Evan Sims

iDrops actually work pretty well

So like I was saying, last week I ordered some iDrops from PodShop over on Amazon. I have an iPod nano that I got when I ordered my Mac Pro last year, and a year of use can leave some scars on a device so I thought I’d give it a try. What’s more, my laptop has been around the world and back more than a few times over and it’s surface was also showing some nasty scratches. I figured I’d try it on that too; couldn’t hurt.

Well, I’ve been pretty impressed with the results on both the laptop and the iPod. It took a couple uses on the iPod to get the minor scratches out, and I’m up to ten or so applications on the laptop (it had some very deep scratches) but both devices are really looking good. I can’t see the scratches on the iPod anymore, and the ones the laptop are barely noticeable unless it’s hit with direct sunlight. What’s more, the polishing aspects of it have made the shininess of the surface of the laptop practically like new.

So yeah, I’m super pleased with my purchase. If you’re looking for a quick fix to some device scratches, I’d recommend it.

Running Apache, PHP and MySQL on Windows.

Here at home, I run a local apache install to make building and testing my web projects easier. Instead of having to constantly upload files to my web host, I can save them locally and refresh my browser to see the result. It’s easier, and because I run my local server off of my laptop, it provides the added bonus of allowing me to work on projects while I’m out of the house, on a plane, or otherwise don’t have Internet access.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about getting Apache and PHP up and running in a Windows environment, and a lot of people give up and use bundled packages like WAMP or XAMPP. These are fine choices, but I like to do things myself, and install just the components I need or want. I also think it’s important to have a good understanding of Apache and PHP configurations, as they can come in handy when you’re trying to debug your application after it’s gone live on a web host.

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The Simpsons Movie rocked!

Just got back from seeing The Simpsons Movie. I have to say, they did a great job on it. Plenty of laughs, a pretty decent story and, most shockingly, some original content. That can’t be easy for a show that’s been on the air two decades. 9/10. Definitely worth a watch.

On a side note, I am constantly surprised by how ridiculous some parents are in this country. The Simpsons is PG-13 and for good reason, there’s a lot of inappropriate material in there for younger viewers. But does that stop parents from bringing their Ritalin-deprived seven year olds? Of course not. It’s easier to blame the media when their kids grow up to be rapists and serial killers. Parenting, pfft. Who needs it.

Squawk acquired by German social networking firm

I’m pleased to announce that Squawk (my Second Life tool for integrating Twitter, Jaiku, del.icio.us and Ma.gnolia) has been acquired by a social networking firm located in Germany. I’ll be working with the company over the next few days, helping them migrate all the assets over to their side of things. Once the move is complete and I get the OK, I’ll divulge the name of the company and hopefully be able to share with you some of the plans they have for the tool.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s supported Squawk over these past six months of development. You’ve been a wonderful bunch of folks!

“Lost Planet: Extreme Condition” for PC is Gorgeous

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way: I’m not a hardcore gamer. I may be looking at designing them for my career, but I don’t enjoy spending all day playing games- unless it’s a game that really pulls me in (which hasn’t happened since Final Fantasy X.) I’m what the industry defines as a casual gamer. To make matters worse, I’m a loyal PC gamer, a tier of gaming that is seeing a rather ugly drought in new titles right now. I don’t like playing consoles in general (except perhaps for the Wii), and if I buy a console I usually do so only at the end of it’s lifetime. To put this in perspective: I haven’t owned a console since the PlayStation 2. Yeah. Shameful.

Why do I bring this up? Because I’ve just discovered a game on the PC that’s been out on Xbox 360 for awhile now, and I’m in awe of it’s visuals. It’s called Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. You can find it on Steam, and the damn thing is gorgeous if you’ve got the hardware to support it. You’ll need a beefy processors and an even beefier graphics card- I can’t even crank up the graphics all the way on my NVIDIA 8800 GTS 640MB and Quad Xeon Mac Pro. (Sidenote: If you’ve got an 8800GTS and are having crash issues; check the Steam help pages for a link to some beta drivers that fix the issue right up.)

The screenshot above isn’t CG, or pre-rendered video. That’s real, in-game cutscenes rendered in real time. Like I said, the visuals are just incredible. The detail that Capcom put into everything - the environments, the characters, the animations, the special effects - is really just top notch, and I haven’t seen anything like it before.

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