Oh!pEnions: March 2011

Ino Mobile F12

This is a simple phone from, I think, Singapore.

And if I am not mistaken, the price is less than

RM400, which is actually a basic phone but with

colour LCD. What is nice is that it has a SOS

button at the back. Not sure how it works but if

this came out dueing the time of Matrix, it would

give Samsung a run for its money. Yea, I like it.

While I was working on something, my Wife came up and told me, thank goodness the girls did not open this: It was an envelope addressed to me, and with a postmark from Shah Alam. I do not mind my Wife opening my letters since there is nothing to hide unless you people sent me risque stuff.

So, when I opened it, my heart jumped.

What fell out from the envelope was a booklet.

Not just any booklet but a booklet printed in colour which means whoever is doing this has a lot of money and free time. I will not elaborate much about this as its going straight to the bin. But I will give you a clue.

So, do me.

And its not a joke.

What I found in Pahang...

What was I there? Simple. Its that time of the year again and I am the only 'man' on this side of the family. The hot weather has not been kind to the backup men. And so, I have to perform my duty, without complain and also without water since priority goes to those who needs it.

And we have to do this before the Sun does its worst. But after that, it was time to explore the town, like we always do every year.

And look at what I found!
And NERF Element EX-6
kopykat!

What is so different is that they have inserted light
and sound into it. When you pull the trigger, you
will hear this weird out of space sound (Ultraman?)
while the barrel and the 'orcket' at the tops slides
in and out. Unfortunately, I still cannot find my
NERF EX-6 as I feel that this kopykat is smaller.

Earth Hour Activities

Today is Saturday 27th or March, 2011 otherwise known as the last Saturday of March. It is a very important day for some people. That is because today, at 2030, they will switch off NON-ESSENTIAL lights for one hour to show support for awareness to climate change. Read it again, NON-ESSENTIAL means, not all the lights, stupid.

For the rest of the people, its life and business as usual. And so, during that hour, we were at Kepong's Tesco, having dinner at Madam Lim's. If they turned off the lights, I will give them hell. For I do not believe in Earth Hour. At our house, we have changed to fluorescents. we even recycled plastic bags (and also, dinner) and so on. But what we do not do is to show-off. If everyone switched off the lights for one hour, the turbines somewhere will most likely experience a lesser load and so, slows down. Now, its Saturday evening and there is no light. So, what would everyone do?

Yep, you got it. Candles. Candles are a non renewable source of energy and also, pollutes the air. Not only that, it takes a lot of energy to make them too.

Now, what happens when the hour is up? Everyone would flick on the switch and this means there is a sudden demand for energy. The turbines would most probably have to get up to speed again in the shortest time. The would mean more fuel consume and also, increasing the machine's wear and tear. Not only that, the cables would experience a huge load too. And in some extreme cases, the turbines would need to shut down or the exchange is blown, resulting in a real power outtake.

So, is this what you want to happen? Think about those in the smaller Hospitals, those on dialysis, the elderly and so on. What would happen to them? Does their place have backup generators? Can they really walk in the dark without falling?

If everyone is conscious about climate change, they would have implemented a lot of things throughout the year and not just for this 60 minutes of stupidity. Its a scam to trivialise the seriousness of climate change and making the fools feel good for that matter. And with so much crime on the streets, robbers and people with criminal intention are going to really celebrate the Earth Hour.

So, do not ask me why I did not turn off the lights.

While having dinner, Kaelynn had a stomach ache
because we were not 'fast' enough to order food as
we were stuck at the cashiers. So, after some food,
I took her for a walk and finally, when she saw this
stall, and that funny potatoes, I ordered it for her.
Actually, I saw this when we were at Cameron
Highlands but did not buy them But tonight, even
for RM3.50 a pop, its worth it just to get her to eat
something.

After taking the sliced potatoes out, the Lady
then separates each slice a few mm apart and
also coated them with some batter mixture

Then its off to the deep fryer. The oil is dark brown
and I am sure it has been kept for days

I only noticed this after I took the photos and its too
late to say no....

When it is ready, she sprinkled it with some kind of
salt mixture. This was because the mixture was
finished halfway and when she took out a bag, the
powder was brownish in colour.

Anyway, she asked me what kind of sauce I wanted,
(tomato & cheese, mayo, thousand island and chili)
as she was ready to pour over the potatoes. So, I
told her, I wanted the tomato sauce but in a separate
bag. We have never eaten this before and so putting
the sauce separately was a good idea.

One thing I can tell you is that it contains
a lot of MSG because later on in the car,
Kaelynn was drinking water like there's
no tomorrow...

N8 Photography test.

I want to test the n8's so-called 12MP camera. Most of the time, I shoot things that have minimal lighting, needs macro and/or does not move..much. You may click on the pictures for the actual size but for now, I am using 9MP setting. And so, what better place than this one:

Yep. The Museum. What better place than this?
I wonder. Then again, I have not been to this
place since the last Millenium. Oh, they charge
RM2.00 for parking now.

For most of my Life, I always passed by the Museum and
it never did occur to me to revisit it again. Then again,
as a student, trying to pass exams with my half crazy
brain was more important since I am devoid of any
talent or creativity, and more importantly, initiatives

This was very nice because if I used the 5800 instead,
there would be a lot of 'noise'. I should have used a
tripod to take this shot and the rest too. But it would
mean I have to modify my current tripod and also pay
another RM2.00 for parking.

I like this too, not because of the shot but the glass
design. By the way, this glass encases four coffins in
there. Their methods of burial are very unique.

This section is very interesting as it depicts the types
of coins or items used for trading. Back in the days,
they do not have any currency exchange and so, I
wonder how they got by. Anyway, as you all know,
the lights for each exhibits are lit by LEDs and not
those bright lights anymore. Oh, you can move the
magnifying lens to see a larger image of the coins.

I really like this moneytree. You can pluck the coins
to use and the tree itself can be reused again. Its a
very good system, that is until the wallets and cards
took over. I used the n8 on the lens and was not very
happy with the results.

So I used the n8's own macro setting and well, this
was as far as it could go...

I always wanted to see this up
close as it reminds me of Han
Solo in Carbonate. Looked for
some side panels and buttons
but well, was disappointed.

For those who are curious about Han in Carbonate,
this is what I am referring to.
(image from: http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/books/scrapbook/carbonite.jpg)

I also had problems with lighting in this shot
apart from trying to steady myself. If I used
the flash, things would improve but then, you
will see the flash reflected back.

Under normal lighting, the details for most subjects
are very nicely highlighted.

This shot was taken in a very dark room with
almost no lights apart from the ones in the
nearby exhibits.

This one took me a few tries too.

Even indoors, with mixed lighting, this shot
is quite OK to me. Then again, I threw out
the photography books years ago and just
shot and shot and shot...

Used flash on this one.

Did you get the joke? They're selling anti-rust.

Shooting Pasar road

Now, lets see how it fares with dark colour and still have the details. Again you may want to click on the images for the actual size. Shooting at Pasar road here, especially if you have a DSLR and not in a crowd of photographers, is a bit dicey. It has a higher chance of confrontation with the vendors who are always edgy nowadays. But with the n8, and with some skills, you can blend right in so long as you do not use the flash. Oh, and try not to shoot in really dark places as the n8 will give out a red light which gives the game away...

The colour is almost spot on. Yes, the yellow is that bland

As for the black, well, you can see the details for yourself

How I wished I have a wide-angle lens right now....
This is a scene where suddenly the street vendors
have disappeared and all has gone quiet. Yep.
Its that time of the DAY where the DBKL (City Hall)
enforcers are patrolling the area.

What they don't tell you about the n8

OK, let me be frank with you. I like the Nokia Symbian series. So what if I am sitting on the fence on this one, between Android's remarkable speed of adoption and Apple's OS. I want a phone that works for me, and not just an app machine. When the n8 first came out, all I know is that it has an aluminum body and a great 12 megapixel camera. And that's it, really.

But now, over the last few days as I was upgrading the firmware and what-nots, I began to know a little bit more about the n8.

1. Memory card
It can take in a 32Gb microSD HC memory card. Yep, lots of memory, more than you ever know what you can do with it.

Because its so small, it can be lost easily or end up with me doing something stupid with it like accidentally inserting it into the SIM card slot.

2. Bluetooth.
If you have Bluetooth in your car's sound system, as soon as the n8 connects to it, it will start playing the songs in it. If you have a playlist, its even better. It will continue where you left off the next time you start your car. Bluetooth is amazing as you can even choose the songs (but not forward/rewind to the parts you liked). Someone said its also compatible with bluetooth mice and keyboard but I haven't tried that yet since I have neither.

Or this one: You can scan for Bluetooth by device type which is good because you never know if someone renames their Old Nokia 5800 to iPhone or something. Plus, with Wifi, you can also hide unwanted Wifi spots, which is a boon because everyone has Wifi and they're not free.

3. FM Transmitter
If you do not have Bluetooth, the n8 has a FM transmitter. Just select the empty frequency on your radio and then set that to the n8, you're all set. Unfortunately, you cannot use the Mic to make announcements. Maybe no one at Nokia likes karaoke.

4. Homescreen
The n8 has three customisable home screens and each screen can have its own background. And your homescreen still works even when you're not at home. I can fill it with a lot of shortcuts, widgets and apps, etc. But I am not going to.

This is the main screen. Note how n8 resize your
wallpaper picture when you rotate it.

The same goes for the other screens. Like I said, you

can have a different wallpaper for each Home screen.

5. The Aluminum casing.
This makes the phone feel solid. I hate heavy phones that feels plasticky. Then again, that's just me.

6. Open Applications
You can also see the current running apps akin to Window's ALT-ENTER and shut them off from there.

And so, with a glance, you can shut off
any applications from this screen. Neat.

7. Battery saving mode
With mode on, you can conserve the battery. However, all I noticed was that the display goes from bright to dim and bright again, everytime you select something. The clock screensaver will not come on in this mode either. Still, compared to the Nokia 5800, I feel that it lasts longer. Then again, I only use this to make calls and SMS.

8. Menu Button
The MENU button now has a double hearbeat light when there is a missed call or a new SMS.

9. USB
I hate it when the USB port changes 'shape' which means I have to be extra careful not to lose the cable because its not easy to get them right now. But what is great is that finally, I have a phone that can be charged via USB port.

And when it comes to file transfer, its even easier. No more flipping out the USB cover and taking out the memory card. I hate this on the Nokia 5800 because it will wear the USB cover and memory card contacts. And not only that, once I reinsert the card, I have to reset some programs so that it does not use the phones memory. The n8is different. Once you plug the USB cable to a PC, a special screen will open up and you can start transferring files to and fro.

The manual even says you can connect to an external thumbdrive or a a PHD (with its own PSU)

This works well on Windows7 but took ages and it nearly hang the Vista. I must try the XP Pro one day...

10. SMS
The SMS screen now sort of 'tracks' your SMS conversation per contact you in speech bubble format that you know who's talking what, sort of a at-a-glance SMS history.

Also, it would display on the bottom right of the corner
if there is a SMS while you are connected. However, I
have yet to view the actual message from this box.

11. Wallpaper
Each homescreen can have its own wallpaper but what is nice about this is that you can now readjust the size and position, something which Nokia 5800 cannot do and I had to retake some photos to compensate for this. Yes, I can use a PC software to edit them but its time consuming, especially in the middle of the night.

Now, you do not have to worry about
shooting your intended wallpaper
pictures a bit different because now,
the n8 allows you to reposition and
also resize your photos. Neat.

12. Games
OK, so there are some very nice games, 3D games in fact and it shows the power of the n8's processor. Then again, why should I be playing games? But I noticed, they have Angry Birds too....

13. The 12MP camera
Well, this is also one of the main reason why I got the n8. A real xenon flash and well, a very nice camera which I can take photos with some satisfaction while not taking my Nikon about. Not only that, when you go into the picture viewer app, it automatically refresh itself. This is a very big difference especially when I took some screenshots via Screensnap. On the 5800, the pictures would not exist until you restart the phone. On the n8, its already there. Yesterday.

14. OVI Maps
You can now download maps stright to the phone without the OVI PC Suite and even look for their updates. Yep, so, if you happen to be in London, you can just go to the nearest free WiFi spot and you're set

But here are some facts from the Internet:-

1) Wifi
It has b/g/n Wifi.

2) HDMI Touch screen
If you plug in to a HDMI TV screen, and then point the n8's camera at it, it will make the screen 'touch sensitive'. Although its just an experiment, this is amazing

3) Recorder
During a phone call, you can hit the RECORD button on the recorder and the n8 will start recording the conversation. To be fair, both parties will hear a beep at every interval.

4)Conference calls.
I did not know this but this phone can also do conference calls. Not that I have anyone to call...yet.

5) Phone Lock
Now you can also remotely lock your Phone if it gets stolen via SMS. How to unlock, I have no idea.

Well, when I first saw this, it is amazing. And I thought
it only works on XBox and iPhones.

There you go, the FM Transmitter

The file transfer screen that pops up when connected

Oh, and one more thing. The n8's charger now looks like this, where the Earth pin can be pulled out. So, I think this will be for all future Nokia models too. Makes the charger easy to bring for travelling. But for a person like me, I have to be extra careful with that Earth pin...

So, this is what I have learnt about the n8 so far...

(This post will be update quite often as I discover more about the n8)

How to show off your Nokia n8

Well, everyone's doing it and so, I thought, why not? In most cars, they will have this weird GPS or mobile phone holder which sticks to the car's windscreen. And I would say, it all started with the GPS thing. So, nowadays, wherever you go, you will see such device.

Unfortunately, due to budget constraint, I do not have a real GPS unit and so, a poor poor person like me have to use their mobile phone instead. Now, I can see the OVI Map software safely while driving. So, no more premature turns or taking my eyes off the road. I have not seen the Papago and others except Garmin but the OVI Maps is fun to watch.

The prices ranged from RM19.90 to almost double.
I cannot get one exactly for the n8 as I will be using
an Otterbox casing, which, in theory, would make
the n8 thicker. And so, I got this el cheapo RM9.90
Universal holder instead.

After struggling with it for a while, I managed to get
it out of the box and onto the windscreen. So, this is
how it would look like in Vee-chai. Of course I have
to make a n8 mock-up since I need it to take this pic.

A Pelican for nexus

Finally, I got the chance to suss out the new toolsbag at one of the shops in Pasar Road. It looks very outstanding and well, rugged, as usual. Its as if its waiting for punishment and then, more. However, there was a request to see if my Storm case is the same as this Pelican. And so, one fine day, I got the opportunity to compare them side by side...

Mine is the one above, which has a yellow sticker.
The bag in question is below and the handle design
looks very nice. However, the clasps looks like its
complicated unlike mine which just opens with a
pull. This one needs to be yanked.

Maybe its the camera angle but mine looks very

much bigger than it should be. Maybe its beefing
itself up, jealous of the new bag.

What is really nice is that it comes with
the foam block which someone wanted
it long ago. But for the other side of the
cover, its just a flap for putting documents.

So, they looked almost the same and by measuring my
bag, the outside dimensions are 15" x 19.5" x 7.5" (thickness).
The inside measurements are 13" x 18" x 4.5"
(the last measurement of 4.5" is from the bottom of the
inner cavity until to the opening. Did not measure the
inner top cover, though

After asking politely, the guy said its RM400.00, which, I think is a good price considering how much I bought mine. However, because it has a missing label and the quality looked a bit rough, I have doubts in my mind. Oddly enough, there is another bag being sold across the road but its gone now.

Vee-chai's drinking problem

When I started Vee-chai up this morning, he was thirsty. Which is strange because the night before, he told me he could go another 15 odd Km more before going to the bar. And so, I had to quickly fill him up and all that while making sure Kristine would not be late for school.