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While most other cities and suburbs around the world decided to switch off their lights for the purpose of participating in the 2009 Earth Hour, my very own city of Subotica did squat to show that they actually care, even though the city council specifically announced and confirmed there would be a 1hr dark-out on all major city monuments, and anywhere else if possible. Well, that’s a load of bullshit since I can see some major monuments from my window, and even at 21h (earth hour starts at 20:30) the whole city was lit up as always… nobody gave a damn… not to mention the residents, they are probably more informed about the weekly nominations inside the BigBrother house than about Earth Hour…
Now, I’m surely not some annoying Greenpeace hippie, and I know Earth Hour will do absolutely nothing for our planet in it’s tiny 1hr of power preservation, but it’s the thought that counts, like in every gift. If I turn off my lights, I still probably have the air conditioning, heating, TV, PC etc. turned on, which probably nullifies the saved energy from all the switched off light bulbs (and I even use CFLs), but it still counts – seeing that I’m letting others know that I give a damn and that I am aware of my surroundings.
It’s not just about the environment, it’s about the inclusion in major world events. If pretty much nobody did anything to show their participation in this happening in my neighborhood, that’s the mirror of the regional awareness in any global topic – zero – nada - null.
Enjoy your lights, people… I’m still not sure how you evolved from candles in the first place…
March 28th, 2009
It seems like yesterday when I was staring at some weird Alpha Longhorn XP-lookalike 
screenshots before Vista shipped, and now I'm trying out Windows 7, Microsoft's newest OS that was supposed to be called Blackcomb. Time does fly, especially in the IT world.
Before I write a few lines of my own, I would like to write some about other people's piece of minds. The first comments I heard about Windows 7 were about it being way better than Windows Vista. Fair enough, but the overall look and the low-end system base are practically the same as Vista's, only slightly modified. Why all the love all of a sudden? Once again, this behavior attributes to the typical SP1 or Windows 1.2 craze that mandates that no Microsoft product is perfect before the first service pack or the next minor version is released. I would like to quote Paul Thurrot on this one (interpreted, since I heard this on his podcast):
Windows 7 is basically Vista 1.3, and I don't know what's all this about the sudden change of heart.
Now, even though Windows 7 is just a simple upgrade, it does boast some very neat features that I really dig. Native biometric device support, better Bluetooth support, the new taskbar (although it can be improved), taskbar context menus, ribbon interfaces, 
better connectivity, UAC that actually does it's job without nagging (hell yeah, finally!), faster boot times, Libraries, new and redesigned control panel items, better theme support, automated wallpaper shuffling, Windows Action Center, better gaming integration, Aero Peek, more intuitive device managing through "Devices And Printers", Gadgets that don't need to be placed on a sidebar, recovery disk support (finally...), improved Paint 
, new Windows Media Center, automated window maximizing/resizing, and etc. etc. There's really much more than this list, but these are the first ones that caught my eye. One more thing though... Windows Explorer is WAY more fast and MUCH more responsive! I haven't experienced any lagging or lockups at all, it's just that good! Kudos, Microsoft!
What I do hate about Windows 7 is fortunately small enough to fit on a list... The OOBE
(out of the box) experience is still very yucky (seriously, if someone cashes out >200$ for a version of Windows, you'd better give them a more friendlier welcome than the dull and boring Welcome Center!), there are still some Control Panel applets that open in separate window dialogs (WHY!?), the taskbar can't be set to always allow grouping and display window titles at the same time (again... why!?), and I still think that Aero is not used enough for graphic effects that could enhance the overall user experience (no, I'm not talking about the retarded Compiz Fusion Linux youtube videos where windows randomly stretch and fly around, but the usual stuff - non agressive, yet pleasant, user friendly and non time consuming animations). No crashes or problems so far, so the list ends here. Sure, further improvements could find their spot in this new version, but like I (and many more others) have already said, this is Windows Vista 1.3.
If you want to see some screenshots of Windows 7, take a peek in my gallery.
Also, if you want to try this baby out yourself, here are the download links and links where you can get your very own Windows 7 beta key:
32bit Windows 7 ISO
64bit Windows 7 ISO
Windows 7 beta 1 download page (scroll down, and select your version and language)
DON'T just click on the first two links, since you'll most probably get an error! Google Chrome reported that "the file is too big" when trying to access the first two URLs... in a hidden message! (what the hell?) Anyway, just paste the URL in your favorite download manager, such as FlashGet, and off you go!
January 12th, 2009
Well, now that you only have 2 years left to live, I would like to grasp this rare opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year! Just think of all the things that can kill you in 2009.! If you are still getting ideas that you will survive, there’s always the global financial crisis that will make you sell your internal organs for bandwidth, or that 5 eyed monster hiding in your closet (you know the one I’m talking about)…
Enough emo thougts… Enjoy your alcoholic beverages and leftover Christmas candy before the holidays come to an end, I know I will!
January 1st, 2009
Just noticed that my laptop CPU fan is turning on way too often, and the CPU usage is never below 30% (which is a lot, especially if running on a mobile machine). The culprit is “audiodg.exe” – a Windows native process in charge for sound in Windows. Killing it is no option, since it will also kill any sound output/input as well.
The most common cause of this benign process becoming a CPU slurper is “Audio enhancements”. In the Sound module (inside Control Panel), there should be a checkbox to “Disable all audio enhancements” for Sound output devices (such as “bass boost” or
similar) and Sound input devices (such as microphone echo cancellation)… Check those boxes and confirm with OK, and the CPU usage should drop dramatically.
Although some enhancements do work properly, they are surely not designed with any humble thoughts on CPU cycle usage. It’s a shame, really. One thing though: “Microphone boost” is not officially an audio enhancement and does not cause these kinds of problems. (Which is very fortunate, since the default microphone amplifying level is pathetic)
December 28th, 2008
While doing some research about the currently active root nameservers on the Internet, the obvious end-of-the-world question popped up - "What if they went offline?" - the answer is even more obvious - panic, loss of monetary funds, inability to lurk Facebook profiles, etc. would quickly arise, thus setting a short timed ultimatum for the people in charge... What to do?
The servers themselves can rarely die all at once, since they are distributed across the world while redundancy is maintained, also they are running only BIND (or NSD), so the only attack on these kinds of data centers would only be possible through a DDoS method. A tiny number of these kinds of attacks has been registered, but a few of them were powerful enough to knock a significant count of these servers...
What I knew: These servers are serious business. They are hosted on only the finest and in most protected environments available. A few of them are maintained by the US military and the US Defense Information Systems Agency, so an attack attempt on any of them would be a pretty good reason to declare insanity on the offending party. If any attack should take place, the country of origin will do anything in their power to apprehend the attacker and neutralize him.
What I found out: According to Mark Hall (some guy from the US Defense Department), not only will the US retaliate when any of these attacks are initiated, but is fully prepared to physically remove the threat if the attacking country refuses to cooperate, and if it is impossible to produce any other peaceful disconnection procedure. We're talking real high explosive here, and I quote:
The Department of Defense is prepared, based on the authority of the president, to launch a cyber counterattack or an actual bombing of an attack source.
Wow... Well, as much as I would like to see the face on a no-life basement geek while getting his botnet DoS attack interrupted by a low-charge air to surface missile, I do hope that nobody attempts to cripple the world wide web in any way, since (fortunately) people are willing to keep it free and active, no matter what. Say what you want about US attack policies, but I would pull the trigger myself on the bastard who can even think of distinguishing the most free network on the face of the planet, and beyond.
December 16th, 2008
With all the iPhone 3G hype that's been going around lately, it's quite a refreshment to be able to glaze at such a marvelous device! The HTC Touch Pro really packs a punch on the non-iPhone side of the smartphone market... Removable memory, huge 2.8 inch screen, FM tuner, GPS, 3G (with video calling, *cough*) with HSDPA, WiFi, 3.2MPx camera + flash, and a hidden QWERTY keyboard - it's loaded! The Qualcomm 528 MHz processor poweres this beast, and Windows Mobile 6.1 is just the right OS to run it on. While most of the world would consider a Windows Mobile based phone to be a productive, but ugly gadget, the Touch Pro, in combination with HTC's Touch Flo 3D, the UI looks absolotely fantastic!
It will be out somewhere in August with a price tag ranging from 600$ to 800$ (depending on the needed features that mobile operators will consider (un)necessary). Oh, and I will probably never even touch the "Touch", given that it's cost is a hefty one. Boo hoo, dammit...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pENEldRxuwQ[/youtube]
July 27th, 2008
I've just put this neat little app to the test, and it look sweet so far! Although the background "dotty" image formation could be a bit more realistic (more color and dots should be involved), the tech preview proves a valuable point - photo albums can become much more interactive than they currently are! Try out some default image albums already uploaded by the Microsoft team, you will be pleasantly surprised. All images are molded together into a 3D fusion that add that final missing dimension to your photos. Too bad that it requires IE6 or IE7 at the time (ActiveX sucks for applications like this... what happened to exe files?).
July 6th, 2008
Previous Posts
While most other cities and suburbs around the world decided to switch off their lights for the purpose of participating in the 2009 Earth Hour, my very own city of Subotica did squat to show that they actually care, even though the city council specifically announced and confirmed there would be a 1hr dark-out on all major city monuments, and anywhere else if possible. Well, that’s a load of bullshit since I can see some major monuments from my window, and even at 21h (earth hour starts at 20:30) the whole city was lit up as always… nobody gave a damn… not to mention the residents, they are probably more informed about the weekly nominations inside the BigBrother house than about Earth Hour…
