Here's another Rubenerd Fun Fact for all you rabid Official Rubénerd Fun Fact fans. I know you're out there, I can hear you furrowing your brows and sighing.
R18+ games are designated as such for the pirate sound one makes when pronouncing it.
This is my own personal contribution to the debate started by NotGamers.net. Don't let the name fool you, despite claiming they lied, they're not gamers. Unless they are.
Thank you.
I've had my venerable MacBook Pro since 2006 and as such I've gone through several batteries. Up until yesterday this three month old unit could hold several hours of charge even with the screen at a reasonable brightness and WiFi enabled, but all of a sudden I can't get more than an hour and OS X is reporting the unit needs servicing.
Three questions: How could this have happened? Do Apple batteries have warranties you reckon? Is the Bird still The Word?
Smalluswallpaperusphobia noun
The fear of finding an epic picture you want to use it as your desktop background but can't because of its diminutive size.
I love the Links text web browser and have been using it on FreeBSD, Linux and OS X shells, terminals and whatnot for years but I've never once felt the need to customise any builds because it Just Works® so gosh darn well. Checking out the variants (-v) for the Links port in MacPorts on a whim I noticed something interesting:
links has the variants: universal: Build for multiple architectures gcs: Grilled cheese sandwich headers x11: Include X11 interface
Aside from the one obviously fabricated option (universal), the thing that caught my eye was X11. Being a curses application (I think) it didn’t strike me as intuitively obvious how an X11 interface would work, but it piqued my interest and it was a Saturday night so anything goes!
Entering links (then cursing, entering rehash and entering links again, one downside to tcsh!) I got the bog standard curses links interface I was used to, but consulting the man page there is a flag for graphical mode:
-g Run Links in graphics mode. If not given, Links will run in text mode. Running in graphics mode means that Links will probe all compiled-in graphics devices and run on the first found. If none found, links will not run in text mode. This option works only if --enable-graphics was given to ./configure. -no-g Run in text mode (overrides previous -g).
And it works! I just said that. Of course if you'd been to their home page or Wikipedia recently you'd know this, but as I said at the beginning I'd never felt the need to.
What's really amazing is Links 2.0 with it's new graphics stack can (depending on the system) even display graphics on terminals without X! The layout of pages is a bit iffy, but I've got to admit that's gosh darn impressive.
I'll be sticking to using links in it's capacity as a lightning fast, easy to use text based browser, but it's been a fun experience, especially with this half pint glass of Kilkenny poured from one of those cans with the widgets. As I say, I have wild Saturday nights.
---> Installing links @2.2_2+x11+gcs ---> Activating links @2.2_2+x11+gcs ---> Cleaning links ---> Removing build directory for links
Because links is a delicious pun, having one big cat on my Mac is enough, and elinks imposes its own colour scheme over my carefully chosen Terminal colours of which I’m rather partial.
Back in November last year I talked about the spiffy new Logitech Anywhere MX mouse-y substance. Now that I've had one for a month I feel I can do a proper review full of unnecessary language and backstory that nobody cares about.
In a nutshell, it's a brilliant piece of kit!
Firstly, the Anywhere MX is a pleasure to hold despite being relatively petite even when compared lengthways with Apple mouses. The top shell with the buttons are hard plastic and the sides are soft and rubbery which gives really good grip. This whole paragraph sounded so wrong I'm putting an end to it.
There are two customisable buttons on the left hand side and one under the zero friction scroll wheel which can be customised to perform different actions. Unfortunately you do need to install the Logitech Control Centre on the Mac to get customise said buttons, as of yet I haven't tried to see how it works under X on FreeBSD or Linux.
In an ode to the Mighty Mouse that preceded it, the power switch doubles as a protective cover for the laser (did I mention it's a Darkfield mouse that works even on clear glass?!) and as an added special touch there's a hidden compartment for the USB receiver. I'm always losing stuff, so this is a Good Thing®.
Speaking of zero friction scroll wheel, this was the primary reason Steve Gibson from the Security Now podcast/netcast/castcast allegedly stocked up on these mouses (I'm told the plural of computer mouse is mouses not mice, but it still looks weird), and I completely agree with his glowing praise. Can praise glow?
To be frank I was worried having a scroll wheel that didn't have the notched feel like a regular scroll wheel (and an accelerator throttle on certain diesel locomotives) would be clumsy and imprecise to use, but if anything its more precise. Instead of constantly scrolling until you reach what you're interested in, you give it a quick flick with your finger and stop it when you've gone far enough. It's hard to describe, but it really is wonderful.
Only problem is now every time I use someone else's mouse that doesn't have this kind of scroll wheel, I find it unusable, just as I find regular desktop keyboards unusable now that I have a buckling spring model. I desperately need a girlfriend to spend money on.
Because my humble old MacBook Pro is still my primary production machine, I made a decision several years ago to only use Bluetooth mouses to save one of my scarce USB ports from having an infrared receiver jammed into it. While a fantastic idea in theory, Bluetooth is just as frustrating a technology with mouses as it is for phones; half the time the mouse wouldn't be recognised, and if pairing was successful it'd only last for as long as the machine was turned on, and it'd take a long time.
While the Anywhere MX does come with a little receiver that uses one of my two USB ports, the mouse is consistently detected and even better it's virtually instantaneous! If Bluetooth (or Wireless USB had it come to pass) were designed well, this would be the user experience.
Not just stuff, but it comes with a neat little pouch with a zip for carrying it in and two double AA batteries! Since when do electronics that need AA batteries come with them!?
No, the Bird is the Word. Zing! Anyway the Logitech Anywhere MX is an excellent mouse and well worth every penny. Even though I live in countries that don't use pennies.
Hasn't yet been officially announced, but is already available from the Mozilla Firefox FTP servers.
Sometimes it's just so simple for people like Michael Atkinson to pass the legislation he wants. Other times though this dang thing called democracy gets in the way and ruins everything. What's the point of being able to pass laws if the people the law will effect want to debate? Sheesh!
South Australia Attorney General Michael Atkinson says the upcoming public consultation on videogames will likely show “overwhelming” support for an R18+ rating because the only people who care enough to get involved in the debate are gamers.
Clearly the fact this issue is even an… issue, suggests this debate is not just limited to the discourse of a bunch of computer gamers high on Mountain Dew and virtual AK-47s. But I digress from the primary point.
If you're not aware of what's going on in Australia, there's debate as to whether mature games should be legally purchased and sold instead of people downloading them off the internet for free or importing them from overseas in parcels with customs labels that read "steam ironed doilies". Currently it's illegal to buy them, so people simply get them from elsewhere and continue to live their lives as mature adults able to decide for themselves what's appropriate and what isn't.
Unfortunately — as has been pointed out to me in various online realms of discussion — politicians tend to not understand logic or sarcasm, both of which are the preferred tools of the computer nerd in getting points across, as I have just illustrated. In fact, it's as if they're immune to both of them, like a Mountain Dew-powered AK-47 wrapped in doilies. Bummer.
To be blunt, as an Aussie who spends most of his life overseas, this mature gaming category farce is just another embarrassment for Australia on the global stage along with the proposed Great Firewall of Australia and our woefully outdated telecommunications infrastructure that we were promised would be fixed in the last election and, surprise surprise, nothing has come of it. It would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic. Well okay it is a little funny, in a hollow sort of way.
And for the record, I do not play any mature age games, unless Commander Keen had some subtle erotic references of which I wasn't aware. The eyes on those aliens were awfully long.
For those of you who haven't yet donated funds to help the people in Haiti, Oxfam is accepting them.
Oxfam is responding to the biggest earthquake in 200 years to Haiti. We have 200 staff on the ground in Haiti and are delivering water and sanitation supplies now.
We have flown in 10 tons of water, health and shelter equipment, and we are appealing for donations now.
Oxfam has a staff of approximately 200 people in Haiti, including a group of highly-experienced emergency specialists. This emergency team is supporting rescue efforts, assessing the damage, and responding with public health, water, and sanitation services to prevent the spread of waterborne disease.
Oxfam is by far my favourite humanitarian organisation, they do amazing work and without any religious strings attached. I hope at some point in the future to do work for them.
Links shared from del.icio.us today:
Fornicate like a macho!
Enlarge your male dignity!
[redacted spam link]
Clearly you have a differing view on the subject of dignity than I do, spammer person. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm off to a coffee shop while wearing this shirt.
I didn't say I had any dignity, just that they're idea of it is different to my own. Grilled cheese sandwiches and whatnot.
