Posts by Thrik

  • iPhone 4

    Yes Klein. While my reception has generally been excellent with the iPhone 4 (it consistently gets better signals than the LG one I had before, especially when in my pocket), touching a certain area in the bottom left corner will reduce the signal to pretty much zero.

    If you look at the circle drawn on the phone at about 9:20 in the video above that's pretty much the death zone. If you rest any finger within that area you're basically guaranteed to lose your entire signal and drop your call. I've experimented and even going a little outside that circle doesn't cause problems, nor does bridging the entire circle with two fingers (ie: putting one finger either side of the circle) — and it isn't the black seam that causes it because it still occurs even if you only touch the metal immediately next to it. Not sure what hardware madness is going on exactly but that circle is like an off switch for the signal.

    I've learnt to avoid the circle relatively easily by simply tucking my little finger behind the phone while taking a call, but it's definitely an annoyance. The phone truly excels in literally every other way though so I can't say it'd make me return it (for any lesser phone I would).

  • iPhone 4

    Quote from Bic-B@ll

    i'm yet to get a case for the phone and youre dumb to own one and not have a case, which solves the issue anyway. come on otterbox, sell your damn cases

    Eh, the phone feels bulky enough in my pocket as it is without a case. Plus I think the iPhone is ergonomic and aesthetic perfection as it is — a case is only going to compromise that. I've never broken a gadget yet so I trust myself.

    One thing I've noticed during the past couple of days is that this thing kicks ass as an iPod. I was still using my (latest-gen) iPod Nano for a while but this blows it out the water: higher maximum volume (good for my extreme headphones), more intuitive interface, more features. Excellent.

  • REALID, the dumbest thing ever

    Well I personally don't care, I use my real name all over the place. But I can see how this could easily upset people who prefer to keep their real life isolated from their online life (particularly if they have millions of really embarrassing posts out there), and just because I don't care about privacy so much is no reason for me to shun the wishes of those out there who feel differently.

    I have to admit I sometimes feel a bit red-faced when I read some of my really old forum posts from bygone aliases. I'm kind of good with them not being linked to my real name or my newer aliases.

    So I think this is a lame move on Blizzard's part, but not one that bothers me personally. Privacy should be respected whenever someone wants it.

  • iPhone 4

    Well I've been using it for about a week now and I've not really had any significant signal issues. The signal does drop a bar or two when the bottom left corner is completely covered, but I realistically never hold my phone in that way and it's a trivial thing to avoid.

    I think the phone is otherwise superb in every way. It's my first iPhone and the first one I've ever felt truly ticks every box you could want from a smartphone. If nothing else bus journeys are so much better being able to check emails, read MapCore, etc.

    The touch-to-focus feature on the camera is particularly nifty. Would be nice to see that appear on more cameras/phones.

  • Best mice for teh level designz?

    Best mice for any kind of design work are those with lots of buttons and a higher-than-average DPI I think. I particularly like Logitech's, especially the newer ones that come with sideways scrolling as I can use them as regular buttons too. I've been very happy with this one at work as a good balance between a price that keeps managers happy and performance that keeps me happy:

    [attachment=0]21824.png[/attachment]

    http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/mice-poin ... vices/5743

  • Stop the presses!!! dux likes a console game

    Quote from Jetsetlemming

    I dunno how you go from "Can't defend the PC as a quality gaming platform" to "Can't miss out on consoles", there seems to be some space in there. Personally, while I never bother to "Defend" a particular platform, I justify my devotion to the PC with quality exclusive experiences like The Void, Space Rangers 2, and being able to hit shift + tab and look at porn without even having to quit TF2.

    I still like the PC because it's my favourite platform for RTS and FPS games (though the inevitable spread of Wiimote-esque control systems severely challenges that), but as a gaming platform it's shit. Many games are rigged with insane DRM, ports are sloppy at best, the cost-to-performance value can't even touch that of the PS3/360, and there's practically nothing in the way of compelling exclusives. When the odd game does things right (TF2, BC2) it's fantastic, but that's like saying swimming in a sea of smashed milk bottles is good because you occasionally find a drop of milk.

    As a former PC zealot it pains me to say that PC gaming is shit, but I honestly think anyone who says otherwise has to be delusional.

  • Stop the presses!!! dux likes a console game

    Yeah man, until this generation I was totally a PC guy but it's now impossible to defend the PC as a quality gaming platform. Not that I don't still enjoy games like BC2 on the PC (probably the only game since TF2 I'd say is worth bothering with), but as a gamer I couldn't imagine not having consoles and missing out on the amazing games that've come out this generation.

  • What happened to SOQ?!

    Yeah there's definitely something wrong with the smilies since the update. Some like the Hurg ones have randomly decided to not appear, though bizarrely they temporarily did earlier on when I fiddled with their display settings. If you know the codes they'll still appear.

    I'll just remove and re-add them all tomorrow as the images are still on the server regardless.

  • Zelda: Skyward Sword

    Mm, can't say I'm excited. It looks like a weird mix between Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker (both absolutely amazing Zelda games btw, probably best in the whole series) aesthetically, and the gameplay seems fairly predictable. I can see what they're trying to do with the art style, but it... just doesn't look that good. I saw some Japanese game based on some cartoon recently that did something very similar artistically but just looked a million times better (albeit on the PS3).

    Ah well I'll still get it as I haven't missed a home console Zelda since Ocarina, and to be fair all of them have been fairly incredible — including Twilight Princess. It's just with this now being the third Zelda on pretty much the same GameCube hardware I agree with Mazy in that it's just not doing the creative vision justice.