Alex Archer - Rogue Angel 7 - God of Thunder

Review.

Simple one shot stories, with sword wielding Anjaa bashing another few heads. I do hope to see some recurring characters, some continuity.

If everything is just one-shot (which it probably is) I might start to suffer from the Next Generation effect... ie. everyone dies, but is back at the start of the next episode. (Unless they wear a red shirt 😉)

I know. False hope.

SpaceDesk - Multi Monitor 'on the cheap' using SpaceDesk

Multi-monitor setups are fun 😁 

Use an old laptop or tablet an additional monitor? Not a problem, and with SpaceDesk you can mix and match iOS, Android, and Windows devices (!).

And best of it all: it is (still) free.

Alex Archer - Rogue Angel 1 - Destiny

Review.

Let's start with a spoiler. Anjaa is an historian / archaeologist, orphan, and wielder of Joan d'Arc's sword. So, that out of the way, this is a cheap, one shot, multi-author series which is, frankly, a guilty pleasure as it is entirely brainless. And sometimes that is exactly what the doctor prescribes!

Verdict: if you're looking for a break from all that 'literary' stuff this has you covered.

An introduction to WallX - by video

To show what this little tool does I decided to create a little video. Which was a little more complicated than expected, and I got distracted along the way 😁

So I learned OBS (to grab the screen), Magic Window (tracking the mouse pointer in OBS), looked at Stream Decks but opted for Touch Portal, added some features to WallX to simplify the handling and creation of icons, then had to learn how to edit videos in HitFilm Express.

Netflix - Skyline / Beyond Skyline / Skylines

Review.

Three 'direct to TV' movies. What can I say... Frank Grillo does his thing, and the monsters are nice. Everything else is meh. Think of it as a B- version of Independence Day, spliced together with a low budget fan-made scifi flick and you know what you're dealing with.

Verdict? Skip it.

TouchPortal - Quickly converting icons for Touch Portal

I like Touch Portal but found the conversion of .ico to something Touch Portal can understand a pain, so I modified WallX a bit to make the process easier.

WallX v2.42 versus Touch Portal v2.3... A case of AND or OR?

Well, nothing's ever completely done but WallX now runs smoothly and hasn't crashed on me yet. I've worked on importing files / exporting graphics, faster response to user action, and added some fail safe handling when writing files. Either Windows or some virus scanner was blocking my write access now and again. Also removed a bunch of smaller and larger bugs.

But... what has that to do with Touch Portal?

Avoid starting OBS twice

OBS is a nice tool, but it's more focused on streamers (seriously? 😁) than other types of users. I like OBS. I use it to record some presentations, make instruction videos with one or more screens, etc.

Combine OBS with a stream deck (an old tablet with Touch Portal will do) and it's gadget nirvana. Unfortunately OBS wasn't designed for non-streamers, and there isn't a way to force a single instance. Time for some tricks...

Contour Jog Shuttle Pro / Pro v2 / Express and OBS Studio

Of course you can buy a Stream Deck. They're actually quite nice and are great to use. Or you could use some software package and turn your tablet or phone into a stream deck.  But what if your desk is already full, or you're out of cash? The Shuttle it is then.

And what if OBS Studio doesn't recognize the Jog Shuttle's input?

Bella Forrest - The Girl Who Dared to Think / ...

Review.

Just like Christopher Nuttall, Bella Forrest is sometimes accused of plagiarism. I think that's not entirely fair, because she wrote some interesting stuff, but it's clear that she's sometimes - strongly - 'inspired'.

Then again, it is impossible to write something entirely original, so let's just shrug.

WallX v2.22 'Newfangled'

Another day, another update.

But I think it's a good one... No, a great one 😁

WallX is no longer merely a wallpaper manager, it's now also a mini launcher. Why? Well, 'because'... Seriously though, the new version included a systray icon, and I thought it a handy place to store my own custom shortcuts. Which, actually, works. More information or  download it here.

Wallpaper - Guildwars 1

Guild Wars 2 may have better graphics, better monsters, better frenemies, more content, easier skillsets (not sure if that's an improvement, but okay) but Guild Wars 1 had attitude. 

If you never played an MMO, then download the (free!) Guild Wars 2, and enjoy!

(Click the image to enlarge.)