A little over 3 months ago, the Kia started acting… strange.  It was due for some mechanical work (or so said the reminder card that showed up in the mail), and the 4 wheel drive was now more of a 3 wheel drive.  So off Tami and I went to the local Kia dealer, just to see what they had… we barely made it out of the “truck” when one of the salesmen(women) was on us asking if we were planning on trading it in.
After some discussion, property transferage (the Sportage had accumulated quite the supply of equipment stored in the back over the years, it would appear) and a quick goodbye, we loaded up Tami’s brand new Kia Sorrento and drove off the lot.  Only to return 15 minutes later because *someone* (read:me) forgot the magnet on the back of the Sportage.  So, off we drove, again.
We haven’t really taken it on any road trips yet, and haven’t checked out the 4×4 on it (I think Tami is afraid to), but I see some good adventures coming this summer… with lots of extra room in the truck (yes, this time is has an actual truck chassis), there’s space for supplies, and even Mike as well.  The furthest road trip we’ve gone on was a trip to the Island to see Mom and Dad (most of that trip was ferry-based), and a drive to Port Alberni on a grave-hunt (Tami is working real hard on her family genealogy, and discovered that one of her relatives is buried up there somewhere… we found the cemetery, but could not find him… guess there may be another trip in the future).

Village Gamer (Tami being the head person) recently started up a monthly event called VINO… it’s like a gathering of the geeks for Vancouver.  *smirk*  Industry professionals from all branches come together for an evening of discussion, eating, drinking, and all around a good time.  With December’s event (the second one) coming up fast*** (I hear rumours of DJ music or Rock Band, but that’s still in the works), I think VINO is well on it’s way to being a great monthly event.

While I’m discussing Village Gamer, it seems that Tami is finally being recognized as a major Canadian News Site for the industry… a few weeks ago, she received a press copy of Dragon Age Origins (which I am sure Tami will tell you is one of her favorite games right now).  I think this is indication of great things for Village Gamer… all the hard work that Tami is putting into the site and it’s content might finally be starting to come back.

All in all, it’s been an interesting few months around the household, and I can’t wait to see what the new year brings… I imagine February will involve a lot of time spent NOT in Vancouver, so maybe February will be the time to finish the garage…?

*** NOTE: this has been written over the past few weeks while at work, to keep from damaging my desk with my forehead… so some events have already come and passed.  Might help if I remembered to send my txt files home before logging the work computer off for the night, but when you’re struggling just to keep up, stuff like that is the last thing on your mind.

So, in a few short weeks it’ll be 2010.  It’s hard to believe that another whole year has almost passed.  I mean, yeah there have been times where it may have felt like time has slowed to a crawl, where I wish the day would just end (oddly, today was one such day), but overall the year has seemed to pass rather quickly.  I think back on the time that has gone by, and events that have taken place during that time, and its a blur.

I went from being a yard dawg (a position that I have known since I was 11) to being a Dispatcher, and a shipper for a major retail and distribution outlet for the Fraser Valley…  a bit of a major change in my life, but one I hope I can say I am adapting well to.  It also allows me time to focus some energy on projects outside of the Lumber Yard…  though admittedly, Tami is the one who does most of the work.

For the first time in 9 years, I got to see my best friend Tanis… someone who more often than not was reduced to being a voice on the phone, as distance made actual visits nearly impossible.  That voice on the phone was, for many years, my one voice of reason… a focus point to keep me sane on my little Island.  Well, as sane as one can remain when growing up over there.

A very good friend at work, who was also my then-primary means of travel to and from the store each day, instilled a small bit of fear on myself and the rest of my co-workers, when he was rushed into a triple heart bypass just over 3 weeks ago.  He’s pulled through fine though, and while he has not yet returned to work, I am certain that when he does, we’ll all be in trouble.

My young little cousin Stacia went and got herself married.  Mind you, I guess she’s not all that young anymore (none of us are), but since there were people at the wedding that I had not seen since my teen years (the bride and her sister included), she’ll always be the little kid at Christmas.

Gaming and animation recognition in Vancouver took another hit this past week… well, it’s taken several over the last year-ish, but this one is going to be the one that finishes off the year.

The Elans Awards, a scam awards show founded originally by Holly Carinci and Jack Weatherell, that Vancouver was subjected to for the past 3 years, decided that it was done with Vancouver (and Canada) and moved off to San Diego.  Good riddance as far as I’m (and many others are) concerned.  She is more than free to take her scamshow and go home.  We have dealt with Holly and her antics for some time now (much of it is available here on the site, and more yet will likely be made available soon), and the best thing that can happen to Vancouver and it’s Studios is for The Elans Awards to move as far away as possible, and never come back.  The antics of the producer (and her former “partner”) have polluted the industry for years… from bounced cheques, scamming webhosts and site designers, using show funding (provided by local businesses for the purpose of actually helping pay for a show) to pay for their own vices (bikes and partying come to mind), to general lying and badmouthing of companies in the Country that have worked hard to be where they are, only to be slandered for not jumping through hoops for the producers on a whim and bottle of wine.  The very idea that she has decided to move the show to another city in a different country shows that she has tapped the resources of this one dry, burning every bridge she has crossed along the way.  I sympathize to all the companies that are going to get tied up in this down in the States, but I congratulate Vancouver for managing to survive the worst thing to come to the industry in our Great City.  Better things are definitely coming… and none of them will have the name “The Elans” attached to them.  Do I sound resentful of this farce of an awards show? You’re damn right I do. I refuse to stand and support any group or event that is only out there to rape the industry in hopes of making a quick buck off the hard work of others.  To make a claim of being the elite in gaming awards shows is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to steal hard-earned money from game companies… many of which are struggling right now as it is… all so they can try to win a cheap pewter statue worth less than they had to pay out in order to be “nominated”… all the while stomping on the backs of those with talent and skill to recognize, all because they couldn’t afford to pay the entry fees (and then badmouthing those people behind their backs, calling them cheap and unprofessional).  The Spike Awards takes the time to notice what the industry has to provide, and recognizes them for it yearly.  Why support a second-rate awards show created by the same people who were busted for illegal trading and fined over $80,000, when you can support a real professional awards show like the one put on by Spike TV?  The Spike Awards is everything that The Elans wishes it could be but fails at, as well as everything that The Elans claims to be but lies about.

Things like not paying for the venue until the day of the show (and then badmouthing the venue for not letting people use it anyway) is bad form.  Bouncing cheques used to pay for services while badmouthing that same provider behind their backs is bad form.  Showing up to a show drunk, and continuing on from there is bad form (especially when it’s supposedly your show).  Using money that is supposed to be for a show to buy a motorcycle is not only bad form, its outright stupidity.  Mind you, stupidity seems to run rampant with the show and it’s producer anyway (its REAL producer, that is… personally, I don’t see how someone can be named as a founder of a show already in it’s 4th year, but whatever), so no real surprise there.  I also think it’s kind of stupid to badmouth someone really harshly behind their backs, using an email account on that person’s own server, then not bothering to delete those emails when you pack up and move during the cover of darkness while leaving bills outstanding with several companies.  Not that anyone would do that last thing, but if they did, I wonder if those other companies would like copies…

At any rate, do us a favour, Holly… don’t dent Vancouver’s door with your ass on the way out.  It might cause you some brain damage… and we don’t want to give any indication to Vancouver’s talent that you were ever even here.

Sometimes words aren’t enough… but Shawn does such a wonderful job of conveying the message that many feel.  So, instead of taking my normal route for November 11th, I leave you with a simple video and a set of lyrics to accompany it.  The video says more than I ever could anyway.

It only takes two minutes to think about the sacrifice others have given, and are giving right now, for you to be here.   Tomorrow at 11 AM, give that time.

Some people say, I’m a fighter
Some people hate what I do
I stand for my country
I stand for you

I got a family that loves me
They respect what I do
Try telling your child you’re leaving
Believe me it’s a hard thing to do

So, If I die don’t judge me
Cause, I will not judge you
And If I die, please accept it
Cause, I would die for you

We have our reasons
Rules, morals and beliefs
I won’t slander your opinion
I’m just searching for peace

So, If I die don’t judge me
Cause, I will not judge you
And If I die, please accept it
Cause, I would die for you

Reposted From Village Gamer

Now, from the headline there, you are probably expecting me to go into some rant about how it should be okay to tamper with Apple’s software because you are paying for the phone anyway.  Nope, not gonna go there.  So what’s the point in starting with such a controversial topic?  Well, hopefully over the next few paragraphs, I can explain further.

Apple is claiming that jailbreaking an iPhone will allow the user unlimited uncontrolled access to the cell towers, essentially giving them the ability to make free phone calls.  Yes, this is somewhat true, but HIGHLY misconstrued.  With a jailbroken phone, you COULD make free phone calls, and this has some cell providers very nervous.  Google is working hard to bring their new service, Google Voice, to cell phones everywhere.  And why shouldn’t they?  It’s a great service that allows you to be reachable on a single phone number, no matter where in the World you might be.  It’s like Skype times 2.  Cell phone services like AT&T are worried about this, thinking that it will pull their customers away.  What AT&T are not realizing is that yes, while a user can have Google Voice for making phone calls, they are still going to require some sort of data service to make it usable in non-WiFi locations.  So yeah, WiFi seems to be everywhere these days.  Have you tried to actually connect to any available City-wide WiFi services and use a streaming service like Skype Voice?  You may as well be using 2 cans and some string… work out the math when you have a thousand or so people on wireless… you might rank just slightly better than dial-up… if you’re lucky.  Don’t worry yourselves AT&T, people are still going to need your service… though I’m starting to wonder why.

Apple claims that jailbreaking their phones will give users unrestricted access to the insides of the phone’s Operating System.  Yep, that is actually true, and likely results in a lot of hard resets.  But only the dumbest of the dumb would actually go in there and screw around with something they don’t understand.  Okay, yeah, that sums up a good 80% of the population it seems (with a +/- of 15%, but those are the same people who take the cover off their electrical outlets so they can find out where the electricity comes from, and wake up an hour later in an ambulance commenting on how they didn’t think it would hurt to use a screwdriver on the screw with a wire attached.  Only the more educated and understanding of users would actually even know how to get into the operating system (here’s a hint for the lower-evolved… it doesn’t require opening the phone case), and what to do once they were in there.

Yes, Apple has every right to say to the user that jailbreaking is not allowed.  Heck, they’re right now trying to get the DMCA ammended to include jailbreaking as a form of copyright infringement (huh?).  But what harm is coming from the end user getting all the use out of their phone as they can?  The iPhone and iPod Touch have the opportunity to be the elite in PDA’s… what they don’t have is the functionality to be as big as they could be.  For everything you want the phone to do, you need to track down an App for it.  Can’t find one in iTunes because Apple already has a program that does something a little simular (I’m looking in your direction, Firefox)?  Tough luck then.  Maybe you have the coding skills to make an App that does exactly what you want… you’ll need to pay Apple for the right to make it, then the right to install it on your own phone… all this being based on whether Apple even approves the App in the first place.  Windows Mobile and RIM allow any user to install any program they want… yet Apple is locked right down.

When a user wants to jailbreak their phone, it’s not so they can screw over Apple, or pull one over on their cell service provider… it’s so that they can receive the functionality that the iPhone is capable of providing but that Apple has decided you don’t deserve.  It’s so users can install the Apps that THEY need, and not the Apps that Apple has told them they want.  If a user wants to install a program on the phone so that they can receive greater functionality from it, why not let them?  They know the BS about taking chances on it not working… let them make their own decisions.

While I would not go so far as some by comparing Apple to Hitler and the SS Army, I will go far enough to compare them to Microsoft (*shock* *gasp* *oh, the horror!*).  While Apple as long claimed to be the representation of all that is cool and hip with the computing world, they have begun to slip and fall from grace.  I guess things get lonely at the top.  While Microsoft is working to escape their Monopoly claims and work with the users to bring them what they want and need, Apple is moving in the opposite direction.  Prime example, the OS that the iPhone and iPod Touch run on is a trimmed down version of Unix, which in itself began as open source programming.  Now, you can’t even look at your own folders on it without jailbreaking the phone/iPod and using a third party program to browse the system.

So now I come back to the beginning… why you should jailbreak the iPhone.  Up to this point, I imagine that you were thinking I was talking to the average reader through the article.  Only partially… it’s primarily a direct address to Apple.  Why should you break the iPhone?  Well, because you should have already had it jailbroken when you gave it to us.  Bring back the rights for the user to install what they need, and reclaim your position at the top.  The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be to dust off all the footprints from being trampled by all the others who have passed you by.

So Apple, Google Android has what it takes… do you?

(Are you confused, what with this article taking place after the last one?  I still really enjoy my iPhone… I just feel that it has the potential to be so much more, if only Apple were to allow it to reach it’s full potential.  Besides, you know how my mind works by now, I should hope.  )

So, on a whim (well, not so much, as I had been eyeing them up since the first generation was released), Tami and I headed into Abbotsford to visit James Kavin at the Rogers store (at Sevenoaks Mall, great service) and see about getting the new iPhone 3Gs.  After much discussion with the service representative about various methods to have the phone added to my account, we figured out a way to make it work well for both myself and Mike (who will soon be inheriting a new-ish HTC Touch Diamond).

Opening the box and turning it on for the first time, I was somewhat surprised by the speed.  Mind you, I have not had an older-gen iPhone to compare it to, but having come from a Motorola RAZR3, then to a Blackberry Pearl 8100, then to an HTC Touch Diamond, the 3GS was (to borrow from Rogers motto) Rocket fast.  Thus far, on initial testing the only problems I have encountered have been (and I will try to go into some detail as to why they are problems to me):

• Applications do not seem to like running in the background.  What I mean here is, when you have an Instant Messenger program running, and you go back to your home screen… well, it logs you out.  Many of them now support Push, and will send you an SMS when you receive a message while “offline”, but I personally like just being able to cycle between programs without them actually closing.  Background processes in Windows Mobile was one of its obvious selling features for me.  Especially since I tend to log into SSH from my phone to manage our servers, and having it log me back out each time I look at a different screen gets a bit tedious.
• Only being able to obtain LEGAL apps for the iPhone through the iTunes store.  That’s great, but you know, sometimes I want to help support those “basement coders” just as much as the people who sit in an office developing all day.  You will notice that I highlighted the Legal part there.  Yes I know that there are ways to bypass iTunes when installing Apps… so there is no need for anyone to comment reply this post with a walkthrough on jailbreaking, or on cracked apps… it’s not something we support here, and I am pretty sure if you walk into any Rogers/AT&T store and ask them about jailbreaking your iPhone, you’ll end up getting a 15 minute lecture on why they don’t allow it on their service.  Let’s not even begin to get into the specifics on what sort of risks you face with bricking your phone by going through that route.
• The inability to “browse” the phone files, like you can with Windows Mobile.  I understand that Apple is protecting their product, and trying to keep the average user from turning their shiny new phone into a Frisbee or a paper weight, but sometimes I like to be able to simply click on a file from an explorer window, and select “delete” without having to go through a resource-heavy program like iTunes.
• Syncing is a bit of a headache.  If you happen to make an iTunes App purchase from your phone, you will need to first “transfer your purchases” from your phone to your iTunes… even if the purchases where made on the same account.  If you fail to do this, the purchased App won’t be on your phone after you sync with iTunes.  I would think that a better design would have allowed for iTunes to store your App purchase history on their servers so that it just knew what was already purchased from your phone.  Or maybe to have the iTunes only sync newer content in both directions, so that nothing actually vanished from either end.  Wishful thinking I suppose.I am sure there are problems that I can come up with over the phone (I have not yet noticed the often-reported overheating issue yet,  but working in an office with A/C and not putting the GPS to much use thus far is likely one of the main reasons why), but I hear food cooking and all thoughts just sort of go out the window at that point.

Some of the definite selling points for the phone are:

• The screen is large.  With the screen taking up 90% of the front of the phone, it makes it very easy to both navigate and read sites.  I found on the HTC that, while the screen was a decent size, a lot of sites required several zoom selections and a lot of scrolling in order to read even the most basic of sites.  iPhone is a winner here.
• The camera takes phenomenal pictures.  With a 3MP builtin camera, the pictures that I’ve taken are right up to par with the standard $100+ digital cameras you would find on the market.  I admit, it’s no SLR camera by any means, but when you need a camera fast, it’s a good way to go.  And now that they have brought about digital video recording as well, any superiority that the HTC had in this area has been lost.  Good move on Apple’s part.
• The GPS is awesome.  Being a typical male *cough*, asking for directions isn’t exactly my forte… and the HTC tended to take as long as 5 minutes to locate GPS satellites before it could tell me where I was.  Usually by that point, I would have either been mugged, or found a coffee shop to ask how to get back to “the good part of town”.  The GPS on the 3GS, for one reason or another that currently escapes me, takes seconds… the longest I have had to wait so far was just under a minute… and this was while in my office at work (yeah, I get bored in there sometimes and need a reminder that yes, I am still at work).  While it only comes with Google Maps integrated (I would have liked to see some sort of Tom-Tom-like interface that could tell me that I need to turn left at the next corner, instead of assuming I know how to read a map), the gyrometer that the 3Gs now uses allows for “on the fly” map rotation, allowing me to always know which way is actually North, based on the direction I am facing.
• A very large portion of iPhone apps are actually developed right here in Canada.  While this may not exactly be an iPhone or an Apple perk, it’s most certainly one for Canada.  Kudos to Canadian App coders!
• Many of the Apps are actually reasonably priced.  Yes, you do have to sometimes pay for the programs you want… but with the literally thousands and thousands of Apps available on iTunes, it wouldn’t be too hard to find exactly what you are looking for.  Sure, there are a few out there that are… well, I guess I could say unreasonably priced, but you encounter that anywhere you go.  I can justify the higher prices on some Apps by simply pointing out that you’re probably still saving money over buying new hardware that does the exact same thing… and only that thing.  So overall, you’re likely still ahead.  And if not, just be determined and keep hunting for a cheaper version.

Overall I am thus far very impressed with the investment.  While it is of course open to improvement (as any piece of hardware would be), it’s certainly a very sleek and smooth-working piece of equipment.  I would avoid just calling it a phone, as it’s become very obvious that we have since moved away from the basic cell phones that were strictly for calls, and the new “mini computers” that we get now.  Apple is well on their way towards dominating the cell market with this release, and I can’t wait to see what they can come up with next to top it.  Expect to hear more from me on this phone as things progress and I discover new and exciting ways to break an iPhone. 

Out of my own curiousity, what do you (the readers) consider to be a “must have” application for the phone, assuming you have one.  Don’t have one?  What would be a definite required application you would want on one if you did?