I am staring at the Windows XP installation screen as I type this. I just removed my Vista partition, formatted the drive and am going fully back to XP.
The final straw came a few nights ago. After trying and trying I simply could not get Vista to playback a 1080p video without slowing down, scrambling the picture or just cutting out completely. So I tested it on my MacBook - passed, tested it on an Ubuntu Live CD - passed, and then on a seperate XP partition - passed.
The fact that playback was better off a god damn live CD is proof enough that there is something fundamentally wrong with Vista. I’d stripped Vista down, tried different codecs, used different players but nothing worked. After trying out XP on seperate partion I started thinking why I actually need Vista. DirectX 10? Thats been a flop. Areo? More hassle that its worth (and not a patch on Leopard). Vista special features? Exactly.
Bye Bye Vista.
In the latest Xbox 360 dashboard update they added support for Xvid aka DivX aka MPEG-4 ASP at long last. I finally had the opportunity to try it out this week and so far I’m very impressed. For some reason it isn’t included as standard in the dashboard and requires a 2.5mb download of the “Optional Media Update” which you are prompted to fetch when it encounters a suitable file. Once you have this the 360 will read AVIs off DVDs, CDs, USB drives and over your network with very little trouble. All the files I tested worked as documented in the above link with no playback issues at all and while it doesn’t support AVIs with an AC3 track it will playback 720p Xvids no problem.
Good work MS it’s great to see this feature finally working, just keep the codec machine churning and eventually we will have a fully functional media center :-). Next on the agenda Matroska containers with x264 encoded video please!
I had always found it frustrating to get a good Skype setup going in Windows. Either the speakers were too loud and caused an echo, the cheap handset was falling apart or Windows had forgotten the audio device I was using. So getting a handset that just worked well with the Skype network was very refreshing but getting one that I could use anywhere was even better.
The 3 Skypephone is on the surface a standard handset with an average camera, ok screen and fairly decent build quality. But it comes into its own when using the unique Skype software on the device in conjunction with the 3 mobile network. Aside from video calling the mobile client is almost identical to its PC counterpart giving the ability to make and receive calls on the Skype network, manage contacts and even use the instant messaging function.
One of my concerns was how it would manage being logged in on the PC and the mobile simultaneously if at all. Luckily it works just fine with both the phone and PC ringing out when receiving calls and any messages received appearing on both.
Calls are clear to, from and between Skype/mobiles with no noticeable lag. The keypad is solid and the screen is big enough to make texting and IM pretty easy. The only catch I can see so far is that if you wanted to purchase a pay as you go handset just for Skype use it needs to be kept topped up. This is because any credit you purchase will eventually expire and having credit on the phone is a requirement of using the Skype features. Alternatively you can just go for a contract and you’re set.
It’s not replacing my SE k850i as a camera phone but it’s hardly fair to compare the two. As a solid second handset or¬† a dedicated Skype phone it’s almost perfect and for ¬£50 or ¬£90 for a pair it’s a rather attractive deal.
If like me you get home for Christmas and are suddenly bombarded by every family member asking you to fix/cleanup their PCs then Appupdater can make your life slightly easier. It basically brings the package management you see from Debian and RPM based Linux distros to Windows, allowing a quick and easy way to update a ton of apps all at once. Lifehacker posted an excellent quide which i recommend to anyone who wants to get their system cleanups done as quickly and easily as possible.
I have had my “home cinema” setup for a few months now but totally forgot to blog about it until I was reminded recently. Right now I have an Optoma HD70 projector sitting atop some cheap IKEA shelves that boost it over the height of the sofa with anyone sitting on it. It’s far enough away from the wall that I can get about an 80″ to 100″ picture depending on how I feel. Luckily the wall in my apartment is very plain and clean and you don’t even notice the texture of the wall. 720p stuff looks amazing while standard def content doesn’t look too shabby either, especially when compared to and LCD TV. The projector has HDMI, component and VGA inputs so I connect my PC via HDMI and the Xbox 360 via component.
I knew I would have to get some new speakers to go with this when I got it so I went for the cheapest THX DTS set around. This turned out to be the Logitech Z-5400 which produces a ton of bass and has coax and optical inputs to connect to the PC and 360 respectively. The remote is a little flaky but nothing a few smacks can’t cure.
(click for full resolution)
Alien is an awesome demonstration of the system. I have a 1080p version with DTS sound and it just comes alive with the creepy score and crisp visuals. Having this system makes me want to go back and watch the classics all over again and I have definitely found myself watching more movies because of this. Next on the list is Blade Runner Final Cut and Back to the Future (if I can get a decent HD version).
The 360 works nicely too but I did find myself getting slightly motion sick in Halo 3 from the first few hours of play. This is probably due to the sheer size of the screen alone but you do get used to and it only affects FPS games. Oh and playing games like Lumines, Tetris and Bomberman on the thing feels like total overkill!
So my recommendation if you are looking for a nice big screen is to seriously consider a projector. Obviously you need the throw distance, a dark room and a large enough wall but the price per inch of screen size cannot be beaten. Gizmodo put handy list of tips together recently which are worth checking out.
The site has been experiencing some down time over the week and not for a particularly good reason. My hosting provider fasthosts decided to scramble the passwords of all their user’s accounts making webspace, databases and other services inaccessible. Due to a security breach they felt it necessary to post the new passwords by old fashioned snail mail.
Bad move.
The first thing I did when receiving the password was to start moving the blog. This site is now brought to you by Dreamhost. And it seems slightly faster don’t you think?
The thing that surprised me the most since getting the MacBook has been the wealth of quality software available. I had been content using the same cross platform software and online apps that I had on Windows to do my day to day stuff but have found myself using superior native applications more and more. So without further ado here are some of my favourites.
CSSEdit - Holy cow this is good. I have always found CSS a bit of a chore especially when dealing with multiple stylesheets but this makes it crystal clear. X-ray mode and the selector builder are lifesavers that actually make me think I can go for more extravagant designs for my sites. Awesome.
Textmate - Hands down the best text/script editor I have used. Great bundles for every language under the sun with appropriate shortcuts and text styling for each make it really powerful. It’s not an IDE but even without code completion I find myself getting stuff done quicker.
CocoaMySQL - Fast and simple MySQL database GUI. Have been looking for something to replace phpMySQL for a while now and this is it.
Adium - Multi network IM client featuring a big green duck that squawks in my dock - whats not to love about that. Also uses growl which I had never heard about before but find incredibly useful.
Transmit - Great FTP client supporting all encryption standards I use.
FlickrExport for iPhoto - Does exactly what it says on the tin. Makes the already stupidly easy to use iPhoto even more useful by removing the gap between it and Flickr.
Thanks to Matt over at 3mobilebuzz for sending over some of the new 3 Skypephones to try out. The unboxing photos are below, I’ll post my thoughts when I have had a little longer to try them out.
After a mild screw up with UPS yesterday (they wouldn’t deliver to the concierge unless I gave them the ok) I finally got the new black Apple MacBook. I’ve been looking for a laptop for a few months now and being stuck with three PCs isn’t exactly useful if you can’t take them with you when you travel. The MacBook seemed like an obvious choice for me so I’ll break it down. I needed a small portable system (12″/13″) that wouldn’t be too heavy to lug around and be decent for coding and movie playback.
Having used Windows Vista since January made it very hard to find a system I would actually like to purchase. It’s a terrible situation for these PC manufacturers to be in when the software is affecting sales of the hardware. Vista is a dog of an OS and the only reason I use it on my powerful rig is because I paid for it and like playing the latest games. So my choice was either the Mac I am typing on now or getting a crippled Vista laptop, clearing it out and installing Ubuntu on it. Wanting a low maintenance system that “just works” meant going for the Mac.
Since I posted the previous entry on the blog a few people were very understanding of my Vista plight and my need to get a different OS while a couple of others couldn’t believe I was doing it. There is only one reason and one reason alone I maintain my Window box. Games. If someone could please tell me what the hell else I need it for then I would like to know. I can do everything I need to do be it programming, watching video, email, web, IM, music or whatever on any of the big three platforms. I was never buying a laptop for games, it needed to be portable and therefore not powerful for my gaming needs. Games and laptops are a no no for me, that’s what my DS is for.
I am happy running Leopard, it meets my needs. But don’t forget if the walls come crashing in and the sky falls I can still install Ubuntu and Windows on this thing. It’s one of the biggest no brainier purchases I’ve made in a while.
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