Category: Others

Bak2U PhoneBAK for Blackberry

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BAK2u Pte Ltd has officially released the retail version of PhoneBAK for Blackberry (PhoneBAK BB) during the New Year of 2008, and all the beta testers (including me) who assisted in testing the beta have been given a retail copy of the software for free.

But, do we need PhoneBAK at all? After all, when you lose your phone, the chances are that it’s almost impossible to recover it, right? And all you can do is whine about your misfortune and go to the nearest mobile phone shop to get a new one, isn’ it?

Not anymore!!

The beauty of PhoneBAK BB is that it allows you to recover your Blackberry when it is stolen or lost. Once the ‘happy new owner’ removes your SIM and puts in a new one, PhoneBAK BB will compare the SIM ID of the new SIM with the one registered, and as long as they do not tally, a SMS and email will be sent to a pre-defined mobile number and email address.

The email will contain the following information, the IMEI of the stolen / lost Blackberry, and the IMSI (i.e. the SIM ID), GSM Area Code & GSM Localization Cell ID. The SMS will include the same information, plus the mobile number of the ‘happy new owner’ .

With these information, you can call the ‘happy new owner’ to arrange for your Blackberry to be returned. And if the ‘happy new owner’ is not cooperative, you can always remind him that you will make a lost item report, and submit this information to the police. With this information, the police, with the cooperation of the telco, will then identify him. It will then be treated as a case of theft.

I doubt anyone will wait for the police to go after them once you make it clear to them the kind of trouble they will be in. (Even if they throw it away, that information can still be tracked with the telco and you can make that fellow pay for a new one.)

It saves you the trouble of getting a new Blackberry and removes the pain of setting up a new one again. The software will only cost you US$24.90 (no subscriptions or annual fees). Compare that with the cost of a new Blackberry, the choice is pretty obvious.

Installing the software is easier than a walk in the park. Just make sure you read the instructions carefully and don’t be an idiot like me. I had some problems with the installation and it’s no fault of the software. To cut the long story short, I had the wrong version of a Blackberry Desktop Manager, and an outdated version of the hand-held software for the 8700 I am using. (Incidentally, upgrading the hand-held software also solved the bad reception problem I had. Damned odd, but I know now the tech support guys at StarHub and Singtel aren’t fxxking me when they asked me to update to the newest hand-held software whenever I report a problem.)

Once the Desktop Manager and hand-held software were updated to their respective latest versions, installing, activating and configuring the PhoneBAK BB is a cakewalk. Frankly, I do not expect anyone to have the difficulty in installing it. And if you do, the nice customer service people and the existing pool of PhoneBAK BB users are always ready to help you. I can personally testify to the helpfulness of the Bak2U customer service.

For more information on PhoneBAK BB, check it out at Bak2u.com

Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination

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Al-Qaeda-linked militant Baitullah Mehsud denies being involved in the assassination of [Benazir] Bhutto, accusing the government of killing her.

“I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don’t strike women,” said Mehsud’s spokesman Maulvi Omar who is also the official spokesman for the Taliban in Pakistan.

Several days ago, when having dinner with Daphnemaia, her Malay friend (sorry forgot his name), and Adam Zhang, I was asked about my opinion on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

I said that while the media was quick to point out that Al Qaeda is behind the assassination, Pervez Musharraf has as much reasons to want her dead as well. The reason I said this is because, from my understanding, Bhutto was invited to return from exile after the two made a political deal to share power. After all, Musharraf needed her to lend some legitimacy to his rule. His dismissal and subsequent arrest of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in an attempt to ‘neutralise’ the judiciary’s objection to his rule has not only upset the Pakistani people, but also his chief ally, the U.S.

However, in spite of the power-sharing deal, Bhutto openly criticised Musharraf for declaring a state of emergency – a de facto martial law – and called for street protests. I was in the opinion that if I was Musharraf, that would look very much like a power grab and a stab in the back and it might as motivation for him to have her ‘removed’ .

As I was writing this post, I dig a bit more on Google on this matter and it appears I am not alone in this assessment that Al Qaeda might not be the only one who wants her dead. Let me quote Rev. Jesse Jackson: She [Benazir Bhutto] felt far more threaten by the Musharraf government as she did by Taliban or Al Qaeda.

Anyway, the Pakistan People’s Party said the Pakistani government was trying to cover up its failure to protect her, and a controversy has erupted over how she was killed. The official statement from the Interior Ministry was that she died when the force of the blast from a suicide bomber smashed her head into the sun-roof of her car. However, her supporters said she died from the gunshot wounds in her neck and chest.

Before I end, let me clarify that I am not saying that Musharraf ordered this. After all, Al Qaeda are masters in playing the media themselves so the denial might be fake. But still, for all we know, someone else might be behind this because they have much to gain politically from her death. There’s definitely much more than meets the eye here. Let us just read all the news and take them with a pinch of salt.

Ancestor Of The Whale?

I got this off Sicarii’s. The picture on the left, is the ancestor which the gigantic ocean-dwelling whale may have evolved from. This land animal, the size of a small raccoon, might be the missing evolutionary link between whales and land animals. It is an odd animal that looks like a long-tailed deer without antlers or an overgrown long-legged rat, fossils indicate. Hans Thewissen suggests that it most resembles the current African mousedeer, which has a rat-like nose and ‘when danger approaches, it jumps in the water and hides’.

I am not scientist but I do find this pretty hilarious. Well, I have not seen a raccoon but Wikipedia says a raccoon ranges between 3 – 16 kg and measure 60 – 90 cm in length. Meantime, the Blue Whale is the largest known mammal that has ever lived, and the largest living animal, at up to 35 m long and weighs a hefty 150 tons.

Next, whether it’s a raccoon or a mousedeer, a whale has a completely different diet. Perhaps the mousedeer that jumped into water to hide suddenly discovered that it prefers to eat plankton and fish all of a sudden and managed also to convince its mate to do so… kekekeke…

Anyway, if I am ever going to believe the evolution theory at all, I would rather stick with the Hippopotamus as the closest known relative to the whale. But even then, the hippos’ ancestors first appeared in Africa, and that of whales appeared in what is modern day India and Pakistan. Duh!

So, I simply don’t understand how just something like this can be called a missing link and how evolution can hold water, even when it has that many things against it, in just this one case alone! I mean, if you tell me about the Archimedes’ principle, I wouldn’t have even laughed at it as no one is going to come to me to say there’s a problem to the principle because of this, this, that and that…

I can’t say the same for evolution. But don’t be mistaken, I am not promoting creationism here either. Like I have said in an earlier post on the eye… I’ll prefer matters of faith be left as they are, and I believe both creationism and evolution shouldn’t be taught in schools at all!

The comment section is off. I do not intend to debate this matter as it is a personal opinion.

West Ham 2 – 1 ManUre

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West Ham did it again!! (Sings Britney Smears’ “Oops, I did it again!” in background)

Dec 17, 2006 – ManUre had their Premiership lead cut to two points after Alan Curbishley masterminded a famous win in his first game in charge of West Ham.

Dec 29, 2007 – West Ham came from behind to beat ManUre 2-1 and hand Arsenal the chance to move back to the top of the Premier League table.

Long live the Hammers!! SIEG HEIL!!

I would have been happier if Reading didn’t lose…

Addendun: Everton 1 – 4 Arsenal

Arsenal is TOP again.

Asian Idol

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This must be the single hottest topic for the past 24hrs as it makes up 6 out of 10 of the top 10 posts on ping.sg. In fact, I think it has make a record on ping.sg itself as one post by haney actually had almost 750 pongs when this screen capture was made

This is not going to be a congratulation post to the winner, Hady Mirza. Nor will this be a post talking whether he deserved the title or not. There is nothing fair, or unfair in a popularity contest, but it is almost a foregone conclusion he will beat the 5 other contestants from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

First of all, let me just categorically say that none of these ‘Idol’ contests has anything to do with talent. All these are popularity contests and all popularity contests is a competition of personal charisma and influence. And one’s influence would of course has a lot to do with his community – i.e. his race and his nationality.

Anyway, according to Wikipedia: “The voting procedure for Asian Idol requires viewers to send SMS votes for two favorite Idols, thus allowing contestants to receive votes aside from their respective countries. As consideration on population size among the participating countries, tabulation of votes are done through an ‘Equal and Even Cumulative Method’, wherein the total votes of each country are converted into percentages. The winner was determined through 50% viewers’ votes and 50% judges’ scores.“

When that’s the case, it is no surprise that Hady will win in spite of Singapore’s small population compared to that of his competitors. The answer lies in the per-capita penetration of television and of course, mobile phones. It is also decided by the nation’s affluence.

In simpler words, if you have a really large population, but only many of the people do not have a television, then you have a large number of people who won’t be voting. And the people who have television may not even be interested in watching the program in the first place.

Next, if you are watching the program, you must also have a mobile phone to SMS and vote. And while there are those who would truly vote for the talented, I am in the opinion that this is only a very small percentage. Most would vote along the lines of their community – i.e. nation and race.

Now, how often you vote, and how much votes one would get, would depend on their affluence. After all, you need that spare cash you can spend to vote.

And, thus, this is my superficial analysis on why it is a foregone conclusion that Hady will win. Many would probably disagree, but I am entitled to my opinion… even if it might be seriously flawed.

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