barely fatal

I finally had the chance to have closer look at Windows Vista, and I really don’t see why virtually everyone keeps on ripping it apart. It is stable, you can turn off the annoyances and any good firewall keeps it from calling home. It needs some getting used to, but that’s normal I’d say. So far I had no compatibility problems (that might change when I get it on my own computer and play games on it, though). It’s pretty and does the job, so what. I also like the new style of the Office 2007 applications, I think they let you handle stuff more effectively. They are not perfect, neither is Vista, but neither is any other OS or word processor. I for one can’t see why everyone’s raving about the supremacy of Mac OSX. It sure is nice, but but far from revolutionary or the answer to all things. In fact, I prefer Windows – simply because I got so used to it.

And the other Apple products like the iPod or iPhone – sure, nice gadgets, intelligent and beautiful designs … but do they really deserve the God status they get from the guys at CNET or Revision3 or everywhere else? I don’t praise Microsoft all day just because I like their OS, or deny others the right of existence, on the contrary. We NEED to point out shortcomings of the technologies we use, then we need to thank the successors or alternatives for doing it better. Hyping one company is unreasonable, especially when you consider how Apple does the exact same things we hate about Microsoft and Google: DRM, restrictive contracts and licenses, data gathering…

It’s ludicrous, short-sighted and biased. Once you start blindly adoring (or hating!) a product, a company, you lose perspective. I hate fanbois. Of course I am a fanboi, too, sometimes. But I keep it on the funny side, maybe mock others or try to convince them to try out something new. I don’t try to evangelize, I’m not a missionary. Variety is the key word here.

I might switch to Vista eventually because of the DirectX 10 support. It is not an evolutionary step I have to take, since XP offers all that I need. ‘cept DirectX 10, so.

Anne – yeah, her again – finally introduced me to Heroes, which is really a brilliant show. Thanks for that!

The title might be a little bit misleading, but it’s all about the loss of personal rights and the limitation of freedom.

Last week two new bills were “passed” in Germany. The first, nick-named “hacker paragraph”, makes it illegal to buy, sell and use software tools that can be used to gather restricted information or to hack systems. That’s doesn’t sound like a big deal, of course hacking has always been illegal. The problem is, this law also criminalizes security testers who require to use such tools to do their jobs. Of course they say that only those tools are meant which are typically used to illegally break into systems, but that won’t stop greedy lawyers from suing users. Especially people from the underground ‘hacker’ scene who often discover – and publicize – security holes and weak spots now have a major problem on their hands, they rely on “hacking tools”.

The other big thing is the second renewal of the copyright law. It tightens the grip around the consumer’s throats; personal “private” copies, usually a fair right in Germany – are hardly possible to make in any legal way. The so-called “bagatelle article” which tolerated small, non-commercial and private copyright infringements or try-outs is no longer valid, criminalizing nearly every school kid who ever copied an MP3. But they are not done yet, the third installment of the bill will probably make it illegal to use intelligent software to record online radio and further restrict the rights to make private copies.

Say, in your country, is it legal for the government to hack into your PC over the internet without you knowing and to scan your hard drives when you are suspected to be terrorists or otherwise “bad guys”? Because, the German minister of the interior is fighting with a vengeance for just that right…after the federal intelligence agency used to do that for two years. They were forced to stop when it became public and was declared illegal by the highest court.

So, it took me nearly two weeks to patch my xda Orbit the way I want it. While you would usually leave your normal mobile phone the way it was designed to be, maybe change the colors a bit or the background image, you can seriously alter the appearance of a Windows Mobile device. Furthermore, since it’s a small computer you can install programs and tweak the registry almost any way you want. The perfect geek tool.

I would love to show you what my little digital friend looks like but I don’t have a camera on my hands I’ll post some photos later. Anyway, facts first. The xda Orbit comes with a 200 Mhz ARM processor, Windows Mobile 5, a 2 mega-pixel camera, Bluetooth, wi-fi, headset and GPS (Tomtom 6 Navigation software). I don’t really need the Tomtom, but I don’t mind it anyways. The Orbit doesn’t have a keyboard, so you have to use the 320×240 touchscreen, the scroll wheel, trackball and soft buttons. Well, the trackball is was too small and sensitive to be useful, but the touchscreen works like a charm. It’s a little slow out-of-the-box, but as said, you can tweak the registry and I can run multiple programs simultaneously with no problems. Size-wise, it’s hardly bigger than other modern phones with bigger screens, I was positively surprised. It weights about the same as my old Nokia. Can’t say anything about the battery lifetime yet.

It comes with a 512MB microSD card. I replaced that one with a 2GB card, the Tomtom maps (Germany and Benelux) take up about 400 MB already. Windows Mobile 5 lacks a few features that improve usability, like a task manager or an application launcher. With this kind of device you can really combine a few others in one – with the right software installed. There are some suites you can buy, but since WM5 has been around for quite a while now, you can find a lot of freeware sites, too.

 

Here’s a list of apps that I find very useful. They are all free, I won’t link since the websites change often anyways. Just google, you’ll find plenty.

• cLaunch – great tabbed app launcher for the today screen
• UI Tweaker – lets you adjust system colors etc. on the fly
• ThemeGenCE - theme generator for WM5, can also create landscape backgrounds
• vBar – very small, very light task manager for the task bar
• Task Manager – Mobile version of the Windows standard task manager
• XnView pocket – mobile version of the popular image viewer with many features
• Virtual Earth Mobile – satellite imaging, maps (requires internet connection)
• TCPMP – versatile media player
• Skype – well, the name says it all
• Minimo – mobile version of the Mozilla browser, with tabs
• KeePassPPC – password safe
• Friday Shopping – lets you manage your shopping lists
• Hitchhiker - automatically scans, configures and joins open wireless LANs
• WiFiFoFum - another WLAN scanner
• AlarmClock - well, an alarm clock
• deltaTimer - countdown clock
• Total Commander – THE file manager
• Pocket UFO – the classic UFO game for your mobile, with all features
• Crimson Fields – Battle Isle clone
• Doppler Mobile / Hubdog – subscribe and download RSS feeds and podcasts directly

The last point should be noted. I can download podcasts directly from the internet using any wi-fi connection. No need for iTunes!

In short, the device can play and sync music, browse the web, download and sync my mails, contacts, tasks and calender, run games and … it’s also a phone. Ten more years and these devices can replace laptops.

So, you are older than 25, you have played many, many PC games and you have been playing since you were 15 or younger. Have you ever said something like “Man, in the 90ies games used to be so much better and more innovative”? Yes, you have, admit it. Especially when you buy games published by EA.

But why, why are so many people still waiting for Duke “Vapor” Nukem Forever? Why do hordes of modding teams pick up semi-old game engines and re-create games like Wing Commander? Or why do they go and re-invent fast-paced action deathmatch with funny characters and chaotic gameplay? Can’t they see the trends? Are they all wrong?

In the 90ies when I started playing computer games many more games were made that were really new. When I picked up a new title, it usually played fresh, it had innovative ideas, you could do more. Duke Nukem 3D wasn’t so much different from Doom, but it had black humor, wacky weapons and you could look up and down using your mouse. Wing Commander 3 wasn’t so much different from X-Wing, but it had real-action video sequences and it looked and played like a sci-fi action movie. Command and Conquer was like Dune 2, but it had a way better user interface and great depth. Dungeon Keeper! It still has no competitor. It was, is unique.

Today, of course new games look better, sound better and have more features. But basically, they all are copies of their predecessors, some slightly better, some even worse. The “Bombs”, the totally new experiences have become rare. By now, we understand what our hardware, what the technology can do. We see previews, screen shots, in-game videos – months and years in advance to the release. When the games come out, we get what we expect, seldom more. On top of that, the neverending series.

But you can’t go back and experience it again. It’s the same with books, you can only read them for the first time once (I strongly advise against drug usage…). That’s why I observe the market closely, why I always read the news. There might be a gem in the making, something new. Something without a date or digit in its name. Like Spore? Supreme Commander? I’ll probably know early in advance. D’oh.