Opinion: The disgusting state of DRM

DRM, or Digital Rights Management, has, whether we like it or not, become part of pretty much every day for people involved in any way, shape or form with technology.  In its most basic form it has existed for almost 30 years ranging from the minor nuisances of looking up codes in a manual or inserting a disc, to the modern internet-enabled monster we've all come to hate.




But it's while, of all things, trying to watch a new movie that I find myself almost disgusted with myself that I actually paid for something.

Quick Review: Logitech Wireless Trackball M570

The following is a "quick review" of the Logitech Wireless Trackball M570.  Why quick?  Because it's not a day-to-day piece of hardware for me - I'm expecting to use it maybe once a week and, as such, I won't be putting in the time necessary to do a thorough review without potentially skewing the results from forced usage.

QUICK(ER) SUMMARY

A cordless, 5-button trackball with a scroll wheel.  One of Logitech's family of "Unifying Receiver" peripherals.

For further details, please visit the Logitech website.

Opinion: What exactly are "gaming" peripherals?

Gaming is a big industry, there's no doubt.  At a cost of around $260 million to make (that's 260,000,000, or 26 with 7 zeros), GTA-V is the most expensive videogame of all time and the second most expensive media production behind only Pirates of the Carribean IV.  But having the software and the hardware to run it is not the entire equation - you also need the means to control it.

But just what exactly differentiates a "Gaming" controller from a normal one, and what should?

Windows 8 in daily life (Part 2: Actually using it!)

So my last post on Windows 8 didn't really come across as the positive experience I made it out to be with the introduction.  I'll admit, I got side-tracked - and I like to think it's pretty easy to understand how and why.  Where with my reviews I take my time and stick to a format, the rest of my posts are largely written off-the-cuff and it certainly shows.

But this time I promise there's good news for people who may be stuck with Microsoft's latest offering.

Review: Razer Sabertooth Elite Gaming Controller for Xbox 360

QUICK SUMMARY

A premium gaming control pad.  It appears to have been designed to almost exactly replicate the Xbox 360 controller while trying to add a few extra features.  Noteable design elements include an additional 8 buttons and onboard, electronic control of button configuration and analogue sensitivity and a small OLED (green) screen.

In all there are 19 push-buttons (4 of which are removable in pairs), 2 analogue sticks, 2 analogue triggers and a digital D-pad.  The onboard configuration allows for adjustment of the sensitivity of the analogue sticks and re-assignment of 6 of the additional buttons.  2 profiles can be stored on-board with separate configurations for all the adjustable controls.  Backlighting can be disabled, but will turn on when the OLED interface is used.

For further details, please visit the Razer website.

Windows 8 in daily life (Part 1: Getting it to work)

Like it or hate it, Windows 8 looks to slowly become the dominant OS over the next few years.  Much like there was resistance to Windows 7, Windows XP before that and even a little to Windows 95, almost all Windows users will inevitably migrate - some enthusiastically, some less-so.  But is all the negative publicity justified?  Should people be apprehensive about this tablet-centric OS?

After having used it for a while, I honestly believe the answer to both is: No, with a "but."

Spreading the Word: Samsung's Service

I've heard you should tell at least two people about good service.  I'm not sure where I heard that, and for all I know I heard it from inside the depths of my own head, but it seems like reasonable advice and I'll only have to tell one more person after my entire audience reads this post.

Allow me to start at the beginning...