I've been with Verizon Wireless for 8 years now, having left Cingular (now AT&T) due to crappy coverage (and, yet, AT&T still has crappy coverage, go figure). During that time, I've upgraded my cell phone 4 times. My latest cell phone is the Blackberry Curve 8330. For the most part, it works fine.
However, I recently noticed that new apps had shown up on my phone. Apps that weren't there 6 months ago. Apps I don't want. Apps like: V CAST Apps, Bing, Slacker Radio, Backup Assistant and Skype. I have nothing against Skype or Slacker Radio but the others I truly dislike. And I don't even use any of them on my Blackberry. Plus I have other devices for music (iPod) and other methods to communicate with people who are far away for free (SMS, BBM, Skype for Windows/Mac).
So I do what a normal geek does, with programs I don't want; I uninstall them. But they come back. So I delete them again. And they come back again. So I go to Verizon's website to determine how I can prevent these from getting reloaded, AT RANDOM, onto my phone. Verizon's official stance on these programs are that they are there to "enhance the Verizon Wireless customer's experience". Umm, not.
So, here I am... with a device that keeps having programs installed on it, without my permission or desire and without any choice in the matter. This is called MALWARE on the Windows platform. And if I use Verizon's Usage Controls to block access to just V CAST Apps, it'll cost me $4.95 per month (!!!). That's called SCAREWARE on the Windows platform. What are they thinking??!?
Fortunately, I'm due for my New-Every-2 phone upgrade discount. And this time I'll get an Android-based phone. Which I'll probably then "root" for the expressed purpose of blocking these forms of malware/scareware from being installed on my phone.
And, yes, the iPhone (on AT&T) doesn't have this problem. But I'd bet the gross national income of *ANY* country that, when the iPhone does actually come to Verizon Wireless, it'll get this crap pushed onto it too.
Boo hiss, Verizon Wireless. Boo hiss.
UPDATE (1/15/11) - Got the Motorola Droid X and the battery life was very bad (6-8 hours per full charge). Rooted it and removed all of the pre-installed Verizon "apps". Now I have no Verizon "apps" on my phone and my battery life has tripled (18-24 hours per full charge). Further proof (to me) that Verizon's "apps" crippled my phone.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Unboxing the Roku XD|S
First, the box. Shipped directly from Roku (in beautiful Scotts Valley, CA). The brighter writing around the box reads, "There's a ton of entertainment in this little box." The darker writing reads, "Movies TV Shows Sports Music News Photos Videos Music".
Once opened, you're greeted with a friendly "Hi!"
The triad of papers included with my new Roku XD|S; Hi! (single page, single sided), Getting Started (multi-page fold-out, both sides) and License Agreement (single page, both sides and 100% standard).
And now, the layout of the actual components (top layer); Roku unit on the left and Rolu Remote on the right.
And the layout of the actual components (bottom layer); composite cable and batteries on the left and power adapter on the right.
The actual power adapter, out of the box. Actual cord is about 6 feet long.
The composite cable, out of the bag and about 5 feet long. Standard AAA batteries.
Roku XD|S, front view (weird reflection is plastic wrapping to prevent scratches during shipping), a single USB port is located in the front right.
Roku XD|S, bottom view. The MAC addresses for both the wireless and wired ethernet are located here, as well as the unit's serial number.
Roku XD|S, rear view. Port, in order (left to right) are: component video (special cable from Roku needed), optical audio, HDMI, CAT5 ethernet, composite outputs (video, R audio, L audio) and power.
And, yes, the little purple ROKU tags (one on the left front of the unit, one on the bottom of the remote) are real fabric. Hook up was a snap, taking less than 5 minutes. I'll run through the actual installation and setup in my next entry. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Shhh... it's Top Secret.
How could I forget? How? Just... how? How could I forget the "other" RPG that I played only slightly less than D&D?
Unknown. I'm just stupid, I guess. But, while at a thrift store in Truckee, CA, I stumbled upon a fantastically preserved copy of "Top Secret, An Espionage Role Playing Game for 3 or More Players, Ages 12 to Adult". Oh. My. Gosh. We are talking a complete copy of the boxed game in "Good" condition. The box is in really quite amazing condition, considering that it is 30 (!!!) years old. Also, the game manual and the included module (Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle - Code Name: Pisces) are both in nearly flawless condition. Plus it still has the registration sheet, completely untouched and flawless. And, if that wasn't enough, it has both dice (2D10, one green and one red) that were originally included in the box, *with* the sealed plastic bag (already opened). A-Maze-Ing.
Top Secret on Wikipedia
TSR on Wikipedia
Unknown. I'm just stupid, I guess. But, while at a thrift store in Truckee, CA, I stumbled upon a fantastically preserved copy of "Top Secret, An Espionage Role Playing Game for 3 or More Players, Ages 12 to Adult". Oh. My. Gosh. We are talking a complete copy of the boxed game in "Good" condition. The box is in really quite amazing condition, considering that it is 30 (!!!) years old. Also, the game manual and the included module (Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle - Code Name: Pisces) are both in nearly flawless condition. Plus it still has the registration sheet, completely untouched and flawless. And, if that wasn't enough, it has both dice (2D10, one green and one red) that were originally included in the box, *with* the sealed plastic bag (already opened). A-Maze-Ing.
Top Secret on Wikipedia
TSR on Wikipedia
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
If it don't work, force it...
So another client had a problem... apparently one of their super-smart people decided that he'd like to head home and take his shiny, new, company-issued, expensive laptop with him; to do some extra work that evening. Well, this super smart person found that his laptop wasn't coming free of his docking station. What to do, what to do... force it.
Well, next thing you know... his laptop was free. He took it home, telling no one of his troubles and thought nothing of it. Until the next morning, when he couldn't get the laptop to connect properly to his docking station. Further examination revealed that he had damaged his shiny, new, company-issued, expensive laptop and the accompanying docking station. After a quick examination (by yours truly), it was apparent that the laptop's motherboard needed to be replaced (to repair the damaged docking port) and the docking station recycled properly (as it was damaged far beyond repair).
Moral of the story: Even super smart people can be extremely stupid.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
RPGs and Video Games
Back in the day, in 1982 (when I was 13), I got introduced to RPGs (role playing games). This was long before personal computers were everywhere. We're talking pencil and paper here. Pencil because your character would grow and change; getting stronger, smarter, better looking and richer as "their" adventure continued.
The obvious favorite of the time was "Dungeons & Dragons" (aka "D&D") from TSR (later bought by Wizards of the Coast, eventually a subsidiary of Hasbro) and I loved it. I had my official Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Fiend Folio. In junior high, I'd head over to a female friend's house (boy, was that relationship a disaster) with a couple other guys and we'd play for hours. Eventually (once the relationship with that "girlfriend" died), I'd end up staying home and just rolling up characters in the living room and put them in an arena, fighting random monsters that I rolled up from the encounter tables in my Dungeon Master's Guide. So. Much. Fun.
However, I also played a couple other RPGs from that time. The first (which was my least favorite) was Traveller, from Game Designers' Workshop. I had the 3 mini-books (8-1/2" x 5-1/2") which contained the core rules and specifications for everything from characters to gear to vehicles to space craft. I eventually even bought the hard-backed rule book, similar to the books from D&D. My biggest complaint about Traveller was the amount of rules. So. Many. Rules. Rules for everything from Non Player Character (aka "NPC") encounters, to Creature encounters to Space encounters. And the rules for combat were insane. Too much to track for someone under 16. Which leads to my second biggest complaint about Traveller. None of my buddies played it. It was just too hard for our tiny attention spans to focus on *and* have fun. But it was interestingly different from D&D.
The next one (second only to D&D) was Gamma World, also from TSR. I owned the first edition rule book, black and white cover and all. This RPG was like a cross between D&D and Traveller; all the mutants and space ships (plus swords *and* laser rifles) but not so many rules to worry about. A few more of my buddies played this one and it was sweet. The only thing that left this one short of D&D in playability was the lack of official "modules" or "scenarios". But the environment was loaded with potential. Good stuff.
I also had lead (as in "Pb") figures for all three of these RPGs. I tried my best to paint these like I'd see in the hobby shops but my attempts were pathetic. I specifically remember having a set of D&D figures from Grenadier Models Inc (Set #2013 - Adventuring Party). So cool, if only I could have been able to paint worth beans.
All of these were a launching block for my video game habit. Zork on a teletype "computer" (dialed in, via modem, to the local MUD) was probably first. Soon I was into "Castle Wolfenstein" on the Apple ][e from high school or "Dragon's Lair" at the local 7-11 store. Next were classics like Auto Duel, Bard's Tale, Castle of the Winds, Dark Sun, Diablo, Doom, Dungeon Hack, Gothic, Heretic, Hexen, Might & Magic, Neverwinter Nights, Nox, NetHack, Quake & Ultima (just to name a few) and all of their descendants and variants. There are literally hundreds and I've probably played a big majority of them. Some were great (Diablo, Doom, Neverwinter Nights) and some were not-so-great (Castle of the Winds, Planescape Torment) but all were fun to some degree and worth playing.
Now, with a 4 year old son of my own, I hope to be able to pass along the joy of using my imagination and help him to learn the values of honor, integrity and determination (beyond what he'd normally pick up from me, of course) through the awesome-ness that is RPG gaming.
Links -
Dungeons and Dragons on Wikipedia
Dungeons and Dragons at Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Traveller on Wikipedia
Game Designer's Workshop on Wikipedia
Gamma World on Wikipedia
TSR on Wikipedia
The obvious favorite of the time was "Dungeons & Dragons" (aka "D&D") from TSR (later bought by Wizards of the Coast, eventually a subsidiary of Hasbro) and I loved it. I had my official Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Fiend Folio. In junior high, I'd head over to a female friend's house (boy, was that relationship a disaster) with a couple other guys and we'd play for hours. Eventually (once the relationship with that "girlfriend" died), I'd end up staying home and just rolling up characters in the living room and put them in an arena, fighting random monsters that I rolled up from the encounter tables in my Dungeon Master's Guide. So. Much. Fun.
However, I also played a couple other RPGs from that time. The first (which was my least favorite) was Traveller, from Game Designers' Workshop. I had the 3 mini-books (8-1/2" x 5-1/2") which contained the core rules and specifications for everything from characters to gear to vehicles to space craft. I eventually even bought the hard-backed rule book, similar to the books from D&D. My biggest complaint about Traveller was the amount of rules. So. Many. Rules. Rules for everything from Non Player Character (aka "NPC") encounters, to Creature encounters to Space encounters. And the rules for combat were insane. Too much to track for someone under 16. Which leads to my second biggest complaint about Traveller. None of my buddies played it. It was just too hard for our tiny attention spans to focus on *and* have fun. But it was interestingly different from D&D.
The next one (second only to D&D) was Gamma World, also from TSR. I owned the first edition rule book, black and white cover and all. This RPG was like a cross between D&D and Traveller; all the mutants and space ships (plus swords *and* laser rifles) but not so many rules to worry about. A few more of my buddies played this one and it was sweet. The only thing that left this one short of D&D in playability was the lack of official "modules" or "scenarios". But the environment was loaded with potential. Good stuff.
I also had lead (as in "Pb") figures for all three of these RPGs. I tried my best to paint these like I'd see in the hobby shops but my attempts were pathetic. I specifically remember having a set of D&D figures from Grenadier Models Inc (Set #2013 - Adventuring Party). So cool, if only I could have been able to paint worth beans.
All of these were a launching block for my video game habit. Zork on a teletype "computer" (dialed in, via modem, to the local MUD) was probably first. Soon I was into "Castle Wolfenstein" on the Apple ][e from high school or "Dragon's Lair" at the local 7-11 store. Next were classics like Auto Duel, Bard's Tale, Castle of the Winds, Dark Sun, Diablo, Doom, Dungeon Hack, Gothic, Heretic, Hexen, Might & Magic, Neverwinter Nights, Nox, NetHack, Quake & Ultima (just to name a few) and all of their descendants and variants. There are literally hundreds and I've probably played a big majority of them. Some were great (Diablo, Doom, Neverwinter Nights) and some were not-so-great (Castle of the Winds, Planescape Torment) but all were fun to some degree and worth playing.
Now, with a 4 year old son of my own, I hope to be able to pass along the joy of using my imagination and help him to learn the values of honor, integrity and determination (beyond what he'd normally pick up from me, of course) through the awesome-ness that is RPG gaming.
Links -
Dungeons and Dragons on Wikipedia
Dungeons and Dragons at Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Traveller on Wikipedia
Game Designer's Workshop on Wikipedia
Gamma World on Wikipedia
TSR on Wikipedia
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wow... we should hire him! Wait... what??!?
OK, here's another one for the books (no names to protect the "innocent" and I'm not sure this is 100% true, as it is third-hand)...
We let a couple guys go recently, "down-sizing and new direction for the company". Not a real surprise, but it does increase the work load for the rest of us.
One of the guys let go contacts another engineer, asking to see his resume "so he can see the layout and whatnot". The engineer says "yes" and sends over his resume. Next week, one of our current clients approaches our current engineer and asks about the guy no longer with the company. Why? Because he's received a resume from him and keeps receiving calls and emails from him, asking for an interview. And here's where the problem becomes two-fold.
First, we all sign a "no-compete" contract when we get hired. Basically it states that we can't be hired by a current client for 1 year. To do so opens ourselves to a lawsuit from our previous company, for them to recoup a year's worth of "lost income". Also, the client's contract has the same clause, which also carries a penalty of 2 years worth of "engineer wages". And he's only been gone for a few weeks. Ouch.
Second, our current engineer gets a brief look at the resume the guy apparently sent in... and its apparently his own resume with just the contact information changed. D'oh!
How in the world do people like this continue to get employed??
We let a couple guys go recently, "down-sizing and new direction for the company". Not a real surprise, but it does increase the work load for the rest of us.
One of the guys let go contacts another engineer, asking to see his resume "so he can see the layout and whatnot". The engineer says "yes" and sends over his resume. Next week, one of our current clients approaches our current engineer and asks about the guy no longer with the company. Why? Because he's received a resume from him and keeps receiving calls and emails from him, asking for an interview. And here's where the problem becomes two-fold.
First, we all sign a "no-compete" contract when we get hired. Basically it states that we can't be hired by a current client for 1 year. To do so opens ourselves to a lawsuit from our previous company, for them to recoup a year's worth of "lost income". Also, the client's contract has the same clause, which also carries a penalty of 2 years worth of "engineer wages". And he's only been gone for a few weeks. Ouch.
Second, our current engineer gets a brief look at the resume the guy apparently sent in... and its apparently his own resume with just the contact information changed. D'oh!
How in the world do people like this continue to get employed??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)