2007.08.15
Who says trickle-down economics don't work ... ?
Report: Wii profits trickling down to component makers yay! more and less expensive sensors for everybody
Posted by kn0w1 at 23:56
2007.02.23
Disk defragmenting on the cheap @ HardwareLogic
DriverHeaven.net points to an article on HardwareLogic on how to use Contig and Power Defragmenter GUI to do a pretty good job of defragmenting your files, folders, and/or hard drive.

I just upgraded my hard drive so it's not really fragmented yet, but I'll probably give this a go when it needs it later.

Sysinternals has some interesting other utilities too. I've used their Process Explorer which is nice. I didn't know they had so many other neat things.

Posted by kn0w1 at 18:35
2007.01.22
AmigaOS 4
The Amiga is alive and well—sort of, and AmigaOS 4 is finally out. Ars takes AmigaOS 4 out for a spin to see where the once-popular platform finds itself these days.

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/amigaos4.ars
Posted by kn0w1 at 23:58
2006.06.23
BumpTop 3D Desktop Prototype
Interesting idea ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ
I'd still like a full 3D virtual environment though :)
Posted by kn0w1 at 17:12
2005.11.12
Windows XP "Intuitive Filename Sorting"
Even tho TweakUI (v2.10) had this option to turn it off... it didn't work! (typical)

So I decided to do some searching again and found these:
What is up with number sorting, redux

which has a link to an MSKB article 319827

So if this bugs you as much as it does me.. see the above for how to turn it off.

Also came across a new PowerToy: SyncToy
Haven't downloaded it yet because of the so-called "Genuine Advantage" crap.

Posted by kn0w1 at 23:06
2005.11.06
FINALLY, save and restore your Windows Desktop icon positions!
It's ALWAYS been annoying that Windows would reset, re-sort all your desktop icons at random, usualyly when your resolution changes ... when you load up a game. Amigas could always do this. They used separate icon files (Filename.info) which allowed you to store their position, etc. etc. (You could also have icons of various sizes.)

Well, I finally found an answer for Windows.

It's called Icon Restore; and it's free!

Posted by kn0w1 at 14:20
2005.11.03
BMs otD
Posted by kn0w1 at 02:02
2005.09.02
why I don't use Yahoo's IM client
Yahoo IM Users get more than they bargained for

just like RealPlayer they try to load all kinds of crap..
Thank goodness I found K-Codec pack a while ago... it packages "all" of the codecs you need w/o loading all the other annoyances and crap you'd normally get (e.g., like also Quicktime: hey! you wanna upgrade to Pro??? no.. Did I want to the last 14 times you've asked? just play the damn movie..)
There are other codec packs so I don't know if it's the best and I'm not 100% sure if the above link is the "official" one (there are a few others: codecguide.com, k-litecodecpack.com), but it's nice not to have to worry about what junk Real has installed and reinstalls everytime it runs.
If you're just worried about RealPlayer, there is Real Alternative; similarly there is QuickTime Alternative..
Wherever you get these alternative codec packs from, I would definitely scan for spyware or virii.. just in case; and do some manual checking of your own of your startup settings (both the folder(s) and registry); and even under Services.

Posted by kn0w1 at 12:58
2005.06.03
blarg
Posted by kn0w1 at 20:36
a whole ton o' stuff
A ton of interesting links (if only at the time), I've accumulated and not had time to post.. and posting here.... umm.. just because? easier to search/find? i dunno ... 2005.03.07 2005.03.08 2005.03.09 2005.03.11 2005.03.12 2005.03.14 2005.03.15 2005.03.16 2005.03.17 2005.03.18 2005.03.30 2005.03.31 2005.04.01
  • World of Warcraft Performance Guide - Nebu on 3/31/05: The technology website Anandtech has posted an extensive hardware performance guide for World of Warcraft.
  • Google Gulp!
  • World of Bookkeeping
  • iTreoPod
  • Blizzard Teams with Pandaren Xpress - Indoflaven on 4/01/05: Blizzard Entertainment, in conjunction with the Pandaren Xpress® chain of quality restaurants, is proud to announce the /panda program! Don't let the inconvenience of eating impede you from reaching your Maximum Gaming Potential! Click here to read more!
2005.04.03 2005.04.04 2005.04.05 2005.04.06 2005.04.11 2005.04.13 2005.04.18 2005.04.19 2005.04.20 2005.04.21 2005.04.22 2005.04.25 2005.04.26 2005.04.27 2005.04.28 2005.04.29 2005.05.03 2005.05.05 2005.05.12 2005.05.15 2005.05.16 2005.05.17 2005.05.19 2005.05.30 2005.05.31 2005.06.01 2005.06.02
Posted by kn0w1 at 20:16
2005.02.17
buncha news
Auto Assault MMOG Beta Signups [shacknews.com]

ATI released Catalyst 5.2 and a proprietary Linux driver (v8.10.19) and Catalyst for WinXP x64 Beta 4

[UT2004] CasterMod - a co-op based 3D-acation RPG TC mod

HaloUT Update P1.751

[UT2004] ComboOnly Shock Rifle v2 Released - apparently primary and secondary fire won't do damage, only the shock combo will

Unreal Engine 3 MMOFPS announced

Ultima Unreal ?? well, no more; but maybe Evil Places of Sandria I never heard of this 'til now, but sounds interesting anyway.. Apparently they are moving away from the Unreal Engine to their own engine. see interview [planetunreal.com]

speaking of mod projects i hadn't heard of... Chrono-Trigger looks interesting too

Unreal Arabic - NPR did a story about a "game" using Unreal engine to teach soldiers how to speak Iraqi-style Arabic.

Midway is working on the next Gauntlet game, Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Newest edition of the arcade classic boasts online play; Doom's John Romero and Icewind Dale's Josh Sawyer lead development.
Gamespot News, Preview

microsoft's parents' guide to 1337 sp34k

Sony announced release date (April 19) and prices for UMD movies (for PSP) ...
$28.95: The House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu; Ambush from Ten Sides)
$19.99: XXX, Hellboy, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Once Upon a Time in Mexico
$??.??: Spider-man 2 ($?; bundled w/ first million U.S. PSPs)
No-date, no price: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
So.. but really... why even bother.. they cost more than the DVD and are probably going to be lesser quality than DVD. The PSP has a 4.3" 16:9 screen but only 480x272 pixels.. surround sound? maybe. and a UMD can only hold 1.8GB of data ..
Even IF the movies look and sound great ... Who would want to buy multiple copies of a movie? And it would probably be a hassle to hook it up to a "big" screen to watch your UMD movie collection .. -- and depending on how big that screen is, you might be seeing those 480x272 pixels on your brand new 55" HDTV flat screen
I'd buy the DVD, rip them, re-encode them for PSP and load them onto a big MemoryStick Duo ... (The Screen Savers: engadget.com)
Of course Macrovision seeks to make it so you CAN'T

[bluesnews]
Some bluesnews that caught my eye:
Star Wolves Demo [February 17, 2005 - 11:00 am EST]
An English playable demo for Star Wolves is now available, offering another chance to sample Xbow Software's space combat/RPG without requiring deciphering the French language of the previous demo. The demo offers a single mission and a tutorial, and the 217 MB download is available on 3D Gamers, FileFront, and Worthplaying.

The Simple & Not So Simple Stuff Of Hot Spot Security

While reading that, saw these in the TTZ Gallery:
race1, Two Bridges of NY, 2006 Hummer H3, Wow, custom paint!
heh.. and ... (goofy, but if you got it and it pays ... :P )
2005 CES Babes (9061, 9106),
2004 E3 Booth Babes: XBox Babe(s) (5578, 5955),
2004 Computex: Kingston Babes

Play Time: Image Puzzle!
Image of the Day: Snappy Game Set-up
[/bluesnews]

Posted by kn0w1 at 22:04
2004.11.17
Seagate's ships new *400GB* SATA Hard Drive
PCWorld.com - Seagate Ships 400GB Hard Drive

[driverheaven.net]

Posted by kn0w1 at 18:55
scratch this ...
Try scratching this DVD | CNET News.com

Researchers at electronics giant TDK have developed a tough new coating that promises to make scratched DVDs a thing of the past and that will help usher in an emerging data storage format with 10 times the capacity of the current DVD standard.

from [driverheaven.net]

Posted by kn0w1 at 18:52
2004.09.21
winamp
Got a little tired of MMD3, so I hopped over to winamp.com for a sec and got some smaller, cool, and yet practical skins:
Posted by kn0w1 at 19:54
2004.08.10
Windows XP SP2
I haven't installed it yet since there's everyone is saying WAIT since it is very likely to break some things ... This is where VMWare would be real handy.. make a copy of the VM before you install and if it really breaks stuff, you still have your old working VM with no harm done.
Posted by kn0w1 at 09:06
2004.06.23
news .. mostly 'Out of the Blue'
New 'Out of the Blue' For fun ...
Posted by kn0w1 at 21:56
2004.05.21
some Intel...
Scorching chips put heat on Intel to change technology (2004.05.18)
Intel roadmap starting to take shape, 64-bit Pentium 4 on the way (2004.05.14)
Intel's Dothan chips officially debut (2004.05.10)
Intel drops Pentium 4 development, changes focus to dual-core and Pentium M (2004.05.07)

FYI, Dell is (already) offering the Dothan chips with their Inspiron 8600s ... (they no longer seem to offer dual-pointing devices though :-( )

Posted by kn0w1 at 03:28
2004.03.05
ATI sucks
anyone who asks (or even if they don't i guess) knows that i don't like ATI.. EVERY single ATI video card that i have come across has had issues with a number of games.. even popular ones and not-so-new ones (Half-Life, Unreal Tournament, Max Payne (1), UT2003, Homeworld2, Tron 2.0, XIII, Earth and Beyond). Max Payne was just all screwed up on a friend's Radeon 7000VE, it was not playable.

Recently (in the last couple years), reviewers seem to have been gushing over ATI's Radeon; even claiming that ATI have improved, stable drivers! unlike in the "past". So I gave them a chance with the 64MB Mobility Radeon 7500 when I got my Dell Inspiron 8100 and lets just say that i have been less than pleased.. I've finally gotten around to posting some screenshots of the various i've had and continue to have w/ their crappy drivers..

Compare all this to the 3dfx (Voodoo 1, Voodoo 2, Voodoo 3) and nVidia (GeForce 4 Ti4200 128MB and newly acquired FX 5700 Ultra) cards I have.. I've experienced very FEW!!! visual anomalies with those cards...
3dfx only had issues with Jane's F-15 and F/A-18 where there'd be a rectangle messed up graphics around the mouse/pointer.. until games started using compressed textures and things (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and UT2003).
The only issues I've had with nVidia is again with Jane's F/A-18 on a Ti4200 128MB where it looked like the HUD was also being textured over the ocean. Warcraft III supposedly has some issue with GeForce FX, but i've not seen it. Diablo II v1.10 performance would be slow when in town w/ the map overlay on. (Act II's map in-town is pretty garbled). Out-of-town map is fine.

Posted by kn0w1 at 22:18
2003.04.03
shhh... the server's running
TechTV | Yoshi's Mods: Project YS-2 8-14 dB would make for a great server.. or any computer you have on all day. especially if you notice how quiet the room gets after you turn your computer(s) off (no more hard drive whirring, no CPU/case/power supply fans humming ...) nothing crazy fancy either.. just bigger, but slower fans and heatsinks and sound-dampening foams.
Posted by kn0w1 at 14:48
2003.02.20
Microsoft Security Update (Home User Edition)
2003.01.31
Microsoft announces a Home User Edition of their standard Security Bulletins: The Microsoft Security Update

i think you still have to sign up for TechNet though.

Posted by kn0w1 at 13:30
2003.01.23
Bochs
SourceForge.net: Project Info - Bochs x86 PC emulator

Bochs is a portable x86 PC emulation software package that emulates enough of the x86 CPU, related AT hardware, and BIOS to run Windows, Linux, *BSD, Minix, and other OS's, all on your workstation.

I haven't tried it, but it certainly sounds interesting. Especially considering vmware is around US$300.

Posted by kn0w1 at 15:08
2002.11.18
Palm --er.. Watch?
FOSSIL Online - Wrist PDA

/.

Posted by kn0w1 at 20:58
2002.11.12
cool, free software
XnView viewer looks to be a pretty nice image/media browser and viewer with a lot of useful features. Almost like ACDSee, except that it's free!

HAPedit looks like a cool HTML editor, especially for those who also do JavaScript, PHP, ASP, SQL stuff. except for one thing.. it converts TABs to SPACEs :(
oh well. guess i'll be sticking with UltraEdit.

more freewares sites: thefreecountry.com

Posted by kn0w1 at 18:55
classic computer magazine archive
boy won't this bring back memories :) (once it get un-slashdotted)
Classic Computer Magazine Archive

time to fire up those emulators and get a-typin'!
/.

Posted by kn0w1 at 00:51
2002.11.11
Lego computer case
Lego Case

I don't think i've ever even had enough lego blocks to do something like this.

Posted by kn0w1 at 11:31
2002.11.10
Where's 'No to All' button?
well, of course there's no actual button, but there is a way to tell windows 'No to All': TechTV | Windows Tip: Say 'No to All' in Windows XP [only, afaik]
Posted by kn0w1 at 18:02
2002.11.09
where the geek dwell
Th!nkNerd

and then this guy claims the above ain't nuthin'

/.

Posted by kn0w1 at 12:37
2002.11.04
a blizzard halloween
Blizzard Entertainment every years posts something for Halloween and Christmas. This year they made a pretty funny mix with WarCraft III. And they also posted some Blizzard-themed pumpkins:

Blizzard Pumpkins!
TokranePo created a Night Elf Demon Hunter.

Last year, Prysym, master pumpkin carver and Blizzard gamer, created some amazing pumpkins: Warcraft III, Warcraft III Night Elf Assassin, and in 2000 he created this incredible Diablo II pumpkin. Prysym's talents also extend to sand castles. Check out this StarCraft Protoss Nexus.

Create your own Blizzard Pumpkins!
Get into the Halloween spirit by using the following stencils to carve your very own Blizzard pumpkin:

Diablo
Diablo Inverted
Blizzard Logo

Posted by kn0w1 at 10:37
2002.10.22
building a silent pc

hardCOREware.net - How To Build a Silent PC (/.)


An interesting article about building a silent (as possible; 40dB if you put your ear right next to it) Pentium 4 2.8GHz, overclocked GeForce4 Ti 4200, 40GB Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 7200rpm (20-25dB) PC. So, as you can see, it's no slouch.


I almost never turn on my Dual P2/300 because the Quantum Atlas SCSI hard drives get VERY hot and the constant whirring is also pretty loud (plus 2 of the 3 plugs on the motherboard that provide fan power don't seem to work, so only one of the CPU fans work).

i bet the computer above also gets fairly warm. my dual P2/300 definitely does.. --did which came in kind of handy (along with all the other electronics packed around my "desk area") in my old apt where i didn't have heat (except for a small space heater) for a month or two.

one /. commenter noted that he did not spec a quiet CD-ROM. a good point as i've come across some that can get pretty loud (esp. cheap, high speed models --they even start vibrating). but then.. i don't know about you, but my optical drive(s) don't spin all that often.. maybe only while playing some games.


Of course.. another way is to sound-proof the computer with dynamat (or whatever else you might have laying about); especially if you're concerned about the higher running temp and passive cooling.

Posted by kn0w1 at 09:44
2002.10.03
MultiTouch tech keyboards

FingerWorks - Inventor and Developer of MultiTouch Technology

very interesting concept, unfortunately (like most other alternative/ergonomic keyboards), a bit pricey :(

fr. /., also see the University of Delaware story.

Posted by kn0w1 at 23:16