inanedirk: (Gir - Squidhead)
I just ordered DSL for my new place that I'm moving to in June. I don't have a lot of options. My current (cable) provider doesn't serve my new place, so I had to cancel that. Thanks to legislation I have to pay another three months after cancellation. Then again before that they could basically just refer to the two year contract you'd signed with them that extends by one year if you don't cancel in time. So three months is better than that.
Anyway, I'm not too happy with internet providers in Germany anyway. I hate that you have to sign a contract over 2 years before even knowing what kind of speed they'll be able to deliver. I'm going for a hybrid DSL / LTE thing now, the DSL is "up to" 16Mbit downstream, but as long as they deliver a minimum of 6Mbit through the DSL line the contract is valid. And I don't have any clue how good LTE reception is at the new place either. Well, maybe I'll get lucky. I also wish providers would clearly state their position on net neutrality. I used to run into trouble with ISPs blocking ports. It's nigh on impossible to find out in advance if a provider is doing that, or throttling traffic. Oh well, at least from what I can tell they don't currently throttle the LTE if you use it "too much".
inanedirk: (Default)
Awesome Artist:

http://patryk-garrett.deviantart.com/gallery/

moop!

Mar. 25th, 2012 06:02 pm
inanedirk: (Default)
Hmm. Galactic readiness 98%.
That was easy.

Also got a Human Vanguard at level 20. Seems like a waste of XP to continue playing a character once you reach level 20.

Had a Krogan team mate earlier. T'was fun watching him play. Headbutt of Doom!
inanedirk: (Default)
I signed up for the Jagged Alliance Online (JAO) Beta a few days ago, and played a few missions. It's one of them browser-based freemium games (as it turns out "freemium" is not a word I made up while half asleep last night - it's a real thing.)
Quite naturally you start comparing it to both the just released Jagged Alliance - Back in Action (JABIA) and the classic fan-favourite Jagged Alliance 2 (JA2), released in 1999.
JABIA, in short, would've been considered a decent game if it hadn't been advertised as a modern remake of JA2. As it is, too much from the original is missing, resulting in only average reviews.
Now, JAO actually does a few things right that JABIA did wrong: Most notably, you have your own merc, though the creation process is a lot less funny than it was in JA2. They've also kept a lot of the speech for the other mercs, so you actually recognise them.
Other than that though, JAO is very limiting in what you can do. Maps are small, not a lot of tactical options. It's permanently turn-based which I guess the creators deemed neccessary for multiplayer, but in single player it's annoying. Interaction between mercs isn't possible it seems, interaction with the environment is limited to shooting barrels to make them explode. And the designers are pretty blunt about their use.
Of course, the worst thing about JAO is that it keeps trying to get you to spend real money on in-game currency.

Wanna do something cool? Sure no prob. Enter your credit card details here please ...

So, which one am I going to play? I recommend going here and installing that over the original JA2 which still is by far the best of the three options, even after 13 years.
inanedirk: (Gir - Shurg)
Uploading pictures does not available
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Not entirely sure what Livejournal means by that.
The third line urls to http://www.livejournal.com/manage/account/ but having a permanent account there's nothing to upgrade to.
inanedirk: (Default)
I've been using Avast! AntiVirus for several years now, and I've also installed it on my parents' computer. I like it because it's free, and all it asks in return is that you register with your e-Mail adress about once a year.

It displays a green pop up on the bottom right corner of the screen every now and then to let you know it's updated its database. It displays a red pop up when something was blocked and occasionally recommends running shady programs in a sandbox.

Once every few months (if even that often) it displays advertising in a green pop up, usually recommending the non-free version which has a few extra features.
I'd just like to say that this is perfectly acceptable to me.

Today, it recommended the free android anti virus solution, so I gave it a try. And it appears to be quite nice. Scans your apps and SD card on demand and / or scheduled. Comes with a firewall and a tool that warns from malicious websites while browsing.
More importantly though, it comes with (free!) anti theft protection. Once set up on a rooted phone it becomes completely invisible and lets you remote control and wipe your phone in case it's lost or stolen. Of course I have yet to try it, but it looks solid.

[edit] It also survives a factory reset and can't be uninstalled / disabled through USB-connection and debugging.

And last time I checked, Kaspersky asked for about 40€ for this kind of functionality.
inanedirk: (Gir - Shurg)
inanedirk: (Default)
Sometimes I use googlefight to find out about the correct spelling of things.
I might have to reconsider that.

inanedirk: (Default)
Just in case you ever wondered whether to get an iPhone ...

Best reason to get an Android phone instead

You're welcome.
inanedirk: (Default)
I discovered GeoZen a few days ago, and it looks nice.

GeoZen works as an app you install on your smartphone. Android only so far it appears, but it's still in beta anyway. They'll probably release a version for That Other Phone at a later date.
It lets you define so-called zones via google maps. You can then set additional conditions and actions that are performed upon entering that zone, or exiting it.
You can also define global zones: Those let you define conditions that don't depend on a certain location.

Examples of actions to perform include enabling or disabling WiFi, Bluetooth, and Airplane Mode, increasing or decreasing the ringer volume (including muting your phone), launching an app, checking into foursquare, or sending messages.

Personally, I've set various zones which log me into foursquare. I've also set it up to mute my phone while I'm at school, and to turn on WiFi when I'm at home or at work (also turning it off when I leave). I'm also using a global zone to enable Bluetooth whenever I put the phone in the car dock.

There's some caveats though:
First of all, using it properly means leaving your GPS locator turned on at all times. The app allows you to select other means of locating (network primarily), but that's a lot less accurate and defeats the purpose of it.
Consequently you have a certain drain on battery life. You can change the locator interval, but in my case the battery is well dead at the end of the day.
Of course, there's also the issue of privacy. With the app determining your current location via GPS every few minutes, it's theoretically possible to create a very precise movement profile. Their privacy statement points out that they don't do that, but it's rather difficult to verify, especially since the app accesses the net too.
Lastly, when installing you have to agree to let it access and send messages. As I understand it, it wants access in order to use text to speech to read messages to you (which is an action you can set up). You can also set it to send a message, so it needs rights to do that too.

All in all, if you can get over those privacy / security issues, it looks very promising. The beta status means that there are probably more features to come (for example, checking into venues via Facebook doesn't seem to be an option yet).
It's available in the Android Market.

eWallet

Dec. 3rd, 2010 08:09 pm
inanedirk: (Gir - Shurg)
Smart Wallets React To Spending By Shrinking

Mine would refuse to open, and crush the coins inside ...
inanedirk: (me - 2cents)
Datenleck bei Onlinehändler: Banken sperren Kreditkarten
Gestohlen wurden die Daten vermutlich bei einem deutschen Onlineshop, den die Banken auf Rückfrage von heise Security jedoch aus rechtlichen Gründen nicht nennen wollten.
Genau, weil es wichtiger ist, einen Onlineshop vor der Veröffentlichung einer solchen Peinlichkeit zu bewahren als die Kunden dieses Onlineshops vor einem finanziellen Nachteil zu schützen.
inanedirk: (Gir - D'oh)
Erst Werbung machen ...



Und dann das Produkt auf der eigenen Website gar nicht anbieten ...
inanedirk: (Default)
Concerts I'd go see if I had the money ...

Therapy?
Ray Wilson
Deep Purple + Marillion
Bagalutenwienacht
Van Canto
Busters
Long Distance Calling
Wishbone Ash
Skunk Anansie
Within Temptation

Oh well, at least I'm seeing Sylvan and Gazpacho. Gazpacho in particular is a top priority, since I haven't seen them before.

Nosound

Oct. 26th, 2010 08:30 pm
inanedirk: (me - UE)
I just discovered a new band I like.
I'm trying hard to stop myself from just ordering everything from here.

Also, yahoo sucks. And their newsletter / groups thing in particular. Took me ages to sign up to the band's newsletter / group in order to access a download.
Echoes (Pink Floyd cover) played live. Woot! Though I have to admit, the track length is only 20 minutes which seems rather short for an Echoes cover ... o_O

(sounds like: No-Man, Blackfield, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree)
inanedirk: (Android)
T-Mobile hat vor Kurzem seine Tarife angeglichen und erweitert ... Weil's ja noch nicht unübersichtlich genug war ...

Ich hab mich also gerade eine knappe Stunde mit meinem aktuellen Tarif und T-Mobiles neuen Tarifen beschäftigt. Ich kam zu dem Schluß, dass T-Mobile jetzt ein Komplett-Angebot hat (Combi Relax 120), das sowohl preislich als auch inhaltlich (fast) vollkommen identisch mit dem von mir vor langer Zeit zusammengebastelten Basistarif (Relax 120) + diversen Optionen (Messaging S, web'n'walk HandyFlat) ist.

Der entscheidende Unterschied: Während in meinem alten Tarif die Hotspot-Nutzung eine zubuchbare Option für 9,95€ pro Monat war, ist sie im Komplett-Angebot konstenlos inklusive.

Noch ein Unterschied: Früher habe ich für Tarif + Optionen 39,85€ gezahlt, der neue kostet 0,10€ mehr. Andererseits bekomme ich eine Gutschrift über 3€ dafür, dass ich niemanden bei T-Mobile mit meinem Anliegen genervt habe und stattdessen das Online-Kundencenter benutzt hab.
Davon mal abgesehen: 10 Cent extra pro Monat für HotSpot-Nutzung ist akzeptabel, 10€ nicht.

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