Facebook vs Bebo

Does anyone use facebook or Bebo? I use both and have decided to do a quick comparison of the pair.

The biggest change recently to Bebo, the new profile layout has done away completely with the old Bebo and tries to be more direct in its appearance. I don't mind it as much as I have made out, but I prefered the old layout simply because it made Bebo unique. I was used to it since when I got Bebo, circa 2006, and now its all different. Ah well, I guess us traditionalists have no voice whatsoever, even though I group I joined, "Bring old Bebo back" had over 6k members...

Bebo's most annoying feature is it's profile-guzzling applications. I hate it when I click on a profile and I get music, flash "things" and slideshows, which take away from the whole point. It also slows my web browser.

That aside, most of my friends use Bebo. I have over 100 friends on there. So for popularity, Bebo wins.

On to facebook, it is clearly the more professional of the pair. I like the integration between everything via the "wall", where one can comment on anything that I or my friends have done on the site. The profiles are simple and clean, no matter how many apps an individual has or how popular they are most profiles are the same in appearance. The site is quick and has no annoying advertising. The bebo homepage once had an advert for "Win Jonas Brothers Tickets". I'll assure you that no such thing happens ever on facebook.

I'm more on Bebo, if ever, as it is more popular with people I know, but I hope someday the majority moves to facebook, which is clearly the better of the two. A few minutes on either site will definitely make you see facebook's superiority.

Note: I have not posted any screenshots as I wish to keep my social networking pages personal (except twitter). And I know this is kinda short, but I have decided to keep to the main points that separate the two sites.

Airsoft and Airguns

Right guys and girls, since I was airsofting over a week ago, I'll provide a short writing of it here:

Friday the 7th was to be a good day for airsofting at SG1 Bellaghy, the weather good and the friends plentiful. The day was pretty much the same as any airsoft day, with the games and craic decent. I actually did all-right for once, perhaps helped by my shiny new JG MP5 which I will review in time on youtube. The Killhouse, the CQB part, was my favourite part, which I managed to win one game for the team. I think the compact MP5 helped. I got a decent number of hits and overall had a good time. The loud noises emitted from William let me (and everyone else) know when he had been hit!

The main problem was my goggles; they kept steaming up. Quite annoying for shooting at a range. But apart from that, it was overall a good day.

Here is my most recent youtube video, which tells the 7 second story of an iPod feeling the almighty wrath of an air rifle (NOT an airsoft gun, totally different things...).

That is it from me, see whoever reads this later.

Hopeful Fail Free Airsoft

I have scrounged the money to save up for a replacement MP5 Airsoft gun. No, I'm not showing off or being flashy with my new purchase, but as you have seen earlier, my M4 failed on me and split in two. I got together the useful parts from it, sold them on eBay and plunged some of my birthday money and the result is a nice Chinese-made JG MP5. I will be thinking of adding to the countless video-reviews of it already on youtube, or at least get a few pictures up here!

The gun already looks to be a better purchase than my previous model. It is small, manoeuvrable and has a better sling attaching system, much welcome to me. As I am attending SG-1 I hope its size will assist me as it is majority woodland/CQB, no long range stuff. Anything is better than the guns SG-1 rent you. The "power", the "accuracy", the 180 round mags, the price of more BB's, aggh, the mere thoughts of those old AK's are killing me!

Tomorrow looks to be good, I'll write up on it later if there are any stories to tell. And as there are 20+ people supposedly attending, it'll be all-out-war! Bombs away*!

(*Sadly, pyrotechnics are not allowed, so no bombs.)

Windows 7 Review

I wrote a partial review of Windows 7, with some parts done by Callum. It never progressed but it is quite lengthy. Feel free to read what we have done so far, though Microsoft and countless other people have reviewed it, just use Google.

Windows 7 – the next big thing the boys at Microsoft are cooking. And it smells good.

I've decided to download the Release Candidate of Windows 7 – its mine to use until June 2010. I am trying it out for many things, including making this post, using the Windows Live Writer application, and the review will be from a normal computer user’s point of view. I’ll explain each section briefly then followed by screenshots. So first things first, installing.

Installation proved a breeze. I don’t have any screenshots, as it is on my main PC, I partitioned it, meaning I can choose Windows 7 or Vista on startup. The installation went smooth, it copied some files, then after a little while I choose where it was to be installed, and that was basically it. Windows 7 copied across, expanded and installed itself. I then entered my serial key and choose my username. After restart, and startup, which was speedy, I logged in and was presented with the Windows 7 desktop. First impressions – similar to Vista but with a nifty new taskbar and start menu.

The Windows 7 Desktop

The first thing I wanted to do was to change the theme, and to my delight a “United Kingdom” theme was present. As I flicked through the themes, Windows played a sample sound from each set, varying in pitch each time, and the theme change was instantaneous. One thing to look at is the desktop background, which changes every now and then. You’ll see as we progress through the screenshots.

Now to the most obvious change, the taskbar. It has been completely redesigned, its a little taller, but “Quick Launch” is gone and is combined with the open programs. This screenshot explains:

The Windows 7 Taskbar

The start orb is the same as Vista’s, but we can see the “Pinned” programs to the right of it, Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, Windows Media Player, and Windows Live Messenger. Also open are Windows Live Writer (Surprisingly…not) and Paint. The opened applications have a frame around them, and programs which have multiple windows opened appear stacked.

Windows Live Messenger, as an example, if right clicked on, brings me up with a set of “Tasks”, replacing the old icon and menu in the notification area. It is handy in my opinion, as I can see all my open programs in one place and perform actions on them with ease. Here’s a screenshot:

Windows Live Messenger Tasks

Switching programs is new and interesting too. If I hover over an open program’s icon, I get previews of the open windows and switching between them could be described like Vista’s infamous Flip 3D, only it shows the open windows from your program, and other programs are simply a border. See for yourself:

Switching tasks in Windows 7

I’m moving on to applications now. Paint has had an overhaul, with some more shapes and a new “Ribbon” interface. No layers yet, though. The start menu, interestingly, lets me see recently opened items from programs as I hover over them, and can open them directly from there. This works for Remote Desktop Connection, Windows Media Center, Notepad, Sticky Notes and more!

Paint and Start Menu

And now to the section where most people criticize and are quick to find error: Internet Explorer 8 and Windows Media Player. I am a usual Firefox person, and indeed the only use of previous Internet Explorers was to call up www.mozilla.org, but this is no longer the case. Surprisingly, I don’t know if it was 64-bit or my 2GB RAM, but IE8 managed to browse the internet speedily and, well I only had one problem on web page which was soon fixed by the programs “Compatibility View”. Internet Explorer 8 is a welcome change, a welcome inclusion with Windows 7 and for once, the red fox was redundant from one of my computers! Microsoft have also taken the extra effort to integrate IE into the desktop environment, instead of previous versions, which had that 'separate' feeling whilst running. For example in Windows 7, you can hover your mouse over the IE icon in the taskbar, and be presented with screenshots of all the tabs you currently have open. This is an amazing time saver, and will certainly encourage more efficient use of time.

Perhaps on a slightly-biased side note, are those who find error in IE the ones who visit, shall we say “dodgy” websites, and get infected easily? Even if so, give IE8 a spin, it claims to have improved phishing and malware protection, as well as this new “InPrivate” feature, where I can browse websites, such as e-banking, with supposed improved privacy. I’ve not had time to test these features, as this is a Windows 7 review, not Internet Explorer.

Mindless Rubbish displayed from a decent browser.

Despite claiming malware protection, IE8 sadly doesn't provide Rickroll protection!

The new Windows Media Player 12 is similar to version 11 however it has had a UI overhaul. Some buttons and toolbar items have been moved around, but the experience should be pretty familiar to users of version 11. What does represent a big change is the removal of the Now Playing button, which in WMP11 switches to a view showing the current playlist, this is because WMP12 completely separates library management from what's currently playing, with two distinct player modes; Now Playing view, and Library view. Library view contains all the library manipulation features that should be familiar from WMP11. Probably the most amazing thing about WMP12 is that as well as the standard MP3, WMV, WMA, etc, codecs, there is built in support for H.264 video, AAC audio, and both Xvid and DivX video, 'rendering' WMP12 of being able to play most videos out of the box. Media Sharing has been improved too, as well as streaming to remote PCs, WMP12 also includes improved support for controlling Digital Living Network Alliance v1.5 devices, known as DLNA. Such devices include the Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3.

To conclude, Windows 7 has potential and boasts many new abilities and features. Perhaps the better technologically minded people will find fault and error with the new operating system, but it looks well for me. It may well be on the cards for me! I hope the best for this development and happy Windows-ing.

15 Review

Continuing from my birthday post, I have decided to go over my past year. Not entirely of coarse, that would take ages, and some of it will stay where it belongs, in my head, or indeed  heart.

Several key events happened from the 22nd of July 2008 to the 22nd of July 2009. The first, obviously, been my 15th Birthday. It was a decent enough day starting with a game of football with my friends, and then a small party at my house. My nice shiny new EEE PC was my present, and we were playing around with it, most notably on MSN. (Compare to my 16th)

Things were on and off after that, I went on holiday visiting my Uncle in England, a semi-entertaining trip which the highlights were the local swimming pool and shopping centre. Butlins, in all seriousness, that place wasn't justified by the £65 entry fee. But all in all a decent ending to a long summer which saw the transaction from 3rd year to 4th year, and the dawn of GCSE's (Which I will be doing next year. Owies.).

4th year began slowly, mostly due to personal reasons. My school work wasn't affected too badly, justified by a decent Christmas exam result.

(26/04/2012: I never finished this but have decided to publish it for old time's sake. Mark)

Airsoft Fail

Airsofting is one of my smaller, but enjoyable pass-times. It is a sport similar to paintball which your primary objective is to eliminate members of the opposing team with your gun.

My involvement is somewhat limited now, mostly due to a "slight" fault with my Airsoft gun. Ah, my gun, the amazing JG M4 CQB. A decent replica of the M4 Carbine, used by the US armed forces and British SAS alike. When I was airsofting on Monday, this fault became apparent. Here is the result of it:

No, I don't have the number of the car that went over it. OK, OK, the picture was taken after I disassembled my gun. But the real problem was that the stock just snapped from the receiver. What? Oh, I mean it snapped in two. You can be fairly confident my future airsoft guns will be metal. My advice to kiddies: BB guns are fun, but never let your friend's younger brother poke with it. And certainly never let him unscrew a screw which you later find out, the hard way, that holds two key parts of the gun together.

My Birthday! (4 days ago...)

Yay! It was my birthday again on the Wednesday 22nd of July, I am writing this post 4 days later as I have had no access to a computer since.

I believe it is the 3rd post regarding my birthdays since this blog opened.

A lot has happened since I became 15, and I could go on for ages on it. But to summarise, I think it was a great year, it had as many ups as downs but that's life. I threw a birthday party with my mates on the day, starting with football at 1 and then at my house, at 2.00, we had a BBQ. Cooked by yours truly. It was a success, with only 2 burgers burned and the semi-needed assistance of only one female comrade! We ate and got entertained by the likes of Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. It was the biggest party ever in our house, with around 15 people present- and it's all on video.

After the party, I went down to Portrush (the local beach/seaside "resort") with some of my friends and had a good time. I stayed for 3 days, swam in the sea, went to a "theme park" (Barrys amusements), ran around a kiddies water fountain display half naked, yep, I did it all.

That's the best I can summarise my day.

To summarise the year would take much more. I might do a "Review of 15" later, but for now it's late on a Sunday and I value my sleep. Night all.

Coldplay - free live album

You heard me. Coldplay have released a free album on their website, which has a number of their best songs recorded live, all legal and free to download. I'm listening now, and one thing is Coldplay are awesome live (unlike some other bands). Definitely a keepsake for the iPod.

iTunes 99p Tax Rate beat

One day, when I went to buy some music for my iPod, I saw that the iTunes Music Store had increased the price of some music to 99p. I felt like spitting on my computer monitor. Looks like the old promise, "79p songs, as always" has been killed stone dead.

Whatever is the reason Apple? Are you trying to force more to the pirate file sharing sites? It's almost double the US price (99c), which equals about 59p per song over here!

Research discovered that apparently Apple are charging more for popular singles, and reducing the price on less popular singles, to "boost sales" and "bring better value". I beg to differ. The only single I saw at 59p was the third or so track on the "Rick Astley - The Ultimate Collection" album.

So, after getting fed up with this rip-off service, I defected to the Amazon Music Store. It may not be as streamlined or as simple as the iTunes Music Store, but who can argue with 69p music and albums which are considerably cheaper than iTunes or CD in cases. As I am a fan of Christian music, I am pleased to see they have a wide selection of it. With over 2 million claimed songs online, Amazon is a worthy competitor and alternative to the iTunes music store. I think I'll be staying for a while, at least until Apple wises up.

Save disk space in Windows Vista and XP

Here’s a good way of saving disk space in Vista and XP computers. If you never use system restore, like me, it certainly is worth trying. System restore is a part of Windows that lets you recover files after an installed program messes up. For me, it has never worked. So why not do away with that gigabyte-guzzling monster and save. I'll assume you are fairly computer-knowledgable.

Vista Instructions: (Click on the links for screenshots)

1. Go to Control Panel
2. Double Click "System"
3. Click "Advanced System Settings"
4. Go to the "System Protection Tab"
5. Uncheck your main drive (usually "C:")
6. Click OK, wait a while and bang you have more disk space!

That's it, I saved well over 10GB, a significant number indeed!

The instructions for XP are most likely similar, so it's easy enough.

School's Out For Summer

Sorry to anyone who reads this, that I didn't manage to keep this site going. I failed to write a post a week, got caught up in school work and social life too much. Oh, and xbox.

Now I'm back. And yesterday, school ended! Woohoo!

Had a water fight at my mates house, was thoroughly soaked. You won't believe how many buckets of water that Johnny Brooks put over me! And the pipe in my water pistol back pack broke (again). Some use it was. Well, I still had fun, and got roasted (believe it or not) by the sun.

The weather here is going mad. One day it's 25oC+, the next it near rains. Nothing short of the norm in Northern Ireland though.

Well, that's all for now. I hopefully will come up with readable material over the next few months.

Missing Day Dilemma, solved by Bible…

I was clicking through bebo and came across this interesting post.

Yeah, it’s direct copy-and-paste, but the Christian group that this is on is supposedly closing down, so here it is. Even if you don’t believe in the Bible, it’s still an interesting read.

For all the scientists out there and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible...here's something that shows God's awesome creation and shows that He is still in control. Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called "myth" in the Bible is true?

Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland and a consultant in the space Program relates the following development. "I think one of the most amazing things that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Greenbelt, Maryland. They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send a satellite, up and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down. They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, "What's wrong?" Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer. Finally, a Christian man on the team said, "You know, one time I was in Sunday School and they talked about the sun standing still." While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us." He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with "common sense." There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, "Fear them not, have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee." Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right- "The sun stood still and the moon stayed - and hasted not to go down about a whole day!" (Joshua 10:12-13) The astronauts and scientists said, "There is the missing day!" They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes-not a whole day. They read the Bible and there it was "about (approximately) a day." These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits. As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his death bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said "Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?" Hezekiah said "It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees." Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD! Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes! Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the Universe!" Isn't it amazing? References: Joshua 10:8 and 12, 13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11. Forward this to as many people who you believe would think this is equally as cool. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

My conclusion – as I do believe the Bible, this goes down nicely. It’s no argument, but still good to know that the days in the Bible do add up…