I am a software engineer and I enjoy using a variety of languages for my work and my play. Some of my favorites are the old-time imperative languages like Fortran or Pascal or even BASIC (extended versions). I also enjoy some functional languages, like IO, and "almost" OO languages like Ada and C++. I say almost because they don't REALLY fit the bill as true OO languages, but have OO features.
I also enjoy byte interpreted languages like Python, Groovy, and a few others... but perhaps my favorite language that embraces the imperative with the interpreted is Euphoria. There are two flavors of Euphoria available: original and opensource-continued. The original version of Euphoria is simplicity itself, lacking many advanced features. It ended at version 3.1 when the creator of the (commercial) language open sourced it. The open version of the language at 4.x now, has added some more modern features to the language but they are also doing their best to maintain a level of simplicity by maintaining the core of the language which consists of two basic data types, the atom and the sequence.
An atom is basically a numeric value. A sequence is a group of atoms or other sequences.
Some Atoms:
1
3.14
'A' (or the numeric value 65... it becomes a letter when you output it using something like puts())
Some Sequences:
{1}
{1, 2, {'3', '4'}, 5}
{'A', 'B', 'C'} which is the same as "ABC", a string is a sequence.
In addition to the two data types two other variable containers are defined: integer and object.
An integer is an atom that is limited in its nature to an unsigned numeric value. An object can be whatever you assign to it. For example:
object my_var
my_var = 1
my_var = "this is acceptable too"
my_var = {2.1, 'V', "something else"}
With these simple data types you can create just about anything you can think of.
Another fine feature of Euphoria is that it has in-built vector processing for sequences. Some more examples:
{1, 2, 3} + {4, 5, 6} => {5, 7, 9}
{1, 2, 3} + 1 => {2, 3, 4}
You can add/subtract/etc. two sequences with the same number of items, or a sequence with an atom.
It is a fun and fast language. The original version was estimated to execute 6 times faster than the equivalent java code. It is not the most popular language but there is a small following and a variety of packages have been and continue to be created by the fans of Euphoria.
Check out:
The original website (v3.1) http://www.rapideuphoria.com/
The open source version (4.0.5) http://openeuphoria.org/index.wc
Enjoy.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Lazy Repost
I haven't posted much lately... so I am reposting here something I wrote elsewhere:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Most of what God gave the Israelites are what we would consider to be common sense, today. But it wasn't to them. Also, I might add that when you encounter laws that you disagree with for some reason while reading exodus, deuteronomy, etc. think to yourself, "most of these laws just make sense..." and give the other laws the benefit of the doubt. Not everything recorded applies to all of us today because society has changed and our situations have changed (ie. not wandering around in a wilderness with a large population for 40 years). But the BASIS of the laws still apply, the reasoning behind them, and are right and just.
Some laws laid out by God
==============================
You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
If you lend money to My people-to the poor person among you, you must not be like a moneylender to him; you must not charge him interest.
If you ever take your neighbor's cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in?
You must not spread a false report.
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
You must not deny justice to the poor among you in his lawsuit.
If you come across your enemy's stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying [helpless] under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.
Do not kill the innocent and the just.
You must not take a bribe.
You must not oppress a foreign resident.
Sow your land for six years and gather its produce. But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [from it] and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
------------------------------------------------
...and they go on and on like this. These are some of the "minor" laws listed after the 10 commandments. What do you see in this? I see a desire for justice (fairness) and compassion... even for your enemy.
People who do not want to believe tend to focus on some of the more difficult passages of war/destruction, despite the context of being harassed and attacked by many of the same groups during their jaunt through the wilderness. But you see from the laws God lays out that He is just and compassionate... we assume innocence on those peoples' part but that is not the case. We are not offered the whole picture, just what we need to learn about the relationship God has with Israelites (and later with us all).
And of course there are the 10 commandments:
Do not have other gods besides Me.
Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day (ie. remember to take a break, and even if you don't, let those who live in your household or work for you have a break).
Honor your father and your mother.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Most of the minor laws are based off the 10 commandments... but ALL of the law (including the 10 commandments) is dependent on and based off of the top 2 commandments:
Love God with all your heart and mind and soul.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Jesus expounded on these two laws and noted that we should love one another as HE loved us (he gave up everything for us, even his life and served us).
Yeah, there are some tough parts in the Bible that we find difficult to accept or to understand... but based on this, you have to at least stop and think if THIS is SO RIGHT, why shouldn't the parts we DON'T like be also right?
Finally, it should be noted that the Israelites were to be God's HIGH PRIESTS to the world. Often their laws required a punishment of death, which shocks some people, but these people were supposed to rise above and beyond the common people of the world in their relationship with God and one another. Hence the punishments for breaking some of the laws were pretty tough. And yet there were often caveats on the punishments, like the law on murder states that if a death was accidental, then the punishment would not be death but recompense to the family. Or if your ox gores someone, pay recompense, but if the owner knows the ox is a mean one and has gored people in the past and allows it roam free to gore again... well... the punishment is much more severe. So you can see the punishments often will fit the ATTITUDE of the person committing the crime. Even among God's High Priests...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Most of what God gave the Israelites are what we would consider to be common sense, today. But it wasn't to them. Also, I might add that when you encounter laws that you disagree with for some reason while reading exodus, deuteronomy, etc. think to yourself, "most of these laws just make sense..." and give the other laws the benefit of the doubt. Not everything recorded applies to all of us today because society has changed and our situations have changed (ie. not wandering around in a wilderness with a large population for 40 years). But the BASIS of the laws still apply, the reasoning behind them, and are right and just.
Some laws laid out by God
==============================
You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
If you lend money to My people-to the poor person among you, you must not be like a moneylender to him; you must not charge him interest.
If you ever take your neighbor's cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in?
You must not spread a false report.
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
You must not deny justice to the poor among you in his lawsuit.
If you come across your enemy's stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying [helpless] under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.
Do not kill the innocent and the just.
You must not take a bribe.
You must not oppress a foreign resident.
Sow your land for six years and gather its produce. But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [from it] and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
------------------------------------------------
...and they go on and on like this. These are some of the "minor" laws listed after the 10 commandments. What do you see in this? I see a desire for justice (fairness) and compassion... even for your enemy.
People who do not want to believe tend to focus on some of the more difficult passages of war/destruction, despite the context of being harassed and attacked by many of the same groups during their jaunt through the wilderness. But you see from the laws God lays out that He is just and compassionate... we assume innocence on those peoples' part but that is not the case. We are not offered the whole picture, just what we need to learn about the relationship God has with Israelites (and later with us all).
And of course there are the 10 commandments:
Do not have other gods besides Me.
Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day (ie. remember to take a break, and even if you don't, let those who live in your household or work for you have a break).
Honor your father and your mother.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Most of the minor laws are based off the 10 commandments... but ALL of the law (including the 10 commandments) is dependent on and based off of the top 2 commandments:
Love God with all your heart and mind and soul.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Jesus expounded on these two laws and noted that we should love one another as HE loved us (he gave up everything for us, even his life and served us).
Yeah, there are some tough parts in the Bible that we find difficult to accept or to understand... but based on this, you have to at least stop and think if THIS is SO RIGHT, why shouldn't the parts we DON'T like be also right?
Finally, it should be noted that the Israelites were to be God's HIGH PRIESTS to the world. Often their laws required a punishment of death, which shocks some people, but these people were supposed to rise above and beyond the common people of the world in their relationship with God and one another. Hence the punishments for breaking some of the laws were pretty tough. And yet there were often caveats on the punishments, like the law on murder states that if a death was accidental, then the punishment would not be death but recompense to the family. Or if your ox gores someone, pay recompense, but if the owner knows the ox is a mean one and has gored people in the past and allows it roam free to gore again... well... the punishment is much more severe. So you can see the punishments often will fit the ATTITUDE of the person committing the crime. Even among God's High Priests...
Monday, November 19, 2012
Crazy?
Last week I reran the Windows display/font tweaking tool at least a dozen times ... and the fonts still did not look very good.
I had two major updates late last week/over the weekend and I swear, all of a sudden my fonts are back to being gorgeously rendered on screen. There was no mention in the updates of anything having to do with font rendering. Am I crazy? I think I must be. But today my screen looks so good I just want to stare at it.
And there is an interesting thought: Font rendering on Windows differs from Mac OS X quite a bit, and people do seem to prefer one or the other. I wonder if that plays a role in computer selection? Windows tends toward sharp and crisp, Mac OS X tends toward warm and fuzzy (and often more accurate in regards to scaling). If you prefer Mac OS X style font rendering on Windows there is an open source project, gdipp, that does a decent job of bringing that style to Windows.
Personally I like both. I appreciate Windows Crispness, and Mac OS X's softness. I am currently more used to crisper fonts since I've been primarily a Windows user for several years now.
Enough for now! Have a nice day!
I had two major updates late last week/over the weekend and I swear, all of a sudden my fonts are back to being gorgeously rendered on screen. There was no mention in the updates of anything having to do with font rendering. Am I crazy? I think I must be. But today my screen looks so good I just want to stare at it.
And there is an interesting thought: Font rendering on Windows differs from Mac OS X quite a bit, and people do seem to prefer one or the other. I wonder if that plays a role in computer selection? Windows tends toward sharp and crisp, Mac OS X tends toward warm and fuzzy (and often more accurate in regards to scaling). If you prefer Mac OS X style font rendering on Windows there is an open source project, gdipp, that does a decent job of bringing that style to Windows.
Personally I like both. I appreciate Windows Crispness, and Mac OS X's softness. I am currently more used to crisper fonts since I've been primarily a Windows user for several years now.
Enough for now! Have a nice day!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The argument against the right
I think a prevailing argument against "the right" is that we try to legislate morality, and that religion does not belong in law and politics. They believe that it is WRONG for us to do that. They fail to see that they are doing the exact same thing, creating laws to make actions that others find reprehensible, legal. They hide under the idea that people should be able to do whatever they want if it doesn't harm anyone else and claim that government should not interfere, it's role is as a provider.
I think that some people even feel that what happened in that junior high/middle school in Maine is "O.K.... no harm no foul". (If you don't know what happened, a gay-rights group was allowed to talk to the student body about bullying and such, but at the end of their talk they began to tell the students how to have safe, gay sex, in DETAIL before the staff could stop them). The problem with that is a lot of people DON'T think that is "O.K.", yet in many states those people are now, by law, FORCED to allow something similar, if not as detailed, to happen. So while people tout how OUR (conservative) will should not be pushed onto them, they push THEIR (liberal) views on US. It's called hypocrisy, people. The funny thing is that (in this case) the gay community is a small percentage of the whole, but in some twisted idea that the needs of the very very few need to be protected and nurtured, they stomp on a very large part of the population. This is what is causing the conservative reaction and backlash. It's like 100 people voting, and letting the minority of 1 take all.
I honestly don't know what the solution is. 1/2 the people in our country believe in a more conservative socio-economic view, the other 1/2 believe in a more liberal socio-economic view. I don't think this can be resolved.
But let me remind you that laws are created to protect us, not restrict us, to prevent us from performing harmful or detrimental acts to us, and others.
Finally, for conservatives, we must never lose COMPASSION. We certainly are allowed to and should pursue the support of law, but we shouldn't do so in such a way that we lose track of the fact that we ARE talking about PEOPLE who have feelings, failings, wants and needs just as we do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
my conservative views
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abortion: I believe that once an egg is fertilized it is now a "potential" human being. No turning back. The DNA is complete, the cell is starting to build into a shape we will eventually recognize, someone who might someday change the world in a huge and wonderful way, or might become a crazed killer, who knows.
Gay Marriage: There is no longer any point to marriage, as it obviously isn't for having children and building a strong, healthy family unit. Family unit == male, female and offspring. Extended family can be anything and everyone else as far as I am concerned.
MINORITY: While our country is about freedom and equal rights, that can only carry so far. Homosexuality is a 1% minority in our country. (Maybe just over 1%). It's nice that some people are championing the cause of others, but again, freedom and equal rights need to be tempered with reason, justice, and sometimes restriction. Yes, I know this is not a democracy.
Freedom OF Religion, NOT freedom FROM religion: People seem to think that our MOSTLY CHRISTIAN founding fathers and original settlers (why did most of the people come here and settle this land? Freedom to worship God as they pleased) meant to exclude religion from anything public, and tout Jefferson's quote of "separation of church and state" as statement against religion. This is NOT TRUE. Jefferson said that because the STATE of Connecticut was trying to impose one, official religion and Thomas Jefferson (rightly) felt that was wrong to do. He did not mean to imply that religion and government should be completely separated in all ways, he meant that the government (as stated in the constitution) should NEVER enforce a given religion or interfere with ANY religion. THAT is what our constitution is about. It should not be illegal to have a Christmas tree on public property, or even a shrine to Buddha for that matter. We are supposed to embrace diversity not shun it. I think if people want to pray in schools, they should be allowed to, and given the opportunity to (yes, even Muslims).
Done for now.
I think that some people even feel that what happened in that junior high/middle school in Maine is "O.K.... no harm no foul". (If you don't know what happened, a gay-rights group was allowed to talk to the student body about bullying and such, but at the end of their talk they began to tell the students how to have safe, gay sex, in DETAIL before the staff could stop them). The problem with that is a lot of people DON'T think that is "O.K.", yet in many states those people are now, by law, FORCED to allow something similar, if not as detailed, to happen. So while people tout how OUR (conservative) will should not be pushed onto them, they push THEIR (liberal) views on US. It's called hypocrisy, people. The funny thing is that (in this case) the gay community is a small percentage of the whole, but in some twisted idea that the needs of the very very few need to be protected and nurtured, they stomp on a very large part of the population. This is what is causing the conservative reaction and backlash. It's like 100 people voting, and letting the minority of 1 take all.
I honestly don't know what the solution is. 1/2 the people in our country believe in a more conservative socio-economic view, the other 1/2 believe in a more liberal socio-economic view. I don't think this can be resolved.
But let me remind you that laws are created to protect us, not restrict us, to prevent us from performing harmful or detrimental acts to us, and others.
Finally, for conservatives, we must never lose COMPASSION. We certainly are allowed to and should pursue the support of law, but we shouldn't do so in such a way that we lose track of the fact that we ARE talking about PEOPLE who have feelings, failings, wants and needs just as we do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
my conservative views
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abortion: I believe that once an egg is fertilized it is now a "potential" human being. No turning back. The DNA is complete, the cell is starting to build into a shape we will eventually recognize, someone who might someday change the world in a huge and wonderful way, or might become a crazed killer, who knows.
Gay Marriage: There is no longer any point to marriage, as it obviously isn't for having children and building a strong, healthy family unit. Family unit == male, female and offspring. Extended family can be anything and everyone else as far as I am concerned.
MINORITY: While our country is about freedom and equal rights, that can only carry so far. Homosexuality is a 1% minority in our country. (Maybe just over 1%). It's nice that some people are championing the cause of others, but again, freedom and equal rights need to be tempered with reason, justice, and sometimes restriction. Yes, I know this is not a democracy.
Freedom OF Religion, NOT freedom FROM religion: People seem to think that our MOSTLY CHRISTIAN founding fathers and original settlers (why did most of the people come here and settle this land? Freedom to worship God as they pleased) meant to exclude religion from anything public, and tout Jefferson's quote of "separation of church and state" as statement against religion. This is NOT TRUE. Jefferson said that because the STATE of Connecticut was trying to impose one, official religion and Thomas Jefferson (rightly) felt that was wrong to do. He did not mean to imply that religion and government should be completely separated in all ways, he meant that the government (as stated in the constitution) should NEVER enforce a given religion or interfere with ANY religion. THAT is what our constitution is about. It should not be illegal to have a Christmas tree on public property, or even a shrine to Buddha for that matter. We are supposed to embrace diversity not shun it. I think if people want to pray in schools, they should be allowed to, and given the opportunity to (yes, even Muslims).
Done for now.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Windows 8 Pro
My official-release copy of Windows 8 arrived yesterday. First, it is evident that Microsoft is trying to emulate some of the practices of Apple. The packaging was visually attractive and in some ways nicely constructed, but there were flaws. It was a flip out box within a sleeve, when you pull it out and open it all the DVDs (32 bit and 64 bit) and (one card sized) instruction set just fall out. They did, however, place the KEY on a special pullout card which was nice. So while the packaging was very nice, it could have been better still.
Needless to say once everyone else went to bed I began the installation process. I had bought the upgrade version (AFAIK) and was surprised when the installation did not ask for my prior Windows 7 DVD/Key. The installation process offered me only one choice "Don't copy anything" (or something to that effect). This was expected since I was running a trial version of Windows 8 Enterprise, and I was prepared for this and had backed up all my essential files.
The installation process took abnormally long for a "fresh install" and I believe that was due to a combination of things (a disk check, backing up system files from the existing W8E) but once that huge lag was done the rest of the process went quickly. I probably should have done a forced, fresh install, but this worked out well for me because any non-standard installs I had on my C drive were retained and I was able to restore those to their original state easily.
The little "learn how to use metro" blurb was useless for anyone who has never used it. I've been using it for 9 months now so that didn't matter to me. Once installed it asks for either your pre-existing outlook.com or live.com account, or you can choose to create a local account. I go with my online account which syncs in the background and maintains a lot of settings from install to install. It's very handy.
Once my account was created I started re-installing all of my favorite apps. First the productivity apps, then some games and other silly things. I still haven't finished, there a few that I will install when I find myself needing them. But my development and networking tools are all in place.
One problem I DID have was getting my screen to look like it was before. I have no idea why it became so difficult ... but for the life of me I could not get both the colors and the font rendering to look good. I spent more time fiddling with that (I would not call this a problem with Windows, I have a monitor that, while feature full and of excellent quality, is known for it's horrible, default configuration) than everything else combined. I finally downloaded a configuration file from a website, set it and slightly modified my RGB settings based on some forum posts and it while it seems a little "warm" it now has rich color and contrast. I fired up Skyrim and the world looked a lot more colorful than it used to. My fonts look alright now... took about 20 iterations of the clear type wizard... but I got it.
The new Windows Mail app is not bad, but I cannot use it for work... well I CAN use it for work but my work exchange server insists on altering my security settings and I really want to avoid that if possible because I hated how quickly my screen would timeout and lock me out... something like 8 minutes. I'd walk to the kitchen to make coffee, come back, and my screen was locked. Outlook doesn't seem to require that, so why does Windows Mail? For now I am using my old favorite, Postbox, with DAVmail. (Update, I found a workaround on the internet).
I don't use a lot of the metro apps (sorry, I know it isn't called "metro" anymore but I can't stop calling it that), a few games, like Mahjong, Periodic table, stuff like that. I also use Windows Mail, it's not bad, if a little simplistic. This might change in future releases. Most of my work is done on the desktop and I am happy that not only do all my desktop apps work fine, but the entire interface is snappy and clean.
I've gone over many of the changes to desktop interface in previous weblog entries so I won't do that here.
Overall the installation process was about as I expected it would be. A clean install or a proper upgrade from a Windows 7 box would go much more smoothly I should think. But here I am, an official Windows 8 user! I am excited. I've enjoyed Windows 7 over the past couple of years, and I have enjoyed Windows 8 for the last 9 months as well. I am intrigued to see where Microsoft takes Windows in the future.
Needless to say once everyone else went to bed I began the installation process. I had bought the upgrade version (AFAIK) and was surprised when the installation did not ask for my prior Windows 7 DVD/Key. The installation process offered me only one choice "Don't copy anything" (or something to that effect). This was expected since I was running a trial version of Windows 8 Enterprise, and I was prepared for this and had backed up all my essential files.
The installation process took abnormally long for a "fresh install" and I believe that was due to a combination of things (a disk check, backing up system files from the existing W8E) but once that huge lag was done the rest of the process went quickly. I probably should have done a forced, fresh install, but this worked out well for me because any non-standard installs I had on my C drive were retained and I was able to restore those to their original state easily.
The little "learn how to use metro" blurb was useless for anyone who has never used it. I've been using it for 9 months now so that didn't matter to me. Once installed it asks for either your pre-existing outlook.com or live.com account, or you can choose to create a local account. I go with my online account which syncs in the background and maintains a lot of settings from install to install. It's very handy.
Once my account was created I started re-installing all of my favorite apps. First the productivity apps, then some games and other silly things. I still haven't finished, there a few that I will install when I find myself needing them. But my development and networking tools are all in place.
One problem I DID have was getting my screen to look like it was before. I have no idea why it became so difficult ... but for the life of me I could not get both the colors and the font rendering to look good. I spent more time fiddling with that (I would not call this a problem with Windows, I have a monitor that, while feature full and of excellent quality, is known for it's horrible, default configuration) than everything else combined. I finally downloaded a configuration file from a website, set it and slightly modified my RGB settings based on some forum posts and it while it seems a little "warm" it now has rich color and contrast. I fired up Skyrim and the world looked a lot more colorful than it used to. My fonts look alright now... took about 20 iterations of the clear type wizard... but I got it.
The new Windows Mail app is not bad, but I cannot use it for work... well I CAN use it for work but my work exchange server insists on altering my security settings and I really want to avoid that if possible because I hated how quickly my screen would timeout and lock me out... something like 8 minutes. I'd walk to the kitchen to make coffee, come back, and my screen was locked. Outlook doesn't seem to require that, so why does Windows Mail? For now I am using my old favorite, Postbox, with DAVmail. (Update, I found a workaround on the internet).
I don't use a lot of the metro apps (sorry, I know it isn't called "metro" anymore but I can't stop calling it that), a few games, like Mahjong, Periodic table, stuff like that. I also use Windows Mail, it's not bad, if a little simplistic. This might change in future releases. Most of my work is done on the desktop and I am happy that not only do all my desktop apps work fine, but the entire interface is snappy and clean.
I've gone over many of the changes to desktop interface in previous weblog entries so I won't do that here.
Overall the installation process was about as I expected it would be. A clean install or a proper upgrade from a Windows 7 box would go much more smoothly I should think. But here I am, an official Windows 8 user! I am excited. I've enjoyed Windows 7 over the past couple of years, and I have enjoyed Windows 8 for the last 9 months as well. I am intrigued to see where Microsoft takes Windows in the future.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Tumor in my wrist?
I noticed it weeks ago. It was pretty tiny. But today I was playing with it and realized "hey, it's a lot bigger!" *Sigh* So now I suppose I should go to the doctor and see if he things I should have it taken out. I am sure it is some sort of fibrous growth, probably from the tendon sheath in there or something.
I am not worried about it... but just having it there distracts me and I suppose if it keeps growing it will impact movement, so I should have it looked at.
Haven't been to my doctor in 3 years... he's going to want to do a complete physical on me... ugh.
I am not worried about it... but just having it there distracts me and I suppose if it keeps growing it will impact movement, so I should have it looked at.
Haven't been to my doctor in 3 years... he's going to want to do a complete physical on me... ugh.
Monday, September 10, 2012
ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5 and Anywhere MX update
My system is a little over a year old now and I expect it to continue to be a solid build for at least another year. While CPU technology continues to improve, the i7-2600K continues to compete favorably with the latest from Intel. The price to performance ratio is exceptional.
But as games become more complex and other peripherals grow old, they can be replaced.
I recently upgraded my graphics card from the triple-wide GTX 570 ENGTX570 DCII to the newer, abler, double-wide ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5. The latest generation Nvidia cards are more efficient. They use less power and temperatures are lower in general. This allows a more graphically powerful card to require less cooling. This means the new card takes up less space, is quieter and runs cooler. It's a win on three counts. No, make that four counts as it also performs somewhere between 16% and 25% better than the 570 did (depending on the performance category).
I also upgraded my old BENQ monitor to a new BENQ monitor that is capable of handling 120hz. It's also MUCH brighter and more configurable than the previous model.
Finally, the Logitech Anywhere MX mouse I purchased a year and a half ago is still going strong. This is a big deal to me because I burn through mice. If a mouse lasts a year with me, that's good. This one shows no signs of wear and the buttons and wheel feel the same as they did when I first unboxed it. That's solid quality. I am tempted to purchase another just to have. I worry that Logitech will change or discontinue the model and when this one finally dies I will be out of luck.
That's it for now. As a post script, I am running the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation version. It's full blown Windows 8, but with a time limited license that expires in a few months, basically when Windows 8 is released to the public at large. Good stuff! No going back to Windows 7 for me.
But as games become more complex and other peripherals grow old, they can be replaced.
I recently upgraded my graphics card from the triple-wide GTX 570 ENGTX570 DCII to the newer, abler, double-wide ASUS GTX670-DC2-2GD5. The latest generation Nvidia cards are more efficient. They use less power and temperatures are lower in general. This allows a more graphically powerful card to require less cooling. This means the new card takes up less space, is quieter and runs cooler. It's a win on three counts. No, make that four counts as it also performs somewhere between 16% and 25% better than the 570 did (depending on the performance category).
I also upgraded my old BENQ monitor to a new BENQ monitor that is capable of handling 120hz. It's also MUCH brighter and more configurable than the previous model.
Finally, the Logitech Anywhere MX mouse I purchased a year and a half ago is still going strong. This is a big deal to me because I burn through mice. If a mouse lasts a year with me, that's good. This one shows no signs of wear and the buttons and wheel feel the same as they did when I first unboxed it. That's solid quality. I am tempted to purchase another just to have. I worry that Logitech will change or discontinue the model and when this one finally dies I will be out of luck.
That's it for now. As a post script, I am running the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation version. It's full blown Windows 8, but with a time limited license that expires in a few months, basically when Windows 8 is released to the public at large. Good stuff! No going back to Windows 7 for me.
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