Wednesday 27th, 2010 was probably the most anticipated day for all geeks and techies out there. After a long buzzing rumor dated back from 2002, Apple finally announced the highly anticipated iPad. A device which is supposedly a mind-blower, a game-changer, and an innovation-like-no-other. Based on the Job’s introduction, here’s what we know so far:

• 9.7″ IPS display panel (resolution at 1024×768). And multi-touch, obviously.
• New Apple A4 processor at 1GHz.
• Wi-fi A/B/G/N, Bluetooth 2.1, and 3G (optional) for connectivity.
• 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB storage.
• Up to 10 hours of usage and approx. 1 month standby time.
• Using iPhone OS 3.2 (all iPhone/iPod Touch apps will run without modification).
• Priced from $499 up to $899 depends on the configuration.

And then came the reaction…

So far there’s more hate than love on this piece of device. Here’s why: I think people got consumed too deep by the rumors out there. Even months before the product launch, people already had their own ideas on what the device should be and what it should be able to do. Basically they want this to be perfect according to their own needs or wants. And after the keynote, all the hate comments started to flood gadget blogs, tech sites, etc. Is this an Apple fault? abse-frakin-lutely not. Apple never promised us anything in the first place. In fact, they kept it discreet until the very last minute. It’s the consumers who got tangled up in those hot rumors and sleek mockups across the internet.

What Apple did here is just: They think there’s a market for a third-tier product between the iPhone and the Macbook, they build it according to their own specifications around the iPhone OS kernel so most people will feel familiar on how to use it (thus reducing the learning curve), and then they launch it. That’s it. Plain and simple. It’s just happen that along the process, the rumors were built up sky-high. High enough for people got disappointed (some even got angry) because the product isn’t what they have in mind.

That being said, I for one, am still wrapping up my mind on what iPad can do. I’m not fall for it instantly, but I don’t hate it as well. Watching the keynote, I’m a bit skeptical about the target market of this product. By the way I still am. But when I start to think of what the iPad can do, I realize there’s huge potential here (more on this in a sec). There are a lot of amazing things that you can do with a touch screen this big. I’m pretty sure the success of iPad will be determined by the third-party app developers.

The potentials

Below are some ideas of what may be a killer app or feature on the iPad.

On games: Okay here we go, imagine if StarCraft 2 is ported as an iPad app. You control your squad using multi-touch with the help of a few buttons in the toolbar and a HUD map which can be enlarged, zoomed, and re-positioned. I bet you feel like a total commander now. I think iPad is a great platform for real-time and turn-based strategy. Blizzard, I hope you read this, tower defense is so 2008.

On productivity: We all know iPad’s version of iWork looks neat and all. And I’m sure all of you know how it works by now. But let’s forget about office productivity. Let’s focus on image editing. Back in the day with iPhone & iPod Touch, there’s only so much we can do in terms of image editing. Don’t believe me? try Photoshop Mobile app. But anyway, imagine you can run Adobe Photoshop Lightroom full version (or Aperture) on iPad. Assuming you’re a photographer, you’re on field assignment. Instead of carrying bulky and heavy laptop, you carry an iPad (allow me to remind you that this is an IPS panel device we’re talking about). And heck say you can shoot in tethered mode too with an iPad Camera Connection Kit. How convenient could that be. I bet a lot of photogs will be more than excited with this idea.

Based on those 2 ideas above, I’m already excited about the possibilities it offers. So much more can be done with this device. The sky is the limit here, it’s up to the developers now to utilize its full potential. I’m pretty sure in the next few months we’ll here more about the product and the apps. But for now, I can say I’m pretty excited.

Image courtesy of Apple.

The first iPhone was released back in 2007. And since then, there’s been 2 more hardware updates in the form of iPhone 3G and 3GS. We don’t see many people these days with iPhone 2G in their pockets, most of them have already upgraded to the latest version. I, on the other hand, am one of the very few who stick on the 2G.

The biggest reason that keeps me away from upgrading is that I didn’t find all the improvements are significant enough. Of course every time Apple announces a new version of the device, I’m drooling like a 5 year old staring at an ice cream parlor. But when it’s decision time, I always ended up not upgrading. Lots of factors involved, and here are some:

The form factor:

2G:

• Solid metal case.
• Two-tone color combination of silver and black (small part).
• Non-standard headphone jack.

3G & 3GS:

• Plastic case.
• Curvy edges.
• Standard headphone jack.

Verdict: Material-wise, I prefer the metal casing since it doesn’t scratch easily although the two-tone makes it less elegant. The plastic case is a heavy finger print magnet, which is a big push back for me. I don’t have issues with the non-standard headphone jack since I only use their standard headphone. All in all, both has its pros and cons, but none of them is a clear winner here. No upgrade.

Connectivity:

2G:

• Standard GSM, WiFi, and bluetooth.

3G & 3GS:

• Standard GSM, WiFi, and stereo bluetooth (A2DP).
• UMTS/3G enabled.
• Built-in GPS.MMS.

Verdict: Now these are what I called worth-upgrading factors. Before 3G, iPhone was just a regular phone with regular or even less functions. But with the release of 3G, they really took it up a notch. 3G connectivity, GPS, and MMS are pretty standard features on mobile phones these days, so I don’t see why they’re not there in the first place. Worth upgrade.

Camera & Video:

2G & 3G:

• 2 Megapixel.
• No video recording.

3GS:

• 3 Megapixel.
• Tap to focus.
• With video recording.

Verdict: Personally, I only use the camera just for fun. When I find something interesting, I snap a photo or two, upload them to Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr. And for that purpose, I find the 2mp camera on the 2G is more than sufficient. I don’t expect crisp images out of it, for than kind of photos I have my DSLR at my disposal. Let’s not continue to the video recording capability because I probably won’t use it even if mine has one. I’m not a video guy. I visit Youtube maybe once a month, or even less. No upgrade.

Software & other features:

2G & 3G:

• OS 3.1.2 (latest as of Jan. 2010).

3GS:

• Performance bump (S is for speed after all).
• Compass.
• Voice control.

Verdict: Although 3GS is snappier, I don’t have a problem with the speed of 2G. And as long as it can keep up with the latest OS version, it’ll be enough for me. However, there’s a rumor saying OS 4.0 will be available only for 3G and 3GS. If that’s true, then it’ll be a different story. No upgrade.

All things considered, I decided I can live with my 2G iPhone. However, there are things I’d like to see in the new version (which hopefully will be released later on this year, maybe summer 2010). The most important is the UI. After all these years, I’m a little bit bored with the UI. Sure it’s effective, but it’s too plain and not sleek anymore. A haptic feedback is also nice to have as an improvement. Dont’ get me wrong, I can type accurately on my iPhone. But having a little bit better sense of tapping/typing is somewhat convenient. Last but not least, I’m hoping it’ll go back to metal case (preferably back) and of course OLED display.

If everything is according to my hoping, I’ll definitely make the jump when the new version comes around. After all, mine is 2 years old now (the longest time I’ve had with a single mobile phone). We’ll see. Amuse me Apple!

It’s a fresh start of the year 2010, and what’s the better way than to reflect on some of the best movies released in 2009. Being such a huge movie fan, it turned out to be quite tricky put up such a short list out of God-knows-how-many movies last year. That being said, here are the champs starting from number 5:

5. The Hurt Locker

An amazing story about a daredevil bomb-squad soldier in Iraq. There’s a very emotional scene toward the end telling us why he keeps doing what he does, and what he has to sacrifice to do it.

4. Paranormal Activity

This one will creep the sh*t out of you. It reminds you of The Blair Witch Project back in ‘99 (in a good way). However I didn’t really enjoy watching TBWP just because the camera shake was a little bit to overwhelming for me. My head couldn’t take it and got dizzy as hell. However with Paranormal Activity, the scenes were well-shots and camera shake was minimum (props to the actors). You don’t see real ghosts like in any other horror movies. But let me say this, a few days after viewing the movie, my awareness level of the surrounding increased like ten fold (especially during night time).

3. Terminator Salvation

A lot of people throw harsh critiques on this one. But for me, Terminator series can never go wrong. The idea/story behind the series in my opinion is a pure genius. Skynet does exist people! It’s just that they’ go by ‘Google’ for now ;D

2. Avatar

3Gs: Ginormous. Gorgeous. Game-changer. Nuff’ said!

1. Inglourious Basterds

It’s combination of superb acting by Brad Pitt and crazy-style directing by Quentin Tarantino. It’s hilarious, it’s entertaining, it’s everything what you expect from a bunch of people doing what they do at their best. I do think this one is Quentin’s masterpiece.

That’s it! The top 5 best movies of 2008. Again, there are tons of movies released in 2009. Most of you will wonder why film A or film B is not included. That’s alright, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. All I can say is that cramping all those things into a list of 5 is a very tough job. So it’s only fair that I also mention some of those which almost made it to the list but fell short. Here they are:

• Brüno: Automatically-funny.
• Star Trek: A great way to start off an old series.
• The Ugly Truth: Should get an award for best comedy movie.

One more thing, I really want to put Sherlock Holmes in the list. The thing is I haven’t got the chance to watch it. It’s premiered early January ‘10 in the Netherlands. So that’s too bad. I really have a big expectation for this one, so hopefully the movie can live up to it. We’ll see.

Your faves not included? hit on comments, let me know. In fact, tell me your top 5.

Disclaimer:

This list is composed by my opinion only. I don’t judge movies the way the Academy Award does. My judgement is based solely on how entertained I am during the viewing process. Because that’s why we go see movies. To get entertained.

Okay it feels like ages since Blizzard annouced the upcoming release of Diablo III. And as we all know, they have this habit to do the announcement 2-3 years before the actual release date.

So in the mean time, meet Torchlight. A classic RPG by Runic Games which has a lot in common with the Diablo series. No surprise though since two of its developers, Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, were previously working on Diablo and Diablo II. If you’re a Diablo hardcore like me, you’ll get very familiar with it in the first 15 minutes or so.

There are 3 classes to choose: The Destroyer (a melee specialist), The Alchemist (a sort of magician), and The Vanquisher (a ranged combatant and trap master). You’ve got a pet which can carry the loot while you’re crawling the dungeon. You can even command it to go back to town to sell the loot so that you don’t have to go back and forth.

It’s got endless dungeon levels, gorgeous graphics, and it’s awfully cheap at $19.95. For now, it’s only available for PC. However the developers are working on a Mac version although there’s no actual release date yet.

More screens:

Inspired by the idea, I made myself one a while ago. First version was doing pretty good. It somehow got mentioned in several web design blogs like Six Revisions and Line25 among others (which is awesome). About a month ago, I came up with the second version, which I think will stick around for a while. Anyway, here’s how it looks:

Link:

Version 2 (latest) | Version 1

I wrote a tutorial recently for CreativityDen about fluid grid layout using jQuery. It’s pretty much about the basic concept and algorithm on how to compose such layout. It uses jQuery although it doesn’t have to be. You can use any Javascript library or even no library to achieve the same result.

Anyway, you can read the rest of the tutorial in the post entry.

Or try out the demo yourself to see how it works.

Finally after quite a wait, mine got delivered to my office last friday. Smashing Magazine has been my go-to resources for everything web design, usability, tips and tricks, and so much more since around 2006. And that’s why when they announced they have a book coming up, pre-ordering was quite an instant decision for me.

I’ve been reading a little bit over the weekend. Fast reading that is. See what kind of topics are there and how are they outlined throughout the book. And so far I like it. It’s well written, I mean really really well written (keeps remind me how lousy I am when it comes to writing). Also, the image illustrations are given in a good proportion, not less and not more than we need.

The only feedback that I have is the size. Both the book size and the font-size. I understand if its current size makes it portable and easy to carry around. But a little bit bigger would be nice. Because then they can throw bigger fonts and bigger images. After all, this is a ‘design’ book. The bigger it is, the easier to visualize (and to read).

Anyhow, if you’re into this kinda stuffs, and you haven’t ordered it already. You should. It’s a small price for such content.

I got this little witch toy figure a few weeks ago from the local supermarket. I was just about to throw it away when I thought why not make a picture first before this poor thing go away for good.

So there you go. Simple setup. One light on a white umbrella at 1/64th power, at 105mm. Flash was triggered by PocketWizard Plus II. Camera settings: 50mm, f/1.8, 1/50 sec. I used a portable bicycle lamp, a pair of glasses, and my iPhone to produce at least a decent bokeh in the background. Works pretty well I must say. (Small tip: If you happen to have a christmas tree at home, it would make a really gorgeous bokeh.)

Here are the setup:

Figure 1

Figure 2 – These light sources are about 1.5 meters behind the yellow table (around 5 feet for Americans)

Earlier this morning, a friend asked me why he should switch to a Mac. He’s been wanting a Mac computer for quite a while now but has yet been able to make the jump.So I thought why not make a list of pros and cons of using a Mac.

FYI, it’s not that long ago when I made my decision to switch OS. And that time, I didn’t really put a deep thought before I bought a Macbook Pro. Here’s why I bought mine back then:

1. I needed a new computer.
2. I don’t to re-format my computer every 6 months or so.
3. And hey, they look cool and I’ve been craving on one since the era of iBook G4.

Yes, it’s THAT simple for me. And now, 2 years later, my MBP is still going strong. He even has a little sister now (Macbook unibody, early 2008 model).

Okay back to topic now. Here’s the list I mentioned earlier based on my personal experience:

The pros:

• First of all, the product design is out-of-this-world. Every other products try to imitate it. Jony Ive is the man.
• It’s not totally virus/malware free, but it’s worry-free. Anti-virus is almost unnecessary.
• Spotlight search is mind-blowing. Windows search bar just plain sucks. Well, okay it’s better in Win7. But prior to that, it’s just not usable. You search for ‘A’ and you get ‘B’, or even nothing.
• Every app you used in Windows is available in Mac. If not, there are alternatives, which are equal if not better.
• It runs Windows.

The cons:

• Games, games, and games. Only major titles got a Mac version. None of which I played or liked at all (and yes, I don’t play WoW for so many reasons). But I’m so relieved Blizzard will release Diablo 3 on Mac as well.
• Everything you see on screen is anti-aliased. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you don’t like anti-aliased, you might as well use XP or Win2000 or older.
• Hardware driver can be hard to find in certain cases. If you buy mainstream products normally they provide drivers for mac, or they just work out of the box. But if you buy, say webcam from China whose brand you don’t even know how to read, then the story can be a little bit different.
• It’s NOT Windows, adjusting process can be painful at times. Forget everything you know about using a computer. It’s a different system. Otherwise you’ll curse a lot. Ranting why it doesn’t work this way or that way.
• It’s expensive (even if Apple didn’t think so). But then again, nobody force you to buy it. (Small tips: Always buy the standard RAM size and then do an upgrade from other vendor/seller).

So there it goes. 5 pros and cons you should consider before deciding to make a switch. Hope that helps. For what it’s worth, it’s just a matter of preference. I have used both systems and it just happened that for me Mac OS is more intuitive to use. By anyway, it’s like Canon and Nikon, or dogs and cats, or apples and oranges. Just pick the one you like… and can afford.

Adi, this post is for you… now make the call!

I’ve been working with Coda for quite some time now. And it’s no secret that it’s one among the best text editor in Mac, along with Textmate, Espresso, and BBEdit to name a few.

As wise man said, no such thing is perfect in this so-called life. In case of Coda, it’s the CODE FOLDING feature. At first I thought it’s there all along and I’m the one to blame for not be able to find it. I’m not the RTFM kinda guy after all. But then only to found out that it’s not there for whatever reason. This IS a big bummer, at least for me.

Maybe it’s not that crucial for most daily cases, but when you write code for enterprise scale webapps, then you start cursing while scrolling your mouse wheel all the way to la la land.

Point is, for coda engineers, please do implement it on the new version. 2.0 maybe?