Installing Cocos2d on Windows 7
Posted by Peter | Filed under Programming
Cocos2d is a free and open source game engine for the Python programming language. On a recent contract, I used the iPhone version of Cocos2d (in the Objective-C programming language). It worked fairly well, so I decided to try the original version. Unfortunately, the setup wasn’t quite as smooth as I would have hoped, and the installation instructions on the Cocos2d website are not terribly helpful, so below are the steps I followed to get it to work.
Please be aware that these instructions will not work forever. Different versions of software are not always compatible with each other, and there may be lots of updates between now and the time you read this. I’ve stated version numbers for each component below so you can compare them with the versions you are installing.
Game review: “Toki Tori”
Posted by Peter | Filed under Games
No, this isn’t a game about verbose politicians. Rather, Toki Tori is a platform puzzler with oodles of character. It is available on PC (via Steam), Wii, and iPhone/iPod Touch, and is made by Dutch game developer Two Tribes. A previous incarnation of the character appeared in a game of the same name in 2001 on GameBoy Color.
Game review: “Bad Rats: the Rats’ Revenge”
Posted by Peter | Filed under Games
“Bad Rats: the Rats’ Revenge” is a physics-based puzzle game by indie developer Invent4. Before I describe the game, a quick word of warning. It contains a lot of cartoon violence (think “Itchy & Scratchy” from the Simpsons), and it most certainly pushes the political correctness envelope!
That said, if you still want to find out about the game, then read on…
WWWPS stops Apache starting on Windows 7
Posted by Peter | Filed under Software
Due to a recent computer catastrophe, I had to re-install Windows 7 from scratch. Previously I had been working on an upgrade from the Windows Vista installation which originally came on my PC when I bought it.
Today I wanted to get a webserver running for general web-development stuff, and I decided to use my old favourite, WAMPServer. It installs and runs Apache, MySQL, and PHP nice and easily. Unfortunately, its Apache service wouldn’t start, so I went hunting around to find a solution.
My Amilo M1425 laptop thinks its processor is only 600MHz
Posted by Peter | Filed under Uncategorized
I have a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo M1425 laptop which I sometimes take on trips, but last year I had to wipe the hard disk and re-install windows. Since then it’s been thinking it has a 600MHz processor (but the processor should actually be running at 1.6GHz).
Over a year later, I’ve finally fixed it! It’s caused by a BIOS problem, and it is reasonably easy to fix. First of all, make sure you’ve got the latest BIOS configuration. You can download an official BIOS flash program to do this. You should download an EXE file, which you should save to your computer somewhere (e.g. your desktop).
Close all other programs, and then double click that file. (You will need to be running on AC power, not the battery.) It should do everything necessary to update your BIOS, and it will ask to restart your computer.
Not done yet!!!
This is really important. Flashing and updating the BIOS is not enough. When the computer starts rebooting, you will see it offering you the chance to press F2 to load the setup. Do this, and the BIOS setup program will load. Navigation with the arrow keys on your computer, and go all the over to the right-hand menu option. Select “load optimal defaults”, and then exit saving your changes.
Your computer should reboot, and that will be it sorted. Your processor should now be working at 1.6GHz. 
Are games too hard?
Posted by Peter | Filed under Games
A story appeared on Slashdot today about the complexity of games, asking “Do Gamers Want Simpler Games?“. Despite a vocal minority, and the arguments from industry critics, the findings suggest that simpler games may be better. I’ve been a moderately hardcore gamer for most of my life, and I’ve got to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the findings.
Read the rest of this entry »
Review: “8 Ball Quick Fire Pool”
Posted by Peter | Filed under Games
![[game screenshot]](http://www.avid-insight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/8-ball-quick-fire-pool.jpg)
Don’t let the name fool you — “8 Ball Quick Fire Pool” game isn’t actually 8 ball rules. Rather, it’s a fun single-player game. The rules are somewhat similar to straight pool (or 14.1 continuous), in that you are allowed to hit and pot any ball you like, and you score points each time you do so. However, it is also a race against the clock, so speed is encouraged.
There are lots of things I like about this game. First and foremost is the fact that it’s very well polished. There are no rough edges or unnecessary extra features in it. It is all about potting as many racks of pool balls as possible in quick succession. The polish is certainly enhanced a lot by excellent top-down graphics.
PHP gotcha: Content Type matters!
Posted by Peter | Filed under Programming
I encountered a frustrating problem regarding HTTP content type headers today. It massively broke the design of my site in Firefox, but didn’t seem to affect anything in Internet Explorer. The lesson learned is to be very careful where you send the Content-Type header using PHP.
Virtual culture training for soldiers
Posted by Peter | Filed under Education, Games, Virtual Worlds
Thanks to a link from ACM TechNews, I’ve been reading that folks at the University of Texas have been doing some research into the use of virtual worlds for training soldiers (click for the article). The focus of the training is dealing with cultural situations. I’m not a particularly well-travelled person myself, but I can imagine that even the slightest differences in cultural interpretation of verbal and non-verbal cues can become major issues in a conflict scenario.
Allow secure passwords!
Posted by Peter | Filed under Websites
A brief rant here…
If you use the Internet much, then you are almost definitely going to encounter passwords. Lots of people use very insecure passwords, like “password01″. But those of us who actually don’t want our identity stolen use more creative ones. Unfortunately, many companies out there seem to have incompetent web-developers.
Here are a couple of examples of sites which could be major opportunities for identity theft if an account gets hacked:
- British Gas — customer login for paying gas/electricity bills — doesn’t allow special characters
- Virgin Media — customer login for broadband, email, personal webspace, and telephone / TV billing — passwords must be 10 characters or less
These are ridiculous. Ask any security expert. Special characters are a major boost to password security, and it is preposterous to limit a person’s ability to use a pass-phrase consisting of multiple words.
Part of me really hopes that the web-developers responsible for these get their identities stolen online and lose all their money. Poetic justice. 
