Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Again with the Errors

I'm still stupid, I still need to learn the order in which ASP.net renders a page. Always! I mean always! Make sure that if you are assigning data to something (anything) that you check that it is NOT a postback. You can not only get strange thing happening with data containers you just get annoyed and frustrated.

Anyway I'm off

Everything in Moderation

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Maybe I'm Behind the Times...

... or maybe I'm just lazy but I've gotten into podcasting of late. I see it as an excellent way to deliver opinions and comments via the web. I also see it as a breeding ground for stupidity and I hope that Apple is keeping tabs on what makes it onto their iTunes store.

I've enjoyed a podcast called "Macbreak Weekly" (do a iTunes search) . I find the people on the cast are interesting and have a lot of useful things to pass onto the users. Leo and Alex are excellent hosts and I think that although it is a long podcast it's something I can listen to and work at the same time.

Another one that Scott Kurtz suggested is: 43Folders it's short and gives good hints on how to do work and get things done (something I need).

My favorite podcast (one that is woefully out of date) is Penny Arcade's "Downloadable Content". It is explicit so watch the volume at work or around children but it gives you an excellent insight on how the two guys work together and make one of the funniest (arguable) comics on the web.

Try some of these out you may even like them.




I installed Office 2007 on my work machine yesterday. Other than some initial hiccups (PocketPC related) it has made a very positive impression on me. I love the new look for the TODO list in Outlook. Things seem to be easier to find and they have done away with most of the menus in favor of a tabbed environment. I'm going to work with it a bit more but I think Microsoft has won me over.

Now all they need to do is release it for the mac and I'll be a happy camper.




Two posts in one week, don't you feel special.

That is all number one!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Long Time No Speak

Hello Everyone, again it has been too long since I've posted here. I thought I would do a quick rundown of things that I have obtained in the past few months and give you all my impressions.



XBOX 360 vs. Nintendo Wii


I have rarely been on the "NEXT GENERATION" bandwagon, I can remember working for my dad for 2 weeks during the a teacher's strike in Grade 12 to save up for the PS2, and that was basically the last time I've bought a gaming system (the DS doesn't count everyone should own one). So when Greg (my Friend) bought me a XBOX 360 for my housewarming gift and Sirina bought me a Nintendo Wii for Christmas I was able to finally compare two next gen systems on my own.

The Wii is certainly novel, Wii sports and Zelda: The Twilight Princess, are the only games I own but both have provided me with all sorts of excitment. I must admit I sometimes imagine looking at myself as I play a round of golf or win a fight in Boxing and think "I look like a moron" but the system is interactive and fun. The xbox on the other hand, has little to no interaction (moving left with your car doesn't help you go around the corner, I promise) but is still quite fun. The wireless controllers on both systems make me very happy and the fact I can turn on the systems without getting up makes me even happier.

I think that right now as we speak the XBOX is the better system in regards to games. I love that I can download game demos and try before I buy on the XBOX. I haven't looked that hard on the Wii but I'm pretty sure I can do that for that system as well.

Another difference is that to set the wii up on the internet all I had to do was enter my key for my internet connection and I was done. The XBOX needs attachments (it does come with a 5ft CAT5 cable) which would be less of a problem for me if my router wasn't 100ft away. My peev about the Wii was the fact that it did not come with component cables, instead I have to convince my TV ever 30 mins or so to goto full screen (I know it's my Tv's fault not the Wii), other than that both systems are simple to set up and take up a minimal amount of space on the TV stand.

Both menus are pretty intuitive (for me) and I've had little to no trouble figuring things out. The cost of XBOX live ticks me off but seems to be a necessary evil. Again I haven't explored as much with the Wii but I assume there is some sort of price associated with playing online.

I'll keep playing both systems, take for instance last night: I played NHL 07 for a couple games and then played Zelda until I cleared the Faron woods of twilight. I think the wii will bore me first it seems more of a novelty than anything. However if Nintendo and Co. can turn out good titles for the Wii I should have no problem enjoying the system. However, the XBOX will hold my attention more because Greg has one and we will be playing Co-Op and Multi quite a bit.

Anyway that's my spiel about that.




I think I'll leave it at that I'm supposed to be working after all.

The twilight scares me.