This week we have hackers running a DDOS attack on EA (Electronic Arts), preventing servers across all platforms from doing their jobs, that is, to serve data to paying customers. Customers that have paid for a game in order to access it’s online features, such as multiplayer. Do these hackers hate EA? Do they hate Battlefield? Are they head-over-heels in love with Call of Duty so much that they want to eliminate it’s closest competition? Continue reading →
Bungie has announced Destiny, a persistent, online, Massively Multiplayer First Person Shooter. It seems a bit early to announce a game that won’t be available for at least another 10 months and probably a year, but Bungie felt it was the right time.
I have my doubts, even this early on, about whether Destiny is something to even pay attention to at this time. I strongly feel that rather than get pulled into the hype cyclone, gamers should take a “wait and see” approach even considering a “trusted” developer like Bungie.
In addition to occasionally writing for fizmarble.com, I play in a band. I write, record, and produce music. I depend on my various PCs for this and also among other things, an audio interface.
For years I used a Presonus Firepod (Later called the FP10) generously donated by my friend Jaret. It originally cost quite a bit (450-600 dollar range), and so I didn’t hesitate to pay the $100 repair fee when it eventually crapped out.
It took me from Windows Vista to Windows 7 and eventually Windows 8 on the same desktop PC. It worked beautifully on Windows 8 by the way, but the desktop was ~6 years old by this time, and a failing hard drive and old hardware beckoned me to upgrade to a new PC, a PC with *gasp* Windows 8.
My unsupported Presonus Firebox and Firepod
Of course I didn’t think twice about the Presonus Firepod’s compatibility with the Windows 8 PC. After all, I had been using the Firepod on Windows 8 for several months on my older, upgraded PC. Why would the new PC behave any different?
Ahh, poor, poor ignorance. Little did I know that the “great” minds at Presonus would be so cunning, so conniving. Whereas my Firepod worked fantastically with Windows 8 when it was upgraded from Windows 7 with the Firepod driver already installed, installing the driver on a Windows 8 PC was a different story altogether. No no, poor ignorance, Presonus had behind the scenes altogether blocked their driver installer from even running on a Windows 8 PC. So, if you had the driver installed first and then upgraded to Windows 8, you’re golden. If on the other hand you ignorantly try to install the Firepod/FP10 driver on Windows 8, you will receive a popup from Presonus telling you that the driver is not supported on your Operating System.
Gee Presonus, if you wanted me gone, why didn’t you just say so? This is how you support your customers? By forcibly blocking the driver installer from working on a modern OS. This ensures that customers need to upgrade. But if you think this customer is going to upgrade to another Presonus product, you have sorely miscalculated.
Instead, a reasonably priced and very stable audio interface now sits on my desktop where once sat the Firepod/FP10. Now, an Avid Fast Track C600 processes my audio, including the recordings of Twiztid praising the demise of Presonus in a chorus unfit to print here.
Cheaper, and with a smaller footprint too.
If you are in the same boat, check out the Fast Track C600. Amazon has them for a pretty sweet deal (duh), and Presonus can say they have taken my last dollar. Now, let’s make some music!
Update: Reader Alex has shared in the comments section a workaround to the installer issue. Follow his method if you want to keep that Presonus pumping out the jams. He writes:
1. Download the “FireBox Installer v5.13 – PC” from their website (http://www.presonus.com/support/downloads/firebox)
2. Right click on the downloaded file “PreSonus_FireBox_Installation.exe” and choose “Properties”
3. Click on “Compatibility” tab
4. Check “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and select “Windows 7″
5. Click on “OK” and run the installer again and it should work this time and install all the drivers flawlessly
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We’ve learned a lot in the last several months doing this fizmarble thing. Stay tuned, and if your friends like the things we like (video games, comics, movies, music, random crap) then tell them about us. See you soon.
In just four more days the highly anticipated Season 5 premiere of Sons of Anarchy will be hitting the airwaves on FX. This show never disappoints to bring the intensity and drama. I’ve had a chance to screen the first two episodes (humblebrag?) so I thought I’d give you some little tidbits to whet your appetite and get you through til Tuesday!
It’s been a busy week, with all of the leftover cake and enchiladas and the birthdaying, but it’s time for another announcement. High energy beat please…
(hit the play button for intro theme song)
We are always looking to be the best we can be. Scott brings his many years of experience in the entertainment industry to Fizmarble and because of this, you can expect to see an increase in the quality of our content and an improvement in our general demeanor.
Scott has worked in film and television in several capacities and his knowledge of production gives us a new edge. Combining that with our talented musicians, writers, and visual artists, we look forward to entertaining and informing you and your friends in new and creative ways.
So enjoy your day, listen to some Skrillex, (or shut it off immediately) and prepare yourself for the goodness that is to come.
Today I received a phone call from a person (woman?) with an Indian accent claiming to be with Microsoft. She said that they had received reports from my computer that showed that I had been the victim of “online infections”. These “infections” would need to be dealt with and this cold calling savior was there to rescue me.
Unfortunately for these scammers, I am actually a CompTIA A+ certified computer technician, and I was on to them from the moment they claimed to know something about my computer. Here’s how the scam works, and how to protect yourself.
Raining, and still at the dock, but at least it’s not working.
The human mind is a wonderful, awful, complex, painfully simple thing. It simultaneously runs all of our body’s important faculties, and yet I can’t remember where I just set my screwdriver. The brain manages our every muscle contraction and relaxation at a subconscious level that we could never achieve with any focus of our own. Even just walking and carrying on any real conversation is a testament to this. And despite all of this beauty and order, our thoughts boil down to the simplest ingredients. We seek, naturally, comfort for ourselves and a path of least resistance that would ultimately yield a boring and unfulfilling life. It is in these times we are blessed with discomfort and resistance.
A couple of weeks ago I entered into a contest. The competition was to create the best “ringtone” for cell phones. Each entrant was allowed two entries. I chose one silly (Dubstep Ringtone), and one serious (Sailing on the Sunset). They were both defeated, and I lost the contest.
Not wanting these to go to waste, I offer them now and forever as ringtones for your cell phones.
