Lucky Number Seven
06 September 2009
I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is to be using a new computer after suffering at the hands of my laptop for the past year. It's just so quick and painless compared to how it used to be. Now I don't have to waste hours of my life waiting for Windows to starts or for a program to load. I can even have several things running at once without slow-down, imagine that! Best of all, I can finally upgrade to a new version of Windows. As good as Windows XP is, it does feel very dated now compared to Windows 7. I'm currently using the Release Candidate as my main operating system until it officially gets released on 22nd October. So far it's been fantastic. It's like having the stability of XP combined with the aesthetics of Vista. It's pretty much everything Vista should have been plus a little bit extra. I'm particularly fond of the feature that lets you minimize everything but the selected window by shaking it from side-to-side. It's perhaps a little gimmicky but it sure is a lot of fun!
I think I'm pretty sorted as far as computers go for a good few years now. The best thing about getting a desktop is that I can upgrade the components as I go along. That way I can keep up with the advancing technology and not have to replace it in a few years. I'm currently planning on buying a decent graphics card in the new few months. I couldn't afford to get a dedicated graphics card on my budget so I'm having to use the integrated graphics found on the motherboard. It's fine for watching DVDs but it does struggle when you try to run a game that's been made in the last couple of years. All I need is a card that will be able to run Final Fantasy XIV when it comes out. Although, I've not decided if I want to play that on the PlayStation 3 or on the PC yet.
I would also like to get a proper monitor some time in the next year. My LCD TV is currently doubling up as a monitor at the moment. While it is an upgrade compared to my laptop screen, it's still lacking a bit in terms of resolution. What I'd really like is a monitor capable of outputting at least 1440x900, though 1680x1050 would be better. Considering how much that would cost, however, it's likely that I won't be able to afford it until May 2010. At least my RAM is sorted for a long time. I decided to spend a little bit more money and get 4 GB of RAM instead of 2 GB. That's the maximum my motherboard will take and should be more than adequate for at least two or three years. All in all, I'm a pretty happy bunny!
Posted byHocchan at 3:55 am 1 comments
The Arch-Nemesis Returns
03 September 2009
It's funny; I was hoping to mark my return to this blog with some better news but it appears that a certain organisation is out to ruin my plan. And they've done a pretty good job of it by all accounts. So, rather than resurrecting Kuroneko Doumei with a cheerful story about elves and pixies dancing on a big cake of happiness, I'm going to launch into a scathing attack on one of the companies that's become the bane of my existence in the last few years - Royal-Fucking-Mail.
You may recall that I've been pissed off by Royal Mail's shitty service a few times in the past. This is a company that seemingly prides itself on its ability to make me angry. Time and time again they manage to do something which completely enrages me to the point where I feel like going out into the street, ripping up the paving slabs, and hurling them at the nearest moving object. What is it about this company that attracts the biggest bunch of tossers to come work for them? I swear to God, it's like they were trained to be incompetent.
This latest incident is the most annoying one by far. Here's what happened. I had recently ordered a new computer (which I'll probably write about in a separate post) and I needed a monitor cable to go with it so that I could use it with my LCD TV. I bought a Belkin monitor cable from a seller on eBay last Wednesday and waited for it to arrive. Days passed and there was no word from the seller. Then on Saturday evening I received an e-mail from the seller saying that they'd been on holiday, but they'd posted the item that morning and were sorry for the delay. Normally that wouldn't be too much of a problem. However, it just happened to be a Bank Holiday weekend which meant that it probably wouldn't arrive until Tuesday. No problem, I thought, my computer was due to arrive on Tuesday anyway so it wouldn't matter much.
Tuesday came and my computer arrived as expected, along with the keyboard and mouse which I had ordered from Play.com. However, there was no sign of the monitor cable. I was slightly annoyed since I wouldn't be able to use my new computer until it arrived. I knew it would probably turn up the next day so I decided to wake up early and wait for the postman so I would definitely hear him knocking. It gets to Wednesday morning and I wake up at 8:00 AM to wait. It gets to 10:30 AM and I hear the letterbox lid slam. Odd, I didn't hear anyone knocking (I was listening intently), I thought. I went downstairs and there's a 'Sorry, you were out' card by the door. The postman was already long gone by the time I got there. He didn't fucking knock! What a bastard! He just left his shitty little card and pretended that I wasn't in. Cheeky son of a bitch!
As a result of this shit-faced tosser, I've had to wait until this morning until I could go COLLECT my monitor cable from the depot. What's the point of me paying postage if I have to bloody go collect it? And the worst bit is, the parcel would have easily fit through the letter box which means that the postman didn't even have the fucking thing with him in the first place. He had intentionally not taken it with him on his rounds that morning and instead, forced me to travel into town to pick it up. What a cock! What the fuck is he being paid for? He's a fucking POSTman, so fucking post my shit, you whore! FUCKING ROYAL MAIL IS SHITE!
Posted byHocchan at 10:24 pm 0 comments
