Towels
Omg! Two posts in a very short time!
I would just like to make you aware of the fact that, at the time of writing, there are 38 days left until Towel Day (which will be on May 25th). Towel Day is a tribute to, and memorial for, Douglas Adams, the author of (amongst others) the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which, if you handn’t noticed yet, is one of the more brilliant five-part trilogies this world has to offer.
If you hadn’t, I strongly encourage you to read it 
(Also, I recently watched the original 1981 TV series, which unfortunately is only 6 episodes. As you can expect from a TV programme from that time, the quality isn’t really what people are used to nowadays, and the books are infinitely much better, but if you liked the books (in particular the first two, because the series more or less covers those) it’s worth checking out.)
Progress
Article about Windows 7 on Tweakers.net (Dutch)
I (sort of) read the article, and one sentence immediately stood out from the rest:
“De werkbalk is door de Microsoft-ontwikkelaars flink onder handen genomen en het resultaat kan gezien worden als een van de belangrijkste vernieuwingen van Windows.”
English: “The task bar has been drastically overhauled by the Microsoft-developers and the result can be considered one of the most important innovations in Windows.”
Great. A whole new OS release, and the most important new feature is a task bar that looks a little different.
When will Microsoft learn that people are not willing to spend money on a product that only makes progress for the sake of making progress? I mean, if the taskbar image is the most important thing you can change, you should really consider just not making a new version for a while because apparantly what you have is good as it is.
Just look at Microsoft Office. Personally I’m using Office XP, partly because I can’t be bothered to get a newer version, but also because the one I have works just fine for me. I’m used to how this version works, I can generally find what I need quickly, and it’s easily got all the features I’d ever need to use. Upgrading would mean having to get used to a different interface, having to learn how things have changed since previous versions - not to mention the pricetag - and what do I get in return? A couple new features that I didn’t want anyway? The .docx file format? I don’t even want .docx, .doc is doing what it’s designed for perfectly well, and is in much more widespread use.
The same basic thing goes for Windows Vista or Windows 7. I just can’t see any reason why I’d want to use those over XP. Again, it’d only be a lot of effort to get used to those systems while I’m used to XP and I like working with XP. The only reasonably valid argument I can find for “up”grading is that XP is (relatively) old, but however old it may be, it’s working fine (well - usually - but that goes for any Windows version). And having more of my PC’s resources used up by the OS isn’t really a selling point either (Microsoft advertises that Windows 7 is lightweight and can also run on netbooks - but why does a lightweight OS need to take up 16 gigabytes of hard drive space? XP fits on a single CD for fuck sake, and I can think of a thousand more interesting things to fill my hard drives with).
Other applications are pretty much the same for me. I don’t usually bother installing a patch for a minor upgrade or fix (as long as it’s not a bug or whatever that has been bothering me). If I see there’s a new version I usually check out the changelog first, so that I know if it’s worth bothering to upgrade, and if it is, I know what has actually changed.
Oh well, maybe I’ll just switch to Linux some day. I’m already strongly considering making a dual-boot thingy, partly because some things are just easier to do in Linux. And until then, I ain’t upgrading anything unless it’s of at least some advantage to me to do so.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
00, 06
A recent TV show that mentioned something about efficient use of energy - I don’t recall exactly which, but there’s lots of those nowadays - once again made me think about the subject.
People keep searching for more efficient, more clean ways of getting energy. Obviously fossil fuels will only last so long and power needs to come from somewhere. All existing forms of ‘green’ power have their downsides - biogas and related methods still rely on burning stuff, wind power requires ugly structures, solar power is often not efficient enough, and nearly all known methods require so much energy produce that it won’y pay off for a good while to come. And in the meanwhile, the only viable solution we will have for the next 30 or so years, nuclear power, is falsely being regarded as dangerous by many. At the lack of an alternative everybody just sticks to what they know, and mankind happily keeps on consuming.
The real issue however is not energy production. The real issue is not the lack of decent food, water, health care and schooling in the so-called third world countries. The real issue is not the unwillingness of the modern man to reach out and help another man, nor is is it the economy or poor moral values in younger generations. The real issue is simply the source of all those problems: mankind itself.
The human being is above all a selfish creature that seeks nothing but its own pleasure. It will do so by indulging in food, engaging in activities it percieves as fun, and by pursuing the primary goal of any living thing: survival through procreation. In this process it keeps on consuming the natural resources of the planet it lives on without regard of the future, without regard of the ‘big picture’. The result? A heavily over-populated planet, that is in no way mentally prepared to face change.
Shortage of food is not created by a supply that is too small, but by a demand too large. Sickness does not spread due to the lack of a cure, but rather because it gets the perfect chance to do so in a densely populated environment. Lack of sufficient energy and natural resources comes not from a supply that is too small or inefficient, but from overuse of what is available. The problem behind every problem is simply that the human species is too large - but does anyone dare to face it?
No, instead we keep giving to so-called charity and search the cures for diseases, so that our numbers may grow even further and that we live even longer. The weakest aspects of the human mind, most notably morality and pointless fear of the inevitable end, has brought nature’s job of natural selection to a near standstill simply because we cannot stand to see another man die. For billions of years nature has kept a perfect balance on this planet, but at some point one species broke that circle in endless pursuit of larger numbers and longer life. Only a few hundred years ago a man would have been considered very old if he reached the age of 25, whereas if a single person of that age dies nowadays it gets proclaimed as a tragedy.
The solution is simple. I am not sure as to if it is still the case today, but at least once there was a Chinese law forbidding any couple to have more than a single child. Imagine that that would be the case once again, worldwide. In addition, allow anyone to end his or her life if he wishes so, do not attempt to treat an illness that will be fatal anyhow. Stop attempting to improve the duration of life and stop attempting to do so in so-called third-world countries, but let nature do what it is best at for a change.
In a matter of somewhere between 40 and 60 years the world’s human population will have been halved. Global energy usage is at a point where nuclear fusion and/or solar power will easily be capable of sustaining the relatively low needs, and there is no emission at all. Reduced need for space allows forests to recover as well as allow many kinds of animals to flourish once again. Yes, the economy will have “suffered” - but only because of a globally smaller demand - remember that growth for the sake of growth is pointless. Instead of spending 20 or so years waiting for the end a man just accepts his death as a natural part of existence, not as something to be feared; partly because of the realization that an individual who is unable to contribute to society is nothing but a burden to it. However smaller, the quality of life for the remaining human kind is much higher, no longer facing self-caused destruction.
At the present course, there may one day be more efficient forms of producing energy (or rather, obtaining it). Increased availabilty only stimulates use, and the population doubles every hundred or so years - in addition to living longer and longer. Natural resources and food will become scarce and it is only a matter of time before major issues - including war - arise. And it will be either war, harsh environmental conditions, or shortage of food that forcibly kills off most of the precious little planet.
For billions of years the sole purpose - if you can call it a purpose - of life has been nothing but survival and procreation. Finally, life has reached the point where, in order for it to survive, it must realize that endless survival may very well cause extinction, whereas death eventually makes way for survival.
It arrived
Well, I’ve finally got the parcel I mentioned in my previous post.
The box:
The actual content of the box (it was nearly impossible to get the picture sharper, the thing is very small):
For reference, I’ve added a pencil in this picture:
And then, I’m not even going to use it. I made a little mistake with the part number, giving me these instead of a slightly different one (which is the only one I can use).
Shipping madness
Admittedly, two posts within 24 hours is kind of a lot for me. As you may have noticed I have no schedule regarding posts on this site whatsoever, and I just post something whenever I feel like doing so and have a subject to post about. It turns out that that just happened twice in a relatively short time.
Anyway, here’s the deal. Recently, I ordered a load of small parts. As my order was large enough (>€20) shipping is free, which I think is a great policy; now if I forget to order something at one point, I’ll just place a second order, maybe add some extra stuff so it’s at least €20 (spend €10 on stuff and pay a final of €20 with shipping, or just spend €20 on stuff and get shipping free is an easy choice) and be done with it; instead of making sure I added all the correct items. Just because making sure everything is 100% OK is kind of a big deal with >400 small items.
It turns out that they only had 1 piece in stock of an item, however I ordered two. Out of >400, it was the only item that they didn’t have right away, so they shipped out everything else and the last item would be delivered later when they have it. Note that we’re talking about a very very small item here, priced at about € 0,70, and the ‘you might loose it between the coins in your wallet’-kind of small. You’d expect the second one to arrive by regular mail in a bubble-wrap envelope or something. As the first parcel came in, I found the first piece and discovered that I accidently ordered the wrong part number, so that first part goes on the shelf and I don’t really care about whether or not I still get the second one.
I placed a second order with the correct part number, and a couple of other things where I accidently ordered too few, and that follow-up order came in last Tuesday.
Just after I came back upstairs I noticed I have an e-mail. Apparantly they still shipped that one, € 0,70 part to me.
In a ~€ 8 parcel.
Since the shipping cost’s on them, I do sometimes wonder how companies like these ever make profit. I might even make a picture of it when it comes in.
This kind of reminds me of this TDWTF article (however while searching that one again I also came across this forum thread which is infinitely more brilliant, especially the post from a guy named ‘Cyrz’).
Bandwith
As this article (Dutch) says, the American internet provider Cox Communications is planning to loose a lot of customers. If the network is busy, they want to give a lower priority to p2p-traffic. The FCC will probably deal with it quickly, so this company is acting stupid in at least four different ways:
- First, they are giving themselves a bad name and a bad reputation. Existing customers who are faced with this policy will leave, and new customers are scared off at the idea that they pay for an x amount of bandwith but won’t actually get it if they use too much of it.
- They know, from the example of Comcast, that the FCC will deal with it quickly enough and that this new policy of theirs won’t last long. That makes the previous point, and the next one, even worse.
- Therefore, all they are really saying is ‘Hey look guys, our network sucks. It can’t handle it if everyone actually uses what we are promising they can use.’ Of course, that will be equally bad for their customer base as #1.
- Cox Communications? Seriously guys, what the fuck is that name supposed to mean? That name even implies that they support p2p use, for downloading pr0nz0rs.
Americans, sometimes… 
Worse than sucks
Okay, I’ve just tried out the Windows 7 beta, and here’s my conclusion.
If you think Windows Vista sucks, and you do think so because it’s the truth, please, do not bother to try Windows 7. You’ll be able to count the number of improvements over Vista on one hand, and you’re probably not going to need any fingers.
Seriously, Microsoft. When are you finally going to learn? All you did was rushing Windows 7 because nobody wants Vista. You rushed it so bad that it isn’t really anything new.
Please, Microsoft. Please. Take a few steps back. Take XP as a base and use that for the next edition of Windows. Don’t rush it, don’t add all the graphical bullshit that is really everything Vista/Win7 is, just stick to XP and add the few good things from the newer versions to it (such as DX10 support).
Everybody likes XP because it’s pretty stable, and it just works. I, and many others with me, seriously prefer the classic Windows UI over all the shit that was added since Vista because it’s easy to use, not too much bullshit, it doesn’t look all that bad, and it’s very resource-friendly. The ‘classic’ theme in Vista/Win7 don’t even look anything like it.
So much features in Vista/Win7 are unneeded for most of the people, and the few who do want them always prefer a better 3rd-party tool for the job. If I wanted to encrypt my data, I’d trust an external tool that has proven to be reliable, offers me enough options, is known not to have any serious flaws or backdoors, and has a good reputation. Instead of that BitLocker thing, because it’s either turned on or off and you don’t really have any idea what’s going on. BitLocker is only as good as the security of the rest of the OS (and considering Microsoft’s reputation, OS security in Windows is something that should never be trusted).
I already know that I’m just going to stick to XP, and if Microsoft continues on this tour, I might swap to openSUSE or some other Linux distro in the long run. Because in the end I want an OS with a GUI that I’m comfortable with to use, that doesn’t eat all of my system’s resources (and trust me that it goes fast with 3 screens) - and therefore offers the features I need and not the features nobody ever uses, and just works. Vista and Windnows 7 offer none of that.
Windows 7
What is there to say? Today’s xkcd comic says it all.
Okay, I havn’t actually seen Windows 7 yet, but the beta is streaming to my hard drives as we speak. I’ll install it in a VM (can’t be bothered to waste hardware on it after the joke they called Vista) and post my findings later 
More yay!
A little device came in today that basically converts a USB port to an additional display output, which uses your existing graphics card (it’s like adding a port to your graphics card, but connecting it over USB). This allows me to - finally - use my full triple screen setup 
It’s pretty fucking awesome, even without any program windows open (thank you, Digital Blasphemy!).
This is what happens when you take a screenshot across three widescreen monitors.
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There’s a little bit of a luxury problem though: the wire connecting my two speakers is too short. I can’t get the speakers to each sit at an end of the screen setup; the only possible way to place them is behind, which isn’t very good for the quality of the sound. I’m going to have to extend the cable somehow I guess. Oh well, let’s just enjoy the graphics for now
Yay
It seems that some people are celebrating something. Apparantly it has something to do with the birth of an annoying little baby who may or may not have existed more than two thousand years ago (nobody can really prove anything as to whether he ever lived). Assuming that he did, extremely bold claims have been made to what this kid did; those stories are not only very unrealistic, also there is no evidence whatsoever and nobody has ever really been able to explain how water is supposed to turn into wine. Not to mention it was in a period of history where anything out of the ordinary was drowned, beheaded, burned, or otherwise destroyed, sooner than you can say ‘fake’.
Next he was apparantly nailed to a cross for saying how great it would be if people would be nice to eachother for a change (there comes the drowning/beheading/burning part again). Also, a certain book claims it had something to do with paying for man’s sins, which makes no sense in an enormous number of ways. This god person is supposed to be very forgiving, so why bother caring about so-called sins? Also, he is supposed to be almighty, so whatever happens is really his responsibility; and yet you’ll suffer eternal torture for what he choose to make you do. And don’t you dare claiming people have free will according to the bible, because “do what you want, but if you don’t do as I say you’ll burn and get tortured and whatnot until the end of time” doesn’t sound like you have a whole lot of choices to me. And we can go on like this for a loooong time.
And anyway, why would I care about the birth of a baby two-thousand and eight years ago? It’s not like people will be celebrating my birth on November 27th 3019 anymore. Oh, and why does HIS birthday last two days anyway, and were did the fat red guy come in?
So in short, please excuse me for not celebrating the systematic enslavery of billions, and forgive me for not congratulating you with another year in which false history and oppression prevails against freedom.
Have a happy new year though