Games for Windows Live 8015403a login problem - Solution

 You may have come across this problem when trying to log on to Games for Windows Marketplace.

All you have to do is

 - > Click on Create New Account

Your browser will open to live.XBOX.COM

Enter your account name. Log on with your existing password.

Then agree to the change of terms of the account as seen below.

Does a higher frame rate (FPS) make a game any better?

I was torn between better experiences upgrading my computer for gaming and other processing tasks and being content with my trusty old ThinkPad T61p.

Building a computer is not complicated at all. What is difficult is determining how you will be using it. If building a computer is on your list of things to do, all you need to do is look at the CPU which you want to use, then choose a motherboard and RAM that will go with it. With regard to the video card, it may be the make or break of your system if you are going to be doing any gaming. When I say "gaming", I mean 3D games which are taxing on you CPU. A good number of casual games, such as Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Plants vs Zombies etc. even some MMORPGs run well on Pentium 4 CPUs even without a dedicated graphics card. However games that are designed to offer realistic imagery, landscapes or even material physics ( ie. reflections on the water, cloth in the wind or even the reflection of objects in somebody's eyes).

I was amazed with the Bioware productions Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Both offered reasonably good graphics, but the most interesting parts of the game were the dialogues and story line.

So would the games be any more fun with better graphics? Maybe. I know for a racing game, graphics make a huge difference in the simulation experience. Personally, I would never try driving at 200km/h, but it is nice to imagine what it would be like.

Depending on the type of game you are playing, a higher frame rate or FPS can make all the difference, from the game being playable to unplayable.

How much do we consume, how much do we waste?

I am astonished me each time I search through my things. I won't deny for a moment that I consume more that I really should, but at the same time, I know I can do with much less in life. Some belonging are related to my hobbies such as building and repairing electronics, others for artistic aspirations, and other objects are in my belongings just for the sake of trying a technology out : graphics tablet,  game controller, touchscreen tablet, dual chamber bicycle pump, induction cooking plate etc.

When I look at how much money and time I have spent, I shudder to think about all the other things I could have done to make myself more interesting. That would include watching popular movies, sitcoms etc so that I would be able to relate to people that much better. 

Books, sketchpads and basic cooking tools are more than enough when it comes to keeping myself busy. Mind you, talking about technology is also a way to relate to people.

Buying a laptop for Back to School

The "Back to School" season is a time when everybody can start anew, define priorities, be more disciplined about past endeavours, or start being engaged about something. While many may dread the back to school specials found at most retailers, other look at the opportunity to get a new computer.

For most, any dual core machine with 2 to 4GB of RAM will be sufficient to surf the Internet, use a word processor ( Microsoft Word,  LibreOffice Writer ) and a spreadsheet like Excel or Calc.

The projects and demands of the past decade are more complex than those from the later part of the 20th century. If you are working in a specialized discipline such as musical composition or graphic design, it would be well worthwhile to look into the business class machines with dedicated GPUs (for graphics) from HP, Dell or Lenovo. Workstations have longer lives and will be suited to any task. If you are going to be typing, I strongly recommend getting a ThinkPad. The T and W series keyboards are second to none. I also really appreciate the the fact that there are fan control tools available.

If gaming, workstations are going to be fine, but the reader should be doubtful of the premise of this paragraph: we are talking about "Back to School" laptops. Nevertheless, I recommend a system with a ATI/AMD Radeon GPU. Unfortunately, the Nvidia hardware and drivers have given me a lot of problems, including severe tearing in video and 3D processing, like playing a game, watching a video on YouTube or in a video player from a local file. This problem has been common on desktops as well as laptops Nvidia GPUs.

I do not agree with the whole of this article, however the point about storage no longer being a concern is quite accurate. I fare quite well with at 64GB SSD. The reason I upgraded to an SSD was not so much for speed, but the absence of noise.