Hope everyone is enjoying some new features in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update!
I like the changes to the start menu with the system control icons on the left edge and all my applications to its right and then the pinned items as tiles at the right hand end.
I also like the notification icon on the task bar that shows windows messages as well as showing hte Action center with icons for things like network, all settings, etc.
I don't know if this is part of the new update but I noticed that the one drive app now lets you access all your PC's files through the one drive website. All that needs to happen for this is for your PC to be on and running the Onedrive desktop app.
I like this new model by Microsoft. Lets just forget that the current iteration of windows is called Windows 10. Let's just call it simply "Windows". Now we can see the advantages of this model. "Windows" will now keep on improving with each update. More features, optimizations, support etc will make us eager to wait for each update. Something so far the Android and IOS users have been enjoying.
I like this. I like it very much!
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 August 2016
Saturday, 9 July 2016
Mechanical keyboard by Focus Electronics from 1993, model FK-9000
Mechanical keyboard by Focus Electronics from 1993, model Key-Pro FK-9000. The keyboard that was the gamers keyboard without even trying to be one!
See the video of it at the end of this blog.
In 1993 when I was a young teen, my dad bought a computer from a company in New Zealand called PC General. At the time they only had two branches with one in Wellington and one in Christchurch. We lived in Auckland so it would not normally make sense to get a PC from Wellington, however this company had excellent reputation at the time. Turns out it was a good decision as that company flourished, and two branches in Auckland opened allowing for easier service. Mind you we had very little issues with the machine to begin with anyway. It especially helped that I was learning about computers in school and had a strong interest in electronics.
However the history of my computing isn't the focus of this post, it is what came with that first computer, is. I was used to 101 keyboards at the time as the most common IBM and compatibles AT keyboards. So when PC General were advertising their computers with the 129-key keyboard, it definitely drew attention.
The first time I used the keyboard when the computer arrived, I fell in love with it. Remember this is at a time when there were no gamer's keyboard and Wolfenstein 3D had not even been out for that long. I learn't to type properly on this keyboard, I did a lot of projects for school on this keyboard. I did a lot of assignments, projects and reports when I studied Electronics engineering from 1995-1998 on this keyboard. Of course, a lot of Doom and Quake games were won using this keyboard! My first ever experience with a 3D video game was also on this keyboard since the computer came with shareware Wolfenstein 3D. I guess that the memories and how much I loved this keyboard is the reason I still kept it. The key-switch keys felt just so good to type on! It became so addictive that when I used a keyboard at somebody's house, or at Polytechnic, I just could not wait to come home and type on my keyboard again! This keyboard, without even trying to be one, was the ultimate gamer's keyboard too!
So why did I stop using it in the first place? It got old and the key's started multi-striking when pressed once. Since then I have been on the search for mechanical key-switch keyboard but never finding one. Then when manufacturers like Razor and Logitech started making them, I could not find one that would fully replace my FK-9000. A few weeks ago I decided that nobody will make a 129 key keyboard like this one so I might as well get what is out now. So I bought the Logitech G710+ mechanical keyboard. It has 6 programmable keys not 12 like my FK-9000. It has standard 4 direction keys not 8; has no calculator on board, or oversized Enter key. But it did bring back memories of my FK-9000 so I dug it out of storage and got it working on my I7-2600 based system. The motherboard has a PS/2 connector so I used a 5-pin Din AT to PS/2 adapter and got the keyboard working. I am writing this blog on my FK-9000 and I still love this keyboard. I still love typing on it. It just feels so amazing! I will stop using this soon and put it back into storage, but I wanted to write this blog first. It will probably be the last piece of work this keyboard does either for a while, or forever.
Please see my video of this in action!
See the video of it at the end of this blog.
In 1993 when I was a young teen, my dad bought a computer from a company in New Zealand called PC General. At the time they only had two branches with one in Wellington and one in Christchurch. We lived in Auckland so it would not normally make sense to get a PC from Wellington, however this company had excellent reputation at the time. Turns out it was a good decision as that company flourished, and two branches in Auckland opened allowing for easier service. Mind you we had very little issues with the machine to begin with anyway. It especially helped that I was learning about computers in school and had a strong interest in electronics.
However the history of my computing isn't the focus of this post, it is what came with that first computer, is. I was used to 101 keyboards at the time as the most common IBM and compatibles AT keyboards. So when PC General were advertising their computers with the 129-key keyboard, it definitely drew attention.
The first time I used the keyboard when the computer arrived, I fell in love with it. Remember this is at a time when there were no gamer's keyboard and Wolfenstein 3D had not even been out for that long. I learn't to type properly on this keyboard, I did a lot of projects for school on this keyboard. I did a lot of assignments, projects and reports when I studied Electronics engineering from 1995-1998 on this keyboard. Of course, a lot of Doom and Quake games were won using this keyboard! My first ever experience with a 3D video game was also on this keyboard since the computer came with shareware Wolfenstein 3D. I guess that the memories and how much I loved this keyboard is the reason I still kept it. The key-switch keys felt just so good to type on! It became so addictive that when I used a keyboard at somebody's house, or at Polytechnic, I just could not wait to come home and type on my keyboard again! This keyboard, without even trying to be one, was the ultimate gamer's keyboard too!
So why did I stop using it in the first place? It got old and the key's started multi-striking when pressed once. Since then I have been on the search for mechanical key-switch keyboard but never finding one. Then when manufacturers like Razor and Logitech started making them, I could not find one that would fully replace my FK-9000. A few weeks ago I decided that nobody will make a 129 key keyboard like this one so I might as well get what is out now. So I bought the Logitech G710+ mechanical keyboard. It has 6 programmable keys not 12 like my FK-9000. It has standard 4 direction keys not 8; has no calculator on board, or oversized Enter key. But it did bring back memories of my FK-9000 so I dug it out of storage and got it working on my I7-2600 based system. The motherboard has a PS/2 connector so I used a 5-pin Din AT to PS/2 adapter and got the keyboard working. I am writing this blog on my FK-9000 and I still love this keyboard. I still love typing on it. It just feels so amazing! I will stop using this soon and put it back into storage, but I wanted to write this blog first. It will probably be the last piece of work this keyboard does either for a while, or forever.
Please see my video of this in action!
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
My Hololens Experience!
On Saturday when most people are out shopping, I was experiencing a piece of amazing, cool technology. The kind that feels right out of science fiction. This is my Hololens Experience!
A friend has been working with it and invited me to have a play and I can tell you it is an experience that no amount of video recording of it can do it justice. It really has to be experienced to be appreciated. In the video I have attached below, I have made an attempt to try to best show that experience.
As you can see from the above video, what you have, firstly, is your physical space. The stuff you can touch, the real world. On top of that real world you have virtual world objects. I believe these objects are called "Holograms". For instant you could have a tree growing in the middle of an office, or an astronaut floating in office space or a dinosaur crawling on the office floor.
Lets expand on the wording above, "On top of the real world you have virtual world objects". Through the glass of Hololens, the virtual objects no longer feel like that they don't belong there. They do not feel like they are "on top" of the real world. The virtual objects actually look like they are a part of the real world! The only thing missing is the ability to touch and feel it -Hologlove perhaps? There is even a game on it and I can say that Hololens really brought that game to life. That game aside, thinking of what Hololens can do for games is mind blowing. Imagine a detective game where your living room could be your virtual office one scene, and a crime scene in another. Your sofa could be host to a clue, your coffee table holding virtual evidence. What about those "arm chair explorers"? The kind who would sit and browse through a traditional atlas, wondering what's out there. Turn your living room into a living travel guide!
The imagination is unlimited and this is where Hololens shines above just VR(Virtual reality). For one you can see where you are going so you don't bump into things. Using real space as the backdrop to overlay content. Where VR differs from augmented reality hologram based Hololens is that with VR you are completely in a virtual world. With Hololens, you bring the virtual world into the real world but only through the glasses. Both have its advantages, however I feel that Hololens has a much wider range of applications simply because of its ability to bring virtual objects into the real world space. Holo meetings, real estate applications with clients walking with you through an actual property but by sitting comfortably in their living rooms.
The future is amazing! It is a great time to be alive because you can be part of one of two groups. You can sit back and enjoy the magic that is presented to you, or, you can be part of helping develop more magic.
Hololens shows how amazing we can make our futures!
A friend has been working with it and invited me to have a play and I can tell you it is an experience that no amount of video recording of it can do it justice. It really has to be experienced to be appreciated. In the video I have attached below, I have made an attempt to try to best show that experience.
Lets expand on the wording above, "On top of the real world you have virtual world objects". Through the glass of Hololens, the virtual objects no longer feel like that they don't belong there. They do not feel like they are "on top" of the real world. The virtual objects actually look like they are a part of the real world! The only thing missing is the ability to touch and feel it -Hologlove perhaps? There is even a game on it and I can say that Hololens really brought that game to life. That game aside, thinking of what Hololens can do for games is mind blowing. Imagine a detective game where your living room could be your virtual office one scene, and a crime scene in another. Your sofa could be host to a clue, your coffee table holding virtual evidence. What about those "arm chair explorers"? The kind who would sit and browse through a traditional atlas, wondering what's out there. Turn your living room into a living travel guide!
The imagination is unlimited and this is where Hololens shines above just VR(Virtual reality). For one you can see where you are going so you don't bump into things. Using real space as the backdrop to overlay content. Where VR differs from augmented reality hologram based Hololens is that with VR you are completely in a virtual world. With Hololens, you bring the virtual world into the real world but only through the glasses. Both have its advantages, however I feel that Hololens has a much wider range of applications simply because of its ability to bring virtual objects into the real world space. Holo meetings, real estate applications with clients walking with you through an actual property but by sitting comfortably in their living rooms.
The future is amazing! It is a great time to be alive because you can be part of one of two groups. You can sit back and enjoy the magic that is presented to you, or, you can be part of helping develop more magic.
Hololens shows how amazing we can make our futures!
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
The YouShop magic
It has been a six days now since YouShop sent my parcel from the U.S. I should have updated this last night but sometimes there are more important things to do. For instance I am writing this on my phone from hospital. I am fine, but my dad is having his dose of chemo which will take five hours. He has defied the odds and I am going to make sure he continues to defy the odds.
The parcel cleared customs in one day. Was released by customs the same day for dispatch. This Morning, at about 2am NZT, it was processed at the Auckland depot. I know this because, much like Amazon, YouShop too has a great tracking feedback. There are some caveats though. The emails are fast but the website update is delayed. Also the detailed tracking is not on by default but rather you have to enable it for you package. Although it reports that my package has been processed, the delivery time still says 15 June. Surely they can deliver now? Especially considering the address it is going to is a business address. Business addresses normally have a delivery time of "by 9am next business day".
None the less, it is incredible how today we can see exactly where our purchase is at any time. This absolutely is the YouShop magic. Now I just have to see when the package arrives!
The parcel cleared customs in one day. Was released by customs the same day for dispatch. This Morning, at about 2am NZT, it was processed at the Auckland depot. I know this because, much like Amazon, YouShop too has a great tracking feedback. There are some caveats though. The emails are fast but the website update is delayed. Also the detailed tracking is not on by default but rather you have to enable it for you package. Although it reports that my package has been processed, the delivery time still says 15 June. Surely they can deliver now? Especially considering the address it is going to is a business address. Business addresses normally have a delivery time of "by 9am next business day".
None the less, it is incredible how today we can see exactly where our purchase is at any time. This absolutely is the YouShop magic. Now I just have to see when the package arrives!
Sunday, 5 June 2016
Still split between two worlds
I enabled tracking on the YouShop parcel. This may seem odd but it looks like YouShop has an option where I can get a feedback each time the item is "scanned". So its just a wait and see now to see what effect this has. No updates yet so its time to focus on other things at the moment.
Things such as looking at Android development research and of course some Doom.
I am still split between two worlds. Should I use Android Studio or should I use Visual Studio to develop my 3D engine. So I have to work with both by writing sample code and then seeing which one I actually like. There will be other, external, determining factors too such as information available for each IDE, what people think -tapping into others experience, so on and so forth.
Things such as looking at Android development research and of course some Doom.
I am still split between two worlds. Should I use Android Studio or should I use Visual Studio to develop my 3D engine. So I have to work with both by writing sample code and then seeing which one I actually like. There will be other, external, determining factors too such as information available for each IDE, what people think -tapping into others experience, so on and so forth.
Saturday, 4 June 2016
Let the YouShop magic begin!
The Adventure that is YouShop.
I checked the online status today regarding my consolidated package at YouShop. It shows that it has been shipped and will arrive in about the time range I had predicted before. That is, 10-15 June 2016. The site says it will be 15th June. I have to say, that is a bit of a wait and then there is the question, is it really cheaper than getting it from Amazon directly?
Once I get my books, the next book I will attempt to get it directly from Amazon and see what the cost will be. Naturally I'll stop the transaction if the resulting shipping cost shows more than what I calculate for the item from YouShop But that's still a few weeks away.
I will post anything new as I know it from the transit tracking feedback on the YouShop website. Let the YouShop magic begin!
I checked the online status today regarding my consolidated package at YouShop. It shows that it has been shipped and will arrive in about the time range I had predicted before. That is, 10-15 June 2016. The site says it will be 15th June. I have to say, that is a bit of a wait and then there is the question, is it really cheaper than getting it from Amazon directly?
Once I get my books, the next book I will attempt to get it directly from Amazon and see what the cost will be. Naturally I'll stop the transaction if the resulting shipping cost shows more than what I calculate for the item from YouShop But that's still a few weeks away.
I will post anything new as I know it from the transit tracking feedback on the YouShop website. Let the YouShop magic begin!
Thursday, 2 June 2016
A new story begins where the Amazon Magic ends.
If you have been following the Amazon purchase story I have been posting, great! Because a new story begins where the Amazon Magic ends.
Both my parcels have now arrived at YouShop NZ warehouse in Portland, Oregon, United States. What a journey it took! The two parcels arrived a day after, and, this also happens to be the time distance apart from when they were shipped. Well done Amazon for having no delays from when it left your warehouse to when it got delivered. Their delivery prediction system is spot on, and that is probably also why they have their own courier service!
Lets give Youshop a little bit of thumbs up too. It is a great service provided by New Zealand post for Kiwis so we can appreciate the magic of international online shopping (currently UK, USA and China). There is a little bit of Magic going on at YouShop too! they have allowed me to, from the comfort of my chair, click a few options and consolidate my packages! Yay You! Shop :D
I have paid the freight, and the packages should be shipping to me soon. Looking at their estimate in their FAQ it looks like I'll have it either Friday next week(10/06/2016) or the Monday-Wednesday after.
YouShop looks like it has a tracking of packages as well so another adventure begins!
Both my parcels have now arrived at YouShop NZ warehouse in Portland, Oregon, United States. What a journey it took! The two parcels arrived a day after, and, this also happens to be the time distance apart from when they were shipped. Well done Amazon for having no delays from when it left your warehouse to when it got delivered. Their delivery prediction system is spot on, and that is probably also why they have their own courier service!
Lets give Youshop a little bit of thumbs up too. It is a great service provided by New Zealand post for Kiwis so we can appreciate the magic of international online shopping (currently UK, USA and China). There is a little bit of Magic going on at YouShop too! they have allowed me to, from the comfort of my chair, click a few options and consolidate my packages! Yay You! Shop :D
I have paid the freight, and the packages should be shipping to me soon. Looking at their estimate in their FAQ it looks like I'll have it either Friday next week(10/06/2016) or the Monday-Wednesday after.
YouShop looks like it has a tracking of packages as well so another adventure begins!
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
It looks like the Amazon Magic has pulled through
In the last post I indicated that my parcel was delivered to NZ Post's United states based YouShop warehouse. I also indicated that for the moment it appears to have fallen under the radar.
Well today the package has surfaced again after YouShop has processed it. Meanwhile Amazon has delivered the second parcel. By tomorrow I am hoping that both parcels will then be avaiable to consolidate before finally sending to New Zeal;and.
In the meantime, it looks like the Amazon Magic has pulled through.
Meanwhile you can sit back and enjoy Jeff Bezos talk about how he started Amazon. Some really amazing stories in there. I mean...Packing Tables? Packing tables!
Well today the package has surfaced again after YouShop has processed it. Meanwhile Amazon has delivered the second parcel. By tomorrow I am hoping that both parcels will then be avaiable to consolidate before finally sending to New Zeal;and.
In the meantime, it looks like the Amazon Magic has pulled through.
Meanwhile you can sit back and enjoy Jeff Bezos talk about how he started Amazon. Some really amazing stories in there. I mean...Packing Tables? Packing tables!
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Nervous nail biting wait for the parcels!
Looks like one of the parcels have arrived at the NZ Post YouShop address, according to the informative Amazon tracking feedback. Now begins the nervous nail biting wait for the parcel!
There is a bigger reason to be nervous now. Youshop website is not showing my parcel. The faq says to contact them if it does not show up for two days. For the moment my delivered parcel has fallen under the radar. The merchant tracking number option at Youshop also shows nothing but again the FAQ states that this just means they may not have processed it yet.
Of course the other excitement is now gone, the bit that hoped Amazon's amazing supply chain management would, somewhere in the path, consolidate my packages. I suppose there are still limitations to the system. None the less it is amazing still, the journey a parcel takes to get to you without getting lost -ok well that part is yet to be determined!
The second book is still in transit. The one that departed from Hebron, Kentucky, is currently sitting where the former book sat, at Kent, Washington.
Back to waiting! More updates tomorrow!
There is a bigger reason to be nervous now. Youshop website is not showing my parcel. The faq says to contact them if it does not show up for two days. For the moment my delivered parcel has fallen under the radar. The merchant tracking number option at Youshop also shows nothing but again the FAQ states that this just means they may not have processed it yet.
Of course the other excitement is now gone, the bit that hoped Amazon's amazing supply chain management would, somewhere in the path, consolidate my packages. I suppose there are still limitations to the system. None the less it is amazing still, the journey a parcel takes to get to you without getting lost -ok well that part is yet to be determined!
The second book is still in transit. The one that departed from Hebron, Kentucky, is currently sitting where the former book sat, at Kent, Washington.
Back to waiting! More updates tomorrow!
Monday, 30 May 2016
Amazon order, where is it in the supply chain currently
In the excitement of continuing to track the Amazon order, where is it in the supply chain currently, something interesting has yet again poped up.
In the last blog post I said that it does not look like Amazon will be able to consolidate my order because they are coming from different locations not in each others path. Well the order that arrived at Kent, Washington is still there! Is it waiting for the order from Hebron, Kentucky to arrive so that they can reach the final destination together? Well I don't know! That is the interesting bit! Just imagine how cool their supply chain management will look if it did just that!
One to two days left before both reach the final destination in the US before shipping to New Zealand via New Zealand Post's YouShop.
Stay tuned!
In the last blog post I said that it does not look like Amazon will be able to consolidate my order because they are coming from different locations not in each others path. Well the order that arrived at Kent, Washington is still there! Is it waiting for the order from Hebron, Kentucky to arrive so that they can reach the final destination together? Well I don't know! That is the interesting bit! Just imagine how cool their supply chain management will look if it did just that!
One to two days left before both reach the final destination in the US before shipping to New Zealand via New Zealand Post's YouShop.
Stay tuned!
Sunday, 29 May 2016
Tracking the progress of my order through the Amazon Supply Chain
The excitement continues as I am tracking the progress of my order through the Amazon Supply Chain.
Currently one of the orders(the book that shipped second) has arrived at the Amazon facility in Kent, Washington, United States. What a journey these books are taking. The book that shipped first and had arrived at Hebron, Kentucky has now left that facility.
Looks like my order will not be consolidated by Amazon because they are in different locations. So the two books really are taking a different journey to, what will eventually be, the same destination -in my eagerly awaiting hands.
I will continue to post the amazing journey these books are taking.
Currently one of the orders(the book that shipped second) has arrived at the Amazon facility in Kent, Washington, United States. What a journey these books are taking. The book that shipped first and had arrived at Hebron, Kentucky has now left that facility.
Looks like my order will not be consolidated by Amazon because they are in different locations. So the two books really are taking a different journey to, what will eventually be, the same destination -in my eagerly awaiting hands.
I will continue to post the amazing journey these books are taking.
Saturday, 28 May 2016
Experiencing Supply Chain Management through Amazon.com
In my earlier blog posts I made it clear that I am switching my 3D development to the Android platform. One of the things I am going to use to boost this is to get some books to jump start the process. I decided to pick Amazon.com to buy from for any books I need. To get it delivered to me I will make use of New Zealand Posts "YouShop" service. I am not familiar with using either so this is going to be very interesting. If it was not obvious, this is my first time buying from Amazon.
This experience is going to be especially interesting for me which goes back to what I studied at University. One of those things was Supply Chain Management. So this is going to also be about experiencing Supply Chain Management through Amazon.com.
The two books were ordered on May 22nd and I had opted for the free delivery(to the Youshop US address in Portland, Oregon) and consolidating the packages so they are sent together. With full understanding that this will take longer to deliver, I kept checking the Amazon.Com website in nervous anticipation.
Some days later something incredible happened. I started getting curiously excited; about Supply Chain Management. The feedback on the progress of my package on the amazon website is actually the result of a complex array of systems in place that make up the Amazon Supply Chain Management!
The thought that led me to this was first an initial puzzlement. One of my books was sent before the other. I thought, how could Amazon have made such an error! I was left to wait until the first package got delivered to Youshop so that I could perhaps get them to send it to NZ in one package. However despite that, there was some excitement too that it was sent through their own courier service called "Amazon Logistics". But still that didn't quite get me thinking about SCM.
What did get me thinking was when the tracking said my package has arrived at the Amazon facility in Hebron, Kentucky. This is when I started asking questions! Could this really be what I am seeing? A complex array of supply chain management working to get my package as I had requested. Could the other book be at this facility that the first shipped book has now arrived at? If so, this book will be met with my other book at this facility and combined into one package. Wow! I hope that is exactly what will happen! But I will have to wait and see!
To get a glimpse of what I am talking about, i'll finish off with this 5 minute video by ABC going inside the secretive Amazon system that shows what happens to your order from ordering to delivery:
This experience is going to be especially interesting for me which goes back to what I studied at University. One of those things was Supply Chain Management. So this is going to also be about experiencing Supply Chain Management through Amazon.com.
The two books were ordered on May 22nd and I had opted for the free delivery(to the Youshop US address in Portland, Oregon) and consolidating the packages so they are sent together. With full understanding that this will take longer to deliver, I kept checking the Amazon.Com website in nervous anticipation.
Some days later something incredible happened. I started getting curiously excited; about Supply Chain Management. The feedback on the progress of my package on the amazon website is actually the result of a complex array of systems in place that make up the Amazon Supply Chain Management!
The thought that led me to this was first an initial puzzlement. One of my books was sent before the other. I thought, how could Amazon have made such an error! I was left to wait until the first package got delivered to Youshop so that I could perhaps get them to send it to NZ in one package. However despite that, there was some excitement too that it was sent through their own courier service called "Amazon Logistics". But still that didn't quite get me thinking about SCM.
What did get me thinking was when the tracking said my package has arrived at the Amazon facility in Hebron, Kentucky. This is when I started asking questions! Could this really be what I am seeing? A complex array of supply chain management working to get my package as I had requested. Could the other book be at this facility that the first shipped book has now arrived at? If so, this book will be met with my other book at this facility and combined into one package. Wow! I hope that is exactly what will happen! But I will have to wait and see!
Saturday, 14 May 2016
A weekend of DOOM
This weekend takes a break from coding/investigating the 3D engine for the Android.
This weekend, like many around the world, I will be in Doom. The newly released video game that is.
There are plenty of odes to the original Doom and Doom II. Without revealing spoilers, that portion of a nod to the classic is amazing for people who classic doomed, and does not take away any immersion from those who have never played classic doom/doom2.
The play through looks fantastic so far, and does feel quite a bit like the original doom.
Pick this up NOW and be prepared to have your wits about you, because you are going to need it.
Loving it so far.
1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I give it a 11. But that is only to the point I have played this to so far. Things can change by the time the game ends. What looks cool now could become monotonous. However it has not happened so far. The game seems to find a way to keep you happy.
So far, absolutely amazing, back to roots Doom.
THIS IS DOOM
This weekend, like many around the world, I will be in Doom. The newly released video game that is.
There are plenty of odes to the original Doom and Doom II. Without revealing spoilers, that portion of a nod to the classic is amazing for people who classic doomed, and does not take away any immersion from those who have never played classic doom/doom2.
The play through looks fantastic so far, and does feel quite a bit like the original doom.
Pick this up NOW and be prepared to have your wits about you, because you are going to need it.
Loving it so far.
1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I give it a 11. But that is only to the point I have played this to so far. Things can change by the time the game ends. What looks cool now could become monotonous. However it has not happened so far. The game seems to find a way to keep you happy.
So far, absolutely amazing, back to roots Doom.
THIS IS DOOM
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Netflix New Zealand
So I signed up to Netflix in the weekend after, about a month ago, switching my internet connection to unlimited (no data cap).
It has been wonderful to watch content they have on there, especially those programs that are not currently screening on television (New Zealand television).
Before signing up, there were a lot of competition to filter through. In New Zealand there are:
I read reviews, I talked to friends and others about what they use and what they recommend. I read peoples experiences with the ones they use. I soon realised that there is no one size fits all so I bit the bullet and picked Netflix.
The reason for netflix is partly because I had to pick one thing and partly because of what I am expecting rather than what is available now in content. It is a different kind of choice than one would pick intuitively; pick one that currently has content that is wanted. The way I saw it, all of them will have some content I want and some I don't but which one has the better chance in future of having content I will probably want. That quickly narrowed it down to Lightbox and Netflix. I picked Netflix primarily because they have a larger track record of what they do and how they operate; I like what they have done for the US market and I am hoping for more of the same eventually from them here.
The choice was also simpler in that there is no contract so I can always change anytime I wanted. Unlike phone based internet service, I could sign up for free trials to other services and experience it at the same time to compare which one I should switch to if I so desired.
So how is Netflix?
As will be the exact same tune from all the other services, "I wish there was currently more content!". With that out of the way, it is great. Netflix also supports Ultra HD as does my TV and also has content already for it. Ultra HD, according to Netflix, requires 25 Mbps connection which is well outside my ADSL2+ connection. However soon Fibre will be connected here so that is a non issue.
A friend has pointed out that streaming 4k content is never as good as direct from Blu-ray 4k content. While this is very true, however, currently the 4k content on Netflix is a damn sight better than a blu-ray 1080 HD content. Further to that, I can't "on-demand" blu-rays, and they cost more to buy/rent than monthly Netflix subscription. A Ultra HD capable netflix subscription will cost you about 4 dollars a week.
Was it worth getting? Short answer....I am not bored anymore. Let's skip the long answer, short answer is all you need.
It has been wonderful to watch content they have on there, especially those programs that are not currently screening on television (New Zealand television).
Before signing up, there were a lot of competition to filter through. In New Zealand there are:
- Lightbox
- Igloo
- TVNZ on demand (free)
- TV3 on demand (free)
- Sky TV on demand
- Neon
- Quickflix
- Netflix
- Apple TV
- Google Play
- Probably missed a few.....!
I read reviews, I talked to friends and others about what they use and what they recommend. I read peoples experiences with the ones they use. I soon realised that there is no one size fits all so I bit the bullet and picked Netflix.
The reason for netflix is partly because I had to pick one thing and partly because of what I am expecting rather than what is available now in content. It is a different kind of choice than one would pick intuitively; pick one that currently has content that is wanted. The way I saw it, all of them will have some content I want and some I don't but which one has the better chance in future of having content I will probably want. That quickly narrowed it down to Lightbox and Netflix. I picked Netflix primarily because they have a larger track record of what they do and how they operate; I like what they have done for the US market and I am hoping for more of the same eventually from them here.
The choice was also simpler in that there is no contract so I can always change anytime I wanted. Unlike phone based internet service, I could sign up for free trials to other services and experience it at the same time to compare which one I should switch to if I so desired.
So how is Netflix?
As will be the exact same tune from all the other services, "I wish there was currently more content!". With that out of the way, it is great. Netflix also supports Ultra HD as does my TV and also has content already for it. Ultra HD, according to Netflix, requires 25 Mbps connection which is well outside my ADSL2+ connection. However soon Fibre will be connected here so that is a non issue.
A friend has pointed out that streaming 4k content is never as good as direct from Blu-ray 4k content. While this is very true, however, currently the 4k content on Netflix is a damn sight better than a blu-ray 1080 HD content. Further to that, I can't "on-demand" blu-rays, and they cost more to buy/rent than monthly Netflix subscription. A Ultra HD capable netflix subscription will cost you about 4 dollars a week.
Was it worth getting? Short answer....I am not bored anymore. Let's skip the long answer, short answer is all you need.
Sunday, 10 April 2016
Major change to my deveopment platform
I posted this on my facebook recently but now I am going to talk about it on here.
I have been developing a 3D engine for a while now for the Windows Phone marketplace.
Recently I have decided to abandon that entirely and switch over to doing exactly the same thing but on the Android platform. There are long term compelling reasons for the change.
I had been lacking enthusiasm for the 3D engine development and did not really realise it until I had a chat with friends who are also developers and some entrepreneurs. Windows phone market has been closing for a long time now and that is more true now than it was previously. In the back of my mind, somewhere in the subconscious, I knew this but continued to develop in it. This, as it turns out, was a very bad idea. It caused lack of motivation because subconsciously my mind would think what result would I get in one of the smallest phone marketplace?
Conversations with above mentioned friends also showed that I had to create focus. What was really important to me? Is it the journey of developing a 3D engine to a point where I can make a video game, or is it just a need to make a video game? Had the focus been the latter then coding in API such as direct3D is a really bad idea. Development would be very slow, a lot of work will need to be done before I could even think about generating content. Instead I would have opted for something like Unity3D, have a great scene going in about 14 minutes, concentrate on game ideas to implement, get to creating content sooner, and have a game out of the door, quite possibly before a year has elapsed.
What I found in thinking about focus is that building a game is not as important for me as the journey to get there. I want to build upon my knowledge of 3D, build up on the mathematics, understand how a game engine is built. So that is going to be my focus and a game will come out of it at the end which brings me back to platform of choice. There is no guarantee how long the Android market will stand, but it will certainly be a lot longer than it takes me to build up my 3D engine. Sticking with the windows phone market, I feel, would be akin to developmental suicide.
It is a huge set back, throwing away so much work and rebooting on a new platform. I have to learn the new platform, the new market place, potentially new tools and new ways of doing things. Instead of a setback, I see it as a beautiful thing, a challenge, a chance to learn more things, keep me interested and the brain working hard. It also gives me a chance to do things differently by learning from my previous mistakes. It also gives me another opportunity to tap into my ability to learn anything really fast, add experience to that, and develop that skill even further.
To overcome the challenges I have started extensive research into the new market I will be entering. I have spoken to a few people who have been involved with the android market, taking their advice, reading materials they have recommended. These people have been there, done that and for me, the fastest way to make sure I get there too in the most efficient way possible. Time is precious and it has to be managed with the greatest of priorities. There are books to be bought, and hardware to be purchased. At this point I want to go for the newly released Samsung Galaxy S7 so that the hardware is less old than if I went for something like a galaxy S4, towards the end of this development.
There is one other thing I will be doing which I have not been with my windows platform. I will blog more about what I have been learning in my journey into the Android (and potentially later into iOS) platform. I will be posting about code examples, about the openGL ES api, about the progress of my engine. Where possible I will post videos and pictures. Why? So that others can start their own journeys by using mine as a tutorial.
So it is a new beginning and a step in the right direction. A journey into something exciting, that will have the potential for bigger rewards and most of all, I get to continue to do what I really enjoy doing.
Let's get started.....
I have been developing a 3D engine for a while now for the Windows Phone marketplace.
Recently I have decided to abandon that entirely and switch over to doing exactly the same thing but on the Android platform. There are long term compelling reasons for the change.
I had been lacking enthusiasm for the 3D engine development and did not really realise it until I had a chat with friends who are also developers and some entrepreneurs. Windows phone market has been closing for a long time now and that is more true now than it was previously. In the back of my mind, somewhere in the subconscious, I knew this but continued to develop in it. This, as it turns out, was a very bad idea. It caused lack of motivation because subconsciously my mind would think what result would I get in one of the smallest phone marketplace?
Conversations with above mentioned friends also showed that I had to create focus. What was really important to me? Is it the journey of developing a 3D engine to a point where I can make a video game, or is it just a need to make a video game? Had the focus been the latter then coding in API such as direct3D is a really bad idea. Development would be very slow, a lot of work will need to be done before I could even think about generating content. Instead I would have opted for something like Unity3D, have a great scene going in about 14 minutes, concentrate on game ideas to implement, get to creating content sooner, and have a game out of the door, quite possibly before a year has elapsed.
What I found in thinking about focus is that building a game is not as important for me as the journey to get there. I want to build upon my knowledge of 3D, build up on the mathematics, understand how a game engine is built. So that is going to be my focus and a game will come out of it at the end which brings me back to platform of choice. There is no guarantee how long the Android market will stand, but it will certainly be a lot longer than it takes me to build up my 3D engine. Sticking with the windows phone market, I feel, would be akin to developmental suicide.
It is a huge set back, throwing away so much work and rebooting on a new platform. I have to learn the new platform, the new market place, potentially new tools and new ways of doing things. Instead of a setback, I see it as a beautiful thing, a challenge, a chance to learn more things, keep me interested and the brain working hard. It also gives me a chance to do things differently by learning from my previous mistakes. It also gives me another opportunity to tap into my ability to learn anything really fast, add experience to that, and develop that skill even further.
To overcome the challenges I have started extensive research into the new market I will be entering. I have spoken to a few people who have been involved with the android market, taking their advice, reading materials they have recommended. These people have been there, done that and for me, the fastest way to make sure I get there too in the most efficient way possible. Time is precious and it has to be managed with the greatest of priorities. There are books to be bought, and hardware to be purchased. At this point I want to go for the newly released Samsung Galaxy S7 so that the hardware is less old than if I went for something like a galaxy S4, towards the end of this development.
There is one other thing I will be doing which I have not been with my windows platform. I will blog more about what I have been learning in my journey into the Android (and potentially later into iOS) platform. I will be posting about code examples, about the openGL ES api, about the progress of my engine. Where possible I will post videos and pictures. Why? So that others can start their own journeys by using mine as a tutorial.
So it is a new beginning and a step in the right direction. A journey into something exciting, that will have the potential for bigger rewards and most of all, I get to continue to do what I really enjoy doing.
Let's get started.....
Sunday, 30 August 2015
Moving your firefox profile after a clean install of Windows 10
After the awesome flawless upgrade to Windows 10, and knowing that I can now do a clean install and still have windows 10 activate afforded the re-install.
However an excellent question to ask is 'moving your firefox profile after a clean install of Windows 10'. You want all your extensions, bookmarks etc to come over, not just your bookmarks.
Hunting on the internet didn't yield much. Most options revolved around exporting the JSON file for your book marks. This information probably does exist somewhere but here it is anyway.
First go to the drive your windows is sitting on (Windows 7 and up). Head to <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
You will see a cryptic looking folder inside looking something like z8h0c3kh.default
Make a backup of that folder. The cryptic looking name will be important later on.
Perform a clean install of Windows 10, then install Mozilla Firefox. Run Firefox at least once and exit.
Go to the same folder as above: <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
Copy the backup you made earlier into that folder.
Now go back one level so you are at: <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\
Edit the file "profiles.ini" in that folder.
It should look like :
In the above example, replace the cryptic looking name I have here with the one on your folder from earlier.
Now if you load Firefox everything should be there. Your bookmarks AND extensions, plugins, themes.
It will be as if Firefox was never un-installed, all the while enjoying your CLEAN install of Windows 10!
However an excellent question to ask is 'moving your firefox profile after a clean install of Windows 10'. You want all your extensions, bookmarks etc to come over, not just your bookmarks.
Hunting on the internet didn't yield much. Most options revolved around exporting the JSON file for your book marks. This information probably does exist somewhere but here it is anyway.
First go to the drive your windows is sitting on (Windows 7 and up). Head to <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
You will see a cryptic looking folder inside looking something like z8h0c3kh.default
Make a backup of that folder. The cryptic looking name will be important later on.
Perform a clean install of Windows 10, then install Mozilla Firefox. Run Firefox at least once and exit.
Go to the same folder as above: <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
Copy the backup you made earlier into that folder.
Now go back one level so you are at: <your windows system drive>:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\
Edit the file "profiles.ini" in that folder.
It should look like :
[General]Change the line "Path=Profiles/d9jf63k8.default" to "Path=Profiles/z8h0c3kh.default"
StartWithLastProfile=1
[Profile0]
Name=default
IsRelative=1
Path=Profiles/d9jf63k8.default
Default=1
In the above example, replace the cryptic looking name I have here with the one on your folder from earlier.
Now if you load Firefox everything should be there. Your bookmarks AND extensions, plugins, themes.
It will be as if Firefox was never un-installed, all the while enjoying your CLEAN install of Windows 10!
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Windows done right
Ahhhh, local account on Windows 10, Finally!
I didn't like windows 8 and 8.x's idea of "logging to the netz" method of logging to get full benefit. You could create a local account there though but windows 10 has a lot less restrictions, and apps downloaded will work without signing in. I now have two accounts. One local for most of my stuff, and one connected for the "rest of the stuff". I like this harmony and it works for me; I will use my local more than the connected.
I digress now, my windows digression.
Also after much study on how my windows systems behaved from windows 7 on wards and with prior experience with Windows XP and down, I found something interesting.
I am a gamer, yes I am, I love games, I love the artistic expressions in games, I love the technology and the intrigue. I LOVE DEVELOPING THEM.
So I am naturally going to look for the best gaming experience and I have done so since 1995. In the "good ol' DOS" days I created a config.sys and autoexec.bat combination with menu to select which "mode" I wanted the computer to boot in. Windows 3.1 would load in the "normal" option where as games would load in a different mode and of course would not launch windows 3.1. Wow back in those days it was inconceivable to run big games from windows 3.1.
Transporting to windows 95 and "boot into dos" was used, along with its hardware profile settings for windows based games. Come windows 2k (eew 98, eeww ME, never got those!) it was time for dual booting. So the dual boot menu selected from Linux, Windows Main and Windows Game. Windows XP pro, same thing. Windows 7 pro Same thing (eeww Vista! never got past the technical preview). However in windows 7 pro I noticed something different. Previously I had to re-install windows to get it stable after using it for some time, and to make it work quicker. Windows 7 suffered less so of this problem. Infact after a while I began installing games on Windows 7 Main and comparing it to the Game boot version. No matter how much I used windows 7 main and installed stuff, I was not getting a frame hit difference. It seemed to be much better behaved than previous versions.
Ultimately windows 7 professional became the last windows OS to have multiple copies installed on the same computer, which could be used only one at a time. With windows 10, there will be one instance, and as always, on a separate drive dedicated for OS's only. Finally I can say, going from windows 3.1 up, that you can run games in windows proper. I do not envision needing a reformat, or another boot just for games in windows 10. Too early to say "Windows done right"? Perhaps, but given my experience with OS's for over 20 years from old BBC computers, Amiga's, Linux, DOS, Windows, I am confident that this time, it is going to be how I think it is going to be...Windows done right.
I didn't like windows 8 and 8.x's idea of "logging to the netz" method of logging to get full benefit. You could create a local account there though but windows 10 has a lot less restrictions, and apps downloaded will work without signing in. I now have two accounts. One local for most of my stuff, and one connected for the "rest of the stuff". I like this harmony and it works for me; I will use my local more than the connected.
I digress now, my windows digression.
Also after much study on how my windows systems behaved from windows 7 on wards and with prior experience with Windows XP and down, I found something interesting.
I am a gamer, yes I am, I love games, I love the artistic expressions in games, I love the technology and the intrigue. I LOVE DEVELOPING THEM.
So I am naturally going to look for the best gaming experience and I have done so since 1995. In the "good ol' DOS" days I created a config.sys and autoexec.bat combination with menu to select which "mode" I wanted the computer to boot in. Windows 3.1 would load in the "normal" option where as games would load in a different mode and of course would not launch windows 3.1. Wow back in those days it was inconceivable to run big games from windows 3.1.
Transporting to windows 95 and "boot into dos" was used, along with its hardware profile settings for windows based games. Come windows 2k (eew 98, eeww ME, never got those!) it was time for dual booting. So the dual boot menu selected from Linux, Windows Main and Windows Game. Windows XP pro, same thing. Windows 7 pro Same thing (eeww Vista! never got past the technical preview). However in windows 7 pro I noticed something different. Previously I had to re-install windows to get it stable after using it for some time, and to make it work quicker. Windows 7 suffered less so of this problem. Infact after a while I began installing games on Windows 7 Main and comparing it to the Game boot version. No matter how much I used windows 7 main and installed stuff, I was not getting a frame hit difference. It seemed to be much better behaved than previous versions.
Ultimately windows 7 professional became the last windows OS to have multiple copies installed on the same computer, which could be used only one at a time. With windows 10, there will be one instance, and as always, on a separate drive dedicated for OS's only. Finally I can say, going from windows 3.1 up, that you can run games in windows proper. I do not envision needing a reformat, or another boot just for games in windows 10. Too early to say "Windows done right"? Perhaps, but given my experience with OS's for over 20 years from old BBC computers, Amiga's, Linux, DOS, Windows, I am confident that this time, it is going to be how I think it is going to be...Windows done right.
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
How to get your FREE Windows 10
You might have heard of Windows 10 coming out. What you may not have heard is that if you have a "qualifying" version of windows installed, you are eligible for a FREE upgrade to Windows 10. This will also depend on whether your system can handle it.
If you have Windows 7 through to windows 8.1, you may have noticed a windows flag that has come up in you notifications area. If you hover your mouse on it it will say "Get Windows 10"
Here is my blog post with a screenshot showing where:
http://techdistillate.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/something-interesting-has-appeared-in.html
Click on that windows icon and REGISTER your system. When windows 10 gets released, you will be notified.
If you do not have that icon in your task bar and you have a qualifying Windows version then you need to do the following:
1) Perform ALL your updates using windows update.
2) If the windows icon does not appear by the next day following your update perform the steps on this website:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/i-want-to-reserve-my-free-copy-of-windows-10-but-i/848b5cce-958b-49ae-a132-a999a883265b?auth=1
NOTE: It is better to register windows 10 even if you are not sure if you want to upgrade. The simple reason is that once you register, you have up to one year to install it after its release. Hence there is no obligation to install it after you register.
You can to do this by the 29th of July (not long now from time of post!)
If after doing all this you do not see the "Get Windows 10" icon in your notifications area then it is likely that your system has been detected to be incompatible with Windows 10. After the 29th of July 2015, the icon should appear according to Microsoft, to provide you the option to register for Windows 10, but this will not infer that your system has become compatible.
Good luck with your upgrades!
Thursday, 4 June 2015
Something Interesting has appeared in my notification area
Something interesting has appeared in the notification area of my windows 8.1 task bar.
Can you spot it in the picture below? -Click on Image to enlarge.
Time to do some backup and prepare!
Can you spot it in the picture below? -Click on Image to enlarge.
Monday, 11 May 2015
A New Begining
To be precise, a Brand New Begining.
Not long ago I posted this:
End of a fantastic Server 2000-2015
Since then I have been looking at what I can get to replace it. I have a US Robotics Router that serves as the internet gateway, I need a gigabit Ethernet switch (my current one is 100 Mbps), it will draw considerably less power than my Server did, but provide many functionalities that are important for me.
After long tiresome searches and consulting with people who have owned network devices from interested brands, I came across an alien face hugger; Whoops, I mean a Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000.
Behold:
In the picture above is the face hugger, along with Belkin surge protector (I need the extra sockets), and a Western Digital 1 TB 2.5" USB 3.0 HDD. Wow what a mouth full that was!
Here is what I wanted:
-Good filtering and well configurable firewall.
-Network sharing my printer.
-Some kind of NAS like functionality to a connected drive.
-God awesome Radio for wireless.
-Built in Gigabit switch
Here is what the Netgear Nighthawk x6 R8000 delivers:
-All of the above.
-THREE RADIOS with the ability to join the 5GHz radios for automatic channel balancing.
-BONUS unexpected awesomeness: I can segment my network between the LAN side and the WAN side!
-BONUS expected(from reading specs) awesomeness: FTP server I can access from the internet as well as internal network.
-BONUS expected(from reading specs) awesomeness: TIVO media server compatible!
If I were asked to describe this awesome face hugger in one word, it would be "Incredible".
I can list and talk about all its features but that would be a large post, so I will only talk about the features important to me. You can read the full awesomeness, eh, I mean specs on the Netgear website.
On my server, one of the cool things I liked was the network segmentation that kept the internet side of the network different to the LAN side of the network. When setting up the netgear router I found that what it called Internet setup is really a WAN/LAN bridge. As a result, the ip addresses need to be different for the router(X6) and your gateway (modem, fiber modem, etc). My US Robotics allows a VLAN to be created which can be on a different network than its own network. What I did was do just that, the VLAN on the USR is on the X6 side of the network(my LAN) and the USR's address is on a different network. The USR itself creates a WAN bridge to the ISP but this is invisible to the X6 and it doesn't care either. So in the internet setup of the X6, I assigned an ip address for the routers network side and a gateway which is the USR's router address. I can still access the USR via the VLAN address for maintenance allowing me to disable internet remote access for security. Connecting wireless devices use the address provided by the X6 via its DHCP and get given the gateway address that is on the USR's lan side.
There is another advantage to this segmentation. I can fully utilise the firewall functions of both routers. More than that, I can setup the FTP service on the X6 and rather than fiddle with its accessibility, I can simply turn on or off the pinhole on my USR. DNS services are provided by the USR, which the X6 happily passes to connecting devices.
It just works, and works wonderfully. I checked the range and found that the 2.4 GHz radio gets me to about 30 Metres, and the 5 GHz radio manages 14 Metres. This is despite having the router placed inside an old concrete building! The 5 GHz range is lower because usually the lower frequency will travel further than the higher frequency, so not even this router can change the laws of physics. However in saying this, the stability and range seriously blows away any wireless devices I have owned.
It was so easy to configure the external hard drive. In fact it was so easy, you just plug it in and that's it, you have network shared drive! The only time you will need to change the work group on the router is if you use a different Workgroup for your windows computers. That is the only thing I changed.
Of course, I know what you are REALLY waiting for, you want to see the un-boxing pictures.
Well, here they are:
I still miss my Linux sever and it will still return one day, but the Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 does a damn good job of replacing it at a considerably reduced power consumption. It is by far the best network product I have ever owned (previously my USR). Well done Netgear with this one! Cant wait to see what they will think of next!
Not long ago I posted this:
End of a fantastic Server 2000-2015
Since then I have been looking at what I can get to replace it. I have a US Robotics Router that serves as the internet gateway, I need a gigabit Ethernet switch (my current one is 100 Mbps), it will draw considerably less power than my Server did, but provide many functionalities that are important for me.
After long tiresome searches and consulting with people who have owned network devices from interested brands, I came across an alien face hugger; Whoops, I mean a Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000.
Behold:
 |
| Ahh the sight and smell of new gear! |
In the picture above is the face hugger, along with Belkin surge protector (I need the extra sockets), and a Western Digital 1 TB 2.5" USB 3.0 HDD. Wow what a mouth full that was!
Here is what I wanted:
-Good filtering and well configurable firewall.
-Network sharing my printer.
-Some kind of NAS like functionality to a connected drive.
-God awesome Radio for wireless.
-Built in Gigabit switch
Here is what the Netgear Nighthawk x6 R8000 delivers:
-All of the above.
-THREE RADIOS with the ability to join the 5GHz radios for automatic channel balancing.
-BONUS unexpected awesomeness: I can segment my network between the LAN side and the WAN side!
-BONUS expected(from reading specs) awesomeness: FTP server I can access from the internet as well as internal network.
-BONUS expected(from reading specs) awesomeness: TIVO media server compatible!
If I were asked to describe this awesome face hugger in one word, it would be "Incredible".
I can list and talk about all its features but that would be a large post, so I will only talk about the features important to me. You can read the full awesomeness, eh, I mean specs on the Netgear website.
On my server, one of the cool things I liked was the network segmentation that kept the internet side of the network different to the LAN side of the network. When setting up the netgear router I found that what it called Internet setup is really a WAN/LAN bridge. As a result, the ip addresses need to be different for the router(X6) and your gateway (modem, fiber modem, etc). My US Robotics allows a VLAN to be created which can be on a different network than its own network. What I did was do just that, the VLAN on the USR is on the X6 side of the network(my LAN) and the USR's address is on a different network. The USR itself creates a WAN bridge to the ISP but this is invisible to the X6 and it doesn't care either. So in the internet setup of the X6, I assigned an ip address for the routers network side and a gateway which is the USR's router address. I can still access the USR via the VLAN address for maintenance allowing me to disable internet remote access for security. Connecting wireless devices use the address provided by the X6 via its DHCP and get given the gateway address that is on the USR's lan side.
There is another advantage to this segmentation. I can fully utilise the firewall functions of both routers. More than that, I can setup the FTP service on the X6 and rather than fiddle with its accessibility, I can simply turn on or off the pinhole on my USR. DNS services are provided by the USR, which the X6 happily passes to connecting devices.
It just works, and works wonderfully. I checked the range and found that the 2.4 GHz radio gets me to about 30 Metres, and the 5 GHz radio manages 14 Metres. This is despite having the router placed inside an old concrete building! The 5 GHz range is lower because usually the lower frequency will travel further than the higher frequency, so not even this router can change the laws of physics. However in saying this, the stability and range seriously blows away any wireless devices I have owned.
It was so easy to configure the external hard drive. In fact it was so easy, you just plug it in and that's it, you have network shared drive! The only time you will need to change the work group on the router is if you use a different Workgroup for your windows computers. That is the only thing I changed.
Of course, I know what you are REALLY waiting for, you want to see the un-boxing pictures.
Well, here they are:
 |
| First opening of the box |
 |
| What is sitting underneath the router in the box |
 |
| Top view straight out of the box. The black strips on the label is my paint program edit so you don't eyeball stuff where it says no stuff eye balling. mmk? |
 |
| Bottom view |
 |
| Rear view |
 |
| First power on! |
 | ||||
| It is now settled in to my place. Shes mine now! |
I still miss my Linux sever and it will still return one day, but the Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 does a damn good job of replacing it at a considerably reduced power consumption. It is by far the best network product I have ever owned (previously my USR). Well done Netgear with this one! Cant wait to see what they will think of next!
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