• 2Sep 08

  Google Chrome

  Alright I am using it now.
  
  Quick Summary: This browser will make a good backup browser, but it will not replace your favorite browser
  
  
  Whats wrong?
  Missing Features, lots of them!
  
  Whats right?
  It's very fast in every respect! Built in spell check for input boxes like these in forums.
  
  The Details:
  This is a nifty little browser, very handy for a backup browser if your favorite browser goes down. However multiple strange glitches (like this input box blacking out as you type) lousy OS compatibility list (XP and Vista only) huge lack of traditional features, make it nothing more than a fad that will die very quickly.
  To put things in perspective, view that screenshot, notice some things missing??? Perhaps since IE7 we have become used to limited menu bars, however, there ISN'T EVEN A HOME BUTTON! You cannot turn on text labels, no such option, there isn't even a DROP DOWN FOR YOUR LAST TYPED ADDRESSES! A feature that has existed since before IE 3.0. An important feature that allows us to revisit a site we have typed last time, without bookmarking it. The whole browser seems geared to bookmark users (which would not be me, mine is empty). Features such as URl aliasing and history menus are non existant. There IS a history, but it loads a new page with a list of histories. Which is pretty far off from the traditional side pane or menus. It has a few bugs such as any text flagged as spelled wrong, as you type "Appears" to overwrite the original text, until you click off it. It also registers as a full screen application when maximized, causing windows to suppress messages until you restore the window.
  It is also missing other features as well, such as image download placeholders (for those 56K people), status bars displaying the site, the link, the security status, and security level and encryption level, etc. This is all missing, leading you to believe this browser is designed for rookie users, however contradicting this is the lack of text labels on the buttons. Obviously not everyone uses them, but some of us older users and rookie users need to read what the button does, we can't be expected to remember 1000's of obscure symbols, this is why we have a written language!
  
  It does have some interesting new features too, such as the ability to edit web pages, seriously, I can for example, change the size of this input box in the forum, which is pretty nifty, doesn't work so well on other elements.
  
  Chrome seems to adopt the firefox/opera method of displaying webpages, to display elements as they are loaded, rather than complete areas, while this gives a constant activity feeling, it can also cause a disturbing experience to users that traditionally have used IE and are more familure with things simply "Appearing" rather than slowly being drawn onto the screen. This isn't so much of a minus as it is a question as to why this method, and why no option to choose how pages load?
  
  Chrome features tabs that basically look and work the same as IE7, of which I am sure many will simply say yuck too, I know I do, the tabs to me would be fine if they could be customized as they can be in all other browsers (except IE), an option to move them to the sides of the browser or to the bottom would be preferable. The bottom tends to make more sense to rookie users because it appears to them as the familure task bar does.
  
  Users that are colour blind, especially blue, will have a difficult time closing this browser. the Buttons are all the same colour with just a slightly darker blue border to seperate them.
  
  The spell check does not account for alternate spelling, such as the word colour, it would prefer to incorrectly spell it color, words such as centre and metre also show as an error even though these words are infact spelled correctly. This is perhaps no worse that Word HOWEVER in Word you can add these words to the custom dictionary, in Chrome, no such thing, it does not "appear" to even have a viable spell check, right clicking mispelled words appears to do nothing. This could be a glitch but, really, it's just anouying, especially if u try 2 tlk txt tlk lke mst ppl do thse days.
  
  It has standard browser exception handling, such as if a page crashes it doesn't crash the whole browser, finally web browsers are re-incoperating the abilities IE 4.0 and IE 5.0-5.5 had. This really needs to be questioned as to why this idea has taken so long, but at least it is finally here. Now if only they would prevent webpages from crashing.
  
  Screenshots - Posted as links for bandwidth purposes, copy ans paste into your browser if they are not clickable.
  
  Page options, similar to a View and Edit menus in other browsers
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions001.jpg
  
  Configuration, this is an odd one because this is where you find your histories
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions002.jpg
  
  Options, Pretty standard
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions003.jpg
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions004.jpg
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions005.jpg
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions006.jpg
  
  Bookmarks display on their own toolbar
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions007.jpg
  
  History page, don't even think about trying to change how long your history is, you can't!
  http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/funpics/images/Chrome/chromeoptions008.jpg
  
  This concludes the review
  • Posted Sep 2, 2008 7:48 pm GMT
  • Category: General
  • 0 Comments
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• 2Sep 08

  Beat Assasins Creed

  Bought it on Friday, beat it on Monday, Xfire reports 30 hours but it was definitly less because I never turned the game off when I went for supper. My new computer plays the game at max graphics PLUS external enhancments, without overclocking or anything, its awesome, the wide screen sucked tho cause I don't have a widescreen monitor. The game play was great, definitly a good buy, but way too short, way to easy, and the ending didn't wrap up that well for Altiar and for Desmond it basically just stopped without wrapping up at all. That one anouyed me, other than Desmond mysteriously gets some black light vision where he can see blood on the floors and walls, its kind of stupid. Read everyones emails, got into the locked room, nada, nothing else to do. The game basically seems to have no replay value. You can pretty much do everything your first time through. The flag thing is the only thing I didn't do, and the killing templars mission. Because those are too close o grinding for my taste.
  
  Overall, great game, but no satisfaction si to be had after beating it, you will be left wanting more. Though the game certainly leaves room for a sequal .
  
  Started playing Gothic 3 again, I can max graphics on that too with no performance impact, its awesome . I need more RAM though, one GB isn't near enough.
  • Posted Sep 2, 2008 10:08 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 1 Comment
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• 28Aug 08

  Computer Finally Rebuilt

  Now I have no idea what an UBER computer feels liek these days, but considering I jsut upgrade dfrom my single core 2.6 ghz machine with an nVidia 6600 in it (Blown up however) to a duel core AMD 4800+ and nVidia 9600 GT, the power increase is welll, the level of OMFGTHISISAWESOME!!!
  And I did the entire upgrade for 480 dollars, I kept my original harddrives and original case, that is about it, everything else is new. Got the board and CPu for 200 dollars (and 1 gig of RAM), got the PSU for 130 bucks, got the video card for 120 bucks, the IDE expansion casrd (Cause the board only had 1 IDE port, which just doesn't cut it) was 30 dollars.
  
  I Managed to last night, try a few games before heading off to bed, Rakion managed a smooth 300-800 fps (800 in 1 vs 1, 300 with 16 man game with tones of cells and black dragons).
  Gothic 3 was equally as smooth, having only issues with not enough RAM (need more *sigh*)
  
  Hopefully this upgrade works for a lon gtime and I never need to upgrade again (only did this time cause previous board and card were ruined, so it cost more to repair then to just upgrade). I don't intend to upgrade again since PC gaming generally sucks these days, better off to just buy a console for much cheaper.
  • Posted Aug 28, 2008 10:18 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 1 Comment
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