I found this on Digg, its an interesting article on how close we are to technology in Star Trek. Granted we aren't that close at all, but it's interesting to see the progression we have made in the last decade or two.

How Close Are We to Star Trek Technology [blahblahtech.com]

Tags: startrek, tech, breakthrough, interesting

So I finally beat Uncharted last night. The game was nothing short of amazing, I'd have to put it as one of the best games of 2007 and one of the best games I've ever played. It brings a lot to the table, it has great gameplay, the controls are pretty intuitive and easy to control, graphics are top-notch, and it has one of the best storylines I've seen in a while. The story is one of the biggest appeals of the game as it keeps you wanting to see what happens next. The ending was pretty good and leaves it wide open for a sequel should Naughty Dog choose to.

So, if you have a PS3 and DON'T have Uncharted, get it, its worth it.

Tags: uncharted, ps3, life

Back when the iPhone Firmware version 1.1.2 and iTunes 7.5 was released, people found a workaround for free custom ringtones from any MP3. I of course wanted to see if it would work, and sure enough it did. I was concerned as to how long the workaround would last figuring Apple would notice and close it up in future updates.

Then the 1.1.3 firmware became available which added a bunch of features that I liked so I figured I'd give it a try hoping that the upgraded firmware would not mess up my ringtones. After crossing my fingers and installing it, sure enough, the custom ringtones I made were still available.

iTunes 7.6 has been available for some time now, but I've been cautious about installing it thinking that it might be the update that disables the workaround. Well last night upon installing OS X 10.5.2, I decided that I might as well give it a try. Luckily my ringtones are still there, and I'm still able to create new ones, so obviously the workaround is still there for iTunes 7.6 and the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware. Here's the link for the workaround.

Note: this requires at least iPhone Firmware 1.1.2 and iTunes 7.5

Create Custom Ringtones for your iPhone [macrumors.com]

Tags: iphone, itunes, ringtones, workaround, apple, mac

I started this website back in July or August sometime, I honestly forget which month, but that doesn't matter. Initially it was just to help me learn CSS, PHP, and MySQL, but since it has become much more than that. Over the last 6-7 months, I have learned many things about web design and how to get it off the ground so I figured I'd share some of the things I've learned. These tips and suggestions are in no particular order of importance.

1.) Start Off Small

If you're just starting out a website, don't try to do too much at once. Start off small and add to it along the way. Trying to do too much can cause problems, especially when you realize that in order to solve one problem, it causes you to overhaul a lot more. By starting off small, you can piece things together as needed and in my opinion, get a better understanding of what the best way to piece in the next part of your site.

2.) Use Templates or Include Files When You Can

I should have done this from the beginning, but didn't think of it until it was too late. The sidebar and top bar are the same on every page of the site. Initially I just copied and pasted the code for the bars in every page. It worked, but if I needed to change something, I would have to go into each and every page and change the piece individually. I have since switched over to using the php include() function so I can simply create 1 file for the top bar, and 1 for the side. I would then simply include them in the file. This in itself may sound obvious, but for a newcomer, it can solve a lot of time and trouble.

3.) Use a Good Color Scheme

Choosing a good color scheme is very important to any website, however coming up with one that you like isn't always the easiest thing. Too many times people want to use 20 different colors on their site without realizing that it makes those who view it's eyes bleed. You want to find a good color scheme to use. Once you have one, using it isn't that hard, you really just have to decide what you like.

4.) Try to Plan Ahead

Let's face it, your initial design probably is going to eventually undergo at least some changes whether adding, deleting, modifying pages and files. One thing to try to do is to plan ahead and try to build for easy additions and not make everything based off of one component you don't plan on keeping.

5.) Be Dynamic

Databases are your website's best friend. My site is almost purely based off of a MySQL database. It allows for you to grab data, entries, many things and use them without having to constantly cut and paste. PHP ties very nicely into MySQL, and ASP.NET ties in nicely with Microsoft SQL Server. There are plenty of resources online to help you out with this.

6.) Find a Good Way to Back Up Your Code

Hardware failures happen, with technology that is pretty much a give-in. Find a good way to back up your code often. This can be simply copying it to a thumb drive, burning it to DVD, placing it on an external hard drive, or if you're a little crazy like me, set up a subversion repository for it on a separate computer and use that. Subversion (SVN) is nice because you can use it as a place you can sync files between separate computers, you can revert back to previous versions of the file easily if you realize that what you just did screws everything up, and you can just bring in all the files if you needed to reformat your machine for whatever reason.

7.) Don't Be Afraid to Experiment

If you want to try something new but are afraid you might screw something up, don't be. Experiment a little, see if your new changes would work or do what you want them to do. Just make a copy of whatever file you're working on and make your changes on that. If you later realize it can't be done, delete the copy and just use the original. You then at least get the satisfaction of realizing you tried. If you get it all working, replace the original and go with the new one. You'll never realize what all you can do if you're unwilling to try something new.

8.) Layout is Important

This one may sound pretty obvious, but here it is anyway. Creating a good layout is important for any website. Users should be able to find your content without having to search all over your page. Have your imporant links easily able to be found. No one is going to spend a lot of time trying to find something, so make it easy for them.

9.) Use a Pencil and Paper

One thing that I found that helped me out was before I made my site, i drew a sketch of what I wanted my site too look like. I could then build my CSS and layout around it.

10.) Search Engine Optimization

Make sure to use the keyword and description meta tags on your website to help search engines find your site. A site map is also a good thing to have. I myself don't have a lot of experience with this, so I would suggest looking into this yourself to help you out.

11.) Don't be Too Graphics, Flash, Javascript Intensive

Don't use too much Flash, Javascript or too many large images with your site. Users want to be able to access your site with some speed and adding these things only slows down the load time. Users tend to just close the window or tab if your site is taking too long to load. This is not to say use absolutely no graphics, Flash or Javascript, just keep these things in mind.

I know I am not the best web developer in the world, but I figured I'd share some of the things I've learned over my time working on my website. Hey, if this post helps just one person, I'll be happy.

So what about it? Anything else you'd like to add?

Tags: webdevelopment, website, help, tips, php, html, css

The weekend went well. Busy but not in a bad way. I ended up getting pretty far in Uncharted, but man are parts of that game difficult, I'm stuck on one part right now that I just got so frustrated with I called it a night.

Friday night I hung out with Crystal which was a great time, watched Club Dread.

Saturday my buddy Brian came over with his computer and we pretty much gamed all day playing games ranging from Golf, to Rise of Nations, and even Team Fortress 2. It was kinda nerdy I guess, but it was a lot of fun. He saved my ass in Rise of Nations, Armada 2 we pretty much just romped in, Golf he beat me but I was happy I managed to get 1 under being it the first time I played it. TF2 was well, TF2.

Sunday was just a relaxing day that I layed back and just relaxed, played a little WoW, Uncharted, and worked a little bit on my website mostly adding the social networking buttons to my entries.

Now its Monday and I'm back to work. Here's hoping the week goes by quickly.

Also, I haven't figured one thing out yet, I embedded the flash videos from my camping trip into the entry, but it errors if you don't have www.darkernemesis.com as the address, so if you're getting errors, it's probably because you have the URL as darkernemesis.com instead of www.darkernemesis.com, I'm still trying to figure out why its doing that.

Tags: uncharted, ps3, lanparty