Renovations

Look! It’s all shiny! I updated the theme to something more 2009. I like it. The gloss is so in.

Anyway, I apologize for my lack of updatage. Check back in a couple of days and I’ll have put something interesting up for you to look at.

Toodle-oo for now,
Douglas

Touchscreens! Part 2

You forgot some things on your last post…

I did. Thanks for reminding me. The images were sourced from www.touchscreensolutions.com.au. They’re a good site with various touchscreens and good prices.

Now… Where were we?

The HP Touchsmart?

Yes. That one.

Well, the HP Touchsmart is an all in one computer (meaning no box, just a screen with everything in it) with a giant twenty-something inch touchscreen.

So… I can buy this one?

Yes.

Okay. You’re very quiet on the subject, though.

Yes. I don’t like HP. They’re systems are dodgy at best, and the horror stories about HP support… you don’t want to know.

So… avoid?

Yes.

Any others?

There’s the Dell XPS One.

Your thoughts?

It’s a Dell. It’ll work.

How much?

From $1999.

You’re joking.

No, I’m not. It even says on the Dell website (That’s an Australian website, too). The right hand one is the only with the touchscreen included in the base price (I was fooled, too, thinking that they all came with it)

Okay. Tell me more.

That’s what it looks like. By default, it comes with a pink trim (eurgh!), but if pink is not your thing, it can be changed to the illustrated blue, a smart looking charcoal grey, a Tuscan red that almost matches my hair, or choose a fully white system. I liked the red, so for my sample build, I chose that.

I reasoned that a Core 2 Duo E7500 was processor enough for Vista (let alone Windows 7), so it would suffice for now.

You’ve got no choice in OS at present (Vista Premium only), so that’s all good.

Office will come in useful for the kids (if you have them), but I’d recommend going out and buying it at a local retailer: contrary to what Dell say, it isn’t cheaper to buy Office preinstalled on a new computer. If you walk into almost any computer store, or Dick Smith or Hardly Normal (Harvey Norman) store, Office 2007 Professional Academic sells for about $200-$300. That’s anywhere from $180-$280 cheaper. And you get a pretty box. But you have to install it yourself, but it’s foolproof. You would think the academic implies student only, but provided you don’t use it in a business, you’re good.

Extended warranty is a must for any computer. Don’t skimp on it. That $150 extra you spend on the warranty also includes some form of insurance for it, I believe.

As with Windows, there’s no choice with RAM: 4GB only. However, being Windows Vista 64bit, it can handle a lot of memory. I can’t remember how much, but it’s quite a large number

You can add a bigger hard drive, right up to 750GB, so I added a 750GB in lieu of the 500GB hard drive.

It comes with an optional Blu-Ray reader\DVD burner and reader\CD burner and reader. However, I don’t think that Blu-Ray is quite mature yet, so I’ll stick with good ol’ DVD.

I left the graphics as is, as I didn’t know what the difference between the two offered models were (an nVidia GeForce 9200 and an nVidia GeForce 9400)

Don’t buy Dell’s printers. They charge an arm and a leg for the cartridges. Buy yourself a good Epson or Brother when you go down to a computer store to buy Office.

Again, no choice for keyboard and mouse, its Dell’s provided wireless keyboard and mouse or Dell’s provided wireless keyboard and mouse, or perhaps even Dell’s provided wireless keyboard and mouse. Your choice, really.

I’d recommend upgrading the wireless card to the b/g/n model. That $20 may save you a lot of headaches in the future.

If you’re a computer novice, welcome to my blog and how did you find it? Also, you’ll want a Gizmo service to come and help you with Mr. Computer. I opted to not have one, as I am quite proficient with a computer.

Online Backup has its pros and cons. I am a fan of physical backup media, like an external hard drive, so I just kept the default 2GB of which I am unlikely to ever use.

Eurgh! McAfee! I’ll take Trend Micro, thanks. If we lived in the US, this would be an option. It isn’t so add this to your shopping list with Office 2007 and printer, and make a note to remove McAfee the moment you get the computer.

Living in a regional area, I don’t get after hours delivery, so default delivery it was.

Mmmm… Nice system! How much?

AU$2,336.40.

That’s not bad.

Well, a 19″ LCD touchscreen alone is $1119 without GST from the aforementioned Touchscreen Solutions (which means $1230 with GST), and if we were to assume that the touchscreen in this system costed the same amount, then the actual computer component costed a measly $1105.50. Which, for this system, isn’t bad, it’s bloody brilliant.

Now I want one!

Go buy one. But not now.

I’ve got the credit card ready, let me at it!

No. Seriously. Windows 7, the next version of Windows, is due out before Christmas. Windows 7 includes (you guessed it) better Multi-touch support.

So… I could get someone to buy me one for Christmas?

If you wanted. Failing that, wait a month and a half. Microsoft are doing their Upgrade Voucher offer again, meaning that you buy the computer, keep the voucher, and when the next version of Windows is released, you win a free (or cheap(er)) upgrade to Windows 7!

Cool!

Indeed. Although I would wait for Windows 7 to actually come out, and buy it with Windows 7 Professional, as Professional has features I would use that Home Premium does not.

I’ll take your word for it.

Yes. On the note of multi-touch and Windows 7… Linkage.

Now what’s next?

A Brief History of Windows.

BOR-RING!

Not really. There are pretty pictures…

Ooh!

Glad I’ve got your attention. See you next time, then.

Touchscreens! Part 1

Woo! Touch screens! Screens you are allowed to fondle and touch and rub and so on. You’ve probably seen them, and you may have used one. So you’re probably wondering: what’s so special about them that make them work just by touching your finger to them, and if you can get one yourself for your home computer.

So, continue forth, fine reader, and find out more.

How do they work?

Well, as there is with almost anything computer-related, there’s about four or five different technologies that all achieve the same task. These are:

• Capacitive
• Resistive
• Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW)
• Infrared
• Multi-touch

We’ll go on a bit about each one in further detail.

Capacitive

Look! Pretty Picture!

So… what essentially happens with this type of screen is that a slam small amount of electrical charge is applied to the four corners of the touchscreen. Now, because you, being a human, conduct electricity, you complete the circuit. The capacitance of the circuit is then measured, and the controller card for the screen transmits the X,Y location of where you touched to your computer, hence moving the pointer to where you touched.

There are some disadvantages, however: only fingers (or other human body parts) can control it: you can’t use a coin or a stylus to move the cursor around the screen as these won’t conduct the charge. If you’re wearing gloves, then it’s not going to work both (although we have this type of screen at work, and they are more than happy to work with a latex gloved hand fondling the screen). You also need to recalibrate the screen on a regular basis: otherwise your cursor can get way, way, WAY off (and it is most irksome when this happens).

Resistive

Look! Another pretty picture!

Resistive technology has a glass or acrylic panel with some electrically resistant layers, separated by invisible separator dots. As with capacitive technology, an electrical current is passed through the screen, and when you press the screen, the layers touch together, and cause a change in the electrical current. The pointer then follows your bidding and proceeds to where you touched.

As with capacitive technology, there are some disadvantages. You need to calibrate it every now and then, otherwise the cursor ends up somewhere undesirable. There are some clarity issues with these screens as well. They are also easily damaged by scratching, poking and impact (The latter two confuse me: the whole point of a touchscreen is that it is poked and impacted. So, poke gently, I guess.), and they aren’t considered suitable for public access applications. And they can wear out over time.

However, they are cheap. So, bonus.

Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW)

Yet another pretty picture! WOW!

SAW Technology sends sound waves (also known as acoustic waves) across a clear glass panel with transducers (Perhaps a Dr. Furter played a part in its creation…) and reflectors. Upon your touching of the screen, the soundwaves are absorbed, and a touch is registered. Tada!

It is quite similar to infrared technology in regards to its sophistication, and is well-suited to things such as public access terminals. However, because it is similar in sophistication to infrared with regards technology, but is more expensive than infrared, it’s not as highly recommended. It also must be touched by a finger (gloved or otherwise) or a soft tipped stylus. Anything else, i.e. coin, credit card, fingernail, pickaxe, won’t work. And it can also be affected by dirt, dust and water.

Infrared

You’re probably sick of the pretty pictures, aren’t you?

Infrared technology is simple: the screen is crossed with infrared beams. Your touch obstructs two beams, and a touch is registered by the computer. Hooray!

Apart from being quite possibly the best form of touchscreen, it’s also the easiest to explain. J

As a general rule, if you can afford it, go infrared: it’ll last longer, and doesn’t need calibration, and, unlike SAW technology, isn’t really affected by dust, dirt and water.

Can I Get One?

Short answer: yes.

Really?

Really.

Really Really?

For the last time, yes.

So, I can walk into Billy’s PC Shop, and buy one right there and then, and take it home and be fondling my around Windows licketyspit?

No.

So then I can’t buy one, then, can I?

Well, the thing is, at the moment, touchscreens are niche items and cost around about $1000 for a small screen (I’m talking 12 to 15 inches, here), and when most people see 22″ screens, they suddenly want that one.

But, wait! Something about a Touchscreen computer springs to mind!

The HP Touchsmart?

Yes.

Well, that is valid. But, unfortunately, we’ll have to talk about it in the next post. Mmkay?

Oh, alright. But you better post it… or else!

I will.

*War*!

About six months ago, a friend and I started talking on Google Talk. In Google Talk, if you enclose words in asterisks, *like this*, it bolds them. If you enclose words in underscores, _like this_, it makes them italic. If you do both, it makes them both.

When you chat with someone, you generally put actions in asterisks. For instance, let’s say you were insulted by something the other person said. You, being offended, might do this: *slaps*. Or perhaps this: *clobbers*. Or, my personal favourite: *takes to desolate island, leaves, drops 15 megaton nuclear warhead on said island*.

And that’s how the concept of *War* came about. My friend getting irked by my *slap*ping of him. He then punched me back. And so on and so forth.

Having A War

Four tips:

• You don’t have to have it in Google Talk. Other chat clients will do. We do it in MSN now, works a charm (just without automagical bolding)
• Let the person know about the war before you hold it. You don’t want to shock them, or confuse them, or make them cry.
• Start off small, with *slap*’s and *punch*es and stuff like that, then work your way up to the nuke.
• A good war can last anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour. Do it when you have free time or when you’re at work with nothing better to do (i.e. that fifty page report on sales of turnips in rural Tasmania that you have to have done by tomorrow)

Rules

There are only three rules, they’re simple… but there’s penalties, of which one must remember.

1. You can only have one turn before someone else takes theirs.  For instance:
       Douglas says:
            *punches*
       Douglas says:
            *shoots*
   Is totally unacceptable. However:
       Douglas says:
            *punches, shoots*
   Is acceptable, as you’ve made two moves in one turn.
   Penalty: Number of extra turns you took x 2 turn penalty (i.e. you took three turns instead of one, thats 3 x 2, and 3 x 2 = 6, the opposition gets six consecutive turns)
2. With Rule 1, comes a sub-rule: you cannot make more than three moves in one turn.
   Penalty: Two turns
3. Suicides, or suicide missions, are forbidden unless the chances of either person winning are unlikely. Ditto for big stuff in the first bit of the war.
   Penalty: war continues as if though nothing happened, two turn penalty.

So… what are you waiting for? Go find a good friend, hit them up on MSN\Googly Talk\AIM\whatever, and go to *WAR*!

Things that annoy me at work

I work at KFC. Deal with it. Anyway, here are some of the things that really annoy me:

1. “I’ll have a medium <insert name of thing here> please.”
   We’re KFC. We have regular and large. There is NO medium. Study our drinks fridge for an example: we’ve got cans, and bottles. That’s it. Nothing more. So, how the hell do you expect us to get a medium out of those two sizes? Yes, some meals might come with a little baggy of chips, but that holds the same amount as a little box.
2. Customers who order something huge and change their mind about it.
   Our registers are clever. They track how many times we push the Delete Last Item button, and the value of those items. It then tells us this, as a percentage, at the end of the shift, in full sight of the manager. If it’s too high, it either means you’re incompetent (which is what the managers are most likely to believe), or that you had very picky customers (not so likely to be believed). So, make up your mind before you go to the counter and tell me what you want, or I will kill you.
3. Asian people with thick accents and\or who think they know the menu better than we do.
   Now, I’m not racist, just so you know. But it really annoys me when an Asian person comes up with a thick accent, and I have to try an decipher what they say. They also annoy me when they think that we’ve rung it up at the wrong price (The Computer Never Lies), or rung up the entire thing wrong.
4. People who think sauces are free.
   They’re not. They’re 30c each. If you order a meal with a sauce in it, and come back and ask for one, you get one sauce. If you don’t and come back for one, I’ll give it to you anyway, and think, “God, people are fuckwits”. Sometimes I’ll charge you. If you want more than one, either way, I’m charging you. If you order it with your meal, then I’m going to charge you. I don’t want to be killed by a mob of angry managers.
5. People who go through the drive through and come in and accuse us of not doing  our jobs right.
   Yes, because I packed your order at the drive thru while contending with about forty million other people in here who are wanting to be served. If you accuse me of not doing my job right, and I packed your meal, then, fine. But if you came through the drive thru and I’m inside on the front counter, and you accuse me of this, expect me not to be impressed with you
6. People who go through the drive through and talk really quietly at the first window.
   For those of you who are not scientifically minded, here’s a fun fact for you! You can talk quietly in a small room and people will hear you because the sound bounces off the walls! I know, it’s a revelation. You can’t do this at a drive through window because the only walls are the ones inside your car, which have been breached because the window is open, and in my little alcove, again, which has been breached because the window is open. (in fact, one customer got very angryw ith me and said he wasn’t coming back because I had to keep asking him the same questions over and over again because he was talking so quietly. The good thing was, I acted all professional and he went all off his head, so he can complain about my service as much as he wants, I’m in the clear).
7. People who ask for things that don’t exist.
   We have promos. Last one was the All star box (much cheering and applause was heard at all KFC stores that had them when they finished). Ask yourself this before you order: Can you see it on the menu board? No? Then don’t order it. It really annoys me when I have to say to customers, no, that promo finished so long ago.

See? I’ve ranted. I could go on… but I’ve got other things to do.

Testing your virus scanner

Got a virus scanner? Quick! Copy and paste this line of text into a blank notepad file!

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Saveit as Eicar.com. Put it on your desktop.

Cngratulations! You’ve just created the EICAR Test file for Virus Scanners! Let your computer sit for a few minutes, and see if it finds it (It will label it as a virus. It’s not, it’s harmless). Doesn’t find it? Scan the file manually with it. It should find it. All credible AV programs must react as if though it’s a real virus (It’s not).

Still doesn’t find it? Could mean your antivirus program is broken. You might need a new one. Try Avira AntiVir or Avast! Antivirus.

More info found here and here, and you can download it here (Scroll to the bottom, and try each one from the top row to test how your AV program reacts to them. The second one is it pretending to be another type of file, the third one it in a ZIP file, and the fourth one a zip file within a zip file with the EICAR thing in it).

If I had US$1,000,000 (that’s one million US Dollars!)

A person on a forum I frequent commented that,w ith teh current recession in the market, what would you do with US$1 million? So, this is what I said.

US$1million = $1,455,815.98 at time of posting this originally.

• Pay off the mortage on the house… Let’s say… $250000?) – $1,205,815.98 left
• Buy myself a $17,932.99 Apple Mac Pro – $1,187,882.99 left
• Buy myself a $5,405.98 Apple MacBook Pro – $1,182,477.01 left
• Put about ten $100 notes in the World hunger week box at work (i.e. $1000) – $1,181,477.01 left
• Donate $100,000.01 to Guide Doggies SA – $1,081,477.00 left
• Donate $100,000 to RSPCA SA – $981,477 left
• Buy 2 new Full length Volvo or Merc buses for the local bus service (let’s say at $200,000 apiece): $581,477 left
• Put about $75,000 away in a bank account to gain interest for University (even if I can get in on a CSP (Commonwealth supported place), where I pay anywhere between about $0 and $7500 a year for Uni, that’s stull enough to see me through, especially with interest): $506,477 left.
• Hire myself a maid to clean my room for three years, at, oooh, $250 a month? (So, (250*12)*3? $9000ish?) – $497,477 left
• Buy myself a fancy arse Holden Statesman for roughly $78000, and one for the mother, too (so, $156000 all up): $341,477 left
• Put $50,000 away for my niece to go to Uni: $341,477 left
• Put $150,000 away for any kiddywinks I may have to go to uni: $341,477
• Go see Phantom in Perth with a friend and my Sister next year ($7500ish to fly up to Adelaide, then to Perth in the best seats, stay in a fancy hotel and get the best seats): $133,977 left
• Put the rest away for a rainy day (I ran out of ideas): $0 left (at last!)

So, what would you do? Do tell me by commenting. Click here if you want USD in Australian dollars, or here if you want it GBP.

Various YouTube Clipos

Let’s start off with one from my local TV station from about thriteen years ago. You are allowed to laugh at it:

The finale to 3rd Rock From The Sun, with alternate ending:

And a short video about the Adelaide O-Bahn (thanks to BuddyALX from the ATDB for this)

And that’s it: for today. Mwa ha ha! Ahem.

(By the way: wondering how I get these clips from TV stations? Simple: search the TV station’s callsign, i.e. SES-8, SAS-7, MTN-9 (that’s a hard one to search for) et cetera)

Text Messages

No doubt many, if not all of you, have mobile phones. No doubt you also send a lot of text messages (who doesn’t?). You may have seen some random goofiness on your screen that you have no idea what the meaning of it is.

Here’s an example that resembles my Nokia:

An example of a text message

 

The part that no doubt confuses you the most is the strange thing that says something like 160/1. You think “That’s not a fraction: that’s 160!” And you’d be right. No doubt you’ve also noticed it going down when you type your message (or whatever), and have assumed it was a counter.

This is what it means: The SMS standard states “160 characters per message.” However, some phones fake breaking this rule by letting you type longer messages and sending them as seperate messages, with the phone on the recieveing end shmooshing ‘em all together into one message. You are billed per message. So, that 160/1 thing means “You can write 160 more characters in part one of the message”. If it said 74/2, it would mean “You can write 74 more characters in part two of the message”. You’re billed per part of the message, so 1 part = 1 message, 2 parts = 2 messages and so on.

Note that some phones have emoticons that appear as graphics. These are really text replaced with a picture, and will show up as text if the reciever’s phone doesn’t have this Feature. So, a smiley such as , which might show up as a would count for three characters. Spaces and symbols also count as characters too.

Note: This is how it works on Nokia phones, which are numerous and popular. It may work differently on your phone (especially iPhones, Symbian-based devices and Windows Mobile devices, and you’ll know if you have one of these), so, don’t feel discouraged if it looks different (some have 999/1 or something, which means “999 characters to go, and, oh, by the way, you’re on part one of the message)

Douglas Rants About Media Players

I play media all the time. I play music, videos, etc. Normal stuff. But what really bugs me is that not one media player can do everything I want it to do. I hate it when media players are used as an advertising medium. Junk mail, TV, radio, and (to a more annoying extent) the internet are more suited to this, not my media player, thank you very much.

Okay, so here’s what I use:

• Day to day media stuff (ie. Playing music and videos on the go, ripping music, etc.): Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP\Windows Media Player 11 for Vista
  It’s there and it works. It can open my MP3 and WMA files, it can open WMVs and MPEGs. And that’s all I need it to do. The ability to change it’s colour is a bonus. I like minimode, but I have a keyboard with buttons which I customized to control it.
• Videos and things that won’t play in WMP: VLC Media Player
  How many of you love IrfanView and it’s magical open-almost-all-image-file thing? I do, too. VLC does this for video and audio files. It plays most files well: it doesn’t, however, work well with RealMedia Video (audio only), which brings us to…
• RealMedia Videos: Real Alternative
  If you have RealPlayer, uninstall it. It’s rubbish and insists upon bombarding you with ads. Tsk, tsk. I like Real Alternative because it lets me view the RealMedia files I occasionally download in Media Player Classic (included), which is a small media player similar to older versions of Windows media player (like the one included in Windows 98)

However, there’s a problem with Real Alternative: it doesn’t always work with live streams and the like. So, if you really need RealPlayer, there is a special version. Now, don’t tell too many people about this, because word will get out and then people will download it and then Real will go “Let’s be evil and do a normal version here!”

So, download it here.

Note: I’m not sure if it’s still like that. It could be different. Anyhoo, try it. If not, keep it. Message centre can be disabled.