Jay Lagare

General

Ooops! Apple Did It Again

By on Wednesday, March 12, 2008

I for one was eagerly waiting for the release of the SDK for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. I generally don’t like Apple products. I find them to too cutesy and dainty. I prefer my gadgets to be practical, tough, waterproof, and just works. But I am aware of the potential of the two aforementioned devices, especially the iPod Touch. And with the SDK, this potential would be unlocked.

But I forgot Apple’s history. When the SDK was released a few days ago, it immediately drew criticism due to it’s many restrictions. The last time Apple did this was 1984 when the Mac came out. Back then, it had the potential to take over the the personal computer market. But Apple chose to keep it closed and proprietary and eventually the Mac became just a niche product for the artsy fartsy intellectual wannabee crowd.

Maybe things will be different this time around since the iPod is essentially the quintessential media player. But unless Apple mends its ways, it’s goodbye iPod Touch for me. Too bad, it would have been great.

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General

Bb. Pilipinas

By on Monday, March 10, 2008

This morning, somebody sent me a link to a vid of the Bb. Pilipinas winner doing the Q&A portion of the contest. I don’t know what’s the point of sending it to me but all I can say is give it a rest. If she’s judged to be the winner, then she’s the winner. Yeah, yeah, everyone thinks they’re better judges. But hey, she seems to be pretty, she seems to have poise, maybe she’s reasonably intelligent and she can probably communicate well in her native Tagalog. If you think someone is better, then recommend her for next year. If you think you’re better go join. But then her detractors are probably fuglies who won’t even make the audition much more fare any better under stress.

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General

Sleuth

By on Monday, March 10, 2008

Yesterday, after badminton, a belated lunch, and some shopping, Edong, James, and I headed for the usual movie. We usually watch no-brainer action flicks. Exactly what we need to just sit back and relax after a strenuous morning at the courts. We all thought Sleuth would be the usual fare but I was extremely delighted when it turned out not to be. The movie is about a husband (Michael Caine) getting back at his wife’s lover (Jude Law). And the latter getting back at the former for that. And so on. The whole movie is just the two men doing mental and verbal sparring. Lots of clever dialog and impressive acting. Interestingly, I learned that the movie is a remake and Caine played the role that Law played in this new version.

Rating: 4/5

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General

Micro microSD Reader

By on Sunday, March 9, 2008

When I recently got a microSD, one of the things I did was to research for a USB microSD reader. I found the really nice Greenhouse microSD Reader online and at Galleria but it was P450 each! I also found the Kingston USB microSD Reader online but doesn’t seem to be available at local stores.

Then this afternoon, I saw a clone version of it at CD-R King, purveyor of cheap (and sometimes unreliable) CDRs, DVDRs, and electronic gadgets. But I thought what the heck. How many ways can you go wrong with a card reader, anyway? And besides, it’s just P150. So I got one :D

Physically, the CD-R King reader is exactly the same as the Kingston. It’s not as small as the Greenhouse but it’s small enough at just about the size of the USB connector. It also has a protective plastic shell so you can just keep your microSD in the reader and you have a USB flash drive.

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