Action Games Improves Eyesight

A study by the University of Rochester shows that playing action games on the computer improves the eyesight.... Better start gaming again then :-)

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Dutch ISP's Block Kiddy-porn Websites

Some large ISP's here in the Netherlands will block about 3000 websites, which are known to host child pornography. Several other ISP's are thinking to follow. Even my own ISP XS4ALL is looking into it. There's nothing wrong with blocking access to these websites, because in my opinion you may shoot them onsite, and hang them by their balls who trades or deals child pornography. On the Internet, or in real life. The question is; Is blocking content it a good idea? I have my doubts;

• Who decides if a website is really hosting child pornography. Most of these websites deal with it behind close doors. You have to get in to get access. Which organization is maintaining the list, AND who verifies the list. It won't be the first time that websites get banned for all the wrong reasons.
• What's next to be blocked? Websites about abortion? gay people? satanism? Let's face it, more and more stuff is being controlled, and/or censored around the world. What will become of our freedom of speech, and privacy. Where will it end?
• Die-hard sicko's know about the dangers of searching for their 'fix'. These 'people' won't use the normal routes to get their stuff. Anonymous proxies (like the TOR network), and alternative networks like Freenet will become more popular.

B.t.w. If you're a customer of one of the ISP's, you have the opportunity to object/complain against blocking these websites. Don't think that that will happen a lot though :-) .

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Thoughts On Music

Switching to DRM-free music....I couldn't agree more.

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New Dell 24inch TFT

Today I ordered a new Dell 24inch TFT monitor for my main PC. I currently have a 19inch Sony (1280*1024), and the new 24inch widescreen monitor has a lot more desktop space, which comes in handy when you work with lots of open programs. The main reason for buying was that Dell had a special discount till the end of Februari 2007 (nearly 300 euro's off). The secondary reason was that I wanted to treat myself for my upcoming birthday :-). This evening I was surfing the net, and ended up on the US website of Dell, and saw the prices there..... just take a look at the pictures, and explain the difference to me (I know that you have to add sales tax in the US, but that's not what I'm pointing at).

US Dell Website

Dutch Dell website

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Mac Book Pro Wireless Issues

I have several wireless devices in the house. Some of them are not capable of connecting to 802.11g (54Mbps) networks. For these devices I have an older Linksys Accespoint (802.11b / 11Mbps). For my other wireless devices (Mac Book Pro, and a Windows Laptop from work), I have a Speedtouch DSL router with builtin 802.11b/g wireless. Somehow my Mac has some problems connecting to the faster networks. But the problem is that this used to work correctly in the past. The last couple of weeks everything works fine in the beginning, but after a while the connection gets terminated, eventhough the wireless indicator displays full reception. Switching the 54Mbps network to the Linksys access point (which also support this) is not helping. The only thing that keeps working is connecting to the slower 11Mbps network. I also tried modifing security settings (changed from WPA-PSK to WEP), but that also gives problems. I even tried different wireless settings (changing channels,SSID's, etc.) I found some possible solutions, like removing the com.apple.airport.preferences.plist file in /library/preferences/SystemConfiguration/. This removes all settings concerning the wireless networks for the airport. The result is that you need to reconfigure all wireless networks. After the reboot and reconfiguring the wireless networks, it seems to work a short while. Another thing, which is very peculiar, is that it seems to happen mostly late at night (like 10 minutes ago). This could be a coincidence, because that's when I use my MBP the most. It's is more than annoying. It's driving me crazy. I have even thought about buying a genuine Airport Extreme, but only if I'm sure that it solves my problem...... AAAAAAAAAAAARGH

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Terrible Voice Recognition

A while ago, I thougt that I had contracted a virus on my Windows laptop from work. Unfortunately, there's no chance that I can migrate to a Mac there :-(. The strangest things were happening on my laptop. Suddenly there appeared strange pieces of text in Word documents, and in e-mails I was writing. My first reaction was that someone was typing along with me. After scanning my laptop with three virus scanners and using several anti-spyware software suites, it turned out that there was nothing wrong. After that the uninvited pieces of text were gone..... Until yesterday. But this time I had a clue what had happened. I use the keyboard a lot for copy, and pasting (CTRL-C and CTRL-V). It seems that WINDOWS-V starts voice recognition. I must have pressed the wrong key combination. This key combo starts with a dialog box explaining that the mic needs tuning. I canceled that dialog, but somehow the voice recognition is still being enabled. There's no visual indication that it's running. It seems that Windows doesn't recognize the Dutch language, and therefor it starts guessing what you say and displays that in the focussed window. Lame ass Windows functionality if you ask me.......

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Crashing WM5 phones

LOL... I already reported that Windows Mobile 5 is buggy as hell. Even Trend Micro thought so. Well, nothing new if you ask me.

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Upgrade to Vista, Without Upgrading

The upgrade versions of Windows Vista are less expensive than the normal retails versions. If you want to install the upgrade it should be done from within (a legitimate copy of) Windows XP. There is however a workaround which doesn't need the presence of a Windows XP installment, or even the original Windows XP CD.

1. Boot with the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD.
2. Click "Install Now."
3. Do not enter a Product Key When prompted.
4. When prompted, select the Vista product edition that you do have.
5. Install Vista normally.
6. Once the install is complete, restart the DVD-based Setup from within Windows Vista. Perform an in-place upgrade.
7. Enter your Product Key when prompted.

That saves some money on the purchase of Windows Vista. It also saves you from installing a 'lesser' OS (which I personally doubt) first with all of its own problems etc.. I personally think that upgrading is always bad. Better start a new, and fresh installment of any OS (even Mac OSX).

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Vista OEM versus Retail

Arstechnica has an article explaining OEM (mainly the difference between the Microsoft Vista OEM and retail versions) Buying OEM versions of Windows Vista: the facts It seems that anyone who can install software is eligible to purchase a Vista OEM copy, without extra hardware.

Can I buy OEM? Yes, you can. Microsoft licenses OEM software to "system builders," which the license defines as "an original equipment manufacturer, or an assembler, reassembler, or installer of software on computer systems" (emphasis added). You can install software on computers, right? When asked, Microsoft says that OEM software is not intended to be installed by end users. Off the record, Microsoft spokespeople have told me that the big concern in Redmond is for Joe Newbie. They don't want inexperienced users buying OEM software, but the fact of the matter is that anyone can buy OEM versions of Windows. Truth be told, Microsoft is not opposed to the practice. Rather, the company says that people who purchase OEM software will simply be expected to abide by the terms of the licensing agreements.

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Microsoft Windows Vista Launched

Today is the official launch of the newest operating system (OS) from Microsoft, and it's called Windows Vista. All over the world shops opened early (even at midnight) to give the public the change to buy this new OS. Tons of people (at least that's what they had hoped) would be gathering in front of these shops to be the first..... Well, that didn't work out that well. It seems that only a hand full of nerds were standing in the cold to be the first. There were no lines, or riots as we have seen with the launch of the PlayStation 3 or the Nintendo Wii. Here in Holland, there was a computer shop which opened at midnight and served about 90 customers.... 90 on a total of over 14 million people. I guess pricing, and lack of available drivers is to blame. It's by far the most expensive workstation/desktop OS released by Microsoft (the most expensive retail version is over 500 euros). Most of the people will be getting Vista when buying a new PC, and the rest will probably be using a pirated version of the OS (or switch to Mac or Linux).

No Vista for me anyway.

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