Gaming Mania 01: Left4Dead 1 & 2

Letf4Dead was amongst the more interesting games recently released this past season. Most of its draw came from its 4 player cooperative game system...that and the kewl cinematic and sound effects.

The premise of the game is simple: the city is being overrun by zombies and only 4 survivors are left uninfected. You have to cooperate with each other to plow through literally hordes of a thousand zombies in order reach the final stage and be rescued. Cooperation is the key to this game as you just can't hope to survive against the undead horde by your lonesome. Moreover, playing cooperatively with 3 friends (either LAN or on line) made blowing up zombies that much more fun ;)

Hot on the heels of the success of the first game comes Left4dead2, which will be released later this year. Here's a sneak video preview:

Quick Fix 01: Windows error

SYMPTOM:

After logging in your Windows XP account, you get the following message:
"Windows cannot load the locally stored profile. Possible causes of this error include insufficient security rights or a corrupt local profile."
Eventhough you will be able to log-in, your changes in that account will not be saved.


CAUSE:

This problem may occur if the directory that is associated with the account has been deleted from the Documents and Settings folder.


SOLUTION:

1. Start the computer in SAFE MODE.
2. In the Control Panel, create a new user account.
3. Restart the computer.



for further instructions visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/812339

The Netbook Wars

Before netbooks came into existence, portable pcs were categorized only into big clunky laptops and notebooks.

Asus practically created the netbook niche. I was one of the first amongst my peers to acquire an Asus EEE 701 -- the first that started the netbook craze. The Asus EEE 701 was small, portable and ultra cheap! Before this came out, ultra portable laptops cost 2 to 3x that of a normal notebooks. People at first didn't mind the dismal 7 inch screen, 4GB SSD HD, 900 mhz celeron, processor, linux OS, 512 RAM and the cramped keyboards. Everyone was amazed at the novelty of this ultra cheap device that you could tote around anywhere. It was the perfect gift, not only for tots, but also for adults. Stocks went flying off the shelves as everyone wanted a piece of this cheap ultraportable gadget.

Other manufacturers took notice and soon started producing their own line up with more beefed up specs. Amongst the notable early adapters are:

1.) HP 2133 -- great build quality and heart stopping good looks with its magnesium alloy chassis, but it made a fatal mistake when it chose to adopt the VIA processor instead of the Intel Atom.



2.)MSI which came out with the MSI Wind. It was one of the very first to feature a 10 inch screen, win xp OS, a wide usable keyboard bundled with a more powerful intel atom processor and higher capacity laptop SATA HDs.






3.) Acer came out with a slimmer and cheaper Acer Aspire One.



4.) Lenovo also joined in the fray and released the Lenovo S10s -- sleeker, and more expensive. I couldn't resist the metallik pink flavor (If you're viewing this page, you'd know my current obssession with pink) and happily ditched my Asus EEE for it.

For love of mice....

I love mice...no, not the hairy rodent kind which makes most women go eeeeee!!! ;) but the kind you're using right now to navigate through this page :)

I currently use two mice with my desktop pc: a wireless Logitech LX8 and a Razer copperhead tempest blue for games.

For my Lenovo S10 netbook... I use the Logitech V550 nano. Below is a short mini review of my 3 fave mice:


Logitech LX8



The logitech Lx8 comes bundled with the wireless Logitech Wave Keyboard.

Its a laser mouse which runs on two AA batteries. Its ergonomically designed and is quite comfortable for longterm use. I find the pointer sensitivity satisfactory for normal desktop and surfing use. It has a scrollmouse and two buttons both on the right and the left side is programmable and can be used by normal righthanders and southpaws as well :) The battery lasts for a decent amount of time, i usually change it after 3 months or so of heavy usage.

Razer Copperhead


My Razer Copperhead comes in the Tempest Blue flavor. It has a sensitivity of 2000 DPI which you can increase and decrease on the fly. In contrast with my Logitech, the Razer is more sleek and low...just like a sports car. It glides easily and noiselessly through most mousepads like a hot knife through butter, thanks to its teflon feet.

This mouse is great for hardcore gamers and midlevel enthusiast gamers like moi. I can personally attest to the fact that the Razer Copperhead dramatically increases my speed and accuracy when playing COD4, left4dead, crysis and other games.

Logitech VX550 Nano





Amongst all the other notebook mice out there, I rate this mouse a perfect 10! Logitech engineers really took the time to study the specs of a perfect laptop mouse.

Its small and light. The simple rectangular slim design mimics that of the apple mighty mouse.

I love the really small bluetooth usb receiver as it enables me to plug it in my netbook all the time and then forget about it. The receiver is so small, I hardly notice it.

I just love the clip and go lock ability of the V550 nano. It comes packaged with a clip + adhesive which you use to attach said clip to the lid of your netbook/laptop. It comes with 3 clips and a clip remover in a handy tin container.

When you clip it in, the mouse automatically turns off saving on battery life. Once you unclip it, it turns on autmoatically. There's also a manual power on/off button. The clip on makes it ultraconvenient when moving a laptop/netboook. Your mouse always stays with your laptop/netbook. Wherever your my netbook goes, so goes my mouse :) Its a kewl lowtech innovative concept esp. when coupled with the convenience of a wireless mouse.

I had no problems using the mouse on wooden and plastic surfaces and fabric ( I used it on my pillow). I did notice a loss of sensitivity on glass surfaces.

The great thing about this mouse is its advertised 18 month battery life! I'll know if that claim has any truth to it after 17 months ;)