Archive for the ‘Web’ Category

Posted on September 27, 2007 - by Abner

Japanese High On Cellphone Novels

It’s really an eye opener to read about this, keitai-shousetsu (mobile phone novels). The tech-savvy Japanese nation has once again ventured into a realm of internet literature that I had not the faintest inkling about. And yet the latest entertainment fad has been floating around in the web sphere seven years ago. A Japan community-based Web site, Maho i-Land brought this idea online when it made it much easier for the hidden novelists in us to turn our stories into a real book complete with cover page and chapters. But it wasn’t till telco companies in Japan offered affordable rates and high-speed mobile Internet when it really fuelled the craze bringing it to its current status. Fat chance for us, Malaysians though as our technology are still a far cry from the Japs and the eye-popping charges our telco charges are enough to make us, the commoners cry. Boo hoo.

Since it’s a community based thing, mobile-novel writers get instant feedbacks from their readers which egg them on and even plays a part in changing the course of the stories. But with every hand trying to get a dip in the bottle of honey, it almost always creates some sort of negativity. It might tighten the creativity rein of the writer who now have to write to please and that’s not fun. Chaco felt pressure that’s for sure. She is the writer for “What the Angel Gave Me“. Another writer, Satomi Nakamura even broke a blood vessel on her right little finger while tapping away on her tiny cellphone screen. Ouch…

Publishers are even cashing in on the mobile-novel genre. To date, it has been over two dozens of popular stories on Maho i-Land being printed. And it seems to be turning into collectibles too. Cool idea into a  money-spinner.

Go read the whole article by Yukari Iwatani Kane – Ring! Ring! Ring! In Japan, Novelists Find a New Medium at Wall Street Journal site.

Other reads :
O’reilly Radar – A mobile read (with white spaces)
Cellphone novel downloads outstrip paper books in Japan
Cellphone novels bring kinky storytelling to the hard of seeing – 2006 news

Posted on September 25, 2007 - by Abner

New logo for Adobe Photoshop

Drumroll please…

Claps and wolf whistle or do i hear howls of boos and sighs of disbelieve + discontent?
Adobe recently redesigned Photoshop’s logo. And I still can’t believe what I am seeing. Speechless. Best if you head over to this post to read more about it. Honestly, it does not appeal to me at all. Maybe I have seen too much of these effects around. Gosh… I will go roll down the stairs to clear my head. Tata.

Read to believe : 30gms.com
See to double confirm : Adobe.com

Posted on September 22, 2007 - by Abner

The Beatles Mashup : Cracked Peppers

This is a mashup project by the people over at ccc/ill chemist in conjunction with The Beatles 40th anniversary release of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Its aptly named Cracked Pepper. Quite a different feel to it and it might be able to entertain you on some boring Saturday.

You could download a sample track to listen : 01 – Cracked Pepper

I would suggest that you head over here to download the whole mashup album before it taken down.

See : www.cracked-pepper.blogspot.com

Gotta go now. Am meeting some friends at the climbing gym. Exercise ya.

Update : Dave from memethief.com said there is no hurry to download as he has no plans to take it down. Hurray!

Posted on September 20, 2007 - by Abner

Here comes XKCD and Pictures for Sad Children

Forgot how I managed to unearth these but its hilarious.

See : XKCD – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
First off, its XKCD. The work of Randall Munroe, a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. He is aided by Davean (technical friend) and Sarah (proof-read/edit). He sums it up in the headline of what XKCD is in one sentence : A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
His webcomic days begun when he was going through old math/sketching graph paper notebooks and didn’t want to lose some of the work in them, so he started scanning pages and putting them up on the servers. And everything just follows.
Note to Sponky : You will like this. Freaking funny stuff.

Next is Pictures for Sad Children. And no, its not meant for sad children. It might make them feel worse. John Campbell is the mastermind for this and it is about a bad feeling when you are feeling good and a good feeling when you are feeling bad, he says. And yes, he admitted it himself, it might not be appropriate for sad children. Be warned.

See : Pictures for Sad Children

Posted on September 14, 2007 - by Abner

Say hello to Keepon

Just a quick post on this. Found it amusing and interesting. Not your normal everyday Mr. Robotic. Meet Keepon, a yellow fellow belonging to the Robots with Rhythm gang. It was designed by a Mr. Hideki Kozima the other half of the BeatBoxs duo.

Keepon dancing to Spoon’s “Don’t You Evah”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPdP1jBfxzo]
Check out the last part where all the robots get their groove on together. Nice watch.

For more info on this research and progress, see : BeatBots

Posted on September 14, 2007 - by Abner

Disney Mplayer by iRiver

I got this in my email the other day. Guessed a lot of you have seen this but this little charmer enticed me enough to find out more about it. A quick search was made and at first I got an image of a normal mp3 player plastered with a Mickey logo. WTF… wrong channel.
After some random clicking I found Gizmodo, a tech guide site which gives out more details. This high tech Mickey is said to hold 1G of songs and about 3cm in size. Available in black, white, blue , pink and silver.
Concept sketch by iRiver.

It looks kinda cute and cool to me and I dare say quite a number of people would be interested in having one of them. Its like a fashion accessory + tech gadget put together. The Mplayer looks good to me cos I like simplicity of the design. But I am afraid I would break off those ears accidentally.
Alas, from Gizmodo – “Disney commissioned iRiver to make the player for their Hong Kong amusement park and for retail in South Korea, though if sales go well enough iRiver hinted that Mickey might sneak into other regions.” Looks like it might not reach Malaysia just yet. But you could always make a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland don’t you? Or better still to South Korea. More reason to go travelling huh.

See more pictures at iRiver : Disney Mplayer by iRiver

Posted on September 13, 2007 - by Abner

Sites That I Don’t Understand But Enjoy – Part 1

First this is a site I got today from evil@lai.

4 shutterbugs+cyclist+friends embarked on a journey where they will dedicate 16 days of their lives riding around Taiwan island. Its an ongoing thing so check it out. They are only at their 7th day today. You get to see a fraction of what they see and experience through the pictures they upload and their writings. Some goofing around pictures too that will bring a smile to your face. You can see how many hours they spend riding and how many kilometers they covered. This my friend is not about the final destination but the journey. Cool! Makes you wish the one with the face brushing against the light breeze is yours instead of being the one glaring at pictures in your cubicle or cramp room. *whine*
See : Ride Around Taiwan Island

The last one would be the blog of infamous Namewee. A Johore compatriot who gained fame for his controversial MTV. Which one you ask? Negarakuku lo. Shall not elaborate on this. Google it or ask your neighbour. His blog is mainly in Chinese. Boohoo if you are like me. Anyway, browsing through would provide some insight too. Don’t worry there are Malay write ups for you to read la. NameWee’s Blog

Posted on September 13, 2007 - by Abner

McD Buffet and Pinball Rat

Its that time of the year again which only means we will be having Hari Raya holidays in a months time. Wow… time flies. I see my Malay colleagues are all enduring their first day of fasting. As Adam Sandler or Rob Schneider, “You can do it!”

If I remembered correctly 3 years during this Ramadhan month, Ryan, Jerri and I launched an assault on a McDonald franchise in Bangi which resulted in bloated tummies, high cholesterol level and bad constipation. Not many people know that McDonald organizes buffet during the fasting month. Ronald and friends love to see us stuff our face silly with Big Mac, Ayam Goreng McD, McNuggets, Apple Pie and Sundae Cones while gulping down mouthfuls of Coke. Well the McD stint had me stayed away from any other outlets for a good couple of months. Never had I ate so much of McD stuff before. I had Spicy Chicken McDeluxe, Fillet-O-Fish, 2pc Ayam Goreng McD, >12pcs of McNuggets, French Fries, Sundae Cone, 2 Coke and a few bits of Cheeseburger. Not sure if I left out anything but that night I stopped and got myself 2 packets of ENO before going home. I spent quite a substantial amount of time riding the porcelain pony for a couple of days, mind you. Ryan even made one or 2 more trips back there… Bravo!!! Salute!!!
Well the 3 of us cleared nearly RM100 of McD food stuff that night.

For those of you who would love to give it a go, here. Click for larger image.

Its available only at selected outlets. So check them out before you go barging into any outlets lusting for Big Mac freeflow or whatever.

Oh and a follow up to the Ratatouille post. Here is a pinball game called Rat’N'Roll.

Damn, I am still sick. Coughing now. Only 2 more days to go… Argh…

Posted on September 9, 2007 - by Abner

Tagged by Ericca

Just got back from Muar and it seems I got tagged by Ericca. It’s a first for me so why not… Here goes:

Instructions :
Remove the first Blog and add your own blog last!

1. Bokjae
2. Keeyit
3. Something is Happenin’
4. Magicland
5. Abnerd

Q1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Just got out from secondary school doing part time work and getting ready for art college.

Q2. What were you doing 1 Year ago?
Working, climbing, eating and sleeping

Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
M&M, bitter choc, rounded baby biscuit, dahfa fish snack and lately Chipster manage to get on the list.

Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?
I kinda forget them now.

Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a Millionare?
Mmm… havent given it a thought. No point wasting bandwidth now.

Q6. 5 Bad habits?
Procastination, lazy, temperamental, crazy and annoying

Q7. 5 things you like to do?
Good movies+ songs, talk to friends, climbing with friends, being with Moon and being outdoors

Q8. 5 Favourite Toys?
Computer, camera, bla, bla and rabbit is a toy?

Q9. 5 things you would never wear?
Never say never. So…

Q10. 5 things you hate to do?
Being with people who annoys more than me, eating lousy food, entertaining brainless rude people, stuck in a jam, doing repeat work and getting sick.

Lastly, tagging others. Don’t burn me if you did it before ya. You people are the ones I picked randomly off.

1. Qiqichan
2. Hoyoyi
3. Kyife
4. Xyiry
5. Jojoyuki

By the way, my Mum’s mama makes a hell of a wicked yam cake/pudding. The ones that I tasted before pales in comparison. Did not stay there long enough to eat other stuff she makes.

I am hungry now…

Posted on September 8, 2007 - by Abner

Update : MyStyle works – Nando’s

This is an update post for Go walk walk eat eat with Kyife

Had a free meal at Nandos earlier just now using the Mystyle sms voucher. It works people!
I showed the text message before ordering and the manager viewed it and deleted the message for me. Waited for a while before my 1/4 Extra Peri Peri Chicken with rice came. Well, a RM3.50 message in exchange for a RM10.80 meal is worth it ya?
The only voucher I could use for Nandos for the rest of the year is the “MY365 nandos” for FREE bottomless drinks. Still not bad right?
Am looking forward for more stuff from the site.

Check my bill.