Mar 02

No wait, that ain’t right. The thing is, I went to see “Shutter Island” and “Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief” on the same day, with about an hour apart. Watching a couple of movies a day is not really something new for me, but seeing ‘em at the cinema (CinemaxX) is. Normally the movies I watch in a row, are somewhat in the same genre or otherwise related. That is not really possible when going see them at the cinema, not in Denmark anyways, since the the amount of movies showing at the same time is relatively low.

So anyway, “Shutter Island” by Mr. Martin Scorsese. I am great fan of a lot of his work, I truly am. But I am not really that big a fan of thrillers / dramas. “Shutter Island” is one of those few exceptions that proves the rule, I absolutely love it from start to finish. The scenery, the lighting, the camera angles and the way the movie is told just comes together really nicely. A lot of people have been complaining that it is too long, and doesn’t have enough action in it. Here’s hint; it’s NOT an action movie. I was so into the movie, that I didn’t notice how long it was ’till it was over – which very few movies have the ability to do I think, keeping you hooked and interested constantly for more then 2 hours. And that says a lot.

“Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief” on the other hand, I don’t have that much to say about. I didn’t really expect that much from it but I thought; what the hey, it’s greek mythology and action. Problem is, that is about all it is. The humour is okay but at times very cliche (not in a good way). Maybe it’s because I am not really into the whole Harry Potter/kid hero genre, I don’t know. It’s not a bad movie, but I just think I might not be the right audience for it. Effects are great, story is okay, acting is somewhat poor. If you liked Harry Potter, I think you are going to like this. Oh, and on a side note; Modern Warfare 2 has been used in TV/movies several times before already (NCIS for example), and in one scene in the movie, a kid is playing it on a big-screen TV. Now the funny thing about that is, is that Kevin McKidd who plays Poseidon is also the voice behind “Soap” MacTavish in Modern Warfare 2, the protagonist.

Feb 04

I actually planned to do a lot of posts on my Apple/OS X hacking, but since Donk made installing OS X in VMWware ridiculously easy – I have done no hacking. Because it just works! Of course, a virtual machine can in no way stack up to a real Mac. But it does present me with the opportunity to play around with OS X all I want, without too many limitations.

By most people I am considered somewhat of a fanboy when it comes to Apple equipment/gadgets – yet I don’t currently own any Apple product. I haven’t owned a Mac for more than a year now. It was a 1,42ghz PPC Mac Mini, and before that a 1,25 ghz PPC eMac. Excellent machines.

But why, do you ask, don’t I own any Apple stuff when I clearly want to. Well, it mostly boils down to the fact that I am somewhat of a jew with my money. Not that I can’t afford a Mac, I just like having my money, a lot :P

Now Apple has released the iPad (Which we knew they would, because of the gazillion rumours that had been floating around the interweb about it, and it’s launch date), and I think I might have to own one of those at some point. I have been looking for an ebook reader for quite some time, not so much to read ebooks but to read comics! And for that you need a screen that can show color. Enter the iPad, it’s perfect! It does everything an ebook reader is supposed to do in my opinion.

An SDcard slot in the i Pad would have been nice, but 64gb is a LOT of comics or books, so I am not going to miss it. And then there is the whole “was it supposed to be shipped with an webcam?” thing. Yes, a camera for video calling/conferencing would have been absolutely AWESOME, and it is clearly coming in a future revision. So why didn’t Apple include it in this one? No one knows but Apple, who no doubt has a good reason. I don’t think they do anything without a motive behind it. My guess is, that the camera version will be released as soon as the next iPhone does. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce video calling anywhere but the iPhone first. The new iPhone should get introduced this June, and this time I HAVE to own one. I can barely wait :)

Jan 14

In case you missed it then BackTrack 4 was released a couple of days ago. Go to http://www.backtrack-linux.org/ for more information and download.

For those of you who don’t know; BackTrack is a linux-distribution focused on networksecurity, pentesting and other fun stuff. It’s a valuable tool for everyone from networkadministrators to blackhats.

Jan 05

First of all, happy new year to all of you! I hope you all have all of your fingers, toes, eyes and had a great evening/night. I actually saw Avatar the day after I saw Sherlock Holmes, but I simply haven’t had the time to write about. Even now I am at work.

I saw Avatar in 3D on of the biggest screens in northern Europe, and I really wasn’t disappointed. If you didn’t see it in 3D, then go do so! … now! I expected the 3D effect to be used as it is in most other 3D movies, and that is to make that “WOOOW IT ALMOST TOUCHES MY FACE” effect – which is good for theme-parks and not so great for real movies in my opinion. But no, the 3D was almost entirely used to add a level of depth perception to the picture, giving it an even more real look. Combined with the best CGI effects I have ever seen (I mean Pandora and the Na’vi look so photo realistic it was scary) it transformed the screen into a window. We weren’t looking at a screen, but through a window directly to Pandora. If any of the two factors hadn’t been as good as they are, it wouldn’t have worked. But they are, and it does, in a big way.

Avatar is an instant classic – there is absolutely no discussion, it’s instantly part of cinematic history. The plot is good. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly not bad. It’s a good story albeit one we have almost heard before. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s the way the story is told that really truly matters. They say it took 14 years to make, but that is not true. James Cameron got the idea 14 years ago, but had to wait more than 10 years before he could make it the way he wanted with a technology that was good enough. And thank god that he did, because it is a masterpiece which has set the benchmark for a lot of movies to come.

As with all great movies, there are people who instantly dislike them. And that is fair enough. I for example don’t really like the Lord of The Rings movies, but I don’t the deny the fact that they are epic movies. But in my experience, the people who dislike the great movies are in 90% of the cases one of two kinds of people. One is someone who is deliberately opposite, just to get attention, often with very flawed and/or plain stupid arguments. I really dislike these people. The other kind, is the kind who simply don’t have the cojones to form their own opinion, but also like the attention they see others get by being opposite and therefore just follow suit. I dislike these people just as much, if not more. P

Avatar, beautiful movie, instant classic, go see it as soon as you can! Preferably in 3D :)

Dec 28

I didn’t really know what to expect from the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I am not that intimate with the whole Sherlock universe. I have seen a couple of movies and TV series, but I have never read any of the books.

That said, I think the new movie is EXACTLY what I think Sherlock Holmes should be. Downey is a master of the witty and at the same time very intelligent – where he bought/stole his English accent I don’t know, but I want one! I am not that much of a Jude Law fan, but him as Dr. Watson works (for me anyway). Him and Downey seem to get along very well, and it shows in their dialogue and interaction on screen.

If you are expecting a classic Guy Richie movie, you are going to get disappointed. If you expected a funny and action packed movie with a good plot and decent acting, you are not. I hope Guy is going to do a lot more projects like this. And I can’t wait for him to make the sequel.

Dec 23

I know this article has been posted on almost every news site with just a bit of gaming relevance, but in case you missed it you should really read Learn to Let Go: How Succes Killed Duke Nukem”.

Although I never really liked Duke Nukem 3D that much, I do recognise the monumental impact it had on the gaming industry. I seriously doubt that “Duke Nukem: Forever” will ever materialise as a playable game, but I hope it’s just a matter of time before chunks of it start leaking, that will show us exactly what we never got.

Dec 07

No, I am not talking about H1N1 – I am talking about the pain that is Christmas (Although I’d gladly take a shot of the swine flue if it meant christmas would be cancelled this year). Every supermarket, store or public place looks like Santa Claus himself vomitted up decorations on everything. There is absolutely no good reason for christmas, none! I hate this time of year because of it. I really, really hate it.

And at the same time, I love this time of year because of the cold weather. I love ice, frost and snow. It keeps all my eletronic equipment nice and cold :)

It seems like christmas starts earlier every year. I swear I saw a fat guy in a red suit as early as October this year. Fair enough that people can’t seem to wait for this shit, but then there should be a law demanding all christmas decorations to be removed no later than on the 26th of december. And if you break the law, punishment shall be DEATH BY MILKY WAY BAR!

Nov 21

Sometimes all it takes, is pure blind dumb luck…

Nov 17

Last week the highly anticipated game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ came out, and I actually went out and bought it. (Read: I ordered it online). I was/am a huge fan of the old Modern Warfare game, and I have spend countless hours on both the single and multiplayer parts. Most of them, in 1 on 1 with the monkey.

Modern Warfare 2 short version: OMG IT’S FUCKING EXCELLENT!!

Modern Warfare 2 longer version: OMG IT’S FUCKING EXCELLENT!!… Well it really is. Everything is just so much cooler than the original game. Of course the graphics are a lot better, that goes without saying, but the gameplay has also been taken to a whole new level. I absolutely love the concept of fighting on american soil. Not that I want some forign country to get pissed and invade the US, its just so “new and exiting” to be battling through a neighborhood that more than anything looks like Wisteria Lane. War gets so much more real when it hits close to home, or something that might as well be close to your home. Oh, and the fighting in front of the bombed out white house? Very doomsdayish, very fucking sweet!

The story picks up where the original left off, and it does it well. I am a sucker for perfectly made storylines like the one in the Half-Life series, and now in Modern Warfare. The missions are more edgy, and a lot more gruesome at times. But it’s not tasteless, as I was afraid it would be.

The multiplayer is awesome. The challenges, the upgrades, the achivements – it’s all just so well executed. Since this is one of the only original games I own I can actually play online via Steam, which works just nice. And the online PC experience has really cemented what I have been saying for a long time; First Person Shooters belong on the PC, and not on the console. While I have been getting my ass handed to me online in “COD5: World at War” on the PS3, I have been kicking some serious ass online with “Modern Warfare 2″. If you don’t have aim, you don’t have anything.

If anyone is up for some 1 on 1, 2 on 2, or something else, please hit me up. Write a comment, or an email. Get in touch, get fragged :)

Nov 04

Some time ago, Apple released the Mac mini Server, which is in my opinion a absolutely brilliant move by Apple for all sorts of reasons. For one thing, it’s exactly the configuration I would like for a mini. Two harddrives just like the mod from iFixitand without an optical drive that I don’t need anyway. Server, desktop or mediacenter, either way it’s absolutely perfect. I really, really want to buy one. It might even be a christmas present for my self this year.

And for small businesses, this equation is something most people should be able to get behind. Mac OS X 10.6 Server is the most brilliant server operating system I have ever worked with. Unix at the core, with an excellent graphical interface for configuration, be it simple or advanced. Or if the command line is more to your liking, you can do that too! It’s Unix, it’s a standard – it just works.

And this is where most people dismiss everything I say as nothing more than Apple fanboyism. But I don’t really don’t care, people can make up their own mind. If Microsoft had made tools as nice as those Apple makes, I would be all over that. If someone had made something like it for Linux, then more power too it! But the fact of the matter is, that Apple did it. And they still do make excellent products – sure some of them have flaws, but show me one product be it hardware or software that doesn’t. Mac Mini Server, great idea, great hardware with great software. I want one.