Sony A55 & A580
Posted by rp8 on Feb 19, 2011 -

Tested both A55 and A580. Not sure I would like A55 EVF. Both look & feel cheap plastics. Looking forward to A700 replacement.

Upgrade to Radiant 0.9.1
Posted by rp8 on Feb 08, 2011 -

Finally upgraded to 0.9.1. Upgraded tags/papercliped extenstions. Had to downgrade rack from 1.2.0 to 1.1.0.

My Call Of Duty - Black Ops Wii shipped
Posted by rp8 on Nov 11, 2010 -

Can’t wait to play the new online game!

Lending Books in Kindle
Posted by rp8 on Oct 22, 2010 -

Amazon may allow us to lend books in Kindle. But do we need publishers to decide that? We paid for the books and should be able to lend them just like regular books!

Spy Click Crash Dump
Posted by rp8 on Oct 05, 2010 -

Here’s what one of tracking devices looks like when it crashes.

spy_click

Sony didn't show A700 replacement at Photokina
Posted by rp8 on Sep 21, 2010 -

As expected by many and deeply disappointed, Sony showed again a mock-up “wooden-ware” camera as A700 replacement!

Kindle Must Have Features
Posted by rp8 on Sep 20, 2010 -

A web browser that supports decent web browsing experience over 3G or WiFi with better navigation mechanism and custom settings on privacy such as cookie etc.

IPad Put Kindle Out Of Business? No.
Posted by rp8 on Sep 20, 2010 -

Based on an article at techcrunch.com, Kindle will be replaced by IPad.

The article listed 10 reasons and here’re my 2 cents:

  1. The multi-functional capability – IPad wins. Kindle should just provide a good web browser though to make Kindle more useful sometimes.
  2. The screen – it’s really different usage pattern. E-Ink wins for book reading purpose. This is probably THE reason that IPad won’t put Kindle out of business.
  3. The compatibility – Kindle should support ePub!
  4. The iBooks store – don’t really see any winner.
  5. The experience – Reading is really nice on Kindle, which is lighter and way less distraction from internet surfing.
  6. The economics – Book pricing will converge eventually. Kindle is more expensive as it’s dedicated device but it has free 3G. Will Amazon provide free 3G forever for web browsing?
  7. The apps – IPad wins. Kindle apps are really limited.
  8. The marketplace – IPad may have bigger user base, but not sure that’s the same for book buying user base.
  9. The price – Kindle is cheaper if one does not need another tablet computer.
  10. The Apple factor (a.k.a. “sexy”) – for book readers, it’s not that big factor any way.

I don’t think IPad can put Kindle out of business. Kindle’s competitions are with other e-readers and its improvement on user experience on Kindle apps such as web browser and UI.

Here’re the reasons I bought a Kindle 3G – I’d like to read any time and anywhere. I don’t like to charge it every day or every a few hours. I’d like to be able to check my emails too. And most of all, I don’t want to pay a monthly contract on 3G!

Chase.com is down
Posted by rp8 on Sep 15, 2010 -

A few hours ago it was saying that chase.com was in regular maintenance. I was wondering why would a major bank retail web site be in maintenance in prime time? Liar!!!

At this moment, it’s saying that they’re working to restore access.

CHASE-DOWN

Shipment Routing
Posted by rp8 on Sep 14, 2010 -

My Kindle has been shipped via USPS on Sep 11 from Phoenix, AZ and it arrived in FedEx Smartpost facility in my local city. What’s interesting is that the estimate arrival time is Sep 18. Why do they need four days to deliver in the same city? Could it be that it’s sent for sorting and then it would be transported by a truck again from somewhere to my city? I will provide a update once I receive my Kindle.

Seamless Mode in Virtual Box
Posted by rp8 on Sep 11, 2010 -

Seamless mode mixes nicely the guest windows (Ubuntu 10.4) with host windows in Vista. It would be even better if VirtualBox could manage the z-order of guest windows along with host windows!

Right now, all guest windows are still considered as single group.