Posts Tagged mouse
Ubuntu 9.04: Rough Upgrade
I recently upgraded from 8.10 to 9.04 on my desktop machine, and so far, it’s been a mess. This was not the painless upgrade from 7.10 to 8.04 or from 8.04 to 8.10. So far:
1. ATI/AMD is no longer providing drivers for my X1900XTX video card, so I’m using the free drivers. The problem is that I can’t use two monitors without the mouse flickering like crazy and some strange window focusing problem where an unfocused window “jumps out” at me occasionally and then reverts to normal. Disabling compiz and visual effects didn’t solve this. Only when I disable the second monitor do the flickering and focusing issues go away. I’m still messing with this one to try and find a solution, but there isn’t anyone else on the internet that’s complained about this. I find it funny that people switch to Linux so they can run older hardware, but without driver support, that can’t happen. The free drivers work well, but only if you’ve got one monitor.
2. Something hosed my ability to play MP3s with Amarok. From this thread, I learned that running the following solved the problem:
sudo apt-get install phonon-backend-xine
3. Flash stopped working in Firefox. Any page with Flash would crash Firefox. This can be solved by uninstalling and reinstalling Flash:
sudo aptitude remove flashplugin-nonfree flashplugin-installer
sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
4. My Eclipse installation randomly crashes. Also, the splash screen never goes away after starting up. I’m in the process of reinstalling Eclipse to see if this does anything. Edit: reinstalling appears to have fixed the crashing and splash screen issues.
This hasn’t been an enjoyable experience so far — I was under the opinion that Linux is reaching maturity, especially Ubuntu, but this is definitely not the case. The problems I’m experiencing seem to be a step backward from the last upgrade cycle. As I just mentioned, the ability to run fast on older hardware is a huge enticement to switch to Linux, and if my three year old desktop can’t handle it, there’s a lot more work to be done. I’m certainly not going to buy a new video card that’s worth much more than the rest of the computer.
Upgrade Headaches…
Posted by Matt in development, general, info on January 29, 2009
Yesterday I installed Intrepid Ibex 8.10 on my aging (now ex-gaming) desktop machine in an attempt to breathe new life into it. I wound up biting the bullet and ordering a new monitor and Xbox 360 for games, so now I’ve got two monitors. Neither the Lenovo nor the Mac laptop I’ve got support two external monitors, so I thought I would give the desktop a try. Though the installation went fairly well, two really annoying things weren’t working correctly, and a third I’m still dealing with.
First, the mouse. I have a Razer Copperhead USB mouse that’s been great for years and when I first booted after the installation, it didn’t work. The lights came on, but I couldn’t move it. If I unplugged it and plugged it back in, it worked fine. This would happen every time I rebooted the machine: no movement, unplug, plug back in. After some digging around, I found the problem was that the mouse firmware had to be upgraded. Of course, Razer only has the update software for Windows, so after some screwing around with that, I rebooted with the Linux machine and it worked fine without having to unplug the mouse.
Second, the dual head support for my ATI video card was lacking after the initial install, just mirroring my primary monitor onto the other. I was able to fix this by installing the proprietary ATI drivers and using the ATI Catalyst Control Center to “merge” both screens into one. Of course, this didn’t entirely fix the problem since every time I rebooted, the mirroring came back. I finally found out that after I set the displays correctly in the ATI Control Center that I had to open up the Ubuntu Display Settings panel and hit “Apply”.
Both of these problems were really annoying, kept me searching and frustrated for hours, and have rather quirky solutions. While I really like Linux, stuff like this doesn’t seem to happen as much with Mac or Windows. However, community support is pretty good so after some extensive research I was finally able to find others with my problems that had found solutions.
Now everything seems to be working well, except that the stand for my monitor arrived bent. It’s only a couple millimeters out of shape and the box it came in seemed undamaged, so I’m not sure what happened. It’s bad enough that when I type sometimes the monitor wobbles. It’s something I could probably live with, but the wobbling is annoying and I paid for a new product (not refurbished) so I don’t feel like letting it go. So, I spent two hours with phone tree hell HP tech support about returning it and then filed an RMA request from the online vendor. It would be best if I could just replace the stand since the monitor is fine — there’s only one stuck pixel. Shipping the whole thing back is going to be expensive if the RMA is approved. I guess the question is if the bent stand is worth another $30.
I still haven’t gotten to the Xbox yet because of all this (and some other annoying legwork type stuff for a research proposal that is due this week). It also turns out that I got the wrong RCA to mini-stereo adapter and will have to try to exchange that so I can plug in the Xbox sound to the line in on my PC. The whole thing is kind of funny because part of the reason I went with an Xbox was to avoid dealing with putting together a new system and troubleshooting the whole thing when a bunch of stuff doesn’t work. Instead, I got more than I bargained for.
PC vs. Console: I think I’m crossing over to the dark side…
Over the past few years I’ve lost some of my interest in gaming and as a result my desktop PC is several years old and rusting under my desk. I don’t use Windows for anything anymore and I’ve heard so many bad things about Vista, so I’ve been using Mac and Linux exclusively for awhile.
I would really like to get back into more games, but I just can’t see myself throwing out $2000 for a computer that I would use exclusively for games and be unable to carry around anywhere without a lot of effort. It just isn’t worth it anymore. So, I’m pretty sure I’m going to get an Xbox.
It seems that a real shift is taking place with developers placing emphasis on console games over PC, making most PC games a buggy port of their console counterparts. Most new PC games are packed with nasty copy protection rootkits that are nearly impossible to remove. Finally, new PC games all seem to have extremely steep system requirements, meaning you have to undertake a massive and expensive upgrade in order to get acceptable performance. All these are things I don’t want to deal with, especially when I can get a top of the line Xbox for less than the price of a halfway decent video card.
My main concern over console games is the controller. I started on PC games and feel natural with keyboard and mouse. At my height of gaming, I became one with the computer, leveling the crosshairs on an opponent and blasting away without the slightest thought of what keys to press and how much to move the mouse. I’ve played on a fair number of consoles and I’ve never adjusted to the controllers. I always feel sluggish and usually have to remember where the buttons are and what they do. Because of the controller, many RTS and simulation games are exclusively developed for the PC, which is a drawback in and of itself.
Regardless, I think I’m going to make the switch anyway. With enough practice, I can adjust to the controller. It’s also going to be a huge cost savings since it’s far easier to shell out $400 every four or five years for a new console compared to several thousand for PC upgrades. The additional money for PC upgrades would be more justifiable if I were to use the computer for work, but Windows is useless for development and the lack of portability is also detracting.
This leads into my proposed setup: get a new monitor with DVI and DisplayPort for my laptops and HDMI input for consoles. This way I can use the monitor for computing and for games. My current external monitor has a 4:3 aspect ratio with only one digital input and I would also prefer something widescreen. With only one digital input, it’s a real pain when I want to switch the Mac laptop for the Linux one or on the rare occasion that I want to boot up the desktop.
It seems that 16:9 1080p monitors are rare and are pretty limited in terms of functionality. The only one that remotely interests me is the Dell S2409W and I’ve it uses the poor quality TN panel which gets a lot of complaints. It may be okay for the Xbox, but I don’t know about using it with the computers. So, it seems 16:9 monitors are out since all the other ones I can find are also TN panels. Larger 30+ in TV-style monitors are also out since the cheapest of those runs about $800, which is out of my price range, especially for something that may not fare well as a computer monitor several feet from my face.
So, this means PC-oriented 16:10 aspect monitors. I would prefer something at least 24 inches and I can’t really get anything with a resolution greater than 1920 x 1200 since my laptops have terrible video cards. Being 16:10, it means that when I plug in the Xbox, I’ll get 100 pixel black bars on the bottom and top of the screen, but that’s something I can live with since the screen will be large enough. Two 16:10 monitors interest me: the Dell 2408WFP and the HP LP2475W. Of those, the HP seems the better buy since its panel is the highly coveted IPS and it also seems to be nearly $100 cheaper depending on the vendor. Both have an HDMI input, two DVI inputs, and a DisplayPort input.
Then, I can pick up a Pro Xbox for about $300. I can’t see the advantage of the Elite except for the 120 GB hard drive (vs. 60 on the Pro). Games are a bit more on the expensive side compared to the PC, but it’s probably all worth it not having to worry too much about endless installs, wasted hard drive space, and hardware-specific bugs.
So, I get an XBox Pro for about $300 and a 24 inch monitor for about $600, which is quite the savings over a massive PC upgrade. But there’s one problem: sound. Consoles are oriented towards those with dedicated 7.1 surround receivers to make it sound like a battle is being fought in the room. I don’t have that — I would prefer to just plug in some headphones, but the Xbox doesn’t have a headphone jack. This leaves me with three options, none of which I really care for:
1) Get a receiver. My dad’s got an old receiver that could handle the analog AV from the Xbox. I would really like to avoid this because it means yet another large piece of electronic junk sitting in my room. Furthermore, it would do nothing except provide me with a headphone jack for my games. This seems like a waste.
2) Connect the analog AV cables from the Xbox to a pair of headphones with some adapters. This isn’t really a good option either since there is no way to control the volume. I’ve heard of at least one person doing this and having it work, but as he said, there’s no volume control. You’re just stuck at whatever volume the Xbox puts out.
3) Connect the analog AV cables to the line in on my Macbook. I can also do this with some adapters and then plug the headphones into the Macbook and use the laptop as an amplifier. I’m not sure how well this would work either in terms of losing signal clarity and whines from the laptop making their way into my headphones. Also, I’m not even sure if the line in on the Macbook is stereo. I really don’t care about surround on headphones, but I would at least like to have stereo.
At this point, the third option is probably the best bet, and if that doesn’t work, try the others. I can’t seem to find many others on the Internet with this kind of setup. Most who use a PC monitor with their console still connect their sound to a dedicated receiver or a powered set of PC speakers.
I’ll probably wind up doing more research before I settle on something. Or, I might just forget it if it really looks like this won’t work.
So much to do and school hasn’t even started yet
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on January 11, 2008
Or has it?
There were some bugs in the gridding software I am using for my Master’s project which kept me stuck for the past week and a half. Now that the issues have been worked out, it’s still slow going. The more I get done the more likely I will graduate (or more appropriately, the sooner I will get my Master’s degree). I also got handed a bunch of papers by my to-be PhD adviser so I have to finish those by the time school starts next week. On top of all that, there are a bunch of things that NASA Ames wants implemented. I finish up with Ames at the end of the month regardless, but I should be able to handle their requests.
It looks like I’ll be a part time TA this semester too so that will add more stuff for me to handle. I think it’s going to be a rough semester, one that will either make me or break me. I’m going to have to make a good effort not to waste time since I tend to screw around on the Internet sometimes when I should be doing work (like now). I probably won’t be able to go to practice much due to my class times and work load, but it would be nice. Actually, at this point, I just hope I can continue to train as I have during previous semesters. I’ve got to have some kind of release since I’m not big on the social scene sort of things.
If things turn out well, my RA stuff will start in the summer, which is probably good. First, I won’t have to get another summer internship and deal with looking for places that will take me. Second, I’ll be able to get a head start on my PhD research which is also a good thing. The downside is that I’ll most likely be in Williamsburg in the summer, which is a lifeless, bug-infested jungle. I’ll probably be able to come home a lot since I won’t have classes, but I’ll have plenty of stuff to do from my advisor, I’m sure. At this point, I think I would like to try to find my own apartment so I won’t have to deal with roommates making a mess of things. Living in the graduate complex is getting old and it still has a bit of a dorm atmosphere to it. Regardless, that’s about number 4000 on the things I have to do this semester and I’m on number 6.
The replacements for my failing equipment came this week. The watch arrived yesterday and unlike the first, actually worked. There isn’t much to say about it except that it does what I want it to do. It’s better than the last one since the numbers are larger and easier to read when running. Also, I can make the primary display show the lap split and not the total running time. I’ve had a few watches that only show the total running time in the primary display for the chronograph, which seems pointless. The whole purpose of the lap/split feature is for interval type training. When you use it, you want to see the time of your current interval, not the total running time. Anyways, that’s definitely a plus with the new watch. Unlike my last watch, you can’t set the year, so I’m wondering what happens on leap years. I’m guessing it will have to be reset.
Frustrated with the intermittent R key on the Saitek Eclipse 2, I broke down and ordered the new Apple wired keyboard from Newegg. I looked at the Razer Lycoza, mentioned by
The keyboard came an hour ago and plugging it in gave me an excuse to pound out this entry. Two things right off the bat — the cord is really short, less than three feet long. It comes with a small extension cable, but together it still isn’t very long and barely reaches behind my desk to connect with the computer. I have a 10 foot USB extension cable at school I can use if I really need it. The other thing is that it has two USB ports, which won’t power my mouse. They are both low power ports. I’m not sure what USB devices are low power anymore. Maybe something with its own internal power supply, like a camera.
With that aside, the keyboard is definitely good. It’s really compact, even smaller than the Saitek Eclipse 2. It’s also well made — very heavy and not flimsy at all. Since it has such a low profile, there isn’t a need for a wrist pad, which really helps. The keys have a bit more feedback than the Macbook, but have a similar feel to most laptop keyboards. They are spaced out a bit more than a normal keyboard which causes me to mistype occasionally, but it’s something I can get used to in time. And, of course, the R key works. Compared to a regular keyboard, I feel I can type faster on this since I don’t have to slam down my fingers to make every keystroke register. I have yet to try it out in any games, but I can’t see it being any different than playing games on a laptop. It seems that many hardcore gamers are using laptop style keyboards nowadays anyway.
Another weird thing I just noticed — my Dell LCD seems to have experienced some burn in since I’ve plugged it into the Macbook. The Apple menu bar is slightly visible during the boot sequence. Doing some reading suggests that it can be removed by running an all-white screen as a screensaver. The 2001FP is another “older” piece of equipment I’ve got that hopefully won’t break down anytime soon like my keyboard or watch. I would like to get a massive 1080P TV/monitor to use with my computer or even the new Dell 30 inch display. Those would be great for games and for displaying a ton of junk on the screen at once when I’m working. Unfortunately, monitors that big aren’t conducive to someone in my situation who moves back and forth to school every few months (and likely will for awhile).
The weather has been weird again lately, with it being very warm and windy. Each day the forecast is for the cold to return, but it never really does. It’s been good for running, but I’m sure it will be back to cold and nasty rain just in time for school to start next week.
I also saw No Country for Old Men this week, which was definitely the best movie I’ve seen all year with the exception of the ending. The bad guy gets away after killing all but one of the good guys. There isn’t any final showdown, either — each character dies in a different scene without putting up much of a fight. The one guy you want to win dies a quick death offscreen while the one good character left stops chasing the bad guy simply because he just doesn’t care anymore. The first three quarters were great though, a couple of street smart rednecks barely outsmarting a cool and calculated hit man. There were plenty of tense moments mixed in with slower paced character and setting building scenes. The atmosphere and dialog were great and reminded me a lot of the driving out west this summer.
Well, back to work some more before it gets any later.
One new power supply later…
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on August 22, 2006
And I got the system to POST. Everything seems to be working and it even tried to load windows off of my old drive, but my keyboard and mouse don’t work (drivers I assume). At first, the processor fan wasn’t working and I watched in the BIOS as the temperature shot through the roof. I turned it off and reseated everything and now it seems okay.
I just crammed everything into my existing case, but cables are everywhere. The new power supply solved the issue of the motherboard power connection and the PCI-e power connection as well.
Time to mess around with it some more before formatting and installing Windows.
Registered for classes today
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on November 9, 2004
For some reason I wasn’t able to get in to East Asian History 1600 – Present; it gave me a ‘Major Restriction’ or something like that. After asking around it seems that for the first few days of registration only history majors are allowed to sign up for that course. Apparently it’s because by that point they are in their Junior or Senior year and need it as a required class. I signed up for East Asian Religion instead, since it was the only other class that fulfiled the non-European history GER that fit into my schedule. A few people I know have taken that class say it’s really good so I think I’ll keep it. So now my schedule is pretty much the inverse of what I have this semester. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I start with East Asian Religion at 9, followed immediately by Finite Automata and Software Engineering. On Tuesday and Thursday I have the intro physics class at 9:30 and then the lab at 2 PM on Tuesdays only.
The Physics lab could be a problem because it is supposed to run until 3:50, but practice starts ten minutes before that. From what I have heard, if you work fast, you can get out early most of the time. It will also be quite a walk from East Asian Religion to Finite Automata, but then I stay in the same room for both my computer science classes. With the exception of the lab, I’ll be done by 11 or 12 each day, which is the earliest time I start class this semester.
The temperatures took a nose dive so far this week. Today it was like 45 while last Monday and Tuesday it was in the high 70s. At this point, it might as well get cold because it’s better off adjusting to it now than (hopefully) in two weeks.
Almost everywhere I went today everyone was talking about Halo 2. In the halls, in class, and at practice, that’s all I heard. Even my Software Development professor was talking about it. I’ve played a handful of Halo 1 multiplayer matches on the xbox because most everyone on the team is into it and are constantly playing it. Needless to say I ususally get it handed to me when I do play against them. I could really use a keyboard and mouse as well as a higher resolution screen when I play them. A couple of the guys went out to EB Games or something and stood in line to pick up their pre-ordered copy. Apparently after playing it today they say it’s lived up to the hype.
I was looking at DVD writers again to see about some kind of backup solution. There seem to be some that are labeled ‘double layered’ and are more expensive than the others, I wonder if this is the same double layering that is used with the movie DVDs. I’ll have to look at that as well as some reviews to see what is good and what isn’t. Then there’s the whole +/- issue, but it seems that most of the writers that are double layered can write both + and – DVDs.
The inevitable crunch period is coming up and seems to slowly build, starting this week. I’m probably going to be gone nearly every weekend until the end of the semester and I’ve got two computer science projects, a test this Thursday, next Tuesday, plus who knows how many quizzes and homework assignments. It’ll be hard, but I’ve done it all before. It wouldn’t be worth it if it was easy.
Show me the source
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on August 30, 2004
Three days of my networking class and I haven’t seen a bit of code in the lectures.
This could be bad considering I don’t know Java all that well. I’ve been reading a Java book, but some example code given by the professor (like most classes) would be nice. Then again, we haven’t really talked about anything specific that could be transformed into a project.
There is a Java tutorial tomorrow and Thursday night that should help too. Actually, the book I’ve been reading is very good and doesn’t baby you through all of the intro stuff. It seems to be oriented towards those who learned C/C++ first like me and are picking up Java. The intro chapters are some of the best I’ve read in any language book.
1.FIRST NAME: Matt
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Sort of, but it’s kind of complex so I won’t get into it
4. WHICH FINGER IS YOUR FAVORITE? right thumb
5. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Probably within the last year, I know I went out of control last fall when a bunch of things stressed me out
6. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really, I don’t write much and it gets worse every time I do
7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Salami
8. ANY BAD HABITS? Fidgeting with stuff, mostly pens or pencils when I’m not doing anything
9. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF? I didn’t bring too many with me, but let’s see… I have a backup CD of school papers from high school
10. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably, but it depends on who I was.
11. ARE YOU A DAREDEVIL? Sometimes, but I know my limits
12.HAVE YOU EVER TOLD A SECRET YOU SWORE NOT TO TELL? I can’t remember
13. DO LOOKS MATTER? Yeah
14. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER? Running, Computer Games, Complaining
15. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME? Bryan Hall
17. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? Legos. They were my life and I would spend hours building stuff
18. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yeah
19 DO YOU USE SARCASM? yes
20. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT? no
20.WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL? Should I say? Maybe I’ll leave this one a secret.
21. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES? Ragemaster. I’ve gotten a few funny looks when someone yells it across the caf. Most people call me by my real name though.
22. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yeah
23. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES TO TAKE THEM OFF? Yes.
24. DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE STRONG? Upper body, no. Lower, I guess.
25. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
28. SHOE SIZE? 9 in running shoes, 8 in dress shoes
29. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE COLOURS? Shades of dark/navy blue
30. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE? 4 I think, none have been taken out
31. WHO DO YOU MISS MOST RIGHT NOW? Sarah
32. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE YOU SEND THIS TO SEND IT BACK? Well if they read it and post it themselves. Do whatever you want.
33. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Rain from the tropical storm tapping against the windowsill
34. LAST THING YOU ATE? PB & J on Rye
35. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My sister
36. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? I’ll let this one go for now. Yeah, I’m too reserved to say.
37.DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yeah
38. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Good, I slept well last night for the first time in a couple days
39. FAVORITE DRINK? Gatorade, but that Propel stuff is growing on me. I also like that Ruby Tangerine stuff.
40. FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? I don’t drink
41.FAVORITE SPORT? Cross Country, track
42. HAIR COLOR? light brown. It used to be blond when I was younger
43. EYE COLOR: hazel
44. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No
45. SIBLINGS? I have a sister
46. FAVORITE MONTH? April
47. FAVORITE FOOD? Chicken Parm
48. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? A bunch of us were watching Anaconda while we waited for Jeff to come back with the food on Saturday. That movie is horrible, hard to believe there is a sequel.
49. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Probably sometime in mid June when school has been done for awhile but I haven’t started work yet. The sun stays out forever and really lights up my room at home in the afternoons.
50. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Yeah, I’ve never done it.
51. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I like happy endings, but sometimes the ones that aren’t make you think.
52. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
53. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
54. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? Relationships
55. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Sarah?
56. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably Adam.
57. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Learning Java
58. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Max Payne: A Man With Nothing To Lose
59. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Monopoly. We played so much of that last fall during the hurricane
60. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Closing Ceremony of the Olympics
61. FAVORITE SMELLS? Brown, juicy socks oozing with mud … or not. How about the smell of new shoes. Or pasta sauce being cooked.
62. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? Usually the first big thing I have to do that day, but if I have a particularly memorable dream, I’ll be thinking about that.
Revolutions
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on November 6, 2003
I wasn’t planning on it, but I went to see it last night. I didn’t have anything due for the rest of the week, nor did I have any reading or problem sets to do. So Schoener, Adam, Jon, Charlie, and I packed into Charlie’s car and went to Newport News. None of us had ever been to that theater before. Usually we go to the one in Hampton, which is farther away, but this one was just as good. Overall, it was better than I expected, but I hadn’t expected much considering the reviews it got.
(spoilers):
It could have been better had they paid more attention to the plot and dialogue, not the action, which was pretty much why the reviewers trashed it. A lot of stuff was unexplained, like the whole Trainman sequence in the beginning. The purpose of the train station was only briefly mentioned. It sounded like something cool, that could have been expanded upon, but was left half-done. A lot of the machine world stuff wasn’t explained very well, either. The big talking head, the reason Neo sees all the machines and can influence them, whether or not Neo died in the end — all of those should have been explained better, because some of it didn’t make sense.
A lot of stuff was completely boring and unoriginal. Neo running across the screen in the train station like a mouse on a wheel. The shootout in the Merovingian’s bar was a copy of the lobby scene. The Zion action sequence had nothing really exciting, and for the most part had no inspiring speeches or strong dialogue.
The showdown between Neo and Agent Smith seemed rediculous. It seems that each movie tries to make each major fight scene bigger and more destructive than the previous. It really got out of hand, with Smith and Neo flying around, trying to land punches, with water, glass, and concrete flying everywhere in successive shockwaves.
Overall, I thought it was an alright action movie. Considering that it was built upon the world of the Matrix, I would have expected much better.
(/spoilers)
The rain held off until just after practice, and then it unleashed. Jacob offered Brian and I a ride home from the Caf, since I didn’t want to wait for the bus or walk home. When we got to his car, it was double parked. We sat in the car for 15 minutes, hoping the idiot would come out, but he never did. We noticed the keys were in the ignition and the door unlocked, so Jacob got out, got in the other car, started it up, and moved it so he could get out. We considered moving it somewhere else, like into a nearby parking lot, so the driver would know we moved it, but eventually decided against it. Still, it was pretty funny.
I also discovered BitTorrent. Since I’ve had trouble getting stuff via normal P2P, I’ve been trying to find another solution. I tried IRC, but had little luck because there were too many people. I downloaded and installed BT months ago, but never found any sites that were any good. Messing around today, I’ve found several that have all kinds of stuff. I’ll see how this goes.
Muahahaha
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on June 19, 2003
I just scored a real nice chair and an APC battery backup from the empty cube next to me (the guy using it moved into an office). When I first got here, someone assumed that my cube was unused and took my keyboard and mouse. Kind of tough to do anything without those.
I’ve said this time and time again, and now it’s in print:
“Console diehards, you can whine all you want, but there’s simply no substitute for aiming with a mouse”
From GTA 3: Vice City PC Review
All the console gamers I know say how the controllers are so easy to use, but in terms of speed and accuracy, the mouse wins hands down. I remember hearing how a console port of a PC game (it might have been UT 2003) had to have slower moving players and weapons because the game controllers couldn’t handle the default speeds.
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