Well Hotmail has finally upgraded my account to 250Mb. Not that I use it - but atleast those spammers spamming me would know that there are some nice extra space for where their junks will go.
Yahoo! Mail has not yet implemented the 250Mb upgrade on their service although promised a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Is JFK's life more important that thousands of others?
There is a new game out called JFK Reloaded. For just US$9.99, you can play as Lee Harvey Oswald and assassinate US President John F. Kennedy.
In the US, reaction has so far been of outrage regarding the content of the game. Personally I do not buy the Warren Commission's argument that Lee Harvey killed JFK but putting that aside - I still do not see the reason why many Americans are angry at the publisher for selling an 'immoral' game.
Lets see. Command & Conquers: Generals? Players gets to control US forces killing middle eastern people. The many various games based on real wars such as World War II, Vietnam War and thousands of years ago wars. All features the killing of innocent people. Vietnamese are treated as baddies in Vietnam war games and all must die. What about films such as the grossly misleading Black Hawk Dawn?
And what about the real life situation of Iraq and Guantanamo Bay? Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi children, men and women has been murdered by so called smart bombs. I don't see anyone complaining about that!
In the US, reaction has so far been of outrage regarding the content of the game. Personally I do not buy the Warren Commission's argument that Lee Harvey killed JFK but putting that aside - I still do not see the reason why many Americans are angry at the publisher for selling an 'immoral' game.
Lets see. Command & Conquers: Generals? Players gets to control US forces killing middle eastern people. The many various games based on real wars such as World War II, Vietnam War and thousands of years ago wars. All features the killing of innocent people. Vietnamese are treated as baddies in Vietnam war games and all must die. What about films such as the grossly misleading Black Hawk Dawn?
And what about the real life situation of Iraq and Guantanamo Bay? Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi children, men and women has been murdered by so called smart bombs. I don't see anyone complaining about that!
HTC Magician review...coming soon
HTC Magician: a PDA, a mobile phone, a web surfer, a e-mail checker, a dictionary, a game console, a video player, a music player, a digital camera etc
Sold off my HP iPAQ h4150 and its accessories. My Nokia 7610 is still awaiting in eBay but its climbing slowly. If it does hit my target price, I would actually get back some money by selling the h4150 and the 7610 and getting this expensive little thingy.
Ever since eons ago I have always wanted a hybrid phone because during the 6 months spring/summer period I do not have enough pockets for my gagdets, wallet, keys, coins etc. But the ones released were always although excellent, were just too big. Exception is the Treo 650 but there is no GSM version yet.
Anyway, this is due to arrive in a couple of days as it is shipping from Germany (with a German language ROM - but the HTC English ROM is due soon). It is not a huge upgrade from my h4150. 416Mhz, 64Mb RAM, 64Mb ROM, QVGA 2.8" LCD screen, GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth v1.2, 1.3Megapixel and 1200mAh Li-Ion battery. What I do lose is the WiFi capability but I don't care. I only use WiFi on the h4150 a couple of times. What I need now is a 2Gb card as my 512Mb card is seriously lacking.
How I am going to laugh at those city slickers who have to juggle three to four devices (mobile, RIM BlackBerry and/or PDA and iPod).
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Worm Spread by Banner Ads
Several variants of the Bofra worm is being spread through banner ads in various European Web sites.
This attack takes advantage of a well known buffer overflow flaw on Internet Explorer 6 and has been confirmed on computers running Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows 2000. PCs running Windows XP Service Pack 2 are unaffected.
What's up with that? First, I cannot believe people are still clicking on banner ads. Second, people with Windows XP should really patch their PC to Service Pack 2. And third, why are people still using Internet Explorer 6 to surf the web? Use a more secure, faster and generally better web browser like Mozilla, Firefox or Opera.
Source: Yahoo! News
This attack takes advantage of a well known buffer overflow flaw on Internet Explorer 6 and has been confirmed on computers running Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows 2000. PCs running Windows XP Service Pack 2 are unaffected.
What's up with that? First, I cannot believe people are still clicking on banner ads. Second, people with Windows XP should really patch their PC to Service Pack 2. And third, why are people still using Internet Explorer 6 to surf the web? Use a more secure, faster and generally better web browser like Mozilla, Firefox or Opera.
Source: Yahoo! News
Sunday, November 21, 2004
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here
Well, the fourth series of hit reality TV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here hits the screen tonight. Usually I would tend to advice people to stay clear up such dumbed down TV shows but this year we have former All Saints Natalis Appleton and model Sophie Anderton!
Sophie Anderton
The series starts at 9pm on ITV1 tonight and will be hosted by the forever annoying and humourless Ant & Dec. Stay clear and instead catch the Ant & Dec free ITV2 version.
Sophie Anderton
The series starts at 9pm on ITV1 tonight and will be hosted by the forever annoying and humourless Ant & Dec. Stay clear and instead catch the Ant & Dec free ITV2 version.
Film Review: The Incredibles
Advance screening yesterday. Very nice film. Has a short animation on the front - can't remember the title but its good too.
Regarding the main feature, it is more adult orientated than previous Pixar films. The movie even has loads of human death (montage of cape related gruesome deaths). But its good and nothing that would stop kids from enjoying it. There are some jokes that they probably would not understand yet.
The film is done ala 70s Hanna Barbara style super hero animations.
This is probably the best film released this year. I would probably watch this again next week. I do hope Pixar would continue churning out more animation aimed at adults.
Simple incredible!
9/10
Regarding the main feature, it is more adult orientated than previous Pixar films. The movie even has loads of human death (montage of cape related gruesome deaths). But its good and nothing that would stop kids from enjoying it. There are some jokes that they probably would not understand yet.
The film is done ala 70s Hanna Barbara style super hero animations.
This is probably the best film released this year. I would probably watch this again next week. I do hope Pixar would continue churning out more animation aimed at adults.
Simple incredible!
9/10
Dubya averts war!
Wow! This is the first time George W. Bush has ever did something that actually stopped people from being murdered.
A confrontation was about to happen between his lead Secret Service agent and Chilean security officials. After Dubya stepped inside the complex hosting the APEC summit (a bunch of people discussing how to fleece their own citizens), the Chileans attempted to bar the US agent from entering. A scuffle ensued before Bush, displaying a courage that one would not expect from a person of his intellect, pulled his bodyguard away from the fracas and into the building.
Source: Yahoo! News
A confrontation was about to happen between his lead Secret Service agent and Chilean security officials. After Dubya stepped inside the complex hosting the APEC summit (a bunch of people discussing how to fleece their own citizens), the Chileans attempted to bar the US agent from entering. A scuffle ensued before Bush, displaying a courage that one would not expect from a person of his intellect, pulled his bodyguard away from the fracas and into the building.
Source: Yahoo! News
Friday, November 19, 2004
I was right
Well Julie from o2 'resolution department' at Cardiff finally called me. I was right to have WAP GSM minutes being inclusived of my tariff minutes. The situation was they had two sets of computers one being outdated. A memo is now being circulated to reflect this.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thursday, November 18, 2004
A long rant
o2 customer service seems to be dying to challenge Singlepoint 4U as the worst mobile phone related company with bad services in the UK. Why? Read on... This is a long rant so be prepared.
After four years with Vodafone/Phones 4U I decided to switch to o2 as my mobile phone service provider. The duo has been snitching me up for years bleeding me of my money. o2 instead offered better mobile prices, tariffs and have online support.
Now, I signed up for this little tariff called o2 Leisure Time Plus which features a 1000 minute off-peak call and 100 text. It costs £20 a month and for the first six month I have double minutes and double texts. It is cheap but I only need to make calls during the evenings and weekends so it suits me fine.
You see when I signed up in September, I was sold to the tariff because the 1000 minutes includes UF fixed-line calls, WAP over GSM data calls, calls to o2 mobiles and calls to other UK mobiles (Cross-Net). Now I was more interested in the WAP over GSM data calls thingy as that would mean I would be able to connect to the internet over GSM to download my e-mails, weather information and tid bits of information.
The only way previously to obtain free WAP over GSM was to sign up through o2 online. Fortunately this time o2 High Street were offering a better deal than the online one. 2000 minutes for the first six months off-peak which I can divide up for my e-mail checking and calling up my girlfriend. Great!
Tuesday, I opened up my o2 online account to view my bill. £59 for October! What the fuck! I viewed the online summary and then did a detailed check on my calls. All my o2 WAP over GSM calls were being charged at 10p per minute. I was furious and send an e-mail off to their customer service. Got back a reply that stated that my inclusive minutes does not include WAP over GSM. Send of a reply threatening to take the issue with OFTEL.
Today I went to my local o2 High Street store. I spoke with this bloke who agreed with me but needed to check with o2's customer service first. He called o2 who told him that my tariff does not include WAP GSM. He asked another staff at the store for her opinion. She agrees with me. So he called customer service for me and I spoke with this guy called Jeff. Now Jeff seems to be a nice bloke and he agreed to help me. After some persuading he talked to his manager and some 'technical' guys. All of them concluded that WAP GSM is not inclusive! They even confused GPRS with GSM.
Jeff finally spoke with one of the store manager, Martinez. She was bounced back through several people before finally calling o2 data support. Presumably these are the people who deals with GPRS issues. The data support people agreed with her that my tariffs includes GSM WAP. Now we are getting somewhere. Unfortunately o2 data support can't rectify the issue and they can't contact o2 customer service themselves so we were bounced back again!
I chatted with customer service again (different guy) who bounced me off to customer department! This time Martinez went to get her o2 staff store guide. These are guides created for o2 high street staffs. She found in the tariff page that specifically states (not in small print) that all inclusive minutes on the o2 Leasure Time tariffs includes internet access through the 915000 or +447712927927 numbers. That is the big proof!
Anyway, I got bumped into 'billing'. The lady in billing did not believe me. Eventually she asked me to fax her the o2 November catalogue! Now at this point the whole situation was funny because it seems that the people working at o2 who deals with customers does not have any catalogue with them! It is plain ridiculous!
Sarah, another o2 manager finally helped me send the fax to them. When the lady finally received the fax, she even wanted to argue that it was not on the small print! Finally after some careful reading (like reading to a four year old child) I finally pointed out the section. Pause. Quiet. She probably realized that she was a fool! I was put on my fourth 15 minute hold while she gets the supervisor. When she finally gets back to me she told me that my problem has to be taken up with the 'resolution department' and she promised that they will get back to me.
Two hours and no results! All I am told is they will get back to me. I know I am right because the proof is there in the high street customer catalogue and in the staff store guide. The staffs at the store agrees with me. The techie people at o2 data support agrees with me. The one that does not are the clueless people at customer support, customer department, billing department and their supervisors and managers. The same people who does not have customers catalogue at their disposal and are clueless to what is going on in their company. And the amount of red tape I had to go through and different holds and through different departments was just plain mad.
Hopefully this problem will be settled. I just wonder that even if this is solved, there are thousands of people on o2 Leasure Time who does not know that they have a right to inclusive WAP GSM. Most of them probably won't bother connecting to the internet on their mobiles but I am sure some will.
Thanks to Martinez (Happy Birthday), Sarah and the other bloke (I did not catch your name) for putting up with me!
After four years with Vodafone/Phones 4U I decided to switch to o2 as my mobile phone service provider. The duo has been snitching me up for years bleeding me of my money. o2 instead offered better mobile prices, tariffs and have online support.
Now, I signed up for this little tariff called o2 Leisure Time Plus which features a 1000 minute off-peak call and 100 text. It costs £20 a month and for the first six month I have double minutes and double texts. It is cheap but I only need to make calls during the evenings and weekends so it suits me fine.
You see when I signed up in September, I was sold to the tariff because the 1000 minutes includes UF fixed-line calls, WAP over GSM data calls, calls to o2 mobiles and calls to other UK mobiles (Cross-Net). Now I was more interested in the WAP over GSM data calls thingy as that would mean I would be able to connect to the internet over GSM to download my e-mails, weather information and tid bits of information.
The only way previously to obtain free WAP over GSM was to sign up through o2 online. Fortunately this time o2 High Street were offering a better deal than the online one. 2000 minutes for the first six months off-peak which I can divide up for my e-mail checking and calling up my girlfriend. Great!
Tuesday, I opened up my o2 online account to view my bill. £59 for October! What the fuck! I viewed the online summary and then did a detailed check on my calls. All my o2 WAP over GSM calls were being charged at 10p per minute. I was furious and send an e-mail off to their customer service. Got back a reply that stated that my inclusive minutes does not include WAP over GSM. Send of a reply threatening to take the issue with OFTEL.
Today I went to my local o2 High Street store. I spoke with this bloke who agreed with me but needed to check with o2's customer service first. He called o2 who told him that my tariff does not include WAP GSM. He asked another staff at the store for her opinion. She agrees with me. So he called customer service for me and I spoke with this guy called Jeff. Now Jeff seems to be a nice bloke and he agreed to help me. After some persuading he talked to his manager and some 'technical' guys. All of them concluded that WAP GSM is not inclusive! They even confused GPRS with GSM.
Jeff finally spoke with one of the store manager, Martinez. She was bounced back through several people before finally calling o2 data support. Presumably these are the people who deals with GPRS issues. The data support people agreed with her that my tariffs includes GSM WAP. Now we are getting somewhere. Unfortunately o2 data support can't rectify the issue and they can't contact o2 customer service themselves so we were bounced back again!
I chatted with customer service again (different guy) who bounced me off to customer department! This time Martinez went to get her o2 staff store guide. These are guides created for o2 high street staffs. She found in the tariff page that specifically states (not in small print) that all inclusive minutes on the o2 Leasure Time tariffs includes internet access through the 915000 or +447712927927 numbers. That is the big proof!
Anyway, I got bumped into 'billing'. The lady in billing did not believe me. Eventually she asked me to fax her the o2 November catalogue! Now at this point the whole situation was funny because it seems that the people working at o2 who deals with customers does not have any catalogue with them! It is plain ridiculous!
Sarah, another o2 manager finally helped me send the fax to them. When the lady finally received the fax, she even wanted to argue that it was not on the small print! Finally after some careful reading (like reading to a four year old child) I finally pointed out the section. Pause. Quiet. She probably realized that she was a fool! I was put on my fourth 15 minute hold while she gets the supervisor. When she finally gets back to me she told me that my problem has to be taken up with the 'resolution department' and she promised that they will get back to me.
Two hours and no results! All I am told is they will get back to me. I know I am right because the proof is there in the high street customer catalogue and in the staff store guide. The staffs at the store agrees with me. The techie people at o2 data support agrees with me. The one that does not are the clueless people at customer support, customer department, billing department and their supervisors and managers. The same people who does not have customers catalogue at their disposal and are clueless to what is going on in their company. And the amount of red tape I had to go through and different holds and through different departments was just plain mad.
Hopefully this problem will be settled. I just wonder that even if this is solved, there are thousands of people on o2 Leasure Time who does not know that they have a right to inclusive WAP GSM. Most of them probably won't bother connecting to the internet on their mobiles but I am sure some will.
Thanks to Martinez (Happy Birthday), Sarah and the other bloke (I did not catch your name) for putting up with me!
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Half-Life 2 released
Forget Halo 2. The sequel for real gamers is Half-Life 2 and after six years of waiting, its finally here. The graphics while similar in style to the two year old No One Lives Forever 2, it is still fantastic. My two year old Athlon XP PC was capable to churning out the pixels required to make this game playable at 800x600 resolution.
UK Broadband increase in speed
While the UK remains the laughing stock of Europe and the World at large in offering broadband services, countries like Japan has been offering speeds up to 50Mbps.
UK Online, a UK based ISP, has just recently released a 8Mbps broadband service and will be using BT's exchanges. For your £39.99 a month plus the initial £50 connection fee users are also able to have upload speeds up to 400Kbps.
While still shy of the current Japan average of 12-25Mbps this is still good news. The monthly price is high, which UK Online should be able to enjoy until competitors like Wannadoo get their act together. The connection fee is a huge dent though.
Why is there even a need for an engineer to come over to do something magically with your phone socket? In Japan, Yahoo BB army of street chuggers would sign you up, hand you an ADSL modem in a bag which you can then set it up yourself with the supplied software.
Source: UK Online
UK Online, a UK based ISP, has just recently released a 8Mbps broadband service and will be using BT's exchanges. For your £39.99 a month plus the initial £50 connection fee users are also able to have upload speeds up to 400Kbps.
While still shy of the current Japan average of 12-25Mbps this is still good news. The monthly price is high, which UK Online should be able to enjoy until competitors like Wannadoo get their act together. The connection fee is a huge dent though.
Why is there even a need for an engineer to come over to do something magically with your phone socket? In Japan, Yahoo BB army of street chuggers would sign you up, hand you an ADSL modem in a bag which you can then set it up yourself with the supplied software.
Source: UK Online
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Yahoo! mail upgrades
Yahoo! is to upgrade its mail service with a new key anti-spam component called DomainKeys. It is an authentication technology similar to Sender Policy Framework (SPF) which suppose to twarf spoofing.
Yahoo! is also increasing the amount of free e-mail storage for its users from 100Mb to 250Mb. This is great news for me as I am already using 70% of my 100Mb space. The maximum e-mail attachment size will also increase from 10Mb to 20Mb. Some might say that 250Mb is small compared to the 1Gb offered by Google's quite overrated Gmail service.
However I am still waiting for the time when Yahoo! finally decides to offer IMAP synchronization service. Also patiently waiting for technology acquired from Oddpost to be implemented into Yahoo! Mail.
On other related news, Hotmail was supposed to have upgraded their e-mail storage to 250Mb 'this fall'. However my inbox still reads a pathetic 2Mb. Come on Microsoft, I need those space for all my spam!
Source: PCWorld
Yahoo! is also increasing the amount of free e-mail storage for its users from 100Mb to 250Mb. This is great news for me as I am already using 70% of my 100Mb space. The maximum e-mail attachment size will also increase from 10Mb to 20Mb. Some might say that 250Mb is small compared to the 1Gb offered by Google's quite overrated Gmail service.
However I am still waiting for the time when Yahoo! finally decides to offer IMAP synchronization service. Also patiently waiting for technology acquired from Oddpost to be implemented into Yahoo! Mail.
On other related news, Hotmail was supposed to have upgraded their e-mail storage to 250Mb 'this fall'. However my inbox still reads a pathetic 2Mb. Come on Microsoft, I need those space for all my spam!
Source: PCWorld
US Army commits war crime
Well just when they are busy prosecuting Saddam Hussein over alleged war crimes, the US army themselves are murdering unarmed enemy combatant in breach of the Geneva Convention. I am sure we will hear some lame excuses such as "This is a foreign fighter, therefore he is not covered under the Geneva Convention". Pathetic.
Source: MSNBC News
Source: MSNBC News
Monday, November 15, 2004
Film Review: Bad Santa
After the disaster that was Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, we decided we wanted to watch a real comedy. This was the next day which let us recovered from the memories of bad acting.
Bad Santa which was released last year in America finally receive a nationwide release in the UK. It stars Billy Bob Thornton which means it has to be good.
The film revolves around a plot to break into a safe of a shopping department. Willie (Billy Bob) is the Santa and his little helper is Marcus (Tony Cox). Every year they do this. Earning the trust of the mall's proprietor's and then on Christmas eve cleaning them out.
While Billy Bob was very good as Bad Santa, the real star of the film is Brett Kelly as the fat kid. The jokes while very 'American' is very simple to understand and you will be laughing your socks off. They are nice one-liners throughout the film that is outrageous.
This is truly a one-off this year. I can't imagine another film like this out in the next few months able to create a smile of satisfaction on my face. Damn fuckin' recommended.
8.5/10
Bad Santa which was released last year in America finally receive a nationwide release in the UK. It stars Billy Bob Thornton which means it has to be good.
The film revolves around a plot to break into a safe of a shopping department. Willie (Billy Bob) is the Santa and his little helper is Marcus (Tony Cox). Every year they do this. Earning the trust of the mall's proprietor's and then on Christmas eve cleaning them out.
While Billy Bob was very good as Bad Santa, the real star of the film is Brett Kelly as the fat kid. The jokes while very 'American' is very simple to understand and you will be laughing your socks off. They are nice one-liners throughout the film that is outrageous.
This is truly a one-off this year. I can't imagine another film like this out in the next few months able to create a smile of satisfaction on my face. Damn fuckin' recommended.
8.5/10
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Film Review: Anacondas, The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
This has got to be the worst movie of all time that receives mainstream release.
My fellow cinema goers in West India Quay seems to think so too. Well the way they laugh seems to indicate that they were laughing at how stupid or bad the acting was.
A short cap. A bunch of scientist working for a pharmaceutical company goes of to Borneo in search for a flower called the Blood Orchid. Part of their group includes a comic black guy, sexy white girl and the obligatory British villain.
Once in Kalimantan part of Borneo, they hire this really tough looking guy who has the best cheesy punch lines, to guide them through the river. Why they did not hire a helicopter in the first place is beyond me - but hey - this is a Hollywood movie.
There, they start meeting death by the CGI Anacondas. Well, first mistake was there are NO Anacondas in Borneo. Anacondas are Amazon river snakes. They should have named the movie pythons.
The CGI 'Anacondas' are very disappointing. Following other movie sequels where more is good - this film just emphasize what is wrong with Hollywood remakes or sequels. In Aliens, we have more Aliens compared to Alien. It was a good thing because they used animatronics. Here we have god damned CGI snakes. My point? Unless the producers can hire good animators, CGI should be consigned to matters that are unfilmable.
The only saving grace is the movies is so bad that it is funny. Kinda like you go out to watch films like Gigli just to laugh at the bad acting of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The only problem with Anacondas is you will be laughing at a bunch of D-list nobodies.
2/10
My fellow cinema goers in West India Quay seems to think so too. Well the way they laugh seems to indicate that they were laughing at how stupid or bad the acting was.
A short cap. A bunch of scientist working for a pharmaceutical company goes of to Borneo in search for a flower called the Blood Orchid. Part of their group includes a comic black guy, sexy white girl and the obligatory British villain.
Once in Kalimantan part of Borneo, they hire this really tough looking guy who has the best cheesy punch lines, to guide them through the river. Why they did not hire a helicopter in the first place is beyond me - but hey - this is a Hollywood movie.
There, they start meeting death by the CGI Anacondas. Well, first mistake was there are NO Anacondas in Borneo. Anacondas are Amazon river snakes. They should have named the movie pythons.
The CGI 'Anacondas' are very disappointing. Following other movie sequels where more is good - this film just emphasize what is wrong with Hollywood remakes or sequels. In Aliens, we have more Aliens compared to Alien. It was a good thing because they used animatronics. Here we have god damned CGI snakes. My point? Unless the producers can hire good animators, CGI should be consigned to matters that are unfilmable.
The only saving grace is the movies is so bad that it is funny. Kinda like you go out to watch films like Gigli just to laugh at the bad acting of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The only problem with Anacondas is you will be laughing at a bunch of D-list nobodies.
2/10
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Film Review: The Grudge
This American remake of a Japanese remake by the same director follows an American exchange student (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Tokyo, Japan. She agrees on a temporary care for an elderly foreign woman who is staying in a haunted house.
There she meets this young boy and saw a ghost taking the life of the old lady. What goes on for the next one hour is the people who has entered the house being haunted. Some of the narratives was done through backward editing (ala Pulp Fiction). The film while eerie at first has no substance and the creepiness that are in many Japanese horror is oddly missing here.
The acting was sub par with Bill Pullman being the most interesting character on the remake. The young kid was also good but all he does is open his jaw wide.
My take on this is wait for the DVD release and watch it with your friends. They will be scared shitless - and you can enjoy the sights of them pissing their pants. Why? Because I trust you to know that this film is not at all scary.
There she meets this young boy and saw a ghost taking the life of the old lady. What goes on for the next one hour is the people who has entered the house being haunted. Some of the narratives was done through backward editing (ala Pulp Fiction). The film while eerie at first has no substance and the creepiness that are in many Japanese horror is oddly missing here.
The acting was sub par with Bill Pullman being the most interesting character on the remake. The young kid was also good but all he does is open his jaw wide.
My take on this is wait for the DVD release and watch it with your friends. They will be scared shitless - and you can enjoy the sights of them pissing their pants. Why? Because I trust you to know that this film is not at all scary.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Arafat dies
A great statesman has passed away today. However with death also comes new hope. The creation of a Palestinian state should continue and hopefully with it comes peace.
Yasser Arafat will forever be remembered for his courage in protecting the cause and people of Palestine and promoting the creation of a Palestinian state. Unfortunately there are people who are determined to undermine his work. These people wishes to continue the illegal siege on the people of Palestine.
But former enemies can become friends. Like France and Germany. It is just sad that the he was not able to live to see the creation of an independent Palestine state which can live side by side with its old foe.
Yasser Arafat will forever be remembered for his courage in protecting the cause and people of Palestine and promoting the creation of a Palestinian state. Unfortunately there are people who are determined to undermine his work. These people wishes to continue the illegal siege on the people of Palestine.
But former enemies can become friends. Like France and Germany. It is just sad that the he was not able to live to see the creation of an independent Palestine state which can live side by side with its old foe.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Reminder: Lord Mayor's Show
Bonfire Night might be over but there is still more to come. This Saturday (13th Nov - happy birthday Jeremy!), there would be the usual Lord Mayor's Show and fireworks display in Central London.
As always the day begins with the Lord Mayor parade which leaves the Guildhall at 11:00, heads down Princes St and picks up the Lord Mayor at Mansion House. The route will include Cheapside to St Paul's Churchyard, then Ludgate Circus and the former spiritual home to British journalism - Fleet Street. It will stop at the Royal Courts of Justice before continuing towards the Victoria Embankment, Upper Thames St and Mansion House. Finally it will make its way back to the Guildhall by mid-afternoon.
At 17:00, a fireworks display in tribute to Guy Fawkes failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament would occur over the Thames. This might just be one of the most amazing public displays in the West End. River barges would be piled up with explosives. The fireworks would then be let off on the Thames between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge just a whisker away from Guy Fawkes' failed target. There would be seats in the public gallery at Oxo Tower but you have to come early.
The nearest tube station would be Embankment and Blackfriars.
This would be my second outing on this event. The first one few years ago was a mess because I did not plan ahead. I will post some pictures of the day's event when I have the time.
As always the day begins with the Lord Mayor parade which leaves the Guildhall at 11:00, heads down Princes St and picks up the Lord Mayor at Mansion House. The route will include Cheapside to St Paul's Churchyard, then Ludgate Circus and the former spiritual home to British journalism - Fleet Street. It will stop at the Royal Courts of Justice before continuing towards the Victoria Embankment, Upper Thames St and Mansion House. Finally it will make its way back to the Guildhall by mid-afternoon.
At 17:00, a fireworks display in tribute to Guy Fawkes failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament would occur over the Thames. This might just be one of the most amazing public displays in the West End. River barges would be piled up with explosives. The fireworks would then be let off on the Thames between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge just a whisker away from Guy Fawkes' failed target. There would be seats in the public gallery at Oxo Tower but you have to come early.
The nearest tube station would be Embankment and Blackfriars.
This would be my second outing on this event. The first one few years ago was a mess because I did not plan ahead. I will post some pictures of the day's event when I have the time.
Firefox 1.0
The official release of Firefox 1.0 has finally come. Even the big news media like the BBC are taking notice and giving it the coverage it deserves.
This is good news. Come on people. Ditch Microsoft Internet Explorer and surf the web faster and safer with Firefox.
This is good news. Come on people. Ditch Microsoft Internet Explorer and surf the web faster and safer with Firefox.
Film Review: Super Size Me
The local cinema finally got down and released Super Size Me last weekend. Finally after months of waiting I got to see what the hyped was.
The film was well wait I would say. There are times that I felt that there were some acting going on - but hei, I never had a super size meal deal in front of me so I wouldn't know how to act sick. I think its only available in America. The last time I was in McDonalds (on a Sunday two years ago in there was an American family there who ordered the largest meal that was available. I overheard them complaining it was not enough. Weird!
Well the docu-film has finally put me off processed food. I have not been to McDonald's for years but occasionally I do visit other fast food eateries such as Subway, Burger King and the many KFC clones (including KFC of course) out there. Imagine a McSalad actually containing more calories than some of their burgers. And sugar too!
McDonalds UK has been on an attacking front delivering spam, sorry, leaflets to homes encouraging people to eat at one of their outlets! The as ever annoying 'I'm Luvin' It' advertisments seems to be doubling. High carb bagels, processed salads, sugary vogurts etc. All these are unhealthy too.
Back to the film - go see it while you still have the chance. Purchase more organic products. And boycott all these fast food outlets. If you have to eat out - choose a real restaurant that actually cooks.
8/10
The film was well wait I would say. There are times that I felt that there were some acting going on - but hei, I never had a super size meal deal in front of me so I wouldn't know how to act sick. I think its only available in America. The last time I was in McDonalds (on a Sunday two years ago in there was an American family there who ordered the largest meal that was available. I overheard them complaining it was not enough. Weird!
Well the docu-film has finally put me off processed food. I have not been to McDonald's for years but occasionally I do visit other fast food eateries such as Subway, Burger King and the many KFC clones (including KFC of course) out there. Imagine a McSalad actually containing more calories than some of their burgers. And sugar too!
McDonalds UK has been on an attacking front delivering spam, sorry, leaflets to homes encouraging people to eat at one of their outlets! The as ever annoying 'I'm Luvin' It' advertisments seems to be doubling. High carb bagels, processed salads, sugary vogurts etc. All these are unhealthy too.
Back to the film - go see it while you still have the chance. Purchase more organic products. And boycott all these fast food outlets. If you have to eat out - choose a real restaurant that actually cooks.
8/10
Saturday, November 6, 2004
What a uniter!
"You are either with us or you will kill yourself!"
Would this happen if the prat wasn't re-elected? Conveniently announced after the election.
Other news:
They died for oil, says family of of dead. Heartless goverment states that families anger are not justified if their childrens are dead! Spin was applied immediately when remark proved extremely unpopular.
Would this happen if the prat wasn't re-elected? Conveniently announced after the election.
Other news:
They died for oil, says family of of dead. Heartless goverment states that families anger are not justified if their childrens are dead! Spin was applied immediately when remark proved extremely unpopular.
Friday, November 5, 2004
Apple forces users to upgrade
In move usually associated with Microsoft, Apple has surprised many of its early adopter customers by forcing users of old versions of iTunes to upgrade to its latest version if they want to continue purchasing music online. It also means users of third party add-ins on their old iTunes would find most of the plug-ins unable to operate on the new version.
Why would anyone still want to purchase an iPod is beyond me. It only supports the old MP3 format as well as AAC (MP4). Where is the WMA support? What about the open source and free of royalty OggVorbis? And its not even pretty!
There are way better digital audio portable players out there than the Apple iPod. At a cheaper price too. And longer battery life.
Source: CNet
Why would anyone still want to purchase an iPod is beyond me. It only supports the old MP3 format as well as AAC (MP4). Where is the WMA support? What about the open source and free of royalty OggVorbis? And its not even pretty!
There are way better digital audio portable players out there than the Apple iPod. At a cheaper price too. And longer battery life.
Source: CNet
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Inglorious Bastards won't be Quentin's next film
Quentin Tarantino has announced his next film will be a kung-fu based shot in Chinese Mandarin language and not as expected the World War II movie, Inglorious Bastards.
He is also planning to shoot a second version of the film, dubbed with a deliberately out-of-synch English soundtrack.
I am a fan of all of Tarantino's works including Kill Bill. While I can't wait for Inglorious Bastards to be released hopefully in 2006, I don't mind another mainstream kung-fu flick. Hell, I enjoyed Kill Bill's kinetic action far more than most Hong Kong kung-fu films released over the past few years.
Hopefully this would be old school kung-fu without all the 'artistic' crap that began with the overrated Crounching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And I do pray he would get a real martial arts veteran like Donnie Yen rather than casting a fat bloke to play the hero (Chow Yun-Fatt). And please stop the trend of flying over water and trees nonsence.
The proposed second version in English in in my opinion is rather stupid. Chinese movies should be Chinese movies and not created to be English dubbed. Basically all foreign movies that are dubbed in another language is unpalatable. Its plain unwatchable and should be banned because it creates headache for people watching them. Don't mind subtitles.
There is almost zero information regarding the movie cast, release date, plot or location so I would only speculate on what I hope. I have a gut feeling we will see Pai Mei (of Kill Bill). The film would shot in mainland China with the same Chinese crew he used for Kill Bill: Volume II. It would be old school kung-fu that does not have any aesthetic or artistic rubbish in it.
I am still waiting for a proper sequal to the Jet Li Vs Donnie Yen fight in Once Upon a Time in China II (Hero does not count - it was too cheesy).
Source: BBC News
He is also planning to shoot a second version of the film, dubbed with a deliberately out-of-synch English soundtrack.
I am a fan of all of Tarantino's works including Kill Bill. While I can't wait for Inglorious Bastards to be released hopefully in 2006, I don't mind another mainstream kung-fu flick. Hell, I enjoyed Kill Bill's kinetic action far more than most Hong Kong kung-fu films released over the past few years.
Hopefully this would be old school kung-fu without all the 'artistic' crap that began with the overrated Crounching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And I do pray he would get a real martial arts veteran like Donnie Yen rather than casting a fat bloke to play the hero (Chow Yun-Fatt). And please stop the trend of flying over water and trees nonsence.
The proposed second version in English in in my opinion is rather stupid. Chinese movies should be Chinese movies and not created to be English dubbed. Basically all foreign movies that are dubbed in another language is unpalatable. Its plain unwatchable and should be banned because it creates headache for people watching them. Don't mind subtitles.
There is almost zero information regarding the movie cast, release date, plot or location so I would only speculate on what I hope. I have a gut feeling we will see Pai Mei (of Kill Bill). The film would shot in mainland China with the same Chinese crew he used for Kill Bill: Volume II. It would be old school kung-fu that does not have any aesthetic or artistic rubbish in it.
I am still waiting for a proper sequal to the Jet Li Vs Donnie Yen fight in Once Upon a Time in China II (Hero does not count - it was too cheesy).
Source: BBC News
How to replace your Zaurus's original ROM with OpenZaurus
Just bought one of those very cheap and nifty Sharp Zaurus of eBay and not happy with Sharp's Linux distribution?
This site will guide you on replacing the ROM image on the Zaurus and replacing it with another Linux distribution called the OpenZaurus. You can choose from two GUI - GPE or Opie or you could go for a Bootstrap without any GUI installed.
Source: Linux Journal
This site will guide you on replacing the ROM image on the Zaurus and replacing it with another Linux distribution called the OpenZaurus. You can choose from two GUI - GPE or Opie or you could go for a Bootstrap without any GUI installed.
Source: Linux Journal
Monday, November 1, 2004
Want a mp3 player?
Want a digital music player that is capable of playing mp3 as well as displaying photos? Well, check out this tiny Archos Gmini 400, it is cheaper than a iPod and has a nice colour screen capable of not only displaying photos, but also playing DivX videos and games. It only weighs 160g, has a 20Gb harddrive and a 2.2" LCD display capable of displaying 18-bit colour. It even comes with a built-in Compact Flash slot. Along with ancient mp3 format, it is also capable of playing audio files in wma and wav format as well as XviD and Mpeg4 video format.
Want a portable PVR? Why not get the Archos AV400 series? The AV480 comes with a large 80Gb harddrive capable of recording up to 320 hours of TV programs from your TV, VCR, DVD player, cable or satellite receiver. The battery has enough juice for 4 1/2 hour of video playback though the large 3.8" LCD display with 18-bit colour support. Video format supported includes Mpeg4, XviD and DivX. It is quite heavy at 320g but still portable enough.
Can't get Archos in your country? Then go for the new iRiver H340. The H340 does not support video playback, but it does have a nice 2" LCD screen capable of 18-bit colour. The screen can display both texts and images (jpg and bmp). It does not come with any memory card slots but you can still transfer images from your digital camera directly through a USB cable (the H340 has USB host functionality). The battery life is rated at 16 hours. And to top it off - it has built-in FM radio which you can use to listen AND record straight to your player. The 40Gb player supports mp3, wma and OggVorbis audio format. They also sell the cheaper H320 version which has a 20Gb harddrive.
Don't need stinking colour? Just want a portable cheap digital music player with high battery life? Then get the excellent Rio Carbon which has 5Gb capacity. The Carbon even looks way better than its rival - the bland Apple iPod Mini. It only supports mp3 and wma, but is capable of going on for 20 hours of battery life on a single charge. And better yet, it is cheaper than the iPod Mini making it an excellent value for money.
Is audio quality far more important? Try the Rio Karma then. It has a 20Gb harddrive in it, 15 hours of battery life and capable of playing the excellent audio format - the OggVorbis. The interface is excellent and is the design is a true marvel to friendliness.
Want a portable PVR? Why not get the Archos AV400 series? The AV480 comes with a large 80Gb harddrive capable of recording up to 320 hours of TV programs from your TV, VCR, DVD player, cable or satellite receiver. The battery has enough juice for 4 1/2 hour of video playback though the large 3.8" LCD display with 18-bit colour support. Video format supported includes Mpeg4, XviD and DivX. It is quite heavy at 320g but still portable enough.
Can't get Archos in your country? Then go for the new iRiver H340. The H340 does not support video playback, but it does have a nice 2" LCD screen capable of 18-bit colour. The screen can display both texts and images (jpg and bmp). It does not come with any memory card slots but you can still transfer images from your digital camera directly through a USB cable (the H340 has USB host functionality). The battery life is rated at 16 hours. And to top it off - it has built-in FM radio which you can use to listen AND record straight to your player. The 40Gb player supports mp3, wma and OggVorbis audio format. They also sell the cheaper H320 version which has a 20Gb harddrive.
Don't need stinking colour? Just want a portable cheap digital music player with high battery life? Then get the excellent Rio Carbon which has 5Gb capacity. The Carbon even looks way better than its rival - the bland Apple iPod Mini. It only supports mp3 and wma, but is capable of going on for 20 hours of battery life on a single charge. And better yet, it is cheaper than the iPod Mini making it an excellent value for money.
Is audio quality far more important? Try the Rio Karma then. It has a 20Gb harddrive in it, 15 hours of battery life and capable of playing the excellent audio format - the OggVorbis. The interface is excellent and is the design is a true marvel to friendliness.
ITV3 launches today
For those with Freeview DVB-T, re-tune your box today and you can receive ITV's newest channel. It would be broadcasted on Freeview 34 as well as ntl8 & 118 and Telewest 116.
Film Review: Finding Neverland
Well I went to the cinema on Halloween night expecting to watch The Grudge but it was sold out. Instead it was Finding Neverland then.
Ah Johnny Depp. He was excellent in the last film I saw him in - The Pirates of the Caribbean. Kate Winslet was not so in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The first 10 minutes of the film was fine. Then the 'Scottish' accent kicked in. It was very weird watching an American actor trying to speak in another accent other than their Hollywood one. I had a feeling that Johnny Depp could have pulled a better accent out of his tongue but was asked to speak in a slower gear as not to confuse the untrained American ears who are expected to pay to watch this. I pulled a bunch of reviews from the internet and most weren't disturbed by the accent. In fact the only people who noticed that the accent was weird were British reviewers. Am I correct in stating that this film (and his accent) was targeted at an American audience? I think so!
The next one hour was tedious to watch. Here you have a guy, who was ignoring his beautiful wife (and sleeping in a separate bedroom), hanging out with a widow and four kids (the true story has five children) everyday. You could see if this was happening in today's modern society, the playwright J.M. Barrie who Depp's plays would have been arrested immediately and sent to prison or tagged for the rest of his pitiful life. I felt that the scene where his wife Mary was 'caught chatting' with another guy was deliberately inserted to shift the blame to her.
In any case - this film was very fake. The story was obviously based on a true story, but truths has been distorted as with most Hollywood films. Some of the flaws are more apparent than others such as Barrie actually knew the Davies's family long before Sylvia became a widow. But even so, even if the flaws were not real flaws - the film as a whole was disturbing. The acting was average at best - and certainly not worthy of Oscar consideration. The whole Sylvia-Barrie relationship should not have took center stage.
Yes the film is a fictional version of what was a true story. I wished Hollywood would stop doing such things like rewriting the history. If they wanted to tell a story about a playwright who befriended a family - then do so - but do not base it on real people who once live.
But even if the issue of straying away from the real truth does not matter to the viewer (it did not to me at first), Finding Neverland totally lack substance and direction. You would really need to be in fantasy land to be able to digest this film properly.
4/10
Ah Johnny Depp. He was excellent in the last film I saw him in - The Pirates of the Caribbean. Kate Winslet was not so in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The first 10 minutes of the film was fine. Then the 'Scottish' accent kicked in. It was very weird watching an American actor trying to speak in another accent other than their Hollywood one. I had a feeling that Johnny Depp could have pulled a better accent out of his tongue but was asked to speak in a slower gear as not to confuse the untrained American ears who are expected to pay to watch this. I pulled a bunch of reviews from the internet and most weren't disturbed by the accent. In fact the only people who noticed that the accent was weird were British reviewers. Am I correct in stating that this film (and his accent) was targeted at an American audience? I think so!
The next one hour was tedious to watch. Here you have a guy, who was ignoring his beautiful wife (and sleeping in a separate bedroom), hanging out with a widow and four kids (the true story has five children) everyday. You could see if this was happening in today's modern society, the playwright J.M. Barrie who Depp's plays would have been arrested immediately and sent to prison or tagged for the rest of his pitiful life. I felt that the scene where his wife Mary was 'caught chatting' with another guy was deliberately inserted to shift the blame to her.
In any case - this film was very fake. The story was obviously based on a true story, but truths has been distorted as with most Hollywood films. Some of the flaws are more apparent than others such as Barrie actually knew the Davies's family long before Sylvia became a widow. But even so, even if the flaws were not real flaws - the film as a whole was disturbing. The acting was average at best - and certainly not worthy of Oscar consideration. The whole Sylvia-Barrie relationship should not have took center stage.
Yes the film is a fictional version of what was a true story. I wished Hollywood would stop doing such things like rewriting the history. If they wanted to tell a story about a playwright who befriended a family - then do so - but do not base it on real people who once live.
But even if the issue of straying away from the real truth does not matter to the viewer (it did not to me at first), Finding Neverland totally lack substance and direction. You would really need to be in fantasy land to be able to digest this film properly.
4/10