Digital Fugue - Random Thots

Web Launch Party

Web Launch Party

Amir Yussof will be having a web launch party this coming 9th May. Check it out.

Quality Cigar

Quality Cigar

" Surgeon General's Warning: Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, ephysema and may complicate pregnancy."

Im a social smoker. For some reason I only smoke only while partying and clubbing perhaps due to the fact that i don't drink. No, Im not the average Marlboro guy or Dunhill suave. A mild Sampoerna would suite me fine, once in a while of course.

While tucked nicely in a secluded corner, I prefer cigars. No, not the big fat robusto Cohibas. They're to exhaustive, take too long to finish and burn a hole too deep in my pocket! Save those only for very important occassions, perhaps when i become a quasi retro dictator in a tropical island somewhere, where tobacco and hashish products contribute to 90% of its GDP or something like that.
The Coronas are just about the right size... not too big, not too small. I like them. Special occassion favourite - Birthdays, reunions... even death, to some extent.
One of my favourite robust cigars is the Montecristo. But they too burn my pockets, not as deep as the Cohibas but deep enough. The Davidoffs are nice and mild, but still couldn't fit the bill. Until i found Avo Uvezian. The Avo Puritos is nice and small. smaller than the petit coronas, almost like a panatella. You can finish it in less than half and hour. The taste and the after taste is... heavenly. For stronger taste, the Domaine Avo Puritos is recommended.

If you like cigars, check them out.

Other than that, I like collecting Tubos. Individual cigars packed in tubes. My current collection includes H. Upmann, Punch, Macanudo, Zino and Partagas.

Listening to: Mesmerized, Ja Rule feat. Ashanti

Blogger vs Moveable Type?

Noticed how this blog have become an avenue for comparing stuff...? A or B, Y vs Z, Smeagol or Gollum?
Anyway, Moveble Type owner Six Apart in an apparent move to counter the intense success and publicity of Pyra Labs' Blogger (especially after the latter was taken over by Google), is coming out with an online blog hosting service called TypePad.

The question is... should Digital Fugue stay on with Blogger/Blogspot or should we upgrade to Moveable Type/TypePad?

Wifi vs 3G? Part 1

Seriously, I think 3G will be a stillborn child. Even before deployment and implementation, it has came under fire from all around. The natural progression from the current GSM system (2G) is taking too much time, other technologies have started to replace them as the de facto standard in wireless communication.

First we have the wireless LAN standard, the 802.11x family. The success of 802.11b have created a cult culture among the IP based evangelist. Now we have different flavours within the 802.11 family, The 11b gives you upto 11Mbps, 11a and 11g gives you upto 54Mbps depending on distance.
Both the 11b and 11g operate within the unlicensed 2Ghz band which is currently being congested by multiple applications (eg, bluetooth, medical and scientific instruments, WiFi and microwave ovens). The 11a have more breathing space in the 5Ghz band.
A new standard based on the 802.11 is being formulated by the IEEE, the 802.11n. The 11n is poised to provide more than 100Mbps wirelessly.

Having said that, vendors are pushing more innovative products/gadgets in the market. SMC came out with a powerful Wifi card that'll cook pasta in 7 minutes (just kidding! :)) So powerful that some countries like Singapore have banned it from circulation. in Malaysia, the regulators are still testing the equipment for certification (ie. safe for public use). I hope i could get my my hands on the SMC cards, then, i'll be roaming around town sniffing for radio signals! :)

Cisco on the otherhand plans to ship a WiFi phone, modeled after ther IP phone. Other traditional phone manufacturers are having their R&D guys crack their heads. In a few months time, the Motorolas and Nokias of the world will come out with their own version of Wifi and GSM combo phone that will let you roam seamlessly between GSM networks and Wifi networks.

Broadband wireless which is based on the 802.16 standard is a different story where we have LMDS and MMDS operating within 2Ghz upto 60Ghz. However these are licensed bands where special application have to be submitted and approved by various regulating bodies such as the FCC in the US or MCMC in Malaysia. While this is more of industrial standards, it is making its way into mainstream wireless networking circle. The WiMAX forum tends to close that gap.

Here's Tech Web's view on WiFi vs 3G.
So, who do you think will win the wireless race, WiFi and the 802.1xx gang or 3G?
I'd put my money on WiFi... definitely!

Headbanging to: Somewhere I Belong, Linkin Park

Condolences

To the Schumacher brothers, on the passing of their beloved mother.

Im imagining the tremendous pressure both of them have endured during the race. The race itself is stressful enough, plus the external emotional stress on the breaking of the news hours before the race. Any average individual would have suffered an emotional breakdown.

Just a thought, the San Marino track would be an emotional, almost haunting track to Michael. It was that track that took rival, Aryton Senna's life in 1994, in which Michael was trailing closely behind. In 2003, Schumacher got the news of his mother's death while preparing for the race at the same track. coincidence? perhaps.

PDA Galore

Im thinking of getting a PDA for my upcoming birthday.... or should I get a new handphone..? an iPod would be cool too....

Anyway, here are a few good PDA sites:
Bargain PDA
PDA Buyer's Guide
PPC Zone
PDA Street
PocketPC City
PPC Mag

That should be able to confuse me for a while...

Oh yeah, lemme just plug this brilliant Gadgets Blog: Gizmondo

Nightmares

Two nightmares in a row... sheesh... Yesterday's was a plane accident and someone being impaled by metal scafolling. (Don't ask me how it happens!)
Today's nightmare was trigger happy occupation army with nail guns terrorizing the streets of Malaysia.
Perhaps this article from The Age could have caused it: War view drew US threats: Malaysia

Blah... i've been watching too much news and reading too much news. A vacation in Fantasy Island would help....
Tatoo: "The plane...! the plane...!"

Oh, before i go, i'd like to plug Digital KL. A blog that was modeled after Digital Fugue. Feels like looking in a mirror! Mr. Data, I'm truly flattered! I didnt know my ramblings could influence people. :)

Listening to: Honestly, Zwan

Test shots

Test shots

Alright kids, here are some test shots from my Canon Powershot S45. Most of them are night shots. I'll post some daylight shots once i got the chance to go on my photo outing.
The photos were shot on Superfine setting at 1600x1200 pixels on ISO 200. For web publishing purpose, i have resized the pictures to 640x480 pixels. No other modifications were made except for the pixelization on the sexy german chick on the third page.
Well what are you waiting for? Head over to test gallery! :)

Listening to: Clocks, Coldplay

Wireless LAN

Wanna know more about wireless LAN? Checkout these two resourceful sites:

searchNetworking 802.11 Learning Guide

Planet 802.11

Still on the topic of WLAN, they are working out a standard to let gadgets roam from Wifi to cellular. When this standard is finalized, i have the feeling that its going to be a major competitor to 3G. And this definitely will hampens 3G deployment worldwide.
Other than that, Cnet featured Four IT trends to look out

Don't you just hate it

Don't you just hate it

Surfing to numerous white paper sources online, I have come across many sites that asks for my personal details. While this might be spam magnets, i dont really mind (cleaning up big dicks, breast transplants, mortgage/loans, viagra, breakthrough hair growth serum and more recently support our troop t-shirts have been part of my daily chores)
But what pisses me when filling up online forms is when they ask for State, and they list down the fifty something states across the US. Fine, im from another planet, and choose to ignore the required field. When i clicked on Submit, an error page occured saying "please fill in all the required fields" and i have to click on one of the states, usually Alabama, being the top of the selection.

When they finally decide to snail mail something, the address on the mail would look something like:

No. 75 Jalan Tasik,
Seri Kembangan,
Selangor. 43310
Alabama
Malaysia

No we do not have a state called Alabama in Malaysia.