What do you want for your iPhone/IPOD Touch?

What kind of applications do users want for their new IPhone or IPod Touch? We know that Apple's SDK has some restrictions on what a programmer can or cannot access. For example, a Profile Manager to handle Ringtones, Volume controls etc is out of the question for now - unless you use a jail-broken iPhone/iPod touch.

So are you a proud owner of one of such devices? What kind of killer Apps do you want for your device? Please comment, as I am planning to assemble a small team to produce the application you want! Come share with us what you want.

Hardisk Recovery

Today I'm going to talk about hard-disk failures. More and more people are storing important data into huge hard-disks in excess of 200gb in sizes. And when the drives fail (and trust me - they eventually do fail), most people do not have backups and cry over the data-loss.

So what can we do about it? Several things:

1. Backup,backup and backup
2. Drive maintenance and monitoring


1. You can just do file backup - just backup your data into another hard-disc or DVD-R
or you can do image backup where the whole hard-disk is copied bit for bit into an image file where you can store elsewhere.

2. Drive maintenance comes in many forms
a. Defragment your files - reduces wear and tear - hence good for the drive.
b. Monitoring drive error rate and also to strengthen the magnetic signal on the drive.


So what kind of software tools we can use to get the results we want?

1. Macrium Backup <-- I'm testing the free version of this so far. Some people say Norton Ghost would do the job. I do not have a definitive answer to this yet.

2a. Windows have a built-in defragment tool, but if you want something more fancy, try out Diskeeper, OO Defrag, Perfect Disk etc

2b. SpinRite <- a friend swears by this tool, small yet effective.

G1 Love Rap

Everything 64-bits

It's been quite a while since Vista has been launched and enough time for the OS to mature and iron out some of the major flaws. I am just curious whether is it time to bite the bullet and move to Vista Ultimate 64-bits.

The main advantage is probably the memory addressing capability. I would like to start a discussion group and perhaps even come out with a "reference" Vista x64 setup with a default suite of must have software :

So far, I think the setup should be something like

1. Vista Ultimate x64 SP1
2. Graphics drivers (Nvidia or ATI)
3. MS Office 2007 ( <-- not sure about this one, need comment)
4. Adobe CS4
5. Norton Antivirus x64
6. Nero x86 (32-bit)
7. K-lite mega codec pack (32-bit)
8. K-lite codec pack (64-bit)
9. uTorrent (32-bit) or maybe Artic Torrent (64-bit)
10. isobuster (32-bit)
11. PowerArchiver 2009 (32-bit)
12. ........ more to be added

Starhub blocking/shaping Bit-torrent traffic

This is probably old news, but have anyone compare download speeds of Singtel vs Starhub for their broadband service?

http://www.hardwarezone.com.my/news/view.php?id=10759&cid=8 reports that study shows that Starhub blocks or throttle network traffic for BT.

and when HWZ reached them for comment, the response was

"It is a known fact that P2P traffic is bandwidth intensive and can use up significant network resources. Hence, all ISPs employ bandwidth management tools to ensure that all traffic is given equal priority such that the service expectations of their online users are met. We do not specifically block P2P traffic. Like all ISPs in the world, we do, however, employ bandwidth management tools to ensure that all our customers receive an optimal surfing experience."

which sounds like the long answer to YES, they do block traffic, not just P2P SPECIFICALLY.
hmm.. maybe I should rethink my ISP choice

OLED keyboard - Optimus Maximus

The multi-talented Optimus Maximus keyboard by Art. Lebedev Studio is finally available for ordering - though not at an affordable price (USD1742+)for the everyday Joe.

A demo of how the keyboard can/will function can be found at this URL. A must for the serious Photoshop fan!





Another upcoming product from the company is called the Upravlator. I think it may be more affordable and perhaps be more successful than the expensive Optimus Maximus - yet to be seen but I think by mapping important keys to the device, a professional user can get to frequently used function quite rapidly - while still having the standard keyboard at his disposal.

Color of Chrome

Yes.. Google has launch it's beta browser called Chrome. Usage of Chrome seem to be doing very well for a first launch product.

First impression of Chrome? Speedy..  browser startup time is impressive, and also java-script execution seem too be snappy.

Where can you get Chrome? http://www.google.com/chrome ... where else did you think?

Why do we need yet another browser? Well, Google wants Chrome to run applications in this new browser... applications such as Google Docs..

Go test it out, and see if Chrome will replace your Safari, IE or Firefox browsers....

What is PWN ?

PWN is a word that is derived from "OWN". It could be that PWN was created by the frequent typo if the word OWN since the p and o keys are next to each other on a standard keyboard.

Engadget reported that the Pwnage Tool 2.0.2 will be ready for the iphone3G. More information about the tool can be found at http://wikee.iphwn.org/

So what is Pwnage?

Pwnage is based on an exploit found in the lower levels of the iPhone/iTouch bootloader.
With the Pwnage tool, we can now patch iPhone device to allow unsigned code. What this means is that once pwned, you will be able to install custom mad .ipsw files from iTunes into your device.

More info on Pwnage is found here http://wikee.iphwn.org/s5l8900:pwnage

Blu-ray Entertainment Systems from Pioneer

• LX01BD: Blu-ray Disc Home Cinema System with Omni-Directional Speakers
• LX03BD: Blu-ray Disc Home Cinema System with 5.1 AV Receiver and Satellite Speakers
• LX08BD: Blu-ray Disc Home Cinema System with 5.1 AV Receiver
• LX03: DVD Home Cinema System with Satellite Speakers

All these systems will debut in Oct/Nov 2008.

But for folks who just want a rock solid Blu-ray player ? How about the Profile 2.0 compliant BDP-LX91 ?

Features include 1080p24, HDMI 12-bit Deep Color Support. DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby True HD compatibility and professional-quality Wolfson Digital Audio Converters. Looks like Europe may get a taste of this monster before any part of the world.

For you movie buffs in Singapore , cheaper Blu-ray movie titles can be had !! If interested, leave comments with your email for enquiries.

HTC Diamond

Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot

Quadband GSM with EGDE and HSDPA/UMTS slider phone with 8.1megapixel camera with Xenon and LED flashes! Drool. It even has an image stabilizer, face detection, and autofocus to boot. And for all you GPS fans, you can even "geotag" photos you take with the phone. Other features include a 2.4-inch scratch-resistant display, an included 2GB Memory Stick Micro, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (with A2DP support).

Will the camera on this phone be a viable replacement for a pocket digital camera?

But will folks still be swayed to the Apple Iphone camp ? The touch interface is certainly a compelling proposition. If only the IPhone has a 6mp camera to compete. The choice is yours!

Music compositon on a computer

I haven't dabble with music composition for a while. And I just came across "Tube It" - a homemade song made by Renetto of YouTube fame.




The video was made entirely with a Mac with the built-in iSight and the music composed/made using GarageBand.

So it made me remember some of the tools that the PC world has too. Like Sony's Acid Pro or PGMusic's Band-in-a-Box. Seems like music is converging to Loops.. ha ha

It'll be interesting to see what the new Band-in-A-Box version 2008.5 can produce... I've seen the 2004 version and was quite impressed by the software. Now many years later, I'm sure there are lots of new features to keep everyone happy.

I've done one "loopy" piece which I called "PurePlay", it's more like a short medley.

boomp3.com

Mathematical Equations

Equation 1
Human = eat + sleep + work + enjoy
Donkey = eat + sleep
Therefore,
Human = Donkey + work + enjoy
Therefore,
Human - enjoy = Donkey + work
In other words,
Human that don't know enjoy = Donkey that work
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ===
Equation 2
Men = eat + sleep + earn money
Donkeys = eat + sleep
Therefore,
Men = Donkeys + earn money
Therefore,
Men - earn money = Donkeys
In other words,
Men that don't earn money = Donkeys
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ====
Equation 3
Women = eat + sleep + spend
Donkeys = eat + sleep
Therefore,
Women = Donkeys + spend
Therefore,
Women - spend = Donkeys
In other words,
Women that don't spend = Donkeys
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= =====
To Conclude:
From Equation 2 and Equation 3
Men that don't earn money = Women that don't spend.
So, Men earn money not to let women become Donkeys! (Postulate 1)
And, Women spend not to let men become Donkeys! (Postulate 2)
So, we have?
Men + Women = Donkeys + earn money + Donkeys + spend money
Therefore from Postulates 1 and 2, we can conclude
Man + Woman = 2 Donkeys that live happily together!

Apple IPOD 2nd Gen with GPS

So we've got it on authority that the second-gen iPhone is already well into testing, and numerous units are floating around in super secret pockets. A trusted source got a chance to check one out, here's what we've heard.

* The first thing people will notice: the 2nd gen iPhone will be about the same size and shape as the first gen.
* It will, of course, have 3G. And proper GPS!
* The most noticeable physical difference is back of the phone is no longer metal -- the whole thing is glossy black, from top to bottom. The volume buttons are now chrome.
* Because it's got a little less metal to deal with, it doesn't have quite as many angular edges. The battery is (still) not removable.
* The phone itself will be slightly thicker than the first gen device.
* The headphone jack will no longer be recessed, and will finally be flush with the body.
* The device itself uses roughly the same size and resolution screen as the first generation product.
* No solid word on battery life or storage capacity.

It could ship (or be introduced) as early as July -- but it's worth noting that none of this is necessarily finalized, and any of it could change between now and its introduction. You really never know with Apple!


News from Engadget

Creating video slideshow with your digital photos

Are you a photography buff? Want to share your photos to your friends in a creative manner, but do not have the time to do it?

Here comes a tool on the web that will create that animated video for you instantly and automatically. Just upload your photos, your music, and the sequence is created for you.

What is the website? http://www.animoto.com Whats more, they have a referral program that gets you free access if your downline signs up. Here is a demo of a sample slide I did :

http://animoto.com/play/gVv21m4GS9jZGy18ogUOew




Here is my referral code :redqwuna

Iphone coming to Singapore via Singtel

Thats Right, the Apple IPhone is coming to Singapore officially via Singtel. I wonder what kind of plans Singtel will try to rip Singaporeans off with! We'll wait and see.

Something not binary

Here is something that is non-binary... but certainly Juicy. It is a fruit that is called Mangosteen, also coined as the "Queen" of all fruit!

New IPOD Touch - now for VoIP ? (or not?)

Hello IPOD Touch owners,

Recently some of my good friends got me an 8-gb IPOD Touch for my birthday. I started to wonder if the music playing device can do much more - like doing voice notes or even Voice over IP (eg. like Skype). Then I realise that the IPOD Touch does not have a Microphone built-in like the IPhone. As I was searching around the web, I come across a group of hackers who have successfully mass produced Mic dongle that fits into the IPOD docking socket... very cool. http://touchmods.wordpress.com/
As you can see from their website, they even have software that would allow your IPOD Touch to interface to SIPs and hence about to do VoIP calls.

As I did more research.. I've discovered a EVEN better method of VoIP WITHOUT the need of the Microphone. And it will work great for folks in Singapore. I'll detail this out in my next article once I've perform sufficient tests - so stay tune!!

Binary Clip, watch the chair

Can a hot chick charge your GADGET?

If you have a hot and sexy GF, just bring her to the beach, and let her put on the Solar Bikini, then you can simply charge any gadgets that you want by her. One of the cool business idea is that you let your girl walk around the beach to attract other geeks to come over for charging their gadgets, which you can then ask for a pretty high fee for doing that.

The Solar Bikini is covered all over with solar cells, which it can soak up sunlight and make use of solar power to charge your USB gadgets. It’s got a USB connector near the hip part, which you can just plug in your iPod or any USB gadgets. One pretty good use for hot chicks, is wearing it and lying on the beach, connect a USB beverage chiller to it to keep the already cold drink from getting warm!

Hot Girl to Satisfy any Blogger

See this photo of this young and hot girl right here :

What has a hot girl got to do with everything binary? It's an experiment to verify what T3 and other technology magazines have been doing is workable. Besides, Binary means One and Zero. You go figure out what One means and what Zero means in this instance! haha

Only the results of the popularity will tell me one way or another. Will the results sway my publishing methods? Perhaps... getting pretty girls to hold UP electronics gadgets focus everyone's attention on the gadget... ya.. right!

Singapore StreetDirectory move aside!!?!

Here comes http://sg.shownearby.com/ , a competitor? Something to search for your favourite food in the neighbourhood? Give it a try and comment your experience!

Creative supports Apple's IPOD

http://sg.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=668&product=16185

The XDock, what if you want your music playing all around the house? That's something multiple Ipods (one in each room) would not help. So in comes the Xdock, a device that can wirelessly transmit to the X-Fi Wireless Receiver units that can send the music signals to powered speakers in each room.

Panasonic DMC FX500

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcfx500.asp

This camera spots a ultra wide 25mm lens with up to 5x optical zoom (125mm).

The Touch screen is one innovation that takes photography to the next level - not just for menu control, but for focusing. Very cool.

I'm waiting to hear about image quality. Some people say that Fujifilm brand of cameras using their unique CCD sensors can offer better looking images at the end. I wonder if regular sensors can matched the so-called High Dynamic Range sensors from Fujifilm.

The smallest microprocessor from the largest chipmaker

Intel Corp is rolling out five new Atom microprocessors and a collection of chips designed for portable gadgets that access the Internet and for other uses, as the world’s largest chipmaker uses its marketing muscle to help create a new market. The low-power, tiny Atom chips will come in speeds of up to 1.86 gigahertz and Intel says that speed, plus other technologies designed into the chip, make it the fastest processor that consumes 3 watts of electricity or less. The recently named Atom family of processors is part of Intel’s effort to have chips designed with Intel Architecture — the fundamental blueprint of its semiconductors — in myriad computing devices — from what it calls mobile Internet devices, or MIDs, all the way up to high-performance computers.

That is where the Atom and Centrino Atom, come in. The Centrino Atom also includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called Intel System Controller Hub that allows for PC-like capabilities and long battery life for devices that fit in a user’s pocket. Major device makers are already planning to adopt Atom, with more than 20 manufacturers coming out with products using the processor. As far as MIDs, those will start shipping in May. Intel expects about 30 percent of those MIDs to have both WiFi — short range high-speed wireless Internet access — and WiMax — longer-range high-speed access designed into them. MID device makers include Asus, Fujitsu, Lenovo, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba, among others, and prices will probably average about $500, with some priced higher than that or lower, depending on the functions.

Wideband deployment - when will Singapore do the same?

Starhub has been touting DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems for some time now, but obviously we do not see the type of bandwidth that the speed monster can deliver. It is called WIDEBAND rather than typical broadband. Look at the news below from US:

Although we just heard that Comcast's DOCSIS 3.0 rollout was on track for 2009, folks in the Twin Cities region now have exclusive bragging rights for an undisclosed window of time. Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota have become the first markets to have access to an all new "extreme" broadband (or wideband, as it were) connection, which promises 50Mbps down / 5Mbps up. As expected, the carrier isn't being modest about the launch, claiming that users can suck down a 4GB HD movie "in about ten minutes," compared to "more than six hours" on a 1.5Mbps DSL connection. The newfound speed won't come cheap -- for residential users, look to lay down $149.95 per month for the privilege. Even if you aren't springing for the good stuff, current customers in the area will have their existing broadband connections hastened gratis, with 6Mbps / 384Kbps users moving up to 1Mbps uploads and 8Mbps / 768Kbps users seeing 2Mbps uploads. Kudos, Twin Cities -- you just made most of America sick with envy.

Photoshop Express Live

https://www.photoshop.com/express

Yes.. Photoshop on the web. Perhaps a Flickr competitor? Who knows. It is based on Flash-9 and can do simple stuff like cropping and resizing. However, no layers or really heavy stuff that the Photoshop proper can deliver.

Good for simple blog photos I guess!

New 8.9 Inch Eee PC from Asus

Here we have it, confirmation that the second generation Eee PC will in fact feature an 8.9-inch (resistive) touchscreen display. Kevin Lin, ASUS VP of Sales, says that the US$500 (starting price) Eee PC will begin shipping in May or June in 8GB to 12GB options with "possible GPS support." That's the same time ASUS plans to begin shipping its $200 Eee Dekstop, aka the E-DT. Look, we're happy with your success with the Eee brand ASUS, but when are we getting our $200 Eee PC?

BenQ 24 stealth LCD monitor

Really sleek looking "bomber" inspired design. Let's see what price this baby will fetch when it is released.

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Quest for the best Media Center for your living room - and beyond

What are your choices for a computer-based Media Center (MCE) in your living room?
The most standard and obvious ones are
1. Mac with FrontRow
2. PC with Windows MCE or Vista
3. Windows with 3rd party MCE software
4. Linux with opensource MCE software

In the quest to find out what is the best, I came across LinuxMCE which promises lots of bells and whisles including Home Automation features like connecting to Z-Wave devices for appliance or lighting controls.

So I decided to be brave and try to install LinuxMCE on my existing Windows XP computer sitting in the living room running on a Dual-core X2 AMD CPU with the 690G chipset.

I will not go into details of the install, but the conclusion is the install is not straight forward and has just too many non-working components. I cant even get the install to go into the right resolution(720p) that I wanted, and the text were too tiny to proceed.

Bottom line - LinuxMCE is not ready for deployment yet, not until they can sort out the install and at least certify the software on a few standard video and audio capabilities.

LCD news

I've saw this HANS-spree LCD monitor in one of the shops in Sim Lim Square (SLS). It's a 28-inch 1920x1200 model. It's going for $999. Sounds interesting, considering a 24-inch at Dell is going for $559.

DELL has 24" LCD monitor on sale for IT show 2008

For only S$559, a 24" LCD with 1920x1200 resolution can be had. But note, the offer is only until 10th March 2008! so act now!

24" LCD monitor

The 24-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM, which features a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 10,000:1 (dynamic) contrast ratio, five-millisecond response time, 400 cd/m2 brightness, 160-degree viewing angles and DVI / HDMI inputs to boot.The unit also include built-in multimedia speakers and stunning good looks, and best of all, it can become yours right this moment for US$599 or S$900 although it's doubtful such pricing will be so attractive in Singapore

Macbook Air

Apple's latest ultra-portable notebook retailing in Singapore starting at S$2988for the 1.6ghz model and S$5088 for the 1.8ghz model(with 64gb SSD).

Note : No user replaceable anything (eg. battery, memory, HDD). No Ethernet por, No Optical drive. Only ONE USB port - go figure!

Logitech diNovo keyboard

diNovo Edge
Many of you must have heard about Logitech's premium wiress hi-tech and stylish looking keyboard called diNovo Edge which sparks features such as Rechargeable and TouchDisc Scroll Pad.

Logitech is not stopping there, they plan to launch dNovo Mini, which is more portable and possibly will sit in your living room more comfortably and acts as a remote for your media center PC.

CES

Wah.. Dell with it's Crystal display and LG/Philips with their Electronic paper?

These displays are extremely energy efficient, only using power when the image changes. Additionally the displays are extremely thin, less than 300 micrometers(㎛). The images displayed are comparable in quality to printed pages.