We have two cars in our household. A Toyota and a Volkswagen. Apart from their obviously different purposes (a 7 seater MPV and a small family car) there are slight differences between them: the windscreen wiper stalk works the opposite way around, the reverse gear is in a different place, the fuel filler cap is on the other side and the VW has a dash switch for the headlights whereas the Toyota has it on the indicator stalk. However, other than that they are both very conventional to drive – it’s not as if the clutch and brake pedals have been reversed or the steering wheel replaced with a joystick (because that works on planes) or the starter motor replaced with a kick start (because that saves space on a moped). It’s quite easy to effortlessly switch between driving the two. I wish someone had explained this to Microsoft.
I’ve finally got round to replacing my old Windows XP desktop with something new. After some deliberation I went with Windows 8.1 as it is likely to have the longest shelf life (up to the mid-2020s with any luck). I had heard various reports about how MS had sacrificed the “Start” button to favour the tablet market. However, what I hadn’t expected is that they would have made the whole damn thing work like a tablet. The problem is, I don’t have or want a touchscreen. I’m very happy with my big monitors, mouse and fat-hand friendly keyboard. For the first couple of hours I ended up searching for how to actually operate a touch-screen device that you can’t actually touch.
Bit by bit I did start to work things out or, more accurately, find out how to switch off or hide various options so that I was left with something that looked and behaved life a desktop computer. I’m still working at it – I opened a pdf document a few minutes ago to find that it filled the screen tablet style and prevented me from both reading and writing on the same screen. It’s just so damn clumsy! I am finally getting everything working and eventually I should end up with a very ergonomic system again. It’s just that when all these annoyances can be accounted for why didn’t Microsoft just have an option on the initial install asking what kind of device was being installed and what the user’s personal preferences are?
The sad thing in all this is that Windows 8.1 is a very impressive piece of engineering. The install was the simplest thing I have ever some across: I had expected to spend hours loading up software and updates, new drivers and fiddling with old hardware to make it compatible. As it was, I put the new hardware together (and my eyesight is really not up to that these days) and inserted the install disk. After entering the keys and some basic user info I left it and had dinner. When I came back up the whole thing had installed perfectly. Every device found and configured, aside from a quick trawl of the internet to check on the latest updates the whole thing was a done deal with everything from the printer to the TV set readily recognised. The operating system itself is fast and slick. The endless bloat that has plagued Windows for years has gone – this feels like a racehorse rather than a donkey. It’s just a pit that they have dropped the ball so badly with the interface. Anyway, I will rebuild the old desktop as a Linux Mint server – I’m interested to compare the two.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Virtually A Shed
It is the fate of men of a certain age that they increasingly find themselves hidden away in the dark retreat that is the garden shed. Perhaps it is rather ironic that many of these men will toil away night and day spending thousands of pounds purchasing a renovating a bricks and mortar family abode only to find themselves banished to a bleak and unforgiving wooden outhouse but for many it offers a sanctuary from the rest of the world – a place of peace and quiet, contemplation and power tools.
We don’t actually have a shed as such. We have a garage which has never seen sight of a motor vehicle and it does get used on occasion for DIY purposes. I’ve recently had the roof replaced so it no longer leaks but the actual space is not the most welcoming – cold, usually a bit dark and with only the spiders for company. However, I do have a private space which serves as my own personal retreat: my home office. A virtual shed, if you like.
The office is actually a box bedroom. We were told (by the estate agent) that the previous family had used it as a bedroom but I’m struggling to see how they could fit anyone in as it is only a shade over 2 metres long by about 1.8 wide with a sloping roof. Having said that, a modern house developer would describe that as a “generous sized double bedroom”. In fact they could probably stick a shower curtain in the corner and describe it as “on suite”. For me, the room is filled with computers, printers and various other tech and can occasionally also house the odd musical instrument. I also have a huge pair of studio type headphones that serve the dual purpose of piping loud music and drowning out noisy kids. If I ever need to get away from things, that’s my place of choice.
The odd thing is that, of all the rooms in the house, this is the one that I have yet to do the slightest bit of redecorating in. It is still painted in a revolting orange colour and the woodchip on the sloping roof has come away due to damp – probably as there is practically no insulation at all – on the other side of the plaster is a 15cm gap and then slate from the roof. Aside from that the desk space is a mass of wires with documents, folders and unsorted paperwork lying about in a random fashion - not to mention the boxes of disused electrical equipment and long defunct software media.
I’m now planning on something of a makeover – probably starting with sorting out the insulation and also having an audit of the amount of tech that I have lying about. My desktop computer is pretty much at the end of it’s useful life (at least the Windows XP operating system is) and the boxes of junk and paperwork need sorting out once and for all. With a bit of effort I should be able to make a perfect environment: a virtual shed – without the spiders, of course.
We don’t actually have a shed as such. We have a garage which has never seen sight of a motor vehicle and it does get used on occasion for DIY purposes. I’ve recently had the roof replaced so it no longer leaks but the actual space is not the most welcoming – cold, usually a bit dark and with only the spiders for company. However, I do have a private space which serves as my own personal retreat: my home office. A virtual shed, if you like.
The office is actually a box bedroom. We were told (by the estate agent) that the previous family had used it as a bedroom but I’m struggling to see how they could fit anyone in as it is only a shade over 2 metres long by about 1.8 wide with a sloping roof. Having said that, a modern house developer would describe that as a “generous sized double bedroom”. In fact they could probably stick a shower curtain in the corner and describe it as “on suite”. For me, the room is filled with computers, printers and various other tech and can occasionally also house the odd musical instrument. I also have a huge pair of studio type headphones that serve the dual purpose of piping loud music and drowning out noisy kids. If I ever need to get away from things, that’s my place of choice.
The odd thing is that, of all the rooms in the house, this is the one that I have yet to do the slightest bit of redecorating in. It is still painted in a revolting orange colour and the woodchip on the sloping roof has come away due to damp – probably as there is practically no insulation at all – on the other side of the plaster is a 15cm gap and then slate from the roof. Aside from that the desk space is a mass of wires with documents, folders and unsorted paperwork lying about in a random fashion - not to mention the boxes of disused electrical equipment and long defunct software media.
I’m now planning on something of a makeover – probably starting with sorting out the insulation and also having an audit of the amount of tech that I have lying about. My desktop computer is pretty much at the end of it’s useful life (at least the Windows XP operating system is) and the boxes of junk and paperwork need sorting out once and for all. With a bit of effort I should be able to make a perfect environment: a virtual shed – without the spiders, of course.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Gamer Family
One of the presents we received at Christmas was a bit of a first for us. Our friends were getting the new Nintendo Wii-U for Christmas and passed on the old original Wii to us as a (rather nice) present. I had to buy a couple of cables for this but it works perfectly. We have avoided having a games console in the house up until now. The children all have hand-held consoles of varying types that they play on long car journeys (which is preferable to the alternative which is strangling each other) but we have resisted a TV based games console in the house as they spend too much time with the handhelds as it is and, more importantly, I’d rather not lose the use of my big telly.
I’ve never quite taken to being a video gamer. I’ve tried out a few things and occasionally found the odd passing amusement but I tend to be so ham-fisted that I rapidly lose interest. I’ve never really been a “gamer boy” which is odd as I was actually quite heavily involved with them in the early days of home computing. When I was first learning to use computers I wrote various games for the Commodore computers – initially the VIC-20 and later the Commodore-64 (with it’s massive 64K memory). I swapped some of these with my friends – typically these were the games everyone did such as the Snake, Breakout and a rudimentary Space Invaders clone. The ones I did in BASIC would be printed out and sent to various home computer magazines to be reproduced so that some poor sap could type them back in. For this a small payment would be received (I think I got as much as £50 from one which seemed like a lot at the time).
I’d be interested to know if any of my old games were still out there although they were so generic for the most part that there were, no doubt, better versions available - and one game called “Seal Clubbing” is probably best forgotten. I suppose over time I moved on to other interests – music probably took over more than anything else. However, I seemed to get more enjoyment from writing games than playing them. I also could see that I had my limitations and I can remember that seeing the game “Elite” for the first time was a revelation – not only in the quantum leap in gaming complexity but also that I couldn’t even see how it was possible to make something that complex on such limited hardware.
I watched Charlie Brooker’s How Videogames Changed The World a few weeks ago which was entertaining viewing but which also highlighted how the Wii really changed the way that videogames are perceived. Gaming, even in multi-user internet variations, is a rather solitary activity whereby the gamer and machine are isolated from the outside world. It’s debatable as to who controls who. The Wii is (or at least can be) different in that the whole family can play together and still interact with each other. It does depend on the game as some require taking turns whereas others allow everyone to play together but the Sports games in particular allow for an interactive social experience far removed from the hyper-concentrated man-machine.
The other thing that the Wii does that other games fail at is to get the children to be active. The tennis and boxing games in particular are actually a pretty good workout. We also have a couple of dancing games which I thought would be a bit naff but actually seem to be popular with the children and can get them out of breath. Some of the other games are more traditional solo efforts which does require waiting for “a shot” at the controller. However, I can see the entertainment value in the Wii. Maybe, I was never destined to be a Gamer Boy but part of a Gamer Family?
I’ve never quite taken to being a video gamer. I’ve tried out a few things and occasionally found the odd passing amusement but I tend to be so ham-fisted that I rapidly lose interest. I’ve never really been a “gamer boy” which is odd as I was actually quite heavily involved with them in the early days of home computing. When I was first learning to use computers I wrote various games for the Commodore computers – initially the VIC-20 and later the Commodore-64 (with it’s massive 64K memory). I swapped some of these with my friends – typically these were the games everyone did such as the Snake, Breakout and a rudimentary Space Invaders clone. The ones I did in BASIC would be printed out and sent to various home computer magazines to be reproduced so that some poor sap could type them back in. For this a small payment would be received (I think I got as much as £50 from one which seemed like a lot at the time).
I’d be interested to know if any of my old games were still out there although they were so generic for the most part that there were, no doubt, better versions available - and one game called “Seal Clubbing” is probably best forgotten. I suppose over time I moved on to other interests – music probably took over more than anything else. However, I seemed to get more enjoyment from writing games than playing them. I also could see that I had my limitations and I can remember that seeing the game “Elite” for the first time was a revelation – not only in the quantum leap in gaming complexity but also that I couldn’t even see how it was possible to make something that complex on such limited hardware.
I watched Charlie Brooker’s How Videogames Changed The World a few weeks ago which was entertaining viewing but which also highlighted how the Wii really changed the way that videogames are perceived. Gaming, even in multi-user internet variations, is a rather solitary activity whereby the gamer and machine are isolated from the outside world. It’s debatable as to who controls who. The Wii is (or at least can be) different in that the whole family can play together and still interact with each other. It does depend on the game as some require taking turns whereas others allow everyone to play together but the Sports games in particular allow for an interactive social experience far removed from the hyper-concentrated man-machine.
The other thing that the Wii does that other games fail at is to get the children to be active. The tennis and boxing games in particular are actually a pretty good workout. We also have a couple of dancing games which I thought would be a bit naff but actually seem to be popular with the children and can get them out of breath. Some of the other games are more traditional solo efforts which does require waiting for “a shot” at the controller. However, I can see the entertainment value in the Wii. Maybe, I was never destined to be a Gamer Boy but part of a Gamer Family?
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Illegal Tender
I was pretty appalled this week when I discovered that the Royal Mail was producing a special £2 coin to mark the anniversary of the First World War. I have nothing against marking this as such as I think it is important that such anniversaries are remembered in an appropriate way. Unfortunately, the image they chose was a propaganda poster featuring Lord Kitchener. To put it mildly, I find this a bit tasteless.
The image used on the coins is actually a very iconic image of a propaganda poster from the beginning of the First World War. There were various themes to cajole young men into signing up either through patriotism, sense of adventure or blackmailing through accusations of cowardice. Initially, many young men did join up and my grandfather was one of them. He served until the beginning of January 1916 when he was shot in the arm at the end of the Gallipoli campaign. He was only a few months past his 18th Birthday. He carried his wound until he died in his 90s but it is worth noting that when he joined up in 1914 he was underage – only just 17. Due to the disastrous tactics used by military commanders they needed a steady flow of manpower and were happy to turn a blind eye to Kitchener’s recruitment of boy soldiers.
Lord Kitchener was one of history’s unpleasant characters. Aside from various imperial adventures he was one of the leading proponents of the concentration camps during the Boer War – after burning the farms of the Boers, the men would be deported and the civilian woman and children sent to concentration camps where up to 26,000 of them died through general neglect. There was also the case of Breaker Morant, an Australian lieutenant, who was convicted and executed for war crimes – the warrants were signed by Kitchener despite the claim that the Australians were acting under Kitchener’s own orders. Overall, an unpleasant man and not one I would want to see in any way celebrated.
The image used on the coins is actually a very iconic image of a propaganda poster from the beginning of the First World War. There were various themes to cajole young men into signing up either through patriotism, sense of adventure or blackmailing through accusations of cowardice. Initially, many young men did join up and my grandfather was one of them. He served until the beginning of January 1916 when he was shot in the arm at the end of the Gallipoli campaign. He was only a few months past his 18th Birthday. He carried his wound until he died in his 90s but it is worth noting that when he joined up in 1914 he was underage – only just 17. Due to the disastrous tactics used by military commanders they needed a steady flow of manpower and were happy to turn a blind eye to Kitchener’s recruitment of boy soldiers.
The image of Kitchener and of the other propaganda posters is of historical significance and possibly issuing these as a series of stamps may have put them in some sort of context as an educational tool. However, the image used on the £2 coin is devoid of context and, unlike a stamp which will be in circulation for a few weeks, these coins are likely to be in circulation for years and without any obvious reasoning – a nasty man and a nasty piece of propaganda. Those who I have spoken to feel the same – my mother has said that she will refuse to accept these coins in change and I have much the same feeling myself. As far as I am concerned it should be treated as illegal tender.
I suppose the question should be what would be a suitable image for an anniversary coin? At first I thought either a simple poppy or possibly one of the war poets would be appropriate: Sasoon or Owen for example. However, I think what would show the enormity of the events on ordinary people would be to produce coins with the names of the battles and the number of casualties: Ypres, Gallipoli, Marnes, Verdun, Somme, Arras, Passchendaele… the list is depressingly long.
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