My Opinion of Windows 8 - Too Early to Adopt?

I have previously installed Windows 8 DP and CP on my laptop before the RTM came out and tested purely for the fun of it. Being an early adopter of Windows 7, I have decided to install Windows 8 Pro onto my desktop which is my main workstation to see how it fares with all the positive reviews from various hardware and technology websites.

What I liked about it was the speed that the new Microsoft operating system packed, it provided a decent out of the box experience. The installation of the operating system took me around 20 minutes. After it was done, the latest stable driver for my NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti have been installed and running without requiring me to interact with any kind of driver installation setup wizard. Do note that the driver installed is NVIDIA's driver and not some generic Microsoft display driver. This means that you can proceed to install your games straight away instead of spending your time downloading and installing the latest graphic driver. Also, the new Windows came with native USB 3.0 drivers. This saved me the trouble of download and installing the driver. In summary, I did not bother spending time to download and install my hardware drivers. Instead, the essential drivers came installed together with the installation of the operating system. The installation of software application felt a lot faster on the new operating system, I suppose this is where Microsoft's under the hood optimization comes in play. I was pleased with the native ability to mount ISO and  the new File History feature.

Being an early adopter of an operating system has its price, majority of the software applications were not ready for Windows 8. For example, iTunes 10.7 does not work well, it gave me error when I tried to synchronize my iPhone to iTunes. Other utilities that I require have their own share of problems as well. The free version of Revo Uninstaller did not support nor work in Windows 8 at all; I was not able to clean up the leftover files of an software uninstall automatically. My favorite MPC-HC did not have their file association working either, supposedly due to the new file association API implemented on the new operating system. I had to turn to VLC and MPC-BE. uTorrent and CCleaner worked flawlessly though, an indication that the mentioned problem should be ironed out over time.

Personally, I am not fond of the Modern UI. It made every single task that could be so easily accomplished felt like a treasure hunt. I appreciate the privilege of not having to meddle with applications designed for touch screen with keyboard and mouse to get the job done. With all the application shortcuts appearing on my Windows 8 start page, I have decided to sort them out. After I have sorted them out manually, I realized I have to manually sort out the shortcuts in a group again if I want them to be positioned in a alphabetical order. The installation of Adobe Master Collection and Microsoft Office alone created more than 30 shortcuts on the start page; that is the number of times I have to move the icons to make it look less cluttered. I am probably better of unpinning every single shortcut on the start page since it serves no meaning accessing the shortcuts from the start page. It is probably a lot faster to search for the application by typing in the start page than to search it manually by using my eyes. The whole user experience made me felt that I was using a Linux distribution; I had to relearn how to get things done and hunt for applications that are made for the operating system.

I do not recall having so much trouble when I adopt to using Windows 7 in its early days, the most I had to do was to install drivers meant for Vista onto the system. Could it be that it is simply too early to adopt Windows 8?

Gadget Checklist for Red Zone Camps

Even with the implementation of the pilot security zoning programme across 14 selected SAF camps, there are still demand for non camera devices. If you are posted to a green zone camp, congratulations. You can bring in your camera enabled smart phone to the designated green zone area while in camp.

For those of you who are posted to a camp that belongs to the red zone, it does not mean you are stuck with a Nokia "army" phone for the rest of your NS days. I have compiled a list of gadgets that you should be able to bring into your camp together with the cost.

Smart Phones:
1. Blackberry Bold 9780 Non Cam

• Cost around $200 for a used set depending on the condition
• Better battery life compared to the 9360
• Wide range of accessories available in the market (housing, battery)
• Comes with non USB wall charger that can be brought into SAF camps

2. Blackberry Curve 9360 Non Cam

• Cost around $380 for a brand new set without contract (mobilesquare/j2mobile)
• Shorter battery life compared to the 9780
• Comes with wall charger that has USB head which is not allowed in SAF camps by default
• Supports wireless tethering with BIS

3. Huawei Honor Non Cam

• Cost around  $350 without contract (mobilesquare/j2mobile)
• Decent battery life with the stock Android 2.3
• Comes with wall charger that has USB head which is not allowed in SAF camps by default
• Requires MSD sticker
• Supports wireless tethering

4. iNO One 

• Cost $268 (Y2K Accessories Trading)
• Shorter battery life compared to the Honor
• Comes with wall charger that has USB head which is not allowed in SAF camps by default
• Supports wireless tethering

Entertainment Devices:
1. PSP

• Cost $189 for a brand new PSP 3000 without accessories (qisahn)
• Cost around $150 for a used PSP 2000/3000 with accessories depending on the condition

2. iPod Touch 3rd Generation

• Cost around $200 for the 32GB model depending on the condition

Note:  

• If you are considering to get a Blackberry, do read up on the FAQs regarding BIS.
• To be eligible for the MSD sticker, there are some specific requirements. Do check with your unit's S2 branch before making your purchase.

Rooting My Huawei Honor Non Camera

With my Huawei Honor Non Camera updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), it is a lot more easier to root the device compared to when it was running on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).


Before you root your device, you should take note of the following.

• Rooting your device voids your warranty
• Only root the device at your own risk
• I am not responsible if your device got bricked in the process of rooting
• This guide is meant for Singapore Huawei Honor Non Camera running on Singapore's version of ICS

Prerequisites:

• Huawei Honor Non Camera phone running on ICS
• A PC with administrator permission to run batch file
• HiSuite properly installed on your PC
• Ability to follow simple instructions
• The need or curiosity for rooted Android applications

Instructions:

• Download the tool required for rooting your device here (mirror)
• Extract the file using a file archiver 
• Enable USB debugging on your Huawei Honor

• Connect your Huawei Honor to your PC
• Run "root-me.cmd" with administrator permission
• Press any key to continue with the rooting process

• Reboot your phone and enjoy your rooted Huawei Honor!

Upgrading My Huawei Honor Non Camera

The Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update for Singapore's Huawei Honor Non Camera is finally out!

Download it here from Huawei's official website!

I am going to go through step by step on how to proceed with the upgrade.


Prerequisites:

• Huawei Honor Non Camera phone


• MicroSDHC memory card slotted into your Huawei Honor


• A Mac or a PC that can access the root directory of the memory card through your Huawei Honor


• Ability to follow simple instructions

Instructions:

1. Backing up your system data and applications

• Navigate your way to "All backup" and backup your desired system settings and applications.


• Use "Backup to SD" to backup your system settings


• Use "Applications" to backup your applications

2. Downloading the required files for the update

• Either download the required files from the official Huawei website or download it from the dropbox link Huawei provided


• Extract the content using a file archiver

3. Placing the correct files in the correct place (Part 1)

• Copy the "dload - Part 1 (Main package)" folder onto the root directory of your memory card


• Rename "dload - Part 1 (Main package)" to "dload"

4. Running the update on your phone (Part 1)

• Note: DO NOT INTERRUPT THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE AT ANY POINT OF TIME


• Navigate to "System Settings" > "Storage" > "Software Upgrade"  > "SD card Upgrade" > "Confirm"


• The phone will reboot itself once the update is completed

5. Placing the correct files in the correct place (Part 2)

• Delete the existing "dload" folder in your memory card


• Copy the "dload - Part 2 (Vendor Package)" folder onto the root directory of your memory card


• Rename "dload - Part 2 (Vendor Package)" to "dload"

6. Running the update on your phone (Part 2)

• Note: DO NOT INTERRUPT THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE AT ANY POINT OF TIME


• Navigate to "System Settings" > "Storage" > "Software Upgrade"  > "SD card Upgrade" > "Confirm"


• You will see a "OK!" once the update is completed


• Remove the battery from the phone


• Place it back in and boot it up

7. Restoring your system data and applications

• Navigate your way to "All backup" and restore your desired system settings and applications

Congratulations! You have completed upgrading your Huawei Honor to Android 4.0!

Before:

After:

Tired of Maintaining My Music Library

I am sure there is a point in time where one is just too sick and tired of maintaining their own digital music library collection. It could be due to limitations such as storage space and many others.

For my case, it is mainly due to the lack of time. I am serving NS, WHERE GOT TIME?

The solution to the problem? Simply listen to what everyone else is listening to by tuning to the local radio station! The thing is, Singapore's local radio stations are horrible. I am sure fellow Singaporeans will agree to this statement. They loop their playlist for like a whole month. I still remember listening to The Boys by SNSD every morning on 98.7FM during my internship period.

In order to find a playlist which I liked and allowed me to have some sort of control over, I turned to internet radio. Some popular internet radio websites includes shoutcast, jango and radio tuna. My internet radio of choice? 8tracks.

Here are a few of my favourite playlists:

Billboard goes Acoustic. from IanCarlo on 8tracks Radio.

mochimochi's oldschool CPop mix from MochiMochi on 8tracks Radio.

A Sword Girl, A Rock City Boy and A Basketball from The Sword Library on 8tracks Radio.

Best part of 8tracks? It has a android application which I can use on my Huawei Honor while I am in camp!

Smartphone users will be able to enjoy 8track's service on the go using 8tracks's mobile application which includes Android, iOS and Windows Phone support. Please do take note that the service uses mobile data. Since most of the new mobile subscription plans' data bundle by Singapore's service providers are limited to 2 GB per month, I do recommend keeping track of your own data usage to make sure that you do not exceed the amount of data entitled for your monthly subscription to avoid extra charges.

5570.4 MB out of the 12 GB data bundle used

RecordTV.com - Singapore's own Hulu?

Earlier back in August, I read on the Digital Life section of The Straits Time that RecordTV allow users to record Singapore local free to air television programmes.

I have started using the website since then and am very pleased with it. It is not hard to notice that the service provided by RecordTV is very similar to the XinMSN catchup TV.

So why bother using RecordTV when you can use the matured XinMSN catchup TV?

1. A larger variety of TV programmes can be recorded and watched online, these programmes includes overseas TV series such as Alcatraz, Vampire Dairies, Survivor and even movies such as The Game Plan.


2. A better web user interface that shows the TV listing that can be recorded for the day, sorted by channels.


3. Ability to record from Channel News Asia and also various news broadcast from other available channels.


4. Ability to stream recorded programmes from mobile devices running on Android or iOS.


5. Shorter waiting time for the availability of the recording.

The Game Plan

Channels available to record from

Nonetheless, there are some drawbacks.

TV programmes recorded will only be available for a period of 9 days, the video quality of the recordings are inferior compared to those offered by XinMSN and could cause eye cancer if you attempt to view it full screen on a 23" LCD!

This service is highly recommended for those who wish to watch the programmes that they have missed on their mobile devices while commuting.

BBDC Hates Me

So I had failed my FTT for my driving recently with an epic score of 44/50. For those of you who are unaware, the passing mark is 45.

Give me a break! One more correct answer would have made all the difference. Reality had slapped me right in the face.

Putting my failures aside, I had decided to proceed to book another FTT via BBDC's online book system to get it down and over with.

12 months down the road, surely there is a slot for me to retake my test right?

*Gets punched in the face by reality

Are there that many learners during this time of the year?

So what is going to happen when Singapore hit the population of 6 million?

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-s-ideal-population-size--six-million--says-pm-lee.html

Six million.

That's the total number of people Singapore can afford to accomodate in the near future, says Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as quoted by Channel NewsAsia.

Responding to a question from the host during a recorded panel discussion on MediaCorp, PM Lee said, "It's very hard to give a concrete figure, because the situation is evolving. We're gradually increasing our land area, and if we rebuild our older towns,then we can accommodate more people."

"Today our population is over 5 million. In the future, 6 million or so should not be a problem. Beyond that, we'll have to think more carefully," Mr Lee added.

He was responding to a question by host Chun Guek Lay who had asked what was Singapore's ideal population target.

As of December last year, Singapore's population stood at 5.26 million.

Singapore's ideal population size has been a bone of contention in recent years as the country struggles to cope with the influx of foreigners and a record low birth rate.

Update: It would seem that the system only allow users to book slots available in the same month, that would explain why there was no available slots for me during end September. I was later able to book a slot for myself in early October through the system.