FLYBOARD: A WATER VERSION OF IRONMAN’S PROPULSORS?

Guys, when I watch a gadget like this:

I cannot help to associate it with Ironman’s propulsors:

Next time I visit Punta del Este I will try this sport for sure!

Best,
~Pete

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: 6 OUT OF 10

Finally I had got some time to go out and watch the final chapter of the Batman trilogy in Montevideo.

First of all, thanks to Nolan and all the cast for giving back the dignity into the character on the screen! (indeed, compared to everything before Nolan’s view of Gotham, his trilogy is great).

Now, I’m not going to talk here about any eventual loose ends, inconsistencies, speculations, deux-ex-machina, mythology and what not. Instead, I will mention two things: first, why I am not giving this film 10, and second what I would love to see in the future.

About my 6-out-of-10 score for the film:

• Batman is not presented as the world’s greatest detective.
• Batman exposes himself a lot in open spaces in the City, what goes against his ninjitsu training on the league of shadows.
• Bruce Wayne is always doubting of his role as Batman (in the comics he knows what he has to do and never doubts about becoming the Batman).
• There is no balance between action and quiet moments. In fact, there are many sequences with no action to unveil the plot that could have been short, and long action scenes with little interaction among lead roles (like Batman and Bane who could have got more encounters during the film, imvho).
• Bane is presented as a bully with a nonsense purpose, whose lines sounded with a strange intonations (what is more, his plan also resembles the Joker’s).
• No fight scenes between Talia al Ghul and Catwoman.
• Why waiting months to destroy Gotham? It’s just equivalent to “monologuing” …
• Supporting characters with no added value to the film.

I could go on with my list but I won’t because I like the fact that this time the films are serious about the character.

Now, if a new director shows up with a new vision, please:

1) Stop with the trend of villains with chaotic goals.

In past Superman films, Lex Luthor was presented as a madman with just a fixation with land (even if it’s alien), instead of being presented as a controversial businessman plus scientist with a double agenda for the sake of power and global domination.

The same happens in Nolan’s trilogy with everything related to The League of Shadows, the Joker and Two face. They all seem to have something to prove but in the end they are just breaking havoc.

In short, not everyone has to go mad or become a freak to be a villain in a movie.

For example, The Penguin could be a can high-society mobster that trains birds for deadly tasks, whose umbrella is just a gun in disguise (like a blade inside a stick).

Btw, I would love to see actor Jonny Coyne (Alcatraz’s warden) as The Penguin:

2) Let the Batman be the World’s Greatest Detective.

Besides the incredible gadgets, his strong spirit, determination, and his fighting skills, Batman is the world greatest detective. He moves in the shadows avoiding open scenes.

And please, as a side note, find someone with a voice that does not have to force it to sound fierce.

3) Stop with that line that everyone can be Batman.

Bruce Wayne is the one and only Batman. Period.

Many can wear the cape for a brief period of time even in Comics, but none gives Batman the right touch of presence and solemnity.

Why not adding more characters like Nightwing?

Ok, I can give it that Robin could make things less realistic and prone to guess who the man behind the mask is, easily. Unless you don’t treat them as fulltime sidekicks of Batman but independent heroes them-selves.

4) Write a storyline that can lead to a Justice League film.

If the original Batman is dead, how can this impact on an eventual Justice League film? In particular, what about the legendary friendship between Clark and Bruce? They are not just co-workers. They are friends -despite their different approaches to fight crime for the sake of justice, who trust each other (please, do not remind me of the kryptonite bullet here).

5) And stop with unnecessary roles.

Focus on the lead characters and real supporting ones. Avoid wasting time adding roles that do not add relevant value to the storyline (like Deputy Commissioner Foley and or Bane’s wingman; I am not talking about the actors here –who are great- but the roles them-selves).

Ok, enough words.

To wrap it up, I enjoyed the film and the trilogy but I didn’t fall in love with it. In fact, even with all the flaws one can find in The Avangers movie, I still like it more than TDKR …

My two cents,
~Pete

THE AVENGERS: AN EPIC FILM !!!

Lately, I haven´t got enough time left to take a break … not even to post something on my blog. But I think this one really deserves it!

I have been a superheroe comic-book collector since I can remember who has changed throughout the years from regulars to graphic novels.

As a huge reader of Marvel’s, I was expecting The Avengers movie with scrambled feelings since not all the previous movies that drove us to this one have been that great, imvho of course.

The first Ironman movie was incredible, the second one was (almost) ok. Captain America´s wasn´t that great but got the job done. Ditto for Thor. And Hulk has been trying to find the place it deserves on the big screen with mixed results.

For those in the US that are waiting for its opening night, let me tell you that it is really safe to go to the theather with your expectations high since you won’t get dissapointed. In fact, I believe the movie will surpass your expectations!

No pictures and videos that you have found on the Internet will prepare you for you are going to enjoy. Except for the 3D fxs –that were only ok for me, the film delivers everything you can expect from a superheroe movie that well that you don’t see actors playing the roles but the characters themselves. And the latter in film with several potential lead roles is a hugh task that luckily, for the film, ended superb.

The storyline is balanced. All characters have their due time. Action and FX are present only when and where needed. And humour touches are smart and welcome.

Again, you won’t be paying attention to the actors since you will buy that the ones you are watching on screen are the heores and villains themselves. Btw, hats off to Mark Ruffalo who had some challenge before him –specially, after the second Hulk movie- and played, imho, the Bruce Banner I always wanted to see. And as for the Hulk, … well … you will have to wait and see ‘cause I don’t want to spoil anything!

[SPOILER]
One more thing, stay on your seats when the movie finishes for a final scene where you will know The Being behind Loki´s strike on earth (and yeap, it was the one I was expecting for years!). This will open the door for future movies and hopefully, if the Avengers was Epic, the one that shows off this creature in its full potential will be for sure also epic but in a cosmic scale!
[/SPOILER]

To wrap it up, The Avengers is one of the best superheroe movies ever that deserves a place on the blu-ray shelves of any collector once it gets out. What is more, it raises the bar high for the TDKR … gloves off!

Here’s the link to an excellent (translated) review for the film.

Enjoy the movie, guys!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

RESIZING AN EXISTING HDD IMAGE IN VIRTUALBOX

[ If you deem this article as helpful, please consider downloading my game "Just Survive XP" on the Appstore (free for a limited time):

=> http://itunes.apple.com/app/just-survive-xp/id461876025 ]

Yesterday I was installing a new virtual machine on my desktop with VirtualBox and, don’t ask me why ‘cause I don´t know, but I made a rookie mistake …

… when I created the vdi file for the virtual hardrive I forgot to assign a custom size so it ended up with the default 20GB. Sigh!

Soon I noticed my mistake when I realized I would need more space on the drive to install the whole set of tools I wanted to use, so I opened VirtualBox in order to resize the drive and guess what … I found no way on settings to directly do it. Bummer …

Maybe it is there somewhere but I didn´t find it so fearing the worst –that is, reinstalling everything on a new image from scratch, I did a search on the Internet for a solution. Why not reading VirtualBox’s help file, right?

Well, to my surprise I found any kind of cumbersome solutions like cloning the .vdi file and using a parition manager to blá, blá, blá. Tired of this dead-ends, I finally did what I should have done on the first place: read the help file!

Yes; the solution was always there: VirtualBox includes a command-line tool named “VBoxManage” with a set of interesting options available and one of them is “modifyhd”. Its syntaxis is the following:

VBoxManage modifyhd <uuid><filename>
[--type normal | writethrough | immutable | shareable
readonlymultiattach]
[--autoreset onoff]
[—compact]
[--resize <megabytes>--resizebyte <bytes>]

Having opened a command-line terminal in the host OS of your machine, a simple way to use this command would be, say:

VBoxManage modifyhd “<fullpath>/<filename>”
--resize 30720

It is important to notice that you should use not a relative but the fullpath to the .vdi file for optimal results. So, if your .vdi file is located on “C:/mypath/myvdifile.vdi”, use this string on the command (in case of other OS than Windows, use the path from root).

If everything goes well you should see a new text line showing the progress:

0%…10%…20%…30%…40%…50%…60%…70%…80%…90%…100%

But sometimes, like in my case, things turn out not to be that simple. You may find your-self facing an error message like:

ERROR: Cannot register the hard disk 'C:/mypath/myvdifile.vdi' with UUID {someUUIDtext} because a hard disk 'C:/mypath/myvdifile.vdi' with UUID {someUUIDtext} already exists in the media registry ('…/VirtualBox.xml')
Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component VirtualBox, interface IVirtualBox, callee nsISupports
Context: "OpenHardDisk(Bstr(szFilenameAbs), AccessMode_ReadWrite, false, Bstr(""), false, Bstr(""), srcDisk.asOutParam())" at line XX of file VBoxManageDisk …

If that happens don´t panic; a solution that worked for me was using the UUID assigned to the virtual hdd, instead of the path to the file, so if the UUID is “{13f2…-…-…342a}” then the command should look like:

VBoxManage modifyhd 13f2…-…-…342a
--resize 30720

Now, when the new size of the .vdi file gets allocated, all you need to do is open your virtual machine, log into the OS, and assign the new free space to the hdd. If your hosting Windows, then execute the provided managing tool (rightclick on your PC icon and select “Manage”), find the vitual disk and extend its size.

Well, that’s it. Hope you find this tips useful.

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

NETFLIX NOW AVAILABLE IN THE REGION!

First was Brazil, and now Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay will count on Netflix providing its multimedia services.

This is a huge leap on the region and many cable providers are starting to worry.

Uruguay has recently finished the work of laying a fiber-optics cable beneath the sea, thus before year-end uruguayan homes will be enjoying speeds around 100Mbs (hopefully sync). Finally!

Now all we need, and personally hope, is that Microsoft opens the XBox Live Arcade channel for the region (and Live services).

C´mon Microsoft! Show some love …

~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

WP7 NOT BOOTING? FIRST CHECK YOUR DATA CABLE

[ If you deem this article as helpful, please consider buying my game "Just Survive!" on the Appstore for only 99 cents:

=> http://itunes.apple.com/app/just-survive/id424392950 ]

A couple of weeks ago I had pressed and held the start button of my WP7 device to find that it had fallen in a sort of neverending booting loop.

As soon as the device started and the first screen appeared showing the initial info/stats, it automatically rebooted for ever.

Since I wasn’t able to hard reset it, my first thought was “Oh gosh, it’s bricked!”.

I then noticed that the batery level was closed to zero, so I grabbed the USB data cable and plugged it into my desktop PC. No luck! After a couple of minutes the battery was still at zero level …

… as a desperate move I connected it to the AC power, directly. Still no luck! My thought then was “Drained Battery?”.

So I searched on the Internet for similar cases and I found that many reported faulty USB cables. “Could it be so?” …

Well, it turned out to be the case, at least for my device. After buying a new USB data cable, the device started to recharge the battery. And when it reached a charge level of 7% percent, it successfully booted!

So, if you happen to suffer from a similar situation, don’t panic! Go and buy a new USB data cable and try again.

Hope this help,
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

IT’S OFFICIAL: KINECT PRICE CONFIRMED!

You all know this: lately, there has been plenty of speculation around the price of the upcoming new device for the XBox 360 console, originally known as “Project Natal” and recently renamed as Kinect.

Well, the time for speculation is over since MSFT has confirmed prices for standalone and bundled options.

Interested? Then find out more here.

Cannot wait to get “kinected” :)
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

STEVE BALLMER IN ARGENTINA

A few weeks ago I was invited to Steve Ballmer’s talk about Cloud Computing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The talk was held last Tuesday on the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) and lasted about an hour or so.

Since “I crossed the puddle” and attended the event I can tell you that the presentation and all topics covered where quite interesting, so for those of you not present at the event I recommend to watch the recorded video, which is now available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/argentina/cloud/ballmer.aspx (subtitled in Spanish).

Enjoy!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

OBFUSCATORS PAGE UPDATED

Just a quick a post: I have updated the page containing the list of obfuscators of .NET IL code, adding two word checking:

• BitHelmet, and
• Eazfuscator.NET.

You can find the whole list here.

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

MICROSOFT ACTIVE PROFESSIONAL 2010

Yesterday I received, on behalf of MSFT Technet & MSDN Team for Argentina and Uruguay, the distinction of “Microsoft Active Professional 2010”.

The award is granted to those professionals who are considered to be among the top 5% of most active contributors in the community.

Thanks a lot to Microsoft for honoring me with this award, again!

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

XNA/DIRECTX MVP ONCE AGAIN

The new year 2010 has started with great news for me: Microsoft has granted me the XNA/DirectX MVP award once again!

It’s truly an honor to be an MVP. Thanks MSFT!

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

OUT OF OFFICE

Hey guys, I will be "out of office" from today for a week or so.

For those of you who usually read this blog thanks a lot for you time and comments.

Don’t forget to check the new “Developer Talk Series” –by members of the XNA Game Studio Product Team, starting on January 2010!!

See you next year ;)

Happy holidays and cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

WATCH OUT THE XBOX 360 YOU BUY!

It’s been a little while since my last post; well … there’s a wonderful reason for that: last week my first son was born! So, I had little-to-none time left for blogging.

Ok, down to business now …

In the past few weeks you may have heard and or witnessed that a new update for the XBox 360 was recently released, bringing a bunch of new exciting features like Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm support.

You may have also heard that Microsoft banned unofficial memory units.

Well, that is not what I’m going to blog about today!

There is one more thing you may have heard (and I hope you haven’t experienced yourself): MSFT has banned a plethora of (modified) consoles (the buzz is that the number of bans is close to one million consoles).

The reason? Simple: fighting against piracy.

Thus, if -for whatever reason- you hacked the disc drive, installed unauthorized software, created a modded version of the console, and –maybe in some cases- repaired it yourself from the RROD with a custom solution, then you are likely to lay within the unlucky number!

What does a banned 360 mean? Simply put: the XBox Live service is not available any longer to that console. The owner can still play offline, but forget about Arcade and Indie games.

And since the gamertag/account is not banned, just the console, that gamer can purchase a new console to regain access to those channels. What brings me to the main topic of this post:

WATCH OUT THE XBOX 360 CONSOLE YOU BUY!!!

As a result of the massive banning process, many owners of banned 360s are trying to sell those consoles through popular online auction sites, claiming that they never experienced technical problems, offering a bunch of (pirated) games, and not even mentioning that console is “modded” in the first place.

Always remember: the ban is on the console itself, so if you happen to buy a banned 360, it doesn’t matter that you have a valid gamertag / account, the ban on the console won’t disappear.

So, be careful on the 360 you pick: verify it’s a brand new one on a sealed (never opened) pack before closing any deal.

And don’t install pirate software: is illegal, and eventually -as this wave of bans prove, it turns to be more expensive than doing things right in the first place!

Play safe,
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

MONTEVIDEO INVADED BY GIANT ROBOTS

Browsing the web I happened to find today a quite impressive CG short film, where the city of Montevideo, capital of Uruguay (where I live), is being suddenly attacked by an army of giant robots and a squad of pretty advanced space fighters.

The film is entitled “Atáque de Pánico! 2009” (“Panic Attack! 2009”) and you can find more info about it here.

Kudos to the producers for this great release!

Enjoy,
~Pete

[If you ask me, the title is kinda misnomer. I would have chosen a different one for such a great production. What do you guys think?]

> Link to Spanish version.

NEW XBLIG BARGAINS!

As of today and on, the only prices available for XBox Live Indie Games will be 80, 240 and 400 points (that is in American dollars: one, three and five, respectively).

As a result of this mandatory switch, all games that were offered for 200 points are now selling at the bargain price of 80 points … 1 dollar!

On Gamerbytes, you can find info about some of the games selling at $1 and or you can also visit XBLA & XBLIG Ratings for a complete list of the games being offered for this price.

Time to get lots of bargains!!!

Enjoy!
~Pete

 

> Link to Spanish version.

SNEAK PEEK: 360’S DASHBOARD UPDATE

1UP has published a video showing off the features coming next with the dashboard update of the XBox 360 console; that is:

• Twitter,
• Facebook,
• Last.fm, and
• Zune Marketplace.

But that’s not it! Major Nelson has posted info on how to sign up for the update preview so as to start enjoying the upcoming features right now.

So, do you have a Xbox 360? And, is the XBox Live service available for the country where you live?

If the answer to both questions is “yes”, then what the heck are you waiting for?!!!

Enjoy,
~Pete

 

> Link to Spanish version.

VIRTUAL EVENT: “THE NEW EFFICIENCY”

There’s a very interesting virtual event to be held today. If you either speak and or understand the Spanish language you cannot miss it!

Read on …

Today, Microsoft will present with experts live and demonstrations the new concept of efficiency!

Some of the topics being addressed during the event cover the following technologies/products:

• Windows 7,
• Windows Server 2008 R2,
• Exchange Server 2010, and
• Fore Front.

So, what are you waiting for? Just go and register for the event a.s.a.p.:

http://www.lanuevaeficiencia.com/

Enjoy!
~Pete

 

> Link to Spanish version.

MICROSOFT ACTIVE PROFESSIONAL 2009

A couple of days ago I received, on behalf of MSFT Technet & MSDN Team for Argentina and Uruguay, the distinction of “Microsoft Active Professional”.

The award is granted to those professionals who are considered to be among the top 5% of most active contributors in the community.

Thanks a lot to Microsoft for honoring me with this award!

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

I have created an account on Twitter, so if you’re also a member of the Twitter service, and want to follow my daily activities, then just go and search for the nickname “Yoruguaman” …

… or you can follow this link:

Cheers!
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.

WINDOWS 7X7

For those of you who do not know Windows 7 yet, those who doubt about its virtues and even those who have already installed the Release Candidate and want to find out more, I recommend a lot that you watch a series of videos (in Spanish) about its goodness:

Usually I'm not a developer that installs testing versions of a OS in a production environment, but, when Windows 7 RC version was out and having witnessed that the previous beta version worked with roominess in "aged" notebooks, I decided to walk away from Windows Vista and give Windows 7 a try.

I must confess that, after I took that decision, results have been quite comforting! Windows 7 RC behaves like a charm and performs superiorly to its ancestors.

I have installed its 64-bit version with only 2GB of memory on my PC desktop and it actually flies! (note: on Windows Vista, it is recommended that you have 4GB to achieve an acceptable output).

Not to mention the features of its own that make the UX indeed enjoyable.

Thus, as I said at the beginning, my advice is that you visit "Windows 7x7", watch the series of demo videos, and if you can, decide to finally install and try out Windows 7 RC.

Enjoy,
~Pete

> Link to Spanish version.