My Computer and I: One Way Out

My Dell Studio XPS 8100 has served me well for years now. Sooner or later, however, problems will arise, often ones that are difficult to troubleshoot. That goes with any computer system, anyway.

I have no formal training in information technology, yet I try to troubleshoot computer problems myself. With that arises a somewhat crude scientific investigation, testing one component at a time until the issue is located and fixed. So, what is the problem this time?

The problem:
While playing World of Warcraft, the game would go through random cycles of lag spikes and catch-up, lasting up to minutes at a time, sometimes disconnecting completely. While surfing the Web, webpages would randomly take minutes to load, if at all, and refreshing would sometimes retrieve the webpage in full.

Succeeding at giving way

A rolling mass of stone and earth is loose around the room, devouring anything, living or inanimate, in its path. Turning a corner, you breath a sigh of relief, having gained distance from the voracious being known as Oregorger. You are safe for now.

Unexpectedly, as if in an instant, the unstoppable goren zips to the intersection you just passed. Dazed by the collision against the wooden picket fence, it halts for a bit, although you know it will be mere seconds before it makes off again, almost certainly in your direction.

Run away: Turn to page 87
Try to run behind it: Turn to page 155
Turn the next corner: Turn to page 172

In the second phase of the Oregorger encounter in Blackrock Foundry, the namesake boss drops whatever it is doing and enters a Rolling Fury. At first it may seem random, but the motion observes a few very simple rules:

WoW Mathematics: Scavenging for Resources

Garrison missions are a great way to earn Garrison Resources, of which rewards may be further boosted by assigning followers with the Scavenger trait. Unfortunately, followers with Scavenger may not also have the required counters for the mission, and so a question arises: maximise the success chance of the mission, or boost the potential rewards up for grabs?

This commander has received the mission Out of His Element, which offers 48 Garrison Resources as a reward. He or she has the choice of assigning Auriel Brightsong, whom has a needed Group Damage counter for a 100% success chance, and Greatmother Geyah, whom has Scavenger, adding a further 200% Garrison Resources for a successful mission. Whom should he or she assign?

Treasure awaits!

Summary:

• To maximise Garrison Resources over the long term, the commander should assign Greatmother Geyah to Out of His Element.

Succeeding at not getting motion sickness

It is commonly accepted that normal computer use will not physically harm humans. While flashing images for epilepsy sufferers is a well-known exception, another can be found in the Hans'gar and Franzok encounter in the Blackrock Foundry.

This encounter is characteristic in that most of the floor area is moveable conveyor belts, filling much of the screen (and, by extension, the field of view) with apparent motion, even though none is felt sitting at the keyboard. In the more queasy of players, this can result in motion sickness, producing dizziness, nausea and maybe even vomiting. Given how crippling this is to raid performance, how are you supposed to handle it?

The Lightwell method

Look deep into my eyes... if you can find them.

Since nausea can arise when you see movement but do not feel it, the most obvious solution is to look at something on the screen that is not moving. The user interface (UI) elements, such as actionbars and nameplates, are options, although they might be too far into the peripheral field to focus on. Some environmental alternatives include:

Plight of the Pandaren

Meet Pguinto, a pandaren Holy priest on realm Frostmourne-US. When not administering hugs on short notice, he likes to disrupt the operations of the Iron Horde with other, like-minded adventurers. Thus far, he enjoys life and what it has to offer, but has recently noticed smoke on the horizon.

Living on a PvP (player-versus-player) server, Pguinto has had his share of being ganked, but has noticed its worsening since his entrance to Draenor. Now, when he survives another day unscathed, he breathes a sigh of relief for not needing to die to a random Alliance adventurer, killing him for reasons he cannot fathom. Unfortunately, this fearful experience is common to all Wandering Isle pandaren, Huojin and Tushui alike.

Description

Common name: Pandaren
Scientific name: Ailuropoda sapiens
AUCN conservation status: Endangered
Estimated individuals remaining worldwide: 1.1 million (6.3%)