I got back from Ohio yesterday to find an email notifying me that as a subscriber to Fileplanet I would be guaranteed a spot in the imminent Worlds of Warcraft closed beta stress test. So hopefully within a few days here I’ll be getting my first look at what is quite likely the most anticipated MMORPG ever. Of course like most stress tests it’s going to be brief, lasting just 7 days but I’m just eager to finally see everything I’d been enviously reading about from the initial closed beta testers.
Monthly Archive for August, 2004
Ok, so I admitted that I was a scaredy-wuss while playing Doom 3, but at least I never did this (that often). (Windows Media, 7.8MB, screeching junior high boys)
Jolayne and I are off to Columbus on a ridiculously early morning flight tomorrow. We’ll be there just for the weekend for her grandmother’s 80th birthday party and also to work out some of the details for the wedding plans.
One of the things I did last month was to finally complete the TV recording computer that I’d been collecting parts for forever. I’ve been using it for over a month now, and overall I’m thrilled with it. The software I’ve been running on it is Beyond TV which has a very good if not as good as Tivo user interface. In addition I’ve been using the Firefly RF remote from the same company, which can also be used as a mouse (somewhat, as you control the cursor with arrow keys which is fairly clunky) and the buttons can be customized to control just about anything. The remote came with software called Beyond Media that serves as a decent Media PC desktop replacment, allowing you to lauch the TV app, play music and videos, listen to internet radio, view pictures, or launch any app that you add to the menu. Beyond TV also runs a server that lets you control the recording software from other computers and download or stream recorded shows (and even live TV) to other computers on your network. Recorded shows can be compressed down to 600 megs/hour with no visible loss in quality so that means on the 160 gig drive I have in there now I could store an ungodly amount of shows. (And I think we all know its just a matter of time until I slap another one of those in there) I’ve currently been amassing a large collection of Seinfeld and Futurama. If all of the above wasn’t enough I’ve gone ahead and put NES, SNES, and Genesis emulators along with MAME to handle all my nostalgic gaming urges. So that’s the good stuff. On the downside, the image isn’t quite as sharp as with regular TV (or even a Tivo if my memory serves correctly). Very light colored parts of the image look a little washed out, and I haven’t been able to correct that with any of my video card’s settings. Also I’ve found that it will probably require defragging on a monthly basis to keep performing well. Finally, I wish I’d gotten a much smaller case. To me though, those are just minor issues. For all the flexibility and control I get by going this route rather than a set-top box I’m more than happy with it.
I just noticed today that I finally have some invites to give out for GMail. I know its pretty late in the game here and we’re well past the point where having GMail was any sort of geek status symbol whatsoever, but hey who can turn their nose up at a free gig of email storage. By now probably everyone that wanted an invite to use GMail has one, but on the off chance that’s not the case mine are available, first come, first serve. Just leave a comment and tell me where to send it.
I finally finished Doom 3. That doesn’t explain where I was for nearly all of July but it does pretty much cover August. I don’t think I’ve ever been as relieved to finish a game as I have with this one. I’m pretty much admitting that I’m a sissy here, but that was a nerve wracking game. Screenshots don’t really do it justice, conveying only the obvious fact that it’s really really dark. What they don’t really show is the way that the few sources of light realistically move and cast shadows. When well illuminated, most of the creatures in the game look amazingly detailed but more cheesy than scary. However, the way that they tend to hurl themselves out of the surrounding shadows at you never failed to make me jump. Most disturbing though may have been the sound, which featured no music but just unsettling ambient noises ranging from metallic groans and clanks to demonic laughter, hisses, and cries. The level of atmosphere created was impressive, and more than made up for the somewhat repetitive style of gameplay. The team at id games did a great job, though I figure that they owe me several pairs of clean underwear at this point.
Elsewhere