40-Something-ism

I'm 40-something...been so for some time.

In some circles that sentence would naturally elicit a compassionate look, or a sympathetic expression of some sort. In the West, for example, they would say, "Aw come on, you're still young, there's lots that life has still to offer for you". 

Bullocks..

Internet Caps In Kuwait

I cant say much more than what's been said by Marzouq & Caffeinated on this issue, except that I'm as disgusted with this entire affair as they are, and probably even more so. i wont' get into my own activities, or how they're all rendered useless by the capping and the new FAP's, except that, for the money I'm paying, I'm being ripped off, and this ripoff is being sanctioned by the MOC.

I will also say that this state of affairs will not go on for long. Eventually, the government will capitulate, the ISP's will eventually grow up and face their responsibilities, and we will eventually be able to finally have affordable, price-perfect internet services in Kuwait.

Xbox 360 or PS3? Still Can't Decide

Falcon 1.0 screenshot

I've been a gamer ever since MicroProse released Falcon 1.0 on the IBM AT back in the 1980's, and always considered the Atari 2600 console - as prominent back then as the Playstations and the Xboxes are today - as beneath me, since I was using a more powerful IBM machine, and was playing 'serious' games with it, and not just moving frogs across the streets between speeding cars and so on.

Good Games Don't Die!

I used to be addicted to online games, until i realized that I was spending more time trying to beat online strangers that enjoying the game itself, so I'm much better now. But yesterday, as I was looking for some PC stuff, I came across one of my favorite games, Battlefield 2142, by Electronic Arts. They're the same people that just released Battlefield Bad Company 2, and it's latest addition, BC2 Vietnam, and all the other great EA titles like Simcity and the Sims. But Battlefield 2142 is something else completely!

Terrorism for Kids in Kuwait

I was walking in one of the streets of Downtown Kuwait City earlier tonight looking to get a toy for my kid. I walked into one of those shops that sell bicylces and other kids stuff, and I vividly remember those old days when I would ask to be driven to the Al Waleed store or the 'Kids R Us' ripoff from the US's "Toy's R Us" brand during Eid festivities. 

So there I was, enjoying myself reminiscing about what had happened to all those Lego sets and model cars I used to buy with my Eid money, when my eye caught the toy pictured below. I suddenly felt a rush of anger and disgust at what had happened to our world today, when people, responsible men and women, would carelessly allow such items of vile disgust to be sold as 'toys' to our young children!

Apple TV VS Mac Mini

2010 AppleTV

Ever since the Mac Mini was released I've been in conflict with it's usefulness as a desktop machine, or even a desktop replacement. Then I read about Ford using Mac Mini's to monitor some of their production lines, and it got me into thinking that this new standalone box has something else to revere and admire besides it's great looks.

Learning about Apple TV, I initially dismissed it as a Big Boy's toy that only US-based users would really benefit from. I was glad to  have been proven wrong when I found that it works just as well anywhere, as long as it's pumped up with the right currency! Pay-per-View was redefined with Apple TV, so much so that even the regional Sat TV companies are beginning to notice.

Gadget Craze in Kuwait

I don't  understand why, with all that's being said and done with regards to the financial crisis in Kuwait and the rest of the world, people in Kuwait still try o out-bling each other with the latest gadgets and gizmos! OK, I lied, I DO understand why, but not how! 

Take the iPhone; smart, elegant, extremely useful and handy to the user who realizes that it's not just a phone, but a hand-held net book with phone capabilities. I'm an iPhone user myself. I have the 3G model, and I use it for my email, my calendar, some spreadsheets and PDF documents, my to do's, my picture library, and pretty much anything else the Apps I've installed allow me to do. I'm also willing to skip a generation and wait for the upcoming model that promises actual improvements this time, and not a compass and faster app loads! I'm sure there are may people like me, and some of them occasionally may also use it as an MP3 player or a quick-reference guide for information-that Wikipedia App is amazing! 

Any Good System Builders in Kuwait?

Since my last post, I've been busier than I can explain, but now that things are cooling down (slightly) for me, I've decided to re-visit my passions, starting with replacing my existing PC.

In one of my earlier posts I was contemplating building my own system, but since I'm such a lazy couch potato, I decided to do the 'Kuwaiti' thing instead, and pay someone to do it for me!

The thing is, my last experience with a builder was so aggravating that on many occasions i reserved to replace/fix the malfunctioning parts myself, simply because I can't stand being talked to like a lame newbie by Asian 2-year college dropouts whose credentials include holding a Philips screwdriver properly and following the manufacturer's installation instructions word-for-word!

Does anyone know of a reputable and experienced systems builder in Kuwait that I can go to? Aside from "Professional Computers" shop in Hawalli-the guy's a rude rip-off!

My upcoming Rig

I've been pushing my 4-year old PC to it's final limits for so long that one of my Hard Disks just gave up on me, which screwed up my entire BIOS for some reason, so I was forced to re-install WinXP, which in turn made the OS stop updating itself.
I emailed Microsoft Tech support, and they responded-surprisingly-with the same troubleshooting tips as the ones posted on Microsoft's Tech Support website. No dice there either.

So decided to make the boldest move yet: Build another system, but this time, it'll be an AMD-based machine.

Here are the specs I'm speculating;

-PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+, 2.8Ghz
-MOTHERBOARD: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
-MEMORY: x4 Kingston or Crucial, DDR2-800-PC2-6400: 4GB total RAM
-GRAPHICS CARD: nVIdia Geforce 7950 GX2
-HDD: Maxtor 300GB, SATA, 16MB cache (x2)
-SOUND: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
-POWER SUPPLY: Silverstone 650W/750W or equivalent
-OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
- CPU COOLING: Fan; Zalman CNPS 9500 AMZ or equivalent
-SYSTEM COOLING: undecided

Geeks, comments welcome! :)

Info Connect 2008 is coming

This year's main Kuwaiti PC exhibition, Info Connect, is slated to run early in February, which is ideal for me because I've been looking for an ideal Gamer's PC for some time now, but it seems that Alienware hasn't discovered Kuwait yet. And to make things worse, the local distributors in town only sell you pre-installed machines, with very little options to customize them (I guess buying in bulk is cheaper for them, the cheapskates!)

Local distributors of big brand names are notorious for this kind of crap! The parent companies of HP and Dell have extremely good gaming platforms, yet the local distributors only bring those models that sell to both corporate and individual clients, with only a couple of sub-standard gaming machines to showcase.

Comparing this venue with one like Dubai's Gitex is sort of like comparing a Lada with a Cayenne Turbo; they can both drive you to wherever you want, just not as fast or powerful!
Anyway, my new gaming PC - if i get it - will be one of those big ATX towers, with built-in cooling and hi-fi, rocket-speed components!

Some good sites on what to look for in a gaming PC are all over the web, but I found that the most useful and non-tekkie friendly ones can be found here and here. They give you straight-to-the-point information on what to look for, things to consider, tips & tricks, etc.

Let's hope those pesky Chinese fakes aren't littering the exhibition this year!

Kuwait as described by the Gulf Daily News

Searching the Google News portal (as I usually do every morning) I came across this article from the Bahraini Gulf Daily News, that personifies the curren state of affairs in Kuwait. While I usully oppose any criticism of Kuwait's internal affairs by non-Kuwaitis, especially non-residents, I found this article to be well-concieved, if not slightly belittling. But facts as they are, it does have an element of truth that has been accurately represented in a Video Game, of all things.

You only need to read this other article to surmise just how close the analogy is. Long live Sid Meir!

Battlefield 2142: The Game, The Addiction!

I don't know how many of you are there in the blogosphere, but according to in-game statistics, there are approximately 68 Kuwait-based players playing Battlefield 2142. This Sci-Fi, multi-player online game is nothing less than amazing!

I'm one of those proud virtual fighters that spend endless hours running through explosions and setting up kills and other 'man' things that online gamers do.

The strange thing is, when I finally switch off and go to bed, my mind is still fixated onto the game; what strategy to implement the next time, what to try out, which weapon to chose, which server to connect to, etc. etc..it's become an addiction, albeit, a safe one, if you consider your 'me time' to be a valuable necessity to your daily routine. If I'm leaving the house to run an errand right after the game, I catch myself searching for hiding spots among the buildings around town for my in-game soldier!

Case in point: I come home from a long day at the office, frustrated with the events that took place and the levels of idiocy that keep rising like a Tsunami, have my late lunch. Grab a couple of hours' worth of sleep, wake up still frustrated. The first thing I do, if there's nothing family-related I should be attending to, is insert the game's CD, connect to a well-enough game server, and blast away those opponents, imagining them to be some of my co-workers. it's worked wonders for me..so far.

The game itself is superbly designed. Excellent graphics, excellent sound (optimized for XFi technology), terrific team play and collaboration, in-game voice communication, integrates with XFire, the list goes on.

As for in-game strategy, there are too many of them to list here, but let's say that when you've got a group of your friends into a team, with the team leader communicating orders to and from the game's Commander, you're sure to skip dinner, breakfast and lunch in one go!

Compared to other games out there like Halo 3, this game's a tad old, but the recently released 'Northern Strike' add-on makes it all that much better to play.

I highly encourage you to download the demo and test it out for yourself. Just make sure your machine can support it's demanding graphics and performance requirements. My rig has a 750W power supply that never hums it's on board cooling fan unless I'm playing BF2142!

If you're one of those gamers that has already purchased and is playing this game avidly, drop me a line, maybe we can meet up for a game :)