Merry Christmas!

A little bit late by Malaysian time but still early in other parts of the world to the west, so... Merry Christmas, may your wishes come true!

Hohoho!!! Merry Christmas! May your wishes come true!

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:56am PST

The Gingerbread Man

Christmas is coming and this year, I received the Gingerbread Man. I can barely remember the fairy tale of this guy but a quick check with Wikipedia did refresh my memory a bit. A naughty Gingerbread Man would run away from some evil pursuer but will eventually get eaten by a fox as he leaps...

Family Sharing and FaceTime

#166053658 / gettyimages.com

I have to admit that when I first heard about this “Family Sharing” feature (new to iOS 8), I had quickly dismissed it as nothing more than a gimmick. However, after giving it a chance, I had to agree that it’s indeed a good feature and one that deserves a mention.

Family Sharing consists of a few things which you could read about it here. The feature that I use most is the family photo album where we share photos of family moments and our new addition that I would refer to as The Mini (sorry, Apple, I am not referring to your Mac here). It’s way easier than Airdrop because we don’t always keep our wifi and bluetooth on and we’re not always next to each other. It’s a nice touch that we can “Like” a photo and put comments in them… just like that popular social media app that has billions of users but private enough for just the few of us.

The next portion of Family Sharing that I might be… most likely be using would be apps, songs and (eventually?) movies sharing. Unfortunately, these are dependent on the publishers if they enable their software and media for sharing (if they don’t I’d just say they are plain greedy, but I suppose there is this thing called business sense, too).

It’s also nice to have location sharing - not so much for spying on your family members but more to knowing they are safe, particularly if you have kids, I suppose.

Besides that, there's FaceTime which I had no use for until recently. Work wise I could only use it with people that have iOS devices so not very useful there because a lot are Android users. But for family use, it's invaluable when I'm out of town! It's the next best thing to being there. I've installed and removed Skype because not many people in my circle use it. I've installed Hangouts but I've never opened the app before...

There you go, Family Sharing and FaceTime are positive steps forward. Apple, please continue improving the experience factor!

Turtle Friendship

What a great way to start the day watching this video of a turtle (or tortoise?) helping out its friend to "make right what was wrong".

via Mashable.

It's coming... The Red Star

Christmas is ever closer. Season's greetings to you just in case I don't get to wish you on the day.

It is ever closer now...

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:09am PST

Shadow Blade Quicky Review

I can't believe that I can get hooked on an action platformer, especially on an iPhone. First of all, I mega-suck when it comes to action games. Secondly, playing on a touchscreen will quadruple my fail.

BUT Shadow Blade played flawlessly on the iPhone and the gesture controls are great! Combined together with decent but a little moody and dark oriental-styled graphics (maybe it will look even better on the retina iPad!), I think the game is just fine. I think I like it best because of its quick level designs. The action is fast-paced and there are less enemies to kill or else I would just keep getting killed and delete the game. There are secret areas that you will need to look for while at the same time complete the levels fast enough to earn three stars.

As I said, I suck so I've been only able to complete two stars 99% of the time because I'm just too slow. There are two types of controls, one with gestures and another with touchscreen controls (like a gamepad). I've never tried the latter because I fine the gestures to be intuitive enough for me.

So, there you go, a really quick review so that I can get back to the game! Oh, by the way, the game's free on the iOS AppStore now so go grab it!

Looking for some quick and fast-paced action? This is one of them! 4/5

Looking for something that looks really nice? This will pass. 3/5

If you want a platformer that has looooong levels, then this is not what you want. 1/5

If you are a busy person and just want a quick fix, this is one of the better ones! 4/5

Don't worry about the controls. They work fine on touchscreen! 4/5

The Pencil

This pencil had worked pretty hard during its (short?) lifetime. Its worn out look suggested it had been sharpened numerous times. Its length also suggested that it would most likely be disposed off soon.

Just my thoughts on a lazy Sunday and getting ready for bed for another week of work. Thankfully, jolly Christmas season is already here!

Sometimes, bananas do appear in the office

Fruit of the day was bananas. Very nutritious in the office. And made me think of Minions.

Sometimes in the office there are bananas.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:14am PST

How long to stay in a job and when to move on?

That's something that most employees would ask and here's Mashable trying to answer that:

Six years (72 months) is the point at which it starts to hurt you if you're not getting promoted or receiving better projects. Four years with an on-boarding year and then a flat trend or lateral moves is fine; four years means you did your job, gave the company a thorough chance, didn't piss off too many people and moved on. Six or more years without an obvious record of promotion may suggest that you're unambitious and, while not necessarily expendable, thoroughly mediocre. If you keep getting promoted, however, there's no upper limit on how long you can stay at a job.

What do you think? Hmmm...

It's coming...

The awesome celebration at the end of the year is near...

Christmas is coming...

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:54pm PST

Have a great Christmas!

World of Scam - Fake Kidnapping

Over 7 years ago, I've described a fake kidnapping scam in The Con of Men that happened to a friend's family but the father's wisdom had managed to prevent it from going through. Today, I've just read from The Sun Daily of the same scam:

On Sept 19, Yau Sau Har from Pekan Razaki received a call from a Mr Wong who demanded RM60,000 for the release of her son Lai Yin Hoe, 32. 

"I could hear my son's voice in the background asking to be released," she said at a press conference arranged by the Perak Barisan Nasional Public Services and Complaints bureau here today. 

Yau told the man she had only had RM35,159 and he instructed her to deposit the money into a bank account under the name of a Mr Koh. 

Her son, however was not kidnapped but at work. The "kidnappers" had kept his phone busy to prevent his mother from contacting him. 

She realised she was duped when she finally managed to reach Lai, a crane operator after depositing the money. 

I immediately alerted the bank which froze the account of Mr Koh," she said. 

Yau and Lai each lodged a police report. 

The mother learnt that RM10,000 had already been withdrawn. 

The public should be wary of such scam and seek the assistance of the bureau if they come across such cases, said bureau head Mohd Rawi Abdullah. 

He said the tricksters chose to carry out their ruse on Friday afternoons so that the intended victims would not have enough time to alert the banks. 

Please be aware and stay safe.

via The Sun Daily.

B&W Bun (Chinese: 包)

I would like to share with you this yummy lotus paste steamed bun that I had over the weekend. I especially like the lotus paste that really tasted like lotus paste and not just insanely sweet like some that you find out there! And it's not those that are more flour than paste. Yes, this one was a lucky find.

Letting Go Fuel Subsidies and Hoping for Better Aducation

Two things this evening:

No more fuel subsidies from 1 December 2014 - an eventuality which had long been in the making. RON95 and diesel pricing will be based on the same mechanism as RON97. I only hope that the subsidy money will be put to good use.

"...fuel prices would be determined on a monthly average price, which will be announced at the end of each month for the following month."

And, our prime minister has the ambition to take our aducation to the top of the class.

Najib said the government realised the country's educational system needed to be continually improved to produce knowledgeable individuals who were ethical and had a competitive edge.

via The Malaysian Insider.

Apple, Handoff My Sorrows

#93010341 / gettyimages.com

Recently, I've managed to test out Handoff with Pocket, the app that saves a copy of a webpage for offline reading. While reading on the Mac, I had wanted to move to a different spot in the house. Being a small house, this different spot is only less than 5 meters away but in a different room.

Even though mini, my Mac is still desktop class so what better time to test Handoff by bringing the iPhone along. To my pleasant surprise the Pocket icon appeared on the bottom left corner of the lock screen. I just needed to swipe that icon upwards (similar to swiping the bottom right camera icon to take a quick photo) and voila! Pocket launched and I resumed my reading.

However, I grieve because I didn't know that Handoff is not supported on my iPad generation 3 but works on the first iPad Mini! You know, I tried to put it behind me when Apple released the 4th generation iPad just six months after the 3rd generation with a much more powerful processor and a Lightning port. Oh the pain!

System Requirements

Handoff and Instant Hotspot

Handoff and Instant Hotspot are supported by the following Mac models, and require OS X Yosemite:

• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 and later)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 and later)
• iMac (Late 2012 and later)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 and later)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Handoff is supported by the following iOS devices and requires iOS 8. Instant Hotspot requires one of these iPhone or iPad devices with cellular connectivity and iOS 8.1. Instant Hotspot also requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.

• Phone 5 or later
• iPhone 4s (sharing iPhone calls only)
• iPad (4th generation), iPad Air, iPad Air 2
• iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina display, iPad mini 3
• iPod touch (5th generation)

Get ready for work!

In what felt like just a blink of the eye, it's once again the end of Sunday. Sigh. Work begins in just a few more hours. :(

Work day starts in just a few more hours... Yawwwwwn!!!

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:32am PST

Pixel Density Race

It had always been THE digital camera sensor megapixel race (mostly with megapixels so high that's not necessary but instead compromised low light photography) but recently it's pixel density. Sharp has got a 4.1" screen with 736ppi. And for the future...

Sharp is working to scale the size of the screen up and keep the high pixel density right now. The goal is to produce a 6-inch screen with 4K resolution and 736ppi in the future.

via Android Community.

Streaming Music - Impending Doom?

I was happily going about with my recent Spotify Premium account (RM10 per month with Maxis) only to read about its (and all the other streaming music services out there) impending doom as more and more artists back out remove their songs. Taylor Swift is one of the higher profile ones. Then, there's this other report that the highest streamed single only earned its authors $4,000 each.

Streaming music sounds too good to be true, especially to consumers, and as more artists come out to voice their opinions, it may indeed be true that the returns are way too little. With iTunes sales dropping, even Apple is rumoured to be on the verge of launching their own, what with the purchase of Beats.

These services don't seem to be losing out anytime soon, unless artists like Taylor Swift could convince others through their actions. It would be interesting to see how the streaming services react should the situation change for the worse. Well, there's still digital streaming radio to fall back on should things get too heated up...

Today's Superbike

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the world's most energy efficient, zero emission, and yet the fastest ever superbike:

Superbike.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:05pm PST

The Force Awakens

Star Wars Episode VI - The Force Awakens sounds much better than The Phantom Menace and I can't remember what Star Wars Episodes II and III are called.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has completed principal photography. #StarWars #TheForceAwakens #StarWarsVII

Una foto publicada por Star Wars (@starwars) el Nov 11, 2014 at 9:01 PST

iPhone 6 Plus Not Replacing the iPad Just Yet

One of the main reasons why my colleagues bought the Samsung Notes was the "larger screen vs. older eyes" thing so it's not surprising that people would love the iPhone 6 Plus, too. I had seriously consider upgrading to a plus-sized iPhone in its next iteration (a big maybe now considering the huge price tag that this premium phone carries) and ageing eye sight is indeed one reason.

The other reason is awesome battery life. The third reason is a potential replacement for my similarly ageing iPad 3rd generation. However, news that Paper (the awesome drawing app by FiftyThree) isn't coming to the iPhone 6 Plus in the near future is a detraction altogether. There is life for iPad, yet.

via Pocket-lint.

Down Memory Lane with Spotify

During my 4-hour journey home, I had the opportunity to listen to the two Spotify playlists that I’ve made available offline - Television Theme Songs and Themes From the Movies.

It was back to the days of Friends where it’s like you’re always stuck in second gear or when the Swiss Army knife was THE thing that could've made my childhood as resourceful as MacGyver. There were Threes Company and a Full House of memories in the Television Theme Songs playlist. The bizarre Twilight Zone theme was also featured. Yup, everything was as fresh as a “prince in Bel Air” back when Will Smith still raps.

 The Themes From the Movies playlist reminded me that although life’s like an impossible mission with a beast at every corner, sometimes, there’s beauty in it. It was a disaster having to remember Kevin Costner’s exposed ass from Robin Hood and Dances with Wolves. Thank goodness the music was great, even when it was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

My First Days with the Mac Mini

#112299692 / gettyimages.com

I didn’t do much with the little teeny weeny desktop computer from Apple other than to install Spotify, Steam client, Gimp (because I’m totally confused with the iPhoto app - there are simply too many weird albums and events (what’s that?!) popping up… it got me so confused that I went to download the more complicated Gimp!). I also installed Civilisation 5 via Steam, a gift from my bud. Haven’t got the time to mess with the game yet, though. Been busy with something just as "mini" lately.

As I type more on the Mini, I discovered OS X or rather the Mac’s idiosyncrasies such as there are no page up, down or home and end keys. Did I tell you I had been a Windows user all my life since 3.11 days? I had some problems holding “ctrl + arrow keys” to skip words because on the Mac keyboard, it’s “option + arrow keys”. I’m also still confused with the file system like where should I keep photos. Oh yeah, I discovered that shortcuts are called aliases on OS X and “delete” on the Mac keyboard is actually “backspace”. If you want to do the Windows “delete” thing, you will need to hold “fn + delete” on the Mac!

Nonetheless, sitting back and surf the web is such a breeze, especially with the very nice Magic Trackpad. I can’t stop saying all the good things about the Magic Trackpad. Spreading four fingers would reveal the desktop (though I only have a “Applications” and “Games” folder on it but I’m sad to know I will fill up a large portion of it with stuff eventually). Tapping three fingers and holding on the top of a window will move it. There are a tonne of options to activate on the trackpad preference. Double tapping (which also means “right click” in the Windows world) on a word would produce a list of menus and one of them is to quickly look up the meaning of it. Nice. Unfortunately, with everything good, there’s still always something to complain. I can’t seem to be able to double tap and hold on to an icon or folder or window to move it. I need to press down on the Magic Trackpad.

Another reason I had to buy a computer was to backup my iPhone and iPad and I couldn’t help wondering why in the world would iTunes be THE app that does the job. The name itself would depict it as a media player app but I don’t suppose this bothered anyone else. I’m also puzzled why couldn’t I select to automatically backup on both iCloud and iTunes?

As you may notice, this post is quite unstructured. This and the Getty image above reflect rather well my current learning curve with the Mac and OS X so I guess that's enough confusion for the day. :P

Under the Sea

This song was in my head for the past few hours, so I thought I should share. From Disney's The Little Mermaid and performed by Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian (a red Jamaican crab, apparently), Under the Sea is one of those in-movie songs from Disney that would occasionally pop into my head. Hope you like it as much as I do.

My first hours with the late 2014 Mac Mini

#157331713 / gettyimages.com

First comment I received upon delivery to my doorstep (ordered via online Apple store - took just about 3 working days to arrive) was in the tune of "really? That's all?" because a much bigger desktop was expected. There were just three packages:

1. Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

2. Mini DisplayPort to VGA adaptor 

3. THE Mac Mini, of course 

Next up was to open the packaging and set up the Mac Mini. Pairing the keyboard and trackpad was a breeze as it was all automated even before the Mac load up the OS. Connecting to my wifi was a pain because I kept getting disconnected so I disabled it. Finally, after keying in my name and password as the admin, I am in OS X Yosemite. 

Frankly, my heart dropped a little expecting to see the colours pop out like from an iMac or a MacBook but I know, I’m using the poor guy’s Mac so it’s my screen that’s not producing the colours. I quickly went on to launch that gear-looking program called “System Preferences” to set up my wifi and proceeded to install apps from the Mac App Store. The first one was, amusingly, Pocket, followed by Feedly. I still can’t quite get over why I searched for Pocket first but it is a great app after all.

Next, I started to chat with my bud via Messages (that was after setting up and getting it connected to my Apple ID, of course) and he reminded me all about Apple’s sandbox so I had to download Google Chrome browser by first launching Safari to go to Chrome’s website to download the installer. Installing third party software that’s not Apple approved was not easy at all (first time using OS X, remember?). After the installation a window popped up and I was staring at it not knowing what to do for quite awhile until I clicked on the huge Google Chrome icon and dragged it out of the window. Ah, so that was how it should be done. =.=“

I spent the rest of last night and the wee hours of this morning reading through my RSS feeds via Feedly and then, bed time. Oh did I mention that I was pleasantly surprised by the Magic Trackpad and OS X’s awesome gesture controls? It was almost like using a touchscreen and not a desktop! Gosh, I wonder why Microsoft never made the trackpads even half as good. It’s all in the software, right? After just a night of using the Magic Trackpad, I absentmindedly did the same gestures with my office laptop trackpad only to be reminded that I was using Windows.

And with that, I would like to end this post and prepare for bed, TONIGHT. ;)

Why the iPod classic had to go - straight from the lion's mouth

Engadget nailed it:

"We couldn't get the parts any more," explained Tim Cook. "They don't make them any more." While the iPod Classic isn't exactly a creaky transistor radio just yet, that's how it went down. "We would have to make a whole new product.... the engineering work to do that would be massive." The difficult truth that some of you probably don't want to hear: "The number of people who wanted it is very small."

So the story is no more parts and it's not worth it to redesign it because not "many" people want it.

Surprise!

First blog post from my first ever Mac, a Mac Mini. Came across this cool photo via flickr Blog and because I have a thing for Minions, I really thought I should share it here.

via flickr blog.

Hybrid Play

Once upon a time, we were all worried that kids will no longer visit playgrounds. Instead, they would stare at their parents' (or even their own, GASP!!!) PCs, smartphones or tablets (or phablets) all day. Rest assured, Hybrid Play has something that will take care of this, sort of. Merging the smartphone or other smart devices with their own "clip", children will need to physically do something to the outdoor playground play things for another thing to happen on the screen. Check out the video below and you might just breathe a sigh of relief:

The next generation is once again safe from the Wall-E phenomenon! 

via Engadget.

Bloated Fruit

Apple's gone a long way and I wouldn't agree more with this article about too many things to focus after the most recent event.

Apple currently makes five different iPads (ten if you include the cellular ones), six kinds of Macs, four kinds of iPhones, three kinds of iPods, a set-top box and soon, 34 different styles of watch. And that's before you consider its music and movie businesses, its software business and its imminent role as a global payment service. It's even taking on the phone networks with Apple SIM.

via techradar.

The Missing Link

Where is the missing one? In my stomach, of course. Burp?

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The missing link.

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Apple 16 October 2014 Event - The Aftermath

Even with not much expectations on the 16 October 2014 Apple event (to be frank, I was actually only hoping for a new Mac Mini) I found it lacking with a Phil Schiller that seemed to be less than his usual enthusiastic self. 

First of all, I'm glad that Apple reintroduced the numbering system into their iPad product lines and all's well with yet a thinner body, Touch ID, new processor, better camera, etc. However, that's more a refresh than any major innovation. The Retina iPad Mini 3 was mentioned quickly with even less fanfare.

The new Retina 5K iMac sounds cool with such a nice screen but that's something beyond my reach so it garnered nothing more than a quick "wow" from me.

My heart almost dropped when I thought it was the end of the event but alas the refreshed Mac Mini was introduced quickly with a lower price point. I think I'm going to get one! Just like Phil Schiller said, a first Mac. 

Despite a refresh and a price "drop", I can't help feeling that it's not really a super bargain that Apple would want us to believe. There's no more quad core i7 and apparently, RAM is no longer user upgradeable. Well, there is better graphics, even for the base model (which essentially is a base Macbook Air and iMac). Sigh, so things are really not as rosy but I most likely will get the mid-range version. It is still the cheapest Mac around after all and that's all I can afford at the moment.

Cloverfield Revisited

One of my buds and I left the cinema after the first 20 minutes of this crazy shaky cam of a movie called Cloverfield. I thought I would never have anything to do with that movie anymore because the dizzy after taste actually lingered for hours despite only watching the first 20 minutes.

Who would've thought I watched the last 20 minutes over satellite TV. Thank goodness crazy shaky cam movie was not so dizzifying on normal television. Since I hated the movie when it first existed, this last 20 minutes didn't change anything. It only added to my amusement as to why the bunch of people would always be around the ugly monster or why would the monster kept on hanging around them. I'm just glad that there WAS an ending. Bye bye Cloverfield!

The Box of Chopsticks

Life as we know it, is definitely not a box of chopsticks where everything is consistent. A box of chocolates is indeed a closer analogy but I do like my simple B&W attempt of a box of disposable chopsticks taken from a Japanese restaurant.

Have a look at life this week.

Pollution AGAIN

Last year, a million Klang Valley consumers were left without water for hours if not days due to diesel contamination. Today, another incident of hydrocarbon pollution which apparently affects at least 800,000 residences of Klang Valley happened again.

Come on, what's the matter with you terrible people dumping things into the river!?!? Please stop it! &@%#!!!!!! Instead, go pour into your own mouth. That will do.

via The Malaysian Insider.

"Look Up" and notice the smartphone and social media plague

Nice video that basically states it all about a "plague" that's been among us for some time now carried by the useful information technological devices we have on our desktop right up to our pockets.

Not to say that it's all negative because there are tonnes of positivity. Like everything else, moderation is the key. :)

AmazingSuperPowers: Back In My Day

Great comic for a Sunday.

A grandpa was mentioning to his grandson during his days, there were lack of certain technologies in sci-fi... and he is totally disappointed that there're still none of those now. You'll have to read the comic to really feel the fun factor.

Have a nice day!

Way too long, indeed...

I particularly like Apple's tag line of the upcoming 16 October 2014 invite because "it's been way too long' offers a glimmer of hope of a new Mac Mini and what else that've not been updated for ages? Ah, the Apple TV, iPod series of products... heck it could also mean new designs for all those Macs!

And what's with the colourful outlines of the background that otherwise look so similar to the recent invite? Hmmm... speculations run wild as the event approaches...

The Brick Wall That Came Along

Was on my way home and while waiting for the lights to turn green, noticed this brick wall. Not a common sight so I decided to snap and Instagram it when I got home. Taken by a phone so this is a heavily cropped and straightened photo with a filter applied. You wouldn't want to see the original photo lest you would get really disappointed!

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The Brick Wall

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Path to the Bright Side

Not really but to make this photo possible, I increased the exposure - now possible with the stock camera app on iOS 8. It's more like a high key photograph. The purpose is to produce a "path to enlightenment" or if you're into Star Wars, "path to the bright side". ;)

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Path to the bright side.

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Spiralling into your mind...

"Your eye lids are heavy, you are sleepy, you will obey me once you wake up from this slumber..."

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Hypnotic spiral.

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Two Minutes with the iPhone 6 Plus

A resourceful friend managed to get a gold iPhone 6 Plus even before it officially reach our shores and I was somehow lucky enough to handle it for a couple of minutes. My first thought was represented relatively well by the image above. The thing was humongous. Holding it next to a Galaxy Note (the first one), the iPhone was visibly taller but not significantly wider.

The next thing I did was to try Reachability. Double tap on the home button and voila! Unfortunately, my thumb was not long enough to reach the other corner so one-handed usage on the bigger iPhone 6 would be a challenge for me. After that, I tried to put it into my work pants and ok, it fit. Didn't manage to try that while sitting, though. My friend stressed that the phone was blazing fast and he proved it by opening some CAD drawings (with the AutoCAD 360 app). While on the iPhone 5 the drawings needed to keep refreshing and were super lagging whenever we pan or zoom, on the iPhone 6 Plus they were smooth and I didn't notice any refreshing of the images. I wouldn't have been that impressed had I read this article earlier on how the newest iPhone managed to outperform the Galaxy S5 and HTC One.

I had been dreaming of owning a iPhone 6 Plus mainly because of its battery life and the potential to replace my ageing iPad (still not possible as of this moment because there are still plenty of apps on my iPad that could not run on the phone). After my hands-on for two minutes, I'm still hoping to own one but slightly, only slightly, less sure about it.

Tapioca with Love

Interested in some festive cookies? Have some heart-shaped tapioca ones!

L?????

What will the next version of Android be called? At the moment, it's generally referred to as Android L. Traditionally named after desserts, there are various speculations with the front runner being Lemon Meringue Pie. It could also be Lollipop, according to Android Community and with good reason. It could also be Lime (Key) Pie. Hmmm...

via Android Community.

The Practical Review of iPhones 6 and 6 Plus

I'm sure, like me, you were thrown with plentiful reviews of Apple's latest over the past weeks and it's always fresh to read about one that is not of the technical kind but of the real world type. No better place than to bring the phones to Disneyland to test their prowess, then.

This is where the reviewer set aside the technicalities and placed emphasis on user experience while, presumably, having fun at the theme park. Check it out here.

via TechCrunch.

The Purple One

The purple cabbage which is supposed to be really healthy was part of my lunch today. Feeling very healthy already!

Update: Ah, it's better known as red cabbage. Lots of info at Wikipedia.

LCD The Great

I'm glad that someone, or rather, some professional regards the LCD screen as superior. In this post, I'm not siding this particular tech but actually stating my own opinion that I prefer screens that reproduce more natural and accurate colours.

At first sight, AMOLED (or its iterations) screens produce really nice and saturated colours but I find it dissatisfying to look at my photos on such screens in colours that differ when viewed on more accurate displays. But that's just me. B)

Thoughts triggered by Cult of Mac.

World of Scam - Automated Call from "RHB"

In less than 7 days, I've received twice the same automated voice message telling me that I've got a pending transaction with the amount of RM3,972 with RHB and that I should press 1 to authorise or 5 to don't know what (sorry can't remember). The first time went to my voice mail during the week day and the second time was just a few moments ago. For that first time, I deleted the voice mail and for the second time, I hung up and went on with life.

I don't deny that these calls did make me feel worried and unsure if it was really RHB but, well, I don't have any dealings with the bank so, it's got to be a scam. A search online showed that I was not alone. Someone else blogged about it here. The difference was that the number that called me was +60 3 9206 8118.

Beware and take care!

Four Thirds in a Compact

While many companies get into the 1" sensor fixed lens cameras business, it's refreshing to learn that Panasonic is going one up by putting a Four Thirds sensor into their rather established LX series of prosumer compacts. This one's called DMC-LX100.

It has an effective 4112 x 3088 pixels sensor with a Leica lens going at 24 - 75mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.7 - 2.8. It even has NFC and 4K video recording built-in. The price? US$899. Not too bad at all!

Update: And there's one with a Leica badge on it.

via DPReview.

Apple's MSG

There has to be something about Apple. It felt as if I've been given a dose of monosodium glutamate!

After watching this, I'm so into iPhone 6/6 Plus despite my opinions in the previous post. But I must persevere to stay with my iPhone 5! I must! But wait, if I could get a 6 Plus I could forget about my iPad gen 3 and thinking of a new iPad Mini... 

Gee... What if Apple include the Mickey Mouse watch face into iOS 8 clock app for iPhones or better still as a dynamic wallpaper? Wishful thinking I know.

Apple's Special 9 Sept. 2014 Event - The Aftermath

As with my exam question predictions, I'm wrong as usual at all counts. So the Apple announcement went on like the usual style, no live manipulations of surrounding devices to illustrate HomeKit and no Mac Mini-Apple TV-iPod hybrid. How did I feel? I did stay up to watch the event live and it was 1-3am here. Spent the rest of the day being somewhat a zombie.

While checking out the news I came across a few surveys that basically ask if I would be getting the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus or Apple Watch. My answer, none of the above. I don't think the new iPhones evolved enough for a change from my 2-year old iPhone 5 and I suspect the fabulous Apple Pay won't be coming to Malaysia anytime soon. Maybe I'll just wait for the 6s.

Apple Watch? Like my bud, I too can't find a good reason for a smart watch. Perhaps next round. I was mesmerised by a couple of things, though. The Mickey Mouse watch face (this is even better than the normal watches! Mickey shakes his bum in this digital version!) and the interactive emoji. The emoji is not only animated but the live demo showed that you can pinch the smiley and it will become a wink. I believe more can be done!

However, being Apple these are expensive stuff (by my standards) so since I don't print money, I'll just skip this round.

My last 2 sen about Apple's announcement in a few hours...

Gosh! The much anticipated Apple announcement is just hours away and I'm super anxious about their best product pipeline in Eddy Cue's 25 years at Apple. I'm really hoping for surprises rather than the usual product announcements.

The fact that Apple built a separate, windowless building at the announcement venue made things ever more mysterious... filled with excitement and... hopeful. I am hoping that this announcement will have cool live demos about integrated systems based on HomeKit so that's why there's the need to build a whole building and probably HealthKit is embedded in Tim Cook and reading out his vitals. Yeah, I have faith in Apple's presentation style - something that I hope to emulate into my presentations but alas I've little success. I know this time the presentation will be different!

So Apple, do your fans proud (two years earlier I wouldn't even have the slightest thought about anything Apple but after owning an iPad followed by an iPhone, I now hope to own a Mac...)!

Happy Mid-Autumn!

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival today and I didn't make it home on time to have dinner with all of my family but alas, I'm still home now with them! To those who didn't manage to get together, do not give up! It's not necessary to be a festive season. Make it an everyday thing instead! Have a great day or what's left of it!

This photo came about when a colleague brought this box of mooncakes into the meeting room and the rest of us acted faster than usual and chewed through over half of them before my senses came to that I should have taken a photo!

"Bumble Prime"

For those familiar with the first generation of the animated Transformers series, you would know that The Matrix could turn an Autobot into a Prime (leader of the Autobots). So what would yellow Bumblebee look like if he ever becomes a Prime? A yellow truck like the one in the photo? ;P

I was actually trying to photograph the barren land at the background, destruction left by land clearing but somehow this truck came along and I thought it would be a good idea for me to rant about this "what if" scenario about Bumblebee being a Prime. How I miss the original Transformers after watching Michael Bay slowly destroying my childhood memories one movie at a time. :(

AnandTech Founder Joins Apple

The founder of one of the industry's leading tech website, AnandTech, Anand Lal Shimpi is to leave behind his tech journalism days and join Apple. This is BIG news - Apple is sure to gain much in many ways but the tech industry is going to loose one of the better and more objective reviewers/journalist around.

via Cult of Mac.

3rd gen iPad on its way out

I'm one of those that were slightly unfortunate to own the first retina iPad only to have it replaced with a more powerful one some half year or so later and now I see evidence that this 3rd generation device is on its way to total obsolescence. I've encountered two apps in two days that either won't run or won't perform very well in it - Photoshop Mix and the newly released Bioshock game. Sigh.

What am I to do when my iPad becomes truly obsolete? Do I get a new one or get a Mac instead? Either option involves heavy investment by my standards. :(

Did you know? 75% of IKEA's images are CG!

It never crossed my mind, not even once, that all those images of room furnishings in IKEA's catalogues were 3D renders... until now! The first product done this way was in 2006 while the first super realistic "fully furnished room" was in 2010.

With traditional photography, you need to have prototype furniture being built in different parts of the world shipped over so it can be photographed. Everything needs to be there on time and it can be logistically difficult, expensive and not that environmental. Then if there are changes everything needs to be re-shot. With CG re-creations of pieces, it removes a lot of this difficulty.

via CGSociety thru BlenderNation.

Photoshop Mix Not for the Weak

Or rather, not recommended for anything earlier than iPad generation 4. That was what the app informed upon launching it the first time on this 3rd generation iPad. :(

Since it required an Adobe ID and since it has such hardware requirements, I didn't go further and  proceeded to delete the app. It's a shame because it does look rather cool on video. Perhaps one day when I have the chance to own a more powerful iPad then. Till then, I will stick to iPhoto (which Apple will be superseding soon), Snapseed and other photo editing apps.

Larger iPad?

A 12.9" iPad? Looks more believable now that giant news provider Reuters joins the rumour mill. But I'm still puzzled. Why would anyone want a larger iPad? Isn't it supposed to be like a tablet that one would hold with the hands and read or surf off it? I'm totally stumped, I tell you. However, if this is true, I'm sure Apple's got some superior thinkers in the system.

If I were any younger I would imagine it would be so huge like this:

#200284777-002 / gettyimages.com

Transparent Solar Panels

Solar tech is getting more popular than ever and there are rumours that battery hungry smartphones will have solar cells built-in. This looks possible with transparent solar panels that are as clear as glass. Researchers from MSU's College of Engineering found organic materials that could be tuned:

"We can tune these materials to pick up just the ultraviolet and the near infrared wavelengths that then ‘glow’ at another wavelength in the infrared. Because the materials do not absorb or emit light in the invisible spectrum, they look exceptionally transparent to the human eye." 

Once absorbed, the light waves get trapped and guided to the edges of the plastic solar concentrator where photovoltaic cells turn them into electricity.

However, with anything new, it would take time for improvement. This particular type of solar panel currently only has 1% efficiency compared to the conventional 25%.

via Inhabitat.

My very own 2014 iPod, Apple TV and Mac Mini speculation

While the world speculate the next iPhone and imminent iWatch, I would like to contribute my share of crap awesomeness - the next iPod Touch, Apple TV and Mac Mini.

I think it makes great logic sense in the current situation that Apple will do something to revive the declining iPod and Apple TV sales... by ingeniously combining both devices' functionality into one single device! Today's technology should be able to shrink the Apple TV into size (think how small Google's device is). The new iPod-TV combo would just need to be thick enough to accommodate the HDMI port or Apple might just use an existing Lightning to HDMI adaptor. This way consumers would own a music device on-the-go and a streaming media player at home - more value!

Or maybe Apple will combine the Mac Mini and the Apple TV since the Mini is often used as a media device anyway. That would be awesome.

Ok, before I typed this post, it all seemed so brilliant but now that I'm done, errr... guess maybe not. :(

Orange Tone

Thought these pendant lights would look good with their orangy tone so here you go. Do you feel warm? Kinda? Just a wee bit? Teeny weeny bit?

Considerate Company?

I think most of us are familiar with out-of-office e-mail messages so that the senders would know who else to redirect their e-mails to during the recipient's absence. Awesome German automaker Daimler goes one step further - the company deletes the senders' messages outright so that the intended recipient can really settle down for their holidays. Guess what, productivity is expected to increase!

You got that, all you evil, inconsiderate bosses?

via Engadget.

Photo Bomb of the Century

Not quite so dramatic but you have got to agree with me that this is one of the "better photo bombs" around.

via Flickr Blog but that post seemed to have been removed. Hope I didn't break any rules here! Let me know if I did and I'll remove this!

Wireless Charging at its Best?

Wireless charging - not a stranger. Wireless charging through ambient sound? Sounds like an ingenious idea. If this news were to appear on 1 April I'd definitely pass it as an April Fools joke.

The prototype device was built by a team of scientists at the Queen Mary University of London, and it’s about the size of a Nokia Lumia 925, Phys.org reports. It can generate five volts of electricity using ambient sound, which is enough to keep your device topped up throughout the day and could possibly even eliminate the charger altogether.

via Cult of Android.

Is it true? Will it happen? Local government elections?

Amidst all the terrible bickering in the Selangor menteri besar issue, it's nice to keep the mind fresh knowing some people out there are keeping to their promise for transparency - local government elections.

The Sun Daily:

GEORGE TOWN: The Federal Court is set to deliver a landmark decision on Aug 14 relating to local government elections in Penang, that have not been held in almost 50 years. 

State local government committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the decision will be a watershed moment in efforts to bring back the third vote, last held in 1965. 

Penang is seeking to declare invalid Section 15 of the Local Government Act (LGA) 1976 and thus render it inoperative in Penang. 

The state is also seeking to declare the Local Government Elections (Penang Island and Province Wellesley) Enactment 2012 as valid and to then compel the Election Commission (EC) to conduct such elections. 

The state takes the position that such elections are a state matter under the Ninth Schedule and Article 113(4) of the Federal Constitution and had filed the petition in April last year. 

Local government elections were suspended in 1965 and abolished in 1976 after the LGA was passed.

Update: Guess not.

Dial-Up Lives On

#169270422 / gettyimages.com

Dial-up internet access still has a lifeline. AOL still has 2.3 million users. I wonder how's the situation here in Malaysia.

via Technology Tell.

It's the End for Ultima's Forever

Ultima Forever will cease to exist come 29 August 2014. It's one of those free-to-play with in-app purchases so those who've invested in the game will not be pleased. Maybe it's about time developers realise IAP might not be the ONLY way to earn money.

via Touch Arcade.

New

Something new. An offspring. :)

Pro left behind his DSLRs and went mobile photography

Dan Marcolina had been in the photography business for 25 years or so but had since abandoned his Canon DSLRs and went for the more convenient and lighter mobile phone - the iPhone in this case. His opinions:

"People don’t know the rules about photography, yet they’re discovering images from their heart and their experience. It’s more about sculpting the image and less about worrying about expensive stuff, like camera lenses.
...
"The advent of digital is as important in my mind as Kodak coming out with color photography. It’s brought major artistic breakthroughs and provides instant feedback on your work."

Not so dramatic for me. I am not even at the amature level but the phone is the camera that's always with me, so that's what's important. I do love big ass cameras and I love those lenses but I only bring my entry level Nikon whenever I can, on holidays. :)

via Cult of Mac.

Meet Pug, Willie Pug

It's Pug, Willie Pug. He was out for an adventure or two but got lost in a sea of toys this afternoon. Thankfully, he found his way back. Way of the canine.

In the face of Apple's iWatch rumours and bonsai in space, there's the worrying thing if Mac Mini will still exist...

I'm a fan of the Mac Mini even though after years of ranting I've still not own one (shame!). So, it's getting worrying by the day as more new iWatch rumours appear and even with a bonsai travelling to space, there's still no news of a Mac Mini... not even a refresh. :'(

comics via Macworld.

PJ State A&W Drive-In to Make Way For Development

Very bad news for you guys that frequent one of Petaling Jaya's most iconic fast food restaurant - the PJ State A&W Drive-In. I've not been there for ages but reading about its imminent demolition to make way for office towers still felt like a loss. Memories, nostalgic memories of tasty hot dogs, waffles and the trademark root beer.

Well, on the bright side, we can still sample the food elsewhere and A&W will return once the office tower is completed.

Bye bye to another icon.

via The Malaysian Insider.

White Lily for Spider-Man

Spider lily - have a great weekend!

You'll be surprised to learn of the reasons behind a restaurant's many customer complaints!

Probably the best article I've read in a long time, owners of a restaurant decided to find out why they were receiving much more complaints for slow service and long wait times than before. Thankfully, they had older surveillance tapes which they compared with the current ones. The findings? Best you read it here on kitchenette - not going to be what you have in mind...

Modern tech masquerades as vintage typewriter keyboard

Mobile keyboard for tablets and PCs that looks, feels and sounds like a vintage typewriter! This reminds me of getting all the keys stuck when I was playing with my mom's typewriter and the amusement of typing into the platen... Nostalgic indeed!

via Android Community.

Curious read: Germany's Discount Grocers Challenge with Coke

Interesting and curious read about Germany's two discount grocery chains, Aldi and Lidl that began by selling their own products but now revolve around the Coca-Cola and some major brands to become the number one while facing the threat of global giants such as Tesco and Carrefour. Check out Reuters' article here.

And so today begins the second half of 2014...

Have a great second half! Here's someone's "art" on a hoarding:

The Challenging Parking Meter Keypad

Our municipal councils (the Petaling Jaya one, in this case) constantly challenge us to use our minds quite a bit like right here. We need to guess the numbers to press on the keypad to key in our car plate number to pay for parking. A more advance challenge would be to have a LCD that's not working but thankfully the option is not available with this machine.

The Brief Story of Tiny Planet Haze

This is Tiny Planet Haze. It is constantly shrouded in a layer of haze. If you land on the planet for the first time, you will be welcomed by the smell of polluted smog. The locals call it aroma and with advanced technology is trying to introduce the haze to nearby worlds. They are here on Earth. They are here in Malaysia.

A Corner of Something

Heavily cropped photo taken with my mobile phone and heavily edited via Instagram. And then, heavy attempt to be artistic... Have a great weekend!

One Cold Drink to Cool Us All

Not a fan of Coke (I prefer Sarsi or A&W's Root Beer) but during this warm weather Malaysia is beginning to go through, anything goes!

The Story of An Inverted, Heart-Shaped Fruit Photo

The story goes like this: I had a drink with a strawberry that's stuck to the edge of the glass. Then, I placed it in front of a light source (a candle in this case) and took the photo. After that, I launched a reasonably good photo app called iPhoto. I desaturated everything except the strawberry. Next, I launched the Flickr app, rotated the image by a 180 degrees and applied the "ColorVibe" filter. 

That's about it. :)

A LEGO Atari

An Atari made of LEGO found while exploring Flickr. Nostalgic.