Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Biggs On Page 9 of 13

Biggs On: Dress In The Workplace

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On October 10, 2012

In Biggs On

There is some subjectivity to this topic. Obviously what you wear to work will depend on what your job entails. I’m going to be speaking from the perspective of the day-to-day programmer. I’d say probably about 15 years ago (give or take) you would typically see programmers dress anywhere from business casual to business professional (i.e. dress shoes, button down shirt and a tie). Currently I wear business casual which is a nice collared shirt, khaki’s and nice shoes, but that is because it is the dress code of my firm and I will adhere to those policies. Personally, I don’t buy into “the better you dress the better you work”.

I could never wear a suit and/or a tie to work everyday and be as productive as I am when I wear jeans or even lounge pants. Honestly the more comfortable I dress the easier it is for me to focus on writing code. When my brain isn’t distracted by the attempted asphyxiation of a tie or the constricted nature of some dress shoes, that extra energy can be directed toward problem solving and writing code.

Honestly, I think that is one of the reasons why I am actually more productive on the days when I need to work from home. Some may argue that working at home presents more opportunities for distractions, but that isn’t the case for me. The fact that I am sitting in a far more comfortable office chair and wearing far more comfortable clothes is a better environment for my brain to focus. After all, it is the same desk and chair that I use when I do any kind of extra curricular programming at home.

I do understand the rationale for wearing professional clothing. In fact in college I had a course on conflict resolution and negotiation and we actually had an exercise over this exact topic and I was on the side that defended professional dress. I did the research on professional dress but, despite what I found, I still believe that the more comfortable you dress the easier it is to be more productive.

/cheers

Biggs On: Replacement Refs

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On September 25, 2012

In Biggs On

We are now three weeks into the NFL season and it seems every week the calls from the replacement referees seem to be getting worse. There will be blood soon. I suspect that right now the NFL and the Referees Union are playing chicken, while the rest of us twist and turn in anguish as we see bad call after bad call. I have seen more and more people suggesting a boycott of the games by either not attending or turning the TV off. As avid of a football fan as I am, I am actually considering this suggestion.

Unfortunately for me, turning off football is like asking a crack addict to put down the syringe. I can appreciate what both sides are trying to accomplish, neither party wants to feel like they are getting screwed over. Sadly the fans and the players are the ones getting screwed over while this feud persists. I’m not suggesting that either side just capitulate, the professional referees should feel like they are properly compensated, but the NFL shouldn’t just bow down to the unions (unions in this country have enough power as it is).

It’s a conundrum that I wish I had an answer to, not that I have the power to influence the NFL directly. Week 4 is approximately a quarter of the way through the regular season. I think if something doesn’t happen this week, and we have another weekend of blundered calls, I think we are going to see a huge backlash and even I may consider leaving the TV off until something is resolved.

Biggs On: iPhone 5 Announcement

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On September 17, 2012

In Apple, Biggs On, Technology

I know I am about a week late to be posting a comment on Apple’s latest announcement but I had other things I was working on and other posts I wanted to finish first. Unless you are living under a rock you should be aware now that Apple has unveiled a new iPhone, the iPhone 5, and its already available for pre-order and it will start shipping this Friday (September 21st).

The Apple-haters were quick to proclaim how anti-climatic the announcement was and that expectations were shattered and thousands were left unimpressed (by the way, the iPhone 5 has broken AT&T sales records). Personally, the announcement met all of my expectations. I wasn’t really expecting the unveiling of some new technological feat, what else could they possibly do to a phone. It will be faster, more streamlined, and the camera is vastly improved; which is pretty much what I was expecting. It was a humble upgrade for an excellent device.

If you hadn’t heard enough about what to expect in the next iteration of iPhone, here are a few of the key features I was excited to see:

  • 18% thinner, 20% lighter (constructed entirely of glass and aluminium)
  • A 5th row of icons and a 16:9 aspect ratio
  • “ultrafast wireless” with LTE; wi-fi can now receive on 802.11n band
  • A6 chip (twice as fast as the A5)
  • 1080p FaceTime, panoramic pictures at 28 megapixels
  • Cameras use Sapphire lens (?)

These are just a couple of the upgraded features in the new iPhone so its just a fundamental feature set upgrade. I won’t be rushing out to buy the iPhone 5 and not because of alleged “lack luster” features but because my 4S is only a year old and I’m too cheap to try to buy a new phone every year. I will most likely wait until the next iteration (whether that is the 5S or the iPhone 6). I will admit though, if economics weren’t a factor, I probably would have already pre-ordered one.

Cheers.

Biggs On: Apple vs. Samsung Ruling

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On August 27, 2012

In Apple, Biggs On, Technology

I want to begin by saying that I am a fan of both of these companies. I own just as many Samsung products as I do Apple products though I own more traditional Samsung products (i.e. monitors, blu-ray players, televisions, etc). I admit though that a $1 billion payout was shocking so my biggest concern is how this will impact Samsung as a company and the quality of the products they produce.

In a statement issued by Samsung they expressed the ruling as a “loss for the consumer” and that it will result in “fewer choices, less innovation and higher prices”. This seems to be a little extreme because I think Samsung controls whether those statements come true or not. If anything this should help Samsung to be more innovative. Instead of trying to copy what Apple did they should create their own design. Granted I can see why Samsung wanted to use Apple as a model for manufacturing their phones considering how successful the iPhone has been. I can see the potential for a price hike on Samsung products not only from the dollar amount of the ruling but the extra cost now of additional R&D so this doesn’t happen again. The consequence of “less innovation” will be Samsung’s choice and has little to do with Apple.

I also disagree that this was a dispute over “rectangles with rounded corners”. I think that is over simplifying what the case was about. I have seen some of the images that had a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone with Samsung phones and there was a lot more in common. In fact the Samsung phone looked almost like a clone of the iPhone, with only slight variations, right down to the icons (and as we’ve seen from the MMO world, clones of more successful products are bad – allegedly).

Unfortunately the biggest consequence of this ruling will only make Apple appear to be a bigger thug (to the haters) and Samsung will probably see a surge in product sales from pity purchasing. Personally I will continue to buy products from both companies as it pertains to my needs. My brand loyalty to both companies hasn’t changed. It is amusing though that Google stayed under the radar to distance themselves from this brouhaha and Microsoft is still the laughable runt in the corner of a room full of giants.

Cheers!

Biggs On: Trolls

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On August 24, 2012

In Biggs On

If you are not a gamer, then you probably won’t relate to this post. I am not going to talk about the kind that live under bridges (more like the kind that live in their parents basement). I am going to talk about how there are some terrible trolls out there and good trolls (both in-game and on the web).

I know what you are thinking: “Is there such a thing as a good troll??”

I say there is. Have you ever read a comment on an article or in Trade chat and it just got you all flustered and riled? You start developing an involuntary compulsion to make personal assaults using profanity and caps. In my opinion, that is a good troll and only good in the sense that they probably don’t believe a word of what they said, but they know you do. They have a talent for pressing the right button to make your blood pressure spike. I am just as guilty for falling victim to this ploy as anyone else, especially when it came to defending SWTOR.

There are days where I swear I will never read another comment or enter Trade chat again. Unfortunately, by doing so, you might miss out on some pretty excellent comments and comedy. I admit I’m not perfect so despite the fact that most of the time I know that people are only saying things that make me nerd rage, sometimes I still cave in and flip out. You may have noticed the times when I have done that from some of my past posts (i.e. most Soapbox posts).

So you are probably thoroughly confused. If the people that I just described are the “good” trolls, then what are the bad trolls? The bad trolls are the dorks that try too hard. The kind that you would swear are 12 years old because they clearly have no idea what people are discussing. You ignore them because they are annoying, not because they irked you right off.

The anonymity of the Internet gives the trolls courage so the best that we can do is remain civil and maintain our composure, which is easier said then done.

Wait, did someone say [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker]??

Biggs On: SWTOR Going F2P

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On August 11, 2012

In Biggs On, SWTOR

I have to admit, while I knew that Bioware would eventually go F2P with SWTOR, I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. I know this game has been under very heavy scrutiny by players and gaming pundits since its release, and now they are all screaming “First” upon the Free-2-Play announcement. It does sadden me that this game has become such a flop because I honestly really enjoy this game, though I am beginning to understand the end-game criticisms.

What does Free-2-Play mean for me? Well I think I am going to try to maintain my subscription until it becomes Free-2-Play and then make the switch, especially since I will be playing Mists of Pandaria. I hope to have earned enough Cartel Coins to unlock some of the F2P restrictions so I don’t notice the changes so much. There are many that are saying that this will save the game, and in a way I hope it does. I know that the servers will likely become flooded with players and trolls.

Honestly its the trolls that have me most concerned.I know there will be trolls that will make it their purpose in life to grief players by trying to belittle Bioware and the game as much as possible. I hope that people will take advantage of the ignore list and other methods to diffuse the trolls instead of abandoning the game. Unfortunately all the trolls will also contribute to any login queues.

I hope the decision to go Free-2-Play is a success. I hope to see Bioware receive the same returns as SOE did with DCUO. I am excited that it seems several of my friends will be returning to the game when it does go Free-2-Play and the ability to use my Cartel Coins to unlock some of the restrictions is pretty cool.

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