Lenovo buys Motorola Mobility from Google, Google signs patents deal with Samsung

Shocking news for me at least that Google just sold Motorola Mobility that it just bought not too long ago to Lenovo but will be retaining some of its patents rights. And a few days ago Google signed a patents deal with Samsung.

Google is also rumoured to replace the Nexus series some time in 2015. Gasp! Things are just as complicated and fragmented as the Android system or maybe Google has a plan to fix things? Let's wait and see...

via BGR.

Strawberry Butter Cake

Taken at a McCafe. A little too sweet for my taste but its attractive colours got my attention to give it a try.

Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" in Multi-Language/Dialect

Thought "Let It Go" was a great song? Wait till you hear it in 25 different languages/dialects. Glad to see Bahasa Malaysia is one of them.

World's Best Sound Comes From Malaysia

A sound clip "Dusk by the Frog Pond" recorded from the Kubah National Park, Sarawak won an online competition to become The Most Beautiful Sound in the World. That's good news amidst all the recent negative stuffs going around in the media.

You can listen to the natural sound here.

via The Malaysian Insider.

Tiny Thief Review

As mentioned previously, among the things I was busy with recently was with games and Tiny Thief was one of them. Being offered free as one of the 12 Days of Gifts from Apple last month did not help PLUS a recommendation from my bud meant immediate action...

The game was released last year and I was not surprised that it was such a hit. It's basically sort of a platform puzzle solving game split into many levels. You, the Tiny Thief, start off as a small timer on the way to becoming a Robin Hood type of thief. There are no battles and very little action involved safe for one or two that I can remember. 

You basically pick up things and put some of them to where they should belong, push buttons, pull levers, etc. Sounds boring? Not at all! The puzzles are mostly straight forward and shouldn't be difficult to complete but fun to do nonetheless. I completed the game twice already, once on the phone and just last night on the iPad. XD

The difficult part is to achieve 3 stars for each level. Just completing the main objective, you will only accomplish 1 star. You'll need to find your pet squirrel for another star and this squirrel can be anywhere and worse, sometimes only appear after you've done something. For the third star you'll need to collect hidden (but are sometimes blatantly right under your nose in the open) objects.

There are in-app purchases but there is no need to buy any to complete the game... yet. More levels coming so I'm not sure what plans Rovio have for it... I have confidence Rovio's execution would be wise.

Graphics are drawn in a cartoon style and the game is full of humour. 4/5

Gameplay is executed very well for the touchscreen without any frustration although some hardcore gamers might find it too easy for them. 4/5

One complain that I must voice, or rather type, out is the game doesn't sync between iOS devices (at least not here in Malaysia) so Rovio should do something. I heard there's some sort of a special Rovio account thing in some parts of the world... 0/5

Not much of a soundtrack and whatever music playing in the background is too soft to be heard (or to be distracting). Sound effects is nothing to shout about either. But the lack of these do not appear to affect my pleasant experience with the game. 2/5

As a conclusion, the game is just perfect for this genre. 4/5

Shocking! 99% Emergency Calls Are Fake!

This is ridiculous. Is it just in our country or is this rampant worldwide? 99% of 2.8 million monthly calls to the 999 emergency line are pranks!

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan:

It is most unfortunate that, because of this irresponsible act, the 999 line becomes busy and prevent genuine calls from getting through.

Wake up, people! Lives are at stake here!!!

via the Sun.

A mother takes beautiful photos of her two children, mostly with animals in the farm

Awesome photos and here's one of them beauties:

Head on to Boredpanda.com or her flickr gallery for more.

Alien Life Possibilities Expand

Gone were the days where aliens were thought to live on the surface of planets with conditions similar to earth (atmosphere, water, etc.). "New study dramatically changes where we believe aliens might live" adds that life is possible underground, as long as there is liquid water... and then some:

In fact, more life may exist inside planets than on the surface; the Earth might actually be somewhat of an anomaly.

via io9.

Unsolved History

Many I've never heard of but the "Top 10 Historical Unsolved Mysteries"  provide for an interesting peek into the past unknowns. From a mystery woman that was right there next to the Kennedy assassination to Hitler's wealth, both never found, to possible suspects of alien life that could have been the Greek gods or the star of Bethlehem and many more, feel free to indulge, those of you who don't already have enough puzzles in your own lives.

Niagara Falls Without The Fall

As much as I became curious when I read The Atlantic's "What Niagara Falls Looks Like Without Water" I'm sure you would, too, so yeah, I had to post it here: Niagara Falls without the water, a contrast of what we are used to seeing in the photos. :)

Tech Rivalries Through Advertising

Gee wiz! Microsoft vs Google, PS4 vs Xbox One, Samsung vs Apple, Microsoft vs Apple, Nokia vs Apple, Amazon vs Apple, and even Jaguar vs Mercedes. Interesting rivalries through ads rather than courtroom drama compiled by Hongkiat.com. I really laughed out loud watching these guys going at each other.

KLIA2 should be on schedule this time around

Our acting transport minister today stated that the new low cost terminal KLIA2 will be expected to obtain its Certificate of Compliance and Completion (CCC) by this month end followed by three months of Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer tests. The low cost terminal is to open on 2 May this year after several delays and budget overrun.

via The Malaysian Insider.

Let irony be this blog's first post for 2014

First of all, Happy New Year and sorry for taking so long for this post after such a long interval. I was occupied with a few things and gaming on the phone was one of it but that's another story which might just see the light of day here.

I'd just like to share what I found amused recently when I bought some filters for my new air-conditioner: The packaging itself was full of dust while it advertised that it could filter some really small dust particles and prevent allergies! Hahaha! Ok, besides irony, this could be a very bad joke, huh?

Happy New Year! May 2014 be a good one to all of us! Stay wise and be happy!