3 posts tagged “hardware”

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Granny Smith gave me a red delicious.

Sep 8, 2006
1 comment

Ya, I know it's not funny, but it doesn't matter, because...

IT'S HERE.

It arrived yesterday, and would you believe it, I was too busy to even open the box. It actually sat there, just where the FedEx guy left it, for like seven hours or something before I got a chance to even look at it. How wrong is that?

Anyhoo. The box is open, the hardware's set up, and sadly the most I've had time to do so far is use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection client for the Mac to connect to my XP box and carry on as usual. Ya, seriously. That feels like a criminal act even to me.

But! Work is out of the way for the moment, so I can finally get back to reading The Missing Manual for Tiger and figure out wot's wot.

Photos and more commentary (read: complaints) to come.

Pbbbbbbt, PSP!

Sep 2, 2006
1 comment

Last Christmas, I was the very shocked and very, very happy recipient of a PSP (thank you thank you thank you). Since then, I've been playing Wipeout Pure on and off, an absolute blast of a game. Unfortunately for me, it got a little too difficult (and therefore a little too frustrating) a little too quickly. I thought that I'd really be able to get my money's worth if I could play online, since I wouldn't then be competing against hovercraft piloted by overly skilled AI, but rather other human beings who'd at least have the potential to play as poorly as - or worse than - I do. =)

So ya, I was really looking forward to online play, but I didn't have a wireless router or WLAN at home. So I got the router, set up the WLAN, and.... nothing.

That's right. No WiFi. WiFi go boom. Big boom. Big bada boom. All with a very, very helpful internal error (ya, not so much).

So I figure okay, no problem, I'm way behind the game here, people have had this thing for ages now, there's bound to be a solution (ya, not so much). After a couple hours reading (I use that term loosely) various web-based fora (you know the ones, they're generally frequented by such charming, mature people), I gave up in frustration and finally called Sony's tech support number (sad that that's a last resort these days, innit).

Astoundingly, I spoke to an actual human being in a matter of minutes. An actual human being who was friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, and didn't have to transfer me to ten other people. Will wonders never cease? Equally incredible, these friendly, courteous, knowledgeable human beings answer, day in and day out, what absolutely has to be a FAQ by now, instead of simply updating the PSP's wireless troubleshooting page on their web site. Clever.

So ya. WiFi go boom. Came that way. Needs to be replaced. And because it was a gift, and because the gift was purchased and posted to me in such a circuitous manner that only someone truly in lub would bother, I have no proof of purchase nor any way of obtaining one. My options: buy a new PSP or send it back to them and have them replace it with a refurbished one (for $89!) that would carry a 90-day warranty.

Umm.... no.

What I'll do instead is just play offline for now and eventually buy a second PSP. I've always wanted to try homebrew, but I really didn't want to mess with the things I'd have to mess with in order to do so. But now I'll be able to with acceptable risk, since I'll still have a pristine one with which to play if things go pear-shaped. I'll also get the freaking part for like $20 and replace it myself (once again, acceptable risk).

So that's the story. Not one to go hunting for that elusive silver lining, I'm certainly not going to ignore it when it's all up in my face. =)

O-S--X in da V-O-X

Aug 28, 2006
7 comments

I've been using computers for over 20 years. Fact, not boast. During most of that time, every time I tried to use a Mac, I was appalled by it. Shhhh, no flames, personal experience, mmkay? My last experience was with um... System 7.5, I think. Something. Blinky bomb thing. No way to get under the hood. Reinstall everything. Colossal grr.

For the most part, I'm pretty platform-agnostic. Hardware, software, whatever. They're all tools, all with their proper place and time and use. The last time I purchased a computer was in 1999. In 2002, I made some very minor upgrades to a few components to keep the whole chugging along a little longer. These days, I can brew a cup of coffee while Photoshop starts, or take a shower while the computer (AMD Athlon) reboots. XP is ok, I think. I haven't had any trouble with it, I haven't seen a BSOD since I installed it, and my experience of its compatibility with legacy software (old PC games mainly, DOS through Win98) has been excellent. I maintain that it's far from ideal, that it's bloated and quite ugly, but that it's the best out of Redmond so far. So except for occasional brand-envy, I never had any desire to switch from a PC to a Mac.

Until OS X.

When OS X debuted, I started drooling and I've not really stopped.

Until last night.

Because, my dear VOXers, last night, I did it. I made the switch! On 12 September, when my new Mac Pro is supposed to arrive, I join Xansas as a switcher. =)