Concerned-ish

I havn’t posted much in a while. Mainly because once I type a rant, I kind of lose myself. I’ve got another article in draft. Maybe that will be finished this week…

First off, let me say this: I’m not an Apple fanboy, but I do like their products. I have an iMac G4 and an iPod Touch 2G. And, as I’m sure a lot of us do, would like an iPad/iPhone 4/iWhatever. However, this is part of my problem with Apple. Apple have this thing going, which even some experts don’t understand. It’s this sort of wave of hype that goes over people when an announcement is made and no other company manages it quite like Apple. Steve Jobs will appear on stage and basically say “What we made 6 months ago is most uncool thing to possibly own. Forget the fact that last time we said the last product was a revolution, or that the last thing was the most exciting thing we’ve ever done. This thing, out does everything ever in the world, again.” Despite the fact that you just wasted about £400 on phone which is still perfectly fine, and does what it’s supposed to do, you will go out and buy the slightly faster version. You thought the phone you just had was perfectly acceptable but along comes Mr Jobs to tell you that it’s not. Nothing ever will be. Then, there are the people who keep waiting for the next version. These people are worse then the normal people, because they basically wait for Steve to tell them what they have is inadequate.

This is my next issue with Apple:

Recently, out of curiosity and the ability to say I had done it, I jailbroke my iPod using JailbreakMe. Apple (and possibly Microsoft, I’m not sure, but who cares, it’s just Microsoft) is the only company that locks down their iOS products. You can only get approved stuff and everything else is either extremely hard to put on or is illegal (Of course, the US has declared jailbreaking perfectly legal. However, other countries’ governments probably don’t give a damn).  No other phone considers installing a theme illegal. In fact, some phones actively encourage some extent of modding. Plus, Android phones let anyone develop apps for it, not just approved ones. Steve has said things like “We don’t want porn on our platform” as excuses for not putting certain apps in the Store. Isn’t that what a browser’s for? Apple, why not go the whole mile and restrict Internet usage? Only approved websites can be viewed? Or even restrict looking at Stocks, so people can only look at approved companies? We paid £500 for our own device which we can’t even do everything we want with!

To summarize, what have we learnt? That Apple does things that no other company does, but manages to get away with selling ridiculously high-priced devices because it know people will buy them regardless of the price. Desirability > Functionality. Now, I really need an iPad…

Summer’s here. That season where it gets unbearably hot, insects start swarming around, ants bite your feet while you’re having a barbecue, and your shirt turns yellow from sweat. But more annoying is when you spend money to buy games, and then find out that your computer that was working perfectly yesterday can no longer handle them due to the heat.

Even as I type this, I see patches of sweat evaporating from the keys I just hit – that should give you an indication of how hot it is. But that’s nothing compared to my PC right now. My processor is running at an average of 60-ish degrees Celcius. My GPU at 75. Now the GPU is fine, they can apprantly go up to 140C before it goes “ohnoes” and shuts itself down. CPUs… not so much. The recommended average for these things is 40C. Meaning I’m going far too high.

Now, I’ve not even overclocked this thing, it’s at stock speeds. The cooler is the stock one, granted, but I do have 2 extra fans in there to suck cool air in / blow hot air out. Now, a friend of mine, known only as “Kireas” (I forgot his actual name… oops) has told me to a) Get a new cooler and b) Undervolt/Underclock the CPU. And here lies the problem.

Last time I had an overheating CPU, I did buy a new cooler. But the damage was done – the CPU still crapped out whenever I started doing important stuff anyway. So, I bought the one I have now. If I buy a new cooler – how do I know it’s still not going to happen? I need a new CPU. Which brings us to ANOTHER problem. I’m using an old chipset on my motherboard, 975X. Intel, Socket 775. Now… this chipset only supports up to 1066MHz FSBs. Which they don’t make anymore. Meaning I need a new motherboard and processor. And, most likely, new RAM. Coming to a minimum of £400, for a rig I deem “acceptable”. Motherboard about £70… CPU £150… RAM £60. … OK, that’s £270, but still – I am a 16 year old who has no job (nowhere seems to want you unless you have 3 years of experience in the line of work, which obviously, is impossible if you can’t actually get a job in that line of work. That, and the garden centre is too far). As you can no doubt see, this means I have an issue. Furthermore, we need another £30 or so on there to compensate for the obviously inadequate cooling I currently have.

So in a nutshell – FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

So, it’s come to my attention that Facebook doesn’t have an option to stop people from tagging you in photos.

Umm… what.

Allow me to explain: Facebook is a social networking site with several million users, and people have the ability to upload photos and ‘tag’ people in them. Even if they’re photos the person being tagged doesn’t want it on the internet, or is offensive in some way. Or perhaps, that person just doesn’t want people tagging them on Facebook to make sure people they don’t know can’t find them.

And, due to a lack of total common sense, it seems, Facebook doesn’t even have these BASIC security options. In other words, people can put any photo up whatsoever and say it’s you, even if it’s grossly offensive. And considering Facebook is one of the biggest social networking sites out there, that’s pretty bad.Now, call me a crybaby if you want, but I’ve been on the receiving end of some of these photos lately, where you’re given a phrase and someone tags you for what fits. To be honest, I don’t care if you did it as a joke – it can still upset people. It would be nice if you actually ASKED the person if they’re OK with it. Or better yet, Facebook, give us an option to APPROVE photos of you.

It’s times like this I wish the Web 2.0 suicide machine still worked – just to get out of the stupidity of these things. (Remind me why I signed up for Facebook, someone? Oh wait, that’s why.)

Actually yeah, that’s another thing. Facebook, I don’t care if my friends want me to sign up, stop sending me 80 e-mails a day from people just because they have me on their MSN Messanger list. If I want to sign up to your site, I will. Get the fuck off my Internet.

Anyway, slight tangent there, so…

TL;DR:

Facebook lets people do whatever they want with your identity, they keep your info on there server if you disable your account, and they eat babies.

Going back to Concerned-ish’s roots here, this post isn’t a debatey one. No, this time, Uncle Ubertoast actually has a rant.

Anyone who knows me, especially in real life, knows I’m a bit of a t**t. I’m slightly arrogant, emotionally dense most of the time, and if I’m annoyed enough, liable to start pissing everyone else on the planet off. What people don’t seem to realise, is why.

People, if you come and punch me in the back of the head when I don’t even know you’re in the same building as me, then no, I’m not going to fucking like you. Don’t come up to me three days later asking why I ignore you. For god’s sake you tool, just because YOU have the memory capacity of a goldfish, doesn’t mean everyone does. You see, if you annoy or hurt me, I remember.

I guess the point I’m trying to get accross here is, stop being a goddamn twat. Of course I ignore you, you punched me in the back of the freaking head. Now I realise that to some of you less savoury types, administering violence and not being acknowledged for it is a new concept (if you’re actually able to understand words that long). Why? Because we, unlike you, whom the current generation of brits dis-affectionately call “chavs”, are’nt scum.

Anyone I’ve talked to, online or in real life, knows that I have somewhat pessimistic, and hardline views on some stuff. The current legal system is one of them. At the minute, the British government is spending far too much money keeping rapists, murderers, and other scum (much like the kind we find on the street in Britain (and I’m not talking about dog crap)) in cushy little jail cells. They even get Playstations, all on taxpayers money. Now, sorry, but that’s absolute bollocks. These are people who’ve commited crimes. What about the people licing in council flats, who work for a living but can barely afford to pay the rent? Why don’t the government buy PlayStations for them instead?

The scum on Britain’s streets no longer realise that prison is a bad place, and to be honest, who can blame them? If the government bys them all Playstations and tellys, there’s not much of a difference between the outside world and prison. The legal system is fucked up, and I can only think of one solution.

Shoot the bastards.