Iron Man a.k.a Orang Besi

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Mark

Screamed the title of a superb movie, well not exactly the title but just the subtitle. After watching it last night, I felt that this was one of the better Marvel movies that was showed on the big screen. The awesome portrayal of Tony Stark as the eccentric billionaire played by Robert Downey Jr.

The movie started off with how Tony Stark who was the owner of Stark Industries whose father was one of the creators of the atomic bomb, became who he was. Now manufacturing high tech weaponry for the US government, he later realises that his deeds has returned to haunt him.

After being captured by militants and held in captivity for 3 months, in that period, Tony saw a lot of things that made him change and he returned not as an eccentric billionaire but as a changed man. Well he was still rather eccentric.

The things I love about this movie was the great balance between the action scenes, great special effects and the witty humour (not the same lame type from Spiderman or Fantastic Four). Frankly, among all of the other Marvel movies, this has to be one of my favourite ones. Ironically since Ironman is one of the heroes which doesn’t really have any super powers.

Interesting sites:

How to prevent being infertile

Posted on April 8, 2008 by Mark

How many of you out there have been using your laptops on your laps while working? Well frankly, I have been using that method often and back in my uni days, I used it to keep myself warm during winter and played championship manager with my laptop on my lap.

Little did I know that I was courting disaster! (Heres why and why)

Finally after lots and lots of procastination, I finally bought a laptop cooler. It so happened that I was in Sunway Pyramid the other day having dinner with my colleagues and planning to go bowling after that. It was then that I spied an interesting cooler which was appealing and yet versatile enough to cool my laptops. Well technically, they are not really my laptops, just the ones my company gave me to use (it crashes way too often!).

Image source: Cooler Master Notepal Infinite

Now isn’t that just a thing of beauty? Now that is one way to prevent being infertile in yet such a stylish method!

For those techy people out there, here are some of the features of this notebook cooler.

Innovative and optimized airflow structure increases cooling area by 150% and efficiently controls noise level, compared to traditional coolers
Metal mesh surface for great cooling performance and stylish design
Ultimate thermal solution to cool down your notebook; up to 17 degrees C
Adjustable fan speed to accommodate your working environment
Ergonomic design for best comfort
Special design of the intake at rear side allows convenient usage anywhere, on sofa or in bed, without blocking airflow
4 strips of anti-slip rubbers prevents the notebook from sliding
Unique design for easy cable management (hook and slot) at the rear side
Accommodates most notebook dimensions and especially for the wide screen

Adobe Lightroom 2 Beta is Out!

Posted on April 2, 2008 by Mark

Yes as the title says, Lightroom 2 is out and there are a lot of wonderful new features. Totally excited about it and I can’t wait for the full version to be released.

Image source: NAPP Learning Centre

For more information, check out the links below.

Matt Klowskowski of Lightroom Killer Tips has released the top ten new best feature here on his site.
Scott Kelby has also made a post about this new baby.
NAPP Adobe Lightroom 2 Learning Centre can be found here.
Download the beta version here.

I better start taking the bus in April

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Mark

Apparently something is brewing over the horizon in April. My last post mentioned that I had a busy April coming about but I have this nagging feeling that something fishy and familiar is looming. What could it just be?

That mask looks so familiar to me, I wonder who used to wear it. Perhaps if I asked this guy if he knew what was going on.

Or maybe this guy might know something.

Wingman? Whose wingman is he? How can you go about picking girls up with that hairy suit? Well I guess with that, it does start a pretty interesting conversation. With that feeling in my head, I guess it would be best to take the bus to work in April. Why do you ask? This is why.

Image source: Gizmodo

Thats right, in case of emergencies, please break glass and arm yourself with a lightsaber. Still not convinced? Perhaps this would change your mind somewhat.

Image source: AmNY

Now I better run and hide from them Siths.

For more info, visit this site.

Happy 40th Birthday, the unwanted cubicle!

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Mark

The title says it all but what it doesn’t say is that Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has teamed up with IDEO to come up with the ULTIMATE cubicle, for Dilbert, that is. Anyway I thought it was rather cool, I looked at my own cubicle at work and wished it was this funky.

cube Happy 40th Birthday, the unwanted cubicle!

Image source: http://www.ideo.com/dilbert/index.htm

Personally I have sat in 3 different types of cubicles in my career. The first one was based off an open office concept where by I wasn’t surrounded by any partitions but the amount of electronic reading equipments (oscilloscopes, spectrum meter, etc.) ended up being the partition instead. The 2nd one I sat in was the best, Herman Miller chairs were available and a never-ending supply of wonderful coffee and an incredible view to boot.

My current cubicle is the largest of the 3, a not so comfortable chair and plenty of space for me to make a mess. Although the only problem is that the central air-conditioning system doesn’t seem to reach my area of the office so I am rather warm most of the time.

Head over to this site and check out it’s cool features.

National Duty Fulfilled

Posted on March 9, 2008 by Mark

Yesterday I did what all citizens of Malaysia was tasked to do, which was to exercise our right to vote. Then of course I spent the entire night watching channels 501, 101, 103 and 109 on Astro waiting to see the results.

The results are in.

Glad I performed my national duty and glad that our votes counted.

Aiks, I am late for my meeting now!

The new Windows Mobile Experience?

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Mark

A while back I wrote a piece on “Smooth Interfaces” describing a user interface which works with any Windows Mobile 5/6 device which allows you to have a smooth navigation of your usual options and programs. The exciting thing about this was that the interface was so smooth and flawless that it rivals that of the iPhone. Since this application is a freeware and I am sure we are always hoping for more eye candy to appear and better functionality, Sony on the other hand has announced a new experience in the form of Experia.

Well from the image above it looks like any other smartphone but coming into the forray of smartphones and PDA phones, Sony has decided to enter in with a big bang. With much hype from the many many many first looks and reviews, this phone is the next most anticipated item on the mobile market. Why is that? Look at the video below and it should answer your queries.

Now, doesn’t that interface look sweet? I just pray that it doesn’t crash as much as it would be. With all of these newer front end applications replacing the standard Windows Mobile UI, I hope Microsoft might just take a wee bit more time concentrating on aspects like this. But I guess since WM has already sold 14.3 million worldwide, Microsoft would probably be busy trying to relaunch their bid again on Yahoo.Related links:

I have been poisoned

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Mark

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being poisoned by someone who owned the legendary (well, I consider that legendary to my own standards) Nikon D3. If you must know, the Nikon D3 is a hell of a camera and its hefty price tag (RM15,000 for just the body alone) turn a lot of people away.

d3front 001 I have been poisoned

Image source: Dpreview.comÂ

Anyway back to my poisoning story, yes, the camera is an incredible feat of engineering and I was so blown away by its weight and the quality of it’s images. I was busy shooting at ISO 3200 and it looks just as clean as my D200 shooting at ISO 400-500.Perhaps, if I stop spending my money on soft drinks, snacks, McDonalds and KFC, I should be able to get this baby in about 3-4 years time.

For those of you who want more info about the picture quality of the Nikon D3, you can head over here, here and here.

Photos from CYZ

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Mark

I thought I would share some of the photos I took at the recent CYZ congregation last Friday night. Wasn’t officially shooting the event but I just thought it would be good for me to put into practice what I learned at my recent photography workshop.

Here are some of my favourite shots.

Drum roll!

Team huddle!

Trying to portray a grunge look for the electric guitar effects pedal

Spotlight on the lead guitarist

The lone backup singer at the side where no one can see him

Candlelight shot with the lead singer behind

Candid shot of a shy singer

Smooth interfaces

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Mark

Ok, your friend is carrying an iPhone with its super cool and sleek interface which makes you go “ga-ga”. Everyday you look at your own Windows Mobile device and wish that it could turn into an iPhone or you would have some super cool application. You try to search the web for an iPhone skin for your PDA/Phone and hope that it works.

You install the application, you try to turn it on. Nothing works! Your phone starts to overheat and smoke is coming out from your speakers. You drop your phone as the burning sensation overcomes your pain nerves. At about this point you would probably know that I am bullshitting but nevertheless; you would want your phone to burn up as it will give you an excuse to ask your cousin staying in the US to get you that super cool iPhone.

Well I can’t really help you to fulfill your desire to have something sexy and sleek but this application which I found out about could perhaps give you a little something to drool over for a while. Head over to PointUI.com and you will know what I am talking about.

Yes, I am talking about an application which works with our Windows Mobile device available on the web. And the best thing about it, (definitely a pull factor for most Malaysians) it is absolutely free!

Pointui Home is Free
We’re nearing launch so we decided it was time to share the good news, as you would have guessed from the heading, Home will be free. There will not be any advertising or catches attached, plain and simply free. If you see value and wish to contribute by way of a donation then you can do so through the PayPal link on the product page.

If you don’t believe how smooth it is, check out the YouTube video of it.

Unless you are super patient and will be willing to wait for the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 which will focus on touch screen capabilities and motion gestures.

Check out this link to see more pictures of the new WM7 interface.

Mark Leo Dot Net

Loving all things photography, tech, gadgets, Apple and cars

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