I finally saw Star Trek June 5, 2009
Posted by koset in Entertainment.1 comment so far
Ok everybody can go back to talking about it. The gag order is lifted.
First of all, I loved the film. So let me get this out of the way, my brief list of quirks.
1. What was the point of the Uhura-Spock thing? I don’t see how it advanced the plot or even developed the characters. There was no lead-up to the first elevator scene after Spock turns over command to Kirk. It was just out of the blue.
2. I didn’t like the new Enterprise. It looks more advanced than even the Enterprise-E (Picard’s ship).
3. Kirk’s rebelliousness was taken to the point of hyperbole. The whole adolescent car thief sequence was not believable. If it were my son, he would have been grounded for the rest of his life. Ok, the fact that he wrecked a classic Corvette strikes a nerve with me!
4. Where was the scene where his uncle says, “no you can’t go to the academy, we need you for one more season.” And Kirk says, “but all my friends are going now!” And his aunt says, “Let the boy go. He has too much of his father in him.”
5. Why wouldn’t old Spock give young Spock a bunch of winning lotto numbers?
6.. I didn’t feel the need to introduce every Star Trek principle in this film. It felt a bit contrived that they all met on their first mission. Also, they killed Mrs. Spock. Don’t they need her later?
7. I’ll forgo a number of minor annoyances, but here’s just one example. Uhura orders a Cardassian drink. <Exasperated gasp>, contact with the Cardassians wasn’t made until about a century later. Was that reference really necessary? <dozens of other such references omitted here>
8. The core of the plot was your basic good v. evil. I prefer character-driven stories. For example, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (the first film) was built on discovery and the journey of the human spirit.
On the plus side, what I liked was:
1. The action and special effects did not disappoint; never was there a dull moment.
2. The writing, acting and directing were superb.
3. They didn’t do the prequel thing too over the top the way the Enterprise (series) did.
In summary, the film was innovative but had a balanced amount of homage to the Star Trek canon. Roddenberry would have approved. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the next installation of Star Trek films with this crew. It’s a team that works.
PC Fine Print May 16, 2009
Posted by koset in Uncategorized.add a comment
The following appeared in a Mac TV ad:
Please note that when you first receive your PC there is some suggested work that needs to be done before PCs can perform at their peak. These steps include, but are not limited to, downloading and installing necessary drivers for peripherals. These drivers may include printers, scanners, cameras, storage devices, music players, and other media devices. There may be more depending on your needs. It is also recommended that first time users remove all unneeded bloatware and remove all operational components. To remove unneeded bloatware first open uninstaller, select applications to remove, and uninstall. To remove optional components, click start, go to all programs and open control panel, select remove components, select components you want to remove, select next, when done, select finish. Once initial prep is complete, PCs may then be easy to use under certain controlled conditions and when properly maintained. In order for PCs to achieve optimal performance on a regular basis and for long periods of time, routine maintenance should include (but is not limited to) the following: download and install updated anti-virus software, run anti-virus software, check for system updates, clean out registry, defragment hard drive, free up disk space, remove temporary Internet files, empty the recycle bin, remove unnecessary programs, run error check utility and fix file system errors. It is recommended that a maintenance schedule is developed and adhered to in order to make sure your PC is running safe and secure. Update your software, do a virus scan, and run error check utility once a week. Search for and download software and driver updates, free up disk space, and defragment hard drive at least once a month. Empty the recycle bin and remove unnecessary programs once every three months. Back up all your files once a year. Please see instruction manual for more details. Failure to perform these functions may result in the following: freezing, viruses, slow performance, and/or error messages. If problems persist after routine maintenance is performed, please contact your local IT professional who may or may not refer you to your software or hardware manufacturer depending on where the problem originated. Important information about easy to use PCs: PCs may become more difficult to use if the following occurs: sluggish operating system, viruses, and error messages, crashing and freezing. Unfortunately, freezing and/or crashing are sometimes unavoidable. To avoid sluggish operating systems, crashing and freezing, it is recommended that you clean up your system registry, defragment your hard drive, free up your disk space, and perform other routine maintenance tasks. To clean out your system registry, first backup your data, back up your registry, purchase, download, and install Registry Repair program, then quit all programs, scan registry, determine safe registry items to repair/delete/remove, select ok, and repeat if necessary. To defragment your hard drive, click start, and go to all programs > accessories > system tools > and open disk defragmenter, then select C: drive, select defragment and wait. To free up disk space on your PC, click start, go to all programs > accessories > system tools > and open disk cleanup. Scan will automatically start. From scan results, select files to be removed, select ok. Restarting your PC may then be necessary upon completion of system registry clean up, hard drive defragmentation, and disk space clean out. Please note: trying to remove registry items on your own is not recommended. It is often difficult to determine which items correspond to which applications, and by attempting to remove items yourself, you might accidentally remove a valid registry item, causing software crashes and errors. If a system registry becomes corrupt because you made a mistake when cleaning out the registry, follow these steps: back up data, back up registry, purchase, download, and install Registry Repair program, quit all programs, scan registry, determine safe registry items to repair/delete/remove, then select ok and repeat if necessary. Also, easy to use PCs can experience difficulty if malware, viruses, or spyware infect your PC’s system. There are 1.5 million signature-based malware detections with 20,000 new ones discovered everyday (based on 2008 reporting). Although some viruses are unavoidable, there are some preventative measures that you can take. When you first get your PC, configure your security settings (including things like Internet firewall, automatic updating, anti-virus, anti-spyware and other malware protection, other Internet security settings, and user account control). Eventually you may have to download and install security patches for your operating system and then as security updates become available download and install again. If your PC does get infected with malware talk to your IT professional first about the risks and benefits of treating the problem on your own. Do not try to remove a virus unless your IT professional has taught you and you understand everything. Ask them if you have any questions. Please see accompanying important information about virus protection on your hardware and software manufacturer’s website. Anyone can sit down and edit photos on their PC as long as their computer is running properly. Please note that proper maintenance, specifically disk defragmentation can take anywhere from minutes to hours to run depending on the size of your hard drive and how fragmented it is. Therefore, editing photos might be postponed if you chose to run maintenance on your computer prior to this act. Please note: your camera driver must be installed on your PC in order to review and edit your photos. Your camera will not work with your PC if the software/drivers are not downloaded first. Editing photos on a PC may be difficult for children under a certain age, or for people who are unfamiliar with how a PC works and how to download camera software and drivers. Also, no PC connected to the Internet is one hundred percent immune to viruses, spyware, adware, and other forms of malware. Once a year, PC users should back up a year’s worth of photos and files to a CD or DVD. Power PC users should start fresh and back up all their files and applications on an external hard drive, then use your original system installer disks to erase, rebuild, and reinstall your operating system from scratch. Therefore, if your PC is not one hundred percent trouble free at least you won’t lose all of your files. PC does not claim ownership of problems that occur from materials or software that you downloaded off the Internet. If your warranty has expired, and your PC is not one hundred percent trouble free, you are not eligible for a refund or replacement under the terms of the warranty. In addition, we cannot help you with software or hardware obtained without a warranty, such as software provided “as is “ or for free. Again, if problems continue, please contact your IT professional.
Corvette Navigation May 6, 2009
Posted by koset in Cars.add a comment
When I bought the Z06 in 2002, a navigation unit wasn’t available from the factory. Who needs one anyway? Just point it and floor it, right? Well after enough time with the latest high-tech equipment in my Chrysler SRT-8, I decided it was time for the ‘vette to be updated. The problem was that no aftermarket unit would fit. The stock GM unit is about a 1-1/2 DIN form factor. All aftermarket ones were either 2-DIN or (even worse) a standard 1-DIN with a motorized flip out/up display. Besides looking cheesy, that would block the air vents.
So I did a lot of digging on the ‘net and found a guy who got a full-height 2-DIN unit to fit, but had to painstakingly modify the dash bezel. The steps he describes seemed laborious, but I thought I’d take on the project. So I ordered the Kenwood DNX-5120, a 2-DIN model from my favorite place, Crutchfield and got busy.
Well after enough time, it proved more than a challenge than even I had time for. So I decided to just see what the experts would have to say. I dropped in on my local car audio shop and I was happily surprised. They said it’d be no problem. By the end of the day I had a fully installed unit with all the extras like a backup camera, iPod cable and Sirius radio. It just barely fits in the existing opening. The disc slot on top goes right up to the upper edge and the buttons on the bottom go right up to the bottom edge. Also, they had to dremel trim it just a hair.
The results are exactly as I had hoped. It looks like the car was built that way from the factory! Have a look.
If you get to Sonic, ask for Kevin (the mgr.) or Oscar (who did the work).
First Impressions
Right after I got it installed, I took a weekend trip to Harrisburg. I set the nav and a nice female voice guided me the way there. I don’t like how nav units tell you to ‘continue on the current road’ when you’re on a highway but not exiting. I suppose they’re afraid you’ll exit even when you weren’t told to do so. Also, I haven’t figured out how to turn down the volume of the nav voice yet. It’s rather loud.
The backup cam engages automatically when you go into reverse. The unit takes a little longer to boot than I’d like (10 seconds?); it seems like a long time when you’re waiting to begin backing up. Also the image is initially ‘correct’ but what I need is a reverse image as one would get in a rear-view mirror. It took some poking, but I disovered that a tap on the FNC (function) button swaps it.
I haven’t tried the iPod interface yet. Sirius works like a champ. I was a bit disappointed that it didnt’ come with the traffic receiver. That’s an additional option. Maybe it will be a gift from Santa Crutchfield this Xmas.
As another upgrade, I’ll need to install an after-market adapter between the unit and the door sub-woofers. Without it, the sub-woofers don’t woof. I supplied it to the shop, but it somehow didn’t make it in the installation.
Resurrected Bits March 3, 2009
Posted by koset in Uncategorized.add a comment
I have been able to retrieve the files from some of the floppy diskettes I have kept. I have a box of about 50 floppy disks. The three kinds are TRS-80, IBM-PC and later IBM-PC format. I was able to get the later format ones, 1,2M 5.25″ diskettes.
IBM PC February 15, 2009
Posted by koset in Retrocomputing.add a comment
My second computer was a genuine IBM-PC. Two floppy drives, a color monitor, but no hard drive! In 1983 it cost about $5500.
Hey ... where's the mouse?
While I’ve been on a retrocomputing kick, I decided to try to see what it takes to emulate an original IBM PC. I found Pico-XT, which runs on Windows. (I’d rather have one that runs on Linux.) Since I’m running Ubuntu, I used Wine and had to chuckle.
Then I needed a floppy disk. I downloaded a ton from The Boot Disk Project. I started with MS-DOS 3.30. It didn’t work the first time and I realized I had to convert it from a 1.44MB floppy to a 360k. I did that with WinImage. It requires that you open the original image file and pull down “Image / Change Format”, select 360k, then save.
When Wine opens Pico-XT, you must pull down ‘File / Floppy Drive A: / Insert”, then choose the floppy filename. Here’s what it looks like.
My next project is to take an image file from my Mom’s old office PC and get it to work in the emulator. I made it with dd, but it doesn’t seem to be a format recognized by Pico-XT yet nor WinImage.
Update
Special thanks to my neighbor Vince who just gave me a 5150 that he rescued from a dumpster. I’m going to try to see if it works.
