A leader cannot fall.
A leader cannot say he's tired.
A leader cannot tilt his head downwards.
A leader cannot grumble.
A leader has to look far.
For he has a community looking up at him, listening to him, and then looking in the direction he's looking at.
So I have to look far. And press on. Fail not. Continue.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Brain Storm: Respect
You can earn three folds of respect from me.
The first form of respect is respect for the human being. I respect everyone who looks like a human being and act like a human being as a living thing (that said, if you do not look like a human being, by that I mean fashion sense and not anything else). This is the most basic form of respect. Thus everyone I meet will start with at least the first form of respect from me. That is unless you show up in some green long pants and oversized purple shirt with slippers, which kind of makes you look more like an alien than human being, or, if you decide to spit on the ground the first second I see you, which makes you a scum of the society.
The second form of respect is respect for the older age. This means that as long as you are older than me, I will respect you because you have been in this world for a longer time. This also means I am assuming that you have more experience or knowledge than me in some sort of area, academic wise or street wise. Thus if you were lucky enough to be older than me, then you will automatically earn the second form of respect from me. That is unless you prove to me within the first 1 hour of interacting with you that you have completely no form of higher knowledge or sensibility than me. Not that you can't stop me from giving you respect after the first hour of interacting with you though.
The third form of respect is respect for the capable. This means that you can get things done in an awesome manner, or you are smart and utilises this smartness in a good way, or most of all, the fact that you live has made the environment a better place or made lives better for someone else, and that will earn you my respect. This is the highest form of respect. I guess I don't have to elaborate about the third form of respect. You earn it or you don't.
I hope I don't come across as an elitist. However, everyone has their own way of judging people and this has always been the way I place value on people. I mean, one usually does not make an effort to interact with someone who appears to be a complete douche bag to you right?
Let's face it, all humans experience peer influence. I hate to judge someone whom I already knew for some time just because a mutual friend had lousy comments about him. However, lately I find that I am often force to narrow my definitions of my forms of respect. If a person who is completely oblivious of his lack of capabilities and not realised that his actions show little of his maturity, I cannot be a charity and show him any of my second and third form of respect.
Fear not though, for I am more tolerant with my definitions of my first form of respect. As long as you don't become a scum of society, or the community, I may yet move to the side to let you pass when you need to walk past me. Still, patience is not a virtue I hold when I give out respect. So don't test it.
The first form of respect is respect for the human being. I respect everyone who looks like a human being and act like a human being as a living thing (that said, if you do not look like a human being, by that I mean fashion sense and not anything else). This is the most basic form of respect. Thus everyone I meet will start with at least the first form of respect from me. That is unless you show up in some green long pants and oversized purple shirt with slippers, which kind of makes you look more like an alien than human being, or, if you decide to spit on the ground the first second I see you, which makes you a scum of the society.
The second form of respect is respect for the older age. This means that as long as you are older than me, I will respect you because you have been in this world for a longer time. This also means I am assuming that you have more experience or knowledge than me in some sort of area, academic wise or street wise. Thus if you were lucky enough to be older than me, then you will automatically earn the second form of respect from me. That is unless you prove to me within the first 1 hour of interacting with you that you have completely no form of higher knowledge or sensibility than me. Not that you can't stop me from giving you respect after the first hour of interacting with you though.
The third form of respect is respect for the capable. This means that you can get things done in an awesome manner, or you are smart and utilises this smartness in a good way, or most of all, the fact that you live has made the environment a better place or made lives better for someone else, and that will earn you my respect. This is the highest form of respect. I guess I don't have to elaborate about the third form of respect. You earn it or you don't.
I hope I don't come across as an elitist. However, everyone has their own way of judging people and this has always been the way I place value on people. I mean, one usually does not make an effort to interact with someone who appears to be a complete douche bag to you right?
Let's face it, all humans experience peer influence. I hate to judge someone whom I already knew for some time just because a mutual friend had lousy comments about him. However, lately I find that I am often force to narrow my definitions of my forms of respect. If a person who is completely oblivious of his lack of capabilities and not realised that his actions show little of his maturity, I cannot be a charity and show him any of my second and third form of respect.
Fear not though, for I am more tolerant with my definitions of my first form of respect. As long as you don't become a scum of society, or the community, I may yet move to the side to let you pass when you need to walk past me. Still, patience is not a virtue I hold when I give out respect. So don't test it.
You earn it, but you can also lose it.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Youtube: Java 4-ever Trailer
Open source V.S. Windows
The battle of developing platform wars. I support HTML5 and Java by the way. And this is freaking hilarious. How I wish this is a real movie.
The battle of developing platform wars. I support HTML5 and Java by the way. And this is freaking hilarious. How I wish this is a real movie.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Ramblings: Slashings and Murders
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_601402.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_599114.html
Following the attack on a full time national serviceman by a group of five men (I think), there appears to be an increased in gang activities all over the country. I believe there were more before this latest slashing incident at Bukit Panjang.
The police really needs to step up on this. Isn't Singapore one of the strictest country in the world where law is imposed on everyone like an iron fist? Why are there people dying and why did the gangs become so rampant?
Many condolences to the poor chap who passed away after being attacked at Downtown East. He was a perfectly fine young man, with a bright future and plenty of life ahead. He was only 18, and he died just on a whim of 4 unruly scums of the society.
What is the world coming?
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_599114.html
Following the attack on a full time national serviceman by a group of five men (I think), there appears to be an increased in gang activities all over the country. I believe there were more before this latest slashing incident at Bukit Panjang.
The police really needs to step up on this. Isn't Singapore one of the strictest country in the world where law is imposed on everyone like an iron fist? Why are there people dying and why did the gangs become so rampant?
Many condolences to the poor chap who passed away after being attacked at Downtown East. He was a perfectly fine young man, with a bright future and plenty of life ahead. He was only 18, and he died just on a whim of 4 unruly scums of the society.
What is the world coming?
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
The Facebook Series #2: Download Your Facebook Content
From now on, you can download your Facebook content such as photos which you uploaded, wall notes etc. You can request for the zip file from Facebook by going to Account on the top right hand corner and click on Account Settings from the drop down box. They will send the link to you once it's done collating your information. Things such as photos of you which other people uploaded will not be inside. To learn how to retrieve all the missing data, look at this article from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5672279/download-the-missing-pieces-of-data-from-facebookIt's a good idea to download all your data from time to time, just in case your Facebook account gets hacked or you feel like deactivating or deleting your account for some reason.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Friday, November 05, 2010
Brain Storm: When Life Gives You Lemon
Everyone in the world faces hardship, love problems, studies difficulties, friendship issues, yada yada. There's just so many problems which we encounter all the time. People deal with problems differently. Some people face it head on, some people face it silently, some people hide from it, some people simply walk away. A lot of us have qualms about approaches which we don't use.
A lot of people don't realise that when life gives you lemon, you don't always have to make lemonade. Sometimes it's ok to refuse. Sometimes when life is so harsh and throws the lemon at you, you can try to dodge, or even grab it and throw it back. Even if you got hit, the sour taste will go away in a while.
No, there's no one way to deal with problems. You don't always have to keep silent, you don't always have to make it better. At times, you can look at the problem in the face and point your middle finger and say "no, this is unacceptable." Why not?
Life isn't easy, don't make it any harder yourself.
A lot of people don't realise that when life gives you lemon, you don't always have to make lemonade. Sometimes it's ok to refuse. Sometimes when life is so harsh and throws the lemon at you, you can try to dodge, or even grab it and throw it back. Even if you got hit, the sour taste will go away in a while.
No, there's no one way to deal with problems. You don't always have to keep silent, you don't always have to make it better. At times, you can look at the problem in the face and point your middle finger and say "no, this is unacceptable." Why not?
Life isn't easy, don't make it any harder yourself.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Facebook Series #1 - Organising Your Friends Lists
The Facebook Series is targeted at people who loves using Facebook but has no clue about the deeper details of Facebook. Facebook has become an integral part of our lives. It is important that we know what it can do for us and what it does behind our backs. Knowing Facebook well increases your efficiency of connecting with people and teaches you to guard your privacy. The Facebook Series will be touching on organising your Facebook account, privacy issues and controls and some easter eggs on Facebook. I'll add more stuff if I come across issues that are worth talking about.
The Facebook Series #1 is a simple introduction on organising your Friends. Actually, most people know about this feature. Majority are just too lazy to do up their Friends List. Having an organised Friends List can help you a lot. A well sorted out list can reduce the work you have to do when you send messages or when you set privacy settings. These will be shown below.
Click on Account on the top right hand corner and click on Edit Friends to go into your Friends List.
On the top right hand of the page, click on the Create A List button and you'll see this box pop out. Type in the name of your list where it says "Enter a name" and click to select which friends you want to include into a list. A Friend can be included in more than one list.
On the main Friends List page, you can also add people into lists by clicking on the Edit Lists button.
You can see which friends are included in a certain list by clicking on the Lists shown on the left side bar. Notice how I have a list of friends called "Ignored On Street List". Let's face it, not all your Facebook Friends are your friends. Some of your Friends are not really a friend, yet, at least. There are certain things you just wouldn't want the whole world to know. Thus it is important to have a list of people whom you feel that you aren't comfortable with letting them into your personal world.
What happens when you want to share a message or a photo which you don't want certain people to know? Before you Share anything, click on the lock button, choose Custom.
In the above option, type the person whom you don't want to see your stuff into the "Hide this from these people". Here's the convenient part if you had created your list properly. Instead of typing the long list of all your colleagues into the box when you want to share a message badmouthing a fellow colleague, you can just create a list and type in the name of the list into the box. You can choose who you want to "Make this visible to" too. Either way works.
IMPORTANT: The "Hide this from" takes priority over "Make this visible to". This means that if person X is both in your List in "Make Visible to" and in "Hide this from", X will NOT be able to see the stuff that you shared. This is good news.
NOTE: You should NEVER include your network unless you love letting the whole world know about what you think. More on this in the next Facebook Series.
Another way that Lists can help you is when you want to send out messages to a group of Friends. Let's say you are organising a gathering with your secondary school CCA friends, instead of typing everyone's names, you can just type in the name of the List into the "To" box when you send a message. The disadvantage is if there is someone whom you do not want to message, you cannot remove just that one person from the list when you send the message.
Organising your Friends Lists is troublesome especially if you have a gazillion Friends. However, take it from me that once you sit down and settle everything properly, maintaining your lists will become easy. Each time you add a new friend, you will be asked which Lists you want to put him in. Well organised Friends Lists will go a long way.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Ramblings: The Haze, My Productivity
Do you feel unproductive this week? Do you feel unhealthy?
Somehow, many NUS students feel this way this week. Some of my friends and I were just rambling about how this week was really sucky. Some of us didn't have any mood to study at all.
[caption id="attachment_439" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="NUS Engin Faculty, Block E1"]
[/caption]
Now, when this happens, we must blame of something. It's human nature, ain't it? And I blame it on the haze.
I can't even remember when was the last time the haze struck Singapore so badly. According to Straits Times, the PSI hasn't crossed 100 since 2006.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_593980.html
While I am glad that the government is urging Indonesia to do something about it, I feel that more can be done. And Indonesia should really think about how much effort they're putting in currently and think less about asking Singapore for help. Let's face it, its the Indonesians' fault, especially for cases of farmers burning out fields.
While putting all the blame on the haze for our deteriorating concentration to study is a little too much, I do hope that the haze will clear soon at least for the sake of our health.
Or stop school. Hooray!
Somehow, many NUS students feel this way this week. Some of my friends and I were just rambling about how this week was really sucky. Some of us didn't have any mood to study at all.
[caption id="attachment_439" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="NUS Engin Faculty, Block E1"]
[/caption]Now, when this happens, we must blame of something. It's human nature, ain't it? And I blame it on the haze.
I can't even remember when was the last time the haze struck Singapore so badly. According to Straits Times, the PSI hasn't crossed 100 since 2006.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_593980.html
While I am glad that the government is urging Indonesia to do something about it, I feel that more can be done. And Indonesia should really think about how much effort they're putting in currently and think less about asking Singapore for help. Let's face it, its the Indonesians' fault, especially for cases of farmers burning out fields.
While putting all the blame on the haze for our deteriorating concentration to study is a little too much, I do hope that the haze will clear soon at least for the sake of our health.
Or stop school. Hooray!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tech Speak: Switch Off Your Computer
http://lifehacker.com/5667662/do-you-keep-your-work-computer-on-after-you-leave
http://vimeo.com/15866184
I cannot understand why people always leave their computer on at the end of the day after work. Be it in school or at work, this is a common sight.
According to this article, in Germany alone, 14million PCs (44%) are left powered over the weekend. Assuming they are energy efficient, they consume the power generated by 870 wind turbines in a year. We all know that many PCs are not energy efficient in this day and age yet. Furthermore, we're only talking about Germany. If you count all the other countries in the world, this will make up a significant amount of energy.
Switch off your computer.
http://vimeo.com/15866184
I cannot understand why people always leave their computer on at the end of the day after work. Be it in school or at work, this is a common sight.
According to this article, in Germany alone, 14million PCs (44%) are left powered over the weekend. Assuming they are energy efficient, they consume the power generated by 870 wind turbines in a year. We all know that many PCs are not energy efficient in this day and age yet. Furthermore, we're only talking about Germany. If you count all the other countries in the world, this will make up a significant amount of energy.
Switch off your computer.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Brain Storm: It's Okay To Have A Personality
We were at our friend's 21st birthday. She had some activities planned out and one of them was to ask us a few questions about herself and test how much we know about her. As the emcee was asking, this seems like quite a thick skin thing to do, but yet I do not think she's thick skin at all. It's just so natural. On the other hand, I imagine being flamed and rotten eggs thrown at me if I had done this when I had my 21st birthday celebration.
I used to think that there are certain personality types which are plain annoying and I should just avoid them completely. But I guess I can't really avoid them for the rest of my life. Now, I try to open up a little more and be more accepting. I mean, I know I still judge people rather harshly these days, but I'm trying already. I suppose its okay to have a personality. That's what makes the world more colourful, ain't it?
I used to think that there are certain personality types which are plain annoying and I should just avoid them completely. But I guess I can't really avoid them for the rest of my life. Now, I try to open up a little more and be more accepting. I mean, I know I still judge people rather harshly these days, but I'm trying already. I suppose its okay to have a personality. That's what makes the world more colourful, ain't it?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
News: Bad Apples - But Some Will Still Bite Them
Straits Times Digital Life 22nd September 2010
- Oo Gin Lee
There is something about some Apple fans that I find really hard to understand.
Usually, when a gadget is less than perfect, consumers will scream, shout and swear they will never ever touch another product made by the same company ever again.
Not so with Apple fans.
Take the iPad, which has sold millions and has many fans swooning over its clean design and high-resolution screen which displays vivid images. Of this, I am in total agreement with my iPad-loving friends. But what about the fact that the 3G version of the iPad is "gimped", which means that your 3G speed is throttled by the the device? You can view YouTube clips in high resolution on the iPad through its Wi-Fi connection but have to put up with really awful low resolution versions via 3G.
Additionally, iPad owners cannot download apps larger than 20MB when they are on 3G. There is no such restriction over Wi-Fi.
If you ask me, it makes no sense to buy the 3G version at all. And at least two of my friends realised this too late. But it turns out that there is a workaround. Just buy one of the credit card-sized mini 3G routers, commonly known as a Mi-Fi device and create a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for the iPad to tap on. Devices like the iPad and netbooks cnoonect to the Mi-Fi device over Wi-Fi. The Mi-Fi device in turn connects these devices to the Internet via the dta link from the 3G SIM card inside.
When you use an iPad with a Mi-Fi, the iPad sees the connection as a Wi-Fi connection, not 3G and therefore lets you watch YoutTube videos in HD glory.
But when I asked my friend how she felt about her gimped 3G iPad, there was no sign of anger. She just whipped out her Mi-Fi device and proclaimed: "It's OK, I use this!"
Then there is the iPhone 4 "Antennagate" problem, which happens when you hold the iPhone at a certain angle. Your signal strength will do down a notch or two and sometimes you end up dropping your call entirely.
There is no problem, as some iPhone fans have told me. Just buy a case, problem solved.
Such forgiving reactions go against the rational and practical minds of Singaporean consumers which I have grown accustomed to.
I put it down to Apple's incredibly polished marketing savvy.
The the taxi-driving uncle whose cab I was in a fortnight ago. I was chatting over the phone to another friend in the cab about the pros and cons of the Sony Ericsson X10 phone. When I ended my call, the taxi uncle turned around and told me, apparently with years of experience as a user, that Sony Ericsson phones are lousy and would break down after three years.
I did not want to question his authority seeing that he was all fortified in his belief but I could not resist asking him - when I noticed that he was still using his "lousy" Sony Ericsson - this question: "So what phone are you changing to, Uncle?"
His answer: "iPhone lah."
"Why ah?" I asked again.
"It's the best lah," he asserted. Never mind he had not even owned one yet.
- Oo Gin Lee
There is something about some Apple fans that I find really hard to understand.
Usually, when a gadget is less than perfect, consumers will scream, shout and swear they will never ever touch another product made by the same company ever again.
Not so with Apple fans.
Take the iPad, which has sold millions and has many fans swooning over its clean design and high-resolution screen which displays vivid images. Of this, I am in total agreement with my iPad-loving friends. But what about the fact that the 3G version of the iPad is "gimped", which means that your 3G speed is throttled by the the device? You can view YouTube clips in high resolution on the iPad through its Wi-Fi connection but have to put up with really awful low resolution versions via 3G.
Additionally, iPad owners cannot download apps larger than 20MB when they are on 3G. There is no such restriction over Wi-Fi.
If you ask me, it makes no sense to buy the 3G version at all. And at least two of my friends realised this too late. But it turns out that there is a workaround. Just buy one of the credit card-sized mini 3G routers, commonly known as a Mi-Fi device and create a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for the iPad to tap on. Devices like the iPad and netbooks cnoonect to the Mi-Fi device over Wi-Fi. The Mi-Fi device in turn connects these devices to the Internet via the dta link from the 3G SIM card inside.
When you use an iPad with a Mi-Fi, the iPad sees the connection as a Wi-Fi connection, not 3G and therefore lets you watch YoutTube videos in HD glory.
But when I asked my friend how she felt about her gimped 3G iPad, there was no sign of anger. She just whipped out her Mi-Fi device and proclaimed: "It's OK, I use this!"
Then there is the iPhone 4 "Antennagate" problem, which happens when you hold the iPhone at a certain angle. Your signal strength will do down a notch or two and sometimes you end up dropping your call entirely.
There is no problem, as some iPhone fans have told me. Just buy a case, problem solved.
Such forgiving reactions go against the rational and practical minds of Singaporean consumers which I have grown accustomed to.
I put it down to Apple's incredibly polished marketing savvy.
The the taxi-driving uncle whose cab I was in a fortnight ago. I was chatting over the phone to another friend in the cab about the pros and cons of the Sony Ericsson X10 phone. When I ended my call, the taxi uncle turned around and told me, apparently with years of experience as a user, that Sony Ericsson phones are lousy and would break down after three years.
I did not want to question his authority seeing that he was all fortified in his belief but I could not resist asking him - when I noticed that he was still using his "lousy" Sony Ericsson - this question: "So what phone are you changing to, Uncle?"
His answer: "iPhone lah."
"Why ah?" I asked again.
"It's the best lah," he asserted. Never mind he had not even owned one yet.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Brain Storm: Weakness
My teacher said this to be before, "I bet you cannot stand working under somebody." I don't know how she saw through me, since she was never in charge of me in school. However, I have to admit that it is true. I came back for a school event as an alumnus this one time. She assigned me under someone to help him out "just for the fun of it". Well, I scooted after 5 mins. My juniors have said this of me before as well. "It is impossible to make him work under someone."
I have a little experience as a leader in school. However due to my angst-y personality, I have never liked to be ordered around, or even carry out instructions given nicely. I wondered how I barked like someone's dog when I was in sec 1 to be selected as a councillor. I must have been pretty desperate. Many years have passed. I think I have mellowed a little. Being a freshman in university, it is expected of me to be under people in projects. It's been at least 5 to 6 years since I took orders from someone willingly. I wonder how long will it take before I fluster and scoot again.
Sometimes some things just don't change.
I have a little experience as a leader in school. However due to my angst-y personality, I have never liked to be ordered around, or even carry out instructions given nicely. I wondered how I barked like someone's dog when I was in sec 1 to be selected as a councillor. I must have been pretty desperate. Many years have passed. I think I have mellowed a little. Being a freshman in university, it is expected of me to be under people in projects. It's been at least 5 to 6 years since I took orders from someone willingly. I wonder how long will it take before I fluster and scoot again.
Sometimes some things just don't change.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Ramblings: A Widow's Blog
I link hopped to this widow's blog. This sweet lady blogs about how she's living her days after her husband passed away with her 2 little girls. Her posts are really vivid and you can just feel the extent of her feelings. She talks about how she remembers her husband and how everything she does now relates to him. This is not a blog to read while playing sad music...
It makes you think, you know? Everyone and anyone whom you care may go anytime. Opportunities and accidents happened. We should realy cherish each and every moment.
http://letterstoelias.wordpress.com/
It's a really nice blog.
- a post which really touched me http://letterstoelias.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/filling-the-void/
It makes you think, you know? Everyone and anyone whom you care may go anytime. Opportunities and accidents happened. We should realy cherish each and every moment.
http://letterstoelias.wordpress.com/
It's a really nice blog.
- a post which really touched me http://letterstoelias.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/filling-the-void/
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tech Speak: Google New
Google launches so many new products all the time. Many of them are free too. Even a Google freak like me has a hard time catching up. Thankfully Google has created a new product to introduce its new products! Wonderful.
http://www.google.com/newproducts/Google New
Do you know that Google has a social networking web called Orkut that nobody uses? Do you know Google has a product called Sketchup meant for architects to design buildings? Interesting?
http://www.google.com/newproducts/Google New
Do you know that Google has a social networking web called Orkut that nobody uses? Do you know Google has a product called Sketchup meant for architects to design buildings? Interesting?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
TechieEat: Crème Brûlée Macchiato
This is the new drink at Starbucks called the Crème Brûlée Macchiato.I tried it out at Vivo City Starbucks Level 1. Macchiato is a drink made from a shot of espresso and milk. Caramel Macchiato is a regular drink on Starbucks' menu and its a mix of bitter and sweet taste with caramel added. Just when I thought that was the perfect balance, they introduced this new drink. Crème Brûlée means burnt cream in French and Crème Brûlée Macchiato is Macchiato with Crème Brûlée syrup and dark caramel. The result is a Macchiato with rich espresso taste and a slight hint of sweetness. This is even better than the original version!
Crème Brûlée Macchiato on a Friday night, in my favourite Starbucks at Vivo City, alone, life's never better.
Crème Brûlée Macchiato - 4.5/5
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Oh Yeah It's Uni Life! - Need For Breather
I hereby appeal to all seniors who told me previously that "university life is easier compared to junior college" to step forward and let me give them a punch or two.It has been 6 weeks since university lessons started. It feels like I have been sitting on the bullet train. No, actually it feels like I have been running after the bullet train. It was insane, everything felt like a flash. Though the process was quite fun, making new friends, learning interesting concepts, but I would still say that I need a breather.
Recess week is finally here. It's like term break for the secondary schools and junior colleges. But heck, you think anyone'll get a breather? I think not. Mid term tests are coming soon. Far too soon.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Oh Yeah It's Uni Life! - It's Okay To Be Busy
I have 3 CCAs and 6 modules in semester one right now. My friends all say the same things to me. "Are you crazy? Isn't that taking up a lot of your time? You can cope?"My answers are always the same. "No I am not crazy. Yes that is taking up a lot of my time but better lots of time taken up than none. I can barely cope but it just takes a ton of discipline."
I always squirm when I hear people say that they don't have any CCAs or they are reluctant to join this and that. University is full of life, full of activities. It is filled with lots of opportunities. However there is one downside. Compared to secondary school and junior college, we have to seek them out. These chances to learn, to have fun and to widen our social circle don't come to us, we have to find and go to them. If the university offers so much, why will you want to take up only so little? I understand the fact that people say its "very sian to try new things". Simply put, human beings have a great deal of reluctance to step out of their comfort zone. But I will say this to these people, take one small step at a time. You don't have to rush. Some people are concerned with their academic results. Concerning that, let me ask you, are you studying a lot nowadays? Really really really studying and focusing all your time on your academia just to keep up? The answer more often than not, is no. Most of the time, people choose to procrastinate, people choose to slack. There is no wrong in that. It's just that those activities can be put to better use. You can always make your CCAs become leisure activity, and just extend your real resting hours so that you can convince yourself to put away all that procrastination. Though I say this, people whose answer is yes to my previous question should perhaps relook at whether CCAs are viable activities or not.
Frankly many a times, we will be struggling with our academia with or without CCAs anyway. So why not just enrich your university life with a little variety? It is okay to be busy. Do not afraid to be busy. Do not feel pressured when your entire week is occupied. With time, you will get used to it. I heard this excellent quote from my discipline master in Temasek Junior College. What are the ten most important two-letter words in English? "If it is to be, it is up to me". Nothing is quite impossible, if only you try. So while you are here in university, take part, don't lose time, don't miss out on your youth. Put away your excuses. Step up on your self discipline.
A busy life is a life worth living. Take that first step.
PS. When I say CCAs here, I also refer to out-of-curriculum activities such as workshops, talks etc.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Tech Speak: Comex 2010
Comex 2010 is here again. This time I had to buy supplies for school so I zoomed in and buy without hesitation. I was looking around with a friend for his laptop and voila! We spotted the MSI FX400 which is essentially my laptop but with an Nvidia Card with Optimus, with 14inch screen instead of 16inch, having a better pair of speakers, and non glossy. Okay I guess that makes it far apart from my laptop but if only I had waited. I'll take a couple of photos and post them here when I have the chance. Oh and it is only $1400! Gosh...
On the side note, here's a few things to take note when one goes for an IT fair such as this.
1) Always wear covered shoes. It's usually very crowded so people tend to step on one another.
2) Try not to bring a bag. If you must, bring a small one as the bulk can make the crowd pushing worse.
3) Leave your kid at home. Seriously your kids won't know tech. Prams and wondering children are the most annoying things to find at an IT show.
4) Take steps to the side if you want to browse a shop. Do not block the pathway.
5) Always take your discussions to the corners. Do not block the entrance or exit.
6) Make a point to wonder around to look for your wants for lower prices.
7) If your item is an expensive buy, try to examine it when you are outside the fair location. If it is faulty or lacks warranty card, you can still go back to get it exchanged or get the warranty card.
On the side note, here's a few things to take note when one goes for an IT fair such as this.
1) Always wear covered shoes. It's usually very crowded so people tend to step on one another.
2) Try not to bring a bag. If you must, bring a small one as the bulk can make the crowd pushing worse.
3) Leave your kid at home. Seriously your kids won't know tech. Prams and wondering children are the most annoying things to find at an IT show.
4) Take steps to the side if you want to browse a shop. Do not block the pathway.
5) Always take your discussions to the corners. Do not block the entrance or exit.
6) Make a point to wonder around to look for your wants for lower prices.
7) If your item is an expensive buy, try to examine it when you are outside the fair location. If it is faulty or lacks warranty card, you can still go back to get it exchanged or get the warranty card.
1 pair of Cruzer 8GB thumbdrives for my sister and brother. 21 bucks each
i got this for myself. 16GB Sandisk Ultra Backup. 56 bucks
my printer Fuji Xerox Phaser 3124. small and fast. no auto duplex though. but as many people say, convenience comes at a high price. so i'll stick to manual duplex. the printer cost 109 bucks (from 159) with starter toner of 1000 pages. the extra toner cost $105 bucks (from 123) and can print 3000 pages.
there was a sure win lucky draw from Fuji Xerox and my luck has never been this good. i won this 7inch digital frame that though cannot be used to watch movies, but is generally good enough. the price of this should be around 50 bucks.
helped my sister buy her printer ink. 55 bucks down from 60+ and comes with 5 bucks NTUC voucher and a few photo paper.
Total damage: $367
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tech Speak: IEM VS Non In-Ear Earphones
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2011503,00.html
These days, nobody should be using non-in-ear earphones anymore. Their quality is generally low and audiophiles squirm at the sight, or sound of them. In ear earphones are good in audio quality and they also block out unwanted noise from outside. While some people say that blasting sounds directly at your eardrums is no good, I would say having in ear earphones allow one to hear their music at a much lower volume compared to normal earphones. I've seen so many people listening to music so loud on the train or bus that I can hear from 5 metres away. Can you imagine how loud the sound must have been channeling onto his eardrums? People up the volume of their player mainly because they cannot hear their music due to ambient noise. Therefore in ear earpieces are the way to go to protect your eardrums. Of course if you still want to set your volume at half of the maximum when using in ear earpieces, then your eardrums are really at your own foolish mercy.
PS. There are lousy in ear earphones as well.
These days, nobody should be using non-in-ear earphones anymore. Their quality is generally low and audiophiles squirm at the sight, or sound of them. In ear earphones are good in audio quality and they also block out unwanted noise from outside. While some people say that blasting sounds directly at your eardrums is no good, I would say having in ear earphones allow one to hear their music at a much lower volume compared to normal earphones. I've seen so many people listening to music so loud on the train or bus that I can hear from 5 metres away. Can you imagine how loud the sound must have been channeling onto his eardrums? People up the volume of their player mainly because they cannot hear their music due to ambient noise. Therefore in ear earpieces are the way to go to protect your eardrums. Of course if you still want to set your volume at half of the maximum when using in ear earpieces, then your eardrums are really at your own foolish mercy.
PS. There are lousy in ear earphones as well.
Rambling: Coding
It's 1.48am and I'm coding right now.
University life is tiring. So tiring. I think I have way too much commitments. But it's okay. At least I'm not shortchanging myself.
Back to coding...
University life is tiring. So tiring. I think I have way too much commitments. But it's okay. At least I'm not shortchanging myself.
Back to coding...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Interest(ing): What is a PhD
http://gizmodo.com/5613794/what-is-exactly-a-doctorate
Interesting view point on the definition of a PhD, and so accurate and true.
Interesting view point on the definition of a PhD, and so accurate and true.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tech Speak: Google Fights Again, This Time Against Oracle
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180703/Google_calls_Oracle_lawsuit_baseless_vows_to_fight_it?taxonomyId=13
Oracle has just acquired Sun Systems, and with it its Java Technology. I myself just found out that Google's mobile operating system, Android, runs on Java. Now Oracle is pointing fingers and lawyers at Google.
And it's no surprise that Google says "Bring it on." Java is an open source programming language and Google did nothing wrong using it. If Oracle pushes for its lawsuit, that would mean it wants to close up the open source technology. It should do well to learn from Apple's failing example of not advancing towards a more open web. (ie. Apple's refusal to include Flash into OS X and iOS, and Flash's primary objective is to provide a programming tool for multiple platform, thus a more open web)
It does not matter whether Google wins this lawsuit or not. Oracle would have the entire technosphere frowning on them.
Oracle has just acquired Sun Systems, and with it its Java Technology. I myself just found out that Google's mobile operating system, Android, runs on Java. Now Oracle is pointing fingers and lawyers at Google.
Google infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property "knowingly, directly and repeatedly," Oracle said on Thursday in a statement about the lawsuit, which it filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
And it's no surprise that Google says "Bring it on." Java is an open source programming language and Google did nothing wrong using it. If Oracle pushes for its lawsuit, that would mean it wants to close up the open source technology. It should do well to learn from Apple's failing example of not advancing towards a more open web. (ie. Apple's refusal to include Flash into OS X and iOS, and Flash's primary objective is to provide a programming tool for multiple platform, thus a more open web)
It does not matter whether Google wins this lawsuit or not. Oracle would have the entire technosphere frowning on them.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Brain Storm: Catching Game
A really important and close friend left last night. A bunch of us went to see him off. Frankly, its not like he's not coming back. And its not like he's going for all 4 years. A full year, its neither long nor short. Yet, all of us could feel it. There's gonna be a gap. Somewhere in our lives there will be a hollow spot for a year.
But that's reality. People come and go. New paths open up. Choices are made. Life goes on. The only thing we can do is to hugz hugz kiss kiss before separation, and make that promise, to go back into our catching game. I'll catch up with your life, and you with mine, someday, soon.
I feel a little lonely tonight. Do you?
But that's reality. People come and go. New paths open up. Choices are made. Life goes on. The only thing we can do is to hugz hugz kiss kiss before separation, and make that promise, to go back into our catching game. I'll catch up with your life, and you with mine, someday, soon.
The catching game. A never ending game where you attempt to catch your friend while he attempts to catch you as well. This game usually lasts a lifetime if the friendship is strong. This is the only game where the saved game will never get deleted.
I feel a little lonely tonight. Do you?
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Review: iPhone 4 (taken from Digital Life 4/8/2010)
The good news - reports of the iPhone 4 having massive issues with reception and dropped calls in the United States are not as common in Singapore, as local telcos have pointed out that a stronger mobile network here alleviates the problem.
The bad news is, Apple's latest toy does suffer from receoption issues to a certain extent, compared with other phones.
Holding the phone with your left hand will cause the signal bars to drop gradually, as covering the lower-left corner of the slim device with your palm affects its antenna.
If you are indoors, 40 seconds is all it takes for the bars to fall from five to one. You do not even have to hold it tighitly, to mimic an actual Death Grip, as it is commonly called.
Outdoors, the bars do not fall but as soon as you have overhead cover, be it seated in a restaurant or on a bus, the bars start dropping.
However, voice calls are barely affected. When bars fall from five to one, calls can still be made, in fact, the bars do climb back up once a call is connected.
Issues with calls occur when reception at a location is already weak to begin with. Covering the antenna further reduces the weak reception and both incoming and outgoing calls cannot be made.
Outgoing calls will stall and incoming calls will not connect. If you happen to move from good reception zone to a weaker one while on the line, be prepared to lose that call.
This happened to me at a supermarket in Serangoon. the call started off well but about a minute after I stepped into the supermarket, i lost the other party. Without the Death Grip, the phone alternated beween two and three signal bars.
The bigger problem, though is with data connectivity. A reduction in the signal bars greatly hampers the download speed of the phone.
Whether I am downloading apps from the App Store, checking my email or refreshing my Twitter application, I noticed onger load times with a lower number of signal bars. Often, a server error display will pop up.
As I am right-handed, I always hold the phone with my left hand. The moment I hold the phone with two fingers at the top and bottom, the bars climb up and downloads are restored. Aside from the reception issue, Apple has delivered a well-made device. The retina display is extremely sharp and it is easier to read small fonts compared to iPhone 3GS.
Battery life also lasted longer. With push email, games and constant Twitter updates, the 3GS barely lasted eight hours. The iPhone 4 clocked 10 to 12 hours before I needed to plug it in.
Although video calls are not new, Apple's new FaceTime feature- which allows video calles to be made across Wi-Fi between two iPhone 4 devices - is pretty impressive.
White the phone will not indicate if the other party is on Wi-Fi, you can easily switch to FaceTime mode during a regular call. Voice pick - up is sharp even if you hold the phoneaway from you.
The rear camera has also been upgraded to a 5-megapixel one, which allows for video recordings of up to 720p.
When used with a flash, colours do appear unnatural, displaying a brighter red or orange hue.
Verdict: A phone should fulfil its basic functions of making calls, so you have to decide if the apps and better design really justify the iPhone's price tag.
The bad news is, Apple's latest toy does suffer from receoption issues to a certain extent, compared with other phones.
Holding the phone with your left hand will cause the signal bars to drop gradually, as covering the lower-left corner of the slim device with your palm affects its antenna.
If you are indoors, 40 seconds is all it takes for the bars to fall from five to one. You do not even have to hold it tighitly, to mimic an actual Death Grip, as it is commonly called.
Outdoors, the bars do not fall but as soon as you have overhead cover, be it seated in a restaurant or on a bus, the bars start dropping.
However, voice calls are barely affected. When bars fall from five to one, calls can still be made, in fact, the bars do climb back up once a call is connected.
Issues with calls occur when reception at a location is already weak to begin with. Covering the antenna further reduces the weak reception and both incoming and outgoing calls cannot be made.
Outgoing calls will stall and incoming calls will not connect. If you happen to move from good reception zone to a weaker one while on the line, be prepared to lose that call.
This happened to me at a supermarket in Serangoon. the call started off well but about a minute after I stepped into the supermarket, i lost the other party. Without the Death Grip, the phone alternated beween two and three signal bars.
The bigger problem, though is with data connectivity. A reduction in the signal bars greatly hampers the download speed of the phone.
Whether I am downloading apps from the App Store, checking my email or refreshing my Twitter application, I noticed onger load times with a lower number of signal bars. Often, a server error display will pop up.
As I am right-handed, I always hold the phone with my left hand. The moment I hold the phone with two fingers at the top and bottom, the bars climb up and downloads are restored. Aside from the reception issue, Apple has delivered a well-made device. The retina display is extremely sharp and it is easier to read small fonts compared to iPhone 3GS.
Battery life also lasted longer. With push email, games and constant Twitter updates, the 3GS barely lasted eight hours. The iPhone 4 clocked 10 to 12 hours before I needed to plug it in.
Although video calls are not new, Apple's new FaceTime feature- which allows video calles to be made across Wi-Fi between two iPhone 4 devices - is pretty impressive.
White the phone will not indicate if the other party is on Wi-Fi, you can easily switch to FaceTime mode during a regular call. Voice pick - up is sharp even if you hold the phoneaway from you.
The rear camera has also been upgraded to a 5-megapixel one, which allows for video recordings of up to 720p.
When used with a flash, colours do appear unnatural, displaying a brighter red or orange hue.
Verdict: A phone should fulfil its basic functions of making calls, so you have to decide if the apps and better design really justify the iPhone's price tag.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Brain Storm: That Day Will Come Again
I was holding my green EZ Link Card until I ORDed. The wait was unbearable. Then I used my Doraemon EZ Link Card (a normal EZ Link Card with a Doraemon EZ Link sticker) while I waited for university to start. I met up with all my friends again and I had plenty of memories refreshing in my mind and new ones were made. Before I knew it, the time was over, I had to start the next part of my life. And now, I'm holding onto my NUS EZ Link Card.
These few days, I had a lot of happy gatherings. Little meet ups which made me feel that I was blissful and I just didn't want it to end. But I know it will. Eventually we will part. And perhaps we might not meet each other again, or maybe not so often anymore. But I'll put in the effort, and I'll cherish the memories. Before I know it, I'll be using my Doraemon EZ Link Card again. And then, we will laugh together once, next to each other. That day will come again.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Brain Storm: Away From Home Once Again
A friend said "tell me how it is like on the first day after you moved into your dorm". I went "huh for what?". And he said "you never had your own room before right?".
That's right. I've never had my own room. All these times I either had my brother or my platoon with me. Oh well there was this once when I was the only guy on weekend duty in my bunk and I slept alone the night before. But either way, this time, the setting is different. I'm not there to play, I'm not there to relax, I cannot have a heck-care attitude no more.
I'll be all alone, I'll be independent. Just watch, I'll be okay on my own.
That's right. I've never had my own room. All these times I either had my brother or my platoon with me. Oh well there was this once when I was the only guy on weekend duty in my bunk and I slept alone the night before. But either way, this time, the setting is different. I'm not there to play, I'm not there to relax, I cannot have a heck-care attitude no more.
I'll be all alone, I'll be independent. Just watch, I'll be okay on my own.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Stay tune!
Hi, this site is still under construction. Stay tune!
in the meantime, check out http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com
in the meantime, check out http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tech Speak: iPhone 4 Woes
Nokia And RIM Respond To Apple’s Antenna Issues
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/07/17/nokia-and-rim-respond-to-apples-antenna-issues/
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/06/28/steve-jobs-and-apple-on-iphone-4-reception-issues/
There's no problem with iPhone 4's antenna. No wait, there is a problem, I'll admit but all other phones have too. Deal with it, you pussy.
That's what old Jobs said about the newly launched iPhone 4. On 17 July 2010, Steve Jobs held a conference to address the issue. He admitted that a firmware update will NOT solve the antenna problem and is giving out free casing and some refunds of some sort for AT &T users. However during the course of the conference, he "apologised" for not being perfect "but then nobody is". You call that an apology? Furthermore putting Nokia and RIM (Research In Motion, the company behind Blackberry) in bad light by claiming that the antenna issues lie within their phones as well just shows that Apple and dear old Steve does not admit their mistake. Nokia and RIM have of course rebutted against Apple and let's face it, if Nokia and RIM with their waves of phones have had this problem, many many people would have found out. For your stupid Steve's brains sake, if only numbers would go through your dull senses, the most commonly used phone in the world is Blackberry, followed by Symbian phones (which is the operating system that Nokia mainly uses until this year). Your puny iPhone in the mobile phone market share is nothing compared to Nokia and RIM.
Wake up your idea. And if anyone still thinks that iPhone 4 is a choice of their phone, and if these people know me personally, please for goodness sake, find me. I will slap you until you wake up. Even if your excuses go along the lines of "oh i'm a right hander, my signal won't drop so much anyway", or "i'll just use a casing and the problem is minimised" or "i use handsfree most of the time instead of holding my phone so it doesn't matter", please do go ahead. I won't pray for you nor your phone.
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/07/17/nokia-and-rim-respond-to-apples-antenna-issues/
There's no problem with iPhone 4's antenna. No wait, there is a problem, I'll admit but all other phones have too. Deal with it, you pussy.
That's what old Jobs said about the newly launched iPhone 4. On 17 July 2010, Steve Jobs held a conference to address the issue. He admitted that a firmware update will NOT solve the antenna problem and is giving out free casing and some refunds of some sort for AT &T users. However during the course of the conference, he "apologised" for not being perfect "but then nobody is". You call that an apology? Furthermore putting Nokia and RIM (Research In Motion, the company behind Blackberry) in bad light by claiming that the antenna issues lie within their phones as well just shows that Apple and dear old Steve does not admit their mistake. Nokia and RIM have of course rebutted against Apple and let's face it, if Nokia and RIM with their waves of phones have had this problem, many many people would have found out. For your stupid Steve's brains sake, if only numbers would go through your dull senses, the most commonly used phone in the world is Blackberry, followed by Symbian phones (which is the operating system that Nokia mainly uses until this year). Your puny iPhone in the mobile phone market share is nothing compared to Nokia and RIM.
Wake up your idea. And if anyone still thinks that iPhone 4 is a choice of their phone, and if these people know me personally, please for goodness sake, find me. I will slap you until you wake up. Even if your excuses go along the lines of "oh i'm a right hander, my signal won't drop so much anyway", or "i'll just use a casing and the problem is minimised" or "i use handsfree most of the time instead of holding my phone so it doesn't matter", please do go ahead. I won't pray for you nor your phone.
Tech Speak: iPhone 4 Woes
Nokia And RIM Respond To Apple’s Antenna Issues
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/07/17/nokia-and-rim-respond-to-apples-antenna-issues/
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/06/28/steve-jobs-and-apple-on-iphone-4-reception-issues/
There's no problem with iPhone 4's antenna. No wait, there is a problem, I'll admit but all other phones have too. Deal with it, you pussy.
That's what old Jobs said about the newly launched iPhone 4. On 17 July 2010, Steve Jobs held a conference to address the issue. He admitted that a firmware update will NOT solve the antenna problem and is giving out free casing and some refunds of some sort for AT &T users. However during the course of the conference, he "apologised" for not being perfect "but then nobody is". You call that an apology? Furthermore putting Nokia and RIM (Research In Motion, the company behind Blackberry) in bad light by claiming that the antenna issues lie within their phones as well just shows that Apple and dear old Steve does not admit their mistake. Nokia and RIM have of course rebutted against Apple and let's face it, if Nokia and RIM with their waves of phones have had this problem, many many people would have found out. For your stupid Steve's brains sake, if only numbers would go through your dull senses, the most commonly used phone in the world is Blackberry, followed by Symbian phones (which is the operating system that Nokia mainly uses until this year). Your puny iPhone in the mobile phone market share is nothing compared to Nokia and RIM.
Wake up your idea. And if anyone still thinks that iPhone 4 is a choice of their phone, and if these people know me personally, please for goodness sake, find me. I will slap you until you wake up. Even if your excuses go along the lines of "oh i'm a right hander, my signal won't drop so much anyway", or "i'll just use a casing and the problem is minimised" or "i use handsfree most of the time instead of holding my phone so it doesn't matter", please do go ahead. I won't pray for you nor your phone.
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/07/17/nokia-and-rim-respond-to-apples-antenna-issues/
There's no problem with iPhone 4's antenna. No wait, there is a problem, I'll admit but all other phones have too. Deal with it, you pussy.
That's what old Jobs said about the newly launched iPhone 4. On 17 July 2010, Steve Jobs held a conference to address the issue. He admitted that a firmware update will NOT solve the antenna problem and is giving out free casing and some refunds of some sort for AT &T users. However during the course of the conference, he "apologised" for not being perfect "but then nobody is". You call that an apology? Furthermore putting Nokia and RIM (Research In Motion, the company behind Blackberry) in bad light by claiming that the antenna issues lie within their phones as well just shows that Apple and dear old Steve does not admit their mistake. Nokia and RIM have of course rebutted against Apple and let's face it, if Nokia and RIM with their waves of phones have had this problem, many many people would have found out. For your stupid Steve's brains sake, if only numbers would go through your dull senses, the most commonly used phone in the world is Blackberry, followed by Symbian phones (which is the operating system that Nokia mainly uses until this year). Your puny iPhone in the mobile phone market share is nothing compared to Nokia and RIM.
Wake up your idea. And if anyone still thinks that iPhone 4 is a choice of their phone, and if these people know me personally, please for goodness sake, find me. I will slap you until you wake up. Even if your excuses go along the lines of "oh i'm a right hander, my signal won't drop so much anyway", or "i'll just use a casing and the problem is minimised" or "i use handsfree most of the time instead of holding my phone so it doesn't matter", please do go ahead. I won't pray for you nor your phone.
Tech Speak: App Inventor for Android
Official Google Blog: App Inventor for Android
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/app-inventor-for-android.html
Android's getting better at making apps but I still can't understand why developers don't port their nice games over to Android from iOS. You pay to make apps for iOS but it's free for Android. It's been a few days and Android just broke 100000 apps and 1 billion downloads. Gotta work harder Android. But this app inventor sure is interesting, though I doubt it'll change the situation much.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/app-inventor-for-android.html
Android's getting better at making apps but I still can't understand why developers don't port their nice games over to Android from iOS. You pay to make apps for iOS but it's free for Android. It's been a few days and Android just broke 100000 apps and 1 billion downloads. Gotta work harder Android. But this app inventor sure is interesting, though I doubt it'll change the situation much.
Tech Speak: App Inventor for Android
Official Google Blog: App Inventor for Android
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/app-inventor-for-android.html
Android's getting better at making apps but I still can't understand why developers don't port their nice games over to Android from iOS. You pay to make apps for iOS but it's free for Android. It's been a few days and Android just broke 100000 apps and 1 billion downloads. Gotta work harder Android. But this app inventor sure is interesting, though I doubt it'll change the situation much.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/app-inventor-for-android.html
Android's getting better at making apps but I still can't understand why developers don't port their nice games over to Android from iOS. You pay to make apps for iOS but it's free for Android. It's been a few days and Android just broke 100000 apps and 1 billion downloads. Gotta work harder Android. But this app inventor sure is interesting, though I doubt it'll change the situation much.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
TechieEat: Swensen's One For One Lunch
Swensen's weekday lunch offer is always enticing. My buddies and I have went there for quite a few times already. You can choose to pair dishes together to get the most value for money price, if you are ordering more than 2 dishes. Although I do detect a slight declination in the food quality and service during the 1 for 1 timings, I am more than happy with the savings. Its unfortunate that the ice creams do not have the 1 for 1 offers too.
my favourite meatballs pasta. nice.
Ambiance: 2.5/5
Meatballs Pasta: 3.5/5
Service: 2/5
TechieEat: Swensen's One For One Lunch
Swensen's weekday lunch offer is always enticing. My buddies and I have went there for quite a few times already. You can choose to pair dishes together to get the most value for money price, if you are ordering more than 2 dishes. Although I do detect a slight declination in the food quality and service during the 1 for 1 timings, I am more than happy with the savings. Its unfortunate that the ice creams do not have the 1 for 1 offers too.
my favourite meatballs pasta. nice.
Ambiance: 2.5/5
Meatballs Pasta: 3.5/5
Service: 2/5
Friday, July 09, 2010
Ramblings: Against All Odds
I was supposed to be in school for a faculty event but I was played
out. I knew I could trust my instinct. I know a badly organised event
when I smell one days and miles away. But honestly I am not hvery
pissed off, even though this post is under Ramblings (doesn't make a
lot of sense if this is under Brainstorm). Anyway I needed to get my
lazy ass to Sim Lim square for some stuff and I just take it as a
trial to see how much time i take to go to engineer faculty direct
using a new route. Now I'm just lazing in Bugis Starbucks. Sweet!
It's so blissful...
out. I knew I could trust my instinct. I know a badly organised event
when I smell one days and miles away. But honestly I am not hvery
pissed off, even though this post is under Ramblings (doesn't make a
lot of sense if this is under Brainstorm). Anyway I needed to get my
lazy ass to Sim Lim square for some stuff and I just take it as a
trial to see how much time i take to go to engineer faculty direct
using a new route. Now I'm just lazing in Bugis Starbucks. Sweet!
It's so blissful...
Ramblings: Against All Odds
I was supposed to be in school for a faculty event but I was played
out. I knew I could trust my instinct. I know a badly organised event
when I smell one days and miles away. But honestly I am not hvery
pissed off, even though this post is under Ramblings (doesn't make a
lot of sense if this is under Brainstorm). Anyway I needed to get my
lazy ass to Sim Lim square for some stuff and I just take it as a
trial to see how much time i take to go to engineer faculty direct
using a new route. Now I'm just lazing in Bugis Starbucks. Sweet!
It's so blissful...
out. I knew I could trust my instinct. I know a badly organised event
when I smell one days and miles away. But honestly I am not hvery
pissed off, even though this post is under Ramblings (doesn't make a
lot of sense if this is under Brainstorm). Anyway I needed to get my
lazy ass to Sim Lim square for some stuff and I just take it as a
trial to see how much time i take to go to engineer faculty direct
using a new route. Now I'm just lazing in Bugis Starbucks. Sweet!
It's so blissful...
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Tech Speak: Firefox 4 Beta
http://www.pcworld.com/article/200652/firefox_4_beta_vs_chrome_ui_smackdown.html
Word has it that Firefox has taken cues from Chrome in its user interface in its newest beta. If you read the review, you can get an idea of how it looks like. I think the writer is very biased. While nobody can argue with Firefox's ability to customise the browser however they want, I do think that some features on Chrome are still way better than Firefox's. Firefox being the copycat will still have a ways to go if they want to win Chrome in terms of design and usability.
Word has it that Firefox has taken cues from Chrome in its user interface in its newest beta. If you read the review, you can get an idea of how it looks like. I think the writer is very biased. While nobody can argue with Firefox's ability to customise the browser however they want, I do think that some features on Chrome are still way better than Firefox's. Firefox being the copycat will still have a ways to go if they want to win Chrome in terms of design and usability.
Tech Speak: Firefox 4 Beta
http://www.pcworld.com/article/200652/firefox_4_beta_vs_chrome_ui_smackdown.html
Word has it that Firefox has taken cues from Chrome in its user interface in its newest beta. If you read the review, you can get an idea of how it looks like. I think the writer is very biased. While nobody can argue with Firefox's ability to customise the browser however they want, I do think that some features on Chrome are still way better than Firefox's. Firefox being the copycat will still have a ways to go if they want to win Chrome in terms of design and usability.
Word has it that Firefox has taken cues from Chrome in its user interface in its newest beta. If you read the review, you can get an idea of how it looks like. I think the writer is very biased. While nobody can argue with Firefox's ability to customise the browser however they want, I do think that some features on Chrome are still way better than Firefox's. Firefox being the copycat will still have a ways to go if they want to win Chrome in terms of design and usability.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Signts And Sounds: PSLE Preparation
On the bus,
Boy A: you got the science papers from which school?
Boy B: got a lot, got tao nan, blah blah blah
Boy A: you got do the other set of papers anot?
Boy B: which ones? (sounds like there's a lot)
Boy A: the blah blah one
Boy B: orh i got, i start doing liao, finished the cycles and a few already
During PSLE, I was playing street fighter on my computer. The most I did was read through the formula sheet for maths. Thankfully during my days as a primary school student, it was not too hard to get a pretty average score without studying at all. What's there to study for primary school anyway?
Boy A: you got the science papers from which school?
Boy B: got a lot, got tao nan, blah blah blah
Boy A: you got do the other set of papers anot?
Boy B: which ones? (sounds like there's a lot)
Boy A: the blah blah one
Boy B: orh i got, i start doing liao, finished the cycles and a few already
During PSLE, I was playing street fighter on my computer. The most I did was read through the formula sheet for maths. Thankfully during my days as a primary school student, it was not too hard to get a pretty average score without studying at all. What's there to study for primary school anyway?
Tech Speak: To Girl With Love
I think I've show off here that I own a Zune HD before. I chanced upon this website which took the Zune apart to see what is inside. On the metal plate inside, the words "For our princess" were engraved. I read that this was a tribute to a lady on the Zune Development Team who pass away halfway through the project. I don't think the person who took it apart was from Microsoft. Let's say even if we assume that not every single piece of Zune HD was engraved, wouldn't you still think that it's so nice of them to have engraved one or a few for her memories' keepsake? They even engraved it inside the Zune, as if to show that she was a part of the product, a part of the process of creating this device.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Event: Engin Camp 2010
Last week was Engin Camp 2010. It was a blast to say the least. I was still worried the day before if I could get "high". It's been 4.5 years since I was high. Frankly I wasn't very high when I was in JC orientation, which makes me even more worried. Being a 21 year old old man, I can't really imagine myself getting high. But I was quite wrong. I wouldn't say I was very enthusiastic. In fact my whole group was rather unenthusiastic. We were always sleepy, we rather stone than play games, we choose not to go for supper unlike all other OGs. But I like it. Nobody was fake. Nobody overdrove their enthusiasm to "plastic" levels (which I really really cannot stand). Everyone just had fun when it was fun, everyone just stayed low when we were supposed to feel tired like every human being does. I liked all my seniors as well. Nobody was spastic (like how some other groups were), and no male seniors was over engrossed with disturbing little girls in my group. It's really sick to see how desperate some guys are.
Anyway, here's some concise description of what we did and what embarrassing stuff happened. On the first day, there was ice breaking games as usual. I was particularly fond of the game "la mian ah la mian". At first it seemed like a gay game. But as the game speeds up and everyone warms up to each other, it was really fun. The MRT game which seemed gay at first was quite fun as well. Lol. Then we had dirty games. My group wasn't very spontaneous actually but we were fine. We were a little forthcoming at least. After the dirty games we went to our rooms for the rest of the camp at Raffles Hall which was newly renovated. The meals came from Engin Canteen, which frankly was quite disappointing but better than Mandai Hill food anyday. Every night we had SP (secret pal) night which we are blindfolded and brought to a place to meet our secret pal of the opposite gender for a chatting session. The seniors would crowd around and eavesdrop and make us feed each other pockey sticks. We also had mass dance sessions now and then.
On the second day, there was pool games which I was initially totally not looking forward to. Cause it was raining. And... I'm freaking scared of cold. The game went on anyway with my consistent rambling of being scared of the cold. But to my surprise it turned out that the games were super fun. There was this one game which we had to let the girls sit on our shoulders in the deep pool and they would play captain's ball. Apparently I looked like (and am) the lightest PERSON in the OG and I look like a twig that can snap into 2 anytime. So the girl was worried and everyone else kept showing their concern as well. At the start, she fell forward and her legs was pushing my ear studs against my head and pulling the studs downwards. Ouch, bad choice. After the game my shoulders were really red and everyone just kept teasing me. After the pool games we went for dinner and at night it was SP night and then mystery night which we had to solve a murder case by going to 7 rooms to look for clues. It was kind of like a courage test thing. Okay I must admit, I was scared. My partner (who is female) was more courageous than me. It was so embarrassing. But just imagine walking in a completely dark room, examining scary photos with a UV light stick and then a plastic head suddenly drops from the middle, you'll be scared right? Lol. Nevermind...
The third day we went to Sentosa where we played a lot of exciting games again. One of the games we were supposed to piggy back a girl and run from the beach, into the sea where they erected poles and marshmallows-on-sticks and the girl is supposed to eat the marshmallows without using her hands. Now that's difficult since the waves will cause imbalance. I was embarrassed once again when the lightest girl insisted on piggy backing me. Luckily it was only for one round and I insisted on carrying her for the remaining game. I fell the first time into the sea, though other guys did fall as well. Apparently older guys love to dunk each other in the sea, we had so much fun dunking all the famous people into the sea. I think the director of Engin Camp probably got dunked more than 20 times. That was night was SP revelation night where we had dinner with our SP. My SP was extremely sweet looking though too bad she's attached. Everyone out there told me to snatch. Like, what's wrong with society these days. Geez. That night we went for supper for the first time. There I saw someone who reminded me of my 1SIR days, which isn't really a pleasant thing.
The camp ended off with a City Food Hunt which we were supposed to look for food in the city while searching for some checkpoints. It was quite lame cause the clues we were given were so retarded. For example the picture clue pointing to The Cathay was a Pokka bottle with Hello Kitty on it (cause Pokka and Hello Kitty = Jap stuff, and Hello Kitty = Cat-thay). We played games on the train with everyone staring at us and we also did a flash mob at The Central dancing "That's Very Hot" shown below. Then lastly there was the finale night.
The camp was really quite good. This is the first time somebody said I do not look very thin. It's also the first time I met civilised people who actually asked me for my reasons to pierce my ear rather than assuming that I am the typical ah beng which many of my close friends do. This is a great start to school though I do feel a little lethargic.
throw him into the sea!
Royal House OG Kings
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Ramblings: I'm Too Old To Yell And Cheer
It's been freaking 4 plus years since I shouted and screamed like some crazy enthusiastic kiddo on drugs. Tomorrow I'm going for Engin Camp which is my first proper "high" camp since JC orientation. I hope I won't have to resort to Ice to be high tomorrow and hope I'll meet lots of nice people.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Tech Speak: Brief Review MSI GE600
I just bought the MSI GE600 from the PC Show 2010. For its specifications, it's quite worth its price at $1599. The specifications are as below.
Processor: Intel Core i5 430M 2.26GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD GMA and ATI Radeon 5730 1GB (switchable graphics)
Screen: 15.4inch 16:9 ratio LED backlit
HDD: 500GB 7200rpm
Wireless LAN: 802.11 b/g/n
Ports: 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x e-SATA/USB combo port, 1 x VGA, 1 x LAN, 1 x modem, 1 x express card slot
Battery: 9 cell
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD drive
Sound: SRS with sub woofer
Others: Touch based inputs such as mute, volume up/down, switching graphics, CINEMA Pro mode, 1.3MP webcam
Weight: 2.7kg
Exterior
The GE600 is glossy all sides, that includes even the insides of the laptop. This meant that the laptop is a fingerprint magnet. It's not as bad as some other glossy surfaces but I had wished that it was a matt surface. The description says it's black and gold but the dark gold colour is subtle and is not overly striking. The hinges are strong and does not feel like it's falling apart. The keyboard is a full keyboard with keys of ample size. However the keyboard is sunk into the laptop compared to the palm rest and this made typing a little awkward. This is something that one can get used to though. The function key from MSI is finally changed from its original position of bottom left hand corner to beside the CTRL key. There has been complaints about accidentally pressing the function key instead of the CTRL key when people play games. Glad they took the complaints into account. The glossy screen did better than expected. It was not completed washed out in bright light.
The keypad has good tactile feedback and the keys provide strong pressure. One bad thing was that the notification lights were at the bottom right hand corner and they were small. There's only lights for wireless, battery, sleep mode, harddisk in use, scroll, num and caps lock. The touch panel above the keyboard is useful but not very visible. The speakers grill at on both sides of the touch panel which seemed quite solid. There's also a subwoofer output at the bottom. The ports were also well placed with one USB port at the left, back and right side of the laptop each. The e-SATA combo port, HDMI, power, VGA (which annoyingly juts out) and LAN port are on the right as well. The optical disk and audio inputs are on the left. The ventilation fans are on the back.
The 9 cell battery juts out at the back but that's to be expected for a high capacity battery. The weight is not exactly light at 2.7kg so this is a sacrifice to make if you want a gaming laptop.
Performance
The switchable graphics works well. At the touch of the button on the touch panel, the system ask if you're sure and you can either click to confirm or wait 300s for the change to take place. The switch takes about 5 seconds. While using the integrated graphics card, you can really feel that the laptop is cooler and the ventilation fans blow out relatively cool air. Windows 7 Aero interface is not laggy even with integrated graphics but watching HD content wasn't as smooth.
The CINEMA Pro SRS certified speakers was a letdown. I'll say the sound quality was more consistent when the feature was not switched on. With the touch of the Touch Panel, the CINEMA PRO is activated, the screen is slightly more vibrant and the subwoofer is used. Listening to pop songs such as Lady Gaga's Telephone and One Republic's All The Right Moves was disastrous. The volume was loud at first then mid way the volume was fluctuating even though I did nothing to the volume setting. The feature seems more stable at mid volume. The sounds were also hollow with or without the feature. Instrumentals such as the Black Mage's The Extreme (FFVIII) and JENOVA (FFVII) also came up to about the same quality. However Lady Gaga's Alejandro was quite good on the feature. I have not watched movie on it but I would say this is one disappointing feature.
The graphics is pretty good, though ATI 5730 is still not a class 1 card. Not much can be expected from this card except mid end gaming. So far I've only tried Starcraft II Beta and Devil May Cry 4 which both yielded stable frame rates (> 40fps) at high settings. Heat produced was considerably higher but a cooler is still not required, though I don't expect the same thing if I were to play Crysis.
Overall this is a good mid range gaming laptop with sufficient screen size and gaming power. If you can look past the keyboard and the lousy sound quality, this might just be your dream machine at this price.
Pros:
Good graphics
Value for money
Switchable graphics
9 cell battery for longer battery life
Touch Panel for convenience
Decent screen size for gaming
Heat ventilation is above average
Cons:
Quite heavy
Sound quality is very bad
Keyboard feels a bit awkward to type on
Glossy surfaces which are fingerprint magnet
Processor: Intel Core i5 430M 2.26GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD GMA and ATI Radeon 5730 1GB (switchable graphics)
Screen: 15.4inch 16:9 ratio LED backlit
HDD: 500GB 7200rpm
Wireless LAN: 802.11 b/g/n
Ports: 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x e-SATA/USB combo port, 1 x VGA, 1 x LAN, 1 x modem, 1 x express card slot
Battery: 9 cell
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD drive
Sound: SRS with sub woofer
Others: Touch based inputs such as mute, volume up/down, switching graphics, CINEMA Pro mode, 1.3MP webcam
Weight: 2.7kg
Exterior
The GE600 is glossy all sides, that includes even the insides of the laptop. This meant that the laptop is a fingerprint magnet. It's not as bad as some other glossy surfaces but I had wished that it was a matt surface. The description says it's black and gold but the dark gold colour is subtle and is not overly striking. The hinges are strong and does not feel like it's falling apart. The keyboard is a full keyboard with keys of ample size. However the keyboard is sunk into the laptop compared to the palm rest and this made typing a little awkward. This is something that one can get used to though. The function key from MSI is finally changed from its original position of bottom left hand corner to beside the CTRL key. There has been complaints about accidentally pressing the function key instead of the CTRL key when people play games. Glad they took the complaints into account. The glossy screen did better than expected. It was not completed washed out in bright light.
The keypad has good tactile feedback and the keys provide strong pressure. One bad thing was that the notification lights were at the bottom right hand corner and they were small. There's only lights for wireless, battery, sleep mode, harddisk in use, scroll, num and caps lock. The touch panel above the keyboard is useful but not very visible. The speakers grill at on both sides of the touch panel which seemed quite solid. There's also a subwoofer output at the bottom. The ports were also well placed with one USB port at the left, back and right side of the laptop each. The e-SATA combo port, HDMI, power, VGA (which annoyingly juts out) and LAN port are on the right as well. The optical disk and audio inputs are on the left. The ventilation fans are on the back.
The 9 cell battery juts out at the back but that's to be expected for a high capacity battery. The weight is not exactly light at 2.7kg so this is a sacrifice to make if you want a gaming laptop.
Performance
The switchable graphics works well. At the touch of the button on the touch panel, the system ask if you're sure and you can either click to confirm or wait 300s for the change to take place. The switch takes about 5 seconds. While using the integrated graphics card, you can really feel that the laptop is cooler and the ventilation fans blow out relatively cool air. Windows 7 Aero interface is not laggy even with integrated graphics but watching HD content wasn't as smooth.
The CINEMA Pro SRS certified speakers was a letdown. I'll say the sound quality was more consistent when the feature was not switched on. With the touch of the Touch Panel, the CINEMA PRO is activated, the screen is slightly more vibrant and the subwoofer is used. Listening to pop songs such as Lady Gaga's Telephone and One Republic's All The Right Moves was disastrous. The volume was loud at first then mid way the volume was fluctuating even though I did nothing to the volume setting. The feature seems more stable at mid volume. The sounds were also hollow with or without the feature. Instrumentals such as the Black Mage's The Extreme (FFVIII) and JENOVA (FFVII) also came up to about the same quality. However Lady Gaga's Alejandro was quite good on the feature. I have not watched movie on it but I would say this is one disappointing feature.
The graphics is pretty good, though ATI 5730 is still not a class 1 card. Not much can be expected from this card except mid end gaming. So far I've only tried Starcraft II Beta and Devil May Cry 4 which both yielded stable frame rates (> 40fps) at high settings. Heat produced was considerably higher but a cooler is still not required, though I don't expect the same thing if I were to play Crysis.
Overall this is a good mid range gaming laptop with sufficient screen size and gaming power. If you can look past the keyboard and the lousy sound quality, this might just be your dream machine at this price.
Pros:
Good graphics
Value for money
Switchable graphics
9 cell battery for longer battery life
Touch Panel for convenience
Decent screen size for gaming
Heat ventilation is above average
Cons:
Quite heavy
Sound quality is very bad
Keyboard feels a bit awkward to type on
Glossy surfaces which are fingerprint magnet
you can't really tell that the surface is gold colour. the screen is glossy but not overly reflective
here's a look at the touch panel and speaker's grill
the keyboard seemed a little on the chiclet side with good tactile response. too bad it is sunk in and that makes it a little awkward to type
the keypad comes with Epad technology which allows you to use multi touch to perform certain functions such as opening My Computer or scrolling horizontally and vertically
Tech Speak: It's A Guy Thing
I believe many of us watched the beer commercial above before on TV. During PC Show, a few of my guy friends brought their girlfriends along to the show and boy, their faces weren't the most pleased at the least. They were frustrated though they don't say it or don't show it that much. They cannot understand why guys like to squeeze in here, and talk so much bullshit about technology and forgot that their girlfriends are next to them and have not eaten lunch/dinner.
While girls are crazy about jewellery and clothes, guys are crazy about technology and soccer. It's the same thing. At least in Singapore IT shows and fairs aren't half as frequent as fashion sales. You can spend big bucks on your clothes, so we can spend big bucks on our gadgets. You don't understand how we can spend so much a piece of junk, neither can we understand.
Deal with it, ladies.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Ramblings: Simpletons Don't Talk To Me
This is an elitist post.
I was eating instant noodles. I love putting eggs in instant noodles to add flavour to it.
Last year while I was still in the army, I was on a driving course with 3 company mates. There was this guy who loved hanging around my platoon mate and me. We were supposed to go to the cookhouse for lunch but he insisted on dragging us to the mess to buy food to eat. He was bragging about how nice the noodles was. Not wanting to be a total unfriendly nasty bastard, I agreed along with my platoon mate. We ordered the noodles, which cost $2.50. Guess what. It was served in a bowl that looked freaky-ly like the styrofoam bowl used for Myojo instant noodles. I tried it and felt that it was nothing special. It was chicken curry instant noodles, with egg. Ridiculous! I confronted him about it and guess what he said "Oh ya, it is, but she is able to make it very nice".
For the first time, I felt laughter and anger building up inside me at the same time. I did tell him that it's due to the egg that it tasted so much nicer. I can't remember his response though, but it was something that cause intense rage which probably in turn caused the memory loss.
I really hate talking to people who are so simple minded that they lack common sense.
I was eating instant noodles. I love putting eggs in instant noodles to add flavour to it.
Last year while I was still in the army, I was on a driving course with 3 company mates. There was this guy who loved hanging around my platoon mate and me. We were supposed to go to the cookhouse for lunch but he insisted on dragging us to the mess to buy food to eat. He was bragging about how nice the noodles was. Not wanting to be a total unfriendly nasty bastard, I agreed along with my platoon mate. We ordered the noodles, which cost $2.50. Guess what. It was served in a bowl that looked freaky-ly like the styrofoam bowl used for Myojo instant noodles. I tried it and felt that it was nothing special. It was chicken curry instant noodles, with egg. Ridiculous! I confronted him about it and guess what he said "Oh ya, it is, but she is able to make it very nice".
For the first time, I felt laughter and anger building up inside me at the same time. I did tell him that it's due to the egg that it tasted so much nicer. I can't remember his response though, but it was something that cause intense rage which probably in turn caused the memory loss.
I really hate talking to people who are so simple minded that they lack common sense.
Tech Speak: Guide To Laptop For University
This post is dedicated to all my friends who are entering university this year. This post is meant for tech idiots who know nuts about technology. PC Show is coming soon from 10 to 13 June and its a good time to buy your university laptop.
How to buy a laptop:
1) Ask yourself the questions listed below in the "Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop"
2) Read the list of "Laptop Components and Features to Look Out For" to get a better understanding of what you're buying.
3) Research on laptops by reading reviews and forums. Reading reviews are not enough as they are often biased or they do not reflect usage in reality as reviewers often only use them for a while.
4) Research on the pricing.
5) Do the things listed in "What to do before you actually buy the laptop"
http://forum.notebookreview.com
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg
Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop:
1) Purpose. What are you using the laptop for? Are you into intensive gaming (strong graphics card)? Are you into light gaming (moderate graphics card)? Are you doing lots of graphics/video editing (graphics speciality cards)? Are you using processing intensive programs (strong processor)?
2) Portability. Will you be bringing your laptop to many places (small and light, long battery life)? Are you weak (light weight)?
3) Screen Size. Do you have an external monitor (probably smaller screen size will do)? Do you not want to use an external monitor (bigger screens)?
4) OS. Are you stuck up about Apple and their gorgeous interface (Macs)? Are you a mainstream user who prefers to not deal with compatibility issues (Windows)?
5) Durability. Are you someone who throws his laptop around (try getting military grade Toughbooks)? Are you okay with changing your laptop once a year or two years (get more value for money Acer or nice looking Sony but both spoils easily)?
6) Location. Are you going to work mainly indoors or outdoors (Matt screens vs glossy screens)?
A laptop's components and features to look out for:
1) Processor. The central processing unit CPU is the heart of all computers. The current series for Intel goes by Core i3, i5 and i7. These are mainly dual core processors which should all serve your needs. The higher the number, the more powerful they are but they will also consume more power. Core 2 Duo processors and Core 2 Quad processors are last generation's processors but they should be okay as well if you're not too
How to buy a laptop:
1) Ask yourself the questions listed below in the "Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop"
2) Read the list of "Laptop Components and Features to Look Out For" to get a better understanding of what you're buying.
3) Research on laptops by reading reviews and forums. Reading reviews are not enough as they are often biased or they do not reflect usage in reality as reviewers often only use them for a while.
4) Research on the pricing.
5) Do the things listed in "What to do before you actually buy the laptop"
http://forum.notebookreview.com
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg
Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop:
1) Purpose. What are you using the laptop for? Are you into intensive gaming (strong graphics card)? Are you into light gaming (moderate graphics card)? Are you doing lots of graphics/video editing (graphics speciality cards)? Are you using processing intensive programs (strong processor)?
2) Portability. Will you be bringing your laptop to many places (small and light, long battery life)? Are you weak (light weight)?
3) Screen Size. Do you have an external monitor (probably smaller screen size will do)? Do you not want to use an external monitor (bigger screens)?
4) OS. Are you stuck up about Apple and their gorgeous interface (Macs)? Are you a mainstream user who prefers to not deal with compatibility issues (Windows)?
5) Durability. Are you someone who throws his laptop around (try getting military grade Toughbooks)? Are you okay with changing your laptop once a year or two years (get more value for money Acer or nice looking Sony but both spoils easily)?
6) Location. Are you going to work mainly indoors or outdoors (Matt screens vs glossy screens)?
A laptop's components and features to look out for:
1) Processor. The central processing unit CPU is the heart of all computers. The current series for Intel goes by Core i3, i5 and i7. These are mainly dual core processors which should all serve your needs. The higher the number, the more powerful they are but they will also consume more power. Core 2 Duo processors and Core 2 Quad processors are last generation's processors but they should be okay as well if you're not too
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Tech Speak: iPhone 4
Apple - iPhone 4 - Design of the display, A4 processor, and more
Listen to their arrogance, as if they invented video calling and unified inbox. But you got to admit that the IPS display and the build quality is just superb.
Listen to their arrogance, as if they invented video calling and unified inbox. But you got to admit that the IPS display and the build quality is just superb.
Friday, June 04, 2010
Tech Speak: There Is A Limit To How Much We Share
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1990582,00.html
Contrary to what Mark Zuckerberg thinks, there is a limit to how much we share on Facebook. His idea of "sharing is default" is flawed. Yet the privacy issue is getting to many of us. The main reason is that many are lazy to find out and change the privacy settings. Admit it, Facebook has gotten too big. It's too integrated into many of our lives for us to quit it. Facebook isn't about to change their direction so it's up to us to do the necessary settings change. Look at the bright side, they did give us a choice. Not that we can be sure that they actually keep to their words (hey, no one can sure with Microsoft and Google etc either).
So for goodness sake, unless you want the whole world to know, do something about your settings.
Contrary to what Mark Zuckerberg thinks, there is a limit to how much we share on Facebook. His idea of "sharing is default" is flawed. Yet the privacy issue is getting to many of us. The main reason is that many are lazy to find out and change the privacy settings. Admit it, Facebook has gotten too big. It's too integrated into many of our lives for us to quit it. Facebook isn't about to change their direction so it's up to us to do the necessary settings change. Look at the bright side, they did give us a choice. Not that we can be sure that they actually keep to their words (hey, no one can sure with Microsoft and Google etc either).
So for goodness sake, unless you want the whole world to know, do something about your settings.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Music: Lady Gaga's Interview
live.showstudio.com
Lady Gaga offers to answer questions posed by her fans. Get to know more about her in this 2 hour interview. It's pretty awesome.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Tech Speak: Naming Tablets, Pads
Well done Apple. You made everyone name their tablets after your stupid iPad. MSI and ASUS are following up in the tablet race, and they also look freakishly like the iPad. Soon we'll see Samsung Pad, Vaio Pad, Fujitsu Pad. Such screwed up naming. But fret not, MSI and ASUS both have tablets that are called Wind Tablet and Eee Tablet. These look way nicer.
This is the Eee Pad, running on Windows 7. It looks just like iPad, with a semicircle as the menu button instead.
Here's a babe holding the Wind Pad. It also runs on Windows 7. The form factor looks close the iPad but the layout such as indicator lights are different.
Here's the Eee Tablet. It looks way more stylish and it's targeted at students and professionals. Seems like its doodle-able.
The Wind Tablet runs on Android. It looks more stylish too.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Brain Storm: Diversity Of Intellect
This is an excerpt from Sundown Marathon 2010 Facebook group. Sundown was pretty screwed up and many people were complaining. Then this girl popped up and suggested that the organising committee might be from NTU/NUS (which is totally impossible anyway since Hivelocity was the organiser).
I think this is inevitable. There is social disintegration in our country and many who are in good schools (but may not be doing very well) tend to not know much about the intellect structure. Some people think of it as elitism when smarter-than-average-Singaporeans complain about how they are not good enough. Many of my friends are in this category. We were never exposed to the so called less intellectually inclined people (okay we do but not to many of the people out there). When I was in JC, my friend told me how as long as you are in a JC, you are already considered smart and minority of the society makes up the JC faction. I was like "you've got to be joking".
Until I entered the army, I never faced the actual society breakdown. And even after that, I never considered myself to be, well, smarter than average. I'm always surrounded by smart people so I guess I can call it peer influence. However I have also learnt to be more tactical and careful with my words when I complain about my stupidity, though I doubt I am sensitive enough.
Anyway, call me an elitist (I know I am one, but the difference is that I try to curb it), I find the above comments funny. Like, funny in a sarcastic way.
To some people: NUS/NTU students are smart? How more shallow can you be?
To yet some other people: you guys sound like you're sour because you're not university students. hah!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Ramblings: Rich Spoilt People Should Go And Die
I was about to alight from bus 83. This woman who looks like she's in her early 20s grumbled to her friends "are we reaching already? everyone alighted from the bus. i've never taken a bus ride this long before!"
She looked genuinely upset about the bus ride. Needless to say she was dressed in some branded goods and she's all glittering. She also constantly whined about the fact that they should have taken a cab.
Bus 83 is a short trip service. From one interchange to the other it takes about 20mins. When I was going to alight, it was only 15mins.
Go kill yourself, bitch.
She looked genuinely upset about the bus ride. Needless to say she was dressed in some branded goods and she's all glittering. She also constantly whined about the fact that they should have taken a cab.
Bus 83 is a short trip service. From one interchange to the other it takes about 20mins. When I was going to alight, it was only 15mins.
Go kill yourself, bitch.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Brain Storm: Principles Of Life
When I just started blogging seriously in J2, when my blog address was still xunzhaoziji.blogspot, a large part of the skin was talking about my principles in life. I don't know what's the word for it, when you know, somebody lives a life rigidly. Somehow, my 3 principles of life govern my way of living to a certain extent, but I wouldn't say I live solely by them. There's still individual judgement to be made. I am still surprised at how immature they are, yet how much they apply to me, and how much I rely on them subconsciously to make my decisions.
My 3 principles are:
1) I am to help my friends as much as possible
2) I will not force myself to do something that will make me feel miserable
3) I will not lie
Each principle transcends the one below it. For example, if lying will myself feel less miserable, then I will lie. The principles sound really stupid yeah. But sometimes when I am at a dilemma and am not sure what to do, I sometimes consult this. It gives me a direction. Sounds kinda like a religion huh? For a free thinker like me, that is my guiding light.
Oh by the way, like the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics (they probably found out another fundamental law after they already came up with 3 laws, thus naming it Zeroth Law). My Zeroth Principle will probably be reserved for that special someone. Love transcends all!
Lol...
My 3 principles are:
1) I am to help my friends as much as possible
2) I will not force myself to do something that will make me feel miserable
3) I will not lie
Each principle transcends the one below it. For example, if lying will myself feel less miserable, then I will lie. The principles sound really stupid yeah. But sometimes when I am at a dilemma and am not sure what to do, I sometimes consult this. It gives me a direction. Sounds kinda like a religion huh? For a free thinker like me, that is my guiding light.
Oh by the way, like the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics (they probably found out another fundamental law after they already came up with 3 laws, thus naming it Zeroth Law). My Zeroth Principle will probably be reserved for that special someone. Love transcends all!
Lol...
Brain Storm: If I Have To Be Ordinary
The verdict came out a few days ago. NUS rejected me for their scholarship. NUS' University Scholarship Programme also rejected me. I am only left with IDA's local NIS and NTU. I doubt I'll get NTU and one of my friend has already confirmed his overseas NIS so I doubt I'll get it too. Heck, I didn't even go for the interviews. I got outright rejected. Yeah I sort of predicted it. Who will want someone with lousy results like mine?
I always wanted to be extraordinary. Throughout my life, I have always been applying for this, appealing for that. And I always get it. Army was the first place where I was less than extraordinary, I wasn't even ordinary then. I was less than that. I was proven that society was harsher than I ever thought it to be. And for the first time, I had to consider and even accept being in the social norm.
Being introverted, I dislike taking initiative. Yet another side of me knows I want to do something bigger. I want to be different. Maybe it's better than I get rejected anyway.
When I got rejected, I always blame myself for being stupid. For the first time in 3 years (since I enlisted, and stupid army woes don't count), I was really unhappy. I feel dejected, when everyone else around me got scholarships or are going overseas to study (okay not everyone. but a lot of them). Maybe I should have studied harder for A Levels. Then again. I already studied very hard for them. So I'm just stupid afterall. Okok, someone's going to say that I did not really study very hard cause I didn't really study a certain subject and I got a C for that...
Oh well. I just hope other doors of opportunities are still out there. And I hope I get off my lazy ass to find them. I can't imagine a life being ordinary.
I always wanted to be extraordinary. Throughout my life, I have always been applying for this, appealing for that. And I always get it. Army was the first place where I was less than extraordinary, I wasn't even ordinary then. I was less than that. I was proven that society was harsher than I ever thought it to be. And for the first time, I had to consider and even accept being in the social norm.
Being introverted, I dislike taking initiative. Yet another side of me knows I want to do something bigger. I want to be different. Maybe it's better than I get rejected anyway.
When I got rejected, I always blame myself for being stupid. For the first time in 3 years (since I enlisted, and stupid army woes don't count), I was really unhappy. I feel dejected, when everyone else around me got scholarships or are going overseas to study (okay not everyone. but a lot of them). Maybe I should have studied harder for A Levels. Then again. I already studied very hard for them. So I'm just stupid afterall. Okok, someone's going to say that I did not really study very hard cause I didn't really study a certain subject and I got a C for that...
Oh well. I just hope other doors of opportunities are still out there. And I hope I get off my lazy ass to find them. I can't imagine a life being ordinary.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Brain Storm: How Booking Works
This is wrong.
Moments ago I went to my friend's 21st party invitation page on Facebook. One of his friends wrote "I'll ask around to see whether the rest are going okay?" and another wrote "I'll confirm with you when the date's nearer". Now, I'll assume his first friend's response meant he wants to check if other people are going first before confirming his attendance.
Case 1
Refer to my post http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com/2010/02/brain-storm-ill-be-there-for-you-not-be.html
When you are invited to a big party, chances are you are highly valued by your friend. I mean, nobody would want to invite someone he doesn't like right? (unless you are the only person disliked by him in the whole group and he sees a need to not leave you out) Especially on someone's 21st party, I think it is not too much of a point whether your other friends are going or not. Heck, if you think you're not too close to the host and feel that you will only be comfortable with going with other friends, you bloody keep that to yourself. When Jason told me that he doesn't want to go for my birthday party cause he's not close to my friends, he knows very well that if he doesn't turn up, he probably have to treat me at some high class restaurant and sing me a birthday song himself. So unless you think it'll work out like that, you shouldn't tell the host that you want to KIV (keep in view) his party. It's plain rude.
Case 2
If there's a reason why I sent out my invitation well a month before my party, and why my friend sends out his invitation 1.5months before, it is to book your stupid ass. The reason for early notification is so that we can get you to write in your calender that "yes, techiewen has asked me out on this day 1 month ago so he should have priority". We aren't unreasonable bastards. If something truly important pops up, like your girlfriend is having her period and needs someone to bite on, fine. If you havn't seen your boyfriend for 2 days and he suddenly says "oh babe I miss you and I want to have sex with you right now" and you can't turn up for the party, so be it. These important reasons mean your backing out can be forgiven. It makes sense doesn't it? That when someone books you way in advance, it is only right that you give him your time. If your other bitch friend comes along the day before and say "hey let's go for a movie!", you mean that's more important and deserves more priority? If truly on that day you have nothing on, agree to the party first if you so want to go. Any thing that pops up urgently can be explained. If not, just keep your loose hole of a mouth shut instead of telling your friend that you're going to KIV his party.
I didn't asked you for your time a month in advance to get pang seh-ed cause you're menstruating or cause you need to go find prostitutes.
Moments ago I went to my friend's 21st party invitation page on Facebook. One of his friends wrote "I'll ask around to see whether the rest are going okay?" and another wrote "I'll confirm with you when the date's nearer". Now, I'll assume his first friend's response meant he wants to check if other people are going first before confirming his attendance.
Case 1
Refer to my post http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com/2010/02/brain-storm-ill-be-there-for-you-not-be.html
When you are invited to a big party, chances are you are highly valued by your friend. I mean, nobody would want to invite someone he doesn't like right? (unless you are the only person disliked by him in the whole group and he sees a need to not leave you out) Especially on someone's 21st party, I think it is not too much of a point whether your other friends are going or not. Heck, if you think you're not too close to the host and feel that you will only be comfortable with going with other friends, you bloody keep that to yourself. When Jason told me that he doesn't want to go for my birthday party cause he's not close to my friends, he knows very well that if he doesn't turn up, he probably have to treat me at some high class restaurant and sing me a birthday song himself. So unless you think it'll work out like that, you shouldn't tell the host that you want to KIV (keep in view) his party. It's plain rude.
Case 2
If there's a reason why I sent out my invitation well a month before my party, and why my friend sends out his invitation 1.5months before, it is to book your stupid ass. The reason for early notification is so that we can get you to write in your calender that "yes, techiewen has asked me out on this day 1 month ago so he should have priority". We aren't unreasonable bastards. If something truly important pops up, like your girlfriend is having her period and needs someone to bite on, fine. If you havn't seen your boyfriend for 2 days and he suddenly says "oh babe I miss you and I want to have sex with you right now" and you can't turn up for the party, so be it. These important reasons mean your backing out can be forgiven. It makes sense doesn't it? That when someone books you way in advance, it is only right that you give him your time. If your other bitch friend comes along the day before and say "hey let's go for a movie!", you mean that's more important and deserves more priority? If truly on that day you have nothing on, agree to the party first if you so want to go. Any thing that pops up urgently can be explained. If not, just keep your loose hole of a mouth shut instead of telling your friend that you're going to KIV his party.
I didn't asked you for your time a month in advance to get pang seh-ed cause you're menstruating or cause you need to go find prostitutes.
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