My Perl moment

So I've been reading the Perl Black Book  10 pages per day. I've just read page 290, so that means It's been 30 days (I missed a day) since I started. I'm really happy with the results. I wish there was a 3rd edition that was more recent too, since the 2nd edition is from 2001.

Anyway, I was confused early on about scalars, arrays, and confused arrays with lists, and thought lists and arrays were different things.... but anyway.

$calar
@rray

That's all, now that I have memorized them by wrote, my mind made this connection. Was this the reason those signs stand for that type of variable? If anyone reads this and knows, please comment on other logical leaps/connection things that make sense that I might not know about additional hints/tricks that could help me remember things better.

I hate windows 8 and google

Okay, so I prefer Google. To the point that I really don't care about the other search providers.... I don't care that bing found a few people who prefer their search to google, the name just reminds me of Chandler Bing from friends. And I think his name was meant to be weird, obscure, boring, and sort of "huh"ish. No offense to any people out their with one of their names being Bing, it just wasn't meant to be the name of a search engine. Especially when Google is already a verb.

Moving on, I had to dump windoze 8 "metro" (I hear they wanted to call it something else, but whatever they tried to officially change it to, I'm sure is still dumb) for a Classic Shell so that I can have a usable experience. Not that I love windows, and as soon as Linux Steam gains enough steam, I'll dump windoze forever (hopefully). But for now, I'm using windoze 8 on my newest computer, because I could get it for $40 by upgrading one of my XP licenses, which I have a few, and $40 is less than I could have gotten windoze 7 for. And I can feel good about using a legal copy of windows.

I really hate the magic tiles they think I'll want, but I don't intrinsically hate the tiles. The real problem is I still can't do 90% of the things I want to do with the metro UI. It feels like instead of having an intelligent desktop that I can keep a bunch of things open at once and refer back and forth, I'm supposed to turn my computer into a smartphone and do one thing at a time.

When I want to do one thing at a time, I might do it on a mobile device. When I want to get serious, I get to the keyboard/mouse combo, and don't want to play smartphone.

So, the main reason I hate windows 8 is that it fails to be as good as previous user interfaces (7, XP) because certain central elements are gone, and the replacements are terrible.

Oh yeah, and now I'm to the whole reason that I came to this breaking point to write this: user agent.

 I had to copy the user agent from my windows 7 machine and put it into my firefox about:config so stupid google will stop asking me if I want to add google to my metro menu (which I'm not using, because it sucks). So every time I open a browser and go to my home page (google) I'm reminded that I hate windows 8 and metro. Because I'd much rather use something stock because periodically Classic Shell kind of stutters for a couple seconds. Not that I can really tell if it's a classic shell problem, or a windows 8 problem, or some weird configuration issue with my hardware, because I didn't buy windows 7 (as would have been the preferable experience, but as previously stated, costs more, legally).

 Anyway, to change this go into about:config and type "useragent" into the search bar, and there probably won't be this listed:

general.useragent.override

so add it as string, and this is the windows 7 string:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0

The only difference is that windows 8 = NT 6.2 and windows 7 = NT 6.1 so this is how you can tell people, stop annoying me about the stupid metro UI because it sucks, and I should just use linux since I like it better anyway. That is all.

Firefox page scrolling: FF17 vs previous

So I got windows 8 and installed firefox, and my usual setting to ctrl + mousewheel wouldn't scroll a page at a time, as it did previously. I thought this was because windoze 8 sucks, but it's actually something changed between firefox 16 and 17.

My use for ctrl + scroll wheel is basically "scroll really fast when I'm on a really long page" so I don't have to do something stupid like drag the little box on the right side, or scroll the wheel forever and make my finger tired (what can I say, laziness, or efficiency, take your pick).

Firefox 16 had these settings(in about:config):

mousewheel.withcontrolkey.action
0 – scroll by lines (as set in mousewheel.*.numlinesof entry ^) of text in the browser window. Default behavior of the scroll wheel only (no keys used)
1 – scroll by pages (as set in mousewheel.*.numlinesof entry ^) of text in the browser window. Disabled by default
2 – move forward or backward in the browser history. Default behavior of SHIFT+Scroll Wheel
3 – zoom control. Default behavior of CTRL+Scroll Wheel
I'd set this to 1, which lets me scroll by page, because it's awesome to not have to scroll forever (think about my rage on every new install of firefox, when I want to "scroll really fast" and instead zoom in. Usually after doing this 1-3 times I finally track down my "scroll really fast" setting.).

In firefox 17, this setting is gone and we have, after thinking I had another reason to hate windows 8:

mousewheel.with_control.action;1

0 means "Do nothing"
1 means "Scroll contents"
2 means "Go back or forward in the history"
3 means "Zoom in or out the contents"

(found this page that is overly confusing, and stupid: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Gecko:Mouse_Wheel_Scrolling)

So basically, they killed my "scroll by pages" setting. Confusion, and checking my mac which was still on FF16 (which worked fine with my previous setting) and updating it to FF17 which broke page scrolling, I figured either stupid people decided no one (including me) actually uses page scroll, so they could cut it, or there must be some dilapidated method of getting the same functionality.

Well, I messed with just the "y" of these settings first (default is 100) to things like 1 (maybe it means one page), 50, and 200, and all each of those did was "really slow scrolling" which is the opposite of what I wanted.

In my despair I set all of these to 1000:

mousewheel.with_control.delta_multiplier_x;1000
mousewheel.with_control.delta_multiplier_y;1000
mousewheel.with_control.delta_multiplier_z;1000

And I get my "scroll really fast" mode back. Definitely happy about that! It seems close enough to "one page" that I'll leave it, for now.

Less-interesting history stuff:
I don't recall exactly which version I first found the setting in, but I know for a fact it was an early version and it used to be built into the default UI preferences, the ability to pick different behaviors for holding down different modifier keys. I quickly decided I liked scrolling by page, and after the functionality was removed from the default UI I'm sure I raged for a while until finding the about:config stuff that has worked through version 16.

And yes, if you didn't use firefox when that was in the default UI, I will think I'm better than you. But you're free to not care (as I'm sure you don't, because I generally hate when other people as early adopters get special benefits / think they are better than me), but if you start using a "scroll really fast" modifier, I will repeal partially that opinion and decide you're okay.

HoN vs LoL revisited

So, I'm pretty sure before I said that I like HoN (Heroes of Newerth) better than LoL (League of Legends). Well, I finally came back to play LoL some more because some people from work play, and it's time for a new analysis.

HoN is a buy once, you have the game system. I think this is better, because I get the game and then I can just play.

LoL is "free" up front, but you can either use money-points or earned points to buy heroes (they rotate 10 free heroes each week, and you can also buy different clothing sets with real money points). Lame, right?

Well, for some reason it work. You earn game-points for playing (more for a win) and while you will rage just as much for having a bad team and/or losing, some strange desire to level-up and feel progress makes people keep coming back to LoL.

So even though HoN is "better", LoL wins.

Is it just me?

The first time I heard this some by Adele (whom I didn't know the song belonged to until recently), I had one of those spidey-sense moments where I couldn't remember what the main chorus of the song reminds me of. Well, I finally found it.

Did anyone else hear a connection with these songs or just me?

Rolling in the Deep by Adele:


Get Down Tonight by KC and the Sunshine Band

Unicomp Customizer 101

Edit: If you're a Mac user, I recommend the 104 key. I'm being a little annoyed at trying to use a 101 with my mac.

So here's my followup to my previous Das keyboard initial review. My Unicomp 101-key keyboard finally came (Yes, I didn't want those extra windows keys. I wanted more of a "pure" experience) and pretty much from the first keystroke it's been a huge blast from the past. We had an IBM keyboard maybe 10-15 years back or so, and it was just awesome. I don't think I realized at that point just how much I liked it. I think cheap keyboards have gotten even cheaper in the meantime.

Starting in the 80s IBM made awesome, expensive keyboards to go with their expensiver computers. The most-used keyboard layout originated with IBM and the model M keyboard. In 1990 or so IBM sold their keyboard department out to Lexmark to build keyboards for them, and then in 1995 or so Lexmark sold the rights and all the molds for making these keyboards to Unicomp, who has been making them ever since.

Unicomp still uses IBM's buckling-spring technology, which makes a nice sound when you depress the key enough for the keystroke to register, and also (perhaps a little more forcefully than the Das keyboard) these springs bounce the keys back up when they are done being pressed down. Unfortunately, the 11 pound-ish versions of these keyboards that included metal slabs on the back were only built in-house by IBM, but the 6-7 pound plastic versions are still better than the flimsy garbage you can find in the bargain bin. At $80 a pop these things aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than Das keyboards at $130, and seriously $80 isn't that much considering that this thing is built like a tank and will outlive your next 3-7 computers. Unicomp updated these to have a USB version along with the (superior) PS2 format, too. Laptop users rejoice!

Without further ado, I'll proceed with the low-quality images taken by my ipod touch.

Standard key layout. Included are key bumps on the F and J key, which is major points (or at least, no negative points). In my mind, no windows key is a huge plus. I hate accidentally hitting that stupid thing. Unicomp does have a TON of layouts available, one of which is a standard 104 key keyboard with windows keys. I think Mac fans like the 104 version since they can remap the windows key to the mac key.



If you're familiar with old-school keyboards, you'll remember the beveled sides here. Probably the favorite feature of this keyboard is there are non of those useless and stupid "multimedia" keys that just get in the way. They usually just duplicate other key combinations anyway.



This has the backloaded look similar to the Das, but in a somewhat superficial way. If you notice, the keys actually sink deeper into the keyboard (minus the F-key row) giving a flatter experience. Don't you love the nostalgic color scheme? Unicomp offers a nasty off-black + dirty grey color scheme that just looks kind of silly, imo they should go for an all-white, clean look. 80s dusty grey brings back memories though.


Oh, I forgot to mention. This thing makes the Das feel like a toy. Seriously, go buy one. I heard the economy is affecting Unicomp too, and I don't want to ever suffer through keyboard mush again. If I had more money I'd buy like five of these just to make sure I have a steady supply.

And seriously, if you use a computer for more than like 30 minutes a day, just buy one. Why would you spend $100 on a speaker system and not on a keyboard? Do what you need to do to get one. Or ten. And tell your friends!


http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/

Das keyboard - initial thoughts

I finally got my hands on a Das Keyboard today! When I initially heard about these, I thought they were purely a gimmick, but I've since learned that they use some pretty cool technology called Cherry Switches (I think some have cherry, some have blue, there are a few varieties) which helps make the keypresses more obvious as to what point the keyboard registers that you have successfully pushed down on it.

If we go back in time to the 80s when IBM was the big dog, we had the really loud keyboards that had metal springs under each key called buckling springs to help make the computer keyboard experience more like the typewriters. There are a few side effects to these springs:

1. Pushing keys on the keyboard makes a loud noise.
2. Other people will probably get annoyed
3. You have an audible cue as to the (almost?) exact time the keypress "registered" and your computer was told that you hit the key.
4. The key physically "pops" into place at the moment the signal is sent to the computer that you pressed the key.

Let's think about the modern "quiet" keyboards, and the features they have:
1. Quiet keys (won't bother anyone)
2. The keys are quiet. So good luck knowing exactly when you pressed it down.
3. No physical "pop" that helps you recognize at what point the keypress should have been sent to the computer.

Most keyboards these days use what is called rubber domes. Basically, a little dome of rubber sits underneath all of your keys (unless you have a laptop, which uses scissor-like things, which are also not super precise) that if compressed enough, it touches something down at the bottom of your keyboard and sends a signal to your computer that you typed a key....

Does anyone else get on a roll typing something up really fast, only to look back at your previous sentence and find that you out-typed your keyboard, and 3-5 words (depending on sentence length) have a couple of letters out of order? In fact, I think most people end up overpressing the keys in order to make sure you actually pressed them (since modern keyboards are mushy), which causes extra strain.

This happens to me. Quite often, actually. Maybe I just type too fast, since at one time maybe 8-10 years ago I was tested at 90 wpm (on a rubber done keyboard, of course).

But anyway. This doesn't happen to me on the Das keyboard. I find my accuracy very much higher and I don't out-type the keyboard. It kind of reminds me of typing on my dad's old IBM model M keyboard that we had in the 90s for a while.

Time for some cons.

Ergonomically, I'm a bit stumped. It seems like Das has gone the exact opposite way they should have with this thing. The keyboard is totally backloaded. Just look at the size if that thing on the back. I got really used to my Microsoft Natural 4000's frontloaded kit that came with it, which helps provide a more neutral typing position (I have another rant for another day about ergonomic keyboards, btw).



The backloadedness of this keyboard annoyed me so much that I felt the urge to prop the front up with some little gameboy cartridge holders:



This gave me a bit more "neutral" typing position. However, these aren't superbly stable and if I were to try typing with this keyboard for a lengthy amount of time I would have to find a more permanent solution.

F and J finger buds, or whatever the little bumps on F and J are. I just have to say that I love these little bumps, and they are integral to my computing ability. I was shocked to find that instead of actual bumps on the keyboard, the Das simply has F and Js that are a little narrower than the rest of the keys on the keyboard. I've been trying and trying to get used to these, but I just find my right hand floating over the keyboard as if I'm lost every time I have to move between the mouse and the keyboard. I've run into a couple $5 keyboards that have missing finger bumps that (if they had been mine) I would throw away in a heartbeat as unusable. If this were my keyboard I'd have to come up with some way to add bumps the the keys, or something. Maybe there is a newer version with real bumps now. Thankfully, the caps-lock has an indentation on the right side of the key which is more helpful than the F and J divets. I look down at this keyboard more than my keyboard with letters written on it because I have to make sure I have two empty keys in-between my fingers. The missing key bumps also come in to play when it comes to ctrl/alt/shift key combinations that shift my hand around a bit, potentially coming off the home row enough to wonder if I have my hands back in the proper position afterward.

This is seriously a huge deal to me. I really like this keyboard a lot minus that (and of course, the back is too fat).

I ordered the successor to the IBM model M and it gets here Tuesday. I'm really excited. I think it will have bumps on F and J. It's from Unicomp, and I'll write something up then.

Oh, if you are a person who types a lot (probably anyone reading my blog, plus most computer users in the world) you should really do yourself a favor and buy a good mechanical keyboard. I mean seriously, you will spend $80+ on speakers, but not on a keyboard? Thinking quality of life here, how much do you use a keyboard? Just in writing this post I've probably saved about 300 backspaces. Oh, Das makes a new model that comes with keys printed on it. I don't know if it has the little bumps or not.

Update: I confirmed that the new versions of Das keyboard DO come with F and J nubs, making this an awesome keyboard whether you want the version with or without letters printed on the keys.