Software Spotlight: XaoS- a RAM-friendly fractal zoomer and morpher

Once in a while, you come across an unpopular computer program that should get so much more attention. Luckily, I have a blog to spread the word in. So today, I shall direct your attention to XaoS, a fractal zoomer. This program can be used to render some pretty decent fractals, though that's not it's purpose. It is made to be looked at. It is made purely for the eyecandy of the viewer at the moment, though XaoS allows you to record your progressive zooming in MPEG format. It would make one great screensaver...

Anywho, it's worth looking into, and awe at the greatness of geometrical triangle patterns.

In case you didn't catch the link the first time:

http://wmi.math.u-szeged.hu/xaos/doku.php

Clarification of opinions: Mac vs PC (follow-up of MacBook Air post)

I'm very pleased at the comments given from my last blog post, from both the ones that agree with me and the ones that don't agree. To tell you the truth, it was fun reading them. Today, I'm going to clarify my position on Macs and PCs, because I never had the opportunity or reason to do so in the past. So here we go, into the mind of uH:

Though I show a lot of hate for Apple, there is in fact lots of good behind it. They have a nice GUI, they're generally reliable, and have great tech support people to rely on when the going gets rough. Windows computers' UI isn't quite as easy to navigate through, but it's more hackable and open to customization (good for power users like myself). In reality, the majority of the problems with PCs are from all the useless crapware installed by the companies and malfunctioning hardware installed by the companies (hard drives in particular >_<). There isn't a Microsoft Store where you can get the computer fixed, but there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of tech support forums and companies dedicated to it (techsupportforum.com for the win!).

Here's a little insight from a past Mac user (erm, me). Having a Mac was always something to boast about. You walk into a Panera Bread, sit in the table by one of the big windows, in the open and take your MacBook out:

"Yeah, that's my Mac. Like the wallpaper? Yeah, so do I. It represents how cool I am. Hey, check this cool minimizing effect. Yeah, I know you want it, but it's all mine!"

Believe me, it feels cool to use a Mac. That is, until you've used it for a few hours, and it starts lagging, gasping for RAM. At that point you're yelling like you were in a Linkin Park concert. But if it were lagging in public, you'd keep your cool. "I'm just restarting it because I forgot what the boot screen looks like... what?," and you continue eating that delicious bagel. Yes, OS X played nice for the most part, but the hardware kept it down. 70% of the time, when I put a CD into the drive, it wouldn't come out. I had to restart it, do a funky keyboard shortcut as soon as I saw the boot screen, and type something into the command prompt that appears to force eject it. Oh, and one of my USB ports went ca-put and my mouse liked to turn left more than right. And because all the hardware was from Apple (I bought it before the Intels came in) all the blame was put on them.

Now, here's Windows. It isn't as bad as everyone says it is. I've had 3 XP computers over the years, and all but one have died. Not because of the software, though. On one, the hard drive stopped working. The other, the motherboard fried during a power surge. Nevertheless, I put both of the computers together, and is now running Ubuntu, but that's besides the point. What I'm getting at is that companies like MSI, AMD, and ATI are to blame for this stuff, yet people still blame Microsoft. I gotta love XP because you can change almost everything in it! And with the right tools, you can create skins for it yourself! You can use a program like the XN Resource Editor to replace icons and replace codes. Get LiteStep, and you have an entirely new shell to work with (that's right, a replacement for Explorer). I've never seen anything like this on OS X, and I probably never will. Oh, and people also complain about Vista and how you need so much RAM to run it. 2GB is not that much! You can get a Kingston 1GB DDR2 chip for $20 at Best Buy for cryin' out loud! And as it is said, if you have 4GB of RAM, Vista is amazingly faster, prefetching everything (thanks to a new process management system that XP doesn't have). And PCs are getting cheaper by the day. I found one with 3GB RAM, an Intel Quad Core, some high-end nVIDIA graphics card, 320GB hard drive, Vista Premium, TV tuner, All-In-One printer, CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray reader, a 7-in-one media reader, and a 20-inch widescreen monitor for only $1200 (HP I believe). If that doesn't show progress, I don't know what does. Oh, and if you search in the right places [*cough*google products*cough*], you can get Vista Ultimate OEM 32-bit for about $160 (64-bit, $175).

As for one company stealing from another, sheesh! Just shut up! That's how companies roll! IBM invented the mouse, but Apple copied and patented the idea before IBM got a chance. Apple uses transparency in their newest version of OS X. Microsoft based their Zune off Apple's iPod. Who cares?!? As long as the things I buy are getting better, I'm okay with it. Dat's how we roll in da hood.

But all this comes down to is politics. I bet I can convince everybody here that OS X is better than Vista if I wanted to, but I don't because I don't believe it's true. Just like how some politicians can prove that either side is better (like Shawn Hannity convincing someone to vote for Obama). It all comes down to knowing stuff, and supporting that knowhow with examples (i.e. personal experiences with Macs and PCs). And with that, I shall publish this blog post.

Sour Apple Chronicles II: The MacBook Air really sucks

Chances are, you've read my last blog post, and you've found out how little Apple has to offer this year. Well apparently, it's less than I thought.

Here's what we agreed on from my last post about the Air:

• The processor is so-so


• 2GB of RAM is good


• 80GB hard drive is too small


• 1 USB port is NOT enough


• 13.3 inch screen is a bit too small


• $1,800 is way overpriced, but hey, so is every computer Apple makes


• Lack of Firewire sucks


• Batteries that can't be replaced by the user is just plain dumb of Apple


• NOT HAVING AN OPTICAL DRIVE IS IDIOTIC

Now that we got that straight, I'll update you on why the Air sucks:

The Air's USB port is so inconveniently placed, many USB items can't even be placed into it. You can't even stick this flash drive into it! I can tell you right now that my 6-port USB hub won't fit in there, even though that's exactly what an Air would need, knowing that it only has one USB port.

In a recent discovery by the Engadget guys, the MacBook Air is slow. The slowest Mac ever, to be exact. But hey,that's what happens when you cram a processor less than 1/3 the size of a normal processor into a computer. So basically, this 2000 dollar laptop with 2GB RAM and no optical drive to have to read is slower than a $700 laptop with Vista Premium, 2GB RAM, reads CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray with a mid-range graphics card (the Mac's graphics card isn't even as good as mine, and my computer cost $300). Whoever gets this notebook must be pretty dumb, knowing that most Mac owners are already somewhat mental.

Sour Apple Chronicles I: Macworld news- Apple has been lazy

Well, today has been a good day for Apple haters. It was just a matter of hours ago that Macworld opened and Steve Jobs gave his keynote, and in summary, nothing has been done. Apparently, Apple got lazy and in one of the staff meetings, the guy in the back of the room said "Hey, why don't we make a MacBook... but smaller!", then the janitor passed by, picking up the trash (and there's lots of it in that company) and said "Bleh. I'd rather have a MacBook with a touch screen.", and the "collaborating" commenced.

Apparently, the iDevelopers and MacDudes haven't learned from their mistakes. While developing this smaller, touchable notebook (OMG SO ORIGINAL!!!!11!! O.O), they ignored the complaints about the battery replacement system- going into an Apple Store and get it replaced there for around $150. Yup, you still need to bring her in. Also, there's no Firewire port, no ethernet port, and no optical drive. It's also reported that the graphisc card isn't powerful enough to run a 30 inch screen. Here are the given stats:

• 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache


• 2GB of RAM


• 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive (with optional 64 gig solid state drive


• 1 USB 2.0 port


• 13.3 inch display


• "Multi-Touch Trackpad" [not a touch screen...]


• ~$1,800

Oh, and we can't forget the all-holy iPod! Apparently, new apps are now available for the iPod Touch! ZOMG, I can finally check mah emailz and lookk at 600613 [Google] mapz and--...wait... nevermind, it costs $20 to get 'em. I'll stick with the Nokia N800 (more info on why this owns coming later on this month).

Okay, I know all of you think that I don't see any good in Apple. Not true. There were a few good happenings over in Macworld '08:

• Microsoft Office '08 for Intel Macs. Heh.

• The Time Machine. For once, I really, really like this concept. Back up your Mac wirelessly with a cumbersomely spacious hard drive (it's better than you think, me knowing 3 people who had MacBook HDs die on them). But yeah, it's a good deal. $300 for 500GB, $500 for 1TB.

• Finally, the SDK for the over-rated iPhone is going to be released! Despite that "great" news, I'm still keeping my eye on the Nokia N800.

Sorry if I've lowered the mystique of my gramma an' spellin skills for this post, but this was a bit rushed. Maybe I'll go back and actually re-read what I typed.

New year, new season of NASCAR.

Just this past week, the good ol' guys at NASCAR started their testing. I know that most of you don't know my opinion on NASCAR drivers, so I'll state it right here:

Dale Junior is waaayyyy too over-rated. He's only famous for his father. If his name was something like Jason Walton, would he be so popular? No. I like Jr., but his mainstream fans are too nutty in the head.

Oh, and please just get over Dale Earnhardt's death. I know it was a major loss of one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR's history (famous for crashing people and saying it was either a mistake or "just racing", which is an excuse that was only accepted by when it came from Earnhardt), but please! You treat it like Jesus' crucifixion, and Jr. is his resurrection!

Jeff Gordon. He's my personal favorite. He's the second most-loved, yet the first most-hated of the drivers. Who hates him? Jr. fans. Why do they hate him? They think Jr. hates him. Why? That's unknown. Probably because Jeff wins more. See, Jeff is the most record-breaking driver to ever get in the cockpit of a NASCAR stock vehicle. They used to say he was gay after he spit with his wife, but then he married her. And now that she had a baby, the gay claims have been silenced. And as for those that call Jeff a crybaby, poop. This rant started becoming big when he pushed Matt Kenseth (spun Jeff out on the last friggin' lap!), and has snowballed ever since. Here's the thing: even the nicest of drivers can get upset when spun out at the end of a race. This was proven when Dale Senior spun Bobby Labonte out on the last lap of a night race (sorry, can't find the video on Youtube). So please, just stop talking about that! I'm going to stop my ranting about Jeff Gordon haters right now, because I know I'm getting off the subject.

So now's a new year. And you know which team has the best test runs? Hendrik, more specifically, Jimmie Johnson (which I like, but it does get annoying when he wins everything). In the coming week, Jr. is going to be testing. I just hope he does well to keep the Hendrik haters quiet. Same goes for Jr.'s first season as Jeff Gordon's teammate. Comment if you love NASCAR.

The next generation of energy generation- poop. Literally.

In a recent development Arizona State University students discovered that bacteria can actually help generate energy for batteries. Yup. Not sure what to make of this. It can be economic, yet hard to use. It's like: poop 3 times per recharge >__<

My prediction is that this won't gain popularity in the US, but it'll make it big in Japan. Your toilet can power your house for cryin' out loud!

More info can be found here: http://www.physorg.com/news118589790.html

I'm getting on a Japanese magazine... and a CD-ROM!

Man, this is going to be great. If there was ever anything to make a blog post about, this would be it. I got an email today asking permission to use my The Next OS cursor pack in a computer suite CD, and getting mentioned in the magazine that owns it, iP!. I'm more excited than you know. Don't believe me? Here's the email in it's entirety (with the exception of the signature; it has personal information there):

"

Dear Author,I am an editor of a Japanese magazine called "iP!",a magazine for

Windows users with original CD-ROMs tooffer data/software.I would like to introduce your "The next OS"

to Japanese Windows users.And I am glad that you would give me kind

permission to put your soft into our CD-ROM.

If OK,I would like to introduce your software continuously from now on.

Please let me  know when you have any questions or find any problems for

introducing your soft.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,

HIDEYUKI HAYASAKA from "iP!"

"

Yeah, I'm excited.

Hey, first post.

Nothing specific is planned here. Just making posts interesting enough to get people to discover me through Google and the general internet. So, hi.

For all who don't know, I'm usedHONDA. I have a website [usehonda.110mb.com], but I hardly use it anymore, except for my Google² skin. I'm constantly on deviantART, a great art community where you can upload, share, and comment on other people's art. This includes drawings, photographs, videos, computer customizations, mini-games, and more. I'm almost to 4000 hits, and in about 6 months!

So with that said, it's time to organize my blog.