Rumour: Light at the end of the tunnel for the 3rd generation iPad with iOS 9

While I sulk over the imminent demise of my third generation iPad (the first with Retina display running on A5x), MacRumors bring hope:

Apple is also said to be optimizing iOS 9 to better support older hardware, with the report claiming that even legacy A5-based devices including the iPhone 4s and original iPad mini will be compatible with the upcoming software update. The three-year-old iPad 2 and fifth-generation iPod touch, released in March 2012 and October 2012 respectively, are also powered by Apple A5 chips.

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...

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

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.

Smart Watches - What I hope from Apple

There were Pebble and others. Then, Sony came before Samsung and the latest from both are compared here (I'm mighty impressed with Sony making their watches compatible with any Android 4.0 phones, a learning from a company that used to make Memory Sticks). Now even Qualcomm's announced one. But the rumour that started all these was of the Apple version and there's still no sign of it.

Whatever it is, I can't help hoping it will take the queue from the previous iPod Nano - detachable little thing that can work as a music device (and hopefully more) with plenty of straps to choose from - WITHOUT its shortcomings, of course. It was unfortunate that was discontinued and replaced with the current larger version. Or perhaps that's Apple's plan all along so that they can announce a smart watch (I think there will be an official word for "smartwatch" eventually) that is like that? Wishful thinking again, I know, but hope is a driver.

Refresh Mac Mini on the way?

Slowly turning into an Apple fanboy (but still holding on to my Android powered HTC Desire), I always welcome those rare rumours and speculations about the company’s cheapest Mac, the Mac Mini. Despite being the cheapest, I’m still having some issues owning one because it really isn’t THAT cheap! Anyways, hoping to own one one day, I’m following closely: Availability of the Mac Mini is extended in some countries which leads to speculation that a refresh with Intel’s latest processors is coming and to the more optimistic, a possible redesign.

triggered by appletell.

Smartphone Processors Getting Hot

It’s global warming in smartphone processors. From Cult of Android:

DigiTimes notes that conventional “graphite plus foil cooling” methods are no longer able to dissipate enough heat in modern smartphones, especially those with 4G chips built-in, and so overheating is becoming an increasing concern. An affective way to tackle that is to use ultra-thin “heat pipes” that circulate cooling liquid around the internals of the device.

DigiTimes rumours are usually not very accurate as noted by most people but there’s no doubt that new iterations of smartphone processors will eventually get too hot unless there are new designs or technologies (such as liquid cooling mentioned in the same article referenced above) in the making.

Daniel Wu gets married in South Africa

I'm not a fan of Daniel Wu and neither do I know who is Lisa S but I guess I need to populate my blog with more posts as this year, I've been lacking in this department. Too much work making me lose my mood to blog. :( But anyway, I find that the wedding in South Africa is rather romantic, don't you think?
via Daniel Wu's blog thru Star Online.

Pandas in Malaysia? :O

Update 1 January 2009: Here we go again... another press release on hopes of us getting giant pandas from China. This time, it includes ringtail lemurs, white tigers, and golden monkeys.

According to a Star Online article last Friday, our Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said that our Zoo Negara officials will go to China in October to discuss about the exchange for a panda with an orang utan. He mentioned that our Prime Minister had expressed his wish for a panda to signify our two countries' close ties.

I will be so happy if we do get a panda but I am more concerned with the zoo's capability in taking care of it. It is not just a mere animal. This is a panda! Where to get tonnes of bamboo that is not native here? How are our researchers able to help advance in the research and development of the panda? This is not just a play play thing or any Malaysia Boleh thing. This is a PANDA! P-A-N-D-A!

What do you think? Are we capable? We have not even settle on our political issues such as who is the next prime minister (one that swears or one that refuses to?) lest take care of a panda? But then, there is of course the fact that we have to get the agreement from China first...

And The Story Continues...

Sorry to leave you all in a cliffhanger like that from my previous post from a few days ago. Since I am now in Ubuntu Linux again, I should continue with my story:

I stopped at the part where I could not boot from my Ubuntu thumbdrive nor Windows (please do not be confused with the incident from my most recent post). This time, I took out the internal hard disk and booted from the Ubuntu Live CD. Did the installation again but partitioned the 8GB thumbdrive - allocating 5GB for the file system, 500MB for swap (which I later removed, but that is another story that perhaps will be forgotten) and the remaining for normal storage (I had this wishful thought that perhaps I can use the remaining space as just a normal plug and play thumbdrive for Windows but then Windows do not support partitioned thumbdrives - found this out much later).

After another long session, I got to boot into Ubuntu with the thumbdrive again and waited and waited for some of my friends to come into MSN Messenger (using Pidgin in Ubuntu to access my MSN account) and also at the same time contemplating if I should just drive back to my office to get the Windows CD to run the Recovery Console.

Some more waiting later, WoonCC (linking to his flickr account because he seldom blogs :P) came into MSN and he agreed to meet and bring his Windows CD. And so we met, booted from the CD, went into Recovery Console and at the prompt, typed "fixmbr" and I can boot into Windows again! :D

Second Post In Ubuntu

This is my second post in Ubuntu Linux. Let me tell you my experience. Went out to buy a 8GB thumbdrive with WoonCC. Full of optimism to install Ubuntu in this thumbdrive so that I can boot with it from any PC. After getting home, got to work, following tutorials from here. Failed many times and gave up for the day. The next day, tried a few more times and still failed.

Therefore, took out the internal hard disk, ran the Ubuntu Live CD and installed the whole thing on the thumbdrive. That took about 30 to 45 minutes. Re-inserted the internal hard disk and got the thumbdrive to boot. I was thrilled but the performance from booting with a thumbdrive is sluggish. Occasionally, the application will halt momentarily, presumably to load stuff from the thumbdrive. :(

After some fooling around I discovered that there are security updates just like in Windows. I had to download and install 200+ of them. GASP! That took several hours. Besides that, with the help of WoonCC, i discovered some fun stuff, particularly the Cube desktop. I could switch between workspaces by rotating the cube (screenshot below)! Oh forgot to mention about the workspaces... basically you can have as many desktops as your machine can take and in Linux these are called workspaces... I think... :P
After awhile, I switched back to Windows XP and I plugged the thumbdrive in. Windows said it can't open it and suggested that I format it... since the whole Ubuntu installation only took about 4GB, so I thought maybe I should partition out 2GB for data usage in both Windows and Ubuntu. So I went about to reinstall Ubuntu... at this point, I must say i am a *NOOB*! This time I did the installation WITHOUT taking out the internal hard disk and at the end of all it, I can't boot from the thumbdrive and I ALSO can't boot from the hard disk!

And I noticed that I have typed too much for this post so I shall stop for now.

To be continued...

Blogging in Ubuntu!

This is a first for me! Blogging from within a Linux OS - Ubuntu. :D Wow, what an amazing piece of operating system! And best of all, it is free and comes with a whole list of other free applications and programs! I can basically start off surfing the net with the pre-installed Firefox. New experience for me here. Will report back later. ;)

Is Nessie Dead? :O

Long time Nessie hunter 85-year old American Robert Rines believes that the legendary Loch Ness monster is dead because of global warming. He will be making one final trip to Loch Ness to look for the remains of Nessie. More on this at Celsias.

Do you believe in Nessie? Maybe the movie The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep will revive the world's attention.

Anwar Pictured As Opposition Leader

The Western media is promoting Anwar, Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) advisor, as the opposition leader in Malaysia... or so it seems. It is apparent in this article from Bloomberg.com. However, in Malaysia, he is at the moment rather quiet. Perhaps he is waiting for April, where he will be eligible to return to politics and (rumours abound) to take over PKR.

A Bit More About Smurf Movie

/Film has some little screenshots of The Smurf Movie that I have previously blogged about here. Click here to go to /Film's post.

Rampant Rumours of HD-DVD's End

UPDATE 19 February 2008: Toshiba held a press conference to confirm that they are pulling out the HD-DVD format.

Every news site where I surf to, there are news that Toshiba will end its HD-DVD format (the current favoured format is Sony's Blu-Ray). However, all these news do not have 100% confirmation, at least not from Toshiba. Do you think the end is near? Will Sony, for the first time in many years triumph over some proprietary format created? :O

Heroes The Next Season

Since I have multiple views on my Heroes posts in my blog, I went and google about the next season of Heroes and came to this: Heroes News: On to Season Three! from HeroesFanatic.com. In the article, a television critic and TV Guide expert said it is unlikely (slim to none) that the current season two will continue despite the writers' strike reaching a resolution. This is due to the way the series always go "to be continued..." at the end of each episode (or, the way it was called, the series' highly serialised nature). :P

Top 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces

Check out the list of the 10 most expensive celebrity divorces of all time... from US$15 million all the way up to more than US$150 million (Michael and Juanita Jordan)! Click here for Forbes' compilation.

INSANE: Streamyx Sucks Update

I have discovered that if you are connected to 60.50.???.??? range of IPs, you will face my problem of not connecting to majority websites. I had encountered that for the past 4 nights and just now. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting many, many times and once I got IPs different from those, my internet is back to normal again.

My encounters in the past are here and here.

INSANE: Streamyx Sucks Night #4

It is now into the fourth night. Besides going to google related sites, I can't go anywhere. This will be really @#%&^ fun. Let's count how long Streamyx will be like this.

Below is a screen grab from Streamyx's product page. Really, an experience never before:
Previous night's Streamyx sucks here.