YOUKOSO!

Oh, Eiten-chan… How was life even concieveble without you by my side…

No, I didn’t just get a new girlfriend (although you can call her that, with high levels of imagination)… I just got my W810i yesterday. The lack of posts, (AND the total disregard to the MLM topic that I was supposed to be writing on) is probably as a result of her telling me to spend more time with her.

So, sorry people… Give me a few days and I’ll be back…

And I DO plan to do a full in depth review on her, PLUS a long term continually updated review.

Before that, I hope you guys would settle for an Eiten-chan unboxing shot… 

 

While trawling all over the net quite a while back, I happened to come by the extremely comprehensive freeware list eConsultant has whipped up (450+ items, not counting the OpenSource entries, available on a seperate page). Its a bit old and countless other blogs/site have quoted it, but if you somehow missed it: YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.

While we’re on the subject of Freeware, contrary to common belief, freeware and open source programs are not at all crippled or not as useful when compared to Payware / Commercial programs. Some of them are real gems, that work just as, if not even better, then their commercial counterparts 

Here are my own personal freware/open-source recomendations (not as comprehensive as the one above though):

1. ANTI-VIRUS = Avast!- Free, and extremely reliable. Hasn’t let me down yet, although the full scan speed leans on the slow side (ok, extremely slow side).

2. BROWSER = Lolifox -  An optimized version of FireFox tailored for anime-loving web community members.

3. IMAGE EDITOR = The GIMP - A bit hard to configure and use, it seems. But in my opinion, anyone with a basic grasp of computing can get this thing running. Some research required to bring out its full potential though (which in my opinion, is close - if not equal - to that of PhotoShop or any other comercial product). Those migrating from PhotoShop should can also try out GIMPShop.

4. PICTURE ORGANIZER = Picasa - Easy to set up, use and blessed with a splendid user interface.

7. OFFICE SUITE = OpenOffice.org - The one, the only (and the somewhat bloated), Microsoft Office compatible free office suite. Impress (the PowerPoint alternative in the suite) could use some help though.

 9. MEDIA PLAYING = CCCP + RealAlternative, QuickTime and WinAmp - Technically, CCCP (and RealAlternative) is a codec pack and QuickTime/WinAmp are not freeware/open source.

CCCP, which only the codecs you need without installing other stuff you don’t even understand (subsequently ruining your computer; K-Lite and the others seem to do that sometimes) also comes with two of the most flexible media players on earth: ZoomPlayer and Media Player Classic. Add in the fact that Media Player Classic can even handle DVDs without any hiccups and (with the addition of RealAlternative) any RealMedia files, and you’ve got everything.

The inclusion QuickTime is to handle the various QuickTime streams you’ll find all over the web, and WinAmp, well, is WinAmp. The only MP3 player you’ll ever need. ‘Nuff said.

For those of you who prefer to have it all in one program can also try out VLC, which plays everything (yes, everything) under the sun.

There we go, my quick recommendations, which are, in my opinion, the  programs you NEED to get. I still don’t have the time to review all of them them yet, so why don’t you go check it out yourself?

Maybe I’ll cover some more programs on another post.

Till then, ja mata!

In a shocking move (at least to me), Sony Ericsson announced yesterday that besides the marvellous K800 3.2 MegaPix phone that they were planning on bringing out, they would also unleash onto the world two more W series hand phones. The W850i and W710i (adding to the existing, what, 7 phones already?) To a guy desperately trying to find the monetary resources to fund his latest quest of waste (buying a new handphone), it feels a mortal combat uppercut to the jaw. I have spent almost 3 months already deciding that I would get myself the w810i by hook or by crook, these two new phones would only shake up the careful balance of reasoning that I had built to support my choice of the W810i. Let us review that long train of thought, why I decided on getting myself the W810i: W300i = Pros: Its a godforsaken SE flip phone (which I love to death, after my quick encounter with the z200), cheap (relatively), external memory expansion (even if it did use the exorbitantly expensive M2 card), available in black. Cons: No 2 MP cam (only half a MP), a crappy looking keypad (real personal opinion), low-er resolution UI, not out yet. W550i = Pros: Cheapest one out there right now, sexy swivel form factor, loud (as hell) speakers, adequate (256MB? barely) storage space. Cons: Is there any guarantee that the swivel mechanism won’t spring open in a few years (personal fear)? No external memory expension, crampy keypad, cam (1.3MP) lacks the autofocus of the W800i and 810i (but is better then the one on the W300i). Finally, my lil sis’ already using it ^_^. W700i = Pros: The long lost twin of the W800i. Everything on the W800i except the autofocus (what?!) and the colour scheme. Cons: Probably the same as the W800i. W800i = Pros: The original WalkmanPhone. Cheaper then the W810i by quite a long shot (RM200-400 here in Malaysia), autofocus 2MP cam, long batt life (in comparison with the w810i), camera cover, uses the cheap (cheap-er) MSPD rather then the M2. Cons: The infamous "joystick problems", the hissing issue with the media player (supposedly no more firmware is going to be released to fix that), not very droppable (a friend dropped a W800i a few months back and the external speaker stopped working). W810i = Pros: Everything the W810i is, but in black. BLACKKKKK!!! No joystick in sight (although some have argued that the button in the middle of the 5-way keypad is nothing more then a reduced movement joystick), probably the last W series hand phone with autofocus (now that the W700, W710 and W850 seem to have lost this ability) and therefore the last true offspring (or at least it seems so) borne out of the marriage of the Walkman brand and the SE K series imaging hand phones. Uses MSPDs. The brightest display this side of a Samsung (Loses to the ROKR E2 tho, just to be fair). Did I mention it was all black? Cons: My saving’s currently RM500 short of the list price of RM1 900++(Original Set), the hiss problem is still present (according to forums I’ve been through), shorter battery life in comparison with the W800i, no more drop-worthy then the W800i. W900i = Pros: Huge internal memory (470MB), sexy swivel form factor, available in black, 2MP cam with a combined autofocus macromode system, 3G ready, MSPD expension. Cons: Price (RM2500++ last I checked. I can get a brand new original Nokia N91 with that kind of money), not to mention it’s huge. The swivel mechanism is still worry inducing. W950i = Pros: 4GB of internal flash memory, UIQ Symbian interface, touch (not to mention huge) screen, A2DP (wireless bluetooth audio). Cons: Purely from the pictures I’ve seen, it huge-er then the W900i, which can’t be good; lack of autofocus, or for that matter, any form of imaging capabilities (no camera!!!!). One final addition: For all SE phones, there are no exchangable covers (ala Nokia’s Xpress-On system). Now for the non-SE WalkPhone alternatives: Nokia 3250 = Pros: Cheaper then the W810i, Symbian S60 interface, SDMicro expension (hugely cheaper then the members of the Sony Memory Stick family). Cons: 2MP cam without autofocus (or flashlight for that matter), most online reviews have expressed how the music player sounds crappier and the camera quality is worse then the SE WalkPhones (for the record, I haven’t tried it myself though. Maybe later). Dubious (at least to me) swing form factor, crappy phone to external (not the ones supplied) head phone connection system (again, no personal experience. It just looks like a Pop-port version of my N-Gage external headphone connectors, which is flimsy and fragile). Nokia N91 = Pros: Symbian S60 interface, 4GB hard drive, 3.5inch head phone jack built-in, music player interface and output quality, 3G, WiFi on a phone!!!. Cons: It’s a hard disk for god’s sake, imagine what would happen if I were to drop it (as I always do to every other phone I’ve ever used)? Online reviews have express some doubts about the quality of its 2MP cam, which (again) lacks autofocus. Besides, its almost as big as the W900i. Price (Last I checked, it went around at RM2500, better buy in my opinion rather then the W900i). Battery life’s a worry (it uses the BL-5C, the same battery I’m currently using on my N-Gage classic for God’s sake!) Nokia 5500 Sport = Pros: Symbian S60 interface. SDMicro expension. It looks sturdy as hell. Cons: Not really a dedicated music phone. 2MP lacks autofocus (yeah, yeah, I know that’s getting kinda old) Now, for the party crasher; the newly announced W710i (didn’t include the W850i because I’m a bit partial towards slider phones, in the sense that I hate them): W710i = Pros: A flip that is everything the W300i is not. Nicer keypad layout, external memory expension (M2), 2MP cam, new design head phones. I can’t stress enough that the keypad looks hugely better then the W300i’s. Probably cheaper then the W810i, A2DP. And one more time, ITS A FLIP! Cons: The cost of the M2, no autofocus for the camera, no flashlight either, not any more droppable then the W800i-810i, even if it is a sport-phone. Still miles and miles away from the market (I haven’t even seen the W300i yet). EDIT: I omitted another competitor by mistake. Here we go, Motorola’s lone representative: ROKR E2 = Pros: Mobile-Review.Com goes as far as calling it "the best phone of its class" (music phones), so it must amount to something? As it seems, it has wonderful music quality, A2DP, a 3.5inch jack built in, SD Card expension, THE BEST DISPLAY of its kind (beating even the Samsungs) and, get this, it runs a Linux derivative (JUIX) on an Intel Xscale processor rated at 208MHz. Besides that, it has the best UI I’ve ever seen on a Motorola yet and even has Opera Mobile 8 build in. Its expected to be affordable too, probably priced below the RM2000 bracket. Cons: The cam’s only 1.3MP without autofocus, and the cam pic quality is deplorable (hugely worse, it seems, even if compared to my sis’ W550i), personal problems with reliability of built in 3.5inch jacks (I busted all the jacks on my previous 3 MP3 players in around 4 months average, FastPort seems more reliable as in it disconnects easily) Besides, its a Motorola, and having used a Moto before (the first colour screen one, forgot the model), I’m a bit biased against them to be truthful. Now THAT’S a party crasher. A hugely capable hand phone from Motorola? Now I have TWO phones on KIV status: the W710i AND the ROKR E2. And the final verdict (once more): The W810i, basically because of the fact that it has autofocus, uses MSPDs and the screen. I don’t really need A2DP, although it’s still hard to let go of the W710i, which I’m going to keep close in view; and the music, interface and screen quality of the ROKR E2 also seems tempting, even if it is a Motorola. (Most of the info I compiled in writing this comes from Google and also my own demented mind, and represents my own personal opinions on the matter)

エイラクの憂鬱にようこそ! Eiraku no Yuuutsu ni Youkoso! A sentence that explains much of what makes up my life, which to you who are intimately familiar with the current state of Japanese Animation and Manga, is the the direct result of a convoluted marriage two of the most interesting (in my opinion) products ever to arise out of "the Land of the Rising Number of So-not-for-the-kiddies-cartoons-and-comics". NHK ni Youkoso! and Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu. Being a twenty-one year old teacher trainee in Malaysia does make it slightly strange (or at least for my colleagues) for me to have such a (almost unnatural) liking towards Japanese anime/manga and the Japanese culture in general. Some would go as far as saying that I have forgotten my roots as a Malay, but to me, since when being part of a certain race requires me to leave no room for the accommodation and assimilation of other cultures and norms. And all this cultural mixing and splicing would be impossible if not for the existence of the Internet. For a moment, let is ponder the quint beginnings of this almost invisible infrastructure that has supported the development of intercultural communications to this very day. ARPANET, the father of the Internet as we know it. Born sometime in 1969, it was around the ’80s - about the time that I was conceived (which my mother keeps on reminding me happened in the US) - that the interconnected network known as ARPANET began to be accepted into widespread use, forming itself slowly from that moment on to become what we now know as the World Wide Web. Boundless information is now at the fingertips of all that wish it. With every bit of knowledge and culture that you can put your hands on for the taking, it is no wonder that some - for the fear of losing their very selves in this glut of information - denounce the Net as nothing more then Globalist conspiracy, hell bent in subjugating the future generation to prepare the world for some sort of new global order. Although I myself do not deny that this (although far-fetched sounding to some) theory might be true, the Net for me is simply what it is for all those other people of there using it, a hugely important tool of communications and information gathering. Allowing this Malay teacher trainee from Shah Alam to meet his calling: watching cute, deformed cartoon characters from Japan do everything on TV that reality would deny them otherwise. Hail the power of the Net. And so, begins my third (yes, 3rd) delve into the world of Instant Thought Publishing, also known as blogging. First it was at Upsaid (lasted through something like 12 entries or something like that), then it was another blog here at Blogsome (under the name "paradoxicalities". Yes, I know nobody would bother to type that up). Again I can’t help but wonder how long this one would last. Watch this space.