“Bricking” a Blackberry Storm

2009-04-30 GrievousLeave a comment

After previewing the Blackberry Storm at Geek Terminal – courtesy of Paddy Tan from Bak2u – I was itching to get my hands on one for more detailed ‘testing’

After some hassling, a friend who obtained a Storm overseas finally agreed to let me have a go at it. After picking it up at the MRT Station, I happily swapped out the simcard from my office-issue Blackberry 8820 once I returned to the office. I definitely didn’t like the design of the simcard slot and I wished RIM had design it like the Pearl or the 7290s. It is damned difficult to remove the simcard inserted in the Storm. Even the iPhone comes with a little hole where a pin can be inserted to eject the simcard!

Anyway, in spite of my earlier perception, the Blackberry Storm is just about as large as the 8820, with one notable difference. The USB slot that the Storm use is different from those of its predecessors since the 7290. That means, after upgrading from another Blackberry model to the Storm, the old USB cable can no longer be used, unlike the old ones where it is interchangeable between the 7100, 7290, 81xx, 870x, 88xx etc. That shouldn’t be an issue since it’s the standard mini-USB cable, not some proprietary cable that Sony Ericsson is very fond of using. I would skip the specifications since they can be found on RIM’s website.

So after putting in the simcard and the battery, the Storm (like all Blackberry handsets) automatically powered up. Just like the any other Blackbery, it still takes awhile to initialise and power up. Once the handset established a connection with the M1 mobile network, I look for the Blackberry browser icon and fired up the browser. The first site I visited was of course my own blog. I had to see for myself how that compares to the browser on the iPhone.

Compared to the 8820 where the blog loads oddly, with certain parts appearing where they shouldn’t, the Storm loaded it much like my desktop browser would, albeit in a minimised state. As far as appearance is concerned, it doesn’t look very much different when loaded on the iPhone. Unlike the iPhone where finger gestures zooms in or out, on the Storm you tap the screen once to zoom in, and if I recalled correctly, it isn’t as easy to zoom out. I would admit that definitely wouldn’t appeal to iPhone users at all!

Anyway, I wasn’t very familiar in navigating on the Storm’s browser, but after awhile I did found out I could toggle it show a little pointer which I can move around with my finger just like I did with the scroll ball on the 8820. The actual Plurk page failed to load properly, but the mobile version worked, though I have no idea why it came up in simplified Chinese mode just like any other mobile phone – a problem that does not exist on the 8820. Sadly, the original OS that RIM installed on this particular Storm did not have Asian language support so I could see zilch when some plurks appeared in other languages.

Back to the main screen of the Storm. The arrangement of the icons also looked a little different. I have yet to figure out how I can hide or move the icons. I found out that Instant messengers are now assigned to its own sub-folder, while applications goes to another. This is very unlike the older models where everything is loaded on the same screen and you can rearrange them as you like.

I tried downloading some programs and I am not sure whether it’s just psychological, but everything seems to install faster. Installing Bloomberg Mobile, Windows Live Messenger and Facebook were all under a few minutes. That’s comparable to the 3G Blackberry 8707.

The Storm comes with what I called a ‘feedback’ capacitive touchscreen. For the uninitiated, that means you have to actually press on the screen itself to activate something. This is unlike the iPhone where just tapping the icon will do. I originally disliked this feature while my friend Alex loved it. He mentioned that prevents him from activating the wrong icon since touch screens he has worked with, have the tendency to ‘misinterpret’ his touches and activate things even when he didn’t want them to. I begin to appreciate this feature after that.

Sending a message is not as easy as the other Blackberry models. That is perhaps the reason why most people say that the Storm is slow. The touch screen is at times not as sensitive near the edges perhaps because of the way it is designed. Surprisingly, this is also where I actually start to appreciate the Storm’s ‘feedback’ touch screen, and understand the point my friend Alex raised. The reason being that it reduced my errors when typing since I can now see what lights up under my fingers before I press on it. After a while one would notice that when the wrong letter or number (such as the keys ‘f’ and ‘g’) keeps lighting up when touched with one thumb, using the other thumb will do just fine. I am sure some people would hate that but that has reduced my use of the backspace key and prevents me from ‘over-stretching’ one thumb to the other side of the screen. I suspect that would actually reduce the risk of dropping the set.

Still, I didn’t quite like the on-screen keyboard because it covered up much of the screen when entering text in landscape mode. The on-screen keypad in portrait mode isn’t much better, because it isn’t as easy to use as that of the Pearl or the any other mobile phones. These are some of the things I definitely hope that RIM will fix in a new OS release!

Of course, there’s one thing I definitely hate about the Storm. At times, when just slightly tilted, it changes from portrait to landscape or vice versa. Then at times I actually had to shake the damned thing so that it becomes aware of the change of orientation. Also, it will continue to do this even when the device is locked, and I personally think that is a waste of energy.

My take is that the Blackberry Storm is quite adequate for users like me who uses it to browse the web, or reply to messages and SMS infrequently. It should also meet some of the basic multimedia needs – like taking quick photos, storing music (there’s a slot for a mini-SD card) etc. I am quite sure users who like things fast will definitely hate it.

Anyway I did not have the chance to try out intensively the other multimedia features though the few pictures I took in low-light mode with the camera are quite bad. I wished I had uploaded them before I ‘bricked’ the device. [Note: To ‘brick’ a device simply means rendering it completely inoperable while attempting to update it.]

So how the hell I ‘bricked’ the Storm? I decided I wanted to find out how Chinese pinyin text input would look like. I also wanted to see how well does it support East Asian languages on the display so I downloaded the latest OS release available to one of the telcos in Singapore. Yep, it doesn’t matter they just had the Storm available on that same day [24-Apr-09]!

Just like I would upgrade the OS of any other Blackberry, I checked that the version of my Desktop Manager is compatible with the Storm, happily fired it up and selected what I want to install. All went well for the first stage, in which the Storm would restart for the first time.

Desktop Manager patiently waited for the Storm to signal that it’s ready for Stage Two, which never happened. After several minutes, it timed out.

On my system, the USB detection for the Storm goes up and down every few minutes. When I unplugged the Storm to check, and I found it is stuck in perpetual reboot mode (starts up -> white screen -> error too fast for me to catch -> repeats).

For the next 4 hours I attempted to recover the device with articles obtained from RIM’s official knowledge base. None of which worked. By then it was 5am in which I was so exhausted that I simply knocked out after crawling to my bed.

The next day I informed my sheepish friend. I assured him I hadn’t tried updating with some hacked, beta or leaked OS. Because he obtained this set overseas, he was also concerned that RIM might consider the warranty void and refuse to replace it. After contacting RIM, it appeared that they have come across such issues before and without much fuss offered to replace it for free as long as we pay to ship ‘the brick’ back to them.

While all is well, I am a little concerned with this because updating the OS on the Blackberry has always been hassle free. I had updated at least 50 or so Blackberry handsets from ancient 7730s to 8820s. Articles on the RIM knowledge base would resolve any issues as long as I looked hard enough. I really hope this is a one off case, because users might get even more frustrated with the Storm if they are already frustrated by the interface.

Fulham 2 : 0 ManUre

2009-03-22 GrievousLeave a comment

Fulham 2 : 0 ManUre

Well, well, well. First at home in Old Trafford with a trashing by Liverpool by a score of 1 : 4, then now this at Craven Cottage. It’s not all the time you see ManUre lost 2 EPL matches in a row.

Like I have said before.. any day that ManUre losses, is a good day for me! And for them to lose twice in about a week, makes it an occasion for celebration. Let me go pop a Kilkenny before I sleep.

The Paul Scholes hand ball which leads to a red card and a penalty that gives Fulham the lead

Cartoons:

Karma catching up…

2009-02-25 GrievousLeave a comment

So, I have finally gotten myself banned on ping.sg. All this for trying to ping one post. As DK has said on Plurk – ‘who ask you itchy backside go back there?’, and he is right.

Still, I am quite sure this brings to mind the following comment made sometime ago by the President of the Association of Bloggers:

They were easily manipulated and even banned for standing up against the foreign tyrant from self-proclaimed ‘community meta weblog for Singapore bloggers’.

Was my case an example and proof of this?

Unfortunately not, for those who were hoping for it. And this post is nothing more than a personal reflection on what I had done on Thursday (19-Feb-2009) that leads to the ban after I tried to ping just one post from nowhere.per.sg. When my attempts to get that pinged failed, I set up the rss feed using the mirror at Xanga.

That went well and so I plugged (i.e. advertised) the post on a private Plurk message to several friends who still have ping.sg accounts and seek their help to pong it.

Whatever happened next was pretty swift… by midnight, all my new new posts fed from Xanga had disappeared from my ping.sg profile, and then I could no longer ping any posts. On attempting to set up my blogs for pinging again the next morning, this is what I see:

Do I think I was unfairly banned, I wouldn’t say I am. I could at least console myself to the fact that as of 20-Feb-2009, I can still log on to that account, and the last post since July last year is still there. I hadn’t bothered to check again since then.

If my account still there, it is somewhat interesting as the people who were previously banned for speaking badly about ping.sg did not suffer the same fate, but had their accounts and all their posts removed. Am I tempting fate by pointing this out?

Either way, a friend pointed out that I was probably banned for reasons such as mirroring, and if that is the case then it is puzzling since I used to ping both blogs when I was active (see screen capture below:)

If it was because of cloning (i.e. the use of many accounts to falsify the popularity of a post) then perhaps the end user’s agreement has changed ever since the exodus of a number of former ping.sg users because I recalled it used to be the banning of the ghosts account while the pong count is reset to zero.

Whatever the disparity in treatment is, it no longer matters. An admin of any site can take whatever actions necessary as he deems fit as long as any violation of an end user’s agreement has occurred.

And looking back at everything that has transpired, I simply look at it as my karma catching up with me. After all, I could have stayed neutral during the disagreement then but I had chosen to make a video to declare what my stand is, and then went on to write a series of posts on that matter to voice my displeasure.

Of course that means making myself a pariah and I now got what I deserved. I have always believed that a man has to face the consequences of his own actions, and I definitely considered this a pretty mild response. Clearly, there is nothing more I can do to set right something which if I was in his shoes, considered as an act of betrayal.

Was it a lapse of judgement or pure stupidity that I even considered pinging that post? Perhaps it’s a bit of both and maybe some of these days I may even find it funny just like the rest of the people who hated me. I’ll laugh along with all of you when I could find a moment…

Cartoons:

Recommended Reads
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: What does it mean to be a blogger?

Commentary – R(A) C*ck Teaser Sites

2009-02-19 GrievousLeave a comment

What are c*ck teaser sites? I will not name them but I refer to those sites which screams at you with a scandalous, outrageous title – for e.g. Naked Pics of Perak State Councilor – but contains nothing except a sanitized report from a newspaper or some other reputable site.

Most of the time, a reader would say – WHAT. THE. FXXK?!, right? But hey, kudos to them for getting all news of these kind into one location, so you don’t have to google for them. If you are merely *erhem* interested in reading just the news, then you have hit gold. But if you are looking for more than just the news, and expect it to deliver what it claims… too bad.

That is why they are called c*ck teasers. It is sort of like someone getting you an erection, and then denying you the sex. Close, but no cigar!

Fret no more, however! We bring you good news. Our brave agents in the field of the wild Internet have found some of the sites with more than just a clean report of the scandal. Sites which can satisfy your fantasies and even more have been found. In fact, as long as these sites are kept up to date, you can now ditch the c*ck teaser sites.

And no, it’s not the Sammyboy forum, where access is somewhat restricted. The Lycan Times will like to introduce you to these two sites.

– Malaysian ex-Minister of Health Sex Scandal
– Singapore Scandals

So, get set, ready, grab your d*cks… and double click!

Now, WYSIWYG*!!!

Now, you no longer have to get that lousy feeling of being cheated and denied your fantasies!

Now, you will get the latest scandals and MORE!

Don’t be angry you didn’t find out sooner! If not for our brave contacts who risked the wrath of their mothers and wives, we won’t know either! Just pray hard that they will update regularly!

So long, c*ck teaser sites. Shame on you!!

Note: WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get

Disclaimer: The Lycan Times is not related and in no way affiliated with the above sites introduced. The information is provided as is for your benefit.

Recommended Reads:
Cobalt Paladin: Diary of an Entrepreneur – Cobalt Corporate Junk #16

Cheng Ho & 1421

2009-01-19 GrievousLeave a comment

Estimated Length of Zheng He’s Treasure Ships

Size Comparison With Columbus’

I recently saw the documentary about Zheng He’s (also known as Cheng Ho *ching!*) on National Geographic.

I have read about Zheng He’s voyages before, but never in detail. Never mind he made seven voyages between 1405 and 1433, a good 55 years before the Portuguese reached the Cape of Good Hope. To me it was a mere interesting footnote in history as it has brought no significant changes to the world.

However, what I have never taken into serious consideration, was the number of ships and men in the voyage (200 over ships with 27,800 men). I also failed to recognise the significance of some of the ships in Zheng He’s fleet, which is claimed to be at least 126.73m long, while Christopher Columbus’ ship was only a mere 17m long. This has become quite a controversy as no one is believed to be capable of building ships of wood that large.

On top of that I failed to recognise Cheng Ho’s legacy. Malacca’s submission as a vassal of China pretty much freed it from the oppression of the more powerful Siam and gave birth to what would become modern day Malaysia, and Chinese fishing nets were still today in use in the many places he has visited then. Cheng Ho, being a Muslim himself, also left quite a mark in establishing Islam in this region.

Perhaps it is also a coincidence that I am currently reading Gavin Menzie’s 1421. Apparently this book and its sequel 1434 had sparked quite a controversy among historians.

Unfortunately, despite the controversy, the book has been dismissed by many historians. Even so, I still read it because it intrigues me to know this man has actually spent a large sum of money putting his books together, while not actually making any money from it. His obsession made me read the book to find out what convinced him about his own assertions.

Personally speaking, I am not very impress with his book, as I personally think a lot of evidence he presented are circumstantial and stretched a little too far. Unless there are solid finds – such as remnants of one of Cheng Ho’s ships in Australia and the Americas complete with its cargo to match his assertions, it would be difficult to convince me.

However, I certainly could not dispute the parts which are based on his experience when he was in the Royal Navy. In fact, I doubt anyone would be any the wiser about sea currents other than those who had many years of experience as a sailor.

Even if everything in the book is mere conjecture, 1421 is still an interesting read. I am still reading it and only half way through. But I have now learn of old maps of the map when it is still not completely explored, for e.g. the Kangnido, the Fra Mauro, the Piri Reis and the Waldseemüller map, along with the names of explorers who are the first to reach the Americas and Australia to chart it. It also let me understand why maps of those days look very much different from what we know of the Earth today and how the errors come about.

Though it might not present any solid facts to change written history, there are still things that we might not know about to be discovered in it – like the difficulties which cartographers and mariners of the past faced. Thus, I believe when I am done reading 1421, I would move on to its sequel – 1434 to check out whether there are other things which I still do not know.

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Category: Others

“Bricking” a Blackberry Storm

Fulham 2 : 0 ManUre

Karma catching up…

Commentary – R(A) C*ck Teaser Sites

Cheng Ho & 1421