Posted by Ub3rG33k on Apr 18, 2009 in
Tech Over the post 6 months or so, I’ve become heavly involved with recording audio for a number of projects we work on, over at Fictionshed. If you listen back to the earlier podcasts (Fictioncasts), you’ll here me say, that you don’t need any specialised equiptment to record your voice, and a standard PC, with cheap mic will do…..the rest of this post will be me eating my words.
Due to getting a not the quality I wanted from the cheap headphone/mic combination, Tony kindly lent me a mixer and a couple of mics. This did improve the quality, however gave me some hard background noise.
In January, and with the ScutterCast in mind, I decided to splash out and get myself a MacBook Pro, as this was the only way I could find to do an enhanced podcast. The sound quality with the MacBook was a massive improvement, however the internal mic gave me a “roomy” type sound to my voice, which has been ok, however I needed something a little more direct.
After weeks of looking at the Samson C01U, the SL300 USB Studio Microphone and even the Samson G-Track, however Tony suggested I get the same as him, which was the M-Audio Fast Track Pro, as I already had the mic
Well Friday it finally turned up, and due to spending my Friday evening editing together the latest ScutterCast, I’ve only had chance to get to play with it today.
All I can say, is this thing is MINT ! It’s exactly the sound I’ve been wanting, it’s crisp, it’s clean, and NO background noise !
I now feel I’m set up to record the machinima project, this will also mean a lot less editing on the ScutterCasts, as I usually spend an age increasing the volume on my voice.
My setup is now as follows
MacBook Pro
M-Audio Fast Track Pro
AKG D650S Microphone
Stand & Pop Shield
I’ve included a small audio clip so you can hear the quality
maudio_test.mp3
Tags: amp, audio, background, background noise, crisp, eating my words, editing, equiptment, fast, fast track, Fictioncasts, Fictionshed, Friday, friday evening, headphone, internal mic, lent, m, M-Audio, mac, macbook, massive improvement, mic, mint, mixer, noise, number, podcast, post, pro, quality, recording, rest, S Microphone, Samson, samson c01u, ScutterCast, sl300, sound, sound quality, studio microphone, tony, track, voice
Posted by Ub3rG33k on Apr 18, 2009 in
Tech Over the past couple of months I’ve been having a bit of an issue with spam bots signing up, and posting spam all over my forums. I spent the best part of 2 days trying to combat this but to no avail. I was just about to tear my hair out, when I stubled accross a brilliant idea over at awesomestyles.com
The idea was to create a custom field which was compulsery on signup.
Custom profile fields are a feature of phpBB3. They allow you, as admin, to easily add fields that a user can fill out to their profile – such as location, age and so on. It is possible to use a custom profile field to help and prevent spam bots from registering on your forum.
Adding a new custom profile field
Firstly you need to login to your admin forum and click the Users and groups tab
From the left hand menu select the Custom profile fields from the Users menu
This will show all the custom profile fields currently added. Add a new one from the box in the bottom right of the page.
Use a name in the textbox such as ‘stop_spam’ or ‘no_spam’ (17 characters max, a-z and underscores only allowed). Select Dropdown box from the dropdown box and click Create field
The settings
You’ll now be shown a more detailed form. The field type and identification fields should already be filled in. Make sure that the Display profile field option is set to Yes and the Display on registration screen and Required field options are checked.
Enter some text for the bottom 3 boxes. In this tutorial the Field title is Are you a spambot?, the description is Sorry we have to ask and the options are just Yes and No.
Once you’ve entered this text click Profile type specific options and you’ll be taken to the next stage in adding the custom profile field.
The default settings here should be fine. Both drop down boxes need to be set to Yes. This means that “Yes” is the default option when on the registration page and that a value of “Yes” will cause an error. This means that whoever is registering will have to change this value to “No” – the idea being a spam bot would not know to do this so won’t be able to sign up to your forum. Click the Language specific options button. This will allow you to translate the text you entered (Are you a spam bot, etc) in step 1 to any other languages installed on your forum. Once that has been completed click Save.
That’s it! This won’t stop all spam bots however it will help to prevent some spam and it is a very easy system to implement.
Using just 1 field didn’t work for me, however adding 2, worked just a treat, my registration screen look like the below, and since implementing a couple of days ago, no more spam bots !!
Reg screen
Tags: admin, admin forum, avail, bot, bottom right, Box, brilliant idea, caption, click, couple, custom, custom profile, default option, default settings, Display, drop down boxes, Dropdown, field, field options, forum, idea, left hand menu, menu, option, page, phpbb3, profile, profile field, profile type, Reg, registration, registration screen, screen, spam, stop, stop spam, text, type
Posted by Ub3rG33k on Apr 4, 2009 in
PS3 a, it has a 900 degrees steering wheel
b, it has a clutch pedal
c, it has a 6 way gearbox with reverse
d, I have a lot of racing games for the PS3
So one drunken night (last Friday), I decided to finally take the plunge and buy it. This Tuesday it turned up, and OMG, I cannot believe how good this thing is.
First thing I noticed was the build quality, this thing is solid as a rock.
The wheel itself, feels very realistic, with the smooth 900 degree motion, and a leather covering, it make it feel like your driving an actual car.
Next the pedals, each of them has a different pressure to emulate brake and clutch, and feel really realistic.
Finally, the shifter, I guess this is the thing I’m most impressed about. In 1 mode, you have a realistic 6 way gearbox with reverse, and in the other way you have a simple up/down gear shifter. On the shifter section there is also DPAD for navigating games menu systems, and the 8 controller buttons.
Although the above is fantastic, and I can’t express just how impressed I am with them.
I do however I have a slight issue, I have nowhere sensible to clamp this (I know, I know, I should have thought about this in advance,…..but I was drunk). Currently I have this clamped to the table in the front room, which is ok for the time being, however with it only being about a foot from the floor, I’m sure I’m going to get a spinal injury, as I’m currently hunched over attempting to reach the pedals and steering wheel.
As you’ve probably guessed, this explains the Playseat A1GP. I thought, as I’ve got the Wheel, pedals and gearshift, I thought I might as well go the full hog. After much research, I decided on the Playseat A1GP, this seat is designed to work with the Logitech G25, it has the screw mounting points for pedals and wheel to fix them in place. I had to buy an addition component to mount to gear shift to the side of the chair, however now everything is fixed.
Now the whole thing is bolted together, words cannot describe how realistic this thing is, with games like Gran Turismo and GRID, you have the option for the full 900 degrees steering, which is as close to driving a you can get.
If you have a spare £600, I can highly recommend this setup, it gives a whole new lease of life for my driving games.
More images below
This controller work on the PS3 and PC, and a list of games that will that will make use of it’s full features can be found at the below link
Official Logictech stuff below.
Transform your racing experience into a virtual Monza. Feel your car’s weight shift and tires slip as you navigate corners, thanks to the powerful, dual-motor force feedback transmission. Quickly select the correct gear with either the six-speed shifter or the F1-style paddles. Wrap your hands tightly around the real leather wheel, and slam on the steel pedals – gas, brake, and clutch. You’re not playing games anymore, you’re racing.
Control
- Dual-motor force feedback transmission: Experience quiet, powerful force feedback effects. You’ll feel every bump, bank, and curb, recreated with remarkable fidelity.
- Six-speed stick shift: Quickly select between six forward gears and a push-down reverse gear. Or switch to sequential shifting mode.
- 900 degree wheel rotation: Turns 2 ½ times, lock-to-lock, to accurately replicate real steering dynamics.
- Metal gas, brake, and clutch pedals: Control your car intuitively with sturdy, true-to-life pedals.
- Two paddle shifters: Keep both hands on the wheel while changing gears.
- 12 programmable buttons plus D-pad: Easily map game functions to your preference with the powerful software.
Comfort
- Hand-stitched leather: the 28 cm (11″) wheel is wrapped in real leather to help keep your hands comfortable during long racing sessions.
System Requirements
PC
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- PC with Pentium® processor or compatible
- 256 MB RAM
- 20 MB of available hard disk space
- CD-ROM drive
- USB port
- Windows® XP or Windows Vista™
- Games that support Logitech® Force Feedback
PLAYSTATION®
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- PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system
- PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system
Package Contents
-
- Logitech® G25 Racing Wheel
- Shifter module
- Gas, brake, and clutch pedals
- Power supply
- Software CD-ROM
- User documentation
- 2-year warranty
Tags: a1gp, clutch, clutch pedal, controller buttons, drunken night, g25, games menu, gearbox, hog, last friday, logitech, logitech g25 steering wheel, menu systems, pedals, playseat, plunge, PS3, racing games, screw, shifter, solid as a rock, wheel
