Misunderstood - An Apple Holiday Ad

There are ads and then there are ads but few come close to this one titled Misunderstood from Apple:

Some Petronas ads are good, too, such as this one from many years back.

Frozen Fractals

A great photo that I saw while reading Flickr's latest blog post about new embedding that I must share before going to bed:

Cut the Rope 2 Game Trailer

iOS users rejoice! Om Nom is coming your way 19 December 2013 while Android users do not despair, Cut the Rope 2 is available on Google's platform early 2014. After the teaser, below is the game trailer:

Plenty of new characters and glad to see Om Nom more mobile than before!

Spotify Now "Free" on Android and iOS

I was thrilled when Spotify arrived in Malaysia many months back but abandoned the app after my free trial expired. I was tempted to subscribe but in the end, I went back to streaming radio app TuneIn Radio (been a user many years back)... and eventually purchased TuneIn Radio Pro.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail from Spotify today that it has gone "free" for major mobile OSes Android and iOS. And it's "free" as I had expected it to be - ad-sponsored like its desktop version and offline option is only for premium (paid) users. Still, I'm happy to use it interchangeably with TuneIn Radio whenever I'm on wifi. My Spotify's been playing the whole afternoon till now and there's no sign of any advertisements yet. Still too fresh for local companies to advertise, probably.

Smartphones - A Tale of Slavery

Gee... I didn't "quite" realise how much a slave I've become to my phone but HongKiat.Com helped put things into perspective. Smartphones have (despite all the awesome convenience that technological advancement brought us) indeed cause way too many people (yours truly included) to distant ourselves from the real world during real social events, bringing our work lives back with us too often when we are supposed to be relaxing with family and friends and worse, distracting ourselves during times where we should be alert (don't tell anyone but times such as walking and driving come to mind). Do read the article. It may be time for a reality check.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 International Trailer

Sony Pictures teased us for a few days with really short clips for this one but the trailer is finally here! Looks like there is more to just Electro here...

Cut the Rope 2 Coming Soon

I immediately fell in love with the original Cut the Rope when I saw my bud demonstrating on his iPad but at that time, I was smartphoneless, what more a tablet. Well, I joined the crowd and had my first game on my ancient Android powered HTC Desire. I still love the game and now I play it on the iPad most of the time. I've got Cut the Rope: Experiments, too! Didn't get Cut the Rope: Time Travel, though because I've got my hands full.

So you could imagine how excited I would get once I've read that a sequel is coming (via TouchArcade), and likely (and hopefully) soon enough for the coming holiday season! The teaser below appears to show our favourite candy lover OmNom being kidnapped... Oh no!

The Purge "Sort Of" Review

The previous post reminded me of a recent movie called The Purge. It's set in a future America where crime was at an all time low... because every year there will be 12 hours where almost anyone was allowed to commit any crime, including murder, and could walk away scot free. This movie was totally disturbing and though the idea seemed original, I wouldn't recommend it because the thought of such a world was simply horrifying.

The movie was right to be classified in the horror category, not because it gave the chills, but the thought of such a possibility could exist in the world's greatest economy. Thrill wise, I don't find much there safe a scene or two. 2/5

The actors try to act intense but the truth was, there were not much of those moments. Despite having Ethan Hawke and Lena Heady to lead, there was really not much to impress upon. 2/5

I've never heard if such a thing before, have you? So in my opinion, I'd give this terrible movie a 5/5 for originality but a 2/5 overall for the brutality it planted into my mind. Watch if you like this sort of thing but don't be influenced by it. Please don't.

A Glimmer of Hope: Snatch Thieves Caught Within 10 Minutes

theSun offered a glimmer of hope to us citizens today when it published that 2 snatch thieves were caught within 10 minutes after the public alerted the police. The incident took place in Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang where thieves on a motorcycle snatched the handbag of a factory operator this morning but were caught after the public gave the police the motorcycle's registration plates with a description of the suspects. The info was then relayed to a patrol unit doing its rounds in the area. After a short chase, the suspects were apprehended. 

There is still hope.

Tom Cruise to return doing the impossible for the fifth time...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it... will return to the big screen for the fifth time on Christmas 2015... as always, should you or any of your I. M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

Mission: Impossible 5 will once again star Tom Cruise with him and J. J. Abrams producing. Woooooohooooooo! I love Mission: Impossible and this is great news! Good night.

via Variety.

China Reforms

According to Reuters, the Communist Party had just announced an all important list of reforms such as:

• Accelerate capital account convertibility.
• Scrap residency restrictions in small cities and townships.
• Integrate urban and rural social security systems.
• Push forward an environmental tax.
• Ease family planning policies.
• Abolish a controversial labor camp system.

The world changes and so will giant China. Hopefully, for the better!

"TWTR"

That's how Twitter's New York Stock Exchange stock code is spelt as it got listed. Below the technical jargon talk about its opening performance:

The opening transaction was for over 11 million shares at $45.10 each, reportedly valuing the company at $25.04 billion. That’s a 73 percent increase on the $26 offering price set by Twitter yesterday.

via The Next Web.

iPads in the Hotspot

Now there is a good reason to shelve out extra dollars (in my case, Ringgit) to get the 3G/LTE version of iPad (Air, Mini, or otherwise): Use the iPad as a wifi hotspot!

According to ZDNet (via Cult of Mac), the iPad Mini could last a good 20 hours as a hotspot with the screen off. So theoretically, the iPad Air's bigger battery could do it even longer with the screen off. Just like the Duracell rabbit, I suppose:

The idea becomes even more compelling now that my mobile provider allows for multi-sim data sharing for RM15 a month per sim, up to 5 in total. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to do that anytime soon. Tight on cash at the moment, folks!

Hello, nanoblock Kitties

Well, folks, it appears that LEGO is not the only kid in the toy building block business. Saw these kitties in display at the KLCC Kinokuniya bookstore and they were built with nanoblock, a Japanese invention. Unlike LEGO, these are much smaller blocks. Hence, the name nano.

Smaller parts make it possible to create more detailed and even smaller projects than what can be created with standard diablock.

The Mighty Ear Piercing Harrison Ford

I thought Harrison Ford being Han Solo or Jack Ryan were classics. Wait till you watch the mighty Harrison Ford pierce talk show host Jimmy Fallon's ear!!!

via People.