WWDC 2011 Hits The Downtown, Again

No doubt, very soon, the annually Apple WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC 2011) is going to happen on this year right at San Francisco again, likewise, from 6 to 10 of June precisely. Apple named the headline of this splashy event as 'Join us for a preview of the future of iOS and Mac OS X'. Apparently, an evolutionary Mac OS X Lion and most probably the sneak peak of iOS 5 will be unveiled right at that moment. If you were a Apple developer and meet the attendence requirement and - of course, the most important - holding a 1,599 buck, have your time to grab the ticket right now which normally will be sold out in a second.

For anyone else, like it peers, it just the matter of time. Mark down your calender and stay tuned =)

Happy Birthday To Myself. Random Check Out.

There are few bottles of beer in my room. Oh.. No, I'm not gonna have the leaning to trigger a shot for it in order to gain a little bit more psychologically mirthful feeling - I was seriously drunk two days before in a boisterous farewell party for my colleague. Okay, I know it was awful.

It seems to be raining out of there. The wind is whirling and the starry night sky is gonna turn out to be in complete darkness, of course, with light pollution as well. The background music is one of the famous song from Jacky Cheung. I'm unconsciously fond of his songs recently, so soft and so harmonious. Inconsistently, this entry is going to be wholly a gaggle of murmuring, unusual, super random.

Thanks and thanks to my lovely friends and family. Your blessings and supports are always be the only, you know, the most tremendous force to keep driving me to the ever-further destination. Social networks make the 'amount' of birthday blessing increase dramatically, it makes people lives easier, full with great blessings from everywhere. It does turn out to make it not-so-exclusive, as well. Haha. Sorry to be so straight-forward, but it's quite true. However, the exclusive one would always remain its exclusivity, special thanks for the air mails from Taiwan and special gifts in my room. They're absolutely adorable.

20 years old, ironically, a big quarter of my life, an uncomplete puzzle. Well, I'm so desperate to jump out from the current world recently, maybe somehow being inspired by the popular narrative story. If there did have a birthday wish for me, I will give it a bet for 'Opportunity'. It's by no means limited to study, relationship, work, travel and all that. It's about the opportunity to explore the ultimate meaning of life and further stuff up my excessive hunger and boundless curiosity. We can't live our lives to please other. As when you step forth, you will be alone, the decision and fate must be yours. I know we're not living in utopia, things never come easy. We're forced to follow some 'rules' in order to survive in the current world. No matter how, don't lose your soul and originality. Quote from my favorite Jobs' quote again: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

I hate time and distance. Time just always be its way lead ahead quietly and leave behind the memories. It makes people understand the past would never come back and the future will not always in a straight-line. People recalling, waiting and looking because of the time is beyond control. The feeling of time is ambiguous in each occasions, I dislike it.

Distance makes people disconnected, either in physically or mentally. I know, global internet connection might be the remedy of that, but you know what? The getting farther distance between hearts are not those virtual stuffs are able to really make up. Distance tames down people expectation, hope and willingness, severely.

Woops, yep. I bought myself a much-yearning ThinkPad as my birthday gift, added up a new member to my ample series of gadgets family. Gonna embrace to Windows system once again and digging into the Windows-based programming stuffs which I was wholly immune in these few months. Thumbs-up!

Notwithstanding a devastated recession of market recently, the back-to-Sony-Malaysia work has been in the progressive and smooth direction. Attending weekly meeting, sending out formal report, managing the stock level, shooting out the stunning photo have been all part of progress. The only drawback is just the usage of time - the working time fills up a large part of my daily life in this period, yet, it has to be arranged efficiently. Thus, ice-staking becomes the only sport that I'm having recently. I'm so desirous to find back the feeling of a "runner's high" spurred by the endorphins released by exercise and enjoying my sweat trickle at the running path once again. I miss both my running, basketball shoes and follow teammates so much.

It has been quite a period of time, I exposed myself to the real heart of our society nakedly. Keep discovering and unfolding the dreadful fact behind the dim veiling. How uncivilized, materialistic and mediocre our societies are. The world is in polarization. People get used to the incentive-oriented society. People bamboozle, disguise, fight, drive for the fame, profit and the dirty bucks and it ends up with the extinction of the virtue and right, its essence is no longer been understood. Oh-no, of course, it does have some sparks, too. I saw few awesome examplers, but not too much around there so far, far below the expectation. What's wrong? The education. Not the academic one which most of us having, but the general education which beneath the foundation of our civilization. We need it, desperately.

I still couldn't really convince myself to have an unique dinner for my special day. Well..truth to be told, it seems to be ended up alone and alone, doesn't mean so much at all. Haha. Seriously. An understanding, I would say for today. I did fail, succeed, thrill, frustrated, lost and all that. Nonetheless, the whole process was in the way of self-endured and self-satisfied. I still haven't been..hmm..you know, that kind of understanding by someone else. Maybe it did exist over there, but I didn't realize or miss out, not really sure in which case so far. Haha, a little bit emotional right here. Despite being a science-y guy, I do believe in some superstition, oops no, it calls the believing of fate. Haha. So..in restrospect, maybe it just doomed to be and the dots will continuously connect themselves forward? Jammed, not so sure.

Alright. The day just passed by, when I was writing this entry. It looks just as ordinary as the other 365days in a year, depends upon how you deal with it. Happy Birthday to me and anyone who having the same birth-date with me. Best and best.

David's Review: iOS 4.3, How Things Get Better?

Prologue
Pierced through a handful of the rumours and finally, iPad 2 was unveiled by our look-thinner-but-stiff-enough Steve Jobs last tuesday. Like what I wrote in my forecast and probably most of the Tech. guys did as well, the new iPad 2 is about a third thinner and over 10% lighter, yet speedier and more powerful than the original version, for many users, challenged their laptops as a digital tool. And it costs the same as the original. No doubt, iOS 4.3 hits its final release in iPad 2. It was apprently a big letdown for most of the developers without seeing any clue of iOS 5 SDK on the stage.

While it's evolutionary rather than revolutionary like the first model, the changes Apple has made are generally pleasing and positive. Its improvements, including front and rear cameras, compensate the few drawbacks and feature omissions that people found at the first generation of iPad. iPad 2 offers an excellent balance of size, functionality and price, not surprisingly, keeps Apple ahead in the tablet race.

However, the iPad 2 comes better but not prefect. Its cameras take mediocre still photos and Apple didn't even reveal their megapixel ratings. The company says they were designed for video, not still photography.

They did capture decent video in my tests, including high-definition video from the rear camera and video good enough from the front camera for satisfying video calling. But, for a company known for quality, which bundles a new still-photo app with the device, the cameras are disappointing. －Walt Mossberg, AllThingsDigital

In my view, unless you are desperate for the cameras or feel you are laboring under the greater bulk of the original model, I don't advise that iPad owners race to get the new version.

The Body: iOS 4.3
Okay, the protagionist of this entry is not about iPad 2 but iOS 4.3 itself instead. As you know, the final release of iOS 4.3 is available at iTunes on Wednesday prior to the first sales of iPad 2 on 11 March. Very soon, its brother with little bug-fixed iOS 4.3.1 revealed itself quietly too. Let's see what Apple software engineers had done in iOS 4.3:

About iOS 4.3 Software Update

This update contains new features and improvements, including the following:

• Personal Hotspot*
  Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth, and 1 USB)
• iTunes Home Sharing
  Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)
• New AirPlay features**
  Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
  Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV
• Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine
• HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter***
  View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display
• Ping features
  Push notifications for comments and follow requests
  Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
  Parental controls
• New Settings
  Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
  iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects
  Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode
• Bug fixes

*Requires iPhone 4 with tethering data plan
**Requires Apple TV (2nd generation) running software version 4.2 or later
***iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation)

For information on the security content of this update, please visit:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Testing, Comparision
- The Changing in Setting Page:
A new Location Services Setting reveals in left side bar and the new setting for iPad side switch shows in General Setting Page.


Location Services Setting Page


- iPad side switch
In iOS 4.3, users are able to customize the switch on the side of your iPad to lock the screen rotation or mute the volume. Just configure the side switch in Settings.


Screen Rotation Lock Mode and Volume Mute Mode


- iTunes Home Sharing
A new Home Sharing function shows up at the setting page of iPod. Home Sharing is all about your music, videos, podcasts and more— if it's in your iTunes library on your Mac or PC, you can now play it on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch over a shared Wi-Fi network - it makes life easier. I did try with this new feature with my Mac, it worked fantastically without any complicated configuration. Awesome!


- Safari - Apple Nitro JavaScript Engine
The core update of iOS 4.3 as what Apple feverishly promote about - the much-expected improve in Safari - Nitro JavaScript Engine. By performing the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark at both iOS 4.2.1 and iOS 4.3 on iPad, we got two radically different result: 8072.1ms and 3346.6ms respectively of the sum-up point in the same setting of testing environment. We do know the benckmark still the benchmark, sometime it doesn't really reflect its real performance. I have been tried with my iPad by browsing through several websites which having massive Javascript Framework in a period, I found it does make a sense with that benchmark point. The feeling of browsing through the website with faster response and higher stability was completely satisfied.


In addition, Personal Hotspot for iPhone user, Airplay and Airprint are also highlighting with iOS 4.3. However, unfortunately, I couldn't have the hand-on experience for that due to the limitation of testing devices.

The Bottom Line
With a sort of improvements, both exteriorly and interiorly, in iOS 4.3, it undoubtedly makes iOS devices go ever further and better. Nonetheless, the super-unstable Wifi connection in iPad/iPad 2 and the frequent crash-down of Safari/Apps due to unclear reason still exist around there without a critical fix.

As new contenders move into the field, Apple isn't likely to keep its 90% share of the booming tablet market. But the iPad 2 moves the goal posts, by being slimmer and lighter, boosting speed and power, and holding its price advantages, available apps and battery life. As of now, I can comfortably recommend it as the best tablet for average consumers.

Super Weird: "SUPERMOON"

Thanks to an epidemic of the social media and social network. News and informations are spreading too fast to be aware of. Since the Japan's devastated earthquake and worst-ever nuclear crisis are roaring up recently, tons of dim rumours regarding natural disaster, leak of radiation, iodine aid, even the 2012-The-End story are brought into limelight. However, without precise information and authentic judgement, a procession of unnecessary panic over people keep arising from hollowness. What a weird scenario when you were keep witnessing people foolishly proliferating the rumous which derived from unreliable source and starting to be in fermet over that. Gossips and rumours are always interesting and fascinating, people take great relish on them. But, as a civilized man, think about them before you believe on them.

For example, the title of this entry, SuperMoon. The tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan Friday set the Internet abuzz with the idea that the moon, which will be at its fullest of the year on March 19, played a role in the devastating natural disaster. Even worse, the buzz indicates that an ever-greater disaster will descend upon our lovely earth on that day, keep tons of people into the dismal mood.

The seed for the idea was planted by an astrologer, who contended that this large full moon – a so-called "supermoon"– would touch off natural disasters like the Japan earthquake since the moon would make its closest approach to Earth in 18 years. Remember, astrology isn't a science.

So, what is the real theory behind? In accordance with the info. source from NASA. NASA scientist Jim Garvin explains the mechanics behind the moon's phases and the causes of the supermoon. Garvin is the chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

"'Supermoon' is a situation when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than on average, and this effect is most noticeable when it occurs at the same time as a full moon," Garvin wrote in the NASA statement. "So, the moon may seem bigger although the difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times."

The full moon of March will occur next Saturday on March 19, when the moon will be about 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away from Earth. The average distance between the Earth and the moon is about 238.000 miles (382.900 km).

"It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect," Garvin explained. "The 'super' in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer, but unless we were measuring the Earth-Moon distance by laser rangefinders (as we do to track the LRO [Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter] spacecraft in low lunar orbit and to watch the Earth-Moon distance over years), there is really no difference."

It was astrologer Richard Nolle who linked the full moon of March 19 to natural disasters. He claimed that this "supermoon" would trigger massive earthquakes, volcanoes and powerful storms when it arrived. But scientists assure that this is not the case.

Garvin, for example, said the moon's effects on Earth have been the subject of extensive studies.

"The effects on Earth from a supermoon are minor, and according to the most detailed studies by terrestrial seismologists and volcanologists, the combination of the moon being at its closest to Earth in its orbit, and being in its 'full moon' configuration (relative to the Earth and sun), should not affect the internal energy balance of the Earth since there are lunar tides every day," Garvin wrote.

But while the moon helps drive Earth's tides, it is not capable of triggering devastating earthquakes.

"The Earth has stored a tremendous amount of internal energy within its thin outer shell or crust, and the small differences in the tidal forces exerted by the moon (and sun) are not enough to fundamentally overcome the much larger forces within the planet due to convection (and other aspects of the internal energy balance that drives plate tectonics),"

Full story and more related scientific articles right here:

Space.com: NASA Scientist Explains Science Behind 'Supermoon' Phenomenon

Life's Little Mysteries: The 'Supermoon' Did Not Cause the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

___________________________________________________________

My thinking: Whenever we come across any of statements, informations or rumours, please seriously ponder over them. Use our rational judgement and practical wisdom to distinguish between the truth and fake. Don't be so impetuous to show your caring by sharing them out to others. Checks the source of the rumour, reviews the content by using scientific method and intellectual mindset. The creators of those phonies are not the only one to be blamed for. The person who spreading out the lame rumous is the one who hold the responsibility as well to avoid any unnecessary panic.

Be wise to use our social tools. Don't be dim-witted to get involved into the part of irresponsible rumour-spreading progress.

19 March 2011, hava a good night with our stunning and peaceful 'Supermoon'. =)

David's Opinion: Japan Tragedy - The Vital Role of Social Media

The Scenario
Friday afternoon, while I just arrived at my working spot, powered on the wifi, went through my daily mental consumption - scrolling down bunch of updated articles which featured on several news websites. A sudden headline with red color embroidered popped up right at the Wall Street Journal website. Just a second, more and more of my favorite websites - CNN, BBC continuously happened to report the latest situation of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. Live videos were up, recording from a high altitude of helicopter, showing the dumbfounded tsunami, not so far from the epicentre, relentlessly eradicated the farms, houses and slammed on bunch of ships. Extremely astounded. Tons of related news started to flood my Facebook wall, people showed great concern over the debacle and managed to try every means - Skype, MSN, Facebook, etc. to contact their friends and families who were staying at the high risk areas or countries of this unexpected disaster.

Japan Live Blog Update began to run on a handful of websites, provided with the latest news from the battlefront to all of us. Google person finder has been established for those looking for or with information about people affected by the Japan earthquake; see here (in Japanese), or here (in English). The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the list of estimated arrival times of tsunamis across the globe, following by the alert announcements from several global agencies and authorities. In Japan, as mobile phones remain down, Twitter is proving to be one of the best ways to contact loved ones and get updates on the quake.

One of the Twitter's user wrote that they were “walking home with the rest of Tokyo”, as trains and subways remain stopped: It’s “amazingly calm and orderly.”

The American School in Japan, the largest international school in Tokyo, sent out an email message to parents saying everyone was safe about a half-hour after the quake. All the chief mobile service providers in Japan incessantly took actions to cope with the lack of mobile connectivity problem. An emergency phone service has been set up, an online emergency message board as also be created to help people confirm the whereabouts of those in struck areas. NTT provided free public phone service in the rendezvous for victims. KDDI, SoftBank followed up the NTT created an internet platform for people to send out the message of peace to their love ones. Bic Camera, one of the biggest electronic equipment chain stores in Japan, handed over the free battery charging service for mobile phone users. Suntory has been prepared tons of free drinking water vending machines for emergency purpose since 2005 and it turned out to be so invaluable at this moment. Thanks for the integrated TV function on their high-tech mobile phones, people were able to catch up the live stream from TV network.

"It's very convenient being able to watch live TV when the phones are down," said Minori Naito, an employee of Royal Bank of Scotland in Tokyo. "Otherwise, we'd have no idea what is going on."

Throughout the whole story, not surprisingly, you find the social media sprouting like weeds in a garden - that is, everywhere.

The Vital Role
Those epoch-making inventions - World Wide Web, social website, telecommunication - all of them turn out to become so essential and effective nowaday for all the people get connected, get know the latest movement out of the world, no matter where you are. Japan tragedy slowly dawn on us that social media is not just about the entertainment, games and fun, but it's all about connect, caring and accessibility. As you know, social media shows its great heap over this incident, it's by no means limited to spread the immediate and precise information for people to get aware of the upcoming threats, but also the handy tool for people to connect and find out their love ones. Fancy the scenario when all of this happen without social media, people might never know what the hell was going on out of there, the alerts couldn't reach the people on time, deteriorate the threat of the disaster and the rescue operations would be so messy and complicated after all. Social media, no matter which particular website or service, spontaneously contributes so much to our daily lives, we use it everyday. Chatting with your parents in a distance, getting know the score of your favorite football match, checking the highly fluctuated stock market, applying to an oversea college, more and more. Thinking back, the infrastructure itself is absolutely amazing and stunning. We're in such fortunate to born on this age, the age of social media, the age of practical use of technology.

Contemplation
By witnessing the whole progress, Japan is arguably the most disaster-aware nation in the world, and has spent several decades developing mitigation strategies for a variety of hazards, including earthquakes and tsunamis. This event directly shows us the state of the art in readiness for earthquake and tsunami disasters which wholly minimize the damage and save thousand of lives. The Japan government didn't seem to be delayed for any rescue operation but giving out aid rapidly instead. The victims didn't seem to be panic and anxious but calmly flee from the riskful areas instead. The mass media in Japan didn't seem to be overblow the disaster but precisely convey the useful information to people instead. The effectiveness of the government, the steadiness and attitude of the people, the quickness and discipline of the mass media are what other countries, especially our countries, should really learn and apply. Ponder over it.


The Buttom Line
The terrific story still didn't come to its end, at least untill the moment that I was writing on this entry. Blast at nuclear plant follows the Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake, might cause the meltdown of the reactor and has the potential for a nuclear catastrophe. More than 83,000 people live within 10 kilometers of the two dangerous plants, the evacuations were immediately proceeded. The experts and workers are now out on a limb to flood the reactor containment structure with sea water to bring the reactor's temperature down to safe levels. The effort is expected to take two days. In the next hours, days, weeks and months, Japan will go about the emotionally painful task of assessing the damage and counting the casualties and injuries. It will rebuild homes, roads and lives for thousands of individuals.

"Today's events remind us of just how fragile life can be," U.S. President Barack Obama

Life is vulnerable. Cherish for your love ones and the time you hold.
- It would never come back once it gone.

God Bless Everyone.