Hello out there to the people (or person, as it’s more likely to be) reading this entry, first off an advance apology to those not really into the “technical” side of computing or computing in general… This post is going to (at least in the first instance) be a post to do with computing.

But for those of you intrigued none the less but don’t deem yourself computer “savvy”, don’t worry I will attempt to make this post accessible to all, but if you do wind up thinking “What the…?” leave a comment and I’ll try and clarify things…

So you bought/built a computer 4 or 5 years ago, as with a lot of electronics, it seems to be experiencing signs of “ageing” and doesn’t seem as effective as it once was (yes believe it or not electronics can have the same traits as humans, without the hair loss or girlfriend problems lol)…

What do you do when this comes around? Is there a cheap way to bring a new burst of life into your PC which has served you well over the past years? Well it’s come to the point where I am posed to asked myself the same questions…

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Hi there all, after a bit away I am back, I apologise for the delay in writing here again, things have been tight in time as of late and certain things really didn’t help either, for this post as there really is a lot to cover, I’m going to split it into sections as I have done previously when I have had a lot to say.

I’ll cover DDoS attacks on the server, development on SpikedEffect.com, the PSP homebrew scene developments and links to promised pictures of concerts, So hold tight… and here goes…

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Yes, believe it or not I am actually still alive, after a while away I’m back to abuse the freedom of speech that is commonly called blogging. A lot has been going on, both in life and in public affairs, with me being in my final year things have been very busy, its about time I actually wrote something here.

To make up for the lack of posting for so long I am going to make this entry pretty long, as there are quite a few things I guess I have to have a say about (what’s new there hey?), so I will try and break this entry up in a manner that is easy to follow and read.

So read on about the Cyril Paciullo (Patchou) MVP Saga, Sony’s possible mistake(s) with the PS3, PSP Homebrew developments and my gripes with EA Sports and particularly problems with Fifa 07…

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I’ve been a user of Trillian for a long time now, but as time passes I have become increasingly frustrated with it. For those of you who don’t know, Trillian is a multiple protocol instant messaging program (e.g. it allows you to connect to several instant messaging services in one program).

Before I continue, let me explain, I am a Trillian Pro user, which means I pay for the software on an annual basis, which unlocks Trillian’s plug-in abilities, enhanced features and enhanced compatibility with video and audio features of each client (supposedly) which should enrichen my instant messaging experience.

Yet being mainly a Microsoft Messenger user, the one thing that immediately disappointed me was the fact that the compatibility of it’s video and audio features were far below par, with the only means to getting it working was using video conferencing, which means, audio and video had to be sent by both parties in the conversation. Whereas in the official client you can just send video on its own, without the user requiring to send video back and audio is not needed to be activated. Even through the video conferencing mode there were numerous problems with compatibility and Trillian crashing, so I had to immediately drop any plans to use video / audio features of Microsoft Messenger in Trillian…

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It’s funny I look back over this blog, which I started near the time I started my industrial placement at the company I am currently with and it seems like the gaps between in posts are getting bigger, to an extent where it looks like I’ve fallen off the surface of the earth at times.

But let me assure you, things have just been incredibly busy over the past few months, with more and more responsibility falling on me at work, the details I have to look over get ever more gritty. With my placement due to finish some time in August / September though things should sharpen up and this should get updated more, but bare with me as I will update as I can.

I start my final year in September with my final year project already decided and modules chosen I know what lies ahead and it looks like a busy period, so I take it I wont have much of a social life next year, but I’ll keep you up to date with what I’m working on, as I’ll probably be locked indoors anyway. But it does look like its going to be a case of all work and no play, hope it don’t make me a dull boy though… or is it too late for that

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Hello again people, sorry for the delay in getting the next posting out I have been pretty busy with a lot of things so got sidetracked away from this for a while, and have also got sidetracked away from the development of SpikedEffect.com so nothing to report on there yet.

This week, with the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) show having just elapsed, talk and hype about the latest and greatest to come from the world of electronic entertainment is at the forefront of any mind that has any inclination toward consumer electronic entertainment. With the “next-gen” console wars having started with the release of the XBox 360 late 2005, the highly anticipated competitors, Playstation 3 (PS3) & Nintendo Wii (Codename Revolution), which are both due out in the 4th Quarter of this year were on display showing what can be expected from the machines when they are released.

Reports from E3 suggest that the Wii stole the show and showed the most promise to succeed as the leading next-gen console. However, I’m not totally convinced, having watched all 3 Company’s conferences (Sony, Nintendo & Microsoft’s Respectively) & seeing the demo material, I can’t say I am totally convinced of this apparent dominance of Nintendo’s Wii…

In this post I will go over each console, and my thoughts and views on each respectively…

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Heya, once again I’m back with my writing antics Ain’t ya just excited? lol

Anyways, some of you may or may not have noticed if you have visited the blog of late that things have changed slightly, visually… but really that is just a scratch on the surface, welcome to SpikedEffect’s new and improved WordPress powered blog.

You’ll notice that even though this whole blog is being powered by a new system, it looks the same; I did this in an attempt to make the personalised look and feel of the original blog remain the same but adapted for this new highly customisable, and much more powerful, system.

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Well for today’s post, I thought I’d talk about what I’ve been working on recently in my free time, well apart from sorting out arrangements for my birthday party

First on the agenda was to answer the common question of what is “the SpikedEffect” and who it was that was behind it, so I activated the FAQ section on SpikedEffect.com and created a category to answer the common questions that could be asked about what SpikedEffect.com actually is and who it is that is behind it. This can be found HERE

Next up was the need to start the thinking behind a module I have been meaning to implement for a while now so that I could continue development on the part of my site created in Macromedia Flash, this module that I’ll be creating I can reveal is a management system for the poems that I have written. “Ok, but what and how has that got to do with your flash side of the site?”, I hear you ask, well its because I intend my flash side of the site to be able to utilize the information entered in the admin of the module…

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Over the past few days, I’ve had a lot going through my mind, I see people moving on in life, progressing towards their goals and their dreams, and it made me realize am I really doing enough to reach my goals? There are smarter, more determined people in this world that will be aiming for the same goals I am, so what makes me stand out from the rest? What will make a company take a risk and choose me above the rest? At the moment I can’t even pick that out myself, and that is pretty worrying…

Yet again, it’s not too late to start, I’ve got a year left of university and the remainder of this academic year before I am unleashed on the real world, so maybe it’s time to step up the heat and work towards what, I know if I try hard enough, I can achieve. I’ve always been someone who sets real high goals from himself, but at times I have also lacked the willpower and determination to follow through with it. And I’m determined to change that, I can’t face seeing myself sink into a below par standard.

So what am I going to do? Well first off with one change in determination comes a change in lifestyle, I’ve been meaning for a while to get back on track with fitness, I’ve let myself be too lazy and the only one who has suffered is myself…

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Well, I thought today I would talk about SEO… I can hear some of you going “what is SEO? A new type of car?” and the answer is, no, its an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, why talk about it? Because I have just spent quite a bit of time making SpikedEffect.com Search engine friendly so its at the forefront of my mind, and it’s also a big part of my job at work.

Why do you have to make a website search engine friendly? Shouldn’t the webcrawlers (what search engines use to index the World Wide Web) adapt themselves to accommodate for every website out there? In theory yes, it should be the responsibility of the webcrawler to adapt to and pick up your website’s content, but in reality, remember that the web is a vast array of information, and its not all uniform.

As new methods of displaying web content arise on the web the webcrawler’s job becomes increasingly difficult, and it just can’t accommodate for the wide variety out there…

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