature in MS Office (though an add-on).

The big reason I'm pushing Open Office is that it's a great product that many people can use WITHOUT coughing up the hundreds of dollars for it OR resort to pirating MS Office. Some of the finer features may take a little more time to locate in Open Office, but most users won't have problems switching.

GIMP
Type: Image Editor
www.GIMP.org

Another widely known program living in the shadow of another commercial program. It's also consider the "Poor Man's Photoshop" by some internet users, but it's a pretty accurate representation of GIMP. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It contains practically all the powers & features of Photoshop, but with out the cost, support or user-friendliness.

GIMP handles practically EVERY IMAGE FORMAT you can throw at it without problems.

Paint.net
Type: Image Editor
www.getpaint.net

For those who may find GIMP a bit too intimidating, Paint.net may fit you better. It's not as powerful, but it's user-friendlier by comparison. Not as many features, but it still has the ones that you'll most likely use when editing (or creating) images.

7-Zip
Type: File Archiver
www.7-zip.org

7-Zip is a relatively obscurred file archiver that gets lost amongst the commercial varieties like WinZip, WinRAR & Stuff-It. 7-Zip is a simple, but powerful file archiver that allows you to "zip" & "unzip" archived files. While it only allows you to make Zip, Tar or 7z files, it can open up nearly all formats (except Sit & Sit-X files, which is a heavily proprietary format).

One nice feature with 7-Zip that it can compress zip files a bit better than other programs (about a 7% advantage). However, it's compressing power really shines with it's own 7z format, compressing around 70% MORE than in zip format. This means that if a ZIP file takes 10 MB's with 7-Zip, the 7Z file will only take 6 MB's. The downside with 7-Zip is that it may not be as user-friendly compared to the commercial programs, but all these programs seem to work the same.

TrueCrypt
Type: File Encryption
www.truecrypt.org

Need to keep something a secret on your computer? TrueCrypt is one program to help protect those sensitive secret files. While it's not the user-friendiest program available, it's an extremely powerful program. TrueCrypt allows you to create a secret container to hide all your secrets in OR you can encrypt an entire hard drive. HOW you use it it up to you, but can be assured that your secrets will be safe with TrueCrypt... as long as you don't leak your passwords & secret container locations to others.

Notepad++
Type: Text Editor, Notepad Replacement
notepad-plus.sourceforge.net

Notepad++ is an open-source text editor that's stuffed with features & options that you'll use it instead of boring old Notepad. While it's more geared towards programmers, as it supports various programing languages, it's still a very good program for just writing text documents. The main feature is the plugin system that allows you to expand it's capabilities, like adding ASpell (spell checker).

I like it very so much that it's become my standard text editor with the spell checker & have the 80-character margin (for writing guides). In fact, I'm using it to write this episode!

Stickies
Type: Digital Post-it Note Program
www.zhornsoftware.co.uk

Stickies is the digital alternative to plastering your monitor with with actual stickies. It might be an exchange from one visual problem for another, but I find it's a lot easier to keep track of all your stickies (& harder to accidently lose them) using this program as it includes an organizer.

Mozilla SeaMonkey
Type: Internet Suite
www.mozilla.com

Mozilla SeaMonkey is kind of the "Forgotten Love Child" of Firefox & Thunderbird. As the figurative imagery goes, Mozilla SeaMonkey combines the browser engine of Firefox with the e-mail capabilities of Thunderbird into an all-in-one internet suite.

While the look of SeaMonkey hasn't evolved (it has the look of Netscape Navigator 4.0 from 1999 for "Classic" & Netscape Navigator 6.0 from 2000/2001 for "Modern"), you can pick up different themes to update it's look. While I prefer to keep my browser & e-mail separate, there's likely some people who will prefer the combo. If a former Netscape user (as that browser died officially in February, 2009) will find this a fairly easy fit, but there's a niche that'll this lesser known program.

Pidgin
Type: Multi-IM Program
www.pidgin.im

Pidgin, formerly known as GAIM, is an open-source variation to some of the multi-IM program out there. While Trillian is a fair alternative, they want you to spend $20 / yr for their "Pro services" & they don't seem to update things as quickly. Pidgin supports all the major IM networks (AIM, ICQ, MSN, YIM & IRC), but it includes lesser known IM networks (including MySpace & XMPP, aka Jabber) natively. Since it's open-source, others developers can add extra networks like X-Fire, Twitter & even Facebook.

One major feature that I've come to love is the tabbed IM windows. Instead of juggling multiple IM windows, all your IM's are placed in different tabs in one IM window. The name of the person (or chat room, if you're in one) will change colors to tell you what's going on, but usually the tab in blue is the conversation that you need to pay attention to. This may take a little time to get use to, but just like tabbed browsing, you'll be surprised how you lived with out it.

Meebo
Type: Multi-IM SERVICE
www.meebo.com
NOTE: This is NOT a download!

As an alternative to Pidgin (& other IM programs), you can use a multi-IM WEB service like Meebo. Meebo allows you to connect to the major IM networks through their site & use it just like an IM program. However, all conversations are contained to that page, so tabbed browsing is a MUST here! While registration is preferred for those who'll frequently use their services (as it'll store your login information), it's completely optional as they'll allow you to connect to the IM networks you use without registering. HOWEVER, you'll have to enter your login information for each IM network.

For those who may be conserned about privacy & safety, Meebo uses a 1024-bit encryption system with critical data (like your login details) between each IM network. Since all your buddy lists are stored on the IM network's servers, you'll have access to all your friends through Meebo. It's bit a bare-bones service as you can only do IM's & Chat (no file transfers or other advanced services), but it's completely free & a great way to keep in touch without all the software.

Stellarium
Type: Star Gazing Simulator
www.stellarium.org

This is program is for the stargazers out there. This program allows you to simulate the ideal visual conditions of the night skies at any particular point in time (Yes, you could go back to the night of Jesus's birth... if you're religous Christian). You can see where the stars are going to be located when you go out. This program may be more useful on a laptop (including netbooks... their processing power can overcome their graphical shortfalls), but if you like look up from time-to-time.

MediaCoder
Type: Media Transcoding Utility
mediacoder.sourceforge.net

MediaCoder is a program that helps you convert a media file that your preferred media player may not support into a format that should work. Again, it's not a user-friendly program as it's can get highly technical. However, the program extensions make it A LOT EASIER to handle configurations & ensure that the converted format will work. Just be aware that conversions can be a processor intensive, especially with video, so make sure you give it plenty of time to process things.

While it may not be a program that you'll heavily use, but if you download videos from YouTube for offline viewing OR to place on your preferred portable media player (iPod, Zune, PSP, ect.), you'll be grateful to have such a problem on hand.

VLC Media Player
Type: Multi-media Player
www.videolan.org/vlc

The FINAL program for this episode is my preferred media player. VLC Media Player (originally called "Video LAN Client Media Player") or just "VLC", is an open-source media player giant that you've probably never heard of. You can throw practically any media format at it (including your porn collection) & VLC will play it with. VLC even contains it's own DVD codec (granted it's an open-source codec, but it works), so you can watch DVD's with it. Other media players (like Windows Media Player) usually charge you $30 for this feature, if your computer maker didn't take of this for you (& slapped the cost into the price tag).

VLC even supports streaming media & can even do some transcoding as well! While the program not perfectly user-friendly & the interface is a little bland, but you can customize the interface & even use a skin to make it look better. It's one of the most dependable media players that I've used.

That's all I have for tonight... I may write more if I feel like it.

Posted by TStodden at 1:46 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 21 September 2009 3:40 PM CDT

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Saturday, 29 August 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 6.1: MORE XP Tweakage!
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's roughly 2:00 AM CDT & I'm still a bit active tonight to write a little more!

Note: This episode of Too Damn Late contains some useful material & therefore will naturally contain generally less swearing & objectionable material tha normal.

As with Episode 6.0, I mentioned how to make Windows XP look & act more closely to Windows 7. This episode is more geared towards the other crap that I use on my computer to make my life a bit easier. While some of the stuff is pretty safe, some the stuff have some pitfalls that could cause some problems if you're not careful. I'll note the pitfalls you should be aware of, but otherwise you should be OK.

With that said... onwards to my utility crap!

RocketDock
Type: Launcher
www.rocketdock.com
CAUTION: Do-It-Yourself Deal!

RocketDock is pretty much the utility that is my pride & joy that allowed me to officially retire my old (& no longer supported) launcher Dragstrip. RocketDock is a launcher that looks & act similarly to Mac OS X's launch bar. It's a very expansive program that allows you to quickly boot up programs or access folders that you frequently access.

The main reason why I love RocketDock is that it's expansive, highly customizable & extremely easy to use. Just to prove how easy a properly configured RocketDock is to use, I've set it up for my aunt who has a computer literacy of about a pre-teen. In 2 clicks, she can load up the programs she most frequently use without having to dig through the start menu. My own mother, who occasionally uses my own computer, enjoys the convience of RocketDock.

I must caution those who may consider picking this up that adding additional features (like dockets) is a DIY deal. It takes some technical expertise to install them (if you can follow the instructions of the "Read Me" file should be OK with the well documented ones). If you use the Stacks Docket, you'll need to create a folder to hold your program shortcuts in groups prior to adding it to RocketDock.

For those who aren't as adventurous, you may want to give ObjectDock by StarDocks as their basic version is free (Pro version is $20). ObjectDock works just like RocketDock, but you have more support assistance for you idiots out there. There's two reasons why I don't use ObjectDock.

1) RocketDock uses less RAM than ObjectDock -- The most I've ever seen RocketDock use 32 MB's of RAM at the most. ObjectDock uses at least 128 MB's of RAM. I could be running RocketDock 4 times on my computer as is just to get goddamn memory hog that ObjectDock running ONCE!

2) RocketDock is FREE -- RocketDock is provided to the public for FREE without any restrictions. StarDocks wants $20 from you if you want to use everything it has to offer & I will admit to being a digital freeloader, when permitted.

CCleaner
Type: System Cleaning Utility
www.CCleaner.com

This utility has gained some fame amongst the geeks & techies. Originally called "Crap Cleaner", CCleaner allows you to clean out the crap that tends to build up on your hard drive -- mostly all those temporary files that some of your programs make & later mostly forget about them afterwards. You can be surprised how much crap can pile up on your hard drive when you run CCleaner the first time. I've managed to reclaim over 1 GB of HD space on a family member's computer. You can even clean some of the crap out of your registry, if you want.

I will note that usage of CCleaner can cause some inconviences, mostly with browsers (as it can shred cookies). However, it's very simple to use & you can uncheck stuff that you want to keep (like your cookies). The registry cleaner feature could cause some problems if it accidentally marks some that shouldn't be touch, but it's pretty good with only tagging stuff that's safe to delete. However, I always suggest taking the option of making the back-up file... just in case.

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner
Type: Registry Cleaning Utility
www.eusing.com

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner does a bit better job at finding & cleaning your computer's registry of errors & leftover garbage left from uninstalling a program. While this program does a good job at tagging the "safe changes" to your registry, there is a little risk of causing some problems to your computer. Therefore, I strongly advise to enable the "Create a System Restore Point before Repair" option prior to use. This way, you have a safety net to undo things if the cleaning fucks things up.

Using Eusing Free Registry Cleaner can help increase your computer's speed, making it run a little smoother as it doesn't have the crap gumming up registry accesses.

nCleaner
Type: Multi-Cleaning & System Tweaking Utility
www.nkprods.com
WARNING: POTENTIAL FOR IRREPARABLE MODIFICATIONS!

nCleaner is another program that's a major powertool compared to the other utility programs. It allows you to clean out all the junk files from your systems, clean your registry, scrub your free space (making deleted files unrecoverable) & even tweak your system. It's a pretty powerful tool.

The main reason for the warning is that nCleaner DOES NOT CARRY THE SAFEGUARDS that the other programs carry. So nCleaner won't ask you to make a back-up file (or a restore point), making it a bastard IF the stuff it cleans out causes problems. The big interest for this utility is the system tweaking as it can make your system a bit more secure, run a little smoother & have a few less hassles... however, it's a bit techie, so you may want to get some assistance with setting up the tweaks if you're unfamiliar with the options.

Recuva
Type: File UNDELETION Utility
www.recuva.com

Recuva (pronouced "Re/COO/va"... or do your Arnold impression with the word "Recover" to get the pronounciation) is for those who may accidentally delete a file. It scans your hard drive(s) lists all the files you may be looking to recover within your defined parameters OR you can do a wide-range scan if you can't remember where the file was located.

Recuva works best when you try to recover a deleted file as soon as you deleted the file as the longer the file was deleted, the lower the chance of recovering a file as it could have been overwritten by another file. While it's not a program that you'll use frequently, you'll be thankful you have such a program when you need to undo a file deletion.

Defraggler
Type: File Defragging Utility
www.defraggler.com

Defraggler is a 3rd party file defragger that does a more through job of defragging than Microsoft's File defragging utility in my experience. It shows you exactly how many files are fragmented, how many fragments there are & what files are fragmented.

You can configure it to automate WHEN to defrag your hard drive(s), but you'll need to make sure that you can leave your computer on & undisturbed to do this.

Auslogic Registry Defragger
Type: Registry Defragmentation Utility
www.auslogics.com
Cost: $20

Registry Defragger is similar to a File Defragger, but it works explicitly with the registry ONLY. The program scans your registry & see if everything is the right order & needed first to see if it needs defragging. Once it determines if your registry needs defragging, it'll do on your next boot. While occasional defragging will only net you like a 2% improvement in speed, the first time you to is will like improve your system's performance considerably (around 10%).

Please be aware that this is COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE & it only carries a 15-day trial... so you may delete it after you defrag your registry if you don't choose to cough up the $20.

That's all I have for now... It's 3:00 AM CDT & I'm heading to bed.

Posted by TStodden at 3:00 AM CDT

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Too Damn Late -- Episode 6.0: Turning XP into Windows 7 WITHOUT the cost!
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's Midnight CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

Note: This episode of Too Damn Late contains some useful material & therefore will naturally contain generally less swearing & objectionable material tha normal.

I've been reading up on Windows 7 & some of it's features. I've also read PC World's article on how to get some Window 7's features without actually dealing with the hassles of upgrading (see Aug., 2009 issue). While the PC World article gives a lot of information, some of things listed there isn't really consider "perfectly safe". What I mean by "perfectly safe" is the programs or modifications done to your computer can be easily undone WITHOUT having to do a system restore (which only gives you a temporary method of undoing stuff) OR reinstalling Windows altogether. I'm not that quiet adventurous since I have a running history of crashing every system (& every OS) I manage to touch (except for Unix... may be user friendly as a rock, but it's as solid one as well). Therefore, everything that I note here has been tested by myself & I'll note any issues or frustrations I had as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you attempt any major modifications to your PC, make sure that your computer is fairly stable & you're happy with it's operation. If you have a cheap, under-equipped, misconfigured or otherwise a crappy computer... YOU SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT MANY OF THESE MODIFICATIONS as your computer will likely be worse for wear as a result. Netbooks should avoid doing this as they can drive most users (especially power users, like myself) to go into a bitchfest just with their excessively long boot-up times. While my computer is only running at 800 Mhz & over 10 years old (yes, it a goddamn prehistoric system by today's standards), but it's fairly well equipped & was excellently configured that it can handle programs that require 1.2 Ghz processing power with little issue.

With that said, let's start with the modifications!

WindowBlinds
Mod Type: Windows Skinning
www.stardocks.com
Cost: $50

The first thing I have to note is the ONLY ITEM that you'll have to pay for, but it's well worth the cost. WindowBlinds allows you to change the look of Windows, but not the main functions... so everything will still work like Windows XP (or Vista), but you can make it look like a different system like Vista, Windows 7 or even look like a Mac if you really want.

I know it's nothing more but eye candy, but it's the first thing to get your computer to look like Windows 7... if you choose to select a Windows 7-like skin. You can pick up additional skins from various sites like WinCustomize ( http://www.wincustomize.com ) or Deviant Art ( http://www.deviantart.com ) for new skins. I will note that the WinCustomize site only allows you to download 50 MB's before they force you to register. Just go to BugMeNot.com to find an open account to bypass this, if you can find a working account. OTHERWISE, stick to Deviant Art as they're more flexible with guests, but you'll likely have to suffer through ads a bit more.

There are two complaints / issues that I have with WindowBlinds. First, the quality of the skins can greatly vary with skin creators. Skins that look great in the preview picture may not work as well once you try them out, mostly due to a lack of quality assurance work done by the creator. The second is that some parts of the skins tend to have a minor malfunction after a while. The malfunction is more deal with transparency aspects & I'm chalking the issue up with an old graphics card.

Logon Studio
Mod Type: Logon Screen Skinning
www.stardocks.com

Next up is Logon Studio, which is only XP users can get for free. HOWEVER, it's no longer supported by StarDocks as they're focusing more on the Vista version (which you have to pay for). Logon Studio allows you to modify the look of the login screen (which is also visible when shutting down). While you can't make the logon screen to perfectly mimick the look of Windows 7 or Vista, but you can get it fairly close within XP's restrictions.

You can pick up "Logon XP" (as dubbed by StarDocks) skins from various sites like WinCustomize ( http://www.wincustomize.com ) or Deviant Art ( http://www.deviantart.com ). While the quality of logon skins will vary, the preview picture gives you an exact idea on how it'll look. If you don't like what you find, you can use Logon Studio to make your own if you're willing to invest the time to create what you want.

I have no complaints with this program as it's a small & simple modification that helps spruce up the otherwise drab look of Window XP's blue login screen.

Bootskin XP
Mod Type: Boot Screen Skinning
www.stardocks.com

YES, it's ANOTHER ITEM from StarDocks... but it you want to change the look of something, there's no better place to look. Bootskin XP allows you to change the look of the bootscreen, so you can look at something different than "Microsoft Windows XP" & it's boring throbber each time you start up. Just install & select the screen you want to look at when you start up the next time... THAT'S IT. Bootskin XP is free XP users, but it's no longer supported by StarDocks as they moved onto Vista (where they try to squeeze more money out of your wallet).

As usual, you can get Bootskin XP skins from various sites like WinCustomize ( http://www.wincustomize.com ) or Deviant Art ( http://www.deviantart.com ). The quality of the bootscreens will vary, as usual, but the preview picture is pretty much exactly what you'll get. I must note that due to the graphical restrictions of XP, anything that could be consider "High Quality" will still look like crap if the creator doesn't work within those restrictions. Creators that work within the restrictions will look better, but they may still have some "crappiness" leak though.

This is the one customization that caused my computer to become so dysfunctional, where it was triple-crashing before I could reach the login screen, that I had to uninstall it for the sanity of my self & my family. StarDocks does state that this program may be incompatible with some computers at a BIOS level & offer various (older) versions that may work better with your computer if this happens. Since you'll most likely only be able to look at the boot screen for about a minute, this modification isn't really critical. Just weigh the benefits with the potential problems that you may run into with this program. HOWEVER, I will note that the program can be easily uninstalled & any customizations undone. Once I uninstalled it, the programs at start-up vanished with it.

Visual Task Tips
Mod Type: Thumbnail Preview Utility
www.visualtasktips.com

Now for some less eye candy & something more functional! Visual Task Tips allows you to add a thumbnail preview of the item on the taskbar. While the program more closely acts like Vista instead of Windows 7, it's one thing that I have found VERY USEFUL when I'm digging through a large stack of stuff in my taskbar.

All that Visual Task Tips does is take a snapshop of the open window & inserts a thumbnail into the task tip. It's just one little utility program I have tucked away in my systems tray (only taking roughly 5 MB's of RAM to run). I've been using the program for so long that I will admit to taking that little program forgranted until I start using somebody else's computer. It's a program that's designed to be light on the resources as it allows you to choose how big the thumbnails are & how often the thumbnail is refreshed (I leave it as "slow").

The only problems I have with Visual Task Tips are very minor & known by the developer. These problems are mostly revolved around graphical processes. When using a WindowBlinds skin with transparent aspects & video players. The transparency issue is more pixel-shading based & the developer is working on a possible solution for this. The problems with video players is more of the issue of "Video Black" (as I call it) as most video players play videos on such a color, so when you try to take a snapshot of video playing, all you see is a black screen instead of what you want. The developer really can't fix this as it's more of conflicting programming ideals & it's more of the video player programmers to respond to the issue.

Despite these issues, I still highly suggest this.

Aero Snap
Mod Type: Window Resizing Utility
find.pcworld.com/62546

Now I'm taking a page from PC World, I'm giving a Windows 7 "emulation" utility program a spin. In Windows 7, Aero Snap allows you to move a window to the side of the screen (to the left of right) to do side-by-side comparison or move a window to the top of the screen to nearly maximize things without actually maximizing it.

The Aero Snap that works with XP does the same thing, but instead of running with the mouse, you have to use keyboard shortcuts to do the same thing. After selecting the window you want to deal with, you just hold down the Windows key (the one between ctrl & alt) & left (snap to the left), right (snap to the right), up (pseudo-maximize) or down (minimize). Please be aware that this doesn't work on applications with strict dimensions OR maximized windows

While I don't have any problems with this program (as it works just fine), it's just not something that would really use at the moment. This issue of apathy towards this program is monitor shape, which is the currently the old 4:3 standard ratio. If I had a 16:9 or 16:10 screen ratio, I'd probably use it more to do side-by-side comparisons or look-ups. My writing needs requires enough horizontal space to support an 80-character margin (which I use to write guides), which horizontal tiling would mess up & force me to go with vertical tiling. Using a desktop-expanding utility like 360 Desktop could solve such an issue, but it's a weak option as I'm still restricted to my monitor's viewing area & I NEVER enjoy the hassles of side-scrolling. Besides, 360 Desktop wasn't playing being completely nice with other applications I had running.

I'll give it a spin, but it'll likely wind up in the recycling bin in a few months due to non-use.

Aero Peek
Mod Type: Window Temporarily Hiding Utility
find.pcworld.com/62547

Aero Peek is another Windows 7 "emulation" utility program that allows you to temporarily make all open application windows transparent to get a straight look at the desktop. This is to allow you to avoid minimizing everything just to take a quick peak at a desktop widget. This utility hides in the system tray (next to the clock) & does exactly this in a click. A second click reverts things.

Despite the .NET 3.5 requirement (which adds a whopping 231 MB's to download this from Microsoft's website. I know, it's fucking rediculous for a simple utility, but I like having the offline versions of installers to save some headaches), it wasn't that bad to install. UNFORTUNATELY, shortly after I tried this little utility out, I found a major issue that forced me to uninstall this.

This is one of those programs that I label "Does NOT Play Nice with Others!" I have a launcher utility called RocketDock that I keep docked at the top of the screen & configured to give me access to my frequently accessed programs in 2 clicks without plowing through the start menu. As soon as give Aero Peek a shot, if fucked up RocketDock so badly, I have to kill my beloved program & restart it to get it working again.

As a result, Aero Peek found itself peeking through my recycling bin. HOWEVER, if you don't has such utility programs running & you use desktop widgets (Vista, Google or Yahoo!), you may enjoy this.

Aero Shake
Mod Type: Window Minimizing Utility
find.pcworld.com/62542

Aero Shake is a Windows 7 "emulation" utility program created by the users of Lifehacker (part of the Gawker network of newsfeeds). This program allows you to minimize all other windows by shaking the window you want to view.

While I don't have any problems with this program (as it's extremely small at roughly 200 KB), I have difficulty imagining how often I would use such a feature. It could be something that may take time to become second nature. Otherwise, it'll likely find it way into my recycling bin or collect dust in my document's folder.

While there are some other things you can do & some features can't be emulated in XP, you can at least get the look (if not exactly the feel) of Windows 7 with minimal cost.

Posted by TStodden at 1:59 AM CDT

Updated: Saturday, 29 August 2009 3:47 PM CDT

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Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Coming Soon: More D&D Crap (+ more TDL)
Topic: Daily Drip

I thought I'd drop a note here saying that the site's not dead, it's just that I've been busy with a few things in the background that have made it online yet.

The majority of the background stuff is revolving around some of the D&D stuff. I'm finally getting to work on some of the characters I've made (& played with), despite all the "rebalancing" I've done.

There's going to be another episode of "Too Damn Late" on the horizon as well that will be a bit more informative & less bitchy than usual... so check back on that in the coming week (or two).

Posted by TStodden at 5:16 PM CDT

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Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 5.0: The Curse of the Netbooks
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's Midnight CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

Over the past few days, I've been borrowing my brother's netbook to assist me in covering an event that I was attending. Upon borrowing, I was requested to optimize his netbook in hopes of improving performance & allow him to listen to music while doing other stuff. Upon this request, I have found the "curse" of the netbooks.

After optimizing (or "decrappifying", as some may refer to it), the overall effect was a whopping 5% improvement... 2% of that being from the registry defragmentation. This isn't a major improvement, the performance is still a disgrace from what it should be. It's slow, audio quality is crappy & I wouldn't bet my life on the netbook. Before some idiot starts arguing that I'm just dissin' netbooks, let's give the netbook a fair comparison here.

The Netbook

Type: Acer's Aspire One
Originally Made: 2006
Processor: 1.6 Ghz Intel Atom (Dual Core)
RAM: ~1.0 GB (~1024 MB's)
OS: Windows XP Home SP3

The Desktop

Type: Gateway Select
Originally Made: 1998
Processor: 800 Mhz (0.8 Ghz) AMD
RAM: ~386 MB's (0.3 GB's)
OS: Windows XP Home SP3

Start up
Systems are started up from full shutdown & then the clock stops when all start-up items are loaded. For this test, the desktop has a couple of handicaps. First, there's the user login prompt as it's currently set up for two users without either account being loaded (the netbook only has one account that's automatically logged in). Second, there's extra start-up items in it's list to increase it's start-up time. Regardless of these handicaps, the timing was consistent.

The winner here was the desktop with a start-up time of 1 minute & 31 seconds, when Rocketdock (the last item in the start-up list) appeared on screen. The netbook clocked in with a time of 4 minutes & 31 seconds when AVG (the last item in the start-up list) appeared in the system tray. It's obvious of the winner as the desktop reached the login screen at the minute mark & the start-up chimes played 5 seconds later. The netbook took 2 & half minutes play it's start-up chimes (completely garbled), but the system was nearly ready at the 4-minute mark. However, it took 30 seconds for AVG to load up & stop the clock.

By the time the netbook finally got it's goddamn act together, I was able to load up a preferred media player & a simple game (or my preferred text writing program) before the crappy netbook could do the same thing. To Add insult to injury, the desktop did it with HALF the processors, HALF the processing power & a THIRD of the RAM... yet it still managed to fuck the netbook in the ass twice before it could do anything.

Shut Down
This is another simple task. At the end of the day, you've closed all the programs that you've used & shut your system down until you need it later. While I prefer to use hibernation instead of a full shutdown (as it speed things up a bit), I performed a full shutdown for this task. The clock starts when I hit "U" on the keyboard at the shutdown option prompt (logged into a user account) & stopped when the system is off (as both systems automatically do this). Again, the desktop has a handicap as it's been configured to wipe it's pagefiles (2 - 1.0 GB files over 2 hard drives) as a security measure & it takes extra time to do so. The netbook was NOT yet configured to do so.

Well surprise, surprise... the netbook was the obvious winner with a shutdown time of 34 seconds versus a 1:37 of the desktop. It's the netbook's turn to be the bastard, humping the desktop for a minute there. Even if the netbook was configured to wipe it's pagefile (of 1.5 GB's), it would still whip the desktop's ass.

General Use
This is more of a subjective test as there's various things to contribute to overall rating. While I am overlooking the 186 pixel difference in screen resolution (desktop running at 1024 x 768 while the netbook is running at 1024 x 600), I cannot give either system a clear winner. I do, however, have to give the advantage to desktop for the handling quality of multitasking capabilities. When I work, I like to listen to music, either through Pandora or a preferred media player, & I have roughly 3-4 programs running at the same time. While the desktop handles everything fairly well & despite the occasional issues of processor grindage (yes, I'm a power user & I can fuck up nearly can computer that I can touch in some way), the desktop handles the music playback better than the netbook. The netbook tends to garble the music to some degree. The garbling becomes so horrible that it sounds like mating cats... continue this for about 3 minutes & you can see why I have to give the desktop the advantage.

To make the goddamn garbling issue worse, it seems that the program you use can make a difference! Using Windows Media Player 11 BY ITSELF can garble any music playing through it. The majority of the problem is with the visualizer, whether or not you're viewing it. However, even when you disable the visualizer, it still garbles the music a little. BY COMPARISON, using VLC Media Player did the job without any problems. Even when I enable the visualizer & increase the playback speed to 2.0x, there was no garbling (although the song played at 2.0x did incur some chopping, but that's acceptable with that occurence). Only when running additional applications with VLC that major garbling occured at the faster playback speeds (above 1.0x). When playing at regular speed, garbling was minimal.

The two major upsides to netbooks are price & portability (but not necessarily battery life). These netbooks have a starting price of $300 without tax, making it an easy choice for an entry PC / laptop... HOWEVER, you may want to consider looking in the $500 range to avoid some of the annoyances that I'm experience here. The netbooks are usually small enough that you can cram one into a binder that you would likely use for school or college to inconspiously transport one. HOWEVER, the major downsides are that you can't upgrade the hardware, so you'll most likely have to buy a replacement system in 3-5 years as your system won't be able to handle the requirements of the newer programs.

While I'll still prefer the capabilities of the standard laptops (larger screen, larger keyboard & better upgrade capabilities), netbooks are OK for an entry-level. They're not designed for processor grinding or major multitasking, but you get an OK computer for the price... just be aware of the gripes that more experienced users will likely have when trying use one of these dinky systems like a full-fledge one.

That's all for this episode of Too Damn Late. It's 1:30 AM & I have a busy day of preparation tomorrow.

Posted by TStodden at 5:51 PM CDT

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Thursday, 30 July 2009

Too Damn Late -- Episode 4.0: MST3K Primer
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's 1:58 AM CDT & it's time one again for Too Damn Late!

WARNING: Too Damn Late is written (but not necessarily posted) after midnight. If you've been reading this series, you should perfectly aware that there's practically NO FORM OF CENSORSHIP DONE HERE! If you don't like swearing & other crude ideas... THEN STOP READING THIS ENTRY NOW!!! This warning is designed for the Stickenbaums of the world & to protect myself from verbal & legal assaults. If you choose NOT to heed this warning, don't go crying to me if you don't like what you read. VIEWER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

I've been watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 (commonly referred to as MST3K) before bed lately, mostly as mix of a bad movie & some comedy mixed together, as way to clear my mind & potentially crush my soul a little in order to avoid me staying up & writting these. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, it was a late night show that broadcasted a bad movie WITH a riff track by the host of the show. Pretty much they made fun of the movie while it was being broadcasted in order to make it more palatable for the viewers... Here's the very brief history of the show.

The series started at a TV station in Minnesota when a commedian by the name of Joel Robinson just started making jokes about the movie while it was being broadcasted on weekend. Despite some complaints, the majority of the calls were positive & a pilot season was made (or what the fans of the series calls it). Somebody from a cable TV network, which is NOW called Comedy Central, picked up the series in 1989. Joel was the host of the show until middle of the 5th season (in 1994), when he left on his own & the series head writer Mike Nelson stepped in.

At the end of the 6th season (in 1995), the show was on hiatus to create MST3K: The Movie, which Universal fucked them with a lousy run in the US. Unfortunately, the proverbial screwing didn't stop there as Comedy Central was canceling the reason & only gave the 7th season a lousy 6 episodes to end the series. HOWEVER, the fans were able to snag the interest of the Sci-Fi channel. Sci-Fi gave the series 3 more seasons, more like 2 1/2 seasons as the 10th & final season (in 1999) was only 13 episodes long. HOWEVER, the fans again kept the series in syndication until 2004.

The main reason MST3K has died on the air was mostly because of the royalty fees the movie companies were pulling out of the production company's ass to use their films, which causes some problems with some studios (especially the Gamera series). The spirit of MST3K lives on through the web with Rifftrax, where the main stars of MST3K continue rifting through movies. However, the movies they poke fun at are the larger named titles (Harry Potter series, Roadhouse, ect.) for pay-per-download. Rifftrax has gotten so popular that they added on-demand video services & has become the clearing house of other rifters.

The main premise of MST3K is that an crazy evil guy technically kidnaps an innocent guy (originally Joel, then Mike), fires him off into space (to a satelite) & force him to watch very bad movies. Joel created a couple bots from parts of the satelite for company: Gypsy, who is essentially the satelite's mother. Then Crow & Tom Servo, who accompanies Joel (then Mike) into the theater to watch the movie & make fun ot it with Cambot (the original bot on the satelite) to record everything. During the Sci-Fi era, the crazy evil guy was replaced with his mother, who took up the same quest of domination.

For those who are interested in getting into the series, here's a rough list of episodes that you should try to rent (you'll have fair luck with Netflix), find online (mostly through BitTorrent sites) OR YouTube (before the Copyright Cops kills them).

1) Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Why not start the list with most accessible one ever! While it is shorter than any of the TV episodes, it does give you a good idea of the show's premise & a cross-section of what they normally do in the TV series (during the Comedy Central era).

The movie, "This Island Earth", main premise is that a nuclear scientist gets recuited by an alien race to help solve their energy problem, which give him & a fellow comade a round trip to an alien planet.

2) Episode 820: Space Mutiny
Part of the Sci-Fi era that has received good notes by fans. The movie's premise is that Earth is having overcrowding problems, so a large group of colonists depart Earth to make a 10 light year trip to another Earth-like planet. HOWEVER, a small group of people have different plans for the colony ship & start an internal war.

The biggest running joke here is that Mike & the bots keep raffling off random names for the main character. There's also a big continuity error ("It was awefully nice of you to give that dead girl another chance.") in the movie. While it's not a critical error, it does bring a few good laughs.

3) Episode 903: Puma Man
This movie actually contains a major movie star (see the old James Bond movies) that they do make fun of. The movie's premise is that can evil guy discovers an aztec (actually alien) mask & uses it in an attempt to take over the world. However, a superhero with "the blood of the gods" (the aliens who left the mask) to defeat the villian & restore the mask to it's rightful place.

This movie isn't that bad, but it's extremely cheese that it deserves to be in the "B-list".

3) Episode 907: Hobgoblins
This "Gremlins" reject has all the hallmarks of a bad movie, but it remains fairly watchable. The movie's premise is that these aliens (the Hobgoblins) have been hanging out in a movie studio's vault for 30 years before escaping & terrorizing a trainee security guard & friends.

As noted, it one of the bad movies where the rifting really shines through.

4) Episode 910: The Final Sacrafice
Noted as "The Worst Thing to Come from Canada" (MST3K's note), the movie's premise is that a kid who's being raised by his aunt discovers a map his father left behind & the cult that killed his father comes after him for the map. The kid runs into drifter, who is actually a former member the cult, who assists him into figuring out the secrets of the map.

The majority of the jokes revolve around the drifter, but it's another movie that you need the rifting to make it viewable.

5) Episode 424: Manos: The Hands of Fate
WARNING: NOT FOR WEAK WILLS! -- REPEATED VIEWS COULD BE CONSIDER AS TORTURE (OR AT LEAST CRUEL & UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT)!

This is the ONLY episode in the entire series that I can definately give this warning to as this is the candidate for THE WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME! This was done during the Joel era, but this so bad that no amount of rifting could salvage it. This is also the ONLY MOVIE there the "bads" actually apologize to captives about this movie.

If you can actually figure out the premise or the storyline of the movie, feel free to tell me AS I COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT! This was biggest issue with that movie that it was driving me insane.

6) Episode 1001: Soultaker
Fans of the series would enjoy this episode as it a bit of a "reunion" show with the former cast members (Joel & TV's Frank) returning just for this show. While the show's storyline overshadows the actual movie, the movie is OK in general.

The movie's premise is that the souls of 4 teenagers are throw out of their bodies in a crash & it's the Soultaker's job (played by Joe Estevez, who is related to Charlie & Martin Sheen, the closest thing to a major star you'll be able to find) to hunt those souls down before it's too late.

If you can find the actual DVD's for these episodes, you'll be able to watch the movie with OR without MST3K rifftrack. However, if you take the online route, you'll notice tape cuts where the commercials would normally be (as they're digitized version of VHS tapes that fans recorded). Either way, this list should give you a fair cross-section of the series.

If you can't really stomach the series, you might want to try movies that you're more familiar with at the Rifftrax website as they have small rift samples that you can preview to give you a taste before you actually have to cough up any money. If you can't enjoy rifts on movies that you may (or may not) like, you might need to get that christmas tree removed from your ass (hopefully star or the angel topper comes with it) as you obvious don't have a good sense of humor.

That's all I have for tonight... NOW GO TO BED!

Posted by TStodden at 6:37 PM CDT

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Tuesday, 21 July 2009

TStodden 2.0
Topic: Daily Drip

I thought that I'd never actually do this... but roughly an hour ago (at time of writing), I actually took the plunge & evolve myself from "Web 1.5" to "Web 2.0" with the inclusion of a Facebook account...

Let the stalkers come!

Posted by TStodden at 4:50 PM CDT

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Monday, 20 July 2009

Site Updates: Coming Soon
Topic: Daily Drip

For those who are wondering when I'm going to update my site (& not my blog or Twitter), I will note that I am working on some new stuff... it's just that life & work has gotten in the way.

I'm pretty much just adding a new section to express some of my creative side... mostly involving Dungeons & Dragons.

More info to come when I get closer to uploading.

Posted by TStodden at 4:08 PM CDT

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Friday, 17 July 2009

20th Anniversary of Flight 232

This Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of United Flight 232, which crashed in Sioux City, IA.

You can check out the details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232 but those who are living in the Siouxland area will be able to see the Made-for-TV movie of the events on KTIV (ch 4.1) this weekend.

Posted by TStodden at 4:12 PM CDT

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Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Movie Review: Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince

It's 3:25 AM (at time of writing) & I just got back about from the midnight premier of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. Before I go to bed, I thought I'd write a review of the movie while it's still fairly fresh in my mind... although the weather going to the movie was fairly fitting with stormy weather just to the east of me (as major storm cells went through about 3-4 hours prior).

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince is a 2:40 movie that follows the book, but the screenwriters took a little too much creative license in my opinion as it glazed over a few important aspects in the book & they added a non-existant battle in the middle, which doesn't fit the book AT ALL & really damages the potential integrity of the next two (YES, TWO! They decided to split Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows into two parts) movies. The biggest glazing over was the ending, which should have been a bit more darker than what was portrayed (as the big battle scene should have existed here) HOWEVER, the core storyline is still there.

For the look of Hogwarts, where the majority of the film takes place, the director went a bit more traditional with the look... but it mixes all the major aspects from the previous films to make it seem more familiar. The Burrow, while somewhat familiar... just seems a bit out of place in respect for is location & how they handled it in film during the screenwriter's fit of creative license SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED AT ALL as it's totally out of place! If you've read all the books, you would totally understand why I'm griping about this!

As for casting, the person they got for the roll of Professor Horace Slughorn was a bit unusual IMO. While the casting director took a bit of creative license (in order to maintain the series' rule that the entire cast MUST be from England, mostly for autheticity reasons), their choice was a bit odd IMO. While I failed to get the name of the actor (as the majority of the theater patrons were likely scrambling to get home as it was 2:40 AM when I got out of the theater), the look of Professor Slughorn reminds me of Syvester McCoy... who was the 7th Doctor in the "Doctor Who" series (the CLASSIC Series in the late 1980's, mind you... the predicessor of the current series, which should be starting it's 5th season in 2010 with the 11th Doctor).

While the storyline isn't the greatest (as those who haven't read the book might find it hard to follow) & the fits of creative license with the screenwriters, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince will likely be a summertime blockbuster regardless what I say. However, I strongly suggest that you put in an effort to read the books to appreciate the movie. Otherwise, all I can say it that Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince is PASSABLE on average... It'll please those who just watch the movies, but the fans would likely demand more from the screenwriters than what they presented.

Posted by TStodden at 7:44 PM CDT

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Monday, 6 July 2009

Daily Drip: T-minus 5 Days to Wedding
Topic: Daily Drip

Welcome back to NESpresso's NESlog. The "Summer of Emotion" is still in full swing as ever.

The 4th of July was relatively quiet for me. There were a few noted violations of Iowa's Fireworks laws (where the only legal fireworks are "Family Safe" one... black snakes, sparklers, whippersnaps... the boring stuff), but since law enforcement is very relaxed ("non-existant" more like it)... those violations most likely won't get anyone reported. The one family, roughly 1000 feet west of me, had their usual display of fireworks with little regard to the law or the negative effects they may have caused. However, it was my neighbors who were about a half-block east of me that was the most concerning. Since they're were well within city limits (& not on the outskirts), they could have easily caused a fire with one errant firework. THANKFULLY, it was a relatively damp outside & they were a little more considerate with their firing (spacing the lighting of them out). I caught part of the town's firework's display from the comfort of my own house. Although obscurred by the trees & my neighbor's house, I was able to see a good number of them. Since I was far enough away from them (roughly a half-mile, at an estimate), I didn't get the ear-shattering bangs that you experience when you're nearby (which helps). HOWEVER, I did experience a triple-echo with each bang, since the sounds reflected off the grain elevators nearby.

As for the "Summer of Emotion", the celebrity death count has just edged over the double-digit mark... with the death of Billy Mays & Molly Sludgin (pardon the misspelling). Billy Mays will most likely be remembered by others due to the LACK of his annoying presence in the infomercials. However, those who've seen "Are You Being Served?" (an old BBC sitcom, commonly rebroadcasted on PBS stations in the US) would remember her as Mrs. Slocombe.

As for a personal note in the "Summer of Emotion", my younger bro's wedding is in 5 days. It'll be a the first time in about 4 or 5 years that my family will be together for a special occasion. While my Grandmother's funeral was a depressing note that brought the majority of my family & my father's side together (which kicked off the "Summer of Emotion"), my sister wasn't there as she moved to Oregon shortly after graduating college. While it was originally a "temporary venture" (originally staying there for a year), she's enjoyed it out there so much that she's staying there on a permament basis (from what I can tell). While I can't say that she left on the best of terms with me (as I had bit of a falling out with her & her "demanding tendencies" prior to moving out to Oregon), things between us (with time & distance) have patched things up as well as I can expect them to be. She's flying in tomorrow evening into Sioux Falls, which is a reasonable destination considering where my older brother is living & it's a lot cheaper (about 2-3x cheaper) than trying to book a flight closer.

I think the one thing that has somewhat improved our sibling relationship are the stories she calls home about & the "wusses" she has to deal with during some severe weather. She thinks it's funny that the residents freak about about 2 inches of snow, which is pretty normal around here (unless that turns into 2 FEET of snow); HOWEVER, she does empathise with a few of them as the one road is practically impassible when it's iced up. Recently, she wasn't afraid of the severe weather & tornado watches in her area. In fact, she was totally disappointed by the severe weather that was occuring. A few claps of thunder... that was practically it. However, her co-workers (who are more likely natural residents of the area) were freaking out. My sister had to tell them that the restrooms were the safest place to be if a tornado would actually hit their area (as it was a windowless room). My sister wasn't afraid that much since we've experienced some really severe weather & had a few near-misses with tornados.

It was the 4th of July weekend of 1998 (11 years go) that we experienced one of the worst severe weather storms. We were on break from summer camp & on the road when we were hit with what we described as an "in-land hurricane", as the storm seemed to be that bad at the time. The downporing rain was so heavy that it was actually bouncing up into the engine, which caused a few problems. We had to stop as the next town & waited for the storm to pass before the could attempt to go any further. Even the bikers were camping out in the car wash stations next door to the place we stopped at. From what we heard later from some of the summer camp staff was that we were lucky to leave when we did as a Tornado Warning was issued shortly after we left... which would have killed any departure attempts for a while, if we were still there. In Iowa, if a Severe Thunderstorm Warning gets issued, people take a bit more caution outside... but nothing (except the pools & other outdoor rec areas) would close down. It usually takes a Tornado Warning (including the local sirens) to bring entire communities to a halt as it's pretty well known how devestating a tornado can be. Even if a tornado is 5-10 miles off target (as in "outside the projected path"), the sirens go off. I know the sirens are there to give everybody a last-minute warning (of about 5 minutes at least, if known), but it can be annoying when you're keeping an eye on the radar images online.

Anyways, back on subject... My younger brother & my soon-to-be sister-in-law have been seeing each other since 2003 & have been living together since the summer of 2007. Despite some issues between siblings (on both sides), things have gone reasonably well. As for their relationship prior to marriage, there's a few things that just don't seem to work well between them. While I'll be a little surprised if they make it 5 (or even 10) years, they seem to be willing to make their relationship work. I just hope their future kids can avoid the genetic pitfalls they both seem to have... but that won't be known for about 10-15 years down the road at a guestimate.

Posted by TStodden at 12:01 AM CDT

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Thursday, 2 July 2009

Too Damn Late - Episode 3.0: The TDL Book Club
Topic: Too Damn Late

It's 1:25 AM CDT & it's time once again for Too Damn Late!

WARNING: Too Damn Late is written after midnight, so all the "common courtesies" like self-censoring, have gone to bed as well. If you're overly sensitive & easily offended by material... STOP READING THIS POST RIGHT NOW!!! I don't like writing this warning, but I do so in order to warn those who like reading my other entries. If you choose to keep reading beyond this warning, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Before anybody asks where Episode 2.0 went... It was stuffed into the TDL archives without seeing the life on the web. After a fair night's sleep, I thought it would be better off that it never reaches the web.

Anyways, this episode of "Too Damn Late" is dedicated to books. Although old-school by today's standards, there's just some times when you just want to turn off your electronic devices & let your imagination (which is probably in a comma, which all the content there is online) get a small workout. All books suggested in here have been read by myself, regardless of the age they're designed for. Without further ado, here's the list!

1) Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (7 Books)
I know what you're thinking... Why starting with a fucking kiddie fad series? Before I got into the series, I was bucking the trend as well. However, J.K. Rowling's writing is really good & she presents a fairly modern fantasy series that could be plausible. While some things are out there, most of the ideals in the series mesh very well with reality.

While the movies (which is set to debut in 2011) are a fair depiction of the books, they're often heavily compressed for time & some items were modified to better suit the film. I still highly suggest that you read the books in order. However, I will note that the one BIG THEORY I had about the end of the 6th Book (which I freely told to some friends, who were interested in it) was actually confirmed in the 7th Book... but you'll have to read the series to find out... If you haven't read into any spoilers, as some websites & even some shows have done so.

Even though the first three books tend to have a light, happy ending... the 4th through 6th books have a darker, less-than-happy ending... which wraps up in a generally happy ending in the 7th. It's a great read that I have to suggest.

2) Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 Books)
Yes, it's another kid's series. However, unlike Harry Potter, these books are a bit more adult than they originally suggest. For the main reason, these books are fucking DEPRESSING! You have to has some sadistic blood running through you if you don't get depressed a bit by the end.

The A Series of Unfortunate Events are done in a 3rd person "investigative" reporting style from the author's perspective. This is a totally different perspective that what most people read & it's done very well. Mr. Snickett (as the author prefers to maintain their pen name) doesn't bother to write any fictitious acts (although, the entire work is a piece of fiction... from what anybody can tell) or write any "happy endings" into the story, although there's been a couple of times that he wanted to. The stories are a fact-based retelling of the adventures of the Baudelaire Children.

While the movie does paint a fairly accurate depiction of their world, the movie doesn't really do the book series justice. First of all, it only covers the first three books of the series. Second, it places the events out of order & modifies some of the events to enhance the movie. Finally, it actually paints a fictitious happy ending... which shouldn't have been there at all (or at least in sense I believe in).

Each book contains a warning at the start of each book (as well as the back cover) that the book you're about to read is depressing & suggests that you drop the goddamn book & run screaming towards something with a happier tone. However, at the end of each book (excluding the 13th book), Mr. Snickett leaves a teaser about the next book in the series. Despite the teasers, the biggest teaser in the series is the dedication... which each book is dedicated to Beatrix. HOWEVER, you'll have to read the series to understand THAT TEASER

3) Snowcrash by Stephen Neilsen
For those who are wondering when I'm going to get out of the fucking children's section & get into more adult stuff... Your prayers are finally answered here! Snowcrash is one book that is a bit fragmented... much like your computer's hard drive (unless you anal about CPU performance, like myself, & actually bother to do some maintenance, you lazy bastards!). However, the book is very book as it paints a semi-realistic look at virtual worlds & virtual reality.

Snowcrash is done in a "Post Apocalyptic" world where a big-assed Electro-Magnetic Pulse wiped out all the major data centers around the world & the United States, as we know it, no longer exists in the traditional sense of states, but smaller "Franchise Countries" & the "30-minute delivery" policy for pizza is heavily enforced with actual timestamps. The main character is techno-nerd living out of a rental storage unit, but carries a vivid life instead the new internet, as a 3D virtual-reality world. This item called "Snowcrash" starts appearing in the VR world & in the real world & it's up to the main character to figure out what's going on & how to stop it.

As I stated above, the book's storyline is a bit fragmented as one chapter will focus on one character & the next chapter will sharply jump to another character. However, as the book nears the end, all the "chapter fragments" start to merge into one. Despite this one issue, that may make it hard for people to read, it's one interesting book that takes a look at one dark possibility that the world could take & make a piece of fiction out of it.

4) The ULTIMATE Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
This is actually a 5-in-1 compilation of the entire The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series in one easier-to-find book. HOWEVER, you could look for all 5 books if you really wanted to... but why waste the time & effort here? Again, another book that's done in the 3rd person perspective (from the Guide itself), it's done more for humor. Unlike other book series, these books, like the compilation, just seems to merge fairly well into each other. While it does hit some sci-fi stuff, Mr. Adams mostly did it for comedic effect than anything.

For this, I highly suggest NOT WATCHING the 2005 movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. While it does hold the ideals of Mr. Adams & the series, it doesn't really does the series any justice as it's more of a mish-mash variation of the big story than the actual story. Ironically, the movie does uphold Mr. Adams's ideals of the series, where the actual story is twisted yet again from it's original version... even after the death of Douglas Adams! The 1981/82 BBC Mini-series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is more accurate to the book, some of the visuals are heavily dated & it only covers the first two books. However, the BBC mini-series were made with the assistance of Mr. Adams with the existing books at that time... so you can't blame the BBC here.

Anyways, the The ULTIMATE Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy contains the COMPLETE story (across the five books, plus one short story) about the book itself & is heavily centered around the not-so-usual life of Arthur Dent once the "Fates of the Galaxy" & "The Guide" reveals themselves to him. As the movie trailer mentions it... "The Greatest Adventure Ever Begins... When the World Ends." This series is in the rare "Sci-Fi Comedy" genre, which is one of the most difficult genres to write about. While there is some technical jargon, where the relevant stuff is explained, it's mostly included for humor.

Despite the anti-climatic & abrupt ending of the entire series in the last book, it's still an excellent read. If you ever want to get some insight to some of the mysteries of life (or at least, one twisted looking into them) & enjoy getting a laugh in the process, you won't regret reading this.

5) The DaVinci Code by Jan Brown
My final book tonight is one of the more controversial books, but if you get past all the religious crap & focus on the main part of the story... it's a real thriller. Again, I don't give a flying fuck (although Think Geek would be happy to sell you one) what your religious views are. The religious stuff within The DaVinci Code is just there as a plot device, in order to keep pushing the story along.

Although the book is a bit fragmented & unbalanced (as a few chapters were only a page long... if that), it's a good read. The Movie version is decent as well, but like all movies, it compresses the entire book (cutting out some stuff... like the second cryptex) in order to get it down to a reasonable time. However, I still suggest reading the book to get the entire story.

The story starts out with a VERY RECENT murder of an important staff member of The Louvre by a member of an extremist religious organization in order to find "The Holy Grail". The Knights Templar & the "Sons of Zion" get mixed in here, but as you read the story... you find out that not everything is as it originally appears. However, you'll have to read the book to find out.

That's all for this this entry of Too Damn Late! It's 3:04 AM CDT & it's getting cool enough in my room to get a decent night's sleep... SO GET TO BED ALREADY!

Posted by TStodden at 5:48 PM CDT

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Monday, 29 June 2009

YDKJ DoD: Aquaman Left Spyware on My Harddrive
Topic: YDKJ Classic

This YDKJ DOD Classic came from December 19, 2006.

Posted by TStodden at 4:03 PM CDT

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Daily Drip: The Summer of Emotion
Topic: Daily Drip

Welcome back to NESpresso. I know I've been pretty quiet last week as the web activities are conserned, but I have a good reason.

At 12:29 PM CDT Sunday (June 21st), my grandmother died & pretty much took the week off for bereavement. Her funeral was Wednesday with the family, but the major fireworks haven't really gone off yet (as far as I'm conserned) since there's still the issue of her will & the settlement of her estate to deal with. As much as I'm trying to stay OUT of the matter, I have a bad feeling that there will be some bloodshed (figuratively speaking... hopefully) before everything is settled.

In light of all the events this week, I hereby dub the summer of 2009 as "The Summer of Emotion" as emotions seem to be running high in my family as well as the rest of the world. On top of my personal loss, there's been some major losses in the world... Ed McMahon (Johnny Carson's side-kick), Fara Fawcet (70's supermodel, original "Charlie's Angel"... pardon the possible misspelling) & Michael Jackson (If you have never heard of him, you're either 5, living a hole since 1965 or dead). Michael Jackson's death is the only major one that's received major media coverage... so far 2 days worth of coverage now between NBC (Thursday for an hour) & ABC (Friday for 2 hours). There's also another local death nearby of a person that I'm unfamiliar with, but my parents are more likely familiar with who died on Wednesday... I know it just seems depressing this week, but it's more of a coincidence than anything.

On more optimistic news for "The Summer of Emotion", this Saturday marks the 2-week warning for my younger bro's wedding... not to mention that next Saturday is the 4th of July. However you consider a wedding (bad or good), you're probably right to some point. My younger bro & his soon-to-be wife have been seeing each other for about 5-6 years now (that I can remember)... so it's about time they've finally tied the knot. While there are some things that my (soon-to-be) sister-in-law that I don't agree with, but I can get along with her with little problems.

The only major update online with me is the release of Puzzle Pirates Unofficial Omnibus version 0.503 Silver, which includes about 2 months worth of updates & new features in the game that were introduced since version 0.402 Bronze. You can pick it up from Game FAQ's, Super Cheats or Neoseeker (as they're the ones who are actively hosting the guide... considering it's pretty much the ONLY MODERN guide for Puzzle Pirates right now). Feel free to grab a copy of it for your personal use or even use it as a reference for your own Puzzle Pirates guide as the Creative Commons license I use allows derivative works... as long as your work is non-commercial. You can even steal a copy & post to your website, but I like to know who's hosting my guides so that I can add you to my update lists.

As for my Twitter activity, it's still a bit hampered since my Twitter Plugin for Pidgin(MBPurple) took a hit with the "Tweetpocolyspe" with version 0.2.1 (portable) that has been noted. Version 0.2.2 has fixed the major issues that would make Pidgin crash, but it's still has some bugs that are making it extremely annoying that I still have it disabled... so I'm only using the website for my tweets until they get MBPurple fixed well enough to use it again. It has crossed my mind to switch back to Trillian... but that program hasn't received any major updates & Trillian Astra is still stuck in alpha / beta testing & the plugins that I want to use may not work as well as I want them too (or at least without having to cough up the cash for "Pro Version"). That's pretty much the main reason why I'm sticking with Pidgin... more networks, likable features (like tabbed IM windows), free plugins (some assembly / installation work required) & it's completely free since it's open source.

That's all for this issue of the Daily Drip... I'll try to have something more interesting, but don't count on it.

Posted by TStodden at 3:55 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 29 June 2009 3:56 PM CDT

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Saturday, 20 June 2009

Kyobi (from Whirled.com)
Topic: Weekend Timewaster

For those who want something that'll waste more than just 30 minutes of your time, I present Kyobi.

Launch the full version of Whirled

Pardon the disappropiate flash window, that's Whirled's doing... not mine.

The game is pretty simple, make 3 or more of the same tile touch to clear them. Just drag the pieces around the playfield, that's all there is to it! Throw them, slam them... whatever you have to do to get three or more to touch.

Just make sure that none of the tiles reach the top of the playfield or you'll run into trouble. You'll only have a limited amount of time (see the bar at the top) to fix it or it's game over for you!

If you like what you see here, check out Whirled!

Posted by TStodden at 3:42 PM CDT

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Don't Shit Your Pants
Topic: Weekend Timewaster

For those who want to waste a few minutes this weekend check out...

- Don't Shit Your Pants

It's a very simple, retro-based game where you type in commands to complete the game... There's pretty much 2 objectives here.

1) Don't Shit Your Pants

2) Use the toilet

There's other objectives as well, but play the game to find them out.

Posted by TStodden at 3:30 PM CDT

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Not-so-brief History of Video Games
Topic: Weekend Timewaster

For those who are more interested in reading than playing a game, check out the "Not-so-brief History of Video Games" at http://kidicarus222.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-secret-to-everybody.html

It's chalk full of Video Game trivia & useless information that you might enjoy

Posted by TStodden at 3:24 PM CDT

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