My New Camera!

Yes, the rumors are in fact true. I have acquired a new camera! Well, it's not just new it's also technically my first camera, and it happens to be a DSLR as well. I have been using my Landlords (yes that is code for parents and no I am not 30) camera until now, which was just a basic Nikon Coolpix S630 point and shoot. I now have a Nikon D5000 that is all mine! I would list specs but the list is just too long on this one my fellow geeks. Instead, I will generously give you a link to an in-depth review. Quite frankly the quality of the photos it takes are absolutely amazing. I am going to check if I can upload them in their original size or if it will compress them, but don't expect me to get around to that anytime soon. On a similar note (not really, I just needed a way to keep the sentence structure flowing) One might ask, "How did you get this $700 DSLR?" to which I would reply, "It was an early Christmas gift from my Dad and Mum". Ya I am kinda spoiled. Anywho, as time goes on I will continue to take amazing pictures, and you will continue to stand in awe at the pictures you have never seen.

Windows 7 Professional

Well, I decided to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, and I can actually say "upgrade" without laughing hysterically (such as in Vista's case). All joking aside, Win7 is definitely an improvement, and I say that in reference not only to Vista but also XP. I personally never owned a computer with Vista on it, but I had my fair share of time with its horribleness and I must say that Win7 is undoubtedly 10x better if not 100x. Even from XP there are huge improvements, one specific one is boot time (Vista was bad too but this is a personal account). My XP boot time was pushing 00:06:38 (that's hours, minutes, and seconds respectively), whereas my Win7 boot time is around 00:01:10. Yes it is a fresh install and a reformatted HDD but still that is fast. On the same topic is the quick but awesome fact that once I am logged in I can click a program and it will come up immediately, unlike XP which took 5 more minutes to launch Mozilla after the initial boot and login. I also upgraded to the 64bit version so that my computer can finally recognize all 6GB of my RAM! yay! Not to mention that it is clocked at 1600MHz so it is blazing fast. Obviously, the new "Aero Effects" are awesome too, and they are so pretty! Yes I am actually saying “pretty” with glee and happiness mainly because it makes my OCD happy but hey, whatever works. Everything is so good looking and smooth without taking up too many resources. Well... at least for me they don't, but I have a Quad core with 6GB of RAM and two 9800GTX's in SLI so ya... One other honorable note to mention is the way the data packets are handled in Win7. Basically, when I was transferring a file in XP it would do an average of 25MB/s with a max of about 50MB/s. Win7 however, can reach up to 120MB/s and sustain that and has an average of 60MB/s! I didn't believe it when I saw it but I did the math and it was right (this is using large files between two separate drives that are not in any sort of RAID configuration). These and many more things make up the good part of Win7, but I must move on to the bad things about Win7. Yes yes I know... so sad that there are bad things, but that's how it is with everything.
So far the only glitches that I have come across are: 1-A small sound interruption when installing programs (Most likely caused by UAC). So basically if you are playing music and you start to install something, your sound will scratch/cut out for just a second. 2- Random disappearance of window picture on taskbar. This one is a bit harder to explain, but basically the little previews you see when holding your mouse over the folder button, or any other program with multiple windows for that matter, tend to disappear periodically. I found a way to make it happen less often (and less sporadically) by going into Control Panel/System then clicking advanced system settings, once that window comes up click the settings button under performance and then enable the option that says "Save taskbar thumbnail previews"(take note that I do not know how this will affect overall system performance, I mean it is disabled by default...). After that is enabled, they tend to only disappear after having launched a graphic intensive program or locking the computer for extended periods of time. Other than that there is not much wrong with the OS. I will be keeping a list of all the glitches I find though, just so all of you know.
In the end, Win7 is definitely an awesome OS. I dunno, maybe it's because I have been on XP for 10 years and when Vista came out it only seemed worse, but either way it is definitely a good forward step for Microsoft and I can't wait to see what else they improve/add to it.

PS- I was going to do a Pro/ Con list but I decided against it due to the sheer amount of pros when comparing Win7 to Vista. Just keep in mind that Win7 is stable and it is not even on the same plane as far as bugs/issues as Vista. Overall it is a great OS and I am very pleased with it. It gets my official seal of approval (you know, the one I don't have).

PAX '09

Alright everyone, it's the post of my blog that all (none) of you have been waiting for! PAX '09 coverage by yours truly. Who is "yours truly"? Not important, but what is important is what was at PAX. So without further adieu I give you PAX: .... Did I forget to mention that I forgot my camera? ya, well I did... Goes to show how much fate is against me... Anyways, I can at least tell you what was there, that's just as good right?... Oh shutup. Anyways, PAX had alot more this year then from previous years, or so I heard. Most of it was held in the main exhibition hall in the Seattle conference center, they had a ton of booths set up that were either demoing their game or just showing it off. Some of the playable games included: Diablo III, Starcraft II, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Left for Dead 2, Mass Effect 2, Halo 3 ODST, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 2, and much more. Some of the others that were present but not playable were: Brink, Bioshock 2, Assassins Creed 2, and Splinter Cell. With all these great games to gander and drool at you'd think that that would be all you could do, but your wrong! Not only do you get to view, play, and walk around, but you get to do other things too! Like play tabletop games, read comics, play your DS, and sit in on discussions between your favorite game creators! Speaking of which, I met and got Adam Sessler's autograph, ok so he isn't a game creator but he is famous. Don't believe me? OK go here and tell me otherwise. Haha, I win you lose! In addition to Adam Sessler's autograph, I also acquired Guild Wars 2 lead designer's autographs, Mass Effect 2's Lead Designer's autograph, and AION's lead designer's autograph. See the funny thing is, you are drooling over all this and I haven't even told you the best part of the whole thing! What is it? Why it's SWAG, glorious swag, I got like 15 free T-shirts, and only 3 weren't my size! You can basically get tons of things if you are at the right place at the right time. For instance, Intel was giving out free Core 17 Extreme Processors (that's a $1000 processor for those who don't know)! Obviously I didn't win that specific prize, but I saw two people who did! A lot of the swag was junk, but it was junk with your favorite game's logo on it! So it was kinda not junk in a totally obscure and random way... Anyways, Overall PAX was definitely a good choice on my end, and I hope to attend PAX '10 next year as it will be even bigger and better. In the mean time, keep reading my blog (yes yes I know you don't want to, but it's good for you!) and keep the comments coming! OK so I don't have a single comment, but that just means that there is more room for new ones!

Update (2)

Well, here's another glorious update in the realm of Geekness (yes I did just say that). Anyways, Some cool things to look forward to are: Windows 7 October 22, Snow Leopard Mac OS 10.6 (Already Out), Wireless energy transfer early-mid 2010, Nvidia Ion powered Netbooks late 2009, Intel's lovely Octo-Core late 2009, The first 2TB SD card is in the making expected before 2011, PS3 Slim AND PS3 price cut (already out), Xbox 360 Price Cut (This Friday), A whole slew of games that are coming out soon, most of which you can learn about here. In addition to all of this, PAX '09 is soon to be here and I will be attending. I am of course going to give you an inside scoop of the whole thing after it has occurred, but until then you shall remain in the dark... sad really, that is unless you will be there too, in which case I shall hope to see you there.

The Future, or Rather my Rendition, of Technology

People always speak of “what will the future be like with the way technology advances” or “what are we striving for in the field of technology”. Well I decided to write this to help people in understanding where it is exactly, to some degree, that we are headed. First I would like to say that this is my rendition, or my take on the matter, not that of any corporation specifically, but it is backed up by statements of CEO’s and is a “guided path” if you will, meaning that it is taking the past line of events and extrapolating what the future will most likely look like. With that said I can now start on the topic. First and foremost question is “what will the future be like…” (in regards to technology), well most people believe that it will be completely autonomous for us and to us but really that’s not how it will be. Instead of being autonomous to us or for us it will be autonomous around us. You may ask “what’s the difference” or “what exactly does this mean?” Well, it’s like this… Imagine that you get home from work and you get moved from your car (that drove you home) to your house and everything is brought to you and all you do is think about what you want to trigger the effects. Sounds kinda weird huh? Now imagine that when you get home, via self driving car, the car itself tells the house that it wants the shower turned on to a certain degree, the dinner started, and the music system turned on to something soothing because the car detects you are strained from a hard day at work. Now, which sounds better/more realistic? I personally like the second one so that’s what we are going with. So now you might be wondering “what else is so advanced about this?” It’s quite simple really, instead of having your cell phone, your ipod, your camera, your keys, your laptop, etc. they will all be one. That’s right all of them in one simple, pocket fittable device. Other objects such as your home computer, your washer, your dryer, your oven, your refrigerator, your shower, your TV, etc. will not be all one but will all be connected via the Home System Network (HSN), In fact you will not even have a home computer as it will be integrated into the house. All this connection will also be wireless and autonomous so that when you get home your laptop cell phone key camera ipod device will connect and sync to your HSN. Also, just to clarify, you will not use traditional LCDs or OLEDs for you computer home, you will instead use In Wall Projection Units (IWPU) which are basically HD projectors within the walls or glass panels in your house, and they will be touch sensitive and programmable from any wall in the house. One last important thing , and arguably the best, is that technology will be virtually hassle free, which would be totally awesome but lets not get carried away. So are you jealous? I am, I really want that all to be here now not then. Anyways, I hope this sheds some light on our future in regards to technology for all those who were wondering.

Update

This post is an update or rather an allocated list of recent events that pertain to geeks. Anyways some really interesting things have happened recently what with E3 and Computex going on, so I decided to tell you the really interesting things without all the boring stuff mixed in... First thing on the list is that Intel recently announced that its first octo core (8 cores in one CPU) will be released later this year! I sure can't wait to get my hands on one of those! Anyways, another thing is that AMD released their first 6 core CPUs three months ahead of schedule. At Computex a 128GB SSD was spotted but it's a bit it's just a wee bit different... it's only about an inch long! You really have to see it for yourself to believe it. E3 has brought great hope to the gaming world as we got alot of sequals of amazing games announced, such as Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, and even Super Mario Galaxy 2! Microsoft announced its "Project Natal" which isn't all that exciting if you ask me, but Sony announced their new motion sensing... orb thing and it looks really cool! Ok well it doesn't look cool it just is cool... stupid glowing orb... Anyways, that pretty much wraps it up except for one last tiny itty bitty detail... Windows 7 is going on sale October 22!

Also I updated my computer specs so check 'em out!

PAX '09

Hello all (or possibly none), this post is breaking my recent habit of post once every month. The reason it is breaking this is because it is a post of pure elation and awesomeness! What is causing this you ask? Why it's the fact that I am going to PAX '09 this September! What is PAX you say? Why it is the Penny Arcade eXpo! What is the Penny Arcade eXpo you say? ...Well it's kinda... Just go here and find out! Anyways, it's September 4-6 which is a long way off but it's going to be totally awesome! It's also going to have several major game developers there such as Blizzard, Bethesda, Ubisoft, EA, etc. So when the time comes I will post about my great time there and the massive amounts of swag I will get, but until then all you'll have is this post. So sad.

Windows 7 RC

Well as many of you geeks already know (the ones who aren't reading this), Windows 7 RC was released the other day, and I decided I would try it out (mainly because I never got my hands on the BETA because of Microsoft's blundering idiots in the IT department didn't account for the fact that people would actually WANT it). Anyways... I would first like to say that it is a pretty good OS, I've ran into a few bugs so far but nothing too serious... I'm also running it on my old Dell computer that's currently running a 3GHz P4 and 1GB RAM which is why it's a bit sluggish but still faster than (dare I say its name) Vista ("In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit I repent of my sins Amen") ever was. There is one particular program that comes with it that is quite astonishing. It's called speech recognition and is far more advanced than I'd have ever thought it'd be. For example if I say "Open Mozilla" then it will come up with a list of programs that have "Mozilla" in them and each will have a number, then I would say "3 OK" and then it starts the program. So far it has worked with any program I have thrown at it including itunes and being able to select the song and/or playlist that you want then saying "Play" and it works!! There are lots of other cool features packed in as well. One of the major downsides is that they never simplified the Control Panel... It's simple enough, but I prefer several things being under "Display" rather than "Display", "Persionalization", "Color Management", etc. All in all I would like to officially state my support (so far) of Windows 7 and furthermore say that I can't wait for its release.

PS: If you would like to read more and/or get the RC yourself, then head over to Windows 7 official site

Netbook!

As you can probably deduce from the title, this post has to do with a netbook. But it's not just any nebook it's MY netbook, my new one to be more precise. Therefore I would like to say an extremely elated "yay!", but I am too tired so ill just stick with that. Anyways here's my netbook's specs:
Model: Acer Aspire One
CPU: Intel Atom @1.6GHz
HDD: 160GB
RAM: 1GB
OS: Win XP Home Edition (32bit)
Battery: 6 cell
Screen size: 10.1"
Dimensions: 10.25" x 7.5" x 1.5" (l x w x h)
Weight: 2.15 lbs.
Price: $300

Note: Suprisingly, this netbook (even @1.6GHz) is more powerful then my (obsolete) laptop; it's sad really...

Anit-Virus (among other things)

Today I will be addressing the all important issue of Virus Protection. Many of you in the geek populace know the dangers that are presented by viruses, worms, spyware, adware, and other malicious programs. Unfortunately, most people do not. In fact it is said that 1 in 5 people do not have anti-virus programs or even know of their seriousness of protecting their beloved computer systems (this statistic is based of the fact that 78.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot). So being the great geek that I am, I will share some of my vast knowledge to you unknowing peoples. First if you don't have an anti-virus program then get one! The last thing you need is for your computer to crash and you not know why. If you don't want to spend money getting one then this is the best free one in my opinion, AVG 8.0 free (click the one on the left that says "free version", also the file is about 60MB so if you have slow Internet then its going to take awhile), the free version still has most of what the real one does except it doesn't protect against all types of spyware and adware and cant heal infected files, but it can still detect fine and it puts infected files in a "Virus Vault" which basically isolates the file so it cant spread. Now, if you are willing to shell out some bucks to completely protect your system (recommended for geeks with excellent systems) then I would suggest a few programs... I personally use Kaspersky, but there are several other good ones like Bit Defender, NOD32, and AVG 8.0, but whatever you do do not get Norton! Anyways any of these anti-virus programs I suggested will protect your computer fine, but be warned some are quite advanced such as Bit Defender and Kaspersky but if you need a simple one with the availability of advanced options get AVG. Also with the non-free versions you get protection from Adware and Spyware so its like health benefits only, for your computer.

Cool (no pun intended) Computer!

Recently when I went to visit my totally tubular dad in the far west, we stopped by Puget Systems to see their computer that's submerged in mineral oil! yes that's right I said submerged! it works because mineral oil doesn't conduct electricity and therefore electronic components will work while in it (you can see more about it here). Anyways it was pretty cool! ill even post pics so that you can see it from my point of view. In addition to all this I got to meet and talk with one of its creators (he was also using it when my dad and I arrived), and we talked for a bit about geek related things and the like. To wrap it up id like to say that if your ever in the Auburn area then stop by their office and see it its pretty cool! They have directions to their office on their site too.

Picasa 3

Recently, while perusing my vast collection of digital media and code, I came across a program that I had long forgot... it was Picasa 2, a picture viewing, collecting, and editing program by google. So I decided to click check for update and thus I got Picasa 3! Ever since then I have used it as my primary picture viewer and it also can edit my pictures, to a certain degree. It also has the nifty capability to search for pictures and other media types on your computer and then place them in the Picasa directory for you to easily find. One interesting thing I came across was its capability to read the inner data of the files to determine its creation date (in other words it takes the original creation date not the one applied by you), and I thought this was interesting because it said some of my objects were made in 1970... which I know they weren't because some of them were videos with 21st century actors in them... so this led me to conclude that if there is no data present or it cant find it then it just has a default date of 1970... anyways I recommend this program to people that want a good, free, and easy to use solution for microsoft picture viewer, but beware use at your own risk as it is suspected that google is trying to take over the world! No joke! They have phones, internet browsers, picture viewers, map services, desktop gadget managers, and lots more! check it all out here.

Customizing My Desktop...

Unfortunately I regret to inform you that I have already completed this project and therefore can only tell you of what I have done instead of what I am doing and bore you with constant updates... such a pity isn't it? but what I can do is recall the events to the best of my ability! oh fun!

Anywho what I wanted to do was change my XP start bar from that eye straining blue to a more black or dark blue color because I have a black/dark color desktop image at most times and the blue really doesn't fit too well. I started out googleing for random programs that would just change the color of it or shade but soon found I needed a whole new texture and mesh as well... I ended up finding the thing I was looking for at customize.org (go figure) and I got a really dull looking one!

Also I decided to change some other things while I'm at it so I changed my Mozilla look by using the anycolor addon found here and changed it to a black glossy with a Diablo III background.

Furthermore I customized all my little folder icons on my desktop to things that fit the folders name (such as a gear for a program shortcuts folder)

And that just about wraps it up so... ya... fun...

My Computer

Now, this post in particular actually has some awesomeness to it! The awesomeness I am referring to is my new and custom built computer built by... me! yes that's right I built it myself and I am proud of that.

My system specs are as listed:
Mobo: 790i FTW EVGA
GPUs: 2 nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX's SLI EVGA
RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB DDR3 @1600MHz
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @3.2GHz
PSU: Corsair 750W
HDD: 1.5TB 32MB cache Seagate & 1TB 32MB WD
Chassis: Apevia X-Pleasure
OS: Win7 Pro 64bit
KB & Mouse: Saitek Eclipse & Logitech G5
Monitor: 24" Acer widescreen 1920x1080
Speakers: Bose Companion 5

and if I feel like it ill post pictures...
[EDIT]
I have updated my specs as they have changed since I originally posted this, and if you are wondering which ones changed they are the CPU and the RAM. I OC'd my CPU from (stock) 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz and I got 4GB of RAM instead of 2GB and it's now linked and synced at 1600MHz.

[EDIT] [EDIT]
I have yet again updated my specs, the changes are as follows: 4GB to 6GB and Win XP 32bit to Win7 64bit.

Intro

Well I thought it would be appropriate to start with an intro and possibly my motives for creating this new blog which is meaningless and unknown to others...

Reasons for creating? well I was bored and decided to...

Well there you have it, not as exciting as you thought? oh well...