Some rumours do come true - Intel to make ARM processors

Read a Cult of Mac article months back doubting rumours that Intel will ever manufacture ARM processors but today, the Apple tech website posted a Reuters report indicating Intel will indeed make ARM chips as soon as 2014. Looks like companies like Apple now has yet another alternative... a very big alternative. This also goes to show how company goals change when the guy at the top changes.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

I've never been more excited over an X-Men movie as this because I was never a fan. Even though I watched all 4 movies of recent times, my interest never piqued much but this one, this one is different. It features the mutant hunting Sentinels which I first heard of while playing the X-Men Legends game on the now obsolete Sony Playstation 2. It also features Wolverine traveling between time to the original trilogy characters and the more recent X-Men: First Class guys. AND, I'd like to know how Professor X came back to life after being blown to pieces by the Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey.

Just learnt via The Verge that the official trailer is out and here it is:

The Verge had much earlier featured an in-movie advertisement of Trask Industries, the company that created the Sentinels.

"Light Goes On" Light Painting Stop Motion Animation

Is it even possible to associate stop motion animation with light painting? I mean, light travels so darn fast while stop motion is a painstakingly slow process of capturing small movements of objects in hundreds of frames to make just a few seconds of video... Lo and behold, someone by the name Darren Pearson just did it. Be amazed by the video below titled Light Goes On and then check out the via link to find out more about him if you are impressed.

via PetaPixel.

The Mysterious Case of the Curvaceous Phones

Question: Do you like your phone curve this way or that way?

I suppose this should belong in a tweet but I just got to post it here because I'm totally amused by these guys. Well, at least we know the technology is already here.

With great power comes great responsibilities...

... with great responsibilities, our country's two top leaders will definitely need to use lots of power and water. Surely they need to work round the clock and hold meetings with many important people. The public should never doubt that.

In a written reply, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the government spent RM2,237,788.13 for electricity and RM311,174.25 for water bills respectively last year for the Seri Perdana complex, which is the official residence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

"Meanwhile for the Sri Satria complex, which is the official residence of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, a total of RM865,458.56 was spent on electricity and RM 99,264.03 for water bills in 2012," said Shahidan in a reply to Anthony Loke (DAP-Seremban) who asked for a statement on the cost of electricity and water bills for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister's residences last year.

via The Sun Daily.

16GB, 32GB, 64GB or 128GB storage for your next iPad Air/Mini?

Yes it's that time of the year again whenever Apple refreshes the iPad (Air)/Mini, questions, and therefore, answers and articles will come flooding in about which storage option should one get. I would go for the biggest but in Ringgit Malaysia it is not cheap so I would most likely stick to 64GB. Nothing less. For a more comprehensive guide on which size fits you, check out iMore's guide. I think the information there about covers most typical needs.

特殊身份 (Special ID) Review

You could've read by now that this marks Donnie Yen's return to contemporary action with most of the fighting sequences featuring mixed martial arts. I was surprised that it's rated as PG13 in our local cinemas. I would've expected an 18 rating by local standards but whatever gives, I guess.

Off we go with the plot: Yen plays the protagonist Chan Zi Long that had been in deep undercover for 8 years in one of Hong Kong's most ruthless triads. The film started off with him trying to rescue 3 of his underlings who had encroached into others' territories. Action kicks in immediately after that. Weary of his duties and concern for his mom's safety, he wanted out but his superior (Ronald Cheng) that sent him into undercover got him to do the job one last time - find out what his former gang member, Sunny (Andy On), was up to. Coincidentally, his merciless triad boss, Xiong (Colin Chou), wanted Zi Long to investigate if Sunny had betrayed him.

This brought Zi Long to China where he was partnered with tough Chinese lady cop Jing Fang (Jing Tian) who also appeared to be proficient in the mixed martial arts. They did not start off well but you can expect some attempted chemistry there. Just as Zi Long's undercover duties near the end, he was discovered and all hell broke lose. Sunny had brutally injured his mother and you can guess what the hero would do next.

Typical story of an undercover cop whom you'd expect his cover to be blown with necessary heroics at the end. 2/5

Acting is what you can expect in an action film, so don't go in hoping for best actor/actress material, though Yen is more animated here compared to his usual serious and broody characters whenever he's featured in the genre. Don't expect Infernal Affairs quality here. 2/5

Lots of action sequences with mixed martial arts at the center of attention and a quite well done car chase finale, though there's lack of originality. 3/5

Romance? I'm glad the filmmakers didn't bother too much on this part. Phew! 1/5

The film had some minor continuity issues and felt hurried in the later half but that wouldn't be much of a hindrance for action fans. If you admire Donnie Yen (I started following his movies after the Ip Man films and I'm curious how he'd perform in the upcoming Monkey King/God trilogy), this is a must see. 3/5

By the way, Wikipedia's got some info about the film's pre-production problems and if you're interested, you can check it out here.

Evernote iOS App Not Bullet Proof?

I've recently imported all my Catch Notes files (because Snaptic Catch.com, the company behind this excellent app decided to call it quits) over to Evernote (iOS 7 version) and was updating one of them a couple of days ago. The notes in this file are all plain text so I decided to add some formatting to them when I noticed that Evernote supports this feature.

And so I happily highlighted the text that I wanted to put into bullet form did some indentation to discover that the numerical bullets do not change form (eg. the main bullets were 1, 2, 3... so when I indent them I had expected them to turn into i, ii, iii... or a, b, c...) but it didn't happen. Evernote would just restart the numbering. So I decided to just reduce the indent and all of a sudden the text that were not highlighted disappeared! There was no way to undo and a portion of my notes were gone! Horrors!!! o.O

Luckily I had previously emailed my notes to someone and I copied those back and placed into Evernote again. After that, I decided not to do any formatting again and just updated the notes in plain text. Did I also mention that Evernote crashed on me a few times, too? I was merely browsing my notes! I can't seem to find much info online so I guess my case could just be an isolated one. Sigh. I'll just wait out for the next update then.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit International Trailer

More new scenes from the movie in this international trailer:

Looks like Jack Ryan is slowly shaping up into another action spy/hero franchise. The other that quickly came to mind is Jason Bourne.

Previous Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit trailer and ramblings here.

Update: The movie will debut in American cinemas 17 January 2014. I hope Malaysia will get to screen it around that time, too.

Faster, Siri!

I totally agree with John Gruber that Apple should in some way increase Siri's response time. I know it's easier said than done especially when Siri needs to be online to function. My first thought was why couldn't Apple just have it built-in? I don't have any answers but I simply assume that there's a good reason for it...

The response time is especially felt when I need to call someone quickly. Worse when Siri got it wrong. Most of the time when I utilise Siri was because I was driving so imagine how frustrated it could be when I had to talk to Siri a few times to get it right but more often than not I just abandon the whole notion and use the phone the old fashion way.

Apple, we are ready for the future when people give voice commands and the device responds perfectly... AND quickly!

Disorders Caused by... the Internet

It's only a matter of time before someone (in this case that someone is somebody in TechHive) does a compilation of all the common disorders caused by the Internet and I'm proud to tell you that I'm only suffering from less than half of these:

1. You keep thinking that your phone is ringing (or vibrating) in your pocket. - urgh! I'm a patient.
2. Nomophobia (derived from "no mobile phobia") where you panic whenever you don't have  your phone with you. - Guilty as charged!
3. Dizziness or nausea when online.
4. Social depression caused by envy because your online friends only talk about their happier and cool lives.
5. Constant urge to access the Internet. - I admit this!
6. Online gaming addiction.
7. Paranoid that you may be suffering from the diseases you read online.
8. Lazy to utilise the brain because everything is at the tip of your fingertips... errr or rather Google.

Wait till someone talk about what the smartphone is doing to us... we are doomed as we know it!

Sony DSC-RX10

Looks like Sony is really innovating these days and their latest is the DSC-RX10. Looks like your typical camera with a respectable 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range and 20.2 megapixels CMOS back-illuminated sensor. But what's not typical about it are some of its cooler features:

1. Wide 2.8 aperture ACROSS the whole zoom range!!!
2. 1" sensor similar to Sony's RX100.
3. Built-in wifi that allows easy transfer/sharing via iOS and Android phones.
4. NFC capability with Android phones.

But of course, with great specs come great pricing. Though not overly high, it'll set you back US$1,299. Not many might want to invest on a non-DSLR/mirror less interchangeable lens camera at this price but it sure helps to wake up its competitors who are still battling over who has the longer zoom or whose sensor has more pixels.

via DPReview.

Invictus Review

When you need an inspiring movie about leadership, search no further. Invictus is the true story of Nelson Mandela's (Morgan Freeman) early days as South Africa's leader where the country wreaks of racism despite the end of Apartheid. An opportunity arised when he watched a rugby match where he noticed the blacks supported the competition while the whites supported the country's own team, the Springboks. To the locals, the mostly white Springboks are still a symbol of Apartheid. During that time, the Springboks were also in bad shape, losing matches.

Against expectations, Mandela stopped the new sports council's unanimous vote to disband the team and instead showed his confidence in the team to win the World Cup which the country will host in a year's time. He met the captain Francois (Matt Damon) to inspire him and the journey began where the Springboks will unite the country by winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The film depicts the divide between the majority blacks and the whites in more subtle forms and is careful on not raising sensitive issues. I think our country could learn a thing or two from this movie and I hope we would not plunge into the same fate, into dark times.

Serious acting? You can expect that in such a serious movie. 4/5

Inspirational story about how a sport could unite a nation. I finally understand why sports could be so important. What a plot. 4/5

Sports fans might find it short of rugby stuff, though... 2/5 ...but after all, it's really about the unity! 4/5

Good movies don't come often and inspirational ones are rare. 4/5

By the way, the name of the movie came from the poem that Nelson Mandela shared with Francois Pienaar which inspired Mandela while he was in prison.

Invictus by English poet William Ernest Henley 

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul. 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid. 

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Trailer

I'm all excited about the next Jack Ryan movie. Though I'm not a fan of thick books (but I almost... ALMOST finished the novel where Jack Ryan became the President of the United States!), I'm a big fan of the late Tom Clancy's character.

A big part of my excitement is because I've always got Harrison Ford in mind whenever this character came up. And then now, there's young Captain Kirk playing the CIA analyst in what appears to be a reboot. Icing to the cake, there's Keira Knightley. Well, we'll also get errr... Kevin Costner. Check out the trailer below:

Original synopsis from Paramount Pictures:

Based on the character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, "Jack Ryan" is a global action thriller set in the present day. This original story follow a young Jack (Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot. The story follows him from 9/11, through his tour of duty in Afghanistan, which scarred him forever, and into his early days in the Financial Intelligence Unit of the modern CIA where he becomes an analyst, under the guardianship of his handler, Harper (Kevin Costner). When Ryan believes he's uncovered a Russian plot to collapse the United States economy, he goes from being an analyst to becoming a spy and must fight to save his own life and those of countless others, while also trying to protect the thing that's more important to him than anything, his relationship with his fiancée Cathy (Keira Knightley).

Even the promotional poster looks cool! What a poser! Wooooooohooooooooo!

UPDATE: Latest international trailer here.

Gravity Review

Gravity Review

A group of astronauts are in space doing some maintenance or upgrading work on the Hubble Space Telescope when the Russians decided to terminate one of their satellites. This set a chain reaction of the debris blasting away plenty of other satellites, sending space debris hurtling towards the group. Needless to say, the survivors are our two main stars, first timer Dr. Ryan Stone and veteran mission leader Lt. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) who is on his last mission.

To my limited knowledge in movies, this seems like one of a kind fiction where two astronauts are basically lost in space - communications with Earth totally cut off and limited resources at their disposal to get to a nearby space station to use one of its escape pods. They are further challenged with things such as low oxygen levels, returning space debris as they return from orbiting around Earth in super high speed, and the fear of hurtling around the darkness of vacuum space...

Being a veteran, Kowalski comes across as a cool leader while greenhorn Stone had to come to terms with the situation, which appear to be more and more hopeless as the movie progresses. These loneliness in space reminds me of Tom Hank's "Cast Away" which I loved.

I had much misgivings after first reading about the plot (what is there to talk about being lost in space!?) and watching the first trailer but excellent reviews and a more exciting trailer tempted me to go watch it... and it was quite good, actually.

Plot originality - lost in space in a realistic setting? I've not heard of this one before and to make a feature length movie out of it? Wow. 5/5
Entertaining value - I felt the movie was a wee bit short but I suppose it might come out as boring if prolonged. 3/5
I don't find it as heart-pounding as the synopsis claimed unless you really immerse yourself in deep space... This review is based on the normal version. You'd probably get really more thrilled if you watch it on 3D... 3/5
Sandra Bullock shows off some of her better panicky acting while George Clooney's coolness doesn't leave much for him to shine through. 3/5
Definitely one to recommend but I don't think it will become a classic. 3/5

Last Vegas Trailer is Farnee!!!

While watching Gravity, this trailer about Michael Douglas inviting his friends to Vegas for his wedding certainly caught my attention! The trailer is funny! Check it out below:

The Bitmap Brothers' Magic Pockets

Recently, my friends were talking Betty Boo and that reminds me of this game that I used to play on my Atari ST (which probably would go up in smoke if I would've found it and plug it in...). I wonder if whoever that brought Speedball Evolution to mobile will port Magic Pockets over?

And what about Gods and Syndicate? That'd be kind of WOW! :)

Susan Bennett The Original Siri

Voice actress Susan Bennett is the original voice for Apple's Siri and it all began in July 2005. Hi Susan!

Sadly, my Malaysian Siri was and still is a male while some countries could already select other voices.

via Engadget.

American Government Partial Shutdown

I don't quite get what it means despite the lengthy Reuters report but the first partial shutdown in 17 years that is "potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects" sounds like some really serious stuff. Besides that, there are "fresh concerns about whether Congress can meet a crucial mid-October deadline to raise the government's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling." SIXTEEN POINT SEVEN TRILLION DOLLARS debt ceiling and they still have to raise it because the debt level is almost breaking though the threshold! That's a lot of debt!!!

All these could very well "financial markets into a tailspin" and my non-analytical mind tells me this will not be good to the whole world. How did it become that the whole world relied so heavily on one nation and that's the US and it's dollar truly baffled me. The world could not afford to and this will NOT let the US fail, I would assume. So can those fighting men and women in Congress take their pride out of the equation and strive for something to save the US?

Thrilling. Much more thrills than what Hollywood could possibly churn out.

Technology Companies Apple and Google Most Valuable

Apple leads the pact with Google coming in second place while beverage giant Coke rounds up the top three. Don't know what are the criterias but being able to be at the top in a list that started over a decade ago surely would mean a great deal.

via Android Community.