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.
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.
After building lots of anticipation of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has finally debuted their new WP7 OS and phones on Oct 11, 2010. There have been images and videos of phones bearing the WP7 OS since the official announcement of it earlier in Feb this year. Not to be confused with Windows Mobile OS, Window Phone 7 is set to take on the smartphone world.
Windows Phone 7
Microsoft may have been leading the smartphone OS many years ago with Windows Mobile. However, the new generation of smartphone OS which are touch-operated, heralded by Apple's iPhone has slowly pushed Microsoft out of the picture. Even though Microsoft has upgraded the WinMo platform to a more finger-friendly 6.5, the Redmond company just couldn't catch up with Apple's iOS and the fast rising Google's Andriod. Not wanting to give up, Microsoft announced in early 2010 that they are developing Windows Phone 7, leaving many wondering if they can really pull it off. Many leaks and teases were dropped in the period leading to the official debut on Oct 11, 2010. Impressions have been really good and praises were given for the slick and fresh minimalistic user interface, the silky smooth animations and deep integration with Microsoft Office, Hotmail and XBox-Live. However, limited information was made know and many questions about this amazing new OS were left unanswered, until tonight.
By the way, the images I used below are all captured and edited on my own while watching the keynote live via streaming off Microsoft's website. The stream is of a variable quality, so some of the images were captured during hi-quality broadcast and others during the low-quality, thus some of the images are sharper and some are fuzzier, pardon that. =)
The windows phone 7 homescreen, scrolled from top to bottom, picture left to right.
So right off the top, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer formally introduced the Windows Phone 7 platform to the world. Microsoft has already signed deals with many top phone companies, such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Dell, Asus and others, to bring WP7 to you. During his keynote, he has unveiled 9 WP7 devices that will be available to consumers soon. Microsoft has also gathered telcos around the world to exclusively sell WP7 phones when they are available. If you look closely at the list the Microsoft has shown, you can clearly spot SingTel. =)
Above: The 9 windows phone 7 devices that will be on sale soon Below: A list of companies that are collaborating with Microsoft to bring WP7 to you. SingTel is among them.
So a quick tour of the Windows Phone 7 experience, or based on what I can remember. It's been about 2 hours since I watched the keynote and I can forget things quite easily, so bear with me. Haha.
2 pictures above depicts the WP7 homescreen. Each square is called a "Live Tile" where information for that tile, if any, is constantly updated and reflected there. Unlike other phones out there, almost anything can be put on the homescreen, such as SMS notifications, Emails, individual contact card, a facebook feed widget, photo slideshow, weather display, apps and almost everything imaginable. The colour of the tiles, or rather the colour theme can be changed as you can roughly see in the 9 phones picture above. Unfortunately the background have to remain black, but that's only for the homescreen as you will see soon enough.
A repeating theme that you will see with all the apps are that to view a different screen, the user will have to simply flick the screen left or right, instead of pressing any physical or soft buttons.
People Hub
A contact card, flicking the screen left and right reveals different information about the contact.
Windows Phone 7 has a different way with dealing with contacts. Instead of just an app showing contact information, Microsoft has made it into a hub where you can view all sorts of information related to that contact. Being called People Hub, it is a place where you can find anything you want with your friends.
When you launch the People hub, it starts simple, showing a whole long list of contacts arranged by alphabets and with their corresponding profile pictures. Selecting any contact will take you, with a nice transition animation of course, to the contact card where you can find all the personal information such as phone number, email, address, website and any other information you have stored. For each contact, you are given the option to link the contact to any social network available, such as Facebook and Twitter. Doing so will allow you to flick the contact card screen to slide it to the left, which will reveal the What's New screen where all the status updates and tweets for that current contact. Pretty amazing. And what's more, the phone will automatically take the profile picture from either Facebook or Twitter and use it for the contact card image. Very useful!
Music+Videos Hub
Music + Videos hub, where you can listen to music and view videos
Next is the Music+Videos hub. In here, you can use Microsoft's popular Zune player to play music, much like Apple's iPod player. As expected, you can browse the music according to songs, artists, albums and playlists. In addition, you can also view videos in this hub. Video apps like YouTube are able to integrate here so that all the video needs are presented simply in this one hub. The hub will feature a "music and video history" list that will show you what you have recently played and allows you to view them again at a touch, without having to go through all the menus. If you subscribed to video or audio feeds through the integrated apps like YouTube, there's even a screen where some new and recommended videos are listed.
Microsoft Office 2010
Microsoft Office integration and Pictures hub
WP7 also offers really deep integration with their new Microsoft Office 2010. The phone allows you to take quick notes with OneNote, which is the homescreen for the Office hub. All the other programs such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint are also in the Office hub, which allows you to view and edit the documents on the go. You can choose to save the documents on the phone or in the Microsoft cloud so that you can access the document on any computer through the internet without having to plug the phone in and transfer. It's much handier that way. Also, a bonus feature is that you can run Powerpoint slideshow directly on the phone with all the transitions. Yup, that's not made up, it was demo-ed there live with a WP7. And with the correct cable, you can even connect to a projector and set up a slideshow, all from the phone. Say goodbye to lugging a laptop the next time you have a business presentation to do. Just whip out the phone, connect to a projector and you're all set!
Pictures Hub
Next is the Pictures hub or basically a photo-viewing app, but with a difference. What set this apart from other phones is that you can link the Pictures hub to a Facebook account or other photo-sharing websites. So besides just viewing photos on your phone, swipe the screen to the side and you're presented with photo feeds from Facebook. That's all too convenient. Anytime you want to view your own photos and/or Facebook photos, just need to start up the Pictures hub and everything will be there. No more do you have to open both the photo and Facebook apps separately. You can also upload the photos to Facebook through the Photo hub. Simply put, anything you want to do with photos, you can do it in the photo hub, though I'm not too sure about photo-editing just yet.
Camera
Ok, the next, which I don't have any photo of, is the camera function. The camera quality and megapixel count will differ from phone to phone, but all will use the same camera app. The camera is similar to all other phones and offers touch-to-focus. You can switch the camera on by pressing the shutter button on the side of the phone or launching the camera app. Start up time is impressive at about 2-3 secs from app-launch to photo-taking ready. When the photo is taken, the snapshot slides to the left and out of the screen while the camera is ready for another shot, similar to an iPhone camera, except that the iPhone camera has a pretty jarring bar at the bottom of the screen to display previous snaps and that takes up precious screen space that you will need to use to help frame the next shot that you want to take.
If you want to view the previously taken photos, all you have to do is just swipe the screen to the right and the photos on the camera roll will slide in and you can see all the photos taken thus far, not just the ones taken in this session. You can also choose the display style as just plain or with a film-strip look. A small but visually appealing move.
From the video below, you can see that the camera app allows you to make very detailed adjust to suit your photography needs. All settings like ISO, Shutter Speed, Exposure, Metering, Resolution, HDR, WDR, Panorama, Scene Modes and many other adjustments can be made directly in the app.
Email Hub
The email app and calendar (black screen)
One must-have app for business users out there is the email app. Simple and easy to use, you know how it is, flick the screen left and right to view message categorised in different ways. The email app is easy to set up with Hotmail and uses all their features. Furthermore, the email app can sense appointment timings and other events and automatically update it to the calendar app if you instruct it to. Quick and convenient with no fuss. To add even more intelligence, the phone will let you know if the new appointment clashes with any other booking for that same time slot. As you can see in the screenshot above, the black screen is the calendar app. The left column shows the booked time slots and the right shows the new appointment that clashes with the current bookings.
Maps App
The Maps app, zooming out shows the map, zooming in enough shows the satellite view.
The Maps app in WP7 is exactly what you will expect. You can view maps and search by locations. The WP7 will function like a GPS and direct you to the destination turn by turn. As a bonus touch, when you're zoomed out, you will see the map and directory, however, zooming in close enough will change your view to a satellite view with the road names overlaid on it. Nothing much to say besides that.
WP7 Apps
Some of the apps on demo. From left, U-Verse AT&T, IMDB and eBay. All of them sport the same user interface to maintain familiarity and intuitiveness.
Of course, any phone nowadays count on the apps to enhance the experience and WP7 is no different. With about 2000 apps developed already, there's a new world waiting when the first WP7 hit the stores. While 2000 may seem like a small number compared to the 250,000 on Apple's AppStore and the 90,000 on Google's Market, I don't think you need 20 Facebook apps or 15 YouTube apps. Regardless, once the WP7 starts selling, the appcount will definitely pick up. All the apps on WP7 conform to the same style of displaying photos, videos and information on the screen. Menu screens are navigated by flicking left and right and there are almost no screen buttons. This is to ensure that the apps stick to the same interface design as the WP7 so that it will feel familiar and is easy to use. From the screenshots I see above, the style is definitely unique and very pleasant on the eyes. The video below will show you the "appstore" or Windows MarketPlace. Looking great too.
Games Hub
The Games Hub pages.
The last feature that Microsoft is betting heavily upon is the integration with XBox Live. WP7 will be able to support some of the XBox games and also shared leaderboards and avatars. This essentially makes the phone an extension of the Xbox console. If done properly, they may just attract the millions of Xbox Live users in the world to consider getting a Windows Phone 7 to enhance their gaming experiences. Furthermore, games graphics and performance on Windows Phone 7 phones are looking good. The games are able to utilise the built in accelerometer to enhance gameplay. With quite a good lineup of games, WP7 is set for mobile gaming too, behind Apple's iPhone and Google's Andriod powered phones. Also announced by Microsoft is the partnership with Electronic Arts (EA) to develop games for the WP7, some of which will also find their way to full-fledged games on the Xbox.
The Sims 3 (top and middle), Illio and Milo (bottom) Both games are fully rendered 3D.
The video just above shows some of the games that are already developed for the Windows Phone 7 platform. Big names like Guitar Hero and Bejeweled can be found. With Microsoft also a game developer, one can expect some great games from the software giant. At around 1:02, you can see CarneyVale, which is a Singapore-produced game.
Conclusion
Microsoft has shown that with Windows Phone 7, they are still able to compete in the smartphone market. They have brought in a fresh new user interface, that may wow some and disappoint others. However, they have also shown that touchscreen phones can offer a fantastic experience based on a properly designed and functional operating system.
Animations are plentiful on this OS, but so far, I haven't seen so much as a lag in any of the phones that have been demo-ed. Many of the animations are small and subtle but the overall effect is visually stunning. What results is a brilliant balance of visuals and performance.
Unlike Andriod phones, these WP7 phones are to conform to Microsoft's list of hardware specifications before they are allowed to run the WP7 OS. What this means is that you can expect all WP7 phones to run alike, smooth and without hiccups. As the software for all the phones are the same, what will differ is the hardware. Vendors are free to add on additional features that will improve the experience of the phones. Samsung has made their Omnia 7 and Focus phones with their acclaimed Super AMOLED screen and HTC has added a slide out Dolby Surround speakers for their HTC Surround. LG has made a side slideout keypad for their phone and Dell has a bottom slide out keypad for their Dell Lightning.
HTC Surround with their side slide out Dolby Surround Speakers
Samsung Focus with its Super Amoled screen
In case you have the feeling that these phones will be extra expensive, the HTC Surround and Samsung Focus have been announced to be selling for US$199.99. That's equivalent to about SG$270, with contract. It's still cheaper than the Apple iPhone 4. With a polished OS, more features and at a lower selling price, I say that Windows Phone 7 may just be a formidable opponent to the iOS and Andriod platforms.
NB: For some reason, WP7 does not support "cut and paste" function at the moment but Steve said that there are plans to enable that via an update when 2011 rolls in shortly.
Newton, especially in physics, is an important word. The father of physics and the SI unit of force. Issac Newton is so respected in the physics world that his name is synonymous with physics itself. While generally everything in the world obeys the laws of physics, there are always some that don't. In this case, non-newtonian liquids. A non-newtonian liquid is one that is liquid in nature but behaves like a solid. There are lots of examples out there, including shampoo, tomato ketchup, paint and even our blood. I'm not really a scienc-ey person, ever since I graduated from junior college four years ago. So, I shall let the video below do the explanation. It's kind of like Mythbusters style, except that its on a much lower budget and is somewhat quite entertaining too. And like this post, its from G4TV too. Haha.
I grew up to Michael Jackson's music. And I like his music, but I especially loved his dances and performances. He's just so innovative in his dancing. He popularised group synchronised dancing, before that, there was very little group dance routines where everyone is dancing in sync. He has also pioneered many iconic dance moves in his performances, such as the moonwalk, robotic dance and the anti-gravity lean, which in my opinion, is the coolest....
It all started when he made the music video for Smooth Criminal, one of my favourite songs. There is a particular scene when a group of dancers, led my MJ, leaned, unassisted to the side up to an impossible 45 degrees. Back then, I was still young and was super amazed at it. But now, I read that it was done by hooking up wires during the shot, enabling them to lean outrageously. Thus was born the anti-gravity lean or more well known as the Smooth Criminal Lean.
However, as MJ did his live concerts, he wanted to perform the exact dance routines on stage as in his MVs and that included the Smooth Criminal Lean. He didn't want to use wires as that would interfere with the dancing and will take too much time to set up. After some brain racking, he decided to have some sort of pins on the stage and use modified shoes with a catch to hook on to the pins. All he needed to do is slide his shoe onto the hook, perform the lean and dismount. Seems simple enough but the effect is totally amazing, especially when seen live. Watch it in the video below, i think the lean in 1:35 is the best lean ever. Just so you know, the routine goes that MJ and co are dancing, when a guy comes out with a dynamite, dances around and "throws" the dynamite to cue them to do the lean.
A compilation of Michael Jackson's anti-gravity lean. Aka Smooth Criminal Lean. Leans are at 0:25, 1:08, 1:38, 2:04.
This graph shows that Apple was in second place until 2010, when it jumped to number 1.
Most people will tell you that Apple computers have the least crashes, viruses and errors than Windows PCs. That conclusion is true, many years back. The counter by PC-lovers was that Apple supposedly had a much smaller user base, therefore less people reported errors and less virus authors targeted Macs. Mac-heads then said that it was a baseless argument. Well it turned out that it could have been true after all.
Welcome to present time, when more and more people adopted the Macs for their advertised system stability, ease of use, no viruses, etc etc etc.. And guess what. New research has been done and now look at who is the leader in all the key areas it was supposed to be strong enough for a Windows user to switch to the Mac. So if you've people coming to you and saying that Macs are the best, this is the article you would want to show them. The arguments that they will use against Windows PCs are now defunct. Just in case you don't want to read the actual article, it also says that Apple is the leader and Microsoft stands in third position. Kind of funny that Windows, with a huge user base (~70%), is actually behind Apple with a much much smaller user base (~20%).
Regardless, I would still agree that Apple products have the good looks, both hardware and software. But functionality-wise, there's really not much advantage over Windows, no matter how much better they look.
**This video is not easy to watch if you are weak in faith**
This video is trying to prove that most religions comes directly as a result of astrology. While it is compelling to believe it, we must also remember that there is more to Christianity than what is said here. And it is really coincidence that the stars happened to be related to religions. It only seems reasonable because the author has twisted the words to fit his hypothesis and presented in a very convincing way, totally bypassing a lot of evidence that disagrees with the notion.
It's a popular debate: "Did the chicken or egg come first?"
The answer is the chicken came first, according to some British researchers from the universities of Sheffield and Warwick I do not know what motivated them to try to answer the question but apparently, they found that the egg could not have come first because the shell could only be produced by proteins found in a chicken. Therefore, the chicken must have been around first to lay the first egg, thus putting this age-old conundrum to rest.
Check out the source if you really want to read about the scientific stuff and the protein that makes the eggshell.. The Chicken Came First
Ok, this is not a joke. Scientists of the University of Manchester were hired by Chevrolet as part of some PR training workshop and they came up with this formula as a guide to perform a "perfect handshake". But honestly, a handshake is just a handshake. LOL. If you have some free time, feel free to decipher the formula below. Have fun! =P
PH = (e� + ve�)(d�) + (cg + dr)� + p{(4< s >2)(4< p >2)}� + (vi + t + te)� + {(4< c >2)(4< du >2)}� Where (e) is eye contact (1=none; 5=direct) 5; (ve) is verbal greeting (1=totally inappropriate; 5=totally appropriate) 5; (d) is Duchenne smile - smiling in eyes and mouth, plus symmetry on both sides of face, and slower offset (1=totally non-Duchenne smile (false smile); 5=totally Duchenne) 5; (cg) completeness of grip (1=very incomplete; 5=full) 5; (dr) is dryness of hand (1=damp; 5=dry) 4; (s) is strength (1= weak; 5=strong) 3; (p) is position of hand (1=back towards own body; 5=other person's bodily zone) 3; (vi) is vigour (1=too low/too high; 5=mid) 3; (t) is temperature of hands (1=too cold/too hot; 5=mid) 3; (te) is texture of hands (5=mid; 1=too rough/too smooth) 3; (c) is control (1=low; 5=high) 3; (du) is duration (1= brief; 5=long) 3.
Nintendo unveiled their latest handheld device. Its to feature their venture into the newest trend, 3D. At their E3 press conference, the Nintendo 3DS is shown for the very first time to the world. It was such a special moment that it was lifted onto the stage on a shiny pedestal, complete with smoke and lights. And who else was there to introduce it but Nintendo's CEO, Satoru Iwata.
Ok. So basic specifications about the new Nintendo toy. Features include:
Similar design to NDS XL, 2 screens
A large, 3.53 inch, 800x240, autostereoscopic 3D non-touch top screen (don't need glasses)
A smaller 3.02 inch touch screen for the bottom.
1 front facing VGA camera like NDSi
2 outward facing VGA cameras to take 3D photos
Collapsible stylus
New analog stick above the D-Pad.
Depth slider control to adjust the 3D view or turn it off
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Backwards compatible with NDS titles
and many more...
As Nintendo explained, they basically combined technologies from both the Wii and NDS and the new 3D, into one handheld device. The 3DS has an improved graphics chip to take on more visually demanding games, and I think also to supplement the 3D. With the 3D screen, the 3DS allows you to watch 3D movies on the go, with companies like Disney, Warner Bros and Dreamworks already pledging support for the 3DS.
And of course, there's the games. Logically, the games cannot be demo-ed on the big screen (for obvious reasons). But Nintendo has assured us that many big name companies have already started developing games for the 3DS, to ensure that there are already a sizeable library of games to purchase when the device goes on sale later in the year. By the way, you can turn off the 3D if you want and view it as a normal 2D screen.
Just to get you excited, these are some of the games that are publicly announced at the press conference.
DJ Hero 3D
Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy
Final Fantasy
Kingdom Hearts
Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil Revelations
Fifa
Madden
Nintendogs + Cats
And these are some of the companies that are currently developing games for the 3DS.
Activision
Hudson
EA
Harmonix
Square Enix
Konami
Capcom
Ubisoft
Thus, looking at what's to be offered, I would say that the Nintendo 3DS has a huge potential in the gaming world. It currently allows you to play almost all kinds of games, both 3D and 2D, utilising the d-pad, analog stick, touch screen, accelerometer and gyroscope. That's a lot of possibilities for game developers. If all goes well, this is the device that would revolutionise handheld gaming yet again. Nintendo is out to prove that they are still strong in the gaming world.
PS: I'm guessing that you may start to see many iPhone games migrating over to this 3DS as this provides the same functions as the iPhone (with the touchscreen, accelerometer and gyroscope), except with more physical controls and a 3D screen. However, many games are free to download on the iPhone. Not too sure if it will still be free for 3DS. Nonetheless, those are only casual, on-to-go games, which is not what Nintendo is really aiming for.
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