This might be old hat, but I just started watching the new season of Doctor Who, so sue me if I’m late to the game.

I was prepared not to like Matt Smith. Or at least not like him as much as David Tennant. The tenth doctor left on top of his game, and IMO was the best Doctor ever. Especially after his best performance – The Waters of Mars. I liked The End of Time, but it still didn’t match The Waters of Mars IMO. The Eleventh Doctor brings a much different feel to the Doctor. Tennant always seemed to carry a certain manic gravitas. All over the place, infectious, but like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. That was one of the great things about the Tenth Doctor. But a funny thing happened as I started to watch this new Doctor. I started to slowly open up to the possibilities. The Tenth Doctor is gone. He left at the top of his game, and I know I’ll miss him in the role. But there’s a new Doctor, and he definitely shows potential…

Bookmark Docs – A review

Introduction

I found out about Bookmark Docs through a thread on DonationCoder.com.

From the site:

Bookmark Docs lets you precisely “bookmark” any places in various documents and then quickly return to them whenever you need, and do all that in a unified manner. Add bookmarks and hyperlinks to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, CHM, and MSDN documents, and to Web pages.

I’ve seen many bookmark managers over the years (and have bought more than a few), and haven’t found anything that really satisfied my needs, so the idea was interesting to me. The installation was professional and seamless, though you will want to pay attention to the options at the end; Bookmark Docs by default does not put an icon on the desktop, but does want to run at startup, so set your options accordingly.

Overview

When you first run bookmark docs, you are presented with a pretty simple interface.

Bookmark Docs Initial Interface

It shows a list of your currently available windows in applications that are supported as links, a link to add a manually created link, and a list of supported applications at the bottom- a welcome bit of foresight. When you click one of the links, you are presented with a dialog that shows what will get created. You can also expand the bottom portion to show a bit more detail about where the link will be stored (more on that later), and what the actual link to the document is. Just conjecture, but it appears that an absolute link is stored along with a relative link, so I’m not sure what the ramifications of changing one or the other is. There is also a place to tag your links- the usual sort of tag rules apply, i.e. word tags, separated by commas. A drop down showing the tags that you have used before is available, though one oversight is that you can’t add/remove more than one tag in this manner. If you want to have more than one tag, you have to type it in yourself.

New Bookmark Dialog

New Bookmark Dialog - Expanded

Once the bookmark is added, the other tab shows a list of the bookmarks. It has an incremental search, also, so that you can search when your list of bookmarks (inevitably) becomes too large for the screen to display.

Bookmark Docs - Bookmark List

Bookmark Docs - Incremental Search

There is also a taskbar notification icon that allows you to invoke the add window, or to add a bookmark link to your active window. I did note that if you are in an unsupported application, the application that appeared in this window seemed random; there might be logic behind it that I haven’t yet figured out.

Bookmark Docs - Right Click Menu

There is also access to the help documentation (online only), and the Bookmark Manager. This is where the more advanced aspects of Bookmark Docs can be found.

Bookmark Docs - Bookmark Manager

In this window, you have a breakdown of the tags that have been used in links, and the ability to filter based on those tags. You can also drag tags to links in order to quickly tag them. Renaming tags is also possible from this interface. The more exciting option is hinted at by the bottom window in the interface. You can load different bookmark files, so that you can have more than one set of bookmarks. One list of bookmarks can be kept in a version control system, or on dropbox to sync between machines/users, and the other kept private to your machine. The application also supports copying the url of the documents (in full or shortened format), so that you can use other applications to manage the syncing of links, such as google bookmarks.

In practice, I’ve found the linking mechanism to be quite reliable, even if I’ve found quirks in certain applications. Web pages and PDF files work splendidly. In Word documents, in 2003 documents, the link shows up at the top of the application when you are taken to the page, but less conveniently, in 2007 documents, the selected location shows at the bottom of the screen. Not a crippling issue, just a little less than optimal.

Suggestions for Improvement

The interface for accessing documents is a little less accessible than I’d like. Though it’s definitely easy to bring up the document links, I think that a shortcut menu of your most accessed links on the taskbar notification icon, and perhaps shortcuts to them would be a definitely welcome improvement. The ability to copy links out of the application, however, might possibly mitigate this; I will have to see how it works in practice with other productivity applications that I use to speed up the launching of documents and applications.

Comparison to other apps

I’ve used a few bookmark managers over the years, and the bookmarking facilities included in several other applications. I have to say that this is the most slick implementation, from adding bookmarks, to the tagging of them. The ability to bookmark a certain area in a document is especially great, as many times I have to reference certain parts of a document, and finding it each time that the document is opened does reduce productivity.

Conclusions

I foresee that this will become one of those applications that I come to rely on heavily. Though there are a few niggling areas that could be enhanced, it does what it sets out to do, and really is a timesaver. I give it my recommendation.

With the deciding over, the fun part begins… shopping! I did some more research into the TC1100, and found that there are several different versions. It appears that the max processor is a Pentium M 1.2GHz, and the maximum memory is 2G (if you discard the 512MB that comes standard). The price variance seems to also be pretty large, so I have to set myself a shopping limit.

I would like to spend less than $400 on the tablet and all upgrades. I’m basing that on the fact that I’d have to get a stand for the iPad, and the stand I was looking at was about $50, and I’m sure I’d get a keyboard, and that would run about $50, so the price for an iPad with 32GB of storage becomes $799 + tax.

The tablet I was able to secure on eBay was $239 + $12 shipping, so that fell within my budget. I did find out while I was doing this that I needed to be more assertive with my purchase; I missed out on a $249 deal that included the dock and DVD/RW. But I was able to secure that in another auction for $49 + $12 shipping. In that auction I learned another lesson- because right after I hit the buy it now, I found another one for $44 that included an additional power cord, which I think I might need.

But my total so far is $298 + $24 shipping, so I’m satisfied with the purchase.

After much deliberation, I’ve decided to get a TC1100 instead of an iPad. In order to keep my expectations on the same level as what I would have expected from an iPad, my first step is to list out what I expect from the tablet.

My primary use of the tablet will be as a reader- PDFs and eBooks, for the most part, but it would also be nice to be able to access office documents. I also want to be able to take notes on it, and use it for general organizational purposes; it would be nice to be able to check e-mail and such on it, but that’s not a primary purpose. Of course, web access is a necessity.

For these needs, the processor of the tc1100 should be more than adequate. I will want to have at least 1GB RAM, and a DVD for installation of software. Another upgrade option is an SSD in place of the standard hard drive. Searching, it appears that PATA SSDs are still being manufactured by a few firms out of China, in addition to a Transcend HD. 32GB seems to be the sweet spot, which is a bit less than the 40GB HDD the tc1100 comes with. Windows 7 is also an upgrade option.

With these limitations and upgrade possibilities in mind, it’s time to go shopping!

My iPad Quest has turned into something else. I have this rule that I’ve enforced on myself; when I decide I want something techy, I impose a wait on it, while I put the money aside and research it and see how it develops and get more information. I was almost to the point of buying an iPad. I have an iPhone, and I enjoy it, and after seeing an iPad in person and what it could do, I figured that it would work for me.

But during my due diligence, I came across the following image.

Apple iPad vs HP TC1100 Comparison

Then I really started thinking about it, and doing the same research into the tc1100. Ignoring the trollish nature of the image (and the incorrect information in a few categories), that’s actually a pretty good comparison- but how does it hold up in the real world? I’ve already had a few tablets (Motion Computing m1200, m1400, Fujitsu P1510D) and a few smaller devices (OQO, Sony VAIO UX), and my biggest problem was that I was trying to do too much with them at the time- they were my primary computer for a lot of things (other than gaming and development). I fell into the trap of expecting the device to do too much on the limited power that it had.

One thing that Apple has done with the iPad is to limit expectations- mostly by locking you into what you can do, and out of what they don’t want you to do. But if I can limit my expectations- then I can get what I need at a fraction of the price.

So, my iPad quest ends (at least for now) to be replaced by my TC1100 quest.

Recently, Blizzard made authenticators an optional part of each account. When you enable it, you either use a keyfob or an iPhone app that links to your account to give you a unique revolving password every time you access your account, in addition to your normal password. This gives another layer of security to your account, and is very hard to hack- corporations use this for people accessing their VPNs.

However, it appears that hackers are now using this against people who don’t sign up for an authenticator. When they hack the account, they not only change the password, but add an authenticator so that the compromised account can’t be easily restored.

If this happens to you, there is a thread on the Blizzard forums about how to get an unauthorized authenticator removed from your account. And from the number of threads in the support forums, this isn’t an isolated thing.

Lesson of the day- add an authenticator to your account.

LOTRO will be going Free-to-Play later this year. There’s been a lot of discussion on the subject since the news was announced last week, but there is a FAQ about what this means, and a chart of the benefits for VIP players.

I was a little apprehensive about this in the beginning (ok- a lot apprehensive), but it appears that as a founding lifetime member, all this will mean personally is that I get 500 Turbine points a month free, and a stash of Turbine points to start out with. At first I thought this might mean that LOTRO was not doing well, but apparently DDO is doing well under this model, so they decided to add LOTRO to the mix. If this is truly the case, and it spurs more players, then I’ll be ecstatic.

But as of now, I’m cautiously optimistic…

I was discussing the recent Steam sale on DonationCoder, and the topic turned towards unplayed (or minimally played) games in our collections. Iphigenie posted a link to her blog post on that subject, and it got me thinking how it might be cathartic for me to do the same. So without further ado- the great list!

Unplayed Games

1. Haegemonia
2. Antaeus Rising
3. Earth 2160
4. Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business
5. Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire
6. Colin McRae Rally
7. Flatout
8. Spellforce + Expansions
9. Empire Earth + Expansions
10. Lords of the Realm III
11. Stronghold Crusader
12. Ghost Master
13. The Guild + Expansions
14. Evil Genius
15. Lords of Magic
16. Fallout Tactics
17. Commandos 2 + 3
18. Beyond Good and Evil
19. Painkiller + Expansions
20. Thief
21. Thief 2
22. Operation Snowblind
23. Gobliiins
24. Prey
25. Star Wars Republic Commando
26. Need for Speed Prostreet
27. Dead Space
28. The Witcher
29. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
30. World in Conflict + Expansions
31. Company of Heroes + Expansions
32. World of Goo
33. Bridge Construction Set
34. Cogs
35. Empire Earth 2
36. Neverwinter Nights 2 + expansions
37. Star Wars: KOTOR
38. Star Wars: KOTOR 2
39. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
40. Warhammer 40,000: DOW Expansions (All)
41. Supreme Commander + Expansions
42. The Movies + Expansion
43. Space Siege
44. A.I.M. 2
45. Anno 1503 + Expansions
46. Anno 1701 + Expansion
47. The Guild 2 + Expansions
48. Bioshock
49. Buccaneer
50. City Life 2008
51. Civilization III + Expansions
52. Civilization IV + Expansions
53. Europa Universalis + Expansions
54. Freight Tycoon
55. Hard Truck Apocalypse
56. Hearts of Iron 2 + Expansions
57. Hotel Giant
58. Mount and Blade
59. Port Royale 2
60. RC Cars
61. Space Rangers
62. Space Rangers 2
63. Spellforce 2 + Expansions
64. Star Wolves 2
65. Sword of the Stars + Expansions
66. Takeda 3
67. Titan Quest + Expansion
68. Total Annihilation
69. Trine
70. UFO: Aftermath
71. Call of Duty 4
72. Mass Effect
73. Act of War: High Treason
74. AI War: Fleet Command
75. Altitude
76. Bob Came in Pieces
77. Bullet Candy
78. Crysis
79. Crysis Warhead
80. Crysis Wars
81. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
82. Darwinia
83. DiRT
84. DiRT 2
85. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
86. Freedom Force vs. Third Reich
87. FUEL
88. Sins of a Solar Empire
89. Galcon Fusion
90. Grand Theft Auto IV
91. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
92. Psychonauts
93. Railroad Tycoon 2
94. Railroad Tycoon 3
95. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
96. Smashball
97. Space Empires IV
98. Space Empires V
99. Speedball 2
100. Super Laser Racer
101. Torchlight
102. X-Com: Apocalyps
103. X-Com: Interceptor
104. X-Com: Terror from the Deep
105. X-Com: Enforcer
106. X2: The Threat
107. X3: Terran Conflict + Reunion
108. Shadowgrounds
109. Sid Meier’s Railroads
110. Sid Meier’s Pirates
111. Dark Age of Camelot
112. Aquaria
113. Gish
114. Battlefield 1942
115. Hellsgate
116. Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
117. Jade Empire

Minimally Played Games (played 2 hours or less)

1. Fallen Earth
2. Star Wars Online
3. Battlefield Bad Company 2
4. Demigod
5. Jagged Alliance 2
6. Freespace 2
7. Descent 3 + Expansion
8. Ground Control + Expansion
9. Capitalism II
10. Commandos
11. Arcanum
12. Star Wars Battlefront II
13. Switchball
14. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
15. Warhammer 40,000: DOW 2
16. Warhammer 40,000: DOW
17. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
18. Gratuitous Space Battles + Expansions
19. Iron Man
20. Restaurant Empire 2
21. The Tomorrow War
22. Borderlands
23. Mass Effect 2
24. The Elder Scrolls IV
25. Fallout 3 + Expansions
26. Mirror’s Edge
27. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
28. Killing Floor
29. Sniper Elite
30. Audiosurf
31. Battlefield 2
32. EVE Online
33. Freedom Force
34. Galactic Civilization 2 + Expansions
35. GRID
36. Half Life 2 + Expansions
37. Heroes of Might and Magic V + Expansions
38. Light of Altair
39. Quake Wars: Enemy Territory
40. Max Payne 2
41. Quantum of Solace
42. Batman: Arkham Asylum
43. Red Orchestra
44. Trials 2
45. Monster Truck Nitro
46. Braid
47. Timeshift
48. System Shock 2
49. Europa Universalis Rome
50. Battlefield Vietnam
51. Warcraft III
52. Universe at War
53. Star Wars: Empire at War

Games that received some play (played 10 hours or less)

1. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
2. Star Trek Online
3. Star Wars Galaxies
4. Toca Race Driver 3
5. Auto Assault
6. Warhammer Online

Note that all of these games were purchased since January 1, 2009, and do not include console games.

I’ve always been a big fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files- well, at least since I discovered it a couple of years ago via the short-lived series on SciFi. Though most hardcore fans didn’t like the series that much, I really enjoyed it. There were quite a few changes, but I think because it was my start, rather than the books being my introduction to the world of Dresden, the changes didn’t bother me. Even after reading the books, I think that my Dresden experience would be poorer if I hadn’t seen the series.

Back to the topic at hand, apparently Jim Butcher is a big gamer… so teamed up with Evil Hat Productions to make a FATE version of the Dresden Files. I’ve tried to get onto the playtest team- but having no group to test with sort of hampered that. I could have done free editing work, but apparently they had editors galore. So I was stuck, waiting for the RPG with everyone else, when I caught this post on my Evil Hat RSS feed. I was ecstatic! I’m going to have to wait until my next payday, but man… I’m there! And I’ll post a review here as soon as I’m done reading it.

I started following the new Champions Online Community Manager (and current(?)/former(?) Star Trek Online Community Manager) @Cryptic_Stormy on twitter. Today, he made a post that started me thinking. The post is below, and my thoughts follow. I’m going to try to post these about other topics too.

Starting a new character for Champs, gonna playthrough 1-40 over the next couple of weeks.

If we pay monthly for a subscription to an MMO, I would think that the journey should take more than a couple of weeks, and not devolve into grinding over the time that it takes. I’m assuming that since he’s doing this as part of his job, this journey will take 4 weeks (being generous) at 6.5 hours a day (the calculation I always use for productive worker hours in a standard 8 hour day). So that’s 130 hours.

130 hours. Put into that perspective, that’s not a lot of time, even casually. I play maybe 1/10th of that a week. So in 13 weeks, I’m to cap if I push towards it. A little over 3 months. And Champions Online isn’t the most content-filled MMO, so from what I’ve seen at least half of that is a grind.

Shouldn’t we expect more from MMOs?