The Journal of Joe The Peacock. Yay.

7.11.2008:

Diablo II on Mac OSX = FAIL (or, Apple disenchantment, part 3)

10:29 PM

So, ever since the announcement of Diablo 3, I've had a hankerin' to play some Diablo 2. I finally succumbed to it today and ran out to Best Buy to grab a copy of the Diablo Battle Chest (my original D2 copy for PC was given away some time last year... Well, I say "given away", when I actually mean "loaned to a guy I no longer associate with and can't bother to ask for it back, due to the bullshit it'd bring along with it").

I got home and started installing as quick as I possibly could. It took a bit, but finally, I was ready to get to hackin' and slashin' with my Assassin. But, this would not happen for me, for as soon as I clicked "Play" from the installer dialog, I got a huge program crash.

So I tried again. Program crash.

I Googled. I read a bit of forum crap saying it needs the latest version - the discs are at version 1.03, and it needs 1.12. So I download the patcher. I patch. I run.

Program crash.

Grr.

So, I Google "Diablo II Crash Leopard" and ended up with a link to this guy's blog, writing about the exact same disappointment for the exact same reasons. He linked to this forum, which explains the problem (and for those who end up having the same, don't read from where I just linked - let me save you a TON of time and link you to a very quick fix):

Apple, for whatever reason, took out support for 256 color mode in the 10.5.2 update for the display driver for the Nvidia chipset in the Macbook Pro.

This boggles my mind.

WHY DO THAT? There is no good reason to reduce functionality that doesn't in any way burden or tax the system just by sitting there ununsed. There is, however, a GREAT reason for not taking it out for no good reason - IT BREAKS SHIT. Shit like Diablo 2.

And here's the really brilliant part - Diablo 2 doesn't even NEED the 256 mode to run, it just needs to know it's there to launch. You can run D2 under OpenGL with no problems whatsoever... As long as you can get the stupid thing to load.

So, I tried the long version of the fix, and got some graphical glitching (and for some reason, Finder kept launching and crashing over and over - very strange... Made clicking a desktop icon impossible). Then I ran the simple installer some guy made (linked above) and boom - I'm playing D2.

So yeah... Yet another really stupid reason Apple gave me to get angry. Everything that's happened from Apple to get me angry has been just plain stupid and avoidable.

I won't switch back, mind you. I still love my macs. I'm just really annoyed.

Labels: apple, technology, utter failure

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7.10.2008:

What the hell good is ProCare?

9:50 PM

Because the new iPhone is debuting tomorrow, the fine staff at the Apple store couldn't see me about my failed iPod. They had to take all appointments today, because they're taking none tomorrow.

I understand that.

What I DON'T understand is the fact that this also applied to ProCare members. For the uninitiated, ProCare is a $99.00 a year membership you can buy to automatically move you to the front of the line for support. It is supposed to absolutely guarantee that, even if every scheduled appointment is full, you WILL be seen for support that day. It's basically a hall pass for your problems.

And my problem - at 1:00 in the afternoon, mind you, not near closing - was with a two-week-old iPod classic 160gb that has a failed hard drive. It's clicking and whirring and generally not ever going to work ever ever. And when I explained this to the staff, all they could tell me was "Sorry, we can't help you, iPhone debuts tomorrow, yadda yadda." I whipped out my ProCare card and they simply shrugged. "We can ask a manager, but it won't help, tomrorow's iPhone launch blah blah go fuck yourself, you wasted your hundred bucks."

That's just plain absurd.

I'm really becoming disenchanted with Apple.

Labels: apple, gaming, technology, utter failure

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7.01.2008:

STUPID FUCKING APPLE

8:24 PM

I have iTunes on my desktop. I sync my iPod with that machine.

I have iTunes on my laptop. I play my desktop's library through it.

I am away from home, have my laptop, and my ipod with me. I plug the ipod into the laptop, because I need some tunes.

iTunes syncs the ipod with the laptop, thus deleting 120 gb of music off my ipod in one fell swoop.

WHY THE FUCK IS iTUNES SO FUCKING STUPID THAT IT CAN'T TELL THAT A FULLY STOCKED LIBRARY ON AN IPOD IS NOT TO BE DELETED BY SYNCING TO AN EMPTY LIBRARY???? WHY?????????

Labels: apple, technology, whiny bullshit

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6.19.2008:

Whim --> Win (DowntownComics.com Ad Case Study)

3:42 PM

Sometimes, I do graphic design crap. I mention it sparsely here, mostly because my contract work is curiously boring to 99.9% of the population of everywhere. But sometimes, something really makes me beam and I have to share it. This is one such time:

I was asked in great haste by a good friend of mine, Doug at DowntownComics.com, to do an ad for their shop. He was a fan of the city-targeted book ads I did for Drew Curtis's book last year (feel free to dig around and look at them all, they're silly).

Now, given the huge success of all these comic-related properties lately, I knew that the big win to translate box-office success and community interest in these heroes into store visits was to play with the current round-up of movies, and let people know there is a story behind the movies that is rich and detailed, and that the guys at Downtown Comics were experts at helping you discover the history of these legendary characters.

I had about an hour to get it together and send it off. On a whim, I chose Batman, mostly because I'm REALLY excited about the new direction it's taken, and I'm really into the Christian Bale version of Batman.

Now, the destination for the ad is Indy.com, the local "who's who and what's hot" site for Indiana. It's a nice site, and is done with a tremendous amount of gloss and polish. Very well crafted. Lots of fine tuning, decorations and "flair" on the edges and corners.

Most of the ads running on that site are done with the exact same "style" - gloss, polish, figurework and textures in the background, gradients everywhere... In short, professional and nice.

That was the problem. They were literally blending in. You couldn't tell where the site ended and the ad began at first, and then once you realized it was an ad, it just fizzled.

For a comic book shop to stand out in the middle of all this gloss, it needed something... Simple. Purposely simple, in fact. Direct, to the point, and undeniable in its message.

So after taking a second to consider the site, this is what I came up with in almost exactly one hour:

And this is what it looks like placed on the site:

(Click image for full-size)

When I saw it live, I knew I'd succeeded in my goal - the ad is so dark with that Batman logo, in contrast to the slick and polished red gradient everywhere, it literally sucks your eye right to it. You cannot miss it. Then, the animation plays, and before you know it, you've just watched an advertisement.

I was happy, Doug was happy, and all was well. I went about eating my lunch.

Then, we got this email:

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From: [Ad Manager]@indystar.com
Date: Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: Downtown comics screen shot
To: Doug Stephenson

Doug,

I think it helps that the ad was one of the best I've seen for online
advertising. Nice work on your end. It does look good on the page.

[trim]

Sincerely, [Ad Manager]

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Well now. That just made my day. I had to share :)

Labels: art, sometimes I do design work, technology

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6.11.2008:

Why I don't keep a resume

10:27 PM

There are a number of reasons I don't actually have a resume. For instance, I don't really need one. But if I did, this is the reason I wouldn't keep one anyway:

This is an unnamed site I worked on in 2006. I did the design. I led the UI development team and the CMS development team. We did a good job - a really good job, in fact. I gave them strategy for deployment. I gave them tips on building and maintaining a community.

We handed it over to the client, and it was slick and beautiful. Two and a half years later, and... Well, let's just say that, when we finished, absolutely did NOT look like this:

click image for full-sized bashing goodness

They have completely butchered a solid design. And anyone who judged ME and MY work based on the 2008 state of this site would scoff and move on to the next resume.

And that, my friends, is why I don't keep one. The ever-changing nature of sites after I deployed them results in material that does not represent what I do. In some cases, they vary slightly. In others, it's like they took my designs and comps and handed them to 4th graders to cut-and-paste magazine clippings all over.

God.

Just... God.

**Update**

For the record, yes, there are 28 affiliate (city) sites for [UNNAMED SITE], and I did them all. They run off the same engine.

Also, those who were at the Vegas book signing and heard the "performance"... this MIGHT be the subject of the story that caused the legal hangup a few weeks back... Maybe.

Labels: Joe is a pompous ass, Joe's life, sometimes I do design work, technology

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6.07.2008:

A NEW for-real ransom virus - please read

3:01 PM

I'm not a tech blogger (on purpose, because god knows we have enough of them out there), but I'd be remiss if I didn't do my part to call attention to this new virus that encrypts your precious data with a 1024-bit encryption key, and demands a ransom be paid to get the decryption key.

Now, this isn't the weaksauce 128-bit version from '06, or the mediumsauce 660-bit key from last year. This one is ALL NEW for 2008, and even though the older versions could be decrypted, this one ain't quite there yet... And might not be there for a while.

Why do I say that? Well... It took Distributed.net 1,757 days across 331,252 individual computers working together to crack a 64-bit RC5 key. This is 1024-bit key on the same algorithm... So yeah. You pony up the dough, or your data's fucked.

The virus apparently infects PCs through unpatched browser exploits. The bottom line... PLEASE update your browser if you're on a PC. My suggestion, of course, is to start using FIREFOX if you're not, and keep it up to date with every new release. Trust me, if you're not using it and see changing as a big pain... It is, but within a week, you'll NEVER go back.

Please, at the very least, move from IE6 to IE7 and set up Windows Update to automatically update your machine. No matter how "evil" you see WGA as being, it's nowhere near as evil as having your sensitive data locked down with some 1024-bit encryption key and having to either a) wait or b) pay a ransom to get at it.

Just checking the stuff on my machine, if I were hit with this thing, This Is Not Art! Productions would be in a WORLD of hurt. Thankfully, with Jeremy's help, I've created a fairly fail-proof backup schema that incorporates Apple Time Machine on a remote drive, rsynch backup between the laptop and desktop, and off-site storage of all data nightly at Mozy.com. Also, thankfully, I don't use PCs anymore. But that's a whole other topic.

Seriously, update your stuff. Don't get jacked.

Labels: technology

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6.03.2008:

Very cool Reddit goodies

1:52 PM

Alexis (Kn0thing) and the gang from Reddit.com were SUPER cool and sent me a bobblehead and autographed postcard last week:

I also got 2 t-shirts out of the deal. All it costed me was a free book at ROFLcon and some t-shirts (which I hope they got...)

Anyway, it was VERY cool of them to send this cool stuff over.

Labels: cool toys, technology

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5.30.2008:

It's back

1:50 PM

My laptop is back, and by the looks of things, it's probably fixed.

This is a relief.

Incidentally, check this out - macbook pro, mac pro, cintiq, etc all running in harmony:

Labels: apple, technology

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5.22.2008:

Downside/Upside, Vol. 2

4:10 PM

Starting point: Your macbook pro's keyboard and trackpad break.

Downside: You can't work without an external keyboard, which also fails during a short presentation which leaves you utterly without recourse.

Upside: It justifies to your wife the need for a backup system, so you can actually send the stupid laptop off for repair.

Downside: 2 hour drive to go buy a new Mac Pro, 2 hour drive home.

Upside: It's a fucking MAC PRO. 8 cores, 16gb ram, 2TB hard drive, additional 512mb memory card (Nvidia GeForce 8800GT) so you can run 2 monitors AND your new Cintiq tablet... It's a bad mamma-jamma.

Downside: The Nvidia badass super mega card? Yeah, they sold me one meant for the OLD mac pro, so it doesn't work in this NEWER mac pro.

Extra Downside: I even asked after seeing the sticker if "Legacy" meant "Will not work with the machine I'm actually buying right now," and the "genius" at the Apple Store Perimeter Center said "nope, it'll work."

Upside: Not much of one. They're going to send me the proper card, but I have to pay for it first, then they'll credit me when I return the one that was wrong for my system. But the small bit that is an upside is that they're working hard to get it out overnight TODAY so I'll have it tomorrow, so that's cool.

Overall, it's been a bit frustrating dealing with Apple stuff the past month or so. But still, NOTHING compares to the Dell saga.

Labels: apple, downside/upside, technology, utter failure

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5.11.2008:

The MacBook Pro Chronicles?

11:55 AM

I really, really, really hope this keyboard + trackpad issue on my Macbook Pro doesn't become another Motherboard Chronicles-story. I really, really, really hope it's fixed and done with... But the fact that I can't rely on my laptop's built-in keyboard and trackpad is REALLY upsetting.

Having to plug in a USB keyboard is a mild inconveinence - after all, you can just stack that where the non-functioning keyboard sits on your laptop and, you know... Play pretend. But the mouse... The mouse bit is REALLY infuriating. I can't just sit in a chair and work off my knees. I have to find a table to use the damn mouse.

It's aggrevating.

So, I've reverted my firmware from 1.5.1 to 1.5, and that didn't fix it - but I've read on a ton of forums that re-installing the 1.5.1 firmware update helps. So I have, and so far, it's working... The input "stutters" from time to time, but at least it's working.

Now, to publish this, put this thing to sleep, and see later if the fix took.

Labels: technology, utter failure

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The Journal of Joe The Peacock. Yay.

7.11.2008:

Diablo II on Mac OSX = FAIL (or, Apple disenchantment, part 3)

7.10.2008:

What the hell good is ProCare?

7.01.2008:

STUPID FUCKING APPLE

6.19.2008:

Whim --> Win (DowntownComics.com Ad Case Study)

6.11.2008:

Why I don't keep a resume

6.07.2008:

A *NEW* for-real ransom virus - please read

6.03.2008:

Very cool Reddit goodies

5.30.2008:

It's back

5.22.2008:

Downside/Upside, Vol. 2

5.11.2008:

The MacBook Pro Chronicles?

Archives

A NEW for-real ransom virus - please read