Haibane.info

Month: April 2011

  • metaBLOG has relocated… here

    A while back, I started Yet Another Blog called metaBLOG. To be honest, it was a mistake. As a result, I’ve imported all the posts from there to here, and given them their own category, also named metaBLOG (because, you see, I am a very original thinker).

    Probably the only post of consequence there was this one, which is now here, and if I do everything correctly will eventually do a proper 301 redirect. In fact, I welcome suggestions on how to do that exactly, not just for that post but for all the posts as well. I’ve got both sites verified under Google’s webmaster tools, as a start, but could use some guidance.

  • Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome – pilot episode SPOILERS

    Now that Caprica has left television, the BSG universe churns on, with a new series set during the first Colonials-Cylon war. Moviehole.net was sent an advance script and posted a spoileriffic summary of the first part of the two-part pilot episode.

    What interested me the most was the direct connection to Caprica. And of course, the series is has the word Galactica in the title, so you can draw an inference from that. But since it’s a spoiler, specifics are below the fold:

    (more…)

  • Filco Majestouch mechanical keyboards for sale at Amazon

    Filco is a legendary manufacturer of mechanical keyboards, which for some reason stopped making them. So, finding Filcos for sale (especially new ones) is an opportunity indeed. Looks like a UK-based outfit called The Keyboard Company has a stash of various models that they are selling via Amazon. I’ll list the models available here, but note that availability on all of these is pretty limited so there’s no guarantee they will be in stock.

    (Reminder – here’s my earlier Cherry MX primer on the differences between each type of switch in terms of linear vs tactile response)

    Here’s the manufacturer page – Filco Majestouch keyboards on Amazon.com

    And here’s the current stock. All of these support full N-key rollover. Prices range from $140 to $180.

    Full-size 104 keys:

    Filco Majestouch – Blue MX, 104 keys

    Filco Majestouch – MX Red, 104 keys

    Filco Majestouch – MX Brown, 104 keys

    Tenkeyless:

    Filco Majestouch – MX Brown, tenkeyless

    Filco Majestouch – MX Blue, tenkeyless

    Filco Majestouch – MX Black, tenkeyless

    Filco Majestouch – MX Red, tenkeyless

  • comment policies

    Question for whoevere it is that still reads the blog on any semi-regular basis: is it too hard to comment here? I’m debating switching to a system like IntenseDebate and my goal is to really make it very easy to leave a comment without making you jump through any hoops, while still preserving me from an onslaught of spam.

    I’d like to solicit your opinions – especially if you usually don’t comment but read regularly.

    FYI here’s the features that using IntenseDebate would bring. I just want to remove obstacles to discussion, basically.

  • Ars on Crunchyroll

    Ars Technica has a great piece on CrunchyRoll’s business model:

    […] making money in anime isn’t hopeless; it turns out that anime lovers will pay for content even in an age of widely available free versions. “In almost all cases, piracy is not an issue of legality,” says Kun Gao, CEO of the anime streaming site Crunchyroll. It’s often a market issue—and Crunchyroll turns a profit by offering anime lovers what they want: legal access to anime shows right after new episodes have aired in Japan.

    Pirates can’t compete with this kind of availability, since even the most dedicated fansub groups need time to do their own translations. Crunchyroll gets its content a week before first air date, giving it time to do a proper subtitling job. Piracy may never go away, but Crunchyroll is out to prove that “competing with free” is possible by treating piracy like a business problem.
    […]
    But for those willing to spend $7 a month, Crunchyroll offers 720p ad-free streams available on devices from laptops to iPhones and Android tablets. And its real innovation is offering most of these streams the moment the original broadcast concludes in Japan. (Sixty percent of its current library of shows can be streamed this way.)

    Under its deal with studios, Crunchyroll receives secured prerelease versions of new anime episodes a week in advance; in-house translators prepare subtitles, and the streams are ready to go one hour after new episodes air. Such immediate access isn’t even available in Japan. “It’s a bit of a shame that our animation for US fans is better than the animation service Japanese fans get,” says Kun. And it’s certainly a rarity when it comes to worldwide distribution of non-anime premium video content.

    Agreed – the only reason I torrent is because I simply don’t have any other choice.

    It would be great if they extended to other silos. For example, I’d happily pay the monthly fee for access to BBC stuff like Dr Who and Sherlock, and SyFy stuff like Stargate Universe. There’s a good business model here that can be expanded to basically any niche genre on television.

  • #DoctorWho Series 6 Episode 1, The Impossible Astronaut”: visual spoiler!

    Don’t click below if you haven’t seen the episode. I’ve found a visual spoiler.

    It’s related to the well-known fact that Craig Owens (played by James Corden) will return in Series 6.

    UIPDATE: must-read review at Tor. No spoilers.

    (more…)

  • 30% off Alienware M14x, and Dell paid me for a printer

    Well, my earlier skepticism about the M14x aside, I’ve pulled the trigger on a nebula red model with the following specs:

    • Intel Core i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.9GHz Turbo Mode, 6M cache)
    • 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
    • 14.0 High Def+ (900p/1600×900) with WLED backlight
    • 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus technology
    • 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s
    • Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner, DVD+-RW, CD-RW
    • Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio – Software Enabled
    • Intel Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2×2 MIMO Technology with WiMax
    • Internal 60GHz WirelessHD Transmitter
    • Internal Bluetooth 3.0

    Image gallery from Laptop Magazine:

    Yes, I’ve abandoned Thinkpad and have been seduced by Alienware as I predicted. I started at the website and configured it as above, for a total of $2071, including 4 year basic warranty. I also had added the external Vizio kit for Wireless HD. Then I called in to Dell to see what kind of a deal I could swing. My rep’s name was Eric Morales and I gave him my EPP number for UW (hoping to get 2-3%), and agreed to use a DPA account (another 3%). I also mentioned the Farmer’s discount of 21% that runs until April 28th.

    Eric put me on hold and went to crunch the numbers and he came back with 30% off and free shipping! The only downside was that they were out of the Vizio kits, but he could still include the internal wireless transmitter. No big deal there – it’s on Amazon for about the same price.

    At this point my total with tax was down to 1494.26. That’s $400 off! (after accounting for the wireless kit). The total includes the Orion backpack, I do need to lug this thing around after all.

    This is when my rep blew my mind by saying he could add a wireless printer/scanner … for -$6. Dell would pay me six dollars to take the printer in other words.

    (obviously, I agreed)

    Bottom line: just confirmed my M14x for $1486, which includes the 4 year warranty, backpack, bluetooth, upgraded audio, wimax, and wireless HD. Ship date 5/13 arrives 5/18 (I’ll call may 1st and see if I can get NBD).

    Some thoughts btw on the cpu, gpu, ram and hdd:

    If you look at Anandtech’s review of SNB mobile chips, you see that the base option (2630QM) is an OEM part and the upgrades (2720QM, 2820QM) are retail chips with minor baseline frequency advantage (0.2 or 0.3 Ghz). Not a great value unless you’re intent on overclocking. All are 4/8 core with HT and the same TDP.

    further, the upgraded chips support DDR3 1600 memory, whereas the baseline supports DDR3-1333. However, the only RAM available for the M14x is DDR3-1600, which will get downclocked to 1333 by the 2630 anyway. So if you choose the 2630, there’s no point in paying for more 1600 RAM – it’s better to get the 4GB they give you, and then upgrade to 8 or 16 GB with 1333 modules for cheaper off of NewEgg.

    With respect to the GPU memory, paying for 3GB is a waste of money with the GT 555m. If it were a 460 GTX like on the M17 it would be a different matter. But the 3G ram upgrade is a pure profit play by Dell. Avoid. 1.5 GB is plenty.

    Finally, the base HD of 500GB is decent, but I do want to go SSD eventually. But the cost of $600 for the upgrade is nuts, especially since the M14x only supports SATA2 (3 GBps). Better to pay $200 for 128 GB SSD on Newegg; all I will put on the laptop is the OS, apps, and games – I’ll use Dropbox to sync whatever data and or files I need for work from my desktop. Even if I wanted a 256GB SSD, by the end of the year these will be at $400 due to all the new SATA3/6GBps drives coming out.

    Bottom line: performance wise, the low-end configuration for the system core is perfectly defensible, and frees up budget for the bells and whistles (wirelessHD, wimax, bluetooth, and most importantly 900p screen).

    My sales rep was Eric Morales (Eric_Morales@DELL.com, 1-800-695-8133 x4167526) and I can’t recommend him highly enough. Am really happy with this deal and will be doing business with him again.

  • M14x and M18x launching today at 10am CST

    Alienware just tweeted a few hours ago that there will be some sort of announcement at http://www.justin.tv/alienware at 10am CST. This is clearly the M14x and M18x announcement. Stay tuned, I will update the post.

    FYI the M14x page for Canada is already up – you lucky Canadians! The rest of us have to wait a few hours…

  • Detling Adventures

    A long overdue link has been added to the sidebar – Detling Adventures, named for a Wisconsin Matron and looking-glass universe of a certain second floor of a certain dormitory at the University iof Wisconsin campus in Madison. The proprietor, going by the pseudonym Christian Neuhass, is known for flights of fancy and oft-macabre humor of a delicious sort, laden with irony, mysticism, and misdirection. Enter if you dare.

  • Aragorn Shrugged

    Overheard on the Internet:

    “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”

    (original source)