Zen Garden - @ 20six.co.uk

EVENT: palmOne LifeDrive Launch

I've attended the launch of palmOne's new LifeDrive yesterday at Shangri-la EDSA Hotel. The stage set and presentation was amazing. Never before did palmOne struck us with such a feat. Also during the launch, I've got a chance to meet and chat with Miss Vivien Tan (the celebrity host for the show - International VJ and DJ). To fully understand what I'm talking about, click this instead.

W

1.6.05 06:04

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THOUGHT: Stroke v.s. Keys

Was reading an article about the History of Apple's Newton and a thought suddenly pops in. This is the very same reason why handwriting technology never took off and the trend that keeps input recognition back to the keyboard. The development dates way back before the Newton and failed ever since. Only Palm's Graffiti had this little success. Why? Coz its similar to pressing a letter in a keyboard (with just one stroke).

Gosh, I thought the typewriter already gave engineers the clue. Its more productive and efficient if they've just focused their energy on innovating killer applications (beyond giving machine the option to psyche out what you really want to do). Just give a freakin' interface (like the keyboard, thank you) and let the user figure out what keys to press.

Technology like voice recognition, eye scanner, etc. should no longer be the focus point of the R&D team. Its gonna be a complete waste of time! People use the keyboard easily than writing, since a key press is less work than writing a letter (and same goes with saying it). This is the very same reason why I love my Tungsten C so much! I couldn't see myself carrying a LifeDrive with a UWK yet.

In this note, you might even guess: Is the thumboard also responsible behind the Treo's success?

W

**Written and sent wirelessly using a palmOne Tungsten|C**

4.6.05 16:01

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THOUGHT: Apple Moving To Intel

What do you get from the WWDC 2005? The big news: Hell froze over ...again. Apple is ready to migrate to the Intel family of processors. What does this mean for Apple? More products. More market share. More profit. Why?

More products. With the vast roadmap of Intel, this will give Apple the flexibility to properly plan their products down the line. This goes the same way of saying there will be less stock shortages in the future. With Intel, Apple can now concentrate on making their products better (which they do best).

More market share. By entering the x86 platform, Apple has now the capability to access far more parts suppliers that would bring down the manufacturing cost significantly. With lower priced computers, Apple would be able to reach beyond the Mac mini market. This would eventually open up doors for Apple to sell their OS to any Intel enabled PC. Let's see how this goes.

More profit. With lesser cost and more volume, this automatically translates to more profit. As simple as that. -.^

For Microsoft, the plot thickens. "Ladies and Gentlemen, meet MacIntel."

W

7.6.05 02:44

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MOVIE: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Honey, I'm home! Last Thursday, I got the chance to watch this
movie in a full-packed kinda-jologs cinema of Market! Market! Mr.
& Mrs. Smith is a fun-filled action comedy movie about two couples who
have a spy alter-ego that they both kept as secret from each other (until
they were both hired to kill one another). In the end, it became somewhat
like "you and me against the world, honey!".

This is a super fun movie that is best suited for couples. Instant
relatedness for those who are in their relationship (with the amplification
of heavy and brutal action sequences). A must-see date movie.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is got to be the best tandem of on-cameo partners.
Imagine having Lara Croft and Achilles in one action movie
(actually it did - towards the end with a John Woo action sequence).
They're both sexy, slick and smooth. I believe Brad Pitt looks better
(on-screen) with Angelina Jolie (than Jennifer Aniston). Ha! ^o^

W

**Written and sent wirelessly using a palmOne Tungsten|C**

13.6.05 09:44

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MOVIE: Batman Begins

"It's not who I am underneath... But what I do that defines me". This will be the lines that will bug you for years to come. Last night, I was able to catch a screening of Batman Begins over at Market! Market! Got the best seat in the house (L16) while sipping to a large Grape-flavored Muscle Beach Lemonade. Anyways, this is probably the best Batman film ever! It even exceeds my expectations for the movie. Why? ...let's run through it.

Chris Nolan's version is far better than geeky and corny version of Tim Burton's. This time it's more real, more human. The passion and the reason behind the man who wanted to hide behind the mask. His fears, his principles are better told in this movie. The reason why he should live a double life will be revealed. Action and suspense sequences were better placed (where they really should be). This version is nothing like Burton's gloomy, predictive gothic world of Gotham (not to mention that cheesy muscle costume of Michael Keaton). Ok, so it stars Christian Bale (cheesy actor of Equilibrium that could finish off more than a dozen assassins inside a dark room). In this movie, he also finished off about a dozen villains with his ninjitsu moves (take note: no firearms). The difference is in the story line and the director. Its a pity that he started out with a cheesy movie (what the heck, every budding actors had that experience).

How 'bout the BatMobile? This is the most realistic that it could ever get! Remember the BatMobile of Burton? The one that could make a 90 degrees turn with a grappling hook? That's slick but rubbish. This one is more off-road and more invincible. So, do the chicks dig the car? Can't answer that, but I certainly would love to have one of those for myself.

This version is the nearest to a Frank Miller version that you could ever get. It's a comic book fan's dream came true (or close). If I'm not mistaken, this is the first of its kind offering that DC Comics is supporting (due to its intro logo during the beginning titles of the movie - just like Marvel).

To sum it all, would I say you should watch this movie? No need to talk, just go grab a ticket. Heck, I would even get myself a DVD copy when it comes out. This one is a keeper.

W

17.6.05 03:39

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THOUGHT: Panasonic e-Wear SV-AV20

Last Saturday, I got myself a new toy. Its not anything new or high tech (but still looks cool over the years). If I'm not mistaken, the first of its kind were introduced three years ago. I didn't jump ahead since it costs an arm and a leg (around P19K at that time).

Why did I buy it? Actually, it never passed my mind until that Saturday afternoon (while passing Electroworld Greenbelt). I planned to buy an inexpensive slim camera (below P10K) that does the job of anywhere point-and-shoot, since my Nikon CP-4300 is quite cumbersome to lug around (during customer visits). The clincher was its price of P9,900 (but I was able to avail it with a lower price, due to the nature of my job). -.^ I don't expect to get eye-popping photos and videos with it (so far the footage I took was generally ok). My only gripe was the lack of Mac support (Quicktime to be specific). The darn thing produces MPEG-4 videos in ASF (Windows Media) format! The neat thing to it is being able to record clips, eject the card and view it on my Tungsten C (or LifeDrive) and boom - TCPMP plays the videos amazingly (with sound).

I'll bring this new toy around and hope to post some of the clips here later. -.^

W

20.6.05 09:22

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THOUGHT: Gossip Filtering

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said,

"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem. And it's also the reason why Socrates never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

27.6.05 05:32

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