The Channel Islands

I don't wish to turn this blog into a commercial advertising space, but occassionaly something comes along that warrants an exception. And what the hell, it's my blog!


The exception in this case is a new piece of flight simulator scenery designed and developed by Earth Simulations Ltd. Or rather a new piece of art, because that's exactly what it is, whilst being technical and accurate at the same time.

This piece of scenery is rather like the Ferrari of the flight simulator world - Superb engineering, awesome beauty, and so desirable that everyone wants one. So, if you don't have it, then snap yourself up your very own Ferrari for your flight simulator, because if you don't you really are missing out.

What is this scenery you ask ? It's Alderney, the first in the series of Channel Islands to be released by Earth Simulations Ltd. So what is all the fuss about ? Well, it's been a labour of love and the results clearly show that.

With their unspoiled landscapes and unique blend of British and French influences, the Channel Isles really are a place where you can get away from it all to enjoy your simulation experience more than ever before. Explore wonderfully rugged coastlines full of beautiful shallows and fine detail. Fly in any weather, at any time of day and in any season you wish.

With five unique sets of 30cm resolution Day Textures, full 30cm resolution Night Textures, hand crafted 5m Terrain Elevation Mesh, custom 3D buildings and incredible autogen, with animations, the list goes on.

This scenery is surely a showcase for what can be achieved with FSX and sets the bar to the highest level seen so far. It really does have to be seen to be believed.

Visit the Earth Simulations website for details and purchase and download. If there ever was one 'not to miss' - this is most definately it!

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

The End of an Era ?

...Well, it certainly looks that way, at least for now.

As has been widely reported (for example here, here and here, although there are more) it seems that Microsoft is closing it's Aces Studio, which is the department responsible for the Flight Simulator range, including FS9 and FSX.

What's not totally clear at present is whether or not this will affect Microsoft's ESP (the 'professional' version of FSX aimed at corporate users for 'serious' applications...). I sincerely hope it doesn't, but at present it's not looking good for FSX or ESP (or subsequent versions of each). Perhaps from a business standpoint, both have been a flop. I really can't think of any other reason for the closure, other than that they predict the economy to get far far worse than it already is and are now dumping the least profitable sectors of their business.

Perhaps I ducked out of Flight Simulation just at the right time (be that by bad luck rather than judgement). I certainly don't miss the financial hassles I've been marred with (and continue to be marred with) from that industry if I'm honest.

Whatever the reasons, this does not bode well for the future of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Although some may see it as an open-ended period of stability for the platform, what happens if/when the supplies of FSX run out ? Will anyone produce more copies ? If so, who ?

It's kind of ironic really that the major criticism of X-Plane over the years has been it's continued development, and thus lack of platform stability (with too many versions coming out too soon). Well it appears that X-Plane 9 has stabilised into something of a rather fine simulator indeed, and in my opinion may well be poised to take up some of the following from the MSFS range at some point in the future. I'll certainly be getting back into X-Plane when time permits (although I'd never really left it behind - it's always been my sim of choice...).

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

FUD...

...Fear, uncertainty and doubt. I think what's happening in the economy is certainly a classic example of FUD in action.

Every day the headline news is more doom and gloom in the economy as the 'recession' ramps up. I always knew there'd be trouble ahead (see my previous post, long before it hit the mainstream media...) but I also believe that we can 'talk ourselves into' recession. Sure, the 'credit crunch' kicked it all off, but if we're not careful, all of us, and the media in particular, are only going to make things far worse than they perhaps would have been.

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

When is 'Server' not the same as 'server' ?

...when you're working with Unix software, that's when.

Recently I've been working with a flexible batch management system on Windows 2000 Server. I've been setting up a test system which mimics exactly that which is currently in a production system, using a VMware virtual server environment.

All has been going exceptionally well, but one thing (the batch handling system) remained a problem. Strange things were happening. Some things worked, others didn't. Strange apparent corruptions were in the database, despite them being a direct export/import from the production system to the test system. Wierd. Nothing obvious was wrong.

Then I had one of those light bulb moments. I remembered that the batch system running on Windows 2000 Server was a port from an original Unix application. Unix, as you may or may not know, is case sensitive. So when you refer to a system's TCP/IP name as 'Server', it's not the same as 'server'. Windows doesn't really care either way, but Unix does, and this original Unix application did care, even when running on Windows! A reasonably good explaination of Unix case sensitivity can be found here.

So, I quickly tested out this theory and renamed a machine from 'Server' to 'server' (I'm using false names here to protect the identity of the real server...) and it worked. Panic over.

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

Never Assume...

It always annoys me when folk make assumptions about things that they have absolutely no knowledge or information about.

What annoys me even more is when those incorrect assumptions are posted on a public website for all to read which then gives the immediate impression that they know what they're talking about and try to appear to be the authority on the subject.

Those types ought to know better!

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

Priceless...

The Mastercard ad...

"knowing you`ve earned every moment of it ........... priceless".

...implying that you've earned the money, so book your holiday with Mastercard. The reality is that they want those who haven't yet earned the money to book a holiday with their credit card. I bet those who haven't yet earned the money, and maybe can't afford the money, will be tempted by this bullshit. Clever.

You know when you have earned it when you have paid for it, and Mastercard want you to pay more for it. It's your choice, ... "you know you are worth it" ...but only if you can pay for it, or you think you can pay for it...

"Because you're worthless...". Nah, wouldn't work.

At the risk of sounding pro-credit-card-debt (which I'm not - credit cards are for using as an easy means of payment, not for abusing, in my opinion), what else could they say ?

"Why put it off - Put it on! Because you can't sodding afford it, you mong!".

Ok, if the gas boiler's just exploded, you've got no cash handy at the moment, you know you can pay it off in a couple of months then fair enough, but buying a holiday, or yet more £5 cups of frothy coffee you could make at home for a fraction of the price, is just bloody retarded.

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!

Times are Changing...

...or rather they have changed. It's been a while since my last post, but lots has been going on. This time I turn my attention to the economy since it's something that everyone seems to be talking about at the moment.

In a nutshell, lots of people are worried - and so they should be. Call me a clever dick if you like, but the cracks have been appearing for well over a year now, and I saw them coming from miles away, but most of my friends and acquaintances it seems have had their head in the sand for too long - they've been in denial - and only now have they suddenly realised that what I have been telling them for the past year has been happening under their noses.

Call it the 'Credit Crunch' if you will but this is a term only recently given to the effects of the global financial crisis also affecting, suprisingly, the UK. It's been there for all (who were interested) to see for a year and more in the USA and many other countries, but good old Blighty by and large thinks it's immune!

Two main things affecting the average 'Joe Public' at present include the ever apparent increase in costs (utilities, food, fuel, taxation etc) and the rapid tightening of lending criteria allied with increased lender interest rates.

Add in to this mix falling house prices (finally the bubble has burst ending the silly house price speculation that has carried on in earnest for the past 7-8 years, but that's another story...) and suddenly those in debt (and even those that arn't) are finding they can no longer afford to pay ever increasing costs and can no longer release equity (if there is any...) from their falling property value due to the fact that lenders won't lend.

Another nail in many-a-coffin will be the end of borrower's fixed term low interest mortgage deals, which means that their mortgage repayments for their over-priced properties will suddenly increase as they move back on to their lender's standard variable rates (which are a lot higher than they used to be).

Am I gloating ? No, far from it. I would consider myself in a much better position than most, but this is going to affect everybody. Make no mistake, there is trouble ahead, so position yourself now to weather the storm, because it ain't going to be pretty.

TTFN

Disclaimer: The views and opinions I post are the views and opinions of me, and me only, and do not reflect views or opinions of anyone or anything else. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice!