New Music: Shayne Ward - Gotta Be Somebody (Video)

Shayne Ward released this single early November 2010. It's actually a cover of Nickelback's Gotta Be Somebody back in 2008, which I absolutely loved ever since I first heard the song on the radio. While I like some of Shayne Ward's songs, I very much prefer the original Nickelback's Gotta Be Somebody to Shayne's cover. There's no denying that Shayne Ward has an fantastic voice, but for some reason, he chose to go with a deliberately over-processed electronic voice in this one, very evidently present when he sings the first line in the song. This ultimately disappoints fans.

Overall, the song is rather high-pitched, a very big contrast against the low Nickelback's version. Shayne's version is still great, with energy and a catchy beat, but it is just not as powerful as the original. It should be out on Singapore radios in the coming weeks.


Shayne Ward - Gotta Be Somebody (2010)





Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody (2008)

New Music: Rihanna ft Eminem - Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)

When I first heard "Love The Way You Lie" by Rihanna and Eminem a couple months back, I sort of have a feeling that there would be a follow up because of the way the song ended. Now it looks like there indeed is a continuation. Rihanna and Eminem have returned with part 2 of the hit song. This time, the song is slower and emotionally more intense than the previous, with Eminem really venting his anger out in his rap. Expect this song to hit local radio in the coming few weeks.

New Movie Trailer: Green Lantern (Video)

Come 2011, yet another comic book character is hitting the giant screen. Just a couple months back, at Comic Con 2010, . the Green Lantern movie was officially announced. Among comic book fans, a Green Lantern movie is highly anticipated, proven by the loads of fan-made Green Lantern movie trailers found on YouTube (admittedly, some are pretty impressive).

So DC Comics and Warner Bros have teamed up to bring what the fans wanted. Here's the official debut of the Green Lantern movie trailer. Hit the main post for the trailer.

Titanic 2 is neither a sequel or a good movie (video)

There are some movies that should be made and others not. Unfortunately Titanic 2 is of the latter. While its name may fool people to think that it is a sequel of the 1997 James Cameroon's Titanic, this movie is of no relation to that most successful blockbuster of the 90s. The movie was released in August 2010.

The story goes like this. The Titanic went down in April 1912 after striking an iceberg whilst on its maiden voyage. And 100 years later, on April 2012, some smart company decided it was a great idea to recreate the ship, name it Titanic 2 and sail its maiden voyage on the same day, same time and along the very exact same route. Unfortunately, in the middle of the journey, global warming caused the Arctic icecap to breakaway, which sent a tsunami filled with icebergs heading towards the Titanic 2 (surprise surprise). Needless to say, the icebergs hit the ship and sank it. That's really all to it.

Just how bad is this movie? An average rating of 2 out of 10 from 1357 voters should suffice to say. I haven't watched this show though I've caught bits of it on YouTube, thanks to a very kind person who decided to upload the entire movie. I've watched the trailer and it was already enough to put me off. It is very obvious that the film is a low budget production. Apparently, many people felt the same way. The trailer below has over 3300 dislikes vs 600 likes. Judge for yourself and leave your comments below.

You can follow the links below if you want to read more.



Sources:
1) Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
2) Wikipedia

She-Hulk crashes into Marvel vs Capcom 3: FTW, the latest in a line of unexpected characters (Video)

The Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds developers have been slowly releasing teaser videos of their characters and gameplay every now and then ever since it was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year. The latest video features the official debut of She-Hulk.

The Marvel vs Capcom game series is well known for its huge variety of playable characters from the Marvel comic books and Capcom range of franchises. While most of the characters are insanely popular, more often than not, there will always be a few relatively unknown and/or unexpected ones that make an appearance. Some of which includes Dante from Devil May Cry, Frank West from Dead Rising, the Okami Fox from Okami, etc. Now, She-Hulks joins the ever growing list.

Not being a Marvel comics fan, I don't know who She Hulk is. In fact, I've never heard of her before. But she does look similar to the Hulk, who's also covered in green skin and wears purple pants. Ok, I'm feeling too lazy to go read up more about her, though I do know that she is a lawyer. Also, I definitely can't deny that her combos in MVC3:FTW are wicked. Check out the video below for clips of her moves.

Watch your head... And hands... And legs as you enter the ETAF Automatic Door (Video)

Doors can be as simple as a piece of wood and a handle or as complex as the ETAF Automatic Door. This door consist of 35 rows of 5cm metal bars that are split down the middle. No matter what size you are, the ETAF Automatic Door will always fit.

The ETAF Automatic Door has infrared sensors just before the door, which measures the size of the person and/or object that wants to pass through, make some calculations and slides the corresponding bars wide enough for that person to pass through.

While this door certainly makes you feel like you're entering a spaceship, it also means you have to stand still for a second for the sensors to register your body, calculate and open the door for you. On top of that, you have to make sure you have more or less the same body profile as you pass through the door as the sensors do not update continuously. Regardless, this is a pretty cool door design.




Article Source: Trendhunter

Study: Hypertexting and Hypernetworking teens more likely to engage in drugs, sex and alcohol

The American Public Health Association just recently published the results on a study performed by researchers from the Case Western Reserve University with 4257 local students. What they found was that teenagers that hypertext and hypernetwork are more likely to engage in sexual activities and consume drugs and alcohol, with the majority of them being female minor students.

According to the researchers, hypertexting is sending more that 120 sms-es a day and hypernetworking is spending a total of more than 3hours on any social network sites a day. From their study, they found that 1 in 5 students are hypertexters and 1 in 10 are hypernetworkers. Interestingly enough, they have linked that to the increase in tendency to try out sex, drugs and alcohol, presumably from the higher exposure from "communicating" more. These teens are also more likely to be obese and/or have eating disorders. They also had more stress and suicidal thoughts, sleeping disorders and are less secure. The results also show that younger female students form the majority.

Nevertheless, there was some good news as almost 1 in 4 do not send sms or social network at all and these people are generally in better health. However it is stated in the research that the correlation between hypertexting, hypernetworking and health might not even exist.

It should be noted that these results are from research done on American students, it may not be an accurate benchmark for Singaporeans, but it is a concern nonetheless. From what I see, Singaporeans are more or less following American trends, so it won't be much of a surprise if a similar study in Singapore will yield an equivalent or more dire result.

Personally, I feel that technology is a good thing, it helps you to live life more conveniently and comfortably. But too much of a good thing is a bad thing and one should know the dangers of embracing technology. Technology has blurred the line between good and bad so much so that it's difficult to discern between what's good and what's bad without having to enter some form of conflict. It does not help that corporations are throwing too much choices in our face, making it even more difficult for us to control ourselves, such as unlimited sms and free-roaming data plans to ensure that we are always connected and dependent on the internet. Ultimately, technology is here to stay and will evolve further, the only thing we can do is discipline and educate ourselves.

Article: Ars Technica
Original Source: American Public Health Association

3D designs are everywhere, but not everything is made in 3D

In a world where computer generated images (CGI) can easily be found on every advertisements and posters, it is easy to assume that if a picture looks too "nice and clean" to be real, it had to be made in 3D. The picture as shown looks like lots of other phones poster out there. The difference is that it is not made in 3D at all, what you are seeing is a real photo and not a computer generated image of a phone.

Almost every product you see in advertisements, ranging from cars to cleaning products to computers and phones and even fast food are made in 3D. While 3D is the standard to produce anything with relative ease, there are some who would still prefer a manual and more practical method.

Serial Cut Studios is one of them. It is a company based in Madrid, Spain. Serial Cut Studios doesn't make use of 3D software to create a "3D" product advertisement, instead relying on a simpler and more hands-on method, literally. They use paper crafts. So a typical Serial Cut advert would be made with paper, lit up in a studio and photographed. Really simple method with an awesome realistic result. So even if you don't use or don't know how to use 3D, a bit of imagination and ingenious thinking will still get the job done.



Source: Serial Cut

Creative Releases Their Creative Ziio Tablets

Ever since the Apple iPad went on sale and created a new market, big and small companies alike have tried to bring their own version of the tablet computer into it. Ranging from S Korea's Samsung and their Galaxy Tab and LG Electronics with their Optimus Tablet to Taiwan's ASUS and their EeePad to Canada's Research In Motion and their BlackBerry PlayBook and many many more. And now the latest to join in the tablet market is Creative from Singapore and their range of Ziio Tablets.


**Skip 2 paragraphs down if you want to read about the tablets only  =) **

Creative, internationally known for their X-Fi audio technology, has been quietly releasing some products recently such as their range of wireless speakers. Anyway, I support our local electronics company. I've owned their Zen, Zen X-Fi mp3 players, X-Fi 5.1 external soundcard, 5.1 speakers, an Aurvana earphones and Vado HD 2nd Gen pocket cam. So far, I find that their X-Fi audio technology still beats everything out there, the mp3 players put out better sounds than any other mp3 players, even the widely-popular iPod. A quick search will show you that many people think the same way. Also, their Vado HD pocket cam, is small, powerful and wins over the competing brands. Its recording quality, while more or less the same now as when it was released in 2008, still beats the "advanced" iPhone 4 HD video-recordings. I was generally happy with Creative products for their balance of price, build quality and functions and am always excited to look out for their new products.

However, on the gadget-front, this company hasn't been doing too well recently. I liked their mp3 players simply cause of the good audio and also cause they're still making button-operated ones, which is important to me since I tend to interact with my mp3 players in my pocket or without having to look at it. Then came along their Zen X-Fi 2, their first mp3 player to be fully touchscreen and trying to follow in the footsteps of the successful iPod Touch. While the audio is still great, the user interface is not responsive and a pain to use. That disappointed me. Creative has just tried to step into the touchscreen gadgets arena and failed.

Creative Ziio Tablets in 7in and 10in forms

Alright, back to the tablets, which is the main point of this post. Lol. So just last week, Creative UK has announced the new Ziio tablets. These came in the white 7in and the black 10in versions. These tablets are powered by Andriod 2.1 but are currently only wifi enabled, which means no access to the Andriod Market. Unless these devices are upgraded to Andriod 2.2, it's a feature that won't be seen on Ziio.

Besides the size, both version on Ziio have common features:

1) Creative own ZiiLABS processor

2) Both available in 8GB or 16GB versions

3) 1 front-facing VGA camera and mic for video calling

4) Resistive touchscreen (no multi-touch), with embedded stylus

5) X-Fi technology

6) Built-in speaker

7) Accelerometer

8) WiFi-enabled

9) Accessible to Creative ZiiStore for apps and games

10) Expandable memory via microSD cards

11) HDMI-out for displaying HD videos on TVs

While many are quick to say that resistive touchscreens do not offer multitouch, as opposed to capacitive ones like those used on smartphones nowadays, I personally think that multitouch is not a necessary feature.  If you had used a touchscreen phone before the age of multitouch, you would have known that. You do not need multitouch to swipe a page left or right, to type on the keyboard or zoom in or out. What matters is proper implementation of the user interface. The only reason for multitouch is for the games, which the Ziio is clearly not intended for.

I would like to have a feel of the Ziio when it reaches Singapore, but as of now, I'll just have to contend with the following 2 videos. From what I can see, HD video playback is very smooth, even when it is connected to the TV. The host even had a go at Angry Birds on the Ziio and performance was surprisingly good. I say that because of the flop Creative had with touchscreen on the Zen X-Fi 2. However, the interface is quite laggy when navigating through the apps, but that's sluggishness is due to the Andriod 2.1 and not cause of the processor. I do hope that it will upgrade to 2.2 soon and clear that up.

The Ziio is by no means an iPad-killer, but it will satisfy the needs of people who wants a cheap and yet powerful AV (audio-video) device without all the fuss of multitouch or apps or games. A device that's purely for consuming content. I, for one, am one of those people who are looking out for just such a device that allows me to watch videos, surf the net and read view PDFs comfortably. And I'm glad that Creative is the one doing it. By the way, the Ziio is mostly made of plastic, so it's also very much lighter and comfortable to hold in the hands for extended periods of time.

At a starting price of only SG$359 for the most basic Ziio, it's already half as cheap as the cheapest Apple's iPad which goes by about SG$650, without contract, and much more affordable. It even provides features that the iPad doesn't have such as the front-facing camera and a much more common mini-USB connection port. This is yet another Creative device that I'm looking at. I hope they don't disappoint me again.

Update (7/11/10): I just realised that the 7in version is natively portrait and also looks very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S. However, the 10in is natively landscape; its buttons are position along the longer side of the tablet. The 7in outputs video in 720p while the 10in outputs in 1080p.

Source: Creative SG