05 Sept 2009 | Still here…

No, I am not dead.   Just busy…

Yah, with summer finishing up and all, things have gotten a bit chaotic around the ol’ homestead.   Where do I start?   Ah yes,  first of all, I am learning a new OS.   Yah, it’s interesting.    I have used Windows for most of my computing existence starting with Windows 3.1 back in high school (early 90s).    However Windows is no more on this machine,  Linux has taken over.    I will posting a big post in the coming days about this.

Next up, domestic crap.    I am reaching the end of the contract on my current flat and I do not know yet whether or not I am going to renew the contract or move.   This really depends on what the landlord says.

Finally, summer is ending, yay!   Yah, I know people would be like WTF?   However I will be able to find some work.   It’s rather hard to teach English when all the students are on vacation.    Plus the heat and humidity were awful this year.  That is not good for a cold weather, northern type such as myself.

Anyway, that is all for now.   Next up will be a large post about my experiences in transitioning from Windows XP to Linux (Unbuntu 9.04)

11 Jun 2009 | They call this a hybrid?

Ah, those crazy Italians.   They will do almost anything.   Like mate a Ferrari with a Citroen.  “Huh, WTF?” one may ask.   Via the Autopia blog at Wired.com comes this story about a group of Italian who take an intact but non functional Citroen C2V (the van flavor) and with the help of a cutting torch and a welding torch, mated it to a wrecked but still functioning Ferrari F335 (Citroen body + Ferrari chassis = this interesting combo).

Arghh!  Seems WordPress chopped off part of the photo.   I will have to fix this.

This kind of reminds me of those who drop the engine out of a Porche 911 into a Volkswagen Beetle.   However in this case we have the fully functioning chassis of a Ferrari, so it still handles and sounds like a Ferrari yet wrapped in the unassuming shell of a wide spread and fairly pokey French small car (in its van flavor).   The results look interesting however I can’t do this story justice so read on via the link:
Ferrari-Citroen Mashup Makes Us Say Mamma Mia! and Sacrebleu! | Autopia | Wired.com

09 Jun 2009 | WTF? Ryan Air is think about charging to use the toilet.

This one came across my radar screen sometime ago.    The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that he is serious about charging to use the toilets on the airlines (MSN’s Money Blog).   He want’s to charge £1.00 (that is about $1.60 for those across the pond or €1.16 for those on the other side of the Channel) to be payed via credit card.  In addition he wants to cut down on the number of bathrooms from 3 currently on his airlines 737s to just 1, and add another 6 seats in places of the 2 missing loos.

He justifies this by saying that because “We are flying aircraft on an average flight time of one hour around Europe.  What the hell do we need three toilets for?”

Hmm,  sure Ryanair is basically the aerial verision of a bus, however the local bus companies usually treat their passengers better than this.   Ryanair’s CEO seems to love extra fees and making the passengers do the airlines work.   He has proposed that that passengers load their own baggage into the airline!

I have no desire to fly Ryanair.   Typically this airline flies into out of the way airports that are far away from the cities they serve.   A good example is Paris,   the airport Ryanair flies to for Paris is around 90 km from Paris.    I would rather take the train.   Europe is blessed with an excellent passenger rail service.    Sure it helps that I live in Turin which is served by SNCF’s TGV out of Lyon and Trenitalia’s Eurostar (no relationship to the Channel Tunnel’s Eurostar service) to Milan and beyond.   With the train I get, center of the city service (most European trains stations are near the center of the city they server), a comforable seat even in second class cars, no airport security headaches, and I am treated like a human.   That’s right a human, not some steer going to the slaughterhouse.   Ryanair will not be getting any buisness from me.

09 Jun 2009 | WoW: Druid forms updated

OK, so I am a bit late to the party.   I have been a bit busy lately, however I did take some to look (aka drool) at the new Druid forms that will be released when Patch 3.2 drops.   However it’s time for me to post my thoughts on the new forms.

Druid Cat form (since I spend lots of time in Kitty form hunting Rogues and clothies:

I have been playing Druids since June of 2005 (not long after WoW was released in the EU.   When i started playing Druids they were noted for several things:  Decent Healers (if you wanted to Raid as a Druid, you healed even though raiding at the time was UBRS, Onyxia’s Lair and Molten Core which had just recently been added to the game), an “free kill” to anyone who wanted to gank you (Warlocks were in the same position) and the fact we changed our shape.    While Druids have certinaly changed (we can now raid using all three Talent trees, four if you consider the Tank/DPS split in the Feral tree, the fact that Druids are fearsome opponants in PvP (indeed, in Arena teams, Druids are the top healers but in open world PvP, we are extremely hard to kill with our heals, damage and the fact we can break snares like nobody’s buisness) one thing that has not changed is the look of our animal forms.   Yes, I have been staring at the same furry ass for the last 3-4 years now).   While classes have been able to change their looks via there gear and more recently, the Barber Shop, Druid forms have not changed.   Night Elf Druid forms where not bad, however Tauren forms (in particular Cat) sucked.  Big time.   The retarded looking Wyvern/Lion hybrid that could not close its mouth, stinks.  The travel form for both Races has been a placeholder model (a simple Cheetah model) and don’t get me started on that strange looking “Seal” (Aquatic) model.   At least the Moonkin and Flight/Swift Flight Forms for both races look OK (in the case of the SFF, its rather awesome).   Finally, things have changed.   The Druids are getting new form models.   Not the old models that have been “reskinned” but completely new models.   To quote Tychus Findlay (Terran Marine from Starcraft II), “Hell, it’s about time!”   Druids will be getting updated Cat and Bear forms first (in Patch 3.2).   Updated Tree of Life and Moonkin forms will come later.   No word on Travel form yet, though I would imagine that is in the pipeline as well.   Flight and Swift Flight Forms don’t need an upate though in my opinion, the Night Elf Flight Form could use some varitations as it’s the same model as the “Raven” mob models in the game.

Now for my take.   Reaction around the Druid community has been mixed though most agree that the new forms are an improvement, in particular for the Tauren models.    I agree.  

The Tauren models were in most need of an upgrade and they got them.   The Tauren cat models do look what a bovine type of creature would look like if they shifted into a feline form.   Yes they look and move like a cat, however that original bovine nature is still there.    Everything from the horns (those things look deadly), to the sloped nose/muzzle to the nosering, to the tribal jewelery and braids in the mane just reflects the Tauren race and their Native American inspired artwork.   The Tauren bear form just looks like trouble.   That is one bear you do not want to tangle with. 

The Night Elf forms did not change as much.   The NE bear pretty kept it’s shape however it did get the new color/marking changes plus the “accessories”.    The NE cat, has bulked up a bit.   Some have complained that the color is too pinkish, however to me, that reflects the environs that the Kaldorei live in.   Those colors are well suited for the deep forests of Ashenvale and Darkshore where the Druids stalk intruders or go for some solitude so they can get some thinking/resting accomplished away from the fields of war.   The claws in the cat forms are not as prounced as in the older version but then again, not many cats walk around with the claws extended.   It’s better to keep the claws sheathed so they stay sharp and ready to tear through some unsuspecting foe.   Some commenters do not like NE forms eyes, however I think they fit the Night Elf “look” just fine.   Night Elves like the Draneai do not have visible pupils in their humaniond forms, why should they suddenely have visible pupils in their feral forms?   Some don’t like the jewelary/bracers on the forms, however I like that little touch.   It tells the observer that the cat/bear they see is not an ordinary cat. 

Now my quibbles.   There are not many here thankfully.    I would like to see a different form for both Bear and Dire Bear.   Dire Bear should be a bit bulkier and nastier looking compared to the pre Level 40 Bear form.  Maybe remove the jewelary/bracers from the Bear form and put them on the Dire Bear form.     Have some kind of difference between male and female forms.   This would give some more variety in game.   Finally, figure out some way to display some effect from the armor a Druid wears.   Currently when you shift, the look of your armor is gone.   Figuring out some way to display some effect from at least the shoulder slot and maybe Helm (if the player has chosen to display the Helm) would be nice.    However the new forms are a huge improvement over the old.    Two dew claws up from this Feral Druid. 

Images of all the new Druid forms can be found at Blizzard’s Under Development page:  WoW -> Under Development -> Druid Forms

09 Jun 2009 | The first “true” portable computer.

Ah El’ Reg, how do we love thee?   Today, while doing my ‘Net rounds, I hit The Register.   I have always enjoyed reading the content of The Register, a mixture of hard tech news mixed with that particular brand of dry British humor.   Unfortunately for his fans, the BOFH has been spending a bit too much time in the local pub these days, alas, other stories keep getting posted.

So in my trolling through the site, I came across this title:  “Remembering the true* first portable computer”.   An article about an old computer?  Sure, I will read that!

So what was the first “portable computer”?  Any ideas?  It was not the Osbourne 1 (which I have never seen having cut my teeth on the Apple II/IIe/IIgs and later, IBM PS/2) or anything else that anyone might think of.   Instead, it’s the computer that would have guided the Minuteman I ICBM to its energetic date with some Russian city in the late 1950′s to early 60s.   Thankfully it never got a chance to it’s job though a few did get launched into the Pacific Ocean on test flights.

Here is a picture of this thing:

Image from the Computer History Museum and The Register

I am not going to post the content of the article here as the author has a done a better job writing up this piece of computer (and geek) history better than I could have ever done.   However here are some choice quotes from the article:

“We’re speaking, of course, of the first-ever guidance system baked into
the US Minuteman 1 nuclear missile. Maximum portability: about 9,700 km
(6,000 mi). Target demographic: Commies.”

“Atomic explosions in the atmosphere can disrupt radio communications.
Missiles at the time were controlled by ground-based computers, so huge
amounts of radio interference made America’s ability to direct a second
volley of fission sandwiches unreasonably hard. And on the other side
of such an exchange, not being able to control your rockets can make
mutual assured destruction up to 50 per cent less mutual. What’s the
fun in that?”

“Minuteman’s brain was was fit into a cylindrical package above the
rocket’s third stage. A segment up was the missile’s penetration aids,
and above that, the all-important nuclear warhead. The on-board system
navigated by measuring velocity with gyroscopes and acceleration with
an accelerometer – sort of like a Nintendo Wii controller, only
slightly more deadly when you accidentally toss it at your television
set.”

This article is an excellent and entertaining write up that should interest geeks and military buffs alike.    Another enjoyable read from the Register.   Now Bastard, are you and the PFY done at the pub yet?

27 May 2009 | Minion has been unleashed

If you have spent any time on the World of Warcraft UI forums or the various WoW UI sites, you would likely noticed the furor regarding Add Updaters updaters, most notably WoWMatrix.     When the last major content patch it (3.1), Curse and WoWInterface (two of the largest WoW UI sites),  undertook measures to block WoWMatrix from accessing WI/Curse’s servers.     I am not going get into the arguements regarding the issue, suffice to say, I fully support WoWInterface and Curse in that matter.

One of the valid arguments raised by WoWMatrix users was the lack of an easy to use updater.     Curse has its Curse Client.   CC is a good program, however many people don’t like for a variaty of reason, many of which stem from a previous verions that by all accounts was aweful.     The other issue many have with CC is is the Curse Profiler which uploads character and game data to Curse’s servers.    Users took this to be an invassion of privacy and frankly the first versions of CC v.2 did not help as the installer silently installed CP.    Many of the issues with CC have been worked out with the complete rewrite of CC, however the linger taste that the early version of CC v.2 are still in people’s mouths.   CC currently only works on the Curse Network however it does support several games including WoW and Warhammer Age of Reckoning.

WoWInterface had its own updater.    However, WoWI’s updater was End of Life for several reasons.    It work for some people but not for others, nor was it “out of the box” ready.     Like CC, WoWI’s updater only worked for AddOns hosted on WoWInterface.    WoWI was working on a new updater when Patch 3.1 hit, however for a variaty of reasons (only one programmer who has other obligations as well),  WoWI’s new updater was not ready.   Until now:

Introducing MMOUI Minion.

The Hype:

From WoWInterface

We are happy to announce that our baby MMOUI Minions were born a little while ago and, although they still need a bit more training before they are fully housebroken*, are now big enough to be adopted!

Minion: A free, eager-to-please little monster lackey of your own, with enough sense to stick to orders! Minion can handle all the ‘work’ assigned, letting you get back to the ‘serious business’ of playing your game sooner. Not only that, it’s able to learn how to work with other sites that you use if they’ve set up Minion-training programs of their own.

From AddOns and News to Database Submissions and more, Minion is happy to serve!

You can go here to get your very own Minion.

Minion looks to be an exciting new updater for the WoW AddOn community. While it currently only supports WoWInterface, Minion is built on a module system which allows for other sites to create Minion modules of their own.    Thus (if they so choose to) Curse, WoWUI.Incgamers.com, CTMod, Norgannas addons, etc could write modules for Minion, giving their users an easy to use, one stop shop for updating their WoW AddOns.    What’s more, other games can be supported as well via the modules system.     Modules can also be written upload data to sites like WoWHead, Thottbot and others.

A pre Review:

I did some testing of the beta version released today.

The Install:

The intial download is a JNLP (which is a small Java Web Start launcher) file which work on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux with Java 6 installed. Upon double clicking minion.jnlp, a Java based installer launched. The installer checked my system and recommended the package needed for it. Two intial modules are available WoWInterface and the Zip extractor. I ticked the check box for both modules (Minion will never assume you want a particular module). The installer then downloaded and installed the needed files for my system. On my Windows XP SP2 system, the total download was around 6.5mb. Installation was fast.

Once I finished the installation, I founed a new icon on my Desktop for Minion. I double clicked the shortcut and Minion launched quite rapidly. Once launched, Minion’s WoWInterface module attempted to locate my WoW installation. However since I have my WoW install in a non default location with a non default folder name, Minion required some assistance. However that was quite easy. Once my WoW folder was found, Minion quickly located my AddOns. It highlighted those AddOns which it had found updates, AddOns which it could not recognize (largely my custom AddOns) and greyed out those AddOns it deemed to be up to date.

I now had a choice of an Update All button or an Update button next each AddOn. This one of the nice things about Minion, it gives the user control over how one’s AddOns are updated. I like that. I update a few selected AddOns. The update process was smooth.

The Interface:

Interface wise,  the Minion UI is fairly spartan.    On my system it uses default Windows UI widgets (of the 9x-2k variety).    It would be nice for Minion to be “skinned” by the system’s Visual Style (MSS.Styles/Windowblinds) however that may be a limitation of the Java Runtime Enviroment.   At the very least, Minion should be using XP/Vista/7 style widgets and buttons.   From the screenshots I have seen, on OS X, Minion will use the OS X widgets and buttons.   Likely the same on Linux, hopefully using the default Gnome/KDE widgets.

The Minion window has three panes,   a large middle pane for displaying AddOns, a lower info Window that displays news from WoWInterface (courtesy of the WoWI module) and an advert box.   The advert box is also controlled by the WoWI module, other site modules could use the Advert box to display their own ads.    The top bar displaying the Minion logo takes a bit too much space in my opinion,  the MMOUI Minion logo could be used a background image, for the main pane.

Some things that need to be worked on:

The WoWInterface module also has a few minor issues.   Currently it can only manage AddOns that are currently installed.   There is no list (that I have found) of AddOns that could be installed.    I would like to see change logs from within Minion so I can determine whether or not an AddOn is worth updating.    At the present time, you have right click the AddOn in question, select More Info which will load the AddOn’s page on WoWInterface in a browser (Firefox, Opera, IE) tab.     Its a bit clunky at the moment though it does work.     However this is the first public beta so likely this will change in future revisions.

Conclusion:

Overall for a beta, Minion thus far on my system is working very nicely. However results may vary on other systems.     Should you rush out and download it?    If you want to help the developer find bugs and don’t mind dealing with possible crashes, then yes.   However if you just want an easy one-touch updater that is feature complete, then I would hold off for a few revisions until the kinks are worked out.    Those interested in developing modules can find details on the Module API and SDK at the Minion site linked above.

26 May 2009 | No, I am not dead…

Yah, I know,  there is has not been a new post in a while.    It’s just my usual forgetful nature.  That is not going to change anytime soon, my mother and school teachers tried and failed.

I was going to post on about the exploits of my WoW guild in Ulduar however I can’t link back to proof as for some reason the server my guild’s website is hosted on has gone on strike.   It must be Italian.    Anyway,  my guild, Serenity (Bronzebeard EU) has been tearing through the 25 Normal Ulduar bosses.    The other night they scrapped Mimron’s vehicles for parts.    I have yet to experience any Wrath content due to me being sidelined due to economic reasons, however the Ulduar fights look like a lot of fun.    Hopefully I can change that in the future.

Moving on,  recently the GLBT community had its Pride parade.   It was a fairly simple affair.    I am used to Pride parades in the US, in particular the Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City which is a big affair.   Its the second largest parade in Utah (1st is the Pioneer Day Parade).   Plus afterward, is the Utah Pride Festival.   Unfortunately the Turin community seems to be based around a few groups and some local clubs.   I don’t bother with the clubs because A:  I don’t have the extra money and B: I am not big on bar/club “culture” and games.

Anyway, that is it for the moment, hopefully my posts will be more frequent, but don’t count on it.

28 Apr 2009 | Black and White Fractals

Ahh, the wonders of Digg.com.   Everyday, I talk a quick look to see what interesting things appear on the front page.    Yesterday (acutally last night, my time), I was doing my daily scan of the Digg front page when the subject this post caught my eye:

Black and White Fractals That Capture Creativity | Inspiration | Smashing Magazine

Fractals are some of my favorite images.   Who knew that math could be, beautiful?   Normally when you see photos of fractals, they are usually in color so you can see the various levels of the fractal.   However the linked article shows what you can do with simple black and white.    A couple of images from that article:

Those are just two of the many that are linked in that article.   

13 Apr 2009 | Malware “vendors” Cold Calling

I ran across this tidbit on the Register today.   Apparently a malware outfit has taken to using cold calling tatics.   For those who may not know, cold calling is a form of telemarketing where a telemarketer calls people who have no prior relationship to the company who’s ware/services is being marketed/sold.   In other words,  a company who you have never purchased anything from, requested information from, or otherwise never have talked too is calling you (via a telemarketing company) to sell or offer info to you.    This a fairly common tactic.    Now shady companies/indivuals are using those same tactics to push fake anti-virus/anti-spyware software.

This kind of software is typically referred as “scareware” as it pretends to scan your machine for malware (viruses, Trojans, spyware, etc.) then shows what it “found”.   Then it prompts you buy the program to clean off the “malware”.    If you refuse, then the software will repeat its attempts to get money out of you via pop-ups and other means.   However in every case, the “malware” that was “found” never existed on your machine (or in a few cases, may have been installed by the scareware that “found” it).    In all cases,  the author behind the program is trying to get you to purchase it is really a useless program.

Normally scareware gets installed via security holes in your browser/OS or it tricks you into installing from some other source.    Now pushers of a certain scareware program are calling people.   From the Register ariticle:

A Reg reader said his mother got a cold call peddling scareware on Thursday. “My mum just had a call from someone claiming that there was something wrong with her computer. Luckily she was busy and called me,” our reader Jamie writes.

However in this case according to the Register, the reader’s mother was busy at the time (thus could not talk to the caller) and later called call him (the Reg reader).   He did a bit of searching and found out this was a scam.

According to the Register and other sources, the callers pretend to come from a site called supportonclick.com.    In addition the callers claim to be representives of the legit anti-malware publisher Malwarebytes.com.

If you get a phone call claiming that your PC is infected, then just hang up the phone as that call is trying to scam you.   In fact, ask this question:  “How would some random caller even know what is on my PC?”   If that caller did know, then chances are, that caller or his/her organization put the malware on your PC in the first place.

More info at The Register: Scareware scammers adopt cold call tactics • The Register

10 Apr 2009 | Photoshop fun

Who ever though Adobe Photoshop could be a fun program?   Well in the hands of someone who is bored/sadistic/creative/etc. it can be.   I recently came across this Photoshopped picture on Wired’s Dangerroom blog:

It’s poking fun at North Korea’s attempted satallite launch last week.   The Photoshopper responsible for this image also had previously poked fun at Iran’s “missile” test (itself a Photoshopped image, by the Iranians themselves)

Hmm, I shouldn’t let my cat see these pictures, she might get some ideas.

Here is a direct link to the “artist’s” blog entry:  Are We Lumberjacks?: Cat Strikes Again This blogger has more Photoshopped images on his blog to chuckle over.