Programming with a button http://xyious.com/blog/main.php en-US http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 new blog ! http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2010/new-blog Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:49:54 +0000 Alexander Knopf general 87@http://xyious.com/blog/ <p>Just letting everyone (yes my two readers) know that i have a <a href="http://xyious.blogspot.com/">new blog.</a><br /> that means i won't be updating this one anymore, i will write future blog posts on that other one, until i change my mind again anyway.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2010/new-blog">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p>This work is licensed under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons License.</a></div> Just letting everyone (yes my two readers) know that i have a new blog.
that means i won't be updating this one anymore, i will write future blog posts on that other one, until i change my mind again anyway.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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]]> http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2010/new-blog#comments http://xyious.com/blog/main.php?tempskin=_rss2&disp=comments&p=87 some thoughts on youtube.... http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/some-thoughts-on-youtube Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:37:28 +0000 Alexander Knopf general 78@http://xyious.com/blog/ <p>.... and the douchebaggery of the music industry as a whole.</p> <p>As 100% of my readers know (yes, that's you honey) I have a relationship with someone in america, me of course living in germany. Now if i actually had friends i'd probably change that first sentence since obviously for the matter of this post it's kinda the same thing.<br /> So when she hears a song she likes and she wants me to hear it, she sends me a link for a youtube video. And this is where the douchebaggery comes in. The music industry (even knowing that youtube actually boosts their sales instead of decreasing them) has youtube take down a lot of their music videos. The ones that are up there are not available for people in every country.... why the fuck not ? So whenever my fiance sends me a link for a song on youtube.... it doesn't work because the video is not available in my country due to copyright restrictions. (The same goes for pretty much ANY other site where you can watch music videos (mtv, myspace, etc.))</p> <p>My question to the music industry thus is this: Why do you not care about making money ? Do your artists know that you're preventing 90% of the potential consumers from seeing the videos they pay for ? Do you want me to just illegally download an mp3 of the song so i can get a taste before i buy (oh wait, then i wouldn't have to buy it anymore....) ?<br /> idiots.</p> <p>edit: The solution here is obviously to not buy any music that doesn't have a video on youtube, which is what i'm gonna do and recommend to everyone.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/some-thoughts-on-youtube">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p>This work is licensed under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons License.</a></div> .... and the douchebaggery of the music industry as a whole.

As 100% of my readers know (yes, that's you honey) I have a relationship with someone in america, me of course living in germany. Now if i actually had friends i'd probably change that first sentence since obviously for the matter of this post it's kinda the same thing.
So when she hears a song she likes and she wants me to hear it, she sends me a link for a youtube video. And this is where the douchebaggery comes in. The music industry (even knowing that youtube actually boosts their sales instead of decreasing them) has youtube take down a lot of their music videos. The ones that are up there are not available for people in every country.... why the fuck not ? So whenever my fiance sends me a link for a song on youtube.... it doesn't work because the video is not available in my country due to copyright restrictions. (The same goes for pretty much ANY other site where you can watch music videos (mtv, myspace, etc.))

My question to the music industry thus is this: Why do you not care about making money ? Do your artists know that you're preventing 90% of the potential consumers from seeing the videos they pay for ? Do you want me to just illegally download an mp3 of the song so i can get a taste before i buy (oh wait, then i wouldn't have to buy it anymore....) ?
idiots.

edit: The solution here is obviously to not buy any music that doesn't have a video on youtube, which is what i'm gonna do and recommend to everyone.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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]]> http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/some-thoughts-on-youtube#comments http://xyious.com/blog/main.php?tempskin=_rss2&disp=comments&p=78 Thoughts on Medievia http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/thoughts-on-medievia Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:58:01 +0000 Alexander Knopf general 75@http://xyious.com/blog/ <p>After playing Medievia for a long time (started in 97, gradually stopped playing after like 2002 or so) and after playing World of Warcraft for a very short time, i have to say that .... Medievia actually is a pretty horrible deal.<br /> You have to pay $12.99 or so for World of Warcraft every month, for a total of $156-180 a year. Now for that you get a virtually unlimited number of characters on a vartually unlimited number of servers (50 characters total, 10 per server, more servers than you can make characters). For medievia, to actually be able to compete you have to spend at least $100 in certs every year. There is a lot more donation EQ that you could be getting, and initially you have to get at least another $100 in talismans, FOR EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER YOU PLAY. Now obviously medievia is free to play and you can tell.... you kinda do get what you pay for. On medievia you have to be prepared for the server just randomly crashing (or at least the game). On wow you have scheduled server maintenance and outside of that time, the server is just never down. Obviously it would be nice if they could have different times for the maintenance for different servers so that you could just play on a different server during that time, but still it's a way better deal than medievia.<br /> What am i going on about ? Basically a reasonable example to demonstrate the need to check prices on free stuff. The free stuff could end up being far more expensive ! Also I am saying if it's not really free, don't advertise it as being free. You just can not compete with other players on medievia without spending money on it. Also, ask yourself what you're getting for your money. If you're playing more than one character on Medievia, you're spending more money than playing 50 characters on World of Warcraft. Is Medievia the better game ? For me the answer is obvious.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/thoughts-on-medievia">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p>This work is licensed under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons License.</a></div> After playing Medievia for a long time (started in 97, gradually stopped playing after like 2002 or so) and after playing World of Warcraft for a very short time, i have to say that .... Medievia actually is a pretty horrible deal.
You have to pay $12.99 or so for World of Warcraft every month, for a total of $156-180 a year. Now for that you get a virtually unlimited number of characters on a vartually unlimited number of servers (50 characters total, 10 per server, more servers than you can make characters). For medievia, to actually be able to compete you have to spend at least $100 in certs every year. There is a lot more donation EQ that you could be getting, and initially you have to get at least another $100 in talismans, FOR EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER YOU PLAY. Now obviously medievia is free to play and you can tell.... you kinda do get what you pay for. On medievia you have to be prepared for the server just randomly crashing (or at least the game). On wow you have scheduled server maintenance and outside of that time, the server is just never down. Obviously it would be nice if they could have different times for the maintenance for different servers so that you could just play on a different server during that time, but still it's a way better deal than medievia.
What am i going on about ? Basically a reasonable example to demonstrate the need to check prices on free stuff. The free stuff could end up being far more expensive ! Also I am saying if it's not really free, don't advertise it as being free. You just can not compete with other players on medievia without spending money on it. Also, ask yourself what you're getting for your money. If you're playing more than one character on Medievia, you're spending more money than playing 50 characters on World of Warcraft. Is Medievia the better game ? For me the answer is obvious.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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]]> http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/thoughts-on-medievia#comments http://xyious.com/blog/main.php?tempskin=_rss2&disp=comments&p=75 on cnn and twitter http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/on-cnn-and-twitter Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:20:03 +0000 Alexander Knopf general 49@http://xyious.com/blog/ <p>so i read that obama got the nobel prize. don't<br /> really care all that much about the discussion about it or anything.</p> <p>but it seems like the news is now reporting mostly about twitter. seems strange to me.<br /> quote from the article on cnn.com:<br /> One person expressed "sheer disbelief" that Obama had won, in a Twitter posting, saying the prize should have gone to a person such as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai because "he stood up to a<br /> murderous dictator." Another person said she "seriously cannot believe they gave Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. Ridiculous."</p> <p>WHAT THE FUCK DO I CARE WHAT "ONE PERSON" EXPRESSED IN A TWITTER POST ?</p> <p>is that news ? great work there cnn (and just about all the other news channels <img src="http://xyious.com/blog/rsc/smilies/icon_razz.gif" alt="&#58;&#112;" class="middle" />)</p> <p>you should be reporting news on twitter and not reporting on twitter in the news.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/on-cnn-and-twitter">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p>This work is licensed under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons License.</a></div> so i read that obama got the nobel prize. don't
really care all that much about the discussion about it or anything.

but it seems like the news is now reporting mostly about twitter. seems strange to me.
quote from the article on cnn.com:
One person expressed "sheer disbelief" that Obama had won, in a Twitter posting, saying the prize should have gone to a person such as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai because "he stood up to a
murderous dictator." Another person said she "seriously cannot believe they gave Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. Ridiculous."

WHAT THE FUCK DO I CARE WHAT "ONE PERSON" EXPRESSED IN A TWITTER POST ?

is that news ? great work there cnn (and just about all the other news channels :p)

you should be reporting news on twitter and not reporting on twitter in the news.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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]]> http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/on-cnn-and-twitter#comments http://xyious.com/blog/main.php?tempskin=_rss2&disp=comments&p=49 windows vs linux and virtualbox vs VMWare http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/windows-vs-linux-and-virtualbox-vs-vmwar Mon, 11 May 2009 04:04:45 +0000 Alexander Knopf general 17@http://xyious.com/blog/ <p>Windows 7 isn't exactly out yet, but I have tested the Release Candidate (briefly). Along with it I have tried out Virtualbox and VMWare Player.<br /> I have to say that I am definitely not happy with Virtualbox. Installing windows 7 was pretty painless, anything else wasn't. I am using the new Ubuntu as the host operating system and I have a very unconventional <a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2008/keyboard-layouts">keyboard layout</a>. However, even after switching that to the standard US layout on the host I wasn't even able to ender the Product Key. It just wouldn't accept any number for some reason, neither on the keyboard nor number pad. Luckily you can just click next and avoid the issue.<br /> Then trying to install firefox failed, the sound never worked, and along with the keyboard problems that was enough for me.<br /> VMWare Player did a much better job. No keyboard issues at all (other than having to use the standard US layout (or anything windows has to offer) for the installation). firefox install was quick and painless, The sound never worked either though.<br /> From the little I have done with the new Windows I have to say that it looks much better than the XP I usually work with. It seems to be more stable and more responsive. If it was free I would definitely switch to Windows 7. Alas no such luck and so I won't.<br /> as a side note, easyvmx.com allows you to create VMs that you can use with VMWare Player. It's not quite as comfortable as VMWare Workstation, but the difference definitely does not justify the huge price difference (for home use) in my opinion.</p> <p>The new Ubuntu on the other hand is completely free. And it's stable. And it's responsive.<br /> I have a 64 bit system, and I'm quite happy with the 64 bit version of Ubuntu. It definitely looks good, it definitely is great for work.<br /> Even better because there is no flash plugin that actually works for a 64 bit Linux yet. Years after the first 64 bit desktop processors come out Adobe has finally released an alpha version. However, it doesn't work with everything yet, as is obviously to be expected with an alpha version.<br /> Java on the other hand.... Sun actually managed to make a java plugin that works.... only slightly over 15 years after they developed their first 64 bit CPU. It's a bit late but it does work, so i will give them credit for that.</p><div class="item_footer"><p><small><a href="http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/windows-vs-linux-and-virtualbox-vs-vmwar">Original post</a> blogged on <a href="http://b2evolution.net/">b2evolution</a>.</small></p>This work is licensed under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons License.</a></div> Windows 7 isn't exactly out yet, but I have tested the Release Candidate (briefly). Along with it I have tried out Virtualbox and VMWare Player.
I have to say that I am definitely not happy with Virtualbox. Installing windows 7 was pretty painless, anything else wasn't. I am using the new Ubuntu as the host operating system and I have a very unconventional keyboard layout. However, even after switching that to the standard US layout on the host I wasn't even able to ender the Product Key. It just wouldn't accept any number for some reason, neither on the keyboard nor number pad. Luckily you can just click next and avoid the issue.
Then trying to install firefox failed, the sound never worked, and along with the keyboard problems that was enough for me.
VMWare Player did a much better job. No keyboard issues at all (other than having to use the standard US layout (or anything windows has to offer) for the installation). firefox install was quick and painless, The sound never worked either though.
From the little I have done with the new Windows I have to say that it looks much better than the XP I usually work with. It seems to be more stable and more responsive. If it was free I would definitely switch to Windows 7. Alas no such luck and so I won't.
as a side note, easyvmx.com allows you to create VMs that you can use with VMWare Player. It's not quite as comfortable as VMWare Workstation, but the difference definitely does not justify the huge price difference (for home use) in my opinion.

The new Ubuntu on the other hand is completely free. And it's stable. And it's responsive.
I have a 64 bit system, and I'm quite happy with the 64 bit version of Ubuntu. It definitely looks good, it definitely is great for work.
Even better because there is no flash plugin that actually works for a 64 bit Linux yet. Years after the first 64 bit desktop processors come out Adobe has finally released an alpha version. However, it doesn't work with everything yet, as is obviously to be expected with an alpha version.
Java on the other hand.... Sun actually managed to make a java plugin that works.... only slightly over 15 years after they developed their first 64 bit CPU. It's a bit late but it does work, so i will give them credit for that.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

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]]> http://xyious.com/blog/main.php/2009/windows-vs-linux-and-virtualbox-vs-vmwar#comments http://xyious.com/blog/main.php?tempskin=_rss2&disp=comments&p=17