Dragonboy IT & Electronics Journey

PC Anywhere source code release - Should you afraid?

2012-02-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

PC Anywhere source code has been released (Old version from 2006). So does that mean people has to be worried about the security ?

Well, not really.

In Open Source world, the Remote Desktop or Security programs are being released with source code Example: VNC and open ssh. Does that mean we need to worry when we are using VNC or Open SSH ?

I dont think so. When there is an exploit found on those VNC or SSH, the community will fix the code immediately.

With PC Anywhere however, since its a closed source code, nobody really know how secure is the code until the leak or until it has been hacked and it will take weeks or even months for the company to fix it.

Open Source community typically patch the exploit much faster than a closed source-code company.

So if you are afraid to use PC Anywhere, just upgrade the version or move to another product such as vnc. (Many flavors of VNC exists now)

PS: I am not running PC Anywhere and not interested with their source code. (Spending time with my kid is much better than reading source code)

HP TouchPad - Android with CM7

2011-10-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

The installation for HP Touchpad with Android (CM7) works nicely.

URL: http://rootzwiki.com/showthread.php?4011-RELEASE-ALPHA-Discussion-CyanogenMod-team-Touchpad-port/page2&s=43a01542b467693544d37c2cf8a3638c

Once you follow the instruction to install the CM7, Continue with the following:
1. Install CPU Master and set the minimum CPU to 384
2. Change the Wifi Sleep policy to never

If you did not set the Wifi Sleep policy and CPU, when the HP Touchpad goes to sleep mode, sometimes (Most of the times in fact) you would need to "hard reset" the HP Touchpad.

So far, its tested on HP Touchpad 32 GB.

Cya

Skype Video on LG G2X - Finally

2011-09-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, Skype is enabled on LG G2x.

By default Skype Video is turn off.

You will need to turn on the video call on the Skype Settings.

Amazon MP3 Coupon - $2 Off

2011-06-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Coupon Code: CLOUDMP3 during checkout.

Not sure how long will it be valid. As of today 27th June 2011, this is still valid.

iPad 2

2011-03-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

Just now try this iPad 2 at the local best buy.

Interestingly, they still have 64 GB Verizon (black and white). the rest are gone.

So playing around with the white iPad 2.

Its lighter -> for sure.
Its faster -> I think so (since I could not really test), but it is fast, so based on the dual core processor, yeah its faster :P.

Camera -> bad...what can you expect with vga camera
Camera at the back -> not as good as I thought.

so did I buy it ?

Well, I hope I can wait for the next one whether its iPad 3, or Android. For now I will pass the temptation to get iPad 2.

Nokia N900 - Tethering on Ubuntu 9.04

2010-01-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today is the first time I try to use the linux to connect to Ubuntu. Never done this before.

So here is how you are going to do it.
1. Connect to the internet using your n900.
See if you can surf www.yahoo.com -> that means you are good :-)

2. Open Ubuntu and plug the micro SD to your phone
Ubuntu 9.04 will recognise that its a mobile broadband, and you to choose your provider. I choose Tmobile USA (internet) without vpn support.

3. Click ok
4. Open a web browser
5. Type www.yahoo.com
6. you are on the net :-)

I am surprised its that easy to connect to internet using Nokia N900 with Ubuntu.

PS: Make sure you connect connect to your internet using Nokia N900 and do not disconnect the Internet from the phone. It looks Ubuntu will do a thetering using the "existing" connection first before drop it. Thats my own testing. You could try by turning off the T-Mobile Internet from your phone.

PS2: The Windows behaves differently, in Windows, you need to disconnect the internet and let PC Suite to make the connection for you.

cya

Ubuntu Tips - Sharing Clipboard using Remote Desktop or terminal Server Client

2009-12-25T17:17:00.001-08:00

If you are using Ubuntu and use terminal server client / remote desktop to Windows OS and not able to share the clipboard.

You could try the following tips:
1. When you connect to the terminal server, use RDP v5 client.
By default Ubuntu try to connect using RDP, change it manually to RDP v5
and you should be able to share the clipboard between ubuntu and windows.

cya

Nokia N900 - Ovi Store Preview

2009-12-18T23:03:00.000-08:00

nice,

Found this on how to preview the Ovi Store. Looks like its going to open very soon.

You can preview the website but could not download anything yet.

Using your PC
1. go to http://store.ovi.com
2. Register and choose NokiA n97 (you should be able to choose anything).
3. Validate your Email
4. Logon to store.ovi.com using the User ID and Password
5. After logon type this:
https://store.ovi.com/account/settings/set-device?terminalId=N900&fragment=1

This will change your phone to Nokia N900 :)

And you should be able to preview the applications for Nokia N900 from OVI Store now.

cya.

Nokia N900

2009-12-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

I have ordered Nokia N900 since November 2009. But I only received it on last saturday (Dec 12th).

I do not even realised its there already since I only manage to check it out on Sunday when I opened my door then I notice the package is outside.

Anyway my first impression for this device is COOL.

Finally a device that is able to do what I need :).

So far, I was able to :
1. Use Cisco VPN
2. Use rdesktop
3. Ssh to other servers.

What I dont like about this phone:
1. Bluetooth.
Previously, I am able to use the button in my Motorolla T505 to call someone by using their name, and the phone will automatically dial the number.

Now this feature is not ready yet :(.
So I could not make a phone call without dialing from my phone first, only after that, the bluetooth works.

Hopefully the next firmware will fix that.

2. The Price
Its not "cheap" :(.

Other than that, this is definitely a good phone.

cya

Kingston Massic USB Flash Drive - Guess ..

2009-08-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

1 GB??
2 GB ?
32 GB ?
64 GB ??

Well, its getting bigger with days, kingston now have 256 GB on a USB flash drive.Product Name: DataTraveler 300

See the URL:
http://www.kingston.com/ukroot/flash/dt300.asp

I do not expect this to be very fast though since its still using USB 2.0 but the idea of backing up your hard-drive (laptop) into a small USB Drive is cool :-)

Price: N/A -> I am sure it will be expensive. Definitely above 800 USD.

cya.

Do not try this - Fake Waterslide - Cool though

2009-08-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

See this one,

Its a fake waterslide, but its Cool :-), see until the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILD97YEAn6E

Netflix Free Trial - Ends 31st August 2009

2009-07-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I dont need this coupon maybe it will be useful for someone else:

URL: http://netflix.com/specialoffer

Priority Code: 80024184
End: 31st Aug 2009

Iphone 2G - Upgrade to Version 3.0 Jailbreak and Unlock - Youtube Not Working

2009-07-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

I manage to get a hold of iPhone 2G, so I am curious on how to do the jailbreaking and unlocking. So I do my own research on the net. And after a couple of hours, I manage to make it work.

Here are the steps:
Preparation:
1. Download the redsn0w application (I am using 0.72 version)
2. Download the boot loader bl-39.bin and bl-46.bin (Google this)
3. Download the latest iTunes 8.XX
4. Make sure your iPhone is fully charged.
5. Remove your simcard

Tasks:
1. Install the iTunes
2. Unzip the redSnow application c:\redsnow\
3. connect your iPhone to the iTunes (Make sure you are using USB 2.0 cable)
4. Put your iPhone under DFU mode (Device Firmware Update) - See Below
5. iTunes will recognise the phone wants to do firmware update
6. Upgrade your firmware to version 3.0
7. Done - your Iphone will ask for activation. Go to the next section

Jailbreak & Unlock
1. Make sure the cable is still connected with the iPhone
2. turn off your iPhone
3. run the redsn0w application i.e. redsn0w.exe
4. follow the instruction
4.a. your firmware for version 3.0 should be located under
C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates\iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

4.b. put the bootloader that you found (bl-39.bin and bl-46.bin)
5. check on the cydia, unlock (DO NOT click for icy - if you click icy, cydia will not run after the installation)
6. let it run.
7. Done

Final Steps:
1. put your sim card
2. Change your date / time ->
a. settings -> general -> date&time
3. done

Some Questions:
1. Youtube is not working after the upgrade
ans: Change your date & time and it should work.
Well apparantly Apple check the date&time (funny)
Once you update the Date&time, it should work. (Mine was set to year 2000)

2. During the upgrade I found some errors
Ans: Make sure your battery is full and remove your sim card
Ans2: It will help if you uninstall your iTunes and reinstall it back after that.

3. How to put iPhone under DFU mode?
Ans:
Run Itunes
Make sure your iPhone is turn on
Connect your iPhone to iTunes
Press Home (Square button below the screen) and Sleep/Wake (Top Button) together
After 10 seconds, release the sleep/wake but hold the "home" button until iTunes recognise the phone in the recovery mode.
You should be able to update the Phone using the Firmware now.

PS: I do not own an iPhone. I am still using nokia E90 and have no intention to change yet :).

I do the jailbreak and unlock only for curiosity and well its really not that hard.

Install CISCO VPN on Windows 7

2009-03-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

I need to format my notebook, since I apply for the public beta tester for the Windows 7. I was thinking, well why dont I try to install Windows 7 temporarily for now. At least to try it out before the Windows 7 appears sometime this year (maybe ???)

How To Install Cisco VPN on Windows 7?

1. Install the latest update from Citrix DNE
URL: http://www.citrix.com/lang/English/lp/lp_1680845.asp

2. Reboot
3. Install the TakeOwnership
URL: http://www.howtogeek.com/downloads/TakeOwnership.zip

4. Take Ownership these 2 files using Windows Explorer (right click and then choose take ownership)
C:\windows\system32\drivers\ndis.sys
C:\windows\system32\drivers\en-us\ndis.sys.mui

5. Delete the following files
C:\windows\system32\drivers\ndis.sys
C:\windows\system32\drivers\en-us\ndis.sys.mui

6. Install CISCO VPN Client 5.0.4.0300
7. Reboot
8. Windows will auto repair (put your Windows 7 CD just in case)

8. Put your “Profile” to the profile folder of your CISCO VPN
9. Done. You should be able to connect to your Cisco VPN now

Some Question:
Why do I need to take Ownership of the NDIS.sys or NDIS.sys.mui ? Why cant we delete the file directly.
Ans: You could try, you will found that you wont be able to delete without using the take ownership method.

Even Macbook is not safe

2009-03-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

For those people that think Mac is safer.
Think again.

Of course PC is not even safer, but at least for this year competition, the Mac lost and manage to be hacked in seconds. Faster than PC.

Conclution: Nothing is safe :). Both PC and Mac are vulnerable for attach.

For those people that think, well the person only manage to take control, not spreading virus.
My argument will be:
If the person could control your machine, he could install a lot of malware or virus. Worst ...He could even read your confidential documents. and capture your keystroke.

URL: http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

New Apple Ads - is it really that smart?

2008-10-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Just saw this new apple ads, where the Mac was looking smart, and PC is looking dumb counting budgeting money, separating the money between Advertising and Fixing Vista.

Mac: Do you think its going to work?
PC: you are right, and throw all the money to the advertising.

Well, in my mind I am thinking of something, what happen if all the itunes for windows is not exists now :), since Mac is so superior, will apple get this fame ?

Apple get this famous because ipod "DOES" work under windows :P.

Try to cut the support, and we shall see the number goes down very fast.

just a thought.

cya..

Jumbo Universal TV Remote - Does It Work?

2008-10-17T22:55:00.001-07:00

Has anybody having trouble when you want to lower down the volume, you will need the TV remore control. When you want to change the cable channel, you need the Cable Remote Control, and when you want to play DVD, damn, again you will need a different remote control again.

So I always hoping that I could buy the Universal Remote Control. So Eventhough i always notice there are lots of Universal Remote Control, I always skeptical that it will work with the new TV / DVD Player / New Cable.

I am more interested with Logitech Harmony since Logitech Harmony can be programmed using PC, but the Logitech Harmony is so "damn" expensive and its really out of my current budget.

When I happen to walk by Ross, and saw this Jumbo universal tv remote was on sale (5.99 USD). Well....what do you think? I thought, well nothing to lose. its 5.99 anyway.

Lets try it out.

So I bought this Jumbo Universal TV remote and I drove home happily.

Quickly I put 2 AA Battery and turn it on, and point it to my TV. Well just to test it out without reading any manual.

Well turn out it does not work he he, Okay, time to open the manual, well now its started to make sense, We needs to enter the 3 digits code for each device that we have. And each manufacture have a different set of 3 digits code.

So For mine, Let say I have a Samsung LCD TV, Pioneer DVD and a Comcast Cable Box.

The first one that I try is the Pioneer DVD Player.

Enter the 3 digits code from the manual, and my DVD player works directly.

Lets try the samsung TV, there are a couple of options for Samsung TV, so lets try one by one, the 4th code works with my Samsung.

Finally the comcast cable box, this is a little bit tricky, the manual did not mention anything for comcast cable box, damn....I need to play around and finally I gave up, search with Yahoo a bit, and within 2 minutes, found the 3 digits code.

Comcast Cable Box: 051

Try this code, and it works like a charm.

Wouw I am happy man now :).

The jumbo looks big, but well, I will never worried that it will ever get lost in my living room now :).

How to enter the 3 digits Code for TV
1. Press the "Code Search" Button for 3 seconds or more
The light will turn on and it will be solid red
2. Press TV Button
The light will blink once
3. Press the 3 digits code i.e. 105
The light will turn off once you enter the 3rd digit code
4. Press TV, Press Power
Your TV should turn off,
If it does not work, try with another code until you manage to turn off the TV.

As simple as that.

This is definitely will not replace all my remote, but for the normal things that I do it certainly more than enough.

Example: I would not be able to turn on the subtitle with this Remote Control, but at least I would be able to change channel, Increase/Decrease the volume, and play DVD easily. So for now I will be satisfied until the Logitech Harmony getting more affordable (yeah, wishful thinking)

cya.

Router Speed - Which One is the best?

2008-06-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

A Router is needed when you want to share your internet speed when you have more than 1 computers. Example 1 Laptop, 1 PC, 1 Mobile Phone (wifi enabled).

So what kind of routers that you will need?

This is just a short information about the router speed.

The router speed currently is being split to 3

1. 802.11b - 11 Mb/s
2. 802.11g - 54 Mb/s
3. 802.11n - 300 Mb/s

Typically, the new laptops / computers comes with builtin 802.11b and 802.11g.
Very few will support 802.11n. Why ?

The reason is very simple, the 802.11b and 802.11g are already in "standard" while the 802.11n are still in "draft" mode.

So eventhough you will be able to buy 802.11n router (the fastest one) in the market, but it may not compatible with future N client in the future when the standard has been finalised.

What are the best routers ?
In my own opinion, I like linksys brand.

For 802.11B/G:
Linksys WRT54G (allows 802.11b and 802.11g) are one of the best in the market
I own it for 5 years without having any problem. So if you are still interested for a router, get this model. Worth the $
URL: http://www.linksys.com

For 802.11N:
Belkin N Router(allows 802.11b/g/n)
This is simply because Linksys is too expensive for now :(.
I own it for 1.5 months and so far so good.
URL: http://www.belkin.com

Notes:
Eventhough they claim to be able to transfer up to 11/54/300Mbps, in reality, you will get less than this. Especially if your house have a thick wall.

In my place, I only manage to get 270 Mbps. But oh well, this is good enough for me :).

Nokia E90 - New Firmware rev 210.34.75

2008-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

If you have Nokia E90 Communicator. Time to upgrade the firmware device.

The latest firmware from nokia rev 210.34.75 brings one changes that I like, flash lite.

The new Flash Lite will allow you to watch youtube website.

I am not really a fans of youtube, but oh well, since this is a nice upgrade, might as well do it :).

By the way, if you are not a fans of flash, then its really up to you whether you want to do the upgrade or not. I do the upgrade and so far all my existing applications are still working fine, just need to reinstall some of them :).

Some noticeable changes:

1. The New Flash lite

You will be able to watch youtube now

2. The wifi is faster to connect to your network (this is based on my own experience)

3. SIP connection is stable (Try from USA to SGP without any lag, which is good)

4. A new option to store the Untrusted Certificate when you are browsing permanently.

I like this option because I need it if I am in the office and would like to make a call thru wifi.

Remember not to remove the cache though if you are using this option.

So to me, its definitely worth the upgrade.

How do you know your existing version?

From your nokia phone, press *#0000# (zero zero zero zero)

The firmware number will be displayed, if its Below the 210.34.75 , then you can follow the upgrade instruction below.

How to do the upgrade?

1. Backup your contact list, remember, when you upgrade, all your contact list will be gone.

You can use the Tools -> Memory -> Options -> Backup

to backup your contacts and Calendar and your Program Files

1b. Change the E90 Profiles for your Nokia to "General"

1c. Turn off your E90 and turn on again (To make sure everything is clean)

2. Turn off your Firewall / Antivirus

3. Connect the Nokia Cable to your PC and your E90 phone(make sure you do not go through the "hub", make sure its connected directly to your PC/Notebook.

4. From the Nokia PC Suite, just need to choose the Update Phone Software.

5. Download the file

6. run the Nokia Upgrade File

7. Well just press next all the way, and your nokia will reboot and the installation will continue at the background, just wait about 10-15 minutes, and your new nokia is ready

8. Congratulation, the upgrade is completed

9. Last step, Go to Tools -> Memory -> Restore.....

This is to restore your contact list, calendar, etc :)

10. Done.

Have fun...

Question, post your question with your problem.

cya.

Belkin N1 - Good Router

2008-05-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Do you have more than 1 machine at your home? If you have more than 1 PC or 1 Laptop at your home, you will definitely need a router.

So what are the choices given so many routers available in the market? Linksys, Dlink, Belkin, Netgear, Airlink, etc. All flooded the market with their own Networking products.

For the past few years, I am quite happy with Linksys.

I was using Linksys WRTG54G. The speed is not too bad, 54Mbps. Fast enough to surf the web, watching youtube, and even ABC movie direct.

For the time being, there are 4 different speed available:
1. 802.11b -> 11 mbps
2. 802.11g/a -> 54 mbps
3. 802.11n -> > 108 mbps???

So after careful consideration, its time to replace the Linksys 802.11G.

I was happy with my old router since since it can be customised using dd-wrt. (Well, I did not do much with the custom DD-WRT only do it for fun.
Since this time the N router is getting more affordable. I finally decide time to get a new router. So I choose Belkin N1 after careful consideration.

So what will you get with Belkin N1?
Theoritically, it will support 300Mbps, in my testing, I can only reach 270Mbps connection.

Linksys WRT54G will only give you 54Mbps. Well 270 Mbps > 54 Mbps. So I am happy with the speed increase. The main thing, the new router is suppose to have a longer "distant" so even I am upstair, I should not encounter timeout due to lost wireless connection.

Afte doing some research, I finally decide which model that I want to get. I bought the Belkin N1 from Circuit City. And with some coupon I finally manage to get one less than US$90.

The comments from the internet is mixed for this router, but I finally give it a shot,since the linksys dualband is still very expensive (199 USD).

The installation is pretty straight forward, I do not have problems to install it but there are some minor problems that could be annoying at the beginning.

Problems that I encountered:
1. My wireless is up and down using my 2nd notebook eventhough the 1st notebook does not have any problem.
2. My VPN to office is not working

Searching from the internet and play around with the setting, I have finally found the solution:
1. Upgrade the firmware to the latest beta F5D8231-4_WW_4.00.18 --> VPN will work
2. Turn on the Bandwith (20+40 hz) --> Will make your clients faster since the 802.11N could operate at differnet bandwith (40hz)
3. Turn off the QoS --> For some reason it hates my 2nd notebook if I turn it on.

problem solved :-). No more wireless up and down, VPN, and VOIP all are working fine. Well, I am a happy man now.

Screenshots to help other people with Belin N1 Router:

If you have a problem with Belkin N1, post your question and briefly describe your problems. If I could help, I will be glad to answer your question.

URL: http://www.belkin.com

cya

TARGET Coupon Code - Save $5 if you spent on $50

2008-01-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

Anybody likes to go shopping online at Target ?

Use this coupon Code: TC3H7DCT
If you spent above $50
Not sure whether got any restriction though, but you could apply the coupon during the checkout. Thought I will share this since I dont think I will ever use this coupon :P.

This code valid until 2nd Feb 2008

cya

Belkin - N Router

2007-12-29T20:08:00.001-08:00

Belkin has another interesting products i.e. N Router. Before I decide to buy this router, I surf the web to try to find what are the best N Router.

I am very happy with my previous Linksys 802.11G. And it provides a nice connection at my place. But when my friend decide to share the internet connection with another person and the router has to be inside this new person's place. This linksys router is no longer sufficient.

I could not get any signal at all in my room.

There are a couple of ways to provide signal to my room:

1. Setup a Repeater

2. Buy a bigger antena for the router

3. Buy another 802.11G which provides a longer range.

4. Buy a new 802.11 N router

Well, I have tried to use a repeater, but the connection is up and down. So maybe the area that I choose to setup the repeater is not close enough. The only other place that I could setup this repeater will be the bathroom. So Option 1 is out.

Option 2 is out since the person doesnt like to have bigger antena *sigh*

Then I left with Option 3 and Option 4.

SoI bought Another 802.11G which provides a longer range. I tried Linksys 802.11 Ranger Products.

I bought this and quickly installs it. The installation is easy. and it does provides a bigger coverage than my previous 802.11g. How Do I know ? I bring my laptop and go around in and outside the house. Before I decide to choose this product, I tried the option 4 too :).

Option 4 - A new 802.11N router

I choose Belkin N Router. (Not Pre-N and not N1 Router).

This is the excellent choice since it gives even further range than the Linksys 802.11 Ranger product :P.

So I return the Linksys 802.11 Ranger product and Keep the Belkin N Router.

So What is the good of Belkin N Router ?

1. Setting up is easy.

I do not need to open the manual or install any CD. Took me less than 5 minutes to make it work.

2. Bigger coverage

I can surf the web now from outside the garage :P while previously using the Old linksys 802.11G and Linksys 802.11 Ranger Product I would not be able to do that.

3. Speed is good

802.11n is much better than 802.11g. In theory it can provides higher than 100 Mb, but of course thats only in theory :-). I can only get about 76 Mb, but its already good enough. Better than 54Mb.

So what is the bad thing?

1. I will need to buy N Wireless Card :(.

Since I have already invest to get a new N router, I might as well maximise the speed.

What N wireless card that I chose ? Hmm....See my next blog :P.

So Do I recommend Belkin N Router ? Yes.

is it easy to hack this router? No idea for now.

URL: http://www.belkin.com

price: 69.90 USD

cya.

Logitech ClearChat Pro USB - Headset

2007-12-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

I always love Logitech Products. From the Mouse, Keyboard, Web cam and Headset.

So for the Headset, I have been using Logitech Pro 250 then Moved to Logitech Pro 350 and now its latest generation Logitech ClearChat Pro USB appears.

The highlight of the product is pretty interesting:

"Highlights: Laser-Tuned Audio Drivers, Mic Mute-Indicator Light, Noise-Canceling Mic, Padded Headband, Rotating "

So I finally deciced my mind and manage to get this at Best Buy because I want to know how good is the Laser-Tuned Audio Drivers.

There is no need for installation for my windows XP.
Its really plug and play. No drivers required. Good Job Logitech!

Some Nice Features of the Logitech ClearChat:

1. The mute button is at the top so it prevents accidents pressing the button like in the previous generation (Logitech Pro350)

2. Up and Down volume is at the top

3. Voice is very clear

Disadvantage of the Logitech ClearChat

1. There is a buzzz sounds on the recipient. Hopefully Logitech will fix this problem.

So is it worth to buy? Not really sure, but I will stick with Logitech 350 since I do not want to annoy the recipient with the buzz sounds. If Logitech can fix this problem with the next version, I will definitely buy the products. but for Now, it looks like I will need to go back to Best Buy for a refund.

More Info: Logitech URL

Price: US$ 34-49

CD / DVD Writer with Lightscribe - Do we need it?

2007-10-29T23:11:00.001-07:00

Most of the new computers now came with CD Writer or DVD Writer. Have you heard about lightscribe? See the image, isnt it cool to put a Label directly on top of your Disc ? the picture in the DVD is using lightscribe technology.

Anyway, lets go back to some history
Previously CD Writer is good enough to keep our data. But now? It’s unlikely, with all the emails getting bigger and bigger attachment, a CD will not fit anymore.

Not only that, you digital camera is getting bigger too: P. 6 M pixel, 8 M pixel, blahhh. All these pictures needs bigge storage, you will be sorry if you keep backing it up to your Hard-Disk. When your hard-disk spoilt, you will cry :-).

The solution came with a DVD Writer. A CD Can only hold data up to 680 MB while a DVD can hold data up to 4700 MB (Notice the difference??). Life is starting to get better with CD Writer and DVD Writer.

Try to backup your data using the old 1.44" floppy diskette: P so what is a lightscribe DVD burner? If you notice, normally how do you label the CD or DVD after you finished writing the data/pictures?

You will use a red-marker or black-marker, right?If you are like me, my handwriting is very ugly, But at least its better than no label to the DVD backup otherwise It will be hell to search the photo trip or your archive data.

Mail - 1996
Mail - 1997
Photo - 2004
Trip to San Francisco - 2005, etc, etc.

so a lightscribe DVD Burner will allow you to print the image/text directly on top of your CD / DVD. For more screenshots (See Sample screenshots URL at the bottom)

How much is it ? External DVD Burner with lightscribe is no longer expensive.

I manage to get Samsung DVD Master at 69 USD. And recently I saw the price drop to 59 USD (Sale time). So it’s really affordable now.

The good thing with the Samsung DVD Master, It comes with all the necessary software.
1. Nero Express
2. Lightscribe addon

so you will only need to buy a CD / DVD with lightscribe mark. It’s slightly more expensive.

I bought 50 DVD with lightscribe and it costs me 29.90 USD.
Compare to 50 DVD without lightscribe and it will only cost you 14.90 USD.

Oops, double the price. Is it worth it? I don’t know, it really depends, if you want to look more professional for your photo album, and yeah, I think it’s worth it :).

Some benefits:

1. The CD will looks nicer and professional

2. It is very easy to put the label/image using lightscribe. Took me less than 10 minutes to figure out.

Some Disadvantage:

1. It will take about 10 minutes to print the label. (Actually it depends on how big the image that you put for the lightscribe)

2. The CD/DVD price costs more than normal CD

3. No Color for now

Sample Lightscribe Image: Sample Lightscribe Images
More Info: http://www.lightscribe.com/

Next article: How to print and some tips using lightscribe software i.e. Nero Express 6

Cya

Nokia E90 - How To send Files Thru Bluetooh for .dat .pdb files?

2007-10-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

Some FAQ for E90:

1. I have a .pdb File. I want to send this file to my Friend's Nokia using bluetooth. Everytime I send this file, it will goes to the inbox and it can not be opened nor saved. How Can I fix this problem?

Answer:
Your nokia will not allow you to send unknown file format, so by default it can only accept .doc, .jpg, .sis, .zip and a couple of extra file types.

So the workaround is: to zip your files using the Zip Applications available in your Nokia E90. (Its under Office folder). Zip the file and send the file using bluetooth.

The recipient will be able to open the incoming bluetooth and extract the files after that.

cya.

E90 - Messenger Client

2007-08-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

Unlike Windows Mobile. E90 did not come with a pre-installed Instant Messaging i.e. Yahoo, MSN or AOL.

Windows Mobile comes at least with a preinstalled Windows Messenger.

So after looking around for some "free" alternatives, I finally manage to found one client that is working fine with E90.

The client is from ebuddy: http://www.ebuddy.com/mobilebeta/

There is no official support fo E90 yet, so for the time being, you will need to get the client as Nokia N95.

Pre-req:

1. Make sure you are allowed to install unsigned application

2. Make sure you have your wifi ready (at your home perhaps ???) since the ebuddy will download the application from the web.

Step by steps:

1. Point your URL to: http://www.ebuddy.com/mobilebeta/

2. Select your Brand: Nokia

3. Select your modele: N95

4. Download the file i.e. eBuddyBeta_nokia_n95.jad

5. Transfer the file to E90 (*Using SD Card reader or the USB cable*)

6. Run the eBuddyBeta_nokia_n95.jad from Nokia File Explorer

7. The application will ask you

a. Unsigned Installation warning -> Choose Continue
b. Approve to connect to the internet -> let it pass and choose your access point

8. Download the application and ebuddy installation complete

9. You can found the new application under "Instalation folder"

You can run the application now. It should be quite straight forward to use. You will need to configure the "user id and password". but it works :).

Have fun......

cya

E90 - List of Applications

2007-08-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

List of Applications (Will Grow with time)

1. Opera Mini 4 Beta
URL: http://operamini.com/beta
Review: http://dragonboy2006.blogspot.com/2007/08/nokia-e90-opera-mini-4-beta-browser.html

2. Google Maps
URL: http://www.google.com/gmm
Review: http://dragonboy2006.blogspot.com/2007/08/e90-applications-google-maps.html

3. Instant Messaging (Yahoo, MSN, AOL)
URL: http://www.ebuddy.com/mobilebeta/
Review: http://dragonboy2006.blogspot.com/2007/08/e90-messenger-client.html

Last Update: 20th August 2007

E90 - Applications - Google Maps

2007-08-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Google Maps works on E90.

You will need your browser and set the URL to:
http://www.google.com/gmm

Download and install it.

The catch:
The Google Maps is designed for "keypad users" eventhough it does work on the "Wide screen of E90" the buttons are still designed for keypad phone. So its a bit annoying. Other than that, it works fine, and its pretty fast too.

If you got problem, just post your comments, and I will see what I can do to help.

cya.

Nokia E90 - Opera Mini 4 Beta - Browser Limitation

2007-08-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

The previous post talk about the built-in browser in Nokia E90 could not access the Mobile banking.

http://dragonboy2006.blogspot.com/2007/07/nokia-e90-browser-limitation.html

I am testing with Opera Mini 4 Beta now.
You can download it from: http://operamini.com/beta

Same problem. The 2 websites also hates Opera Mini.
URLs:
1. http://www.bofa.mobi
2. http://www.wf.com

Next week: Lets try iPhone :-).
Stay tune.....

cya.

How To Track storlen Ipod

2007-08-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

Nice Story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20078671/

If you got time, read it :) and see how people steal the mp3 player and get caught :P.

cya.

Nokia E90 - Browser Limitation

2007-07-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Nokia E90 comes with a built-in browser. The browser itself is nice, it can support images, flash and even you can use mini-map to navigate a big site and zoom to a particular area.

On the other hand, eventhough the browser is nice, apparantly the financial sector did not like Nokia.

I try with
1. http://www.bofa.mobi --> Bank of America Mobile Banking
2. http://www.wf.com --> Wells Fargo Mobile Banking

These 2 websites hates the nokia E90. It will not let E90 to login :(. Browser is not compatible....blahhh...This must have something to do with the user-agent of E90.

I need to hunt a way whether its possible to change this. (Use Internet Explorer user agent :P ).

For now, my Windows Mobile 2003 SE (O2 XDA IIi) is still a winner since it can browse the 2 websites without having any problem.

So if you are thinking to buy Nokia E90, just make sure you do not need to surf those 2 websites :P. At least for now until the bank decides to support it.

cya.

Nokia E90 - How To Turn On the Built-In GPS

2007-07-29T11:10:00.001-07:00

I was having problem to turn on the GPS function in the Nokia, I try to find the answer from the Web, but there is no clear direction, pieces by pieces information.

Some people may think its straight forward, since they may have other GPS mobile phone before or they are too smart :), Not for me, i am totally new for this.

So here is the instruction to turn on the GPS Function in Nokia E90
1. Go Outside of the house (make sure you got clear sky). It will not work inside the house, remember a GPS needs to have a connection to the satellite in the sky, so its good to try it out outside of the house.

How to make sure the GPS Integrated is being turn on?
1. make sure the Nokia E-Series clamshell is "closed" for now
2. Press the Menu button
3. Go to GPS Folder, and press OK button
4. Go to GPS Data, and press OK button
4a. There will be a stupid error message "GPS not available" IGNORE THIS message
5. Press the Options Button and choose "Positioning Settings", and press OK
6. Choose only "Integrated GPS", Deselect the rest. and press Back Button
7. Done.

How to see your current location in the GPS or Locked in the satelite? "
1. Make sure the Nokia E-90 series clamshell is "closed" for now
2. Press the Menu button
3. Go to GPS Folder, and press OK button
4. Go to GPS Data, and press OK button
4a. There will be a stupid error message "GPS not available" IGNORE THIS message
5. Choose the "Position" and press OK button
6. Press the "Options" Button and choose Sattelite Status, and press OK
7. WAIT for 3-4 minutes, the sattelite number will appear like 1, 31, 23, etc.
a. The Bar will show, at the beginning the bar will appear empty
b. Wait until the the BAR FULL SOLID Black colour (*It could take 3-4 minutes*)
c. Wait until at least 3 satellite have a SOLID Black colour filled.
8. Press Back, and you should be able to see your current GPS location.
8a. Latitute, Logintute, Accuracy, Altitue, all will have "numbers" now
9. Done

How to see the Maps using GPS?
1. Make sure you have done the "How to see your current location in the GPS or Locked in the satelite? "" above
2. Go to GPS Folder
3. Go to "Maps" application
4. If you have your satelite locked on, the default maps application will directly go to your "Current location" :-)
5. Done

FAQ:
Do you really need to close the clamshell of the E-Series to use the GPS?
Ans: No, but for the sake of simplify of this sample, i prefer to close the Clam Shell. Once you have get used to it, feel free to open the clam shell

Do you really need to go to outside of the house to use the GPS?
Ans: Depends on the situation. For simplication, I prefer to do it outside of the house, when you manage to turn on the GPS, feel free to try it inside your house, it might work. It works in my room :P.

cya.

Any question ?? just leave your comments and email.

Linksys - Compact Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with SpeedBooster

2007-06-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

Linksys normally came with a good product. I generally like their products. Easy to use and all Operating Systems generally accept their networking product i.e. Linux, Windows XP, etc

This Compact Wireless USB is no exception. The product looks simple, and the Installation is a breeze. Put the CD, click on the next next next, and complete. Finding the access point is also simple.

The only problem with this product is to maintain the wireless connectivity. In my testing, behind 2 walls, this USB product have problem. The connection got lost in the middle a few times in a day.

My Router is Linksys Wireless Router-G Broadband Router (WRT54GL) . This router works fine with the PCMCIA and PCI model. Only with this USB model, the connection is not stable.

My best bet is with the antenna or input power, the PCI model have antenna, and the PCMCIA have a stronger bandwith while the USB only have 5v :P. So the input power is not strong enough.

So if you have a lot of Walls, dont use this product, you better get the PCMCIA card (notebook) or PCI card (Desktop). Those works better than this USB. For now, I have returned this USB product within 1 week due to the "connectivity" problem.

Price is: USD 59.99

Easy to Install: 5 Stars

Connectivity: 3 Starts

cya

Opera Mini vs Iphone Browser

2007-06-20T21:52:00.001-07:00

You have heard about the "Hi, I am a mac, and I am a PC" How about "Hi, I am an Opera Mini. I am an Iphone"

http://www.operamini.com/beta/video/

Its pretty interesting, hopefully I would be able to see more of this type of advertisement. Since sometimes I am sick with the "Hi, I am a mac and I am a Pc" advertisement.

I do not see the Windows counter attack advertisement.

So hoping to see more of this :P

cya.

Linksys Wireless Router - 4MB Flash

2007-06-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

Since I am moving back to USA again, the 1st thing that I need to find is a router. So I went to Fry's and Best Buy to look for Linksys Wireless Router.

Since I have managed to install a custom firmware on my other router in Singapore, I will definitely want to have a new custom firmware on my router here.

Eventhough I knew that Fry's and Best Buy have a refund policy after 2 weeks, I do not want to waste a trip to go back and fight :). So the easiest way to make sure that I will get the correct router and model number is to print out the list of Linksys Router Version number.

Why do I need to do that?
The new Linksys Router come with a 2 MB flash. So the custom firmware dd-wrt will not be fit into it. The Old Linksys Router comes with a 4MB flash.

If I buy a 2MB flash, the Micro DD-WRT is the only version that I can use. I will not be able to use the standard version of DD-WRT. (needs 4 MB Flash). -> The standard version offers more options like ssh

So I print out all the list as a .pdf and save it to my Phone (O2 XDA IIi) . No Paper, I save a tree :P.

My first thought that it will be easy to find those router with 4 MB flash. I was wrong. Damn, it is so hard and finally I only manage to find 1 Router that have 4 MB. The rest of them are new stocks i.e. 2 MB flash.

Here is the one that I manage to buy:
WRT54GL version 1.1 with 4MB flash.

Those are my experience in Best Buy and Fry's.

If you need to buy a router, and interested with custom firmware, go to this website to check out the version and flash size:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRT54G#WRT54GL

Print out the list and buy it :).

cya.

Nokia E65 - Voip with DD-WRT (Linksys)

2007-05-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

I have finally manage to get Nokia E65. This sexy phone looks cool, I especially like the voip client built-in directly in the firmware.

Before I got the E65, I was having a debate to choose between E65 and N95. Finally I choose E65 simply because:
1. E65 is cheaper (half)
2. N95 based on the review got some "background noise"
3. I dont think I need GPS on my phone yet.
4. N95 feels cheap on my hand compare to E65

So I bought E65 (Mocha Color) and manage to squeeze 1 gb micro SD from the sales girl without any additional charge :).

Installing application to this phone is easy, I can install the bible pretty easily to this phone.

When I try to connect to my wireless, I can get this work pretty easily too except I will need to wait for about 20 sec before the phone able to detect my wifi.

Once connected, I can start using the Web Browser without having any problem. There is nothing to learn much, just need to learn to type the web site address using "phone pad". (Its a pain)

So Far, my experience is pretty good.

Now lets try with the voip client. I try with Singapore pfingo. I have managed to connect to pfingo using my wireless notebook, PC, and my XDA IIi.

So I thought this will be easy to use this nokia. Right ???

Damnnnn, I was wrong, it took me the WHOLE NIGHT to figure out what went wrong because it seems that I am not able to connect to pfingo from the nokia at all. And there is no "error message" that will be able to help to debug the problem.

Finally after sleep, the next day, I try again while also surfing the web to find more information. I am pretty sure other people might encounter the same problem as me. True enough, lots of people are having the same problem as mine. The problem was because I am using linksys with dd-wrt standard version.

For some reason dd-wrt standard version is not compatible with nokia voip client. *sigh*. Its something to do that they rewrite the Header hence the nokia requests was being modified and rejected.

The solution is to use different dd-wrt version i.e. dd-wrt 2.3 SP2 micro edition.

So I download this lighter firmware and install it to my Linksyss router WRT54GSv4.

After installation, true enough, I am able to connect to pfingo :). A quick try using this voip client proof that it works fine.

For now, I am happy, but now I want to try using Singapore@SG. I want to see the Quality using the Free Wireless.

Stay Tune...

PS: I am sad that I am no longer able to use ssh to my router, but on the other hand, How often I ssh to my router :P.

cya.

Spreadsheet Online From Google - is it that great ?

2007-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Spreadsheet online from Google -> http://docs.google.com

has already been around for quite some time now. A lot of people was saying that Google threaten Microsoft Office with these products.

My comments for now:
Impossible :P

See my own story:

I am using the Docs.google.com for the spreadsheet, since I will need to update some of my files between Notebook and Desktop. So its a hassle to keep updating it in 2 places. and transfer via email to make sure they are in sync.

So I have decided to move the file to docs.google.com

Sure enough, I do not need to keep updating in 2 places. I will just need to go to the site, and update mine.

Sounds simple ???

Here are the bad things,
everytime I will need to insert a row, its a painful, and since my file is about 121 lines (keeps increasing)
I could not see the header. And there is no function to freeze the top column.

Here are the annoying things I found so far:
1. Everytime I insert a line, the Web Browser will stuck and will not give me a blank entry until I close the browser and reopen a new one. (I am using IE 6)

2. Everytime I insert a column, the Web Browser will stuck and will not give me a blank entry until I close the browser and reopen a new one. (I am using IE 6)

3. No Header like I said before, so its painful to go back to the 1st row to see what is the title of the column.

So all the analyst that keep saying Google spreadsheet will take over the MS Office. My comments only: Keep dreaming for now :P.

For now, its far far from perfect.

The only good thing is I do not need to keep updating my files in 2 places, but now I am stuck with a new problem i.e. Keep closing and reopening my web browser.

Product used: http://docs.google.com

Cya.

Remove Gogle Mail - Ads

2007-03-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

Always wondering about how to remove the Ads in the google mail ? (Right hand, sidebar)
There are a lot of information in the website now on how to remove this:

Most of the method only works with firefox, so here it is, just in case anybody interested:

Use Mozilla Firefox 1.0 - 2.XX

1. Install the extention for Mozilla Firefox called Stylish
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108

2. Restart Firefox
3. Tools -> Extentions -> Stylish
Choose Options
A new window will appear

4. Choose Write

5. Description -> Remove Gmail Ads (See the picture)
6. Enter these foolowing lines : (See the picture)

--- Cut Here - Begin

@-moz-document url-prefix(http://mail.google.com/) {
body, html {
overflow-x:hidden!important;
}
#rh, #rh .c
{
display:none!important;
}
#msg_0 {
width:820px!important;
}
#mb_0 div, .msg textarea {
width:800px!important;
}
}

---- Cut Here - End Here

7. Click save
8. Then try to go to your gmail now.

Have fun :)

More Info: http://dep01.livejournal.com/304577.html

cya.

Vista UMPC with 3G Hand Phone

2007-03-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

Arrghh, I want one :)

No need to comment too much about this babe.

See it for yourself:

Specification:
VIA CPU (the one we tried had a 1.2GHz chip)
Vista business (yes, it was running Aero)
7-inch sliding, tiling wide-touchscreen
30GB drive
Tri-band UMTS / HSDPA, quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE ---> NICEEEEEE
WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0
Biometric reader, front-facing camera

Info: Engadget - News/

My only problem: is it Big ? and what is the battery life ?

Cya.

Linksys Wireless Router With Custom Firmware

2007-03-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

Linksys Wireless Router is no different with other brands i.e. Netgear, SMC, etc.

I use linksys because I found the support service is good. So thats why I still stick with linksys.

I have heard running linksys Wireless Router with custom firmware. But I am not keen to try it out simply because it works.

And I dont see any added value with the custom firmware. Until today. I found myself in a bored situation, so while searching the web, I encountered some interesting thing with the custom firmware.

So finally I decided to give it a try.

and surprisingly its very simple to install :).

What is the benefit of running the custom firmware:
1. SSH -> You will be able to login to your router (linux firmware)
2. Webgui -> normal
3. More authentication options (WPA, etc, etc)
4. Samba client
5. Better GUI dashboard.
6. because you are a geeks

Here are the steps that I use to install the custom firmware.

I use dd-wrt custom firmware version 2.3

1. Check your Linksys router. Mine is WRT54GS version 4.0
Make sure your linksys router is supported because linksys have many different version. some of the version has "limited" storage, so the custom firmware may not be able to install to it.

WRT54GS version 4.0 can be identified by the serial number.
More info: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki

2. Download the dd-wrt from the website
Download the mini version. -> Generic version

3. Change your router to default factory (use the reset button and hold for 30 seconds)
4. Use "Wired" Cable and connect to your router
5. install the dd-wrt MINI version (generic) from the web gui
6. wait for 5 minutes when the "Upload successful"
7. press the continue button
8. reset the router to factory default again (use the reset button and hold for 30 seconds)
9. Use default user id/password: root/admin
10. Configure your new DD-wrt
11. If you want to install the standard version of dd-wrt, you can do that now, since the original linksys firmware does not allow you to upload 3 MB file, thats why you will need to install the mini version (2.4 MB) file.

its very simple :), the hardest part only to ensure that your router is "supported"

Lazy to post the screenshot since there are lots in the web site :P.

Other Website that is useful:
1. http://www.testmy.net/forum/t-12222
2. http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Index:FAQ

cya

Zune vs Ipod ads

2006-12-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Today found this on the web :), I do not have much comment, except maybe its a revenge due to Apple's ads. So it will be interesting how Apple will reacts

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQg0JNaKeVM

PS:I got no comment since I dont have both gadgets :P

cya.

Nintendo Wii - Good or Bad ?

2006-11-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Nintendo Wii just being released recently in USA. Obviously the Wii Console is running out very fast.

The advertisement is great, I loved the advertisement. But when I watch the advertisement, I was wondering about something.

Since we can "act" as if we are playing tennis using Wii, what happens when we Play something like Bowling game. Will there be any accident?

Sure enough, there is 1 accident already :-)

Photos: photo

I am waiting for more accident :P, will there any lawsuit because of this? Let see...time will tell, but I am pretty sure I dont have to wait for years.

Some of the accident that I could predict:
1. TV Broken, Windows broken, The Wii remote broken, The Wii remote hit another people's face, The wii remote hits expensive collection, The wii remote hits children, Strain Arms, Strain Legs.

Info: News Info

Ebay - Read BEFORE you BID

2006-11-23T04:05:00.000-08:00

Have you tried bought something from Ebay ?

I did, and so far i am not dissappointed with the things that I bought :).

But with the PS3 craze, its just amazing. People is trying to make money from the PS3.

Example:
Case 1:
Using words to trick people to quickly buy it since its a rare item.
"3 Sony Playstation Systems...Free Shipping!"
Nothing wrong with the title but the description:

"You're bidding on Sony Playstations, 3 of them.
Bid with confidence."

Oh NOOOO, you see, if you did not read carefully, you will miss the "comma", and your minds quickly said, oops, I need to buy it NOWWWWWWW its soo cheappppp, and there goes your money, this PS1 is being sold
at 900 USD. (3 PS1). There is no way you need to spend 900 USD to buy PS1. This PS1 also did not comes with the controller, damn....I guess the guy will need to spend extra $$ to buy the controller.

Poor guy did not read the fine print.

Link: Ebay Link - Case 1

Case number 2:
A person would like to make a quick buck by selling PS3 in the ebay. Poor him,
The PS3 price is US$ 500++. and guess whats happen, since he is too optimisitic that people will bid on his PS3, he got the item sold at US$10. If only he put the reserve price or start the bidding at US$ 750. Come on, the seller want to make a quick buck right, so he knows he will only sell it above certain price :P, so why dont he cut the chase and just put the items at the minimum price that he wants to release the item :).

YEAPPPP, US$ 10.......

Link: Ebay Link - Case 2

Lesson Learn:
1. Read before you buy :)
2. Dont be too optimistic, if you start the bidding at least 500 USD, you will still get your money back :).

cya.

VOIP Phone - Skype, Yahoo , MSN Live

2006-11-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

I have seen a lot of voip phone lately. Of course its all started from voip for Skype only.
Started with "wired", and moved to "Cordless".
so now more vendors see the opportunity to make $$ with the other IM vendors i.e. Yahoo and MSN.

In here, I am only interested to see "cordless" voip" since I found it eventhough its nice to use a headset, but you are stuck with a few metres away from your computer. While if you manage to get a cordless phone, you are free to move around your house.

So far here is what I have found out:

1. Skype
Available Vendors: Linksys, Netgear
URL: Netgear, Linksys
Quality of voice: 5/5
Assumption; You are using Intel Core Duo *blah*, the memory usage is high starting from Skype 2.5. Otherwise stick with skype 2.0

2. MSN Live
Vendor: Uniden
URL: Uniden
Price: US$ 99
Voice Quality: 4/5

3. Yahoo Messenger
Vendor: V-Tech
URL: Vtech
Voice Quality: 5/5 --> In fact I found out that Yahoo is better now than skype :P.
But it might be because I am not using Intel Core Duo yet.

For now, the only problem with those products are : they are only work with 1 vendor per time *Sigh*, none of them want to do an "multiple vendor IM".

But I am pretty sure that day will come, just wait for 1-2 more years :). It will happen......

cya.

PSP - Introduction

2006-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is a game Console from Sony. I have had it for a few months, and I could tell you that I never regret to buy it.

I have a choice between Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. both have strength and weakness.
I have done my research and after careful investigation I found out that Sony PSP has a better processor and bigger screen and clearer screen than Nintendo DS.

So finally I decide okay, lets go with Sony PSP. And guess what, I never regret it :).

I bought the Sony PSP with the Operating System version 2.71 (FW 2.71)

Sony keep updating the OS / Firmware. Each version will introduce some new things, it could be good or bad :).

Its up to you to decide.

I am considered lucky since after a few weeks I bought Sony PSP, the patch for playing self-made program or homebrew appears.

What can you do with Sony PSP ?
1. Play Games using the disc
2. Watch video .mp4 or using Disc (UMD disc)
3. Picture Viewer i.e. .jpg files
4. Play music files i.e mp3
5. Surf Internet using a built-in browser *Keyboard sucks though*

After you apply the patches to allow play self-made program, the Sony PSP is getting better :)

On top of the above, you can do more:
1. You can play your old console games using emulator such as Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega, etc
2. You can open a .pdf file
3. Calculator (Range from Simple calculator until complex calculator like HP and TI calculator)
4. Any other self-made games such as Hangman, bomberman, sudoku, etc

So if you are thinking to buy a PSP or Nintendo DS. For me, I will choose a PSP than Nintendo DS.

Dont get me wrong, Nintendo DS has a lot to offer too, but the graphics is much better in PSP than Nintendo DS simply because the hardware spec in PSP allows that to happen :).

In the next few weeks, I might discuss more about the Homebrew program if there is enough request for it.

cya.

Word And Excel in the web By Google

2006-10-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Google bought www.writely.com last year, so finally they have integrated together.

The new website is called: http://docs.google.com

Its interesting to see that you will be able to read online word document and excel in the web. Very useful indeed, but not too useful for some people.

Useful thing about having it online:

1. Share the doc with colleague and ask them to modify it online.

2. When you are on travelling and you did not bring your PC, its nice to know that you could always use internet cafe to read/modify documents :P

Some issue that I can think of:
1. Lost of internet connection, What happens if your internet connection lost in the middle of editing documents :-)
2. Since I store the "confidential" document in Google, what will happen if Google change the policy and will scan documents and choose to provides some "advertisement"

3. Since I store the document online, what will happen if someone else hack into the account.

Oops..oops..

Its a nice thing to know this feature is there when I need it, but I wont store my confidential file there :P. I might use it once a while, but will not make my business to depends on it :P.

I will still have offline Word processor and Spreadsheet. To safe cost, I will use Open Office which is Open Source programs.

Web Site: http://docs.google.com

cya

Nokia N95 - Wish List For Next Year

2006-09-26T11:49:00.001-07:00

Nokia is one of the best brand for Mobile Phone. I really loved Nokia since its the easiest phone for sending SMS. Now with N95, Nokia is aiming for those who have PDA (Windows Mobile). The looks is very similar with a Windows Mobile PDA phone.

This new Nokia N95 cames built-in with:

1. GPS *yessss finally*

2. 802.11g *Wireless 54mbps - Should be quite fast*

3. Camera with 5 mega pixel *yeap thats right*

4. 3G (*nothing new but nice to know*

5. HSDPA *Another method to surf the web faster than the current 3G*

6. 2.6" LCD Display with 16 Million colors *niceee*

7. MP3 Player (See from the Picture 2 where the top part of the phone can come out - i like it*

8. Standard Phone layout (*You can push up the phone to show the normal phone layout - good for SMS *)

The only thing that I need to know now is:

1. How much is the price ???? Rumor - USD700

2. When will it be released - Rumor - Q1 2007

3. Speed - Eventhough I like Nokia, the only problems with their new handphone is the "speed". Its getting slower and slower *sigh*.

4. Battery...How long the battery can last :P

More Info: News Released

More photos: Nokia Photo

* Image above were taken from Nokia website.

cya

AA Battery USB

2006-09-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Battery. We had a lot of gadgets, from Camera, Wireless Mouse, Wireless keyboard, Hand Phone, Notebooks. All needs battery, some comes with Proprietary batteries and some comes with the normal battery that you can just buy from the counter i.e. Super Market, 7-Evelen.

Which one that I like? Of course, the one that I can buy from the counter :). I am lucky that my camera, mouse and joystick are using "AA" battery. So I bought about 8 NIMH battery 2500 mah. then just recharge them when necessary.

There is no problem with using this approach, except I need to make sure that I bring my battery charger everytime I travel out :P.

So thats when this Battery USB can be handy. I DO NOT need to bring my battery charger anymore. What I need is just a USB charger i.e. my notebook, or my PC, and I will be able to recharge my battery. Nice..

The only problem since this is the first time I see this: I notice the "capacity is not big enough for now".

For now the spec is:

1. Nimh battery

2. 1300 mah --> Notice this is way too low compare to the non-usb nimh (up to 2700 mah now)

Price ??? about 28 USD :P.

So its pretty expensive still. but oh well, thats the price when a new technology came out. I do not mind to have it though, looks handy and nice :).

More Info: http://www.usbcell.com/product/1

cya.

Zune from Microsoft - New Mp3 Player

2006-09-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

New baby in town from the giant Microsoft. As per usual, many parties are trying hard to crack the Apple big Pie. Samsung, Sandisk, Creative, Sony, all are trying to cut the pie. So now even Microsoft is trying to enter the Mp3 market.

The new player is called Zune.

What is so different between Zune and the rest of Mp3 products?

Wireless capability :-).

You will be able to share your music with another "zune" owner. So I kinda like this idea, no cables, just wireless :).

And Microsoft is trying to be innovative by introducing "lending songs".
Example:
If you buy a new song from Microsoft (*Protected of course*), you will be able to "lend" this song to another Zune Player for 3 days. He will be able to play it and if he like it, he can buy the song himself.

Good idea ?? I think so, I like the idea very well.

The launch date for this product is unknown yet, but I am sure they will target it this year.
And I am pretty sure the other MP3 players from diff vendors are going to follow the wireless capability too.

News: Microsoft
cya.

Blue Ray that can hold up to 200 GB

2006-09-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

I am not really a fans of blue ray yet. since its still expensive and beyond my reach for now :P. But if a CD can hold up to 200 GB. damn....Soon Hard-disk can be replaced or will it ?

Nahhh, not yet :), I am pretty sure eventhough Blue-Ray Disc can hold up to 200 GB, it will still be slow since its not "vacuum" (no air). its using "laser". While hard-disk is using magnetic, and its in vacuum so definitely faster than a Blue-Ray disc.

so it wont be able to match Hard-disk speed. But it will be good storage for your data or movie or whatever. you name it :). Just for example, if a typical mp3 is about 3M size, you will be able to store 66,667 songs in the 200 GB blueray.

For now, its only a prototype, it will be quite some times before it could be mass produced:

Just For the knowledge:1 CD -> typically hold up to 750 MB. (mega Byte) -> 250 songs

1 DVD (single layer) -> typically hold up to 4.7 GB (Giga Byte) -> 1567 songs

1 Blue Ray -> typically hold up to 25 GB -> 8333 songs

the new prototype blueray from TDK (hold up to 200 GB) --> 66667 songs

ouchhh....

Info: TDK News

cya.

Google Problems

2006-08-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Google problems ?

Only by typing: http://gmail.google.com and http://www.blogger.com.

I got the above message. Very funny. Both Internet Explorer and Firefox have the same problems. According to the message, they assume, I was using a "program" to go to the webpage, while in reality, I type it manually.

So the error message doesnt make any sense, I suspect Google just update some codes, since how can it be automated, if the "Blogger" webpage have the same problem as well he he he.

So this is what happens:
1. Google updates the code to restrict "automated robot" coming from the same IP address. So if the same robot keeps connecting to gmail.google.com. The new code is suppose to block it and shows the "error" message.

2. It looks smart right ???, WRONGGGGGGGGGG.
In actual fact, its really stupid to do that, why ??? Most companies only have 1 or 2 public IP address. And all the employee when they surf the web, it will use the "same" public IP address.

So google maybe "forgot" about this scenario. or some bugs in the code :P.

Anyway, from home its working fine, so I will keep quiet about this. This only proves something. A giant company like Google, also can make bugs :). so please do not only blame microsoft. After all, the "thing" that do the programming are the same thing i.e. human :P.

cya.

Applet Battery Problem

2006-08-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Interesting, Apple also having battery problem :P.
I guess its not only Dell.

Do you think they will start stopping us to bring a laptop to the plane ?

Info: CNN News

Listening Mp3 Player in a car

2006-08-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Listening music in a car is a must have for me. I bet thats the same thing for many people. Regardless young or old, people loves to listen to music. The only difference between them will be the type of music they will listen. Some likes Religious songs, and others could like rap, rock, country music.

They could listen from Radio, Tape, CD, Mp3-CD, or even MP3 Players.
Since I have Mp3 Players, I seldom used my CD or Radio anymore.

The configuration is:
1. Zen Vision M - 30GB
2. Car Charger for Zen Vision
3. FM Transmitter
4. Car Charger for the FM Transmitter

With these 4 combinations it seems perfect, but...there is always something missing. The quality of the sounds. Since I use the FM Transmitter, the quality is drop. Eventhough its still within my tolerate level, but for some people that have sensitive ear, the FM Transmitter is not good enough.

Recently, I manage to rent a Toyota Camry 2007 from Hertz, over there I see something new :), the AUX Connection.
Finally, I am able to listen the Zen Vision directly using the AUX connection.

My friend's new lexus also have a similar AUX connection. So my prediction, is AUX Connection will be common in a newer car.

And BMW has already signed a deal with Apple iPod to have the audio system compatible with Apple iPod meaning, most likely you will be able to change songs directly from the audio system instead of iPod.

So whats missing here? The Standard :-), so my bet is in the coming years, there will be a standard to manipulate MP3 Players using the Car built-in audio systems.

Dont believe ?? Lets see :)

cya.

Philips DVP5140K - DIVX Capability

2006-07-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

DVD Player is not something new. Divx capability is not something new. The new thing is, I finally manage to convince myself to buy one he he. I have already aiming to get one ever since I heard that divx movies can be played in some dvd player.

I never got time to go shop and try it out myself until finally last weekend, I manage to see at some electronics shops and see the price...oops..its getting very cheap now. DVD Player with DIVX capability can be as cheap as SG$ 100.

There is a catch though, they only support DIVX 3.11/4/5. While the new model with DIVX ultra capability support DIVX 3.11/4/5/6. Of course the new model will have a different price.

So I noted down all the prices and the model that I am interested in the normal electronics shop i.e. Best Denki. Then in the weekend, I went to Sim Lim to buy it, surprisingly, the price is not much different, DVP5140K price is SG$169. while in Sim Lim, I only manage to get it at SG$155.

It is not really much different beside you have to pay cash in Sim Lim, and you can not use your credit card without incurrent additional charges. So I bought one and quickly go home. I can not wait to try it out.

Installation is very easy, so no need to mention anything since its just like a normal dvd player.

Here is what I can observe so far:
1. It can play divx very well (no skip).
2. You can use your DVD Writer to store the files (*Remember DVD is 4.2 GB, while CD is only 700 MB*) so if you use a DVD, you can store more files inside it.
3. Limit your file name up to 13 characters, otherwise you can not see it on the TV.
4. Subtitle works well but....with some catch.
There are some subtitle that can be shown as 2 lines, but there are some that will be cut off. I have not investigate, but it should be quite simple to create a small program to overcome this problem.
5. The remote control is very light, I almost think its a toy :P.

Other than that, I am a happy man. The normal DVD that I have works fine too. So this player is good. I am happy to have it.

So if your DVD Player is old or spoilt, and you are thinking to get a new one, get this player :).

cya.

Zen Vision M - 30 GB Black

2006-07-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Zen Vision M - This baby rocks :-). Here is my experience after playing with it about 2 weeks.

Zen Vision M made by Creative. Mind you, iPod is good, but Zen Vision M is very good too. The only thing that iPod good is marketing and packaging, otherwise for sounds, Zen Vision will definitely comparable with iPod.

In fact I prefer Zen Vision M more because it comes with
1. FM Tuner
2. It could play divx movie
3. Has a longer battery life than iPod.

Installation is a snap. Easy but not really fantastic, I think they need to streamline the installation so that new user will not feel unease with the screen. At least I notice the installation is so plain. Since this Zen Vision is for entertainment, at least they could put some animation or nice song during the installation and shows the status of the progress.

So creative needs to work harder on packaging. Apple does better than creative here.

Once the installation completed. I tested with some few songs and movie clips, I transfer some of songs to the player, and it immediately can play it. Sweeet.....But it is not really difficult to do that, since its just a drag and drop. so there is nothing new in here.

Next I am wondering how can i play it in the car? After researching for a while
Since I am using a rental car, the car came with only CD Player, so I have no choice other than to get an FM Transmitter.

So after testing with 5 brands: Here are the lists of the FM Transmitter that I have tried:
1. iDot Connect -> Does not work-> Forget it
2. Belkin tune cast II -> works -> Quality (3 star)
3. Monster --> works -> Quality (2.5 star)
4. DLO Transpod --> Works -> Quality (4 star) , then drop to 2 star *see explanation*.
Price: US$ 99.99
5. Macally FMTF -> works -> Quality (4 star). Price: US$49.99

DLO Transpod comes with a problem, it clash with the "mobile charger in the car".
Everytime I plug the car charger to the Zen, the engine of the car's coming to the radio.

Macally FMTF -> the best so far for me, with or without the Mobile Charger, the sounds is excellent. so I am a happy man now.

Additional Accessories that worth to be considered when you bought a Zen Vision M
Mobile Charger for Zen Vision
Bought it in ebay for US$ 4.99 --> works fine so I am happy with it

Wall Charger for Zen Vision
Bought it in ebay for US$ 4.99 --> works fine so I am happy with it

FM Transmitter: Macally FMTF (US$ 49.99).
--> Comes with a Desktop Charger for FM Transmitter
--> Comes with a Mobile charger for FM Transmitter
--> Comes with a Retractable Audio Cable

More Info: http://www.creative.com

cya.

Google Check Out

2006-06-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

The rumors about Google will introduce some kind of payment service has already started since late last year. This service is suppose to compete with Paypal. Is this really true ???

When it finally appears today, on Thursday 29th June 2006, no more rumours :). I am itchy to find out more information about this. Here is the result:

What is Google Checkout?
This is another method to pay "some Seller" on the web that participate with Google Checkout.

You will put your credit card information with Google. *You have to trust Google here*
From over there, when you shop and ready to pay, there will be some options to pay:
1. Normal Method i.e. User ID and Password, and of course your credit card information
2. Google Check out option *You have already saved your credit card with them*

So to me, this is really nothing new. Do you know why ? Because Paypal has already done this for many years. The only good thing for us as consumer, soon I expect there will be some competition between Paypal and Google.

Because I am sure there will be some $$ that both Google and Paypal got by allowing the seller to use their services. So with additional of Google, Paypal has to "lower" down the charging fee :-).

So if you would like to sell thru Paypal in the future, you will have benefit since now your cost will be lower due to competition.

Why Google Checkout is not the same with Paypal?
1. One obvious thing, with Paypal, you can have your money in a Paypal account and pay the seller using this money.
2. You can send money between Paypal users
3. You can put money to your Paypal account using your own bank account i.e. BOA, etc
4. You can withdraw back your money from Paypal account to your own bank account i.e. BOA, etc
5. etc, ..etc..

What is the similar features between Google Checkout and Paypal?
1. Both of them allows you to pay using credit card.
2. .... ??? Thats it, nothing else for now.

List of seller using Google Checkout: List of Sellers

More Info: Google Check Out

cya.

Nintendo DS - Pinky

2006-06-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

The first time I know Nintendo is when I am still in the Junior High School. My cousin introduced me to the world of Super Mario Bross and Zelda, and I am hooked. I need to save 1/2 year though in order to buy myself a nintendo console. And after that borrow games from friends :P.

Anyway, the new product coming from Nintendo is DS lite. The only interesting part is the Colour which is pinky....
The product code is Noble pink..Interesting code name :).

But the looks really girly, so I bet it will be nice for your girl if she loves to play game :)

If not , then you can still buy it for her, and if she did not like to play game, you know, you can always play it whenever you are bored and do nothing in her place :P.

Available Time: 20th July 2006

More Info: Nintendo DS

cya.

Yahoo Version 8 Beta - Available now

2006-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yahoo messenger 7.5 is good for voice. I like it, sometimes for the voice chat, I prefer Yahoo than skype. It is very interesting now, since is getting more popular now, the quality is degraded.

The API for skype is still good though (at least i can use my cordless phone he he), but i can feel the "delay" in skype for the past few weeks.

For Yahoo, eventhough I feel the problem, but less than skype. Both are free, so for now, I will keep my mouth shut :)

Anyway, the purpose for this just to let everybody knows that Yahoo version 8 beta appears.

The only noticeable change is:

1. When you add an ID, it will now let you add a "MSN" address which means, now "possibly" very likely the 2 Instant Messaging Programs can communicate to each other.

I like the idea very much because sometimes, I hate to turn on so many Instant Messaging. *Yahoo, Skype, MSN, etc*.

I did try this feature by adding my own MSN ID to yahoo, and..oops..its not working yet :P. Maybe its coming up soon. I will just wait :). I have been waiting for years, *unless you are using trillian*, so wait for another few more months is alright.

Problem so far:

1. When you are chatting with a friend, and your friend's updating his own avatar. During saving the avatar. Your Yahoo Messenger will ....crash.

Hopefully they fix this bug soon.

More Info: Yahoo Version 8 Beta

cya.

MS Office 2007 Beta Preview

2006-06-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Anybody wants to try out MS Office 2007 ?

Microsoft provide a feww preview for you to test drive this office.

If you are interested, you could try it out here:

More Info: Microsoft Test Drive

cya.

Update for Netgear - Skype

2006-06-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

You can see my previous entry for Netgear Skype Products

Update:
I have already wondering whether this will work with the normal Wireless hotspot. My questions has been answered. The Skype Phone will not work since it does not contains web browser. So the phone will only work with WEP Key (*WPA key is unknown*).

From the website:

Q: Can I use the NETGEAR Skype WiFi Phone at any WiFi hotspot?
A: The Skype WiFi phone does not contain a web browser therefore can not access hotspots, which require web-based login or authentication.

Info: http://www.netgear.com/products/details/SPH101.php

GMAILFS - Updated

2006-06-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

I have updated GMAILFS Section.

Refer to my existing: GMAILFS Blog

In summary:
Do not upload more than 200 MB/day. There is a quote of bandwith that your google mail account can handle. More than this, will lock your account for 24 hours.

cya

Windows Live Messenger - 8.0 is out now

2006-06-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Windows Messenger 8.0 is finally out now. So no need to say anything else.

The only noticable difference is:
1. OFFLINE message

Finally Windows Messenger put this extra feature *sigh*. But its better late than nothing right :).

Before you do the upgrade, please "Export" your contacts first,
Contacts -> Save My Contacts.

In one incident to my friend, the contacts are gone. Mine did not. But I suspect thats because my hotmail is already using the live mail.

So please do this:
1. Export your contacts:
Contacts -> Save my contacts
2. Upgrade your MSN clients (see the download link below)
3. Import back your contacts if its missing :)

I will update it more later, so stay tuned.

Grab it from: http://ideas.live.com/

cya.

Picasa Web Album - From Google

2006-06-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

Picture...is part of our life now. Most of us have at least 1 digital camera. Gone the day that we have to take picture carefully, afraid that we are going to run out of film (Old camera)

Now when we take picture using digital camera, we dont hesitate, we just keep pressing click..click..click. and you only need to worry about "battery" he he he.

If you do not like the picture, you can immediately deleted it :). Especially with the dropping price of SD card, CF card. Ouwwww...Even my CF card is very old now. I only have 512 MB CF card. I know its still big enough, but now CF card has already had size > 4 GB. But since I am not really crazy taking picture, so 512 MB should be enough for me *At least for now*.

Anyway, enough with the introduction, lets get back with this web album. Where do you store all your Photos after you download it from your camera?

Your computer ???
CD ?? DVDs ??
Print it out ???

If the only option that you have is "your computer", you are in trouble babe.
When your computer's hard-disk is spoilt, you will cry :). All your beautiful picture will be gone.

If you backup to CD or DVD's that sounds better :) at least, you can still hope that you have a backup, whether the CD or DVD's spoilt and could not be be read due to "CRC failed" *sigh*, thats another story :) he he he he.

Anyway, here is alternative solution, you can use Web Album / Photo Gallery. Some web sites offer it free of charge

One of them is Google, they just launch a Picasa Web Album. *Test mode only for now*, you can see from the screenshot, there is a mark "TEST"

Whats the catch:
1. Free for Google User for a limited storage
2. 250 MB size *Do you think this is big???, *Sigh*, my CF Card is even bigger
3. Easy to use, since its only using a web broswer or you can use Picasa to upload
4. You can create private or public gallery. *Standard feature*
5. You can invite your friend to see your Gallery
6. Registered user with US$25.00 will get a bigger storage i.e. 6 GB storage

Whats the bad thing:
1. Your picture will be resize by Google, so its no longer in High Quality mode. (*Means you no longer can print in poster size if you had a 5M Digital Camera*)
2. No option for printing yet, currently I did not see the option to print the High Quality mode.
3. There is no option for you to download your HQ picture again. *Arrrghhh*

Conclution: I am a little bit dissapointed with this Picasa Web Album, they could not beat the one that is already in the market i.e. from Yahoo or Kodak.

I will blog separately for those Web Album Products :).

For now, you can try it out, but I will not make it as my personal Web Album :). Its not the right time yet, since the capacity is very small for me.

Final thinking: For your email, Google gives you 2.7GB free, and for Photos only 250MB ????
Errr..........I will pass :)

More Info: http://picasaweb.google.com

cya

Hitech Tap Water

2006-06-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Tap Water. I never think too much about it. I saw a lot of different kind of tap water in the mall, hotel, and friends place.

They are all in different shape and colours. And sometimes, I will be confused on how to turn it on.

This tap water is different, there is nothing fancy, its easy to use, but...it have a very interesting idea. It combines the tap water with light effect. The light colour will change depending on the colour temperature.

Hot Water, Warm Water and Cold Water. Nice right :-).

Price: Dunno :)

Take a look:
More info: Equa System

cya.

Google Spreadsheet is out now

2006-06-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Google Spreadsheet is out now. Its another new web application from Google. I have heard that this web application will appear on Tuesday. So thats why Tuesday evening, I sign up for the beta tester. On wednesday morning, I have already received the approval to try it out.

In everybody's mind, only one thing when they heard about this Google Spreadsheet. Can this be a replacement of Microsoft Excel?

My answer has been answered after I have done my testing.

"NO WAY". As of now, there is no way this web application will replace Microsoft Excel.

Dont get me wrong, Its a spreadsheet application, but its lack of ability that even a novice user in Microsoft Excel used.

Currently to me, its only a prove of concept that the internet now is fast enough to deliver application right to your desktop/notebook.

To replace the current version of Microsoft Excel. It needs a "HUGE" polishment.

Here is my review so far:

What is good for this:
1. You can open/save to your desktop
2. You can open/save to Google File Server. I dont know what is the storage space
3. Existing Excel file can be imported to this web application
4. Basic functions are working fine i.e. sum, count, etc.
5. You will only need a browser
6. You can share the excel with other google users to view/edit. Very useful if you are working in a team
7. Best of all: FREE....-> Nothing beats free right :-)

What does not work well:
1. No graphics/Pie Chart/Image insertion --> Oops.
2. Default Row/Columns are too little. Only 100 rows by default. This must be to reduce memory usage. But its too cumbersome to insert the rows from the page.
3. Limited functions, advance functions are not exists
4. Obviously, you will not be able to insert Objects from other applications like Power Point, sounds, etc :-)
5. No header/footer, Transpose cells, and MACRO :-).

In Summary, this is definitely NOT a threat to Microsoft Excel. This application will still be useful though for a simple spreadsheet. To compete with Microsoft Excel, it will need a lot of polishment. It will take months or even years before this web application will be able to compete. For now, I do not think I will use it a lot since its still lacks a lot of functions that can be found in Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3.

For those of you who are google fans, you can sign up on this web page: http://labs.google.com

As a closure, just to mention that, this web application are not the only alternative of Spreadsheet application.

There are at least 2 other alternative spreadsheet applicatoins that has been around since months :)
1. http://www.ajaxxls.com
2. http://www.numsum.com

Take a look, ajaxxls, in my mind have more functionality, since it allows to have graphics in the spreadsheet.

To Sign up for Google Spreadsheet: http://labs.google.com

cya

iPod accessories - LCD Screen + Speaker

2006-06-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Another iPod accessories. This time from Sonic. Product name: Sonic Impact. Its worth to be mentioned. Unlike the rest of accesories from other vendors normally are external speaker, transmit sounds thru bluetooth, but this one is different :).

What is so special?
As you can see from the picture, when you dock the iPod, this baby will also help you to enlarge your "screen". WOUWWWW..finally. Something that is useful :). You know what? I hate to watch iPod video in a small screen, after quite a while, your eyes will be tired. With this sonic 7" screen, I no longer have strain my eyes :P he he he.

Price ? err..US$ 300
a little bit pricey :(. more pricey than the iPod itself, but oh well.....this is what happen when there is a new product, hopefully more vendor to follow so then the price will drop :P

So far here is the known spec:
1. 7" screen
2. Speaker....

Not yet into production so we will have to wait for a few more months before finally it will reach the market. For now.....stick with your TV to watch your video :P.

More Info: Sonic Impact
cya.

MS Word Bug - 0 day attack

2006-05-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

My motto is always, never run a .doc document from untrusted source person. So I might miss a lot since I know some of my friends like to sent some jokes or pictures thru a .doc document.

But better be safe than sorry, If anything happens with my notebook, I am in trouble since I am in overseas and I could not get a rescue disk within a blink :).

Anyway what is a 0 day attack? This means, the bug has been discovered and an exploit has been written and its already spreading in the internet.

So what that you need to do? You dont have to do anything, just has to wait for Microsoft to create the patches and download the patches, and hopefully it will solve the problem and does not introduce a new BUG :P.

So currently, as of now, there is a MS Word bug with a 0 day attack. That means,:
1. Please do not run any .doc document if it is not business related
2. Antivirus is useless for now since the antivirus could not detect this bug yet...
3. If you are using google mail, open the MS word attachment as a .HTML file *there is an option over there*

That means, Google will be the one that opens the MS word, and send the result as a .HTML file. There is no virus by using this option.

Anyway for the workaround, if you are insist to open the .doc yourself, Microsoft solution for now is:
Run MS Word in a safe mode. How to do this?
Start -> Run -> WINWORD.EXE /safe
Open the file now.

Do not double click the file directly, since double click the file, will execute the WINWORD in a normal mode, and if the .doc got virus, your computer will be infected. Have fun cleaning it up :)

cya.

Its a Camera! Its a Phone! Its Samsung

2006-05-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

is it a Camera ? is it a Phone? Its Both :), welcome to Samsung SCH-B600. I believe this is the 1st camera that shows 10 M pixel :P. Yeap, you heard me right, 10 M pixel.

I am sure it will be pricey though, and this is an interesting concept, especially since the camera lens can be zoom in and out, this is a nice feature.

So far, there is no news when this baby will appears. but I can not wait the other vendor to catch up with this. Why ? Because if the other vendor appears with similar concept, then the price will GO DOWN :). as simple as that.

PS: Dont forget mega pixel is not everything. the Optical lens play an important part to the quality :).

More Info: Engadget - Samsung/

cya

UMPC (Origami) Competitor

2006-05-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

is this UMPC? Judging from the picture, its quite similar, but its not really a UMPC. I will call it super mini PC then :P. If you notice its part of VAIO product, which means its SONY.

Sony is going to release this babe end of May in Japan.

The only thing I can see the difference is this babe has a keyboard. Not very sure whether its a built-in or not. But its kinda cool, but I dont think it will fit into my pocket :P.

It will be bulky though, but I do not mind to have it as a toy.

From now the spec is:
1. Centrino Processor
2. Windows XP
3. 4.5" LCD Screen
4. 1024x768 resolution. (*Better than UMPC, UMPC is 800x600)
5. Built-in Camera
6. Optional GPS Receiver (*Niceeeee*)

Coming Up Soon: Accepts Flash memory instead of hard-disk
It may not use Memory stick, because for Memory Stick, i think the capacity is not big enough for now. Only Flash Drive, since as you can see from one of my previous blog, the Flash drive has already hit 64GB :). But I doubt they will ship with 64GB since the 64GB drive itself still very expensive. My target, it will ship with 16 GB or 32GB. Let see whether my prediction is correct :P.

The price for the 1st generation will be about US$ 1800 *Arrghhhhh, I can buy a real notebook*.
If you are loaded, you should be able to get it in Japan soon, by end of May, I expect it will appears in Ebay :), otherwise you can wait until July when Sony will release it in USA.

If you are kind enough, i dont mind to have this as my bday present :-).

More info: Sony Annocuncement

cya

Perpendicular Hard-disk 5K160 is out now

2006-05-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, Hitachi release its first perpendicular hard-disk. The product name is 5K160. Based on its name, we know that its:
1. 5400 RPM
2. 160 GB :)

Other than this, they also have the lower capacity i.e. 160GB, 120GB, 80GB, 60GB & 40GB

Complete Specification of their Perpendicular Product from the website:
- Hitachi’s first perpendicular recording (PMR) hard drive

- Choice of capacities:
160GB, 120GB, 80GB, 60GB & 40GB
- Parallel ATA or Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s models (SATA 1.0)
- IrMnCr read head for better performance & reliability
- Best in class for low-power utilization
- Outstanding performance

So I like the name, because the name is easier. The only thing that I dont like is: its still 5400 RPM. I was hoping to see 7200 RPM. Oh well, I can only hope that 7200 RPM is coming up next.

Just in case you are interested, perpendicular is suppose to be the latest technology for hard-disk. Current hard-disk technology is limited, and very limited growth. If you notice the maximum Hard-Disk you can find in the market is 500 GB.

So with this perpendicular technology, it is suppose to change that, since now, the data will be stored "vertical" instead of "horizontal" to save space.

So theoritically, we should expect 1000 GB (1 Tera Byte) coming up in the horizon :).

By the way, if you are wondering why do you need 1000 GB hard-disk... I am also not very sure, but for me:
1. Backup my OS, so in the event of virus or worm, I can easily recover back to the original state as long as my hard-disk is not being destroyed :P.
2. Partition my hard-disk so I can boot to multiple OS i.e. Linux, FreeBSD and Windows XP
3. Movies ?? Music ?? Pictures :)

If you are one of the person that would like to be the 1st to a new technology, its the time now :) get yourself 5K160, and please let me know the performance with the other Hitachi Hard-Disk. :).

More information:
Hitachi - Perpendicular 5K160

cya

Get a Mac - Mac Vs PC

2006-05-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

Just reading from the web and found some advertising about Mac and PC.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

The website above shows 2 person characters
PC and Mac. its quite funny, but put it this way, I will still not buying a Mac :) as simple as that.

But if you want to see what the advertising looks like: just go to the website above. Dont forget you will need a Quick time player though.

In simple word: Its just advertising. Windowx XP never fails me, I have been using it for my work, my play, and I am very satisified, so no complaints, and beside, oops, I can get a new Windows XP machine cheaper than Mac.

Sounds like I am a PC? maybe :), because I do not like to get confused when I am at work using Windows PC and at home using Mac. oops, where is the software again?? ahh i forgot its on my mac. Oops.

Other than that ask yourself this question:
1. What a Mac OS can do that a Windows OS can not do?
Practically: NONE

Or alternatively, what a Windows OS can do, but a Mac can not do?
Practically: A LOT :), more gaming, More software choices. More hardware choices. I could even choose to upgrade motherboard, memory etc. That way, the cost can be trimmed down since there are a lot of variety.

Virusses ?? Well, Mac OS will have its time too. Its not a mater that Windows have more virus than Mac. But which one can close the "hole" faster :).

If its an old virus, forget it, the current anti virus will be able to block that.
The thing that you need to worry, is a "new hold" and how fast you can block that hole.

With Windows? Like it or not, even 3rd party vendor can do it for you :).
With Mac? Oops, you are stuck for now.

finally, .....$$$$$$$$$$ time :)
Which one cost you more? A Windows OS or a Mac OS?
Finally it bog down to cost. Windows PC will cost less than a Mac PC. Eventhough a Mac can run Windows with bootcamp, but oh well, not all software can run on it yet :P. and it cost you more to get that machine.

The list can grow on and on. but for now, I will stick with my Lenovo Thinkpad T42 :).

cya.

Free Napster Now

2006-05-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Napster. Remember Napster? Last time used to be the hub for music sharing. Now the company has already goes legal. In order to complaint with the law, Napster provides songs with fee. After that the market share of Napster drops.

SinceApple iPod with iTunes gain the market share, Napster has to use a new tactics now. To recruit more subscribers, napster will allow the members now to free listening up to 5 times per track, the song will be encoded with lower quality. After that, it will allow you to download the high Quality with 0.99 USD. This is not a bad deal, since at least it will allows you to listen the song first before you decide whether it worth to buy or not.

So its worth the try.

PS: You will need to join Napster as the member. Registration is free.

More Info: http://www.napster.com/

cya

Negear-Wifi-Phone for Skype is pre-order now

2006-05-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

Remember the Netgear Wifi Skype? If you dont, refer to this Blog

Its pre-order now at Skype Website.

Price: US$229

More Info: Skype Store

cya

Microsoft Visual Studio Express Edition to remain free

2006-04-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Visual Studio are the tools to develop applications in Windows environment. Maybe Microsoft would like to recruit all the new people and let them try out the Visual Studio before they convert to different platform i.e. Mac OS X or Linux

Its a good idea too, the visual studio is a very great product, I used it long long time ago more than 10 years ago i.e. Visual Basic. Oops...I am old man...*sigh*

I do not use it anymore no2 since as per usual the reason are:
1. I do not develop code using C++, Visual Basic or any .NET platform
2. My job never needs me to develop using any of the above language
3. My university only needs me to use MS Word :-), and always ask the students to use "vi" to do the development

Enough said, if you are a developer and would like to get your hand on the .NET platform, I fully recommend you to try this visual express edition, please take note since this is a free edition, You know...there must be some catch :-). i.e. Limited feature that you could find in the standard edition.

This will not stop you though, since you can still try it out and get a feel of this product, and best of all: you are allowed to build a COMMERCIAL application using this great product :)

Directly from FAQ in the Microsoft Website:
"Can I use Express Editions for commercial use?
Yes, there are no licensing restrictions for applications built using the Express Editions"

Have fun trying.....

More info: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx

cya

Excel viewer from the Web using Ajax

2006-04-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Do you have an excel file ? Do you have an excel for Windows? Most of you will definitely have one of the spreadsheet application.

The most famous one are:
1. Microsoft Excel
2. Lotus 123
3. Open office
4. etc...*dont ask me what are they*
5. ajaxxls :)

Have you ever need to open an excel file while you are on the go? Maybe you need to see some phone numbers desperately or need to print some document but there is no Spreadsheet applications in the internet cafe ??

This is when the ajaxxls comes in handy. Currently this AJAX Web based application allows you to "view" only an excel file. You will only need a web browser i.e. Firefox 1.5

Internet Explorer currently is still not yet supported just like the other ajax applications from this company. I hope they will support this soon, since more than 80% browser are still using Internet Explorer. Eventhough Firefox is gaining momentum > 10%. but since Most PCs in the internet cafe are Windows Based, there you go, each of them are most likely preloaded with IE instead of Mozilla Firefox.

Pro:
1. Browser only needed i.e Firefox 1.5
2. Works well, I can see my data appears nicely. -> READ ONLY, I could not modify it at all.
3. simple to use, what can be more simple, beside, File -> Open and point to an excel file. :-)
4. Fast to load *assuming not many people in the server he he he*

Cons:
1. Only Firefox browser is supported for now
2. Does not support protected excel file for now
3. You can not modify the excel file for now :).

Thats it for now, time to go back to sleep. I still have my jetlag. damn...

More info: www.ajaxxls.com

cya.
3.

Google Calendar is out now

2006-04-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Google Calendar is out now, You can see from the picture next to this. Not too bad, it can import your events from Outlook or Yahoo. I try it myself, and it works perfectly fine.

Do you think I will use Google Calendar then ? Maybe not, I will still stick with Yahoo's Calendar since I use Yahoo Messenger more often than Google talk.

When I use Yahoo messenger, when I have the events due, it will notify me using a baloon on my Yahoo messenger or sending me an email.

While if I use Google Calendar, oops, I seldom turn on my Google talk, so I might miss my appointments :).

Anyway, There is a flight to catch now. So I better go :)

Update: I am having a jet lag now, so let me update some before I go back to my sleep.

You will need to have a google accounts before you can use this calendar application. I am sure everybody has already had a google account. If you dont, please apply one :) There is no harm to have a free 2.7GB email account. You can open your google mail in here: http://gmail.google.com

More Info: http://www.google.com/calendar

cya.

TDK - Blu-ray Disc is available now

2006-04-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

Blu-ray. What is a Blu-ray ? This is the next generation of the Optical Storage. It will replace DVD. The only competitor for Blu-ray is HD-DVD. So we shall see which one will win.

For now, I will only focus on Blu-ray. So what is so greate about this Blu-ray? Capacity :P, the capacity for Blu-ray is 25GB (single sided), so if its double sided, it will be 50 GB.

Imagine,, compare the size with the current DVD size.
DVD size is 4.7GB. Blu-ray is 25GB, hmmm 6X bigger :-), means you can store up to 6 DVD movies in a single Blu-ray or up to 12 DVD movies in a double-sided Blu-ray.

Sounds interesting ? Yeap, it is, The only thing that I DO NOT like about Blu-ray is the DRM. Digital Right Management. They will put a DRM that will limit how many times you can copy, read, or watch in the Blu-ray.

But I will not talk about DRM, its just a pain to talk about this, as a customer, I do not want to limit how many copies, reading or number of times that I can do with the movie Disc. But if I were a movie producer or movie rental, I might want to limit the "action" that I can do with the disc i.e. Copy

So its a pain to talk about this. Eventhough the Blu-ray player is still "unknown" the status, we will be able to see the player soon enough from Sony, Samsung, Toshiba. But..for now...lets forget it, they keep delay the player for some unknown reason. But for sure it will came out this year.

But amazingly, the "disc" itself has already out :). so here it comes TDK-Blu-ray Disc is already available now for single sided. I roughly can guess why TDK wants to release the Disc earlier than the "player".

For now the Disc is very good as a "frisbie". because there is no player or writer to write/read to the Disc :).

But you can think from the marketing stand point, they will be the "FIRST" player that release the Disc, people will know about their brand, so when the player came out, their disc will be the 1st to capture the market. Well......thats what I think....not so sure what TDK things :).

The disc is available at US$24.99 for single sided. When the double-sided appears at the end of the year , it will roughly cost about US$ 47.99.

So if you want to be the 1st person to own a Blu-ray disc. Dont wait,grab it :)and use it for frisbie for now.

More Info: http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/

cya

iPod Sync with USB Hub - Tunesync from Belkin

2006-04-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Another iPod accessories from Belkin. This one worth to be mentioned. I like Belkin products, eventhough expensive but the quality is there :).

This gadget will allows you to:
1. Sync your iPod with your iTune
2. USB Hub - Provide additional 5 Ports for your USB 2.0

Its compatible with:
1. iPod mini
2. iPod
3. iPod nano

When do you want to buy this product?
1. If you have not buy a USB HUB
2. If you have an iPod and does not have enough space in your table
3. if you lost your sync cable for your iPod :P

This gadget will allow you to save space. It combines an iPod sync and USB Hub. It does make sense, people now a days got many gadgets but limited space in their table, so if one device can be "multi-function", that would be better and obviously the other factor is the "price" :P. So please give it a try if you want to buy either a USB Hub or an iPod sync cable.

Price: US$ 65.99

Where to buy: Belkin - Store

More Info: http://www.belkin.com

cya

Floppy Diskette replacement - Flash Disc

2006-04-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Remember the old Floppy Diskette ? 1.2MB or 1.44MB? During the golden old days, Its the only way to transfer data. With 1 Diskette, you can fit many games inside it, but in the modern era, to use floppy diskette to store data, people will said, yeah right or...Floppy Diskette ? I do not even have Floppy Drive in my computer. Can you give me in a CD instead?

Every new PC is no longer come with this Floppy Diskette anymore. Its being replaced by CDROM. Its..old..and obsolute and forgotten.

Enter Memorex. This company is trying to revive the Floppy Diskette glamour day with this new Flash Disc.

This rounded thing in the picture is actually a USB Drive. You can see it from the Blue color disc, the middle part is a USB port.

The disc is cheap and durable, they will be sold at US$19.99 per 3 pieces.

The capacity for each disc is: 16MB. At least your "normal" data should be fit into it.

Its cheap, colorful, and durable. So there might be some "value" to buy it. But its still impractival to transfer data between office, since if we are in the office, most of the people now using "network" or "file server" to transfer data.

But to transfer data for Students, maybe its worth it, since normal USB drive can break. so if this device really as durable as it claims, it might be useful for students to transfer data between school computer and home computer.

Beside, the price is low. US$19.99 for 3 ???. Hmm that means, each will cost US$ 6.67. For 16MB, not too bad.

Where to buy: Best Buy
When? Its already available NOW at US$19.99 for 3.

More Info: Memorex - Product

cya

Digital Player from Samsung - YP-Z5F

2006-04-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Samsung has already came out with Mp3 player many years ago, so what is so special about this new upcoming model.

From the pictures it looks nice, they provide different colours i.e. White, Black, Pink and Gray, so male and female can choose the one they like. The one in the picture is designed for girl :) Pinky colour.

And based on some people said, the previous generation from Samsung mp3 Player has a very good audio quality (better than iPod). But I can not verify this since I am not a musician. My hearing is "normal". or "bad" maybe :P

But you judge it yourself when this digital player came out.

So far the spec is:
1. 4GB
2. ASF, MP3, WMA
3. Able to see .jpg picture
4. Battery last for 35 hours
5. Weight 58 g
6. FM Radio --> iPod does not have this
7. Voice recorder -> iPod does not have this

So let see whether this new digital player can crack the iPod market.

More info: Samsung - YP - Z5F

cya

Intel Mac to run Windows XP Officially

2006-04-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Finally for those Mac funs, they will be able to run Windows XP without any hacking around the system. Previously at the beginning, it was being publicly known that Intel Mac will not be able to run Windows XP since Windows XP did not support EFI that is being supported by Intel Mac.

Windows XP using BIOS
Apple OS X using EFI

So there is a competition in order to prove that eventhough by "default" Windows XP did not support EFI, there will be a way to do it. The competition started with only US$100..but it grows to US$ 13000, and finally a month ago someone won it :).

After they won it, it does make a big news everywhere from CNet until Video Clip everywhere, but the method to do it is too techie. Since thats the 1st attempt, its already good enough. Its a proof of concept, and they will need to release early since if they are late, somebody might claim the $$$, and they are sure, once they release the technique, there will be a lot of people trying to mimic the method and simplify it.

True enough, with only less than 1 month, Apple itself has already announced that they will support dual boot to Windows XP with their latest OS X. *Apple's method might be different though*)

So do you think Microsoft will lost with allowing their OS to run on Intel Max?

Nope, I will never think about that, instead I believe Microsoft will gain since now customer has to buy their products again in order to run the O/S in the Intel Mac.

So who will lost ?
Intel

Why??? because normally you will need both Intel PC and Intel Mac in order to run both Operating System. And now customer will only need to buy 1 Intel Mac in order to run both Operating System. So Intel will lost "a bit"

Intel Mac is a bit pricey though, this is the only thing that I dont like :P.
So now if only the other way around happens. Running OSX using normal Intel PC legally :). That would be great.

Time will tell, since now currently there is a way to run this, but once Apple found it, they will close it in the next release. So it will be a police and thief.

How about me? Have I intended to buy Apple OS X ? Nope, I am not interested with it. Why ?
1. I dont need it
2. My job doesnt need it
3. I like Windows XP
4. I like Linux

Anyway, for now, I will skip Apple OSX for now.

More Info: Intel Mac to run Windows XP officially

cya

Another USB Flash Drive - 64 GB

2006-04-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned in my previous article that 64 GB is out already, with a *chocking* price.

Now, another vendor has already released 64GB with 1/2 of the price :). oh well, thats competition. The price now ............US$ 2,799.95. Not too bad :-) its no longer chocking me this time when I see the price he he he. Its estimated to be shipped in April 15th 2006. So you can start ordering now :).

URL: Kanguru Flash Drive

PS: It supports both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. But of course USB 2.0 is preferred since the data transfer will be higher.

cya

USB 2.0 - High Speed Card

2006-04-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have been talking about USB 2.0 almost everywhere in my posting. So what is USB 2.0 and whats the different with the previous version USB 1.1?

I will keep it simple. First time I heard about USB is on 1998, when the Windows 98 was launched. The first USB device that I know are mouse and printer.

The difference between USB 1.0, USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 are Speed, and voltage requirement.

If you have an external CD Writer or External Hard-disk and wondering how come its so slow where the speed is suppose to be very fast, thats probably because your machine is using USB 1.1.

How do you know that you are using USB 1.1 ?
When you plug your External Hard-Disk and CD Writer, Windows XP will give you a message "high-speed devices plugged into non-high-speed USB ports"
This shows that your Computer does not have USB 2.0. If you recently buy a computer, you should have USB 2.0, but if you have an earlier Pentium 4 or Pentium 3, you are most likely only have USB 1.1.

So what can you do then? Does that mean you have to buy a new PC or new Notebook?
Nope, you do NOT have to do that.

What you need is depending on your machine
1. Desktop User -> Buy a PCI Card for USB 2.0
2. Notebook User -> Buy a PCMCIA card for USB 2.0

Where to buy ?

For Notebook user:
Belkin-PCMCIA -USB 2.0

For Desktop User:
Belkin-PCI-USB 2.0

Why do you need to upgrade to USB 2.0 if all your gadgets are working?
1. Speed
When you upgrade to USB 2.0, your external storage will transfer the data faster
USB 1.1 -> Speed : 1.5 Mb/s
USB 2.0 -> Speed: 480 MB/s --> Notice the difference :-)
You will be a happy man after that

2. Voltage
When you upgrade to USB 2.0, more gadgets can be plugged to your machine
some of the new gadgets will only work with USB 2.0 i.e. new Web Cam, new External Storage

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

Happy shopping :)

cya

Fondue using your Computer

2006-04-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Anybody likes Fondue? Raise up your hand :). I am one of them, in fact yesterday I just went out to have fondue with my friends. Its a nice place and nice fondue. But the only bad thing is the waiting time. Wait for more than 1 hour to get our fondue :P.

Anyway, if you are really GEEKS and really love your computer, and think your computer can do everything including Fondue, now its the right time.

The time that you are waiting is over. Its already available in the market now.

The price ??? USD 29.99. Okay not so bad, where ?

Here is the place: Fondue - USB

You will need to have a USB 2.0 in order to use that, for now its only limitation due to the power source only 5v. you can only melt chocolate and cheese. How do you know if you have USB 2.0? If you have Intel Pentium 4 Hyperthread, you had already USB 2.0.

How about if you do not have 1 ? Errr... You can buy a card that will give u USB 2.0 too. You can read this article if you are interested

According to the website, the next version of USB (Most likely USB 3.0) will be better since it will have a higher voltage, that means, more things you can do with your computer.

More info: Thinkgeek - Fondue - USB

Have fun with your new Fondue :).

Update: Oops, its just an April Fool's joke :P. Please wait longer, I am sure this product eventually will come out. :-).

cya.

Quiz - How Geek you are?

2006-04-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wonder whether you are a geek or whether your bf or gf is a geek? Wait no more, here is a quiz to determine the level of geek :)

Geek Quiz

There are 20 Questions, eventhough some of the questions are pretty biased, but thats okay :), at least the idea is there.

Have fun. Put your score in the comments if possible though, I am interested to see how many people take the quiz. You can use anonymous option :)

cya

Stylish Wireless Mouse from Sony

2006-03-31T22:31:00.000-08:00

Sony create a snew tylish mouse. What is so stylish? the colour and the shape. It doesnt look like a normal mouse. If you notice its a "Square". So unless you like the touchpad from notebook, I dont think you will be able to use it comfortably.

You can bought it at Audiocubes.
The price is US$49 . So you can still bought it just to be a stylish.

URL: Audio Cubes - Store

I need to be honest, I really dont like a touchpad, so I am pretty bias towards this mouse, but I know some poeple like touchpad, so I still put this thing in just in case you are interested to buy it :-)

For myself ?? naaahhh. I will give it a miss :P.

Pro:
1. Nice colour
2. Wireless
3. Optical
4. The USB Receiver is stored directly in the mouse

Cons:
1. Shape -> I dont think i will be able to use it comfortably, but tell me if you had tried it. I might change my mind :)

More info: http://www.i4u.com/article5350.html

cya

Accoona - New Search Engine

2006-03-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

Another Search Engine? Do we need another search engine? We have already had Google, Yahoo, MSN. so Why we need to have a new one?

Accoona is another new search engine, that some of us did not aware of, since its launched.

Why I put this search eingine, because I found its interested about the shareholders of the company:
1. Former CEO of Compaq: Eckhard Pfeiffer
2. Chess Master: Gary Kasparov ---> Dont tell me you never heard about this guy :)

So that make me curious and I try it out, not bad, the search engine is very fast.
It claims to use AI to better understanding the search.

One of the nice feature of this search engine is a "Super Target" feature.
It can narrow down the information based on "country, last published".
Example:
When You search for Tsunami, there will thousands of reference of this word. Then you can use the super target feature to say only "Indonesia".
Then it will only display those that are published for Indonesia.

So try it out yourself by going to Accoona website.

URL: http://www.accoona.com

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accoona

dboy

UMPC Emulator or Origami Emulator

2006-03-31T11:48:00.000-08:00

Remember my previous posting about the Origami - Tablet PC - UMPC ?
If you forgot about the acronym, UMPC -> Ultra Mobile PC. This device will be running Windows XP Tablet edition. The street price will be roughly US$ 1000. So far, only 1 vendor has announced that it will release this device at US$ 900. With more competition, I am hoping the price will goes down after a few months. I cant wait to get a hold of it myself.

Microsoft has already released the emulator so that the developer could test the applications using their desktop / notebook before moving it to the UMPC itself.

I consider this is a very nice feature since it is a hassle if you have to develop using desktop and move the application to the device, and tested it from there, there will be significant time loss, with this emulator, the developer does not have to move and can test their application right from their desktop :).

Download Link: UMPC Emulator from Microsoft

cya

AjaxSketch - Illustrator on the Web

2006-03-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

The same company that made AjaxWrite release a new product called AjaxSketch. What is AjaxSketch ? This is a free web application that allow you to create diagram, Flow Chart and free hand drawing. You can consider that this AjaxSketch is a slim down version of Illustrator. The pplication itself is using AJAX language that promise a better user experience using a web browser.

The application itself doesnt need anything else except a web browser. Currently the only browser supported is a firefox 1.5. Hopefully they will release the version that will support IE.

I have tried myself in the morning, it looks promising but allows very limited operations for now, but its not hard to learn.

Here are some of my testing:
1. Save a file
2. Open a file
3. Put a text to the drawing board
4. Put some auto shapes that comes built-in with this application
5. etc -> I will update it later

Pro:
1. It is easy to be used for new people
2. Free
3. You need Firefox version 1.5 in order to use it. Internet Explorer wont work.

Cons:
1. For now it only support firefox v1.5. It will support IE and Safari (Apple OS) in the near future.

2. Bandwith, eventhough in my testing is fast, but I can not conclude when a lot of people is accessing the same application.

Conclution:
AJAX is a great language and definitely help the browsing experience especially with the drag and drop ability, Right click mouse, etc. But...for now, Ajax is not yet good enough for big application. The bandwith is not fast enough to cater for it. For a local network its possible to deploy an AJAX application, but via internet :). Oops.... not yet..especially for those of you that are still using Modem or Bandwith cap. Just forget it :).

dboy

USB Flash Drive - 64 GB?

2006-03-29T16:41:00.000-08:00

I never thought that this day will come. A flash drive with 64 GB, the size is very similar with a normal flash drive that we have. 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB.
And now 64 GB ?????.

Ouchhh, I am pretty sure you can put A complete Operating System, complete with Office applications, Web Browser, etc etc :). I am not yet talking about XP though, since XP still have problem to run on USB drive. But Linux Operating system should not have any problems to run on this USB thumb drive.

But this gadget is very PRICEY. *Sigh*.
Guess the cost?
US$ 500 ?? US$ 1000 ?? US$ 2000 ??

Nope, the cost according to the website is:
US$ 4999.99

Ouchhh, it will hurt my pocket, so I will give this baby a pass :(.

Want to read more?

Here is the link:
http://www.buslinkbuy.com/p_cat1.asp?catID=205

cya

Future Notebook- For Those that like to pretend working

2006-03-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

Future notebook is almost here,

Same like the previous 2 posting, I am not even sure whether this is an advertisement from Lenovo or real product in testing, but........I would love to have this so that I can go for lunch for 3 hours and pretend working ha ha ha.

just kidding, anyway, watch it for yourself.

Notes: Lenovo is a company that bought over IBM Thinkpad notebook.

http://www.lenovo-tapes.com/skywalker.html

My Comment: I want to have one notebook like this :).

cya

Notebook Testing - Flying notebook ?

2006-03-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

I am always curious how company do the test for the notebook.

In this movie clip, I am still not very sure whether this is an advertisement or a real product under testing.

But its really cool to see the testing. When I see the clip, my jaw can not close.

You dont believe me ? See it for yourself.
Notes: Lenovo is the company that bought over IBM Thinkpad.

Movie Clip: http://www.lenovo-tapes.com/kent.html

My comment: I hope this is a real product :).

cya

Notebook Testing - Coffee spill over to notebook

2006-03-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

Notebook Testing - Coffee spill over to notebook

Admit it, how often that we are drinking our drink or eating and its spill over to the keyboard. How clean is your keyboard?

Lenovo was testing this notebook. I am not even sure whether this is a testing or advertisement, but its kinda cool :-)

PS: Lenovo is the company that bought over IBM Thinkpad.

See it for yourself.

http://www.lenovo-tapes.com/wayne.html

My comments: Cool. Whether this is advertisement or not, I still would like this thing to happen :).

cya

Skype - FAQ

2006-03-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

I will list down some of the FAQ that I notice People ask in the Forum:

This list will grow along when I got time to update it :-)

1. How to mute / unmute during your conversation?

cya

Skype - How to mute/unmute your conversation in Skype

2006-03-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Skype - How to mute/unmute your conversation in Skype?

Sometimes you need to mute your conversation, maybe because you are watching video or your background is getting noisier, so you want to mute your conversation.

So How to do that?
Very simple, you only need to do this:

To mute your conversation
Step 1: Just click the “Mute” icon toolbar.
Step 2: Done

To un-mute your conversation:
Step 1: Just click the “Mute” icon toolbar one more time.
Step 2: Done

Logitech Pro 5000 Webcam

2006-03-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have reviewed about my experience using Logitech Pro 4000. Last week I manage to get a hold of Logitech Pro 5000. My friend needs to get a new Webcam, so I suggest her to get the 5000 series. so we went to Fry's and get this webcam.

The price is drop now. Its only cost USD79.90. Last time my Logitech Pro 4000 cost me USD 99.90. Oh well, thats electronics's world. When the new version came out, the price for the old version will be slashed to make way for the new generation.

Enough talking :) so what is so great about this Logitech Pro 5000.

When I compare this Logitech Pro 5000 with my Logitech Pro 4000
- The size is the same
- The color for the Logitech Pro 5000 is darker.

Do you like that ?
Nope, of course thats not the only difference :), Just kidding....lets continue

- The quality for the image is clearer and sharper. This is tested since after reaching home,
I immediately try it out with my friend, I keep switching the webcam between 4000 and 5000.
Everytime my friend said that 5000 is better.
Note: The quality is better perhaps due to "Right Light" technology

- Logitech Video Effects,
It will allow you to change your appearance to something else like a shark in MSN.
This is just useful when you want to joke around with your friend.

- Builtin Microphone with RightSound technology
The echo cancellation suppose to be better with this technology. But in my testing, the echo noise is still there, I could not tell a difference, so my recommendation a Headset is still required for a proper conversation.

So thats it :), I finish my comments, For now, If you want a better quality webcam, get a Logitech Pro 5000.
Why for now? because new version will always came out :P.

I tested the quality of the webcam using:
1. Skype video 2.0
2. Yahoo webcam 7.0
3. MSN 7

On the side note, these are my own testing when I use a ADSL and normal 56K bps
For those that have bigger bandwith: (Cable Modem No cap)
1. Use MSN for the webcam
2. Use Skype for the voice

For those that have bandwith cap: (10G /month -> Australia)
1. Use Yahoo for the webcam
2. Use google talk for the voice

For those that have lower bandwith: (Modem 56Kbps)
1. Use Yahoo for the webcam
2. Use MSN for the voice

More information: http://www.logitech.com/

cya

AjaxWrite - MS Word on the web

2006-03-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

We have been using MS word for years. I myself start to know MS Word since its version 2.0. Previously I am a big fan of Wordstar 4.0.

For now MS Word is the king of Word Processor application for years, nobody seems to be able to shake it.

Eventhough some alternative came, but they are always come in 2nd and 3rd :).

What do you think if you can use MS Word alternative from Web, Quite cool right?
The 1st free version www.writely.com has been bought over by Google so for now its no longer available until Google revamp it :).

Today I found another free version of MS Word alternative in the Web. The name is Ajaxwrite.
So what is exactly this Ajaxwrite? This is an application written using AJAX language so that you can experience a better application eventhough you are using a browser.

Normal Browser does now allow:
1. Drag and Drop
2. Pull Down Menu
3. Right Click Mouse

So with AJAX, all these can happens, so its another level of improvement for browsing experience:
1. Google Mail and Google Finance was using AJAX for the webpage
2. New Hotmail was using AJAX too.

More and more companies now using AJAX.

So after I try it out this morning, here is my comments:
The Application itself is very user friendly but, the its still not fast enough since they will need to bring down the application to my PC. the speed is not fast enough yet.

Especially after the announcement by the CEO, A lot of people trying to access this webpage, now I could not even enter the webpage anymore :P.

For those of you that are interested:
http://www.ajaxwrite.com

I have tried myself in the morning, it looks great and very user friendly, you can do the basic operation:
1. Save a file
2. Open a file
3. Left , Right, Centre Justified
4. etc -> I will update it later

Pro:
1. Mimic MS Word so it will be easy to used for new people. (newbie)
2. Free
3. You need Firefox version 1.5 in order to use it. Internet Explorer wont work.

Cons:
1. Slow for now - you need high bandwith. This morning the speed is reasonable but now too slow, I could not get the application. I bet the webserver did NOT expect the announcement of this application will attrack too many people. So it bring down the website :)

2. For now it only support firefox v1.5. It will support IE and Safari (Apple OS) in the near future.

3. Web Server problem like today, oops, nobody can access the application. This is bad for user.

Conclution:
AJAX is a great language and definitely help the browsing experience especially with the drag and drop ability, Right click mouse, etc. But...for now, Ajax is not yet good enough for big application. The bandwith is just not fast enough to cater for it. For a local network its possible to deploy an AJAX application, but via internet :). Oops.... not yet..especially for those of you that are still using Modem or Bandwith cap. Just forget it :).

Soon, I can be changed when the bandwith is getting cheaper and 10Mbps is getting more common and cheap for normal average user :).

PS: voip used to be slow too when I am using modem, but when I upgrade to ADSL and cable modem, the experience differnet, I like voip now :)

so I believe the same thing will happen with AJAXwrite. For now, I will by pass this web application and will only used it on the "go". I will stick with MS word for now :)

More Info: http://www.ajaxwrite.com

cya.

Joke - Relax a bit

2006-03-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Don't Mess With Old Ladies

An older lady gets pulled over for speeding...
Older Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?
Officer: Ma'am, you were speeding.
Older Woman: Oh, I see.
Officer: Can I see your license please?
Older Woman: I'd give it to you but I don't have one.
Officer: Don't have one?
Older Woman: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving.

Officer: I see...Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.
Older Woman: I can't do that.
Officer: Why not?
Older Woman: I stole this car.
Officer: Stole it?
Older Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.
Officer: You what?
Older Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see

The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.

Officer 2: Ma'am, could you step out of your vehicle please! The woman steps out of her vehicle.
Older woman: Is there a problem sir?
Officer 2: One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.
Older Woman: Murdered the owner?
Officer 2: Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please.
The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: Is this your car, ma'am?
Older Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers. The officer is quite stunned.
Officer 2: One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving license.
The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer.
The officer examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: Thank you ma'am, one of my officers told me you didn't have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner.
Older Woman: Bet the liar told you I was speeding, too.

cya

Kingston USB thumb drive - Privacy Edition

2006-03-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

Kingston. Brand known for Memory. Beside Memory, Kingston also produce a lot of things, one of the item that they have is a USB Thumb Drive.

Almost all of us have already seen a thumb drive. the price range from US$20++ Up to US$ 300 depending on the size. I have seen a 512 MB thumb drive cost only 19.99 USD. so the price is a lot of different compared to 2004. :). I bought mine 256MB about US$80.

Oh well thats electronics world, When the new version came out, the price will be slashed to make a road for the new Product.

So what is so special about this USB Drive? This is different with a normal thumb drive since it allows you to put
1. Encryption / Password
2. Self Destruct / Privacy --> Deleted the data, not really "blow up" :) I wish it would though.

Encryption itself is nothing new, most of the common USB drive have this feature, the interesting part is the "self destruct" functionality.

If you enter the password WRONGLY for 25 times, oops, your data will be "deleted". Oopsss..

You might be wondering why do you want to buy this thing then, especially people tend to forget the password :).

Okay this is a good feature if you want to store a sensitive information i.e. Salary Information, Social Security Number, Personal photos (What kind of photos ? :P ).

Definitely you do not want these kind of data to falls to the wrong hand, otherwise you will be in trouble so for that reason, this device is very useful for corporate or paranoid people :).

This Thumb drive is already available now and comes with different size depending on your wallet :)
DTEP/256 - US $48
DTEP/512 - US $75
DTEP/1GB - US$119
DTEP/2GB - US$222
DTEP/4GB - US$347 --> Expensive :P

Pro:
1. Self Destruct ability
2. Hardware based. So its more difficult to cheat the system

Cons:
1. 25 times sounds very little, I would prefer that I can set the number myself, oh well nothing is free :).
2. Cost more than the normal USB Drive

Unknown:
1. Is there any counter that will show in the screen, number of password remaining before its automatically deleted?

PS: I have not try this device myself, so I will assume after the data will be deleted, you can still use the thumb drive, but most probably youwill need to set the password again. But will update this blog once I get more information :).

More info: http://www.kingston.com/press/2006/flash/03a.asp

cya.

Google Mail - Too much space now? GMAILFS might help you

2006-03-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Google Mail...When the first time google came out, it was offering 1 GB free storage, then it increase the size to 2 GB, and now its already hit 2.7 GB. What can you do with all these storage ?
Save all your Emails ?? Save all your junk mails ?

Yes, its true, but you can also use this to store your pictures or other files.

For myself, I use it for my emails and my Pictures. Keep sending those files to myself, after a while its tired especially if you just make a trip to somewhere, you will have > 100 pictures to be stored.

I have heard about GMAILFS that will help you to do it for quite some time, but I never bother to try it out, until last weekend since I got plenty of time to do some research, so I try it out, and see how it works, Hmm finally I conclude, that this programs worth to be kept :).

Okay what is GMAILFS?

Its a free program that will integrate with your "Windows Explorer" and create another drive in your desktop. After it create another drive, you can do the normal operations:
1. Copy a file
2. Delete a file
3. Move a file

You cant rename a file though. But you can do a workaround by Deleting the file, and copy a new one. (*Painful for bandwith*)

You can download the free program from here:
http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

After installing the program, you can see the new drive in your desktop.

You only need these following steps to complete:
1. Click on the Gmal Drive
2. Enter your User Name
3. Enter your password
4. Click OK button

Done :), Now you can copy and paste your files to the GMAIL Drive.

You must be wondering, how does the program works:
1. The program is just an automation application to send a file to your email.
2. The subject of the email will be: GMAILFS
3. The file itself will be attached in the email

So there is no magic in the programs, its basically:
1. Connect to Gmail
2. Retrieve all the subjects with GMAILFS
3. List down the contents in the windows explorer
4. Any operation for Copy, Delete, Move, will be done in the Google mail itself by the program. (Delete an email, or create a new email, etc)

Good feature? Yes, but after done all this, your inbox emails will be cluttered with all the subjects "GMAILFS". It can be a lot if you are storing a lot of files. So it will be pretty messy after a while.

What is the solution? Gmail have an ability to do archiving. So lets create a filter that will do an archive based on the subject.

1. Go to Settings

Picture 1 (Go to Settings)

2. Create a new Filter

Step 1 -> Choose Filters Tab folder

Step 2 -> Choose "Create a new filter"

Picture 2 (Create a new filter)

3. Create the Filter - Step 1

Step 1: From: @gmail.com e.g. testing@gmail.com

Step 2: To: @gmail.com e.g. testing@gmail.com

Step 3: Subject: GMAILFS

Step 4: Choose "Has Attachment"

Step 5: Choose Next Step

Picture 3 (Create the Filter - Step 1)

4. Create the Filter - Step 2

Step 1: Turn on the checkbox for "Skip the inbox"

Step 2: Create Filter

Picture 4 (Create the Filter - Step 2)

5. Done Completed.

Now you can retry again, to copy or delete a file, it will no longer clutter your inbox.

Pro of this GMAILFS program:
1. Easy to use

Cons of this GMAILFS program:
1. Everytime Google update the "authentication" mode for a user ID to login, this program will not work, and you need to wait until the website has been updated.
2. Limited to 40 characters in the file name (*Including the folder name*)
3. Limited up to 10 MB file per file.

These are what I do: *I dont consider this as a best practise but feel free to try*
1. Use photos.yahoo.com to store your image so that you can access or share it easily online.
- Yahoo allows unlimited storage to store your picture
- You need to pay for printing (*using the High Quality Image*)
- You can not retrieve back the high quality image
- You can only see the low quality image online.

2. Burn the original high quality image to CD
3. Store a backup of the original high quality in Google Mail
Since its limited to 40 characters, I need to cut the name as much as possible
I will create a folder let say:
pict -> SF1 -> readme.txt (*Picture -> San Fransisco 1st trip*)

4. The readme.txt will contains:
a. the description of the trip
b. The date of the trip
c. who that I go with
d. Album photos in the yahoo Photos

5. In the event I need to get a high Quality image of a picture, I can go back to my Yahoo Photos,
and look at the image name that I want, and I can retrieve it by:

a. Opening the readme.txt to see the contents

b. Use the Google Mail Search and look for the image name or by date in the readme.txt

Happy Uploading.

More Info: http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

Updated: 20th June 2006
Be careful when you upload, try not to upload more than 200 MB/day. Above this, will lock your account for about 24 hours :P.

cya