(Future Rants: Metric/Standard Bolts/Nuts, College with emphasis on homework...)

4.4.07
After a long period of not posting rants (not to say I stop ranting, far from it), I felt it worth posting a new one after my experience today with Xbox Live. While I never have had any experience with PS3's version of Live, the PSN, I do know that a lot of people find it less than great and reliable. I also know... it's free. I laughed at those stupid PS3 users as I then give Microsoft 50 bucks a year so I can do the same thing I do online for free: play games online with my friends (And as I write that sentence, I see the irony in calling the PS3 users "stupid"). I felt though that this money I spent was put to good use. It allows me to have a well maintained service where I can go and play games hassle free. Want a new demo? Download it. Want to see if you friends are up for gaming? Just check the friends list. It's simple in theory and that's what I'm paying for. So imagine my disgust over Christmas break when I had plenty of time to play on Live the release of Halo 3 caused Live to fall like a poorly designed, overworked deck of cards. As pissed off as I was about Live, Microsoft sort of made up for it by refunding us that month like they should have giving us a shitty game no one would have bought otherwise on the arcade. "Whatever," I told myself, "Microsoft has realized now that their service is in major need of increased bandwidth and server capacity so as to prevent this problem from occurring again." Today the newest COD4 mappack came out, crippling Live again. A 800pt mappack that I have a hard time believing sent the masses to their 360's in equal or greater force than Halo 3's release crippled Live's ability to look at and download things from the marketplace once again. It's as if Microsoft is just scratching their heads going "Did we release Halo 4 and not realize it?" Let me put it bluntly for you Microsoft: Your console has a high failure rate, is loud as fuck, has expensive as fuck addons (some of which come WITH your competition like wi-fi connectivity), and requires you to pay to play online (and the competition does not). With these things are clearly bad things about the 360, your job to put a positive spin on things by making sure what you do good is perfect and can't be made into a bad point. Having to pay for reliability of competitor's free version is a bad point. If you want to know why PS3 is building up steam and perhaps even going to win this generation's console war, you need only blame yourselves, your poor planning, and your even worse reliability standards.

3.22.05
My rant today is about PeoplePC. I had gotten use to it since I didn't have anything else, but then I was able to get broadband at UK, and when I came home for spring break, I realized how shitty it was. I started with the first version of their software, that let you dial up and then disappeared. The perfect way to dial-up. But then version 2 came around, and suddenly I have some gay-ass window that pops up when I dial up, and if I try to close it disconnects me. How in the fucking hell is this beneficial to me? Maybe some dumbass who doesn't know how to do anything on the internet would enjoy it, but lets face it, those people are easily amused. I prefer not wasting valuable ram on shit, but PeoplePC doesn't seem to care. PLUS, their dumbass programmers can't do anything right, having me click through 2 javascript errors before it will allow me to connect. Lets not forget during this ENTIRE time, I will spend as long as 5 minutes trying to dialup, as their remote computer never seems to want to chat back with me. I finally got use to this bullshit when version 3 comes out. Now, if you thought that was gay, get this: their newest version requires like 5-10mb of ram load at startup, complete with 3 javascript errors JUST-TO-LOAD-WINDOWS. After that, its the same BS as version 2, with more ram, just as long time to dial up, and just as annoying window always having to be open. I have to click through 5 javascript errors from the time I turn on my computer to the time I get on the internet. Its bullshit, plain and simple. Don't listen to their commercials, THEY-ARE-AWFUL. DO-NOT-GET-PEOPLEPC.

10.27.04
It has come to my attention that I have not ranted enough for my readers, so without further wait... Why can't game publishers make DVD-ROM games? I own a couple of DVD-ROM games: The Sims 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, one or two others that I can't seem to see while I scan my PC game boxes. Now, the great thing about DVD-ROM games, besides the fact that like their moving brethrens that believe they must have a bonus DVD will useless crap that helps pass the time when you're bored (save UT2k4, those tutorial video were sweet), is that, instead of juggling around as many as six CD's to install a game, I can throw in one DVD and let it run its course and I'm done. Not to mention the fact that with all six CD's being vital for the game to be installed, if any one of the six CD's is scratched, the entire game is ruined. More CD’s = more chances to ruin your games. Also, DVD-ROM games come in sturdy plastic cases or at least in easier to find 2-CD jewel cases. If you break your case for Doom III or Far Cry, you best save up some money for all those jewel cases you have to buy, b/c you can't find another CD jewel case that can hold that many CD's. There is only two reasons that publishers don't already make games on DVD's: 1.) They don't have the plants that can make DVD's or 2.) They are afraid that consumers will be left out if they make games exclusively DVD (If a consumer doesn't have a DVD, they can't buy their product in other words). My rebuttal is this: DVD's are the future and CD-ROMs aren't big enough anymore. Publishers need to retool their plants with their outdated systems. And speaking of systems, I find it hard to believe that any PC gamer that bought Doom III didn't already have or couldn’t go out and buy a DVD-ROM. Many computers now don't just come with a DVD-ROM; they come with a DVD-R/W. I don't know anyone who enjoys the extra hassle and inconvenience of multiple CD installs. Sooner or later, the publishers are going to realize what I've just said and I won't have to worry about this crap anymore.

9.7.04
If you have played Far Cry or Doom 3, you've may of noticed their CD-Protection. Both do not allow "virtual drives", IE software-emulated CD-ROMs to be used so people don't have to stumble around looking for CDs at LAN parties. What they don't seem to realize is they start cutting off potential customers with their CD-Protection. Every generation of games have came with a worse and worse way to combat piracy. CD-Keys, then CD-Checks (both at start and later during the game), and worse of all: CD-Protection like SafeDisc that name I can remember off the top of my head. What companies don't seem to get threw their narrow-minded skull is people go cheap on CD-ROMs. They'll buy a 500 dollar video card, 400 dollar processor, 120 dollar sound card, and then throw in the cheapest 8x+ cd-rom they can find to save some money. After all, the newest CD-ROMs aren't any faster than the old ones, so why pay more? Then you find a legal consume who wishes to buy a game and can't get it to work b/c of this cd-protection. Painkiller didn't work for the --LEGAL OWNERS-- at first b/c of this. Pirated copies played the second someone downloaded them, but the people who actually spent money got screwed. Piracy is bad. Piracy should stop. But game developers and publishers should never EVER -EVER!- make the legal consumer suffer. If you haven’t noticed, people get around these set backs with ease; they are not working. So quit trying to piss off the people who want to buy your game. When I go to a LAN party, I make sure all my games that ask for CDs have no-cd cracks. Is this illegal? I don't think so since I own the game... But I shouldn't have to suffer because some publisher wants to make an extra buck, as if he would with this no-cd system. Piracy isn't causing the gaming industry to loose money, dumbasses with dumb coding and even dumber ideas on how to combat piracy is.

8.15.04
Computers themselves are a big pain in the ass. Lets face it, if something goes wrong, its never just one thing that you can do to fix it. There are literally hundreds of different things that could cause a certain problem to occur. Even worse is that some of these so-called fixes will actually cause their own separate problems! Internet problems are worse, as the rule still applies, except for now not everything is your fault or fixable by you. Now I know I need to be patient with people and try to be nice, but lets face it: no one reads anymore. Tons of problems I've been sent to people's houses to fix were a direct result of not reading something before/during/after the issue was created. Even worse is that no matter how user-friendly programs get, people don't seem to understand that you STILL HAVE TO READ! I could go on and on about all the problems I have with people, computers, and the mixture of the two, but the issue I want to stick with it reading (more of its lack there of). I've been over to people's houses and solved issues where the steps to fixing the problem were blandly right on the screen. Like someone who couldn't get their email working, when the screen said "Your email is not working because...." followed by "to fix it, do this..." I didn't know people have become so rich that they don't even have to look under the hood of their cars anymore before calling a tow truck. When my truck isn't functioning right, I check things to try to find the source of the problem: did something come undone, am I out of a fluid (mainly gas...), did something break? With computers, people don't do these checks. They instantly think the computer hates them like their mother-in-law, call someone, and then pay them to read the screen to them. In conclusion... read the damn screen people...

12.20.03
Seriously, wtf is with Hard Drive manufactures? I mean, is it really so hard to make a Master/Slave/Cable Select jumper setting that everyone can use? Apparently it is, has every Hard Drive manufactures jumper settings are different. Even more insult to injury, given I have the most experiance with them to know, Maxtor can't even do the same fucking settings twice. They change them so many times, they don't even try to change their books to reflect it. I know this from experiance as well, as the top of the hard drive and the book differed for my 80gig as to where the jumper should of went. Stupid people... I can understand why motherboards don't have the same screwholes (but they should, bastards as well!), but whats the excuse for you guys?! Along with the whole bashing hardware, lets bash around Intel. AMD's run faster than them and are cheaper. Intel, get with the program. People will figure it out soon! And for those times that they do run faster, 3 extra fps on Ut2k3 isn't going to make me feel any better for having to dish out an extra 300 bucks.

4.25.03
Now I'm not much for politics, and I care less for what actors or singers are doing in their spare time, however the recent events of Dixie Chicks is completely absurd. Incase you've just got the Internet in your cave, they were said to said they were ashamed that our President was from Texas. So what? If he was from Kentucky, I would be ashamed he was from here too. It's all good and dandy what he's doing with Iraq and what not, but he's really sucking domestically. He's pushing legislation that would allow Employers to be able to treat you even worse then they do now. One bill would allow Employers to either pay you for your overtime or give you time off. First off, they choose when you get that time off and how much of it you can use. Say you work 12 hours overtime. For the next few weeks, your boss could just make you have 30min extra for lunch. Would they pay you while you are at lunch? No. I don't know about you guys, but I don't ever want to work overtime for free. There are other things he's doing/has done that is just as horrible. Let me say this: When 2004 comes around, you can bet your ass that I won't vote to reelect him. Now back to the problem at hand. The band has been issued death threats, been harassed, and other horrible things that would send an average citizen to jail. Since when could you kill someone for what they say in our country? I know that you could in Iraq, but in our free country? Perhaps those of you who did those things should take a step back and realize what you are doing and see the big picture. It's not about who said what. It's about what is right and what is wrong. Natalie had the right to say what she did, but to issue things as death threats to her was completely wrong.

1.9.03
I must say I hate prep talk. DJ, Chris, and I moved seats to the original 3 Tech's computers in Webpage Design yesterday, because we wanted a change of scenery and a little nostalgia, I assume. Of course, we realized why the seats were empty after we sat there a few moments. The preps behind us are complete morons, if not completely obsessed with sex. That's all we heard. Perhaps we were filtering for sex, perhaps we were filtering the rest of the crap out, or perhaps they really do only talk about that. Oh well. It annoyed us. We won't be sitting over there tomorrow...

12.15.02
Another thing I hate is non-drowsy medication. Nine times out of ten, it makes me tired! That's misleading and mislabeling! Since having to take this non-drowsy stuff, I've feel asleep in my chair and can't remember anything!

11.13.02
If there is one thing I hate most, it's idiots. More specifically I hate anti-war protesters. They protest that we shouldn't go to war with Iraq because "We'd be killing innocent civilians." First off, if we don't get in there and kick some tail, when Saddam throws those weapons of mass destruction at us, it'll be our families dying. I'd rather it be some people I don't know in a country they were better off dead in then here. There is no riding the fence on that one. You either want them to die or you want yourself to die. Many people are saying we should just ignore it and somehow it just won't happen. Tell Ex-Prime Minister Chamberland that (though I think he's dead, so it'll be quite some task to do) and he would slap you in the back of the head, because that is the same thing he did in the late 30's, and it ended up causing World War II. The only thing people seem to learn from history is that no one learns anything from history.