Opinion: Programmers getting lazy?

It's no secret that modern PCs are more powerful than their predecessors.  CPU power is up by orders of magnitude, multi-cores that are even able to process multiple threads at a time.  This is in turn backed up by graphics cards that leave things from even as little as 5 years ago to shame and more RAM than some 10-year-old PCs had in total storage.  And the best is arguably still yet to come.

So why, then, are we hitting a wall when it comes to software?

Review: Cyborg M.M.O. 7 Gaming Mouse

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my text-only review of the Cyborg M.M.O. 7 Gaming Mouse.  My second ever attempt at a review.  Since my previous review attracted no negative comments or suggestions, I'll be proceeding in much the same style - this means lots of words but hopefully lots of useful words.

QUICK SUMMARY

A premium gaming mouse primarily aimed at the online RPG player.  Extra attention has been payed to the ability to customise the physical size, shape and weight of the mouse for more a more comfortable experience.  Noteable design elements include independant high-resolution sensors for each major axis (X/Y), user configurable lighting and several adjustable and/or switchable physical features.

In all there are 14 push-buttons, a 4-way controller and 2 rollers, in addition to the two standard movement axes.  Directly accessible software configuration allows for 11 momentary functions and 1 rotary function, with an extra 2 momentary functions available via a firmware tool.  A dedicated Shift and 3-setting Profile button allow for a total of 66 (72 with the firmware tool) unique momentary configurations and 6 rotary configurations.  Up to 4 separate, user-defined sensitivity settings can be cycled via a dedicated button.

For further details, please visit the Cyborg Gaming website.

Tech tip: Emulation and DOSBox

While a lot of more enthusiastic PC users are already familiar with the potential benefits of emulation - having your desktop, laptop or even tablet PC pretend to be something else - there are still a great number of other people less involved in technology that may still be able to benefit from such things.  Today, I'd like to take a moment to write a little bit about one which I referenced in my previous review of the Saitek X52 Pro:

DOSBox.

Review: Saitek X52 Pro Flight System

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my text-only review of the Saitek X52 Pro.  As this is my first attempt at a somewhat comprehensive review I don't expect it to be up to the same standard as what is otherwise available. 

QUICK SUMMARY

A mid-range, 2-piece HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) joystick setup designed for flight simulation of all kinds.  It's not stylised on anything in particular but has been designed to "feel" appropriate.  Noteable design elements include the hall effect (magnetic) sensors for the X and Y axes, software adjustable lighting, and a software-controllable Multi-Function Display (MFD) LCD screen.

In all there are 15 push-buttons (one of which - the trigger - functions as two separate inputs), 3 two-position momentary switches (6 more buttons), a 3-way selector, 9 axes when you include the mouse controller, 3 hats and 3 rollers.  Directly accessible software configuration allows for 12 momentary functions (7 on the stick), 3 2-way momentary functions, a 3-way toggle function, 1 rotary function, 9 analogue axial functions (3 on the stick) and 3 digital axial functions (2 on the stick, can be configured as 4-way or 8-way).  Any non-axial/-rotary control can also be used as a shift-state either on its own or in combination with others, allowing for literally hundreds of configuration options.  An additional 4 momentary functions and 2 rotary functions are available to specialy created plug-ins, but these only interact with the MFD readout.

For further details, please visit the Saitek website.

Welcome to the first post of Text Only Tech.

My aim with this Blog is to provide real-world, end-user evaluations of products and tricks which I come across.  Due to my lack of ties with any manufacturer, developer or distributor, everything I post about will be something that I have personally used while forming an opinion on it, and if it's a product than I've purchased it with my own money.  As such, I'm hoping this will also provide a less "generic" form of review while also not holding any punches back from things which, quite frankly, deserve to be punched.  It unfortunately also means that the major updates will be few and far between - I wouldn't really expect anything more than monthly updates.

So why text only, you ask?  Well, it's simple: not everything can be shown in a picture, or even in a video.  Sometimes you need to stop and explain what's going on, which is precisely what I plan to do all of the time.  As such I expect most of my reviews to be rather lengthy but hopefully they'll be worth the time taken to read the whole thing.

That's not to say that pictures and videos don't have their place.  At a later date I may also branch out into "supplimenraty" videos to go along with my reviews to better demonstrate some things.  But for now, text is my medium of choice and I'm sticking to it.

It is also my intent to focus differently on what I'm actually reviewing.  All too many reviews focus on the number of buttons and dials things have, what they look like and the box they came in while devoting maybe a single page to actually using it; unless, of course, it can be benchmarked (nothing I intend to review can be benchmarked as such).  I'll be focussing as much on what it's like to actually set up and use something as possible, since that's what matters the most in the end.  Suffice to say that things have buttons and dials, look like the pictures on their websites and come in boxes.

I'll also be attempting to review things in such a way that people with less understanding and experience than myself will still be able to get useful information from what I write, and hopefully make a more informed decision as a result of this.

So I hope you find something useful here.  If you feel there's something I've missed, something I should improve or something I've clearly gotten wrong than feel free to let me know.  Otherwise please remember that I'm entitled to my opinion, just as the next guy (or girl) is entitled to his (or hers), and these reviews reflect that opinion.