Category: Reviews

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I’ve quit smoking* (part I)

Since Feb 8th I’ve not actually smoked one cigarette.  Although, I digress to say  that I’ve not quit cold turkey.  I’ve done cold turkey quits twice in my life and people say I become Hulk angry when I do.  My Cousin had bought in e-cigarette which i was highly skeptical about when I had first seen him with it but, after 1 month it passed what I had called the Timmy test.

At the beginning of the month i had purchased an E-cigarette after watching my cousin and friend use one with no issues with leaving the conventional cigarette behind.  when I had received ordered this it was actually  February 1st, little did I know I’d end up in the perfect storm of clusterfuck.  When I had ordered from Volcano there shipping department had moved so my order was delayed, not only that there shipping computers had crashed.  Usually USPS tracking takes a few days to update- You can often receive packages while tracking says otherwise. After stalking the mailman for a week – I started to email support for volcano, to which they will actually find time in there day to reply to you, well to find out my package was like alice in wonderland.  Figuring i was in for the long haul I had made a second order. which in the end that was the best thing i could of done with out realizing it.

E-cigarettes are a different experience of sorts but it keeps the feeling the same so to speak.  When you have smoked for a long time and a lot of people that fail quitting end up smoking again because of the fact they try to treat the chemical end of smoking without treating the mental end of smoking. If you have smoked and you have quit you’d know what i speak of. if you quit its best to find a bic pen or some other object in your hand to emulate that cigarette or you will be beyond hulk angry and quite possibly rip some walls out.

I’ve put the title as “i’ve quit smoking*” but I used the barry bonds method of scoring here Notice the *.  Because to a point i am still getting some level of nicotine, but No fire ,no combustion, no dirty ashtrays , No butts.  I am quite happy with this E-cigarette after a rough start from the company I bought it from.

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bing? bing.. Its just uhh.. yeah..

Microsoft has been flapping there PR mouth over there new search engine bing. After the failed livesearch and another companies shit fest of a search engine.  It seems like Microsoft has learned a thing or two about search engines but, not much. It was more like “lets just rip off another popular search engine. ” Microsoft has been smearing there new Bing.com everywhere, Hulu is running ads , likely there is ads on TV . but, it appears that bing will be not ignored like cuil was, Microsoft will likely force bing down our throats every way possible.  Just to give an idea how microsoft will pull is.

  • Windows update will force some update as “critical” to internet explorer forcing bing to the front
  • Update MSN clients to have bing built in
  • Windows 7  will likely have it forced on the desktop
  • Come out with some goofy firefox plugin (maybe already done mystery plugin for firefox had come out *cute stealth install too*)

hemantm writes “A routine security update for a Microsoft Windows component installed on tens of millions of computers has quietly installed an extra add-on for an untold number of users surfing the Web with Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser.”

Looking into the name  bing the first definition that comes up on dictionary.com is

bing

1 –noun British Dialect. a heap or pile.

As funny  as that is , Bing is almost an identical ripoff of  Google.

binghere’s the same same search in google .

googlethe result pages look almost EXACTLY the same.  Microsoft has made an attempt to make a search engine but, its a blatant ripoff of Google.  Playing around with Bing it seems alright but, again looking at the search engine there’s no fucking difference. The supposed Smart search engine that bing is just tries to give you the same results. Yes there are features in this search engine but Google already does 99.99% of bings search results.

Do we need another Google? NO, if Microsoft actually made something unique it would be one thing, At least cuil made an attempt at being unique.  In order to do something better with the search engine Microsoft should try something different than work from there with a dynamic interface that takes opinions from users.

But my vote on this search engine is no , its a shamefully blatent ripoff of google.  Its insulting, microsoft has billions of dollars yet they can’t come up with there own search engine?

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Chuck Keep it on the air!

I don’t watch too much TV but, the one show I have been following is Chuck . At first I watched a few episodes but, the series proceeded I really began to like the show. The show has a serious but not to serious side and plot that you can follow without having to watch the whole series. After a two season run the fate of the show is up in the air.

the amount of meta-humor in the show is halarious, In Chuck versus Santa Claus Big mikes cousin is Al powell , to movie buffs that would be none other than Al Powell from die hard.

another episode mades a reference in one of chucks flashes to the “great outdoors” with the ol 96’er

chuckWith the show in the great unknown of being canceled out not , I really hope they keep the show on the air , this show is too good to be canceled.

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Logitech MX 1100 (review)

After dealing with so many logitech G7’s , I’d finally given up on them as logitech has sent me a Logitech MX1100.

mx1100After almost a month of using this mouse its a fairly good mouse , it has more buttons than you know what to do with (10 buttons). The most noticable thing is the grip on the mouse it forms to your hand fairly well compaired to the g7 , A handshake would best explain it as it conforms to your hand.

As for mouse speeds its  right up there with the G7, Maybe a tiny bit slower but barely noticable. My only peeve with the mouse is when you use the mouse from an idle state after leaving the mouse for awhile and you first move it after an extended period of time its slow to come alive, its like you shake it awake literly. but, after that the mouse works extremely well.

For now I’ll give this mouse a thumbs up but we will see down the road if the mouse will follow the same path as the G7 …

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A year with with my Wii………..and let the puns begin!

This month is comming up on me having the Wii console for 1 year.. How has the Wii stood up as time has progressed? After owning the wii this long, there have been a few thoughts  i’ve had as far as how the system has matured, Honestly the system is still good but still needs to grow up a bit.

I Do Still pay with the wii, but Not nearly as often as I used to due to the fact of a lack of games with depth to them,  Some games do come out with depth but, the issue is quantity. The fact that developers have shunned the Wii kind of makes for an interesting senario. Sure its taken the market by storm but, im seeing where the Wii’s weakness is, theres just not the title market out there.  Forevery good game for the system theres a SHITLOAD of vomitware for the system and it shows, Goto gamestop and look on there used shelves and you will see TONS of craptastic games.

As far as price has gone, The wii is not the lowest man on the ladder due to the x-box 360’s agressive pricecuts but in the long run the Wii is cheaper due to the online component being cheaper (Free). The Wii’s online component severely is lacking still due to lack of interaction in games, If you play Mario Kart Wii , Theres just no feeling to it due to the lack of interaction between players. Sure you can see the asshat that just knocked you off the track as you swear your brains out at the screen but, does the person on the other side of the connection know your mad …. NO. They did add keyboard support awhile back but, its so unused the most it maybe used for is to put in a creditcard number for more Wii Points, Nintendo could highly benifit from at least adding chatroom or some other way to talk to players while using the system.

The system has been pretty faithful to me with one exception of having the send in the wii to Nintendo for service. But The repairs were extremely quick and had the system back within the span of one week.

While the Wii’s gaming library has some good games that come out every few months, I’ve never really been stuck in a situation of a choice to make over one game to another. Nintendo’s first party titles are pretty much unmatched in terms of gaming on the system theres a few noted exceptions such as Raving Rabbids, No More Heroes, Final Fantasy Fables, and Starwars the force unleashed but, The lack of quality 3rd party titles I think is my biggest mark against the system.

Given that fall us upon us maybe we will see the Wii mature a bit or maybe we will see the Wii not Mature. I said wii huh-huh-huh…

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Phone fun III: there is No spoon edition…

After all the fun with the two Samsung phones that had battery life shorter than a 1meter marathon and several billion calls to sprint, to which they were very helpful about my problems and have been overall very good to me.  The problem I Have is due to where i bought the phone .. radio shack it makes dealing with sprint a little bit crazy, Since the phone was purchased at radioshack sprint doesnt deal with the phone  till its 30 days old, and as far as choice of phones at radioshack your fairly limited to what you can pick unless you know what your doing.  Also dealing with sprint because of having previously swapped my phone, which the last call to sprint helped me the greatest in not getting stuck with a phone that was like trying to power your house with a AA battery.

At Radioshack you will spend a little less to ALOT less on the phone, but as I said before its very slim pickings, they will generally have 5 or so phones to choose from in a store. After dealing with the 2 samsungs , I decided to take a more detailed online search for phones. Looking at the radioshack website shows alot more phones than are instore, but if you look carefully it doesn’t have the little warning of “you have to online only sucker.”

But, I did notice something, Different radioshacks Stock different items. So i went around to a few different radioshacks, and the radioshack closest to me which is at a mall thats not a mall anymore, its what malls look like when they die, there was a phone that caught my interest. The HTC touch , compairing it feature-wise to the M520 they were very alike in features, the only thing missing was the GPS feature (so I thought). I had also looked at the samsung instinct, but the killing factor to that phone was the fact i’d have to change my plan massively in order to get it and paying 25$ more a month for the same features i get now doesnt really float my boat. I did not want a crackberry because the stupid services you have to get.   For me to get an instinct I’d have to get an “everything” plan, which is already close to what i have now, I have data , text and unlimited data for 45$ a month. the cheapest “Everything plan sprint has is 69$ a month….. Do not want… Anyways.

I Wondered if this would be a nightmare returning the phone because I was told you are allowed only so many swaps, So I made sure and called up sprint customer service (*2 on sprint phones) and explained my plight, To which I got a very understanding person on the phone and they put me on hold a bit and than sent me to there hardware tech support, I explained my very issue with the phone and told them where i purchased the phone and they said that it was “ok to bring the phone back to the retail store and they would mark the information in the computer so i’d have no problems returning the phone”. I brought the phone to the first radioshack and explained what i was told and that i had seen a phone in a different radioshack that had my interest.

The HTC touch is an interesting phone,

A bit of a learning curve which kind of surprized me but none the less I like it so far. As far as my requirements for a phone

Requirements for a Phone

  1. to make calls
  2. The Phone is configurable
  3. good battery life
  4. add/make ringtones
  5. Applications that don’t cost a years pay for a small 3rd world country
  6. Durable

It Definanatly meets #1 , as far as numbers 2,4,5,6 it seems to exceed that greatly, Number 3 though will be the test, i’ve only owned the phone for 3 days. but, a sign of hope was when i got the phone i never charged the battery and it lasted 3 days.  As far as the learning curve on the phone, which logic wise you’d think it would be just something you could just pick up the phone and use. with the HTC touch there are 2 buttons and an omnidirecitonal button, if you make a call you need to pay attention to the touch screen at first because if you just assume where buttons are you are going to end up making a mistake. About the GPS with the phone, the phone at it default settings from the store does not have a GPS, but if you update your phone with the most current ROM file from HTC You will have GPS enabled minding this is sprint only. software installation is fairly simple and does not take alot of time, phone updates are also fairly easy with one drawback, if you update and dont have anything to backup your phone numbers be prepaired to write down all the numbers on your phone or you will loose them.  the touch interface is intuitive , but sometimes it gets in the way. as far as tweaking the phone there are many many things you can do to the phone due to the fact its windows mobile 6.1. I think another few weeks with this phone should tell the tale of this phone..

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Phone fun Revisited, A month and a half with Sprint and another phone (Samsung SPH-M520)

Now that i’ve had some time with This plan and Sadly enough i’ve gone through a few phones , I figure I’d update a little bit. The katana lx is no more, the phone had issues that drove me nuts (no ability to mess with the phone at all).

About a week after my post i had given up all hope on the katana, Its a nice phone for someone who just wants a phone.. but if you like tinkering the katana is no mans land. So I headed back to the store i purchased the phone and stepped up a bit on the phone. I ended up getting the Samsung M520 ,

As far as the M520 was It is a good phone with one glaring problem. The battery.. Now i dont know if i ended up getting a crap phone or just the phones battery lasts for a time shorter than it takes to sneeze.

From the time of my last post and my expectations of a phone have changed a little bit due to changes in my phone plan and experiences I’ve personally had, before it was

basic requirements for a phone.

  1. to make calls
  2. that the phone is somewhat configurable
  3. can add/make own ringtones.
  4. Durable

Since i’m on a contracted phone plan now I have moved my expectations a bit higher since its something I will have for as long as the contract lasts, which the revised list is.

Requirements for a Phone

  1. to make calls
  2. The Phone is configurable
  3. good battery life
  4. add/make ringtones
  5. Applications that don’t cost a years pay for a small 3rd world country
  6. Durable

The Samsung M520 Meets 1,2,4 and 6 without a problem and 5 conditionally , but the glaring problem was number 3, battery life. the first week with the phone seemed ok, but after each night the phone would be maybe 1/3rd dead, As time progressed it seemed like the phone would not last more than 3 days on a charge with the light usage.  On my trip to California the 520’s weaknesses showed badly, but as a premptive thought i had purchased a second battery for the 520 which ended up saving the day. reason being is all that day I had been calling people when I touched down in each airport and just using the phone to keep in contact with people to keep them up to date, fairly light usage overall. When I got off the plane in San Jose in the airport i turned on the phone and It instantly died just saying “Recharge battery”. No when i had left chicago I was fairly sure i powered down my phone. but, without a phone and meeting friends for the first time in person, it can be a troublesome thing if you have no way to communicate with them. Thankfully the second battery came into play and I was able to make a call.  All that week i found myself having to recharge the phone whenever i could which to me is totally annoying. When i had left San Jose to go home I had the phone on the charger till the second I left California, When I had got back to Rhode island the phone pulled just about the same thing which was the final straw for the m520.

Figuring that it may of just been a fluke i tried a second M520 and to no avail the battery seemed just not to favor me, Either the store i had got the phone from had a shitty shipment of that phone or otherwise. but, there’s No way I’d go for another M520.

As far as the Phone goes the battery is the deal killer on it , I don’t want a phone that needs to be hooked up to a power outlet every night. but as far as Feature the phone was inline with everything i wanted with a phone with exception to battery life.

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VD-W2 Wii VGA cable part III.

Over the weekend i picked up a few GameCube games, Metroid Prime , F-zero GX, Killer7and Need for speed Hot pursuit 2. Now i previously wrote about the VD-W2 Wii VGA cable, This is the first time I’ve had a problem with the cable. The first game i tried was NFS:HS the game starts up and the display on the monitor goes nuts. Typical, EA and more crap they put out, You would figure as the one of the “top” gaming manufactures, it would support 480p. The gamecube supports 480p , but theres a catch. in order to get the game in 480p you need to hold down the B button on the gamecube controller when starting the game.

this is a small problem in my opinion since i don’t play too many GC games. But, if you intend to play Game Cube games using the VGA cable There is a list too help you out at Mobygames.com .

Overall the cable in my opinion is worth it with the one minor downfall of not supporting GC in 480i , but Most of the good games are supported in 480p for the game cube.

overall i’d say the cable too me is a 9/10 with that small drawback (to me)