Today I have been listening to some podcasts while Ben plays Super Mario 64. I find this enjoyable because I don't have to think at all. I find that even if I play a mindless game and listen to a podcast I wind up thinking about what I'm doing.
Typically on Saturdays I try not to think...I find it enjoyable not to do anything. And with that I'm done with my blog post
Oh and I pre-ordered SWTOR...yeah it's out. DO IT
until next time
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Busy times ahead
So last Saturday I went to a Mets game, and I am happy to say they actually won the game. I have also decided that I would really love to live in either New York City or Boston, it doesn't matter which one I just love the city. Eventually however I would like to end up in NYC. That was my Saturday update, now on to other things.
A couple of things on my mind are my lack of work, my wanting to go back to college (summer needs to end) and my lack of patience with SWTOR. Let's start with my lack of hours at work. This week I have only been scheduled for one day, and for a five hour shift...kind of a bummer because I really like making money. It allows me to do things like buy comics, play video games and get gas. The only problem is that the area where I live has had a rough time with this economy and there are not many jobs available.
Unfortunately I am done with summer, sure I enjoy playing video games and not really having to do all that much but it's getting boring. I need to get out of the house and go do school work; after all I enjoy learning. So it is more of my wanting to have something different to do and playing video games afterwards. I mean sure I have summer courses but they are really super easy.
Finally SWTOR has moved from TBD to TBA which is a big thing because that means they have a release date and they will hopefully announce it soon. My guess is either at San Diego Comic-Con or at Pax Prime.
until next time...
A couple of things on my mind are my lack of work, my wanting to go back to college (summer needs to end) and my lack of patience with SWTOR. Let's start with my lack of hours at work. This week I have only been scheduled for one day, and for a five hour shift...kind of a bummer because I really like making money. It allows me to do things like buy comics, play video games and get gas. The only problem is that the area where I live has had a rough time with this economy and there are not many jobs available.
Unfortunately I am done with summer, sure I enjoy playing video games and not really having to do all that much but it's getting boring. I need to get out of the house and go do school work; after all I enjoy learning. So it is more of my wanting to have something different to do and playing video games afterwards. I mean sure I have summer courses but they are really super easy.
Finally SWTOR has moved from TBD to TBA which is a big thing because that means they have a release date and they will hopefully announce it soon. My guess is either at San Diego Comic-Con or at Pax Prime.
until next time...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Open the windows, I have an apple to throw
I know many of you enjoy using Macs over PCs, that they are ten times more superior in every possible way. I am here to tell you unfortunately that they are not always the best computer for the job. Now I am not saying that PCs are better or that Macs suck, for a while I really wanted a Mac until I changed my career field. All I am trying to do is point out the differences of both types of computers and of their companies. Choosing which one you want should be based on your personal preference. I just hate it when people try to belittle others because they say they are into music or film and don't use a Mac or are into gaming and use a Mac instead of a PC. But before that, a brief venture into why more people use Window's OS instead of Apple's OS.
When Microsoft was developing its OS so was Apple; in fact they were about a year apart. Both had a very large business decision to make. Keep the OS in the company or license the OS to other companies. Microsoft chose the latter while Apple chose the former. This propelled MS-DOS, which after the introduction of the GUI (a.k.a. Windows) it became what we know today, to hold a very large percentage of the market share. In fact it was upwards of 90% at the time, IBM released their own OS called OS/2, which it turns out, was initially built with the help of Microsoft. IBM and a few other companies held the rest of the market share. When Bill Gates left IBM because it was getting out of control with the additions he bought DOS and turned that into MS-DOS. Instead of keeping the OS to himself Bill Gates licensed his OS to other companies (such as IBM) to allow it to reach a wider market. Apple unfortunately, did not do this and was subjected to a very low market share and not a huge following. Ironically it wasn't until Apple allowed Windows to be used on their computers that it grabbed the attention of the larger public. Still Apple did not have the reach of Windows; this is the main reason why more people use Windows.
Notice how product quality had nothing to do with it? It was purely the lack of vision by the Apple Company to license its product out to a wider population. If they had done this I am positive that the computer OS market would be more 50-50 instead of 90-10 favoring Windows.
Now as to the systems themselves. Mac's are by far the best computer system for people in the creative section of the world. It is great for music production and for recording, editing videos, making movies, etc... But it is terrible for the business world, why is this? It’s primarily due to the fact that Windows has been in the hands of the public longer. Everyone pretty much knows how to write a "Word" document, make an "Excel" spreadsheet, or even make a "PowerPoint" presentation. See what’s going on? Since people have become so used to the Windows OS they have started using the program names to mean specific things. Microsoft has the hold on the business world much like Apple has a hold on the entertainment world, and nobody really cares about Linux, lol. The both are useful tools in their respected circles but neither have figured out how to really crossover yet.
As for the tech specs of the computers they are pretty much the same. Intel doesn't make processors that work better for the Mac or PC, they are the same. What it really comes down to you, as a consumer, is to know what you are getting hardware-wise and to not complain about one being better than another.
Here is my biggest issue with Macs...it's the price, why does it have to cost an arm and a leg to buy any Apple product? I know peoples response to this question, "Because Apple is a superior product of the highest quality and you get what you pay for." While that maybe the case my guess is you are actually paying mostly for the name brand. If Macs were made by Joe Schmo's Computer Co. you would be paying less. It's the same thing with very high end PC's too a lot of the times you pay for the name brand instead of the hardware. The only company I know that you get the best value for what you buy is from a company called Doghouse Systems. They are pretty expensive but the quality of the product and of the service are fantastic. It's also some of the fastest computers I have seen. Go check them out if you are looking for a new high powered computer.
Now about the virus issue, I don't know much about the source code of either Apple or Microsoft so I don't know how easy it is to crack and send viruses to either of them. I do however think that I can shed some light on the situation. This is all hypothetical and a theory only, so please no messages about Macs being impervious to viruses, because they aren't. Anything be hacked into and you know that to be true.
My Virus theory:
Let's pretend that I am a hacker, and that I want to steal people's credit card number. If I am anything like a business person, which to some extent I can imagine hackers are, then I would find the greatest population of users. After all they are in the business of stealing your stuff. Now let's say that I, Mr. Hacker, am getting ready to decide where I am going to put my virus. Now being a hacker I obviously know a lot about computers and I would be aware that the majority of the world uses a PC and some form of Windows. I also know that a majority of those people also don't know how to fully protect their computers as well, due to the ease of Windows protection and other anti-virus programs. Knowing this wouldn't it make sense to just attack Windows users? Since they take up about 90% of the market? Why waste the time and effort on Apple? It would be a total disaster if I just targeted Apple users.
Basically my theory is the law of supply and demand. You the hacker man have a demand of whatever dastardly deed you have planned and you need people for that. OK where is the supply? Windows users. I can bet if Apple had a larger market share more people would try to hack those computers as well. Just a thought to think about.
I could go on and on about the differences between the two companies. Like playing video games on a Mac kind of sucks, or trying to make a podcast on a PC while doable is tougher than making it on a Mac. All I want you to understand is that it isn't about one company being better than the other. It's about personal preference. I am a PC guy because it's what I am comfortable with. But don't let my opinions stop you from getting a Mac or a PC. I am merely stating why there are more PC users in the world.
Until next time...
When Microsoft was developing its OS so was Apple; in fact they were about a year apart. Both had a very large business decision to make. Keep the OS in the company or license the OS to other companies. Microsoft chose the latter while Apple chose the former. This propelled MS-DOS, which after the introduction of the GUI (a.k.a. Windows) it became what we know today, to hold a very large percentage of the market share. In fact it was upwards of 90% at the time, IBM released their own OS called OS/2, which it turns out, was initially built with the help of Microsoft. IBM and a few other companies held the rest of the market share. When Bill Gates left IBM because it was getting out of control with the additions he bought DOS and turned that into MS-DOS. Instead of keeping the OS to himself Bill Gates licensed his OS to other companies (such as IBM) to allow it to reach a wider market. Apple unfortunately, did not do this and was subjected to a very low market share and not a huge following. Ironically it wasn't until Apple allowed Windows to be used on their computers that it grabbed the attention of the larger public. Still Apple did not have the reach of Windows; this is the main reason why more people use Windows.
Notice how product quality had nothing to do with it? It was purely the lack of vision by the Apple Company to license its product out to a wider population. If they had done this I am positive that the computer OS market would be more 50-50 instead of 90-10 favoring Windows.
Now as to the systems themselves. Mac's are by far the best computer system for people in the creative section of the world. It is great for music production and for recording, editing videos, making movies, etc... But it is terrible for the business world, why is this? It’s primarily due to the fact that Windows has been in the hands of the public longer. Everyone pretty much knows how to write a "Word" document, make an "Excel" spreadsheet, or even make a "PowerPoint" presentation. See what’s going on? Since people have become so used to the Windows OS they have started using the program names to mean specific things. Microsoft has the hold on the business world much like Apple has a hold on the entertainment world, and nobody really cares about Linux, lol. The both are useful tools in their respected circles but neither have figured out how to really crossover yet.
As for the tech specs of the computers they are pretty much the same. Intel doesn't make processors that work better for the Mac or PC, they are the same. What it really comes down to you, as a consumer, is to know what you are getting hardware-wise and to not complain about one being better than another.
Here is my biggest issue with Macs...it's the price, why does it have to cost an arm and a leg to buy any Apple product? I know peoples response to this question, "Because Apple is a superior product of the highest quality and you get what you pay for." While that maybe the case my guess is you are actually paying mostly for the name brand. If Macs were made by Joe Schmo's Computer Co. you would be paying less. It's the same thing with very high end PC's too a lot of the times you pay for the name brand instead of the hardware. The only company I know that you get the best value for what you buy is from a company called Doghouse Systems. They are pretty expensive but the quality of the product and of the service are fantastic. It's also some of the fastest computers I have seen. Go check them out if you are looking for a new high powered computer.
Now about the virus issue, I don't know much about the source code of either Apple or Microsoft so I don't know how easy it is to crack and send viruses to either of them. I do however think that I can shed some light on the situation. This is all hypothetical and a theory only, so please no messages about Macs being impervious to viruses, because they aren't. Anything be hacked into and you know that to be true.
My Virus theory:
Let's pretend that I am a hacker, and that I want to steal people's credit card number. If I am anything like a business person, which to some extent I can imagine hackers are, then I would find the greatest population of users. After all they are in the business of stealing your stuff. Now let's say that I, Mr. Hacker, am getting ready to decide where I am going to put my virus. Now being a hacker I obviously know a lot about computers and I would be aware that the majority of the world uses a PC and some form of Windows. I also know that a majority of those people also don't know how to fully protect their computers as well, due to the ease of Windows protection and other anti-virus programs. Knowing this wouldn't it make sense to just attack Windows users? Since they take up about 90% of the market? Why waste the time and effort on Apple? It would be a total disaster if I just targeted Apple users.
Basically my theory is the law of supply and demand. You the hacker man have a demand of whatever dastardly deed you have planned and you need people for that. OK where is the supply? Windows users. I can bet if Apple had a larger market share more people would try to hack those computers as well. Just a thought to think about.
I could go on and on about the differences between the two companies. Like playing video games on a Mac kind of sucks, or trying to make a podcast on a PC while doable is tougher than making it on a Mac. All I want you to understand is that it isn't about one company being better than the other. It's about personal preference. I am a PC guy because it's what I am comfortable with. But don't let my opinions stop you from getting a Mac or a PC. I am merely stating why there are more PC users in the world.
Until next time...
Monday, July 11, 2011
Spending time Driving
I really enjoy to drive around on a warm sunny day. I crank up the tunes, usually something weird and fun. I just wish gas wasn't so high so I can just drive everywhere and not have to worry about it. I really think one of these days I am gonig to pick a direction drive untill I feel like turnnig back and then pick a different way back. In any case I like summer driving.
One of the things I enjoy doing is actually driving around and finding a new mall to look around...I know a mall but what can I say I like window shopping and malls are a great place to do it.
This is a short post but hey...I'll have a longer one tomorrow
Until next time
One of the things I enjoy doing is actually driving around and finding a new mall to look around...I know a mall but what can I say I like window shopping and malls are a great place to do it.
This is a short post but hey...I'll have a longer one tomorrow
Until next time
Friday, July 8, 2011
Microsoft Word Spell-Check
So I hate spellcheck...in my last post I used the word customers and it made it costumers...fail
Management
Every company under the sun seems to be attempting to receive your business and as a consumer you sometimes feel pressured to sign up for an company credit card to receive benefits, and the countless other ways companies try to either get new costumers or to retain their existing ones. There is only one way however that really seems to work and that is meeting and exceeding your costumer's expectation of your goods and services.
In management you have to understand the fact that meeting and exceeding your costumer's expectations is very important. This could range from a number of things between trying to continually stay on top of your competitors on have the latest technology (i.e. Apple) or something as simple as listening to customer feedback. While this may all seem common sense it has only been recently that companies even cared at all what the customer wants out of their goods or services. It used to be based just on supply and demand if there was enough demand for product x then a company would produce product x. This worked for a time but eventually once there was more regulation that came from the government, more and more people became concerned with quality.
Why is quality so important to a company? Quality helps with the overall production and the fact that it is cost-effective. It cuts down on cost from a standpoint of having less damaged goods going out, which in turns creates better profit. But integrating quality should stem not only to production but to the care one takes when dealing with costumers.
Things you can do to help improve in the area of customer service.
The first thing to realize that there are two types of costumers. Inside and outside costumers both need to be studied. Outside costumers are the ones actually buying your goods or services and her are a few ways to meet and exceed their expectations. You can start by using costumer surveys and actually consider implementing some good costumer ideas. Remember that not all costumers know the operation of a business and are not giving helpful advice, but most try to help. You can give special rewards to costumers for staying with a company for a long time (i.e. memberships) these are just two ideas that I could think of off the top of my head. I’m sure that there are more ways to accomplish this. The kicker is having very skilled and trained employees that can assist and aid the costumer. Let’s give an example from Old Navy. Let's say that a costumer is looking for a specific article of clothing, what if the store doesn't carry it? The costumer asks an employee for help and the employee has many different options to choose from and they start by asking if they could help the costumer check other stores for that article of clothing. They can do a merchandise locater and then call another store to ask them to search for it. If those two ways don't work they tell the costumer to check the online store and give them the specific item number to use. Now doesn't that seem really nice for the costumer? Won't they be willing to come back to the company?
The second type of costumer is the inside costumer, or the employees. They need to have their expectations meet and exceeded as well. This includes treating them like humans not just workers. Allow them to socialize but make sure that they get the work done, and so on and so on. This falls more on the manager to deal with rather than the employees themselves. It is important to focus on what is going on in the work place and see if anything is out of sync, and then it is your job to fix it. Also listen to the employees and see if they have any suggestions to make the work place better. They will have a more vested interest if they were involved in the process.
That is all I have for today class, I hope it was somewhat enlightening and not to rambling but hey they don't pay me for this.
Until next time...
In management you have to understand the fact that meeting and exceeding your costumer's expectations is very important. This could range from a number of things between trying to continually stay on top of your competitors on have the latest technology (i.e. Apple) or something as simple as listening to customer feedback. While this may all seem common sense it has only been recently that companies even cared at all what the customer wants out of their goods or services. It used to be based just on supply and demand if there was enough demand for product x then a company would produce product x. This worked for a time but eventually once there was more regulation that came from the government, more and more people became concerned with quality.
Why is quality so important to a company? Quality helps with the overall production and the fact that it is cost-effective. It cuts down on cost from a standpoint of having less damaged goods going out, which in turns creates better profit. But integrating quality should stem not only to production but to the care one takes when dealing with costumers.
Things you can do to help improve in the area of customer service.
The first thing to realize that there are two types of costumers. Inside and outside costumers both need to be studied. Outside costumers are the ones actually buying your goods or services and her are a few ways to meet and exceed their expectations. You can start by using costumer surveys and actually consider implementing some good costumer ideas. Remember that not all costumers know the operation of a business and are not giving helpful advice, but most try to help. You can give special rewards to costumers for staying with a company for a long time (i.e. memberships) these are just two ideas that I could think of off the top of my head. I’m sure that there are more ways to accomplish this. The kicker is having very skilled and trained employees that can assist and aid the costumer. Let’s give an example from Old Navy. Let's say that a costumer is looking for a specific article of clothing, what if the store doesn't carry it? The costumer asks an employee for help and the employee has many different options to choose from and they start by asking if they could help the costumer check other stores for that article of clothing. They can do a merchandise locater and then call another store to ask them to search for it. If those two ways don't work they tell the costumer to check the online store and give them the specific item number to use. Now doesn't that seem really nice for the costumer? Won't they be willing to come back to the company?
The second type of costumer is the inside costumer, or the employees. They need to have their expectations meet and exceeded as well. This includes treating them like humans not just workers. Allow them to socialize but make sure that they get the work done, and so on and so on. This falls more on the manager to deal with rather than the employees themselves. It is important to focus on what is going on in the work place and see if anything is out of sync, and then it is your job to fix it. Also listen to the employees and see if they have any suggestions to make the work place better. They will have a more vested interest if they were involved in the process.
That is all I have for today class, I hope it was somewhat enlightening and not to rambling but hey they don't pay me for this.
Until next time...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Coding Websites and Skype
In a few days I am hoping to have a website up are running, it's actually a fan site for the new Star Wars MMO that is coming out. It is going to be run by Ben and I but I have some things I would like to say about coding the webpage...its a tone of work.
Even though I an using a template and I have done coding in the past I just don't remember every thing that I learned from classes. It's just time consuming and a lot of trial and error. Now I know that is part of using HTML but I really enjoy doing it. The main thing I am worknig through right now is changing the pictures from the templete to pictures that I want. It isn't that hard really, all I need to do is keep the same pixel dimestions that are set in the code and replace the image only. That seems to be working for the moment but I hope that it wont mess things up.
So, Skype...it kind of sucks, I have always thought that it was jankey but that's beside the point. I can't stand the fact that during a conversation it will start freaking out even if the internet connection works great. But there really isn't anything that can be done about it, I know that VoIP (voice over interenet protocol) isn't the most reliable at this point in time, but I do think that it works better than phones.
The reason I bring this up is because I have been noticing this a lot recently while talking to Katie. We can be talking and then have no idea what each other is saying and it usually due to Skype lagging. Oh well, what are you going to do about that?
Things between Katie and I are going well, it can get tough at times not being able to see each other but I feel that we can get past that. She on the other hand has a hard time with the distance but it's ok that she feels that way. In any case that's all I'm going to say on the matter for now.
Until next time
Even though I an using a template and I have done coding in the past I just don't remember every thing that I learned from classes. It's just time consuming and a lot of trial and error. Now I know that is part of using HTML but I really enjoy doing it. The main thing I am worknig through right now is changing the pictures from the templete to pictures that I want. It isn't that hard really, all I need to do is keep the same pixel dimestions that are set in the code and replace the image only. That seems to be working for the moment but I hope that it wont mess things up.
So, Skype...it kind of sucks, I have always thought that it was jankey but that's beside the point. I can't stand the fact that during a conversation it will start freaking out even if the internet connection works great. But there really isn't anything that can be done about it, I know that VoIP (voice over interenet protocol) isn't the most reliable at this point in time, but I do think that it works better than phones.
The reason I bring this up is because I have been noticing this a lot recently while talking to Katie. We can be talking and then have no idea what each other is saying and it usually due to Skype lagging. Oh well, what are you going to do about that?
Things between Katie and I are going well, it can get tough at times not being able to see each other but I feel that we can get past that. She on the other hand has a hard time with the distance but it's ok that she feels that way. In any case that's all I'm going to say on the matter for now.
Until next time
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
SWTOR and Bussiness Classes
As of right now I am sitting in my classroom of my Management course waiting for the professor to come in and teach. On the subject of summer courses, I must say that I am enjoying them very much. It's helping me focus on the courses and the material. It is much more condusive to learning, that's probabbly why a full time student is required at least 12 credits per semester. I'm pretty sure that other than the courses that have involved singing and acting this is the best I have done in my college career. But as I prepare myself for the future with the knowledge that I am gaining my mind is turned to a very old and dear friend of mine. That friend is Star Wars.
I, of course, am referring to the new MMO that will be coming out in the second half of 2011. The game is being developed by BioWare, the same company who made Mass Effect, and promises to be a competitor to World of Warcraft. From what I have seen of the game from E3 and footage on the website, the game looks like it's in the final stages of development and polishing. A release date will hopefully be announced soon, but there is no indication of a time frame.
If you have read my early post about my complaint with MMOs this game seems to address many of those issues.
1. It has been stated that at the launch of the game there will be no addons or macros on the game. This deals with two problems I have had with other MMOs, it prevents forces players to actualy pay attention to what the game has to deliver via game mechanics and other encounters. It also creates a game where people can't judge your skill based on a number that an adding generated. That being said the lack of addons could potentially leave some players with a ba taste in their mouth and they my not what to play the game.
2. The game is story based. This gives rise to a good amount of lore and involvement from the players. It helps that it is set in the Star Wars universe but it is in a time before the stories for the Orignial and Prequal trilogies. What I find exciting about this game is that the quests and gameplay are driven by the story, much like Mass Effect.
3. There is actual interaction between your character and the npc's (non-playable characters)that populate the worlds. I will have more to sat about this on a later post.
All-in-all I am very excited for this game to come out and for my summer classes to continue. Until next time...
I, of course, am referring to the new MMO that will be coming out in the second half of 2011. The game is being developed by BioWare, the same company who made Mass Effect, and promises to be a competitor to World of Warcraft. From what I have seen of the game from E3 and footage on the website, the game looks like it's in the final stages of development and polishing. A release date will hopefully be announced soon, but there is no indication of a time frame.
If you have read my early post about my complaint with MMOs this game seems to address many of those issues.
1. It has been stated that at the launch of the game there will be no addons or macros on the game. This deals with two problems I have had with other MMOs, it prevents forces players to actualy pay attention to what the game has to deliver via game mechanics and other encounters. It also creates a game where people can't judge your skill based on a number that an adding generated. That being said the lack of addons could potentially leave some players with a ba taste in their mouth and they my not what to play the game.
2. The game is story based. This gives rise to a good amount of lore and involvement from the players. It helps that it is set in the Star Wars universe but it is in a time before the stories for the Orignial and Prequal trilogies. What I find exciting about this game is that the quests and gameplay are driven by the story, much like Mass Effect.
3. There is actual interaction between your character and the npc's (non-playable characters)that populate the worlds. I will have more to sat about this on a later post.
All-in-all I am very excited for this game to come out and for my summer classes to continue. Until next time...
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