Monthly Archives: December 2009

You Heart GMail So Much You Need a Gboard

by andy
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You Heart GMail So Much You Need a Gboard

So, you live by GMail but you don’t have it synchronised with your desktop mail software, and you can’t remember the keyboard shortcuts to execute a range of useful commands? No, it doesn’t sound like me, either, but if you are, or know someone who is, the Gboard might be what’s needed. It’s a 19-key preprogrammed USB keyboard which has a number of GMail’s important features available, so you no longer have to worry about what keyboard shortcut does what. I’ll be honest, I’d much prefer to get a programmable external keypad that could be used with a variety of different applications. Though email is important to me, it’s not Read more »

Top ten Christmas gadgets are so predictable

by andy
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Top ten Christmas gadgets are so predictable

Honestly, I despair. The Great British public has no imagination. It has plumped for the technological equivalents of underwear for its top ten list of Christmas presents this year. Name a really exciting gadget that you would really like for Christmas, and it won’t be on the list. Not the list compiled by publisher CNet UK, anyway. 1. Ooh, look, Sony has brought out a slim version of the PS3. That’s number one. Don’t worry that you’ve already got a PS3. 2. The iPhone isn’t on the list, but the HTC Hero smart phone is. Maybe it’s because it’s cheaper. 3. Those who don’t want a PS3 Slim still want Read more »

A Decade of Zombies I: Social Infection and Romero's Influence

by Jayvee Fernandez
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A Decade of Zombies I: Social Infection and Romero's Influence

It was much simpler back then. Zombies, just like pirates, robots and ninjas became a significant part of pop culture due to the enduring appearances in movies, comics, video games and the Internet. In the past decade however, the term “zombie” has been ironically stratified into many other sub-types. Before the influence of George Romero’s zombies from Dawn of the Dead (originally from the 1968 Night of the Living Dead, remade in 2004), the “zombie” was defined as a soulless husk that retained ambulatory functions. Although zombies fed on humans, it was Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide, 2003) who clarified that zombies only feed because they can, out of Read more »

Would you update your Facebook relationship status at the altar?

by andy
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Over a million people have already watched the video of a groom updating his Facebook relationship status in between being “pronounced man and wife” and “kissing the bride”. It was meant as a joke — “we really don’t Facebook THAT often” said the groom — but it proves, if proof were needed, how pervasive social networking now is. You can bet at least a couple of people in the assembled congregation were tweeting the event or sending photos to Facebook or Flickr on the fly. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has lifecast their wedding, though it would be interesting to see how the some church policies would deal with Read more »

Google makes it easier to review venues on the move

by andy
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Google makes it easier to review venues on the move

I’m sure, esteemed geeks as most of you are, you already check out reviews of restaurants, clubs and other venues online before you leave your speedy home Internet connection behind, or at least via your 3G or Wi-Fi cellphone on the move. Sensible move, though it can be a pain to piece together a decent selection of opinions when the connection is poor. Enter Google — fresh from adding fading effects to the main search page — offering “Favourite Places on Google”. Each chosen venue will now display a QR code in its window, which you can snap a photo of with the camera on your phone and then quickly Read more »

Favourite Inuyasha Characters?

by Nopy
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Favourite Inuyasha Characters?

With the Inuyasha anime in its final season, it seems unlikely that any more new characters will be introduced to the story. This is probably a good thing because with over 170 episodes already and around 30 major and minor  characters to keep track of, it’s hard to remember them all and the stories behind them. Of course, anyone who’s been dedicated enough to follow Inuyasha for the past decade or so (either the manga or anime) has got to have a list of their favourite characters, I know I certainly do. Many of you probably will have different opinions, but here are my 3 favourite characters from Inuyasha: 3. Read more »

Air Dish: Save the environment without being a prick

by Jayvee Fernandez
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Air Dish: Save the environment without being a prick

See what I did with the title? Heh. The Air Dish is a simple design by Mina Song. Environmentally friendly, portable, and well, a tad inconvenient. Technically anyone could have thought of this — take an inflatable bladder around the size of a plate and there you go. But really, who’d do that? The Air Dish is a custom made inflatable plate promoting zero impact to the environment when you go on picnics or backpacking. Of course, you’d need to be quite selective with your choice of meals as meats — or anything that requires a knife can potentially destroy this plate. Maybe we can go as far as suggesting Read more »

Porsche Panamera Hybrid Variant Confirmed

by J. Angelo Racoma
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Porsche Panamera Hybrid Variant Confirmed

The Porsche Panamera raised some eyebrows when it was launched this year. It’s quite singular really: a Porsche with four doors, and a sedan at that! It does cater to a different niche than your usual, run-of-the-mill Carrera or Boxster. However, it seems having a luxury sports sedan is not enough for this German marque. At the LA Auto Show, Porsche has confirmed that the previously-announced planned hybrid version of the Panamera is in the works. Porsche is likely to use the same technology from the hybrid Cayenne currently being developed. While the turbo version of the current Panamera runs on a 4WD drivetrain, the hybrid might have to drop Read more »

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer shows 2010 and 2011 showings

by Jayvee Fernandez
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer shows 2010 and 2011 showings

Search YouTube and you’ll find lots of fan-made videos for the trailer of J.K. Rowling’s final book. But this popped up as an exclusive in Vimeo and it contains the teaser trailer, a little behind the scenes and interesting enough, a movie split in two with Part I showing in November 2010 and Part II in July 2011. So for those who are anticipating some sort of closure for the big screen version of Harry Potter — and to finally give Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson a much needed rest and a shot at other things — well it looks like the movie series will extend for one Read more »

Tokyo Timewarp: Toshiba's venture into social media marketing

by Jayvee Fernandez
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Tokyo Timewarp: Toshiba's venture into social media marketing

From the surface, Tokyo Timewarp (@tokyotimewarp) looks like any well-funded, but aspiring casual game amidst the many titles playable on Facebook. Beneath the surface though, there’s an object of interest to see the key players behind this product. Tokyo Timewarp is a joint project between Toshiba Singapore, the regional hub for Toshiba in South East Asia, in partnerships with Intel. One of the regional marketing guys sent me a Facebook invite the other day explaining that this was regional’s first venture into social media, which is saying a lot since not too many technology companies — especially if they’re based in Japan — take the risk in this turf. Tokyo Read more »