Cleanup

Took a break from actually programming for a block of time today to run through my laptop and try to ride herd on all the files running around on my laptop that I've been too lazy to clean. This of course means that I found gems like papers from college undergrad and DKP listings from when I was running Molten Core with the ol' Warcraft crew. (if that last part flew over your head, translate it to "about ... 4? 5? years ago". ) Which of course got me thinking... how long to people just shuffle files around from computer to computer keeping old things just because? Its even easier in the digital world to just keep shoving along those old class reports and hastily written word doc notes on a computer than it is to physically move old boxes around in real life and with hard disk space being the way it is today, who finds it worthwhile to police their Documents folder just to get back memory.

Or maybe its all just me, and the problem is I'm as terrible with digital info as I am with things in real life, keeping them around "just in case I'll need em at some point".

Overall, the whole thing was a start point for me finally getting around to implementing whats to be at *least* a personal version control system. So for now, time to dive back in to learning how to use Bazaar. A nice free system that seems to have features I'll enjoy. It can be found here: http://bazaar-vcs.org/

Caveat emptor

Read a somewhat interesting article a friend linked in twitter today.

Posted here:

http://lifehacker.com/5336382/digsby-joins-the-dark-side-uses-your-pc-to-make-money

Basically it was about all the fun party favors Digsby has you install when you put their software on your machine. Sure there is the "usual" crap like stuff to stalk you while you are online and help gather your online interests and target ads at you (though the fact that people just accept this sort of behavior from software as a standard nuisance is something that makes my brain hurt but is a topic for another rant), however, beyond that there is a lovely bit buried in their TOS that unless you navigate their poorly constructed op-out menus lets them take over your machine when "idle" and use your processor, power and bandwidth as they see fit. Lovely huh?

Now, I'm not saying they don't have the right to earn a buck off the stuff they make, I understand how much time and effort can be consumed by software projects and certainly won't begrudge them trying to make a buck... but this is a level that I think goes beyond trying to get fair pay for work. There is a difference between users knowingly paying you in some fashion (cash or even opting into a system like this) and just installing it as the hidden default, knowing most people will fly through the TOS without reading (which they really shouldn't anyway, again, another rant) and counting on people not paying attention to use their stuff. Its a level of dishonest behavior, shielded by small measures to make it "okay", that dirties up the whole industry of 3rd party software. Sadly the best case scenario here is that users wise up and get way more wary of what they let on their computers, which only makes it harder for honest folks out there to find users who are willing to use a product not make by a giant company. Good software is supposed to make life better, more convenient, help you do things you want to do, it shouldn't be an industry funded by malfeasance where only the very savvy and paranoid are able to safely navigate around and use it.

Then again, why should computers be any less full of pitfalls than the non-digital realm I guess... shame.

Continued work on OpenGL ES learning

Second day where most of my time has been devoted to watching tutorials on OpenGL ES use in iPhone programs. http://www.71squared.co.uk/iphone-tutorials/ has some fantastic videos which are great for diving into working with OpenGL to make a "simple" 2D iPhone game. Plus the guy doing it is from the UK so the tutorial screencasts have British narration which (and maybe its just me) seems to add to a learning video in some undefined way.

Also managed to get some more work done on Mutiny game today, getting graphics working properly for displaying items / other players as the user moves from room to room. Glad to be making progress on it, but worried that its going to hit a wall fairly soon in terms of needing actual graphics ( I mean..beyond my obviously impressive temporary ones...) and with Tony being so busy at work ... well I don't like the idea but this thing might sit on a shelf for a bit while I wait for some time from the West Coast Team to open up so I can get some pretty pictures to jam into my game... either that or I start giving art a go... frightening.

The obligatory test post.

Hello world.