Playing with Google App Engine and Tipfy

Hard drive watch - playing around with Google App Engine and Tipfy.

Half Life 2 - Silver Edition

Well I bit the bullet and picked up Half Life 2. I had been holding off but got bored yesterday and thought what the heck. I went with the silver edition because I figured most of the add-ons will only be available for silver customers (since CS:Source and DOD:Source are only included in the silver edition). The graphics are awesome and the gameplay has been very smooth. The only issue I have encountered thus far is the stuttering sound which valve is currently "investigating".



Looking forward to some great HL2 mods! Here's a shot of the files unlocking:

Philips DVP624

I'm in the market for a new DVD player and stumbled across the dvp624 by Philips. I have had several Philips products in the past and have had great luck with all of them. The player supports DivX 3.11, 4.x and 5.x (which I will probably use a lot), picture cd with mp3 music playback (hmm, might be cool) and progressive scan (which my tv does not support). I checked out vcdhelp.com for some reviews of this player but came up short. I guess no one has bothered to post a review yet so I may wait until some more info is available on the dvp624. Who knows, by that time I may even pick up a progressive scan tv and new surround sound system :).

fta satellite receiver

A buddy of mine can get great deals on FTA (free to air) satellite receivers and I have been thinking about picking one up. I have done some research and narrowed it down two receivers, the Pansat 2005A and the Fortec Lifetime Ultra:



Pansat 2500A

Smart Search from 1 to 45 Msps

(about 20 minutes per satellite)

Multi-function on-screen user interface.

(256 colors, picture-in-graphic, favorite lists, sorting, parental locks, 7 day EPG, Multi-Language)

Built in PAL-NTSC conversion.

Stores up to 3000 channels and 60 satellites

Timers

Easy satellite locator screen with bargraph & audio beeps

Manual PID scan, Network Scan, Multi-sat scan

Diseqc 1.2 & 1.3 control including diseqc positionner control capability.

Polarizer control for mechanical polarity tuning.

S-Video output for optimal video reproduction on S-Video TV sets.

Dolby Digital (AC3) coaxial output.

Hardware power on/off switch for added security.

RS232 port for software updates.

Front panel display.

UHF remote control port for UHF remote control kit (optional).

Loop through IF port for multiple receiver hookup.

Fortec Lifetime Ultra

EPG (Electronic Program Guide) - 7 days of program information

Fully compliant with MPEG-2 Digital & DVB broadcasting

950~2150 MHz input Frequency (IF loop throughput)

Variable input Symbol Rate (1.5~45 Msps)

Multi-language OSD (On-screen Display)

Automatic PAL/NTSC Conversion

Fast Channel Change

Flexible reception of SCPC & MCPA from C/Ku band Satellites

Timer Function (Automatic On/Off Setting Function)

256-Colors (Graphic Use Interface)

P-I-G (Picture-in-Graphic) On-screen Display

Powerful Channel Editing Function

  -Sorting: Alphabetic, Satellite, FTA/Scramble, Parental Lock,

   TP Order

  -Move, Delete, Edit Favorites

  -Parental Lock, Channel Rename, Channel Skip

Manual PID/Satellite & TP/Network Scan

Simultaneous Scan of 4 Satellites

USALS Compatible

Capable Of Setting the Frequency for SMATV Systems

Upgrade through RS-232C (STB to STB, PC to STB)

The pansat receiver definitely seems to be the popular of the two although the fortec seems to be gaining ground. Considering I already have two satellite dishes on my house maybe I don't need another one. A fta receiver would be fun to play with though. So many toys, so little time...



BTW, eBay has great deals on Fortec and Pansat fta receivers.

Pocket PC Breakout - Free

If you happen to own a Pocket PC and are looking for a time waster then you should check out Cubicle Chaos! It is completely free for download and is fun to boot. Basically it is a breakout style game for Pocket PC.



A brief description:

Clear out all of the cubicles without losing the bouncing ball. Your desk acts as a paddle that slides across the bottom of the screen. This Break Out style game can be played as a one or two player turn-based game. Use the desk to keep the ball in play and try to aim it at the cubicles. Once all the cubicles have been removed then the level is over. This game available only for color devices.

HL2 preload part 2

I just noticed the second part of the Half Life 2 preload is almost complete. This portion of the preload appears to be the sounds - the file name is base source shared sounds.gcf and it weighs in at 972MB! Add base source shared materials.gcf (1.01GB - from the first part of the preload) and you get a total of 1.96GB. I just checked my Doom3 folder and it totals 1.57GB.



Something of note, the newest version of GCFScape will allow you to see what is inside these files. The files are encrypted so there isn't much you can do with them at this point...



So I now have almost 2 gigs of useless files on my hard drive but I should be able to play Half Life 2 shortly after it is released and before it is available in stores ;).



Here's another Gmail invite.

Vocal Trance Mixes

For some good vocal trance mixes check out Generation Trance. Here you can download mixes by DJ GT and Project C. I personally like Project C but they are both worth a listen! If you do not want to download the mixes but would like to hear them they are played frequently on Digitally Imported (which is a great streaming radio station).