Jul -- Posts by Tamkis

Tamkis
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Posted on 01-13-16 12:30:15 AM, in Laptop shopping

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So Sept 2015, my beloved HP ProBook 4540s running W7 Pro x64 bit the dust. It heartbroke me, because I handpicked this laptop and bought it essentially for free Black Friday 2012 ($500), due to earning a one-time $1000 scholarship for school supplies. It was an affordable business laptop, with powerful hardware and features. Half of that scholarship went to textbooks, the rest went to a new laptop. The laptop died due to eventually refusing to ever boot up again, for unknown reasons last summer. I tried many things to fix it within my tight college budget, but I gave up fixing it. I plan on turning the old HDD into a VM with an USB-to-HDD interface so that I can recover data (no backups since July 2015) onto my next laptop, and reinstall the same software I had earlier. I am currently using a university rental laptop, which a professor loaned to me last semester for a video game project for a class. It's rental is technically overdue (the prof is extending it to end of January), I need to return it, and I need to recover the data from the old HDD and move the important data from this laptop to a new, permanent one.

TL;DR:
I am shopping for a solid, powerful 64-bit Windows 7 laptop (mobile workstation preferred), and could use some suggestions for one within a $300-$500 range, new, used, or refurbished. I would prefer to have its hardware be expandable for future hardware upgrades, but have support for legacy hardware, be a reputable, reliable HP model with no serious design flaws, and have its specs to overpass the old HP ProBook 4540s. I do not plan on traveling with it much, so weight and size are not too much of a concern. I have a legal boot disc of W7 x64 Pro that I can upgrade to, as long as the new computer doesn't come pre-loaded with W8/W10 crap that is fine, since I heard downgrading from them is extremely difficult and do not wish to deal with re-partitioning. Due to Microsoft's shenanigans on killing off Windows 7 soon from being pre-loaded onto new PCs in order to sell their swan-song Windows 10 junk, I am looking on maximizing specs and future proofing a Windows 7 machine to make it last long into the future until it completely dies, because after it dies, I am moving to Linux permanently, as I am done with M$'s junk OSes post-Windows 7. I do not like the direction their newer OSes are going, with it looking like a simplified tablet OS and Microsoft robbing control from us "ignorant" power-users (mandated software updates, removal of start menu, draconian and privacy-limited EULA, difficulty in downgrading, businesses socially rejecting W8/W10, etc.)

Specifically, I will be using the machine for heavier computing such as:
[list]
[*]General computing (office work, emails, etc)
[*]Modern PC video gaming
[*]Retro emulation
[*]Unity3D video game and retro homebrew dev
[*]3D CAD design
[*]Video editing and capture
[*]Audio editing
[*]Software engineering
[*]Embedded systems development
[*]Running VMs of older OSes and the old HDD
[/list]

And would like the following base features and hardware:
[list]
[*]RAM: Dual-slot DIMM or better, preferably expandable to 4GB+
[*]HDD: 500GB+
[*]OS: W7 x64 pre-loaded
[*]Processor: Intel i5 or better, 2.3 GHz+, with HAV
[*]Separate Mike and headphone jacks
[*]Motherboard should have chipset to support a sound driver with hardware Stereo Mix. (On old laptop, was able to upgrade from SRS Premium Audio driver to IDT HD Audio Codec, both which had Stereo Mix)
[*]USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports
[*]SD Card slot
[*]Dedicated Graphics card
[*]Gigabit or better Ethernet port
[*]WiFi
[*]VGA port
[*]14"+ screen size
[*]Either HDMI or DisplayPort ports
[*]Normal laptop slimline DVD-RW Drive or better
[*]Some means to use legacy serial/parallel port devices (ISA/PCI port or a docking station)
[*]Full-size keyboard (with Numpad)
[*]Not be breakably super-thin
[/list]

Optional features/hardware:
[list]
[*]Fingerprint scanner
[*]Webcam
[*]Dedicated sound card?
[*]Bluetooth?
[*]Be powerful enough to run the Exodus emulator for Sega Genesis at a high framerate (40-60fps)
[*]Be powerful enough to handle Dreamcast emulation
[*]Be able to support a slimline BD-ROM drive future upgrade
[*]Legacy RJ-11 modem port
[/list]

The best hardware I have found meeting or exceeding the desired specs currently are refurbished Elitebooks 8560w mobile workstations (specs) which run for an affordable $300-$500. They are slightly older models (~4 years old) and cost ~$1000 new, but are affordable when found refurbished, especially considering the powerful specs. They have 2-4 DIMM slots expandable up to a massive 32GB of RAM (usually ships with 4 or 8GB RAM), 500GB HDD, i5 or better processor at 2.6 GHz+ speed, W7 pre-loaded, and separate 3.5mm mike and headphone jacks. They also have 2.0 and 3.0 USB and SD Card ports, Gigabit ethernet and WiFi, VGA and DisplayPort ports, 3 dedicated graphic card options and 15.6" screen, a slimline CD Drive, an ExpressCard slot and a docking station (for legacy Serial/Parallel ports and other hardware) and more. According to the HP docs for this machine, the unit is certified for CAD and graphics work, and I think it should perform with flying colors for modern video gaming and other compuatationally-intensive work. Also, physically, it is built like a tank.

So what is your opinion on this laptop/mobile workstation? For its price refurbished, I think it has powerful, solid specs meeting my video gaming and development machine requirements, although it is a slightly older machine. Not sure how the graphics card and specs stack up against modern video gaming requirements, but the heaviest game I would probably be running are some 3D Steam games such as Trackmania and Transformers Devastation; nothing too insane such as Skyrim.

Have any of us Jul'ers experienced using an HP Elitebook 8560w unit, and will it perform as a reliable, powerful machine for development, multimedia, and gaming? Which processor options indeed have HAV, how do the graphics card option compare against each other, and should this machine have Stereo Mix according to the chipset? Or are there newer, better machines than the Elitebook 8560w within that price range and pre-loaded with Windows 7 that I should look at? Due to graduating last semester and still looking for a job in my field, my budget is extremely limited, and I can't be hording this rental forever.

Thanks!

Tamkis
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Posted on 01-18-16 05:42:56 AM, in Windows 10 Discussion

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Originally posted by StapleButter
So we have computers at home that run Windows 10, been watching that for a while and here are my feelings:

* mom always badgering me about how retro I am everytime this is brought up, as if I was using Windows 3.1. I'm not switching to 10, accept it and shut up, thank you.

* half the time, those computers are getting updates that take ages to download and install. And it's mandatory now. As if Windows Update wasn't annoying enough.

* "all your files are exactly where you left them", "we are preparing your computer", etc... Windows 10 is creepy. It feels like Microsoft is here, right in your computer, watching you and trying to communicate with you.

* It takes the decision to delete your shit without asking you. No thanks. It's like if your bank took the decision to give some of your money to random people behind your back. Also further reinforcing the feeling that you're sharing a computer with Microsoft and not really owning anything.

* the windows are ugly, hell, even Windows 3.1 looks nicer (and is more customizable and trustable). But I guess that doesn't matter, eventually your computer is meant to become a giant smartphone. Although it'd be silly to name it Windows if it doesn't have windows anymore... right? Might as well rename it to Skynet or something.

* "please wait while we are setting up shit" "oh and check this out in the meantime"... yeah, and what happened to progress bars? Or showing the user what is actually happening? Microsoft goes further in pretending the average user is a moron. (even if many are actually morons, maybe educating them is better than turning PCs into baby toys?)

* Does Windows 10 have anything actually new? Doesn't seem like it. I mean... Windows 7 already does everything I want and more. So why bother switching? Hell, even ye olde XP already does everything I want.

Pretty much sums up my feelings about Windows 10, and I will be avoiding it forever on Windows 7. It's evil and Satanic. Forced Windows updates, Orwellian privacy issues, fricking "apps"? No start menu, desktop gadgets, and forced (TMK) MS Account usage during setup? And rumors of W10 being a paid subscription-based service for some features? Malarky. The quicker Windows 10 dies, the better the technoverse will be.

* "all your files are exactly where you left them", "we are preparing your computer", etc... Windows 10 is creepy. It feels like Microsoft is here, right in your computer, watching you and trying to communicate with

the NSA. Fixed that for you

Tamkis
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Posted on 02-19-16 10:29:11 PM, in Windows 10 Discussion

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So apparently Microsoft has pushed the Windows 10 upgrade from an "optional' Windows Update patch to a "recommended" update. By default, recommended updates are enabled on new Windows 7/8 installs for Windows Update, but can be disabled. Microsoft really wants people to accidentally hop on the bleeding edge of Windows 10

.

GHacks article

Tamkis
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Posted on 03-21-16 09:54:20 PM, in Prototypes!

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So a certain seller I follow on eBay posted this NDS prototype:

Tetris DS 2004 (Unreleased proto)

It's an interesting, unreleased prototype of Tetris DS, created by THQ and TOSE Ltd, with a completely different build to the final, NES-themed game that was actually released by Nintendo in 2005. Information and pics about this build in the auction. It has debug menus and lack of Nintendo theming, among other things, according to the pics.

Has this been dumped, and should I consider bidding? This seller's protos are relatively cheap, and usually end up selling for <$200 max, and is at $91 right now. Looks interesting!

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Posted on 03-23-16 10:08:16 PM, in Prototypes!

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Since it appears to not have been dumped, I'll bid for it closer to the end of the auction (Easter Sunday) to try and win it. (Wow, the bid is still at $91 2 days later, and only 10 bids currently, with 3 days left).

Anybody else who can should bid also, in case I don't win it. I just hope whomever wins it is not a hoarding collector and dumps it, because it looks very interesting and Tetris DS was a favorite DS game of mine.

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Posted on 03-26-16 02:24:10 PM, in Prototypes!

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Auction is now at $127.50, with 23 hrs left. According to the bid history, appears two particular bidders have been trying to outbid each other in ~$20 increments. Will be placing my bid later on today (thank God I just got paid).

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Posted on 03-27-16 05:09:51 AM, in Prototypes!

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Originally posted by KartMario
Now up to $200.

(Indeed

. Been watching it periodically throughout the day).
Just placed both my bid and max bid, and will check the auction again tomorrow morning a few hours before it ends and Easter mass.

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Posted on 03-27-16 02:15:03 PM, in Prototypes! (last edited by Tamkis at 03-27-16 02:17:23 PM)

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Holy. Cow.
[img="http://www.mediafire.com/view/5t7n2bftdigi6rg/LostIt.png"][/img]

EDIT: Was winning at ~$300 until crazy bids in the last minute. I did, however, copy the photos and the listing info.

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Posted on 03-27-16 02:18:22 PM, in Prototypes!

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And that is why I usually don't bid for items like this on eBay...

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Posted on 04-21-16 10:20:01 PM, in Prototypes! (last edited by Tamkis at 04-21-16 10:24:41 PM)

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Apparently, the Tetris DS Proto is back from the same dealer

! It must be a different build

1 day to end of auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-NDS-Prototype-Flash-Card-USA-TETRIS-DS-UNRELEASED-2005-Nintendo-DS-TOSE-THQ-/172166560148

EDIT: Indeed, a different version

Auction details:

It's a version dated February 1st, 2005. There is no debug menu and the game probably is in final state with all game modes included. It's very different from the version dated November 9th, 2004.
Version: NTR-ATTE10-USA. CRC32=45A31B4D. Game languages are English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Sound like this would be akin to the "final" version of StarFox 2 vs. the beta. Somebody should notify some website interested in the item to organize a group bid unlike how XKeeper and I lost the previous time individually. I don't wish to see this disappear into a possible collector's hands again...

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Posted on 06-27-16 01:47:21 AM, in Prototypes! (last edited by Tamkis at 06-27-16 01:47:52 AM)

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Originally posted by divingkataetheweirdo
Reposting it here from the Twitter account, but we did find and release one of the prototypes for THQ's Tetris DS.

A lot info on this game, as well as a download, can be found here.

Glad to hear TCRF was able to get one of the builds (AND the technical/design documents)
and release this interesting proto! Can't wait to try it out on my flashcart and look at the documents (haven't used my NDS in ages)

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Posted on 06-29-16 12:14:24 AM, in Windows 10 Discussion

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Looks like someone finally sued Microsoft over a botched Windows 10 update. Hopefully this will lead to a class action lawsuit of some sort for all of the lost revenue and damage to people's data and business due to them maliciously shoving Windows 10 down everybody's throats.

Someone has also recently made a petition to ask the EFF to investigate into Microsoft's aggressive tactics about Windows 10.

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Posted on 08-11-16 11:48:26 PM, in Your fancy projects

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Current projects:

1. Put the finishing touches in order to finish/release Colonial Combat (95% complete) this August, a possibly controversial, satirical fighting video game about surviving at a certain university. It will either get me noticed by VG dev employers due to the technical advances, uniqueness, and slight controversial nature of the game, or offend them and lose opportunities.

2. Continue work on Socket the Hedgeduck, a Sonic 1 hack with Socket/Time Dominator assets. Submit it to the Sonic 2016 Hacking Contest and more builds to the Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics Collection on Steam Workshop.

3. Resume work and finish this year the Sega Genesis homebrew port of Ultra Air Hockey. Possibly submit it to the Sega Homebrew Competition 2016 (if there will be one), and release it on physical cartridges. Recently purchased the materials and hardware needed to burn one EPROM cartridge to test out the process of making my own repro cartridges, just waiting for the materials to arrive.

4. Start a Sega Dreamcast homebrew project in 2017?

5. Resume work in 2017 on a 3D space shooter project called StarEagle, assemble a dev team consisting of myself and other colleagues.

6. Lose weight, get caught up on sleep.

7. Continue working at my two part-time blue collared jobs unrelated to my major, (barely) staying afloat and paying off my college bills, and getting burned out working 7-days a week from the schedule overlap from the 2 jobs. One job starts at 3am, and is affecting my health.

8. Stop procrastinating with the above projects and get a real, full-time job in my field, either in Video game development or Software Engineering. I have been out of the university for 8 months, and no job offers yet...

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Posted on 08-21-16 02:43:48 PM, in Your fancy projects

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Originally posted by Zero One
Well, I start an unpaid work placement on Monday for 8 weeks, so I guess my projects are:

#1 - Get through that without going insane

#2 - Get the rest of E1M1 done for UQuake

#3 - More work on MonoTroid

#4 - Finish NewBot finally, but that's not happening within the next 8 weeks

#5 - More Unity work would be nice to have. A job I got rejected for at Coatsink, which I applied to months ago, is still open and damnit I want it.

#6 - More 3D modelling. My skills are still garbage, but I'm hoping E1M1 will change that

#7 - As part of my Universal Credit benefit, spend 35 hours a week job-hunting :V. At least this work placement I'm on accounts for about 30 of that, so that's only an hour a day, and my work coach said he wouldn't be too concerned about a missing 5

#8 - fuuuuuuuuck, there's so much that I want to do and can't

#9 - Increase game collection

I am in a similar boat with various career issues, including failing a graded internship last summer due to failing asleep thrice on the job (due to lack of sleep, fatigue from going 4 years of college with no summer breaks from having to take summer classes, high diabetic blood sugars). Passed the class via extra credit, and graduated with a Software Engineering degree, but have been 8 months out of college with no job offers in my field. Looking to pursue a video game development career, but there is little to nothing in my locality, and most of my development is self-taught.

My career suggestion for your situation?

Get any job/source of income right now (even ones out of your field, such as fast food) for survival purposes, and sell stuff you don't need for the time being. I started the year off nearly bankrupt due to college costs, but worked my way outta debt with both a Wendy's job and now a FedEx package handling job. Work 7 days a week from the combined schedule from both jobs. Now have ~$5,000 in my bank account from hard work alone, and have been able to payoff each college bill's minimal monthly payment with no adjustments having to be made for my payment plan yet. Still keep applying to more jobs in my field.

Also, I would strongly suggest joining a local IGDA chapter in order to network with other local video game developer, find jobs, and improve your vg dev skills, and using GameDevMap to find video game companies to apply to. Also, posting your video game projects to a portfolio website, your resume, and to a LinkedIn account wouldn't hurt either. Most VG dev companies are looking to hire students with at least two published video games. Make two impressive commercial indie games, and publish them to Steam (if PC) or to Google Play (if Android). Also improve your skills with projects like you are currently doing.

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Posted on 09-17-16 12:46:58 AM, in What're you playing right now?

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Not playing right now, but have been playing recently in the past 2 weeks Transformers Devastation on Steam, which I picked up for a reasonable price during the 4th of July Steam sale. Working towards earning all of the achievements, finding all of the collectibles, and completing Challenge mode. Although the story mode only takes like 4 hours to complete, the game has a lot of replay value with the collectibles etc. It's like the awesome Transformers game we never had, with G1 voice actors, cell-shaded cartoon graphics, giant robot battling hack n' slash action, and rockin' guitars for the music. The ending of the game possibly eludes to a sequel.

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Posted on 09-17-16 01:00:54 AM, in How'd you learn programming?

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Originally posted by Joe
I started with QBasic...

*Tamkis gives Joe a high-five.

It all started in 4th and 5th grade when I began reading old technical manuals in the elementary school's library and saw some BASIC code for old 1980s machines, because I was curious how people write software for computers. Eventually, I began experimenting with GW and QBasic programming for a Computers merit badge requirement in Scouting around 2006. I then picked up some M68k & MIPS R4300i asssembly for Sonic and Super Mario 64 ROM hacking, C++ in a class, and Ti-BASIC during high school. In College, I learned some Visual Basic (for some useful applications and ROM hacking utilities) with a class, C for Genesis homebrew development, Java with a class, Oracle SQL and PL/SQL and web development for an internship, and C# for Unity 3D game development. Most of my skills I have picked up also with game development, with C#/Unity3D development being what I do best.

Tamkis
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Posted on 10-18-16 02:09:22 PM, in I took a look at Enjin's page source

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I did a graded web developer internship once, I struggled and the web development work was horrible. It was the only internship that I got offered, and all the jobs in my dead end town are web development instead of real programming work such as video game development or C-based programming. I eventually got fired due to struggling too much and due to poor workmanship, and have been out of the industry ever since. I had taken no classes at the university due to having zero interest in pursuing a career in web development.

Web development is as bad as programming homebrew for the multiprocessor mess that is the Sega Saturn. I was dealing with 6 programming languages ("HTML", "CSS", JavaScript, VB, AJAX, and Oracle SQL) just to make everything function, and debugging was hard. The latter four languages were used to process data, while the former two "languages" (term used loosely here) were used for UI formatting. After processing the data, the latter four languages would literally self-modify HTML and CSS "code" in order to show the results. Also dealing with the nuances of each of the major browsers made things ever more difficult (including having to debug for much older versions of browsers such as IE6 due to the customers using legacy browsers).

Never again will I do web development. This is the modern web.

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Posted on 12-21-16 05:13:18 AM, in How was your 2016? (last edited by Tamkis at 12-21-16 05:15:57 AM)

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Been a rather uneventful/blah year for me; although it was better than the fiasco that was senior year 2015 at college, where I got fired from my graded web dev internship due to underperformance and falling asleep on the job thrice due to high blood sugars and overall fatigue (darn diabetes and too much late night summer gaming). Still trying to figure out life, and have been underemployed for the past year after college graduation with the B.S. Software Engineering degree. I have been making enough money at 2 boring jobs to pay the minimum payment on student loan bills luckily. Depressed and unproductive overall.

On a positive note:
*I did get a new development gaming/development mobile workstation computer in January
*Started a new Sonic 1 ROM hacking project, am understanding and learning Motorola 68K asm much better than I did 6 years ago. Computer Architecture class really helped!
*Finished a 2D fighting video game that took a year of development.
*Found a NES toaster (with manuals!) at Salv. Army
*Earned the college's ACM Chapter's Student Award in Spring 2016.

[Quote]
Feel like I have to put future plans on indefinite hold because I'm that fucking uncertain if there will actually be a future.

I am very careful how I talk with my friends and family about said topic.
I have to agree with very much wondering IF there will be a future, perhaps that's where all my motivation to do ANYTHING has gone...
[/Quote]

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