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iPhone Blues 3 Friday, 22 August, 2008

Posted by M in Mac.
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OK, so the iPhone is out and the country won’t be ruled by pigs. Maybe it has already been but we just can’t see the hogs for what they really are. For a quick lowdown on what’s in store for people interested in getting the iPhone, be it now or later,  jump over to CNET Asia’s take on the iPhone here.

I am still not convinced to part with my hard earned cash for a pricey plan that does not do justice to the phone.

iPhone Blues Redux Thursday, 21 August, 2008

Posted by M in Mac.
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This is interesting. I really wonder if there will be a queue tonight at midnight when the iPhone officially goes on sale at $ingTel’s Comcenter store. From the buzz that has been going around the ‘net so far, by my guess only suckers with plenty of cash to spare will probably be in line. No, wait, scratch that, they will probably get their hired help to wait in line for them.

Seems like I am not the only one bemoaning the price plans that $ingtel is hawking. Pigs will rule the country if they manage to sell 1000 units tonight. From what I have gathered so far,

  • The iPhone will be locked to $ingTel and the individual subscriber
  • No visual voice mail will be offered (one of the reasons why people want the iPhone)
  • Very ambiguous and interesting pricing plan (in other words, a Heads I Win, Tails You Lose situation)
  • Nicely “priced” high data charges
  • No localised iTunes support

It is so blatantly obvious that $ingTel’s only interest in this venture is to cash in on the ill-informed and the early adopters and I am quite certain there will be many sheep in the fold who will throw their money at them to get the iPhone tonight.

I am going to burn in hell for writing this, but what the heck. This whole $ingtel deal with the “Jesus Phone” and the so-called “second coming” and my reference to sheep is starting to smell like a religion gone bad, complete with false prophets (the $ingTel marketing people) leading the blind and the faithless into peril and doom (at least for the next two years) when they sign their Faustian contracts.

Even if the pricing is right, I am still going to hold out. Why?

  • The iPhone firmware is still buggy
  • No localised iTunes support
  • 2mp Camera with no flash
  • Poor battery life
  • No MMS
  • No user replaceable battery
  • No cut and paste
  • No A2DP support

Frankly, I’ll stick with the iPhone-less (aka iPod Touch) until the specs improve.

As for tonight’s launch, I will be staying at home and laughing at all the wannabes, posers and idiots who have no clue about technology as they graciously and willingly give all their hard-earned dosh to $ingTel in exchange for a piece of plastic and glass with metal bits.

The best part, $ingTel will get away with it once again. Nothing new here.

By the way, I have been supporting Apple products since the Apple IIe (read: loyal fanboy), including iPods and peripherals and a MobileMe account and I still love Apple products.

Burn and bleed for the next two years suckas!

Check out Photosynth Thursday, 21 August, 2008

Posted by M in Web.
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New site by Microsoft Live Labs (everyone seems to love using the ?Labs? bit these days). Photosynth is a photo sharing website with a difference. Photosynth has the ability to reconstruct a scene or object from a group of flat photographs and give the viewer an experience unlike nothing before, or so the blurb says. Personally I have not had the time to check it out yet. Please leave comments on this if you do before me.

Start by creating your own synth after the jump

Desktop Wallpapers Thursday, 21 August, 2008

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If you are like me who is always trawling the web for new and interesting wallpapers to adorn my desktop, check out Desktoptopia. It is now a free app for both Mac and Windows that simply displays top notch quality desktop wallpapers at specified intervals so you will get a plethora of cool walls “streamed” into your desktop. You’ll never know what will appear on your desktop next.

Get it here

Under My Bed Wednesday, 20 August, 2008

Posted by M in Music.
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Give Meiko a listen. She’s an up and coming Indie/Folk artist with a great voice. She reminds me a little of Michelle Branch for some reason even though their musical styles are a little different. So she writes about frustration in love and yet there is a certain despondence to her music. Keep a ear out for her music and once again as a sampler, check out the free download of her song, Under My Bed.

Check out her self-titled debut album, you won?t be disappointed.

Get it here

The iPhone Blues Wednesday, 20 August, 2008

Posted by M in Tech.
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The iPhone3G is about to go on sale in this part of the world by the end of the week. Since day one when it was first announced, I was going nuts over the acquisition of the “Jesus Phone” and I have been following each and every news bite with rabid fervor ever since.

Today, the pricing plan (standard 2 year contract) has just been released by the first local Telco here who has been given the rights to be the first to provide the iPhone3G on their network. I am not impressed. Take one of the price plans as an example, at first glance it seemed like a fair deal but factoring in the fact that wi-fi is already free until 2010 and 1Gb doesn’t exactly get you much for a month’s worth of browsing on top of the $56/month and $508 for a 16Gb model, it can be bloody expensive to really exploit the iPhone3G?s capabilities.

As is, this works out to a whopping $1852 for 2 years excluding additional charges. Free outgoing calls is only 200 minutes. And when you exceed the 1Gb data cap, you are looking at $3.80 per Mb (if I am not mistaken) and that is a lot of money to pay if you so happen to hit an additional 1Gb for whatever reason. Right now, my personal impression is that the Telco is just cashing in on the iPhone3G madness that is sweeping the globe. It just doesn?t make sense to spend this amount of money for the “cool” factor. Then again, there will be people who don’t look at it from that perspective and will get it at any price. Good for you.

For now, I am sticking with my Nokia N82 and the probability of my getting a Nokia E71 has just been bumped up a few notches. Given functionality over price, the Nokia’s still delivers even though it lacks the flash and drool factor. And at least there’s “cut and paste” on the S60-3E platform.

Browse Magazines Online For Free Tuesday, 19 August, 2008

Posted by M in Books.
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Interesting new site where you can browse magazines and graphic novels for free. Whether or not this infringes on copyrights remains to be seen. For now, enjoy while you can. It should work on any browser.

And yes, smut is also available for the discerning.

Mygazines

Quake 2 on Symbian Tuesday, 19 August, 2008

Posted by M in Tech.
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Daily Mobile featured this some time ago in March 2008. For the benefit of those who missed it and would like to play this awesome game on their mobile phones running on the Symbian platform, check it out. At the moment it runs only on phones with FPUs (most notably the Nokia N-Series but I have my doubts on the lower end models but it will definitely work on a N95)

Jump to Quake 2

MobileMe Fiasco Tuesday, 19 August, 2008

Posted by M in Mac.
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Finally, I received a letter of apology from MobileMe this morning together with an additional 60 days of subscription added on as a token. I am glad Apple is working on this. More importantly, they are acknowledging that it is a real issue. From my perspective, I fully understand that no technology is infallible. There will be occasions where down time and dropouts will occur. Nothing is 100 percent efficient forever. So for Apple to come out and admit that they have a problem and are working towards solving it is more important to me than being blind-sided or thrown a curve ball. Hopefully, Apple will resolve all issues soon

The Next Big Thing Sunday, 17 August, 2008

Posted by M in Tech.
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What will be the next “Big Thing”?

I am not going to delve into history but look at things more recent.

When “Pong” came about, it changed what it was like to play games. We could not interact with a machine for entertainment. Then came the Personal Computer. The power to work more efficiently as well as more opportunities to waste time. Along came the Internet and now everyone is connected. We socialize, share and collaborate with people from different parts of the planet. Suddenly the world just got smaller.

Now that we are here, just what will be the next ”Big Thing”? I am not talking about making existing technologies faster, smaller and more efficient. Just take a look at mobile cell phones. The introduction of the cell phone was a ”Big Thing”. After that, it is just about improvements to an idea. Adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Combining existing technologies into one singular product.

The iPhone is no different. The “wow factor” is there. People swoon over it. I want one myself. But really, is it the next ”Big Thing”? No. It is just a product that innovates on present technology. It forces the other players in the game to go beyond what they already have achieved. Could Windows Mobile produce a similar interface before the iPhone? Yes I say, but manufacturers were complacent until Apple nudged them along. Take a look at Samsung’s Omnia. If the iPhone did not come along, will we ever see what Windows Mobile can really do? And now Nokia is joining in the fray with the “Tube”. But are they really the next ”Big Thing”? Nope.

I am referring to technology that revolutionizes, change the way we interact and operate. Who knows what it will be. It could come from the kid next door who thinks of a better way to get his homework or household chores done. It could come from someone as a stroke of genius whilst trying to figure out a way to solve an existing problem. It could happen any time, any where.

So then, what is the next ”Big Thing”? If I know now, I will never need to work for the rest of my life.