The Good Old Days

Just a quick update to refresh my blog's main page. Yes, I know I've never posted anything for over a month now already. My ultimate reason (or excuse) for my extended hiatus is largely because of my increased workload this school term. I think I'm starting to feel the strain of taking 6 courses concurrently.

OK. So, I've installed the latest Windows Live Messenger (Build 12 or something) just a couple of days ago. In short, it's atrocious. It has a gawky new interface, a substantially shriveled messaging space, a mediocre approach to displaying custom backgrounds, and worst of all, absolutely no support for sharing folders. Admittedly, I do use the sharing folders quite often. Also, I despise the way in which my contacts are labeled busy, away etc. I very much prefer the old style where Messenger simply displays a 'stop' sign or a clock, instead of assigning coloured boxes to my contacts. It's just more convenient to read symbols than coloured boxes. So just earlier today, I've reverted back to the good old Messenger 8.5. To everyone else who has not updated theirs, like many of my friends who have already done so, I strongly recommend that you do not.

Mech-nostalgia

I have also longed to play my favourite childhood game, MechWarrior 2, since last week. I remember when I was about 5 or so, the game which ran on Windows 95 was so enjoyable that even my dad used it as a pacifier to subdue my lust for going on a vacation to Sydney, Australia with the rest of my family. I guess I was too young to go on a lengthy holiday then, partly due to me leaking occasionally as I slept. But now, 13 years later, I can't seem to be able to run MechWarrior 2 on Vista or XP natively. I've heard about DOSBox, but I haven't got the time to try it yet. For those who have played the game before, here's the incredible opening scene to ring a bell:



T'ang


(image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechwarrior_2)

Here Comes Another...

I recently discovered that my free copy of ZoneAlarm Pro (I'll explain later) was causing process problems on my pc. For one, it randomly 'hangs' certain processes, such as Firefox and uTorrent, rendering such programs unusable. Worse still, it prevents the processes from closing even through Windows Task Manager's Processes tab. As a result, even when I try to restart my system, I am unable to do so; Windows is not able to end these processes and thus won't shutdown. If that ain't bad enough, whenever I put my pc on standby, the monitor will enter power-saving mode but the cpu itself wouldn't power down. After a couple of minutes, my pc would blue-screen and restart itself.

Weird.

I never expected ZoneAlarm to be the culprit. Initially, I actually blamed other programs, such as Videora and a Firefox plug-in which I both installed not long ago. This problem is actually a known one. A probable solution involving a revert to the firewall's factory defaults was believed to be able to solve this pesky issue. As anticipated, the proposed 'solution' didn't work out for me.

My copy of ZoneAlarm Pro was freely available for download during CheckPoint's 15th Anniversary. I got the download link from PC Mag's site. So effectively, I got US$39.95 worth of software for free. I wonder if I'm applicable for a full refund now.

Since ZoneAlarm Pro's uninstall, I have never seen a hung process that prevented a shutdown. Hopefully this problem wouldn't repeat itself. However, my experience with my problem-plauged pc tells me otherwise.

Screw this crap,
T'ang

Like Sound Through Water

I nearly thought my US$249.99 Ultimate Ears earphones was in need for an RMA request after I carelessly allowed a drop of water to collect on the internal components of an earpiece itself. Fortunately the water evaporated over time and the earpiece became usable once again.

Here's how it happened.

As usual on a weekly basis, I removed the silicon eartips of my earphones for a regular rinse under the faucet yesterday. Normally I would wait overnight till the eartips dried before reattaching them to the earpieces. But yesterday, I was feeling a little hasty as I wanted to use them right away. Well, I paid for that dearly.

I briefly rubbed the silicon eartips against my hand towel and connected them to the earpieces. Alarmingly, I discerned that my right earpiece's sound was noticeably louder and more profound than the left. Specifically, it was the high frequencies such as the clash of cymbals that seemed washed out. At first I thought that it was due to a lose cable connection, but after detaching and reattaching the cables, the result was merely the same. I removed the earpieces and shone them over a flashlight, and there lay the cause of the hindrance. It was a tiny water droplet residing inside the plastic canal of the left earpiece which routed sound waves from the armatures to the outside.

"Water + electrical components = recipe for destruction," I imagined.

The next logical step was to dry the earpiece of course. I placed the left earpiece face down above my computer fan as the heat and gentle air currents will help dry the earpiece out. After at least 6 hours, I tested the earphones again and alas, the sound came out crystal clear once again.

This is the short story of it though. I actually did much more than that, like using the ear-wax removal tool to be sure that there are no solid (or semi-solid) pieces of junk obstructing the canals :)

So, always remember kids: always be sure to dry your hands before you handle electronics. Well, that's one lesson I should've known years ago.

Phew,
T'ang

Operation Walküre: A Quick Look at Valkyrie, the motion picture, and the theatre where I watched it at

It’s a decent movie and is certainly not too shabby. This is especially true if you’re into Germany’s militaristic past.

The film’s supporting cast features quite a number of actors I recognize, and the Hitler in the film really does look like the real one! I loved the suspense created whenever the Führer appeared, and as expected, Tom Cruise’s acting was stupendous. I don’t think I’ll have to reveal the movie’s plot here, as you might most probably already be well informed about Stauffenberg’s failed coup d’état and plot against Hitler’s life.

The cinema itself was pretty underwhelming. I was actually expecting to watch Valkyrie in my area’s best theater. But for some reason or another, the theater was not featuring the movie there. Instead, I was told to saunter off to another nearby theater of a much lower prestige which did feature it. The theater looked eerily vacant, seemed run-down and still carried a 1980s aesthetic of having incandescent light bulbs emblazoned all over the entrance to attract viewers. However, my cinema room had a “Lucasfilm THX” logo proudly displayed just next to its entrance. At least I know that I’ll be getting a worthy cinematic experience.

On the contrary, I did not; the projector’s image was too large for the screen! In other words, the white screen left out a border on all 4 sides. Worse still, near the beginning of the presentation, the projected motion picture went awfully out of focus for a good 5 mins or so, requiring someone working for theatre to manually readjust the projector. When asked to rewind the film a little, that dude did not (I don’t think the projector is capable of doing so anyway). As a result, I missed a few minutes of the movie. What a bummer! Furthermore, a few of the seats were broken. I don’t expect them to be replaced in the foreseeable future anyway, for the theatre is simply not worthy for a renovation.

I think that THX metal plate has been there for quite some time already. It may have been placed there when THX went around certifying cinemas, and that was a long, long time ago. I just can’t believe that it’s still THX certified when almost everything has fallen into disrepair.

To sum up, I openly recommend you to catch this splendid movie. It’s too bad I couldn’t watch it the way I should have, but I do hope you will.

"Es lebe unser heiliges Deutschland!",
T’ang


(image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_(film))

Notes from the Lab

I bought a pair of Kingston 2GB SO-DIMMs from a Best Buy Boxing Sale today. It was on sale for half the retail price, which is obviously a pretty darn good deal. I installed it without much difficulty on my brother’s 2-3 year old Dell laptop, replacing his old 533MHz, 512MB pair to the spanking new 667MHz, 2GB pair. The installation process couldn’t be easier; I just had to loosen a couple of screws, pop a cover open, release the retention brackets, remove the old sticks, slot in the new ones and replace the cover. The entire process took no longer than 5 mins.

As anticipated, Windows XP detects approximately 3.25GB of RAM installed. Some say that upgrading from 1GB to 4GB on XP wouldn’t give much of a noticeable boost in performance. However, my experience falsifies that statement. The enhancement is downright tremendous. Windows Explorer is now openly more responsive and switching between tasks is now an instantaneous process. My brother had to wait 5 mins after exiting Battlefield 2 just to allow the laptop to turn usable again. But no longer; the desktop now appears without delay upon hitting the ‘Quit’ tab.

Gaming performance has benefitted from a similar outcome; I can now run Battlefield 2 on the highest details on a 1280x800 resolution with 4x Anti-Aliasing. Previously, the laptop struggles to produce a playable frame rate with even the lowest details activated.

With DDR2 RAM prices now hitting a record low, there’s no excuse not to get more of it.

T’ang

Chinook--Red Hot Chilli Radeons Part 2

For starters, exams are finally over and I have roughly 3 weeks of holidays before school starts again on January. Regarding my graphic cards, I have done the necessary tests and have come up with quite remarkable results.

Like I said in my previous entry, I’ve installed ATI Catalyst 8.12. The manual fan speed control function did show up as promised. Now, I’ve complete control over my fans. As expected, the fan was set at ~26% during idle with automatic settings enabled. I dragged the slider to 50%, and easily, the graphic cards sounded like a helicopter with twin rotors powering up under my desk. I immediately reduced the speed to 40% and the whirring noise fell to within acceptable levels.

Now dig this: the temps fell to an astounding 52°C! Now that’s an accomplishment!


I’ve set up 2 profiles, one for gaming and the other for mundane computing tasks. With the gaming profile activated, the fans will boost to 40% of their rated maximum speed. While with the latter, I’ll let the cards manage themselves using the auto mode.

Beside the usual claims about performance gains (that seldom come true), I’ve noticed that ATI has added a CrossFireX feature in this driver update. Alright fine, it’s may not be qualified to be called a feature. But nonetheless, with it on, a CrossFireX logo will appear at the top right hand corner of the display whenever the Control Centre detects that CrossFireX is activated. Like I mentioned, it’s not exactly a practical attribute. I guess it just makes dual GPU users feel smug about owning cutting-edge technology.


ATI has also called this driver update the biggest yet. Primarily because it has made its Avivo Video Converter freely available for users. However, a recent article by ExtremeTech has dubbed this converter as ‘still in its developing stage’ and not ready for prime-time. If I recall accurately, real-world testing has shown that Avivo is a speedy converter but quality issues proved to be its biggest downfall.

That’s all for this topic people. Till the next ATI driver update!

T’ang

Red Hot Chilli Radeons

I guess I have just found out the reason why ATI’s Radeon stock cards always have a red cooler on them. I believe you will know the answer by the time you read the next few paragraph.

I was well aware that my Radeon cards were running well above 80 degrees at factory speeds. Even on idle. (That scale is in Celsius) I thought the 4800 series were meant to run that way and thus, I never had a second though about it. Guess what? I randomly rummaged through some forum entries today and saw that others had their 4870s running on 50 degrees on idle, 70 degrees under load.

readings of my primary graphics adapter

Let’s do the math. If others have their cards running ~40% degrees higher under load than when it’s idle, my ΔT should increase by approximately the same percentage right? Well, yes, I guess.

80 + 80*40% = >100°C.

Ahem…That number with double zeros sure looks familiar. I guess that’s somewhat beneficial: with that value, moisture that may have somehow condensed on my pc’s internals will be vaporized quickly.

(Note that this will most probably never happen, as the GPU's fan will automatically crank out a couple more rpms when temperatures escalate to hazardous levels. We all don't like toast components, do we?)

Ok, that won’t do; I’m in need for a remedy.

Later, with a simple google search, I found an article on one of my frequently visited sites: custompc.co.uk. It said that it is possible to increase the fan speed on the Radeon by performing some tweaks on an XML file. But then, upon clicking the second link, I was back to square one. Here’s why: the second link was a forum with a heading containing the following words, “Dead 4870 from adjusting fan speed?” And that was performed through the exact same method that was cited in custompc’s article.

Fortunately, I read further that ATI has made the fan control option freely available in its control panel itself (the Catalyst Control Center with v8.10 drivers). Perhaps it’ll be better if I downloaded that legitimate graphics driver and from there, take a safer approach to radiate a little more heat away from my cards.

I will be updating this column when time allows me to do so.

T’ang

Case Closed--Überclok Reaktor Part 4

Like I promised:

My system has been running fine this week. I have none but one minor gripe about my components: the two fiery red cards there run hot! It was like having a gargantuan heater below my desk. Once, my ambient room temperature rose from 29 degrees Celsius (it's summer now) to a sweltering 34 degrees!

I have completed my processor's complementary game, World in Conflict. It's a little short I must say. I accomplished all 14 stages in just a couple of days. Nevertheless, the graphics were intense. I managed to push the details to the max with a 1920x1200 resolution and suffered from no lag at all. To be fair, there was one short moment where my display stuttered a little. It was during one of the final missions where you are given the chance to deploy almost all of your tactical aid at once. Napalm strikes, tank busters, heavy artillery barrages, carpet bombings, and daisy cutters lighted up the sky and turned the ground into a barren wasteland. Yes, that was the moment.

Permit me to digress a little. I came across this video on youtube featuring South Park. It's a parody on the ubiquitous Mac vs PC ads that have been circulating all over the web. To those who have already viewed this clip, good for you. Just don't get chesty and gloat over how slow I am :P

It never ends,
T'ang

Edification--Überclok Reaktor Part 3

My PC has been officially released back to me on the 1st of August. But before I brought it home, I made certain that there were no more problems with the machine. After all, I do not have an automobile and I had to pull that hefty box back to the store. There’s no way I’m doing that again. After testing a few programs on it in the store, I was convinced that it was working in pristine condition. However, just when I was about to tie it back to my trolley, the salesman interrupted.

He said, “So, there will be a 100 dollar service fee. We charge a $50 per hour service charge for software problems.”

WHAT??! He never mentioned anything about a fee when I first sent my system for repairs. Also, my system is barely a few days old and it’s covered by warranty right?

“Yes, but that warranty only covers hardware, but not software,” he replied.

Oh my! What a nightmare! He is charging me 100 bucks for a simple reformat of a computer! Even slug heads can accomplish that task without much difficulty. Firstly, I didn’t know that the store will be charging me an exorbitant fee. If I did, I could have reformatted the computer myself. And how will I ever get to know that he really spent 2 full hours servicing my computer? Does a reformat really take that long? Even if it did, I’m sure that it was a slack job of just waiting for the drivers to reinstall while he drank a coffee or two.

After a lengthy period of disputation, the salesman agreed that I pay $70. Despite the “discount”, I was nonetheless infuriated.

Now, it looks like computer is running fine. No more flickering or Crossfire problems or anything of that sort. But for some peculiar reason, I still can’t run Condition Zero properly. I’ve ran 3DMark06 (a benchmarking software) twice yesterday. Once with Crossfire enabled and with it disabled on the other. Okay, at least I know Crossfire is functioning now. I got 16,000+ points on the first run and about 14,000 points with Crossfire disabled.

Sigh…

Well, lesson learnt: I will never patronize the store again. Thanks for nothing, Netlink Computers Inc!

I guess that concludes this article,
T’ang

Note: Photos of my system will be arriving shortly, perhaps after I install Photoshop.

Hosed!--Überclok Reaktor Part 2

OK, that does it!

So I've finally gotten a hold of my sleek new PC. But guess what? I was bombarded by a series of problems when I first utilized it (what an entrance!). It was like facing a firing squad of obstacles. From Crossfire issues to game compatibility cases, all have seen their light of day.

For instance, when I fired up my newly installed Call of Duty 4, I was confronted by an obnoxious flicker on the menu. I thought maybe this is just a temporary glitch in my system. I hastily clicked on "New Game" and prepped to indulge myself with glorious eye-candy. As soon as I entered my character's HUD, the environment was flashing ceaselessly. OMG! Alright then, I quit the game and started up Command and Conquer 3 to see whether these artifacts were perpetual. Ah crap! The Earth animation in the game's main menu was FUBAR! All my other games had identical problems.

Later, I found that the flickering disappeared when I disabled Crossfire. When I brought my problem up to a forum, the members instructed me to download and install the latest graphic card drivers. However, my monitor blacked out completely during the installation, forcing me to retry and reboot my PC. This happened multiple times. But upon completing a successful install, my Crossfire was automatically disabled without my consent! Worse still, my graphic card control panel did not even detect that I had Crossfire, or a dual graphic card setup. It merely stated that I had one ‘Primary Adapter’ and one ‘Disabled Adapter’.

But the problems did not stop there. "Okay then," I mumbled to myself. "If my system can't handle new games (actually, it should have! As I configured this system specifically to handle such games!), let me lighten up by playing an instant action round of Counter Strike Condition Zero. After all, CS is a Vista Certified and graphically non-intensive game." This time round, the game crashed and closed as soon as I loaded up a match. After manipulating my graphics options, I soon found that I could only play when the graphics renderer was in software or Direct3D mode, but not in OpenGL. WTH! I’m sure that both OpenGL and Direct3D are both implemented in my display driver!

I did not expect my system to run Crysis at mind-bending frame rates. I did not expect Crossfire to render all games impeccably. But I did expect my system to run Counter Strike flawlessly.

Now, I’m through with attempting to solve my problems. I’ve spent 2 full days but it has all come down to nothing… NOTHING! So today, I’ve sent my system back to the store for 'servicing'. Hopefully the technicians will not take too long a length of time. As many of you may know, I’ve already waited an agonizing long, long time for my new computer.

The problems may be caused by a malicious file, or a faulty hardware device, or Microsoft Vista, or perhaps even due to my inexperience with the new operating system. Seriously, I have no idea. I’m pissed, totally pissed. I’ll see what the store can do, but till then, please excuse me while I go throw a tantrum and shriek for goodness’ sake.



Ah well… More waiting for me I guess,
T’ang


(Image from http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2326206,00.asp)

Überclok Reaktor

edit 19 July: Apparently, the technicians over at my pc store have at last begun assembling my pc. However, at 1300 hours, GMT -08:00 Pacific Time, my sales representative phoned me and blurted out something I didn't want to hear. He said in a Chinaman accent,"Hi, is this Felix? Our techs have begun building your pc. But your sound card isn't gonna fit into your motherboard. Since the sound card has to be installed into a PCI slot, I'm afraid that there's gonna be heat problems." (I have dual double slot graphics cards that require a slot beside each card to be free for sufficient airflow - I found this out later) Argghh! Darn, I've always wanted a dedicated add-on sound card to avoid crappy on-board audio. But it seems I don't have a choice since I insist on having Crossfire. In fact, my motherboard has already got what it seems an add-on sound card, the SupremeFX II. But there's nothing to cheer about. It's merely a riser card for the sound output ports as Asus couldn't manage to cram them onto the board's PCB itself. So, it's plainly still crappy on-board audio :(

looks can be deceiving

(Image from http://www.sweclockers.com/imagebank/200803/AsusRampageFormu001.jpg)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

edit 18 July: Again, I'm changing a few components. I'm through with waiting for my Gigabyte motherboard to be available again. The descripition says that it will be "In Stock Soon" as "This product is currently in transit from a supplier. Expect 2 to 5 days processing time when you order it." It seems like more like 2 to 5 weeks! More stock just never comes! Anyway, I'm moving back to my original plan to get an Asus motherboard (Bryan is highly supportive of this change). This time round, it's an Asus Rampage Formula with the same Intel X48 chipset as the Gigabyte. You may be thinking that I should get a DDR3 motherboard and DDR3 RAM to compliment it as over the months, their prices have been gradually plumeting. But I feel that real world performance gains are too diminutive to merit an upgrade. Also, my graphic cards, the ATI HD 4870s, will be reverted back to HIS from Diamond. The HIS models have become available again after my long and futile wait for my Gigabyte motherboard. Fingers crossed, this will be my final configuration :)

And Amos, this space is for you. In the tagboard, I mentioned about adding another 8800GT. Yes, this is argubly the best performance per dollar setup. For roughly 299 US for both of them, you can get the equivalent, or even exceed the performance of a GTX 280. Which is the most formidable single GPU card out there right now. I know that you have an Intel X38 motherboard, so this isn't possible. Well, in that case, your only option is go for a single Nvida or ATI card, or ATI's Crossfire. Your single 8800GT is still good enough though.

(benchmarks courtesy of anandtech)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

edit 8th July: Wow! Great find there, Amos! You spotted something that I myself overlooked when I uploaded the WIC picture. You do keep a sharp eye, ha! For those of you who still do not know what went wrong, the word "trial" is misspelled "trail" in the graphic. I suppose banner designers should use spell-check and re-read their sentences before posting the banners up, lol. Plus, I left out my monitor and speakers (I purhased them separately from the computer) when I originally posted the article. The manufacturer of my ATI video cards has also been changed due to availability issues. It has since been updated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it!

After seemingly endless delays, my new rig has finally been acquired. It won't be rated among those "Extreme Editions" though. But at least it gets the job (gaming) done. It will be ready in a week or two.

Now for some comments on my new build.

Surprisingly, I have defected to ATI from Nvidia for my video card, or more specifically, video cards choice. Mostly due to the apparent bang for the buck (BftB) advantage ATI has over Nvidia. See, what I picture Nvidia is a company with an endless supply of resources that relentlessly pumps in raw horsepower into their graphic cards. If you take a glimpse at the number of transistors and physical size of the GTX 280, you'll know what I mean! Whilst ATI is a company with notably less resources that aims to keep their graphic cards slim and at the same time, beefy enough for the mainstream market. It seems that ATI has made the right move this time round, targeting the mid range rather than the enthusiast level. With the unparalleled success of ATI's 4800 series, ATI has gone for a little dip in the high end level with its upcoming dual GPU 4870 X2. It will blatantly target the GTX 280 and the 9800GX2 for supremacy. The 4800 series has even forced Nvidia to push their GTX prices lower. But this is a particularly tough pill to swallow, due to the massive number of transistors they feature.

"Darn!" ATI's performing better than expected! - featuring Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia

Also, for a dual GPU setup, I have no choice but to get an Nvidia motherboard chipset if I want SLI. While for ATI's CrossfireX, I have the option of getting an Intel or AMD one. According to various forum entries, I know that the Intels are a tad more stable than the Nvidia models. Plus, with recent news that Nvidia's stock taking a plunge due to their faulty chips, I have gradually lost trust in the company. Anyway, it's great to have you back in the game, ATI!

For my sound card, I have picked an Asus model over a Creative one. Why? It's simple. Creative X-Fi drivers just has a thing or two against Microsoft Vista. They are highly problematic when installed together. But what about EAX? I'm glad to say that Asus has the solution. Their Xonar DX model has the capability to emulate EAX 5.0. Neat huh. Though it will seldom perform as well as the original X-Fi. (the differences will be negligible anyway)

A free copy of the game, World in Conflict, goes along with my Intel quad core. There's also a 10 day trail copy of the game for a friend. Any takers? Haha.

(Again, take note of the typographical error)

My Vista will be in a 32bit flavour. I know of the 4GB RAM limit and all, but I fear for compatibility issues when I take the leap to 64bit. And err, forget about Windows 7. It's out of my league at the moment.

Aright then, this is what most of you will be looking for: the final components. Here goes...

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 12MB cache
CPU Heatsink
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink
Motherboard
Asus Rampage Formula Motherboard (Intel X48 chipset)
RAM
Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 (with fan)
Video Card
(x2) HIS Radeon HD 4870 in CrossfireX
Enclosure
Antec P182 Black
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad 750W
OS
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32BIT
HDD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB
Optical Drive
Samsung SH-S223F 22x
Sound Card
Asus SupremeFX II
Speakers
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 digital
Monitor
Dell 2407WFP-HC 24 inch widescreen

Still won't be able to play Crysis at 1920x1200 with 4x AA, 8x AF and details pushed to the max with this config, I guess. I'll see to that when I get ahold of it.

At long last, finally,
T'ang


(Jen-Hsun Huang image from http://www.tgdaily.com/index.php. WIC image fromhttp://www.ncix.com/go-intel-wic)

This Is Where Science Defeats Belief

I think not...

It is generally accepted by audiophiles that vinyls sound better than CDs. However, science has proven them wrong.

Well, through a certain point of view.

If one deems "sounding better" as music that most accurately replicates the original recording, then, sorry to say audiophiles, but CDs does the job better. Before you audiophiles rant and rave, let me give a brief explanation to how vinyls work. Data is stored in the vinyl through grooves that are engraved by a needle. For the "most accurate" sonic experience, the needle that reads the record has to be the exact same shape as the needle that has engraved the grooves. This, however, is sensibly not probable. CDs, on the other hand, encodes the data mathematically. This almost gives an exact replica of the original recording. Therefore, it is safe to say that CDs should be rightfully prized by discerning audiophiles.

Others say that vinyls give a "warmer and fuller sound". However, this claim is probably due to an artifact of harmonic distortion and signal compression. See, what the turntable needle does is that it picks up vibrations of the spinning vinyl and turns them into what I call, "extra notes" in the tune. Then, in this case, the defects are a virtue.

So which is better? CDs or traditional records? Honestly, not many of us have golden and acoustically tuned ears. The minuscule differences between them can't even be picked up by average ears. After all, it all boils down to personal preference. Not to mention the psychological effects that clouds our final decision. If audiophiles believe that CDs can never reach the standards of vinyls, then, to them, this discovery would mean nothing.

Besides, I still prefer MP3s :P
T'ang


(With references from http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-gaming/article/2008-07/are-records-really-better. Image from http://recordbrother.typepad.com/imagesilike/images/big_vinyl_rules_1.jpg)

Notes From The Lab

I was reading a couple of magazines from my school library the other day, and this was what caught my eye:


Cruelty-Free Bacon
Scientists in the Netherlands have grown minced pork in a dish by adding water, glucose and amino acids to pig stem cells. Expect artificial ground meat by 2012 and bacon within the decade. (Rena Marie Pacella, from Popular Science)


What?! We can now grow meat? This is something unheard of! Darn, we are messing with mother nature big-time I assure you. I presume that in the next 5 years or so, we can be expecting something called "home-grown meat" lying in the "Instant Aisle" of a grocery store. Inside the pack will include all the necessary nutrients, conditions and space for harvesting your very own slice of meat. On the 'Instructions' at the back of the packaging, it'll simply read, "Just add water!" I guess animals can prep for a sigh of relief.

Another note, the US military have a new weapon at their disposal (what a surprise indeed) - a humongous flying laser turret. It is a laser cannon built into a C-130 Hercules. It uses a mixture of iodine and oxygen to produce a pernicious beam of light. After the beam has been readied, make sure nothing other than the intended target gets in its way. For everything in its path will be sizzled and obliterated within seconds. My sympathies, birds. To the pilots in the plane, fret not. The beam of laser itself isn't hot, and is only capable of heating things up.

A mean little sucker huh

If you're interested, feel free to read more on this here and here.

Well, that's it for another weird day at the office. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

T'ang

(image from http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2008-03/how-it-works-airborne-laser-cannon)

The Way It’s Meant to Be Heard: A Review of the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro

I was supposed to leave this review for later, perhaps after my exams. However, I just can’t help it! My pleasurable experience with my new earpieces has forced me to blurt this out right now. In short, it truly has been a lovely start for my online shopping trend.

The payment and selection process was easy enough that’s for sure. I just had to pick a seller with my product and one which offered the lowest price. Of course, I can’t trust the seller just because his price is the lowest. You may never know if the product is an imitation model from China. So, I had to look at the feedback given by previous buyers. I was flabbergasted. It was a grand total of 47,900+ ratings and 99.7% of them were highly positive. Wow! The description of “Power Seller” given by eBay is spot on! The seller, Yogi Computers, gained my trust in a matter of seconds. The next few steps couldn't be simpler: just pay the fees via Paypal and an email confirming payment and shipment is sent almost instantaneously.

The shipping cost was certainly not cheap (US$26.99 to be exact). However, I have none but one choice: I had to use United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Express Mail International shipping. This is USPS’ fastest shipping method. It seems a little pricey for a product weighing in at merely a few hundred grams though. Nevertheless, the package’s ETA was within 3-5 days and it had to be sent from Pennsylvania all the way to Burnaby, BC (that’s more than the entire width of North America). The estimation was dead right. Within 3 short days, I came across a note from the post service. It said an attempt to send me a parcel has been in vain, and recommended me that I pick the parcel up myself at a post office nearby. And so I did.

The packaging itself was aesthetically pleasing. A matt blue and white paper bag with a quality leaflet attached to its side indicating all the necessary postage details. Also, I noticed that the package made a stop at JFK airport, and then Jamaica before arriving at its intended destination.

Upon opening the bag, I was immediately confronted with a stench of foul smelling gas. It smelt like the odor found within plane cargo (of course!). And there you have it, the very box housing my earphones.


After reading numerous articles on reviews of these earphones, I couldn't wait to try them for myself. However a ridiculous impediment stood in may way: the hard plastic box was a hassle to open. The plastic was so reluctant to break itself apart. I had to resort to brute force ripping with a set of DIY tools! By the time the box finally gave way, I ended up with blister-ridden fingers. Darn, this box could have even withstood a ton of C4 explosives! I guess quality products go hand in hand with quality packaging.

The box neatly housed a bag of ear tip sleeves; a ear-junk cleaning tool (LOL); a sound volume attenuator; a chic and elegant looking metallic case; a ¼ inch adapter jack; and of course, the earphones themselves. I had a fair bit of time sampling the myriad of sleeves and adjusting the reinforced cables so that it loops round my ears securely. The intended method of wearing these ‘phones aren’t the normal one of simply letting the cables dangle from your ears. These required the cable to be wrapped round the back of your ear, perhaps to attain a more secure fit and to minimize the microphonic effects (cable thumping noises).



Without a moment to lose, I seized my iPod and booted it up. I first song that I played was Jay Chou’s 发如雪 (hair like snow). To me, this is the perfect song to test my new earphones. It starts of with a clear and sparkly drizzling sound and later climaxes to produce a deep bassy sound. Besides, the song is encoded in Apple Lossless. To make a long story short, the sound was absolutely stellar! The detail of the Super.fi 5 Pros outstripped my Sennheiser CX300 by a mile! Bass reproduction was deep and tight. When directly compared to my Sennheisers, the bass was clearly less muffled and muddy. The midrange was also proficiently controlled too. In other words, the lows, mids and highs were flawlessly balanced. It was a definite upgrade for my now aging Sennheisers. As expected, the upgrade in sound quality was certainly not as radical as moving up from the despicable pair of iPod pack-ins to my Sennheisers. But the stepping up from my CX300 was a profound difference nonetheless. With twin balanced armatures per earpiece, the reason for this can’t be too hard to comprehend I guess!

Additionally, the ear loops worked exactly as advertised. No matter how hard I shook my head, they kept the earpieces from falling off. The earpieces go deep into my ear canals, but never felt overly intrusive.

So at long last, after agonizing lengths of earphone testing in a store over in Singapore, I have finally found the perfect model that satisfied my cravings perfectly. As I recall, I have tried various models from Shure and Etymotic, but none them seemed to entice me. With above average comfort levels, superb sonics and a relatively low price tag, the Ultimate Ears Super.fi Pro 5 is one earphone which justly lives up to its name!

The complete package

"The Ultimate in Super Fidelity", that is what it stands for.
T’ang

Optical Drives for Roadwarriors? Not Anymore

Looks like Apple’s attempt of dropping the optical drive from its MacBook Air was quite a swift move. It’s now the year 2008, and who needs the optical drive on their ultraportable notebook anyway?

Allow me to explain. To what point and purpose do we need optical drives on ultraportables for? Watching DVDs? Well, one can actually cram a couple of movies onto a flash drive instead. What’s more is that there are no moving parts (besides the electrons, of course) in flash memory, helping you to conserve your precious battery life. I’m certain that battery life is a major constituent to what makes a good portable notebook. Traditional optical drives have discs gyrating at a couple of hundred RPMs per minute. Now that’s one mean juice sucker. Plus, you actually even get a performance boost via USB for your viewing experience.

The next challenge: software installation. Much software requires an optical drive in order to install itself, no doubt. But now, it is possible to find these installers on the internet to be downloaded readily. Furthermore, much to the iPhone’s delight, many programs are now web-based, not requiring any form of installation. Ever heard of a web-based productivity suite?

What about disc burning?! How often do you burn discs while on the road may I ask? Most of us resort to a portable HDD or thumb drive to store our data anyway. The CD-RW, or DVD+/-RW, for that matter, is quickly being alienated as a “modern” floppy disc. Simply redundant. If you really insist on burning, take your ultraportable back home with you and count on your 16x Dual Layer DVD writer instead.

So finally, the conundrum of how to take ultraportables to an even portable level has been worked out. Eliminating the optical drive from a laptop will definitely slim the laptop down. I mean, just take a look at the MacBook Air.

To all the upcoming ultraportable models: the optical drive’s epitaph clearly reads “I’m obsolete, period”.

Enough said?
T’ang

(With references from Lance Ulanoff’s article at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2309779,00.asp. Image from www.cbcnz.com.)

The Spirit of Ultra Lives

Just purchased a new handphone a couple of days ago. It's still in Singapore though, thus I haven't got a first hand tryout of the phone itself. This Soul, Spirit of Ultra, U900, or whatever we want to call it, will be the last of the Samsung Ultra Edition lineup.

Huh? That quick?

Apparently the answer is a yes. The Ultra series has been a thriving line I believe, with sliders, candybars and clamshells reaching unprecedented slimness. Besides, it was equally striking that Samsung managed to squeeze so much of the latest features into so thin a phone. A 3.2 Megapixel camera in a 5.9mm candybar? You've gotta be kidding. This lineup of phones have also been largely design oriented - a trait in mobile phones that has been fading these few years. I mean, just take a look at those Sony Ericssons. (Don't mean to pick on Sony lol)

It seems depressing that Samsung has chose to discontinue this splendid line of phones. Nevertheless, it's fortunate that Samsung will at least leave a perpetual legacy for others, including itself to pick up and look up to.

The last of its kind

Overview of the Soul:
-A touch interface
-5 Megapixel camera
-HSDPA 7.2Mbps
-FM radio
-12.9mm thin

What's next?
T'ang

(image from http://uk.samsungmobile.com/mobile/SGH-U900)

When Iron Turns Platinum: A Review of the Iron Man Film

"Yeah. I can fly."

Spectacular! Absolutely dazzling! This is one superhero action flick that clearly sets itself apart from the competition. Previously, after I watched the trailers for the film, I predicted that the film will be just another average superhero movie, just like Fantastic Four and The Hulk (Ang Lee’s version. Not the upcoming one). Thus, I thought to myself nonchalantly, "why bother?" However, after many of my buddies have seen the film, rumor has it that the film is astoundingly good. Plus, movie ratings site Rotten Tomatoes actually presented it with a “FRESH” rating of over 92%! And the only way I could find out the truth behind all this, was to watch the film myself which I did today.

The movie features an affluent and brilliant ladies’ man Tony Stark, who builds an omnipotent exoskeleton for himself after a series of tragic events in Afghanistan. As expected, this superhero uses his suit to protect the people he put in harm’s way. Apparently, the Iron Man’s nemesis is his long-time business partner, who has secretly been selling Tony’s weapons to terrorist groups.

The panoply of mesmerizing visual effects never ceases to amaze! This applies particularly well to the F-22 Raptor chase scene, where the film ignites into a thrilling climax. Additionally, there is a close resemblance to the transformation of robots in another distinguished film, Transformers, where Tony Stark is seen suiting up in his new Mark III exoskeleton.

Besides, Tony Stark’s mansion somewhere on the coast in California is SO advanced. The pinnacle of his tech toys has got to be the holoprojector. He can even place his hand into the projection and design his suit’s components. Also, the automated windows that fade to black does a decent job in keeping his bedroom dark while he, ahem, does his thing. On a side note, I actually have the exact same arching lamp that Tony has in his living room, lol.

The Audi R8 featured notably in the film is so cool. Speaking of cars, wow! Tony has one huge myriad of supercars. He owns a Saleen S7, a Shelby Cobra, a Koenigsegg CCR and of course, his fabled R8. Too bad he crash lands on his Shelby though.

Oops, I’ve typed close to 400 words now. Forgive me, for I babble too much. Finishing up, I’d give Iron Man a worthy 4 out of 5. I eagerly anticipate the imminent 2nd and 3rd sequels!

Is it better to be feared, or respected?
T’ang

(image from http://vargucci.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/ironman-08preview-lg.jpg)

Intel LGA775's Singing Its Swan Song?

For the better, apparently.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the Intel P45 chipset is due to be released soon. However, it seems that it'll be the last of the LGA775 chipset. This socket has actually got an excellent record of service, serving the old NetBurst days to the new and revolutionary Conroe era. It seems like Intel managed to pull off an outstanding act by keeping it's chipset standardized for a considerable amount of years. Contrary to this, AMD has changed it's socket repeatedly - Socket 939 to AM2 to AM2+ in a matter of 2-3 years.

Maybe it is time for Intel to change its own, due to the impending Nehalem CPUs which will feature an entirely new architecture. Surprisingly, this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise: reports have shown that the P45 may be long-lived as motherboard manufacturers are now scrupulously designing the BIOS, components and layout for it. So much blood, sweat and tears has never been put into any other board for a long time.

Because of this, promises of a long-lasting motherboard will certainly allure many consumers, including myself. Rarely has a computer component stayed current for a long time. With any luck, this chipset may indeed break this barrier.

All the more reason to get my PC, and soon!
T'ang


With references from http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602523/rumour_control_p45_will_be_last_lga775_chipset.html

Fat & Slim

That’s it! I have finally gotten a hold of my PSP Slim and Fat. Yep, that’s two PSPs. Essentially, I only own one – the Slim, but I somehow managed to borrow the other from a Korean friend. I must say that I am really am lucky to have the Fat: my brother and I had a hell of a time WLAN gaming!

Frankly speaking, both systems exceeded my expectations by a mile. The pinnacle of the exhilaration has got to be the built in Wi-Fi. Prior to my purchase of my PSP, I actually anticipated for the Wi-Fi wireless gaming (or WLAN) to be a total flop, and it was there with the sole purpose of being a marketing gimmick; just to appeal to potential buyers. How wrong I was - the wireless functionality is reliable, speedy and hassle-free to say the least.

In case you would want to know, the PSP Slim runs on version 3.71 of the M33 custom firmware (arguably the finest firmware). I was hoping that Amos was right, when he told me that the pre-modified PSP will most probably run M33 firmware. Now, my worries of not being able to play ISO and CSO games have at long last been put to bed.

As for the functionality of the PSPs, I’m thoroughly stupefied. With an Internet browser, a multi-format video player, a music player, a photo viewer, and of course, a game player, what more could you ask for? Furthermore, it has the capability to make Skype VOIP calls and can function as a wireless PS3 controller. Not only that, with my custom firmware, the PSP opens the door to countless 3^rd party apps that I can run, rendering the PSP’s functionality limitless. No wonder why Amos bought another Fat after his former one got stolen by a repairman, lol.

Note: My Internet browsing experience with the PSP is pretty bad though, it comes nowhere close to the PC and iPod touch.

The Slim has quite a number of nice additions when directly compared to the Fat. Of which, the most outstanding is the reduction of its size and weight. Hands that have been seasoned with hours of gaming with the Fat will instantly notice the alteration. The micro stereo speakers have been moved up to the front now, but the infra-red sensor has been eliminated.

Wrapping up, given the notable functions of the PSP, it is most assuredly a fine addition to my growing line of tech gadgets.

Now, if you would excuse me, I have to go kick some ass!
T’ang

Amos' Build IT

edit: Amos has got the Razer DeathAdder instead of the Lachesis due to his preference for ergonomics to style and design (which I think is an absolutely smooth decision; it's needed for hardcore and intense gaming, period). Plus, additions to his PC include a Logitech X-530 5.1 speaker setup, an NZXT enclosure (which bears no resemblance to an Alienware chassis, wink wink), and a flashy blue LED 120mm exhaust fan.

The finalised build
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amos Oh Boon Kiat has recently ordered a new PC (presumably from PlutoTech Singapore I guess), which I must say is quite remarkable. In fact, it's even slightly more formidable than Bryan's self-built (as always) PC. Another thing to take note of, is that Amos' originally planned built actually included an Nvidia 8800Ultra and possibly an Intel Quad Extreme! LOL! But then, I convinced him otherwise and right now, he has a sensibly more down-to-earth build. Glad to be able help, Amos! Anyway, what he has now can justly live up to the Bang for the Buck motif.

Here are his specs:

Graphics Card: Nvidia Geforce XFX 8800GT 512MB
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Motherboard: MSI P7N Diamond (780i chipset)
Memory: 4GB DDR2 CORSAIR
HDD: Seagate 7200.11 500GB Barracuda ES2 32MB cache
Optical Drive: Liteon 20X 20A1S SATA Supermulti Box
Sound Card: Creative X-Fi XtremeAudio (came with mobo)
OS: Vista Home Premium 32bit
Mouse: Razer Razer DeathAdder - updated
Keyboard: Razer Lycosa
Speakers: Logitech X-530 - updated
Chassis: NZXT Apollo - updated
Estimated Price: S$3000+ <--- Dammn, that's one costly build haha

Plus, here's a link to his anarchist blog.

Happy fragging buddy!
T'ang

(image from http://past-the-exit.blogspot.com/)