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What is a 'Personal Computer?' (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:49:31 -0500

Jan 31, 2012 - 09:49:31 CST
On Monday, Canalys stated that, if you count Tablets as PCs, Apple has become the largest client-PC manufacturer. This, when it hit the blogosphere, caused the entirely predictable Nerd-rage you'd expect. From the depths of "I'm too emotionally invested in this" came the "The iPad is not a f***ing PC!" comments. From mayfly memories came comments like "Well seeing as iPads don't have Flash, USB ports, built in DVD players, real keyboards, things like Microsoft Word, hmmmm yeaaaaa, they totally count as PCs..."

It's so funny it kind of hurts.

First off, to that last guy... You know what this is? It's a PC that doesn't run Flash, have USB ports, and has no built in DVD player. It has a real keyboard, I'll give you that. Secondly, none of those things seem to actually define what a 'Personal Computer' is.

Merriam Webster defines a 'personal computer' as "a general-purpose computer equipped with a microprocessor and designed to run especially commercial software (as a word processor or Internet browser) for an individual user." Now that I've thoroughly confused you, let's actually talk about this. While the iPad is more restricted and limited than a Windows, Mac or Linux machine, it still is (by all formal definitions) a Personal Computer. It's a different form factor than desktops and laptops, but it's still a device that runs many kinds of software to perform virtually every kind of function.

And before someone starts listing the limits of iOS as an operating system, let me remind you that iOS has more in common with a modern desktop operating system than what any of my 386es are running. Having an exclusive source of software does not make it less of a PC.

The only thing an iOS device cannot do that other PCs can is author its own software. It's true, you can't code an iPad app on an iPad. But is that really a requirement of a "client-PC?" I don't think it is, especially when you consider that the vast majority of PCs will never be used to author a single piece of software.

Finally, you may say "The only difference between my smart phone and an iPad is screen size -- do you consider that a Personal Computer?" Well, actually, kind of - yeah. The very fact that we keep calling smartphones "phones" is kind of silly, and only done so out of habit. Should we include smartphones in the client-PC metric? That's a good question.

I honestly haven't made up my mind on the subject. If we include tablets in "PC" manufacturing, maybe we should -- the smartphone is essentially a pocket computer. Even the devices from ten years ago are faster computers than my first "PC." On the other hand, while an iPad makes a decent laptop replacement, I wouldn't say the same over the exact same hardware in an iPhone.

In the end, I think it's time we started grouping them all together for mass metrics, but separating by category -- including splitting laptops from desktops. Pardon the pun, but while we're comparing apples to oranges, can we at least all agree they're all fruit?
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Dear Illinois Tollway: Hire New Graphic Designers (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:49:45 -0500

Jan 23, 2012 - 09:49:45 CST
So this weekend I was in Milwaukee, and like all of the times I travel up to Wisconsin from my current home in Indiana, I take the Tollway through Chicago (as it saves quite a bit of time, and frankly with my IPASS I forget I'm paying tolls). This month the tolls on said freeway were raised dramatically, and to inform motorists a series of signs and banners began to appear in Oasis buildings that span this network of roads. I, of course, found this incredibly annoying. The banners themselves that is, not the toll increases. One of the banners which has been adorning spare wall space in Oasis after Oasis is this particular display. It features two photos, one to represent the Tollway in 1958 and the other 2012. 1958's is, of course, displayed as a photo in an album. 2012's is... on a generic tablet of some sort? The 1958 image is fine, but that "current" image gives me pause. See, there are several problems with it. Let's put aside the annoying disappearing hands which I guess are needed to show that it's meant to be a tablet (otherwise it would just look like a black frame - but try holding a tablet like that, not super comfortable). In the lower left hand corner, we have this:While the 1958 picture got a nice font, 2012 gets... a digital time read out from the 1980s? I don't know what it's supposed to be, honestly. Is the digital photo displayed on the tablet supposed to have that embedded in it? Is it part of the tablet's operating system? Neither makes sense, as no digital camera would embed the date like that (or at least in that font), nor would a tablet need to use such an old-style digital readout as part of its operating system. It's like someone's idea of the future was locked into 1987, but had to paste the image into an iPad-like device at the last minute. Secondly, the 1-1-2012 (while obviously in reference to the date the tolls changed) doesn't make sense with the context of the picture. You'd think they'd at least get a winter scene for the ad (or leave off of the January date) when I can clearly see trees with thick, green foliage in the image. Not very convincing guys... And in the end, I'm left wondering why someone thought it might be a good idea to show a picture that must have been taken by someone driving the tollway... especially when next to another banner talking about the dangers of distracted driving. I have to say this entire thing looks like it was thrown together by a hack - and I'm left with the following conclusion: The Illinois Tollway needs to hire a new graphic designer.
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Why SOPA Is A Big Deal. (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:36:07 -0500

Jan 18, 2012 - 08:36:07 CST
A little while back I was asked by a reader of this site to comment on SOPA, and as today is the big blackout day of protest, I thought that I'd actually say a thing or two on the subject.

For the tiny percentage of readers who might choose to peruse my website but are unfamiliar with the legislation currently in the House and its counterpart, PIPA, in the US Senate, SOPA is the so called "Stop Online Piracy Act." It is, of course, objectively an attempt to combat online piracy backed by quite a few major entertainment corporations. On the surface this might not seem terrible, as I've written before that piracy is bad, but that's not why SOPA is scary.

See, unless you're a Martian chucking rocks at the Earth, you're already well aware that content piracy is already illegal - so you may be asking yourself "What does SOPA actually do?" Well, I'll tell you -- it pretty much guarantees an end to free speech online.

Okay, that may sound hyperbolic, but let me explain.

One of the greatest protections that has let the internet thrive over the last fifteen years is the one good thing to come out of the otherwise horrific law commonly referred to as the Communications Decency Act of 1996. What it says is that website operators are not legally responsible for what third parties post to their website. So, if say regular TRHOnline commenter Langland makes a libelous comment on my site, he'd be the one to get sued and not me. Likewise, the otherwise abominable DMCA continued these protections with the inclusion of Safe Harbor protections -- as long as I respond properly to DMCA takedown notices, I'm not responsible if Langland were to upload files that violated copyright laws to my site.

Frankly, it's how Youtube has managed to survive.

What SOPA does that is so dangerous to any site that relies on user generated content is that it changes the onus from the uploader to the site itself. Under SOPA, the website must self police. While a little blog like mine might be able to pull that off, one can only imagine what a nightmare that would be for any site with a sizable userbase.

Like, y'know, Facebook.

The scariest parts are the SOPA would also punish sites that merely provide information on how to get around anti-piracy measures. That's right, even talking about it becomes illegal. Now, it's been a while since I read Schenck v United_States, but last time I checked, telling someone how they might get the latest episode of The Mentalist wasn't on the same level as yelling fire in a crowded theater.

I know I've rambled a bit, and maybe this wasn't the best overview of the legislation -- but I hope it at least helped people think about it. People have prematurely called SOPA dead, but while the (scary as heck) DNS provisions will be stripped out... it's very much alive.

For further reading, The EFF has a wonderful overview online, and Google has some great information up as well.
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An Open Letter To Cracked.com (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:14:14 -0500

Jan 13, 2012 - 12:14:14 CST
Dear Cracked.com Staff,

You have a pretty big website, and while I am not a regular reader, I've enjoyed reading articles posted there from time to time. There's one particular list you've posted though which has me a bit angry, so I think it's time that I said something about it.

About a year ago, the article 5 Vampires That Could Beat Up Edward Cullen went up. Now, I hate Twilight as much as the next person with a modicum of taste, and the content of the list didn't bother me that much (although it wasn't exactly your site's most inspired moment). What bothered me is your use of this image of Orlok from Nosferatu.

Now this image is fully in the public domain. I don't claim any copyright on it, and would never presume as such. But where my issue lies isn't that you grabbed the image from my site, no. It's that rather than upload the image to your own server, you (a large website) decided to merely hotlink it from my site.

That's right, Cracked.com, which has its own CDN, steals every image on that article from another source.

Most are photo hosting services or blogspot, so those people wouldn't notice anything -- but my site is a personal one, and I pay for that bandwidth myself. When a writer is too lazy to right click, save-as, and reupload an image like that... well, it's just sort of dickish.

So, since I know people still read said article, I will now offer this ultimatum (that I assume will never be read -- but hey, I can pretend to be important for a minute): If you do not stop stealing my bandwidth by the end of the month, I will replace said image with something... less pleasant to look at.

I don't know what I'm going to do, probably nothing pornographic... probably... but something you, the staff of Cracked.com, won't want displayed on one of your webpages for certain.

Sincerely,
Trae Dorn
Proprietor of TRHOnline.com
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New Lt. Snorkel Album! Huzzah! (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:05:56 -0500

Jan 10, 2012 - 11:05:56 CST
So today I release into the wild another creation of my bizarre and mildly twisted mind. The fourth official release and the third full length album by Lt. Snorkel (who is me) is now available as a free download for one and all to enjoy.

You can Download the Tracks (or whole thing as a Zip file) right here. You should do it. Right now. Seriously.

The album, which I have titled "Mistakes I Made On Purpose," features 39 minutes of music in 11 tracks. A couple of which you may have heard before (although the album version of Thursday is significantly different than the preview version in some ways), but most of them are wholly new to you.

Some tracks are humorous, like "A J-Rock Song" and my cover of Sarah Brightman/Hot Gossip's "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper," while other tracks, like "Doubt," are totally serious. Comedy comes more easily to me than serious does as I can't help but feel pretentious when it comes to writing "normal" lyrics.

...whatever normal is.

This album also has a few more instrumental tracks than the previous release, Four Vagabonds and a Goat, did - five instead of two. "Four Vagabonds..." had fewer comedic songs too though, so I consider "Mistakes..." to be a bit of a return to my musical roots.

Do I even have musical roots? Eh, whatever.

In any case, you should download Mistakes I Made On Purpose, put it on your personal music player of choice, and listen to it on repeat. Seriously. It will make you feel better. I know I didn't do any music videos for the last album, and I don't know I'm going to do any for this one either. Mostly I just don't have a good idea for any of them at the moment, so it's just sort of how things go.

So yeah, enjoy.
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Anime, Piracy, Entitlement, and Ridiculousness (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:30:54 -0500

Jan 05, 2012 - 09:30:54 CST
So, as it's now been widely reported, this week Bandai Entertainment (one of the largest Anime distributors in the US) has announced that it will be discontinuing its North American operations in 2012. This is a major blow to the American Anime market, and the reasons for this collapse are myriad -- but one of the possible scape goats proffered for the collapse of the American portion of Bandai's Anime wing has been piracy.

Did piracy play a major part in this situation? I honestly don't know. Frankly, I don't think it was the largest contributing factor, but I can see how someone could come to that conclusion.

But whether piracy is responsible or not, I thought the one thing we could all agree on was the basic premise that it was, y'know, a bad thing. Even those friends I know who occasionally pirate stuff feel at least a little bad about it.

So, what amazed me was when people write articles placing some of the blame on pirates, there are now a bunch of responses not just defending piracy - but saying how it's beneficial.

Guys, I have something to tell you -- it's not 1995 anymore.

Fansubs used to be a positive force in the American Anime community. If you weren't into the genre fifteen years ago, you might not know exactly how hard it was to get ahold of new content. We used to wait years before a series would wander its way to American shores, and it was only a trickle compared to what was being produced.

But that was then.

These days, legal streams of Anime are available online in massive quantities. Almost every major series makes it to the states, and prices are so much cheaper for commercial copies than they used to be (I remember when I paid $30 for two dubbed episodes of a series on VHS and thought "Man, this has gotten inexpensive!"). You may only have to wait six months for a series to get a release in the United States now.

When Fansubs were important, six months was a fast turnaround time for the pirated copy.

The modern pirate does not do so because it's hard to get Anime. The modern pirate does not do so to promote the art form, watching their fansubs with a dorm TV lounge full of friends. The modern pirate isn't helping the community.

What the modern pirate is doing is being a selfish jackass.

There are many flaws with the modern copyright system, but regardless - copyright overall is a good thing. It costs real money to produce an animated series. It costs real money to license it. It costs real money to (under)pay voice talent. You don't have to buy Anime, but if you want to watch it you should at least pick a route that supports the system.

Free, legal streaming provided by people like Funimation or Hulu has ads which support the industry. Paid subscription streaming like Netflix pays money back into the industry. Watching it on friggin' Cartoon Network pays back into the industry.

Watching an episode you downloaded off of a Chinese streaming website? Not so much. You are not entitled to free entertainment guys. You just aren't. We, as a community, do not deserve stuff just because we want it - and to say so makes a person sound like an ungrateful, petulant child.

And I have no patience for that.
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Random Art - Queen Katherine of Crosarth (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:56:23 -0500

Jan 03, 2012 - 15:56:23 CST

So I took last week off of posting to this blog, and I swear I'll get this thing moving again, but I figured I'd try and post something so it doesn't stagnate any longer.

Today's random art is, for those unaware, Queen Katherine of Crosarth. She'll appear in Wednesday's comic, and will be showing up from time to time. Designing the Queen meant also determining women's fashion for the comic, and figuring out what I exactly wanted to do with it.

Men's fashion is easy when developing something pseudo-Victorian -- frankly, while small details go in and out of style for guys, major elements are pretty constant. For the dress on the Queen in this, I took inspiration from multiple time periods, from medieval to Edwardian, to come up with something sort of in between. The comic isn't beholden to any particular time period, so I wanted to evoke an aesthetic, not a specific year.

So yeah - this is what I came up with.
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What I learned in Japan (Cheesus)

Cheesus — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:07:16 -0500

Dec 23, 2011 - 20:07:16 CST
This is a private message
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A Happy Holiday Post (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:39:22 -0500

Dec 22, 2011 - 14:39:22 CST
Okay, so while my last two blog entries were technically holiday themed, frankly they've been negative... and the holidays are not a negative time of year for me.

Today is Yule, or at least it is where I am. As the actual point of the solstice was at 5:30 UTC, timezone tomfoolery made yesterday Yule for the Central Timezone and all points west from there until the international dateline (as 5:30 UTC was 11:30PM last night for the Central timezone), but most of the world sees it today. Man, when your religious holiday is determined on a natural cycle and a specific astronomical point stuff gets complicated.

In any case, Crysta and I are headed to Milwaukee tomorrow for the holidays. As I've said quite a few times in the past, Christmas is a multiday event in my family, and this year is no exception. We'll be bouncing between Chicago and Milwaukee this weekend, seeing various relatives from my side (and hopefully Crysta's brother Nick at some point -- but his work schedule is hard to navigate around). We'll be doing Christmas Eve in Chicago with my mom's side of the family, Christmas morning with my immediate family and spouses, and Christmas Day with my Dad's side of the family.

It's a complicated process.

This is one of my favorite times of year honestly, and I look forward to it quite a bit in the building months. It's one of those things where I seriously do buy into the spirit of the season. I think that's why the open hostility about festive events bothers me so much, because it's one of the few times a year when I feel like I did when I was a little kid.

Seriously, I just get happy and excited and I can't turn it off.
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Best Buy Wishes You A Dickish Holiday... (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:54:04 -0500

Dec 19, 2011 - 10:54:04 CST
So I assume if you've watched TV in the past month, you've seen the current series of Best Buy commercials. On the off chance you haven't, here's an example of their current ad campaign:
Here's another example of the campaign, and yet another one. There are more in the series, but those should give those unfamiliar with the ads a decent primer.

Effectively, the entire campaign is about how being a total dick to a guy who just wants to give you free stuff is somehow justifiable. That's not cool guys, that's not cool at all. In all of these ads, Santa is portrayed as just being a nice guy, who is then bullied by the Best Buy customer. Are we supposed to relate to the customer in these ads? Because if we are, then I think they've incredibly misjudged how much I want to be thought of as a total douche. I always end up identifying with the nice guy in any story - who in this case is Santa - and it makes me just angry when I see the guy mistreated.

When you pick on a sympathetic character, it's not funny - it's mean. There's another undercurrent going on here though, one that makes me feel equally queasy...

...all the people being jerks are white, middle class women.

Now, I get the middle class bit -- Best Buy is advertising electronics, and they are expensive items which require enough income to afford them. But the rest? Why is this line of ads (of which I know there are at least five or six variations) featuring exclusively white women?

For the life of me I've been trying to figure out what this is actually trying to say. Is this playing into the stereotype that women do all the Holiday shopping? Because in my family I know that's bunk. Is it playing with the negative image we have of "Soccer Moms?" Because that just feels misogynist. I seriously, for the life of me, can't figure out why this specific choice was made. I'm far from qualified to actually examine everything it seems to suggest, but... yeah.

So, as a person who over the years gave a lot of money to Best Buy (and three years of my life as an employee there in my early twenties), I can honestly say this line of ads guaranteed I did ALL of my Holiday shopping at other stores this year.

And maybe future years as well.
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The (Nonexistent) War on Christmas (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:22:28 -0500

Dec 15, 2011 - 09:22:28 CST
So I read a webcomic fairly regularly by a fellow Lafayette, IN resident called "The Manor," and while I generally enjoy the strip, his December 14th installment has me rather miffed. For those too lazy to click through, here's a copy of said comic:

Now, besides the fact that current statistics show that the number of people in this country who identify as Christian is closer to 76% instead of 95%, the entire premise of the thing is ridiculous.

Leaving Mr. Korty's misunderstanding of what the term "Politically Correct" actually means, let's start by dispelling the major myth presented in this strip, alright?

Stores don't say "Happy Holidays" or refer to "Holiday Sales" to prevent people from being offended. They do it to be inclusive, as they want to sell everyone as much as they can. For example, they want Jewish people to buy Hanukkah gifts from them. Many Christians assume Hanukkah is some massively important holiday for Judaism, but frankly - it's not one of the big ones. It's become a big deal in North America in the last fifty years as a response to Christmas.

Stores want to promote this commercialization of Hanukkah as it's in their best financial interests to do so. The same goes for every other religion under the sun - most stores want everyone buying from them, regardless of religion, race or football team preference.

They aren't afraid a non-Christian won't shop there because they said "Merry Christmas" -- they're hoping to put the idea of consumerist culture into everyone else's head in the first place.

It amazes me, honestly, that so many people who identify as Christian seem threatened by the idea that any other religion be included. It's as if they need to be reminded that their holiday is special constantly. What, are they afraid some Christian is going to get confused and celebrate Arbor Day on the 25th because no one at Bob's General Store said Merry Christmas?

Inclusivity is part of the American landscape. We all have the equal right to sell out our religious ideals and buy into the consumer, material landscape that is the commercial holiday season, and don't you forget it.

Update: Apparently it continues.
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Keep Your Arousal To Yourself (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:11:24 -0500

Dec 12, 2011 - 09:11:24 CST
There's one thing I've learned from my years of participating in online discussions. One thing that seems to never go away. Whether it's on message boards, social networking sites or comment sections, the instant any person, character or drawing of the female persuasion appears - some jackass is going to openly state exactly how hot he thinks she is.

What's worse, is often these comments get really specific about what said dude thinks is so attractive about said drawing (notably, in the comment section of one of my favorite comics a guy thanked the artist for drawing the character barefoot, as he has a foot fetish).

Now, issues of male privilege and the inherent patriarchy which has led to this phenomena aside (although, these are real things at play here too), what makes these bozos think I, a fellow straight guy, want to hear anything about what gives them erections?

I don't know if they've realized this, but the rest of us have eyes as well. We can tell whether a woman is attractive or not, and it's not really something that needs to be discussed. Frankly, their need to share makes them downright creepy -- and I can only imagine how it makes said commenter look to any women who might also be reading.

There's no way for it to not be weird too -- If it's a real woman being discussed, then it's creepy and dehumanizing (I'm not talking about saying "She's really pretty" but stuff like "Look at those tits!"). If it's a cartoon, then it's even weirder, as said woman isn't even real.

Heck, I know for me that many of my comic characters are expressions of parts of my own psyche (including the female ones), and that means I consider them part of myself. I don't know if that's the same case for other cartoonists and writers, but I can only assume that it is for some of them...

...and this is why I'm glad that I usually draw stick figures.

But I've gotten off track here. The point to all of this is, frankly, if you get turned on by something, you don't need to share it with the class. The rest of us don't care, and it makes you sound creepy. Not only that, but making said comments is kind of the singular biggest guarantee that you will never get to actually touch a real woman as well.

If that's not motivation to stop, then I don't know what is.
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Random Art - Poor Mr. Waxley (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:10:09 -0500

Dec 09, 2011 - 14:10:09 CST

Hey look, it's a Random Art entry! Man, I've gotten so lax on blog entries -- I really need to get a move on them. In any case, today's image is a character from The Chronicles of Crosarth who will show up in a little over a week, "Kurt Waxley." Mr. Waxley works in the government of Crosarth, and is... well... best described as overworked.

As most of Crosarth's cast is composed of Military personnel and occasional Pirates, Waxley is a notable character in that he is in no way, under any circumstances, a badass. He is not a strategist, he is not a genius... he's just a guy buried in paperwork who would really appreciate a good cup of tea right about now.

I think that's why he's my favorite.
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Rebuilding Buffers (Traegorn)

Traegorn — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:04:52 -0500

Dec 07, 2011 - 13:04:52 CST
When I decided to actually sit down and write UnCONventional a few years back, I actually did a whole three months of comics before I ever put it live on the internet. The reason for this was simple, I wanted a long buffer to prevent anything in my personal life from disrupting the comic update schedule. Of course, a mere six months later, I was back to doing strips the day before it needed to be posted, and I actually had to run some filler while I was moving.

Things stayed like that for a while too - in fact, most of it's run, I've been producing comics down to the last minute before it came time to put them online.

When I launched The Chronicles of Crosarth I knew I'd have a challenge ahead of me, as I wanted to launch it before November -- and I was already doing a pretty heavy November schedule with UnCONventional that month. So I did a month and a half of comics prior to launch, and let those post while I was busting my ass on "I Hate November."

I Hate November though was a hard push, and I managed to build myself a week buffer while doing it -- which is kind of a miracle when you think about it -- and right now I've been managing to maintain it. Likewise, Chronicles of Crosarth has maintained a week buffer as well.

My goal right now though is to increase that buffer -- to get a couple weeks lead on the strip. That way, when I come home from a con, I never have to worry about rushing something for the site. It's also given me a chance to make revisions and change things that I put together before they go live. For instance, there's a page in Chronicles of Crosarth that goes up next week where I completely rearranged the art as I didn't like the first draft that I'd put online.

I don't know, maybe this is a little too much of a sausage making post, and maybe no one cares about this particular bit of the process... but that's what I'm thinking about today.
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