insomniak

Nintendo expects Wii shortages for Christmas

k. sean pifer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:41:04 +0000

As the holiday season nears, Nintendo has stated that they don’t expect to keep up with demand for the Wii console, despite ramping up production by 33% already and with further increases planned. Nintendo hopes to avoid last years scarcity of the console which cost the company a great deal of money in potential sales. Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said:

“We’re now producing 2.4 million units a month worldwide. Last year, we made 1.6 million a month. So we’ve made a 33% increase. One of our competitors projects they will sell 10 million consoles worldwide this year. For us, that’s three months of production. We’re producing an unprecedented level of hardware to try to meet demand.”

As a Wii owner myself I can understand the popularity of the console, which in my mind is better than both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, combined. The vast variety of game play and control style, along with some of the most innovative games make the Wii a console for all ages, which some believe is leading to the shortages:

“Demand for Wii is so high, says analyst Michael Pachter, because of all the different types of consumers competing for the units … it’s not just kids who crave Wii. [It's] an especially big hit at retirement homes … Hard-core gamers, who initially spurned the Wii’s lower graphic power compared to the Xbox and PlayStation 3, have changed their tune on the console, thanks to brilliant software like the first-person shooter Metroid Prime 3. And eBay scalpers? They really want Wii.”

So if you are hoping for a Wii this holiday season… well, good luck, I know I’m not selling mine. Your best bet would be to hit the stores early, or as suggested above shop for one on e-bay, although you will have to pay an outrageous price, it all depends on how bad you want it.

Poverty: Blog Action Day.

k. sean pifer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:38:33 +0000

On the brink of an historical election, and election with which the outcome may change the fate of our country forever for better or worse, we must not forget an important issue with which will rest on the next presidents hands; poverty. The middle class, unemployment and homelessness are all a part of this issue, one of which affects another American or American family everyday and one to which we must today turn our focus. Turn our focus on ways in which everyone of us: black, white, Asian, Latino, man women and child can be a part of the process of help, of change that can turn poverty on its side, and even reverse its stranglehold grip on America and change many lives for the better.

According to the US Census nearly 36 million American live below the poverty line. Thirty six million human beings, man women and child starving each day, cold out in the winter, and sick with out the ability to seek proper health care. Whilst writing about this issue I am almost ashamed to say that my family lives above the poverty line, and in fact can be considered middle class I suppose as most of you who are reading this are as well, thus we and Americans considered “rich” are the ones who must help with poverty, for we are the only ones who can help stop it, stop it from consuming more people day by day, from killing.

So you ask, “What can be done, what can I do?”. My friends there are many things that can be done, some of which won’t even cost you a dime as I understand many can’t even afford their own living expenses these days. First and foremost, write or call your local senators and congressmen and convey your concerns for poverty, even local poverty in the area you live, let them know what is happening on the streets of your city, let them know that they must do something to help, and not four months from today, but help now. Then start helping yourself. Collect old cloths you don’t ware and donate them to a local rescue mission or charitable foundation, and the same can be done with unused non perishable food you have at home. Get out on the streets and find someone who needs hep, buy them lunch, or maybe just talk to them. And finally, donate. Money is what poor people need the most to help them get back on their feet to find a job, and then take care of their family by their own means. You can of course donate to any charitable group of your choice, but be sure they are legit and not some scum sucking bastards trying to make money at the expense of the poverty issue.

In closing, we must work together to help curb the hunger of poverty (pun intended). We can make a difference, we can make change, we can save lives. I hope that my post today will reach at least one person, and encourage them to take action on this dire issue, then I have done my job as both a blogger and a citizen of the United States of America. I also urge you to remember to register to vote, and then vote. Right or Left, your choice will count, so make a good choice for if it turns out to be the wrong choice, it may be the last one you ever make.

Vice Presidential Debate

k. sean pifer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:21:54 +0000

While the debate between the nominated vice-presidents isn’t always the most important, or the most watched of all the debates; lasts nights between Sarah Palin (R) and Joe Biden (D) certainly was an interesting one with high expectations from both debaters.

Going into the debate the Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin had the cards stacked against her after her many blunders throughout her interviews with Katie Couric and other reporters made her seem like less of a vice presidential nominee than a regular old soccer mom who only knows whats for dinner. Personally having her a heartbeat away from the seat of the President of the United States scares me as well as millions of other sensible Americans who will vote this November. Yet overall she didn’t do as poorly as expected of her during the debate; she answered most questions decently (though she was using cue cards which she kept peeping down at) but I clearly feel that Joe Biden walked away the winner.

Biden answered all questions from the heart and without the help of notes, he seemed very assure of himself in all of his answers and was a gentlemen and rarely made any personal attacks against our friendly Alaskan Governor moose dresser.

Though the race is not over yet I strongly feel that the McCain camp is losing a lot of ground; not only because of Palin’s many screw ups, but from their utter lack of conformity with their stands on the important issues all us Americans face today. To me, the right choice has to be Barrack Obama and Joe Biden, who I feel will lead this country into a great new era, and hopefully the Bush years will become but a faint daydream that we will forget even having.

Please vote, and please make the right choice by voting for the left candidate.

Cabal Forums

k. sean pifer — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:42:26 +0000

I have recently re-opened my forums after they had been closed for quite some time due to lack of activity from the members and an abundance of it from spammers. The Cabal Forums is a community of like minded intellectual people who share common interests such as computers, art, programming, and help from others in the form of critiques or answers to questions that can be a big help to those who are learning.

Thus if you’re looking for a good community to join and post your art, web designs, programming, computer mods or whatever else you want to talk about, please head on over the the forum and register, then spread the word to others who are looking to join a tight nit community of interesting and smart people alike.

By joining you are also eligible for free web hosting on the TripleOneSix Network for your own web page or storage space. Once you have registered contact me and we can begin getting your sub domain all setup for your use.

Weekly File: Notepad++

k. sean pifer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:14:23 +0000

As a web designer I write a lot of code by hand and my choice program to do so is Notepad++. It has tons of features and works great for editing all types of code as it recognizes many code’s syntax’s and makes it super easy to work with your code. Not to mention it is a small, lightweight, and free program which I recommend to anyone who is currently using Windows Notepad or Wordpad.

By the way, each week we will be making a post like this that features a random file: a program, wallpaper, tutorial, music, video, and etc. So look forward to them.

Download Notepad++

Team Fortress 2

k. sean pifer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:42:25 +0000

I have finally gotten a copy of TF2 installed an running on my computer, and boy oh boy is it everything I hoped it would be. Of course there are a few changes since TFC, but all for the better. Classic levels redesigned, new levels, and the characters have been updated and made so cool. They have also added a whole stats system into the game that records all kinds of statistics of your game play and you can even unlock certain achievements once you have earned enough stats.

Thus, I am recommending Team Fortress 2 to anyone who loved TFC, or for anyone who loves online gameing as much as I do. It’s worth the twenty bucks it costs off Steam or in a store. Go buyeth, and playeth!

Wooden Computer Parts

k. sean pifer — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:43:58 +0000

I found came across these images whilst I was stumbling the interweb, and decided they warranted shearing because of there sheer coolness.

See what you can do with a little imagination, creativity, money, and time? Uhm… well besides partying with some hot girls dresses as pirates in a hot tub, I guess you could do the above.

Hiren’s Boot Disk

k. sean pifer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:00:52 +0000

We have all had those nightmarish moments when you are starring at a blue screen of death, or your computer won’t boot up into windows and you are pissing your pants because all your files may be lost. Now there are many programs out there that can help you fix such problems such as hard drive damage, and viruses and spy ware but what if you can’t boot into windows?

Then you use a boot disk, no not an old floppy disk like a Windows 98 boot disk (that’s crap), I’m talking about a fully loaded boot CD that has every tool you will need to get your computer up and running in no time. Hiren’s Boot Disk is a sort of black market boot disk if you will, but whats the big deal about pirating some mighty useful programs for the good of computer kind? Anyway, I suggest that you download it right now, burn it to a CD, and have it ready if and when a disaster happens.

Some simple tips for use of Hiren’s boot disk are; make sure you change your BIOS settings to “Boot from CD First” in order to run Hiren’s Disk before windows starts (or doesn’t), and you can also pop Hiren’s Disk in your CD Drive whilst windows is running and use the tools inside of windows from a nice lightweight menu.

Here is a torrent link to the newest version, which is 9.3, enjoy!

Sleep is for the Unintellectual…

k. sean pifer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:28:26 +0000

I have been mad busy working all hours of the day and night on this blog, as well as a couple other very important projects in which my clients are impatiently waiting for; one being my brother. Yet during this madness filled with caffeine and creative energy I have managed to redesign Insomniak as you can see. Soon this blog will be jam packed with content and special features such as; how-to articles, art and design, technology news and fun, the release of my very own music CD (yet unnamed), plenty of download goodies and much much more! So please do bookmark Insomniak now doing so will bring you good fortune.

I would also like to welcome my good friend Zack (alias: Morteus) on board the Insomniak team. He is skilled in many things and will be programming some pretty cool things that will appear on the site, as well as writing how to articles and ofcourse posting anything completely radical.

“Apathy: and other small Victories”

k. sean pifer — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:29:20 +0000

Paul Neilan
Get it on Amazon >>

I had received this book as a Christmas gift from my brother who bought it for me based upon the clerk at Barnes and Noble recommending it for any Chuck Palahniuk fan (as I am myself). Never having heard of the author I was a bit sketchy going into it, but after I read the first chapter I was blown away and my eyes were glued to the pages.

Apathy follows the somewhat depressed and nihilistic life of Shane, a nomadic person who is settling into a new town where he lives alone in a apartment and is unemployed. Shane has a problem with lifting salt shakers from local bars and restaurants, and then falling asleep with them in his pockets, waking in mounds of salt. The book definitely has a comedic tone, and a Palahniuk feel to it, but Neilan does put an original twist on the book that is all his own. Here is a small excerpt from the first chapter:

“I was stealing saltshakers again.Ten, sometimes twelve a night, shoving them in my pockets, hiding them up my sleeves, smuggling them out of bars and diners and anywhere else I could find them. In the morning, wherever I woke up, I was always covered in salt. I was cured meat.I had become beef jerky. Even as a small, small child, I new it would one day come to this.”

The book is a pretty quick read (took me two days at about 4 hours a day) at 231 pages, but It is a fun read at that, a funny apathetic thrill ride into the lives of the odd and odder. A must read for anyone who likes Palahniuk for sure, but a good read for any fiction fan as well.