Maudlin ruminations of a mind bit by wanderlust.

How many times have you seen a program or game or something that you like on the net, downloaded it for your OS (assuming it's free, otherwise bought), installed it, and it just worked? You just followed the instructions, and you were able to use it just like that?

If you're on linux, your answer would be "most of the time", while if you're on windows, the response would probably be "What? There are programs that just work?".

I recently got myself a couple of newish games, which sadly require windows to run. Not too surprised, because that's normal for most games. Because it's been a long time since I actually played something with 3D graphics (except scorched), I decided to install windows on the other hard drive and see things happen.

INSTALL 1 :
I knew that Vista had some tdr issues with nvidia 8 series cards, and it probably wouldn't let me game for more than 3 minutes or so. I was wrong. It didn't let me game past 1 minute, with blank screens every 10 seconds, capped off by a magnificent Blue screen to finish. Scrapped.

INSTALL 2 :
I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to use XP, which is something I really didn't want to do, because I wanted Vista's security. Using XP meant I wouldn't be able to use the Internet, which wasn't so bad, because I wasn't really planning network gaming anyway. I popped in the XP CD, only to find that I couldn't install without removing Vista, as it was considered a downgrade. Switched back to linux, and used gparted to wipe my second hard drive. Then went back. The rest of the installation went smoothly, but it took ages. Finally, I had an XP system which hopefully hadn't screwed with GRUB enough to let me use Linux as well. It hadn't, so far so good. I install my graphics drivers, sound drivers, bluetooth drivers for my keyboard/mouse, you know the deal. Install the game. Play the game. Crash the game in 15 min, with blackouts every 5. Better, but not quite.

INSTALL 3 :
At this point I realized that there was a page on nvidia's website that had a list of hotfixes and other goodies which ought to be installed if you want to do something on Vista. I also realized that I hadn't realized that before. Go back to linux. Use gparted to get rid of XP. Put Vista DVD in and install. GRUB is still alive. Good. Connect to the internet (I can, in Vista). Go to nvidia, and download all the drivers. Go to microsoft.com and get all the hotfixes. Pass WGA, which for some reason takes ages on my connection. Install everything, one by one. Go back to Windows Update, and get what I've missed. Restart. Blue Screen. Poweroff.

INSTALL 4 :
I see now that my XP was not serviced by any of the packs, so I download SP2 in Linux, and have it ready. Wipe the hard drive with gparted again, and reinstall XP. Install SP2. Install Drivers. All of them. Install the game and play. I now get a worst case playtime of < 1min, best case time of 17mins and an average case play time of about 3-4mins. And this is not to mention that the first minute or so is spent on getting into the main menu, and loading a save game (which, half the time I am unable to save because the game crashed previously).

Epilogue :
Rebooted into linux, and decided to stay there some time longer. Keyboard didn't work because My bluetooth was screwed up in one of those installs. Fixed it by reinstalling the drivers 3 or 4 times, and doing some crazy acrobatics with the dongle and the power switches.

Told fedora to yum install wesnoth. It just works.

I've beem playing around with my new rig this week (which you can find in spirit here). It's one hell of a machine if I say so myself, as you would know if you were able to decode those specifications.

Like all good computer users, the first thing I did after putting it together was to install Windows, in this case, Vista. Don't get me wrong, as far as I can see, Vista is great. Although it's not a step up for me from linux on the productivity scale (Something I plan to rectify presently), it's definitely a step up graphically from ratpoison.

But my main problem with windows, is drivers. It's probably not windows' fault, but I'll be unforgiving. The computer goes blank every 3 minutes or so, which becomes for frequent if you play a video. The reason for this is the nVidia Driver, or so I'm told. The fact that nobody with an 8 series graphics card from nVidia can run Vista properly, despite the fact that they were Vista Ready (TM), has even prompted a law suit. Until then, we've just got to keep downloading the drivers. Blech.

Another little something I found, was that IE7 is actually quite fast. I made this observation as I can't user Opera (ntlmaps isn't working on windows), and I was pleasantly surprised that IE7 beats Firefox hands down, almost all the time. I know it's because its libs are already loaded, but still...

And then there's Vista Media Center. This is awesome, even though it doesn't work for me for more than a few minutes at a time (see bug above). It's the perfect way to run kiosk mode at a party. It looks awesome, and presents a fairly easy way to get to all your media, be it video, music or pictures. However it only plays non-windows media (read : divx) if you've installed ffdshow, which, as you would suppose, is a pain.

The visual effects are quite good. They execute seamlessly, although that's probably just my roaring hardware talking.

My Vista Experience Index Rating is 5.3, putting me in the Highest range for all hardware :



This is only a minor comfort, as if the drivers don't work, it's as good as a coaster.

In the meanwhile, I'm off to do the second thing that all good computer users do -- Use IE to download linux ISOs, and install them. I'll be back for the games though, which currently don't work, becuase of the driver problem.

During this post, my graphics driver crashed 27 times.

My exams are over. I did well in almost all of them, except for Electrical Engineering. Blech.

Anyway, now I'm int he market for a new PC, so if any of you have some blockbuster ideas about that, please drop me a line. One specific worry I have is that a particular motherboard that I have been after for some time...simply isn't available. I can't find it anywhere. (In case you're wondering, it's GA-965P-DQ6. There, are you happy now?)

My college reopens on the fourth of july, prosaic for the freedom it gives me. </sarcasm>

On the happier side, I'm back to doing the things I like, like Python and sleeping. I may even get my own webspace. That'll be cool.

My exams start tomorrow, and end on the 23rd of May. An era will have ended, as I will no longer be subjected to Physics and Chemistry after these exams. Anything I do in these subjects after this will be my own folly.

In other news, I was recently keeping up with the French Presidential elections. I was backing Segolene Royal (Inconsequential, since I can't vote, but still), for the same reason why many people voted for her -- Because I didn't like the other alternative. Being a student, I can sympathize with the student riots in 2005, and can't see my way to elect a president who did tantamount to incite it. Granted, I know almost nothing about any of these issues, but still this is what my gut feeling says.

The Python posts are on hold, because my exam on C is tomorrow. I don't like C. One quote compares a C program to a dance on a waxed dancefloor holding knives. That's pretty much how I feel. In C, you need to think about what you can do practically, and then write a program. In Python, you write a program, with the confidence that you can make it work.

Australia won the World Cup, and the Sri Lankans are in uproar about Adam Gilchrist's keeping a squash ball in his glove. I don't know what to say.

• Tests are ongoing. I have electronics on monday.
  
• I'll probably go on a trip for the Christmas holidays.
  
• Numb3rs was taken off air, and reruns were put on.
  
• So was Commander in Chief, which was my replacement.
  
• Now I'm stuck to watching Ghost Whisperers.
  

It's depressing to note how my life can be summarized to 5 lines.

Yes, Numb3rs was taken off AXN, and although I've been watching Commander in Chief for the past couple of weeks, that was taken off too, so now I'm watching Ghost Whisperers. For those who aren't in the know, Ghost Whisperers is a drama/serial starring Jennifer Love Hewitt (whose presence makes remembering the rest of the cast largely unnecessary), who acts a normal woman who has paranormal gifts. Succintly put, she can talk to the spirits of dead people. It's kind of appealing, once you firmly fix in your mind that it is, in fact, not strictly real. What I find largely hilarious is that the reactions of the characters is ludicrous that I fail to see how anyone could belive it. This in turn leads me to the disturbing question of, are the Americans (who are the target audience), so gullible? Here, let me show you :

JLH : Did my mother ever mention to you that I have a gift?

Other character : No, not that I remember, why? What is it?

JLH : I can...like...communicate with the spirits of beings who are no longer with us in this world.

Other Character : My...(dead daughter)..Sarah came to you?

JLH : Last night. She wants to know why your husband and you were fighting on the night she died.

Other Character : No, please tell her we weren't fighting, we weren't angry, where is she? Can I talk to her?

JLH : (Maintains serious look)

I am unable to remember the rest of the conversation because that's where I fell off the couch laughing. I found it difficult to imagine how the actors can deliver such ridiculous lines with such serious expressions -- I guess that's what they get paid the earth for.

update : Commander in Chief wasn't taken off after all, just slot changed to Sunday.