Give up, Steve Jobs

Whilst browsing through IT news on a routine reading, I came across yet another article

""
iPhone 2 hacked before release

Toymaker Apple's attempts to lock in iPhone users with its new iPhone 2.0 have already been defeated. The iPhone Dev Team has worked out how to hack into the iPhone's bootloader.

The hack takes advantage of the way the iPhone authorizes code that can be written to memory. This means that it will be possible to allow any applications that haven't been authorized by Apple to run on the iPhone.

According to News.com, the hacking community believes this jailbreaking method, which will also let you unlock your iPhone, can't be fixed by Apple in a production version of the 2.0 software. Many are wondering why Apple is trying to keep up its control freak, one-carrier, one-country only applications blessed by Steve Jobs's policy.

It seems to be wasting a lot of time and resources, while hackers just undo its work days afterward.
""

Another Apple problem. Now why does this happen? Firstly, you come up with a good product. Many people love its features and design.


Secondly, you give it a reasonable price. approx 800SGD (through certain means).


Third, you try to make it some sort of "elite" product by introducing a one-carrier only policy, and introducing apps that work only in one country.




What do you get?


There you go. A fist clenching bunch people waiting to tear at you. Do you really think you can avoid hackers in such a situation?

Look at all popular game consoles. Expensive, fun to play. Hacked
Computer games. Expensive, fun to play. Hacked
Applications (like photoshop). Expensive, useful. Hacked

Look at popular games reasonably priced (orange box). Hacked, but people buy original.
Look at software like antiviruses (refering only to CERTAIN brands). Hacked, but reasonably priced, people buy it.

Why make your good product exclusive? Are we yet again proliferating elitism? Share them with the people. It's a good innovation which is reasonably priced (the latter, at LAST). Why make it exclusive? Go on invite hackers to your doorstep then.

Wonder when apple'd give up =p

The MacBook Air Bites The Dust

The MacBook Air - lauded as the breakthrough in technology. A paper thin technology boasting a full fledged core2duo Centrino Chip. Sounds impossible? Let's look on.

Here are the specifications courtesy of www.apple.com

1.6-1.8ghz Core2Duo Centrino Processors
80GB IDE 4200RPM
13.3" Screen Running 1280x800
Wireless (they initially did away with this)
1 USB Drive, 1 Micro DVI out

The Processor

Okay let me begin by stating i'm not biased against Mac's Hardware, so far i am impressed by their innovative designs for their desktops and laptops. I am biased against their software, but that wouldnt affect my view on their hardware =)

Alright firstly, the processor. Running a full fledge centrino processor, it is indeed a feat. The amount of heat generated, how can something so slim dissipate that amount of heat?Image Courtesy of gizmodo.com


Take a good look at the design. The only way out i see it, and that its logical, is to use the case as a heatsink. It simply cannot accommodate any heatsink except a thin slab of copper. Afterall, it has the largest surface area. Guess what, that was precisely what they did. My friend, an experienced IT diploma holder, had the privilege of using this (as he was working there), and he claimed one of his colleages cooked an egg on the back.

Breakfast Anyone?

My friend described that after an hour's use, the computer would too hot to comfortably pick up. A lot of users also commented that after streaming music for about an hour, the whole thing shuts down. Overheating. Furthermore, the processor would automatically shut down one core as the temperature gets uncomfortable. Effectively, you are only running a single core. Mac's ambitious move to add a full fledged processor to a UMPC sized computer has effectively failed.
The Hard Disk

80GB HDD running on P-ATA. Plus an option to add a 64GB SSD. These terms foreign to you? P-ATA stands for parallel advanced technology attachment, a term for the connection used between the hard disk and the computer. Basically, our old favourite IDE. Drawing less power (but transfering alot less information at the same time), it was a wise choice. Running at 4200rpm, i doubt it would be a bottleneck.

If you are rich enough to add a 64GB SSD, by all means. It stands for Solid State Drive, works as flash drives lined up in serial (like your memory's memory chips). Resistant to shock, low power usuage, it would undoubtedly be a better choice, but costing exorbitantly too.

Here for hard disks, Mac made good choices for its book. No complaints here.

The Screen

13.3" with a 1280x800 resolution. Nuff said. Thumbs up here. Except, remember that the larger the screen the more power drawn. I thought it would be wiser to add a 12.1" screen, until i reminded myself their preceding ambitious task of throwing in a power hungry processor into their computer. Gonna need space for that.

The Design

One USB port. This is PATHETIC. So how if i need my DVD rom, My flash drive, My Mouse, and my other peripherals which a paper thin computer cannot carry.

Also, The thin design doesn't sit well with everybody.
Basically, remember my friend the tech? He did just that. Darn papers everywhere, to the bin!

*CRACK*

Wait, paper isn't supposed to sound like that.

Hang on a sec, where's my macbook air?

Conclusion

I do not own a MacBook Air, but what I've collected and heard about it, and with all the Mac Lovers firing back at me from all directions, I decided there was a need to justify myself with this article. Read around reviews and comments if you do not believe me. This wasn't Mac's best innovation, and I would consider it a failure.

Stay out of this unless you've got the money and you're a diehard mac fan who doesn't mind buying a farce product.

*footnote
I just learnt that the designer for this, previously worked with the sanitary company's design sector.

IT Show Day 2...

... and all the freebies for 3 yrs DM card membership is out! =(

anyway check it out, its one hell of a big show... Upon entry to Suntec City you will be swarmed by people distributing fliers... Then u realise Singnet's giving out X61s with their 10MBPS-cum-Mobile Boardband... THAT PWNS THE MACBOOK!!!!!!!!

Next u get hit by panasonic promoters. Take note when you go there - PROMOTERS EARN ALOT OF COMMISSION! They will be FIGHTING for your attention. Next up u walk into the convention hall main entrance and you make your way up to the 3rd storey, where the fun begins.


Up the escalator to the big hall! All the big brands are here now. Acer, Compaq, HP, Mac, Epson, Canon, ASUS, Harvey Noman...Nothing much here unless you are looking for these products or a printer. People walking around with little banners, and a crowd that was so tight and bottlenecked if there were a flood I'd really think water wouldnt seep through (stupid chinese idiom -_- ) The offers here aren't fantastic, but point to note are the new technological items in place.

Up the next escalator and fwalla, hardware galore!!!

Will update this section with more pics... Reserved =)

Nice IT show, well set up, loads to see loads to buy (IF you had money)

Computer Services!

i've run out of brain juice on what to blog, but presenting to you,

WJ'S Computer Services!!!
Cheap and affordable!!!!!
$15 for diagnosing the problem, thereafter i'll quote you if it needs to be fixed =/
(sure cheaper than SLS!!)
$50 comp assembly (free consultation! will discuss with you what to build to suit your needs!)
-quality assured!
-ample cable management!
-free utilities to keep your comp in shape!!

Need a new comp? Need to FIX a comp? I can help!! =)

All this talk about going green...

And no one bothers...

The earth's dying and almost no one gives a damn... Why? Not my time... Why should i bother... I've got better things to worry about... Money, money, m o n e y. . . . .. .

Alright enough crap talk about all that. I'm not gonna go all Lisa Simpson (perhaps, a little... but not ALL), neither am I gonna set myself up the center stage and give you free lectures like Al Gore, but they all have a point.

It is inherent in human nature to be greedy and selfish. Its survival. Imagine we were still apes. If our survival depended on food, and we had only one dead rabbit which crashed head on to your tree, and you were starving for days, and this one rabbit would determine if you'd live past today. Even with the same fate awaiting the others, would you share it with even your closest cohabiting companions?

Look at the jungle. Darwinism kicks in. It's all survival of the fittest. Where did you think the idiom "The early bird catches the worm" came from? Well, whatever it is, I have to say, selfishness and greediness are more instinctive to us than anything else.

Ever thought why we have set up courts of law? Why do we even have laws? Why do we set up families, and deem ourselves civilized? Strange huh. We created laws which broke the laws of the jungle. We set ourselves apart from the others - in a way, we could say that we were evolved. We were "superior". We were the "fittest". So much so we force ourselves away from the unmerciful laws of the jungle and call ourselves "civilized".

So are we civilized or not?

Are we going to continue to be selfish? Sure, our ancestors may be. After all, as most of us have complained about, they were responsible for the problems we now face. We reserve the right to remain selfish because of that? Or because when the problems start exacerbating till an unbearable point we are no longer around to suffer it? So we have become what we first started out from. No more than just unthinking apes.

Society, progress, technology, it has killed our environment. Now, it has killed our way of life. Our morals and principals. Our integrity, our humanity.

All it takes, is to just switch off lights. Walk a little more. Eat a little less meat. Drive a little less, or best yet don't drive at all. Plant a few more plants. Who says such things don't make a difference? Think of it this way. We have billions of people on earth. If each of us eats one less slice of beef a day, that would translate to millions of poultry saved. One month? 30 million. One year? 1 billion poultry. Or if just a tenth of us stop driving and pool cars with neighbours, that's 10million people less driving cars. And it isnt very much more inconvenient, you can still own that car, just dont make driving to work a routine maybe.

Small things counts to alot. My examples to you may be vague, but the claims are not unfounded. Go google for statistics.

I'm not asking you to be a tree hugger, go be vegetarian, and start picking up a bicycle and running your house entirely by solar panels... I'm just hoping people would just do something less, just a little less, and we will see change...

Courage

I've decided to go all philosophical... My rants are endless, and serving national service which was once my pride and joy is now my sorrow... My previous boss left and the new one isn't giving me a good time...

If I were going to rant about political issues, I'm gonna get my ass slaughtered, considering I am nestled right beside the country's homeland security. If I rant about work, no one will read it...

Today (actually yesterday), I had a little inspiration.

What was courage?
What is courage?

Courage for me, is winning an internal debate, where one side is holding me back and the other urging me on. Either side can win, but not necessarily morally right.

Courage for a disabled person, is the willingness to brave reality and to live life independent of others.

Courage for a fish, is to be able to swim into the open waters.

Courage for a first born, is to open his eyes and peer into our world.

Courage for a child, is to be able to fall, and not cry about it, but pick himself up.

Courage for an investor, is to dump all his money into a single stock and hopes to win big.

Courage for a philosophy student in a certain university, is to hand in a paper (entitled "courage") with only 3 words written on it, "This is courage".

So what is courage? My point being, courage is different to everyone. But my first point summed it up. Don't you ever feel this silent debate inside you, one urging you on, one holding you back? Courage is the one urging you on.

Why do we always associate lions with courage? Because they are always urged on, by primeval instincts, to hunt for food, relentlessly, regardless of danger or failure.

Think about what we always associate with courage. Warriors who go for war, urged on by victory and honor (although times have changed XD). An army of ants, attacking a creature that could crush them easily, and overcoming it in the end.

Danger is the one holding you back. Danger manifest in many forms. Failure, embarrassment, injury, death...

Think about it... and everytime you find yourself caught between a rock and a hard place, find courage...

defluo spes

twice bitten, why shy? yes. i've got dengue once again. and for those who have not gotten it and thinks its a great week's of MC, you're wrong. My time of dengue was a period i felt i was closest to death. at least i never got to see the gates of heaven in my dreams. You will feel extremely weak, your muscles refusing to obey your command, even if u could summon one. You feel tired, weak, even getting up to the toilet is a chore. You lie in bed, no thoughts, just an empty weak feeling. Space. Empty space. You make every breadth a concious one so that you know you're breadthing. At times you grasp for breadth, for your lungs feel like a pair of punctured balloons. You try to eat, but you don't feel hungry neither can you open your mouth. You feel paralysed, not able to move, talk and interact. Day after day until finally you combat the virus, and you wake up one day feeling as if you were given a new lease of life.

that's dengue. wanna try it?

since few read my blog nowadays because it has been kept on low profile, i've decided it would become my little diary. talking to myself can sometimes be hard. I admit i enjoy living in denial, i enjoy living in fantasy. When motivators tell you, hey! your life isn't bad! you must always be positive! I enjoy indulging myself in that thought. In reality, somewhere farback in the subconcious of my brain's subconscious, I know that all these talk about being positive and all that is bullshit. Life was made to be tough in today's world. And soon it would be the end of it. Pretty ironee eh? But it kinda feels good to, you know, dream. After all, everything begins with a dream. Dreams are intuitive, dreams are beautiful, and everyone has the right to dream. Every night i dream that i still had my girlfriend with me, i dream that i will do well in the future and earn enough to live a peaceful life, i dream i had the power to reverse global warming and do the world some good, i dream i have telekinetic and telepathic powers.... i dream of the impossible. But hey, it's cool. At least i'm happy for that 5 minutes i dream before i fall into deep sleep and awake to discover myself back in horror reality.

anyway if anyone's finished with the last harry book and HAPpENS to read my blog, pls pls pls let me buy it from you second hand. i'm not some cheapskate guy, i'm a harry fan too, BUT i aint no JK rowling fan... she's earning millions now, and i sure aint gonna pay her more just to let myself escape into a world of fantasy. That's the reason why i enjoyed harry potter, and science fiction - living in fantasy...