Ejecutive

I encountered a strange bug today while working on a login page in .NET. This page differed from your run-of-the-mill login page by having the user select their username and then enter their password, so only had one text field on the page.

The bug meant that when the user pressed enter after typing in their password to submit the form, although the form was submitted, the SubmitButton_Click event that is set to trigger with the submit wasn’t evoked. Clicking the button itself worked, but trying to press enter anywhere on the form (except with the submit button selected) didn’t.

Even wrapping the content around a Panel and setting the DefaultButton property on that to the submit button didn’t work. It turns out that Internet Explorer won’t evoke the SubmitButton_Click event when there is only one textbox on the form, even if it’s explicitly set as the default button.

The solution is to create an empty textbox and set it to be invisible through CSS:

<asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Style="display:none;">
</asp:TextBox>

Note that you can’t set its Visible property to false as that won’t render the textbox at all and you’ll still have the same problem.

Obviously, this is not the ideal solution to the problem, and hopefully this bug will be fixed in Internet Explorer 8. However for now, until I find a better fix, this is the only solution that works around this bug.

Nullriver released their NetShare application onto the iTunes App Store last night, only to have it removed only a few hours later.

It’s surprising that this app was approved in the first place, since AT&T typically charge an extra $30 per month to allow tethering use in the US. Upon investigating the terms set out by other telecos, O2 UK say:

You may not use your SIM Card in any other device, or use your SIM Card or iPhone to allow the continuous streaming of any audio / video content, enable Voice over Internet (Voip), P2P or file sharing or use them in such a way that adversely impacts the service to other customers of O2 or The Cloud.

Which seems to restrict the use of streaming audio and video content, something which the built-in YouTube app allows you to do, along with Last.fm radio streaming app. However what it doesn’t explicitly forbid is the use of a tethering application to allow you to access the internet through another device, as long as the SIM card is still in your iPhone, so with O2 UK there is nothing to stop you using NetShare.

If, like me, have your iPhone unlocked and on another network such as T-Mobile UK, they may have even less restrictions. From T-Mobile’s web’n'walk fair use policy:

This plan comes with a fair use policy of 1GB a month. We’ll monitor how much you send and receive each calendar month so that we can protect our network for all our web’n'walk customers. If you use more than your fair use policy amount, we won’t charge you any more, but we may restrict how you can use your plan, depending on how often you go over your amount and by how much.

Which seems to allow everything, as long as you keep within the 1GB fair use policy. As Apple has exclusive contracts with one teleco for each country the iPhone is being sold, it is possible for them to restrict NetShare to only countries that allow tethering apps. The chance of the app appearing back on the App Store is small though, which begs the question, why was it approved in the first place?

If you’ve been using an original, unlocked iPhone with a SIM from an “unofficial” provider, then you haven’t been able to upgrade to the new 2.0 firmware because, well, it would lock your phone. You’ve had to sit by twiddling with the old 1.1.4 firmware while been reading reviews of the fantastic new applications and all the new things you can do with them.

The new firmware has been out for over a week now without a released unlock tool, although videos of a proof of concept unlock have been floating around the internet.

This week, the iphone-dev team finally released their long anticipated PwnageTool that’s capable of unlocking the original iPhone with 2.0 firmware. Infact it’s quite clever in that it takes the official firmware, and transforms it into a jailbroken and unlocked version that you restore with iTunes!

The process is pretty straightforward, but still not without pitfalls which could be hard to dig yourself out, so I’ve made some notes of problems I’ve had during the unlock, so you don’t have to:

• You’ll need three other files along with PwnageTool to unlock your phone, the two bootloaders and the original firmware. PwnageTool should be able to find those automatically after you download them.
• If Safari extracts the original firmware to a folder, drag the iPhone1,1_2.0_5A347_Restore.ipsw.zip file from the trash to your desktop and remove the .zip from the end of the filename.
• PwnageTool might fail when it tries to enter DFU mode (also known as recovery mode). Don’t worry, manually put your phone in recovery mode by having the iPhone plugged into your computer, holding the home and power button for seven seconds, and then releasing the power button (but still holding the home button) and wait for iTunes to report that your iPhone is in recovery mode.
• I would use Expert mode to stop PwnageTool from replacing the Apple boot logo with their stupid pineapple.
• To restore your cracked firmware, hold alt/option when clicking the Restore button (shift in Windows) and then you can browse to the file you want.

PwnageTool is for Mac users only, but if you look hard enough), you can find a pre-cracked firmware that you can just restore with iTunes on Windows.

When I first took up squash, getting the right advice for equipment is very hard if you don’t have someone knowledgeable to talk to. This is especially the case if you’re not a member of a club. I’ll attempt to demystify the options and choices in buying squash gear, listing what I think is the best kit on the market and what factors to look out for when buying.

Rackets

First things first, the racket is where you should spend the majority of your budget. For a beginner, a good racket can cost in the region of £30-50, while the top professional rackets can be bought for £80-100. When you’re a beginner, you should be looking for the right weight and balance. Ideally you want a slightly heavy racket at 150-160g unstrung, with a head-heavy balance. This will help you develop your muscles early on in the game, and you will be able to feel the swing much more with a head-heavy racket. Good bargains now are old Dunlop ICE Pro and M-Fil Pro rackets which are slightly head-heavy¹ but still a decent weight, and at £40-50 they’re affordable considering they used to be top of the range rackets not too long ago.

For more advanced players, your racket choice usually falls into two groups: those that prefer head-light rackets, and those that prefer head-heavy. The best of the head-light rackets is the Dunlop Aerogel Tour, which at 145g is the heaviest of the Aerogel range. They feature excellent stiffness, probably the stiffest rackets you can buy, and the Tour is the most head-light of the range. I’ve played with the Pro and Ultimate rackets too, and they’re all very similar rackets, but I prefer the Tour as I think it has the perfect balance of weight and balance. If you prefer head-heavy rackets, then the Prince O3 Speedport Black is an excellent racket, offering a big sweet spot, excellent motion through the area giving greater head speed, and good touch. I find the racket glides through the air effortlessly, and gives cleaner hits more consistently with its large sweet spot. You can get some very hard hits with it, but I find it’s harder to control the more difficult shots, especially the ones requiring more wrist work. At around £110 online, it’s also a little expensive, but worth it if you like the balance.

Strings

Most players would happily play with the stock strings on a racket, but not all stock strings are created equal, especially the M-Fil strings on the Dunlop Aerogel range which gives a very wooden and dead feeling. I found that restringing them with Technifibre 305 or Ashaway Powernick 18 transformed the racket in the same way a good set of tyres transform a car; much more feeling, control, and power. I tend to prefer a lower tension too, around 24lbs, and the Aerogel comes with very tightly strung strings which don’t help its lack of feeling. On the other hand, the Prince O3 Speedport range come with fairly decent strings and it’s probably not worth restringing them when you first get them unless you own multiple rackets and want them all with your own string and tension level.

Shoes

When you’re starting out, it’s probably fine to use whatever trainers you have in the cupboard, however when you get more advanced and start moving about quicker, a good pair of squash shoes are a very worthy investment to prevent injury and improve your movement. Currently, the best shoes overall in value and performance are Hi-Tec’s 4SYS shoes specially designed for squash. They are used by several top 10 players, and when I compared them to the Adidas Stabil, I found them to be more stable and more comfortable. The best news comes when you discover you can get them for £50-60, much less than other top squash or court shoes. I’d recommend going into a retail shop to get these shoes though, as you can never be sure what size you are for that specific shoe and you do need a very good fit.

Clothing

Very little squash specific clothing is made nowadays, so you have to pick and mix clothing from other sports that are most suitable. The best squash shirts are mesh t-shirts that allow the body to breath and are very lightweight. I’ve found that Adidas running shirts are very good to use for squash, as are their tennis shirts (although they can be prohibitively expensive to buy). Other similar style of sports share the same characteristics, such as tennis, indoor football, and badminton, all have clothes that are very suitable for squash. Each shirt should cost between £10-20 online, although the best tennis shirts sometimes retail for over £50!

The best shorts are long running shorts (who wears short-shorts anymore?) that are a good fit, but are breathable, flexible enough for lunges, and a good length — about a couple inches above the knee. Badminton shorts offer the same features although are harder to find, but tennis shorts are sometimes too thick and aren’t flexible enough. These shorts cost about £20.

A large sweatband on the forearm of your racket hand is a good measure to stop sweat dripping down your arm into the palms of your hands, and are also in a handy position to wipe away sweat from your face. If you have long hair, then it may be advisable to have a buff or headband to keep your hair in check and stop sweat dripping into your eyes. Don’t go for a headband unless you want to look like David Bedford².

Finally, most socks are adequate for squash, although if you are having problems with your feet then try some long distance running socks out.

Eye Protection

Most clubs more require juniors to wear eye guards, although it’s not required for the adult game, it is recommended. I personally don’t wear any, but I’ve tried on Dunlops I-Armour Protective Eyewear and they fit very well and don’t really impede your vision at all. It’s up to you whether you think you play dangerous enough opponents to warrant having eye protection, but most players will recognise a dangerous situation and will play a let of stroke instead of risking to hit you.

Balls

Don’t skimp on balls, get the Dunlop ones from Sports Direct, they’re the cheapest by far by charging three pounds for three balls. Start off on the blue beginner balls and progress up to the red dot, single yellow, and finally the professional double yellow balls. Use the balls until they break, but save a couple newer ones for important matches as your practice balls can become quite slippery which will affect their bounce.

Tuition

Finally, while this may not be part of your equipment, if you want rapid improvement in your game there is no better way than one-to-one squash tutoring. See your local club for tutors, the basic level 1 or 2 tutors may charge around £10 per hour, rising to £60 per hour for a top level 5 tutor.

This article is just a taster of the minefield that is squash sports equipment. As I mentioned above, it’s best to get the advice of a professional from your squash club, or you can ask on the Squash Game forum where there are plenty of experienced players to answer your questions, but hopefully this will answer at least some of your questions.

1. Dunlop state they have even balance, however I’ve always found Dunlop rackets to be slightly more head heavy than they suggest. [↩]
2. Think 118 118. [↩]

Grand Theft Auto IV has had the most positive critical acclaim of any game ever made. And deservedly so, it offers one of the most immersive single player experience any game has every had, as well as brilliantly fun multiplayer. But in the uncompromising praise that has been lavished on the game, many of the reviews fail to devote enough words to the game’s problems, and personally I find the the problems distracting enough to tarnish the game’s perfect status among the press.

Being the most anticipated game ever, Grand Theft Auto IV has a lot to live up to. The first in the series blew the games industry away with its sandbox style game play and story line. It didn’t matter that the graphics were years out of date, or that the controls were baffling even after hours of play, GTA was immense fun for running around killing people and joy riding cars as much as the scripted missions were.

The second game continued in a similar fashion, this time with updated graphics that meant your character looked more like a person and less like a collection of pixels. However, much of the game play was the same, and irritatingly so was the control system. The overall experience made the game feel more like an add-on pack, and Rockstar were really pushing what they could achieve with the top-down perspective.

The third game is what really kicked the series off. Grand Theft Auto III featured a huge city and a new third-person 3D environment that made you feel much more part of the game, with smoke, explosions, and weather and time effects adding to the immersion. Much of what made GTA III great is also in GTA IV, the same sandbox style game play in a 3D environment, the music and radio stations, and the enjoyment from playing the game off-script. However, GTA III was not a perfect game, and GTA IV inherits many of its problems.

GTA IV still suffers from the same combat system from GTA IV, meaning a clumsy auto-aim system that always seems to choose the wrong enemy to target in an intense fire-fight. Manually aiming is so difficult it’s worse than using auto aim in most scenarios, and it takes too much effort to switch auto-aim on and off. This ruins a lot of the combat in the game, which could be a lot more fun if it didn’t feel like the skill was taken out with the poor auto-aim.

GTA IV also features a new covering system, which partially works but is nowhere near as good as the systems in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, or Army of Two. The most tedious thing about a cover system is one that doesn’t work quite as you expect, and this is something like that from GTA IV. I found hitting the wrong buttons too frequent, which would usually end up with sending me into the line of enemy fire, or into a ridiculously exposed covering position.

Driving is much more realistic in this incarnation, with certain cars that under-steer more, and certain cars that over-steer. A nice touch is that you can now fly out of the windscreen if you crash into something substantially heavier or substantial front first, even more amusing when you do it to a passenger in your car or a driver of another car. The camera in the chase view of the car is terrible, making it very difficult to drive at speed without manually turning the camera yourself. I can see why they did it, to shoot out the car you don’t want the camera to move around with every little bump of the car, but on the other hand, it ruins the driving for the other 95% of the time when you’re not doing a drive-by. I actually find it easier to drive and shoot in bonnet view anyway and I have my camera position set to that.

To gain respect with friends and to get them to like you more, you must go out and spend time with them, which involves mini-games or just driving them to a bar or restaurant and back. After the initial novelty of playing pool or darts wears off, this becomes incredibly repetitive and tedious, adding very little to the overall game experience for the time invested by the developers and players. In fact, I can see the developers making this more of an important part of the game if they had spent a lot of time on making it. But really it deserves as much attention as getting dates did in San Andreas (which is not much), as it doesn’t really add anything to the main storyline (said friends will still give you missions whether they like you or not!)

Visually, the fourth in the series is much more impressive than GTA III, Vice City, or San Andreas. That old graphics engine has been stretched to its limit, powering several other Rockstar games, including the recent Bully (Canis Canem Edit). It has been given a complete overhaul in GTA IV, and the overall experience is much better. However, probably because of the sandbox nature of the game, the graphics are still far from the level of a more focused and modern first-person-shooter such as Bioshock, and are more reminiscent of the very early Xbox 360 games like Gears of War. Some textures are very low in detail, and some models are very blocky, which doesn’t detract from the game when you are driving at high speed, but walking around it does affect the immersion.

Overall, I was left underwhelmed after completing the game. The ending is quite a muted affair and leaves the main story on a low (whichever ending you get), hopefully something which the downloadable content for the Xbox will fix. Hopefully, the Vice City and San Andreas of GTA IV will spice up the game and offer a more balanced game play of story missions, and other stuff. GTA IV is a good game, I’ve not yet played the multiplayer enough to fully make up my mind on it¹ but the single player has a solid 30 hour campaign. It’s just not quite as good as the single player in Bioshock.