Games Convention 2008
As I wrote in the previous post, I was in Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig. Looking at the website of this convention, I really thought that this convention is awesome. But it is not that awesome. If you are a pure gamers and ready to queue in a long line, it will be fun. There were opportunities to play the latest games and even the not-released-yet games. I have played some games there, but honestly, I don’t know which one is already released and which one is not yet. I don’t keep up with the latest news of gaming industries.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 was there too. The game is 75% completed and I had chance to test it. Basically, it is almost the same as Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, which I don’t like. The movements of the players are awkward and the game play is not enjoyable as PES 6. Maybe that is what the majority wants. Just a maybe.
The Nintendo DSs were everywhere, so Guitar-Hero-like games e.g. Rock Band etc. I thought I could meet the new Lara Croft, but she was not there.
This convention actually worthed my EUR 8.50. If the trains heading home did not move like roller-coaster, everything would be just fine.
My Operation System Dilemma - Linux or Windows
If you have read my last post about switching from Windows to Linux, you may know that I had switched to Open SuSe as alternative operation system. Actually there is no OpenSuSe installed in my laptop anymore. As day passing by, I realized that the system became slower and slower. Even it was slower than my Windows XP. There is no point of using it anymore. OpenSuSe was uninstalled and I stay with beloved Windows XP.
After a few weeks, my friend reintroduces me with Ubuntu. Yeah, I know it. I have it once installed but having no success getting the right driver for Broadcom wireless card to function properly. Hey, but this time the Ubuntu is different. It comes with Compiz Fusion, which has super cool graphic effect. It is way much cooler compared to Vista.
Being amazed with the effect, I installed Ubuntu on the empty partition left by OpenSuse. This time, with a little bit luck, I manage to get the wireless card to work. The learning curve was not too hard. Getting used to Terminal, installing packages, root access and so on was not a big deal.
But then some problems occurred. The first thing which annoys me very much is the video freeze. It freezes every time I watch movie. The video freezes for about 5-8 seconds but the sound is still there. It is okay when I watch English or Malay movies, but when I need to depend 100 percent on the subtitles, such as Japanese dramas, it is awful! I need to rewind back a little bit and for an episode of drama, I need to do that about 5 times. I have looked for solution in forums, but nothing worked. Maybe I just need to wait for the update.
Changing platform is not only change the Operation System; you need to change most everyday software you use. As a photography enthusiast, I do use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom a lot. Unfortunately, there is neither Photoshop nor Lightroom for Linux. Yes, there are some alternatives to such softwares, such as GIMP for Photoshop or Lightzone for Lightroom. But, again I need to learn them. After so much effort learning Photoshop and Lightroom, I should change to new softwares, learn them, and get use to them.
All these make me thinking again, whether I do want to switch to Linux. Do I need to fancy graphic effects? Do I need an almost virus-free Operation System? (There are lots of free antivirus programmes out there. By the way, after about two years using this laptop, it does not suffer any virus attack.) Does Ubuntu 8.04 more stable than Windows XP?
Gosh, I need to get some sleep now. Tomorrow morning I need to catch a train to Games Convention in Leipzig. Good night.
What do we need actually from a hosting account
Nowadays, you can see that many hosting companies are screaming about their super fat hosting packages with gigabytes of spaces and bandwidths. And that is only to attract more customers to use their service. But, as a blogger, what do you really need to host your blog (or blogs).
Now lets talk about webspace. You can get gigabytes of disk space just for a small amount of money. For example, my hosting (not this blog) offers 3GB webspace for just only RM80 (USD22.80) per year. But do you really need that much space? If your blog is still fresh and new, 3GB is too much for you. For most blog (except photo blogs), 50 MB is already enough. This blog begins its first 6 months with just 50MB. After that it begged for more due to increase in the number of posts and images.
Actually, it is not that hard to find hosting providers, which offer small amount of webspace. One of the example is Sempoihosting.com. You have the option to choose how many disk space you want for one year and you can upgrade your package anytime.
Another example is NearlyFreeSpeech.net, which offer you ultra low price, USD0.01 per megabyte-month, USD1.00 per gigabyte for data transfers and USD3.65 per year for one MySQL databse. At first, I think this is a great and cheap solution for me. Besides, Bugmenot.com is also hosted by this company. But after calculating the amount that I must pay for a year, it is clear that the hosting package from my current hosting is more favourable.
This is the details of the calculations
My monthly data transfers : 2.5GB
Cost per year: 2.5×1.00×12= USD 30.00
My webspace : 115.68 MB
Cost per year: 115.68×0.01×12= USD 13.88
MySQL Database: USD 0.01 per day
Cost per year: USD3.65
The total amount: USD 47.53, more that double the cost of my current webhosting. Hmm, I have read all over the internet about bloggers do not really need big space. But if I can get more spaces, bandwiths, and addon domains (NearlyFreeSpeech offers unlimited addon domains, but not Sempoihosting). If you have more spaces, you can experiment a lot. For example, I am now building my photo gallery and photo blog under the same hosting account. If you plan to have multiple blogs, do not hesitate to buy the big-sized hosting package. It worths a while.
