Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Gadgets You Should Get Rid Of (or Not)

By Sam Grobart

The common rap against technology is that it leads to an accumulation of devices. But the nature of technology is changing. Fewer products are doing more tasks — all accomplished by countless lines of massless software code.

And so we no longer need to accumulate products. If anything, we can cut down. The question is, Which can be replaced and which are fine, or even preferable, to keep? It is plain as day that paper maps and Rolodexes have given way to their digital counterparts. But what else can you get rid of? Here is a list of common consumer technologies and products and a somewhat opinionated judgment on whether to keep or pitch it.

DESKTOP COMPUTER Lose it. You may have one now, but are you really going to replace that deskbound PC when it becomes out of date? Assuming you are not a hardcore gamer or a video editor, laptops have all the necessary computing power the average user needs. If you want to replicate that desktop experience, you can always connect your laptop to a larger display and keyboard.

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AT HOME Keep it. With the advent of devices like the MiFi, which converts a 3G mobile signal into a Wi-Fi cloud for multiple devices to share, you might be thinking about giving your Internet service provider the boot and using your cellphone as your Internet connection, even when at home. That would work — provided that you get a strong data signal where you live; that you never intend to stream video from Netflix, YouTube or Hulu; and that you have an unlimited data plan from your wireless provider. Given all these caveats, it probably makes more sense to stick with your I.S.P.

CABLE TV Depends. While you may and should hold on to a good broadband connection at home, it is debatable whether you need to pay for cable TV. Sports fans probably will want to keep it, as many leagues restrict online content, but casual viewers who mainly want some shows and movies to watch could get by with a good Internet connection and some low-cost subscriptions to services like Netflix, Hulu Plus andAmazon Instant Video.

POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA Lose it. Yes, a dedicated camera will probably take a better picture than the small lens and image sensor of a smartphone, but it will not be that much better. And a point-and-shoot has limitations of its own. It is hard to share photos until you have transferred them to your computer, and there are no apps for cameras, as there are for smartphones, that allow you to quickly apply cool filters and treatments to the shots you took. Perhaps most important, a camera may or may not be close by when a photo-worthy moment arises, but it’s very likely that your phone will.

CAMCORDER Lose it. Camcorders get squeezed at both ends of the video spectrum. On the low end, smartphones can capture video, and while it may not be Imax quality, many people do not care. At the high end, new digital S.L.R. cameras (like Canon’s EOS Rebel T1i, which costs around $750 with a lens) can shoot full-HD video while taking advantage of all the interchangeable lenses that were created for still photography. That camcorder you have now is probably the last one you will own.

USB THUMB DRIVE Lose it. File sharing does not require hardware anymore. In almost any case you can think of, you can move files around digitally via the Internet. That could mean signing up for a service likeDropbox, which creates a private, shareable hard drive in the cloud, or by simply e-mailing yourself attachments and storing them in the drafts folder of Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. A USB drive is just something to misplace or break.

DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYER Lose it (probably). Do you have a smartphone? Then you have a music player. Why load yourself down with an extra gadget? Apple popularized the music player with its iPod, but when was the last time you saw that iconic white box with the dial on the front? Music is data, and many multifunction devices can handle it along with many other kinds of data (like video, e-mail and apps). The one exception may be if you enjoy music while exercising. In that case, a tiny player like the $49 iPod Shuffle might be a better accessory than a larger, heavier smartphone.

ALARM CLOCK Keep it. Smartphones can be terrific alarm clocks. They can ramp up the volume gradually, display weather information and awaken you to your favorite song. And when on the road, they are still light-years ahead of the incomprehensible alarm clocks in hotel rooms. But a recent daylight time glitch in iPhones that fouled up the clock could give some early risers pause. Furthermore, setting and resetting smartphone alarms may require a dive into one submenu too many; turning a little knob on the back of a clock and flipping a switch is still simplicity itself.

GPS UNIT Lose it. The least expensive GPS units cost around $80. But your smartphone can do the same thing, if not more, for half that price, or even free. Android smartphones already have Google’s turn-by-turn navigation app built in. And earlier this month, Google announced that the company would be including live and historical traffic data in route planning, so you hopefully get to where you are going faster.

If you have an iPhone, you have several options for GPS apps, including Navigon’s MobileNavigator (which starts at $30) and ALK’s CoPilot Live ($20). Renting a car? Decline the optional GPS; if you have a smartphone, you already have one with you.

BOOKS Keep them (with one exception). Yes, e-readers are amazing, and yes, they will probably become a more dominant reading platform over time, but consider this about a book: It has a terrific, high-resolution display. It is pretty durable; you could get it a little wet and all would not be lost. It has tremendous battery life. It is often inexpensive enough that, if you misplaced it, you would not be too upset. You can even borrow them free at sites called libraries.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Funny Monday Quotes

"A bus station is where a bus stops...
A train station is where train stops...
On my desk, I have a workstation... What more can I say..."


Friday, March 25, 2011

Quotes Of The Day

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us, while we live"

[ Norman Cousins, 1912 - 1990 ]

Thursday, March 24, 2011

ASEAN Round Trip

Just a crazy thing that I would like to do: a round trip from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, then Phuket, then to Jakarta, then to Bali and back to Kuala Lumpur. Apparently, it can be done via AirAsia.

My so called plan is as follows (promo rate, exclusive airport tax & other fares);

15 Oct, KUL - BKK (1340 - 1445 hrs) = RM 174.00
18 Oct, BKK - HKT (1330 - 1445 hrs) = RM 63.90
21 Oct, HKT - CGK (1920 - 2215 hrs) = RM 199.24
24 Oct, CGK - DPS (1000 - 1245 hrs) = RM 67.83
27 Oct, DPS - KUL (0600 - 0900 hrs) = RM 166.91

Total = RM 671.88

Which means, average of RM 134.38 per flight. I guess that's quite cheap already. Throwing in the lodging cost assuming RM 100.00 per night (for a modest hotel) that'll give RM 1,100.00 for total of 11 nights.

So roughly, a person have to fork out at most RM 2,000 for flight plus lodging, not inclusive of other costs.

So, anybody interested?

Pantun

Tinggi-tinggi terbang merpati
Singgah di jendela istana kayangan
Rindu-rindu si buah hati
Penawar cuma seribu kenangan

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Announcement

Dear All,

I shall reactivate my Facebook account soon. Please keep an eye at my Facebook address:

www.facebook.com/kamalkzaman483

Regards,

MKK

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Regina Spektor - Samson

One of my favorite song... full of meaningful words...


You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
I have to go, I have to go
Your hair was long when we first met

Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
He ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed
And history books forgot about us and the bible didn't mention us
And the bible didn't mention us, not even once

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the stars came fallin' on our heads
But they're just old light, they're just old light
Your hair was long when we first met

Samson came to my bed
Told me that my hair was red
Told me I was beautiful and came into my bed
Oh I cut his hair myself one night
A pair of dull scissors in the yellow light
And he told me that I'd done alright
And kissed me 'til the mornin' light, the mornin' light
And he kissed me 'til the mornin' light

Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
Ate a slice of wonderbread and went right back to bed
Oh, we couldn't bring the columns down
Yeah we couldn't destroy a single one
And history books forgot about us
And the bible didn't mention us, not even once

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first

Personal Quote

"Love can't guarantee life... Money does... But money do buy lots of love..."

[ M Kamal, 12.06 pm ]

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What Happened In The Past 9 Hours?

Morning at my home

The usual routine of waking up early, packing my stuff and then a shower. After that, a modest nasi himpit and kuah kacang breakfast with tea. Helping here and there for couple of hours, and then wasting the hours off watching movies, tv series and playing games. My dad's driving me to the airport at 10 am.

The ride to airport

Nothing much spoken between my dad, my brother and myself. Just the usual ranting along the journey. The weather was nice tough, thanks to the heavy rain last night. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Sibu airport which was under renovation and expansion.

At the airport

Checked in immediately with only one hand-held luggage, then off to the loo before heading for the immigration counters. Before that, my dad gave me lectures on getting married, helping my other two brothers who's currently out of job, my other two siblings who will soon join them if they couldn't find any job, my mum's getting a retirement in June this year, prayer prayer prayer, and last but not least the usual advice on "not leaving the family apart". After that, off to the gate for departure

Mid air (somewhere between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia)

Lunch box was so-so, tomyam fish, white rice, vegetables and Kit Kat. Nothing much to do in the flight as well. Both my neighbors are heavy talkers (to their friends, not to me) so I don't have the leisure of sleeping or even having a nap.

Approach (somewhere near KLIA)

The weather turns bad, cloudy and turbulence. I though I was gonna die today, the next passenger was looking at me once in a while with that "please send my farewell to my mother" look, grabbing the arm rest in one hand and the other one bracing the seat in front. Its a harrowing 15-20 minutes of ride. Up and down, up and down.

At KLIA

There's a lot of people today, mostly people leaving for Umrah I think. Withdraw some money, bought TIME and MAC magazines, Cadbury chocolate bars and Kit Kat. And now having my so called lunch cum afternoon tea at Jonker Walk (my favorite) with kaya and butter toast, glass teh tarik and half boiled egg

THE END

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Prelim Plan "OPS CUTI2 BALI" @ September 2011

14 September
SBW - KUL (2120 hrs - 2310 hrs)
Tunes Hotel LCCT (1 night)

15 September
KUL - DPS (1055 hrs - 1355 hrs)
Aneka Beach Hotel, Kuta (3 nights)

18 September
DPS - KUL (1425 hrs - 1730 hrs)
Tunes Hotel LCCT (1 night)

19 September
KUL - SBW (0655 hrs - 0850 hrs)

*Details to be added up later

MacBook Pro Webcam Shot

Balik Kampung


by the seaside

boarding the ferry to cross the river

Monday, March 14, 2011

The going gets tough, its gonna get tougher

Second explosion at stricken Japan nuclear plant


SOMA, Japan – The second hydrogen explosion in three days rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant Monday, sending a massive column of smoke into the air and wounding 11 workers. Hours later, the U.S. said it had shifted its offshore forces away from the plant after detecting low-level radioactive contamination.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) offshore when it detected the radiation, which U.S. officials said was about the same as one month's normal exposure to natural background radiation.

It was not clear if the radiation had leaked during the Monday explosion. That blast was felt 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, but the plant's operator said radiation levels at the reactor were still within legal limits.

The explosion at the plant's Unit 3, which authorities have been frantically trying to cool after a system failure in the wake of Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, triggered an order for hundreds of people to stay indoors, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. The two disasters left at least 10,000 people dead.

Operators knew an explosion was a possibility as they struggled to reduce pressure inside the reactor containment vessel, but apparently felt they had no choice if they wanted to avoid a complete meltdown. In the end, the hydrogen in the released steam mixed with oxygen in the atmosphere and set off the blast.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, said radiation levels at Unit 3 were well under the levels where a nuclear operator must file a report to the government.

On Saturday, a similar explosion took place at the plant's Unit 1, injuring four workers and causing mass evacuations.

Shortly after the Monday explosion, Tokyo Electric warned it had lost the ability to cool Unit 2. Takako Kitajima, a company official, said plant workers were preparing to inject seawater into the unit to cool the reactor, a move that could lead to an explosion there as well.

NETWORK DISRUPTION TO THE UNITED STATES

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) would like to inform our Internet customers that we are currently experiencing network disruptions at one of our international peering routers in the United States (US).
Hence, some customers may have experienced some problems in accessing certain content hosted in the USA. TM has since diverted traffic away from the link and the problem seems to have resolved. In the meantime, TM will continue to monitor the network to ensure that customers experience uninterrupted service.

TM apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the disruption and would like to thank its customers for their understanding and patience during the affected period.

Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to email us at help@tm.com.my for TM fixed line and Streamyx customers and unifi@tm.com.my for UniFi customers.

Thank you

[ http://www.tm.com.my/about-tm/media-centre/announcements/Pages/NETWORKDISRUPTIONTOTHEUNITEDSTATES.aspx ]

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Home Sweet Home

Journey of a thousand mile, begins with a BK Doubles Cheeseburger... for breakfast...

Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Perfect Love?

What is my idea of a perfect LOVE?

A parallel line, that goes side by side at a constant distance, for eternity...


Sometimes I wish that LOVE is as simple as eating a blueberry scone

Do you ever wonder why eating is so easy? Because it has an instruction which comes with it i.e. you order something, then you poke it with fork or spoon, then you open your mouth, then you put that food inside your mouth, then you start chewing and munching, after sometime you swallow it, and then repeat it until your food is finish.

But how about LOVE?

Can anyone tell me if there's such thing as "INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO LOVE" or "LOVE FOR DUMMIES"?