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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

iPod Volume Limiter


The people spoke, and Apple listened -- while they still have their hearing that is. After facing that French iPod law (no, not that one, the other one regulating volume output in portable audio devices) and a lawsuit here in the states about iPod-related hearing damage, Apple's apparently releasing a software update to allow for a personal volume threshold option in your iPod. Meaning you can set it so your iPod can't get any louder than a certain pre-defined level -- though as long as that level is configurable, even if its placed out of the way in the device options, people will still continue to set it to 11 and damage their hearing. Still, what's interesting here is that this move could be construed as an admission of guilt in some sense, but hey, we appreciate the thought, Apple. Look at that guy in the picture -- we wouldn't really want him screaming at full volume right into our ears, either.

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After reading the forum on this matter (a while back), it's made me pretty worked up.
These guys make it sound like it's Apple's problem. This "loudness" issue has been around since the Walkman, the Discman and MiniDisc players.




I don't see Creative doing anything, I don't see Sony limiting their volumes? They just sit there with glee, hoping that the iPod would lose market share from all this bad press. If these people want to speak of what's good and virtues of corporate social responsibility, then speak of it in general. Don't target iPods. They may have majority market share in the US, but the whole world doesn't live in the US. In Asia, there are plenty of Taiwanese made alternative brands that's very popular. If you've ever been to Hong Kong, you'd know that these smaller brands probably outsell iPods.




These are shallow thinking, presumptious and people who are just looking to add their 2 cents (exactly what its worth) to a sensational piece of news. I for one would like to see the other manufacturers do something).


Sunday, June 18, 2006

Buddhapad is good for you


BuddhaPad is the World's only mouse-pad created specifically to make good things happen. The chinese would know that rubbing the belly of the laughing buddha is good for you and your fortune. So why not rub it everyday while you're at work? It's convenient, right? Just get the mousepad, or be like me, download the Buddhapad wallpaper and rub it with your mouse pointer everytime you reach for your desktop




The pad was peacefully-designed with the tranquil image of Hotei, the happy, or laughing Buddha. BuddhaPad offers contentment, good fortune and superior mouse-tracking for both standard and optical mice. It's available to purchase online for $10.95. 10% of its sales are donated to the Make a Wish Foundation, so that you are spreading good fortune from the moment you purchase it. Are you in need of some good Karma for yourself and your desktop? You can buy the mousepad from www.buddhapad.com

Nokia N80 is a letdown



People should stop giving opinions based just on the facts they read on the net. The Nokia N80 may sound fantastic on paper but let me give you an insight to my experience with it




The WLAN reception is very poor. This isn't to say that it doesn't work but you definitely won't be using your neighbour's network with this device. It just doesn't catch on to the reception well




Plus, when you are using WLAN, there's a 3G logo on the top left corner. Which was initially confusing, because it's perpetually there, regardless if you choose 3g or wifi. You can't even gauge the signal strength. You have to base your perception of the bandwidth based on how long it takes to load a page. Not good. What's even worse, is the way you browse the net with the small screen. This isn't Nokia's fault, but generally, browsing the web and reading off the small screen is just not feasible for me, for more than 10-15 minutes. I get a headache, scrolling from left to right, top to bottom.




One more thing, you can't enter a web address in the web browser, until the page you want to load has finished loading. If you key in cnetasia.com and press enter, then change your mind. You have to wait till everything is loaded before the option to "go to web address" will be available to you. This can be annoying




The n80 is also a HANGING monster. If you're using it for more than just making calls and reading text, you're in for a surprise. This device hangs oh-so-often. Within 2 weeks of using it, it's hung 3 times. Nokia says nothing is wrong. After I've exited every single program, I tried to run Snake 3D game, and it says "out of memory". This happens rather frequently. I'd say even if you're not a power user, it can pose a problem




Oh, and the built-in memory is pathetic. If you are familiar with Nokia phones, you'll be aware that every file you receive through Bluetooth comes in as a message in the inbox. So by havin such limited space restricts what u can receive through BT. Example, if you store pictures, songs and misc in your phone. You use about 50% of the phone memory. Then you want to receive a few MP3 files from your friend. Assuming you each file is 5MB- you can receive ONLY three files and then you will have to open items inbox, save the file to card. Repeat for every MP3, then delete them one by one from the phone memory. Why the hassle? Why can't it just go into the card, where you want to store all your files in (due to the small built-in memory in the first place?) With a Sony Ericsson phone, you can directly specify to save files you receive in the phone or the memory card




The sliding isn't as smooth or as elegant as the one implemented in the Samsung SGH-D820. Imagine, if a phone that's so slim, can be such a joy to slide, why can't nokia do the same for one of its top-of-the-line, chunky device which happens to be one of the most highly anticipated phone of 2006




You see that four-way arrow key? The second last button on the right (bottom)? This is a shortcut function. But don't expect it to shortcut a lot though. If you put anything graphic intensive, like say... open picture gallery or customize it to shortcut into the web browser, it will hang and say "out of memory" too. I dare anyone who's posted a GOOD rating for this phone to try this and tell me if you notice that it's strange for this supposed-powerful phone to hang under a simple task like viewing photo gallery. I have about 20+ pics inside, it's not like I have a chockful of photos




The phone has even hung while accessing SMS. This phone is powerful, on paper... but the implementation is buggy at best and the reviewer at CNET definitly need to test these products and give constructive and honest views. There's no use fluffing up to the companies that give you these gadgets to review. It defeats the purpose of a review, in the first place. TOO CONFUSING? Well, let me just put it this way, Even if you have 20 gigabytes (figure of speech) in your memory card, but you only have 5MB of free space in your phone memory, you cannot receive anything more than 5MB through Bluetooth. No matter how big your expandable memory is. How silly right? This is because everything you receive through Bluetooth automatically gets stored in the phone first. I've tried receiving a high quality MP3, that's 10mb into a 12mb of free space and the phone tells me it's run out of memory. So you go figure that out... its mind boggling why people put up with this




Finally, all I'd like to say is I am sure the readers out there would appreciate a more objective opinion in this column, rather than just spewing random and ambiguous views like "great phone, nice features, but too bad it's so expensive". I think some opinions out there can be vague and totally based on perceptions rather than actual knowledge of a product.



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Friday, June 02, 2006

Grease


Grease
Originally uploaded by kennyt.

Grease last night

Portrait

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