#42; Operating Problems

Tomorrow sees the release of Windows’ latest operating system, Windows 7. There’s been a fair amount of anticipation about Windows 7, as it seems set to correct everything that many people feel went so wrong with Windows Vista. From my own personal point of view and usage of Vista over the years, I am part of this group that feels Vista was a pretty poor piece of software from Windows. However, I do realise there will be readers thinking ‘Well I’ve never had a problem with Vista’ – fair enough. This isn’t any propaganda or persuasion to get people to upgrade, this is just me explaining why Vista will soon be a past memory and one I won’t be reminiscing in anytime soon.

The biggest problem with Vista was when it was first released. I managed to use the OS not long after it was made public in January 2007. When it was first released, to me at least, it was almost unusable. There were bugs left, right and centre, the operating system itself caused some serious conflicts with games and program being used, and the hardware itself that the system required was a bit annoying. Whilst most computers at the market at the time could run Vista with no problems, or so was thought, features such as Windows Aero seemed to be pushed in and rushed so quickly they just caused crashes and problems. It was very, very annoying. Furthermore, you had this ridiculous amount of programs with the Windows tagline greeting you on a fresh install. Shovelware forced upon you that I was never going to use. If you want to find a way to annoy me instantly Microsoft, that was a perfect start.

Going back to the mention of gaming, XP was a fantastic system in it’s support and compatibility of games amongst it’s system and various system requirements that all PC games have. Vista needed, and still needs, more powerful requirements although it’s obviously less important and obvious with no games including XP requirements anymore for obvious reasons. I’m a big fan of older games but once more with Vista, they just simply did not go hand in hand – the biggest example I can think of is Theme Hospital which is near impossible to work with Vista for reasons I have no ideas about, yet it worked fine on XP and even on the Windows 7 beta I had no issues. To be honest I wish I had a greater understand as to why these problems occurred with Vista when other operating systems have no problems! Annoying!

My final area of annoyance I’m gonna quickly discuss is the fact that I’ve lost god knows how much work over the past 2/3 years with Vista. I understand if there is scepticism that this is Vista’s fault but how is it I can use these programs (NetBeans, Borland, etc) on XP in our student suites at university on XP perfectly well and then, when it comes to home use and Vista, it be such a pain in the arse to achieve a positive outcome without problems? It’s been really frustrating and this is almost turning into a rant but I’m holding back for my own sanity I think! for myself, it’s been too frustrating.

Oh, and User Account Control. Quite simply the stupidest feature I have ever encountered.

No operating system is perfect. I’ll happily admit that Windows Vista in it’s current state (with two major Service Packs now available to help) is a lot more usable and stable, and it is nowhere near as bad as when it first came out, but for me it still doesn’t make up for it. Over the years the many crashes, moments of lost work unexpectedly, conflicting hardware and software, rushed inclusions and just general frustrations I’ve experienced with Vista want me yearning for Windows 7. Sure, you could argue that I should jump over to the Mac or try out Linux (something I actually have plans for very soon but enough on that for now) but for me, Vista is soon to be a recent memory I’ll hopefully not be revisiting. The funny thing is, for all I know I could come back on here in a few months and absolutely destroy Windows 7 and everything it’s supposedly promising to do for the user.  Should we have to pay for these major upgrades though? Not necessarily no. But that’s life.

Apologies if these seems an annoying few paragraphs to you, or seems a bit fickle to be so annoyed at Vista, but it’s my own personal views and I respect that everyone will have their own experiences with the way they used their computer. I just hope now that Windows 7 lives up to the promising feedback it seems to be getting!

Operating Systems. Serious Business.

#40; Xbox Generation

If you know me, then by now I’m sure you’ll know how much I enjoy my video games. There is no denial from me that I am a big gamer; a geek; whatever term you feel suits possible for us who enjoy our games! At the moment I own the 3 major consoles – Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 being my own whilst the Wii is more my brother’s console that I rarely play in all honesty. This afternoon whilst doing, well, absolutely nothing it occurred to me just how little I play one console in comparison to the other. For example, take a look at my games collection at the moment:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that I have way more Xbox 360 games than I do Playstation 3. This has always been the case – even when I have owned 5 or 6 games for the PS3, they sit alongside 15-20 Xbox 360 games! Yes, I do play the Xbox a lot more than I do Playstation and honestly, I prefer the Xbox 360 to the Playstation. But what is the cause of this? I certainly don’t dislike the Playstation… and there are games I own on the Xbox 360 that I could happily buy on the Playstation 3. It just got me thinking, what is it that I prefer about Microsoft’s console over a brand name that has been synonymous with video gaming for the past 15 years or so?

Well, let’s consider the facts. I got given the Xbox 360 as a Christmas present 3 years ago this coming Christmas, whereas the Playstation 3 I bought myself this time last year. Perhaps it’s more of the fact that the Xbox 360 feels more of a complete console to me – it does everything I need it do, it does it whilst looking magnificently pretty, it has a superb online setup working behind the scenes and whereas it’s about as reliable as a chocolate teapot at times, it is just a console I’ve vastly enjoyed playing over the years since getting it. To me though, this is just personal opinion and doesn’t explain why I prefer the Xbox…

Maybe if I change focus and take a look at the Playstation 3 as a console then perhaps I can solve it. It doesn’t die on you as much as the Xbox 360 does, which is a major bonus, and it does have a strong line-up of games behind it. again, these can easily be purchased on the Xbox 360 though so the exclusivity of titles on the console isn’t so strong for me. It has the classic Playstation controller that has been a stronghold in analog based joy pad designs since the original Playstation, and it has Sony who, with Nintendo, are arguably the fathers in modern video game consoles. Once again though… there is just something about the Playstation that doesn’t attract me in the same way that the Xbox 360 does.

Hmm.

It’s really very odd to analysis and work out why if I’m honest as I can’t seem to find solid reasons behind why I prefer the Xbox over the other. Sure, Xbox Live and always being able to socialise during games online is a huge benefactor to my bias without a doubt, the Playstation Network for me just doesn’t compare despite being free, and services like Xbox Live Arcade and the upcoming Twitter/Last.fm/Facebook update will be fantastic for a Twitter Addict for myself, but at the end of the day, I just prefer my gaming on my Xbox 360. Hopefully that will not cause any shouting at me in accusation of being a ‘360 fanboy’ but there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Playstation 3 – for me, Sony have just lost a bit of their mojo that saw many people my age grow up in the era known as the Playstation Generation.

I think I may investigate my ideas further with this eventually… there’s a lot that can be said about consoles these days…

#38; Back to life, Back to reality

First off, apologies for a lack of posting recently but it’ll soon makes sense I’m sure. As with most people in the joyful month of September, the world of educational learning has come crashing back into my life with quite a force. At the moment I’ve just started my final year of a BSc Computing course at the University of Wales Newport, with this year obviously being ridiculously important – as well as the normal modules and assignments comes the big 15,000 word final year project. Oh god!!

What I’m currently planning involves a project that studies the computing methodology and technologies of disabled teaching in a primary school environment, basically a study of computing within such ways of teaching. To be honest, I’m kinda looking forward to it in a really bizarre way, but it is gonna be a lot of work. It’s a very rewarding subject for me though as I’d love to go into the world of teaching after University and hopefully an extra year of PGCE training next year but we shall see. Concerning the dissertation though, let’s just hope I manage to get there with all 15,000 words!!

It probably seems very odd for a computing student to be doing his final year project based on teaching than a programming/hardware related computing subject but for me it’s something I’m far more comfortable with and something I know will benefit me for the future far more than creating a program I’ll no doubt hate or be unable to complete. For me being able to give something back to a younger generation through computing would be a fantastic career choice, and with this dissertation, technology has progressed so much over the past few decades that we can help those with disabilities in such magnificent ways the dissertation will probably be a very humbling experience for myself to witness and understand more.

So best of luck to everyone starting back up with their A-levels, degree courses, masters courses, or whatever education they’ve gone back to in this past month. I’ll still be posting entries with whatever’s on my mind but University comes first with writing at the moment! It’s been a lovely summer and I have lots of fantastic memories, but for now, it’s back to the grinding repetition of lectures and notes!

#25; It’s not quite Autumn but it’s more than Spring

So it’s the typical British summertime rolling out once more it would seem – in a season that should bring sunshine, warmth, colour and clichés of a summer variety, we once more seem to put up with the usual stuff.  I’ll admit we’ve had some beautiful days so far this summer but that’s the thing – I’m having to say ‘some’' rather than mostly! See, our summer seems to be full of cloudy clouds, showery showers and generally generic weather, 3 descriptions that I’m sure will blow you away with sheer visual oomph. To get myself out of this non-descriptive summer we seem to be experiencing once more, I’ve decided to remind myself of everything that makes me look forward to the summer and gets me back in the mood of the lovely few months they should bring…

• Cornettos! OK not necessarily Cornettos’ themselves but ice cream in general. yes we’ve had the massively inflated prices of 99 Flakes contradict their actual name but Ice Creams and summer go together like peas in a pod! Whilst at Goodwood with that beautiful blue sky horizon I can’t even begin to tell you how many Ice creams I treated myself to, pure heaven. You just simply can’t go a summer without ice cream. Yum. Also, you all know secretly Strawberry Cornettos’ are the best ones. 
• Blue! No, not that absolute drivel of a band. No, not the Blue Man Group although they are kind of cool. I mean those glorious blue skies that stretch for miles and miles with the whispers of clouds stroking through their gentle views. Bliss! Absolute bliss! It’s not something us British folk tend to get treated with so often throughout the year it feels. Plus it means lovely weather of course which is always welcome. Just the colour blue itself looks so relaxing in the sky. I almost put tasty there, but I think that’s the though of Cornettos’ getting to my mind. Blue Cornetto sounds wrong.
• Relaxing! It does feel like the summer is the time of the year when everyone seems to take a step back and just chill for a bit, or so in my experience. I have no uni work to necessarily worry about, it’s a fantastic opportunity to travel and go see people and laces, books to read and catch up with, there’s lots of good music to look forward to and listen, again with the ice cream, and it’s just such a relaxing time compared to the new education beginnings of the Autumn, the Christmas stresses of winter  and the general springyness of Spring. Actually Spring’s quite nice too… but Summer is more Springier. If you get what I mean.

It’s quite wierd really because despite all this loving for the Summer, I do prefer the winter. I love the cold and the festivity and, as I am completely wierd, I find rain very relaxing. But the summer, when we get it, is absolutely brilliant because it is just relaxation central with the surrounding of bright, wonderful colours, that gorgeous breeze that brushes past and just a few months of chilling out to a cold drink and good music. When we get it, of course. I think I’ll just remind myself of this entry when the skies go grey over the next month or two…

#22; Full steam ahead, Goodwood

If you’re a big fan of your motorsport and know the various events around the calendar, then you should know that this weekend is the illustrious Festival of Speed held at Goodwood. Occurring over the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July, the festival celebrated everything that is motorsport, the thrill of the chase, the roar of the hundreds of horsepower screaming towards onlookers, and just something that, or so I have been told, every motorsport fan should attend at least once. This weekend, as you can probably guess by now, I shall be attended all 3 days!! Woohoo!!

For those not in the know, the event’s website explains it better than me… here is the official blurb from the Goodwood website states…

“The Festival of Speed is far more than just a hill climb – it is a celebration of the history of motor sport and can justifiably claim to be the world’s biggest and most diverse classic motor sports event. Taking place outside Goodwood House, using the main road through the Park as the track, it’s the only occasion where you’ll see in action the greatest competition cars and star drivers from the entire history of motor sport. Famous drivers and riders have attended such as Sir Stirling Moss, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen, Johnny Herbert, Juan Pablo Montoya, Richard Petty, Carl Fogarty, Giacomo Agostini, Troy Corser, Troy Bayliss, Jean Alesi, Jacky Ickx, Marcus Gronholm, Petter Solberg, Hannu Mikkola and Alan Jones to name just a few. The Festival is an unrivalled social and sporting occasion in the motor racing calendar.”

Festival of Speed FAQs

I’m very much excited about seeing everything that the festival holds and you lucky guys will get the pleasure of myself reporting back to you all on Tuesday with a blog detailing my experiences. Originally I was wondering creating a day by day account of my experiences but sadly, due to a lack of internet access for myself over the days, it will not be an option. In fact, you won’t hear from me now until Tuesday – how will I survive for so long without my internets?! Going to the world of ‘outside’ for such a period of time should come with a warning me thinks.

So, wish me luck I suppose. This is the first time I’ll be attending Goodwood and as excited as I am, there’s an obvious anxiety to going somewhere new and different, as I’m sure you guys can understand. It’ll all be excellent though, I can just tell, and hopefully I’ll be able to bring back some lovely photos to share, discuss and enjoy! If any of you guys reading are going, do shout over and come and say hello if you see me – I hope to see you there!

Camera? Check.
Tickets for train and event? Check.
Earplugs? Check.

…well then, let’s go!

#2; The future's bright, the future's multicoloured...

Recently I've been thinking a lot about the future and what life will actually hold for myself once I've finished the remaining minimum of a year and a half left of Uni. It's my second year right now and in a few months I'll be thinking about dissertation options (oh joy!), and further into the future, where my life will lead. The course I'm undergoing is a Computing course, nothing fancy, no added bonuses to the name like Super Ultimate Media Computing Studies of The World. Nah. Computing. short and sweet, much like my temperament with the course at the moment. This is actually a double bladed sword for myself... is Computing too vague to provide a specific area of expertise for an employer, or is Computing so open it can provide myself with a lot more opportunities than a specific course?

I have a lot of hopes in the future about where I want my life to go. My favourite option is becoming a teacher and I've had a lot of stick and disrespect about this decision from people in the past (this WAS school so sticks and stones, etc) just becaise I'm a male wanting to teach. Has society really gotten so sad to look down on male teaching? Even before university and my final year of that dreaded environment known as sixth form and A2 levels, I studied research into the perception of male teachers whether it be high school or primary, and even a shocking amount of the study showed that parents themselves even tend to look down on male teachers in primary schools. Now I'm not making a generalisation, I'm not saying ALL parents are like this because they absolutely are not, but it saddens me to think that this sad perception still exists in the 21st Century.

So Teaching is something I definitely want to pursue. I'll be honest with those that don't know me well enough, I had an opportunity to take a teaching course in one of the oldest Universities in Wales and a specialist teaching campus too. I took it, I went there, then I came home with my tail between my legs. Am I proud of this? No, of course not. But going into such a demanding, important course at the age of 18 felt completely wrong to me. How can an 18 year old with no life experience study something so young and expect it to be fine? I went into that course too naive and too ignorant, but it's something I absolutely want to look at in the future but when I feel I'm ready to dive into such an important choice.

So what else is there in the future I can think about? I love writing and had a superb time with my English language courses over my A Level years (probably the only good thing to come out of my school life but that's not important right now!) and Journalism is something I absolutely would take a glance at. Again it's a big step and it would be more towards a specialist area of journalism, something like Formula 1 that I love to watch, analyse and whatnot. I don't think I necessarily have the skills right now to be confident I could do this well but that's the same with my teaching possibilities; it's definitely something to look at after uni.

Of course with Computing I'll get the obviously computer connotated careers. Do I really want to spend my life sitting in front of a plasma screen sorting out databases and treatening to throw my laptop out of the window from the sheer frustration of programming? No, I don't. But Computing can provide me with a massive experience boost in many areas I would have never studied and can provide me with smaller jobs to build up to where I want to be in the future. So the future is bright, I have a long way to go and I'm only 20, yet I'm already considering where my life is going! Maybe I shouldn't but this is just me, my mind works this way and it ain't changing anytime soon!

March has now come upon us all too, has anyone else noticed how quick february went and 2009 in general so far?! Not that I'm complaining, the joyous sport of F1 is soon to be back on our televisions in just over 3 weeks and I have a lot to look forward to this year; going to London in April, going to see Wales v Finland on the 28th, Muse's new album and their tour in the Autumn and the possibility of going to Goodwood in July. Plus I'm slowly making my way towards my driving license, despite being slow step by steps I'm getting there!

So the future is bright. The future may not necessarily be orange, but it looking rosy nevertheless.