Tag Archives: STO

Skype, aka, “Hey everyone it’s 2003 and I’m having a grand ol time!”

Posted by on March 25, 2010 1 comment

I know I know, I am on near about everything in the ether but I never managed to get around to using Skype.  I don’t know what it was but I just never found a use for it.  I had Google Talk for voice and video, I have Google Voice for calling outside of wherever I would need to call, and about 5 different IM clients that I can chat on.  So why would I need Skype?  Well, to be honest I am still occasionally asking myself that question.  So here are some pros and cons

Pro: It does Audio and Video chat
Con: So does near about everything else, Google Chat mainly.

Pro: It does Screen Sharing
Con: So does MSN messenger through Remote Desktop which also allows for screen helping

Pro: It does Conference calls with multiple people
Con: I have been using Ventrillo and Team Speak, Of course those require a dedicated server.

Pro: Sound and Video Quality are amazing
Con: So are Google Chat’s

Pro: International Calling to a Landline number!
Con: 1: I don’t know anyone overseas and 2: Google Voice does that

Pro: Mobile App that allows voice to PC connections
Con: Ok No con here, that’s just fraking cool

Pro: All of that is in one package.  You don’t need to run Google Voice, Talk, MSN, and Ventrillo, to do what Skype is doing all on it’s lonesome.
Con: Personally, I believe that these other programs sometimes do their tasks better than Skype.

This morning the Skype mobile app got release to the Verizon based phones and I was really looking forward to it!  Until, that is, I ran it and discovered that to even run it had to turn off my WiFi.  Seriously?  I have not even seen a app on the droid that requires you to either be on or off WiFi.  When I am at home I leave WiFi on so I can make use of it.  Now if I want to use Skype on the phone, at all, I have to have WiFi off.  That just seems lame.  Haven’t had the chance to test out the quality of the calls yet so Stand by for that one.

The Desktop app, however, is pretty damn stellar.  I know that version 4.X has been out for like a year now but again, it’s new to me.  I did quite a bit of testing as was impressed with the audio quality (especially if someone has a really good Mic).  The video quality was about as expected.  I kind of expected the audio quality to drop when I added people to the call but was happy that it didn’t.  Even running Skype in the background and STO (Star Trek Online) in the foreground was great.  Add in the screen sharing, which helped my father install some somftware with my guidance.  I even ran the screen share with my friend while I was running STO and he claimed it showed it running smooth, which amazes me.

So yeah, I will be adding Skype to the arsenal of contact methods for me, if you would like, my Skype username is Wizzer2801.  Feel free to pop on by for a chat.

Picard never Hit me!

Posted by on March 10, 2010 1 comment

Some new Star Trek news real quick for today.  I am, of course, still playing Star Trek Online which has been going good with one small exception that I will go into in a moment, but I want to discuss a few other Trek related things first.  DragonCon is coming and quite a few new guests have been announced and many of them are Trek related.  I don’t know if Shatner and Nimoy got back and passed the word about how much fun they had but there is a HUGE guest list of Trek people:

I am eagerly awaiting the chance to find and get signed a picture of Q and Sisko in their boxing gear from DS9.  This list, no doubt, will be growing as we get closer to the time of the Con, which is Sept.

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3-6 of this year.  I will in attendance and, if I can manage it (without ending up with a restraining order), I will get as many interviews as I can with some of these folks.  I would love to hear what they think about some of the more modern versions of Trek either in Game or other new media.

Also on the radar is a new project that some friends and I are working on….the creation of the “Maroon Monster” costume, which I understand is the nickname for the Wrath of Khan style uniform from Star Trek.  The patterns have been ordered and work will start soon.  I will be more than happy to post progress pics and eventually a full production blog on the process.

Ok, lastly, my progress in STO has slowed only slightly because of a problem I am having.  I made it to Deep Space 9 in the game and noticed that you can purchase a Danube class Runabout from one of the vendors.  This is a small Shuttle that you can fly and outfit with weapons.  It’s purely a luxury item and fun to fly.  The problem lies in that when you buy it, all of your stats on your equipment get cut in half, or at least they display that way.  No one has determined exactly what happens.  I put in a ticket about the issue and was brushed off with a “Yeah we know about it, we’ll fix it soon”.  Normally I would be ok with that except that, from what I have read about this bug from others, No one is sure if it’s a display issue or a real game effecting issue and no GM has stated one way or the other.  Players also claim if you decommishion the shuttle, your stats get resolved, and that’s great but I paid 149k credits for the shuttle and I would hate to waste that.

So I mentioned all this to the GM’s in the ticket I submitted hoping to get an answer on if it was a display issue or real issue, and if they would take the item from me and refund the amount.  Neither of which happened.  I was told again “Yeah we know about it and the devs will get to it” with a side glancing “we don’t give refunds”.  So as of now, you can still purchase the Danube class ship from DS9, it WILL break your stats, and there is NO WAY to get a refund even if you put in multiple tickets.  How hard is it to get a ticket, remove the item, refund the credits?  it has no effect on the economy because the goods are removed.  It would remove the headaches of dealing with players afflicted with this bug, and if you remove the item from sale and implement it when it’s fixed, all the better!  My ticket is still open and there is a thread open on the STO forums.

Sigh.