So what does it mean when a CRT, with the brightness and contrast both set to 100, decides to grow dim and get brighter, randomly, several times, as you're using it? From what I've read in my A+, CRTs aren't a laughing matter, and I'm tempted to shut it off and use Remote Desktop Connection instead, and use the monitor only in emergencies where RDC won't work.

I was doing my A+ Essentials practice exam and it pretty nearly dimmed itself so far, it almost looked like it was off, except I could still just barely see the windows. It's been doing this for a while now, but not with nearly the severity.

Yeah... I'm not going to use it anymore. Which is a bummer. I put IMs on that computer when I'm playing full screen games, so I can still talk to people. Oh well... Guess there's another multi-hundred dollar device I have to buy. Blah.

So it hit Digg a while ago that you could get a free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate '07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips just by filling out a survey and installing an application that monitors how you use your computer.

I'm sure that everyone reading this right now has red flag popping up in their brains. "Microsoft watching me?! More than they already do with Windows alone?! THE NERVE!!"

Honest question for you guys. Did you even read the FAQs and such? They tell you what they're going to monitor. It checks to see how you use Microsoft products, it checks Windows settings, number of users on the system, various Control Panel settings. Hardware details... Processor, RAM, and so forth. Information about (not information in) files in common storage places, such as how many things you're actually storing in My Documents. The programs you run, and problems you encounter. They say they don't intentionally read identification information, such as passwords. But, in all honesty, with the massive uproar whenever something like this comes up, will someone mind telling me how Microsoft is actually going to use your password and compromise your security? They're going to send a representative to act as your friend long enough for you to feel safe handing your laptop over to him so he can finally use your password? I also stand next to my view that if you store credit card and banking information in plain-text form on your computer, then you almost deserve someone to steal it.

So this is all with the intent of learning how to improve Windows. You know what that is, I'm sure, because every outspoken malcontent whines about how Microsoft should fix their products and get more in tune with what people actually want today. Well... This is their answer, and all you can do is scream "bloody murder!" about privacy issues? Seriously, how else is Microsoft supposed to find out what you use Windows for? Do you think they should hire about a thousand people to sit in a big room with telephones and wait for people to call in with their input?

You call, again and again, for Microsoft to get their act together, and when they think of a way to do that, you trip over each other to be the first to call out PRIVACY VIOLATION, when they haven't even DONE anything, yet. (Or you just take a cheap jab and say there's nothing they could learn that they don't already have access to. Oh, very witty of you.)

I'll probably get... no comments, but I'm going to pose the question anyway. How do you think Microsoft should get a feel for what the market is like, when they have such a massive market share? Let's be reasonable, too. Something that could actually be done. Something like random visits just... isn't going to cut it. Is there anything better that they could do? Anything better than installing an application that literally watches you do work? How else are they going to know what the modern market wants to do?

Since I know they're going to be brought up, please don't say something about "well, Apple knows what their market wants just fine without spying" or "Linux knows what people want". That may be the case, but, face it. They're incredibly small market shares. Apple and Linux know what their market wants pretty much because their market already likes what Apple and Linux was doing in the first place. There was no adaptation to be done. Actually, go ahead and say that if you want, but don't bother unless you can explain how Apple and Linux knows what their market wants. "They just do", for example, isn't going to cut it.

All that being said, I want to say that I was completely and totally prepared to apply for this Microsoft "spy app". I mean, hey! I enjoy Vista immensely. What could be better than getting a free copy of Ultimate for letting a program watch what windows I open? As long as I know it's there, I'll make a point of not doing anything deadly secretive while it's there. (You know, all those CIA reports I have to write up... Can't let anyone get their hands on those, right?) But, sadly, the free software promotional ended yesterday, I believe, and now there's no incentive, so I'm not going to do it.

And here is where someone's going to say "aha! You're calling us out for not wanting to run the test when not even you are going to?" No... No, I wasn't calling you out for not wanting to run the test. I was calling you out for exploding over the "privacy violation" of this test... I was calling you out for acting like you had no choice in the matter and that Microsoft has no right learning what it might, possibly, without-sure-proof, learn what it might. I'm calling you out for wanting Microsoft to make their products better, but being too paranoid and anti-Microsoft at heart to take this as an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is.

If you don't want to participate, fine. But is there a better way to get what you've been wanting Microsoft to do for so long? For Microsoft to know what you want, you're going to have to tell them somehow, and this is one of those ways.

(PS - For the record, I would like to think that I would defend any company who does this. Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Blizzard, or otherwise. Granted, it's pretty obvious that I'm a little biased toward Microsoft, but I'd still like to believe that my leaning away from anyone wouldn't prevent me from seeing this the same way had, say, Apple wanted to install a program and monitor your activities and all the Apple users were upset. (Yes, I know, Apple would never do such a thing.))

So here I am, taking a break from crunching for mathematics final exam tonight, and A+ Essentials final exam tomorrow (by the way, you're looking at the latest officially certified Linux+ tech), I do my quick rounds, which consist of checking my blog for new comments, checking MystBlogs for the latest interesting post (which doesn't seem to happen often), checking Last.FM to see what my latest skewed music profile looks like (seeing as how I'm churning out Christopher Franke and Babylon 5 at the moment), checking deviantArt for the latest Okami stuff, checking Digg for the latest gaming news, and checking Google Reader for the latest blog posts that AREN'T on MystBlogs.

Digg is, by far, the most interesting, of course. Among the multitudes of articles about how out of touch with reality Mike Huckabee is for proclaiming to the world that he's a Christian and not beating around the bush about what he believes in (let's see any of the current Democrat candidates do that, heck, or even any of the "leading" Republican candidates), I see something about good ol' Microsoft.

Apparently, Digg is cracked up over the fact that Microsoft has a support article explaining how to remove Linux from your system and install XP. Am I the only one who thinks this could be helpful? Personally, I already know how to wipe Linux off my hard drive (you learn how to do that on your own when you install Linux as much as I do, only to find out it's still as difficult and useless as before). I abstain, though. You can come up with any explanation you want.

What really made my day was this little gem of a comment:

 "Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation."

-- Cheeky (word-I'm-not-going-to-quote)

It has over 360 people agreeing with that comment. Talk about fanboy-ism. Since when is it up to Microsoft to explain how Linux can coexist with Windows XP? It's not their product, and no company on the face of this planet is going to support something they don't own. It's up to LINUX distributions to discuss how to coexist with other operating systems. Of course, you could always do the same thing and say "Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Windows documentation", but then you'd be shooting yourselves in the foot, because if you make it too hard, you're not going to get anyone making the cold-turkey switch to Linux without Windows to fall back on when they need to.

Anyway. Just thought I'd say that real quick. I guess Digg thinks Microsoft should support Linux now.

Now! Back to practice exams for A+ Essentials... Oh boy.

Digg: Anti-Christian at all times, but self-proclaimed experts when it allows them to rip apart whoever quoted the Bible, pointing out all the "subjective" and "up to interpretation" parts. Do yourselves a favor and don't do that. You're just showing the rest of us exactly how liberal you are. I don't know whether to pity you or laugh... It's so ridiculous.

Keep it up, Mike Huckabee. Digg is a loud-mouthed minority. There are those of us out there who like politicians who actually say what they mean, without a care how the media spins it. Alan Keyes, too. Abortion is evil? Oh, yeah... Tell it like it is. The media will twist it up, but look on the bright side! Everyone will know exactly what you think.

For anyone who's hopelessly confused... I am currently "Kosh" in CC.

I know that the posts I make specifically asking for feedback don't get very much, and the ones I don't necessarily need or want feedback on get the most, but I'm asking you... No. I'm begging you! Please read this and leave a comment. It's important. Not... Life or death, but it's still important. Actually, maybe I should ask that you please not leave a comment, then I'll have a whole bunch! But anyway!

One of the things I've wanted to do since I've even known computers existed is to make a game. I grew up with text games, and that's what I wanted to make. There's something attractive with a game that plays like a book. You issue text commands, and text appears in response. You read it, and so much is left up to your imagination. I love text games, and I've wanted to make one for a very long time.

Okay, so then I eventually discovered that modems could dial into other computers and display a bunch of text information. These Bulletin Board Services provided a new breed of text adventure games. Games that you could play like you could Zork or Adventure or Terror in the Ice Caverns... Only with people, and with a battle system. Hit points and magic points and weapons and armor. The first computer role-playing games. Love at first sight. Unfortunately, these BBSes usually only had a single telephone line, so you couldn't actually play with other people directly.

This is where the internet allowed for another evolution of text games. Massively multiplayer online TEXT games. Multiple people log in and everyone can see each other and you interact directly with other players! Perfect! Another case of love at first sight, and my mind was made up. No longer did I want to make a text adventure game, I wanted to make a text MMO.

My favorite game system is, by far, CircleMUD, but, sadly, as I began to finally get serious about designing my own game, I ran into some interesting, legally questionable licensing issues with the original CircleMUD and DikuMUD licenses, and I decided to begrudgingly scrap my ideas and forget about it. The licenses prevented me from doing exactly what I wanted to do. I absolutely loathe games that profess to be free, but if you decide to pay, they'll give you an edge over the other players. I didn't want that, but I also decided that I could put up a little donation button to help with server fees and the like, but then I read the license and they prevent that. If you use CircleMUD, you can't charge and you can't accept donations, for the game or the server. A thread on the official mailing list brought this up and the community was split over it and didn't mind giving the smackdown to people who disagreed with them. I decided to forgo CircleMUD and it's community drama.

But... Then, after a while, I started getting indoctrinated with the intricacies of Java and how amazing it was. (Thanks to TW.) And I decided to attempt to write my own online text game engine, free of any licensing issues, and I could correct all the weird quirks of CircleMUD and every other game I've played. I could do anything, and look at the best of all the worlds I've seen, and learn from their mistakes.

So after that little bit of history, I have something to ask anyone who's reading this:

If you were looking at text games to play, what would you want in one? What features? Do you like a lot of races? A lot of classes? A huge world? Roleplaying? Player versus player combat? Quests? Immersive descriptions? Strict rules? No rules? Political systems? Active storyline? Whatever comes to mind, I would appreciate it if you could list whatever you'd personally want in an online text game, and I do mean anything. Don't assume I already know what features I'd need, because, like I told Edrick, I only know what the fundamentals are for myself. What you expect in a game is going to be different than mine. So by all means, share your opinions. As they say in the book writing business... The best book is a book that you share and ask for feedback and see what people like and dislike and maybe correct anything that needs correcting.

So GamesRadar released a little list of video game music they think is worth putting on your iPod. They said that they realize that everyone's taste in music is different, and I tend to agree! (After quickly realizing that their picks were quite atrocious.) So I'm going to make my own little list of music to say you should listen to! (I'm also going to forgo the whole subliminal advertising for Apple.) I'm going to take this opportunity to test out a little Flash music player that my friend Iaian7's been using for a while, too, but in case it doesn't show up, you can click the title of the track and get the MP3! (No OGG, AAC, WMA or any weird stuff here. MP3 forever.) These are all 30 second clips, to avoid any rampant lawsuit by the RIAA claiming to be representing the artists of these tracks.

10. Myst - Myst Theme
Go get Adobe Flash Player!

I'm having a difficult time sorting these by priority, so I'm going to wing it. I'm not going to pick some arbitrary number and try to come up with enough to fill the list... I'm going to show you 10 of my favorite video game tracks, rated, more or less, from least important to most. Still, being the bottom of the top 10 is no crying matter, and I'm going to start off with a track that everyone who calls themselves a gamer should have heard by now. Anyone who regularly reads this blog will definitely know what it is. It's the Myst Theme, by good ol' Robyn Miller. It's been so long since it first reached my ears and I can still remember the pure awe and sense of mystery surrounding this game.

9. Super Mario 64 - Koopa's Road
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Similarly, anyone who calls themselves a gamer should know what this is by now. Koopa's Road, by Koji Kondo. I really have no experience to associate with this, because I was late on the Super Mario 64 scene, but there's just something about it that defines Bowser, and something that just feels right while you're trying to reach him through some otherworldly mess of gadgets and baddies built in the vast expanse of absolutely nothing.

8. Metroid Prime - Menu Select
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This is one thing we agreed on, though, GamesRadar and I. Except they picked the Main Title of Metroid Prime 2, and I picked the music that accompanies the menu in the first game. By both Kenji Yamamoto and Kouichi Kyuma, according to my sources. This is the game that precedes all other Metroid games, says Nintendo. The story that started it all and a best-seller on that "failed" console, the Gamecube!

7. World of Warcraft - Legends of Azeroth
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I'll bet you didn't know that pounding music that plays during the log on screen had a title! Well, it does! Legends of Azeroth by... A whole heck of a lot of people: Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Derek Duke, and Glenn Stafford. I remember the first time I started up World of Warcraft. The dark swirling portal on the side opposite of Azeroth, looking through from a dead, desolate world to a lush, green paradise... A world that the Burning Legion wanted for their own, and a world wracked with war after war with so much story... A lot of history. More than most fantasy novels, even.

6. Myst Online: Uru - Gallery Theme
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My first intention was to only list tracks from games that weren't related to each other. One Mario, one Myst, and so forth. But I realized that my list really could not be complete without the Gallery Theme, by Tim Larkin. Kadish's Gallery. The token personification of the pride of D'ni. The pride before their fall. You remember the story behind it, right? That when Veovis and A'Gaeris were poisoning the entire civilization, Kadish's wife (who you can hear singing) was waiting for him at home, singing his favorite song from his favorite play. He never showed up to be with her in D'ni final hours. He was too busy dying, alone, surrounded by all his wealth that was locked away deep in his Age. They both died alone.

5. Chrono Trigger - Chrono Trigger
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How's that title for you? The track "Chrono Trigger" from the game Chrono Trigger, by Yasunori Mitsuda. Arguably the best role playing game of all time, with no exceptions in my book. Final Fantasy doesn't come close. Nothing does, and nothing ever will. Chrono Trigger is pure brilliance, with the best story and the best musical soundtrack you could have ever asked for on a Super Nintendo. (Incidentally, this clip I'm giving you is actually a special remix made for the Playstation release after Square sold out to Sony and abandoned Nintendo.)

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The Goddess Appears
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Speaking of Nintendo! Here's a classic for you. The Goddess Appears, by Koji Kondo. You may recognize it as Great Fairy's Fountain and the menu music from the Ocarina of Time and... Well, I think pretty much every game since the first one. There's really not much to say here. It's Zelda. It's Fairy's Fountain. It's good, and it's had so many revisions it's not funny. I picked A Link to the Past because it was the only copy I had that wasn't actually a fan remix, but it's still so good!

3. Perfect Dark - Institute Menu
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This track has special meaning to me. My grandparents have a neighbor who we always hang out with when we visit, and he was one of the first on the block to snag a Nintendo 64. We could play Goldeneye 007 constantly! ...Until Perfect Dark came out. This marked my first real endeavor into all-night gaming! Fragging it up at 3am, freezing the console when we coordinated the detonation of all our remote trip mines at the same time. Awesome times. The entire soundtrack for this game is amazing. Not too heavy like nearly every other FPS, but enough to get you on the edge of your seat when the time comes!

2. Halo 2 - Unforgotten
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Of course, Marty O'Donnell took FPS soundtracks to an entirely new level with Halo, and then completely outdid himself with Halo 2. I don't have the Halo 3 soundtrack, and I don't think it's even been released, yet, so this is the next best thing. I believe (if I recall correctly) that the title insinuates that those who went above and beyond the call of duty in the Covenant War will never be forgotten, and boy... It sure does drive that feeling home, if you ask me.

1. Okami - Rising Sun
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This is the reason for my rule of "one track per game or game series", otherwise, I would have filled it up with Okami tracks and it would've bored you to death. However, Rising Sun, by Rei Kondoh, is the pinnacle of any music that I have ever heard from anywhere in my life. Usually, I'll listen to a track and remix it in my head, trying to make my own arrangement and see how I could make it sound better, maybe with different instruments or slower or what have you. Not Rising Sun. The more I listen, the more perfect it is, and the more I love it. I've listened to this so much before I even heard of Last.fm, so whatever count you see there? It's far, far, far greater than that. My all time favorite and I guarantee that you won't be disappointed with having this track on your MP3 player!