Sharepoint Part 2
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Sharepoint Services on June 18th, 2010
So I am making the Sharepoint intranet Live this weekend and it has all gone rather swimmingly (which is why I haven’t had a lot to say here I am afraid.
The one thing I will not is I was not sufficiently skilled to design my own .aspx page for a template which could do what I needed for bookings.
Thus I used the fantastic MRBS to provide what I needed, it links to AD via LDAP, it lets me book using periods rather than time and it is simple to use. The initial implementation can be tricky as the config.inc.php file you download off their site seems to be missing some instructions on what commands do what. if you have any issues with it please let me know (Edugeek was a big help with this).
I will note I had problems using it with the latest version of PHP so you may have to go back to php 5.2.x
Sharepoint comes with 40 templates which really are fantastic, I am finding a lot of use for the helpdesk one which allows me to track everything very neatly (although admittedly is not as nice as the dedicated software I have used in the past)
I was planning on creating my own CSS for the intranet but overall I have found the default one very good for it’s use and it probably will not be a good use of my time.
Overall for places where spending money on dedicated services is not an option WSS will really does things nicely and does not require a hell of a lot of prior knowledge to get the basic services off the ground. I have learned quite a bit about ISS as I have gone along as it was what caused most of the issues I actually had.
European Trip
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Europe Trip on April 26th, 2010
So I am planning a trip to Europe,
I am planning to spend the first 3 weeks visiting Germany and the Netherlands to visit my relatives there (and some friends who will be in Germany at the time).
After that I will be taking the European Explorer Contiki Tour which takes around 20 days.
Finally I am going to return to the UK and hopefully using a Youth Mobility Visa be able to get some work in IT to help fund further self directed travel from there.
Documenting my Sharepoint Services development process
Posted by Rhys Aronson in IT, Sharepoint Services on April 7th, 2010
So as some of you may know I work at a High School as the ICT Officer, my next major project is going to be developing a SharePoint Services 3.0 Intranet to replace our current woefully inadequate system.
Now as Sharepoint is not something I have worked with before and web design is not exactly my area of expertise I expect I will be learning a lot on the fly as I go.
The project will probably start off slowly as I just get a feel for the software rather than do any serious design but after that I will write up a design document and the project can hopefully get off the ground running.
Initially the project will be running off a virtual server of Windows Server 2008 on my Home PC and after the initial period I will move it across to our secondary server at school once the Pilot test is ready to go. After that is up and running the remainder of my work should be on the aesthetic side and any features the pilot group think could be useful.
If anyone has any suggestions for tutorials or guides for me to take a look at either post a comment or send me an email at rhys@rhysaronson.org
Some guides I have been looking at for the initial design/planning phase.
http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200503/ij_03_02_05a.html
http://www.alentus.com/hosting/sharepoint-guide.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/wss/2/all/adminguide/en-us/default.mspx?mfr=true
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Windows-SharePoint-Services.html
Likable Characters
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Opinions on March 22nd, 2010
Likable characters are an incredibly important part of any story (be it a Video Game, Book etc), I will caution here that when I refer to a character being likable I don’t mean them being likable as in nice I mean that the person reading/playing/watching is happy to see them show up in a particular scene
I don’t just mean the hero’s either if your villains don’t have something which can attract you to them and are going to be an actual presence in the story then they just aren’t going to be very good (or believable). Obviously you get around this by never actually showing the villain (Sauron in the Lord of the Rings for example) in any major capacity.
I think this is one of the great failings of many stories, if I absolutely loathe a character I don’t care what happens to them and thus any part of the storyline revolving around them is just going to seem like drivel to me. because I have no investment in what is happening to them.
If we take Final Fantasy IX as an example and compare the two main villains of the piece; Garland and Kuja, these two are vastly different characters and you can see why Kuja is one of the most beloved villains of the series. He is enigmatic, and has a kind of twisted charm about him, he is a cultured man and when he realises his own mortality and that knowledge tears his mind apart causing him to obliterate Terra it is one of the most powerful moments in the game despite having only a peripheral involvement of any of the protagonists. Then we take Garland, a robotic character who is evil and although having a large amount of game time concentrating on him did nothing to draw me in to his story, to care about his fate at all other than as an obstacle in the path of the characters.
Having a generic hero who isn’t particularly likable is a lot easier to get away with because people find it a lot easier to identify with someone who isn’t spending his off time kicking puppies or feasting on the souls of the dead or whatever, it does however help to separate a good story from a great one.
So what makes a character likable? It is a combination of things, and rather individual to the person.
How the character is shown and described both in physical appearance as well as body language is imperative as well as how well that fits to their personality.
How does the character act towards others, what make the other characters react they way they do? Is the character charming? prideful? reserved? wrathful? all these things (and others but you get the idea) have their place and it is a careful balancing act for the writers to make them believable but still make them stand out as an individual. You can’t just stick something in and call it an ancient evil and be done with it because if you do you get final bosses like Borderlands which make no sense and leave your players thinking “What The Fuck! that was dumb as shit”.
In today’s world of Voice Acting how the character sounds is almost as important as the writing, try not to be like Final Fantasy XIII’s Vanille and make me want to cut my own throat every time they speak, or in the worst case Final Fantasy X’s Tidus who is supposedly a heroic badass as well as sounding like a whiny 15 year old acts like a whiny 15 year old with daddy issues.
Do you have a hated character? or one you particularly love? If anyone is actually reading this I would be interested to know in the comments.
Tales of Phantasia
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Video Games on February 17th, 2010
This is a review I wrote many years ago so please let the horrible english have a pass.
SNES: Tales of Phantasia (IMPORT)
-A friend of mine told me to try out Tales of Phantasia one day when I was bitching about being boredm this was to be the start of a beautiful journey through one of the greatest RPG’s of the SNES era, one which unfortunately has only recently become available in an official English language version (which I now own.)
The main protagonist of this adventure is Cless a young swordsman who is thrust into time traveling adventure when his parents are slaughtered while out hunting. Admittedly a rather cliché start to what is otherwise a fantastic piece of writing (originally starting as a novel by the programmer Yoshiharu Gotanda) The characters and story is very classic RPG but taken in a completely different and original direction, the characters become very fleshed out and the player will either become attached to them or grow to dislike them. I really enjoyed it and you most likely will too.
The Linear Motion Battle system was the forerunner to the system present in Tales of Symphonia. This 2D combat is fantastically simple system to pick up but oddly difficult to master. It blends strategy with action to make for a unique experience on the Super Nintendo. This game like so many of the classic RPG’S of the time and you may really struggle at certain points of the game as even the normal monsters who appear randomly can be incredibly difficult and a supply of apple and orangee gummies (Health and TP respectively) will defiantly not go astray.. Button mashing just wont work do the job for you. Fortunately you can set your party members to specific strategies (styles of combat) either before or mid battle whereby you can inform them how to use their TP (Technical Power) and this can be the essential to getting through the length of a dungeon. The Game is split into 3 specific areas of play dungeons/cities the overworld map and combat. The game is filled with NPC’s each with an interesting thing to say (although I must admit many of the NPC’s are much more interesting in the DeJap translation, this applies to various cut scenes as well but does not detract much from the official version)
Released in 1995 at a for the time whopping 48 MB’s this was an exemplary example of what sound in RPG’s should be like. With 32MB’s associated with the game and 16MB’s just for sound this game had what is considered by many to be the greatest sound-track of the era, fantastical orchestrated music accompanying some incredibly cheesy voice acting, it was one of the fore-runners to today’s voice acting, throughout the battles you will hear the names of moves called out and a victory cry of Yatta! (All Right!) By the exuberant half-elf mage Arche
Although compared to today’s multi-million dollar productions (such as the new version of FF III) it does begin to appear extremely dated for the SNES the graphics were up in the higher echelons of the industry, with great art direction the world manages to come quite readily to life and the watercolour theme comes through well.
Closing Comments This game may be difficult, it may be becoming dated but it will always hold a place in my heart as one of the most fantastic gaming experiences I have ever had. Its kept me busy for hours on end even once I had finished the game as it is chock full of side quests and Easter eggs for me to ferret out and enjoy. I would defiantly suggest this game to any lover of the classic SNES style RPG’s or anyone ready to spend some time with a classic game to see what I am talking about, I assure you, you wont be dissatisfied with the experience. But I warn you may become as infatuated and whittle away hundreds of hours playing through this game. This game tends to evoke either love or hate not many end up in between. Presentation 9/10 A highly polished game that was a absolute pleasure to look at and listen too. Graphics 8/10 Slightly dated but endearing all the same. Game Play 9/10 Fast and hard, not for the faint of heart but worth the effort, this will engross many a gamer. Sound 10/10 The Top of the SNES ranks for sound, this game has one of the best orchestrated sound tracks in a game ever made, cheesy voice acting aside. Lasting Appeal 8.5 Many hours in the main game with plenty to search for and do, and although like most RPG’s for many one play through is usually enough. The game is chock full of enough extras to make it worth spending plenty of extra time with. Overall 9/10
Co-Opp LAN 5.0
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Co-Opp on January 18th, 2010
So another Co-Opp LAN done and dusted, a great time was had by all!
First off I would like to say a thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible.
Deviant gets the biggest praise for all his work on the LAN software and general organisation awesomeness.
Also D’Sin, Benneh, Lely, Emmeh, Sintrix, Jinx and Alars all put in a huge effort!
Friday started it all off with paintball which I was unfortunately unable to attend due to work but I hear was brutal good fun, After that about 19 of us showed up in the city for a ferry to Manly to see Los Capitanes play (Shoutout to Cleanoff and Jerkins both members of the band). We got there rather early and headed to the beach where we saw a fellow all on his lonesome practicing Fire Twirling, after the event (and picking up some social lubricant (We got props for our taste in beer from a random passer-by too!) we headed back to Bennehs for a few drinks (Many thanks to Ben’s family for putting up with all us rowdy folks in their home).
Next Day started with everyone waking bleary eyed and heading out for bowling which was dominated by Benneh and Thimz. Most of us improved on our second game (I nearly doubled my score) and we got to meet The Baines for the first time. Some Air Hockey was played and Moe (Who is ripped by the way) decided he had no reason to keep the puck on the table.
After heading home and packing up my gear (I need my chair) I headed in for the 4 PM start, Setup went relatively quickly and after fixing a quick PEBKAC error (who would have guessed we need to connect the switches to each other for things to work) things were off. With LAN software providing tunes a great social atmosphere was present as people got to the gaming and wandered around chatting to people some had never seen in the real world before.
The TF2 tourney was delayed by some power issues (Powerfang is not allowed to bring a power board next time!) but a fair amount of TF2 Pub Stack was going on with 2 full 24 player servers. Teams were random to try minimise skills stacking. A lot of fun cheering as the vicious gibbing went on and Team One (featuring me!) defeated Benneh’s Bitches in the final to take the crown avenging their loss in the second round.
Jinx cooked dinner of sausages for everyone (And one Parma!) and we got straight into Dodgeball downstairs, Crowd envolvement was pretty huge is and after a fierce and elongated tournament due to a ladder issue Team Powerfang took this out over Sintrix’s team with Powerfang managing to injure his ankle in the last round (after subbing for an extra game here and there as well!).
The rest of the event saw sporadic games of Rockband, CS: Source, COD4, AOE 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, two more competitions were run A CSS tourney taken out by Benneh’s Bitches (I believe!) and a two team PUG COD4 Team Deathmatch with the winners getting a years subscription to Kaspersky
We wrapped up around 3 PM and people started to head home.
Overall this was our most successful LAN yet with 53 attendees and despite a few power issues I think everyone had a great time. It was great to see so many Co-Oppians from around the country and I think that is what makes this such a fantastic and social event and I hope to see you all again in six months for our next major LAN.
If anyone has any suggestions or if you are a non-coppian and want to see what we are all about please head over to www.co-opp.net or email me at rhys@hysaronson.org .
The people left at 3:15
Demon’s Souls
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Video Games on January 8th, 2010
Demon’s Souls is an Action RPG set in the medieval kingdom of Boletaria which has been taken over by a Demonic Fog. While the story of the game isn’t fantastic it is interesting enough for the player to keep playing without groaning every time a (skipable) cut scene appears.
The game world is dark and oppressive, it does an amazing job of giving the impression that you are all alone in a hostile and beautiful landscape. From Software have obviously put a lot of work into all the designs from the realistic armor sets and weapons to the vast vistas you sometimes stumble upon while exploring the dungeons. Some of the lesser enemies are a tad generic but the boss Demons are a sight to behold, both massive and fearsome. For such a good looking game it runs pretty well with only a few choppy areas when a lot of effects are going off.
The player starts out by choosing one of the origin classes which vary in their starting stats and equipment but can be developed into whatever area the player wishes without too much trouble. After a short tutorial your character is killed and drawn into the nexus in soul form (where they have less health and a blue glow surrounding them) a state which you will be spending a large portion of the game in after a short bit of story it is straight into the action.
The real meat of the game is the combat which is punishing, responsive and an amazing amount of fun. While the controls are relatively simple they provide the player with a dearth of options to tackle any particular situation. A shield can be used to both block and parry attacks (opening the foe up for a critical strike) and is generally required for most characters, or a weapon can be wielded two handed for increased speed and strength. Combat is all about timing and positioning and while it is brutal it does not cheat like so many game do to be difficult, every foe is a threat and should not be taken lightly or they will do a reasonable job of ripping your face off.
The games multi player is spectacularly implemented with players able to help each other not just in co-op play but by leaving short messages with warnings or suggestions about the area ahead and the blood stains left by a players most recent death showing their mistakes.
PvP is interesting in that you invade other players worlds which can lead to a bit of frustration as you fight a group of enemies and a black phantom comes up behind and cuts you into fifty different pieces.
Demon’s Souls is an often difficult sometimes frustrating but almost always fun game with a lot of atmosphere and style and while doing so dosen’t fall into the trap of trying to be ‘edgy’ for the sake of being edgy like so many games do. I suggest it to anyone who doesn’t mind a challenge. My only real gripe is that sometimes the camera can make the platforming sections or fights more difficult then they should be.
Rating: Buy it!
Since this is my first review I will describe my rating system below:
NGRGHBLGRG NGGGH! This game is so perfect it has sent the reviewer into a spasm of joy.
Buy It! these are games which are a lot of fun and will be worth the money for almost every one.
Try It! is my rating for games which are fun but should probably be borrowed/rented or purchased with a 7 day return policy because they aren’t for everyone
Don’t Buy It! This game is awful and should only be purchased if you are incredibly bored and it costs less than $10
KILL IT WITH FIRE! This game is an affront to the gaming gods and should be burned on sight, It goes beyond shovelware.
Faster, Stronger, Better
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Personal on December 1st, 2009
So getting fit is off to a good start (admittedly of a long journey), I got properly started a week ago and am easing myself into it. I currently jog as much as possible (and walk fast the rest) for about twenty minutes and spend 5-10 minutes or so at the end to warm down with some Arakan, push ups and sit ups.
After the weather we have been having lately I have been jogging in the early (and sometimes not so early) evening when its an appropriate temperature. At first I just wore my normal shoes which while really comfortable for walking in I have found to be quite painful for running in so I bought myself some Asics Gel Kayano 15′s which are very comfortable to jog in.
Other than that I have moved the bar fridge from my room to my office and stocked it with some stuff so I can have sandwiches etc at work and not have to head to the food hall at East gardens and eat things that are bad for me (I am afraid I cannot be trusted).
Microsoft Exams
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Study on November 25th, 2009
So I have an exam this Friday, the final one for my MCSA the 70-284 (Microsoft Exchange) and have been studying the get all the information that has slipped out of my mind the last couple months.
The MS Press books are great as are a number of other training guides (i.e. Measure Up)
The biggest help for all my exams have been CBT Nuggets and I suggest that anyone involved in studying for almost any IT certification take a look into them.
One surprise has been returning to Sadikhov which used to be fairly sleezy but a valuable resource and it seems to have redone its image and a great place for information.
Update: I got 908/1000 weeee!
Cheers
Rhys
Getting Fit
Posted by Rhys Aronson in Personal on October 30th, 2009
It may surprise some of you but I used to be a rather fit fellow (what with Sailing and Martial Arts every week) but seem to have fallen into a bit of a rut since moving down to Sydney and its starting to bug me. My main problem is that generic exercise has the tendency to bore me and I have no idea where to get started with a new Martial Art (they don’t teach Arakan down here). But I have resolved to give it a go at the least so am going to force myself to start jogging at lunch time at work. Hopefully some up beat jazz will keep me going (I have recently become a big fan of a number of jazz bands thanks to a particular member of Co-Opp.)
If anyone has any better ideas then jogging please for the love of god let me know.
I promise to keep you all posted (If I do actually have any readers out there)