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by kylesmyth on Blog

Why Apple Really is the Most Valuable Company in the World

It was recently announced that Apple has become the most valuable company of all time, with a market value of 623 billion US dollars. To some this is no surprise but it wasn’t until I found myself inside an Apple store last night that I truly believed it.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m an Apple fanboy. I’m a loyal iPhone user and my laptop is a 2008 unibody Macbook, but I still use Windows as my primary operating system. A few weeks ago I had an unfortunate event that consisted of my white iPhone 4 being viciously attacked by a concrete sidewalk. Of all the times I have dropped my phone, this one time it landed face down and the screen was shattered.

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by kylesmyth on Blog

Unplanned Reformats

A few days ago I was conversing to a co-worker about Apple’s latest operating system, Mountain Lion. I had mentioned to him that I wasn’t all that keen on upgrading because my 2008 unibody Macbook took a severe performance hit when I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion. He recommended I upgrade to a solid state drive, so I did.

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by kylesmyth on GameDev

Game Development Blog

I have always wanted to dive into game development. When I was a wee little lad,  all I wanted to be when I grew up was an astronaut, or a video game designer. But going through university I realized how much I didn’t want to work in the game industry. I learned through my peers who had done work placements at EA and Ubisoft that it was a less than desirable career – stressful work environment, unpaid overtime and rigid release dates.

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by kylesmyth on Blog, Slackline

Highline Attempt #1

A group of adventurers from Calgary and myself set out on a highline adventure on July 15,2012. The destination was McGillivray Canyon in Kananaskis Country. The approach was an easy hike through the canyon until we encountered a rather deep section filled with water. There was a cable attached to the eastern wall; however whatever stepping surface had been swept away. We turned back and found a trail on the western ridge of the canyon that allowed us to skip the wet portions of the canyon. The trail led to an open rock climbing area and we found a prospective highline spot near the end of the canyon.

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by kylesmyth on Blog, Slackline

Where do I buy a slackline?

Where do I buy a slackline?

I get asked this question all the time by many different types of people. They see me slacklining in the park or photographs on facebook.com and want to get in on the action.

The answer to the question is: it depends. What sort of slackline are you after? For beginners there are only two setups I recommend. The primitive kit or the Gibbon Jibline.
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by kylesmyth on Blog, Gaming

Yamuska, Diablo and the aftermath.

I moved to Calgary, AB at the beginning of May 2012 to return to General Dynamics Canada as a co-op software engineer. One of bonuses is the compressed work week, which allows me to work extra time throughout the week to receive every second Friday off. These days off combined with living so close to the Canadian Rocky Mountains made me pledge to scramble a mountain (weather permitting) on each of these days off. My co-worker and good friend Austin Warren shared the same idea and has also pledged to join me on these adventures. … →

 
by kylesmyth on Blog, Gaming, Technology and Science

The Perfect Ventrilo Keybind

So if you are like me and use Ventrilo / Teamspeak to talk with your friends, you have probably been forced to chose a key to map “Push to Talk” to. Some may choose a mouse button, others a key.

In the beginning I had bound my Mouse4 button to talk, but this proved to be problematic because in a web browser it was the “back” hotkey. Meaning whenever I was browsing the internet and wanted to talk I would lose the page I was looking at. … →

 
by kylesmyth on Blog, General

A Nice Cup of Tea

George Orwell provides a fantastic tea recipe that demonstrates several reason as to why tea is not enjoyed in North America. The idea is that we’re brewing it wrong.

I cringe every time I see someone be satisfied with grocery store bought tea bags or plunge a dozen teaspoons of sugar or honey in their cup.

Although most of the tea I drink comes from China or Japan and thus requires a different method than the detailed instructions for Indian tea, the same principles can be applied. … →

 
by kylesmyth on Blog, Gaming

Blizzcon 2009 – An Epic Adventure – Day 1

I can’t believe its almost been an entire year since I attended Blizzcon and I have not finished the story! I’ll try my best to remember everything that happened!

Josh and I woke up Friday morning to my iPhone alaram and proceeded to yell “BLIZZCON” to each other in childish voices, as if it were Christmas. Today was the big day, BLIZZCON 2009! We quickly got ready for the day and proceeded to get breakfast. Unfortunately there are no Tim Hortons in California. For breakfast we had to settle with a few muffins and bottled water, however we were too excited to worry about our stomaches.

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