Opinion

HTC Mozart with Windows Phone 7

by ZombieSkittles on September 19, 2011

For a couple of weeks I have had a new phone. I knew for a little while that yes, the Samsung Galaxy S was good, but I wanted a new phone for various reason. Fate shined on me, and a HTC Mozart fell into my lap.
What surprises me is that, as the title of this post suggests, instead of an Android phone, this particular model uses Windows Phone 7 for it’s operating system. What surprises me even more, is that I fucking love it.

First, why I think it’s awesome, and why I needed to change phone.

  1. It doesn’t crash. The one thing above all else that constantly frustrated me in regards to my Galaxy S was that the applications kept crashing. I’m not sure if that is specific to the phone model or if all Android users have this problem, but the official Facebook app, Runkeeper and sometimes even native apps like the Text Message stuff would freeze on me. I end up having to either “Force Close” them, or pull my battery out to force the phone to reset.
    With my Mozart, I have had absolutely no problems. The Facebook application runs perfectly, as does every other application I’ve installed.
  2. Windows_Phone_7_Start_screenThe presentation is different, and that’s nice. Ever since my iPhone 3G, I’ve gotten used to the idea of having a grid full of icons leading to all the various applications I have installed. Android phones are no different in this regards, but it’s nice to see that Microsoft weren’t afraid to change things up just a little, if not drastically.
    The home screen –as you can see in the stock image I found in Google Images- features big clear square buttons in two columns. You can scroll down for more icons, and if you scroll to the left you get a list of everything installed on your phone. It’s simple, elegant, and easy to customize.
    Applications all have a very simple and elegant style, unifying them and making them very easy to navigate and use.
  3. Easy social networking integration. It may not include Twitter until the next version, but the phone features the ability to not only sync with my Google account and get all my phone contacts that way, but it links with my Facebook account, and adds all those people to my contacts as well. I can go into the People application (The equivalent of a Contacts app), see the latest things posted on Facebook, and in my contacts I can not only select to call or message someone, but post to their Facebook instantly, view their website, etc. It’s nice having a central hub like that natively.
  4. Xbox Live. You can download free and dollar games from the Marketplace much the same as on Android and iOS device, and play them to your hearts desire, but what I feel separates the Windows Phone 7 from the other two is the implementation of an existing gaming service.
    The phone’s Xbox Live links up with your normal Live account, complete with avatar and achievements. You can buy and download mobile games including Plants vs Zombies and Geo Defence, and play them on the go, unlocking achievements and the like.
    I love my dollar games, but this feels…better, somehow.
  5. What looks like a really fun development platform. I’m not the most adept when it comes to design and programming, but Microsoft have tried to ensure that you don’t need to be. Their system features drag and drop interfacing, preview images and everything to try and be as easy to use as possible. It is really inviting and I’m slowly learning how to use it myself.

That being said, there are a few things I’m not a fan of.

  1. The first of these things is a lack of applications. Yes, all the great ones everyone uses are here including Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook and Angry Birds. However, the range is nothing compared to that of it’s sister systems Android and iOS. Looking for an application to help me organize my work roster turned up squat.
    While popular things like Facebook are present, there is no application for Google Plus, nor any other Google products besides Search.
  2. imagesI’m forced to use Internet Explorer. It’s not the worst browser on the block, but it’s still a pain. The fact that I can’t seem to access the address bar when the phone is in landscape mode is particularly annoying. I wouldn’t mind being able to download a mobile version of Google Chrome or even Opera, but that looks to never happen.
  3. The Twitter application is missing a few simple things. It’s the official application, and it’s coincidently the only option in the store. Besides not keeping me on the last read tweet (So if I leave it for a while I end up scrolling and scrolling and scrolling to get to the oldest new tweet), it doesn’t have push notifications or anything in the app to inform me of new mentions or messages. I don’t know I have them until I go to the tab they’re under. Additionally, mentions in the normal timeline don’t have anything to differentiate them from normal tweets, meaning sometimes I miss them.
    These are things almost all other Twitter clients in the other platforms have, so why can’t this one? At the very least I’d like to see alternative applications.

If I had of ended up with a Samsung Galaxy S2 or some other new Android phone, I don’t think I’d of minded. However, I’m really amazed and enjoying how good this platform is, and when I get my head around the development kit, I’m going to try making one or two applications for it.

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Your zodiac/horoscope and if you think it fits your personality.

by ZombieSkittles on May 28, 2011

This entry is part 16 of 29 in the series Tumblr 30 Day Challenge

I’ve always been a bit iffy in regards to horoscopes; the idea that I am built around the time I am born and not the life I live or choices I make seems absurd. I have had an extremely passive interest in my horoscope since forever, now and again looking in the newspaper to see what they think life has in store for me. It’s always the same sort of thing though:

248px-Aries.svgThings will happen or maybe they won’t and these will or will not invoke a feeling within you. You will maybe achieve something and money is used to buy things. You will also find true love one day. Or not.
You may be stubborn, or you might be extremely flexible in your position regarding something.

Above: Every horoscope ever.

As you go through your day you will almost always find a way to fit the horoscope around the events of your day. “Oh wow, money is used to buy things. I feel so enlightened.” you’ll say, and suddenly the entire world has condemned you. By the entire world I mean me, because seriously, if you believe a paragraph in the newspaper that changes every day yet says the same things to be something to live your life by, I worry about you.

That all being said, naturally I don’t really think horoscopes fit me. I do however, feel proud to call myself an Aries.

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How important you think education is.

by ZombieSkittles on May 20, 2011

This entry is part 10 of 29 in the series Tumblr 30 Day Challenge

It’s damn important.

Where would you be without doctors who knew what they were doing? What if you couldn’t read and this blog post was just a bunch of shapes to you? That last one in particular is the most terrible for me, as I like the idea that there may be someone out there who reads my ramblings.

I don’t know what to really say about this subject. Of course education is one of the most important things we have because without it, we would be unable to sustain our culture. What separates us from everything else apart from everything else is our ability to be rational and not give in to instinct. We’ve evolved over the years to be able to do amazing things, and it is only through sharing common knowledge of maths, science, language, and so on that we have been able to do them.

Without education, it would be a very different world, and this blog wouldn’t exist. That makes me sad.

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Your views on mainstream music.

by ZombieSkittles on May 17, 2011

This entry is part 7 of 29 in the series Tumblr 30 Day Challenge

How do you classify what is mainstream? More importantly, how do you discern that from what is not mainstream?

171194-lady-gaga-born-this-way

Mainstream, as far as I’m aware, means things available to the public through common channels involving commercial bodies, such as games being sold through big publishers, and the like.

My problem is, how can you apply such a big generalized label to something, then judge it as such? It is easy for me to say “R n’ B music is not for me,” or, “Jesus this Death Metal music is ridiculous, I don’t even understand what the fuck they’re saying. Are they just growling?”. However, mainstream isn’t a genre. Mainstream music could be any genre and can involve any theme. With that in mind, how the hell could someone just ask about your views on mainstream music and expect a simple reply?

Here’s my view; this fucking subject is dumb. Mainstream music can be good, it can be bad. The same way as anything not mainstream (Indie?) can also be shit. Musical taste is subjective, and mainstream is a stupid label to judge something on.

Next question.

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Something you feel strongly about

by ZombieSkittles on May 13, 2011

This entry is part 3 of 29 in the series Tumblr 30 Day Challenge

This is hard for me to say. I’m a stubborn person, but unfortunately I cannot think about anything I would consider myself passionate about. I’m pro-choice, for gay marriage, all those things, but I would in no way say I feel strongly about them. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, it’s when they force that view upon others and don’t take “I believe something else” as an answer that I get pissed off.

I guess as such, if I had to say I felt strongly about anything, it’s that people should be let live their lives as they want. It’s their life, not yours, so why worry yourself with what they choose to do with it?
All these people who fight other people’s views, from anti-abortionists to Christians hating on Atheists (and vice versa god damn it. We’re both as intolerant as the other.), I hate the whole thing. We all think differently, but in these cases there is no wrong or right answer. So what the fuck are you fighting about?

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Portal 2 – Robot Enrichment

by ZombieSkittles on April 21, 2011


One of the more interesting and apparently controversial ideas implemented in Portal 2 is that of TF2-style customization for the co-op robots P-Body and Atlas. Players can equip hats, custom skins and “gestures” (cinematic gestures they do with each other, such as high fiving, though that one is free in the game.). You are automatically given certain hats from TF2 if you already own them in said game, and receive special items for unlocking certain achievements.

The real uproar seems to be around the various things you can buy in the store, and the fact we’ll be able to eventually trade items with fellow test subjects. These minor inclusions have resulted in so-called fans calling Valve “evil” and likening the company to Hitler and Activision.
My mistake was I didn’t realize that such a large portion of Valve’s fan base were greedy retards. You see:

  1. The store is not only optional, but out of the way. To access it, you click on the button that says Robot Enrichment. That button is separate to the main menu, which is what attracts your attention. SO unless you seek it out, you can ignore it. Additionally, the button only takes you to your loadouts, where you can apply items you already own to the player models. In order to actually go to the store, you need to click on another button afterwards that is clearly labelled ‘Store’. It is not in your face, directing your attention. If you ignore the store, your game will still function completely as normal. You won’t lose anything.
  2. Multiple items are given for free through achievement related drops, and possible through random drops. As I said above, if you own certain hats in TF2, you’ll get them in Portal 2 to equip to P-Body and Atlas. Additionally, there are a few items rewarded for unlocking certain achievements. So if you want to customize, you have more options than just the store.
    It is early days so we do not know if they have, or will have, a drop system similar to TF2 in which you will get new items randomly as you play. Only time will tell, but it would make sense.
  3. All the items in the store are cosmetic. You are not paying for a portal gun, or being able to move faster, or the ability to fly. You are offered the chance to pay to look different through skins, hats, and other items. Nothing will change the game, and as such, refer to point one.
  4. Trading will not be the pain that it is in TF2. In Team Fortress 2, people spam trades everywhere. There are servers dedicated to it, an the whole thing is treated like a massive economy, where everything has an inherit worth and that is all that matters to a lot of players. Trade-spam can spoil a perfectly good game for some people.
    However, in Portal 2 there are two key factors that differ; first up, the people you play with are most likely your friends. As such, you won’t be likely at all to be spammed with requests to trade. Secondly, there is no rareness in items in Portal 2. There are no vintage items, genuine, unusual, or any other such tags. There are just items.
    These two things combined with how the game works should mean that the concept of trading might actually work in this game.
  5. This gives Valve more of an incentive to continue producing content. We all want more Portal, correct? We want Valve to update the game in the future with more maps, maybe advanced challenges and the like, correct? Well if there is money coming in from “return players”, then they have more of a reason to make maps to make people return.
    According to Steam Stats at the time of writing, roughly 100,000 gamers played the game today. Now, we know that the total number of people who actually play the game will probably be much, much more. But for the sake of this we’ll work with that as the final number. Over time you’d expect that number to dwindle a little we can expect maybe 40,000 people to still be playing after a while, keeping in mind the SDK should come out, allowing people to create and share custom maps. If only one in a hundred users bought a single item for a dollar every so often, that is still $4000 coming in. This is of course with this small number of total players.
    The final number is probably much greater, but even with such a small example like that, you can see that there is definitely reason for Valve to keep us playing.

Other games have worse and get away with it.

This point is the most important to me, so instead of a number, it gets it’s own subtitle. What bothers me most about people’s reaction to both stores that Valve have included is that other companies do these things and people seem okay with it. As an example, Blizzard offered a horse called the “Celestial Steed” that players could own and ride, as long as they coughed up a whopping $25. What did it do? Nothing. How much did Blizzard make? Millions of dollars in the first day. Why do they get a free pass for charging so much for so little, while Valve offer up items that cost 99 cents and people instantly hate everything about the company?
I’m sorry, but I’m seeing a double standard here.

I love the game, and the store takes nothing away from that love. If Valve decide to create new content, or allow us to easily make and share content, I will gladly give them money for some extra customization. As for all you haters, suck my dick1.

  1. I am implementing a store soon, that will allow you to buy custom skins (Including a racing stripe) for my penis, so you can suck it in style!

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Twitter is not a blog

by ZombieSkittles on November 3, 2010

I love Twitter with a passion. I’ve been using it for a while now and have made many friends from it, including the people I currently live with. It’s short messages of no more than 140 characters are something that I, as well as others, invest plenty of time in reading and replying to.

Today I want to talk about thrush a growing trend in tweeting. TwitLonger has been around for quite a while but luckily was never adapted that much, most people sticking with the limits of Twitter. TwitLonger is a website that allows one to extend their tweet past the 140 character limit in place. It does this by putting the tweet on an external site, then putting a preview and a link to the full tweet on Twitter. Not many people used the service, much to my happiness.

However, with it being integrated into more popular programs including TweetDeck and the official Android app, more people are letting their tweets extend the character limit. I’m slowly encountering tweets that are turning into full blog posts, and I do not like this.
If I want to read a blog post I will visit a blog for it. Twitter is for micro-blogging, and ideas like TwitLonger really bother me. If your tweet extends the 140 character limit it is no longer a tweet, and more of a post that deserves to go on Tumblr.

That was all a bit rambly, but this is a rambling ranty post. Basically, please stop using Twitlonger guys. Save those “tweets” for your personal blog.

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Scott Pilgrim vs The Movie

by ZombieSkittles on September 25, 2010

This entry is part 23 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 25

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This is short, unstructured and written on my phone in the back of a car. However, I POSTED IT SO IT COUNTS TOWARDS BLOGGING EVERYDAY.

I bought the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels and have been reading through them, and am completely amazed at how utterly different the story is to the movie. The characters are more defined and can be related with easier. The story itself is funnier, more interesting yet has darker moments too. It deals more with elements only lightly touched in the movie, and better too.

I know this isn’t unique among adaptations, but it’s at the point that it’s essentially a completely different story. Its weird.

Both the comic and movie are equally awesome though.

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Fluoride and bullshit fliers.

by ZombieSkittles on August 17, 2010

In my hometown while waiting for the train, I stumbled across the following flier posted practically everywhere.

scan Click the image to enlarge.

I was intrigued because as we all know, I love taking apart stupid things like this as an excuse to inflict you with a blog post, so I took one down to check out whether what it says is factual at all.

A little bit about fluoride levels in our water.

For later reference, we’ll start by throwing some facts in your face. I noticed the information on the flier is obviously American given the choice of words, measurements and the website (which we’ll talk about in a bit) is majority American articles. So I decided to check American and Australian fluoride levels in the water. It seems our Government  has differing levels of fluoride present in different areas, as represented by this handy diagram I stole from the Internet.

fluoridechart

We can assume that the fluoride level doesn’t go above 1.1 mg/L in these controlled conditions, which is just a little over one millionth of a litre. America has a MCL1 of 4 mg/L, and the average levels works out to be similar to that of ours. I’ll work with the maximums for the sake of the argument, because results for that will be applicable over smaller amounts as well.

As little as 1/10 of an ounce of fluoride can kill a 100 lbs adult.

If we look at this so called fact, given that 1/10 of a fluid ounce is roughly 3 mg/L2, we can say that the amounts present in our water are way less than that (given 1.1 is the maximum, and in places like where I live it’s considerable lower), and therefore not a threat in normal doses. While it is possible that that much fluoride could kill someone, we aren’t having nearly enough in a short enough period of time to have that effect.

1/1000 of an ounce can kill a 10 pound infant.

This one is difficult because babies grow rapidly, gaining and losing weight all the time. Looking it up though, apparently it is recommended babies not be given water to drink until they’re 6 months old since the water they need is gotten when they drink breast milk. So we’ll work on that.
I looked, and at 6 months of age the average weight for a baby can be anywhere between 15 and 21 pounds. Now, using the power of basic math, I can see that the child would need to be younger than 6 months to be the size needed for that level of fluoride to be poisonous. Since babies that are at that age aren’t meant to drink water, we can say unless someone was a really irresponsible parent the baby shouldn’t be at risk.

Fluoride is the active ingredient in most insecticides!

A type of fluoride IS used in pesticides, called sulfuryl fluoride, so this is sort of true. What this flier mysteriously forgets to mention is that this is not what is put in our water. What is actually put in our water is called sodium fluoride, a completely different thing. Sulfuryl fluoride is poisonous which is just one reason why pesticides have DANGER printed on them. So this fact is really a complete twist of the facts in an attempt to scare those who believe everything they read3. It frustrates me when people feel that the only way to prove their point is to obscure the truth (Especially when it’s not even for the lulz!).

Fluoride causes bone cancer. In your bones.

This one is true. To a degree. Too much fluoride will cause brittleness of the bones (Just as not enough will make them weak), and there are apparently scientific studies that link fluoride to the cancer4. Of course, these studies are years old and there are counter-studies showing no actual link between cancers and fluoridation5.
So really, this is another case of selective hearing. These people are taking only the studies that benefit their cause to try and scare people into siding with them. And on the flier they’re stating these studies are absolute fact, which is wrong. It saddens me that people do this rather than embrace all the facts and make an educated decision.

Water fluoridation doesn’t strengthen teeth or fight tooth decay.

This is the big one. Not only does the flier hate on fluoride with the above, but it then states that fluoride doesn’t even do the things it’s meant to do. This is despite scientific proof that it strengthens the bones and teeth, and there is studies proving the statistical link between fluoride being in the water and the reduction of cavities6.
This seems to be a case of not just twisting the facts, but outright lying. They blatantly ignore the facts and lie in favour of boosting their case. The fuck is wrong with them?

Hey, they have a website!

The flier points to a website to have the truth revealed to us. Now I don’t WANT to link to the site, but I have to for the sake of yes. InfoWars.com seems to be a news website in which the featured stories include conspiracies. At first look, there are no articles on fluoride, so I used the search option. The most recent articles about it completely ignore the studies I pointed out, tries to link fluoride to shorter lives, and is an overall idiot. Watching a video featuring Alex Jones (Creator and runner of InfoWars.com), when you get past the constant plugs for his website,  he claims everything he says about fluoride (some of which is covered above) is “absolute truth”, even though everything he claims can be debunked or at least can be reasonably doubted by several facts and studies.
Pure garbage. Just Google “alex jones is an idiot” and you’ll see plenty of examples of exactly that.

In short, the flier is bullshit. The “facts” it states are either outright lies, or twisted truths in an attempt to make it sound like Alex Jones and other conspiracy theorists are completely right. If they thought about it for two seconds they would realize that while yes in large amounts fluoride is poisonous, in small doses it is actually good for your health. You can’t convince these idiots though. This makes me sad.

I would also like to point out that what I’m basing all my information on is that found on the internet at varying sources. I link to a few studies for and against the point, but also read up on articles on water fluoridation on Wikipedia and other sources. The information is correct to the best of my knowledge, but I may of missed something here or there. If I did, I’m sorry.

  1. Maximum Contaminant Level
  2. Rounded up from 2.95735296
  3. Basically, anyone who relies on The Advertiser and Today Tonight for news.
  4. Of course, such studies are covered by Fox News.
  5. What the ‘York Review’ on the fluoridation of drinking water really found.
  6. http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/CRD_Reports/crdreport18.pdf

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Fair dinkum uncertainty

by ZombieSkittles on August 4, 2010

elections Election time has come around again, and I have come to my realization that I actually know nothing1 about current politics and affairs. I also know fuck all about our political history, but that’s not the point. My knowledge extends to knowing Labour MP Stephen Conroy is trying to censor our Internet, Julia Gillard is our awfully monotone Prime Minister, and Tony Abbott says “Fair dinkum” too often in a vain attempt to come across as a ‘true Aussie’.

I know barely anything about the policies of either of the main parties or even those of the minor parties. In fact, beyond the names of the leaders and those who occasionally end up being newsworthy, I don’t even know what the party is.

I would read the newspapers, but they only pick what would be newsworthy and don’t actually detail everything Not to mention that papers like The Advertiser are either bias or don’t tell the whole story; either way I just don’t feel such a traditional medium would cut it. Everyone in my family is incredibly bias, and with half the news I get coming from blogs, I can be sure that what I read there won’t be everything either. While there are bound to be sources that state the straight facts, I don’t see myself having the mental drive to read through it all.

It’s difficult to get the whole picture easily without following everything religiously, and I just don’t care enough to. At the same time though, I want to make the ‘right’ decision for myself, and without knowing the facts I can’t. It’s a bit of a downward spiral2. It’s probably the wrong mentality to take when I spend multiple paragraphs complaining, but that’s how I work.

I don’t know who I’ll vote for, and I can see myself potentially just flipping a coin when I get to the booth. Despite the fact that I’ll attempt to read up on everything, I know that I’ll get distracted by a game of Alien Swarm which I’m going to be honest, is just way more fun and satisfying.

  1. Shocking!
  2. And now I want to listen to Nine Inch Nails.

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