Bidi’s World

The first day at GameStorm was a booming success for me. Today was essentially a chance for those who had preregistered to get an early start. Though I don’t have enough experience to say with any authority, it is my understanding that more gaming conventions these days are having early start days.

On the agenda for this evening there was really only one thing that really caught my eye though. There was a D&D 4th edition demo as well as a demo of the new D&D Mini’s system.

They were both a lot of fun. I think I’ll be using the new mini’s rules going forward for sure. The dynamics just make more sense than they used to. The new rules also fall closer in line with how the RPG mechanics work so your not constantly reminding yourself “5′ step here, no 5′ step there” among other annoyances.

I like the way the 4th edition RPG played out as well. I felt like my special abilities were more accessible due to how often they cycled. This added immensely to the fun factor of playing the game. There will be a bit of a learning curve to it but only because of how unfamiliar some of the new mechanics are and not because they are any more difficult. I think someone coming into the game fresh will have a much easier time of it.

One thing in particular about 4th edition I thin will work very well is how difficulty levels of encounters are now calculated. The new system is much simpler and as such building encounters or scaling existing encounters for odd sized groups looks much easier. I don’t know if I’ll go out and buy a bunch of fresh 4th edition books as soon as they hit the shelf but I will make the move eventually for sure.

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• Living Arcanis and Nerdcon 2007 (3)

I had to post this because it is a feature that has driven me nuts for years. Microsoft Office has a feature called the language bar. This is a series of buttons that sit on your task bar to facilitate various accessibility features that come with Microsoft Office. Personally I don’t care for the Microsoft Office line of products in the first place let alone having them put buttons where I don’t really need them without asking. To make matters worse, if you disable this toolbar the “normal way” it just keep coming back when you log back in.

I did a search for more information on the Language Bar and the results were interesting. Almost all of the Microsoft official or unofficial support sites were talking about what the Language Bar is and how to use it. Nearly everyone else was talking about how to get rid of it or how they couldn’t.

It puzzles me why Microsoft would make a product that integrates into their operating systems features but doesn’t follow the same standards for use set by the operating system. When I right click an item in a Windows application I expect a menu. When I click the button in the upper right corner of the screen I expect the program to close. And when I deselect a toolbar from my task manager I expect it to stay deselected.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for the Language Bar. To that end, I was elated to find an article on the How-To Geek that explains how to make the pesky thing go away for good. The instructions are fairly simple. Apparently, if you right click on the Language Bar while it’s visible there is a “settings” option. In there you’ll find a setting to banish the language bar once and for all.

See the instructions over at the How-To Geek for full details.

• When Computers Go Bad (0)
• GameStorm 10 - 4th Edition Demos (0)
• Bidi’s World Microblog Digest for 3/24/2008 (0)

It’s been a very busy month fighting various computer problems. First I had a motherboard failure which resulted in having to gut my computer and replace most of it. Technology is changing so fast that even though many of the components in my computer were fairly new they weren’t compatible with my new motherboard.

As a result of the hardware change I had to reverify my Windows XP installation with Microsoft many times throughout the process. Every time you make major hardware changes (with only a hand full of exceptions) to a Windows XP box (the hardware, not the software) they wan’t you to check in with them to verify your installation. This is a process I find personally offensive. It reminds me of Fry’s Electronics where after you make your purchase you have to stand in line to wait your turn to have your purchases verified by the correctional officer standing at the exit door. If they didn’t want me to walk out the door with something in my shopping bag they didn’t want me to have they should not be putting anything in the bag that doesn’t belong there. It isn’t even like they are stopping shoplifting because they are just checking the bags their own employees pack.

When I installed Windows XP I registered the software and was on record as having a valid installation. While I understand why they are doing this I don’t think it’s the best approach. I haven’t changed my software and it was running on the same hard drive where I originally installed it. If I upgrade my PC that is my business and I should not have to let Microsoft know when I do.

To this end I’ve decided to migrate all my productivity to Linux. My plan is to only keep Windows XP around for gaming and solely because at the moment too many game companies aren’t writing for Linux yet. They are missing the boat if you ask me.

So now I am running Ubuntu Linux on my system and I’ve replaced 98% of my regular applications (sans games) with either Linux versions of the same software or comparable software. Still on my list of apps to run under linux are iTunes which I like for it’s iPod management though as a music player I have a better solution under Linux I like better.

This Friday will be the first episode of JD’s Musical Alchemy I’ve recorded under the Linux environment. I’ve been reviewing it and I’m very impressed with how it came out. Keep an eye open for Episode 15.

• Working hard on the podcasts (0)
• Unscheduled hiatus for JD’s Musical Alchemy (0)
• Released JDMA episode 26 (1)