This is an interested tidbit of information, at least it is to me. I read the article linked below that talks about the developer that brought you the Facebook app for the iPhone, Joe Hewitt, deciding to hang it up after he had basically had it with Apple and their tyrannical approval processes for their iPhone app store. It’s an interesting read, check it out. It kind of surprised me though, since Apple seems to (me anyway) present this image of being the cool, somewhat aloof non-company company, whereas here it seems like they are acting just like Microsoft or something. I guess big companies are still big companies, and most of them just can’t get away from whatever it is that makes them a**holes. Maybe I should start a list of companies that I have dealt with that are good folk to work with, that care and help a guy out, and then those that are jerks. Hmmmm.
Left 4 Dead 2
This isn’t a review specifically, but I wanted to post some thoughts on the sequel to the smash hit Left 4 Dead, aptly named Left 4 Dead 2. At first glance, this game seems like a mod more than a true sequel. The four main characters are new and different, and there are some new zombies to fight. Don’t forget the addition of some wicked cool new weapons that allow for some more, shall we say, resourceful play. However, aside from the new eyecandy, it seems about the same. I am not sure what is in there that classifies this as a whole new release, except that since the first one was so popular, this one was sure to make Valve some money.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one of these moonbats that is boycotting the game and/or the company because they released the sequel so soon. Far from it, and yes I bought the sequel, that’s how I can have some input on it, I have access to the demo. It’s a free country and Valve has every bit the right to release a quick sequel, just as these people who are upset have not to buy it. I guess I was hoping for a little more out of a so-called sequel. Now, to be fair, this *is* the demo I am playing and not the full release, so I know there are lots of things that I haven’t seen yet that may fill it on out and make me change that sentiment. Even so, either way it’s a way fun game (both of them) and I am sure I will get plenty of enjoyment out of it. Come to think of it, I have gotten more enjoyment out of the first Left 4 Dead than I have out of a lot of the games I have purchased over the years. It’s not hard to find a game that looks good, reads good on the ‘net, but is a real clunker once you shell out $50 for it.
OK, I’ll report back more when I have it, stay tuned!
Neverwinter Nights 2 – Toolset Quick Reference
I am sure there are tons of Neverwinter Nights fans out there, for both the original and version 2. If anyone is interested in tinkering with the tool set for Neverwinter Nights 2, here is a handy wuick reference for you. Check it out …
Windows XP to Windows 7 Upgrade
OK folks, here is a tidbit for you, if anyone has been checking out Windows 7 and thought that an upgrade might be in their future, well they would have been dismayed to find out that there is no direct upgrade path from XP to 7. That means you can’t insert you good ol’ Windows 7 disk and upgrade your XP machine. The only upgrade path is from Vista to 7. At least that is the story from Microsoft. I have read a few people who have posted hacks and workarounds, but I haven’t tried any, maybe they work maybe not but it seems like a lot of trouble nonetheless. So, what’s the point of this post? Glad you asked! A colleague passed on this link to a tool that is supposed to support the allusive in place upgrade of Windows XP to Windows 7. Now, I haven’t tested it yet since it’s a commercial app, but I am going to see if I can get a demo in order to do a proper review. If anyone has tried it, or does try it please drop a line and let me know how it works out for you. Enjoy!
Verizon Email Update and Solution
You have heard me share information about the fiasco that Verizon created. In case you haven’t heard, I’ll recap quickly. In the name of fighting SPAM, Verizon decided that they would block ALL port 25 SMTP traffic on their network for all of their ISP customers. That means that anyone and everyone that uses Verizon as their ISP (DSL, FIOS, Dial-up, etc) cannot use any third party mail server or service that is configured to use the industry standard port 25. That’s just plain stupid, but I have complained about that already.
I was in a quandary with this one, or maybe a catch-22 is a better term. If I didn’t do anything about this “problem” that Verizon created, then all the people that I host email services for that use Verizon as their ISP are now out of luck. They can’t send mail through their (read: my) mail servers. So, I can just change the port that sendmail listens on, right? Yeah, I could, and then my Verizon tethered customers can send mail again … but, all my other customers that don’t use Verizon have to change their email client settings too, since they would still be sending through port 25. OK, I didn’t want to go down that road. I wanted to fix the problem with the least impact on everyone. Continue reading
FREE software from SafelyRemove.com
Here you go folks! There is an interesting program called USB Safely Remove, a self proclaimed must have if you frequently use such hotplug devices as: flash drives, USB\SATA drives, card readers and the like. Read more about it at:
Download the program here:
http://safelyremove.com/usbsafelyremovesetup.exe
If you hurry, you can get a free license for version 4.1 of this software. Go to:
http://safelyremove.com/giveaway10K.htm
They are giving away 10,000 license keys and as of 10/2/2009 at 1740 hours, they still had some to give away, so get on over there and check it out. I haven’t use it yet, but I just now downloaded it and got my key. I’ll put up a review when I have played with it some. Enjoy!