Scribbled on May 12th, 2008
Back in the days where I would beg on my knees all day - every day in front of my dad to buy me a Sega - Mega Drive 2 game console, it would be quite a weird thing to hear that today I would be able to play that very same game console on a computer that has a great screen and huge processing power (along with everything else that comes along with owning a x86 PC 
). Even though I have hundreds of great advanced 3D games to choose from, there's something really special when playing Sonic in all it's glory... To achieve this, I use Gens, but there are many others to choose from. Sadly, Aero and Windows Vista DreamScene get broken when running it, but still, it's pretty much worth the hassle...
Scribbled on May 4th, 2008
Since I'm working on a new PHP based project, I wanted to make a nice switch from the old methods I used to use... To cut the story short - it's OOP and CSS. "Object oriented programming" - not that high tech as one might imagine, but it doesn't let my PHP files turn into dusty code buckets, and it sure makes every piece of my hard written code reusable! In PHP - this basically means that you can create one class.php file that you will use to host your respectable code, and later on, you can call it on any page you find fit in a snap! Quite better than using plain libraries, since you can create multiple instances with your class and you don't have to worry about conflicting with any global variables or built-in PHP functions. Neat-o!
And as for CSS... Phew! It was a long way ahead! I'm glad it's over! For the first time CSS coder, the temptation to throw everything away and turn back to using plain old tables is very, very strong! And why wouldn't it be? Every WYSIWYG web design program let's you create tables in a jiffy, and organize them in any way you want, and with CSS, you have to ditch the GUI and work your way through <div>s and CSS properties. But, once you get past the first "position:absolute" line, you will see why this method of creating websites is really the most natural thing to do! You can position your DIV anywhere you want it to be! Tables are for data - that's it. They can't be moved properly and constrain your website to be nothing more than just plain flat, and once you start experiencing cross browser pains with tables (sure, they do exist for CSS, but in most cases, they are fairly resolvable) you will run back screaming. (trust me, the same table doesn't always look like it should in IE, Firefox or Opera, and there's nothing you can do about it)
Oh, and did I mention the feeling that most people get when they write something down in a PHP/HTML + CSS file and it works beautifully the way it should? Magical...
Well, there you have it... If I didn't make these switches, I'd be stuck with Cobol right now 
Scribbled on April 28th, 2008
Well, seems like the Windows Vista Data backup feature failed on me... It refused to install my existing programs and restore my existing preferences... (but it did what it was obviously meant to do - backup your personal files). Fortunately, I had a full "Complete PC backup" copy made with the same backup tool that worked perfectly, so I'm back at x86 level. It's a pitty, but I'll hold on... Wish there was an easier way to switch from x86 to x64...
Scribbled on April 27th, 2008
To upgrade from a 32bit version of Windows Vista to a 64bit one is a pain, because it is not possible without a clean install. That's why I'm making a complete PC backup using Windows' backup and restore center. If all goes well, I should be running a 64bit Vista in a few hours... The advantages? Possibly speed and the ability to add more RAM. Tis' all.
Scribbled on April 23rd, 2008
How to be cool online – a short guide
1. Make sure everybody knows you use Firefox, Safari, Opera or even Omniweb instead of IE. IE is the devil – repeat – “IE is the devil”. Get bonus points for claiming you use Lynx and by posting “IE sucks” banners on your blog/website.
2. Advocate Linux. No matter if your Linux experience is limited to booting an Ubuntu DVD and then hitting the reset button because you panicked when you saw the command line interface - Linux rules, or better yet – “Linux r00Lz0r!!!11 one”. Make sure everybody knows that Linux is stable, easy to use and perfect in every way by engaging in YouTube comment flame wars or any other flame wars such as the ones on Digg, online communities, or blogs.
3. Hate Microsoft. As much as IE is the devil, Windows and just about any other Microsoft product comes with a 666 sticker on it. “Closed source sucks”, “proprietary software deserves to die”, “enjoy your blue screens lolz”, “windows is teh suxx0r” and just about any other blurb you post online about the eternal corporate damnation that Microsoft has thrown upon us is a great contribution. Bonus points: if you do all of the above and still use Windows.
4. “Testing, testing, 123”? It’s the new thing, it’s “hip”! It’s the beta button! Hey, if Google can use it, why can’t you, right? Stick a “BETA” sticker on your website/blog and enjoy the visitors thinking that you are a developer that, for some reason, has a beta sticker on his/hers website for years while using online blogging services such as Blogger that you can’t even customize properly. Want bonus points? Hell yeah! Place a “web 2.0” banner next to the beta one!
5. Use massive signatures. Make sure everybody sees your forum signature, along with about 300 userbars (bonus points for: “Toilet user”) and the lyrics for your favorite song. If you really want to go extreme, use a glitter generated sig. Remember – if it’s not the same size as the screen height of a 20” monitor, it’s no good!
6. Post comments on YouTube for every video you view with the following contents “This is so scary don’t read this your mother will die if you don’t post this comment on 20 youtube videos oh my god omfg…J*(@!”. Get unlimited points for actually believing in that.
7. Use a Mac like a pro – be smug about it. You DID spend a grand of two of $ for it, so why not show it around like it’s a Rolex? Be sure to let everybody know you use the great apple, and that, obviously, any other product that does not come from Apple is blasphemy.
8. Intel vs AMD? Advocate the one you use, not the one that has better benchmark scores. (and let’s face it… both are pretty equal in the end, but who cares when you can claim that you are better than somebody just for owning a piece of silicon!)
9. Make sure your blog tagline contains one of the following words: “Scribbles, Ramblings, Thoughts” (check! )
10. There is no number ten, otherwise, this would be just another top 10 blurb. Sorry.
Scribbled on April 23rd, 2008
Well, Microsoft is certainly in a giving mood today
If you own Windows Vista Ultimate, and use Windows Update, you should check whether you have some Windows Ultimate extras available. 3 new dream scenes and 2 new sound schemes should be waiting to be downloaded. They look awesome, and the sound schemes are so-so, but worth a download.
Scribbled on April 15th, 2008
Although I would always prefer the built in Nokia Symbian browsers (Java will always be a synonym to S-L-O-W for me), the concept of Opera Mini is a top solution right now for mobile phones that do not have regular browsers built in on their phones, and for others who like to save on cash when surfing on an expensive GPRS data rate (like me). Using this tiny JAR file, I can browse the full web without having to count the kilobytes that just fly by when visiting a few pages (although I do turn off picture displaying - much less traffic). The only thing that gets my goose is the lack of support for custom fonts that I can install on my phone... Pity.
Here are some screenshots of the newest beta - 4.1:
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