Moo's Play House

Would you look at that...

[theimmortalmoo]

GPU: EVGA GTX 680 4GB/Wbackplate CPU: Intel 3770K O.C. to 4.4GHZ RAM: GSkill 1600 Ram (16 gigs) Power Supply : Cooler Master 1200 W (To upgrade to SLI eventually) HDD: SSD Samsung 840 Pro (2 1TB Western Digital and 2 750 GB Maximus Hybrid 7500 RPM) Case: Cooler Master HAF XB  Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula

[theimmortalmoo]

New Linux Paper

Alan Pope wrote an article in his blog about how Windows is inferior to Ubuntu. Matthew Whelmke wrote an article in his blog about the coolest thing you can do using Linux that you can’t do with Windows or on a Mac. Due to the age of the articles it seems that some of their points are now invalid. This paper will touch on topics that explain how Windows can perform some of these features and how they are similar in some ways and also mention some of the benefits of Linux that are mentioned.

Matthew stated have the latest version of the operating system run faster than the previous version on the same hardware. While I can agree on lower end computers this is usually correct. However with higher end computers, there can be a little to no change in speed due to the latest version being installed. In 2008 Windows 7 was yet to be released, however Windows Vista was released and had a much higher resource demanding build compared to XP. Now with Windows 7 can run better than Windows Vista, and Windows 8 runs better ever so slightly, depending on the hardware Windows can perform just as well as its previous releases.

Another claim that was stated was I have+ word processor windows open working on papers, listen to music, play with flash desktop effects, have contact with a largely happy community and have firefox, instant messaging, and email clients all open at the same time, without ever having to had to beg someone for a code to make my os work, and without the system running so slow it is useless. This is a very passionate statement, however there are some issues with it. Taking into consideration that Matthew wrote thisabout his article, I wrote it in ten minutes as a throwaway, I won’t be harsh on the assessmentof it. Computers comprise of hardware and software, such as an operating system, and the combination of the two can determine the type of experience their user will encounter. Assuming the computer that Matthew was using for this scenario had low end hardware I can agree that Windows would perform poorly compared to Linux. Although I would not have to beg someone for a code to make my os work, I would be begging someone for some better parts to make it run smoother. But if the computer had some of the modern day, mid to high range components, there would be little difference in performance due to application resources needs.

Run without using a virus scanner, adware/spyware protection, and not reboot my computer for months, even when I do keep up with all the latest security updates. This is one of the main benefits of running Linux. Due to Linux’s minority in the operating systems market there is little worry about when it comes to Viruses. Viruses are made with a specific target in mind, and the majority of those viruses are designed for Windows operating systems. However, such as many Mac uses found out recently Macs can get viruses and Linux is no exception to them either. A welcome benefit to Linux as Matthew pointed out is that he does not have to restart his computer after a security update, and that is an amazing feature of Linux that I truly do find amazing.

Use almost any hardware and have a driver for it included with the operating system, eliminating the need to scour the internet to find the hardware manufacturer’s website to locate one. While I can whole heartedly agree that not having to install drivers by locating by a them on a manufacturer’s website is a pleasantry, Microsoft has improved this with their later releases. With internet access Windows will locate on its own a diver for the hardware, however due to the driver not being directly from the manufacture, there can be a lack of additional features that manufacture’s include with the diver packages. However a scenario that Linux failed to have the drivers that supported my network card and that proved to be an aggravating experience. Linux would not install the network drivers automatically. There was much internet scouring to locate the manufacture of the motherboard, and then finding the drivers for the network card. After I located the drivers using another computer I transferred them to my now internet deprived computer. From there it was even more difficult to attempt to install the drivers; I am new to Linux and having to install the drivers proved to be an overbearing task for someone who at the time was not familiar with the Terminal.

Make a major mistake that requires a complete reinstallation and be able to do it less than an hour, because I put all my data on a separate partition from the operating system and program files. Having to reinstall any operating system is never a fun task, and reinstalling programs can be even more tedious. While the time it takes to install Linux can be much faster than installing Windows, the task of installing it without having to reinstall programs is obtainable. Similar to what was done with the scenario that he described, a partition saved his data. This can be accomplished in Windows as well. Choosing to manually install programs on my computer to another partition will allow me to keep them for later use; however the registry entries would be missing and this would be a hassle to get working in Windows again. However it can be done in Windows.

In conclusion Linux is a vastly superior operating system in some ways. Windows is still limiting its users to a great extent. However in the years that have passed from this original posting Microsoft has attempted to make changes to a better Windows, unfortunately not completely succeeding. The articles that were mentioned provide great amount of information for those looking for an Operating System that has little limitations bound to it. Linux takes more effort to learn to use than Windows but that effort will payoff in the long run.

[theimmortalmoo]

Old Linux Paper - Writing a new one.

Matthew Helmke posted a blog titled What is the coolest thing you can do using Linux that you can’t do with Windows or on a mac? Upon reviewing this blog I noticed things that you actually could do on a Windows computer that he claimed were not possible. In my paper I will be discussing a few of the linux exclusive features that can and have happened in the Windows environment.

“Have the latest version of the operating system run faster than the previous version on the same hardware.” Taking into interpretation that later version meaning later releases of Windows, and not including service packs which do improve performance with the updates they provide, such as Windows Vista and Windows 7. With the upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 I found that my computer uses less system resources sense upgrading from Windows Vista.

So just keeping in the speculation that it’s considering a completely new operating system and not an update or service pack we have managed to improve system performance by updating/upgrading the software without enhancing the hardware its self.

“Easily install and run different graphical interfaces if I don’t like the default setup.” Assuming that one can find a place to download graphical add-ons either on the web or through the package manager built into Linux, yes this can be easily done, on the other hand it can also be easily done for windows as well. With windows graphical user interface being popular by default not everyone would like to change from the familiar look, but there are many options on the web that can be as easily as downloading the installer clicking through the setup and enjoying the new graphical interface that was downloaded.

For instance, Alienware and Stardock released a free graphical user interface application with 3 free skins to choose from, Rocketdock is a Graphical User Interface add-on that allows shortcuts to be organized and look good. Some of these applications are free for use from websites such ashttp://www.guimods.com but some are purchased through websites such ashttp://www.Stardock.com.

“Run without using a virus scanner, adware/spyware protection, and not reboot my computer for months, even when I do keep up with all the latest security updates” The market is flooded with Windows; it is the most widely used operating system in the world. With viruses, unlike their biological counterpart, are made by man. Normally viruses are made with a specific purpose in mind, to either collect information, wreck havoc on a computer or other reasons.

Can Linux get viruses, yes, does that mean they have to use or install an anti-virus, no. Windows can get viruses, does that mean that they have to uses or install an anti-virus, no it doesn’t. Someone that practices safe surfing and knows better than to download files and click on Ad’s can have a computer and stay virus free, but it’s a chance.

If Linux distributions became to where they were the world’s leading operating system, then more viruses would be made to attack those specific operating systems. Seeing how that there are viruses out there for both operating systems, I believe to be totally safe that both should have an anti-virus installed on their system.

“I have 4+ word processor windows open working on papers, listen to music, play with flash desktop effects, have contact with a largely happy community and have firefox, instant messaging, and email clients all open at the same time, without ever having to had to beg someone for a code to make my os work, and without the system running so slow it is useless.”  This lengthy mess of words is trying to describe multi tasking, and making claims that Ubuntu is able to multi-task better than windows. Linux distributions usually do use less ram for the operating system, but these claims that this performance is just due to the operating system itself that it will be able to out multi-task windows.

What makes a computer is a series of hardware and the software to operate the hardware and what can make a large impact on how well the computer functions depends on some key parts, Processor, RAM, HDD data transfer rate, and even your internet speed. To prove my point I decided the best way to do so would be to test it out myself. I opened the following applications;

Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, Google Chrome, Microsoft One Note, Windows media player-playing Final Fantasy VII sound track, opened up a couple of folders in Windows Explorer, several windows of Microsoft Word, Xfire instant messenger, VLC media player-playing a movie, iTunes-syncing items to my iPod, AOL instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Teamspeak-3, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Dropbox, VMware-not running a VM, Microsoft Outlook, Avast Anti-virus, and Steam.

With all these applications I found my ram just wasn’t filling up enough and that my processor wasn’t passing 20%, so I decided to do something that Linux can’t do natively, I opened up a video game and started playing ,Guild Wars. While the game added a lot more to my RAM and processor I found it just wasn’t enough, so I decided I would run two games at once along with all the previously mentioned applications.

Launching Unreal Tournament 2004 I began playing that a bit and I noticed that my ram was just now hitting around the 75%% mark and my processor around 65%, I decided this would be more than enough proof that not only could I multitask better than if I were on Ubuntu, I was doing so without slowing down my computer or affecting any of my other applications. My computer specifications can be found on my Xfire profile at the bottom of the page, http://www.xfire.com/profile/theimmortalmoo , and the screenshot can be found on my photobucket,http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/theimmortalmoo/see.png . And all this was done without having to “beg someone for a code to make my os work”.

“Use almost any hardware and have a driver for it included with the operating system, eliminating the need to scour the internet to find the hardware manufacturer’s website to locate one.” While put very dramatically, one does not need to “scour” the internet for most hardware to work when using windows ever sense windows XP there has been countless drivers built into the operating system and most of which if the hardware’s drivers can be installed just from the firmware or what’s built into the system. With Windows 7 if you are unable to install the drivers for the software it has the ability to download the drivers for you, now with previous experience with Ubuntu I was unable to get my sound card or graphics card working correctly without having to go through some tutorials only to find that this was a outdated workaround to get the drivers installed and working correctly, and the drivers were not made for Linux from the distributors website.

In closing I have found that this heretic of grammar and biased article was easy to find five issues that were able to be proven wrong, or find alternative solutions without having to have someone who wasn’t familiar with the operating system to go out of their way for solve.

[theimmortalmoo]

Got Bored and made this. 

[theimmortalmoo]

Game Time

(Purpose of this Essay Was to provide a Descriptive/illustrative element in our essay)

The adrenaline pumping through my veins, the deafening boom of the tank shells echoing in my headset running from building to building. As I give orders to my squad mates providing them tactical information as I approach the next objective point. The tank sounds like it has gave up its pursuit, then an enemy solider yelling outside. I approach with caution, making sure not to give away my position. I take out my knife and deliver the deathblow. My squad arrives on my position, as a team we take the final objective. The screen flashes “Victory” before us and cheering commences between us all, we advanced one step closer to the finals where sponsorships and prize money await.

This is Professional gaming, also known as e-sports which is short for electronic Sports; it is a highly competitive form of gaming that usually has a payout of money and other benefits such as sponsorships and more. E-sports may seem to someone who isn’t familiar with the concept as nothing more than playing video games and getting paid, however there is much more that goes into e-sports besides just playing and it will usually kill the fun factor completely. After partaking in e-sports for nearly an entire year, I’ve learned being one of the best players doesn’t mean anything if I don’t have the time to commit to my team.

As with any sport, there is much practice involved and embrace a new mentality as well. Some e-sports games are easier to practice, where it only takes one to practice and require no teamwork thus making it easier to dedicate the time it takes to practice, which is usually about eight hours a day. With the more team based e-sports I have to coordinate schedules with others on my team. In the top tier of e-sports competitors are able to practice and work with their team with little complications due to having a sponsorship to pay for any bills and living with the team together in a house that is paid for by the company that endorses the team, this allows practice at least eight hours a day and discuss tactics and build the trust relationship that is required for e-sports. For my team, who is entering into the e-sports competition for the first time together, we don’t have the ability to spend the time that more seasoned players can, whether that cause be financial obligations or life responsibilities are causing the difficulty to practice.

When my teammates and I were able to work out a practice schedule the next task that we will have to look into is the mechanics of the game, the statistics and the functionality of how the game works.  Dissecting the mechanics of the game and knowing how the engine, the coding structure that sets the rules of the game world such as physics, gravity and more, works and then implementing that knowledge into our gameplay is vital to success, this is but one of the elements of what goes into practicing.

Next thing we did was practice, splitting our team up and practicing against each other. For hours we would play match after match. During these practice matches we would record our gameplay and begin reviewing the recordings after practice sessions and looking for methods of improvement for teamwork and our individual gameplay. I’ve caught myself repeatedly offending some simple mistakes that I’ve would not have noticed otherwise. This rigorous process is expected to be followed with all who take e-sports seriously enough to take the time to dedicate to the sport and was not something I or my teammates could fit into our daily lives it seemed.

Having the time to practice is a strong element to success in the realm of e-sports, but to really qualify to starting into e-sports, I must have the hand eye coordination and the mindset to be able to game competitively and be great at it; luckily I had all of these. E-sports on computers require the ability to use the mouse and keyboard. My team and I play first person shooters, which is a type of game where you see through a character’s eyes, using the keyboard typically controls the body movements such as forward, backward, crouch, prone, strafing left and right. While the mouse allows you to look and aim your weapons, I prefer to this setup but it can be customized however I see fit. Game Pads and other devices such as joysticks can be used as well, but I usually only bring out the joystick for flying. Master all of these tools to operate these at a level will give myself a completive edge against average dedicated players. But being able to have the mentality and the self-control to play wisely will also bring me closer to the gold for. The mentalities to predict my opponent’s moves, and counteract them, to think strategically and not just rush in take a few down then get taken down me are vital to success. These elements are just a small portion of the required elements.

In conclusion to partake in most team based e-sports and go far it will require time and skill. Taking a game and making it into a form of income by playing is attainable, but with such levels of dedication, the time required for such a thing is not a luxury I has available. I will no longer seek to partake in e-sports but will continue my passion for competitive gameplay and partake local tournaments when I have Time to Game. 

[theimmortalmoo]

I Can See Clearly Now

(This Was a Paper that had to be about a specific moment in time, and had to include a conflict. Must be in a first person view.)

I Can See Clearly Now

One Morning my friend and I woke up, our veins full of energy drinks from the previous night of staying up playing video games, we decided we would go and devour a meal cooked at our favorite diner. We raced out to the car, and we stumbled slamming into it laughing it off as we dove in. I buckled up, a force of habit that I’ve developed from my safety first mind set, and began to start the engine. I turned the key, and the car let out a loud groan as changed gears. I glanced at my friend, we exchanged a brief nod before I began to drive off, however a concern flashed in front of my eyes, both literally and figuratively, the window was nearly completely covered in what looked like fog, I never considered it being dew. But I ignore my instincts and began to drive.

With each minute passing minute I began to feel more alert, my eyes begin to focus and my mind was beginning to realize, that we probably should stop  to wait for the windshield to clear up but I ignored that little voice whispering in my head. Struggling to see out of the only opening in front of me, I felt nervous every foot I drove but pressured to keep up the adventure that we were on. Moments later my friend yelled “STOP!” My senses still dull from waking up I turned my head slowly and looked at my friend. My eyes full of fear as if I just saw my future flush down the drain, paled in comparison to the look on my friends face, the look of horror and disbelief began to slowly take shape onto his face.

Then everything stopped, the car came to a halt, everything but my organs which seemed to lurch forward from the momentum. At the time I don’t know what I hit, but I began to panic once it all began to sink in I ran into a white SUV on the passenger side of my car at 25 miles an hour! I felt my hands shaking from the adrenaline flowing in my system, as I put the car in reverse and begin to drive off. I began to hear faint sounds which I thought was the sound of someone yelling, I yell to Cory “I hear people yelling we should stop” and he replies “NO, no you don’t hear anything JUST GO! “

We were both scared about what happened and I’ve never been in a car wreck before, my heart was pounding, pumping the energy drink minerals through my veins. The only thing I could think of was getting home.  Scared of what happened, we sat in silence as I drove home with my partner in crime. I was surprised my car could even move after that hit, “it knocked the dew off my windshield.” I thought, then it all clicked, the reason that the defrost function wasn’t working was because it was dew on my windshield.

Not only once but twice I didn’t listen to my instincts this day, the first when I decided to continue onward with my friend without making sure we could see out of the windshield. I should have stopped what I was doing checked everything, and attempted to at least wipe off the windshield from the inside or the out. The second time is when I knew I shouldn’t have left I should have stayed and spoke with the people that owned the parked car off the side of the street, but I did not.

While driving I began to notice that my car was struggling to stay alive, violently shaking and flashing every warning light it had on the dashboard. While driving to my house I had to gauge my speed due to the speedometer being broken. When we got on the highway we began talking about ways we might be able to keep from getting into trouble with my guardians, think of horrible lies that would save my hide from my guardian’s wrath. We came up with ideas ranging from someone stole the car and we could ditch it or that someone hit and run my car while it was parked at Wal-Mart. We decided we would stick with the idea of us being hit at Wal-Mart, we thought this would be a good plan due to how busy those places are and the odds of us getting hit and ran ourselves would be believable chance.

We eventually made it home; I parked my car against the curb like always, and hesitantly made my way to the front door, and my feet felt heavy each step felt like I was walking to my own executioner. I eventually made it to the front door looking my friend in the eyes longing for him to say some words of wisdom that would be the Deus Ex Machina that I needed, no such luck came my way. I paused and held my breath as I inserted the key, those few moments felt like hours, as I turned it slowly a loud clanking sound rang as if the locks to my jail cell were being opened for me to step inside, my heart pounded furiously.

“My car was hit while I was at Wal-Mart, I don’t know who did it!” A moment passed in silence, the mother figure went outside and began to take pictures in silence. The father figure came out and said “they would have to have been going pretty fast to do this kind of damage.” I remained silent looking at only the ground, my mother figure pulled out her phone and started to speak “Hello, I need a copy of the security footage from this morning, there was a hit and run incident.” Not knowing if she was bluffing or actually speaking with someone never crossed my mind, but I cracked and began begging for forgiveness and explaining my situation. She had a look of disgust and told us to get in her car, and we did so hastily and without question.

The long ride back was full of pleads for forgiveness but were only returned with silence, once we arrived the vehicle I hit seemed to look just fine. My car’s paint splattered onto the back portion of the SUV, but I could see no physical damage besides some mutilated plastic on the top of the bumper that destroyed my engine. The Mother figure spoke with the owners of the vehicle and discussed the situation, insurance information was exchanged and the concluded the event at their house. I would have thought this would be the end of my tale, I got off with whatever punishment there is, including not having a care but it was over I thought! I was very wrong, when we arrived back at my house there were three police cars parked in front of the place. I learned a valuable lesion financially and through 100 hours of community service and not being able to be trusted. I am just fortunate that I made this idiotic mistake when I was still 16 and not after I was 18. This will be an event that I won’t forget any time soon. Being honest and doing the right thing is always a good idea, but also using common sense will help you get there, listen to yourself when you know something isn’t right.

[theimmortalmoo]

Beware the New Frontier

(Purpose of this Essay was to Show comparisons)

Gamers, people who play video games as a hobby, have a goal with every game they play and that is to have fun. Gamers usually have fun by playing their game to the point of completion or victory. A thought usually occurs in gamers head’s after “what now”. If the game is “single player only” they can just toss the game into the closet until they feel like playing it again, however if the game features a multiplayer feature that provides a whole new experience. With most single player victories the feeling of winning, that aroma of arrogance and satisfaction that swells up in the player’s mind, can only be increased by succeeding against real people, and to do that they will need multiplayer. When taking that first step into the online realm, by using an internet connection, multiplayer can be an unforeseen horror. The online realm is full of people that sane gamers would want to avoid.

When playing online however there are a wide variety of people to encounter, some can actually enhance a gamer’s experience, forge online friendships as well, while others will make them want to rip off their ears and wash out filth that was polluting them or quit playing all together. These types of people inhabit this realm, and going in unprepared is never wise, beware the multiplayer.

The ones who are never there, are gamers who exist in a game, but never participate. Their existence in the online realm is never beneficial for the team they are on. Their avatar (character or representation of them in the game realm), never act never move and always give an eerie omen for members playing on their team. In strategy games their base never upgrades and their minions do not move, also they can be easy to identify by their lack of communication verbally or by text.  These entities can lead to an “uphill” battle for the team they joined due to being outnumbered by a team of active players. While these types of gamers are despicable, there are even worse types.

The forbidden ones are gamers who have obtained a game that is outside of their age rating and play in the online realm. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) have games divided into ratings based on age. It is to be expected when playing a mature rated game that the online gamers playing would be at least the age of 17. Unfortunately moments upon entering a game there are signs of these forbidden creatures plaguing the game. Their high pitched voices echo in the headset of players, their high pitched screams of excitement deafening to all. The forbidden ones have been known to mimic what the older players say and type, but take it to extreme measures as if each curse words leaving their mouth were a point they were racking up in the game. As the have gone by the generation has grown into something worse.

The ones of never ending sin are typically molted from the forbidden ones when they have reached the proper age of the ESRB rating for the mature games. Their goals have shifted from just play and winning the game to taunting other gamers. Some do it for an attempt to incite anger from their fellow players just to find joy in making someone angry over the internet for laughs. Others do it to get a tactical advantage by clouding the mind of the other gamers. Their tactics of doing this involve every moment constantly expelling vile words from them, words soaked in vulgar corruption. The bring up the ignorance of racism and hate as well as lewd jesters to bring about the chaotic emotional state they are seeking. Even with these tactics they are not as big of a problem as those who “break” the games.

The exploiting ones are the beings that have found an unintended bugs (coding in the game that is not written correctly allowing forms of cheating to occur) within a game and are using this flaw to their advantage to win games. Their knowledge, whether bestowed upon them from a more experienced gamer or found by becoming a victim of these exploits, is a terrible power if used. When using this “power” it will allow them to break the rules of the game. Some examples would be providing them with unlimited resources, automatic victories, and much more. To the extent of causing other gamers to not even enjoy the game. Preventative measures have been known to exercise these practices from the game but it is only a matter of time till more are exposed to these cheaters.

While these imps of the game world plaguing the online world there must be some preventative measures to quarantine them, unfortunately there is not always a convenient solution.  Every time a gamer step into the online realm there is a chance they will encounter such distasteful gamers. However being knowledgeable of the ways to nominate for the removal of gamers who are not around, report and mute underage and immature players, being mature enough to not give satisfaction to those who attempt lure gamers into the web of these vile entities will help reduce the numbers of such beings in the future. 

-The Immortal Moo