Category: Info

On my 40th Birthday…

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Time really flies. On this day I am 40 and it seems not too long ago when I left school for National Service [NS] in 1992. On looking back, it suddenly seems so far away when I first joined the workforce in 1995. Back then, I had thought I would live forever and now I am into the last year of the fourth decade of my life. I would no longer be getting NS reliefs for my 2011/12 Tax Returns and I had even received a letter which, if I am not wrong, offered me to opt-out of Eldershield! And that’s ELDERshield, not Medishield alright?! Thank you CPF Board for reminding me of my mortality!

That reminds me of a separate celebration with another friend when he joked that we all know we are old when we are listening to Madonna on Class 90.5 FM. After all, we probably used to listen to those songs on 98.7 FM when we were younger. So for those brats who are laughing at this old fossil right now, somewhere down the road you will be listening to Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on Class 90.5 FM and perhaps they will play Madonna as “classical music” by then…

Anyway, it was almost an uneventful day. I always take leave on my birthday whenever it lands on a working day since I do not like facing shit at work on that day. On top of which I superstitiously believed that if I get a scolding or get into an argument with anyone on this day, it would ruin the entire year of my life.

Anyway, I had pre-arranged to meet up with Angel for lunch at Causeway Point a few days back. I was late and when I arrived I found that a trio had cornered her for a survey. Thinking it was probably the usual kind whereby the objective is to mine user information (such as email addresses and phone numbers) for insurance agents, I just stood by while she filled it up.

It was when I saw questions related to religion and Bible verses in the questionnaire that I took a closer look. By then, it was too late. When they “explained” that she has “misunderstood” a Bible verse, I realised that this was a cult group which talked about ‘God the Mother’. Do not confuse that with Catholicism’s Mary the ‘mother of God’, because these are not Catholics. I recalled having heard of this cult previously, and a brother-in-Christ even gave me a flyer he received from them and told me to write about it on this blog to warn the brethren. At that time, I had intended to write about this but I misplaced the flyer so the entire matter was shelved.

If I am not wrong, the formal name of this cult group is World Mission Society Church of God and it originated in Korea. Founded by a Korean man named Ahn Sahng-hong who claimed to be the Second Coming of Christ, the church is now led by a woman Zahng Gil-Jah. This ‘God the Mother’ doctrine reminds me of the Eastern Lightning or Oriental Lightning (东方闪电) cult in China which also teaches that their leader is female incarnate of the second Coming of Jesus.

Unlike the ‘World Mission Society Church of God’, the Eastern Lightning is confined within China. While local Christians may breathe a sigh of relief knowing this, it is not so fortunate for fellow believers in the home churches not affiliated (or “registered”) with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China. According to a brother-in-Christ who participated in missionary work in China, Eastern Lightning preys on these churches and a lot of missionary work has been undone because of their predation. I was told the Eastern Lightning would resort to all kinds of underhand methods to corrupt the leaders of home churches and subvert them. One of the methods include using women to seduce the pastors and they will then use the evidence of wrong-doings to coerce these “fallen” members to either bring part or the entirety of the home church into their fold. Since these home churches are not registered, the pastors would not dare to seek help from the authorities as the Communist state persecutes home churches and inflicts harsh punishment on them.

Although they do not seem to be related, the similarity in doctrine between the two makes me wonder whether they are all controlled or founded by the same sinister organisation. And by that I do not mean the spiritual entity that is behind these earthly organisations.

Security Alert – MacDefender [Malware]

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A screen shot of “MacDefender”

It is with mixed feelings when I read the news of a rogue malware plaguing the Macintosh Operating System. Since I am not pro-Mac person, I was a little disappointed that the MacOS has finally reached enough critical mass to attract the attention of malware writers. While I’ll admit grudgingly that in many cases the Mac does some things better than a Windows PC, I am in the opinion that the reason why Apple computers have gone almost virus free all these while is because there simply isn’t any reason for malware writers to do so. After all, releasing a worm like SQL Slammer or Conficker would make a bigger splash since there are simply more Windows PC users in the world, not to mention Microsoft’s dominance in the enterprise. (There is of course also the conspiracy theory that computer virus and malware are released by anti-virus companies, and the reason that a Mac specific anti-virus program will not achieve a return on investment is the reason why there never was any real threat back then.)

However, the fact that a myth (that Macs are impervious to computers virus or malware) is now dispelled made me felt a little smug. In fact, I had really burst out in roaring laughter when I read that Apple allegedly refused to offer support to affected (or ‘infected’) users. I practically felt that I was vindicated for my long time opinion that Apple is even more unscrupulous in business practices than Microsoft.

While Apple has finally posted removal information and announced that it will release a patch to deal with the malware, it pleases me a great deal that there is finally no more safe haven for those computer morons thinking they are L337 elite or superior to PC users. As long as malware continue to evolve to attack the MacOS, computer morons with bad computer usage habits can longer carry on with life without repercussions. I am hoping that this will not be a one time incident, but a recurring problem that will teach some technically deficient people a hard lesson.

I have installed the free Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition on my older generation MacBook Air for precaution, and I was quite surprised that while I was surfing for images for “wedgies” (don’t ask me why I was looking for those), I came across a site containing such an image which automatically start downloading “MacDefender” (also known as “MacProtector”, and “MacSecurity”). Sophos caught it handily once the download has completed but unfortunately it doesn’t remove it automatically. It prompted me to remove the infected file manually and I was fortunate that all I need to do was delete the zip file from the download folder.

Of course, for good measure I search on Google the removal procedures and ensure that I missed nothing. However, no matter how much I wanted to gloat, I must say that the removal procedure was far simpler than doing the same on a Windows PC since there is no registry in a Macintosh. But then again, Windows has come a long way fighting this old scourge and depends on who you ask, it is no longer true that MacOS is more secure than Windows.

Then again, that doesn’t mean a Windows user should be gloating. The fact is, no computer is invulnerable… unless it is not networked, in a secured underground bunker with reinforced concrete under lock and guard, and switched off.

Even then, I will still have my doubts.

Tech Review – BlackBerry OS6

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BlackBerry OS6 is finally available to non-touch devices like the 9700 Bold 2 in Singapore some time last week. I have been dying to get it loaded onto my Bold 2 since the Torch was released, for the simple reason that it comes with the new WebKit browser. Once Ridzuan mentioned on Plurk he was installing OS6 on his BlackBerry, I immediately proceed to Starhub’s download page via BlackBerry’s site to obtain a copy.

Other than the fact that it took a little bit of time downloading it, upgrading over the previous version was a breeze for me, though I am not really sure whether it was really a quick install or I was simply too busy doing other things to keep track of the time that day. Once it has completed booting up, the BES [BlackBerry Enterprise Server] Activation kicked in on its own to reactivate after a while. After that, I began to explore the features.

BlackBerry OS6 has added two main new features, such as ‘Trays’ and the ‘Universal Search’ – which allows me to quickly search items on the device to find what I want. This is way better that the previous versions of the OS, in which searching for items can sometimes be a real pain.

However, I start experiencing some odd issues the next day. For the whole of the next morning, I was forced to repeatedly restart the handset because it always appear to be busy loading some thing – a little timer icon keeps appearing (much like Windows’ annoying hourglass). The set’s performance became so sluggish to the point of being unusable and I had contemplated wiping it using Javaloader to reload the previous OS version. I checked the remaining space and I ruled out a memory leak issue because that number remained fairly stable. However, the set miraculously recovered in the afternoon and it has since been behaving. I have no idea what caused that period of sluggishness, since I had made no changes on the set to make it go away.

The browser is nice, and now there are separate icons for the BlackBerry Browser and the Internet Browser (at least for this version for StarHub, since Ridzuan informed me that there was only one browser icon on his). If I recalled correctly, the user has to go into the options to set it so the handset ‘knows’ which browser to go through in the older version. It took me a while to understand the difference between the two, and that is the BlackBerry Browser loads data through BES (or BIS, depending on what the user subscribes to). In the case of the BES, it allows companies to block out undesirable sites and grant access to the company’s intranet on the handset. My understanding is that all data going through the BlackBerry Browser is via the BES (or BIS), and thus ‘free’ for a user with an unlimited BlackBerry access plan.

On the other hand, the Internet Browser loads sites via the ISP instead, and if a user is not careful he will incur a whole load of data charges. This simply means anyone can buy a BlackBerry and use it without the push mail services, though I wonder what is the point of doing so. However, please do not just take my word for it on this matter and make sure to check with the telco. I will not take any responsibilities if anyone incur a large phone bill as a result of the data charges! (I also noticed that the WAP Browser icon is missing and I don’t miss it, since it is my opinion that WAP is obsolete.)

I put the webkit browser through the Acid3 test and it scored a nice 100/100. That was way better than the one on the previous OS which scored just 92 (and even better than that Windows Phone 7 one on the Samsung Omnia7 which never gets past 12/100). It also has tabbed browsing which means I can open several pages and toggle between them. Unfortunately, there is one thing about the browser I didn’t like – and that is I keep getting the message that some sites are too large to load and the tab has to be closed which became very annoying.

Even so, I liked the OS way better than all the versions before. For those who are supporting BlackBerry smartphones in the corporate, it will take a little getting used to. As far as I am concerned, the items under the ‘Options’ icon has changed rather drastically. My recommendation is to get OS6 on at least a set used by those providing support simply to learn how to navigate around it and guide users over the phone.

The following are some screen shots I took from the handset using a 3rd party software… and talking about that, will Research In Motion [RIM] put in that nifty feature which allows me to just press a few buttons and capture the screen like the iPhone iCrap? I thought that would be neat!

[portfolio_slideshow]

Samsung Omnia 7 – Dislikes

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After using the Omnia 7 for a month and a half, these are the main things I don’t like about it (in order of most dislike to least dislike)…

  1. No cut and paste.
    So, after I read a page I like, I can’t cut and paste the link and email to my friends or post to Facebook like I did on the Blackberry Storm. I can’t figure out why Microsoft released it without this feature when this was the most laughed about thing about the first generation iPhone! (Rumor is that this will be fixed in the next update in February.)

  2. No Chinese text input.
    Duh! 他奶奶的微软，为什么没有中文输入法?!

  3. Can’t customise the ringtones / alerts / alarm ringer.
    It’s not the default ones are great at all. At least Nokia and Sony Ericsson’s default ringtone are nice. At least give me Windows’ startup.wav, can?

  4. Browser fails acid3 test.
    Doesn’t even get past 12/100 while Blackberry Bold 2 scored 100/100. So… fix that!

  5. Can’t directly manage contacts on phone.
    It is far easier to manage a contact from the mail client it pulled the contacts from.
    Doesn’t anyone writing this program ever have friends on Windows Live Mail having more than one email address? Try linking two Windows Live Mail contacts…

  6. No multi-tasking.
    If I switch to another app and back, it will reload everything. I.hate.waiting, geddit Microsoft?

  7. Fussy about the video format.
    Only plays .FLV and .WMV files, and even so some of them can’t be loaded to the device for unknown reasons.
    And it is rather ‘painful’ converting all those videos I downloaded from the Internet so I can watch them on the MRT.

  8. No file manager.
    Come on, even if you don’t allow me to open them on the phone, at least allow me to use it as a storage medium!

I wished it had Google Map too… but that’s not a dislike, just something I wanted because I liked it better than Bing Maps which came with the phone.

Recommended Read:
Chillycraps: Last Flight of the Harriers

Review – Samsung Omnia 7 i8700 (Part II)

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Continued from previous post…

Camera

The Omnia 7 comes with a 5 mega-pixel camera which I haven’t really tested extensively – in specific the video feature. I would not go into details on the camera settings except to say I have taken some shots in the evening (both indoors and outdoors) with the flash off.

While the photos did not come out stunning, they are at least acceptable though I have yet to see how the photos taken in bright daylight would turn out. These photos have been uploaded to Windows Live and those interested can double click on the icon on the right to check them out. (I’m too lazy to figure out how to embed it as as slide show.)

This is where I discovered yet another thing I didn’t like about this phone – no SD card support. When the iCrap comes with at least 16GB, why there isn’t SD card support when this phone is just 8GB is baffling. Perhaps this was done to keep users with the Windows Phone platform, as it would be quite difficult to take the data elsewhere when users change their phone. (One of the reasons why I considered Apple’s business practices unethical.)

Music / Video Player

As it is basically a Zune Player, media is managed through the Zune program (which I downloaded from the Internet). I will not go into too much details on the Zune software but I suppose it works the same way iTunes work for the iCrap.

Once I got some music onto the device, I am a little surprised that the sound quality turned out as good as (if not better than) my Sony Ericsson W902 – a walkman phone. I won’t actually say it is better because the headphones are new. Anyway, the headphone jack works with standard headphones so there will be no concern with replacements or getting better ones.

As to video, I loaded some wmv files on my computer onto the player and I also installed Youtube App to view some videos. There is no doubt that the screen is superb even when it’s just a 4″. AMOLED rulez!

Wifi

Once turned on, the wifi will try to detect all the networks available. Connecting to wifi is relatively easy, as long as the wifi router broadcasts its SSID. In the case of my home network, I had to re-enable my router to broadcast its SSID before I can connect.

Unlike the Blackberry, there is no option to save a connection profile. That simply means if I had disable SSID broadcast on my wifi router, I need to re-enable it every time I use the Omnia 7 with it. This is a serious pain in the butt because even the ancient Blackberry 8320 ‘Curve’ I use automatically re-connects whenever it is in range even though SSID broadcast is off.

Browser

Now that I am done playing with the features that are mostly not web related, I’ll bypass the xBox and Office features and move on to the main avenue of accessing the Internet – the browser.

There wasn’t another browser app I can find in ‘Marketplace’, so I am stuck with the Internet Explorer that comes with the set. Those familiar with Opera Mini will find some similarities here. It is capable of tab browsing but multiple pages are organised into individual buttons for easy switching. There is no flash support and I guess everyone know that already. It does load up a webpage more or less like what I see on the PC so I have no complaints.

Loading speed actually depends on what kind of connection is used. It can sometimes get annoying slow or laggy when the 3G /GPRS signal is weak. When I connected to wifi either at work or at home, I have nothing much to complain about the speed. I even tried swiping it up and up repeatedly to see whether there are ‘artifacts’ and it scrolls pretty well even in the midst of loading a page. Since I have no iCrap or Android to make a comparison, I would just say the speed of the browser is acceptable. It sure beats the browser I had on the Blackberry ‘Storm’ even though they are built on different technologies.

Incidentally, while I was looking for a video comparing browser speed between Android, Blackberry OS6, iCrap and Windows Phone 7, I end up with this – which suggests that not all handsets running on Windows Phone 7 are equal, even when there is no significant specification differences between them.

Marketplace

Lastly, the App Store called Marketplace. There are quite a number of categories, but if anyone expecting a lot of apps will be disappointed. There is probably just about 1000 apps and even though I was told the Amazon Kindle App is available for this platform I wasn’t able to find it using the search feature. Its only bright spot maybe the availability of some Xbox titles, though that really makes no difference to me because I am not into gaming – much less on a small device like this.

Downloading and installing the free apps is quite straight forward. I had done both installation on 3G / GPRS and wifi without any difficulties. If there was I would be really upset. So far I have downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader, Twitter, WLM and Facebook along with a the local Bus Guide App which I haven’t really tested whether the arrival times displayed are accurate.

Conclusion

There are no surprises with this phone, such as in griping the phone is a certain manner causing a drop in signal strength. In fact, where the reception is known to be bad at my cubicle, I picked up a call today and I was able to have a proper conversation with the caller for the entire duration without having to call him back on the land line. In fact, even battery life is as expected – in my case it drained out after about 8 hours of constant usage. If it is used only on a need to use basis then it can go without charging for almost one day before draining out.

Since I am not into apps, it meets most of my expectations (except the lack of Chinese input) in terms on connectivity and basic functions. Then again, I would probably also feel happy and comfortable even if I had purchased an Android based phone or a Blackberry ‘Torch’ instead.

However, going forward the number of apps must increase. Not because I need or want them, but for the phone to find a foothold in the market and attract existing users of the Blackberry, iCrap and Android. Otherwise it will simply joint the ranks of minor players like Nokia’s Symbian Phones, or even worse those running on WebOS from Palm (now acquired by HP).

Before I end, I reiterate that Microsoft must give priority in putting the Cut & Paste feature and Chinese Input capabilities into the phone. These are features that are available in most phones. Further to that, please allow us to do something about the font size of the headers. for e.g. I certainly don’t need the ‘edit’ option to be much bigger that the name of the contact. That’s not mentioning that when I started using the phone, the font size caused me to wonder why I had to ‘edit my email account’ just to edit a contact. It took me several seconds to figure out that it actually meant editing the information of the contact stored in that email account because the word ‘contact’ was off screen as result of the large fonts.

I apologise for not providing any screenshots, because I have yet to find a method which allows me take a screen shot directly off the phone like the Blackberry, or even the iCrap. However, for those who are interested, please refer to this link. These screenshot are taken from a release candidate version of the Windows Phone 7 ROM. Though not exactly the same as production, they are quite close to the actual ones.

Recommended Read:
ZDNet: Windows Phone 7 apps hands-on (photos)

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