My Christmas Present

Ok get me one of these please, thankyou.




Me after I have read the instruction booklet

Xbox Live Vision Camera

I got me an Xbox Live vision camera, to go with the Xbox 360, but more interestingly to use it as a PC web cam. So far it's been great, apart from one big issue.

Initially I plugged it into the PC, and tried it with Skype, and MSN Messenger. Worked perfectly, no troubles at all. Then I tried it in the Xbox360, where it also worked flawlessly.

However, upon returning it to the PC, it decided not to work. Plug in, hear the 'something has just been inserted into the USB port' noise, but nothing more than that. When trying to use the camera for other programs, it now doesn't report as installed at all. The only place I can find any mention of it, is in the Device Manager, under USB Device Controllers, as "Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera".

Yes, I have tried rebooting.
Yes, I have tried plugging it into the same USB port as before, and then other ones.
Yes, I have uninstalled the device from the Device Manager.
Yes, I have uninstalled the camera from the Device Manager, and rebooted, and tried again.

The only sign of life is after an uninstall from the Device Manager, and plugging it back in, the little balloon pops up and tells me it has detected the correct camera.

The very first time I installed it, it did not call it a camera, it called it something with the word SECURITY in it. But it DID work. I don't know if that is an issue or not, as I assumed it was because as soon as you do plug it into the computer you need an update from Microsoft.

I am open to suggestion at this time, and anyone that gets it right, wins a total and utter crushing victory on Uno against yours truly. Not saying that



Right click MY COMPUTER
Select the HARDWARE tab
click DEVICE MANAGER
and look under USB Controllers

James Kim found deceased

Sadly, James Kim was found deceased.

Such a sad loss.

James Kim

And if you don't know who he was, this was his last video appearance.

Christmas list, but by magic

Apparently, I always wanted all this for Christmas.

You can try it too, and maybe post your list in the comments. Similar lists, strangely way out stuff, or maybe things you already have?

The Wi-Fi Bunny, I really DO want, as it's probably the most tech-but-useless thing I know of. However, the cutlery, er.. not so much.

Oh no, it's that time again soon!
To post your list, just copy the address (URL) of your completed list.

Broken screen

Not a pretty sight, and no it's not mine, but this is what you get without the magsafe power supply. A probably slow motion, drama filled nanosecond of disbelief. You can't help just staring as your HED* crashes down onto the ground (after hitting six other things along the way). Keyboard keys zooming out like little escape pods from a space ship, and the whole thing coming to rest in a room filled with awkward silence, moments away from figuring out just if you can be annoyed or not.


Sorry about the quality of the picture, but it had to be gotten fast, so it could be remembered for ever.

A moment of silence please

*Highly Electronic Device

Vongo and HP, one annoying combination

Thanks goes out to the dingleberry that made the Vongo installer that HP have decided to put on their new laptops. Not only have you made a usually flawless sort out of junk, (uninstalling all the useless crap that people who don't know how to use a computer would be even more frustrated with) a real pain. The endless looping and failing of the installer makes the computer unusable until it's removed! WAY TO GO! WOOHOO!




This is your brain on Vongo installers

PS3 tryout at Target

Managed to get a go on a PS3 today, at a Target store. There was a demo disk in, with a few games on. I tried the off road racing game, MotorStorm, which you may have seen in the promotional footage for the PS3.

The front end of the PS3 was simple black, with the same menu style as a PSP. I moved the D-PAD around to get to the demo on the machine, and pressed X. The load times seemed a little long, but perhaps it was because there was simply nothing to see on the screen during loading.

The game itself looked great. Everything seemed a little slow, but not in the sense of lacking frame rate. Just an overall sense of slow. The cars bounced around, along what seemed to be a clifftop course, and zinged off into the sky over ramps.

The controller looked just like a standard PS2 one, with an extra shiny button in the center. It did feel a LOT more substantial than previous controllers.

The game was good, although I didn't see anything as yet, which stood out from my Xbox 360 experiences. Sony will have to go some to convince me to get one of their machines too, and I am someone that needs very little persuation on such matters.



My crappy camera phone image of the PS3, all alone in the case

Wired Magazine

I made it onto page 191, of the October 2006 edition of Wired magazine. I am kewl now, it's official. Me me me me me.

Xbox 360

I got one, it rocks. You should get one too. As soon as I figure out the whole online thing, I have to go around finding people to 'community' with, or something. You can do oodles of stuff with this thing straight out of the box. You can even get online and start loosing badly to lots of other people.

Within nanoseconds (the plastic bags in the package hadn't even finished fluttering to the floor) you are downloading demos, and being thrashed by other people all over the world. Astounding. I can't tell you the game I purchased with it, as it's so totally uncool and shallow.

It comes with a free month of the full online service. You don't have to do anything, it just says "Oo you qualify, wanna try it?". The one that comes with it, does most things except the actual online gaming side. I used my already established hotmail address to sign up and my Xbox 360 already knew lots about me.

I don't know if putting your gamer tag up online is a good thing to do, but if it's no hassle then I am all over that one. It even comes with a headset to do your trash talkin' thang if you are so inclined. I just left it off while being left in the dust, figuring out what to press.

What to get next is the thing. You are presented with LOTS of chances to buy online points (some sort of currency) for different games or graphical aspects to the front end navigation wotsit. It was odd that I was there for quite a time before I even had to think about popping in the game I had purchased with it, as there was so much to tinker with.

As for the gameplay side of it. Luvverly.



Scrummy

AOL blocking links to Open Office?

Got an email today from someone with an AOL email address, asking where they could a cheap version of Microsoft Office, and a program to create PDF files.

Well currently Microsoft Office Student and Teacher edition is $150, and Adobe Acrobat (PDF making software) is $299 for the Mere Mortal Edition.

Open Office, is completely free, downloadable, and does both of these things.

No problem. Just reply with these details and links to Best Buy, Adobe.com and Open Office.

Yes problem. According to the great AOL machine, there are issues with the email first time around.

* 554 HVU:B1
http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554hvub1.html

EXPLANATION:

There is at least one URL in your email that is generating substantial complaints from AOL members.

SOLUTION:

If you own all the domains linked to in your e-mail, please contact us to discuss more effective management of your complaint levels. You can start by setting up a free complaint loop through this form. This will allow you to receive AOL member complaints against your domain.

If you do not own the domain, please have the owner of that domain contact us.

Hmm, so I remove all reference to actual costs, and links to Adobe and Best Buy. Instantly the email is returned with the same error. Upon removal of the Open Office link, no worries, it zooms through. I tried resending the older messages but only removing the Open Office links, and it seemed to be accepted.

So let me be clear.
BLOCKED
Email 1, containing links to Best Buy pages, Adobe.com pages, and Open Office.
BLOCKED
Email 2, containing ONE link to the front page of OpenOffice.org.
ACCEPTED
Email 3, containing no links to anything at all.
ACCEPTED
Email 4, with all the links of email 1, but not to OpenOffice.org.

Make of this what you will, but it seems a little nuts NOT to be able to send these types of links to AOL users, who for the most part are just at the start of their online education.



The AOL brainiacs at work once more. Way to go guys!