Life In A Gun Shell Blog

Samsung Chromebook Series 5

admin@ajama.org — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:59:04 -0400

Google has just sent out email invitations to buy their first "Chromebook". The Samsung laptop comes bundled with 2 years of free Verizon service up to 100MB a month. This service can be upgraded with no binding contract. Complete details are listed in the picture below:

Original Email:

SK Lightworks 2.0.0.0 (PC Rock Band Stage Kit Controller Software)

admin@ajama.org — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 08:21:19 -0500

So, it's been over a year since I posted an update for the Rock Band Stage Kit controller program SK Lightworks. The program allowed for full control of the Stage Kit from any Windows PC. Since it's original release, Rock Band 3 has been released, removing support for the Stage Kit.

This is version 2.0.0.0. Because, you know, we all love super long version numbers. This version includes the following updates:

The ability to run scripts!
Feedback and highlighting to show which LED pattern is in use
A panel to show which lights are on, and to allow the user to click and power on certain lights
An updates button that will alert the user to a new version
The [crude] ability to allow for the use of multiple kits on a single PC
Better thread usage and termination

The biggest part of this new version is, as mentioned above, scripting. Users have the ability to write basic commands that can be played either once through or looped. A demo file (demo.sk) is included that, if opened in a plain text editor, outlines all of the commands and their parameters.

Download links:

Download SK Lightworks 2.0.0.0

These may or may not be required based on your system:
Download .Net 3.5 Redist
Download XNA 3.0 Redist
Download the Xbox Controller Drivers

I've personally tested it on Windows XP SP3 32-bit and Windows 7 64-bit so it should run on everything in between, but again, if you run in to any problems, let me know. I have a page hosted for the project at AJAMA.org/lightworks. I'll try to respond as quickly as possible, but I'll be reporting on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for the next week, so I may be in and out.

Enjoy!

Link to the original Rock Band Mods Forums post

The End of Life in a Gun Shell

admin@ajama.org — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:46:25 -0500

As per usual, I'm a little bit behind on the current events. As most of you have seen, it! Magazine ceased publication on October 15, 2010. Life in a Gun Shell Comic 245 was published on that day, and sadly, for the last time.

I want to thank all of you for your continued support through the nearly 4 years and over 200 comics of publication. Writing these comics and interacting with the it! staff has been some of the most fun I've had.

Is this the end? For Life in a Gun Shell, probably. However, I have been in talks recently with a couple different sources on reviving the comic in another form. The Collegiate Times is interested in picking up the comic as either a daily or weekly strip, though I can't imagine in its current format. I will be working in the mean time with Randy Hubbard on his new comic "Braindump", which will soon be available at BraindumpComics.com.

Once again, thank you for your continued support. Please continue to check back and I'll post updates as much as possible.

Uncensored Comic 243

admin@ajama.org — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:06:56 -0400

Yet another Uncensored Comic!

Announcement about LiaGS

admin@ajama.org — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:34:06 -0400

Good afternoon, everyone. For starters, let me thank you for continuing to come to LifeInAGunshell.com. Despite my being behind on posting the comic, we're still seeing nearly 5,000 unique visitors to the website every month, and even more readership through the "it!" section of the Free Lance-Star.

Life In a Gun Shell is now in its fourth year of internet publication, and is a couple months off from being at that same point in the paper. At one point, two comics hit the internet every week. It was shifted to one a while ago. Now, it is time for another unfortunate shift. From this point on, Life in a Gun Shell will only be published in the Free Lance-Star every other week. It was a decision come to between the editor of the section and I. I will, however, be making an increased effort to update the website with a fresh comic on a weekly basis.

Thank you again for your continued support!

Another uncensored comic

admin@ajama.org — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:36:13 -0400

Some "Original Cuts"

admin@ajama.org — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:37:33 -0400

I didn't think that these were special enough to go in to the "Uncensored" section, but here are two original versions of recently uploaded comics.

Feeding the Flame of the Phone

admin@ajama.org — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:34:31 -0400

I hate to contribute to this flame war, but I've got an honest question: How many people here have jumped off of their carrier just because of the iPhone, or some other phone, recently? If you have the choice between carriers, or easily have the ability to switch around, then great. Perhaps this war is more significant for you.

There's only one carrier that works the very well in my area: Verizon. So, that's really the choice I have. I'd love to have an iPhone, but it's just not an options. My choices break down to "Do I want something the size of the Droid X? How about a physical keyboard?"

Maybe I'm underestimating the number of people who have that choice, and have the ability to easily jump between carriers (I'm on a family plan, so switching would either involve everyone moving, or a second plan, both of which are relatively expensive). "Oh this phone isn't nearly as good as the new iPhone! Where's the front camera? Where's the high-res screen?" We aren't fighting the Zune vs. iPod battles anymore. It's not a gaming console war. Sure, there are features that are lacking in the phones, and innovation shouldn't grind to a halt simply because people are tied to a network that has nothing better to offer, but at the end of the day, it's a phone, and the question must be asked: Can it make calls?

But, this is a battle that will keep waging. Maybe once there is a CDMA iPhone, I'll be willing to revisit this argument. Of course, we'll also be debating if it's humane or savage to eat the wings off of pigs.

Droid to Env2 Comparison

admin@ajama.org — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:28:34 -0400

I was at the local Verizon store checking out the Motorola Droid and HTC Incredible. The Incredible is back-ordered by over a month, so I couldn't place an order, but I snapped a couple of blurry size-comparison shots to my current LG Env2 (VX9100).

Important Facebook Notification!

admin@ajama.org — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:20:09 -0400

Thanks for the important update!