Don’t Buy Steam Powered Games - A Christmas Tale of Disappointment
How disappointing for my 11 year old son. I bought a copy of Order of War for him for Christmas today, but when I installed it, I got the message:
“Duplicate Product Code - The product you’ve entered has already been activated by an existing Steam account and is therefore invalid. Your activation of Order of War Retail has not been completed.”
You see this game is “Steam Powered”, which means you have to have an internet connection and a Steam account to install the bloody thing. Oh, it is written on the box, in about 4 point type on the back.
I suspect the Steam Powered is a clunky and unreliable way of trying to overcome software piracy.
So now I have to go through the process of either returning the game to the retailer when next it opens in the new year, or work through the Steam help desk process to try and get it fixed.
Based on the feedback on the Internet about Steam support, I think I’ll just return the game to the retailer, get a refund and ask them what non-Steam powered games they have.
You see the Steam CD Key reactivation process is a pain. You have to register for yet another Steam account, no, you can’t use the Steam account you created when you first install the game.
The process is along the lines of:
1. Register a support account at Steam support
2. Confirm the email
3. Find the support request area
4. Realise that you have to take a digital picture of the back of the instruction book to prove that you did, in fact, buy the game.
5. Borrow a digital camera. Hey Steam Support - not everyone owns a digital camera !
6. Take the picture of the back of the instruction book
7. Upload the picture to your PC
8. Complete the support request and attach the digital picture from your PC
9. Return the digital camera from where you borrowed it
10. Wait for Steam support to get back to you with an answer. Who knows how long that will take over the Christmas period.
11. Write a blog post slamming the whole Steam system
I don’t know, we can land a remote vehicle on Mars, but we can’t some up with a simple and reliable software activation process.
Do not, I repeat, do not buy Steam powered games. Especially if you don’t want to disappoint a child on Christmas day.
Angry Dad of Disappointed Child
Graz Climate & Mean Weather Averages
Vienna, Austria
In Vienna, Austria the mean temperature for the year is 9.83C (49.7F). -4.00C (24.80F) is the most cold monthly average min temp (occurring in January) while 25.00C (77.00F) is the hottest monthly mean high temperature measured in the month of July. There is an annual range of mean temperatures of 21.50C. Wet weather in Vienna totals on average 660.00mm (25.98in) per annum. That means that average monthly rainfall is 55.00mm (2.17in). July is the most damp month when an average of 84mm (3.31in) of water precipitating on an average of 13 days while in January only 39mm (1.54in) of rain falls over 15 days. Vienna’s climate enjoys an average of 160 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Vienna averages 71.41666667% over the year. 62% is the most low average monthly relative humidity that takes place in April and 81% is the highest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in November & December. Vienna’s weather enjoys an average of 1891 sunshine hours annually or 5.18 daily hours. Sunlight hours range from 1.5 per day in December to 8.6 per day in July. Uncover more exact details and insight on the climate in Vienna thanks to this helpful resource. This link covers basically everything you would like to know. Free Vienna climate charts expose full details about the climate in Vienna.
Salzburg, Austria
In Salzburg, Austria the mean temperature is 8.00C (46.4F). -6.00C (21.20F) is the coolest monthly mean min temperature (occurring in January) while 24.00C (75.20F) is the hottest monthly mean high temperature measured in the month of July. Therefore we can say that the annual average temperature range is 21.00C. Wet weather in Salzburg totals on average 1286.00mm (50.63in) per year. Monthly precipitation averages are thus 107.17mm (4.22in). July is the wettest month subject to an average of 195mm (7.68in) of precipitation occurring during 18 days while in February & December only 64mm (2.52in) of rain falls. Salzburg’s weather is effected by an average of 184 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Salzburg averages 78% annually. 73% is the lowest average monthly relative humidity to be found in April, May and 84% is the maximum mean monthly relative humidity that takes place in November & December. Salzburg’s climate is effected by an average of 1712 sunlight hours per year or 4.69 hours per day. There is a range of hours of sunlight from 1.9 per day in December to 6.7 per day in July. You can get more info about the weather in Salzburg Chart at the helpful website. Free Salzburg climate charts display a comprehensive synopsis of the climate in Salzburg.
Graz, Austria
In Graz, Austria the mean annual temperature is 8.25C (46.85F). -5.00C (23.00F) is the most cold monthly average minimum temp (occurring in January) while 25.00C (77.00F) is the warmest monthly mean high temp recorded in July. Therefore we can say that the annual average temperature range is 23.00C. Wet weather in Graz builds up to an average total of 849.00mm (33.43in) per year. Thus mean monthly precipitation is 70.75mm (2.79in). July is the most damp month subject to an average of 127mm (5.00in) of rain falling over a period of 15 days while in January only 27mm (1.06in) of rain falls over 9 days. Graz’s climate is subject to an average of 142 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Graz averages 77.75% annually. 70% is the lowest average monthly relative humidity that presents itself in April and 87% is the maximum average monthly relative humidity to be found in December. Graz’s weather has an average of 1903 sunlight hours per year or 5.21 daily hours. Sunlight hours vary from 2.0 per day in December to 8.3 per day in July. Get a more detailed review of the climate weather in Graz at this useful resource. This link covers preety much everything you want to know. Free Graz climate graphs depict full details about the precipitation in Graz.
Rapidweaver – Create Your Web Pages With Ease
Rapidweaver is a web page creation software that runs on Macs. It is a very popular program that can help you to easily create good-looking web sites without needing to know HTML. You can get a site up-and-running quickly.
The first thing you need to know is that Rapidweaver is not a WYSIWYG web page creator. That is, you cannot drag-and-drop layout elements into the page. Instead, every page that you create in Rapidweaver has a page type. For instance, if you want to create a blog page, select a Blog Page. If you want to create a web page using a rich-text editor, use a Styled Text Page. There are many types of Pages that are available that you can use.
For design, Rapidweaver utilizes templates. It comes with a selection of templates which cover a broad range of sites. If you feel that none of the default templates are suitable for your site, you can always turn to using third-party templates. There is a thriving community of template designers who make available templates that suit a wide variety of uses. These templates are generally very reasonable in price and have demos, so you can have a look at them before buying.
The power of Rapidweaver is extended greatly by the usage of plugins. External developers create plugins for use in Rapidweaver that allows for many more possibilities. For example, content on a web page can be embedded in another web page, or they can be arranged in blocks on the page to help in layouts. Also available are various image galleries.
Rapidweaver is available for download so you can try before you buy it. Don’t forget to test out the various Rapidweaver plugins and templates available to increase your web pages’ features.
Joomla CMS - Why Do People Use It?
You may have of Joomla but are not sure what it brings to the table. Why is it so popular? Here we take a brief look at the reasons people choose to use Joomla.
Joomla is an open-source software that runs on a web server. It is a Content Management System, which allows multiple users to access, create and manage content. There are different Content Management Systems available, both commercial and free, and Joomla can be considered to be one of the most popular ones.
There are a few reasons why Joomla is so popular. Cost is one big factor. You can’t get it for any cheaper, because it’s free. Anyone can download and use Joomla without worrying about licensing costs. You can install it on as many servers as you like, and on as many domains as you wish. This appeals to individuals and businesses with tight budgets.
But big companies may have reasons of their own for using Joomla. Being an open-source framework means that websites and applications built on it can be maintained and enhanced in future by anyone. This is especially true if external developers are hired to build the sites. Companies are free to engage other developers to do further work on the sites in future because there is no lock-in. There is no proprietary technology or framework to force the companies to re-engage the original developers.
The versatility of Joomla is greatly increased by the usage of extensions. A Joomla extension is a software that runs within the Joomla environment to add additional functionality. Chances are, if you require a functionality that the standard install doesn’t provide, you may be able to find a plugin that can do the job for you. Some of the most popular plugins are free, and if you are not able to find a free one to suit your purpose, see if you can find a commercial plugin that can fit. While commercial plugins do come with a price, they are usually far cheaper than hiring a developer to build a plugin from scratch for you.
If you have not given Joomla a try, now is a good time as any to do it. There is no cost to it other than your learning time. Once you have mastered the basics of using Joomla, be sure to check out what the various Joomla plugins can do for you.
How to have a clean Registry Easily
There are a few signs that tells a user that it’s time to clean the registry, such as unexplained error messages, quirky Windows behaviour and Windows lock-ups. These symptoms are an indication that the registry is not functioning as well as it should, and that it’s time for some maintenance work on it.
Most of the time, problems with the registry are not due to any fault on the part of the user; rather, it’s often due to bad or careless programming methods. The Windows registry gets bogged down over time by information that is placed by Windows and applications, but these pieces of information are often left inside the registry when they are no longer needed, or when the information goes obsolete. As a result, the registry grows in size and slows down drastically, and errors also develop in the registry which results in odd Windows behaviour or error messages.
If you are familiar with the registry and don’t mind spending the time to manually hunt down problematic or unnecessary registry entries, you still have to be very careful not to make any mistakes. Any mistakes made can have the potential to take down the entire Windows operating system. Personally, I prefer the alternative. With the use of a registry cleaner software, this tedious and error-prone task of searching through the huge Windows registry for duplicates and errors and then cleaning and fixing them is now easy and automated. I don’t have to spend hours straining my eyes for any issues, and cross-checking them by doing a web search.
A good registry cleaner will speedily resolve errors, optimize and clean up the Windows registry so it is possible to do this as often as one wants to. The only catch is to make sure that you get a good cleaner, so it doesn’t introduce any problems of its own, and so it’s comprehensive in its search.
A good registry cleaner will help keep your Windows system in good shape and performing optimally. If you are unsure which registry cleaner to use, you can take a look at these reviews of registry cleaners.
The Best Registry Cleaner For Windows XP
Windows XP is one of the most popular and longest-lasting versions of Windows to-date. Despite its age, it is still being used in a majority of computers, its reliability and speed being good reasons why people refuse to switch to newer versions.
While this trusty workhorse pretty much runs itself, Windows XP suffers from one problem common to most versions of Windows: the registry. The Windows registry is a central database of information which Windows and other applications use to store settings and other information. While the idea of having a central repository is good, the problem is that the registry is susceptible to bloat and errors introduced by applications when they store information in it. In addition, information that is outdated or no longer needed is left in the registry. As you can see, the registry will, after some time, perform less than optimally.
This is an easy problem to solve, however. With the use of a good registry cleaner software, the whole task of scanning through the potentially huge registry in search of duplicate, obsolete and erroneous entries is now automatically performed, and the problem areas fixed. A good registry cleaner also has backup and restore functions to ensure that the registry is safe and any changes to it can be rolled back. In fact such safety features cannot be over-emphasized on. Some low-end registry cleaners do not have good safety features, and I’ve testing a few which damaged my registry and I had to restore Windows from a backup I manually did prior to testing.
The problem with evaluating registry cleaners is that it’s time-consuming, and as I mentioned before, any problems will mean that one has to restore the whole operating system from a backup. I used to format my Windows machines once every 4 months due to performance degradation. These machines are heavily used for development work and testing of various software. But after going through various registry cleaners, I’ve settled on one called “Perfect Optimizer”, which is now being used on all the computers.
There is now no need to reformat and install Windows periodically to remove errors and gain back good speed performance. With “Perfect Optimizer”, all the problems in the registry are fixed and it performs various optimizations so the computers run fast again.
A good registry cleaner will help keep your Windows system in good shape and performing optimally. If you are unsure which registry cleaner to use, you can take a look at these reviews of registry cleaners.