Saturday, July 07, 2007
Weirded out
Instead of typing in the URL to get to this site and submit that last post, I googled my own name; and was shocked to see that the second link on Google for my name is a Youtube video of, apparently myself getting shot in the butt with a paintball gun!?!? I don't remember that happening! I don't know those people... Freaky....... !
How to fix Xbox Live so I can chat with and join games with Ben
I keep having this problem, where Ben and I can't connect to each other's games, or connect to audio chat on Xbox live. To fix it:
The problem is that you need to get "NAT" to show up as "Open" instead of "Moderate" or "Strict" when you run the Xbox 360 network test. If you can get that, it's fixed.
Ports 88 and 3074 need to be getting forwarded to the Xbox 360 IP address. I had fixed this before, but started seeing the problem again after the Xbox IP address changed and the ports were getting forwarded to the old address. That's why I'm writing this blog entry.
However, when I tried to fix it, I set the Xbox IP to be a static address. That didn't work out. Just keep the Xbox network settings at "Automatic" and update the router to forward the ports to the new address instead.
That should work!
The problem is that you need to get "NAT" to show up as "Open" instead of "Moderate" or "Strict" when you run the Xbox 360 network test. If you can get that, it's fixed.
Ports 88 and 3074 need to be getting forwarded to the Xbox 360 IP address. I had fixed this before, but started seeing the problem again after the Xbox IP address changed and the ports were getting forwarded to the old address. That's why I'm writing this blog entry.
However, when I tried to fix it, I set the Xbox IP to be a static address. That didn't work out. Just keep the Xbox network settings at "Automatic" and update the router to forward the ports to the new address instead.
That should work!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Note to software developers
- Do NOT, as a part of your software installation package, install or offer to install some other completely unrelated software package. Certainly, NEVER install it by default.
Of course, this whole practice started with spyware, where that "cool game" your kid downloaded silently installed some additional software that hijacks your browser and takes down your internet connection. But it's starting to really frustrate me to see installers for software from somewhat respectable companies install unrelated software from other companies, some of which are also somewhat respectable.
And just to be clear I'm not talking about a game that requires DirectX installing DirectX, or an application that requires the .Net framework installing the .Net framework.
The sort of thing that makes me mad is what happened just now when I was installing an update to the Java run time environment. Can someone tell me what the *@#! the Google Desktop has to do with the Java run time environment getting updated? Because for some reason asking if I want to install it is a step in the Java update installation process!
Java, Google... shame on you!
On a side note, no, I do NOT want to install the Google Desktop. I DO religiously use the Google toolbar and the Google DeskBAR, but I did not like when they stopped the DeskBAR and forced the entire DeskTOP on you. Luckily you can still find the last DeskBAR installer on the internet and it still works great!
Some other offenders, that used to be just great software but started adopting this horrible practice are:
- Adobe Reader installing Yahoo toolbar
- Nero installing Yahoo toolbar
- Winamp installing "eMusic", AOL shortcuts, etc.
- Daemon Tools installing some "search" software
- Real Media player... the worst... I stopped installing it a long time ago
STOP DOING THIS... It's bad... ok?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
Certified
I passed my second Microsoft certification exam over the holiday break. So now I can say that I am Microsoft certified with the title of: "Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2005". :)
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Yama the Lord of Death
Today we went to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. We went for the King Tut exhibit, but my favorite thing that we saw today was actually this statue of a demon with a crown of human skulls and a necklace of severed heads... oh yeah, I guess the guy also "holds a loop of rope in his left hand with which he pulls the soul from the corpse"...
Even better is his story, from Tibetan Buddhism:
"A holy man was told that if he meditated for the next 50 years, he would achieve enlightenment. The holy man meditated in a cave for 49 years, 11 months and 29 days, until he was interrupted by two thieves who broke in with a stolen bull. After beheading the bull in front of the hermit, they ignored his requests to be spared for but a few minutes, and beheaded him as well. In his near-enlightened fury, this holy man became Yama, the god of Death, took the bull's head for his own, and killed the two thieves, drinking their blood from cups made of their skulls. Still enraged, Yama decided to kill everyone in Tibet."
I mean, come on, that's just freaking awesome. Quoting another guy who walked by the display, that's "badass"... !
Even better is his story, from Tibetan Buddhism:
"A holy man was told that if he meditated for the next 50 years, he would achieve enlightenment. The holy man meditated in a cave for 49 years, 11 months and 29 days, until he was interrupted by two thieves who broke in with a stolen bull. After beheading the bull in front of the hermit, they ignored his requests to be spared for but a few minutes, and beheaded him as well. In his near-enlightened fury, this holy man became Yama, the god of Death, took the bull's head for his own, and killed the two thieves, drinking their blood from cups made of their skulls. Still enraged, Yama decided to kill everyone in Tibet."
I mean, come on, that's just freaking awesome. Quoting another guy who walked by the display, that's "badass"... !
Now playing: Ecuador Manta - Chiman
Friday, December 15, 2006
GameFly update
I kept GameFly for one more month after my rant and then ended up cancelling it. A local video store offers a similar deal, so I switched to that. It's nice to be able to switch games as often as I want without having to deal with postal delays. They've usually got a great selection and are decent with getting new items. Plus it's supporting a local business that I happen to really like. So there. Congrats to Sunset Video of Waukesha WI for stealing one of GameFly's customers with their 2 game monthly plan for $26.26 after tax (vs. GameFly's $23.07 after tax).
Thursday, September 07, 2006
GameFly rant
To: support@gamefly.com
Subject: FastReturn?
In my "Game Shipped" email, I was informed that my game "was shipped via FastReturn". Now, I would not have contacted you like this, but that statement just hit me as being SO ironic that I had to. The experience returning my last game, was such a bad experience for me, that I was SO close to cancelling my GameFly account on the spot last night. I was even billed one day before and would be throwing away $23. I didn't care. I did not cancel last night but I'm so upset about it that I still might cancel as soon as I receive the shipped games, or shortly after. I have not decided.
And the thing is, I actually really love the GameFly concept; and have had an excellent experience with the service for the most part. I really would like to continue the service. It's just getting to the point where I have to decide: for my recurring monthly membership fee, do all the benefits outweigh this frustration? I don't know how much longer I can answer that question with a "yes". Every time I have returned a game I have had this "problem".
Let me describe this last experience to you. I read some reviews on two recently released games. With the games at the top of my queue, I excitedly pack up my current games and put them in the mail Tuesday August 29. The mailman picks them up that day. I should have known better from my previous experiences, but I still check the web site each day for an update in status, realizing that the process does take time. One week later, Tuesday September 5, my games have been acknowledged as having been mailed, and the next games start to ship out. What? I thought that was the point of FastReturn? You get the FastReturn confirmation when the post office receives the game (Tuesday August 29) and the next game ships immediately? This whole time I thought my local post office didn't offer "FastReturn". But no, this WAS FastReturn. Fast is the last word I would have used to describe it.
Even worse, I see that the games being shipped are not the ones I wanted, #1 and #2 in my queue, but #3 and #4 that I have lost all interest for in my excitement over #1 and #2. I would have preferred to wait a couple days for #1 and #2, but there is no functionality to do this.
I know, it's not the end of the world. It's all pretty silly really. I'm not angry about it. You're doing a reasonable job of shipping. There was a weekend in there, one of the days was a holiday, it's not a huge number of business days. I know I'm being somewhat unreasonable in my expectations. But the fact remains... this piece of the service just isn't working out for me. And I really wish it could, somehow. Because then GameFly would seriously be perfect... ! It's awesome to be able to rent a game and play it all the way through with no time limits, and the potential to try new and different games. But a week with no games period... that's 1/4 of the time I'm paying for, that I'm unable to use the service... a week, and I haven't even received the games yet. I have to go through this every time I return a game. Each time I'm more convinced that it's not worth it.
Considering the turnaround time with FastReturn, it doesn't even make sense to return games more than once a month. Which sucks if you pick a crappy game, and defeats the purpose of being able to try new games. In fact, I don't think GameFly even works for new releases at all... at least I haven't figured out a "strategy" that works for new releases.
I still don't know where I am at with this. Writing this isn't going to accomplish anything. But, because there are aspects of the service that I like so much, I am taking some time to provide this feedback instead of silently pressing the cancel button and GameFly losing one insignificant customer. This one small exception unfortunately has a large impact on an otherwise excellent experience.
Sincerely,
Dan Puza
Subject: FastReturn?
In my "Game Shipped" email, I was informed that my game "was shipped via FastReturn". Now, I would not have contacted you like this, but that statement just hit me as being SO ironic that I had to. The experience returning my last game, was such a bad experience for me, that I was SO close to cancelling my GameFly account on the spot last night. I was even billed one day before and would be throwing away $23. I didn't care. I did not cancel last night but I'm so upset about it that I still might cancel as soon as I receive the shipped games, or shortly after. I have not decided.
And the thing is, I actually really love the GameFly concept; and have had an excellent experience with the service for the most part. I really would like to continue the service. It's just getting to the point where I have to decide: for my recurring monthly membership fee, do all the benefits outweigh this frustration? I don't know how much longer I can answer that question with a "yes". Every time I have returned a game I have had this "problem".
Let me describe this last experience to you. I read some reviews on two recently released games. With the games at the top of my queue, I excitedly pack up my current games and put them in the mail Tuesday August 29. The mailman picks them up that day. I should have known better from my previous experiences, but I still check the web site each day for an update in status, realizing that the process does take time. One week later, Tuesday September 5, my games have been acknowledged as having been mailed, and the next games start to ship out. What? I thought that was the point of FastReturn? You get the FastReturn confirmation when the post office receives the game (Tuesday August 29) and the next game ships immediately? This whole time I thought my local post office didn't offer "FastReturn". But no, this WAS FastReturn. Fast is the last word I would have used to describe it.
Even worse, I see that the games being shipped are not the ones I wanted, #1 and #2 in my queue, but #3 and #4 that I have lost all interest for in my excitement over #1 and #2. I would have preferred to wait a couple days for #1 and #2, but there is no functionality to do this.
I know, it's not the end of the world. It's all pretty silly really. I'm not angry about it. You're doing a reasonable job of shipping. There was a weekend in there, one of the days was a holiday, it's not a huge number of business days. I know I'm being somewhat unreasonable in my expectations. But the fact remains... this piece of the service just isn't working out for me. And I really wish it could, somehow. Because then GameFly would seriously be perfect... ! It's awesome to be able to rent a game and play it all the way through with no time limits, and the potential to try new and different games. But a week with no games period... that's 1/4 of the time I'm paying for, that I'm unable to use the service... a week, and I haven't even received the games yet. I have to go through this every time I return a game. Each time I'm more convinced that it's not worth it.
Considering the turnaround time with FastReturn, it doesn't even make sense to return games more than once a month. Which sucks if you pick a crappy game, and defeats the purpose of being able to try new games. In fact, I don't think GameFly even works for new releases at all... at least I haven't figured out a "strategy" that works for new releases.
I still don't know where I am at with this. Writing this isn't going to accomplish anything. But, because there are aspects of the service that I like so much, I am taking some time to provide this feedback instead of silently pressing the cancel button and GameFly losing one insignificant customer. This one small exception unfortunately has a large impact on an otherwise excellent experience.
Sincerely,
Dan Puza
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
44.5 hours later...
That's how long it took to "migrate" from a 300GB RAID 1 array to a 600GB RAID 5 array... not counting the time (probably just as long) that it took to XCOPY the data over to the RAID 1 array in the first place. The nice part is that I was fully able to use the drive and the machine during the process. Now everything is finished and working beautifully!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
You are running very low on disk space on C:. To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, click here.
I finally broke down and bought the hardware RAID 5 controller card that I've been drooling over for half a year... $620, just for the card, ouch...
The good news is that my storage capacity increases from 300GB to 600GB with redundancy. And I can expand as needed, up to 9 more drives... 3.22 terabytes >:-D
Can't wait for all the components to arrive... :)
The good news is that my storage capacity increases from 300GB to 600GB with redundancy. And I can expand as needed, up to 9 more drives... 3.22 terabytes >:-D
Can't wait for all the components to arrive... :)
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Fun with Windows Forms #1
The exception:
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: InvalidArgument=Value of '-1379311' is not valid for 'length'.
Parameter name: length
at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.Select(Int32 start, Int32 length)
at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.set_SelectionStart(Int32 value)
The code:
ComboBox cb;
cb.SelectionStart = cb.Text.Length;
The fix:
cb.Select(cb.Text.Length, 0)
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: InvalidArgument=Value of '-1379311' is not valid for 'length'.
Parameter name: length
at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.Select(Int32 start, Int32 length)
at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.set_SelectionStart(Int32 value)
The code:
ComboBox cb;
cb.SelectionStart = cb.Text.Length;
The fix:
cb.Select(cb.Text.Length, 0)
Monday, May 01, 2006
Visual Studio Keyboard Tricks
I just recently figured out these keyboard tricks and they are great for working in Visual Studio and SQL Server. I'm using them all the time now!
Ctrl-Left: Move cursor back one "word"
Ctrl-Right: Move cursor forward one "word"
Ctrl-Del: Delete "word" to the right of the cursor
Ctrl-Backspace: Delete "word" to the left of the cursor
*combine with Shift to highlight at the same time
Visual Studio only:
Start/stop recording keyboard macro: Ctrl-Shift-R
Playback keyboard macro: Ctrl-Shift-P
Ctrl-I: "Incremental search" (try it out!)
Old news, right? But I was too lazy to go look this stuff up before now. ;-)
It's almost like working in Emacs again...
I'm especially pleased with this next one: The "snaplines" feature for Visual Studio Windows Forms is great, but it's annoying when it sometimes makes it impossible to resize or reposition a control the way you want to because it's snapping to some other random control on the form. Well, I found out that you can temporarily disable the snaplines by holding down the Alt key while you reposition or resize your control... nice!
Ctrl-Left: Move cursor back one "word"
Ctrl-Right: Move cursor forward one "word"
Ctrl-Del: Delete "word" to the right of the cursor
Ctrl-Backspace: Delete "word" to the left of the cursor
*combine with Shift to highlight at the same time
Visual Studio only:
Start/stop recording keyboard macro: Ctrl-Shift-R
Playback keyboard macro: Ctrl-Shift-P
Ctrl-I: "Incremental search" (try it out!)
Old news, right? But I was too lazy to go look this stuff up before now. ;-)
It's almost like working in Emacs again...
I'm especially pleased with this next one: The "snaplines" feature for Visual Studio Windows Forms is great, but it's annoying when it sometimes makes it impossible to resize or reposition a control the way you want to because it's snapping to some other random control on the form. Well, I found out that you can temporarily disable the snaplines by holding down the Alt key while you reposition or resize your control... nice!
Now playing: Andain - Beautiful Things (Josh Gabriel Mix)
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