Joined the Twitter Sensation
Hey all, looking at how long it has been since I have updated my blog I decided it would be much simplier to start doing micro-blogging or "tweeting". You can catch my "tweets" at the right hand side of this blog or alternatively goto http://twitter.com/DXPetti. I may decide in the future to make my tweets appear as blog posts but given the nature of most tweets (aka small and to the point, not very bloggish) at this stage they will stay in the sidebar!
Cheers!
Aus Government planning mandatory ISP level internet filtering
Yup thats right, our goverment is trying to implement filtering of internet content at the Internet Service Provider level. What does this mean for the humble internet user you ask? Slower internet, the most accurate filter which the government has tested slows down internet access by roughly 70 percent. Not only that but as a Network Administrator myself I know how easy it is to have false positives when filtering internet content. You could be simply searching for 4" screw and the filter might interpret that as something of sexual nature. Or maybe you are researching weaponary used in the Iraq conflict....smells like terrorism in the making to the ISP filter. The government does something controversial, you won't find it on the internet. Yup just like that your freedom to browse the internet 'as is' is gone. Its like the digital Great Wall of China all over again.
This not only has ramifactions on the general user but on the country as a whole? How can Australia compete on a global scale business-wise when they are at such a disadvantage (the current speed of Broadband in Australia is appauling in its current state but thats another issue for another time)?
You might ask "Surely they will let the user decide if filtered internet is for them?". Uh Uh, the filtering is mandatory though the user can opt for a "less filtered" option which has yet to described. Internet is modern freedom, its like when you first get your license, the world in all its shining light and dark shadows opens up to you. How can a government force everyone to not have that freedom!
You can do something about it though; NoCleanFeed.com has the answers. Head on over and help us fight the good fight!
Vista Issue Solved: Cannot Save Favourites
Okay I have been having this issue where whenever I try to save a website into my favourites and in a folder I have moved from a backup where it would throw up a error message with the delightful error description "unspecified error". After a bit of a google hunt here is how to fix it:
Drop to a Elevated Command Prompt (Start>type cmd>right-click on cmd icon and hit "Run as Administrator"
Navigate to your user profile folder (cd c:\users\username\)
Type icacls Favorites /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low
And hey presto its fixed!
This problem occurs as Internet Explorer in Windows Vista runs under Protected mode (low integrity level) by default, and therefore will only be able to modify objects marked with a low integrity level in their system ACLs. This is to save the moronic users from killing their computer via spyware and other nasties on the Internet.
A good read on integrity levels can be found @ http://blogs.technet.com/steriley/archive/2006/07/21/442870.aspx
Another problem solved 
Youtube HD
Well not really but a nice little trick to improve the quality of the video on Youtube is to add &fmt=18 to the end of the URL. Give it a try 
Brain Asplode
Hey all,
wow it has been a while since I have posted here. Typical me everytime I think about it I make an excuse to say to myself and put it off another day, damn laziness. Anyhoo life is good at the moment. Back at work and being worked of my ass. Being regularly going it early and staying back late (7am starts and 5pm finishes) just to keep the workload demons at bay. Its funny, when I was a trainee in my mind I would be saying things like "why the fuck am I doing this, they don't appreciate what I do etc etc etc" but I don't know if its the whole new Principle thing (whom I might say is far greater than the previous one) or that I am now a SSO aka not a trainee anymore but working harder, putting in the overtime doesn't real bother me. In fact I really enjoy getting up early as the place is a ghost town and I can really focus. Not to mention the sunrise over the dewy grounds and seeing my Impreza just sitting there creates a massive grin on my face 
. Its a whole different world. In fact my co worker and I were discussing the possibility of flexible shifts instead of the same time for everyone. Like I start early aka 7am and leave at 3 (or 2 on a Friday) and he starts at 9am and leaves at 5 (or 4 on a Friday). Interesting idea and it might be worth considering.
On a similar note I have been lately reading up on Microsoft Certifaction and found out that MCSA (Microsoft Certified Server Administrator) which I planned on going for no longer exists for future Microsoft products like the recently released Microsoft Vista and Server 2008. In its place is the category MCITP or Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional and has subtitles of things like Enterprise Support Technician, Enterprise Administrator; both of which I will apply for. I spoke to the relevant people at work and it looks like I can get the Microsoft Press Exam Self Paced Kits which includes MASSIVE books full of information, practice tests & questions which is also supplied on the CD in ebook form. I really excited at the prospect of being Certified by Microsoft and deeply learning the inner workings of Server 2008 and having the knowledge to setup whole systems from start to finish. Wouldn't mind learning Powershell scripting either as that seems to be a powerful tool in the right hands for automating daily administrative duties.
I see that Subaru Australia have updated their website regarding the 2008 Impreza WRX STI. The base model starts at 59K where as the Spec. R package which includes Leather Bucket Recardo front seats and BBS forged alloys comes in at 65K. So the reports of 70K on road sound about right. It will be along time before I can own one but I'll be damned if I don't move heaven and hell to get one. I love my Subaru's and the latest one brings impressive levels of comfort and refinement to the interior which Subaru's have lacked over the years without sacrificing the great things about the STI. Yes its a hatchback but the bulging guards and STI badging erases that fact from my mind. Yes its expensive but its worth every penny. Plus the latest episode of Best MOTORing demostrates it whips the EVO X in a 400m sprint and 5 lap Circuit battle (cop that you EVO fan boys, back to the pavilion with you).
Nikon have released a new model DSLR and a few new lenses. I am quite interested in replacing my current Zoom lense with the new AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (see here). Its the right zoom range for my kind of photography and the added VR makes it that much better. If its priced right I'll whip my current 55-200 on eBay and see if I can get a decent amount for it (might get it cleaned professionally).
Got another batch of Blu Ray's today. Arrived 2 weeks early which I cannot complain about . This time I picked up the Die Hard Quadrilogy, Oceans Trilogy, Pirates of the Caribean 3, Enemy of the State and Reservoir Dogs all from Amazon.
Lastly I am glad to here that people actually read this thing Keep on reading folks and don't shy away from putting down a comment or three
/goes back to waiting for my Play Asia order of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Devil May Cry 4 + Soundtrack, Eye of Judgement & Ratchet and Clank for the PS3
Adobe, Insurance Companies, Ace Combat 6, COD4 and more!
Wow, it has been a while since my last entry. Though I have my reasons. First of all look what they did to my poor car 
While driving up my street a neighbour was reversing out of his driveway and hit me on the way out Now first of all, I don't blame the guy, for a start the shubbery around this particular driveway shields it till its too late, secondly its very steep, like more than a 45 degree angle kind of steep so he would not of even seen me till the last second. This issue isn't just present for his drive way, its a common problem throughout our whole street it just sucks it happened to me and right near Christmas.
Now to my insurance company, who are a bunch of cock munchers. I say that lightly too as my hatred for them is deep. When I made the claim they said my 3rd Party choice for repairer would be chosen if they were competitive. So as they asked me I got one quote from a AAMI (my insurance company) partner and one more quote from somewhere else other than my 3rd Party prefered. In the end my prefered repairer was in the middle in terms of price and still it wasn't deemed competitive. The difference was 600 dollars in the end, and car parts/labour isn't cheap so 600 dollars isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things. But the assessor (who shall from now on be known only as "Jerk Off") wouldn't have a bar of it. Jerk Off wouldn't even let me see the quote from the AAMI partner which of course got the work. Basically they did all they could to get their "friends" the work despite my best efforts. All the Jerk Offs excuses were lame; the money for the job will come from GIO whom insurance the person who reversed into me so why should they give a damn if its not the most expensive quote?
Come January I will be changing from AAMI to Allianz whom are similar priced and give me awesome options like choice of repairer, no need for quotes just point the way and they will get the money to them, for a small extra fee per annum windscreen only jobs can be repaired excess free and not to mention you can nominate another driver who can be covered for if the car is damaged in their care for no price difference (in terms of excess or annual charge). So yes, fsck you AAMI, your a bunch of knobs who wanted to save another rival company 600 dollars and consequently lose near 2000 dollars a year and any future customers I can prevent from signing up. Well done Jerk Off, have a raise for your brillance.
Now onto another rant. Adobe, those pricks have discontinued my belovered Imageready which has been bundled with Photoshop for a number of years now. It was primarly a animation and web image tool and Adobe have decided to scrap it. Though they have implemented some of Imageready's features into Photoshop CS3 like the animation and image slicing stuff minus one very import bit, the ability to open .GIF files and have each frame as a seperate frame and layer. Now this was very important to make GIFs I had found into signatures but oh no Adobe decided to be assholes and remove that feature. What do they say in response, "Use Adobe Fireworks". Adobe get with the fsckin program, Fireworks is shit, is was when it was by Macromedia and it still is with a Adobe label stuck on it and I am not the only one that thinks so!
Finally I managed to pick up Ace Combat 6 the other day and by golley its awesome. The graphics, the sound effects, the gameplay, all very awesome. I am still coming to terms with playing AC on a 360 controller but I'll get over it. One thing does detract from the game and thats the main female in the (side) storyline. Is utter trollop and makes me want to throw up in a bag. Apart from that the game is fantastic. Haven't touched MP yet but I will once I have cleared the SP campaign once
Call of Duty 4, another fantastic game. So fantastic I think its the best FPS game I have played in along time. The storyline is something out of a 5 star movie, so dramatic and emotional. Infinity Ward (the creators) even went as far as to add a special level after the credits that pays homage to every terrorist on a plane sitation in many Hollywood flicks. Its a game that everyone should pick up; its even half decent on a console (not a easy achievement for a FPS). The multiplayer is fantastic too, with the ability to customise your load out with a very wide range of weaponary and abilities called "perks" it makes for some interesting game play.
I have good news on the PS3 front (I told you I would get their). A 40GB Ceramic White JAP spec PS3 is on its way from Japan as we speak and should arrive at work on either Thurs or Friday. Picked it up for $600 bucks including a second controller which is a Dual Shock 3 (not available in Australia or America for that matter till Q1 next year). Cannot wait to test out my Blu Ray movies of which the list as expanded with the arrival of Pirates 2, Apocolypto, Underworld 2 & Black Hawk Down. Unfortunately though it looks like Warner fscked up and Blade Runner on Blu Ray is delayed and probably won't hit on Dec 24th like they estimated
I think that is enough for today, more from my life shortly
Stay tuned!
Vista Musings
Okay now that I have played around with Vista some more I thought I would elaborate on my thoughts. A nasty thing happened where I changed the name of a account in the administration tools and when I turned off my computer Vista was making some major changes to the filesystem to accomodate so I walked away and let it do its thing. Come back to it the following morning and it was turned off so I thought all was sweet;hit the power button and up comes the "logging off" screen. This irritated me so I held the power button and force a shutdown. Come reboot I came to realise that because of the forced shutdown I had broke my RAID5 setup and it had to re-initilise the disks. This was a big issue as the 3 HDDs being 750gig each took a long time to reinitilise, close to 24 hours. Lets hope that doesn't happen again.
When I look back it really wasn't Vista's fault. I was the one who had the Power Settings to "enviromentally friendly mode" so as soon as I could I f**ked them off. No offence greenies but I don't have to waste time waiting for my HDDs to spin up or my LCD to power on if I am going back and forth from my PC and elsewhere (which I do quite often). Don't worry if I am not using it (aka downloading something) then its switched off during the night and quite often during the day unless the family is using it.
Anyhoo a few things I have noticed is IE is alot snappier, like it used to be images would load before IE rendered the page but now its the otherway around, IE renders pages in a snap and so see the images rendering infront of you. Though I guess after a few months of browsing I should have a suffiencet amount of pages/images cached for browsing the net to be truely stupidly fast.
The new filesystem layout takes sometime to get used to but I think in the long run is better. More users will be forced into learning the "tree structure" of filesystems. I find it mind boggling that many Windows users do not understand this concept and this becomes their undoing with many things (like backing up shortcuts to their documents instead of going to c:\users\username\ and backing up the files in there). I guess I am lucky to come from the MS DOS days and understand a bit more than your average computer user. I guess mechanics would say the same for cars and shake their heads at some drivers. Computers are that common place now I can make that connection, truely amazing.
I haven't noticed any improvement in speed in gaming yet** (I have only tried Counterstrike: Source) but the more DirectX 10 games and the more multiple core and 64bit optimised games come out I shall appreciate the strengths of my new OS and CPU in gaming terms.
Thats enough for me, time to watch Lewis Hamilton face off against The Stig!
I’m Back Baby Yeah!
Finally, after a long and unwanted hiatus I am back and better than ever (computer use). After slowing the Crucial RAM to 800MHz (no biggy as I went to buy 800MHz RAM but the store was out so I got 1066MHz instead) because the Intel P35 North Bridge Memory Controller couldn't handle 4 sticks @ 1066MHz I got the stability issues sorted but no longer could install Windows Vista. I tried swapping out various components (and buying new ones in the process like a new sound card and power supply) but no luck. Then I did some Googling and found someone who had similar issues but different setup and he/she rolled back a motherboard bios revision or two and it started working. So I downloaded the F4 revision bios for my board (which it originally came with but during my RAM troubleshooting I upgraded to the latest revision) and slapped it on. And magically Vista installed fine and worked as per usual.
So here I am on Microsofts new operating system and I must say why the f#$k are there so many people who hate Vista. I love it to bits. The TCP/IP stack has been totally rewritten and by god its incredibily shit loads better than XP. Without any modification what so ever I was getting wicked pings in Counterstrike Source and high speeds in uTorrent. The Graphically User Interface or GUI is simply sexy, the transition between items is much sexier than Tiger or any other OSX variety and well its just gorgeous. Its quiet obvious the team at MS went out and had widescreen/high-resolution monitors in mind. The new user documents arrangement is interesting and iirc it mimics UNIX layouts which is errr interesting 
. Also the Vista variety of Windows Media Player 11 is ace; finding album info is a heck of a lot easier.
Anyhoo I shall go back to installing my games and apps so I can use the damn thing
New Hardware Part 3
Finally my new PC2-8500 Crucial Ballistix 2GB x2 Kit has arrived as well as my Artic Silver 5 paste for the CPU and Heatsink. Now I have the fun task of backing up all my stuff (all 500GB of it) and finishing up my unfinished torrents as I am yet unable to workout how to transfer unfinished ones to another PC.
Also Y2J IS BACK WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
http://tinyurl.com/2v6pv6
Adios Amigos ^_^
The purrr of a Boxer!
Hey all,
Before I get to the main subject I recieved my two other 750GB SATA2 WD HDDs. No picture necessary Now all I have left is the Artic Silver 5 and my RAM
Now back on topic. Everyone who is a Subaru fanatic should take a look at this video http://www.subie.tv/index.php/video/2008_sti_exhaust_revving_sounds/
Shows off the new MY08 Subaru Impreza WRX STI and by god at night time the lights make it look like a demon in waiting and the exhaust note is Boxer magic Also to note the inbuilt SatNav is impressive and has ECU based features might like the R34 GTR (like Temp, RPM, Boost guages etc).
Awesome stuff