Social Warfare.

New computer!  New windows machine!

There, excuses list is done.

My cousin asked some family members if Google+ would rival Facebook.  Actually, he asked on Google+.  He might have asked on Facebook, but I haven't check it today....  So I gave my opinion--and I give it to you all.

Google has a serious nerd fanbase already--the trick is to appeal to everyone the way FB has. It's one thing to get everyone to use your search engine--it's a different thing entirely to expand that to getting nearly everyone who has an e-mail address to connect like they already do on another service. FB appealed to a smaller audience at the start, too--but it was a group of socially active, generelly tech-savy people. College students. Making the leap to widespread use was less challenged, too, because there was no serious competition.

G+ has a few things in it's court, though. Right out of the box, they have video integration--both in their Hangouts and in the integrated GChat stuff, which also has voice-only available. G+ also lets you segregate your privacy rules into smaller groups of contacts--something that is POSSIBLE for FB users but un-intuitive and a royal pain. Sparks seem to be an idea similar to StumbleUpon--where the user inputs interests and is shown websites that match up with those interests--though I still haven't played with it much. It's a great way to find stuff to share, though.

One big difficulty I see, though, is in the very way we share on G+ versus FB. There are loads of sites that allow you to easily share content to your feed on FB, as well as third party software that helps you post to multiple feeds (FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, what-have-you) at once. How will this work with the option to share to certain Circles only? Will those apps that allow us to share to FB also allow us to share to G+? Will they ask us what circles to share to? They had better, in order to make any difference in the way we use G+.

Related articles

• My Take On Google+ (consultkeith.com)
• Plus Side (stevebetz.wordpress.com)

Ubuntumancy.

A long while ago, I posted about messing around with a Windows installation of Ubuntu.  After the initial romance of the idea had worn off a bit, I didn't really boot to the linux OS very often--I had a handful of posts to write, some Twilight cultists to kill.  You know, important stuff.

Last week, my hard drive failed.

I had warning.  For almost two weeks ahead of time, my computer kept badgering me about how a hard drive failure was imminent, that I should backup my files.  Long before that, I'd been having real problems with my laptop's fan--it was making more and more noise, and the only thing I could do to bring it down to acceptable levels was to poke holes in the grating of the fan and then poke pieces of paper in to manipulate the fan.  I was getting used to the idea that the whole laptop was getting a bit worn down and old (it's about 2 and a half years old, now).  I had a bit of cash, so I sent off to Newegg.com for an external hard drive--something that I'll use even when I get a new computer.  I moved everything from my Win7 library folders--which, sadly, I've recently realized isn't ALL of my personal files (goodbye, unsynched EverNote content).

So, late last week, when the hard drive actually failed as it was promising, I was mostly prepared.  I started to shop around online and at Best Buy, looking at features and prices.  Then, on my (long) way to work one night, I realized something--I have the tools and the know-how to be able to reanimate the remains of my laptop!

Hence the title of today's post.  My fiancé had loaned me her WinXP laptop for the week.  I used it to download and create a bootable copy of Ubuntu 11.04 (code-named "Natty Narwhal") on a flash drive I had sitting around.  With that, I set up another copy of "Natty" on my external hard drive using my "dead" laptop--and presto!  My noisy little computer serves me even in death.

Image via Wikipedia

One of these should say "Slay enemies clumsily.

The shopping will continue--Ubuntumancy allows me to still use the other hardware of my laptop over my fiancé's, but it's definitely not optimal, it's just a better backup plan.  Playing WoW is problematic, and my guild needs their Highlord.  Also, All-in-One computers are really, really cool with the multi-touch screens...but I'm mostly still looking at laptops, for mobility.  I just hope that when I find a replacement, this old noisy thing stays obediently in the corner muttering "...ceepeeyoos...ceepeeyoos..." to itself, and doesn't get jealous, or rise up against me or anything.

Shiny.

A have new toys.  Free, shiny, and gadgety.

 

A buddy of mine from work has been running a hacked copy of the Mac OSX "Snow Leopard" for awhile, now.  I recently found some older versions of Windows backed up on my computer, and deleted them, freeing over half of my hard drive space, so I had plenty of room and wanted to do something cool.  The aforementioned buddy of mine got a copy I heard could work on my hardware, and I was going to start playing.

 

But Windows wouldn't let me free up enough partition space!  I could free up about 1.24 Gigs.  I can't put anything cool on 1.24 Gigs!  And I didn't want to format and start from scratch.  I wanted to dual boot Win7 with something fun, but Win7 wasn't going to let me do all the fiddly bits required.

 

I started browsing around.  I went to the Ubuntu website, and thought, "Well, I can download a copy of this, and have it ready in case I find a way around the partition problem."  And then the download halted partway in.  So I went back to the website--and noticed something cool I missed before.  There is a Windows installer for Ubuntu.

 

I can install it from Win7, setup a dual boot, and never have to muck around with actual partitions.

 

So I did.  I've been messing with Ubuntu for the last couple of days, grabbing software, a blogging plugin for Chrome.  The Google junky I am, I needed to grab Chrome, too, after I got Chromium.  I got World of Warcraft to work--badly--in Ubuntu.  I got a Vent client.  And there's a lot of cool Linux software over here on the flip side--stuff that does cool things, things that are a little...shady, let's say.  Software that isn't very trustworthy, if it's on the Win side.  And it comes preloaded, here.

 

Anyway, it's been a long time since I posted.  I wanted to give my excuse.  I'm playing.

 

~j

Making Things Look Better.

So, I got restless sitting here, trying to think of what to write about. I have the day off, decided to hit the library and work a little on my web-presence...but I was coming up with nothing I wanted to say. So, I decided to play with the new layout templates from Blogger, and make this a little more pleasant to the eye.

I had a handful of websites before, starting with good old Geocities. I had personal sites, and I even webmastered for the church choir I ended up directing. Back then, I actually bothered messing around with HTML. I'm not a web-design pro, but I like to think I have a fairly clever, if untrained, eye. So, if you tune in at all, please comment and tell me what you think. Suggestions are welcome, but remember--I really like black, so I'm probably not going to give on that.

I also think I'm a fair hand at designing superhero costumes. I realize that I seem to think I'm decently good at all these things that have tools to help people design a good look, but...well, when my Champions Online account becomes active again, I'll put up screenshots or something.

Now to go find my old MySpace page and make it not suck before anyone reads this and uses it as evidence against me.

~j

Ask Here.

Internet is out at home, so I'm at the library today. Hence the clever title.

We usually forget it, but the gf and I are extremely lucky to have such a badass library two block away. It got renovated a couple of years ago, now. I never stepped foot near it before we both got cards here, almost a year ago. It's actually nothing like a dungeon, which is I suppose for the good, though a bit disappointing. Wireless 'net access all over the place, usually plenty of empty tables and desks.

And Wheel of Time books.

I haven't regularly visited a library since high school--which is seriously weird, given how much I like to read. Since getting started on the Wheel of Time series, though, I've been by at least once a month to get the next volume. I'm not reading as much as back in high school--I usually only break open a book right before bed or if I'm taking the bus for some reason--but I wonder if there are any other ways to get good use of this place. Like research for my Nobilis game(s). Or a quiet place where I'm unlikely less likely to bust out some World of Warcraft.

Yeah, I can even play that here. Good thing my server is down, or you might not have heard from me.

~j

Lunchtime.

Hallos!

I'm on my break at the restaurant, and I got the urge to put down a few words about a few disparate topics.

The Champaign County Young Republicans came in for lunch today. They asked for a table for ten. Forty minutes later, there's still only 4 people here, and just one who could accurately be described as "young." Now you know everything you need to know about Republican voting in Illinois.

Bank lobbies open at 9 in the morning, and close at 5. I'd hate to have to go to one during the normal lunch hour. Fortunately, I'm usually here during that time.

It struck me how much I like 4th edition D&D as opposed to alternative systems. I'd rather not try to adopt it for Nobilis, but re-skin the powers and allow for more flexible selection, and it'd be a great super-hero game. With emphasis on the limited selection of abilities, it'd be a good system for a horror game. And for D&D...well, at the climax of 3rd edition, characters had spells (powers), skill tricks (skill powers), feats (some of which were basically powers), multiple attacks (powerspowers), wildshapes (pow-rawrs), invocations (see spells)...this list goes on. Put those together with discrete rolls to help players do what they thought classes should be doing anyway--certain classes were thought of as "tanks," even without any real mechanics to help them fulfill those expectations, while there weren't many flavors of "healer" around. Third edition unified the d20 die roll for the conflict resolution of the game, but the miscellany sort of...exploded. Forth edition picked up there, unifying the miscellany, though many classes still have class abilities that don't quite fit the power mold. With a broad selection of classes, character creation is really, really simple once you know what you want to do--and there are basic, useful rules for editing your character if you change your mind.

I've been trying to ramp up my general "web presence" recently. Besides this, and Matt Underwood's blog about being Death, I've been trying to be more active on Facebook, and on Google's Buzz service. I've also added a Twitter account (linked to Buzz), a Picasa account (linked to Buzz), and have dusted off my YouTube account (linked to Buzz). I'm using StumbleUpon to find neat things to share. It sounds like work, but I don't know that I've ever enjoyed relating this much before. It must be the blinking lights.

Time to get back to work. Until next time!

~j

Whiskers on Kittens.

School is back. We'll see -how- back it is for me personally eventually. Word of advice, do not put off tomorrow what will take 6-8 weeks due to bureaucracy.

I like my classes. I suppose that shouldn't surprise people who know me--I'm (probably) taking an intro class to C programming, and an intro class for Linux OSs. Programming will be a pain, sometimes, I'm sure, but I'm glad enough to have something actually prodding me to learn--messing around with MUD code doesn't give one the feeling of urgency that grades do. And it's been a -long- time since I programming in BASIC with my dad's Commodore 64 (don't mention the Vic20--that didn't end well). Linux is another thing I rather lazily tinkered with in the past. Problem was, Windows was/is easier. As versions keep coming out for Windows, I need to know less and less. Linux has this steep learning curve--note, the class is an -Intro- to Linux! And worth 3 hours! I suspect that the class on Windows Vista might be worth extra credit in someone else's class, but that's it. But, back to the point--it's neat, I looked into it before, but now I really have a reason to dig into those commands.

Fun thing about taking classes part-time: it's possible to have just one instructor. It's consolidated my need to explain why I couldn't actually register for those classes until today. Since the instructor is used to teaching online courses, and most of the classwork is online, I'll have to do some catching up...as soon as the registration flips some mysterious switches that will allow me to access the classes...

But no matter the stupid fiddly-stuff with Financial Aid and registration, it feels good to be on campus, to know that I'm a student (maybe), and yes, even to learn stuff.

Better Late.

My rule is, if I'm still awake from the previous day, it still counts.

Yet again, my family educates me about neato stuff. I'd talked to my dad on the phone last week, and he'd mentioned that most of the family had Skype, so we could all conference call, and it was cool--particularly since the folks just moved to Florida, and my sister and her guy were traveling around Europe. So I downloaded the installer, and promptly forgot about it.

Today, messing around on Facebook (another thing my sibs got me on), I get a message from my sister's boyfriend's account, telling me their Skype login. I took the hint, and actually ran the installer and set up my own account.

20 minutes later, I was having a conversation with my dad in Florida and my sister in Germany. I was doing this from my laptop, at work.

I freaking love technology.

I didn't get the webcam set up--it was working, but this being my first "call," I didn't want to make it too complicated. But now I want to get it going. How fun would that be! I can already imagine Skype RPG sessions, calling my girlfriend up to say goodnight, saying hi to my niece....

Being more social sure is more appealing to me when I get to use a computer to do it.

~j

Digital Memories.

When I was a lot younger, I wanted a camera. My dad had a series of the things, big, clunky black cameras with straps, and he took pictures (and home videos) all the time. I got a little 35mm camera of my own one Christmas.

I think I used 3 rolls of film, total.

Now, I was sorting through some randoms photos and images on my computer, and I noticed the startling changes in my niece from since she was 3--she's 6, now. And I thought, "I want to have a picture of her for every year, just to remember what she was like when she didn't like me and she was X years old." And I was looking at pictures of my girlfriend when we started dating. And I thought, "I want to have a picture of her--and of us--every so often, to show how well we age." And...lots of things.

Until now, I just wasn't excited about pictures. But looking back, I realize how many friends I've seen move away, how many relatives I almost never see, and how many people I don't like have grown twisted and horrid looking. I'm getting older...ish...and now I see how great pictures are. I wish I had kept taking pictures when I was a kid, no matter how much a pain in the ass actual film is. So, I'm going to find a cheap little digital camera, and I'm going to start before I lose anything else that should rightfully be immortalized on my hard drive.

Say cheese!

~j

Night and Wordy.

Probably not too wordy.

I've got Pandora set with a few channels, and on one of them, Weird Al's White and Nerdy has played a lot. It got me to thinking--yes, Weird Al caused quasi-serious thought--about nerd culture and how so many people like the same sorts of things.

Chances are, if you could think of yourself as a nerd, you're at least comfortable with computers. You probably have some specialized knowledge, like programming. You probably have some sort of web-page dedicated to yourself or your projects. You may have at least tried D&D or another table-top RPG before, not to mention MMORPGs over the internet. You know who Weird Al is. You probably have a favorite comic book, even if you call it a graphic novel. Heck, you probably have a favorite comic book and a favorite graphic novel. You've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and probably more Monty Python. You've at some point thought about and compared Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, and Battlestar Galactica.

Interesting trends. I suppose other sorts of people have their lists of interests, it just doesn't seem as wide and as specific as the interests of nerds. It may make us easy to identify, yes, but that's a plus, too--we can easily sense the presence of one of our own.

Nerd-dar. Yeah.

~j