Tag Archives: preview

Upcoming projects – Gear, Men’s Care and Independent Games!

Lately, my life has been swarmed with an influx of men’s care goods and and independent games. With spring in the air and new things abound… I want to seize the moment! I’ll be working on my evaluation of the following items…

– The Art of Shaving Fusion Chrome Power Proglide razor
– Anthony Logistics for Men: A Clean Start kit
– Dove Men+Care product line
– Axe Shampoo product line
– Shatter (May be saved for the new gaming site collaboration…)
– Coniclysm (May be saved for the new gaming site collaboration…)
– Asus Eee PC 1001P Seashell

Stay tuned for these works soon to come!

Full Reload, Modifications, and New Articles to Come…

So school has been kicking my tail… I am sure that is evidenced by me not posting as much here… Don’t get me wrong, I like it save for two classes. I fight onward and march to insanity some days even. The few things that keep me in sanity are World of Warcraft and my best friend. The real test of sanity begins soon… As I take Maymester, Summer I and Summer II course just to catch me up to being a Junior and break down course to get further into my major. Taking 2 math courses and 2 science course by Fall 2009 will really be a feat of strength.

As far as “modifications” go… My school is reverting back to a 5-day school week, to that I say… THANK GOD! I was suffering through hell with the 4-day for my sleep cycles. As far as life goes… I am gonna have to rake up plenty of cash and maybe seek partial subsistance for the summer. Gaming-wise… I am looking for more “epic” gear to enhance my enjoyment of playing FPS, RTS, and RPG games. I love my Logitech G9 Laser mouse which I will be reviewing in a while on here.

Lately, I have been feverently helping Rei’s guild (aka “The Team”) “The Order of Corrupted Souls” with being a Senior Officer. I love the responsibility and I feel great actually KNOWING my team members in my team as humans rather than faceless individuals over the internet. Being in real contact with people like Rei, Jon, “Weaver”, Spencer, and Vergil is actually a fun exchange of interaction, especially over the Ventrilo server. I have been debating on chipping a good chunk of cash to a guild member fund raising raffle. The prize pack would be something like the following…

Potential Prize Pack Items for “The Order of Corrupted Souls” Initial Raffle

  • A Logitech Gamer Mouse… Either a Logitech G9 Laser mouse, the G5 wired mouse or a G7 wireless mouse
  • A Logitech Premium Notebook Headset
  • A Razer Destructor Mouse Pad
  • A Logitech G13 Game Pad

The goal of the raffle (and possibly future raffles) would be to help pay for Ventrilo fees, get more stuff for the “Order of Corrupted Souls” Loot Chest, and whatever Rei deems appropriate. Another reason I would like to propose the idea is to increase guild member participation. Of course… anyone who chips in would defaultly get 1 entry and from there the ticket prices would be to best discretion. The biggest thing most of all would be if Rei approves of it and if the other members of our guild would approve of such an idea. I could easily see this idea being great should our guild get big or if we do an alliance with a “Sister” guild.

As far as new articles… I have finally finished my cologne article, just it is pending some editing from my editors. Hopefully, Ivy or Eighty will take a gander and help me out… I will probably work on some gamer related articles too. Especially as it is my only means to keep sane anymore these days. Unfortunately… Rest will be only for the weak as I do have Maymester, Summer I, II, and III to contend with at the Community College to deal critical blows to my course work and HOPEFULLY advance myself in what I can take. I just hope I can change stuff should I do something like lessen the decline of my sanity.

Keep watching and I hope to have some really spiffy stuff for you all to read soon!

Lord Buddha, Thank You for My Liberation…

I have had what I feel to be the most hellish 7 days of purgatory I have ever experienced from a biological function standpoint. I have had sinus allergies before, but what I suffered (pardon my use of swear words) was the most fucking agonizing experience of choking on mucus and smelling nothing but mucus ever in my own damned existence! I give credit to water, the microwave, lemon hibiscus tea, clover honey, Mucinex-D, Claritin for saving my sorry hide from the suffocation of the mucus. Bigger credit goes to my mother and her use of accupressure to unblock my chi points related to my respiratory functions… It hurt like the most agonizing pain, but it’s helped in unimaginable ways! However, I will admit that me coughing up the bane of my ability to breath is not the most appealing way to look at me.

I know I have been overdue for a post here, school has actually been quite a lethal force on me. Combine that with my miserable condition and well… You get Zero being morbidly fatigued both in the mental and physical vectors. I will probably do a “Day in the Life of Zero” with plenty of pictures detailing my “usual” day at school. Expect it to be relatively entertaining and dare say… hilarious! Expect mug shots of me or candid and funny images of stupid shit I encounter as well. Maybe the possibility of a trip to the infirmary should my allergies continue their murderous tirade… I hope to god not though.

My school wiki is LIVE so if some of you readers are part of my class, feel free to steal, leech, and even ADD to my notes! Collaboration is the lifeblood of a wiki, word-up!

I know that I have a tech review that’s long overdue, but I’ll get it done in time… I just need the consensus of one of my peers for that. It’s more my “white paper” on computer gaming from the casual gamer’s point of view. For readers wondering what my “resume” in gaming is… It’s primarily FPS, RTS, and MMORPG. I like those genre in particular as they suit me and I have friends who delve into each genre. In my opinion, the experimentation has rather been a success.

“One for the Road!”

Before I turn into a pumpkin and meet sweet slumber… I think I may make a custom build and archive it to XDA Developers as a build for their “ROM Kitchen”. The build I have formed is stable, functional, yet beautiful. It is a fusion of the OEM HTC TyTN II Windows Mobile 6.1 build with bits and pieces obtained from the HTC Touch yet in a balance that is simply lean and minimal in lag. I can definitely post details of my build for those who wish to replicate it and I hope to also obtain screen captures of my Kaiser in action.

I do know one thing… I will definitely need a name for my build, should I go through with archiving it and making it available for public consumption. As much as I love Shinra from Final Fantasy 7’s fame, I can’t call it the “Shinra Enterprise Mobile Device” build due to legal copyright trademarks and all the legal mumbo-jumbo. It will have to be based on the ideals of my website, surely. If anyone has ideas for a name, feel free to pitch a comment up!

With this… I bid thee adieu!

Late night filler post… An Apology

My loyal readers… I am sorry for lacking the great content on the site lately. I have been in a rather poor state of health and it’s been hindering my ability to generate articles for the site. My mind has been wracked with trying to find dealers for my roadster’s parts to do the 60,000 mile maintenance, FAFSA troubles and their need for my family’s income, and work related burn-out. I know for a fact that I will hopefully do 60,000 mile service soon… After that… I will be taking a journey back to Commerce to do finalized logistics and status about my housing application.

I have my IV course coming April and ending late May. Hopefully, it will not be too late to apply to a hospital and go hardcore there and shift my cubicle work into 16 – 20 hours part time. My rationale is to go absolutely fucking nuts with 40+ hours at the hospital to rake up cash, save it off and use my cubicle pay to just pay essentials. I rather miss working with injectable medicine, but when you’re bum out of luck… any job is a blessing. The hospital work could also help me repay family at a vastly high pace to get me out of debt with them, something I could really use… Or hell… a few months of paid car insurance or car notes!

In my personal life, there is one plan I have… Just I need a rather large capital to fund one part of it. I hope I can go through with part one… because if I can, it may just ease my heart. I know that after the 60,000 mile maintenance, expect some posts about me loading up on supplement powders and a very welcomed return to my fitness logs. I may try to track my progress a little more scientifically as well as add in more precise details for those who want to replicate my results. This piece is one I know I need to get done, because it means the most to me. I would like to be in shape again and even better than my supposed prime from back when I was 19.

Expect the following to come…

  • Picture post of Devil’s 60,000 mile maintenance procedure
  • R4DS Card purchase for my DS and a review (potential)
  • Going on a much deserved vacation, hopefully in the works
  • Return of my fitness posts with supercharged addition of power supplements

Keep your RSS readers updated and watch for the new content! Thanks to you all who have been supportive of me in my time of sickness.

A Boring but Possibly Productive Weekend

Well… with most of my plans in shambles, it gives me time to try to get some important things done for the site and as well as generate fresh new content. Here’s a run-down of what all is to come possibly with the following days and even into next month:

  • My book review of Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
  • My evaluation of Puppy Linux 3.01 – Seamonkey
  • (Possible) Evaluation of Damn Small Linux
  • Introspective on the semantics of “best friends”
  • Notes and “diary” of doing a charity laptop project (Negotiations in the works)
  • Devil’s Physical: The 60,000 Mile Maintenance Event
  • Picking up a Callpod Dragon Extreme Bluetooth headset to evaluate and review
  • Funny adventures with my cousin Sol’s return to Dallas for Spring Break
  • Tips for the poor college student avoiding debt
  • The return of my retuned workout logs

It looks like a lot, but that should be my next set of things to post, rant, vent, and discuss until I get my hands on the consumer release of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 communicator. Apparently some sources strewn about the web from XDA Developers’ forums have made claim that the processor for the XPERIA X1 is a Qualcomm MSM7200a with a smaller die print and powered at 525mhz. The small footprint means potentially a power efficient processor, but higher power means it’ll be able to really show off. There are rumors about Windows Mobile 6.5 being debuted when the X1 hits retail shelves and possibly HTC releasing their ODM version of the X1 branded with their own name… It’s a damn shame that the device won’t come out sooner, because I’d love to really have some fun with a new phone.

Technology Preview: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Smartphone

So I think I may have found the phone that I’ll be chasing after… No, it’s not the “Jesus Phone” or iPhone depending on who you talk to. Oddly it’s not an HTC device either. It seems Sony Ericsson have formed an alliance with Microsoft to use the Windows Mobile platform on their next PDA phone. The thing that struck me as odd was the device has a shape much like the one of the P5i concept images… The only thing that didn’t compute was that device was powered by Windows Mobile. I had remembered all of the hype saying that the new P-series phone was going to be using the next iteration of the UIQ Symbian interface. As far as a release date…

The Sony Ericsson XPERIAâ„¢ X1 will be available in selected markets from the second half of 2008.
Source: Sony Ericsson Corporate Press Release for the Xperia X1, 2/10/2008

The release date makes it seem like it could hit the Asian and European markets by late summer or early fall. That could lead to a domestic American release by late fall or Christmas this year. (Take my estimates with a grain of salt – Zero)The device has some rather impressive specifications… It is thinner than the HTC TyTN II/Kaiser and has a screen just a little bigger. Here’s the specs courtesy of the official Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 product page.

Size
* 110 x 17 x 53 mm
* 4.3 x 0.7 x 2.1 inches

Weight
* 145 g
* 5.1 oz

Available colours
* Solid Black

Screen
* 800 X 480
* 65,536-colour TFT

Memory
* Up to 400 MB Phone Memory
* Memory Stick SanDisk Microâ„¢ support
Actual free memory may vary due to phone pre-configuration

Networks
* GSM 850
* GSM 900
* GSM 1800
* GSM 1900
* EDGE
* HSDPA
* HSUPA
* UMTS 850
* UMTS 900
* UMTS 1700
* UMTS 1900
* UMTS 2100

Camera
* Auto focus
* 3.2 megapixel camera
* Photo light
* Video recording

Music
* Bluetoothâ„¢ stereo (A2DP)
* Media player
* Music tones
* PlayNowâ„¢
* Windows Media Player Mobile
* 3D games
* FM radio
* Java
* Video streaming
* Video viewing

Internet
* Internet Explorer® Mobile
* RSS feeds

Communication and Messaging
* Polyphonic ringtones
* Speakerphone
* Vibrating alert
* Video calling
* Email
* Picture messaging (MMS)
* Predictive text input
* Text messaging (SMS)

Design
* XPERIAâ„¢ panels
* Optical joystick navigation
* Navigation key
* Picture wallpaper
* Touch navigation

Organizer
* Alarm clock
* Calculator
* Calendar
* Document editors
* Document readers
* Flight mode
* Handwriting recognition
* Notes
* Phone book
* Tasks
* Touchscreen

Connectivity
* aGPS
* Bluetoothâ„¢ technology
* Modem
* Synchronization
* USB support
* WLAN

Windows® Mobile® Operating System
* Microsoft® Outlook Mobile: email, contacts, calendar, tasks
* Microsoft® Office Mobile: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
* Internet Explorer® Mobile
* Windows Mediaâ„¢ Player Mobile
* Windows Liveâ„¢
* Exchange ActiveSync®
* Voice control
* Utility Applications: file explorer, calculator, pictures & video, notes
Source: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Product Site

It’s got a rather good specifications and when compared to the size specifications of HTC’s TyTN II, it’s very well compacted! I am really looking forward to the release and with Sony Ericsson not playing by exclusivity rules (ahem Apple), I will be picking one up once they hit the States.

Wonder why the Xperia X1 looks so familiar in style or design? According to Engadget, it’s made by (no surprise here) ODM company HTC.

Enough with my word porn… I’ll make with the pictures! Credit goes to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 product mini-site for the images.

Here’s a YouTube that I found on Engadget of the advertisement for the Xperia X1: http://www.youtube.com/v/O0z8F6jUzVc
(Embedded clip removed, it borked my layout)

Enjoy the media folks!

Technology Review Teaser: Doing a Network Overhaul

Tonight I did one of the best things I could have with my free time tonight… It has made my internet experience even faster and more streamlined as possible. It took some bravery and logic, but it is well worth it. I turned an old Buffalo WBR2-G54 that my parents bought back in 2002 and turned it into a $600 super router with a hack to use the Tomato firmware. To sweeten up the speeds, I changed my DNS addresses to OpenDNS’s numbers for a much more clean experience.

I’ll go into more detail about my install as well as provide advice and tips about things tomorrow. Keep your eyes out until then!