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| Monday November 13, 2006 | | 21:38 PM - bktoh |  Was invited for a sneak preview of an import Playstation 3 unit.
It was a revelation seeing the PS3 in 1080p glory (courtesy of a Marantz 1080p DLP projector), projected onto 100+ inches of the awesome Stewart Firehawk screen. Have to admit the Ridge Racer 7 (RR7) for the PS3 in 1080p looks pretty damn good.
So I came back to test out Ridge Racer 6 (RR6) on my XBox360 in 1080p and 720p 
Here's my take..I am not sure if it is my display but I found that VGA seems to provide significantly sharper picture than component for the XBox 360. In terms of definition, I found VGA comparable to the PS3's HDMI connection. Component looked blurrier to me.
Once it comes to technical superiority of the rendered images on screen, though, there are nuances in RR7 that are significantly superior.
The texture detail feels sharper in RR7. With RR6, some of the decal textures used look a tad lower res, and have been rescaled/smoothed to fit on the car. Winner RR7.
The cars' reflectivity seem more detailed. When you are overtaking cars, the reflection on the main car changed a little. It happened so fast, it was hard to tell if it was a "simulated" reflection, or if it was really a "computer generated" reflection of the cars being overtaken. Suffice to say, I was quite impressed. Winner RR7.
I really liked the "wet slightly reflective" road effect on RR7 too. It added a newer, more interesting road texture that I never saw in RR6. Winner RR7.
Also loved the nitro effect (slight heat-wave distortion around the exhausts) when they first fire up. Not found in RR6. Winner RR7.
And overall the 3D car models/meshes in RR7 also seem significantly more detailed (to me) than in RR6. I could even make out the detail in the rims, the tyres and even things like exhaust pipes attached to mufflers!!! Winner RR7.
Of course, when you are playing it, you probably wouldn't notice all this stuff But it was nice to sit back and appreciate these effects when someone else was playing.
Assuming the Ridge Racer teams working on RR6 and RR7 had as much time developing the 2 games, it does suggest some technological advantage on the PS3 (as you would expect after a year). I have seen comparable detail in PGR3, Burnout Revenge (both first generation titles) albeit in 30fps.
Of course, with a year of development under their belts now, developers of XBox 360's 2nd generation titles don't lose out too much. In fact, Gears of War looks pretty impressive, and IMHO looks better than Resistance on the PS3, with both running at 720p (Resistance does not support 1080p).
In terms of hooking up the connection, it seems a tad more complicated to configure the PS3 to run off HDMI. You would need to boot with component or composite cables first, configure the system settings to run on HDMI, then switch over in 30 seconds. Seems kinda convoluted to me.
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| | Tuesday October 17, 2006 | | 18:44 PM - kan |  I was eating my apple when I nearly fell off my chair after seeing this magazine cover which looks suspiciously like our dear editor Wymun! A few quick blown-ups of the PDF file confirmed the fact that it is indeed him - squeezed into a huge suitcase and happily playing with his Dopod 838 Pro.
Oh well, if you are interested to read about the newly setup Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE), you can read the story here or download the PDF from here or here (mirrored).
TODO: Get myself featured in some magazine some day. 
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| | Friday September 22, 2006 | | 21:46 PM - kan | As you probably know, the page you are seeing right now is powered by our rather old web server called ‘Skyline’, named after the infamous Nissan Skyline car which achieved cult status back in the 1990s.
Skyline has served us rather well over the past 3 or 4 (?) years running 24/7, 365 days a year. Today I had a fright when I noticed abnormally large number of phantom processes running on the system. A quick check shows that one of the RAID drives failed and was causing considerable problems to the operating system’s filesystem. A remote reboot did not bring up the server and I managed to pop by to the data centre for a quick investigation.
I spent the next 45 minutes trying to fix all sorts of weird filesystem errors ranging from corrupted indexes to cross-linked filesystem blocks to missing inodes. Ha! So much for RAID….
Anyway, a few reboots later I managed to nurse her back to health. But I have a deep suspicion some of the files on her are permanently corrupted – and I have no idea what these files are.
Perhaps it is time for a hardware upgrade again? Below is a shot of our beloved Skyline.
Also, I was also poking around the security log messages and noticed the usual ‘suspects’ trying to gain unauthorized access to our server. I can only say:
GO AWAY, PLEASE
Sep 22 18:58:42 skyline sshd[11489]: error: Could not get shadow information for NOUSER
Sep 22 18:58:42 skyline sshd[11489]: Failed password for invalid user root from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port 60557 ssh2
Sep 22 18:58:44 skyline sshd[11491]: Invalid user test from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Sep 22 18:58:44 skyline sshd[11491]: error: Could not get shadow information for NOUSER
Sep 22 18:58:44 skyline sshd[11491]: Failed password for invalid user test from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port 60823 ssh2
Sep 22 18:58:46 skyline sshd[11493]: Invalid user test from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Sep 22 18:58:46 skyline sshd[11493]: error: Could not get shadow information for NOUSER
.
.
.
Sep 22 19:28:46 skyline sshd[11493]: Failed password for invalid user test from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port 32883 ssh2
Sep 22 19:28:46 skyline sshd[11495]: Invalid user webmaster from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Sep 22 19:28:46 skyline sshd[11495]: error: Could not get shadow information for NOUSER
Sep 22 19:28:46 skyline sshd[11495]: Failed password for invalid user webmaster from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port 33631 ssh2
Back at the data center, my friend was showing me his medium format Rolleiflex camera. Looks really cool but hey, I still prefer to get the Nikon D200 anytime.
A shot of his Rolleiflex camera:
Till then, later.
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| | Wednesday September 13, 2006 | | 13:35 PM - kan |  Wow, it has been a long time since there were any updates. I guess most of us were really busy with big and secret projects - designing new micro-kernel architecture for AMD, overclocking our cars’ ECUs, figuring out which are the tablespaces that store our money in the bank's database and having fun with other things in life. I met up with Wymun and Wilfred last night and were discussing the things we used to do on this site. Honestly, we cherish readers like you who are still clicking to Hardware One every now and then.
Recently Wymun passed me his new Maxtor 320GB SATA-2 hard drive to backup some of my files. Strangely, the hard drive failed to work on my MSI Neo2 Platinum nForce3 motherboard, even after performing a somewhat delicate 'surgery' to move the tiny jumper to SATA 1 (1.5 Gb/s) mode. My operating system would hang if I try to format the hard drive and Event Viewer will spew out something like this:
After much probing and googling, it seems like there were indeed some compatibility problems in the drive’s firmware with nForce3 and nForce4 motherboards.
A quick mail to Maxtor confirmed this fact and they were quick to send me a new firmware to upgrade the hard drive. But their usual warning says:
Applying firmware to a drive that is not authorized by Maxtor will void the warranty on the drive as this would be considered an unauthorized modification. Please see Maxtor's Limited Warranty Statement for more information.
Will try the firmware upgrade tonight and see if it works.
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| | Wednesday August 16, 2006 | | 22:38 PM - wymun |  My Dopod 818 Pro's speaker died on me recently, only after 6 mere months of usage.  I was all set to get it repaired at SIS, until I uncovered the horror stories and unreasonable turn-around times that customers had to endure - 1 to 3 weeks of waiting! In my view, this was something I couldn't afford, as I did not own a second phone and relied heavily on my mobile for office use....
So it was timely, when Dopod launched its next WM5 Pocket PC phone variant - the 838 Pro, which of course gave me the perfect upgrade excuse. Furthermore, I was looking for a new contract in any case, and had some handphone subsidy to use up for the year...
The Dopod 838 Pro's key attractions (IMO) lies in its 3G functionality (i.e. about 40% cheaper data access for me, c.f. GPRS), packaged in an acceptable form factor (i.e. only slightly longer and thicker than the Dopod 818 Pro), which concurrently adopts the widespread and growing WM5 OS. Guess this can be classified as one of the most compact 3G WM5 phones around to-date
So I popped down to Bugis Junction Hello! shop, just prior to National Day weekend, and picked one up at just over S$900 (with 2 yr plan). Heh...So what are my impressions, thus far?
The 838 Pro certainly sports a faster 400MHz Samsung processor (c.f. Dopod 818 Pro), which is evident as one can maneuver quickly about the OS, with much less lag than before. The slide-out keyboard is also easy to use, which comes in handy especially for typing long messages. There is also a light sensor embedded on the casing, which lights up the keyboard (in blue) automatically in dark areas - a thoughtful addition.
But what's a real godsend is the packaged Worldcard mobile software (Penpower). This allows one to scan in namecards (via the inbuilt camera) and via its OCR algorithms, extract out the necessary fields into your contacts autonomously! Accuracy is pretty amazing (prob >85%), requiring little corrections after each scan!
The inbuilt camera offers similar picture quality to the Dopod 818 Pro, but seems to have a slightly quicker refresh rate in dark areas, probably due to the faster onboard processor. The camera also comes with an accompanying flash, but is probably only effective for close-range subjects. The camera software is improved though, offering EV adjustments (or at least, fictitious adaptations of it)...
Bluetooth seems decent enough. Well, at least it pairs and works well with my Motorola HS850 handsfree headset, and syncs properly with my Samsung office notebook, without a hitch.
Wifi also works well. One can choose between 3 different levels of signal strength for Wi-Fi, to suit one's location and conserve power.
3G is indeed faster for internet surfing (c.f. GPRS). However, I have yet to try out a 3G video-call, nor attempted to stream video data, so I can't really comment too much on it's viability in those aspects.
Voice-call quality is generally good, and if I'm not mistaken, clearer than the 818 Pro ever was. Skype 2.0 Pocket PC also works well on the 838 Pro, which I believe the 818 Pro lacked, owing to its slower processor, which failed to meet minimum requirements previously...
Battery life thus far, seems to be as good, or even better than the 818 Pro, surprisingly! 
Presently, casings for the 838 Pro are rare and few. In fact, I had to make a special trip to DOML in New Bridge Center to get one that fits properly, which also accommodates the sliding nature of the keyboard. :|
A major qualm is the missing Phonepad application that had been included in the 818 Pro. Whilst the 838 Pro's sliding keyboard does offer a faster means for input, the Phonepad application is inevitably useful for short text-messages and more importantly, offers an option for one-handed input. Hope Dopod will include this back in the next ROM upgrade...
More impressions to follow, as I'm still exploring the phone. But thus far, I'm pretty satisfied with the upgrade. Now, just keeping my fingers crossed that the speaker doesn't die again...
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| | Friday July 07, 2006 | | 21:44 PM - bktoh | Having used the new Sony Ericsson m600i for the last couple of days as my mobile phone as well as Blackberry client, I feel I shd give an update on how this whole setup works.
First up, the new QWERTY layout. Sure, it isn't as ergonomic as my Dopod but the predictive text is surprisingly good. not only does it give a list of usual word suggestions, it keeps track of yr previous entries so it also tries to predict groups of consecutive words. For instance after I type 'Sony', it automatically prompts 'Ericsson', then 'm600i' because that was the last sequence they appeared in.
To show you how good it is, I am actually writing this rant completely from the Sony Ericsson m600i.
As usual with bleeding edge stuff, there are some niggles with the m600i.
First, the memory leakage. This used to plague my old Sony Ericsson p800. looks like moving to UIQ3 has not solved that problem. A fresh reboot usually yields about 14+MB of usable memory, even though the system ships with 64MB. By the time it drops to 6MB (even with my fastidiousness in deleting my SMSs and emails), the whole system starts to crawl with every small operation.
This slowdown gets even worse when the charger is plugged in.
So, be prepared to give the system a hard reset every other day.
The other niggle I have has to do with the auto-capitalization. Sometimes, it works. Most of the time, like now, it doesn't, so I often have to delete my new sentences to correct an incorrect capitalisation.
Other small niggles include the 'inability' to turn on the volume for timer alarms when in silent mode. My old Sony Ericsson w900i had no such issues. In fact, it would even power itself on from a powered off state if the alarm was set.
Don't get me wrong. I really like this device. It's small and really compact for such a full set of features. I just hope Sony Ericsson can fix these minor niggles that I have.
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| | Wednesday July 05, 2006 | | 19:18 PM - bktoh | Remember how a while back I was raving about the Dopod 900? Well, it is a great all-in-one device.
But it is a big device and every so often, I wish I could grab something smaller, especially on the weekends. I am willing to live with some compromises, but getting access to my Blackberry email is not one of those I can really live without.
Recently, the options for Blackberry enabled mobile phones really opened up.
There was the usual suspect: Palm's Treo offered the usual alternative Palm OS based PDA phone to Microsoft's Windows Mobile based Dopod.
The thing is, having moved out of Palm OS for so long now, the new user interface felt strangely alien. Worse, the whole look and feel felt a lot like Blackberry's own handheld devices.
Which then brought me to the two Symbian alternatives:
First up, was the Nokia E61. This had virtually all the goodies of the Dopod, including 3G UMTS, WLAN as well as the usual GPRS/GSM based connectivity.
Like the Treo, the design of the E61 was a close replica of Blackberry's own devices. Like the Treo and Blackberries, I found the small keyboard a tad cramped. Doesn't help that I have such big stubby fingers and thumbs. After using the Dopod for so long, it was a real torture to hunt and peck my way around those keyboards.
Size-wise, these devices were smaller than the Dopod, but never quite small enough to make the switch compelling.
That was until I saw this:
It offered a Symbian OS, a full and usable touchscreen, an ingenious way of getting a full QWERTY keyboard on a phone not much bigger than my old k750i, and best of all, it had Blackberry support built-in.
It seemed like a dream come true.
First up, the compromises.
This is a very basic phone. Which means, no camera and no WLAN like the Dopod. That was OK. Cameras in phones usually lacked optical zoom and most used a very rudimentary CMOS sensor not unlike those used in webcams, which were noisy in low light conditions. And WLAN was such a battery sucker on the Dopod, it was only used for short bursts and for emergencies. If I really needed it, I guess I could always fire up my notebook.
OK, that's the compromise compared to the Dopod.
What about compared to regular Sony Ericsson phone features you might have come to take for granted. First up, the FM radio is gone. This might be a deal breaker for some, but luckily not for me. And the Media Player, while competent, didn't look even half as polished as the one in my old k750i, much less my old W900i Walkman phone. The built-in speaker was also not going to rock the house much.
I managed to dig up my old Walkman Phone handsfree: HPM-70 which bundled a pretty decent set of earphones and the sound quality again was just passable. No where near as bassy and clear as my old k750i and W900i.
But for my purposes, these are frills, and I can easily circumvent them with my iPod Nano and/or Exilim digital camera, if I really needed a more full featured media player or camera.
So how is the Blackberry on the m600?
Surprisingly good actually. While the keypad area is small, the two way action (left/right) buttons had enough surface area not to be too twiddly like with Blackberry, Treo or the Nokia.
If you are used to a normal QWERTY layout, this new design is very intuitive and very easy to familiarize. I still find the Dopod easier to navigate, especially when I am composing longer emails and need to look more "professional", i.e. using the right "capitalization" and correct punctuation marks, but the m600 still gets me there. The predictive text is handy (even if it isn't T9).
But there are a few caveats you need to watch out for.
Currently, you can upgrade the firmware to R3A on the Sony Ericsson official support website. You don't even need to go down to the Service Center. Just DIY on your PC at home.
Whatever you do... DON'T UPGRADE THE FIRMWARE. In fact, before buying the phone, ask the shop to verify that the firmware installed is the original shipping firmware aka R1A.
This is because the Blackberry client only works with the R1A firmware. My colleague found out the hard way. And worse, there is no way to downgrade the firmware.
And getting the Blackberry client was a pretty long nightmare process too. I had expected the client to be bundled with the phone since all the press releases for the m600 indicated it had Blackberry support. Alas, it was not to be. My friend and I got ding donged from Sony Ericsson's call center to their Service Center trying to find the elusive .SIS file to no avail.
In the end, I called up Singtel Mobile and they were kind enough to send it to me. My friend got the same file, courtesy of Starhub, along with the updated Blackberry Connect Desktop for Sony Ericsson, which you will need to pair your email service with your Blackberry client.
Overall, though, I have no regrets. This is a pretty great device. It's small, and fits into my pants pockets without sagging the whole side down and gives me my Blackberry email service on the go.
But to be honest, I do worry about Blackberry's future. Microsoft's competing push-mail is getting a lot more traction from mobile phone manufacturers and often come pre-installed with the phone (like my m600 and various Nokia models), so this does not require a convoluted installation process like the way my friend and I found out with the Blackberry route. In fact, my Dopod has had to run with an older firmware (v1.20) from T-Mobile to support Blackberry. The newest firmware (v1.30) comes with Microsoft Push Mail support, which will conflict with the Blackberry software. This is bad because the new firmware also fixes a lot of old bugs in my old v1.20 firmware including Bluetooth connection dropping out and a slower buggier interface.
Also, Microsoft's pushmail service comes bundled free with Exchange 2003 with the right service pack. This could be a very tempting proposition to enterprises who don't wish to pay for extra hardware for Blackberry servers and extra licences.
Right now, Blackberry still has some breathing room because they have already built up a very credible installed base in the Enterprise space, but if they keep making it difficult for users to find alternative handsets (other than their own), Microsoft's proposition may just be more attractive in the long run. Let's face it, how many of us really cherish the idea of carrying a separate device for Blackberry if a single device could take care of everything.
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