Gadgit

Moving to VOX

2007-02-14T22:56:00.000+08:00

I'll be making the move to 'VOX' as the 'new blogger', that is reputedly out of 'beta', is, well, a load of bollocks. I won't get into details here with regards to the reasons for this move. But for now, my 'hmmms' may be accessed at the belowmentioned site. You'll have to register if you want to post comments i'm afraid. Talk about 'nationalising' bloggers via these relatively exclusive sites. tch!

ed-infinitum

gadgit.vox.com

Ma Don't Laaa

2007-02-09T13:18:00.000+08:00

“Madonna's record breaking Confessions Tour filmed at London's Wembley Arena during her worldwide sold-out 25-city run in 2006 has been banned in Singapore for her performance on a massive neon cross in a mock-crucifixion.”

fridae

Photograph modified by Gadgit

I don't see why it ought to be banned because of the 'mock crucifixion' scene (personally, I don’t think much of this ‘artiste’ with her superficial lyrics and simply arranged ‘music’ which is no more than an accompaniment to primitive sexuality and attempts to pander to an insignificant people seeking significance vicariously). After all, though the crucifix was popularised by Jesus' crucifixion, it was a common enough tool for retribution in Roman times. Perhaps, the bimbette was trying to emulate one of the thieves crucified on either side of the Christ – but I suppose it takes more than a ‘singaporean’ to realise that. We ought not to allow the Christ to monopolise the cross where others besides Him especially since others too were afforded this dire conduit to the next life by the Romans.

However,

the meaning and usage of symbols is not independent of the common perception of it. The user of a particular symbol, unless s/he is unaware of its common association, or makes it clear that it is being utilised with an alternative meaning, is guilty of misrepresenting, falsely associating, or compromising the integrity and sacredness of its associated value. Hence, I would inquire after Madonna’s intentions before supporting any such ban.

Banning this and that..

…may be seen as little more than an effort to either show the people ‘who's boss’ and thus train them in the art of submission, or, indicative of deficiencies in general logical abilities by the banning party, or, indicative of a logically-disabled people who have trained the banning party to do as they please when they please with little thought by their being unable to offer consistent and logic-based opposition.

With rights come responsibilities. But, we would be well advised to keep in mind, that taking up the right responsibilities have historically been proven to be the harbinger of more rights. To allow one’s development to be dictated by the mores, requirements and solely take on the expected ‘responsibilities’ of a particular system is to simultaneously cause the disabling of the imaginative and creative faculties required to improve it.

on Beauties and Bimbettes

2007-02-08T11:20:00.000+08:00

beauty or bimbette?

The aforepictured has been included in the ‘top 10 most beautiful bloggers’ list, or something to that effect, by ‘Gizmodo’ - a foreign ‘tech’ site – well, one cannot expect to much from ‘techies’, by way of perspectival intelligence, I suppose.

I suppose it take a greater mind to confuse ‘beauty’ with ‘personality’ – intelligence, humanity, wisdom, sensuality, spirituality, and basically all that illustrates the different facets of the human persona. (in this sense, xia xue and others of her ilk are little more than bimbettes who are deemed 'beautiful' by equally decrepit perspectival retards comprising a significant proportion of the masses.) When one develops beyond the miniscule limits imposed by this ‘modern’/americanised experience of reality, one would reach a realm where one, putting it in terms which the simple-minded folk, aka ‘singaporeans’, would understand, would fail to get ‘turned on’ unless the individual possessed an appreciable degree of the aforementioned qualities.

It, however, takes a lesser mind

...to get ‘turned on’ simply by attributes such as symmetry – between one half of the face and the other – particular and promoted skin tones/body types within a particular space and time. Those whom are susceptible to such ‘preferred’ types have little claim to individuality. They are, if truth be told, little more than impressionable victims of the influences crisscrossing our sensorial and experiential purview within a particular space and/or time.

Just because we started off, evolutionarily speaking, as animals, does not mean that we have to continue along this path – as evidenced by the masses instinctually appreciating particular body types, features or tints…moronic/gizmodic nominations. It is the ability to transcend our current perspectival state via imagination, critical introspection and reflection that distinguishes us from the non-human animal kingdom. Human beings ought not to allow social influences to determine their instinctual content. If so, then they are nothing more than animals with different (programmed/instinctual) tastes. An informed and intelligent ‘preference’ is the result of attempts to transcend the boundaries laid by the accepted influences of any time.

As the saying goes,

*“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” The appreciation of the idea of evolution ought not to be confined to the historical study of humanity. Rather, evolution goes on within each and every one of us. Reaching adulthood is not a validation of the end of evolution within us. In fact, adulthood is the time when we have the potential to engage in open-eyed evolution – that is, we are supposed to be able to increasingly engage in intelligent critique and critical introspection. That is when we are supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad without and within, or at least make more informed, intelligent and objective attempts to do so. That is when we are supposed to reevaluate the sense of all that we have learnt to appreciate – despite our being able to hold down a job and earn wads of money(most people tend to think that this latter ability is a validation of their having become ‘mature’ adults. The truth of the matter is that all they have achieved is ‘use-value’ which is just one component of ‘human value’.) Thus, in my adulthood, I question after sense of my sensibilities rather than see my adulthood as a validation of the said sensibilities. It is this that validates my adulthood and maturity.

Maturity is not a state of knowing.
It is a state of knowing that all that is known to be fact may be fictional.

Just because there aren’t any awards

...for ‘top ten most insightful/wise/intelligent/humanitarian/etc blogger’ does not mean that such aspirations are not more worthy of mass appreciation. Cretinous individuals/institutions that promote ‘most beautiful blogger awards’ via the narrow criteria of physical features or pop/ular appeal simply diminish human potentials, evolutionarily speaking, by detracting mass attention from the significant to the trivial.

ed-infinitum
- a singaporean in locality, not personality.

*Corinthians chapter 13, verse 11

singapore malaysia philippines india hong kong uk sociology psychology

The Passion of the Indian(ised) Mind

2007-02-08T10:23:00.000+08:00

The truth of the matter is, when Indians - given the advantage their historically critical, introspective, ever-changing, perspectivally-multifarious and multi-faceted culture endows its practitioners - are located in non-discriminatory and truly multicultural conditions without any one culture or its practitioners being purposefully afforded greater social prominence, or marginalised on the basis of the archaic notion of 'race', they will progress to be that which their culture trains them to be - highly intelligent, innovative, creative and vibrant.

This is the legacy of their culture and which is embedded in a myriad and multitude of ways within their cultural practices and perspectives. It would not be untrue to say that 'to be Indian is to not be Indian'. That simply means that the Indian, historically, has never 'enjoyed' the luxury of a static state of affairs due to the constant cultural upheavels that is a feature of Indian history. Thus, the Indian mind has never had the opportunity to rest and enjoy things today the way it has 'always been'. Thus, its critical hyperactivity along with its ability to accept that which is novel and embrace the non-traditional. We can say that Indian culture is dialectical and is in constant flux because of historical conditions that never allowed it to be otherwise. Thus, many components of this culture, via its myths, rituals, perspectives, cuisine, etc, embody this.

But such a legacy is laid waste given inoptimum conditions. This is when positive potentials that may be leftover from their familial experience is channelled down less positive or progressive paths. Thus, Indian passion and vibrance, amongst those occupying lower economic strata, frequently sees it being translated to aggressive tendencies while these very propensities are translated, given optimum conditions, into innovative, insightful and creative produce. Such is also the case given the temperament of children. Some of them are endowed with a more 'hyperactive' temperament. Given optimum conditions and equal access to resources and advantages within a caring environment, this can lead to much vibrance in the right arena. Inoptimum conditions, inversely, may just see such vibrancy being directed down the delinquent path.

When this is considered, it is only to be expected that India has become the brains of Asia and a mainstay behind that of the west - though it may also be argued that Indians becoming prominent in the vaunted fields of today does not do their culturally-trained propensities justice. They are capable of much more. Additionally, its cultural advantage is also that which once produced the likes of the Mahatma (Gandhi).

(one of the main contributory factors behind Indian passion, vibrancy and critical intelligence is the relative conceptual and cultural instability - due to invasions and intercourse with intelligent cultures, failure of emperors to form a state like, for example, China; the non-centralisation of education; the prominence of independent philosophers; etc.)

For an example of close-to-optimum conditions, the reader might want to peruse the following BBC article,

Sea-Change in UK-India Relations

malaysia singapore india uk hong kong philipines culture

Ah-sian Cup

2007-02-05T13:23:00.000+08:00

Seems that there has been much hue and cry over ‘Singapore’ winning the ASEAN Cup - I personally heard much cheering from my window last night and wondered if the mee pok shop at a nearby KopiTiam had decided to up the ante against the other shops by throwing in an additional fishball for orders. To illustrate,

“YAY!!! WE WON IT. YES. YES. YES!”

the above ejaculatory excerpt taken from mornizstar

"hmmm..."

No you didn't. The TEAM won. You are just trying to claim credit for their victory simply because you gals/guys relieve yourself within the same geographical locality. Methinks these sad people ought to try to claim credit for what THEY personally do and not attempt to vicariously claim credit by dipping their respective pinkies into the beam cast on another. If you are going to claim credit because they are 'singaporeans', then all men in the world can claim credit because those in team are 'men', or all people in the world sharing approximately the same height, length of hair, features, tint, etc, as those in the team could also claim credit. So, if one was to think about it a tad bit further than that which the all too average singaporean is accustommed to, one would realise that the appropriate and intelligent response to ‘singapore’ winning the ASEAN Cup would be,

“THEY Won it. Yes. Yes. Yes!”

In which case – because of the substitution of ‘we’ with 'they' – one would inevitably be led to wonder why we are making such a fuss over another’s victory - "Oi! They win what. Why you so happy?!"

Such abject idiocy. Ah sian man.

singapore malaysia india hong kong football sociology psychology

Vid on Vista

2007-02-04T19:56:00.000+08:00

Well, the hullaballoo has started over Window's 'Vista'.

I suppose when we are located in an age where people create a fuss about anything only when they are 'trends', and simply because they are 'trends' as opposed to these 'trends' being worthy of being 'trends', 'Windows Vista' would feature quite highly on blogger 'tag' ratings (ref. technorati). I dare say that it would not be untrue to state that the 'trendy' are those who have the least amount of individualism and thus depend on the 'latest' or 'trends' to feed their feelings of self-worth. I always thought that 'style' was supposed to be an extension of the substance within, as opposed to it disguising the void within.

Anyway,

those of you who want to know what this 'vista' thing is all about, either because you are one of those mindless reflections of trends; because you are curious by nature; or because you want to know what's tickling society's fancies at the moment in order to understand its current state of mind, follow the links that follow to view a short video on the Vista (courtesy of bbc's 'click')

*

play via realplayer

tip: I personally use realplayer to play videos from 'click'. All one has to do to watch it is to click the above link, wait for the video to start playing on realplayer, and then immediately press 'pause'. The video will be downloaded - as can be witnessed by the extending line beside the 'play' button(this line can be best viewed when the player is maximised) - and once the 'line' extends to the end, it can be played without 'stutters' while giving the viewer the freedom to fast-forward, rewind, or watch it all over again.

play via windows media

video windows vista malaysia singapore india hong kong vista

Customer Disservice in Singapore

2007-02-03T10:13:00.000+08:00

I had written to a local bicycle accessories distributor (sportsbilt.com) for some information regarding a particular product. The response, I must say, was exemplary.

1.
Hello Adrian,

I would like to know if you entertain members of the public or do you just deal with retailers. I would like to purchase a helmet for personal use and understand that you carry a wide stock. If you do entertain members of the public, what would be your opening and closing times? Am looking for a 'bell ghisallo(black/grey) though I would like to view other designs as well.

appreciate your advice,

Ed

2.
Greetings Ed,

Yes, we do entertain walk-in customers.
Our operating hours are from 9am to 5am. We are off on weekends. Please give us a call before you proceed as we might be out of office due to delivery, entertaining of foriegn dealers, lunch etc.
You are looking at Bell Ghisallo Black Carbon. At the moment, I have 3 medium size in stock.
We are the sole distributor for Bell, GIRO, SixSixOne, Troy Lee Design, Finish Line, White Lightning, SweatGUTR, RAVX and one of the distributors for FOX servicing Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand...
If you are interested in any products of the above-mentioned models, you can approach us.
Please note that we are operating as a distributor and therefore, we do not have any NETS/Credit Cards service. We only accept cash.

Thanks & Regards

Adrian Teng

3.
Hello Adrian,

Thank you for your prompt and most instructive response. Hope I will be able to find the time to visit your site in the near future as the 9-5 hours make it quite difficult. Will certainly try. I will, as advised, give yourself a tinkle prior to my visit.

Best regards and have a great day,

Ed

4.
Greetings Ed,

Once in a blue blue moon, I do come back to office to settle some paper work or to clear up the store during the weekends. You can e-mail me or SMS me on Friday to see if I am coming back on the weekends.

Thanks and Regards,

Adrian Teng

end~

Thoughts...

Most companies here (in singapore) thoughtlessly spout out ‘off-the-rack’ responses and do not adequately, if at all, entertain queries that do not have such ready-made responses available within forearm’s length. In other words, ask a question which most people don’t, and you can expect no response, or a simple, “It’s company policy”, or “that’s the way our company operates” – which is synonymous with, “Aiyah, it’s like that one laa/lorr/lei”. Only those questions that most ask are entertained.

These so-called ‘customer-care officers’(yeah right!) tend to reflexively ignore anything that requires thought on their part. The ‘consumer’ is indeed treated as nothing but a mindless ‘consumer’ and not as a human being whose particular concerns require listening to or thoughtful digestion. Thus, as assumed 'mindless consumers', they are accorded the treatment such mindlessness is perceived to deserve - mindless customer care. One robot serving another robot.

All people are treated as one homogenous consumeristic mass. By this, we are implicitly told that we as individuals ought not to concern ourselves with that which other consumers are not concerned with, or that which the company does not deem worthy of consideration as it does not translate to immediate profit. We are told to think, feel and act as others do and, “Aiyahhh, don’t think so much laaa”, or “Wahh, think so much and ask so many questions for whaaaat!”. By 'thinking', 'feeling' and 'acting' as others do simply because others are doing it basically reduces it to not thinking, feeling and acting as individuals but doing without thinking what everyone else is. It is via such an approach that the individuals comprising society are, over time, homogenised into little more than a singular blob of mindless consumers - which is one of the elements comprising the core of 'singaporean' identity, and one which I deign to accept without a disclaimer, i.e. "singaporean in locality, NOT personality".

This, however,

was not the case in my exchange with ‘Sportsbilt’(sportsbilt.com). Not only were all queries answered, the delivery and content were also polite, informative, prompt, and most importantly, anticipated my personal difficulties. Empathetic effort was also tailor-made to take into consideration my difficulties in visiting the said outlet during normal operating hours and a further response by Sportsbilt, via the helpful and empathetic, ‘Adrian Teng’, followed. In this, it was impressed upon myself that I was not merely a ‘consumer’, but an individual whose personal concerns were worthy of consideration. Such a response validates the human within us as opposed to that of the unthinking ‘consumer’. We are not seen as merely money-making opportunities but people of individual self-worth as opposed to self-worth being derived from mindless conformity to the masses. When the human being is constantly treated in such a positive manner, the self is validated and individuals will tend not to discount their own personal ideas and feelings. This will feed their overall sense of self-worth and self-efficacy, and, in turn, fill the motivational reservoir within us that, again, in turn, feeds our artistic, creative and intellectual propensities and potentials - in other words, we become more, amongst others, 'british' or 'indian'.

Other local companies..

...would be well-advised to take the aforementioned into consideration in their dealings with members of the public. It is the way they are treated that determines their future development. When people take bad service, or service that does not appreciate their individual selves, as the norm, they become lesser people. In other words, as the field for the expression of the self is contracted, so is the self likewise contracted - it is a dynamic relationship. And as lesser people, not only are lesser expectations placed on themselves as human beings, fewer expectations are placed on companies. This, in turn lowers the developmental standard of companies and their overall empathetic performance which is important when it comes to the development of their innovative and creative potentials.

At the heart of innovation and creativity...

..lies the motivational force of empathy and meticulous attention to detail. This is practiced mostly when it comes to the general ability to take into consideration that which one is not accustomed to. In this, amongst others, lies the potential of human progress. The relationship between an individual and service provider is dynamic. The increased and individual expectations placed on companies, and the validation of these individual expectations and concerns by the companies paying attention to them practices them in paying attention to detail and enhances empathetic potential. This will lead to innovation and creativity which the individual benefits from and which in turn develops her/his potentials further. This in turn leads to increased expectations and more profound concerns which in turn lead to increased demands on the company. This is how the spiral of progress is effected.

It is how we are appreciated that determines how we appreciate (increase in value).

malaysia singapore india hong kong psychology sociology

ConnectMeAnywhere but in Singapore

2007-01-16T12:56:00.000+08:00

The following email exchange took place between myself and a UK company called ‘connectmeanywhere’ that enables one to make skype-like calls via mobile phones with significant reductions in international call charges. I had written to them and asked if they could set up registration for singaporeans as they were at the time only offering the said services for Europe.

Hi Ed,

We are setting up Singapore for registration and I wondered if you could help me with a question we have. How much is it to call a local landline number in Singapore? - is it charged per minute or is it a set cost per call.
Thanks; if you could help that would be great. Hope to have Singapore online asap.

Regards,
Belinda
CMA Support
*

Hi Ed,

I am happy to let you know that ConnectMeAnywhere is now available for registration in Singapore.
All new users get 25 cents of credit to test the system and we have a new product called V-Mail.
With V-Mail you can sent a voice email from any phone (registered with your account) and it sends your message as an MP3 to your contacts email address - any phone can use this, it does not have to be email enabled.
This service is free from CMA (although you have to pay to connect to the local number in Singapore)

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Thanks again for the information on the telephony providers it was very helpful.

If you create an account let me know your username so I can give you some extra credit and you can write a fabulous review! ;-)

Kind Regards,
Belinda
CMA Support
*

Hi Belinda,

I tried to register at your site but found that 'singapore' was not listed in the country menu. Advice? Let me know regarding the aforementioned soonest - and before christmas since it is a time when people are generally more amenable to novel ideas due to the positive affect induced by the season.

Regards,
ed
*

Hi Ed,

Sorry I have been on Holiday so only just received your email. Unfortunately our Singapore service was halted by the regulatory body in Singapore, which forced us to disconnect all our Singapore numbers. We attempted to have them reconnected but to no avail and have had to remove Singapore from our list of countries and refund our Singapore users. I will certainly let you know if this changes and we can connect again, sorry for the bad news but thank you very much for the support you have offered us.

Kind Regards,
Belinda
CMA Support

*

Well, so much for that. I’ll leave you to come to your own conclusions.

connectmeanywhere

malaysia singapore india hong kong philipines skype internet cma connectmeanywhere uk

Comment on Wee Shu Min and etc

2007-01-11T14:07:00.000+08:00

I came across a CNN article on income disparity in Singapore. Some thoughts...

"When Wee Shu Min, the teenage daughter of a Singapore member of parliament stumbled across the blog of a Singaporean who wrote that he was worried about losing his job, she thought she'd give him a piece of her mind.

She called him "one of many wretched, undermotivated, overassuming leeches in our country" on her own blog and signed off with "please, get out of my elite uncaring face".

What WSM - or , Woman of Shallow Mind - has obviously failed to consider is that 'undermotivation' is just one of the many causes of job loss. There are also a host of other factors such as bigotry and the lack of the requisite cultural and financial resources that disables many from occupying that comfortable position which WSM has obviously taken as a natural and self-acquired right. She obviously is low in empathy, ill-educated in sociological and psychological realities and, well, lacks the essentials of basic humanity. WSM ought to keep in mind that for every motivated person who 'makes it', there are thousands, if not millions more, motivated persons who did not. It is the sign of an intelligent mind where one is led to query after the causes of the latter.

From a sociological perspective, motivation, within a class-based system, can go as far as it can go in improving a person's lot in life - provided it leaves the class-based system intact. That simply means that the system has an in-built protective function - effected via a myriad of psychological, social and institutional means - that ensures that there will always be enough people to maintain the (im)balance.

People like WSM further validate the perspective that the ability to 'blog' is not evidence of intelligence. It is the content that we have to look at. The quality of an opinion, the likes of WSM ought to be reminded, is not derived from the ability to forward an opinion, but the ability to logically justify it.

Another myth that this incident helps in dispelling is that of the 'first class' status of singapore's education system. Yes, the people here might get great marks in maths, etc. But besides proving that they are good at memorising formulas whilst exhibiting a modicum of analytical ability in a specific area, it illustrates little else. Since there really isn't a test here for generic analytical intelligence other than those tested for in specific areas, we cannot say that singapore has a state of the art education system, or, that the minds that it churns out is 'state of the art'. I, personally, have met 19 year olds of average intelligence in the UK who can hold a far more intelligent debate/conversation in areas outside of their field of study, whilst exhibiting knowledge and appreciation of profound sociological and philosophical precepts than people of any age in singapore. Now, they may not get top marks in maths, science, etc, but they are obviously far more intelligent than any person from a 'premium'-level school or University graduate that I've met in singapore. Of course, this would beg the question, 'what then is the purpose of education', or, 'what ought to be the purpose of education'? But that is another matter which i will get into at another time as it goes far beyond the scope of this article.

"We have treated welfare as a dirty word. The opposition, I think the Workers' Party, has called for a 'permanent unconditional needs-based welfare system'. I think that is an even dirtier five words," he(lee kwan yew) said in a speech on November 13.

What the opposition is seeking, I believe, is that the workers are protected against the inevitable consequences that arise from a system which the elite profits immensely and continuously from. In other words, you take from me when times are good, so you must take care of me when times are bad. We expect that from any child in her relationship towards a parent or any beneficiary towards a benefactor. If the child or beneficiary gives in return, we don't say that s/he is good but that s/he is doing her duty for s/he is paying back for what she has received. Should this not be more the case especially where no government is the 'first giver' - unlike a benefactor or a parent - since it is the people who do the giving first? If we consider this point, the people are in fact the 'parents' and the government in question, a grossly ungrateful child who has adopted the convenient belief that the parent is there to be taken advantage of for his own benefit when times are good and left to starve when times are bad.

Finally,

for the information of all, while singapore might rank quite highly when it comes to 'per capita income', the truth of the matter, according to CNN, is, that when income disparity is considered, singapore ranks between Kenya and Burundi.

I always thought that the majority of singaporeans were getting exceedingly poor when compared to the 60s through to the present. The existence of flexible debt repayment schemes only serves to diffuse the impression that we are greatly in debt and that the overall disposal income we might have in a lifetime is significantly lower than the times of our parents and grandparents. But, of course, it requires an increasingly myopic and intellectually docile population to not realise that. I suppose that's 'progress' as far as singapore goes.

malaysia singapore india uk hong kong philipines

Iphone Vid...the Yelamu, IP & the Gadgit

2007-01-10T13:19:00.000+08:00

Well, Steve Jobs has finally revealed the Iphone - a touchscreen, 11.6mm-thin phone - that's supposed to be a break from the conventional push-button phone at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco (once the home of the Yelamu group of the Ohlone People...now the home of, ugh!, 'Americans'..."now where did i put that bugspray?"). It comes in 4 and 8 gig versions and is expected to be made available in the US in June and in Europe later in the year. The phone is supposed to cost between 500 to 600 usd.

Anyway, on an aesthetic and functional note, the iphone does indeed raise the bar with its convenient touch-screen and integration with the ipod, significant eye-room and sleek well-rounded edges that reduce the chances of discomfort/injury in those regions in close proximity to one's hip pocket. These functions are already present in many mobilephones, but the Iphone does a good job in bringing them together - so Iphone has to thank the manufacturers of other phones for these ideas...if it wasn't for them, iphone wouldn't be what it is would it?....there's no such thing as 'invention', only 'innovation'. Of course, Steve Jobs would beg to differ. I had said some time ago that the ipod is doomed unless it goes into the telco business or integrates with existing companies. Looks like Steve Jobs heard such prophetic rumblings and decided to act on, and profit from, the IP of others like myself - just as he did with the design. Good one Stevie Boy!

For all you 'gadgits' out there, I suppose it gives you something to look forward to eh. All of a sudden you have yet another reason to live! Well, congratulations!

"hmmm..."

Methinks 'Techie' isn't a good name for, well, 'techies'. To say one is a 'techie' is to claim some semblance of independent thought for the 'techie'. A 'Gadgit', ahhh, that is more like it. A 'Gadgit' lacks independent thought. A 'Gadgit' is not someone who 'acts on' but one who is 'acted on'. Something like having her key wound before she can start to act 'independently' S/he is basically made to follow trends for the simple reason that it is there to be followed. No question on the intrinsic value of such a pursuit. Not unlike running after the tide as it goes out and running away from it as it comes in. Who, or what, do you think determines the movement of the runner?

bbc

iphone uk malaysia singapore india tech hong kong philipines

Appreciating Films - the Good, the Bad & the Ugly

2007-01-08T16:02:00.000+08:00

This film - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (il Buono, il brutto, il Cattivo) ranks as one of my all time favourite films - besides, The Wall, Purple Rain, 1984, The Doors, and Apocalypse Now.

Unlike contemporary films which focuses on stimulating the senses with a whole plethora of visual effects - that does nothing for the aesthetic aspect of the human intellect - older films generally focus on bringing out the emotional content, the philosophical background, etc, of the story - that in turn prods the development of more profound aspects of the human intellect.

For instance, in the aforepresented scene,

...the viewer is led to gradually taste the emotions, fears, and sensibilities of the three actors by the camera focusing first on their faces and expressions, which in turn exhibits the contrasting human emotions of fear and uncertainty; calm and composure; and viciousness and arrogance. We are then focused on the seemingly insignificant and inconspicuous tools via which these contradictory emotions will find their relief - their individual guns - which amplifies the tragedy awaiting the desires that has brought them together, and which is resolved via such unceremonious means. The contasting insignificance of the guns to the other aspects of the scene, such as the great expanse of sky, mountains, the graves, the scene, and even the actors' own persons mirrors the insignificance attributed to life in the face of greed and lust as it takes little more than a proportionately insignificant gun to end life and resolve the ambitions of the men assembled.

As the scene builds up to the final shootout, we see a closer focus on the eyes of the actors that focuses us and reduces this scene to one that is purely of an impending clash between emotions without the irrelevant exposition of their entire faces. This is complemented by the speeding up of the camera's respective focus on the individuals which in turn instigates an appreciation of the senselessness of the whole venture as one is taken to the brink of life and is made to stare into an abyss that is soon to welcome, perhaps, two more souls. And with this final acceleration of the camera's focus, these accumulation of these different thoughts and feelings orchestrated within ourselves by the above, feed and amplify the sense of expectation, anticipation and anxiety. And all this without the flash!-bang!-fwar! hollywood style visual effects.

At times, the viewer is presented the entire scene with the 3 actors, in the style of zen paintings, being cast as insignificant beings in a wider philosophical context illustrated and symbolised by graves in the background, and the wide expanse of sky and distant mountains within which the human drama of greed, lust and doom takes place. One is told, via such a scene, that this is how such evil ventures end(via the grave backdrop - pun intended), along with the futility of such ventures as wealth is something we cannot take to the grave. This is further amplified by the circle within which the final shootout takes place that brings out the coliseum-like feel of the scene with the surrounding graves serving as 'spectators' of a duel which humanity thrusts itself into time and again -a duel which they, the 'spectators', were once themselves a part. They sit, watching in deathly silence as this tragic drama is once again enacted. As if to further reinforce the vanity of the whole event, the shootout takes place on dry, barren and broken ground devoid of life. But, again, we are presented with a wider backdrop of sky and mountains that tells us that there is more to life than just this. And yet, the self-serving obstinacy of humanity blinds it from appreciating this as the actors seem ignorant of this and focus on their dire ambitions.

The above meanings are attributed by the instigation of my own perspectives of life, but the important point here is that such films provide us the interpretational space to make such attributions as opposed to the films of today which is devoid of such 'interpretational space' and which thus can be likened to little more than a quick fix via the end of a straw.

Self-development is a dynamic thing.

We expose ourselves to the good stuff, refrain from the bad stuff, so that we can get more from more exposition to the good stuff, and, in turn, know what is the bad stuff we must refrain from. Then, perhaps, someday, you might be qualified enough to be only 'singaporean in locality, and NOT in personality'...or, if there is enough of you out there to form a significant majority, then being singaporean in personality might be a thing to be proud of.

Think about it.

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PC Security Alert

2007-01-06T14:30:00.000+08:00

Those of you who have Adobe Readers installed on your systems, and whom are using anything below version 8, be warned that a security flaw has been detected in pre-8 versions that could leave your harddrive vulnerable to hackers. This affects both IE and FireFox users. Don't wait for this flaw to be exploited - thus giving yourself the oft-heard opportunity to state, "it's like that one lor/lei/la". Nothing has to be "like that one lor/lei/la" (or anyother monosyllabic whines you might be inclined to use) - not if you do something about it now.

Acrobat Reader 8

bbc

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The Art of Music

2007-01-04T16:24:00.000+08:00

Ever wonder why people tend to go 'ga-ga' over guitarists and other so-called 'musicians' and 'artistes'..

...prancing about on stage or on the silver screen playing chart-topping 'tunes' - which are basically combinations of notes put together that do not sound 'offtune' - at superspeed with a generous dollop of noise and feedback thrown in for little reason?

Simple, these days, it isn't about the music in itself as it once was. It is more to do with providing the increasingly cretinised masses with that which they are deprived of - a sense of power, self-significance and prominence. So the louder and faster they play; the more they gyrate their bodies or throw themselves off the stage into shrieking hysterical 'fans'; the less appropriately-dressed-for-work they look, the more the shrieking amongst the maddening crowd. They sell significance by the barrow but it is worth little more than a spadeful of dust whn we see what this translates to within us. After a quick fix from a well-known 'artiste', we are yet again empowered to be disembowelled in the next working day. In other words, we are not empowered to 'rock around the clock' but to GET 'rocked around the clock'. But if we really scrutinise these artistes, we'll realise that they have nothing significant to say, represent nothing significant, and that their lyrical and musical production is as deep and complex as a puddle formed in that dent on the road after a passing cloud.

The question to ask when we like something is...

...whether it is because of its intrinsic value or because it purely compensates for some sense of deprivation we are encumbered with. It's something like taking a pill for an ailment. We don't take it for its intrinsic value but because of its serving as a remedy for a malady.

I'll leave you with a real tune by a group called, 'The Cousins', that exhibits the value of a tune in itself. The tune is not relegated to the position of an accompaniment for the musicians' egos - as it is today. Rather, these musicians are simply its bearers. Be warned, it is relatively devoid of paracetamolic value unlike those churned out by the 'artistes' comprising the greatest pharmaceutical company in the world of today - 'The Entertainment Industry'.

The Art of Music lies in its potential to Refine Humanity.
Not Blind it.

- the Heretic -

(quote taken from a foreign site)

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Happy 200-7%!!!

2007-01-03T12:41:00.000+08:00

Ever heard the phrase, ‘same shit, different day’? Well, in reality, it would be more true to say, ‘worse shit, different day’. Things don’t get better in a socio-economic milieu like this. It just gets worse. This view has nothing to do with ‘the half full’ or ‘half empty’ optimism-pessimism dichotomy. It is based on scientifically collatable, verifiable and quantifiable facts.

“Hmmm…”

What is the meaning of a ‘new year resolution’...

…in a country where one can expect ‘worse shit, different year’, and where the deer and the antelopes believe that they are not able to anything about the source of the shite?(as illustrated by traditionally, and thus, reflexively utilised phrases such as, “it’s like that one lei/lor/la.” It simply and generally means this - you are going to work even harder to do as much as is necessary to contend with the greater burdens that you are going to be encumbered with. And since the source/s of the shite is going to be left unchallenged, the only way one is going to be able to put up with ‘more shite’ is to shovel the downward flow onto another’s plate. That is, to take more from others and do unto others that which you would not want done to yourself in order to contend with the demands from up yonder. Same thing applies to the ‘wishing you good fortune’ greeting during the Lunar New Year. Both generally mean the same thing, “hope you are successful in becoming a bigger ars#hole than you were the previous year so that you will be able to contend better with the greater amount of shite that is gonna be piled onto your plate in the ‘new’ year.”

An acquaintance of mine, known to some as ‘the simster’, stated that he was going to strive to be ‘more caring’ in the new year. I wonder how he’s going to strike a balance between ‘being taken from’ and ‘giving’ in the new year in a climate like this – though, I must say, it’s most definitely the best resolution I’ve heard in quite a while. Being genuinely caring in a vicious country, however, is synonymous with signalling one’s willingness to being indiscriminately taken over the barrel by just about everyone you meet. He’s gonna need all the help he can get in realising his resolution….and he can most definitely count on my support…

As for the rest of you,

Happy 200-7% (gst)!

That’s translates to about 200% more odds against your becoming less of an ars#hole.

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A Sidewalk Christmas

2007-01-01T12:27:00.000+08:00

As most(in singapore) know, Orchard Road(the hub of singaporean life(lessness)) was open to human traffic on Christmas.

"Oh Whoopsy doo!"

It was interesting to observe how everyone spilled onto the road the moment it was closed to tyred traffic with a force that might be expected when a levee comes asunder, and how many just stood there even though there was more elbow-room on the sidewalks. The relatively greater animation and merriment amongst those who traversed the lanes 'along the watchtower' that were normally forbidden to the non-tyred sector of society was plain to see.

"Hmmm…"

Perhaps when people are deprived of more significant freedoms,

far more joy is found even in the most insignificant, inane and fleeting of opportunities to do that which is normally forbidden. Perhaps it serves as a cathartic valve providing relief for the negative feelings engendered by life in a repressive climate…and which, in turn, serves to ‘empower’ them to put up with far more BS that they might otherwise would. Thus, the need to get on the road may arise from greater needs left unsatisfied (we may not know exactly what we are deprived of, but that does not mean we do not suffer the psychological consequences that arise from such deprivation), being unable to take on confrontational attitudinal/behavioural postures, and failing to pursue intrinsically meaningful activities whilst interned within the bowels of a repressive society.

Little things, I suppose, please thus belittled minds.

I, however, stayed on the sidewalk.....and well away from along the watchtower

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Christmas & the Art of Gift-Giving

2006-12-29T09:54:00.000+08:00

Throughout the year, humans exist largely as ‘employees’.

This means that people generally engage in those characteristics that make us ‘human’, such as listening, acting on, exhibiting interest, exercising imagination, interacting meaningfully and striving aspirationally solely at work. Everything else is generally ‘compensatory’ or ‘recuperative’. That is, they do what they do outside of work not because it is an avenue via which they express themselves – or other aspects of their personas – but simply because it helps them to recuperate from the myriad of maladies they suffer as a consequence of their absorption within the work environment. Hence, social life is reduced to the status of a reservoir from which they drink in order to be rejuvenated for work. In other words, life becomes little more than a means to work as opposed to the inverse.

Christmas,

amongst others, however, demands that life, excluding ‘work’, be validated. It demands that humans be validated as entities of multitudinous potentials and sigificance instead of merely diminutive ‘employees’. This it does, amongst others, through the act of gift-giving. In the act of giving a gift, we have the opportunity to practice in the social arena that which we have throughout the year confined to the self-nullifying ‘work environment’ – validating the significance of an individual as a unique human being and a human being as an unique individual.

The art of gift-giving practices us in doing what we do at work, outside work. In other words, it demands, ideally, that we consider what a person likes; which in turn requires us to consider what the person is; which in turn requires that we have exhibited the requisite interest in the person prior to Christmas; which in turn requires that we have extended the requisite ‘ear-time’ to the person. This in turn will lead us to not only giving the person what s/he likes but what will develop her/him further in the course of the year as a 'full-of-potential' human being. Via such gifts, we validate them as human beings and as individuals. It requires that we put together all their whines, moans, wishes and musings transmitted in the course of the year in order to come up with the right gift.

This basically amounts to us having treated the person as more than just a ‘quick-fix’ - like the daily morning dose of caffeine - to making ourselves feel good/satisfying our own needs and rejuvenating us before plunging into work again. In other words, we must have been a true friend in the altruistic sense of the word.

We’ve often heard the phrase,

“Aiyah, this gal/guy is sooo difficult to buy gifts for…donno what s/he likes….stress lah! Let’s go for a mocha/lai sio hoonkee.”

This usually means that this person has spent much of the year paying attention and showing interest mainly at work and giving ‘the boss’ what s/he wants. They hang on to the boss’s every word and directive and deliver accordingly and on time. But when it comes to their ‘friend’/‘spouse’/‘family’, it is the inverse. Thus, the “Aiyah, this gal/guy is sooo difficult to buy gifts for……”, line.

This is when ‘ang pows’, ‘perfumes’, ‘ties’, ‘socks’, ‘handkerchiefs’, the latest knicks and knacks which is supposed to be “…very popular because everyone also buy” ‘etc’, are given.

“Aiyah, never mind lah…this kind of thing everyone surely want what!”

Hence, the dearly beloved spouse, friend, sibling, family-member, becomes an ‘everyone’ instead of an individual with her/his own personality. It’s difficult to think what this person might want because we have rarely paid any attention to what the person is, her hates and likes, her aspirations and inclinations throughout what then becomes the void between one Christmas and the next. And by such nonchalance, we actually under validate and thus underdevelop our friends, etc, as individuals by not validating their unique personalities prior to and during Christmas. And by such nonchalance, we further destroy any semblance of non-employee humanity within ourselves as we give up yet another chance to practice our humanity via a thoughtful practice of the Art of Gift-Giving.

So, when you get stressed out thinking of a gift for someone dear this Christmas,

remember, that can only be due to your not having given this significant other the requisite ear-time, or ‘friend-time’, in the course of the year – something which you have been devoutly giving your boss during the same time. It is because the siginificant other has been serving as little more than a panacea to the stresses accumulated via work. It is because the significant other has been used as nothing more than a sticky pad for muscle aches induced by the multitude of back-breaking postures you have been forced to get into between 9 to 5 that it has become so difficult to think up the right present for her/him. And yet, if you think about it, the more meaningful and less exploitative your relationships are outside work, the better you’ll be able to cope at work. So, appreciate the hassle of thinking up what you ought to buy a significant other this Christmas, for this indicates the deficiencies in your attitude towards relationships whilst simultaneously exposing those areas that ought to be improved upon in the course of what may consequently cease to be a void till the next Christmas.

When we consider the above, we'll realise that The Art of Gift-Giving practices us in the even finer Art of Being Human.

Merry Christmas to All!

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Recording Industry goes after Allofmp3...n thots on 'legitimacy' and 'justice

2006-12-21T19:55:00.000+08:00

Like in the days of yore when Napster clogged the digital lanes of cyberdom, the recording industry is yet again rounding up a posse to go after an allegedly copyright-infringing company - allofmp3.com - for selling albums and tracks at 'rock-bottom prices'.

Moscow-based 'Mediaservices', which runs 'allofmp3.com' and 'alltunes', is being sued by a group of US-based record companies.

according to papers filed as part of the US legal action,

"The defendant's entire business... amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs' exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law,"

Said the recalcitrant Russian licensing body - ROMS - in response,

"Allofmp3.com's activity is quite legitimate," said Roms general director Oleg Nezus.
"The opinion of foreign copyright owners is just that - their opinion," he told BBC Russian.com.

Well,

...till this issue is resolved, I have decided to remove the once displayed button at the top to 'mp3sugar.com' - another allofmp3-like site. Not in the interests of Justice of course, but in the interests of what's Legitimate - for it is the fallibility of human wisdom that serves as the chasm between what's 'Legitimate' and 'Justice'.

I often felt a tad bit uncomfortable that a so-called 'artist' can croon a tune one time and shake legs a lifetime. I mean, we don't pay a royalty to the bloke who tarred the road everytime we go over it do we - though that supplies has far more benefits to our physical and, in turn, psychological constitution than any of those tunes occupying a 'top 40s' billboard here or over yonder. And besides this, I cannot help but wonder at the prices charged by 'legitimate' sites - such as Itunes - which proffers relatively lower quality mp3s, without CD covers, artwork, lyrics, etc, whilst saving on transport, shop-space, air-conditioning, carpeting, etc, for just about the same price as store-bought 'wave' quality CDs.

I know it's 'Legitimate', but, pray tell, where's the 'Justice' in that?

Hmmm.....

BBC

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Red vs Red - naNO!?

2006-12-20T11:32:00.000+08:00

Hi Ho Hey All!

I found this 'anti-(Red)' site that promotes an alternative vision to that fronted by so-called 'Humanitarian' Bono of U2 fame via his (RED) project that has so far churned out money-making schemes through products such as the (RED) Ipod nano, (RED) Amex card, (RED) Motorola, etc, etc.

This site - SH(RED)! - posits an alternative and oppositional perspective that seems quite logical and which might just earn us 'bad karma' instead of 'good karma', as supposed by 'Hiptechblog', should we be inspi(red) (by ignorance or/and self-absorption?) to do 'good' by purchasing (RED) products. These 'sh(red)ers' call themselves 'Effective Empathists' and basically argue that poverty and global misery is perpetuated by projects like (RED) rather than the vaunted inverse. Worth considering i think.

Sh(red)

vs.

(Red)

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How to be a StyloMylo

2006-12-16T11:37:00.000+08:00

Disclaimer: The writer of the following will not be responsible for any migraines, hallucinations or disorientation brought about by the consideration of that which is above the mundane - especially if you're a true-blue singaporean. Please consult your family physician or a neighbourhood doctor before proceeding.

I never look up to or admire people whose main ‘laudatory’ attributes are those which they are born with, or that which they can easily acquire with money.

I have a friend who just keeps going on about the inch-above-average size of his genitalia. Upon closer inspection – and I don’t mean of his nether regions – one would find that he has little else to speak about that would have required effort, determination, perseverance and true innate creativity to develop. In fact, if he wasn’t constantly absorbed by this, he might have paid more attention to other aspects of his human persona and developed them to an appreciable degree. What one deems to be one’s greatest asset can oftentimes detract one from developing other potentials of greater value.

I have yet another friend who at times believes himself to be one step above another simply because he has a relatively fuller head of hair. (I remember that clown Gurmit Singh appearing on TV once promoting some hair-restoration company telling us to ‘be a man’ and ‘have hair’. Sheesh! Looks like jackasses rule the media here.) He forgets that what he is born with is of no credit to him.

True ‘Style’ is...

...that which comes from how one maximises what one has. Whether it is a physically disabled person, a balding gal/guy, or a member of the underclass, it is their doing the best with whatever resources are at their disposal to amplify the various aspects of their persona that puts them on par with those deemed to be the creme de la creme of society – i.e. those with ‘good looks/hair’, humongatronic genitalia/‘boobs’, tons of cash, social/academic status, singapore 'idols', those who drive merserlys(mercedes) or BMtup-pews(BMW), those with well-working limbs and senses, etc.

'Looks' is just the external manifestation of the substance behind the otherwise cosmetic facade. In itself, it is entirely meaningless.

In fact, the former may not only be on par with them in value, but may also be seen to be superior since they have maximised whatever they have to the fullest despite all odds. It is these people who truly have Style because it comes from within, and with little aid from without. These are people who are creative enough, in a jiu-jitsu fashion, to turn their disadvantage into an advantage whereas the latter are those who just sail relatively smooth on the advantages they are given or born with and who think they are superior on this God-given or inherited basis. Which is why, in my books, Arnold Schwarzenneger is lilliputian in proportion next to Stephen Hawking. (if you don't know who Stephen Hawking is, you've been hanging out with the wrong company)

I suppose, at the end of the day,

True ‘Style’ is doing the most with what you have, as opposed to being proud of what you have regardless of what you do.

In fact, the recognition and appreciation of this principle – despite your having or not having inborn talents and physical characteristics of social value – is that which makes you the most Stylo-Mylo of them all or, at least, equal to them.

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SRVs 'Little Wing'...n thots on singapore

2006-12-14T14:00:00.000+08:00

Well, besides tech stuff, i decided to post stuff on one of my other interests -music. Nah, i don't mean the contemporary crap people here listen to and mistake for 'music'. You know what i'm talking about, the 'RnB', 'Rave', AmericoPop BS that is basically about nothing other than self-assertion with the music serving as little more than a prop or a background to a wiggling ass, or arms-akimbo-like attitudinal posturing that basically says nothing other than, "hey, i'm a big shot! Come kiss my as##". Well, allow me to take you to another time where music meant soul, passion, ideology, spirit, belief...or just plain simplicity. I don't go for terminology like 'retro'. It's just another word for 'irrelevance'. There is good and there is bad. It's location in time and space is irrelevant. Don't expect singaporeans to understand all this though....well, not generally anyway.

To kick off, here's SRV's 'little wing'. More of a tribute to this great bluesman. Oh, by the way, those who don't know who SRV is, i would say, go get a life, and the best way to start is to tune out of contemporary mainstream BS. SRV - the late, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

A good way to check out good blues vids is the 'Excalibur' pub in Tanglin Shopping Centre(ground floor facing the main road). Can't beat the 'Roadhouse' at Tanjong Pagar where i used to tend bar about a decade ago. That was indeed a blues bar. Now, its been replaced by an outlet servicing the 'chia'(those who live to eat rather than eat to live) sector of society. Imagine replacing a premium quality blues pub (which had Heritage as its resident band) with an eatery. I mean, if something good has to be replaced, it ought to be replaced by something good right. Unless the definition of 'good' changes along with the people. In which case, the eatery says much about the degeneration of the population doesn't it. Sheesh! Sad man.

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Get Less for More this Christmas for your loved ones

2006-12-11T15:03:00.000+08:00

Read between the lines...

You can leave it to the nano-brains - who've shuffled off any semblance of intelligence upon their 'elevation' to the status of 'consumers' - to spoil the market by paying more for less and validating the (giving consumers)less-for-more(money) approach of, amongst others, 'Apple'. Of course, being 'consumers', one cannot expect them to see further than the tips of their noses eh.

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Quad Core Processors for a x386 market?

2006-12-06T10:59:00.000+08:00

Fwar!, or should i say, Corrr!! Blimey!

Now you can have the power of 4 physical processing cores in one. That means, you can have far greater computing speed that will in turn let you do all the insignificant things that you do with greater speed and efficiency. i.e. specifically referring to 'gamers', 'techies', and those who love to keep up with the djoneses. ('d'joneses - digital version of the traditional 'joneses')

When we used to play snakes-n-ladders or marbles when we were younger, we did not go around calling ourselves 'gamers' or 'snakesNladderers' or 'marblers'. We had other overall identities which made these trivial pursuits inconsequential in defining whom we were. Well, times have changed and the personality of the general population has been severely blinkered. Hmmm...

But I digress.

These superspeed processors will basically enable you to do a whole lot of tasks simultaneously and with far greater speed. Oh yes, and 'gamers' can have stutter-free experiences in their trivial pursuits whilst 'techies' can have the latest stuff simply because it is the latest stuff and not because they are doing anything meaningful with it.

It is going to be priced at around a $1000 usd, and this, if paired with a multi-SLI GPU system is going to be quite the bomb in price and power.

I dare say that there will be a time when these multi-core processors will go the way of multi-pin processors and will simply be called 'processors' that are gauged by their overall output or performance just as '1.8', '2.8' or '3ghz' single-core processors were, and are, in the present. This 'core duo', 'core 2', 'quad core' terms are generally marketing gimmicks designed to excite the 'modern' and increasingly unthinking market into 'thinking' that they are really getting something "ooh! so shiny and new!". I suppose that sounds better than, say, calling them '8ghz processors' in terms of their actual comparative performance.

intel
cnet

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Commodifying 'Free'

2006-12-04T14:51:00.000+08:00

Look at the following 'specs' provided on 'cnet asia' for a particular notebook.

Show price: S$5,299
Retail price: S$5,299
Remarks: Free 1GB Palachan MP3 player and upgrade to two-year warranty.
Specs: Core Duo 2.0GHz processor; 1GB memory; 200GB HDD; 17-inch display; Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card; DVD Super Multi drive; Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Notice anything amiss?

Now what if one was to re-present the above in the following way,

Show price : $5,299
Retail price : $5,299
Specs: 1GB Palachan MP3 player; two-year warranty;
Core Duo 2.0GHz processor; 1GB memory; 200GB HDD; 17-inch display; Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card; DVD Super Multi drive; Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Well, for starters, you wouldn't be led to think that you are getting more than your money's worth since there is no item that is prefixed with 'FREE'. Secondly, one may be led to inquire why they have to purchase a '1GB Palachan MP3 player' along with the notebook - which in turn will lead them to demand that the price be lowered in exchange for their making do without this 'addon'.

To circumvent such 'troublesome' people, and increase their profits further through the sale of such irrelevant add-ons, they just stick the word 'free' in front of it and the masses of fools, also known as consumers, or 'singaporeans', go googoo and queue in droves for what is supposed to be a deal of 'wah lan oi!!!' proportions. As Rumpole of the Bailey would say, 'The mind boggles' at such insensibility. Tsk tsk.

If one was to spare more than the traditionally practiced(in the local context) iota of a modicum of thought, as is the time-honoured way of those practising the predominant culture in the local context, one would realise that it is because of the consumer's penchant for 'free', that retailers, etc, are able to sell more than they might otherwise be able to. All they have to do is to include the cost in the price and stick the 'free' word in front of it and the consumers will descend upon them in biblical plague-like proportions. Whoever would have thought that the word 'free' would in itself be able to generate huge profits eh.

Interesting isn't it.

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Netscape 8 - a viable and superior alternative to IE and FF?

2006-11-30T20:19:00.000+08:00

Well, amidst the hullaballoo over billionaire billy boy's IE 7 and the much vaunted Firefox, another competitor has slowly slid into the background. That's 'Netscape 8' i'm talking about.

Netscape 8 has a comprehensive set of features which include a 'Security Center' which warns you against blacklisted 'phishing' sites; real-time spy/adware protect which is also able to scan your memory and system for such crapware; real-time RSS feeds; ID Theft protection; pop-up blocking; and whole load of other ETCs that puts you in control of your browser like neither IE or FF can.

What i particularly like is the ability close a tab via a 'x' button located on every tab instead of having to go to the far-right to do it in FF or via a right-click menu. It is these little things that go a long way in making the browsing experience nothing but browsing instead of having to run all over the place to do a whole lot of little things that we need to do a whole lot of times. On top of this, N8 has a real sleek interface that FF and IE will find difficult to beat. Oh yeah, this site also looks as good (or as 'bad') in N8 as it does in FF.

Netscape 8

p.s. i'm finally wirelessly wired and am writing this on my bar - with SRV doing the blues-thing in the aural background. An upstanding "Cheers!" to Bagio of Bedok.

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Coming soon : I-phone

2006-11-24T14:51:00.000+08:00

I had said sometime ago that Apple's Ipod was in danger of becoming obsolete as Mobile Phone companies were integrating mp3 playback in their overpriced phones.

Well, it looks like Apple too has realised this - no doubt through the contribution of 'intellectual property' from others (so much for 'honouring IP' eh?) - and is expected to release an 'iPhone' in the first half of next year. So the senseless groupies of the ubiquitous 'Ipod' should have something to look forward to and give them that modicum of meaning in life to keep them plodding forward. I personally go for functionality and not looks - well, not all of the time anyway. Nor am i seduced by the amplified 'quality' of a product attributed to it as a consequence of the prominence afforded it or the hysteria whipped up amongst the great moronic masses of 'consumers'.

That said, it would be interesting how this impacts on mobile phone companies and what this might force them to do RnDwise. Since we can't rely on 'Collaboration' for progress because of the crappy system we are mi(red) in, we just have to rely on 'Competition' eh?

apple ready to rock the phone world

tech gadgets ipod mobile phones malaysia singapore india hong kong

Office 2007 vs. OpenOffice

2006-11-22T13:32:00.000+08:00

MS Office 2007 vs.

Microsoft is busy wondering how to get people to toss aside their earlier versions of MS Office for Office 2007.

There is no doubt that the upcoming version of additional profit accumulation, aka Office 2007, has quite a few advantages over its relatively less robust ancestors. For instance, it has a new default file format - .docx - which is basically an xml document that enables tables, graphs, databases, etc, to be created directly from these documents without an underpaid labourer having to undergo the hassle of reconverting them via hand-to-mouse exertions to other visual formats. This is quite the plus-point if such tasks comprise the bulk of your purpose in life.

Additional benefits include the ability to upload directly to the ubiquitous 'blog', and better integration of RSS feeds (Real Simple Syndication) with Outlook. However, as Blogger offers direct publishing via Word, and as Google offers the transfer of feeds directly into an email inbox-like programme, i don't know if forking out big dollars for Office 2007 makes much sense.

Perhaps OpenOffice's suite of office-style programmes might be an appropriate alternative for the average user. It is compatible with all major office suites, including MS, and will work even better with MS's .docx format. Additionally, it is 'future-proof'. It uses the new OpenDocument Format(ODF) which is a universal document format that may be opened by any office programme - MS is being persuaded to allow users to save in such a format. Most importantly, it is FREE.

OpenOffice
OpenOffice FAQ
OpenOffice Product Description
MS Office 2007

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Oui Wii! 2

2006-11-18T17:00:00.000+08:00

The first half of this clip is from wii games part 1, the second half is that which justifies this clip as 'part 2'.

tech ps3 nintendo gadgets wii malaysia singapore india hong kong xbox microsoft youtube

Oui Wii! 1

2006-11-18T16:19:00.000+08:00

tech ps3 nintendo gadgets wii malaysia singapore india hong kong xbox microsoft

Forget ItunesStore, go MP3Sugar

2006-11-17T12:55:00.000+08:00

For those of you who think you're getting a good deal by being able to download tracks individually as opposed to buying a whole CD crammed with tracks you don't really like - Think again.

My gripe with these online music stores is that these tracks are grossly overpriced.

Itunes sells tracks for 99 cents(usd).

If you were to buy a CD containing an average of about 10 songs, you'll find that the cost is similar to buying 10 individual tracks off the Itunes store. But you think you've made a great savings because you didn't have to buy the whole CD right? Wrong.

Consider this, you are not getting...

the CD cover, artwork, lyrics, etc, and most importantly, you are NOT getting the same quality. The songs in a CD are of 1411kbps .wav quality. This contains, let's say 1411 sounds per second (putting it simplistically). However, what you get off Itunes is AAC 128kbps. That is, 128 sounds per second. Just like the resolution of a jpg vs. gif, you get far less 'sound pixels' per song. Thus, the overall clarity is compromised.

Yeah, it is 'near-CD quality'. But...

try playing it on a CD-player and you're going to get a relatively muffled sound. So you say that very few people are using CD-players nowadays. But the fact remains that you are still paying old prices for which you get high quality sounds for new lower quality tracks. The medium via which you play it is not the point. It is the quality of the track that you are paying for that counts. Previously, the price of CDs were justified by, amongst others, the sound quality of the track itself. Now, they are still charging similar prices for far lower quality files whilst arguing that your player makes it sound almost as good as a CD. To complete this 'logic', they phase out CD-players and bring it overpriced mp3 players designed to compensate for the relatively crap quality of mp3 files.

They are relying on the new generation of 'consumers'' ignorance of the past and the logic utilised under previous conditions to charge whatever prices they did in order to get just as much for far less.

Methinks tis a load of bollocks!

However,

paying the kind of prices charged by Russian-based companies seem to be more reasonable. These are said to be completely legal sites. The cost per album in these sites range from around 60(usd) cents to close $2. And that is PER ALBUM. This i find is quite reasonable considering the lower quality of mp3 files compared to wav files, and the fact that we are not getting CD covers, artwork, etc, etc, etc. If you think about it, you're paying far more for songs purchased online through stores like Itunes than you would from a CD shop because you are receiving far less - Just like those clowns who buy tiny sized mp3 players for high prices whilst getting far less gigs per dollar.

You can check out one of these stores - Mp3Sugar - via the top link.

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Hmmm 2007

2006-11-12T12:31:00.000+08:00

Comment on Wee Shu Min and etc

Iphone Vid...the Yelamu, IP & the Gadgit

Appreciating Films - the Good, the Bad & the Ugly

PC Security Alert

The Art of Music

Happy 200-7%!

A Sidewalk Christmas

Hmmm 2006

2006-11-12T12:08:00.000+08:00

Christmas & the Art of Gift-Giving

Recording Industry Goes After AllofMP3...n thots on 'Legitimacy' & 'Justice'

Red vs. Red : noNO!?

How to be a StyloMylo

SRV's 'Little Wing'...n thots on singapore

Get Less for More this Christmas

Commodifying 'FREE!'

Why Doesn't Blogger go .Com

(RED) Ipod Nano

Forget the local Tel. COs - go 'Skype'

2006-11-08T12:15:00.000+08:00

This info is for those who don't already have the latest version of Skype [2.5] - rhymes with 'type' and NOT 'typeeee' as some linguistically-challenged clowns are inclined to pronounce it.

You can call international numbers be it mobiles or fixed lines at a low charge - go here for the prices for your region - and, with the latest version, you can type out SMS through this MSN messenger-like software to any mobile phone in the world that has left the display cases. However, for clear video conferencing, i'd recommend Windows Live Messenger - but don't try to share files with the person you are viewing on WLM as this stutters the visual transmission.

Yes! Forget the local Tel. COs, gimmie Skype ver. 2.5

tech mobile internet gadgets malaysia singapore india phillipines

Why doesn't Blogger go .com?

2006-10-29T13:49:00.000+08:00

Here's a suggestion for Blogger.com.

Why doesn't Blogger provide a paid service that enables 'bloggers' to have their sites accessible via a .com, .org, or .etc?

The 'backend' can be exactly the same as the backend of a blogspot account - with perhaps more features. This would make it easier for users to transition from a blogspot to a .org/.com/.etc. This way, 'bloggers' can avoid having to 'upgrade' to, and face yet another learnig curve, with a whole new platform if they decide to go .com via web-hosting services. No exclusive space needs to be reserved for this upgraded service. Everything can be the same - except that the blogspot address is substituted by, say, a .com. Alternatively, exclusive space can be given to such bloggers along with other features in addition to a blogspot-like platform for a competitive price.

Now there's an idea that can make you tons. Don't forget about intellectual property though. Just toss me a million or so when this idea goes bigtime.

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IE 7 - its about time Billyboy

2006-10-20T11:35:00.000+08:00

Microsoft just released IE 7...yawwwwwnnnn.

They finally brought their crappy browser up-to-date with browsers like Opera and the increasingly ubiquitous, Firefox.

However, one feature of IE 7 that might be quite helpful is its security component that turns the address bar red when one visits a known phishing site and flashes pop-ups when sites deemed to be suspicious are perused. If it wasn't for this feature, all I would be able to give Billyboy is a rubberised thumbs-up for his effort....though i'm sure that it is the intellectual property of his workers that produced this, amongst the rest of microsoft's products. But guess who's getting the billions. So much for 'honouring IP' eh? (in case you didn't get it, i embolded 'known' to indicate that if it is not a 'known' phishing site, then it's gonna be you that's seeing red rather than the address bar doing so.)

IE 7 will be the default browser for Vista which is due to be released next year. For now, if you'd rather not bother with IE 7 and would rather go for Firefox, if you haven't already done so, you can go through the button-link on the right and download it. Yup, i'll get a few pennies out of it if you do so via the 'right' link, but if you'd rather let The Corporation keep those pennies, you can go to Firefox via the bottom link.

IE 7

Firefox

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RED Ipod Nano

2006-10-16T11:56:00.000+08:00

Ipod, amongst others, have found a fantastic way to make money out of misery.

They released a red colour Ipod nano on Friday and have promised to donate $10 of the purchase price to fight AIDS in Africa.

Hmmm...maybe that's why they've been footdragging in looking for an AIDS cure....they've yet to squeeze the full financial potential out of it....where would the Ipod Red be without the AIDS epidemic in Africa eh.

Oh btw, i've got quite a few ads on this site, why don't you gals and guys click on them and i promise to donate 10% of all earnings once i hit a grand total of 100K. You can feel good that you are doing your part for world strife while satisfying your fetish for overpriced(because it is downsized gigasizewise) mp3 players, and i can feel good while lugging piles of money to the bank. My my, what nice people you are, and what a great and generous kid i am.

Ipod RED

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Retro Laptop

2006-10-13T12:56:00.000+08:00

Have to hand it to the Japs. They are definitely one of the most creative hotspots (when it comes to avant garde art) in asia (besides india which is perspectivally creative...though the new generation is becoming pretty dumb due to overexposure to american productions....too bad it doesn't come with a (brain)health warning).

Other cultures 'centralise' intellectual/creativity-production while the general population remain versatilely dumb. But the level of popular creativity (creativity throughout society) in Japan is fantastic. Must be the relative absence of political and cultural proscriptions on creative thought. Their anime, storylines, camera action, comics and street fashion, amongst others, make the productions of the americans little more than the scribblings and musings of an ill-exposed preschool kid. Of course, your cranial capacity must be at least 50% occupied to appreciate this point.

This laptop is not just a showpiece but an actual functional laptop with working keys, usb ports, etc. However, i'm not one for keys such as that....often get my fingers jammed between them.

site

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FON - WiFi Socialism

2006-10-12T15:18:00.000+08:00

It's WiFi P2P style.

In FON's own words,

"FON is the largest WiFi community in the world. Our members share their wireless Internet access at home and, in return, enjoy free WiFi wherever they find another Fonero’s Access Point.

It all started as a simple idea. Why should you pay for Internet access on the go when you have already paid for it at home? Exactly, you shouldn’t. So we decided to help create a community of people who get more out of their connection through sharing.

We call members of the FON Community Foneros. It’s simple to become a Fonero. You just need to buy La Fonera, which enables you to securely and fairly share your home broadband connection with other Foneros.

Then when you’re away from home and you need Internet access, just log on to a FON Access Point, and you can use the Internet for free. You don’t need to take your router with you – you just need to remember your Fonero login and password.

Visit our maps and find thousands of FON Access Points worldwide.

As the world of WiFi is growing, you can do more and more for free. For example soon we will launch the Skype FON - a cool WiFi handset that lets you make free Internet calls from any FON Access Point."

Of course, this kind of sub-socialism, or bourgeois socialism, wouldn't be necessary if political and economic Socialism was a reality right?

Viva la Revolucion!

Fon

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World's First 10 MegaPixel Camera!

2006-10-11T19:17:00.000+08:00

...launched by Samsung (pronounced, 'Sum-soong'). (model no. SCH B600) In addition to the usual bluetooth and MP3 playback technologies, it has a 3x optical zoom and a 5x digital zoom; autofocus function and flash unit; white balance, manual focus, continous picture-taking and interval picture-taking functions, and QVGA resolution for video-ing at 15-30 fps.

Price? Around 900usd.

I suppose the next thing we can expect from these phones are attachable lenses....or perhaps a DSLR which serves as a mobile phone.

For more corporate hype from Samsung....click here

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FREE MP3s?!

2006-10-11T12:58:00.000+08:00

Yupsy. That's what emusic offers. Free 25 MP3 downloads with NO OBLIGATIONS! Check out the following features!

Flexible: eMusic is the only service that offers the usage flexibility that music fans demand:

* Transfer your music to any desktop
* Works with all portable music players and digital devices (including the iPod)
* Unlimited CD burning
* Download your music to multiple computers

Value: eMusic's subscription model offers customers the best value

* Best promotional offer out there: Any customer can get 25 FREE MP3s! That's $25 worth of music just for trying eMusic out.
* Customers can cancel at anytime and keep the music they have downloaded
* Best per track cost after the free trial: eMusic's subscription model offers tracks as low as 22 cents each!

Discovery: eMusic is different from the other major music retailers

* eMusic is a customer driven service that allows and encourages music discovery
* eMusic offers a huge catalogue of over 1,000,000 songs
* eMusicLive, a feature of eMusic, showcases the largest collection of independent live music recording performances nightly from some of the best independent live music venues in the USA.

You can access the site via the following banner!

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Thoughts

2006-10-09T14:30:00.000+08:00

Christmas & the Art of Gift-Giving

Recording Industry Goes After AllofMP3...n thots on 'Legitimacy' & 'Justice'

Get Less for More this Christmas

Commodifying 'FREE!'

Why Doesn't Blogger go .Com

(RED) Ipod Nano

When When Vista

2006-10-08T10:04:00.000+08:00

For those of you whom are wondering about the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft is planning to make it available to some businesses and volume licensing by next month. Digital Peasants and Serfers like us can expect it on the store shelves sometime in January of 2007 – though it is still possible that Microsoft might release it in time for the Year End Commercial Season, once known and celebrated as ‘Christmas’. For all you know, Microsoft’s stalling of the release may just be a ploy to keep people talking about it and looking forward to it more than they might otherwise would.

For those of you who want to know what this ‘Vista-thing’ is all about, goto the following link for Microsoft’s promo on it - that comes across as the next best thing after Christ.

I want to know about this Vista thing so that i won't be magically transformed into a living fossil when it is released

tech windows vista microsoft os software malaysia singapore

Compatibility Issues : Yahoo Toolbar and I.E. 7

2006-10-04T11:12:00.000+08:00

I received the following email from Yahoo and thought that it might be helpful to those using older versions of the Yahoo Toobar and who would be using I.E. 7 upon its release.

"We've been working with Microsoft and have discovered compatibility issues between some older versions of Yahoo! Toolbar and the new Internet Explorer 7.0, which Microsoft is about to release. In addition, some older versions of Yahoo! Toolbar don't always work properly with the new Yahoo! Mail.

To resolve these issues and ensure continued product functionality, please upgrade to the latest Yahoo! Toolbar. (Note: If you use Yahoo! Toolbar for the Mozilla Firefox browser, you are not affected by these issues.)

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for using Yahoo! Toolbar. Rest assured that we're always looking for ways to improve our products for you."

Yahoo Toobar

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The 'Mobile Companion'

2006-10-01T10:36:00.000+08:00

I think the time has come when the terms, 'MP3 players', 'Video Cams', 'Digi Cams', 'Phones', 'Etc', are fast becoming misnomic.

For instance,

to call a 'Smart Phone' a 'Smart Phone' is based on the notion that the foremost function of a 'Smart Phone' is to communicate verbally or literally. However, given the growing list of functions that are accompanying such devices, and the extent to which these different functions satisfy different aspects of our (increasingly decrepit?) personas in various degrees in terms of time and significance, perhaps, the more generic, Mobile Companion, might be a more appropriate term - or 'MobCom' for short

A Mobile Companion is,

as one variant of its living, breathing and relatively immobile counterpart, a communicative, interactive, rejuvenative and recuperative device. Thus, the term.

tech gadgets mobile mp3 players ipod cameras phones video video cameras malaysia singapore

Download Vids Directly from YouTube n Co

2006-09-29T19:27:00.000+08:00

Download videos from youtube, google, metcafe, ifilm and 60+ other vid sites directly whilst you’re on the video page with Firefox ‘Videodownloader’ browser add-on (if you don’t already have firefox, you can download it via the firefox button on the navbar on the right).

If you want to see how this works, just go to the following link for a short and moving tutorial.

moving tutorial

If you'd rather skip the above hallmark moment, you can just download the add-on HERE.

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Don't 'Jerk' Around with YouTube

2006-09-29T19:24:00.000+08:00

How do you prevent the delays, or ‘jerks’, whilst watching vids on YouTube. Simple really. The moment the vid of your choice comes on and starts to play, press the pause button immediately. When you do that, the video will continue to download. You can see an indication of this via the extending ‘red line’ by the side of the play button. Once the red line extends to the end, you will be able to enjoy the vid free of stutters, jerks or whatever you might want to call it. I usually click on a few vids with my centre mousy button – in firefox…you can get it via the button on my nav bar on the right - which opens up each vid in separate tabs. I then go to each of these tabs and pause all the videos. While, they are downloading, I can still peruse through youtube and click on other vids and do the same. Then, I can sit back and watch them one by one minus the stutters.

tech video youtube download firefox malaysia singapore hong kong

Oxyon - a talking Ipod

2006-09-28T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am not one of those with a ‘I must have the latest handphone though neither I nor my therapist have the braincells to explain why’ kind of person. But when I saw this beauty, all I could say was, “my my, this MUST be the porsche of the handphone world’, well, as far as looks are concerned.” Well, no actually. All I said was ‘Wow’! (though I wish they could have stuck the label somewhere less obvious, like beside the internal chip. I don’t see how a name adds to the beauty of a product or my status as a person.) However, i must admit that many phones out there look better than they feel. Perhaps it won't be the case here.

The specs are nothing to shout about though. However, all the fancy features of the latest phones are not really for me as I like my phone to function as, well, a phone. Also, a loss of a phone nowadays, with all the different types of data it holds, especially something like Nokia's SmartPhone N95, has the potential of really turning your life close to wrong side up. Thus, my penchant for the simple conventional phone. However, most of the simple conventional phones out there have as much character in appearance as those who keep trading in the handphones have in terms of personality. So, perhaps, the Oxyon might be able to fuse simplicity with beauty and be the right one for me. We’ll see.

Specs:

Full QWERTY keypad nestled beneath the LCD screen

640x480 VGA TFT LCD screen

3mp digi cam with 3x zoom

Digi music player that plays MP3/AAC/WMA and WAV

Micro-SD expansion slot.

Oh yes,
Its expected to be released in 2007.

tech gadgets phones ipod mobile malaysia singapore hong kong india

Sigma SD14 adds more Tint to Tone

2006-09-28T20:53:00.000+08:00

Sigma announced on the 26th sept (photokina 2006) the successor to the SD 10 – the Sigma SD 14. According to Sigma, this camera can produce rich gradation and high-def 3d detail. The 3 layers of photo detectors use silicon to absorb red, green and blue light at different depths and therefore reproduces colour more accurately and offers sharper resolution than the conventional image sensor.

Till now, all other image sensors have used a single layer of pixels and this single layer is shared in the capture of red, green and blue. Sigma, however, has 3 layers instead of one so there is one layer to capture ‘red’, another to capture ‘green’ and yet another to capture ‘blue’. This leads to one getting more shades of red or any other colour in a picture. In Sigma’s case, 3 times more.

(go here for a pictorial illustration if you’re interested )

This means that those complicated computations necessary to get rid of the ‘lack of colour’ problem in other DSLRs (i.e. interpolation, etc), and also get rid of the problems created by the attempt to get rid of the first problem (i.e. via low pass filters) can be done away with. Both these processes contribute to the loss of resolution, sharpness and overall clarity. Thus, with Sigma we don’t have to contend with the problems created by attempts to solve problems created by the single layer of pixels. Quite remarkable isn’t it. I’m sure the other competitors will be forced to the drawing-board in the face of Sigma’s challenge. Think I’ll put off my purchase of the Canon 5D for a bit to see how this turns out.

However, on the downside, if you are a ‘wide-angle’ or ‘fisheye’ shooter, then the ‘cropping factor’ of 1.7x might be a bit of a put off.

Ok, for some of the other specs :

Megapixels : 14.1

Sensor n Size : Foveon X3 Pro 14M CMOS Image Sensor, 20.7 x 13.8 mm

Image Size : 4608x3072 (max)

Image Format : Faveon X3 Raw (12bit), Jpeg

LCD : 2.5 inch

ISO : 100 – 1600

Shutter Speed : 30sec to 1/4000

Continuous shooting : 3 shots per second up to 7 shots.(when in ‘high’ quality mode); 3 shots per second up to 12 shots (‘medium’ quality mode); 3 shots per second up to 24 shots (‘low’ quality mode). Applies for both Raw and Jpeg

Viewfinder : Pentaprism

Image sensor dust protector : prevents dust from entering the innards of the camera when the lens is removed.

Packaged software : Sigma Photo Pro 3.0 for ‘easy’ Raw image conversion

tech cameras dslr photography photos sigma canon nikon malaysia singapore india hong kong

Video Clip of the Nokia N95 'Multimedia Computer' Smart Phone

2006-09-27T22:22:00.000+08:00

One minute hands-on preview of Nokia's new 'Multimedia Computer' Smart Phone.
related article : Nokia's 'Multimedia Computer'

tech phones nokia gps mobile ipod n95 gadgets malaysia singapore hong kong india usa video mp3 players

Sony Electronic Reader - the paperback ain't gonna be the same again

2006-09-27T20:59:00.000+08:00

Sony is to release a portable reader to accompany its foray into the literary world. Sony announced on Tuesday that it will launch an internt bookstore that makes available 10,000 books from the top 6 publishers. The electronic reader that accompanies it is supposed to mimic real paper. The screen is not back-lit like conventional LCDs and a light source is required to illuminate the experience – just like it is required with the traditional book - methinks it is a ploy to increase profits by cutting costs whilst promoting the ‘real paper’ feature of the product…sheesh! As for content, besides that mentioned above, readers will also be able to download RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from selected sites. Newspapers and other periodicals will not be made available at the time being – in the time honoured fashion of Sony’s improprietous proprietous tendency. The formats supported are BbeB Book, Adobe PDF, TXT, RTF and the ubiquitous, Microsoft Word, and accepts SD memory card and Memory Stick Media.

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A/V Players

2006-09-27T20:49:00.000+08:00

26th sept 2006
Better than an Ipod...

Nokia's new 'Multimedia Computer' Smart Phone

2006-09-27T15:05:00.000+08:00

Announced today at the Nokia Open Studio 2006 in NYC, The Nokia N95 – touted as a ‘multimedia computer’ - is a serious workhorse of a mobile phone in that it does more than what one might expect from a mobile phone. It is an ipod, video player, camera, video camera, GPS system, FM radio and P2P file sharing utility all rolled into one. It really redefines the idea of a ‘dedicated’ gadget by the idea that a mobile unit is supposed to be ‘dedicated to ALL your mobile needs-cum-fetishes’. It’s expected to hit the shops sometime Jan 2007. So if you’re thinking of acquiring the latest Nokia phones, whilst wishing that it had that which is listed below, the wait will definitely be worth your while.

Check out some of the following specs.

Nokia N95

Up to 160mb internal dynamic (shared with other functions) memory

Expandable memory: 128 MB miniSD card

Large 2.6" QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT

Up to 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels) camera, Carl Zeiss optics, Vario-Tessar lens

MPEG-4 VGA video capture of up to 30 fps – ‘dvd-like’ quality

Direct connection to compatible TV - Play video, music and photos on home media network - compatible TV, stereo and PC over WLAN/UpnP

Online album/blog: photo/video uploading from gallery

Integrated GPS mapping that enables you to ‘fly over more than a 100 countries’ and allows you zoom to ‘street level’.

Video and still image editors

Audio recording: AAC stereo

Easy sharing of captured photos and videos directly from the gallery or straight after capture via email or Bluetooth

Digital music player - supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA with playlists and equalizer.

Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz /76-90MHz) with Visual Radio support

Nokia N95

tech phones smart+phones gadgets mobile nokia malaysia singapore india hong kong gadgets

BETTER than an Ipod...

2006-09-26T21:24:00.000+08:00

…If you find that the immersive experience with a video ipod is best experienced if you were a fly on its screen.

The Coby PMP7040 comes with a 7 inch TFT screen equipped internally with a 40 gig harddrive. It plays Mpeg 4 video; MP3 and WMA audio; its photo viewer displays JPGs and BMPs; has digital voice recording; and uses USB 2 for higher speed (nothing is ‘high’, only ‘higher’ than what we are previously accustomed to) downloads.

We can say that this is quite the ‘workhorse of a portable audio player – though the availability of internet radio stations would sweeten the package even more. The video is not immersive but is quite an improvement on the ipod for those who think viewing full-length movies on an ipod is ridiculous. If you don't think that the experience of using a player like this compromises the 'oooh, it's sooooo small' experience of carrying it, then this player might be worthy substitute to the overly-vaunted Ipod.

tech ipod mp3 players video music mobile entertainment movies gadgets malaysia singapore

Protect your PC FOR FREE - tips

2006-09-26T19:56:00.000+08:00

Now, I know that many might already know about what they ought and ought not to do when it comes to securing their PC against the threats out there in the World Wild Web – so if you’re one of them, this article is NOT for you.

Ok, to the rest of the peasantry of the World Wild Web (which includes myself),

Here’s some stuff that I’ve tried in the past few years, still use, and which have worked wonders by way of relieving myself of the need to reformat my harddrive every quarter (I haven’t had cause to perform this most tedious of tasks for a year and a half now.)

Oh yes, the following are all FREE!

Antivirus

Avast! Home Edition – it’s also compatible with Windows Vista RCA1

Product Description
Download

Firewall

Zonealarm

Download

For Spy/Adware checks, download the following and run it about once a week :

Ad-aware:

Product Description

Download

Spybot search & destroy:

Product Description
Tutorial
Download

Now running one of the above may not do the trick when it comes to removing spy/adware. So run both of them.

Additional must-have Tools to be used when the above just isn’t enough because you are slightly paranoid, or where the above proves ineffective :

Roguescanfix

This removes rogue anti-spyware trojans that keep coming up with pop-ups on your pc that tell you that your pc is in danger of being infected whilst offering you a paid solution. These programs usually come with a host of other malicious software and conventional anti-spyware and anti-virus ‘solutions’ generally don’t detect them.

Download

SmitFraudFix

Is another program that gets rid of a host of malware. Extremely effective.

Download & Instructions

That’s it folks. If you’ve got a system of checks that has worked for you, drop me a line via email or the comments section.

Cheers!

Gadgit

tech web internet software download antivirus firewall security virus malaysia singapore singapore unfortunately

Get on the dotMOBI Bandwagon

2006-09-26T14:14:00.000+08:00

The general public – yep, that means YOU – will now be able to open up websites with the suffix, .Mobi. Sites ending with the aforementioned suffix will be designed for mobile phone access and must meet agreed standards. This is to circumvent the problem of slow internet access via mobile phones and consumer concerns over the cost of surfing a tediously slow net via their overpriced phones and the resulting mobile phone charges.

This is sure to spur blogger-like sites to offer templates for those who want to make their sites mobile-friend, so I’m sure we can expect such offerings soon. Domain-name ‘squatters’ out there will also be having a field-day as they realise that this is a fantastic opportunity to get a few potentially marketable names and, well, squat on them till a good price comes along.

For the rest of us peasants,

…we have to realise that the world is increasingly becoming mobile-oriented. We have moved from the Age of Reflection to the Age of Information which basically means we like to be constantly distracted from our own boring and meaningless lives and seek solace in constant sensory stimulation. So, that means we will want to stay online wherever we are. Thus, the .mobi revolution is the wave of the future where its mobile-friendly pages will enable the masses to do just that. So if you want to be visible outside the comforts of your wired boudoir, get onto the .Mobi bandwagon.

Registration for the general public

…opens on Oct 2, 2006. However, from the 26th of Sept. - meaning TODAY - you’ll be able to get your own .Mobi name for a special price. In other words, you’re gonna pay a hellavalot (just about double the price after the 'special' period) more.

For more info, goto,

dotMOBI

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M – The End of Ipods?

2006-09-25T21:03:00.000+08:00

Quite the challenge to MP3 players and those who can't live without showing off their latest and further downsized but exorbitantly priced IPods. (one wonders at people who are willing to pay more for less storage.)

This software by Mercora (to be installed in your home PC)

...allows those with ‘Smart Phones’ running Windows Mobile 5 to stream music – MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA - from their PCs to their phones, and without reduction in quality. You can also listen to your friends music collection with the aid of the M software and via your Smart Phone. Just think of it as your being able to use your Smart Phone as an IPOD, without any songs in it, but which streams your songs to you from your PC when you’re out. In other words, no files are stored in the phone and the number of songs you can play in your SmartPhone depends on how many songs you have on your PC. In addition to this, Mercora makes available about 100,000 internet radio stations for your aural perusal. And if this isn’t enough, M subscribers will also be able to log on to the PC music collection of 5 other friends who are also subscribers – with their permission of course.

I suppose the only way to pacify those who are attached to their IPODS is to come up with a SmartPhone that looks like one.

Mercora

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Adobe Lightroom beta 4 - Making light of consumer-level RAW processing

2006-09-25T20:12:00.000+08:00

For those of you who would like to take higher quality images in the .RAW format but who dread the conversion process thereafter to printable formats via fiddly and intuitive-my-foot software, help is at hand.

At least that’s what Adobe (pronounced ‘a-doh-bee’) promises with its new beta release of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom aimed at ‘consumer-level’ photographers who want to venture into, or are using higher-end cameras that are capable of taking .RAW shots. (personally, I don’t really like this division between ‘consumer-level’ and ‘pro-level’ photographers. I know many of the former who take shots as good as the latter.) Lightroom overlaps somewhat with Adobe Photoshop but is dedicated mainly to .RAW processing. Adobe is planning to release the finalised Lightroom version 1.0 is software, at a higher price-tag than Photoshop Elements, sometime towards the end of 2006 or early 2007.

Well, it is in ‘beta’ version 4 now,

...which basically means that they hope you will try the product and provide feedback – which in other words means, give them your ‘intellectual property’ for free so that they can further improve their product and then charge you for the finalised version. I always thought that piracy precedes piracy. Think about it.

For those who would like to contribute to Adobe’s future intellectual and financial wealth by improving their product while having the ‘privilege’ to try it out, go to the link below.

So hurry, this version expires on the 28th feb. 2007. And oh, it is available for both Win/Mac-sers.

I want to give my intellectual property to Adobe. Yippie!

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Chill with CHILI - first cordless 'wearable' phone

2006-09-24T21:46:00.000+08:00

It’s touted as the first ‘wearable’ cordless phone. (When I first heard the term, I thought it came with sleeves and made of polyester.) It is for home use and is designed to replace the conventional cordless phone whilst accompanying it with a host of other functions like an MP3 player, Podcast and Web stream receiver, along with push-to-talk (one unit to another), audio alerts, voice mail, internet radio and audio email. All of this with an 'intuitive' 3-button interface. Well, after this gadget, the only thing left is for the mobile phone companies to integrate their device with this and give one a reason to 'wear' it outside of the comforts of one's home. Good idea huh. So honour 'intellectual property' and give me, and others who also thought it up a million bucks when you do it.

In a nutshell, the Chili is basically an audio-visual remote-cum-receiver that enables the conventional couch potato to ‘get with the times’ and paradoxically do even more whilst doing even less.

Chili

tech web internet phones mobile phones mobile gadgets malaysia singapore

Sony Ericsson's Proprietary Music Downloads for New Phones

2006-09-24T12:03:00.000+08:00

left to right : W950 and W850

Sony Ericsson is to launch a proprietary music download service – named Mbuzz – that will only be accessible via their handsets – W850 and W950 - aiming to give Apple a run for their money. We'll probably see a time when Apple will have little choice but to go into a merger of some sort with the phone companies as technology is heading towards integrating consumer mobile needs-cum-fetishes - i.e. bringing together music, communication, video, etc, in one single package - and Apple is quite the 'nobody' in the telecommunications biz.

Don’t bother checking ‘mbuzz.com’, some person is squatting on the domain name - perhaps waiting for a good price from SE. Well, whoever it is, he’s increased his chances of haemorrhoids since the new site is going to be named m-buzz.com and will be launched on October 2nd, 2006. You can still hop on over to the site via the preceding link to view a noisy flash-bang trailer that basically tells you to bugger off till October the 2nd.

The phones are going to be launched in the European, Latin Amerian and Asian markets in the second half of 2006. Looks like this proprietary music download is one way to keep their dirt-cheap handset prices filthily expensive – of course, with the acquiescent and conspiratorial noddings of overpaid ‘artistes’. Well, we can be sure that the hackers will be coming out with softwarez which will be able to extract these tunes from the handsets. Wonder what SE will do then.

Sony Ericsson

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Free ANONYMISING Browser Debuts! - repost

2006-09-24T11:05:00.000+08:00

AKA, Torpark

(first posted on the 21st sept. 2006)

This new browser, created by the hacking group, Hacktivismo, and which is backed by digital rights group, the Electronics Frontier Foundation, uses its own network of net routers to anonymise the traffic generated when (big sister/brother is watching) YOU surf the net.

In a nutshell, Torpark is freeware, free of spyware and adware, no installation is necessary, runs off a USB memory stick, leaves no tracks on your pc or browser, and anonymises the connection between the user and the website.

Of course, using this browser means that one would see a ('slight' according to Torpark) slowdown in browsing speed. But hey, just as insecurity comes with a cost, security comes with a price - albeit, in this case, not in financial terms, but in speed.

I must add, however, that their logo design could do with some improvement. Looks like something on the display board in preschool.

Torpark

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Samsung GX-10 10.2 mp Camera released

2006-09-23T19:37:00.000+08:00

Samsung has released the GX-10 that boasts a 10.2 mp CCD image sensor. Well, that’s not much of a ‘boast’ actually, considering that most DSLRs of this range are making similar 'boasts' - like the Sony A100 or Canon 400D. I couldn’t find information on its ‘frame size’ – is it ‘full frame’ or…? Because if it isn’t, then one wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of the 5 lenses which Samsung is making available soon to go with this and the prior 1s, 1L series – one of which is a ‘fisheye’ lens that generally enables one to take a 180 degree picture, but this angle is narrowed on a camera without a full-frame sensor.

At a glance :

Image sensor: 10.2 mp ccd sensor

Viewfinder : Pentaprism with 0.95x magnification – means you will see more of what you are shooting when you look through the viewfinder then conventional DSLRs – such as my now ancient canon 300d ‘digital rebel’ – not so ‘rebellious’ anymore in the face of its new siblings.

LCD : 2.5 inch (210k)

Image Stabilisation : What samsung calls an ‘OPS’ or ‘Optical Picture Stabilisation’ technology (nikon calls it 'vibration reduction', sony - 'supersteady shot') that basically lets you do a mild jig and still get away with a clear shot. The CCD inside the camera shifts to counter any movement of the camera’s body.

Environmental Sealing : it has water-resistant and anti-dust sealing. (damn Canon for not including this in their 5D!)

Dust removal : it has an anti-dust removal function that vibrates the CCD when the camera is booted and gets rid of any dust on the sensor.

FPS : '3 frames per second' whether you are shooting .jpeg or .raw – you can shoot up to 9 raw frames continuously. You can even shoot ‘raw’, view it on the LCD, and then convert it into .jpeg in the camera itself.

(For the uninitiated, ‘raw’ files are larger and hold more pictorial information than jpegs. In other words, the images are sharper when printed in large sizes. They, however, have to be ‘post-processed’ in image editing software prior to printing. Such software is usually ‘bundled’ with the camera. However, shooting ‘raw’ files are good as you have greater ‘blow-up’ options later, whereas .jpeg files limit the sizes you can print and overall quality with larger prints – that’s why they take up relatively less space.)

ISO : up to 1600 – you can shoot with little light and still get pretty clear/bright pictures when you set the ISO to 800 or 1600.

Higher end cameras like, say, the Canon 5D (alright, alright, i have my eye on this cam since i keep going on about it) comes with ISO 3200. However, with Samsung’s ISO 1600, you might be likely to see ‘dots’ or ‘noise’ on the pic if you shoot at this setting. We’ll see how the tests on the camera turn out. Personally, unless i'm doing moving shots, i do without a high ISO setting and use a tripod with a relatively slow shutter speed setting...or a flash! Now that's a revolutionary idea.

If you want to know more about digital camera terms, go here. The glossery is excellant!

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ZAPR – browser-based file sharing!

2006-09-23T18:15:00.000+08:00

It is an application that creates links to files on your pc. You can then send the link to anyone via Zapr or email or IM or SMS or ...(alright already! we got the picture! - pun unintended.) The recipient can then download the file via any browser's address bar. It’s that simple. No file limit, no size restrictions, no uploading and no spyware or adware is kindly bundled along with the program. Just make sure your pc is on when your friend is downloading. Finally, it only works with Win XP with .Net Framework 2.0.

Other than the browser-based downloading, I am led to wonder how significantly different it is from, say, shared-folder downloading via Windows Live Messenger. Well, I just downloaded the program and I’ll give it a try. What I do wish is that these ‘revolutionary’ products would enable us to break off downloads and pick up where we left off another time - a la 'download manager' and its other competitive compatriots. Now, that would make quite a difference from other conventional f-to-f downloading methods eh.

Btw,
I think we ought to call this type of downloading f2f instead of p2p as the latter is largely between strangers and the former isn’t.

ZAPR

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Rechargeable USB Batteries by USBcell

2006-09-23T16:27:00.000+08:00

That's exactly what it is. A battery that can be recharged via your USB slot which, according to USBcell, provides hours of use after a few minutes of recharging.

However, the life-span of such batteries may be limited by the future production of paper-thin and printable batteries which Japan and the US are rushing towards commercial viability. This would mean even more micro-thin devices which one could slot with other micro-thin devices in a single pocket - so long as the the other components in the gizmo is not thicker that is. These would be less hazardous to (conventional)battery-powered equipment in terms of leaks. One of my Ipods went on the blink, literally, when the Apple-supplied battery gave the internal mechanism an unwanted coating - one of Apple's sales-increasing strategies i suppose.

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Sony to Cut Price on PS3

2006-09-22T21:13:00.000+08:00

Probably to compete with Microsoft’s XBOX and HD-dvd player companion, Sony announced a less than whopping 20% price cut for its Playstation 3 console. However, the price for the American launch will remain the same. As for release dates, the launch will go on as planned for Japanese and American gamers – 11th and 17th of November 2006 respectively. European gamers will have to wait till sometime early next year for its launch – approx. march 2007. No specific date has been set for the rest of the world.

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Calling ALL PODCASTERS - portable podcast recorder released!

2006-09-22T20:45:00.000+08:00

Ikey has released a pocket-sized mobile podcast recorder – a lengthily named, ‘IKEY Plus Portable USB Recorder’, whew! – that connects to an ipod or any external USB device. It records your musings or croonings at ‘wav strength’ or mp3 format direct to the portable audio device or any external USB storage drive in realtime. It also has, in addition to RCA inputs, inputs for headphones and mics so you can hear what you are recording. For the nostalgiatrics out there, you can even record in your vinyl collection at CD quality! Additionally, it uses 4 double AA batteries delivering up to 5 hours of IKEY-life and the unit can also recharge them.

Watch video about the Ikey Plus

Ikey Demo - 256kbps.wmv or 256kbps.mov

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XBOX Live Camera - watch who you whack!

2006-09-22T19:33:00.000+08:00

The XBOX live camera, available from 19th sept. 2006, works ‘seamlessly’ with the XBOX 360. Basically, it will enable gamers to chat and view those they are playing with via a webcam 24/7 - though to have one-on-one or multiplayer video conferencing, one will have to subscribe to a Gold membership at $60 usd per year or $30 usd per 3 month period. The XBOX Live Vision Camera works with both XBOX 360 and your pc – though you’ll have to get two of the cameras for it to work with both simultaneously:)

XBOX LIVE VISION camera

View video on the XBOX Live Vision camera

Low
High

View video on XBOX Live

Low
High

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XBOX HD-DVD Player Released

2006-09-22T13:43:00.000+08:00

A little mascot that packs a high-res punch to its looming companion. The Japanese release date is on the 17th of November and will be priced at 19,800 yen, which is about 170 usd - though it will probably be pricier than that ex-Japan.

With this player, one will not only be able to watch HD-DVD movies (7 times the quality of DVD movies - though i doubt the human eye will be able to tell that it is 7 times better), but will be able to play full High-def games at 1080p. You'll also be able to view that shot on your high-megapixel camera which the standard dvd - which is less than 1 mp - will not do justice to. So good news for those who want to view HD photos and films.

This, of course, rivals PS3's all-in-one gaming console which is projected to follow in the trail of the XBOX hd-dvd player about 4 months after the latter's launch. Good for xbox, no good for PS3 in a world where patience is a game played by geriatrics and not a virtue.

But the PS3 is an all-in-one system but the xbox isn't. So that's a bit of a downer. However, we can be restively assured that Microsoft will certainly come up with it's own 'all-in-one' very shortly. They just don't want to piss current owners of the xbox 360 off by coming out with an 'all-in-one' so soon after the XBOX 360's release. Not known by most, the XBOX 360's global release spans the period from september 2005 all the way to the present! Thus, Microsoft has yet to reap the full global harvest from this release. So Billy boy will be bonkers to release an all-in-one that will compromise the market for the 360 right? Anyway, this release of the HD-DVD companion for the XBOX will definitely do much in biting into ps3's blu-ray console market in a world where the 'i want it now!' attitude determines how long we are prepared to wait for something that is better.

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Blu-DVD

2006-09-21T22:14:00.000+08:00

Nope, this is not something about a porn flick.

Inventors have finally come up with a disk that will be able to hold BOTH Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies. Basically, it is a 3 layered disk that will hold DVD on one, BR on the other, and HD-dvd on yet another.

The way i see it, it is a still a waste of space. One of them will still come out tops in the future. Till that happens, i wonder what kind of player we'll have to buy to play the 3-in-1 version. Hopefully we'll still be able to use the same player when one of the 2 rivals beat the other into the dust. Well, a player that can real all formats will surely be able to read a single one when that happens right?

Btw, if you're one of those who is careful about just giving your money away to big corporations, and if you're thinking of buying PS3 partly for the blu-ray player that is integrated with it, then this news might require a rethink. Anyway, the patent has been filed for the universal format and I wonder how long it will take for production to proceed. If it's going to be ages, then we might as well live for the moment and get a HD player. But then again, for all you know, the new format might be available before you can say, 'Gadgit'!

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Search the Web when You're NOT Connected

2006-09-20T21:09:00.000+08:00

Well that's what webaroo promises.

All you have to do is to download a 7 megabyte programme and install it.

Webaroo searches the net and creates what they call 'web packs' - which are a collection of sites and content categorised topically. All you have to do is to download these web packs, or you can choose to download your favourite websites, and you'll have the latest content. Then when you come online, you can synchronise your pc or handheld to get the latest content and peruse it another time - whether you're connected to the internet or not. Hmm...might give it a try.

webaroo

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Sugar-cube sized Video Projector

2006-09-20T12:27:00.000+08:00

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have created a sugar-cube sized Video Projector which they say can be used in PDAs, Laptops and Mobile Phones. Well, it is not ready for shipment or mass production just as yet, but you can get a rough idea what you can expect in the not too distant future. Just remember to keep it well away from your early morning cuppa eh.

bbc

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How you can KEEP VIDeo from YouTube

2006-09-20T12:11:00.000+08:00

Yep.

If you want to keep the videos you like from Youtube, amongst a whole range of others, all you have to do is

1. copy the address of the page on which the particular video you like is displayed,

2. hop on over to KeepVid.com, paste it in the field at the top of the page;

3. select the site that you want it downloaded from on the right of the aforementioned field and click 'go'.

4. a download link will appear below the field where you pasted the address into. Right-click on the link and choose 'save link as' and save it at a location of your choice.

That's it!

Not bad huh!

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HOT TIPS

2006-09-18T10:33:00.000+08:00

for your convenience, links will open in a new window

22nd Nov 2006
MS Office 2007 vs. OpenOffice

17th Nov, 2006
Forget ItunesStore, Go Mp3Sugar

8th Nov, 2006
Forget the local Tel COs, Go Skype

11th oct. 2006
Free MP3s?!

29th sept. 2006
Download Vids Directly from YouTube n Co
Don't Jerk Around with YouTube

26th sept. 2006
Protect Your PC for Free
Get on the dotMOBI Bandwagon!

24th sept. 2006
Free Anonymising Browser Debuts!

23rd sept. 2006
Zapr: Browser-based File-Sharing!

20th sept. 2006
Search the Web when you're NOT Connected
Keep Video from YouTube

Gadgits

2006-09-17T11:07:00.000+08:00

Quad Core Processors for a x386 market?

Netscape 8: a viable and superior alternative to IE n FF?

Coming Soon: I-Phone

The Mobile Companion

Oui Wii! 2 - video

Oui Wii! 1 - video

Sony Electronic Reader

Rechargeable USB Batteries by USBcell

Calling ALL PODCASTERS - portable podcast recorder released

Xbox Live Camera - watch who you whack!

Xbox HD-DVD Released

Sugarcube-sized Video Projector

News

2006-09-15T11:20:00.000+08:00

20th Oct.2006
IE 7 - It's about time billy boy

8th oct. 2006
When When Vista?

4th Oct. 2006
Compatibility Issues : Yahoo Toolbar with IE 7

22nd Sept 2006
Sony to Cut Price on PS3

21st Sept 2006
Blu-DVD

Cameras

2006-09-10T21:38:00.000+08:00

25th sept 2006
Adobe Lightroom Beta 4 - making light of consumer-level Raw processing

23rd sept 2006
Samsung's GX-10 10.2mp Camera Released

Phones

2006-09-09T20:32:00.000+08:00

What's a 'MobComp'? It's a 'Mobile Companion', which i think is a more appropriate name for any gadget that integrates our mobile wants.

related article: The Mobile Companion - 1st oct. 2006

11th Oct 2006
World's First 10 MegaPixel Camera

28the Sept 2006
Oxyon: a talking Ipod

27th Sept 2006
Video Clip of Nokia's 'Multimedia Computer' Smart Phone
Nokia's New 'Multimedia Computer' Smart Phone

25th Sept 2006
M : The End of Ipods?

24th Sept 2006
First Cordless Wearable Phone
Sony Ericsson's Proprietary Music Downloads for Smart Phones

Music

2006-06-14T15:29:00.000+08:00

SRV's 'Little Wing'...and thots on Singapore