Maybe we can take a day off from staring at the rectangle screen and enjoy the company of real people, I’m sure nothing disastrous will happen if we don’t log in for a day or two. Really… Even emails can wait for a day or two (unless you’re running an e-commerce site - then you probably have not much choice).

This one however must be given notice because it came from Google - the Internet’s undisputed giant that is trying to find ways to venture outside of search engine. Will it be successful? It’s Gmail offering is wildly popular and has now unseat Yahoo and Hotmail off the free-webmail throne. Google’s online apps however has not been anywhere successful.

I’ve downloaded and installed the beta version of Chrome after watching the impressive yet easy to understand comic style Chrome technology guide. That was the second time this week that I have enjoyed serious stuff explained using the comic medium; the first one being the recently launched Dr M’s biography.

I’ve yet to play with it but the first impression is nice. Quickly checked my favorite sites and all of them rendered properly (the close relationship with Mozilla helps I suppose).

• It launched quickly and I love the minimalist design - all the screen-space reclaimed.
• Can’t comment much on websites’ rendering speed - our Streamyx line not exactly a reliable indicator.. sigh.
• Arckk.. where’s the bookmark link?
• There’s the ‘Incognito Window’ for privacy browsing. That’s cool
• What about Firefox add-ons? Can’t live without them… have to watch out for the portability news
• Got built in text area zoom in. Nice, though I don’t use it much
• Somebody commented that “Anyone bother reading the EULA? Congratulations to our commenters commenting using Chrome. While you still own your comment, google owns the right to use it.” Go to clause 11.1 to 11.3 of the License Agreement - yuckk.

It looks promising but I’m not sure that I’m ready to ditch Firefox yet and make this the default browser. Please let me know what you think of this new development?

So, when EPL started its 2008/09 season this week, yours truly is happy at last. And so far, it seemed that the new season is promising. Scolari, whom I admired, managed to start Chelsea with aplomb. ManUtd fumbled in the opening game against Newcastle. Torress recued his team yet again and newboy, Hull City, managed to whip old-wheezer Fulham. Ahh…. football bliss.

Beside the game and the goals, one thing that managed to capture my interest is AirAsia. I believe that they had managed another coup by being the shirt sponsor for the EPL game officials i.e the men in black. Many times, when the ball went out and the camera zoomed on the line official, you can’t help but noticing the toned-down red AirAsia.com logo at the back of the shirt (or in the case of the referee as pictured above, at the sleeve) contrasting against the black shirt.

I’m sure it cost them less than being a ManUtd official airline (yet the team came to Malaysia on MAS) or to advertise on ground stands. Yet, these shirts will be worn on all matches and shown at all teams. Cameras also will zoom on these officials when the game paused - so eyes of the viewers are focused. Great bang for bucks they say.

I’ve yet to see any bragging articles from AirAsia in the media but I believe, once again they have shown shrewdness, thinking outside the box, in their brand promotion. Well done and this is something that all Malaysian companies (especially ahemm… the big brother airline) should take note and learn.

It appears that the software that managed to put a PC on every desk will soon be retired. Very hard to imagine the ubiquitous Windows no longer running our lives. Yet this is what a new report has suggested.

Apparently this is Microsoft’s strategy for survival in the future. Prompted by the steamrolling usage of OS-independent Internet and failure of Windows Vista, internal documents of Microsoft have described a project codenamed Midori that seemed to be a marked departure from Windows OS.

Midori is centred on the internet and does away with the dependencies that tie Windows to a single PC. It is seen as Microsoft’s answer to rivals’ use of “virtualisation” as a way to solve many of the problems of modern-day computing.

It is also supposed to be a cut-down version of the humongous size of Vista. Yeah right… I’ll believe it when I see it. And judging from Microsoft’s recent track record, the clean final version will probably arrive sometime like 2015.

(more…)

Now… my dearie… I want my iPhone 3G!!

It was reported that Apple managed to sell 1 million units of iPhone 3G in its first weekend of sales all round the globe. That was incredible. Not as much as the 8 million download a day for Firefox 3 but Firefox is free. In this case, people has to queue for hours just to get their hands on that darn shiny sexy units. And then has to endure frustrating activation failure some more. It would be a riot but for those irate-customer-friendly staff at AT&T.

After all those dreadful rumors we’ve been getting via SMS, the best rumor must be that Maxis will soon be bringing in those iPhone 3G. Even better, it was rumored that it will be selling for less than RM1,000.

Not bad huh.. A check on the club’s website showed sponsorship from a big name, Eurostar and merchandise tie-up with Nike.

In Malaysia, we are now talking about the ‘new media’ becoming mainstream media. Now, apparently, online community are also making its presence felt on the pitch and connected with real people. Wow…

I would surely love the idea of a standard that is available for anyone to build their applications. Imagine if we could build our own add-ons for HTC,SE,Nokia smartphones. The ability to develop applications as add-on is the real killer-apps for succes stories like Facebook or Firefox. It can be an avenue for our entreprising Petaling Street vendors - modified smartphones GUI and applications for as low as RM30 each. This time - it could be legit though.

Check out the video of the keynote presentation of Google’s I/O below. It’s a long video and the Android demo is on 23 min:

This is old theme lah, in fact it was a buzzword back in 1999 and the company I was with then also jumped on the bandwagon. In fact UC (as it is now being dearly referred to by the forumers yesterday) has died a slow death since then.

Apparently, UC now is having second lease of life and all three speakers put the blame on the increased state of connectivity in our society - globally. For example, IM (instant messaging) has continued to flourish at the office space despite futile attempt by IT managers to get staff away from chit-chatting via IM. In fact, Malaysia scored a high >75% usage of IM in office space.

The speakers also identified the next generation of work-force to be highly Internet-literate - dubbed Screenagers by the IDC-guy and Digital Native by the IBM guy. These next generation will be hitting the workforce in the next 5 years or so and they typically spent 99% of their waking time facing the screen. They will expect to do work-things online and this is expected to have a big impact on how companies need to adopt to attact this generation as their customers, suppliers and staffs.

Personally I’m not a big fan of do-it-all gadgets and prefer dedicated item for dedicated function. For example, the 4-in-1 printer cum scanner cum copier cum fax is a great idea. But imagine if oneof the function screwed up (which invariably they would) you would lose the functionality of all the others as well.

Likewise, if we use UC - if the system’s IM component got hit with a flu, chances are the whole voice, email and fax will got hit as well. that would be a bloody disaster and for an SME, something that you simply can’t afford to have. So, let’s wait and see whether this UC dream will turn up like 3G’s Video Call flop - or not.

Against conventional thinking, the best loved games on Wii do not boast of super-realistic rendering but maintained the mould (albeit souped up) of the lovable Mario Bros. And I love their wireless control. I swear it will make a good exercise playing their tennis and sports games. That alone is good enough for my lovely-other-half to agree for Wii as the next b’day gift. Wiihee!

So it’s no surprising when Reggie (Nintendo America) proudly proclaim that the average Wii sits on shelf for only half an hour before it got sold. 17 months after launch and Wii is still sold out in North Americ - amazing!

I’m sure there’s one on the shelf of that game-shop in 1U and it’s got my name on it!

Okay, most of us learn about UFOs in TV programs and movies. There’s plentiful of them ranging from crass comedy to seductively scientific. There are also various groups who’ve dedicated their lives in studying and trying to prove or disprove each UFO sighting claims.

Some claims that advanced construction demonstrated by ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilisations are due to visiting aliens that taught them how to build those fancy pyramids. We all have this images in our mind - the simple Mayan folks peacefully tending to their slash and burn crops and chasing after wild pigs, suddenly they came across these shining machinery with flashing lights and strange looking people with strange looking clothes. The Mayans gave them gifts, submit themselves and their women to this stranger and in return the aliens gave them new technology.

Fancy schmancy science fiction you said? What if I tell you that all this could be happening right now? I mean now.. as in year 2008 on our very own planet Earth?

Actually this could very well be the situation in Amazon, one of the few remaining unchartered territories of the world. A report on National Geographic highlights the plight of “Unseen Tribes” in the Amazon that may be threatened by Oil Explorations in the otherwise unspoilt thick tropical jungles.

Check out the following comments on Oil Company’s circular to their staffs where they take seriously the potential threat caused by meeting of two civilisations. (Bear in mind the UFO visualisation just now)

The two documents, obtained by National Geographic News, advise workers to be on the lookout for footprints, spears, arrows, and other signs of humans.

The Barrett manual advises workers that uncontacted natives might become curious about noises, helicopters, and lights, causing them to leave items that signal a desire to make contact with workers.

Such items may include “vessels containing valuable seeds or plantain drinks, necklaces, baskets, snails, gourds, feathers or other objects used for exchange,” the document says.

Both plans prohibit workers from having any contact with natives or giving them food or other objects.

The documents order workers to treat Indians peacefully, making efforts to protect them from illnesses. If unintended contact is made, the manuals instruct guides to initiate communication with natives in local tongues.

If peaceful dialogue cannot be established, according to the Repsol document, workers should attempt to make loud noises with whistles, shouts, and megaphones.

Now, replace the “natives” with ancient Mayans or Egyptians and the helicopter of the Oil Company with the UFOs. You can bet that these natives will see the Oil Company’s staff with colorful overall very much like those Aliens.

Maybe not as dramatic, but we are as alien to them (big head, shiny glasses, etc..etc) as the aliens-from-space. Now…if you add to that the element of time-slip or parallel world….

[update 1 June 2008]

Members of an unknown Amazon Basin tribe and their dwellings are seen during a flight over the Brazilian state of Acre along the border with Peru in this May, 2008 photo distributed by FUNAI, the government agency for the protection of indigenous peoples. Notice how the tribe members were aiming their bows and arrows at the helicopter crew.