Doing The Impossible Quiz Deluxe

Wanna prove how smart you are? Try doing this quiz, which is dubbed the "Impossible" quiz. This Flash-based quiz takes a while to load but once you're done, get ready to tear out your hair trying to finish this quiz. Maybe we're not so smart after all.

Ubuntu installed... what's next?

You've taken the bold step to install Ubuntu on your desktop. What's next? The LinuxonDesktop blog has a useful tutorial on what are the 13 things that you should do immediately after completing the Ubuntu installation. Certainly useful info to have to make Ubuntu functional for you.

BrikWars! - LEGO wargaming

This may be a bit old, but something as excellent as this is worth mentioning again. BrikWars is a wargaming system that uses the LEGO minifigs and bricks to play. On the site are rules and supplements that lets you have fun with your LEGO in a whole different way. Sweet bricks!

Making comic strips from photos with Comeeko

If you don't have Comic Life but you want to do some Dilbert-like comic fun with photos that you have, you can go to Comeeko to create your own strip. Fun way to display those photos.

LEGO Treo cradle

Gear Diary has posted picts of a Treo cradle made from LEGO bricks. The cradle holds a 680 and even a Bluetooth headset. There's even a minifig guardian protecting the gadget!

Escher's Relativity in Lego

Escher's Relativity in Lego by Andrew Lipson
Originally uploaded by idigit_teddy.

MC Escher's strange world reproduced in LEGO. How mind-blowing is this?

Gates vs. Jobs, Jedi style

The neverending war between Macs and PeeCees. This funny cartoon has a segment where the head honchos of both camps thrashing it out with the ultimate weapon of geeks - the lightsaber, was it the Zune-saber? Hilarious.

Search and play music on SeeqPod

Forget about downloading music. SeeqPod is a music service that lets you search for music online, then lets you add it to a playlist. You can also email the playlist to a friend. Seems like getting music from online sources is a tidal wave that can't be stop by people like RIAA. There seems to be new services coming up on a frequent basis that allows music lovers to get their music online.

Using Google for Getting Things Done

GTD, or Getting Things Done, is a pretty popular set of productivity philosophy to well, get things done. On the One Cranky Coot blog, the author shows us how he uses Google's set of apps to implement the GTD system. Interesting.

Backing up Blogger

One thing you learn when using computer stuff is that backups are essential. When you have a blog, you'd also want to do some backup to save all your memories. This site teaches you how to backup your blog that is on Blogger using the Firefox extension called DownThemAll. Backup before you regret.

New is not always better

New stuff is not always better. Somethings when you upgrade to new software, you realise that the old one is better and you can only sob, since the old version is taken offline. Well, kudos to these folks at Oldversion.com as they are devoted to archiving old software and you can download the old ones there. Another site that you can go to check out old software is File Hippo. This one gives you the new version, but also lets you grab the old ones.

My picts on Moleskinerie

Just a bit of self promotion here. The pictures that I took during my visit to the "My Favourite Moleskine" exhibition at Page One in Vivocity was featured on the Moleskinerie site. Not bad for pictures taken with a Treo.

Mac OS X lists, another one!

Lists and more lists. Give me your lists. This one is just another list of supposedly "essential" apps for the Mac OS. Some of the apps I use that are on this list include Adium (wonderful chat client), Cyberduck (free FTPing for me) and Quicksilver (powerful launcher that is more...).

Movie Ratings with details

The movie rating system with age ratings is under attack. The main grouse against it is that the age in the rating does not tell you much about the content of the film. This is where the website called Kids-in-Mind thinks that they can fill in the gap. Their rating system is based on a content analysis of the film and then a number (from 1 to 10) is given to three areas, namely Sex & Nudity, Violence & Gore, and Profanity. Parents can then make their own decision. Interesting idea and I suppose it only really works when parents are involve.

Making the most of Google Reader

Lifehacker has an excellent piece on how you can make the most of Google Reader with the use of keyboard shortcuts, and also other add-ons. Makes me really want to explore how using Google Reader will make me more productive.

Twitter + Quicksilver = Tweet

There is actually a script that allows you to send your Twitter messages using Quicksilver. Just follow the instructions on the website to get your Quicksilver + Twitter solution called Tweet working. Gotta try it out. Once again, it shows how amazing Quicksilver can be.

The Office parody

The Tech Lab - Part1
Uploaded by Filmguy9688

This is a parody of the US version of The Office by a group of kids in a high school. In fact, as mentioned on TV Squad the producers of The Office was so impressed that they invited the director and the cast to the set, and the director got himself an internship with the show.

7 deadly sins and more

We all know about the seven deadly sins of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. But if you combine them, for example Greed and Wrath, you get Muggings. In fact, you can combine the 7 sins for a combination of 21 secondary sins. Why stop there? A reader on Boing Boing brought that further and suggested that by using binomial coefficient, you can get 127 sins. We are all going to hell?

This is not a photo-or is it?

Look closely at this picture. Think that it is a photo? Think again. Check on the linked site and you'll see how this person uses Adobe Photoshop and some other geeky stuff to make this picture. The step-by-step picts of the work in progress is charted on that site. Amazing and hats off to the person.

Update 1: After reading some of the comments at the blog, I'm starting to wonder if this is actually a fake. Maybe it is... hard to tell. Well, it just shows that with Photoshop, you can alter photos, and you can make people think that you've created a photo. Regardless, it's a nice picture... erm... photo.

Update 2: Seems like the original post that I linked to is really a fake. Well, the starting point of the picture is actually a photo. For the real deal on it, check out the CGArena piece on it called Making of Yuka. Thanks to all who pointed it out in the comments.

Web 2.0 explained in video

Sometimes, it's not easy to explain to a layperson what Web 2.0 is. In this video made by Michael Wesch, an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, it explains what Web 2.0 essentially is. It is about collaboration and user creation of content. Watch this 4-minutes plus video called "Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us" and you'll understand. It's an excellent piece of work.

Make large wall posters with Block Posters

To make a huge poster that you want to hang on your wall, check out Block Posters. You just need to upload your image, slice it, and then download and print the individual pieces. When you piece them back, you will get a gigantic picture. Neat and cheap, coz it's free! Oh, you just need to pay for your own papers and printer ink...

Debate online with Convince Me

Like some verbal thrust and parry? There is this site called Convince Me that lets you engage in debates online. It's pretty fun to read debates on various issues, from serious ones like Gay Marriage to trivial ones like Superman vs. Batman. Me? I personally like the ongoing debate on Ninjas vs. Pirates. Go read the arguments. It's fun.

Check Online Coupons before you buy

Before you make your next online purchase, you may just want to head to Coupon Chief to check out if there are any discount coupons or codes that you can use to help you save a bit of cash. The web site is a depositary of online coupons that you can use. It sorts by stores and categories to help you find what you want. Check and save.

Building a Home Media Server

For folks who love to get their hands dirty, building a home media server may be the best way to digitalise your media viewing experience. Ars Technica has a guide that recommends to you what you can consider when you want to build your own Home Media Server.

Guide to running Linux in Windows

This is useful for folks who wants to try out Linux on their Windows box on a more permanent basis. This guide runs you through the steps on how you can run your fave flavour of Linux using VMware. And I bet Linux does not have any of the licensing problems that Vista Home users face (as mentioned in my previous post).

No virtualisation for Vista Home

Vista is attracting a lot of attention, and not all of them are good. This one is about using the Home editions of Vista in a virtual environment like VMware or Parallels. In essence, if you want to run a virtual version of Vista on your Mac hardware with Parallels, and you do it with the Home versions of Vista, you'll be in violation of the End User Licensing Agreements. Sucks doesn't it? Of course, you can still go ahead and run it, but that will be illegal and someone may knock down your door and bring lock you up in prison for it.

All these licensing agreements stuff are such a hindrance to the adoption of tech.

Let it Bii

A mashup of the Beatles Let It Me album cover and avatars from Nintento Wii's Mii folks. What's not to like? You can buy this T-shirt on Nerdyshirts.com.

Launchy: Quicksilver for Windows

I'm using Quicksilver on my Mac and I know the joy of using keystrokes to launch my apps. Now Windows folks can also experience the joy with Launchy. This is an open source (meaning free) keystroke launcher. It's not as powerful as Quicksilver, but it is still in its early stages. For now, you can use different skins, and specify what directories to scan when you key in your searches. Maybe in the future it can do more like Quicksilver, like pasting text and more. Still a good start.

Pocoyo: Cute animation for pre-schoolers

I saw this animation for pre-schoolers called Pocoyo on YouTube. It is so saccharine cute! If I was a preschooler, it'll certainly be my fave TV show. Too bad that I'm an adult... You can read more about this on the official Pocoyo site.

Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection

Vista is now out for consumers. Are you going for the upgrade? Before you do, you may want to read this excellent piece by Peter Gutmann about the true cost of Windows Vista. It factors in the software, hardware, and even system performance and stability cost. Vista may not be as worth while an upgrade as you think. Read and learn!

Burn a video to be played on TV

Burning a video file onto a DVD to be viewed on a TV can be a rather confusing task. Here is DVD Flick, a simple but powerful DVD Authoring tool that will let you burn video files to a DVD. Supported codecs include DivX/Xvid and MPEG-1/2/4 formats. Should be a pretty useful tool. It's also free.

Lifehacker has a howto on the usage of DVD Flick which is handy.

Grab tunes off Pandora

Pandora is an excellent music software that you can use to find new music. But how are you gonna keep those music that you hear? You can use this app called Pandora Downloader. Using it, you can save the music that you hear as MP3 files. It is certainly handy way to get new music, but I'm quite skeptical about the legality of this thing. Also, seems like Pandora has blocked the saving of music using this method, but you can count on the developers to find a way round it.

LED and Resistor Circuits Sex Positions

Some things are just strange. Like this gallery of photos depicting a bunch of LED and resistor circuits getting it on in various positions. It's just slightly disturbing to see that the electronics in your appliances getting some of the hot action.

Minor revamp

If you do read my blog, you'd have noticed that I've done some upgrading to this blog. I've migrated to Blogger Beta (actually it's already out of beta). With the migration, I've also changed the templates. All in all, it's a pretty painless process and kudos to Blogger for making it quite easy to change the elements on the page. I still have to deal with a bit of HTML but otherwise, it's quite simple to do.

I've placed everything on my sidebar back to where they are. The new element that's there is the inclusion of a Twitter badge. I've just started using Twitter and it's actually quite fun to use.

I've also added a new Stat Counter because my last one was broken. So my pagecounts is starting from ZERO.

Predicting your preferences with LikeBetter

This website called LikeBetter is like a game. It presents to you two photos, and you click on the one that you "like better". After a series of clicks, it will then try to state your personal preferences and even personality. The more photos you go through, the more it tries to figure you out. Sure, it's a fun way to waste your time, but the predictions are quite accurate. It predicted that my politics tend towards the liberal rather than conservative, which is quite right. It also said that I like spicy food, which is spot on. Certainly interesting to know what kind of algorithms it uses to do that. They also have a "cousin" called HateMore, which of course asks you to state which photo you "hate more". Try that out too!

Share files with Senduit

Want to send a huge files to someone? It's quite easy to set up your own FTP server, but it's maybe more convenient to use a online service like Senduit. Using it is pretty straightforward, just upload the file and set an expiry date. There's a 100MB file limit so it can come in pretty handy.

Zip it all with ALZip

Although the zip format is a pretty common compression and archiving format, the WinZip software for Windows is not free for everyone's use. So if you're looking for a free zip app, you should check out ALZip. This is a zip software that handles the zip format pretty well. With support for a total of 36 archive formats, this may be one zipping app you want to check out. Also check out 7-zip if you want another alternative.

IP address lookup

Need to know where a certain IP address comes from? Use this resource this find out where in the world a certain IP address is from. It will also indicate the location using Google Map. Nice.

All the disc covers you want

Do you need to replace that cover of the game or DVD that you bought because your dog chewed on it? You can now head over to this site to print your replacement. They have a whole load of covers of DVDs, games, and even Karaoke discs!

College Saga-Real Life RPG spoof

This guy called Mark Leung has shot a full 40-plus minute film called "College Saga" that is basically a spoof of RPG computer games such as Final Fantasy. The character walks around campus just like in a CRPG, picks up stuff, and even battles enemies just like you see in CRPG battle sequences. All the quirks of a game are also shown, such as a character repeating the same phrase no matter how much you talk to them, and people randomly walking in the background... Cool and fun.

Switching to the iPhone?

Okay. Apple Computer Inc, now having dropped the "Computer" part of its name, has announced the highly anticipated iPhone. It's probably everything that you can expect from Apple and then some. The big question here for a Treo user like me, it that is it attractive enough to make me switch?

I have to admit that the design of the phone is pretty sweet. In fact, it's so sweet that I would love to lick it like a candy bar. Seriously though, Apple's design ethos is clear in the design with the clean look, use of on screen UI, single button concept, everything is just very... zen. Compared to the Treo 680 that I'm currently using, the iPhone wins hands down.

I guess for me, the main things to consider is my usage pattern. I use my Treo for scheduling, taking notes, reading ebooks on iSilo, getting info (such as number/currency conversion), reading Bible, tracking passwords and other info in a database, etc. If the iPhone can replace all these functions, then I don't see why I won't "switch". But from the looks of things, it seems that you can't really install apps on an iPhone, so it is unlikely that one will be able to do those nifty things on an iPhone. If my main use for a device is for listening to music, watching movies, occassionally surfing the web, then I guess the iPhone is more suitable, but for now, it seems that the Treo is a beter device for me, especially for the use of reading ebooks.

But who knows? My usage pattern might change. Then again, the iPhone will need to get ebook reading capability before I can rely on it as my sole device. I a sense, I feel that's one reason why the iPhone is not in the truest sense a "smartphone".

As for surfing the Net, the iPhone is really a suitable device with the use of Safari and its inclusion of Wi-fi. For now, I can live without Wi-fi on my phone, although it would be a good thing to have. The one thing against the iPhone is that it is not even 3G. That will make it more attractive.

Regardless, the announcement of the iPhone will mean that mobile makers will have to look at design from a different perspective. Considering that the iPhone will only be expected to reach the hands of Asian users in 2008, I'm not going to be too hard up on this thing. A lot of things can happen between now and 2008. In fact, hopefully Palm can come up with something that is as attractive... we can only hope, and wait.

Alternate uses for everyday objects

This is a link to a gallery of pictures showing interesting uses for everyday things you have lying around. For example, you can turn a handheld egg whip to a container for holding cotton puff, or cutting a tennis ball to use as ear muffs. It's a bit like the book which looks at useless Japanese inventions. Here, some of the things can actually be quite useful. Great for tree-huggers.

A Periodic Table for Visualisation Methods

Everyone student knows what the Periodic Table of Elements is. What if the style of the Periodic Table is used for other things? On Visual-Literacy.org, there is an attempt to place the method of visualising ideas, such as tables, timelines, concept maps in a Periodic Table format. When you mouse over the elements in this Periodic Table for Visualisation Methods, an example will appear. Also, you can find a paper (in PDF format) that describe the table. Really useful and interesting stuff if you're interested in methods to do with presentation of ideas.

Make your own mosaic posters

Remember those mosaic-type posters made up of tiny photos? With today's technology, you can make those pretty easily. Using this tool called Mosaickr, you can create such pictures using the photos you have on Flickr. For a low-res version of the poster, it's free, but if you want one to hang on your wall, you'll have to fork out some shells for it.

The Apple Mini

AppleMini
Originally uploaded by Philapple.

An iPod Mini on a real Mini!

New media in Singapore: A 2006 review

The Online Citizen website has a good summary of the major political events that happened online in the Singapore new media-sphere in 2006. Key events mentioned included the Mr Brown affair and the "Elite Face" comment. Interesting read.

List of Web 2.0 sites

It's 2007, and if you're any respectable sort of geek, you'll know what Web 2.0 is. But if you still do not know what Web 2.0 is, well, the best way is to try out the various Web 2.0 sites yourself and experience what this thing is all about. The Web 2.0 Magazine site has a list of Web 2.0 sites that you can check out. For the rest of us, this is a great list as reference to see what other Web 2.0 sites are out there to try out.

Newspaper clipping generator

Indie Games of the Year

Almost all major game publications/websites have named their Game of the Year. And surely, games like Gears of War and Okami can be found on most of those lists. But games development doesn't just belong to big developers. In fact, there are plenty of independent game studios making great games. Game Tunnel has therefore listed their top 10 indie games of 2006 with titles like Kingdom Elemental and Master of Defense. Never heard of these games? Well, neither have I. That's why these are indie games. But it seems that these are great games and worth checking out if you are looking for something that's off the mainstream.

Hidden games in Mac

The Mac OS has the Emacs text editor included. It seems that if you issue certain instructions using Mac's Terminal, you can execute some games that are part of the emacs code. Neat. The link includes videos and instructions on how you can get your game on using emacs on a Mac.

Wifi on a Treo?

I can't read Spanish (or is it Mexican?), but on the PDA Mexico site, there's a video that shows that you can get Wifi to work on a Treo! There are folks who already got Wifi working on the Treo using an Enfora Wifi Sled. But using a SD Wifi card? That seems to not be possible. However, the video does show something interesting, i.e. a Treo 680 with a SD Wifi card and detecting wireless signals. Hoax or not, it's certainly interesting.

Fox challenging FCC in court

This is something interesting that can only happen in the US. Fox is challenging the FCC for their decency rulings. The problem here is that FCC does not allow indecent content, but does not say what is indecent. Hence, broadcasters have to resort to self-regulation/censorship. The point is that the broadcasters operate in a state of unknown.

Fox is confused because the FCC does not issue clear standards about what is and is not acceptable on TV and radio. The agency believes that doing so would amount to censorship, so they only sanction broadcasters once a show has aired. The obvious problem here is that broadcasters never know in advance if a show will be found indecent; the end result is self-censorship by networks trying to avoid the FCC's wrath.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Really interesting read on Ars Technica if you're interested in broadcasting content regulations in the US.

The Best Geek Quotes

Geeks love quotes of wisdom too. Head to this site to read the best geek quotes as listed and voted by Net folks. Here're some of my fave:

• If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0.
• I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.
• My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.

Various versions of ‘Digg Mobile’

Digging is an addiction. For those who can't get enough of Digg, here's a list of mobile versions of Digg that will help you save bandwidth if you need to read Digg on your mobile devices. Nice.

read more | digg story

Things folks do for a Wii

The Wii is a great gaming machine, no doubt. Still, it is not that great such that you'll do some undesirable things for it right? Here, a Mother decided to get her kids a Wii for Christmas. To get on, she decides to offer oral sex and 250 dollars. Things people do... click on to read more.

read more | digg story

Games on the Wii Opera Browser

Now that you can browse the Net on the Nintendo Wii using the Opera browser, it's time to play those Flash games that are on the Net. This is a link to a list of games that works on the Wii Opera browser. More reasons to get the Wii!

read more | digg story

GremSpot on Vox

Someone left a comment on my post about my interest in Project 365, and recommended that I use Vox. I've given it a look and well, I think I will try it out. What I like is that there is a Palm app that allows you to quickly post your stuff on the blog. Putting up photos and videos are quite easy too. It is from the Six Apart folks so the interface on the Palm is similar to that for Splashblog.

Maybe I'll use my Blogger site for links and stuff, and the Vox one more for pictures. Actually, if there is a Palm Flickr app, I will gladly try it out. Using email to post on Flickr using Gmail is just not too consistent for me.

Christmas gifts for frens

Christmas gifts for frens
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Project 365 test-iPod in office

Project 365 test-iPod in office
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Trial run of Project 365.

My new Treo 680

During the recnt SITEX show, I upgraded my Treo 650 to the latest Palm-powered Treo, the 680. I figured that I'll do the upgrade because I've used the Treo 650 for close to two years, and that I'll probably get more money trading it in than selling it on the open market. My 650 is pretty scratched up so it won't be able to command a good price. Another reason for doing the upgrade is that I want to get a new phone, and the 680 is out. No stubby antenna is great and it runs on the Palm OS. Wonderful!
Here I have some unboxing photos of my new device. Getting a fresh new Treo in my hands is such a heavenly experience. The next step is then the setting up of the device and migrating the software and data that I have on the 650 over to the new phone. I wished that the Palm Singapore could have brought in the coloured Treos, but sadly, that is not so. I so much so like a copper version.
So what's my impression of the 680? Here goes...

The Good:

• It's antenna-less. Which means that it feels smaller and lighter. Looks sleeker too.
  
• Still running Palm OS-the simplest OS, and IMHO greatest, for PDA out there.
  
• Greater RAM. It has 64MB RAM so now I don't have to worry about running out of space.
  
• Using Blazer to surf the Net seems faster.
  
• The phone app-it is re-designed and looks better. (but... see below)
  
• Camera and Multimedia app looks nicer.
  

The Bad:

• The phone app-although the look of the new app is better, I kinda miss the way the old one works. On the 650, a single phone button press can let you select the dial pad and the call history. The Favourites page is also more convenient to use.
  
• Smaller battery. After a week's usage, the battery life seems to have improved, but it won't last as long as the 650. As an example, at the end of the day, the 680 gives me about 50%+ left over, while the 650 has 70%+. Guess I can live with that.
  
• I can't control the LED with Butler anymore. On the 650, I can set it such that an orange light means I have a message or missed call, while a flashing green LED is for alarm. This function is now lost.
  

The Bottom Line: Overall, there's not much about the 680 that I'm dissatisfied with. Given that Singapore will have free wi-fi hotspots from next year on, I did question myself if I should have went over to the darkside and got myself a wi-fi-enabled smartphone. Then again, I guess my stickiness with the Palm OS is too strong. Plus, it's a smarter looking Treo!

Project 365: A picture everyday of the year

Taking pictures is easy now that digital cams are everywhere, and don't forget that almost every phone comes with a camera. With that in mind, this project called Project 365 may be worth checking out.

This is a project whereby you take a picture everyday for 365 days. The idea here is that you will then have a documentation of something that happens in your life everyday. Hopefully, it will help you to become a better photographer. But most importantly, it'll have you see your life in a whole new way.

I'm actually contemplating starting this next year. I'll take a photo everyday with my Treo. Each picture should be unique in some way, and I'll post it up to my Flickr page and also post it to this blog as well. Will it work? Will I stop after a while, we'll see about that. Working in a 9-6 deskbound job, I suppose the hardest thing is to find enough interesting things to snap. Still, it may be worth a try to look at normal, daily routine things from a different perspective.

Wait for the first pict to hit the page.

Edit: I'm still deciding whether to use Flickr or SplashBlog to do this project. Sending photos to Flickr using my Gmail account using Versamail is rather flaky and seems like using SplashBlog is a more fuss-free experience. Then again, I would really like to use Flickr because it's more fun to use.

Sync your iPod with Windows Media Player

Love your iPod but hate iTunes? We don't know why you'd think that way but if you do, you may want to try out this free app called Dopisp. This is for Windows users only and it allows you to sync your iPod with WMP 11. With this, you can toss that iTunes out, but keep your iPod.

New U2 Video with Classic Footage of Musical Legends

U2 has a new video out for their single "Windows in the Skies". This is an excellent video which does not have the band performing in it. Instead, it uses footage of concert footage of many music legends and edit it in such a way that it looks like they are singing the song. The video sort of brings a tear to my eye when I saw Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones and other greats in it. And it is not just rock legends, as there is Elvis and also Frank Sinatra. This will be a great video for spotting who's who in music. Oh... and the Irish Four appears in the audience if you look closely. Neat.

read more | digg story

Ten reasons against the purchase of diamonds

Diamonds... those shiny stones that every girls love (supposedly) and every man will buy when they are proposing to their GFs. I saw this article that was referenced by someone on Tomorrow.sg which is a list of reasons why you should not accept diamonds from anyone. It is not a tirade against marriage and the symbolism and ceremony surrounding marriage, but a list of myths about diamonds. In the list, some reasons given are that one's been psychologically conditioned to want diamonds, they are overpriced and have no resale or investment value, and that the diamond trade is linked to child labour, slave labour, environmental problems, civil wars, small arms trade, etc. Pretty grim picture, if you ask me. The problem is, I am not really sure the of the validity of this article but it seems to cite a number of references like World Bank and Human Rights Watch.

So should we place so much value on diamonds? Maybe someone can really enlighten me.

2006's Top 25 People in Gaming

Here's another list... this one's the top 25 folks in gaming. Compiled by Next Generation, here's a list of those who made significant contribution to the game industry this year. On the list include ESRB's Patricia Vance, the Penny Arcade folks and even Xbox's Major Nelson aka Larry Hryb. Hats off to all these folks who made it a great year in gaming.

read more | digg story

Lifehacker's best apps of 2006

It's that time of the year again for "best of" lists. Lifehacker.com has come up with their picks of the best apps in software and webby development this year. Wow... Google has two items on this list with Google Reader and Google Calendar. Maybe it's time I really check out how good Google Reader is.

read more | digg story

10 top RSS feed readers

RSS has been around for some time and most Net savvy users would have already used it regularly. But if you're new to RSS, you'd want to look for a capable RSS Reader to manage your feeds. The SplashCast blog has done a pretty good job in reviewing 10 great RSS Readers that you can check out. They also looked at the readers' ability to handle video, audio and images, something that's essential for a multimedia web experience.

read more | digg story

Train in The Force with Jedi Trainer

Think you're a potential Jedi Padawan? You can test your Force skills in this simple game web-based which lets you use a lightsaber to dodge and deflect lasers to hit those peaky droids. Train hard in The Force, young ones... and enjoy!

read more | digg story

Installing MythTV with MythDora 3.0

If you're looking for an open source way to turn your PC into a PVR, then MythTV will be a good bet. In fact, there's something called MythDora that will help make installing he software a breeze. On the MythPVR.com site, there an installation guide for MythDora and you can follow it to format your drive and install a fully functional MythTV system. Call it DIY PVR for dummies.

Harmony for the remote

Recently, I spent about S$450 on a universal remote by Logitech. It is the Harmony 885 Advanced Universal Remote. With it, I hoped that it will replace the 7 remotes that I already have cluttering my coffee table.The good thing about it is that I have successfully programmed the remote so that I now only need to use one remote to control all the devices that I have in my home theatre. The bad thing is that I had to spend about 2 days to get everything to work as I would like it. Well, it is not an entirely bad thing as once I finally got the concept of how the remote works and how to navigate the rather arcane web-based programming interface, everything was quite a breeze.The remote also comes with a cradle, which means that I can put it in the cradle to charge when the juice runs out. It runs on a rechargeable battery which means I don't have to worry about finding fresh batteries for it. With the LCD screen, it seems that if it was running on normal batteries, I will have to change them pretty often.My verdict for this device? I love it. It is one of my gadget purchase that makes things really easy to use. It is also something that my wife can use on a daily basis. The price is a bit on the high side, that's true, but this is a high end model with a colour screen.

Peanuts Meets Marvel

This is just simply brilliant. The folks at Statue Forum have reimagined Peanuts characters as heroes from Marvel comics. Click on the link to see more. It's just strange, but cute, to see some of the iconic Marvel comics scene with Charlie Brown and friends.

Playing DivX and Xvid content on Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is great for games and for viewing WMV content from your PC. BUt if are dealing with popular codecs like DivX or Xvid, then you're out of luck. And that's why you need this guide that is on the TweakTown site. It is a tutorial on how you can play those formats on your console and takes you through the requirements and the steps needed.

Use Psiphon to bypass firewalls

If you're facing a problem where someone (be it some software blocker or oppressive government) is blocking your access to the Net. You may want to try out Psiphon. According to the website it is

human rights software project developed by the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies that allows citizens in uncensored countries to provide unfettered access to the Net through their home computers to friends and family members who live behind firewalls of states that censor.

It is available free and open source. Is this proof that trying to block access to the Net is actually futile?

Here's the Zelda sword

Fans are crazy, especially video game fans. If you're like me and love Zelda, you'd appreciate the length which this guy has gone to proof his Zelda fandom. Apparently, he has gotten a blacksmith to forge a real-life Zelda sword. Yes, it's the same sword that Link wields in the game. Click on the link to salivate on the goodness of a video game weapon made real.

The Best and Strangest Cover Songs of All Time

Cover songs. The best cover gives the original a new spin and a totally different flavour. The website called Torontoist has a list of what they thought are the best and strangest cover songs around. One of my fave cover (which I heard on the Coverville podcast-one of the regular podcast that I listen to regularly) is on the list, i.e. Nina Gordon's version of NWA's "Straight Outta Compton".

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IGN's Top 50 Lost Loose Ends

Lost is just about the most intriguing TV series running on air these days. If you need more info on the strange things in Lost, you'd do well to look for all the info on the Net. If you're just plain lazy, you can get everything in this article found on IGN. They've put together 50 loose ends on Lost that will make you wonder even more what the show is all about.

Free wi-fi in Singapore

We know that Singapore will get free wi-fi coverage starting next year. Of course, the coverage will not be islandwide, but selected areas. So how can we know where the coverage is? IDA has provided a list of the coverage areas which you can see the maps in PDF. They have also provided Google Earth files that you can use to check the coverage. After checking, I realise that my block will be outside the coverage. So maybe future homeowners can cite wi-fi coverage as a reason to increase the prices of their property?

Official Flickr Camera Guide

Flickr is not just for sharing of photos. It has released stats about the cameras used by Flickr users. You can use it to see which cameras are popular. You can even use it as a guide to see which cameras produce the best results! Useful to have when helping you make your next digital camera purchase.

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Visual guide to how BitTorrent works

Need to explain the workings of BitTorrent technology? Well, this Java-based representation is a cool way of explaining how BT works. You can add seeders and leechers to the mix to see how the bits are transfered around the network. Cool!

Configuring a File Server in 45 Minutes

Want to build your own file server? You can apparently do it in 45 minutes if you follow the instructions found on Jon Peck's website. On the website, which you can get to from the link below, you'll find out that it only cost US$80 and the server is configured with Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. In the comments, you can also find that there's another way to set up a Network Attached Storage (NAS) with something called FreeNAS. Seems like building a file server isn't that difficult these days...

Managing music tags with Corripio

Here's another excellent software for Mac users. Corripio is one that you can use to find artwork, lyrics and fix tags of your music in your iTunes library. It's a simple tool, but anything to help make sorting out your large collection of music is always welcomed. Especially if it's also free.

Automating DRM stripping with DRM Dumpster

Turning your Apple iTunes FairPlay protected tunes into non DRMed tracks is possible but a rather tedious process. DRM Dumpster therefore steps in to automate the entire tasks for you. Is it legal? Is it Fair Use? Don't know, but I know that the software is donation-ware.

40 Things That Only Happen in Movies

Movies are not real, but try telling that to some folks. Anyway, there are many things that can only happen in movies. This link will bring you to 40 ridiculous things that can only happen in a movie. My favourite? "You will survive any battle in any war UNLESS you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home." Good for a laugh.

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Integrating uTorrent and Firefox

If you use uTorrent and Firefox, you'll appreciate this method of integrating the two apps. Using the uTorrent Web user interface, you can install an extension for Firefox which will then allow you to monitor your torrent status and even start torrenting by dragging links onto the sidebar. Neat.

Boot Windows XP from a USB flash drive

Since floppies have gone the way of the dodo, USB flash drives are now standard items for storing files. But when your PC gets into problems, can you boot from a USB flash drive? Now you can using a method detailed on the TechRepublic website. It involves a number of steps to get a bootable version of WinXP on the removable drive. Will be useful if you ever run into trouble starting your system.

A Safer And Faster DNS

DNS is important to the web. In fact, the folks at OpenDNS is claiming that by using their DNS server, your web surfing experience will improve because they can load your pages faster. I'm not too sure if that is actually true, but for the adventurous, do give it a go.

Automatically download and install your apps

Maybe you've just done a fresh install on your PC, you probably have to reinstall all the separate software that you have. In comes InstallPad. This is an application that allows you to make a list of your fave software, and then download and install the ones that you pick. It is certainly a timesaver. Check out the lists on the LifeHacker site which include a LifeHacker Pack, PC Rescue Pack and a Media Pack.

Net censorship? Nope, not us, says China

CNET is carry a story pointing out that at the UN Internet Summit in Athens, a Chinese government official said that the PRC does not censor the Internet. Is that a major case of denial or what?

Stripping away FairPlay with FairGame

The iTunes DRM scheme FairPlay is there to protect the tunes that you purchased from iTMS from being used on non iPod players. So it makes sense that trying to remove the DRM is possible, but not easy. FairGame is a free software that will, sort of, remove the DRM and give you the plain AAC files, with all the metadata, lyrics and artwork intact. It uses iMovie to accomplish its job. Warning: Stripping away DRM is probably illegal so try this at your own risk.

Halloween Costumes-Project Runway style

Project Runway is one cool reality show. One reason why the show is so god because the folks on it have to have real talent to be able to design those interesting clothes. For Halloween, NPR has done a story in which some folks from past seasons of Project Runway were told to design a Halloween costume. The results are certainly fun and cool. My fave is Diana Eng's Glow-Glow Girl costume which lights up and dimmed if the child moves away from the parent. Also fun is Katherine Gerdes's LEGO and iPod-inspired costume. Cool.

Coastal Defence of Hong Kong

I'm in Hong Kong today for business. Since I'm early, I visited the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. A museum looking at the defense of the coastline and the naval military presence in Hong Kong. It looks at the defence of the China coastline in the Qing and Ming dynasty, the coming og the foreign naval powers in claiming the islands (including Hong Kong), the Japanese invasion during WWII, and even the handover of Hong Kong to China. Overall, it's pretty cool to be in a place that use to be a fort with gun batteries.Perhaps the most impressive exhibit I saw is this replica of a Torpedo Station. This was the Brennan Torpedo, and it is placed in a carvern-sort of place. In the place, you can hear the sound of the waves and you can just imagine what it will be like for the soldiers to be operating this powerful weapon when they are preparing to launch the torpedo. Apparently, the torpedo was never tested in battle.The other interesting exhibit is the special exhibit on archery in China. Who knows that there is only very few folks who can properly make an authentic Chinese bow right now?

For more pictures, head to the set of picts on Flickr.

LEGO Flamethrower

Just when you thought that the LEGO is a toy, you have folks using LEGO to build weapons. We've heard of a LEGO gun that shoots rubber bands but this gets the cake for the most dangerous (and hence cool) LEGO creation - a LEGO Flamethrower. There's also a video that shows how the thing works... ust wondering if constant usage will melt the bricks.

My new Timbuk2 Messenger bag

My Timbuk2 Messenger bag finally arrived! I ordered a custom medium-sized bag via MacShop from Funan. After some hiccup and a long wait, I have this bag in my hands. Love it... the construction is solid and it is spacious. I don't think it will be a bag that I can carry if I'm only bringing very little things out. But as a utility bag that is suppose to hold things, this will be perfect. I actually wanted to bring this bag for my Hong Kong trip, but given that I had to carry my office's notebook (and I don't have a sleeve for it), I decided to go with the Timbuk2 Blogger instead. If I was bringing my own PowerBook, I would have carried this.

Which means that I've yet to use this bag... but I'm eagerly looking for a chance to use it.

For the curious, the colour is mocha-baby blue-mocha, and I choose reflective tabs, and added a handle and a divider. The colour of the liner is light blue.

Upgrade firmware, remove features from Creative players

Sometimes, upgrading is not necessary a good thing. According to a posting in Engadget, the latest firmware upgrade for the Zen MicroPhoto and Zen Vision:M players will add

Audible support and other minor fixes to the former, video zooming and language support to the latter, but removes FM recording functionality from both players.

Is Creative falling prey to complaints from the RIAA types? I thought recording from the airwaves is certainly no problem! Comparing Audible support and FM recording, I think I prefer the FM recording feature.

Slayer slays in Singapore

I went to the Slayer gig in Singapore recently. The metal legends gave a straight no nonsense rocking show without much antics. It's just plain rocking metal all the way.

Moo Minicards have arrived

Moo recently had a promotion where they offered 10 free minicards for Flickr Pro users. Basically, you can choose any pictures from your Flickr pool and have them printed on these Minicards. You get 10 free, and they will ship it free to any place in the world. Since it is free, I of course had to take up the offer and picked my 10 fave pictures for these cards. After some wait, the cards have finally arrived.My first impression of these cards is - Wow, these cards are tiny! They are really mini and I thought that they will be bigger, more the size of namecards. Anyway, I really like these. They're printed on solid cardboard paper and the quality is excellent. Because they are so small, smaller than a stick of gum, they are also pretty cute.The purpose of these cards is such that you can print your contact on the reverse side of the card and give them out to people. I've printed my info on the back of the cards, but as I love the cards so much, I don't think I'll part with them. Maybe if I need to in the future, I'll print more, but for now, I'm going to keep these beautiful cards to myself.

Tiles @ SAM

Tiles @ SAM
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Interesting floor tile patterns in the Singapore Art Museum.

Make Bloglines look like an OS X app

This is a hack for Bloglines users using the fab web-based RSS reader on a Mac. To make your Bloglines look like an app in OS X, just head to the website and find out how you can turn your Bloglines reading experience more Mac-like.
Link:

Free turn-based strategy fun: Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is a fantasy theme turn-based strategy game that's free for everyone. It runs on both the Windows and Mac platform so you can have fun if you own either of the two systems. It's not as great as any of the commercial games available, but for its price, it is great fun and value.

Duh moment @ City Hall

While visiting the Singapore Biennale at City Hall, I came across this interesting sign that is at the doorway into the building. If you can't quite read the text in the photo, here it is:

He entered this building
He filled its interior with pheromones

I'm still wondering what this sign is about. It is part of the Biennale exhibit or is it something else?