Leonard Mobile

Snow Globes – Coca-Cola 2010 Christmas Commercial

2011-12-22T15:06:00.001+11:00

What if the world of Santa is in is also within a world contained by an even bigger Snow Globe? A Multi-layer Universe?

Anyway, it is a tough job to sell a cold drink in a winter season (Not in Australia, I know) by bringing the warm feeling to our heart. They did a good job last year. I didn't quite get the idea of this year's truck ad. So I am reposting this again.

Merry Xmas!!

I am all alone with iMessage @iOS 5.0

2011-06-08T14:23:00.000+10:00

I am all alone.

I mean, in the iMessage world.

Some might say iMessage could be the WhatsApp killer.

I would say, without friends on the list, I could only iMessaging to my own self. Useless on my iPhone. At least for now.

Anyone out there also brave enough to have iOS 5.0 installed on his/her iDevices? Please iMessage me, so that I know I am not alone. Find me at mail@ngszehin.net or any email that you could link me with.

On the other hand, I must say it has a ~~great~~ [Note: not great anymore] some value on my iPad. ~~Now I could send normal SMS (before I could find someone that I could iSMS with) directly from my iPad with the Messages (between non-iOS 5.0 dude, I have to take away the "i", for now)~~ [Note: I have to take away the whole SMS thing for now, because after the testing I found out that basically it works only with iMessage but not normal SMS].

Well, I have (sort of) signed the NDA, so I should speak less. Nonetheless, I could let you have a sneak peak of the shots I have done without me saying too much: The notification center function is cool. The camera button is convenient but I am sticking with Instagram. iCloud is not working coz I haven't set it up yet. Reading List could be a good function but I haven't appreciate it too much yet coz it is not always working. Reminders is clean, but if it is not syncing with the one on my iPad or the cloud, it becomes useless to me and I would stick back to my pretty TeuxDeux.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®: Shadow Vanguard – Interactive Trailer

2011-03-17T14:47:00.000+11:00

Gameloft is launching the new Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard on iPhone tomorrow.

Now this is the sneakpeak of how the gameplay is done on iPhone via Youtube. The best part of this trailer is how the viewers (you and me) could make the decision of how the team enter the room. A kind of interactive movie (well, not exactly “interactive” as it would just jump to another clip based on what you’ve clicked) to promote new game for the first time. A nice start.

The interactive part starts at 0:30. Anything afterwards is just waiting for your click on that blue box.

Inception Timeline Illustrated

2011-03-16T14:51:00.000+11:00

It is always enjoyable to read a nice infographic, especially for a right-brain person like myself. The beauty of it often expressed nicely by showing how a very complicated situation explained in a simple and clean way. The following timeline of the story in the film "Inception" would be one of the best example. Also by DEHAHS

Software on this iPhone has expired

2011-03-15T16:30:00.000+11:00

Sick leave at home. The best thing to do is to sleep all the way from 9 to 5. The second best thing to do is to update my devices to iOS 4.3.

That was fun. And the fun were two parts. The first part was about how I love the cool new feature of iOS 4.3 on iPad: new multi-touch gestures. If you swipe the screen sideways with 4 fingers, than you could jump directly to the next opened app. And this is very handy. More, if you swipe up, the multitasking bar would be revealed; and if you pinch the screen with four fingers, the home screen would be revealed. For the latter two, they were also cool, but not something you can't do without.

The second part was even more exciting. I upgraded my iPhone4 to iOS 4.3 Beta 3 some weeks ago (and has been enjoying creating my own "Personal Hotspot" with it every since). On the day of the official release of iOS 4.3 I did try to plug my iPhone with iTunes on my Mac to detect the upgrade, but nothing had happened. Yesterday morning suddenly my iPhone stopped working and asked me to plug it in to iTunes again. I did, and it said: "The software on the iPhone XXX has expired and must be updated to a newer version.". However, when I pressed the update button, nothing happened. It became a brick (well, not for the first time).

People from the forum said that the iTunes cannot detect the difference between Beta 3 and the officially release, and thought they were both iOS4.3, and so no upgrade is needed although the beta has expired already. What to do? I could either wait for Apple to release 4.3.1 (and by then I guess iTunes could really tell the difference), or I could do what I have done. I acted like a pro, search around on the Apple forum alongside with those real developers who are holding the same iphone-bricks with me, and found the solution:

1. Download the ipsw file directly from somewhere.
2. Force the iTunes to upgrade the iPhone by Option-Click the iTunes' "update" button, and select the downloaded file.

iOS 4.3 for iPhone 4:
http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/041-0330.20110311.Cswe3/iPhone3,1_4.3_8F190_Restore.ipsw
iOS 4.3 for iPad:
http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/041-0329.20110311.Cvfre/iPad1,1_4.3_8F190_Restore.ipsw
iOS 4.3 for iPhone 3GS:
http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/041-0328.20110311.Lkhy6/iPhone2,1_4.3_8F190_Restore.ipsw
iOS 4.3 for iPod Touch 3G:
http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/061-8366.20110311.Fr45t/iPod3,1_4.3_8F190_Restore.ipsw
iOS 4.3 for iPod Touch 4G:
http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/061-9588.20110311.GtP7y/iPod4,1_4.3_8F190_Restore.ipsw
iOS 4.3 for Apple TV:
http://appldnld.apple.com/AppleTV/061-9584.20110308.Cxdew/AppleTV2,1_4.3_8F191m_Restore.ipsw

The "somewhere" depends on what you want to get, all links to Apple download site. However, the site developer.apple.com doesn't reveal this link to us. Lucky that someone found them and provided them on the forum. Device upgraded at a blink. Everything's back to normal.

Now, on top of how I am feeling good using iOS 4.3, I also feel very proud of being a pretended-to-be Apple-developer-pro, for a limited period of 120 minutes.

New Year Resolution 2011

2011-01-04T14:56:00.000+11:00

Better Prioritize.
Be more Courageous.
Stay Healthy.
Utilize my Right Brian more.
Strike for Simplicity.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

2011-01-03T15:15:00.000+11:00

"What happens if Jesus was born in our age?"

What a great illustration of Social Media at the Festive season!! Happy New Year!

Really? [Windows Phone 7 ad]

2010-10-22T15:28:00.000+11:00

I don’t get it. At the beginning I thought they were saying how fascinating Windows Phone 7 is, up to the point where people would ignore anything else in their normal life to play with it. At the final seconds (when scene that the baby with coffee in the bottle is up), I then realize that they are proposing to change the way how people use mobile (and get back to the real lives). Well. Perhaps there would be a next one coming up soon to explain the rest.

A Beautiful Dream ...

2010-05-25T15:30:00.000+10:00

... but a sad and killing reality.

A short film by voisinanthony on aniBOOM

"Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. " ~ Red (The Shawshank Redemption)

What is iPad?

2010-05-13T15:37:00.000+10:00

The new iPad commercial -- "What is iPad?"

iPad is thin. iPad is beautiful. iPad goes anywhere and lasts all day. There’s no right way or wrong way. It’s crazy powerful. It’s magical. You already know how to use it. It’s 200,000 apps and counting. All the world’s websites in your hand. It’s video, photos, more books than you can read in a lifetime. It’s already a revolution and its only just begun.

Start with "Why"!

2010-05-11T15:32:00.000+10:00

Most computer companies start by telling you they make great products. Apple does the opposite. It starts by telling you why it makes computers. According to the speaker Simon Sinek in his TED's speech, Apple actually communicates like this:

"Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"

To explained his "Golden Circle": from "why" to "how" to "what", a reversed, inside-out direction as compared to everybody else, he also quoted other examples like Martin Luther King and the Wright brothers in his speech.

A inspiring content by a inspiring speaker!

After thoughts:
I read an article this morning about an essay on "causal reasoning" vs. "effectual reasoning".

The diagrams in the essay shown how an entrepreneur is not bound to a given target. Rather, he/she would optimize what he/she has and gives the best performance. The result would then flow along.

I tend to disagree with this argument, especially after watching the TED's speech above. I tend to think that the reason behind the success of an entrepreneur is not the "freedom" behind it. The reason behind the success is the "sense of purpose" and the "why" before the start of anything. That "Given Target" or "Imagined Ends" are just the "what" in the equation, and the "why" is somewhat untold in the story here.

Well, not quite, in the original article, the author did mention something like: "Yet at any given moment, there is always a meaningful picture that keeps the team together, a compelling story that brings in more stakeholders and a continuing journey that maps out uncharted territories". It is funny that all sentences before and after, but not this part itself, was underlined. But if you ask me, this in fact is the core of the whole matter. Start with "Why"!

Star War in 2 mins, in LEGO

2010-05-05T15:36:00.000+10:00

I wish they would include the prequel. Then the story is completed.

Wally Lost the 4G Phone!

2010-04-27T15:40:00.000+10:00

hmm... well, thanks Wally...

and I love this line: "It worked great until my fourth stein, then it started misspelling everything."

By the way, this is in fact by itself an experiment by Scott Adams to show how long it takes to complete the publishing cycle of a comics work. Interesting.

Source: dilbert.com/blog/entry/thatlost4gphone/

The Elephant and its Rider

2010-03-04T15:49:00.000+11:00

"Our emotional is an Elephant and our rational side is its Rider. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider's control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He's completely overmatched."

"The weakness of the Elephant, our emotional and instinctive side, is clear: It's lazy and skittish, often looking for the quick payoff (ice cream cone) over the long-term payoff (being thin)... ... Changes often fail because the Rider simply can't keep the Elephant on the road long enough to reach the destination... ... Elephant's hunger for instant gratification is the opposite of the Rider's strength, which is the ability to think long-term, to plan, to think beyond the moment"

"But... ... the Elephant isn't always the bad guy. Emotion is the Elephant's turf -- love and compassion and sympathy and loyalty... ... the elephant is the one who gets things done. To make progress toward a goal... ... requires the energy and drive of the Elephant."

"If you want to change things, you've got to appeal to both. The Rider provides the planning and direction and the Elephant provides the energy."

~ by Chip Heath and Dan Heath in their new book "Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard", quoting a concept by Jonathan Haidt stated in his book "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom"

The Value of the Work

2010-02-23T15:48:00.000+11:00

The work earns its true value only after it is shipped (or else, after the artist's death). Anything before that could be a plan, could be a dream, or could be nothing.

So that's why I am working hard on it now. See ya later.

Photo credit: The final exhibit in Keith Haring Show, Milan (2005), taken by brtsergio via Flickr.com

A Finish To Remember

2010-01-20T15:44:00.000+11:00

This amazing come back by Jazz makes me recall the game between Liverpool and AC Milan many many years ago. Of course this one is even more inspiring because it has the essence of the story of David and Goliath.

For the long story (of how Jazz and Sundiata Gaines beat Lebron James), please visit henryporter's blog.

Innovation from the "Passionate Amateurs"

2010-01-07T16:22:00.000+11:00

I must say I am fascinated by his speech.

Firstly, it was already 5 years ago for God sake, but surprisingly it still sounds alight, mostly. Which means that what he said was the truth.

Secondly, I could actually feel how the idea of "Passionate Amateurs" was very much related to the recent polictial agenda that we are facing now here.

Of course on one hand I would never dream that our big grandfather would invite / need us to join in to the show, but on the other hand it was hilarious to see how the speaker used an example from mainland to illustrate the same point.

Power to the People -- for the sake of Innovation! Or, has innovation ever been on our wish list all along at all?

Winnie Cooper Is Married

2009-03-25T16:23:00.000+11:00

According to "The Buzz Log" of Yahoo!, Winnie Cooper has just got married recently.

Who is Winnie Cooper? If you don't know who she is, which just means that you are not at my age or you are not from the Generation X.

(Photos from the scene of "The Wonder Years".)

It is quite rare for a good looking little girl stays good looking as how Winnie (Danica McKellar) does. And perhaps harder still, she is smart, too!

Check out her website: http://www.danicamckellar.com/

iPhone, how people really use it.

2008-11-11T16:25:00.000+11:00

How people really use the iPhone

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: development interaction)

Thanks siuying for the referral. Frankly speaking, I don't notice those "problems" until I read this. Perhaps I have never tried to relate the iPhone UI to any of my past experience, so I have never felt confused. Perhaps I really am the target customer of iPhone.

Steve Jobs iPhone 3G Keynote in 60 Seconds

2008-06-11T16:26:00.000+10:00

Life's too short? No time to waste?

Folks from Mahalo condensed the more than 1.5 hours long Steve Jobs WWDC Keynote into just 60 secs：

Too me, it is a bit too rush. I would rather take the slow version to appreciate Steve's sophisticated presentation skill.

Nonetheless this does give you a very good summary of the show and bring out the message with the biggest impact："US$199"！！

My Next Phone

2006-03-29T20:48:00.002+11:00

It's about time to start considering to buy my next PDA phone. It is not the problem of my machine. My O2 Mini is still working fine. It is me. I have fine-tuned my requirement over the years.

I know "fine-tuned" is a fine term. It usually means that I get to know myself better. I am not sure about that. I only know that my preference has changed. I am getting old. Well, I am not saying that I mean "my eye cannot read the small words anymore" that kind of things. That is the sign of a really really old man. I am not there yet. What I mean is that I am no longer able to punch the tiny winy pop-up keyboard; especially if I got one big hand holding the MTR bar, then usually I got only one more handful of fingers (in fact only the big thumb) punching the keyboard. Well, what it means is that I cannot get any typing correct. So in fact I need an real keyboard on the product so that I could use one thumb to write my blog on the go. So come down to the conclusion I need the new Treo 700W when it is available in Hong Kong.

Actually it is all I am saying. I am waiting for the Treo 700W (in Windows) to come to Hong Kong. Of course I know the cute Motorola Q is coming as well. Tough choice.

Usually I need to refine my requirement for a few months, and then consider about the choice of products according to my requirement for a few more months, and then spend another few months to think about my decision. So, I guess I would not buy my new phone before 2007 (don't worry, my wife!).

Everything's Ready!

2006-03-28T00:44:00.001+11:00

Everything is ready? I don't know. We have moved to a new apartment. We have set up the bed for baby. We have bought a full cupboard of baby stuffs. We have attended a few of those baby caring classes. We have learned how to do the breathing. We have taken a good number of 4D pictures of Jacob.

What else? I guess it is the heart to be a parent. I am not saying that I don't have the heart for it. I am just saying that I still have no idea what will happen, and what should we do when it happens. But I guess I don’t really have to worry about that. I remember I also had no idea about what would happen when two person live together. But turns out we are doing very fine, and having any foresight about it was not the pre-requisite. I guess (and hope) that the same holds true for living with our new member of the family.

My Movies

2006-02-10T20:49:00.001+11:00

I suddenly would like to come up with my own list of 10 favourite movies of all (my) time. It is a tough choice. A list of 10 is not long enough. And I can't even pick the order. I like them all. Anyway, here is the list:

# The Usual Suspects
# American Beauty
# Twelve Monkeys
# The Sixth Sense
# Interview with the Vampire
# Memento
# The Shawshank Redemption
# The Matrix (I, II & III)
# The Thirteenth Floor
# The Butterfly Effect
# The Fight Club

I know this is cheating. Firstly there is 11 movies in a list of 10. Secondly I stuck The Matrix I, II & III into one slot (but I really treat them as one big movie). Well, it is really hard to choose which to cross out. If I really have to, I might pick "The Thirteenth Floor" because it has the least attractive ending out of these 11 movies.

Who else could have been on the list? I might pick Godfather (also I,II & III to be completed), Back To The Future (of course also I, II & III), The Others and The Hours.

Tags:

Movies

On Diet Week 3

2006-01-14T07:59:00.001+11:00

I didn't plan 2 weeks ago to be Week 1. But being Week 3 today makes me feel that the mission has been on going for a while, and might fool me to think that it has already become a normal practice of myself. Furthermore, since I have already lost some weight since then, so I already could have some sense of achievement right from the beginning. Ha ha.

Anyway, after the salad yesterday, I lost 1.2 lbs as compared with 2 days ago. It was not that amazing, as my weight usually going up and down a lot within a week. So if I can keep this gap after a month, then that is a real achievement.

To make things simple, I would mark the real weight (1x4 lbs) three weeks ago as X lbs, and I tried to record my reduction of my weight on the blog as often as possible.

Since the number X was three weeks ago, so as of today, I am now 1.6 lbs away from X lar! My target is to reach at least 4.1 lbs reduction by end of next week. Usually it is easier to acheive big numbers at the start, so hope I could do that.

Thanks for the comment by MadDog, but yesterday I tried skipping breakfast, and not working too well for me, as my morning is quite miserable. Instead, this morning I tried Oak Meal as breakfast. So far my feeling is very good. But I don't expect to see a good reason tomorrow, as today is my last day here and we will have party tonight. Party usually put weight on a person. Anyway, cheers!

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Target to lose 15 lbs before summer (this summer. Reallly.)

2006-01-13T14:10:00.001+11:00

I started this last week. I lost 2.5 lbs. And than I gain back 1.8 lbs yesterday. Today I skipped breakfast, quitted coffee, and only have a bowl of salad (but I must say it is a fat salad. It is a Chicken Cesar Salad. )

I hope I could wear skin tight T-Shirt by summer. I hope.

And yes, I quitted Coffee today. Or at least I quitted drinking jar and jar table top coffee. So I had the Google AdSense to show the keywords "Coffee" for the first time, and the last time, yesterday, perhaps.

Tags:

I am so sleepy. I need a nap

2006-01-11T16:10:00.001+11:00

Why I am so sleepy at 5pm? I tried coffee. I tried washing my face. I tried music. Doesn't work. I tried looking out the window, and found that the sun is setting, and so do I.

arrh, I know. I was up till 2AM last night. That's why. But it is no good too. I need to train myself to sleep less. Not to be sleepless, but just to sleep fewer hours. Coz sooner I would be up all night feeding the baby. I mean, not me. My wife does that. But I would be up helping her. So, 2AM is not late enough. I have to train myself. I have to be able to go to the bed at/after 3AM, and still not be miserable during the day time next day.

Plus, I always plan (or should I say, wish) that if I sleep less, my weight will fall. I don't see any correlation between the amount of sleep and the weight. But that's my wish.

Winter is the season to say goodbye

2006-01-11T09:00:00.001+11:00

It has almost become a new tradition to me that I have to say goodbye after every winter. I was still with my little company at 2003 winter, and then in 2004 winter I was already reunited with the big blue-colored European multi-national company. In 2005, I have spent my first winter in Central, and then I am off to go again.

Changing is good. Changing towards good places should be even better. But the fact that I could live in a dynamic life and see more things (and people) every day, because of the changing, no matter to good or bad, is already a blessing.

Now I am going to step into a field that required a more stable and steady mind. The good thing is that there would be people come and go in front of me, and so it serves the purpose to make my life even more dynamic than before. Hope that I could break the tradition this time and stay with this life style (as an academic) a bit longer. Hope that I am still in this field during the winter of 2006~2007.

New Text Book

2006-01-04T20:55:00.001+11:00

I have been trying to search for a text book for my first class. It is very hard, but it is fun. But at the end of the day, I feel that the text book is in fact for myself more than for my students, as firstly I am not sure how many of them would buy it. And even if even if they would buy it, they might not read it. However, I would definitely read it myself and make the notes base on that. So it is a quick learning process for myself anyway. And it is fun. I read a book, and tell other people what is in the book, as my job. It is like turning a hobby into a job. Well, at least so far this is what a feel. Hope the real thing is at least 20% or more similar to what I am dreaming now...

OpenOffice.org

2006-01-04T12:40:00.001+11:00

This article is written by the "Writer" module of OpenOffice.org. This is the first attempt for me to use the OpenOffice for a stupid reason. I've decided not to install the Microsoft Office in this computer anymore, and so that's why I would have to use the OpenOffice. Frankly speaking I am a big fan of Microsoft, so I don't really want to push myself to use the open source software. However, honestly after the try I must say that this software is reasonably well designed. As long as you are not using too much fancy formating stuff, then OpenOffice is a great alternative of the MS Office. The problem is, I have too many contents already built (usually not by myself) with fancy format. So I guess I have to finish the evaluation process and change quickly back to Bill Gates camp.

First Kick

2005-12-08T17:18:00.001+11:00

My sweet wife Chris worries about how my boy is slowing down in response. I could only share her feeling by how she describe to me and by showing me her joy with her facial expression. So I can't tell what it feels like to have a baby inside. She has been telling the baby to "kick" her or at least to show her some sign to reassure his existence. And he did. I guess he did, because Chris said that she could feel some strange feeling inside, like he is swimming around and turning. It is a very exciting moment. I also feel the joy too, because we can sense a life among us, within us, and as a result of us. The feeling is so great.

Tags:

Give a chance for a life. A new life

2005-11-20T21:21:00.001+11:00

30 minutes after I posted my thought, my wife share with me a very deep and touching thought about life (lives).

She said that the whole thing is about how we are giving a chance for another life to get started. It is not about how we need to control that life.

It is like how we are donating a ticket of Disney to a kid for him/her to enjoy (the assumption is that we also have enjoyed our time in Disney ourselves). We think that Disney is a good place to have fun, so we invite another soul to go there and enjoy. We might suggest to them which attraction and games to go for, we might even suggest the sequence and tactics to go for those attraction / games, but we should not be bothered if he/she would walked in the park differently.

Yes, it is a grace from God or who/what ever that we could be part of making the “Life” itself going forward and doing little bits and pieces of enhancement here and there for the whole race. It is like the philosophy of the open source software platform: everybody could, if willing to, have the chance to take part in the progress of the mankind. This feeling is great.

To become a Dad (Help!)

2005-11-20T20:54:00.001+11:00

It has been great to have the feeling that I could have the second chance to do what I have done, again, in a better way or not, with the heart, soul, brain and body of my kid. It is a mixed feeling about how in the first place I don’t want to step into the old parenthood style which force the child to replicate their own thought; but on the other hand I do have lots of experiences sitting there trying to jump into his coming unplanned agenda of himself.

I know I hate this if my parent did that on me (practically, my parents didn’t do that on me, or I didn’t allow them to), and so I have to avoid that myself. But after 30+X years of experiences, I really learnt a lot! I really have something to share! And I really hope that my kid won’t waste his time on the same thing that I regretted to waste time for, or hope that my kid would have started something that I missed my chances. I know my parents (especially my dad) should have thought that million times for the past 30 years....

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I am so eager to going for being a teacher now. I really would like to learn the way to share my heart, my soul, my brain (but not my body) to other people. And if I know how to do this with a stranger, I am sure I could then do that with my kid. I know my dad is suffering from the inability in doing this. I observed his pain, and I am trying to avoid that. Thanks dad. I have started to know how it is like to be you.

I used to tell a joke about Ferrari. I said that it is not rich enough even if I drive a Ferrari myself. I could really call myself rich if I could give a Ferrari to my kid as his/her birthday present. I now have that feeling. I am still no body even if I could be a successful / good heart / rich / giving / whatever person, until if my kid could become one.

I really would like to be a good dad. A real dad. And I need help on that. But I know the strength and effort should be coming from within. For that I could only pray. Thanks God. Thanks Justin.

Dream Kid

2005-11-04T09:01:00.001+11:00

I had a dream last night that I have a kid. A Young kid, perhaps 6~8 years old, like a friend of mine. This is the first time I dream of a kid. As usual I can’t remember anything about that dream. But at least I remember that I had this dream. Usually when one dreams of something, it means that one has been thinking of it during the day.

Blogger for Word

2005-11-03T23:59:00.001+11:00

Blogger for Word

I am now writing this blog with the new tool “Blogger for Word”. Very easy and convenience. And hopefully it would help me to update my blog more frequently. Ha ha.

My iPod Video arrived last Friday

2005-10-25T23:17:00.001+10:00

I finally got my new toy last Friday evening. At the end I have decided to get the thinner 30GB instead of the 60GB, firstly because the 11mm thickness is just too attractive, and secondly they have stock for 30GB but not 60GB. For the same reason I got the white instead of the black (I originally reserved a black unit from the store). Well, I believe if the device has scratches, then the black body color would make the scratches become more obvious to be noticed. So in that consideration, I prefer white then (although black is cooler, but what good if it looks cool but crappy?)

The slim design makes my original 3rd generation 30GB iPod looks like a brick. I remember I used to like that design. Now I can't remember why. With the new iPod I can really put it in my shirt pocket without really feeling it.

One bad thing about the device is that we don't have access to the iTunes Music Store account, so all we can do there is to download the video podcasts, but cannot download (purchase) any Desperate Housewives, Lost, Pixars' catoons and Coldplay's music videos. I have spent extra HK$2xx to upgrade my Quicktime to Quicktime Pro, so that I could convert other mpeg files into the iPod format. My aim is to also put my wife's and baby's movies and photos in the iPod. I have converted a few clippings from the Quicktime site into the iPod format, and it looks really smooth in the iPod.

The next bad thing about the device is that it is still very easy to get scratches on the body (and as I said, that's one of the reasons why I finally decided to get the white instead of the black unit). I am not sure how Apple could live with this after five generations of iPod and the recent complaints with the Nano. I am waiting for the silicon case to protect it.

Apart from these 2 bad points, I love this product very much (so far). It keeps its long winning UI, plus all the new features in Nano (world clock, device lock etc). It works perfectly with iTunes 6.1, and most important of it, it is slim and beautiful. I would give a 9/10 (9 out of 10) rating to this iPod.

打開我的 iPod Video !!

2005-10-21T16:35:00.001+10:00

一來我未係咁豪，二來件貨未到 (間舖話今日有，但只剩半個鐘收舖 ......) ，所以睇住人地 D 相先。

source = Jefferies & Company, Inc.

iPod Maps

2005-09-27T21:30:00.001+10:00

(source: ipodsubwaymaps.com)

This is another news about iPod. Now you could download maps that could be stored in iPod (iPod Photos only) and iPod Nano from this site. I don't know how special these pictures have to be. I guess they must have simply cut the pictures to a certain size so that the metro stations could be shown in the tiny iPod screen clearly, that's all.

The site had a copyright issued cracked down some weeks ago because it showed digitized copy of the New York City subway system map for download without the permission of the New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority. Of course it didn't hurt much because on the contrary it has drawn more people to visit the site to check out what's going on. But the poor guy has to draw his own version of New York City subway system map himself all over again from scratch to avoid the copyright thing.

Anyway, this is the map of Hong Kong MTR: http://ipodsubwaymaps.com/download. Enjoy!

Cracked iPod Nano

2005-09-27T20:00:00.001+10:00

(source:http://www.flawedmusicplayer.com/)

Is this a real case or is this just a scandal to hurt Apple's name? I don't know. But surely it could draw lots of attention and traffic (including mine) to the site. On the other hand, I could clearly remember that I have read another article on ars technica and it showed that the iPod Nano could still worked after a car running over it. The site rated it as "Extremely Durable".

I can't judge which side is true, because I don't even own one. I don't even own one because I've decided to wait for the 80GB iPod with Video function, well, at least that's what I am guessing that they are going to launch before Xmas this year (plus my wife said I got no excuse to buy a 4GB player while I already have a 30GB iPod and a 1GB Shuffle) (she is correct, it is really only a fashion statement, and I can't really explain how I could make use of it if I own it).

Oh, and one thing about drawing lots of attention and traffic to the site "http://www.flawedmusicplayer.com/": It would be interesting that if the site owner put a Google ad in it, then the smart Google Adwords and AdSense would detect lots of "iPod Nano" mentioned in the text, and shows lots of ads for iPod Nano. It would be funny.

[Tech News] NEC thinnest 1.3Mega Pixel Camera GSM fold phone

2005-09-23T13:23:00.001+10:00

NEC Corporation announced Wednesday it has launched the world's thinnest fold-Type mobile phone with mega-pixel camera on the Hong Kong market.

NEC's proprietary, cutting-edge technology has realized the creation of a modern, smart, compact and attractively packaged clam-shell type mobile phone. It boasts slim measurements of 47.9mm (width) X 101.5mm (height) X 11.9mm (depth; when folded) and a weight of 96g. Supporting mobile-internet and GSM/GPRS, it is equipped with a 1.9 inch (176 x 220 dot) 65,000 color display in addition to a digital camera (1.3 mega pixels). The sub-screen with an organic light emitting display is convenient for scrolling text messages. The phone is also loaded with a wide variety of features including PictBridge, MP3, Java and Bluetooth. Up to 64-polyphonic ring tones and two minutes of movie shooting can be enjoyed by the user.

This highly innovative model was enabled through a combination of NEC's unbeatable technological competence in the areas of R&D and mobile. Ultra-slim mounting technology continues to be an important and constant R&D theme for NEC.

"This ultra-slim, clam-shell type mobile phone is a symbol of NEC's leading position in the area of mobile technology," said Susumu Otani, Associate Senior Vice President and head of Mobile Terminals Operations Unit at NEC Corporation. "We will continue to strive to offer the latest, most innovative and most attractive mobile terminal solutions on the market. Boasting compact shape and the latest technologies, our phones allow our customers to choose the right phone for their individual needs in all of our target markets across the globe."

(Source: NEC Hong Kong Limited)

[轉載] DILBERT on Product Development (Part 2)

2005-09-21T18:04:00.001+10:00

(source: Yahoo Comics)

[轉載] DILBERT on Product Development

2005-09-21T13:56:00.001+10:00

(source: Yahoo Comics)

[News] US No.3 and 4 Airlines Delta and Northwest filed for Chapter 11

2005-09-16T17:54:00.001+10:00

(Source: CNN, Los Angeles Time, Financial Times and The Seattle Times)

Is it the recent oil crisis responsible to push Delta and Northwest Airline out of business? Or is it something else? I don't know. But I am sure besides fuel costs, their labour costs should be also rocket high as well. Of course, it is easier to blame the oil then their staffs.

I always remember the story of Southwest Airline about how Mr Herb Kelleher treasures their people and so the Airline could make money at the same time. In 2004 they have announced its 31st consecutive year of profitability. It means that amazingly they have never seen any red figures ever! It is already an incredible result for any industry. But for Airline industry it is really a mission impossible, especially when we compare their result with United Airline, US Airway, Delta, and Northwest etc.

Babyhood

2005-09-14T00:46:00.001+10:00

Lenbe suddenly reminded me that we had a book called "Babyhood" by Paul Reiser. I bought this book 8 years ago in Sydney, because I liked the book "Couplehood" by the same author. Of course, since at that time I was ready for the couplehood thing but I had really nothing to do with babyhood. Now perhaps it is about time for me to pick it up and start reading it. It smells good. Like an old kind of dishes that you have missed for a long time, and suddenly it is placed in front of you.

Let me share with you guys what it is all about after I really have time to read it (after I read practise my GMAT and write my research proposal) (which would be next Feb) (just in time before Little H's appointment which is near Easter).

eBay Agrees to Buy Skype For $2.6 Billion

2005-09-13T21:19:00.001+10:00

According to the THE WALL STREET JOURNAL today, eBay is going to buy Skype with US$2.6 Bilion with cash and stock.

I am a big fan of Skype myself, and I am happy about them and for them. The purchase does make sense, as for eBay, Skype could be a new platform to reach out their target seller / buyer as an immediate stage 1 effect, and can provide real voice based online auctions as a stage 2 benefit.

A more striking effect is that ebay has 157.3 million registered users with around 64.6 million active ones, and even if half of them are already using Skype, it would still help Skype to enjoy a potential grow of at least 50% from its 52 million users based so far, and speed up the threat towards the existing telecommunications companies.

Tired Lenbe and Little H

2005-09-13T20:32:00.001+10:00

Today Little H made Lenbe very tired. Perhaps it is a major construction going on today. Perhaps it is the nose or eyes or something. It is not a good time to go to Disneyland. But we do. I am going to bring Lenbe and Little H to Disney Hotel (and of course the Disneyland) to celebrate Little H's mum's birthday. I guess we would not running around too much, as it would be too many people as the flesh wall to stop us running. My plan is to relax ourselves and promise ourselves not to rush to anything, as oppose to the style of the rest of the Hongkongers. And I believe I am good at that. Hope the relaxing environment would be great for both Lenbe and Little H.

New iTunes Phone or Video iPod?

2005-08-31T19:06:00.001+10:00

Apple has sent out invitations to members of the press for a "Special Event" on Wednesday, September 6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, notes CNET News.com. "1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything," the invitation reads, alluding to the release of the first 5GB iPod nearly four years ago. "Here we go again." As usual, details on the announcement have spawned a plethora of rumors, but CNET notes that "Record company executives have said recently that Apple has been seeking licenses to distribute a wide variety of music videos through the iTunes music store, and that the computer company has told them of plans to unveil an iPod that plays video." Appleinsider.com on the other hand expects Jobs to announce the new Motorola ROKR iTunes music phones during the event.

In any case, it would be another breakthrough by Apple. (I am becoming the promotion agent of Apple lately...).

(Source: CNET.com and AppleInsider.com)

Mighty Mouse

2005-08-30T22:00:00.001+10:00

This is a dream mouse. Another great Apple design. Mouse exists in the market for so long, and they could still design something that is so beautiful and unique, and yet so simple and minimal. What I love most about this product is that tiny little 360 degree scroll ball. Why not anyone else thought of it earlier?

I am ordering it now.

(info and picture source: http://www.appleclub.com.hk/mightymouse/)

My next 80GB iPod

2005-08-30T15:25:00.001+10:00

I am planning to buy my next iPod. But not now. I currently have a second generation 30GB iPod that I've bought a few years ago. At that time it was the top model, but it is old now.

I had three excuses to justify the purchase. (A) My existing iPod is still working, but the battery is plain dead. So, it is still working if any only if I plug the adapter in. (B) Besides, I have 31GB of songs now, which is a bit bigger than that iPod could take (in fact, it only has 27.5GB capacity). (C) I also plan to buy a portable HDD for storage purpose, and iPod could also do the job (but with more than double the cost).

I should wait a bit. Now they don't sell the 30GB anymore. Either I buy the smaller 20GB version (which is not logical, according to my objective (B) and (C), or the thicker 60GB version. However, according to the roadmap of Toshiba, iPod should launch their new thin type 1.8inch 40GB and thick 80GB soon, because Toshiba is going to launch their new single disc 1.8inch 40GB HDD and double disc (thicker) 1.8inch 80GB HDD in Sept. In terms of portability, I should go for the thinner and cheaper 40GB (which is the same thickness as the current 20GB). However, according to my objective (B) and (C), I should go for the thicker (and a little little bit dearer) 80GB. Besides, isn't it cool to carry around the first 80GB on the street, just to show off?

I have to send a email to Steve (Jobs) and ask him to launch the 80GB sooner. I should wait a bit, but I can't wait.

(advertisement and picture source: http://appleclub.com.hk/itunes/)

New Project(s)

2005-08-25T09:53:00.001+10:00

I need to claim down.

I am starting 5 projects in one go recently. Firstly, as I said in my previous post, I am going to apply PhD by next January. So I need to run a project to do that. I call it Project A. Starting from now, finishing by, well, 5 years later perhaps. Very discouraging. Perhaps I should state that I would finish Phase 1 of Project A by April next year (when I know if I got accepted or not).

Secondly, as a preparation job of the Project A, I would like to (or have to) hop to a job which is more academic related, by the end of this year, and I call it Project B. I need Project B because I need to have more free time and free mind to prepare my research proposal, as well as to have a more stable and focus brain so that I could concentrate in Project A.

Thirdly, two of our buddies, Hazel and Hugo, are coming to meet us soon. The planned schedule is also next April, and so I have to start my Project C to welcome them. It would be a big project as many things in our daily lives have to be adjusted, including some of my habits.

As a consequence of Project C, I need to consider to make sure that we could stay in this house within next year, and then could move to a new place by the end of next year. In between I have to adjust the rental agreement of the landlord, and at the same time I have to take back our apartment from "Jenny" and sell it out. It requires quite a lot of interrelated tasks and $$. This is Project D.

Also as a consequence of Project C, we would consider to say goodbye to Pinky and say hello to our new friend Silvery (Project E) It should be a short project due to the time constraint, but would involve some licensing issues, insurance issues and finance issues. We need to finish this by early Sept. Time is pressing.

I am not a well organized person, so I need to claim down and write down all the tasks step by step so that I could concurrently manage these 5 projects smoothly but efficiently.

God bless us.

Golf

2005-08-13T13:11:00.001+10:00

I always thing that golf should not be counted as a sport. I am not saying that you don't need skills and techniques at the game. You do. In fact you need lots of experience to do this right; but it is the same when you are playing chess. In certain extends it is like playing chess when you are playing golf. Every move counts. The only big difference is that the performance of your opponent in golf would not directly affect your performance. And that's why bosses prefer golf than chess.

Qualification

2005-08-12T01:05:00.001+10:00

This is the first time I feel pressure about my qualification, because this is the first time that someone else cares about it.

They are from a school. I guess normally academic people cares about qualification more than anyone else. I should feel glad about it, as I have spent so much time in building up my academic record for all these years, and finally I could find someone who treasures my papers most. However, if they say yes then would become a tough decision for me as I have to quit my existing job to work on this new job, and I am not ready for it.

How could I ready for anything? I don't know. I had never got ready for anything. I am an ad-hot person. I only know that I admire the job as a Professor most, as it is a role that could truly explore my strengths and potentials. I am ready to jump. You Jump I Jump. Who are You? Who is going to jump before my jump? I guess it is myself. I have to jump first. There is no other "you" who would jump before me. I have to jump first. Bye-bye. See you down there.

So Tired

2005-08-11T21:22:00.001+10:00

Perhaps this is the third or forth time that I write about this topic at my blog. But this time I am really really tired. I need a nap. I need to go home. I need to take a very good rest. I am really tired. Good night.

Sleep in Seattle

2005-08-09T13:02:00.001+10:00

I have never been to Seattle. I heard that it is hard to get sleep over there. I also heard that it is not a good place to live because it is always raining and wet, but I am surprised about this statement because Seattle is next to Vancouver and I also heard that Vancouver has a very fine weather throughout the year. Perhaps I am wrong. But that's my impression about Seattle.

Recently, I suddenly realized that I could talk about Seattle more than just the weather. Suddenly I realized that Microsoft, Star Bucks and Amazon are all based in Seattle! And these are all the top companies that I admire. Isn't it telling something about Seattle?

Captain's Bar

2005-08-07T10:36:00.001+10:00

I believe the Captain's Bar is a famous place. It is a bar for drinking and smoking at Mandarin Hotel. So it smells really bad here. I am now sitting in this almost empty Captain's Bar reading the tips and reviews of the latest "Winning Eleven 9". Not the perfect match, I know. I had a very good pink Champaign, and now I am drinking a also impressively tasted house white. It would be better if they also offer sea view. Never mind. Next time if I come in Mandarin Hotel at a later time then I could try their Bar upstairs at 15/F. But they don't open this early. Who would like to drink wine so early in the day except me (and the bold guy sitting across the room now)?

BILLY

2005-08-02T12:00:00.001+10:00

由昨晚到現在我整天也對住 Billy。正確的文法來說,我應該說是 Billies, 因為前後兩位 Billy 是不同的。現在和我一起在深圳開會的 Billy是一個蓄有疏落鬍子的德籍華裔馬來西亞人,有一位十幾年前在台灣讀書時認識的德裔但講國語的鬼妹妻子(很複雜)。這 Billy 是一個好人,有點長氣,有點慢,但是一個正直及好心腸的人。在左邊相片是我早前在德國時拍的照片。

另一位 Billy是 IKEA買的 Billy 牌書架。在右邊第一幅相片內的是昨晚送貨的那一格。之前這個角是有半邊窗,但風景被隔鄰的新樓阻擋了,所以索性擺格書架於這位置。我還另有五格這 Billy書架放於廳內另外兩個角落,也差不多全都放滿了。「買書」這興趣也真所費不菲,書價和架價事小,香港地方貴嘛!

50 Gmail Invitation Left

2005-07-19T21:40:00.001+10:00

我從去年尾有 Gmail account (ngszehin@gmail.com) 到現在,只 login 過幾次. 最近一次是頭先, 赫然發現我仍有50個inviation可send 出.

今時今日,應該冇乜人要有但未有 Gmail account. 但如有讀者仍想apply, 請留comment.

[Tech News] Samsung Sells 5 Million Blue-Black Phones

2005-07-19T07:26:00.001+10:00

Sales of Samsung Electronics' hit "Blue Black"phone broke the 5 million mark on July 15, the company said Sunday. The SGH-D500 model debuted in Western Europe in November.

A Samsung Electronics official said the phone has been the engine behind an overall sales growth for its mobile phones. Following the SGH-T100 and SGH-E700 models, dubbed the "Lee Kun-hee phone" and "Benz phone," the Blue Black phone is tipped to sell a landmark 10 million.

The company says design and range of features besides the unique color and, for Europeans, relatively new slide style helped set the handset apart. The model has a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth function, and its 92 Mb internal memory enables users to store a sizeable number of video clips and music. The phone was launched in Korea in early May and became an immediate hit, selling 150,000 handsets in two months.

Sky is the Limit

2005-07-18T11:33:00.001+10:00

I was on the road again after the Europe trip a week ago. This time it is a one day trip to Taipei. 8am flight to Taipei, and 8pm back to Hong Kong. Including the local transit time, I had around 7 hours in Taipei for meeting and for lunch. More than enough. I could do more in that 7 hours than the 10 hours in office (because no phone calls, no ad-hot meetings, no emails....).

I tried to enjoy myself. So I took some picture of the Taiwanese sky. Can't tell the difference from other skies that I have seen from previous trips.

[News] 倫敦爆炸案4疑犯或被騙

2005-07-17T10:30:00.001+10:00

Source: 英國《星期日電訊報》

The four guys could have been misled to die. Perhaps they thought they could be able to drop down the bomb at the stations and would have time to leave the scene. But they didn't.

The fact was they actually bought return tickets for their rail trips. They also put the bomb on the back pack instead of tied on the body, which means that they really would like to put the bomb somewhere.

All these facts perhaps could lead to the assumption that the four guys were planning to live instead of suicide.

Fifteen Restaurant in London

2005-07-03T21:40:00.001+10:00

After I stay in the hotel room for the whole afternoon for emails and IDD, I went out alone to take the subway to the Old Street Station to visit the famous Fifteen Restaurant by Jamie Oliver.

I heard that they usually need a reservation of 6 months in advance. I had 2 hours in advance. So I decided to go there earlier. Much earlier. They normally start to serve dinner at 6:00pm, so I was there at 5:30pm, and asked for a table for one. It worked. They put me at the Trattoria, which is the more casual restaurant upstairs of the main restaurant. I didn't really mind as long as it is good. I promised to give the table back to them before they were full (but after I was full).

I stayed at the bar for a glass of Italian house red (only then I knew it is a Italian Restaurant). The wine was good, and the food was good too. I had a good grilled squid and sardine as the starter, and then a seafood pasta as the middle course. I had a grilled rib eye steak for the main course, with spinach and cheese salad on the top. Delicious. The olive oil and vinegar that goes with the Italian bread is also very good too.

I recommend this restaurant to everyone who like good and fresh food. Especially for those who love olive oil and pasta, you shouldn't miss this. And if you don't have 6 months in advance, you could try my trick to go there earlier to grab a seat.

Regents Park in London

2005-07-03T21:35:00.000+10:00

First of all, I would like to give my prayer to the people in London. God bless you all.

I was in London on the day of lots of exciting events: Live8 Concert, Lions vs All Blacks (Lions Tour, Rugby), England vs Australian (Cricket), V. Williams vs Davenport (Wimbledon Women's Final), which is a Saturday before the bombing. I chose to avoid those events so I walked from Paddington to the British Museum via the Regents Park. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I enjoy the fresh and quiet air a lot.

Rhine River at Dusseldorf

2005-06-30T09:45:00.000+10:00

This is some picture I took at Rhine River (萊茵河) at Dusseldorf. It was beautiful.

Train to Dusseldorf

2005-06-29T20:30:00.000+10:00

This is the morning of Frankfurt, and I am on the train to Dusseldorf. I have never heard of this town until now. It should be a important city because it is so close to Holland and England. But I don't even have heard about this name before. Very strange. Like something just float out from the middle of the sea to me.

Burger King

2005-06-29T20:05:00.000+10:00

This is the Burger King at the food court inside the departure hall after the customs counters, and it is only Burger King store in Hong Kong. When I was young I like Burger King better than McDonald's because it tasted better. But I guess their marketing was not better, so they were out. Now we could only find them in the airport. For meat (beef) lover, Burger King is much better than McDonald's. And Burger King doesn't have toys and milk shake, so unlike McDonald's, they are not the Kid's favorite.

Even I got free food and wine at the business class lounge, I usually would like to have my pre-flight meal at Burger King. Perhaps I really like the food. Perhaps I just would like to support the minority.

Casio EX-Z750

2005-06-29T20:00:00.000+10:00

I have bought the new Casio EX-Z750 before I went to Europe. I hope I could take some good picture there. It has 7.2MP and a 2.5" screen. It has manual settings so that I could control my Aperture and Shutter speed manually. And best of all, it is slim enough to fit in my pocket so that I could carry it around every where, and I that's important because then I could really make good use of it.

Spurs Won Game 5 with Horry's Big Shot (as usual)

2005-06-21T14:50:00.000+10:00

Picture Source: Tom Pidgeon/Gety Images/NBAE

Spurs won Game Five with Horry sunk a 3pt at final 5.8sec during OT, giving a 96-95 victory. Horry is famous in making the last clutching shoot, and he did it again today.

Content Source: http://www.nba.com/games/20050619/SASDET/recap.html

Visited Countries

2005-06-15T17:22:00.000+10:00

I came across a friendly blogger who has this map posted in her page. I love maps. So I clicked on it. And here it is. It shows all the places that I have been to, in red.

In terms of how much places I have been to on this earth, the truth is that it is not as dramatic as the area that covered by the red color, only because so happened that I have been to US, Canada, India, Australia and China, and they are all very big, and they make the map very red. But I have only been to two to three cities within that big red area, so that is not fair. But who cares?

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

電盈收購 Sunday

2005-06-13T18:45:00.000+10:00

Latest news announced that 電盈收購 Sunday. If so, does it mean that PCCW has already reached a stage where they are back in real business? In the first place, they should have not sold CSL unless they really had nothing else to sell. Now, it seems that their cash flow is back on track, so they are back to the mobile business (which is the future of the Telecommunication Industry).

Perfect Dinner

2005-06-10T00:49:00.000+10:00

Tonight my wife cook a very tasty Fedelini-10 (a kind of pasta) with scallop and mushroom for me. I love it very much. Because of that, I open a bottle of white wine (Jacob Creek Chardonnay). What else more should we ask for?

[Tech News] LG Music Phone with MP3

2005-06-09T02:03:00.000+10:00

LG-KP4400, LG-LP4400: As the new MP3 phone is equipped with MP3 chips that Telechips is providing for stand-alone MP3 players, it will be able to attract music geeks who have been disappointed by existing MP3 phones.

According to the company, the BGM (Background Music) button on the right side of the phone is for multi-tasking so that users can listen to music while enjoying diverse features such as SMS, game, wireless Internet and picture-taking.

With the internal 256 MB memory, the handset works as USB-based portable disc. The embedded 1.3-megapixel camera shoots up to 80-minute long video image.

我的哲學

2005-06-06T22:00:00.000+10:00

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.

“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”

“It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.”

--Jean-Paul Sartre

“It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.”

--Blaise Pascal

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Existentialism

100%

Hedonism

85%

Strong Egoism

70%

Kantianism

65%

Utilitarianism

55%

Justice (Fairness)

55%

Divine Command

30%

Nihilism

25%

Apathy

15%

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

Earthquake!!!

2005-06-02T02:21:00.000+10:00

This is 12:21am in Taipei, and I just feel another Earthquake! The whole hotel room (especially the toilet) is shaking (I guess it is not because of someone doing something with someone else in the next room...).

I have earthquake here every time I visit Taipei! Should I go somewhere or should I hide under my desk? Oh, the room is still shaking!! Gees!!! Or I am over reacted? Taipei people should be used to this already??

Sony Launches PS3 (story with pictures)

2005-05-17T16:44:00.000+10:00

Last night Sony revealed its PLAYSTATION3 (PS3). But unlike Microsoft, which sold the sizzle and not the sausage, Sony has unveiled the detail of a technological masterpiece. The PS3 incorporates what is arguably the world's most advanced Cell processor with supercomputer-like power plus backwards compatibility with the PS2 which sold roughly two thirds of all game consoles in the current generation. In the new console game, Microsoft may have fired the first shots, but Sony has leapt to the fore with its first foray and it'll be one hell of a fight. Now all that remains is for Nintendo to enter the fray.

PS3 combines state-of-the-art technologies featuring Cell, a processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba, graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI, and XDR memory developed by Rambus. It also adopts BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) with maximum storage capacity of 54 GB (dual layer), enabling delivery of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology. To match the accelerating convergence of digital consumer electronics and computer technology, PS3 supports high quality display in resolution of 1080p as standard, which is far superior to 720p/1080i. Note that when using1080p/720p/1080i: "p" stands for progressive scan method, "i" stands for interlace method. 1080p is the highest resolution within the HD standard.

Source: ITmedia Japan

Good Weekend Ended with 學友演唱會 at home

2005-05-16T22:52:00.000+10:00

I have a very relaxing weekend. The most impressive achievement was to clean up my desk and my drawer. The second achievement was to "obtain" the 25 tracks of this CD: 張學友Sports For Live演唱會2004. Very impressive.

I must say 學友 after all should still be the best singer in HK alive now. He might not be the biggest star, but he got the best voice. During the concert all songs he sang were from other people, and for most cases he sang better the original singer.

Amazing March

2005-04-19T01:59:00.000+10:00

I missed the month March. Time flies. When I realise it is about time to write blog again, I find out that I have already disappeared almost two months.

Where am I? Ever since Mr Tung quitted, I have no mood to update the blog no more. Well, that's not really true. In fact I have had a very busy March. I was marching in a mist towards my new life. And no, I did not applied PhD. I gave up. I have started, I have tried, but I was too busy to complete the task.

And because of some human made luck, I quitted my old job and got a new one. And since last Monday, I have been working for the new boss. Things are tough, but exciting. And I don't know the end of my journey; I only know that I have to keep marching forward.

Good night.

Bride's Pool Nature Trail

2005-03-02T02:59:00.000+11:00

上星期和家人去新娘潭“行山”（其實只是用三十分鐘行完新娘潭內的自然教育徑）。從來不知道新娘潭內原來是這樣美麗的。後來又去了水壩也是非常美麗。

Tomato

2005-03-02T01:29:00.000+11:00

This is the home growth tomato. We just put that at the corner of our roof, and now it becomes so red and fresh. How nice!

Chinese Typing

2005-03-01T02:54:00.000+11:00

我學中文打字也算學得非常合時。剛學完一個星期，便有人要求我將兩篇英文文章在一天之內譯作中文。好彩剛剛學會，學以致用，絕無難度。縱橫輸入法真的易學好用，冇介紹錯。(廣告時間完畢。）

Fog

2005-02-26T01:59:00.000+11:00

Spring is finally here. There was a big fog in Hong Kong few days ago. But I watched the news and found that some other parts in China were much worst than us here.

Too Late Too Tired.

2005-02-25T02:59:00.000+11:00

今天已經很倦了，所以要早一點睡覺。明天一早起身再來。

New iPod Mini

2005-02-24T02:15:00.000+11:00

I am not really sure about the quality of iPod. My old 30GB iPod is not working too well (iTrip now stop working, battery life becomes 1.5 hours...) But I must admit that Apple (Steve Jobs) really know how to do business (recently).

What's next? Rumors say it would be iPod Mini with color screen and Bluetooth. Some people even says there is a Motorola's "iPod Phone" coming.

PodBrix

2005-02-22T03:01:00.000+11:00

This is an interesting piece of "thing". I got this from Here. I really don't know who in this world would buy this. At least I won't. Would you?

縱橫輸入法

2005-02-21T17:35:00.000+11:00

今天冇乜心情做事，可能因為周末剛完不久，所以仍是無心工作。我竟然可以用午飯時間來練習縱橫輸入法（來打這編文章），真是過份。但對於我這個初哥來說，縱橫輸入法真算很快。

Ten Rules of Blogging

2005-02-19T09:32:00.000+11:00

I read this from Here:

Ten Rules of Blogging：

1. blogging for fun ,for yourself, at least at beginning.
2. don't force yourself to blog just for periodically update.
3. don't limit your blog to min. or max. length.
4. don't blog just for audience.
5. don't be afraid of opposite comments.
6. blogging is to share your thought, your opinion, not your "me too".
7. blogging tools and interfaces are for convenience, not for "Wow! so fascinating!" The same as your site layout.
8. if you don't want someone reading your blog, never put it on.(Even he/she don't know you have a blog)
9. try to remember why you are blogging.
10. forget the first 9 rules. use the 10th instead: BLOG FOR YOURSELF!

CyberJos is Blogging 中譯

1. 為了樂趣和你自己而Blog（至少在一開始時是這樣）。
2. 不要只是為了週期性的更新而強迫自己 Blog。
3. 不要限制你 Blog 的文章最大和最小的長度。
4. 不要只是為了你的觀眾而 Blog。
5. 不要害怕相反意見的迴響。
6. Blog 是分享你的想法和意見，而不是無意義的「我也是...」。
7. Blog 工具和介面以便利為主，而不是「哇！真迷人啊」。你的網站版面也應該是這樣。
8. 如果你不想讓某些人閱讀你的 Blog，那麼就別把它放上來（即使他／她不知道你有一個 Blog 站台）。
9. 試著去記住你為什麼要 Blog。
10. 忘了前九項，使用第十項規則：為了你自己而 Blog

That's very true. We have to be free and brave in blogging in order to make our blog as the place to release our honest thoughts. If we have our audience in mind too much, the blog would become less meaningful because it would turn out to be the same as our ordinary conversation with the people around us.

On the other hand, blogging would be useful if you could communicate to people around you only via the identity as the author of the blog, which help you to say things that you can't say it out loud normally.

Suede x 3 days

2005-02-19T03:34:00.000+11:00

I have been playing this 20 songs CD (in fact it has 21 songs, but I always skip song #12, because it sounds too much like Druan Druan) for the last 3 days. Suddenly I become an interim Suede's fans. No plan to resign from this position yet. Perhaps until my wife finally decides to tell me that she has enough of Suede.

Hong Kong Disneyland

2005-02-16T22:58:00.000+11:00

How exciting! Hong Kong Disneyland is going to start operation on Sept 12, 2005! The Disneyland Hotel is available for booking since yesterday. Amazingly, already there were more than 100 people called the booking center and reserved rooms just in one day! And I am one of them. I booked a sea view room to spend the birthday with my wife there. It would be the first weekend since it starts its operation. That’s why I would like to book early enough.

Let’s hope it would turn out to be a great place for us to visit in Hong Kong whenever we need to cheer up ourselves! At the moment Hong Kong is lacking such a dreamland kind of place to release our stress and unhappiness.

Fireworks

2005-02-11T02:47:00.000+11:00

Every year on the second day of the Chinese New Year, the Hong Kong Government would spend around a few million Hong Kong dollars to have a Fireworks show on the Victoria Harbor. And every year there would be about half a million people gathering on both side of the harbor to watch the Fireworks. This year, I am one of them, along with my family. My dad paid a fortune to have dinner with us at a restaurant with a perfect harbor view in Inter-Continental.

It is quite amazing to watch the Fireworks up close, because you could feel the impact of how the cannon fire the colorful fireballs from one of the four cannon ship with a big “Bomb” sound, and how the colorful “Fire” splash into the buildings on both sides of the harbor.

I tried to take some pictures with my camera, without any tripod. I guess this is the best I could do with hand held camera to shoot night scene. You could see all the dark little heads at the bottom of the photo, which are those people who had been waiting at the harbor front, for like four to five hours, to get the best view. We just stand right in front of the restaurant and got the same view. How lucky we were! Thanks Dad!

Little Stupid Guy

2005-02-10T01:34:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year! This is the New Year day of the year of Rooster!!

One thing about Chinese New Year, besides the 3 days public holiday, is the food and snacks we gonna have in this few days. As a part of the game, we have to visit our relatives one by one, in the order of seniority. The host would firstly serve us with those traditional Chinese New Year style snacks, such as dry melon seed and sweet lotus, and then we, depends on how close we are with the host, might have meal together there.

This year my parents got some very interesting snack from Shanghai. It is called Siu Wu Tao Yen. In Cantonese (a kind of Chinese dialect), it sounds the same as “Little Stupid Guy”. It in fact is a kind of crushed walnut, with slightly honey favored. It goes really well with wine or beer. We even once treat that as a kind of breakfast food. Or to a certain extends it should also go with cereal and milk very well.

Perhaps the whole family has given too many good comments to this Little Stupid Guy too much, so my dad has decided to buy a bit more next week when he flies to Shanghai for business trip again. I didn’t say no to him because I thought the best way to quit an addiction on anything is to overdose it (except drugs, I guess..…. coz which would kill you before you could get rid of the addiction). Let’s see if I would mention this guy again in a few weeks time!

Dawn

2005-02-07T09:02:00.000+11:00

It is so quiet out there (except from time to time there are some noisy buses, mini-bus, train, taxi….). It is really beautiful and peaceful to start a day with a view like this.

The Year of "Rooster" is coming

2005-02-06T22:34:00.000+11:00

Today is the third last day of the Chinese year “Monkey”. Three days later we would enter the Year of "Rooster" (It sounds really funny, but really it is how we call it). Traditionally we would celebrate very heavily starting from Tuesday (Chinese New Year’s EVE) onwards, for about a week or more, including big meals, visiting friends and relatives, with Chinese style parties (very similar to Christmas time in the Western world).

Practically it means that we would have a long public holiday. Offices and shops would be closed for a few days during the first few days of New Year, also very similar to Christmas in the Western World. Factories back in Mainland China would be shut down for more than a week, and all workers go home to their home town back in mainland China. So for us who work in the electronic inductry, we sort of could have a slow start after the holiday because our China counter part are still on holiday.

School kids also would enjoy a long holiday. On top of that, they would also receive lots of “Lei See” (Red Pocket) with real cash inside, from all the married men and women. Thus, before I got married 2 years ago, Chinese New Year was always my favorite festival (or I should practically state, my favorite holiday). Now we are the one who have to give away Lei See instead.

For me, I really need to use this holiday to finish up my PhD application. I have been reading and talking a lot about this. It is time to finish it up as the deadline is waving it's hand and saying hello to me.

New Neighbor (Part 3)

2005-02-03T19:37:00.000+11:00

They have finished laying the floor of the second level. Now those bamboo sticks are high enough for the bad guys to climb up to our balcony!

Believing is Seeing

2005-02-02T23:54:00.000+11:00

The boss of my boss' boss always says this in front of us:

"Seeing is Believing" is not correct, because it should be "Believing is Seeing".

I always thought this is a stupid slogan, just to push us to make silly commitment to our works. Today, I finally feel the meaning of it.

This evening I was discussing the topic #2 of my New Year Resolution with my wife. I told her that I had a good feeling to have kids and family after watching the movie "The Incredibles", but I still have doubt about how we could really make it happens. With that feeling in mind, I could not say a firm yes.

Then my wife said the following, which I found very stunning to myself, although it sounds so normal and so logical. She said: "we should not always confirm our target after we know how we could achieve the target. Instead, we should examine the intended result, and if we believe we would enjoy the result, then we should firstly confirm the target, and then think of how we could achieve the target."

It is all very true. Sometimes I spent so long to perform the "feasibility study" before I confirm whether I should move forward or not, until it is too late to confirm. If I could believe in what I am going to see, then eventually I would some how make myself seeing it. If on the other hand I have to stand still until the stage that I am able to see it first, it is meaningless to ask myself to believe in it anymore, coz any how I am already there, no matter if I believe it or not.

Resolution 2005

2005-02-01T02:58:00.000+11:00

I only learn this word "Resolution" after I have started blogging. I thought it only means the pixel dimension of a screen...

I guess it is ok to define my New Year resolution within the first month of the year, although usually I should have frozen them at the end of last year.

Here is the List of my top 10 resolution:
(1) To apply for PhD.
(2) To discuss if we would have kids or not.
(3) As a backup of (1), to explore job opportunity which also utilize my strengths.
(4) To review and organize the record (good and bad) of my life so far, and establish a system for easy update.
(5) To set up schedule to read books regularly, and to identify the proper channel to constantly absorb new knowledge.
(6) To set up a system for easy capturing of information and thoughts collected, and for easy recording and expression of feeling and emotion.
(7) To establish the pattern of regular Exercise.
(8) To improve in the area of “Focus”. So, have to restrict the wish list to only 8 items. Bye for now!

New Neighbor (Part 2)

2005-01-29T12:09:00.000+11:00

It has been only a few days. And it turns out like this. (click here to see the pic of how they started to dig the ground few days ago!)

So efficient! If I myself could do things with this speed, I could achieve anything!

One step at a time. I am not going to suddenly able to build a house in a week like these guys do. Let me plan to read TWO books today. That's my plan. This evening, let me tell you how I go.

To Plan My Day

2005-01-28T02:24:00.000+11:00

I have successfully done it again today. Every morning I would start the day with a target to spend at least 15 to 30 minutes to plan my day. And then every evening I would end the day with a feeling that I have wasted my day because I didn't plan the day well, or didn't plan the day at all. And today, of course, same thing has happened. I again asked myself to plan my day, and at the end blamed myself for not really doing it, again.

I have to stop this. I hate this feeling. I really really have to spend my first 30 minutes tomorrow to plan my day.

Let's see what I would say tomorrow evening. Good night.

Second Chance

2005-01-27T02:07:00.000+11:00

Sometimes it is so lucky that we are given the second chance to go over things again. However, there is no "rewind" in our real life.

It is like how we miss the chance to drink a cup of tea, and we have to pour hot water into the pot to make the second cup. It is the second chance, but it is not the same cup of tea. Sometimes the first cup is always better, sometimes on the other hand we on purpose pour away the first cup and only enjoy the second cup. The bottom line is, it is different, and not everything allows you to have that second cup. No one drinks the second cup of coffee, because it usually tastes like diluted charcoal water.

The Butterfly Effect

2005-01-26T02:31:00.000+11:00

Anyone out there likes this movie as well? I like it very much. Yes, I am not talking about the real “butterfly effect” theory. I am talking about the Hollywood movie.

The butterfly effect states that any slight change in one part of the world would have a massive domino effect on lots of subsequent and perhaps unrelated events. On top of this, the movie "The Butterfly Effect" has an extra message, which is, of course, not being mentioned in the original theory: if we could go back in time, what ever we do differently - and positively, it would some what has a negative effect on the other aspect on our own life. It is because the world is fair.

In the story, no matter how hard Evan (the main guy) try to go back the time and change the history to save himself and to save the people around him, there would always be some new bad things pop up to balance out the change. I see this as a very hash but real observation of our life. Wouldn’t it be great if we could always run our life as how we play show hand: keep the good cards and change the bad cards? It reminds me how we play those RPG games. During set up, we always have to tune the statistics of the character at the start. Everybody is given certain among of total score. It is the user who would decide how to allocate the score. If we want to have more “wisdom”, then we might have to give up some "strength". That's life.

I watched the movie at home, which is the director cut in the DVD. I love the ending very much, and I feel lucky that I didn’t watch it in the cinema. For the welfare of those of you who has not yet bought the DVD, I am not going to spell out the difference. Please go and buy the DVD and watch all 4 different endings, and you will know what I mean.

New Neighbor

2005-01-22T19:27:00.000+11:00

It is just shocking to know that there would be a new house built on the slope next to my little house. The machine started to dig a hole next to the house 2 days ago, and it is how we found out. No sign, no warning.

For those of you who have been really reading my blog and watching my photos, you would find that I have a nice balcony (and roof top) facing a sea view. Now half of the view and privacy would be blocked by my new neighbor! I still don’t understand what kind of technology allows people to build a house on a thin land like this!

(Pic 1 - L) The sea view (looking straight from our roof), (Pic 2 - R) The construction site (looking down from our roof, taken at the same spot as pic 1)

We have to buy new curtains and new security alarms because of this. Maybe I should organize a “farewell” BBQ soon, to say good bye to the view.

My wife comfort me and thought of a good point about this: the new house might help to block the noise from the highway. Well, everything, including the "bad thing" as it seem, has its good side. Sometimes it is just harder than usual to find that side out (or harder than usual to make it relevant to ourselves).

Tired.

2005-01-21T11:40:00.000+11:00

Very tired this week. It seems that what I have started on Monday only last till Tuesday. That is, my plan to start diving into the PhD application, and to start living within “the mode”. I need a break. Let me go out to the balcony to get some fresh air.
Many things have happened this week. Chris is very stress this week, and I worry her very much and she needs my support. At the same time, the office work is crazy this week. I have just been trying to keep up 70% of my job, which is, sit in the project meetings and keep fire out emails to project team members. I have no time to quiet down to think and organize myself.

I hope I could have energy to start doing some meaningful work this weekend. But I doubt it.

Why PhD Students should Blog (Part 2)

2005-01-18T01:33:00.000+11:00

- Week 6
Ok, the engine has started. I have to move forward at the final straight road with full speed now -- the straight road to become a PhD student. Well, in fact I have been wandering at the starting line of the final straight road for some time now, long enough for me to realized that I should have started my engine long time ago.

And I am those people who need to perform the “move” within a special “mode”. If I am not in a mode, I am “unmovable”. I would just still keep wandering around for nothing. And when I am going into the mode, I have to announce to myself and to others.

And so here I am: now I have to tune myself into this “Student-to-be” mode, starting from today. And things are just all happened with such a best timing. As you can see, yesterday I have started writing my blog as if I were already a PhD student, thanks to the Blogger-Idol link. And today evening I just attended the class held by the University’s Library showing us how to search the research database. Oh, also this morning when I do my second round of GMAT, the topic of the second article I got to write is “Why Education, not Property or Money, provide the best individual opportunity in today’s world”. By writing this little article, it helped me to reassure the reason why I was sitting there doing the stupid GMAT for the 2nd time with 2 months.

This is why PhD students should Blog. By writing to our own selves, it helps to reassure that we are (still) walking on the right track, at the right pace.

Leonard Mobile

Snow Globes – Coca-Cola 2010 Christmas Commercial

I am all alone with iMessage @iOS 5.0

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®: Shadow Vanguard – Interactive Trailer

Inception Timeline Illustrated

Software on this iPhone has expired

New Year Resolution 2011

The Digital Story of the Nativity

Really? [Windows Phone 7 ad]

A Beautiful Dream ...

What is iPad?

Start with "Why"!

Star War in 2 mins, in LEGO

Wally Lost the 4G Phone!

The Elephant and its Rider

The Value of the Work

A Finish To Remember

Innovation from the "Passionate Amateurs"

Winnie Cooper Is Married

iPhone, how people really use it.

Steve Jobs iPhone 3G Keynote in 60 Seconds

My Next Phone

Everything's Ready!

My Movies

On Diet Week 3

Target to lose 15 lbs before summer (this summer. Reallly.)

I am so sleepy. I need a nap

Winter is the season to say goodbye

New Text Book

OpenOffice.org

First Kick

Give a chance for a life. A new life

To become a Dad (Help!)

Dream Kid

Blogger for Word

My iPod Video arrived last Friday

打開我的 iPod Video !!

iPod Maps

Cracked iPod Nano

[Tech News] NEC thinnest 1.3Mega Pixel Camera GSM fold phone

[轉載] DILBERT on Product Development (Part 2)

[轉載] DILBERT on Product Development

[News] US No.3 and 4 Airlines Delta and Northwest filed for Chapter 11

Babyhood

eBay Agrees to Buy Skype For $2.6 Billion

Tired Lenbe and Little H

New iTunes Phone or Video iPod?

Mighty Mouse

My next 80GB iPod

New Project(s)

Golf

Qualification

So Tired

Sleep in Seattle

Captain's Bar

BILLY

50 Gmail Invitation Left

[Tech News] Samsung Sells 5 Million Blue-Black Phones

Sky is the Limit

[News] 倫敦爆炸案4疑犯或被騙

Fifteen Restaurant in London

Regents Park in London

Rhine River at Dusseldorf

Train to Dusseldorf

Burger King

Casio EX-Z750

Spurs Won Game 5 with Horry's Big Shot (as usual)

Visited Countries

電盈收購 Sunday

Perfect Dinner

[Tech News] LG Music Phone with MP3

我的哲學

Earthquake!!!

Sony Launches PS3 (story with pictures)

Good Weekend Ended with 學友 演唱會 at home

Amazing March

Bride's Pool Nature Trail

Tomato

Chinese Typing

Fog

Good Weekend Ended with 學友演唱會 at home