C.S. Magor's blog

Gigabyte has done something unexpected and thrown their hat into the interface ring. It is not really surprising considering they produce just about everything else a gamer needs. So let's take a look at their latest offering, the GK-K8000.

Make no mistake, the GK-K8000 is not going to be taking home any design awards. Butt ugly is an understatement, but then looks aren't important when it comes to an all-out fragging contest. It has all the buttons in the right places and a bunch of macro keys mounted atop the F-Key line. There does not appear to be any LED backlighting, which means that unless you can touch type you might want to play with the lights on.

While I have not had a hands on, looking at this keyboard I can see that Gigabyte has opted for high-profile hard plastic keys. My Razer Lycosa has the low-profile rubberized type which pays dividends if you do a lot of typing. Seriously, I bang out about 6,000+ words per day, so any keyboard I get has to be functional as a typing platform first and foremost and this is where the GK-K8000 looks like it falls down. It looks like an RSI nightmare.

On first impressions, I would say that it is good if you want a cheap and nasty but effective gaming keyboard, but try it out if you need to crunch a lot of data or do a lot of writing. There is nothing worse than aching fingertips from a stiff set of keys. [Tweak Town via PC Launches]

These guys always put a smile on my face, It has done the rounds a bit already, but I am throwing it up here because damnit, it is a work of art.

I came within minutes of deleting Drupal and starting all over with Wordpress 2.5. Drupal is a more robust package than Wordpress, but there is so much involved with attaining the right look and feel that it is at times a chore. Wordpress has a lot of the functionality that Drupal needs right out of the box, so it saves you from installing and configuring fifty-billion different modules to make it all work.

If you have visited the site before, you will possibly have noticed the different header and some typographic changes. I added a bit of extra line spacing to the CSS to accommodate the larger titles. I also swapped the dark blue for black as I was finding it hard on my eyes.

The upside for Drupal is that you have a lot more control over the layout of your site. The blocks system really makes a difference. It is fiddly and it is involved but I am going to stick with it. I might even upgrade to Drupal 6.2 if I get my webserver running.

Next step: Clean up the damned ads and get the Amazon shop configured a little better. I might even add a shop page.

I have mentioned my desire to set up my own web server a number of times in the past, now I am going to make good on my plans and actually do something about it. The web server will be a cheap build that I created from some budget parts.

The specifications are as follows:

• MicroATX motherboard
• Intel P4 3.0 GHz Processor
• 1GB of DDR2 800
• 40GB HDD
• DVD-Multi drive

It is a lightweight system, but it should have all the grunt that it needs to handle Ubuntu and the applications that I need for the task. This is going to be more of a communications device than a computer. The objectives that it needs to accomplish are the following:

• Host a website using Apache.
• Run a POP mail server
  
• Run Skype and other messenging clients
• Run custom-built XML parsing software
  
• Be remotely accessible
• Have a low energy footprint

P4 chips are not exactly energy-efficient, but they are cheap and by opting for onboard graphics as opposed to a discreet card it keeps the footprint down a little. If it all works out, I will likely be doing a rebuild with some more robust components. Fingers crossed, because as soon as my monitor is repaired, I am going to be devoting my weekends to getting this thing working.

A little light entertainment via the folks at Random Good Stuff. Don't worry, in spite of the title this thing is just a tame call-in but it is pretty funny. [Cracked via Random Good Stuff]

While technically XP SP3 has been around for a little while, it has only just officially become available. If you haven't got your update, You can download one from the Microsoft site or wait until Auto Update kicks in and does the job for you. Either way, upgrade soon, amongst a few performance improvements, SP3 also patches up a few security holes and adds Network Address Protection for better interactivity with Server 2008.

My XP machine is sans monitor at the moment and I am waiting on the end of the Golden Week madness to remedy that situation. Once I do, however, I will be getting my old XP warhorse back in order. After all of these years, I still have a thing for XP. [PC Launches]

Hanyoung Lee thinks that he has the solution to pedestrian safety at crossings. His idea is a virtual wall created using lasers. The lasers project an image of large pedestrians crossing the road. Not only is it attention grabbing, it obscures the driver's view beyond the traffic light, which is likely to provide more incentive to stop. The costs are likely to be too expensive for the Virtual Wall to find its way into all crossings, but in problem areas and near schools this is sure to be a welcome addition. [Yanko via Jalopnik via PopSci]

If you are a subscriber you have no doubt become aware of the lack of posts of late. The main reason for this was a trial period that I undertook with Gizmodo. I chose to nip that in the bud as there are simply too many external pressures to contend with. What that means is that I will be able to write much more regularly both here and at Uberreview. Look forward to lots of regular posts.

There is something of a Wild West mentality to ethics on the Internet; which has its good and bad points.  Most blogs struggle to make ends meet or lose money.  This blog is in the latter category and I am fine with that; the end goal is to get this thing in the black and I will one day, I am sure of that.  The thing is that Internet business is hard, it is competitive and it is cut throat; we don't need to be hamstrung or exploited by the very companies that we turn to for hosting, yet we are.

Network Solutions was in the news not all that long ago for front running or domain kiting as it is sometimes called.  The practice works like this: you go to their site and start hunting down domain names.  Whatever you type in, they register, Network Solutions would have you know that they do this to protect you. They charge a premium for the service, which if you ask me is nothing short of exploitation.  If you wait for a reasonably short period of time they do release the domain, but why should you have to wait?  When I heard the news I was flabbergasted; Network Solutions is a very large hosting provider, why would they need to do things that way?

Flash forward to today, where I am browsing a bunch of miscellaneous feeds.  Network Solutions caught my eye again and I decided to investigate.  It seems that they are domain parking on people's sub domains and earning money from them.  Don't worry, the user signs away any right to complain in their 59,000 word user agreement:

If you don't have much cash and are in need of a digital camera, here is an awesome trick you can try. With a bit of technical wizardry you can makea single-use digital camera reusable. Check out the video:

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Source: Metacafe