Category: I See I Write

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I See I Write

Nokia N96 Test Drive Episode 1 – First Impression

Rarely do I play around with my wireless phone when I am having a meal with someone.  But when the three lovely ladies from the Nokia and Text100 teams handed me the Nokia N96 for a test drive, not even the thunderstorm outside The Rogues could keep me from having my hands all over this one true beauty.  I know you wish you were me.  And you could well be!

First Impression

This lovely Nokia N96 could well be your early Christmas present.  Or for your loved one.  Or you could email the link of this post to your loved one and hope that he or she would get the hint.  When I first laid my hands on the new Nokia N96, I was much impressed by the elegance of the overall design.  This new design now comes with the eye pleasing rounded corners, new stylish materials for the side and the back too.  

The new Nokia N96 feels lighter, and certainly slenderer than the Nokia N95 that I have.  There is a total redesign of the keypad as well.  I love the flat surface shiny black material with some of the button labels light up or fade away depending on situation.  The new keypad is scratch resistance too.  I have been sms’ing, msn’ing, facebook’ing, gmail’ing, and more for the entire weekend, not a single scratch.

From N95 to N96 in 60 Seconds

When I choose a wireless phone, I don’t just choose a model or a design, I choose a brand that truly care about its customers.  And I have stayed with Nokia since 2000.  Here is one good example of how Nokia delights me.

My wireless phones contain all my vital contact information, together with my notes, to-do list, and calendar items.  And just how easy it is to transfer all that from my old Nokia phone to the Nokia N96?

60 seconds, the wireless way.

First, I logged onto the Nokia’s OVI homepage and added a new phone into my online profile.  A sms was sent to my new N96 and I opened it with my temporary PIN displayed at the OVI website (for my eyes only).  I then used the Sync tool provided by the N96 to download all my latest contact, notes, to-do list, and calendar information I have previously synchronized with my old phone.  60 seconds, with no wire or complicated desktop applications.  I now have a copy of my vital information in my old N95, in the Nokia’s OVI website, in the new N96, and any future Nokia phones I will have.

A detail write-up on the Nokia OVI blogger event can be found in here.

Incremental Improvements that Shock Me Off My Chair

The new Nokia N96 is loaded with so many improvements over its predecessor that some put a smile on my face, some shock me off my socks.

The little stand that is hidden behind the camera near the lens is very good to have.  No longer do I need to hand hold my phone while watching CNN video podcast in the morning with my cup of coffee as I wait for my corporate computer to boot up.  There is also a physical keypad lock latch that makes a lot of sense.  I often find the N95 keypad locking mechanism a bit odd at times.

The music player now allows me to adjust the volume with double the precision than before, which is nice.  And the volume output through the headphone is much louder, which is very car stereo friendly.  I have long replaced the CD changer with my Nokia Nseries.  Did I mention that the new Nokia N96 comes with a car charger in the box as well?  Big deal you may say.  But having the flexibility to perpetually switch on the GPS positioning system (Nokia Map) without worrying that I may run out of the phone battery during my road trip in Malaysia, that is very, very nice.

While it still has the same good old 5 mega-pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens that works well (see my favorite sunset photo), the newly expanded 16 GB built-in memory with option to extend to another 16 GB and more put Nokia N96 beyond most (if not all) of the MP3 phones in the market today.  The menu feature has been improved too for better productivity and user friendiness.

Above all that are too many to mention in one post, here are two observations that make me a very happy Nokia N96 user.

  1. “5 seconds” is all it takes for the phone to lock onto the GPS satellites.  It is very fast, lightning fast.  And it is free.  Unlike the N95 that takes up to 5 minutes for initial satellite connection, you don’t need to slide the phone open.  The precision is so great now that it can be used not only for driving, but also for walking.  Think of the possibilities.
  2. “4 megabytes per second” is the transfer speed from my computer to the Nokia N96 via the supplied cable.  Big deal?  Well, this is up to 8 times faster than my N95.  Transferring one music album in MP3 format will now only take 15 seconds.  That is fast for a phone.  I timed this myself, loving it.

In Summary and Coming Soon

Throughout the years, Nokia has created wireless phones with better functionality and better design generation after generation.  It is evident when you hold one and try one, like the Nokia N96.  A big thanks to Angela, Evenlyn, and Felicia from the Nokia and Text100 teams who so patiently answered my questions from communication, to product, and to marketing.

It is impossible to cover all that Nokia N96 has to offer in one entry, nor do I enjoy documenting specifications line by line.  Depending on how long I get to hold onto this new phone for my test drive, here are some of the potential working titles for the upcoming episodes.  Stay tuned!

  • Episode 2: So Cynthia Took Over My Old N95 and My Second Impression on N96 (check out the picture above to see how happy she is)
  • Episode 3: GPS in the Highlands
  • Episode 4: Learning Spanish with Nokia N96
  • Episode 5: It is Spore!
  • Episode 6: Satellite Watches Me Jog
  • Episode 7: Geo-tagging Photos of My Year End Trips
  • And more

Related Tag: More Nokia N96 Test Drive Episodes

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I See I Write

Brüttal: Lingerie

Readers of my site rejoice!  Mention my name and you will get a 10% discount on a single bill for these beautiful, trendy, and colorful brutally chic n sexy lingerie.  Check out these photos I took.  The *ahem* crotchless lingerie is my favorite.  The French maid costume is also my favorite.  And there is this bunny costume, that naughty red devil costume, and a lovely variety of brutally chic n sexy lingerie that I don’t even know where to start.  Gosh, I love them all, from the bottom of my heart.

I am so proud of my old friend Adeline Choo’s new lingerie shop in Bangsar Village II (1st floor).  Malaysian readers of my site can easily pop by Brüttal and if you are shy mentioning my name, you could just say, “Erm … I heard your shop from that Singaporean blogger …”  And you will get your 10% discount.  As for my Singaporean readers, Bangsar is very near to Kuala Lumpur and I have included a direction on how to get there in the end of this entry.  Bangsar is like our Boat Quay in Singapore, a lovely place to dine at after your long day of shopping.  Don’t miss Bangsar.

Coming soon: World’s first coverage on Brüttal Wish List (for weddings, birthdays, and more) here in WilfridWong.com – where good things are meant to be shared!

I have been actively in touch with Adeline ever since her lingerie shop opened this April (and she gave us some of her lingerie that without making Cynthia blush, I love every single piece!).  And she has been inviting me over for an exclusive blogger coverage.  OK, that business trip may be harsh but I am happy to take time off and pay Brüttal a visit.  When I reached Bangsar Village II, I was impressed by the classy shopping mall that wasn’t there when I was working in Malaysia 10 years ago.  Finding Adeline’s shop was easy (1st floor) and I was even more impressed by how spacious and comfortable the shop is (and it comes with a huge changing room too!).  I literally ransacked the entire shop and gosh, I love the collection.  As I was holding up some of those enticing brutally chic n sexy lingerie, I casually asked Adeline who would wear those costumes.  She giggled and told me that a lot of ladies buy the costumes for their friends’ bachelorette nite party.  Oh wow!

Enough of words.  Check out the pictures above.  Just how much would these lovely brutally chic n sexy lingerie cost?  OK, I confess that I have a tough time memorizing what is what so I asked Adeline what would the damage be like if Cynthia was here.  Affordable she said!  Uh-huh I don’t buy that!  Adeline then said: RM18 to RM159.90.  That works out to be S$7.50 to S$66.60.  And with that 10% discount, you do the maths.  Time to bring along Cynthia in my next visit to Malaysia.

How to Get There

If you visit Kuala Lumpur, most likely you will stay in town.  Bangsar is just a 15-30 minutes drive from KL or Petaling Jaya.  If you take a taxi, simply tell the driver to drop you at the McDonald’s.  Once you align, on your left is the main street and on your right is where the restaurants and shops are at.  Turn right and you will see a long street with shops on the right and 2 long streets on the left.  Do check out both streets for there are a wide variety of restaurants and pubs.  At the end of either street is the mall Bangsar Village II.  Brüttal is on the 1st floor – 2 levels up from ground level.

Of course, you could do what I did, just ask around.  Malaysians are the friendly bunch.

External Website: Brüttal.us (tel: +603 2287 7172)

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I See I Write

A Fun Read: I Picture Myself as a Surfer Part 2 – Raining Questions That Tickle

Seems that every time I watch F1, I am in Malaysia.  I really hope to be in Singapore for the season finale in 2 weeks’ time.

My apology to have confused you on that surfer entry.  Let’s get down to some of the questions that tickle and skip 90% of the questions I was bombarded by the International crowd on the global initiative last week that will bore you to sleep.

 Some questions are pretty easy to answer.

  • Where do you come from?  Love this question, certainly the easiest of all.
  • Where are the tourist attractions in Malaysia?  Well, the KL city, the highlands, the casinos, the beach resorts, how much time do you have?

But being a consultant at heart, I get a headache going into specifics.

  • Where to buy cheap electronic goods?  Mid Valley nearby came into my mind.
  • Where to buy … ?  Mid Valley.
  • Where to … ?  Mid Valley.

Some are like comments about our currently location that I can’t quite answer directly without embarrassing my bosses who chose it.

  • We could get ourselves killed crossing these roads!  Erm … just be careful?  Look left, and right, and then left again?
  • Why did we choose Malaysia?  Yes, why?  I’d love to have this workshop in Singapore.  And I bet many do.

In this International setting, there bounds to be some who are pro-environment.

  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of papers filling up these forms.  I wish the world is perfect but it isn’t.  I wish there are better ways than paper-based approach but there aren’t.
  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of water.  Looking at those half drank water bottles going into the bin, I can certainly comprehend.  But I can’t force people to finish drinking their water, can I?  I am not a nanny for this crowd.  Or am I expected to be one?

Leading the workshop doesn’t mean that I am the fixer for all-good-problems.  Here are some questions that keep coming back to me.

  • I can’t log onto my desktop computer.  Erm … OK.  Medic?
  • I can’t read my emails.  Medic?
  • I’ve lost my emails.  Do you know how important they are to me?  Seriously, they are just one’s and zero’s.  Technically they are.  Life moves on.  Another electronic mailbox bites the dust.
  • The air conditioner is too noisy.  Shall I call the aircon man?
  • The air conditioner is too cold?  It is centrally controlled.  Nothing much I can do.  Sorry!
  • I may get sick!  Shall I get you a blanket?
  • Can you print this for me?  The printer is just down the hall but sure, that’s my job.  And what happens to that being green initiative?

And when I told y’all that I am a coffee boy at work, no one believes.

  • Can the project cater lunch for us here inside this building instead of us going out?  Sure, there are only 50 sandwiches in total.  I can do that.  So, how many of you want Turkey Breast?  What?  No pickle and onion?
  • Where is our lunch?  Good question.  It should be here any minute.  Besides, I gave my entire wallet to two admin staff (who are not trained in buying takeaways) and where are they?!
  • Where is our lunch (half an hour later)?  I am sure the sandwiches are on the way.
  • Where is our lunch (one hour later)?  Time to hide behind the cubicle somewhere.  Were we in Singapore, this wouldn’t have happened.
  • The sandwiches didn’t go too well, could we have … ?  Oh dear, is it not?  Certainly tasted OK to me.  I must be hungry.  Maybe I shall be the cook.  My cooking skill is pretty decent.  Cynthia can vouch for me. 
  • I know that we have 2 tea breaks and now 1 catered lunch, how about coffee and tea first thing in the morning?  Yes, how about that?

OK.  Some questions may have taken out of context just for entertainment’s sake.  But I guess by now you have a vague idea on what my job last week was like.  These questions are really not that bad compare to 90% of the other questions.  Last week was big ocean wave number one.  Now, onto the second wave.

And I still picture myself as a surfer.

PS. I do love the audience on the record – every one of them!

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Concert I See I Write My Favorite

Nokia Remix: Singapore – Pictures from Lifehouse Concert and the Upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Will the new Nokia touch screen phone that comes with one year unlimited music download and more redefine what a phone can be?  I was holding one last Friday and I was thrilled by its potential.  And there is no event like a Nokia event.  Lifehouse was in the house, together with the local bands and my favorite radio DJs “The Muttons” too.  I took a picture with them.  It’s priceless.

I couldn’t attend the press conference during the day due to work commitment.  But the Nokia team was kind enough to give me a 1-hour personal demonstration on the upcoming Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  Again, I tried to distract them and see if I could slip one into my pocket.  Again, I failed like the last time.

Come With Music

When it comes down to functionalities and user-friendliness, Nokia is king.  No doubt about it.  What the world has been silently waiting for is Nokia’s answer to Apple’s iPhone and its clones.  I certainly do.  While Apple threatened to shutdown iTunes early this month due to royalties dispute (current model is 61-29-9 cents split between the record industry, iTunes, and artists respectively), Nokia has worked out a deal with four major labels – EMI, Universal, Sony, and Warner – and more to give Nokia users one year unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue across a range of devices.  Is this new service “Come With Music” too good to be true?  Looking at how Nokia gives away free maps to the users, I am pretty sure that the only catch is “go buy a Nokia phone”.  Allowing users to unlimitedly and legally download music is as close to the Internet user behavior as it can get.  I am holding my breath on what the cost structure may be.

Touch, Play, Share

The new phone is a beauty.  If you are familiar with the XpressMusic series, the design of 5800 is a big leap ahead.  Weighted less than an iPhone, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with a touch screen that supports wide-screen format and has an impressive resolution – best in its class.  I checked out a video clip played and the color is stunningly vibrant.  Another surprise is the quality of the internal speakers.  The music played out loud, really loud, and the sound is crisp clear.  These features alone are enough to put my beloved N95 to shame.  Can you visualize how badly I would drool to play the Ayumi music videos on this?

Unable to resist poking at this new baby, I am delighted that everything is literally at my fingertips including being able to put 4 of my top hot looking female contacts (with profile picture) onto the home-screen.  Maybe a bit too convenience.  Imagine one day Cynthia gets hold of my new 5800 while I was away and is able to track down my past communication and their respective blog updates with just a touch onto their profile pictures?!  Disastrous.

To be honest, I was skeptic on how this new touch screen phone handles my obsessive love in sending short messages, jotting down new blogging ideas, and drafting blog entries anytime, anywhere.  I asked for a demonstration and the enthusiastic product manager casually rotated the phone and the screen switched to landscape mode automatically.  Nice!  He then brought up the virtual QWERTY keyboard and I was like: though my fingers are not that fat, no way I can type a message with that!  Like a magician, he pulled out a stylus from nowhere (actually from behind the phone) and started typing.  Not bad.  Being a difficult consumer, I complained that QWERTY is not my cup of tea.

No problem at all, he said.  He then switched to a handwriting recognition mode that if you are from the Palm era, you would probably leap in joy (not to forget to mention the copy-and-paste function this new baby has).  Not bad.  But I am the type of guy who loves the old way of doing things.  The product manager did something to the phone and all of a sudden, I saw a life-size virtual alphanumeric keypad!  I pressed onto the virtual buttons and the phone vibrated in response.  Neat!  Lastly, for the musicians, the phone comes with a plectrum (see picture above … in my language, I call it a guitar pick) as an alternative to interact with the touch screen.  I know.  Who would have thought?

Final Thought

This entry is more like a preview than a review due to my limited time with the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.  There are tons of other cool functionalities I am running out of space to write including the synchronization to the social networking sites such as Ovi by Nokia, Facebook, YouTube, and etc.  I would like to leave you with this final thought.  Towards the end of “Sex and the City” movie, Carrie wanted to call her missing groom and she asked for a phone.  Someone passed her a touch screen phone (that looked like an iPhone).  Her immediate response was like: don’t give me that, give me something I can use.  I can relate to her.  And I don’t think I will have a problem with this new Nokia phone.  It is that easy.

Below are some of the pictures I have taken during the Nokia Remix: Singapore event with Lifehouse in the house with my point-and-shoot camera.  Enjoy!

PS. A big thanks to the Nokia team and the TEXT100 team!

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I See I Write My YouTube

The Unofficial Coverage of Singapore Motorshow 2008 with Pictures and Video Clips

The first thing after I have clocked 848 km driving to PJ Malaysia and back for a band practice was to head directly to the Singapore Motorshow.  Check out the montage below and guess which one is my favorite model?

I have created a video using the clips I have recorded during the stunt performance.  The performance is really awesome and if you have some time to spare, do click onto the link below.

Related Entries: Motor Show Singapore 2008, Motor Show Singapore 2006, Super Import Nights – Worth The S$10 For The Cars And Babes? You Decide!

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I See I Write

So You Really Don’t Want That 60″ Full HD Plasma TV For Free?

Did you know that the higher the resolution of your flat panel TV is, the shorter the optimal viewing distance?  OK.  Your eyeballs or your brain may get fried staring at those life-size-like … erm … eye candies.  Watching that beautiful Korean actress Kim Ah-joong at Singapore blogger EastCoastLife’s home on that 60” TV almost made my nose bled.  What was the gathering about?  I can’t recall a thing.  I want that TV (and that “200 Pounds Beauty” DVD too)!

Fortunately I did take some pictures last Sunday (see above).  Those lovely popiah she made.  Delicious.  Though I am literally (and proudly) a Singaporean and have lived here since 95, rarely do I get to taste home cooked Singaporean food.  Especially when I don’t live with a born-and-bred Singaporean.  Come to think of it, rarely do I get to taste home cooked Indonesian food either.  Something must be wrong in this picture.

Back to that contest I was blogging about, your humble Mr. All-good-things-must-share has made a site visit and confirmed that this 1.5 meter wide 60” beast does exist, in good shape.  I am not sure why Singaporeans are so shy.  If this contest was to host in Hong Kong, people would have dreamed of a hundred-and-one ways to up their chances.  Perhaps even getting your baby to pop out a bit earlier to enter the draw.  Seriously, all you need to do is to read her blog, answer 10 questions from now till October, drop her a snail mail (it is her contest, her rule, so please don’t be lazy!) and viola.  And if you don’t want the 60” TV for whatever the reason, for the love of Kim Ah-joong, please pass that to me.  Thank you.  I promise to cook you a very nice Cantonese meal while we watch “200 Pounds Beauty”, at my living room.  You can have my bottles of wine too since I don’t drink anymore.

On a more serious note, you may wonder why I so passionately wanting to spread the news.  New media is here to change the social landscape and I am glad to be a tiny part of it.  Do I wish to see some positive impacts to people’s life via the blogosphere as a new channel?  Certainly.  Bloggers are getting involved into areas that are dominated by traditional channels, doing impactful things that have never been done before.  To my best knowledge, LG did not ask blogger EastCoastLife to give the TV away.  I wonder what I would do had Nikon given me a D700 DSLR equipped with some of the top lenses and accessories.  Gosh, it is hard to give away an item that comes with a 5-figure price tag.

On a less serious note, forget about bribing EastCoastLife with breakfast and feet massages like many are doing right now.  Now that I know where she lives, I am going to infiltrate her home and invalidate the rest of the application forms except mine when the time comes!  Kekeke!

Related Website: Win a LG 60″ Full HD Plasma TV from ECL

PS. The optimal viewing distance for a 42” plasma TV is 99 inches for a HD-ready quality (720p) and 66 inches for a full HD quality (1080p).  As for a 60” flat panel full HD TV, it is 94 inches (versus 141 inches for a HD-ready one).  Time to reconfigure my living room for a 2.4-meter of viewing distance!

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I See I Write

Jazz Up Your Life with Ovi by Nokia

And the good news is, you don’t have to own a Nokia phone to benefit from some of these cool services.  Check out the ticker below.  Avid readers of my site know my passion in organizing event photos in mosaic style for sharing.  Now, I can share my photos easily in ticker, slideshow, and mosaic styles.  How cool is that?

Share Photos Anytime, Anywhere

And if you do have a Nokia phone, you can upload your photos anytime, anywhere (note: all the features described here, I have experienced them personally over the weekend).  You can even create a live feed channel to have multiple friends of yours contributing on the contents.  What if your friends don’t have a Nokia phone?  Not a problem.  Each public channel comes with an unique email address.  Your friends can email the pictures to this address and they will appear at your channel, live.  Not comfortable to share your media to the public?  Create a private invitation only channel instead.  Truly connecting people as what Nokia inspires to do.

So I was invited for an interactive demo of the new Ovi services at Geek Terminal presented by Raj Sambwani (director) and his team.  Apparently, Ovi means door in Finnish.  And you don’t need to own a Nokia phone to sign up at Ovi.com.  Besides Ovi Share for photos sharing, it features music download too. 

Making Use of My Nokia Music Voucher

After I have bought Shakira’s recent album during initial launch, she released a deluxe edition later that features a new song “Hips Don’t Lie”.  Boo!  I ain’t going to buy another CD because of that one song.  To my limited knowledge, I don’t think we can buy music online via the iTune Store or Amazon.com here in Singapore.  So, the first track I wanted to download from Nokia Music Store was obviously my beloved “Hips Don’t Lie”.

The music download process is relatively painless.  I was required to install a component to my browser and the downloaded song is in Windows media audio file format with a bit rate of 192kbps.  Pretty decent quality and it is comparable to the rest of the online stores.  The good thing is that you can download the same song multiple times and you can play it in any device that support this format.  For some reason, I can’t get it recognized by iTune, which is a bummer because my entire music collection resides in iTune.  Also, first time authentication is required to play the song.  Each song costs S$2 (or for album, S$16).  If you are willing to spend S$176 upfront, you can get it down to S$1.66 per song.  Personally, I think the price is a bit steep compares to iTune Store or Amazon.com.  If Nokia could get it down to S$1.49 per song before discount, that would be really compelling.  Perhaps my music taste at times may not lean towards the pop culture, I do have a bit of challenging time finding what I want.

Other Cool Features from Ovi by Nokia

For the Nokia phone users, Ovi offers maps, games, files, and sync.  In the event, one friendly Nokia personnel helped me to set up my Ovi account and within seconds, all my phone contacts, notes, to-do list, and calendar items are uploaded to Ovi.com via the Wi-fi connection at Geek Terminal.  That is some really powerful tool.  Imagine this, for whatever the reason you don’t have your phone with you, you can still look up your contacts and other personal information from the Internet via the Ovi site.  All the important information from within the phone can be backed up over the air.

Another really neat feature is to the ability to send an attachment that resides in either your PC (that is switched on) or from Ovi.com via your Nokia phone.  You can even preview the contents before sending it off.  For those who are always on the go, I personally think that it is an useful feature to have.  Imagine you are having a nice holiday overseas and you bosses or your clients wants you to send that document to them right now.  And you don’t have the document with you.  Fear not, all you need is to take out your phone, browse for the right document from Ovi.com that you have uploaded earlier on, and send out the link .  You can even set the time of expiry for that link.  The real benefit behind this feature is that you don’t need to pay a hefty fees for the air time.  Effectively, you are simply sending a download link out, not the actual attachment that could be large in size. Subscription fee applies though.

Conclusion

Ovi by Nokia is still in beta.  Though I do encounter some difficulties over the weekend such as multiple files upload and different service offerings within Ovi requires individual registration and sign on, it does have offerings that are ready to face the world.  But how will Ovi flair?  It is easy to say only time will tell.  Personally, I think the success of Ovi will still very much link to the success of the Nokia phones in the short term. What Ovi may have an advantage over others is the seamless extension to our hand-held device – a mobile phone.

PS. A big thanks to the lovely Communications team of Nokia for patiently answering all my questions and helping out this rather low tech user!

Related Website: Ovi by Nokia

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I See I Write

Eyewitness: Upcoming N-Gage Hits ONE and Spore Origins at GCA 2008!

So I was invited to attend the Games Convention Asia and get to N-Gage with the inspiring people behind the gaming industry.  OK.  I will let the professional journalists to cover the media buzz and future road-maps.  What I wish to share with you here is a more personal coverage of their passion and my hands-on experience with the upcoming Nokia N-Gage games ONE and Spore.

Last week, I did a coverage of the PC version of Spore.  It is a great game, no doubt.  And I heard that this smash hit may be ported to other gaming platforms.  Here I am, this very evening, playing Spore Origins with a Nokia phone.  Too bad, I failed to distract the Nokia girl (more like the other way round) and my evil plan of sneaking out with one of their phones didn’t turn out as planned.  Nevertheless, I tried out the game briefly and it was cute, simple, yet fun.  Very much like the 1st phase of the PC version.  N-Gage has retained the customization features too (middle picture above).  The only thing missing is that in the PC version, you perform a “mating call” in order to level up.  I almost wanted to turn to this lovely Nokia girl besides me and asked how do I …

So I was introduced to Ralph Lämmche, the Senior Games Producer from Helsinki.  Ralph is such a fun guy, full of passion, and when he was demonstrating ONE (an upcoming fighting game), he was so much animated.  Ralph showed us the special 3D moves created using the motion capture technique, the customization available, how the world ranking works, and the technical challenges of implementing a game using a phone – all from the perspective of a game developer.  I asked how long it typically takes to develop a game and he said 18 months; I asked how long it took to capture the motion and he said a week; I asked what the budget was to develop ONE and he said … OK, I am not sure if that is a public information so …

I met Dan Scott too.  Dan is best known as the producer and creative director for Snakes, an updated version of the classic Nokia game and he overseas a portfolio of the N-Gage games.  Dan flew in from Canada and he does have this look of immense intelligence.  I asked how he creates games (because I did too as a hobby when I was young) and he took me on a journey of how ideas can strike us from anywhere, how he always have the audience in mind, the iterations of development and he may end up with something completely different from what was being conceptualized – for good reasons.

I asked if it is now easier or tougher for the new generation of game designers and developers (due to the leap of technology).  He said in a way it is easier because of the training available.  But in a way harder as in the old days, people from different disciplines could enter the industry, so long as you are good.  Truly inspiring.  I asked what are his all time favorite games.  He took a moment and replied Dungeon & Dragon games (old school, me too!) as well as the classic first person shooters such as Half Life and Doom (OK, I suck at those).  Which game does he look forward to the most?  Starcraft II.  Me too!

Check this out.  Dan always finishes a computer game (and he studied Robotics).  Gosh!

A lovely evening, certainly an eye opener for an avid gamer of decades years.  I hope you enjoy reading this and if you have a chance, do check out these upcoming N-Gage titles.

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I See I Write

2008 DMC World DJ Championship Singapore Finals Sponsored by TDK Life on Record – See Y’all There!

Beijing Olympic may be over but the DMC World DJ Championship is heating up.  Cynthia and I will be heading to Zouk this Saturday (heats at 9pm, final at 11pm) and see who is going to represent Singapore to battle for the World Supremacy title at London this September.  Sounds exciting?  Damn right it’s going to be!

DJ Kid Fresh – 3 times World Champion – from Germany will be there to rock the house.  I’ve checked out his MySpace and he does have some pretty cool stuff.  I am told that the sponsor TDK Life on Record has commissioned DJ Perplex (2006, 2007 DMC Australian Champ) to mix a CD of up-and-coming artists from around the globe and the CD will be distributed during the show!  His music direction is more into a mesh of hip-hop, electro, and experimental.  Wanna download a sample (I heard it, it is good stuff)?

The rule is pretty simple.  Each contestant will be given 3 minutes at the elimination round to “bring it on”.  Final round will last for 6 minutes.  What the contestants allow to use are two turntables and one mixer as well as any stylus in the Ortofon range.  What this setup does is simply allowing the DJ to creatively mix the music from two different sources.  And because effects and modifications to the setup is not allow in this competition, it is really back to basic and put every DJ on the same ground.

Edit: My insider source tells me that there will be lovely ladies from TDK Life on Record to demo the TDK headphones.  They will be in around the area so do try them out when you have a chance (erm … the headphones)!  Zouk members will receive a discount over these headphones at Cyberactive.  Now, who is kind enough to lend me a Zouk card?!

Note: Zouk admission on Aug 30 for non-members (incl. 2 drinks) – S$18 before 10pm, S$25, S$30 after.

Categories
I See I Write

Little Mr. Sunshine: A Blog Is Not a Book Is Not a Movie – My First V-blog (Prelude) Episode 7

Yes, there is a video and you will get to watch how I humiliate myself later this week.  Think “Little Miss Sunshine”.

Ever since I have started this mini-series, the most common questions I have received from the people around me (whom I am grateful for their frankness) are: Is there a video? Where is the video? What is in the video?  And the most common feedback is: I don’t get it.

A Blog Is Not a Book

Recently – after I have started the series – I read somewhere that publishing a book that reads like a blogger’s website just won’t work.  People simply won’t read such a book.  I can’t recall the reasons why and I wonder if the reverse stands too.  My only rationalization is that online readers probably have the habit to sit in front of the computer and spend only a fraction of their time to read a post before they point-and-click onto something else.  Reading a magazine or a book in contrast captures a much dedicated attention and longer attention span from the readers.

And hence, perhaps online readers prefer a more upfront, direct statement (pretty much how this post begins) rather than to bury the answers of what-where-and-is-there somewhere towards the end the 1st episode of this mini-series.

Little Miss Sunshine

Recently – also after I have started the series – I watched “Little Miss Sunshine” on cable.  It’s an awesome film.  I am not saying this just because I am a big fan of the little girl Abigail Breslin.  The film talks to me.  It really does.

Throughout the film, we are all aware that the seven years old girl Olive has a performance to make, for a competition.  But what’s in that performance?  No one knows, until the very end.  For the benefit of those who have not watched “Little Miss Sunshine”, the little girl’s performance at the beauty pageant is borderline awkward, borderline embarrassing, and borderline obscene.  Her stage performance – that has been kept secret to her family till the very end of the movie – is taught by her grandpa who is a borderline pervert.

Imagine only watching that little girl’s performance on stage and not the rest of the movie, I highly doubt if you would think too highly of this critically acclaimed movie.  The important part of the story, I observe, is the journey itself less of the end goal.  “Little Miss Sunshine” is a touching story on how this courageous little girl Olive manages to move and change the people around her who are disillusioned about their lives.  That is the journey I am talking about.

This mini-series is meant to be a journey for me, the various little steps in getting there.  The video itself, much like Oliver’s final stage performance, is less important.  Maybe I ought to be less subtle next time.

Or perhaps I need to remind myself that it is hard to make a blog to read like a movie.

The Closing of a Little Chapter

This episode marks the end of the prelude series and I know I have been confusing the living soul out of you.  My apologies.  Well, it’s absolutely not my intend.  I have a lot of fun writing this series.  Something different, something slightly more serious yet random, something closer to my heart.

PS. This hand drawn whale by me as seen at the beginning of the post carries a subtle message of “Save the Planet” in my upcoming video blog.

My 1st v-Blog Mini-Series: