[rehab.is.for.retards]

Sorry for the lack of posting – I’m moving apartment and in busy times at work.  I will resume full time soon, and in the mean time squeeze up a post whenever I can.  Thanks for viewing the rifr.

So you want to try Linux. You heard Ubuntu finally made an easy to use and install version of Linux.

My advice? Do it.

First word of caution: Linux has come a long way, but it is still young.

Second word of caution: If you are not willing to lose your old operation system, you might still want to sit this one out. It is very possible to create a dual-boot machine, and install Ubuntu on your machine without damaging your current installation of windows (or whatever you have), but there are not guarantees whatsoever.

So, you feeling a little experimental, don’t have much to lose on your system and finally want to try a free operating system? Navigate to this link, and choose one of the first two downloads. The first download ( PC (Intel x86) desktop CD ) is for most users, and if you have a 64-bit machine, use the other ( 64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD )

Link: http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10/

Some quick notes?

• I installed version 6.06 of Ubuntu, and found it adequate and in some respects better than my Windows machine.

• One of the best features is a full catalog of free software. You actually choose these titles from a list of EVERYTHING available. There are games, applications, utilities and nearly any application on any other system has a brother or sister which does the same thing on Linux, but without any price tag (and legally free, not pirated).

• The newest version of Ubuntu – 7.10 is faster. I installed it on the same exact machine as I installed Ubuntu 6.06 and boot up and load time was faster, menu response was quicker, I could run more applications at the same time, and the newer version automatically supported my video card more efficiently. High definition video could run full screen with no lag whatsoever, and the audio did not skip.

• Ubuntu 7.10 now offers to help you find “non-free” support for video and audio. Normally, the Linux will not come with any support for file formats (such as “mp3″) which are commercially bound to someone. In the case of “mp3″ – this is a format which is owned by a corporation, and is not public domain. The spirit of the Linux community revolves around open source and open licensed software. This latest version of Ubuntu does not come with support for “mp3″ installed either. However, the first time you attempt to play an “mp3″ file, your media player will ask if you want to search for one – and sure enough it will find it. The same goes for dvd, avi, divx and a host of other “closed” formats. The world of media just became easier to access on a Linux based machine.

Ok, some down and dirty tips for the game everyone has been clicking through to on my blog (by far the most popular post)

Daily To Do List in Vile City:

1) Search Downtown – Completely free and you will alway get a some cash and usually some items. You will get enough for step 2:

2) Lucky Dip – $1000 to buy one chance to win an item. You can get $1000 easily by searching downtown first. You may get nothing, or rags or some item of no value, but then again, you might get what my gang member got, an item which sold to shops for over 2 billion. To a private buyer, that could easily triple. Clearly worth the $1000 every day.

3) Slot Machine - You will be able to bet more and more, the higher you level. It starts out at a very low amount, but it is still the fastest way to get money in the game. Have 5 times the amount of cash you can lose in one turn in hand, so you don’t have to keep visiting the bank. It is safest to first attack someone MUCH stronger than you. In Vile City, this is called a suicide hit–where the intention is to “die” and get sent to the hospital, where you are temporarily protected from attacks and muggings. If you pick someone MUCH stronger than you, they will know what you are doing, and probably not retaliate. Of course, there are no rules, so proceed with caution. The slot machine allows you to pay for 10 spins in once click. Always do all 10, and get through the 250 turns (in 25 passes) while you are hospitalized. Bank the money, and save up for whatever your cyberpunk heart desires.

4) Vote for Points - Once a day, you can get 10 points, which can be used to train, trade or sell for cash. There are two links you click, to cast a vote for Vile City as a popular game, and each one gives you 5 points. Do this EVERY DAY. It is the best way to get points (which can run from $200,000 to $500,000 per pont, depending on the market).

These are the basic daily to-do’s in Vile City. If you follow these guidelines, you will not be poor for long at all. Take a slightly longer view than “I want to be rich right now” and you will move up in the game quickly.

There are other ways to get stronger quicker, like paying a one-time $3 membership fee, which gives you benefits for a month. You get double interest for all money in the bank, and your item sales go directly to your bank, protecting them from theives. As a bonus, you are automatically entered into the daily 50 point giveaway for paying (L337) members. There are higher tiered memberships which give a lot more benefites, and they are generally recurring fees. Check them out.

Game home link:

http://vilecity.com/

My referral link (gives me some in game benefits):

http://www.vilecity.com/index.php?r=17206

My avatar in game:

Check out my original Vile City post.

http://www.kongregate.com/games/joelesler/manifold

This is by far one of the slickest games I’ve played in a browser. The idea is completely novel, and my only regret about the game is that the 6 or so levels are simply not enough.

You control the main character with 4 keys (arrows or w, a, s, d) and then move a “strange force” in the form of a sphere around using the mouse. You can shoot it to a specific location, and when you shoot it, you decide which way the strange force will flow. Essentially, you can choose the direction of the gravity within a sphere. You shoot this sphere to a static location. Hopefully you chose well, so the gravity helps you get through a difficult part of the level. Don’t worry, if you placed it poorly, you can use a key and mouse combination to call the sphere back.

Very original and fun.

First one is a very scary video intended to teach youngsters how to treat their mothers. Thank you Mr. T. I think he has a cheat sheet for the 4 lines he says during the song. And I use the word “song” loosely.

Depending on the type of person you are, you will find prank calls made by geeks who know how to use a soundboard either very boring or hilarious. I fall into the latter category. This one uses Mr. T sound clips to talk to a increasingly frustrated tow truck company dispatch woman.

I enjoy this clip from a Japanese Game Show. It’s funnier as the Human Tetris Clip I found, but I think that a different type of person will like this one.

The goal of the show is to not make noise while performing extremely painful or disgusting “dares”. It takes place in what appears to be a library. Try to make it past the first 20 seconds and I think you will want to finish it. I ended up laughing as hard as the guys in the video.

This game reminded me of Marble Madness for the NES when I first found it. I started to play it and basically couldn’t stop. The first level is a cinch, once you get a feel for the controls of the heavy sphere you are supposed to navigate around the environment. The second level has given me such a run that I’ve only finished it once, in all my attempts.

It can jump, halt and roll on your command. It has a feel of momentum and the levels give you unlimited chances to fall off into the infinite abyss. The only downsides are the long initial load time and obvious fact that this game is an advertisement you play around in.

http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17994

Don’t hesitate to check it out, but do make sure you have a minute to let it load and a machine capable of running a heavy game in the browser (with Adobe Shockwave)

Click on the image or here for a review of the book at http://www.mostlyfiction.com/

“We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so. We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in the future. Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds–and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own. We are one of the only three species on our planet that can aim to be self-aware, yet self-delusion may be a more significant characteristic of our kind.”

-Quoted from Prey by Michael Crichton – Purchase this book at Amazon

Another amazingly great flash browser game. Free of course, and completely time consuming. The feel of this game is like a real pool table, but the play is much simpler. Very satisfying. It will keep you obsessed for large parts of your day.

http://www.gameshot.org/?id=1364