Nerdery: A Ramble of Phones, Carriers, and Manufacturers.

Growing up, I always thought my hardest choices will be whether I got console "A" or "B" but now I've learned that humanity has thrown something new into the mix. Something that works as a gaming console, a handheld gaming device, a sticky-note-pad, an alarm clock, a computer, and a phone, just to name a few. I find myself trying to decide between the Motorola Photon and the HTC Evo 3D. I like HTC Sense. I am interested in the 3D aspect of the Evo 3D. It's the direct upgrade to my phone. However, the Motorola Photon also runs Android, doesn't have that stupid Motoblur interface anymore, has a better battery life, and all in all will feel a bit more new, seeing as how I haven't used a Motorola Android device before. I think I might get one, and swap if I don't like it. That's the great thing about being with Sprint, I think. I don't have to worry about swapping phones within the first thirty days of me having one. I can change my mind without any extra charges (yes, I mean you, Verizon.) or having to worry about a limited number of swaps (should I namedrop AT&T? Yes, I shall.) and I don't have to worry about a lack of coverage, because where I am, and where I go, I am covered. Also, free roaming on Verizon's network if I somehow find a spot where sprint doesn't have coverage. Sprint is about half the cost of Verizon and AT&T without having T-Mobile's horrible coverage. But I veer from my main point.

If you're trying to decide between phones, first thing to check is the carrier. Is the phone available on your carrier? Are you willing to switch? If you are willing to switch, what weighs the most on your decision? New deposit, breaking contract, monthly price are all things to consider.

Once you have the carrier straight, look at the manufacturers of the phones. I personally am not a fan of Samsung by any means, as they've been pretty bad with keeping their phones up-to-date and bug-free. Samsung Moment? Nightmare. Samsung Intercept? Two nightmares. Samsung Transform? Two nightmares and a badger to the face. HTC is good at keeping up with the latest Android OS as well as keeping them mostly bug free. LG is largely a small-time competitor in the phones market, as well as Sanyo/Kyocera. Well, to be fair, Sanyo-Kyocera is the sixth largest cell phone company, however, they don't do so well with Android. The Echo was neat, but a failure. The Zio had a trackball. Why? Trackballs are already out of date, not to mention the phone was slow as anything. Anyhow, lets stop the rant there and continue. Do some research on your phone manufacturer. See what complaints there are.

The third consideration is the phones OS, hardware, and non-OS-related software. Is it Android or iOS? Maybe you're still using Blackberry or Windows Phone 7? Does it have a rear and front facing camera? Kickstand? Dual camera's for 3d? Is this stuff you'll actually use? And does it have access to all the apps that you need?

Getting a new phone has a lot more to consider than what most people think about, and for someone like me who loves to have the latest gadgets, it's something worth taking your time about.

Nerdery: Blogger Stats Part Four!

So it's that time again, gentlebloggers. The time where we get to see... Statistics! The heavily populated USA got the most views at 468, firefox at 455, and windows at 758. I will update this post a bit later with the promised picture of me holding the flag. Who will get the most views for the coming month? I've never seen the Argentinian flag, will I next month? Or will I see the same US flag that I have always known?

I am still surprised at the amount of windows users compared to Mac users for the blogging scene, at 758 to 30. Firefox still tops the charts at 455 (44%) and then chrome at 323 (31%). Another surprise for me, as I thought everyone moved to chrome, but I guess not. Although there are quite a bit of mobile browsers in here, and mobile devices as well. Android actually comes in second for pageviews by OS, and I am kind of proud of that. I don't seem to have any views from the eastern half of the map, which is a bit odd, I think.

Until next time, ladies and gents!

Edit: Been way busy, but I will remember to get that flag. Don't worry, my fellow Americans.

Nerdery: Potter is Over...

People keep saying that it's all over, or it's ended... but you can just watch the movies or read the books again. Thinking like that, it would have technically been over from the last book's release.

However, I don't think it's actually over in any sense. We have Rowling doing this whole Pottermore bit, and I think we will eventually get a really great Quidditch video game (if there already is one, I'm sorry, but I haven't heard of it). Then we have all the fanfic (some of it is good, at any rate). And I'm sure some professional writers will take up to write other books in the Potter universe, like many writers did with the Dragonlance books. I would like to hear what happened with everyone after the last book, besides the marriages and children, etc, personally.

Nerdery: Censorship and Us.

I have been told that because I live in the United States, I don't need to worry about censorship. It's not a problem here. However, that just simply isn't true. The United States Government can and will do whatever they want. I mean, the USDA probably doesn't have too many ulterior motives, but I'm pretty sure that some of the much-higher-paying sectors of our government have their own schemes going on.

Here's some things the Government would like us to just roll over and allow:

The Internet Blacklist Bill - This would allow the government to take any website down; not just in the USA, but off of the internet completely. It is made to fight piracy, but is so broad sweeping in it's statement that it will allow them to remove any website them deem unsavory.

The PATRIOT Act - This was needed once, and is still needed... in a much more revised manner. Currently, the way it is written and with the lack of proper surveillance on those who are using it, it is being abused. The FBI was caught spying on five children who hadn't done a damn thing wrong and they didn't match the voice profile of the person they said they were spying on. They weren't even speaking the same goddamned language!

The founder of a group that attempts to bring progress through peaceful means was arrested for allegedly downloading too many journal articles. I don't know enough about this particular happening to speak about it at any length, however you can read about it at Demand Progress.

Honestly, if I see the Internet Blacklist Bill go through, the PATRIOT Act go without reform, or Aaron Swartz charged with "felony computer hacking" when even the alleged victim said there were no damages and didn't want the guy prosecuted, I'm leaving the United States.

Nerdery: Deciding Between Operating Systems

Everyone I know who has checked out a new computer recently has, for the most part, asked me what is the best operating system to go with. While the answers aren't all clear cut, I'll give you my breakdown of each.

Let's start with Apple, and their line of the Macintosh computers. If you're looking for a gaming computer, you pretty much want to look anywhere else. Most games are not designed to run on this operating system, though it is possible to run them through a virtual windows box. I really have to impress upon you, however, that this is a most terrible way to do it. If you want something that looks flashy and tells everyone else that you're well off, go with the Apple. It has all your basic functionality, and does video, picture, and movie editing quite well. They're very simple to use, and for that, I have to recommend them for the older batch of people that want to use a computer. Looks clean, runs well with few viruses, and hard to cause any major problems on accident. Not compatible with most programs and sometimes hard to find cables/adapters/dongles etc.

We can tackle Microsoft next, on the Windows operating system. It's less expensive than a Mac, compatible with most programs, and good for gaming. It has it's drawbacks, however, in that if you don't know what you're doing, you can very easily mess something up. It is also not as user-friendly as a Mac, and has more viruses available to harm it. However, if you run a virus scanner (not McAfee or Norton!) you will be fine. I suggest AVG and Ad-Aware. They are both great with the option to have automatic updates, and with free versions of both. Suggested for kids who are learning about, or learning through using, computers. Also suggested for anyone who doesn't need something to be over-simplified.

Linux is last, with too many distributions of the Linux operating system to list them all. You can find that list over at Wikipedia if you really want to read it. Linux, for the most part, is exactly the opposite of user-friendly. If you want a computer that is a toy, and a hobby, and a pet, you may as well install Linux on at least one of your hard drives. If you're considering Linux, I hope you are computer savvy enough to not need an article like this, but just in case, if you're questioning whether or not you should try it, dual-boot. If you can't figure out how to dual-boot, Linux is not for you. If you can figure it out, it still may not be; give it a go anyway. Either way, Linux is free and open source.

The only real way to decide, however, is find out if the software you need works on the machine, look at pricing to find if it's in your range, and then use one of each and see how you like it.

Nerdery: Blogger Stats 3!

Well I've waited long enough to do this again, so here we are. I am surprised that there are still people using Internet Explorer to browse the web. A couple browsers just say "Mobile" but not which mobile browser.

Windows is still the preferred OS, at 434, taking up a whopping 84% of the OS Pie. Android is next (beating out iPhone by 49, take that apple.) then Linux at 14, with Mac at 12, then iPhone at 2.

The Browser shows a similar trend, with Firefox and Chrome topping the charts, followed by an apple product, then Mobile Safari, then Safari, then IE (I mean seriously, guys. Why are you using this?) Ubuntu (I found out that some newer version of Ubuntu operates as a browser, similar to ChromeOS, and thats why it shows up as Ubuntu.) then the mysterious "mobile" and one lonely Opera user.

US has gained the lead for readers at 307 views from the US. Argentina still has a good chunk of the views, though, with 171. Germany is way down at thirteen. What are you doing, Germany? If you're from Germany, I want you guys to beat out Argentina in pageviews by next update (two weeks from now, maybe?). Whoever is top pageviews as a country will get me wearing or waving their flag at the end of the month. Can you beat USA?

Gaming and Nerdery: Rolling your first Dungeons and Dragons Character

There are a few different ways to make your first Dungeons and Dragons character that you have to choose from. The first, of course, would be with a pencil and paper. You could also use a character builder, like the one available from Wizards of the Coast or the freeware character builder "Redblade." The last option, is, of course, to have your DM roll you a character based on your loose specifications.

My favorite option for the first character would be with a pencil and paper, doing all the math and marking it down in appropriate places. This accomplishes multiple things here: you get to better learn the mechanics of the game, you get a better feel for who your character is, and you get a better feel of the game as a whole. However, this method does take more time, and if you don't have someone to explain the different elements of your character sheet, and your abilities, and what's the difference between a blast and a burst... Well, it can be confusing.

Using a character builder can be fun, and it can let you play around with different builds to see what happens. It's not as true to the game, I don't believe, but then, I am one of the types who believes in re-rolls only by DM rule. Using a character builder is quite fast when you put it side by side with rolling by hand, and you get a really nice character sheet with the abilities listed and everything, makes all of it so much easier to keep up with. If you've rolled one by hand and want to try it with a character builder, go for it. If you don't feel like writing everything down, use the builder but, and I can't stress this enough, pay attention to what numbers change what stats, what skills modify how many abilities you have, and the like.

If you're entirely helpless with rolling a character by hand, and just can't get the character builder to work for you, then you can go to your DM and ask for a hand. Everyone rolls a first character; S/He will be more than happy to help you, and explain everything along the way. If you want, and the DM agrees to, your Dungeon Master can make your character, then explain everything afterwards.

Any of these three methods will work, though I definitely suggest the first one, if it's not too overwhelming. Happy roleplaying!

Nerdery: Blogger Stats 2!

So a week has passed, and I've got a lot more views to work with. I had 52 last week, and today I have a total of 371 views. Out of these, there are 117 that aren't appearing in the stats under "Operating Systems" but are appearing both in the "Countries" and "Browsers" section. Maybe those are our Mac people? That's about 32% of my readership that's on an uncounted operating system.

Somehow I have more viewers from Argentina than from anywhere else in the world. Those of you from Argentina, feel free to leave a comment. I'd like to hear how you found me!

The USA is second with 155 views, and then a drastic drop from there to the UK, with 15 views.

The most popular browser is Firefox, for my readers, with the Apple feed reader in second and Chrome down from first to third in this, then we have Mobile Safari, then Safari, then Ubuntu (They have a browser called Ubuntu? I thought it was just the OS with that name) and in last place, and I'm slightly surprised it's being used, Internet Explorer with 2 views.

Those with IE, go download a better browser. Try Firefox or Chrome.

Gaming AND Nerdery: On Getting a Good Dungeons and Dragons Group.

I couldn't decide whether Dungeons and Dragons should go under Gaming or Nerdery... so it gets both.

I've moved quite a bit for someone who isn't from an active-military family. This makes things quite hard when trying to find a steady D&D group. There are websites like Meetup that can help with this, and it's a great help, especially when trying to find a group in an area you're brand new to. I moved out of North Carolina a couple years ago and my friends up here were my brother's friends; Not at all the type to enjoy the classic tabletop RPG. So I've been looking, and had something going for awhile, but due to life happening, had to back out of that group. In all the time spent looking for new groups, I have found a few things that help wonderfully. First, if you're new in an area, go to your local gaming supply store, or comic shop. Let the person behind the counter (or at a table, if they have gaming tables) know that you're new to the area, and ask if he knew anyone looking for players. This almost always helps, and is a good way to make friends in a new area. Another option is, as I said a moment ago, Meetup. Just search for a group for your area.

Something else I've found from playing D&D is that when you're starting a new campaign, create your characters all at once, together. This can solve many a problem. You wont end up with a group full of Strikers with nobody to heal or defend them (unless, of course, that's the point of what you're doing). You will then not be surprised when some characters make a move like trying to defenestrate the shopkeep for no reason than to do so. It will also develop a sense of having known each character for sometime and gives a richer D&D experience.

One last note: if there's a known "last session" that you're having, where it's the end of the group, or whatever: dress as your characters for that session. Speak and act in character as well. Especially if you don't normally do that. It'll create a great memory for everyone and is one hell of a lot of fun!

Nerdery: Evo 3D

Is anyone else as excited about this phone as I am? I mean, yes, the 3d gimmick is going everywhere, but with this and Youtube3D, I cannot wait to see what some of these people come up with! You can shoot footage in 3D yourself, easily! The only downside is that I'm pretty sure the battery wont last too long in 3D mode. I'm not positive on this, as I haven't gotten my hands on one yet, but when I do, it will run it's share of my gauntlet. 3D games, 3D movies, 3D user created content, 3D Android interface, 3D apps... Remember looking at computers in some movies and going "Woah... I can't wait until we have that!"

It's here.

Nerdery: Blogger Stats

What kind of a geek would I be if statistics didn't interest me? Not a good one, I'm sure. So using blogger, I have a stats tool that tells me where my readers are from, and what browsers they are using. As it's still early on in my blog's oh-so-new introduction to the glorious internet, I don't have much yet, but I'll be logging my blog stats as we go. Once a week, maybe, sounds good.

54% of my readers in the USA. It's interesting to me, because I would think it would be a higher percentage.
19% in Denmark. Another odd one, it's not a place I think about often, but it seems that it's the next highest percentage of my readers. I would think that the UK would be higher, but it's only at 6 percent of my readership.

Another thing that gets me here, 100% of my readers use Windows, so far anyway. I always though the blogging crowd would have been you mac people out there.

Let's see what we get next week!

Nerdery: Autofill

This may be an odd subject, but I have often wondered; Autofill will complete titles of some things for you, but where one title might give you suggestion list "x," another will give you suggestion list "y." Now here's my question: What determines which list it pulls up? The world may never know. As an example, for this post, the title section gave some options from the Meetup site that I use, however, when I would create a topic for, say, a Tumblr post, I would get suggestions for, not just previous Tumblr posts, but also from posts on one of the forums that I frequent. Anyone who has met me knows I'm a bit of a lazy ass, and can't be bothered to look anything up unless I'm really bored, or trying to win an argument, so I'm just gonna guess that its because some websites use the same cookie-cutter posting tools as other sites. Maybe I should ask a web designer.