small talk for a small world
Greg Harvey
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Homepage: http://www.thesims.co.uk
Posts by Greg Harvey
Star Trek Online First Impressions pt. 1
Jan 22nd
So finally Star Trek Online has gone into open Beta, followed very shortly with a Live release date of the 2nd February 2010 in the US and apparently 5th February 2010 for the EU release. The Open Beta began on 12th January 2010 and is due to finish on 26th January 2010.
Those that have pre-ordered the game will be able to get a head start on the 29th January 2010, giving them a few days before general release to be able to mission up and get out of the starting zones before they are inundated with people.
I have only managed to play the game for a total of 4 hours, 2 hours on Wednesday night this week and 2 hours on Thursday night this week. Wednesday night was absolutely painful and very nearly put me off the game before I had even really got into it.
The basics are pretty easy to get to grips with and without spoiling it for those who have not played the game yet but are going to, lets just say the mission structure is pretty much the same missions structure than the original TV series had. So you on a ship, you have to shoot some other ships, beam down to a planet or onto another ship shoot some enemies, save the day and beam back to your own ship then shoot some more enemies from your ship. Space flight is pretty simple to get to grips with and I found that very laggy on the Wednesday night, when I beamed down to the first missions planet surface this is where it all went very wrong for me. With a mixture of Lag and just incredible jittering graphics, I actually had to stop playing us the game became unplayable.
After scouring the internet for people with the same issues it turned out not to be an issue as such with STO but an issue with the latest Nvidia driver set. So be warned if you are like me and update your drivers regularly then you will probably have the same problems. The fix is simple enough and that is download the 190.26 version of the Nvidia drivers or I believe they are soon to release a new set of drivers that fixes the issue. Either way revert or wait for a new set.
So on Thursday night I finally got the old Nvidia drivers installed and began to play the game again. The lag and the pausing screen has now gone and the game has started to actually look good.
I finished the starter quests and was handed the captaincy of my ship, picked up a few missions and off I set to boldly go where a lot of people playing the beta had already gone before me.
First main mission was to find the USS Azure and aid in its rescue, which involved fighting about 4 ships to get them out of the USS Azures way, quitting the mission because an enemy vessel was stuck in an asteroid therefore I could to proceed to the next part of the mission. So starting the mission again, killing all the ships this time, then guess what? I had to beam aboard the USS Azure and rescue the crew and then beam off the ship and the game kicked me off the server because it was too busy.
From what I saw I liked, I appreciate this is a BETA and expect things like this to happen, but I am scared that the game is about a week and a bit away from release, and it does still seem full of bugs.
The one bug I did find which put a smile on my face, was that when I entered a space port my player character stayed as a ship for a while before turning into my avatar character, amusing as this was the next is even better on leaving a space port and going back into space my character stayed as a man and basically just fell through space.
So that is it so far… more to come when I get some more time and of course I am able to get passed the message telling me the server is full.
Google Wave, or was it a small splash
Jan 19th
I have used Google Wave for a few months now, and the all the hype that Google managed to create around their real-tile collaboration tool was more of a little splash for me than a big crashing Wave.
Ok it is still in development phase but that did stop the thousands of people getting on board to ride the Google Wave. Now this is not the first time that Google have spat out a not quite complete package and yet again it would seem that the PR campaign which essentially this was, again has actually paid off. They had a lot of press coverage on Google Wave and a lot of buzz was generated within the industry. The question I want to pose is this:
Is Google Wave actually any good?
From what I can tell this is just a great way of getting everyone to signup for a Gmail account, those of us that do not have one of course will be unable to access Google Wave.
The idea of a real-time collaboration tool actually appeals to me however as yet I think the masses are probably not ready to have all their eggs in one big Google basket.
I am sure with development Google will once again be onto a winner with this though, whether it serves as conduit for the even more advertisement remains to be seen. Or whether it is a tool to try and get masses to sign up for Gmail and other Google services who knows?
My guess would see Google Wave change a lot over 2010 and maybe something amazing will be born, but until then it isn’t much fun and with 30 invites still needing to be sent to people who quiet frankly could not care about Google Wave, then something really special needs to happen with it.
Google Sync on iPhone, Dropbox
Jan 15th
I have been scratching around for some time looking for a good place to store my contacts and calendar events in one central place but of course on a personal budget of nothing, nadda and zero.
I have an iPhone and I hate the fact you need to Sync it with iTunes which for a PC user is a painful process. Not sure if I am the only person on the planet to feel this but iTunes in Windows is just the most sluggish application I think I have ever used.
My first port of call was to use MobileMe which in the words from the Apple website:
MobileMe is a service that pushes new email, contacts, and calendar events over the air to all your devices. So your iPhone, Mac, and PC stay in perfect sync. No docking required. And that’s just one of many ways MobileMe simplifies your life.
Well I am not sure if it was just the way I had configured this admittedly I was using the 60 day free trial which you get from here if you wish to try it, but the syncing was slow to a point of non existence, I ended up with several versions of the same calendar none of which had updated properly with the events I had entered in. Phone contacts also did not update properly which was very annoying, people I had changed or edited simply reverted back to before I had changed them. So my first experience was not really that great and knowing that I would have to pay £59 a year for this service I started to ask around if people knew of a good alternative.
A friend of mine suggested I got a gMail account which I had already got to be honest, but he then pointed out that I should perhaps try Google Sync. So I followed the instructions on the Google Sync site, downloaded the Google Outlook 2007 plugin and off I went. Well firstly the iPhone setup works amazingly however I did have to go through a couple of teething issues. Firstly when you setup the Google Exchange account to sync your mail, calendar and contacts you have to firstly make sure that your Google Account online has all the contacts and events you need already in place. The reason being is you have to be brave and when prompted to remove Contacts and Calendar from your iPhone when you switch the Google Sync on you should do so. This allows the iPhone to then get its contacts and calendar directly from Google over a 3G or wireless network, once they have been downloaded then of course they will be stored on your phone however it is clever enough to keep checking when a network is available for any changes.
As for the file storage option you get with MobileMe, again I have a solution for that and that would be to use Dropbox. Dropbox gives you a nice 2gb of space to start with and again this is a free service, Dropbox also have an application for the iPhone which I have to say works a little more slicker than Apples own iDisk application. You can also earn more space for free by referring people to Dropbox and also if needed you can pay about $9 a month of you need 50gb of space.
If you need any help in getting this up and running feel free to shout on here. So far I am impressed with it, it works and it works well.
Getting bored of the weather
Jan 13th
It has been over a week now since this cold weather hit the UK and the media hyped the “Big Freeze” and is still milking the story for everything it has left to give.
However I need to say that I am now officially getting annoyed with the weather, well not the weather specifically but getting annoyed with the lack of preparation we still have as a nation even though we are now a week or so into this. Especially the shocking service coming from First Capital Connect. Only a week a go I blogged how impressed I was that the train services are still running with some degree of reliability and now it seems that has all gone to southwards.
First Capital Connect have so far this week cancelled nearly every train into London and those that do run stop at every station along the route from Bedford picking up everyone they possibly can until the train is at bursting point and there is no longer room to stand. I have seen people left stranded at the stations looking pissed off and annoyed that they have at least made the effort unlike some to actually get out of bed and make their way to work only to be left stranded on a platform as the one train that is running is full to the brim.
I am one of the lucky ones I guess as the First Cap trains start the journey at Bedford station where I get on and thus I am able to comfortably get on the train and get a seat. However the train is taking too long to get to London and when it finally does hit London it gets cancelled at St Pancras as apparently the trains can’t go any further south. This morning we eventually got into London at 9:30am starting at 7:50am at Bedford then I walked the 2 mile walk to work from Kings Cross to Farringdon, not a bad walk but when it is cold and snowing it is just pretty slow going.
I am looking forward to the weekend when I hope the weather is going to warm up a little and lets pray that the trains start running on time.
Twitter, why so interesting
Jan 8th
There is a part of me that loves Twitter and a part of me that is still struggling to understand the world wide appeal this has. There is also a part of me that admires the people that thought of the concept and gave the world twitter in the first place as I wish I had come up with the concept myself.
What does the average person use Twitter for? I have been looking through the people I follow and the typical Tweet is about what they are currently doing, such as making a trip to work, as work, at home eating dinner, letting the world know they have just seen a good or bad movie at the cinema. Some people I know Tweet to the extreme and almost give me a 5 minute interval peak into their day which to me a little too much.
Recently I have been using it more as an instant messaging service allowing me to converse with friends about subjects and share links and items I have seen on the Internet. Other times I use Twitter to vent my spleen over something that is currently annoying me, as you will also see from my blogs this week mainly the media hype of the snow and the train service into London.
Some media outlets are now using Twitter to share with those who choose to follow them latest news and current affairs, some people are using Twitter now for a direct marketing tool as well. So what does 2010 have in store for us on the Twitter front, are we going to see the model change where you have to follow someone to be able to see their tweets. Surely there must be some value in Twitter themselves in marketing your identity to other companies, selling you as a follower to the highest bidder. We will start to see unsolicited tweets appearing on our screens direct marketing to us even though we are not following that person or company.
What about the companies as well that have boomed since Twitter took off, such as bit.ly, there link shortening service from what I gather is currently free for all. They must be doing something on a commercial level, maybe selling MI data, but how can they sustain the service that so many use without some commercial backing. Maybe 2010 we will see that we have to pay for a URL shortening service, maybe buy a pack of 100 URLS at a time for a small fee or a subscription based service paid on a monthly basis. Anyways these are just my ponderings and right now I am going to go Tweet that it is snowing again where I live.
Would you if you could?
Jan 8th
Rubbish journey into work today
Jan 7th
Ok after my lovely blog yesterday where I polished the proverbial knob of the train services into London, it would seem someone at First Capital Direct read that post and decided to show me the real pain of the train service into London.
As usual I was up bright and early this morning, chasing the sun and beating it to Bedford as usual. Met my work colleague in the usual place and moved onto Bedford train station. Both trains were leaving on time, we had our eye on the East Midlands Mainline train, however the First Cap train was sitting in the station looking warm and inviting so we decided to take the ride with First Cap knowing it would be a longer journey however it would take us directly to Farringdon giving us an ample 10 minutes to make the 3 minute walk from the station to work.
Well the train seemed a little busy this morning and it seemed to be running smoothly however until it got to Harpenden, where the driver announced he would then be having to stop at every station between Harpenden and London St Pancras.
Oh the joy the journey was looking like a long one, then of course our train ground to halt just after Kentish Town as a train in front of us had broken down. So there we sat for an hour and half only to see our driver walking back to the North end of the train so we could drive back up the line to change tracks.
4 hours later I am at work.
UK Freeze, stupid media
Jan 6th
Ok so we have some snow in the UK, ok there is a little more than we normally get, but hey we have all been so used to mild winters for the last decade. I can remember back to when we had snow on the ground over the winter, that it actually used to drift on the back roads around where I live and form these amazing snow tunnels over the ditches at the sides of the road. I remember less winging about it as well and less press.
The BBC news site as usual as coined a media frenzy name for this current snow “UK FREEZE”, making the whole thing sound as if the Ice Ages have returned to our queens shores. Motorways have been closed, airports are shut, the schools have closed (hey one flake of snow and the schools shut so nothing new there) and trains are delayed or cancelled. I work in London by the way I commute from Bedford to Farringdon every day and I have managed to get into work today, as have thousands of other people. So here is some news for you BBC, trains are running yes a little disrupted but they are running, people who actually make the effort to get to work have got into work.
Sure there are parts of the UK that have had a lot of snow and I pity the old and frail who live in the remote villages at these times as it is hard for them to get mobile, I appreciate some road are dangerous and in some places people should just stay home instead of risking putting their car in a ditch. However there is not need for all the press, there is no need for headlines and “UK FREEZE” quotes. Get over it, deal with it. Moving on….
Trains a commuter tale
Jan 5th
I have to be honest when I say that on taking a job in London I was a little nervous as I have heard many horror stories about trains and the delays and headaches they cause. First things first my commute to and from work is not a pleasure in any way shape or form, I am up out of bed 6am in the morning and I am usually standing on a train platform at Bedford station waiting for the 7:28am train to Farringdon.
This train has been delayed on a number of occasions what with recent strikes and also the cold weather causing some issues on track. The journey home is equally frustrating as it would seem that more than 50% of my journeys home so far have been delayed.
The usual course of events for getting home is to get the 18:11 train from Farringdon, jump off at St Pancras, and jump on the 18:30 train to Lincoln which should arrive in Bedford at 19:08. This train is frequently late for a number of reasons, we have had no drivers, unable to couple cars together and of course the obligatory jumper on the tracks that has delayed my journey home.
It is not all bad though, which is the main reason for writing this. We have had some serious cold weather and snow recently and the trains although late have been running. I find this pretty amazing as this goes against the preconceptions I had about trains and snow. I heard that the wrong type of snow can cause trains to just grind to a halt, however thus far I have been proved wrong.
Tonight it is going to snow and there is already snow falling in Bedford, I have been watching the trains and so far only a few have been delayed and the delay is nothing more than a few minutes. I think trains get hard press and I think most people believe they are a rubbish service and form of transport. I have to disagree, they maybe late sometimes they may get cancelled due to circumstances which to be honest can’t be helped. But in my limited experience so far they have done the job in getting me home, not always when I wanted to get home but they get me home never the less.
The only thing I would like to change is the cost, they are not cheap and to be honest when you add up the cost of driving to the station, parking and the train fare itself it would be cheaper to drive my car to London and back, however not as convenient. As I would be sat in traffic for hours on end, so delayed no matter what I do. If the government can somehow get the cost of a ticket down to those who commute regularly then trains truly are a way forward.
My top 5 games of 2009
Jan 5th
2009 was a pretty good year for games, whether you play on your PC, handheld or Console the number of releases was staggering, with the major players pushing their systems further and further as the year grew old.
I this year played a lot of games some of which I frankly wish I had not devoted the time to, and others that I simply could not put down and risked my marriage over.
The games below are not an exhaustive list of the games released in 2009, and certainly there are some good games missing the reason for this is firstly I don’t have endless amounts of money to buy all the games that are released, secondly I only have so much to time to dedicate to games as I am married with a family so the games I buy I normally try and get something that will last me.
I also want to point out that I have an Xbox 360, PS3 and a very good PC (laptop), however I choose to buy most of my games on the Xbox 360. This does not mean I am a fan boy and to be honest most of the games in my top 5 are available on both Xbox and PS3 so I am sure if I did not have an Xbox then I would have bought the same games on the PS3 and felt equally the same.
So here goes from 5 to 1 the game that in my opinion and collection where the best of 2009.
5. GTA IV – Xbox 360
What can be said about this game really. This for me was always going to be on my top 5 list. It very nearly could have been my number one game but I have tried to place these games fairly in terms of the enjoyment I got from playing them, and the amount of my life that I spent playing them. GTA IV had many hours of my life I can tell you that. I am a sucker for a game that adopts a free roaming style of play. Don’t get me wrong the story of GTA IV was very engrossing and very well told, but it is the freedom and choice you get playing such a game. With the addition of “The Lost and the Damned” and “The Ballad of Gay Tony”, this is one game that has kept on my shelf and away from the eBay pile. I actually managed to finish the main story line but yet to complete the expansion packs, again time is not my side at the moment.
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum – Xbox 360
I was a little late in getting this as in I got it just before Christmas and I have to say finally a game that does a comic book character some justice. The story is engrossing, the graphics and detail really capture the dark knight perfectly and I am still playing through this trying to get all the Riddler items and just taking in the scenery. The Joker is one evil bastard in this game and I am liking the way the game holds no punches literally when it comes to the fighting and action. I am still yet to finish this game but I hope to continue playing this throughout January 2010. Loving it so far and it is defo worth putting in my top 5.
3. Dragon Age: Origins – PC
Talk about depth and story, this game has it all and it seems that even 40hours in to the game I have only just scratched the surface. The graphics are nothing to write home about, but this is a game that shows story matters over anything else. The characters and the world the game resides in is one of the most detailed game worlds I think I have been playing in. It seems everything has a back story and the choices you make shape the game moving forward. Pure brilliance and if you don’t own this I suggest you get out and buy it, I even cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription to allow me more time to play this game.
2. World of Warcraft – Wrath of the Lich King – PC
Ok technically WOW has been around for many years, however it was 2009 when I really got stuck into playing it. I had always been one of these people that plays the game for a while, get a character to level 30 or 40 then restart with another char and move on. However in 2009 I purchased the Lich King and finally got a char to level 80. It is now I realise the amount of content within this game. I also realise that the game just begins when you hit level 80. Currently I have put my account on hold so I can continue to play Dragon Age, but I know for a fact that when Cataclysm comes out this year I will be back on WOW.
1. Fallout 3: All 5 DLC Packs – Xbox 360
Again I know technically this game came out in 2008, but it was in 2009 that I finished that game and then downloaded all the DLC. I think I have clocked in over 100hours of play on this game.
This game for me has it all, it has the story, the depth and as mentioned above with GTA IV it has the complete freedom of choice to where you go and what actions you choose to take. With the added bonus of the DLC which I am so glad the people on the PC and PS3 also have the ability to get and play it made the game even more interesting and made the hours spent playing so much more enjoyable. For me it was the game I played the most and certainly the game I am looking most forward to seeing a sequel to. Who knows if 2010 will bring us another Fall Out but I hope so. Don’t get me wrong Fallout 3 had its problems, but I am hoping that in 2010 they can create a new game with all the little issues resolved and a fresh new story with some updated graphics.
Worthy Mentions:
Forza Motorsport 3 – Xbox 360
Halo Wars – Xbox 360
Borderlands – Xbox 360
Games I wished I had bought (could not afford):
Uncharted 2 – PS3 (I will be getting this in 2010, it looks amazing)
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