Published on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 .
Yes, I’ve purchased some new “geek stuff” lately that I’m rather happy with.
First off, I got a new router. Mind you, I didn’t NEED a new router, but I wanted one. I was using an older Netgear WGR-614 for my home network, which did the job fairly well. I had a few issues with it here and there where I would have to reboot it after some heavy bittorrenting and the port forwarding functions completely stopped working until I reset it to factory defaults and set it up again but other than that, it worked fairly well. However, I figured it was about time to upgrade despite not really having a NEED to do so.
This time, instead of going with previous-generation wireless I decided to go ahead and jump into the next-gen stuff. I opted for the D-Link DIR-655, which is a Draft-n router. Admittedly, I don’t have any draft-n equipment yet but I figured it’ll be nice to have when I do decide to get the card for my laptop and the home wireless media extender to go with it. In any case, the router is pretty fucking pimp. It supports Draft-N, which has a theoretical max speed of 300mbps (though closer to 100mbps in practice), has 4 gigabit ethernet ports (most only support 100mbps) and supports “Intelligent QOS” which allows latency-sensitive packets (gaming & VOIP) to be passed through first-priority over other things such as FTP downloads and bittorrent. In practice it seems to work, as I was uploading around 45kB/sec on bittorrent from my desktop pc and not causing undue lag for my friend playing counterstrike. The router has quite possibly the most configuration options I’ve seen on a router so far, even allowing you to manually specify packet priority in the options for the intelligent QOS. It does support automatically updating dynamic DNS services, automatic firmware update notification, along with WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption. It has 3 external antennae which should in theory boost signal strength but with my internal Centrino wireless it doesn’t appear to have made much difference so far. I mean, maybe a little bit but signal has already been so good in my apartment that any improvement in signal strength wouldn’t net any sort of performance improvements. In any case, I’d like to get the wireless media extender to hook up to my TV in the near future. Then I could just download movies to my PC and watch them on my TV, thanks to Windows Media Connect. I’d also like to snag the 2-bay Network Storage Enclosure and stick a couple of SATA hard drives in it (two of the new 1TB drives from Hitachi, perhaps).
Also, I decided it was time for a digital camera. I found a great deal on a Panasonic Lumix TZ-1 camera for $199. It’s a 5MP camera with a 10x optical zoom, which is pretty much unheard-of in such a small camera. All the reviews I’ve read of it have given it high marks and I thought having a 10x zoom and anti-shake technology would make taking nice pics even easier. I haven’t gotten to test it out yet since my SD card hasn’t arrived yet. However, I’ll be sure to report my findings once I get the card. So far from toying around with it, it appears it’ll be a sweet camera. More to come on this one later. 
Published on Friday, January 12th, 2007 .
…. and not a PS3… and here’s why.
1) The Xbox 360 has more good games out, period. Gears of War, anyone? Forza 2 is coming up. Project Gotham 3 looks simply badass. I could go on and on.
2) It’s $399, ready to go. Admittedly, buying an extra controller, wifi adapter, etc. will run your total cost close to quadrupe digits, but it’s worth every penny.
3)Xbox Live. It kicks ass, period. Voice chat with fellow players, game downloads, exclusive content for games, movies, tv shows, movie trailers… all kinds of cool stuff. Worth the money if you ask me. It’s infinitely better than what Sony has to offer online. Hell, Sony doesn’t even have a unified buddy list system such that you can only see who’s online playing the same game as you. Fucking idiotic!
4) IPTV is coming. Streaming TV to your xbox… pimp shit, I’m sold!
5) HD-DVD is optional, not mandatory. I don’t have to pay the extra money for the drive if I don’t need it just yet. Granted, I’ll end up buying it at some point… just not right off the bat.
Having said all that, the Xbox isn’t without its flaws. Yes, it’s loud as piss and runs so hot you could cook eggs on the CPU. I frankly don’t care. I have a home theater system that would have no trouble drowning out any noise it makes. It doesn’t support HDMI, but Microsoft has already said that it would be possible to do in the not-too-distant future. It doesn’t support 1080p; fine by me, I don’t have a TV that can display 1080p. The PS3’s piano black finish is infinitely sexier and it has triple the hard drive space. I can live with that… MS has even hinted at a new revision of the 360 that will include HDMI and a 120GB drive. I hate to say it but MS really seems to have an answer for everything Sony has tried. We’ll see how this all pans out but I really think the PS3 isn’t going to dominiate the market like the PS2 did.
Published on Monday, January 8th, 2007 .
Ok, to be truthful, Comcast DOES have HD channels, just not enough.. That’s my issue. I don’t have HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc. so I miss out on a few more HD channels that I normally would have. Being that as it is, I get maybe 12-15 HD channels…. totally not enough for my tastes. What sucks is that now that I have HD, I really don’t like watching standard def TV anymore. The picture quality is really lackluster in comparison. Watching football in HD on ESPNHD is freaking amazing. Even Discovery HD Theater is fucking awesome. I’d really like to see more than ESPN and ESPN2, INHD, Discovery HD Theater, MHD (Music Hi Definition, a combo of VH1, MTV, CMT) and my locals in Hi-Def. I really wonder whether the issue is Comcast not offering the channels or the networks not broadcasting in HD. Hopefully once the digital mandate goes through and networks stop broadcasting in analog, it’ll free up some bandwidth to broadcast more in HD. Obviously in a perfect world, every channel would have its HD equivalent and thus all my channels would be in HD. I mean, I could understand leaving off the inspirational/religious channels and maybe all the home shopping channels. They could stand to be in standard def since nobody really gives a shit about them anyway. Other than that, give me all my channels in HD, please. Hell, I paid $750 for a TV plus $25 for a stupid HDMI cable and I’m paying extra monthly fees for the HD/DVR box. Give me my money’s worth, Comcast! Hell, Dish Network offers 30 HD channels. Surely they don’t have exclusive rights on ALL those channels. Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex and my southern view is blocked by a HUGE tree, so no Satellite for me. Honestly I may look into it when we move, but I’m not sure just yet. I just want more HD, damnit.
Published on Friday, December 22nd, 2006 .
Seriously… I guess I’ve just not had a real desire to sit here and write in my blog for whatever reason. I mean, I don’t think that many people read my blog anyway, so it almost seems pointless. Nothing has really changed much lately anyway. I work 60-70 hours a week at my job, go home and sleep, only to turn around and do it again. Then on weekends we have friends over and if I’m in the mood I get drunk on Saturday nights. So basically it’s the same-old same-old. I’ve gotten new stuff as of late, but nothing else has really changed.
As far as the new “stuff” goes, I finally broke down and bought a PS2 because I didn’t have a console and didn’t want to shell out the money for a 360 until I got an HDTV. Surprisingly there are still some good games out for the PS2 and even some that have come out lately seem to be pretty decent. Admittedly, Sony is going to start pushing the PS3 (Which I will never own) so the games for the PS2 may end up becoming fewer and farther between. However, from what I’ve been reading, the PS2 is still outselling all the other consoles on the market today so maybe it’s not dead yet. I WILL be getting an Xbox 360 early next year at some point… There are so many good games out for it and so many more coming that are just plain amazing that I can’t NOT buy a 360.
I also finally broke down and bought a TV. Previously I had been using a TV card on my PC to watch TV and pipe in any other extra sources (the PS2 for example). I finally got tired of it and went to my local HH Gregg and bought myself a decent TV. I opted for the Westinghouse 32w3 LCD TV. As you can guess from the model number, it’s a 32″ TV. Pretty nice for the $700+ tax that I paid for it. Not the best around, but about the best I could find in that price range. It does have HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs along with the standard component, composite and S-video. At the same time, I went down to my local Comcast office and got the HD-DVR they offer so I can actually watch cable in HD. Needless to say, a very nice upgrade by all means. HD channels look fucking great; infinitely better than their SDTV counterparts. I did a direct comparison between standard-def ESPN and ESPN-HD and was amazed at the clarity difference. Now if only ALL channels were offered in high definition. Unfortunately most of the channels are still limited to standard 480i resolution. I have my HD DVR connected via HDMI and digital audio out to my home theater receiver so I get the full 5.1 dolby digital surround sound. I also have my PS2 connected via component video cables with optical-digital out to my receiver as well. Things just plain sound better on a full blown home theater receiver than via stupid TV speakers. When I get my Xbox 360 I’m probably going to get the DVI cable for it so as to get the best possible quality. Hopefully I’ll end up getting the HD-DVD drive to go with it… then I’ll be able to watch actual hi-def movies! Home theater is such great fun, but so damned expensive. I do know that later this year or maybe next year I’m going to end up getting a bigger TV. I really want a 61″ JVC HD-ILA rear-projection but they’re about $2300. Maybe later, but not a big priority now. Oh well, that’s enough crap for now.. maybe more later.
Published on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 .
I’ve been a big fan of Bill Hicks’ comedy for a year or so now… and I was bored, looking on YouTube and ran across some of his videos. I’ll admit that I wasn’t into him when he was actually alive and I’m kinda upset that I never discovered him back when he was in his prime. I was a big fan of Dennis Leary back in the day and now that I’ve watched Bill Hicks I realize where Mr. Leary got most of his material. Kinda makes Dennis seem a whole lot less cool, ya know? In any case, these are far from politically correct and if you’re the type to be
easily offended, don’t bother watching.
Relentless in Montreal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVwc0MVjEJs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQZCiZjPNvc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6l0D7WNtjQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO3RrwNdxdI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66CZRXHVUQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4X-fhOas6E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJH7Q2BJP7s
Bill Hicks blows up — warning VERY vulgar and abrasive!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKTCiCgEkoE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ1fXTx0-uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d9I66mkHXw
Nothing Goes Right
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGWUp3-Rk8
One Night Stand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj2o-vo1S6I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWqBl7dA2Fc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l0RQ5qOVqs
Published on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 .
I laughed… yes, laughed my fucking ass off
Published on Thursday, October 5th, 2006 .
I’d been wanting a bigger flash drive for quite some time since the one I had was given to me by a friend and was only a measley 128MB. I happened upon a great deal at Best Buy of all places! They have a 4GB Sandisk Cruzer Micro for $99 after instant rebate. Amazingly, no mail-in rebates or any of that other shit, that’s the price out the door (plus tax, of course). So far, after a few days I can say I really enjoy having it. It’s U3 compatible so I can download any U3 compliant apps and run them directly off the drive. What’s really nice is that the U3 apps are all packaged specifically for use on U3 drives and all you do is download them straight from a link the “launchpad” that comes on the drive instead of having to find them, download them, extract them and then modify them to run exclusively off the flash drive and not leave any trace on the host PC. In any case, 4GB is seriously big enough for what I need. I can put movies, music, tons of programs and just about anything else I want on it. It’s not quite as big as buying an external HD but it’s so much more compact; so much so that it fits on my keychain. Maybe at some point I’ll buy a 200GB external drive but now that I have the flash drive it’s not so much of a pressing issue.
Published on Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 .
I found a pretty interesting article on what the founders of myspace used to do before they started up myspace. Turns out that for the most part they all had some doings with email mass marketing and spam. Not really surprising since myspace seems to be predicated around spam that the userbase actually seems to welcome. People sending unsolicited bulletins that I really could give two shits less about reading, advertising at every turn (thank god for Firefox & Adblock), unsolicited friend requests from bands and porn spammers… not to mention the website is horribly laid out and a majority of the time takes 8 years to load, if it even loads properly at all. I use it less and less everyday and I’m still not exactly sure why I haven’t bothered deleting myself other than 90% of my friends have myspace and it’s occasionally amusing to see the new pics my friends post. Anyway, here’s the article. Pretty interesting reading.
Published on Monday, August 21st, 2006 .
I’m seriously considering upgrading my computer now that I’ve gotten a fat pay raise at work. While I’d really really love to ditch my Athlon64 setup and go with one of the new Core2 Duo CPU’s from Intel, I really don’t feel like dumping that much money into a CPU, motherboard and RAM. I can upgrade to an Athlon64 X2 4800+ for just over $300 and I could probably upgrade to 2GB of RAM for another couple hundred bucks. Then I could sell my existing gig of RAM to make back some of the cash. Problem is, all the new CPU’s and chipsets are going to be using DDR2 so I’m not sure I want to pour that much money into an architecture that AMD isn’t going to be supporting much longer. I don’t even think they have anymore Socket 939 chipsets coming out in the near future since everything recently has been based around their new “AM2″ socket. I could upgrade to that but again, I’d need new RAM, CPU and motherboard. At that point, I might as well switch over to Intel seeing as how they’re absolutely killing AMD in nearly every area except price. Heck, for the first time in years they even run cooler and use less power than a comparable AMD chip. Score one for Intel finally! As such, while I’d like to dump a grand in upgrades for my PC, I just can’t justify it. I’m really not going to see a grand worth of performance increases if I upgrade so I’ll probably just stick to going with a Socket 939 dual core CPU and maybe a couple new hard drives or something. Who knows.
Published on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 .
I seriously need a new hard drive… Seagate has a 750GB drive out now that I’d like to have to replace all my existing drives (three of them). It’d be really nice to upgrade because my computer will run a shit ton quieter and probably cooler as well. My 18GB SCSI drive is loud as hell and just way too small. Plus having two other physical drives makes things much more scattered out and harder to find. I’d like to consolidate down to a single 750GB drive to make life easier. They’re about $350 right now so I think I’ll wait a month or two and see if the price comes down. We’ll see, though. Hey, in a perfect world I’d come up with a big chunk of money and buy four of them to have a huge RAID0 array of 4×750GB. 3TB of storage! Oh, man the things I could do with that kind of store. Just think of the porn collection! Hah, anyway that’s just wishful thinking. I think I’ll do quite fine with a single 750GB drive.
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