People. It seems fitting that, around this time of year, the Not So Horrible podcast refuses to die. It’s like a zombie – and a digital one at that – and not even a dangerous and devastating fire can stop this podcast. And remember, digital zombies are every bit as hungry as their flesh and bone counterparts. So watch them CPUs closely, you hear? Brains are brains.

This week in our flying zeppelin headquarters we tackle such topics as Telus, who has finally decided to launch a real cellphone network, and Microsoft, who has finally decided to launch a real operating system.

Meanwhile, a wag of the finger towards CBC, who have decided to go the infotainment route and re-launched an incredibly jarring and awfully produced version of the National.

If there ever were a zombie outbreak, the CBC studios would be the safest safehouse around; I doubt there are any brains left in that building to devour.

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Some of you might remember a promise, long ago, to extend the reach of our fabled production to all the corners of the interwebs. Well, after numerous incantations and the aid of dark magic, Thee Not So Horrible Podcaste is now on iTunes!

Those of you with fancy iPods can open this fancy link that will allow you to download every episode from our fancy archives for your listening pleasure. Even cooler is the ability to automagically fetch new episodes as they’re released, and sync them to your iPod for easy listening. Welcome to 2005!

Those of you with real MP3 players can use this excellent feedburner link, to achieve the same results as your iTunes counterparts. You’ll need some custom Podcast/RSS software that will make all the magic work, however. We’re all about options here, so we may even code in carrier pigeon support soon too.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 34:05
Close: Open Sea Theme – Sven Libaek
Download: 32.7 MB
iTunes / RSS

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Windows 7 came in the mail today, and I swear, I’ve probably spent the last 10 minutes staring at the genuine hologram. It’s like staring into my soul.

I won’t be reviewing Windows 7, since there’s been more than enough capable people already engaged in that task. Both Ars Technica and Engadget have some great coverage if you’re looking to learn more. Instead, I’ll be talking about Seven from more of an anecdotal perspective — one filled with unicorn blood, pleading, and a satanic burning of my old Leopard DVDs. These are the sort of things required to get the damn thing on the Macbook Pro. My Macbook Pro, anyhow.

In truth, installing Windows 7 is actually a stupidly easy affair, and one of the easiest yet. Microsoft has even reversed it’s Vista decision to include all versions on one DVD, and instead bundled two discs with retail copies — one for 32-bit systems, and one for 64-bit. Adding more discs may seem complicated at first, but I think it actually works out better for consumers; the decision to install 32-bit or 64-bit is now more of a deliberate decision, and not simply one of six choices on a multi-version disc.

Of course, I get to deal with the evils of Apple’s Bootcamp. Issues with my drive lately seem to stem from a corruption of the HFS+ filesystem, which measn that Bootcamp can’t partition the drive as it normally does. No, to install Windows 7 this time around, it’s going to take a complete wipe and reformat. It’s not even implied with a vague error code — disk utility’s error message actually instructed me to wipe my entire freakin’ computer. That’s no tall order when you’ve got a 500GB internal, and only a pair of 320GB externals to split between.

So while my retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium sits looking pretty on my desk, I’ll try to roll out the carpet for its arrival. One backup at a time.

I’ll have more from Windows 7 soon.

Ah, my precious Playstation! My lone source of joy in the cold December of my days. Come, friends. Let’s take her for a spin to the PSN shop like old times!

You know what that means folks? Our resident oaf and Tsar of Tomfoolery has finally moved into the ranks of current-generation gaming, buying himself a fancy, schmancy Playstation Triple this week. And you dear listeners, will be the first to hear aboot it!

And if that wasn’t news enough, I’ve bought myself a cool new Nintendo DS Lite, which will undoubtedly be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes. But mainly for gaming. I swear. And it even comes in a fancy Onyx colour too, whatever that means.

So listen in folks, for a special gaming-centric episode of the Not So Horrible Podcast. It’s the episode where we talk about our feelings, and that’s something you just don’t want to miss. Because after all — we feel pretty damn good about our purchases.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

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Download [38.4mb]

I’m writing an article that involves piracy right now. And boy, do gaming companies not like piracy.

After all, games are the magic dust that powers this billion dollar gaming machine; it’s not that hardware that makes money, but the software and accesories. So naturally, it’s in the best interests of developers to protect that investment. Which brings me back to my original point…

Gaming companies do not like piracy. And by extension, they sure as hell don’t like talking about it either.

Things get fuzzy when you try to account for homebrew development. For the uninitiated, it’s generally the sort of console development that relies on hacks and exploits to get unsigned or third-party code on to a console. Most gaming companies are wary to issue any sort of official stance on this activity — welcoming homebrew is out of the question, and condemning it is an unspoken rule of the industry. The reasoning behind this is that most companies seem to equate homebrew with piracy. And if you haven’t gotten it already, the gaming industry certainly isn’t a fan of those who pirate their magic smoke.

The gaming industry’s attitude toward piracy ultimately puts those who attempt to hack and exploit and reverse engineer a console or portable in an awkward situation. Exploits aren’t always intended to encourage piracy or the illegal copying of games, but they can certainly be used to do so. In some cases, like the custom firmware for the PSP, it’s hard not to inadvertently support piracy when the mechanism for loading custom software happens to be the same mechanism for loading illegal games.

To be clear, I’m not looking for some grand sanction on homebrew activities. The point of all this is, it seems like it’s become increasingly hard for companies to take the idea of homebrew seriously when it is so deeply entangled with pirate culture. People are doing some amazing things with consoles — XBMC for the original Xbox — comes to mind; and yet, I get the impression some companies can’t be bothered to separate the pirates from the programmers.

The monkeys are back in their cage, all the paint seems to have dried, and at long last, everything is in its right place. Hard to believe, but it’s only been a few short months since I last revamped the site. Not satisfied with the previous set up, I made the decision last week to re-tool; six days of CSS voodoo and HTML magic later, I’ve got something to show for it.

Welcome to the 134.5th revision of The Horrible Fanfare.

In what is either an affirmation of my inflated ego, or a very smart career move, I’ve placed some links to my recent work on the newly-minted splash page. Everything links to an appropriate section, where you can find more detailed and abundant listings, which will be kept updated as often as possible. The same goes for photos, where the old gallery system has made its triumphant return.

This isn’t a particularly huge update, but more of a pleasant face-lift. Just act as if The Fanfare’s gotten some botox, minus all the facial freezing and awkward social reactions. All the things you know and love are the same, just organized a little better, and easier on the eyes. Like a digital Harrison Ford. Or something.

Finally, the 134.5th revision means that I’ll be hosting every episode of the Not So Horrible Podcast locally again, which is good news for both you, and us. Not only will things (hopefully) load a little bit faster, but iTunes support is finally on its way too. Exciting times indeed!

So, take a look around, see what’s new, and most importantly, enjoy!