Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Biggs On Page 11 of 13

Biggs On: SOPA

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On December 21, 2011

In Biggs On, General Cogitation

SOPA, for anyone that isn’t familiar with it, is a bill soon to be voted on by Congress. It stands for Stop Online Piracy Act. I’m not an advocate for or against online piracy but I thought I would weigh in on this SOPA bill.

Online piracy is a Pandora’s box, no matter what the MPAA or RIAA try to do, they can’t stop it. The more they try to establish litigation and laws to prevent piracy, the harder it will be to stop. I have to side with those that are saying the SOPA law is flawed. Today I got a chuckle from all of the people out there posting ways you can get around what SOPA would attempt to suppress. I love that people are already developing browser addons that would automate those processes. In fact one of the guys developing an addon is from MIT. What makes these lawmakers think they can outsmart someone from MIT? Its kinda ludicrous when you think about it.

In my opinion there are two things that the MPAA and RIAA can do to fight this piracy thing. First, stop trying to prevent piracy with silly bills like SOPA, that just pisses off the pirates and increases their motivation. Instead I would find ways to track them down to prosecute them. I’m sorry but copyright infringement and piracy is still a crime so I’m going to side with other guys there.

Second, and this is the big one, Lower Your Prices!!! RIAA is already trying to play this game a little bit. One dollar for a song, or ten dollars for an album, from iTunes is a pretty good deal in my opinion. However, nine bucks a person to see a movie, that is ridiculous!! It’s bad enough that the quality of the movies these days is in the tank and the 3D gimmick isn’t improving the quality. In my opinion, anyone that is downloading a movie is missing out on the video and sound quality you could get if you watched it on blu-ray. I scoff at anyone that claims the movie they download is actually “HD quality” or comparable to watching the actual blu-ray.

So I agree, SOPA is a waste of time and taxpayer money. It won’t work; no matter what lame brain plan they come up with, there are hundreds of smarter people that already know a way around it, and they are ready to share their idea with everyone on the Internet.

Oh, and one final note, SOPA will NOT kill, maim, break or disembowel the Internet; that’s just a little too mellow dramatic folks.

Cheers!

Biggs On: Outspoken Celebrities

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On October 18, 2011

In Biggs On, General Cogitation

I swear not a week goes by when some celebrity gets it into their tiny mind that the world apparently needs to hear their latest opinion or political theory. It’s so aggregating!

You are paid to act or sing, that’s it!

I’m not saying celebrities are not allowed to have opinions or political theories, I just don’t want to hear you force it on us during film festivals, talk show interviews or awards ceremonies. I use to watch the Oscars religiously but I stopped because the risk of some self-appointed political pundit spewing their opinion makes me feel physically ill.

I don’t know what pisses me off more:

  • when a celebrity I truly loath, like Susan “Die In A Fire” Sarandon, does it or
  • when it’s a celebrity whom I kind of liked (such as Hank Williams Jr)

I think it depends on how egregious the comments were. For example Susan Sarandon recently referred to the pope as a nazi. I am so angry that I have no desire to ever see another movie, tv show, awards show, interview, charity event, anything that is linked to her ever again! I do find some joy in the fact that she is catching a lot of heat for making that statement; and I would say that her comments will affect her career but … what career???

That’s the thing I don’t get. I would think that the more extreme celebrities take their nonsense the greater chance it could negatively impact their career and popularity. I think it’s fine if they want to express themselves on Facebook, or Google+ or twitter (but even on those sites you have to be careful how you phrase things). I just don’t want to turn on Fox News, or some awards show, or Jimmy Kimmel and have to listen to their dribble.

SWTOR: Nearly There

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On October 16, 2011

In Biggs On, MMO Times

A few weeks ago a new build was deployed which wiped out all of our characters, but two new servers were added. There is now a PvE, PvP and a server with high level pre-mades characters.

While the pre-mades were enticing, I decided to create a Jedi Knight on the PvE server and try out tanking (NOTE: I will be going Sith when the game goes live, thus why I am playing Jedi while in the beta).

This new build is much, much better. In fact the changes in this build have put the game much closer to completion, in my opinion. All the NPCs are fully voiced, which is great because the best feature of the game is the excellent voice acting and the writing. The responses are both humorous and witty which really helps add depth and a sense of RP to the game. Most of the bugs are quest bugs and UI glitches. I have experienced very little lag and framerate issues, although there are some (people in public chat channels) that have claimed to experience heavy lag.

Oh, have I mentioned how incredible the music is? In case I haven’t, its awesome! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the game.

Based on the issues that remain, I think TOR will definitely make its December 20th launch date.

Biggs On: Windows 8

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On September 13, 2011

In Biggs On

Microsoft officially unveiled the new Windows 8 operating system today and WTF??!! Its horrible! Words cannot describe how asinine Windows 8 is going to be! If you haven’t seen it, Engadget has a few blog posts about it. If you use or have seen the Windows Phone 7 OS, well, that is what Windows 8 is going to be. Yes, there is no desktop, you get nice big, bright tiles as your desktop. Apparently its designed to work on Microsoft tablets and on desktop PCs.

*scratches head* What Microsoft Tablets?!?!

Oh! You mean the one they plan on releasing in 2012 … after there have been 3 versions of the iPad and at least 2 versions of the Galaxy and Xoom! Yea, I’m sure that’s going to be successful!

I don’t understand how someone could possibly think that a touch style OS was going to be useful on a keyboard and mouse style PC! What primate thought this was a good idea?!? And why the hell did everyone else agree with him. There is some serious narcotics in the drinking water in Redmond!

The ONE thing Microsoft was good at (sort of) was the operating system. The Zune is/was garbage, Bing is garbage, MSN is/was garbage, Windows Phone is garbage; every market Microsoft has tried to get into, that isn’t operating system, has been nothing but garbage!

Someone, either a co-worker or a blog comment I read somewhere, said “Every even version of Windows has been crap” and I completely agree and Windows 8 is continuing that motif.

Get a fracking brain, then get a fracking clue Steve Balmer!!

Biggs On: The ATM Conspiracy

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On June 17, 2011

In Biggs On

I hate getting political because I get too caught up in it and I start to piss people off but sometimes I read something that I can’t help but comment on (besides I doubt too many people read my mutterings anyway).

Be that as it may, I read something today that, again has me clawing at my head and muttering like a madman. Bubba, er I mean Obama, released a statement claiming that job-stealing ATMs are the reason for slow economic growth. We are approaching the anniversary of his so called “recovery summer” and his excuse for the slow growth is innovation and technology like “job-stealing ATMs”

I’m sorry, what?!?!

First of all innovation is pretty much the only thing Americans have left that we do better than any other country, and even that is slowly dwindling. So now our innovation is causing unemployment?? Hmm, yea, that is probably the most asinine thing I have ever heard.

I know we are inventing machines that can do the jobs of humans. If you are one of those people whose job has been replaced by a machine then do something else instead of whining about it, ya lazy ass!! You are still an expert at the job you use to do so learn about the machine and offer to train others or even learn simple repair and maintenance. Machines don’t run forever, they need maintenance and care.

Whining only irritates the rest of us that are smarter and more successful … Oops, did I say that out loud.

/endsoapbox

**This post written and published from my iPad**

Biggs On: Coupons

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On June 5, 2011

In Biggs On

It has been a goal recently to try to improve my fiscal skills (i.e. historically I haven’t been very good with money). To that end I have learned the value of cutting coupons, and not just using them but using them at the right times.

So you might be wondering what the “right time” is, one might assume I mean anytime I would go shopping seems like the appropriate time. Not really. Each week I also review the ads. Stores will honor a coupon even when the product is on sale. If you wait until what you want is on sale and use the coupon at the same time, you will save a lot more money. Some stores will even double the value of your coupon, so you could literally pay nothing for the product.

In just the few weeks that I have been clipping coupons I have literally saved well over $100. In fact, the first day that I went shopping with coupons I saved over $50!

Furthermore, I’m not sacrificing any preferred brands nor am I just buying something because I have a coupon and its on sale. There is a misnomer, I think, that people who cut coupons will only buy comparable items and not necessarily what they would normally purchase. This simply isn’t true. I have continued to buy the brands and products I have been using for years but at a greatly reduced cost because I have been cutting and saving coupons for when they go on sale.

So just 20-30 minutes a week and a little patience and you can continue to buy the items that you have always been using, at a reduced price, and it will literally save you thousands. I urge you to try it for a couple of months. There is no better addiction then being addicted to saving money.

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