Nookkin.com

"Login" or "Log In"?

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 13:20:00 CST

Do you "login" to a website, or do you "log in" to a website? [...]

New iPods in 2010

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:28:00 CST

It's that time of year again when Apple updates their iPod models. And while I'm no Apple fanatic, I think Apple is a pretty good innovator that sets the standards for other items. Here is my opinion of Apple's latest gadgets. [...]

iCandy FM Transmitter Review

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 14:01 CST

Company policy at work does not allow us to listen to music through headphones, but they do allow us to use radios. Not willing to settle for the same boring radio programming every day, I decided to buy an FM transmitter for my iPod touch. Amazon had an and I decided to try it out. [...]

Fragmented

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:30 CST

It came in the night, defying gravity, changing the laws of physics, hurling heavy chunks of metal into the air. It melted glass and steel like the hot July sun melts snow. It danced and lit up the sky in a blazing inferno, and then it died down, gone, leaving a cold, dead city behind, whispering with thousands of lost voices, covered in ash like snow. [...]

NPS on Linux and Mac

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:00 CST

Up until now, NPS has been a Windows-only application. But thanks to the Mono framework, this very well may change. I've known about Mono for a long time, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I seriously tried getting NPS to run on it. And it worked after several hours of "hacking" and rewriting code I hadn't touched since day 1.

NookkinEFI Concept, Part 1

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 0:23 CST

EFI replaces the aging BIOS and provides many new features, including rich mouse-based interfaces, modular extensibility, and support for OS-independent device drivers. NookkinEFI is a conceptual implementation of such a system.

Bamboo Pen & Touch

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:17 CST

I've had my Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet for only a day, but I am already starting to make use of it. I bought it for 3 reasons: as someone being interested in graphic design, I wanted to use a pen; as a programmer, I wanted to make use of the multi-touch gestures and eventually the Wacom-provided APIs; as a general computer user, I wanted a more ergonomic alternative – or complement – to my mouse.

How To Properly Use a Large Widescreen Monitor

Thu, 20 May 2010 20:40 CST

The days of small, square CRT monitors are over. Bigger, wider, and higher-resolution monitors now dominate the market. But how does one properly make use of all of this extra space? I run into a good deal of people who simply don't understand how to take advantage of this extra room, and hopefully this article will teach you how.

Why Computers Use Binary

Sat, 15 May 2010 16:04 CST

Binary numbers – seen as strings of 0's and 1's – are often associated with computers. But why is this? Why can't computers just use base 10 instead of converting to and from binary? Isn't it more efficient to use a higher base, since binary (base 2) representation uses up more "spaces"?

Windows Phone 7: A Step Backwards

Wed, 12 May 2010 13:12 CST

Windows Phone 7 aims to improve on the bad points of Windows Mobile. But in so doing, it introduces many of the shortcomings of the iPhone... 3 years behind the competition.

Resetting a Forgotten Windows Password

Mon, 10 May 2010 15:38 CST

Did you forget your Windows user account password? Are you stuck with no access to an administrative account? Do you need to get into someone else's computer for whatever reason? If so, there is an easy way to do it... and all it requires is a Windows Vista/7 DVD.

"NookkinPhone" Concept

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:23 CST

An open-standard smartphone that works equally well for all users. A pocket computer that runs your programs, your way. A phone that works on Verizon and T-Mobile without a hitch, thanks to its dual cellular radios. A device that plays your music in far better quality than your iPod, and is capable of streaming it via FM radio. I present to you, for lack of a better name, the NookkinPhone concept.

Setting Up a Home Server

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:32 CST

Do you need a home server? Yes, if you want the convenience of an always-on media server, instant access to your printer from any computer in the house, a dedicated machine for downloading and uploading large files, and a development web server that can be used to host an intranet within your home (or for testing a website outside the home).

Synesthesia: Seeing Colors

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 23:46 CST

What color are the numbers 0 through 9 and the letters A through Z? This question will strike many as odd. After all, numbers and letters are usually black, and if they're colored, it's usually in an arbitrary fashion. But what if I told you that the number 2 is green, 4 is blue, 5 is red, C is yellow, and T is purple?

Should I buy a Mac?

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:11:00 CST

Everyone around me seems to be using a Mac. Some of my friends switched and are now die-hard Apple fanboys. But do Macs really never get viruses, never crash, always work beautifully, better for multimedia, and are they worth the premium? Do you even NEED a Mac to experience Mac OS?

The Apple iPad

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 12:08:00 CST

The iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, and arrived in Apple stores on April 3. Instantly, floods of people came clamoring for the latest Apple gadget, and the web is abuzz with "success stories" of new iPad users.. But is the iPad really as amazing as everyone claims it is? Or is it just a big iPod touch?

NPS Obsidian Alpha 2

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:12:00 CST

Well, it's finally here... NPS codename Obsidian, Alpha 2. This version should have been released months ago, but I ran into various problems and ended up not having enough time to complete it. But that's all in the past now. Alpha 2 is available, and it's just waiting for you to click that "download" button.

My New Samsung Epix

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:13:00 CST

Ever since I saw someone using a Samsung BlackJack several years ago, I wanted a phone of the BlackBerry style but with Windows Mobile. Then in late 2008, Samsung released the Epix... a powerhouse phone that not only had the features of the BlackJack, but also added an optical mouse, touchscreen, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It became my dream phone.

Porting your number away from TracFone/Net10

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:43:00 CST

The FCC mandates that carriers allow customers to port their numbers to another carrier. This usually works quite well; however, if you are a customer of an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) such as Tracfone, you may run into a paradox of sorts: since Tracfone uses another major carrier's towers (T-Mobile in my location), the web-based number porting eligibility tool tells you that your number is ineligible because (in my case) it is already a T-Mobile number.

LG 600G Review

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:20:00 CST

I have been using my LG 600G phone from Net10 (Tracfone also carries this model) since July 2009; it was my first actual cell phone with service, although I have had a good deal of experience with old out-of-service phones. Now that I've ordered my Samsung Epix, the LG will be going into my phone collection drawer, hopefully for good. But in tribute to it, I will write a nice review. [...]

Nookkin.com Mobile

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:36:00 CST

If you've ever used a mobile internet device to access Nookkin.com, you probably have noticed that it is a sub-optimal experience. With the ever-increasing popularity of such devices, I decided to create a mobile variant of my site. As of today, Nookkin.com is available in mobile and desktop variants. [...]

Asylum (a short story)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:21:00 CST

They keep me trapped here. Trapped behind invisible walls, in a gray, heartless world of stoned businessmen bustling around in their office buildings, stoned schoolchildren sitting in their classrooms. Living a lie. Bustling about, oblivious, uncaring. [...]

Choosing a Good Password

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:25:00 CST

Passwords. They're the bane of our online existence, yet they are critical for protecting our privacy. How complex should a password be? How can you create a password that is secure and easy to remember at the same time – does such a thing even exist? Why do I regularly use 30-character passwords, while most people balk at meeting the minimum length of 8 characters? [...]

AGPTek Laptop Battery Review

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:32:00 CST

My ThinkPad's original battery now lasts less than an hour, which is explainable due to its age. It was time for a replacement, but Lenovo charges a whopping $159 for their 7-cell battery (it's the only one they now carry for my model). Well, what did I do? I decided to take a shot at a non-OEM battery: the AGPTek Li9. Here is my review, after owning it for nearly two weeks. [...]

Bitwise Operators

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:54:00 CST

Did you know that 2 AND 2 is not equal to 4? Well, it's not – open up Windows Calculator, click [2] [and] [2] [=], and you will see that the result is 2.But how does this work? This seems to make no sense. Haven't we all heard the expression"put 2 and 2 together"? [...]

Nookkin.com One Year Anniversary

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:15:00 CST

Well, it has officially been over a year since nookkin.com launched, late at night on December 22. And while school and work have taken an unexpected toll on the amount of things I wanted to post, I still think that it has been a successful year. [...]

My new audio setup

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:53:00 CST

I have been interested in audio equipment long before I even had a computer. My first audio system consisted of four old car speakers and a few others salvaged from old electronics, all of which were powered by a small red battery-powered radio which I partially disassembled in order to connect the speakers. I was around 8 years old at the time [...]

Goodbye, Sansa... Hello, iPod touch!

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:30:00 CST

My Sansa e250 has served me well, but it is near the end of its useful life. The faceplate is cracked right above the screen, the mechanical scroll wheel is increasingly difficult to turn, and lately it has required several tries just to get it to recognize that it is connected to my computer. Thus, I decided that it was time to buy a new player, and chose one of the most popular and coveted players on the market: the iPod touch. [...]

Creating a word filter in PHP

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:07:00 CST

You are no doubt familiar with the concept of a word filter – a function that replaces "naughty" words with asterisks. There are many cases when a word filter is useful. A profanity filter can keep a site "G-rated" [...]

Ten tips for designing the worst software applications

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:22:00 CST

We've all used them - programs that either seemed to be designed by a 6-year-old, or that crash regularly, or even those that installed malware. But how does a software developer try his hardest to design the worst possible piece of software? The tips on this page will be sure to help. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Alpha 1

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:13:00 CST

NPS Obsidian Alpha 1 represents the culmination of several weeks of work on the existing Milestone 3 code. This release is not yet feature-complete, but it has most of the features used on an everyday basis – zoom, pencil and brush, resizing functionality, and filters. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 3

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 19:20:00 CST

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 3, was released today. Milestone 3 shares the same UI appearance as Milestone 2, but also boasts more features. Most toolbox items are now at least partially functional, including rectangular selection, brushes, shapes, airbrush, zoom, and flood fill.[...]

Beyond The Network

Fri, 15 May 2009 19:25:00 CST

"Beyond The Network" is a short story (about 25 printed pages' worth) that I wrote back in March of 2009. It is a science fiction story set sometime in the future. After numerous urgings from readers asking me to publish it, I decided to post it online for the world to enjoy. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 1

Fri, 8 May 2009 22:42:00 CST

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 1, was released today. The Milestone 1 release (version 3.0.15, build 253) is a fairly significant step in the history of NPS, as this is the first build from the Obsidian codebase to be released to the public. The Obsidian codebase is written from scratch using VB.NET (VB 2008), and does not contain any code from the RatTamer-Lagoon codebase (which is written in VB6). [...]

Windows XP on a ThinkPad 560

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 22:53:00 CST

About a week ago, I installed Windows XP on my old ThinkPad 560. This laptop was my first working computer, which I obtained about 4 years ago. It originally came with Windows 98, which ran fairly slow. The laptop has a 133mhz Pentium processor, 40MB of RAM, and a 2GB hard drive.

I decided to try my luck at installing XP on the thing – after all, I don't use it any more, and I might as well prove a point to the 20 or so people who have told me that XP would never install or on something t [...]

Dual-booting XP and Vista (my way)

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:09:00 CST

If you want both Windows XP and Windows Vista on your computer, you can set up a dual-boot configuration easily enough. But the default configuration may not be suitable for your needs. For example, I wanted to have XP and Vista installed on one hard drive, with XP being on a smaller partition which I planned on eventually using for a different operating system. However, setting up this dual-boot proved to be somewhat more complicated than I had imagined. [...]

A Few Updates

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:35:00 CST

For the past month, I have either been busy with school, or busy with something else, and I more or less neglected to post anything on my blog. But here it is... the long-awaited February blog post.

If you haven't already noticed, I've added a few things to my website. Most notably, Computer Bloopers. I have been collecting somewhat humorous computer-related incidents that I have experienced for several years now, and am now putting some of them onli [...]

Computer Bloopers

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:35:00 CST

In a world of technology, there are bound to be some people who don't understand it as well as others. At times, this can be frustrating to us geeks; at other times, these misunderstandings can manifest themselves in ways that can be perceived as humorous. [...]

Allowing any screen resolution on Vista

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:22:00 CST

By default, Windows Display Properties displays only the resolutions allowed by its driver, or (in the case of a Plug-and-Play monitor) exposed by its EDID.

I have been hacking my video and monitor drivers ever since I was 13. On Windows 9x, it was possible to enable all resolutions supported by [...]

Windows 7 Beta, part 2

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:40:00 CST

A few days ago, I installed the Windows 7 Beta on my physical machine. I am impressed by the ease with which it installed, as well as the additional functionality added to it; however, it's still not perfect.

Installation and bootup

Installation was fairly straightforward, and very similar to Vista's. I deleted my old installation of XP Professional (which I never used) and installed Windows 7 in its place. After the installer finished, 2 new entries were added to the Windows Boot Manager &ndas [...]

Windows 7 Beta

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:50:00 CST

The Windows 7 Beta is out, and I finally managed to get my hands on a copy. I installed it (unactivated) in a virtual machine, but plan to install it on my physical machine as well, in order to use all of its features. I will update my blog once I do that.

The beta

As you probably know by now, the beta was supposed to be released yesterday. However, Microsoft's servers couldn't handle the heavy demands, and the official download link did not appear until about noon today. I tried downloading vi [...]

Time for some upgrades

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:47:00 CST

My 2-year-old computer was getting a bit slow, as I now run a lot of programs simultaneously. For Christmas, I received an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and 2GB of RAM, which was a welcome upgrade.

Here is a screenshot of Task Manager before I upgraded:

The RAM installed without any problems (at first). It took a good amount of force to snap the DIMMs in place, but the RAM worked. Vista instantly recognized [...]

Hello World

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:42:00 CST

echo("<p>Hello World</p>\n");

Well, it's been a hectic week, preparing for the launch of my site. Writing code, debugging, and making last-minute improvements. Then, uploading everything to the server, only to find out that MySQL isn't working quite the way I expected... but the site is finally up and running. What a relief.

I'd like to start off my blog by introducing myself. My name is Lyosha, known online as Nookkin or, less commonly, "Nookkin' OR 1=1;--". I'm 16 an [...]