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Demo : 歲月後/YearsLater

2009-03-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

寫左好多好多首demo, 已經決定今年發表10首.

《歲月後》係第三首，也是我第一次用multi-track演示來發表我的demo. Guitar一次就錄好, vocal就錄左三次先滿意. 好可惜youtube的quality差左d. 原版mp3聲靚好多.

好多謝offer幫我寫歌詞的好朋友, 早日前已經收到demo《sam》的歌詞. 可惜工作實在太忙, 冇時間排練与record.

之前都有想過因該發表那10首demo. 因為有40多首, 所以風格實在大有不同. 最後最後覺得發表的demo因該係我最喜歡的. 我已經不再猶豫, 不管其他人的想法, 因為我有我風格!

熱愛音樂的朋友, 若有機會聽到我的demo, 希望你可以指點指點或者留d意見.

我會繼續努力 =)

You have 2 cows!

2009-02-22T05:38:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I have been very busy lately with work.

Last few days managed to spend some time rearranging my room to make space for my new drum set and have my guitar strings changed.

Anyways, how can Feb go away without a single post??!?

haha so here it is (btw this is from a friend):

TRADITIONAL CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create clever cow cartoon images called 'Cowkimon' and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch..

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5,000 cows and none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them..
You claim full employment and high bovine productivity.
You have the newsman who reported on the numbers arrested.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You worship them.

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You signed a 40-year contract to supply milk at RM0.06 per litre.
Then midway through, you raised the price to RM0.60 or you cut the supply.
When the buyer agrees to the new price, you change your mind again and now want RM1.20.
The buyer decided you can keep the milk and they go look for milk that comes from recycled cows or the cow urine instead.
Your two cows retire together with the Prime Minister.

And last but not least,

A SINGAPOREAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
One cow-peh and one cow-bu.

Keynote Remote Review

2009-01-14T09:10:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

Today, I'm posting a review on an iPhone application that was presented on Macworld Expo 2009.

Keynote Remote

It runs on the iPhone as well as the iPod Touch. So far it works on firmware 2.0 and above with no problem.

Downloading the Keynote Remote app was quick on the 3G network. Guess the app is really small in size. U'll need iWork '09 to pair up your Mac with the iPhone.

To start pairing, launch Keynote Remote and select Link to Keynote (or New Keynote Link in Settings screen). U'll be presented with a 4 digit Passcode. The on-screen instructions will then guide u with the rest of the process:

(aka iPhone's lucky 4D generator)

Once that's done, u're good to go. Keynote Remote can start a slide show from remote once Keynote is running.

I have actually posted a review on the iTunes App Store and here's the original text:

The Keynote Remote is an excellent presenter's companion and a fantastic idea.

The following are some suggested improvements:

1) A setting to allow tapping on the screen to move on to next slide
2) Zooming the preview slide (using 2 fingers)
3) Pointer and marker tools (while zoomed in)
4) Menu to skip to specific slide (maybe in coverflow style?)
5) Button to switch to last used application (same as pressing H key while in slide mode) and perhaps bring the slideshow back on screen
6) Switching between landscape and portrait mode using the accelerometer
7) Keep the price tag at $0.99 and free upgrade for those who have already bought version 1 =P

Overall, I give the Keynote Remote a 5/5 because this is the first version; it simply works and it's useful. Apple will have to implement all my suggestions to earn a 5/5 the next version =)

It has finally happened

2009-01-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

Yes it has.

I had a vision of a social networking phone sometime slightly less than 2 years back.

A phone that sync real time your address book with the contact list of your social networks. U get to see if your friends are online on all major IM networks via the same address book (contact list). So all u need to do is to pick ur friends and start messaging them, they'll get an IM, email or SMS depending on their presence status.

A phone that treats web applications as its first of class (or on par with native apps). Web apps stay connected and remain running until quit them. U can multitask between web and native apps. Native apps are merely those that ships with the phone. Some of them too, are web apps (I called them gadgets just like how MS or Google calls them). 3rd developers can create gadgets that are meant to be "installed" permanently on the phone.

While I called it the "social networking phone", Palm calls it the "webOS phone".

Though this new product has not provided (no documentation of that yet) OS level APIs that allow web apps to activate hardware/OS level resources (eg: camera, GPS) via Javascript, it is very close to my original vision. Plus, they did a great job designing the handset.

Everyone, the Palm Pre.

I tried searching on youtube to get a good video demo. But most of them looks at the Palm Pre as "another smart phone". They are not doing their reviews right.

iClarified.com however, has posted a great article describing how this phone is different from the rest by focusing on its crown jewels, webOS and Synergy.

But before that, let me show u the ad from Palm:

And now the article from iClarified.com [original link]

Palm, Inc. today unveiled its groundbreaking Palm webOS mobile platform, built from the ground up to be constantly connected to the web, and the new Palm Pre, the first phone based on the new platform. Pre is scheduled to be available exclusively from Sprint in the first half of 2009.

Palm webOS is a brand-new kind of platform, invented exclusively for mobile use. webOS recognizes that you want your people, calendars and information to move with you, wherever you are, wirelessly, as opposed to being bound to a personal computer. Palm webOS is the first mobile platform to automatically bring your information from the many places it resides - on your phone, at your work or on the web - into one simple, integrated view. The new Palm Pre and webOS are designed to be so in sync with your needs that it feels like Pre is thinking ahead for you.

"Palm products have always been about simplifying lives and delivering great user experiences," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "webOS and Pre bring game-changing simplicity to an increasingly mobile world by dissolving the barriers that surround your information. It's technology that seems like it's thinking ahead to bring you what you care about most - your people, your time, and your information - in the easiest and most seamless way."

"Pre continues Sprint's leadership in open access to the content customers want for a great web-connected experience," said Dan Hesse, Sprint chief executive officer. "We look forward to bringing this remarkably innovative device to our customers on America's most dependable 3G network.

Palm's new OS is the first mobile platform to be built from the ground up to combine standard technology, innovation and integration. At its core, webOS leverages several industry-standard technologies, including web technologies such as CSS, XHTML and JavaScript. On top of that, Palm has included creative and innovative advancements to enhance the overall user experience and provided a deep integration of all elements within the platform.

The new platform was designed to allow a vast ecosystem of partners, including developers, hardware suppliers, and accessories manufacturers, to develop core solutions to complement the platform and product line. For developers, webOS shatters traditional barriers to mobile-application development by offering a rich open development environment that's familiar to tens of millions of web developers. More people can develop for the platform and can do it faster than ever before. The platform's flexible environment will also allow developers to distribute their applications over-the-air via an on-device Palm application store.

Your Life, Brought Together
The new platform introduces Palm Synergy, a key feature of webOS that brings your information from all the places it resides into one logical view. You don't have to worry about tracking multiple calendars, contacts and messaging applications - Synergy brings it to you for a more comprehensive and truly representative view of your life.

Linked contacts - With Synergy, you have a single view that links your contacts from a variety of sources, so accessing them is easier than ever. For example, if you have the same contact listed in your Outlook(3), Google and Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes that they're the same person and links the information, presenting it to you as one listing. And if you update a contact on your webOS device, it also will be updated in your various accounts, whether on a personal computer or on the web.

Layered calendars - Your calendars can be seen on their own or layered together in a single view, combining work, family, friends, sports teams, or other interests. You can toggle to look at one calendar at a time, or see them all at a glance.

Combined messaging - Synergy lets you see all your conversations with the same person in a chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want to reply with text messaging. You can also see who's active in a buddy list right from contacts, and start a new conversation with just one touch.

Your Information, Effortlessly
By smartly integrating your information, webOS is designed to think ahead for you and keep you on top of the things that happen in your life, but that's just the first step. The platform's unique interface brings your information to you with the ease that only Palm can offer.

Web-connected applications - Applications are seamlessly connected to the web and always active(4), ensuring you have the most up-to-date information.

Run multiple applications at the same time - Palm's revolutionary webOS lets you manage multiple activities more effectively than any other mobile platform today. It lets you keep multiple applications open and instantly flip from one to another.(4)

Instinctive user interface - With its multi-touch interface, webOS lets you move easily between activities like flipping through a deck of cards and rearrange items simply by dragging them; when you are done with something, just throw it away. And finding what you need is easy with universal search - as you type what you're looking for, the OS narrows your search and offers results from both your device and the web.(5)

Intuitive and unobtrusive notifications - When important things come up or new updates arrive, you'll receive notifications with a diplomacy that's a radical departure from other mobile platforms. For example, if you receive a text message or email, a scrolling notifications bar at the bottom of your screen lets you address it right away or leave until later. webOS alerts are one step ahead, ensuring that you never miss a thing, but never lose your place or train of thought.

Palm Pre: The First webOS Phone
Pre has a breakthrough interface and hardware design that makes it the most integrated and user-friendly phone for mobile users. Featuring a smooth, rounded ergonomic design and a physical keyboard that slides out only when needed, Pre is engineered to feel natural in the hand and comfortably small in the pocket. When closed, the phone is ideal for phone calls, web browsing, music, photos and videos; when open, Pre is optimized for email and text messaging. With its curved slider and gesture-controlled touch interface, Pre fuses exquisite design with the revolutionary webOS software for fast access to anything on the device or web. It's an instinctive user experience that seems to anticipate your needs.

"As our lives revolve more and more around the web, devices like Palm Pre that transform how we interact with the web will lead the way," said Hesse. "We are focused on bringing our customers a superior experience that includes easy-to-use devices, simple pricing and value with Simply Everything all-inclusive offerings, plus Ready Now, our exclusive retail program that helps customers leave the store feeling comfortable and confident they know how to use their new device."

Pre will support a variety of differentiated on-device Sprint services, including Sprint TV, offering an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming. Sprint Navigation provides GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings. Sprint also offers more than a dozen streaming-radio applications, including Sprint Radio with more than 150 channels.

Palm Pre features include the following:
- High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A or UMTS HSDPA)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g(6)
- Integrated GPS(7)
- Large 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display
- Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
- Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
- Email, including Outlook EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (POP3, IMAP)
- Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)(4)
- High-performance, desktop-class web browser
- Great multimedia experience and performance (pictures, video playback, music), featuring a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
- Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
- 8GB of internal user storage (~7.4GB user available)
- USB mass storage mode
- MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
- Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
- Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
- Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
- Removable, rechargeable battery
- Dimensions: 59.57mm (W) x 100.53mm (L, closed) x 16.95mm (D) [2.35 inches (W) x 3.96 inches (L, closed) x 0.67 inches (D)]
- Weight: ~135 grams [4.76 ounces]

An array of compelling accessories also will be available for Pre, including the first inductive charging solution for phones (sold separately). Simply set Pre down on top of the elegantly designed Palm Touchstone™ charging dock without worrying about connection, orientation or fit. Pre is active while charging, so you can access the touch screen, watch movies or video, or use the speakerphone.

Availability and Pricing
Palm Pre is scheduled to be available first in the United States exclusively from Sprint in the first half of 2009, and will be followed by a world-ready UMTS version for other regions. Sprint's pricing for the phone has not yet been determined.

Customers who would like to register to receive additional information about Pre and be notified when it's available can register at www.palm.com

Very cool indeed rite? Wireless (inductive they call it) charging with Touchstone, that itself is already impressive.

I was telling Han before that anyone who wants to make a good phone better not copy the iPhone. Apple has already done it... u don't wanna be another clone.

Palm is smart to angle the product such. It doesn't attempt to innovate where Apple is good at. Instead, they turn to social networking. Brilliant strategy (pat on my back and give myself credit for having the same vision 2 yrs back =)

Wanted to post my research (including GUI descriptions) all here, but back then I was doing it for my company, so I guess those are pretty much company's property and should remain confidential =P

Ok here's a youtube video from Phone Scoop with the phone in action
(it doesn't show enough webOS and Synergy features though)

And here's a series of (not so clear) videos of the Palm Pre debut in CES:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Enough said, visit Palm.com for more info.

One last thing:
Is this an iPhone killer? Yes and no, it's a different category altogether but it's sure cool as hell.

There are rumors that the next iPhone upgrade include a quad core CPU and firmware 3.0. I'll write about that once I double check the facts with my sources =P

It's gonna be another exciting year folks =)

MacWorld Expo 2009

2009-01-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I'm back to cover MacWorld Expo 2009!

As some of u know, I actually intended to fly over to attend this event. However, after given some thought, I picked the Italy + Switzerland + France + UK combo vs this US one. If my plans go smoothly, I'll be heading to Hong Kong again this June followed by UK in early July. Ya ya, I know, some of u have been pestering me for my entire 2008 travel fotos. I'll put them up as soon as possible k? They just keep piling up =P

Anyway, glad I didn't pick the MacWorld Expo 2009 event =P A month ago, we started hearing that Steve Jobs isn't gonna be on stage. Hmmm, I think I'll be pulling my hair if I've planned to go.

Ok, back to the cover. All credits goes to crunchgear.com, I'm just picking up the highlights and writing my thoughts as an Apple enthusiast and unofficial evangelist =P

Instead of Steve Jobs, Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing is presenting this very last MacWorld Expo keynote. From 2010 onwards, expect Apple to hold their own events.

Newly updated products: iLife and iWork.

If u're not a Mac user, u wouldn't appreciate what these are. Basically iWork is the Apple MS Office alternative. While MS Office packs more than enough features (most of us only use 20%) and is considered the giant in office productivity, iWork comes in as the slick, cool and it-just-works office solution. iWork is simple, just 3 applications: Pages for documents editing, Numbers for spreadsheets and Keynote for presentations. And it's 99.999% compatible with MS Office (well, most office apps now are... didn't u know that?).

And as for iLife, there isn't a single software suite that provides the same stuff on the PC/Windows platform. Nope PC users u just dun get it. Get urself a life, get a Mac, get iLife! LOL. iLife comes with all Macs btw, so u can start doing ur foto/music/video stuff with the Mac out of the box.

iLife provides a suite of applications that do the following: iWeb for web design/authoring (most of us don't use that but I think lots of end user folks do), iPhoto for photo organizing and uploading (Picasa and now Facebook + Flickr), iMovie for video editing without launching your heavy weight Adobe Premiere and lastly GarageBand, the music mixing software that just works. FYI, I've been using iMovie to do my demo track video editing (not pro I know, but it's easy enough for video production newbies) and GarageBand for all my multi-track music creation.

Ok, so now I'm done with the intro, here's what's new:

iLife: iPhoto

now supports Geotagging + maps (that's what I've been asking for lately!) called Places
Faces: face detection feature so that iPhoto knows who is in the foto the next time u add one! COOL! On top of that, if u upload it to Facebook, it'll auto tag your fotos for u. Nice.

iLife: iMovie

Precision Editor: Well I guess with that it's one tiny step closer to Adobe Premiere
Stabilizer or video jittering fix: stitches 2 videos taken at different angles and create a smooth transition. It sounds like Photoshop's auto align layers except that this is for video. Accordingly to Crunchgear, it's like Hollywood effects. Wow, that's a big thing
Slow down or speed up video segments: it's one thing that I found missing, thank god it's in now =)
Crunchgear says iMovie is now super polished and looks professional

GarageBand now includes instruments lesson. Well, interesting, but I'm not quite sure that can be considered as the application's new feature. But I must say that there's not too much room for improvement if u wanna keep it simple yet sosphisticated. Perhaps they can add more instruments or include a new wave table set =P I guess Apple wanna encourage GarageBand users to go beyond the keyboard and pick up the guitar =) That means it'll be analog tracks but also mean better music. I'm sure the tutorials will be great for first time guitar players. They cost though, $4.99 per lesson.

UPDATE: 6 guitar and keyboard lessons come free with iLife GarageBand =)

Didn't cover much on iWeb and iDVD but they are said to be updated as well. Shipping later this month.

iWork: Keynote

Magic move: fancy transition effects (like Obama swings, etc)
Chart animations (hmmm)
New themes (yes! I love their preso themes. Way better than those boring MS ones)
Remote app for iPod Touch and iPhone over WiFi: WOW! this is cool, it means that I can now remotely control my Keynote presentation while seeing what's on screen on my iPhone? Might sound like a silly gimmick, but hey I look at my audience when I do presentations, not the projector screen and I dun like to keep turning around =P Landscape mode shows the slide+notes and portrait mode shows current and upcoming slide. Cool! It's 95 cents. But heck if u already own an iPod Touch or iPhone, u can now save that 30-40 bucks remote control.... which... I have just bought a couple of months back... =(

Pages get updated with 40 templates! That's awesome! Apple's templates are great stuff I assure u. U'll be amazed how sleek they are.

Numbers get updated with more formulas and table categories (*yawnz*). Sorry, I'm no numbers person =)

Another new service from Apple, iWork.com. Suppose to let people share documents and all. I guess it's pretty much like Google Docs, u can upload / edit / comment / notify and share via iWork. Is said to view MS Office files with no problems. Free for now, charge later =P Hope it isn't as bad as the initial MobileMe service.

As rumored, there's a new slimmer 17 inch Macbook Pro. It's also has an Unibody chassis like the rest of the Macbook family members.

(They didn't really mention if the battery is removable, but it's definitely a new type of battery. The non-removable battery design is being rumored and I guess that's how it gets slimmer. I also suspect that this might be the same type of batteries found in the Macbook Air. Just like the Unibody chassis, Macbook Air came with all these new technology innovations when it was first launched. Btw, I'm now happily using my new 2nd Gen Macbook Air muahahaha)

UPDATE: Just checked the specs on Apple.com it is a built-in battery. And it is the lightest 17 inch notebook.

Here's the specs: 2.93GHz proc, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM (ships with 4GB), GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT, 320 GB HDD (optional up to 256 GB SSD), 17-inch anti-glare option with metal bezel. No glass screen. 0.98 inches thin. 6.6 pounds. 1900×1200 resolution. 700:1 contrast ratio. 60 percent greater color gamut.

8 hours battery life if u use the NVidia GeForce 9400M and 7 hours if u turn on GeForce 9600M GT. Philip mentioned an adaptive charging feature that reduces wear and tear of the battery. Wonder if that's a firmware thing and can be applied to other Macbooks.

UPDATE: According to Apple.com, it's a chip on the battery that facilitates this and extend the battery life to up to 5 years (1000 recharge cycles)

Last thing: iTunes Plus - DRM free songs. 8 million songs DRM free now and another 2 later on. I like the 'Plus' word! My colleagues will know why =P

Ok, I'm almost done.

Not sure if u're interested but the guy who presented (let's give him credit for his guts) is Philip Schiller. His CrunchBase profile.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Demo : Sam (Special Guest: Gini)

2008-12-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

This is my second demo track video. A rather relaxed yet unique tune I think. Hope u guys like it. Really appreciate the comments for the last video. I have now changed the backdrop but I'm still learning how to adjust lighting. Hopefully by the next video I'll be able to improve the video frame rate and audio quality.

Cheers

Unboxing Samson G Track Condenser Microphone

2008-12-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

Yo folks!

Pretty delighted to receive my Amazon package couple of days back. My Samson G Track microphone has finally arrived just in time for Christmas! =D

(My CNY gift is on the way MUAAhahaha...)

This USB condenser microphone has a few nifty features. First, it has a good level of noise reduction and SuperCardioid pickup pattern. Second, it is a condenser, so I can plug in any analogue electric instrument (say guitar or bass) without the need for a USB audio mixer. It even comes with audio out so I can plug in a reference headset and listen to the recorded music while recording the vocal track. Third, the on-set controls are brilliant; I can change the different pickup volumes, stereo/mono recording and mono/stereo/cpu monitoring directly on the set to get "clean" sound. Adjusting all these using software sometimes just isn't good enough.

And here's the unboxing fotos =D

Actually they don't deliver this item to SG, but I managed to get it via VPost kekeke.

The back of the box. Shows product features and some technical info.

It comes with ALL the cables that I need, 1/4" to 1/8" male-to-male, 1/4" to 1/8" female-to-male, audio component to 1/8" male. It's really thoughtful because I just hate those products that don't ship with the necessary cables and make u guess which "hole" is for what >,<!!

Took me a short while to assemble it. Though it may look straightforward, there's a nut that needs to be removed using a screwdriver in the pivot swivel before the whole thing can be put together. It would be great if the manual documented the assembly of the mic+stand.

The mic works with any audio recording software and any operating system that supports the USB audio driver/codec. That'll include all professional Win/Mac audio production software like Apple's Garageband and Adobe's Audition.

I recorded a track and found the quality to be exceptionally good (based on its price tag). So be assured that I'll be using this to record my demo audio tracks from now on.

Overall, I find this a value-for-money and quality product and will certainly recommend it for anyone who is into DJing, pod casting or song writing.

Hacksan Studio Productions

2008-12-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Yup, I guess by now most of u have seen my first demo track video on Hacksan.com or on my Facebook/Friendster profile page.

This blog post explains why and how I ended up doing music =)

U might be wondering since when Sam is into music, but the fact is, I have been composing since I was 14. Haha yup, I wrote my first computer program when I was 12 and started composing music when I was 14. Hey, I'm not arrogant ok, it just happened that way =P

I started listening to the Hong Kong rock band BEYOND since I was 12 so by 14 I was inspired to compose some of my own. In the first year, when I was sec 2, I wrote 14 songs. The second year, 8. The third year, about 5. Fourth year I got busy with O'levels (excuse) and the next time I composed was when I served my 2 years national service. Think I only wrote 3 songs throughout my NS days but didn't really bother to record them.

I still kept the original 14 songs' lyrics intact in a folder it seems haha...

This year, during late June, I went to Hong Kong to attend 別了家駒十五載紀念展覽, an exhibition tribute to the late rock band's leader, Koma 黄家駒.

During the trip, I was inspired again to create music. I felt so strongly about it that I started researching on home recording studio tech stuff, the process of producing music and modern USB music instruments.

So that's how I have seriously started composing again. From late June till now, I have written over 30 demos.

Hope to share more soon.

Demo : Aspiration/再追

2008-12-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first demo track tryout. The name of the demo is Aspiration/再追. I'll be uploading better quality recording once my Samson G-Track condenser has arrived. Thank u for watching my demo, I hope u like it =)

Now u can be a hacker too =)

2008-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Mission level | Newbie

Mission brief | You are to infiltrate a network server located on the planet death star. The following instructions will assist you in starting your mission:

On Windows, click the start button then hit run. Type cmd and press enter.
On Mac OS X / Linux / Solaris / *BSD, start a terminal session.

Type telnet and press enter.
Type o and press enter.
Enter the following secret address to locate the death star server: towel.blinkenlights.nl
Hit Enter.

May the force be with you...

JavaFX launch

2008-12-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Need I say more? Visit http://www.javafx.com now =)

Sun.com gets a design update

2008-11-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

source: http://www.sun.com

Sun.com updated its design not too long ago (sun.com.sg still keeps the old design)

Actually it's not a big deal, but I'm writing about it here since I'm an user interface junkie who likes to comment just about every design =P

Took 2 screenshots and stitch them up using "Auto-Align Layers" in Photoshop =)

It's nice to see that they finally know how to showcase their assets (eg: Java, MySQL, etc).
Well use of AJAX to spice up the site and I really like the menu bar on the top, now it is much wider and reminds of the one from apple.com =P

Btw, more than 10 million folks worldwide have already downloaded OpenOffice 3.0 (Mac/Linux/Windows), download yours today at http://www.openoffice.org!

YouTube Live Event

2008-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

The YouTube Live event is currently on-going. It's impressive I must say. Fact that probably the whole world is watching (I guess), almost no lag and it streams 3 different camera views at the same time! =)

Not sure if the end-user service will have the same multi-camera feature when it is launched.

For today, it is merely an event for YouTube to showcase its Live capability and also as a "get-together" opportunity for those who have contributed to YouTube. The guest list is, for a lack of better word, impressive =P

Magic shows, myth busters, singers, hip-hop dance performances, interviews, etc.

U can watch it live (while it is still on-going) here: http://www.youtube.com/live

UPDATE: They even invited Happy Tree Friends! Yeah! =D

Shunjie is famous! (again?)

2008-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Haha, I'm half way through reading my daily TechCrunch feeds when I come across a Yahoo! mobile beta site been exposed.

TechCrunch took the liberty to take a few snapshots of the beta site and guess what? It got Shunjie's name on the author's Yahoo! oneConnect Pulse! And it's him becos "Seesmic.com" is attached to his status message =)

Not bad huh? Got TechCrunch folks following SG developers =P

source: http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2008/11/21/new-beta-version-of-myahoocom-in-the-works-weve-got-screenshots/

iPhone Firmware 2.2 released

2008-11-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

As reported by Apple, there are several new updates to the iPhone firmware.

This update mainly fixes issues found in web browser Safari, phone and email software.

The main feature improvements seem to be Google Maps street view and downloadable podcast via iTunes over wireless networks. U can now jump back to the home screen by pressing the home button if u're not on the first page of the home screen.

source: http://iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=2303

New iPhone Firmware: ver 2.2

2008-11-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

Expect Apple to release its iPhone firmware version 2.2 in the next few hours. In anticipation of that, Apple has already released iTunes 8.0.2. Something's brewing definitely.

The iPhone Dev Team on the other hand has reported that they are closer to a 3G soft unlock solution. However, they advised that if u want a true soft unlock for ur iPhone 3G, do not upgrade to firmware 2.2. My iPhone 3G is already hardware unlocked by the operator, so no worries on my end =P

So what's in the firmware version 2.2? Well apparently there's a vulnerability (or bug for non-geeks) that allows the browser in the iPhone to make a phone call without much human intervention. The threat is not as bad as a virus but should be closed (fixed).

Here's a video demo:

source: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=2300

There are couple of other new features in the update, including Safari / Google maps / language pack and App Store improvements, but nothing is confirmed. All these features appeared in the beta so most probably they'll make it to the final version.

Something good for gamers: Electronic Arts will be releasing its iPhone version of SimCity in December 08. Initial reports have it that it resembles SimCity 3000 and EA will give it a price tag of $9.90, which about 15 SG bucks. Given that this is a multi-touch version of the game, it should be quite entertaining. Remember, this game will also work on the iPod Touch.

Here's a screenshot of iPhone SimCity:

Source: http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=2299

Gmail themes!

2008-11-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

For quite a long while now, I have been using the Firefox add-on "Better Gmail" to theme my Gmail interface. Not that I'm not pleased with the default Gmail theme, I just wanted something cool to appear every time I check my email =P Better Gmail includes many other add-on features besides skinning Gmail's interface.

Now Google has launched a new feature in Gmail. Guess what? Themes =P

Yup, just click on the settings link on the top right corner after u login Gmail. Then link on the tab labeled "Themes".

I'm trying out one of the cooler themes available. Not bad =)

家强 Happy Birthday 2008

2008-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

My thoughts on the new MacBook Air

2008-10-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

Phew... finally I can take a break from everything else and put a few hours on my blog =) I have been extremely busy recently; traveling and falling sick. Had stomach flu right after a bad cough, for 1 week straight... really bad =(

Anyways, good things do happen. And something nice happened when I went to Indonesia for a biz trip about 2 weeks ago. Hehe, can't reveal it yet but some close friends would know as I have shamelessly asked for praises already Muaahahaha! It's something too personal to state now but I'll post it just to keep it on the record sometime March 2009 =) Nah, I'm far from having a Gf, let alone getting married =P

Now back to the new MacBook Air:

watch the Apple - October 2008 Special Event KeyNote update

First of all, I'll like to give my opinions on the original MacBook Air because much of it still applies to the new one. I got it when it was first available early 2008. Nothing comes close to its slimness really; my previous notebook the Toshiba Protégé R200 (the thinnest before the MacBook Air) was compact but the MacBook Air is much slicker.

MacBook Air VS Lenovo X300 (Lenovo's answer to MacBook Air)

source: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4270

Exterior
The aluminium casing feels solid and looks great. U can forget about the fragile plastic feeling that u're getting with your notebook if u're using the MacBook Air. Battery life has been superb; living up the Steve Jobs' claims of 5 hours.

Display
The 13.3 wide LCD screen is the perfect size for an ultra portable (videos or emails), and the LED backlite brights up the entire screen instantly.

Missing says who?
Trust me, u're not gonna miss that DVD drive if u're a mobile worker. Ya I'll need that RJ45 Ethernet port once in a while but otherwise I'm good on 802.11n and Mac OS X hooks me up on wireless networks with ease all the time. So all the complains that Apple's competitors have been shooting at the MacBook Air, don't really apply if u put the product in its target context; mobile.

Mobile means writing code while u're at the airport. Mobile means u hop from place to place to get your work done. And in modern day context, mobile means u use ur MacBook on ur lap with no cables.

Downside
The only "grievances" I have are that the 1st Gen MacBook Air didn't have adequate storage space and isn't Nvidia equipped.

Now that Apple has solved my 2 major "grievances", I'm happy to say I'm already a potential MacBook Air (2nd Gen) customer =D It's shipping in November so I'll try to get my hands on one then.

Though it has been long that notebooks come with Nvidia GPUs, but none is as slim as the new MacBook Air.

And ok, finally to my technical opinions of the new MacBook Air.

If u look carefully at the technical specifications, u'll noticed that the CPU configurations remains at 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz but the L2 cache size is increased from 2MB to an amazing 6MB limit! That makes the CPU on the MacBook Air comparable* in performance to desktop Macs (exclude the Mac Pro) in this aspect.

CPU L2 cache size determines how much data and "program" can be loaded and made available to the 2 cores at any given moment. Which means, contrarily, having a low L2 cache size actually deprive the 2 cores from functioning in parallel; each core has to wait for the other to finish accessing the L2 cache before it can overwrite it with the data that it wants to access. In a multi-core CPU environment (eg: dual or quad), it becomes more and more important to have larger L2 cache capacity (at least for Intel CPUs).

* There are many aspects that affects overall CPU performance; these include, not exhausively, word size (32/64/128bit), no. of cores, clock speed (the GHz thingy), bus (motherboard) speed (also measured in MHz/GHz), RAM speed, RAM size and L2/L3 cache size.

Next, memory. It's still 2GB but it's now DDR3 at 1066MHz! The original MacBook Air featured a 667MHz RAM DIMM with the frontside bus at 800MHz. What this means is that the RAM speed is almost 60% faster. And it's not only that, rarely do I see consumer desktop manufacturer produce machines with equal bus and RAM speeds. This is what I have been looking forward to since the days I saw Sun Microsystems doing it with their UltraSPARC servers. Nice work Apple!

So with the above, let's just say that we can expect the new MacBook Air to possibly run faster; I rather not bore u with the lengthy CPU cache hit calculations here =P

Next, storage. During the keynote, Steve Jobs mentioned a few times about the increase in capacity but didn't touch on access speed. Nevertheless, the hard drive is now connected via SATA rather than PATA. I suspect it's SATA 150 and not SATA 300. PATA's effective transfer rate is at 133MB/s and SATA 150 is at, as it states, 150MB/s. So we're talking about a difference of 17MB/s. Maybe that's not a lot to a lot of people. Perhaps that's why Apple chooses to keep mum about it.

At this point, I'll like to talk about the differences between HDD and SSD. It's pretty much proven that there is a difference in battery life between the 2 options. However, here are the dirty secrets:

We used to compare a 64GB SSD to a 80GB single platter HDD. In best cases, the SSD lasts 17% longer than HDD but let's not forget it comes with 20% less capacity. We know that SSD sucks more juice for larger capacity while for HDD it multiples for the number of platters. Now that we have a 120GB single platter VS 128GB SSD... it's interesting to see the statistics when it is available
SSD still sucks juice on sleep mode, HDD don't. HDD uses more power otherwise
HDD is faster at reading/writing large data chunks sequentially while SSD is faster at reading/writing small data chunks at random address locations

source: http://anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226&p=16

One other difference includes noise emission. But frankly speaking, the MacBook Air has the quietest hard drive compared to other notebooks. Personally, I don't hear my hard drive spinning or reading/writing (the tackling sound) even in a quiet room. That I must say, is a very different experience from all the other notebooks that I have had in the past.

Graphics. Ok Steve Jobs says the Nvidia GeForce 9400M runs at 4X the Intel X3100 integrated graphics chipset's speed. But what it provides more is compatibility. Nvidia offers 3D games compatibility, which means OpenGL runs better, which means the APIs called by the games I wanna play will probably be processed rather than avoided, so I'll see more types of shades and lighting effects =) I'll only know if it's "fast" enough when I try the upcoming Diablo 3 on it. It's definitely not as fast as the GeForce 8800 GT, which is a little sad. But hey, I rather have this than thicken the MacBook Air by another inch with a GPU cooler fan. Lastly, it shares RAM with the CPU so while it doesn't come with dedicated memory, it doesn't suck extra juice outta ur battery. This approach also ensures that the VRAM doesn't run at speeds slower than the front side bus, which is crucial for gaming performance.

Hmmm, enough tech talk I guess. I sound like an Apple tech evangelist justifying all their design decisions wahaha =D

Anyways, I'll be letting my current MacBook Air go the moment I get the new one.

Any takers? =P

Apple September 2008 Special Event

2008-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Amazing companies at Techcrunch50

2008-09-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Wow there's quite a few amazing startups out there at Techcrunch50!
U can watch it LIVE here.

Coincidentally the 2 startups that really amazes me big time with their bleeding edge technologies are from Japan! =D

Obviously the rest are really great too (eg: Mytopia and Connective Logic) but these 2 Japanese startups are hardcore!! =P

These guys have built a system that traces what impact u make whenever u buy a product. Any consumer product. U can check the impact by scanning the barcode of a product using a webcam and it'll return a very cool interactive tree-interface representation of the resources used to produce the product. By resources, in this particular context, we're referring to raw ingredients, electricity and even fuel used to deliver the product. Impressive.

Link http://opentrace.org
Watch the DEMO

Another company, Tonchidot, developed an iPhone application (+ a network) that brings up a bunch of OSD (on screen display) icons in camera mode. These OSD icons are geo-tagged descriptors of the objects around you. Wanna know which restaurant around u serves better food? Where is the closest washroom? That's the idea behind this invention. Turn the iPhone around while running the app and u'll see the OSD icons following the objects they're describing and more OSD icons will show up describing the new objects that just came into the camera. Don't get me? IMAGINE =P

Link http://sekaicamera.com/
Watch the DEMO

Ok these 2 companies are great, but I think I'm gonna buy the product from FitBit =P

These guys produce a wearable WiFi device that tracks your daily calorie intake/burn rate. U get to see all the results on a website. Simple? =)

Link http://fitbit.com/
Watch the DEMO

new iPod Nano + iPod Touch

2008-09-10T02:31:00.000-07:00

photo: apple.com

I just refreshed the page on time to see apple.com transiting its landing page to reflect the new iPod products. It's fun to seeing some of the images uploaded while some are still being uploaded =)

Couple of things that Apple updated:
- iTunes 8
- iPod Nano 4G chromatic **NEW!
- iPod Touch 2G **NEW!
- Discontinuation of the iPod Class thick model
- New Apple earphones and in-ear headphones
- New iPod shuffle colors (4)

And now to cover the event:

photos: Gizmodo.com

Signature Apple keynote style!

The new iTunes 8. New feature called Genius that generates playlists of songs that "go together". Apple seems to boast that this feature works very well.

A closer look. View by genre.

New Apple earphone with remote control (finally!) and mic:

photo: apple.com

The new iPod Nano! What we have been waiting for.

Immediately after the release of the actual dimensions (9.01cm x 3.4cm), I gauge the physical size of the device and found it very close to most mobile phones. I'm referring to the smaller Nokia models. In fact, the iPod Nano 4G measure shorter in width to most mobile phones out there. Grabbing a Nokia phone around me that measures closest to the iPod Nano 4G (Nokia 5610), I can tell u that the new iPod Nano 4G will fit very well not only in your hands but also in your jeans pocket. It's super thin!

Ok, let's hear the sales pitch from Apple to see if this new iPod Nano is worth the US$149 (SGD$248) price tag (8GB model).

I'll leave it to u to think if the price tag is ok. Here's a few more photos to entice u:

Tilting the iPod sideways switches the display to landscape mode for watching videos or selecting albums in cover flow.

Another clean look at the iPod Nano 4G.

A show of colors.

And now, the new iPod Touch (2G) priced at US$229 (8GB)

A show of features

So what's new? Integrated volume control on the sides (something that probably wasn't necessary if u know the double-tap-Home-button trick), built-in speaker (a first for an iPod! if u exclude the iPhone), new Firmware and exterior changes. Steve Jobs says it's much thinner than the original iPod Touch.

It'll be nice if the iPod Touch had a GPS built-in. That shouldn't reduce the value of the iPhone and should make the iPod Touch more fun since it'll work with geo-tagging applications. In time to come, when it is possible to squeeze a 4 mega pixel camera in, it'll be fun to snap photos on the go, geo-tag them and upload when u reach a WiFi network (say Starbucks hehe).

The new iPod family

Hmm...(from the left to right) Daddy, Mummy, Son and baby daughter? =P

cheers

What's my ringtone?

2008-09-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

Some of my good friends actually asked me what's that nice ringtone that they are hearing when they are waiting for me to pick up their call.

It's the color me ringtone service's default ringtone from SingTel. Called "Friends" for some reason. I believe this ringtone has been in existence for quite a while now.

Coincidentally, it does sound like those tunes we hear in the Apple TV ads. That's why I'm keeping it.

9th Sept iPod launch

2008-09-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

source: http://iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1795
photo: engadget.com

Just in another day, Apple will announce the new iPod and iPod touch series. Expect the new iPod nano to include an accelerometer that will allow videos in landscape orientation when tilted sideways.

As it is, Square Enix is releasing a full blown RPG game developed for the iPod (Nano, Classic and fifth generation iPods only). In fact you can buy that off the iTune Store now if u're in US or Japan. So expect more content designed for iPod in coming months.

Here's the leaked dimension blueprints (to accessory manufacturers):

If even the above don't convince u, then have a look at the 9th Sept 2008 event that Apple is promoting:

(btw, I'm almost done with the hardware performance review tests and will post them shortly)

Cheers