Categories
Tech

A different kind of resolution

Yesterday, I had an epiphany. Having returned to work after a very comfortable holiday at the beach, I decided I would take advantage of living in one of the best summer cities in the world and eat my lunch outside. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, and I browsed the net effortlessly on my iPod while I ate my satay sticks. And I realised: just because I’m outside, doesn’t mean I have to ditch my favourite toys.

For most of my life, I’ve been a technophile stuck indoors. That’s where computers and their users usually hang out. But the more I hang around the things, the more I realise that the really fun stuff happens outside. It’s like some of Intel’s original Centrino ads where the office worker spends the day  in the park. Fantastic stuff! I want to be that guy.

I have so many toys that let me move outside: the laptop, the iPod, the camera, the mobile. And there’s wireless and mobile internet pretty much ubiquitous in Sydney. So why aren’t I doing more with it all? It all just sits at home doing nothing when I’m not indoors.

So, along with all the usual self-improvement soul searching that happens in early January, I want to make this resolution: I will spend more time outside this year, and instead of using the “my toys are all for inside play” excuse, use them to enable me to go out.

Categories
Movies and TV Tech

Do or do not, this is no toy!

The Official Star Wars Blog is running an article about a toy that translates brainwaves to Force powers.

Apparently, it uses a headset that will interpret some signal from your brain into movement of a ball within a transparent tube. Whatever the underlying science, it sounds like a lot of fun.

I may have to shell out the $90-100 for this toy (I’m assuming that’s in US money).

Categories
Photography

Playing with the new D60

I’ve been threatening to buy myself a better camera for ages, and finally did so last week. Since my brother wasn’t using it very much, he offered to sell me his Nikon D60 with two lenses and a bunch of other paraphernalia. I knew it was in good nick, and the price was much better than retail, so I gratefully accepted.

Being back at work, I haven’t had a lot of chance to play around, but I have uploaded a few choice shots.

I’m definitely enjoying the control that having a DSLR gives. I already had a basic understanding of the technical aspects of photography, but it was good to refresh that knowledge. My brother also links regularly to Ken Rockwell‘s site, which is a really good read. He reviews a lot of technology with an eye for cutting through marketing bullshit, but also talks about good composition, technique, and artistry as being the most crucial to making photographs instead of snapshots.

Anyway, look through what I’ve made so far and let me know what you think. I’ll try to take some photos every day so that I understand the camera better.

Categories
Movies and TV Reviews

Dark Knight: Why so excited?

I finally got round to watching The Dark Knight and had a moderately good time. I think that it was a pretty good package overall: a fun time, good continuity with Batman Begins, good acting, and a script with good themes and dialogue.

To address the question that everybody apparently has to answer, yes Heath Ledger was good as the Joker. But I do believe he could have done the role without putting himself into a headspace that would require antidepressants and sleeping pills. And it certainly wasn’t worthy of an Oscar. My two cents, anyway. I’m probably a heretic now.

From here on, there are potential spoilers, so click through…

Continue reading “Dark Knight: Why so excited?”
Categories
Tech Video Games

Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!

In my daily stumblings around the net, I discovered this little gem of an article. It purports to be a rational and researched examination of PC game piracy, DRM, and general hysteria surrounding the whole topic.

It provides an interestingly cool-headed counter to some other bloggers I could mention.

One thing about Shamus Young’s stance on DRM that bothers me is that he assumes that the consumer owns the game when they purchase it. Now, I don’t like it, but the actual way things work (and he should know this, being a professional programmer) is that end-users purchase a license to use the software, not the software itself. There are very few (if any) commercial software products that transfer ownership of the software (either in source, or in binary format) upon purchase. Just because you paid money for it, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.

And it’s never been that way. Looking back as far as I’ve been buying software, I can remember seeing license agreements in packages that were quite explicit about that. And it’s understandable: how else can the creator of the code enforce their ownership?

DRM is pretty evil, but I am (at least temporarily) swayed by the arguments in the article that piracy causes the escalation in protection of software, and that the only determinant of piracy is the popularity of the software. There is a vocal minority that might claim DRM causes piracy, but the numbers certainly seem against it.

I also liked the acknowledgement that no copyright protection system is fool-proof, but if it can prevent day-one piracy in order to help developers and publishers recoup their expenses, then that’s a good thing. Developers and publishers with cash in their pockets can continue to make games.

Don’t get me wrong. Poorly-implemented DRM (a la Bioshock) can make life a living hell, but the only way for us to reduce it is to put pressure on people who won’t put any money into a game developer’s pocket at all.