A Crazy Week of Studies & Windows 7 Launch
Oct 23rd
Studies
The final lap is in sight
I’m just really glad the week is over. 3 tests and a project though the project was pretty easy and I had a very co-operative group. Thursday must have been my most hardcore studying day as I just completed a Maths test and a South Asia test. Both of which I am positive and optimistic on. So that leaves me with 1 more project, 1 more Maths test and then the finals. Really glad the end of the road is in sight and I can focus better that way. This semester has not been too difficult but just tedious, especially when you want to put your best in every thing you do. I have to say that the left behind or least regarded module is my maths module basically because it commanded too much effort needed for a L1 breadth module. I’m going to make the best of it and see how things go. Economics, South Asia, Geography and my GEK module have been pretty smooth sailing. There’s a lot of reading and analysis to be done but I enjoy that far more than sitting in a corner and doing bloody mathematical sums (I don’t understand how most of the world like that!). So I’m going to take a break today and just relax before starting my final exam preparations next week.
Windows 7 Launch
7 is here to stay
Hats off the Microsoft, the Vista lesson really taught them well. I believe the Windows 7 launch has been the largest since the launch of Windows 95 which at that point in time was a revolution in terms of its GUI. Windows 7 doesn’t provide too large a graphical change from Vista because Vista was in fact the supposed revolution. Vista was a rushed product that was not optimized. I was part of the rush and I remember splurging $300 on the OEM fresh installation copy of Vista Ultimate. Got myself burnt there. In every software development cycle, especially in that of an Operating System, code optimization is key as other programs run on top of it. The role of an OS is massive an any flaw would be multiplied in large degrees if you (MS) screw up one bit. That was the lesson MS learn from that.
Many critics argue that Windows 7 is simply what Vista should have been. They are right. But let’s not cry over split milk and hope that MS would give it to you free. Mac’s Snow Leopard is no different, seasoned Mac users have given feedback that SL was simply a service pack as well. For those who skipped Vista, Windows 7 would provide them with an experience so optimized I actually got a Pentium 2 PC running faster than it ever had. I swapped my OS from Vista to Win 7 on my laptop and got the same result, with better battery life and really quick boot up and shut down times. Programs run faster, etc. I’ve never been enthusiastic over an OS till 7 because it was heartening to see a much em battered company like MS and a product like Windows being finally given the embrace it rightly deserved.
MS took a very different approach with Win 7 due to the Vista backlash. It listened to the consumers a hell lot more. To have 8 million willing beta testers tells you something, especially those who campaign for Ubuntu and Linux. Windows 7 was built for the consumer with great input from the consumer and that is what a free market economy is about. The Vista lesson would prove to be a boon for the software consumer market as MS is now seeing a massive turn in fortunes with a better product and…
… A really awesome marketing approach. Steve Balmer is no Steve Jobs. He sounds dead and boring but the entire publicity machine does not run on him unlike the case of Apple. Apple has a cult leader but when he goes, you can’t be sure the company can progress in the same manner continuing a tradition of Mac cult loyalists. I would not go into the Windows vs Mac debate because most arguments have not shown the capability to delineate that fact the Windows should be compared to the Mac OS and not Mac on the whole and arguing with a cult faithful is of no use. The facts speak for themselves. Apple’s closed approach in their OS will hurt them if it has not already been. People are running Windows on Macs and that resonates loudly in market share echoes. MS did what it had always left out, use software and push hardware. That was what Mac was always about. The deals that MS managed to pull off with HP, etc are incredible. SGD$1,500 approx for a desktop, laptop and a netbook with a router setup is nothing short of insane. To be frank the very laptop I’m using now costs way more than that. And the best way they coined it, get 3 PCs for the price of a Mac and it works a damn lot faster too with better compatibility.
Microsoft got both its product and marketing approach right and the crowd has responded. The beauty of the free market economy is that if you suck, you’re out and with the tables now turned, consumers watch what Apple’s next move would be.
A Hectic Update
Oct 18th
Studies
Studies on the express lane
It’s been a long while since I last blogged. Things have heated up in school pretty much. I have at this point completed 2 projects 1 term paper 5 tests 1 debate and am facing another 3 tests this coming week (and yes, 1 project as well). There are still more tests, projects and of course the final exams which would be in a months time. Which idiot told me uni life was slack? Considering I’m only taking 5x Level 1 modules, I can expect this to be four times as bad in the coming years. Pretty happy with how the results have been showing so far but the amount of time put into school work has rivaled whatever effort I have placed in school before.
IT
My laptop is now a Studio 1450
I lost my HP laptop. Yep, within 5 mins my entire laptop was stolen. I was down for like a week. You know how it feels like to lose $1,850.00 for nothing. Well, not to cry over split milk, I have replaced it with a Dell Studio 14 which is a slight upgrade over my HP ProBook 4310s. Better CPU, GFX, Stronger Battery Life, Back lit Keyboard, Sweat resistant palm rest, tougher build, slimmer charger, better multimedia controls, brighter display. Everything sounds nice except for one thing. It does not have a hard disk indicator light. Yup, zilch, I never thought that was possible. I had to install a software end hard disk indicator to work around it. But besides this rather small yet irritating missing component, this laptop has been working absolutely great. I have Win 7 Ultimate (x64) running on it really smoothly. And am using the MS Presenter Notebook Mouse 8k with it. Managed to cut $100 off the price by importing it from the U.S. The reason for my loss of the HP ProBook was down to carelessness caused by me leaving around cause I couldn’t keep the laptop in my sling bag. So to ensure I do not lose another big bunch of money I got a Targus Wanderer backpack where I can dump all my school shit in together with the laptop. I’m not going to lose this and I will personally ******** the person who took my HP ProBook if I find him/her.
Football
Keep this consistency going boys
On the brighter side of things, Arsenal have been going on smooth after 2 defeats in Manchester where they were frankly the better team. I think there’s one thing to learn from Utd and that is losing big games do not really matter. United took only 1 point from Arsenal from 2 league games last season but were yards ahead because they could kill off the small teams. Something that Arsenal could not do. That part seems solved. The Verminator has been a massive addition to the squad and Song is finally showing some promise. Early days yet, but encouraging nevertheless. Actually I’ll trade the EPL title for breaking Adebayor’s legs (into multiple parts). Seriously.
Back to WoW
Not my screenshot, but very similar
On the gaming end, yes I have returned to WoW and am primarily playing on a new server (goodbye dragonblight) on recommendation by some of the friends who first showed me the game 3 years back. Rolling a druid since they need one but I might shift my warrior over some day. No real time to play it yet as my studies are hitting its most feverish point.
In short I can’t wait for the hols, I want to end this semester well and enjoy my hols. Goodness knows if I am able to post here before dec. If I’m not, here’s saying I’m still alive and I really want to get to dec.
Adjusting to School
Aug 22nd
It has been 2 weeks of lectures in NUS. And more or less I’ve gotten used to the routine of rushing in between lectures, revising and preparing for them, maximizing free time in between at the library and facing a continual bombardment of adverts on the walkways, in lectures and in my email. A run down of the modules I’m taking
EC1101E – Economics (Planning to Major – CORS Bid 1pt)
Everything still seems ‘A’ levels like except it is categorized slightly differently. I’m watching the keywords used by the lecturer and noting the changes to curriculum structure to ease the assimilation. EC1101E also seems one of the lightest of all my modules this sem.
SN1101E – South Asian Studies (Faculty Exposure – CORS Bid 1pt)
Extremely content heavy especially if you did not take a study of history in South Asia. Nevertheless, one of the more interesting modules. Currently covering the political aspect of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan (hey they all came from the same colony!). To be frank I’m quite unsure how the assessment style is like but I’m covering content as much as I can (101 readings to do for this module) and cross analysing to see how far I can dig into each topic.
GE1101E – Geography (Faculty Exposure – CORS Bid 1pt)
The most entertaining lecture so far. Dr. T. C. Chang is good on stage. I bet he must have taken Literature or Linguistic Studies before. It’s a fun class but workload wise it does seem the heaviest as it requires 2 projects and a field trip or two. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good group. Let’s just say that we’ve people crashing this lecture just for entertainment. That’s how fun it is.
GEK1500 – Geekland (General Education Module > Science – CORS Bid 318pts)
Highest points I spent for a module (ok considering the rest were nearly free lol). Interesting especially for IT freaks like me. It goes to a semi advanced level and is an eye opener for non IT tuned people. It does provide an extra technical background for those who are… like me ><. Interesting so far and there’s nothing much to do. The stuff taught are easy to remember, probably because of my interest.
MA1301 – Mathematics (Breadth Module – CORS Bid 1pt)
Heaviest in terms of time in lectures (2x 2hr lectures and 1x weekly tutorial) compared to the rest. I took this not out of interest but rather as a prerequisite for my Econometrics that is a core module for Econ Hons. (Keeping my fingers really crossed). It aims to cover H2 Maths in 6 months. Pace seems to be slow as the lecturer is rather occupied with taking the class quickly through A. Maths level topics. So pretty easy for me now and it really helps to get the 2 years of NS rust away. Lecturer does put in a lot of work in providing extra exercises and frequently communicates via IVLE.
There you go! All the modules I’m taking and such. Tutorials are starting next week and there is pressure to put on a good class performance as it is graded. Going to have to thicken my skin and give it a good shot.
I’ve been doing a lot of moving around these 2 weeks. Sometimes you wish everything and everyone was in one place.
I must say I have been happy these two weeks for various reasons. I’ve never felt more independent when it comes to learning and the self driven desire to go out and get myself immersed deeper into the subjects makes learning a hell lot more fun. There are also many even more important reasons to be glad about which I will not elaborate. Things are settling in pretty well and I hope things get better and smoother as the time continually flies by.
(BTW, in response to my troubleshoot post last week. The real problem for my main computer is the bloody SATA cable. Somehow, it got damaged. Changed it and everything has been working awesome).
Till the next time, adios!
Troubleshoot
Aug 14th
It’s been a busy week especially in terms of troubleshooting various issues with my devices. Don’t take this wrongly, everything else is going fine and although I had some issues of which I cannot discuss here, everything was resolved well. =)
M1 Sunsurf Goes Rogue
I finally made the switch to M1 from a Singtel Corporate plan. Finally got to use all my student benefits like unlimited SMS (hell of a saver), free campus calls and very importantly 3 completely unlimited calls to 3 M1 friends. =) Well, the switch wasn’t without it’s fair share of hiccups. Actually, just one. I was unable for some reason to use M1’s Sunsurf Mobile to receive GPRS packets. Not that it mattered to most since nearly every M1 subscriber could use MiWorld GPRS instead. However, my E71’s GPS feature required Sunsurf for its AGPS signal. AGPS is deadly important for one to be able to lock down his position quickly as it takes roughly 10mins to do so for normal satellites. Well, long story short, I spent more than 10 calls with their technical support people which were friendly but not too knowledgeable. I tried everything on my end to get it up and running but to no avail. It was only at the 2nd visit to their IMM centre that they realised that they did not activate my M1 Sunsurf service on their backend. All’s resolved now and I’m back on full mobile capability with a much much reduced bill.
RAID0 – In DisArray
I feared for this to happen and by golly it did happen soon enough. Apparently my Raid0 setup met St Peter due to a software fault. I had initially thought my 2nd hard drive had failed but after relaying arrays everything was fine. Raid0 is indeed fragile so I’m keeping my watch for this. The shit part about crashing is restoring full capability quickly. I have all my files and documents backed up so I’m not losing anything much but those little things like the list of programs I install, preferences, extensions, bookmarks and all are lost. Not large articles but still irritating to say the least. Gonna rebuild my Win 7 setup slowly.
First Laptop – My HP 4310s
Woot! Finally a laptop. I’ve been through so many laptops helping friends to repair, etc that I was not that excited when I first used my HP ProBook 4310s. I’d say everyone including Apple has taken a page out of Sony’s Vaio series and have keys spaced apart. The keyboard feels great, screen is bright and sharp and the touchpad traction is superb. Build quality threads a fine line between solid and classy looking. I went for the maroon version cause that’s the matte one. I can’t imagine leaving all my fingerprints and palm marks on the black full gloss version. The laptop is speedy with a top end T9600 processor (2.8Ghz C2D). I was amazed to find out that the discrete graphics (ATI Radeon 4330) could handle TF2 smoothly on high settings. The only drawback is the hard drive which to be fair is standard issue for all notebooks. It’s a 500GB 5,400rpm drive that cannot compare to my RAID0 7,200rpm drive setup on my Core i7 but yet again that isn’t a fair comparison. One thing to watch out for is that the bundled HP applications is pretty much bloated. If you can go without fingerprint log ons, forget about installing the security suite. It bogs the system down a lot during startup. I’m still having fun with logging on via running my finger on the device but when I grow out of that, HP’s security suite goes outta the box. It just feels good that I can do my work anywhere I want and be productive on the go. Oh yea, McAfee Internet Security 2009? Resource hog. Period.
Another Bundle of Updates!
Jul 30th
Hit the Ground Running
No False Starts
Registration is done. Laptop is set (HP ProBook 4310s as decided earlier). So what’s left is bidding for my modules and prepping myself to put in 10hrs on school work per day. Not going to be fun but I like the idea that this is entire course of study is driven by motivation. I think in the end, the things that last the longest and becomes most prevalent are things driven by self will. Not something forced down your throat or whipped into you. Gonna be camping in the library a bit and putting all those research skills into good use. Fingers crossed, this is the final lap, I’d better sprint.
Work
Work = $$ = Food
I think every guy has been trained in the army to NOT talk about army secrets to others, even your spouse. So same here for work. I’m down to the final days and am trying to wrap up my work. Doesn’t feel good to leave things undone and handed over to someone else (to clean your shit) cause that’s exactly what happened to me in Army (tks ah Alex, & Rockey ><). Financially wise, I’m in a pretty safe position as my expenditure isn’t high at all. I’m probably a boring person that doesn’t buy new clothes, etc but well it keeps my pockets secure! =P Oh yes, I’m a sucker for food but thank goodness uni food is REALLY cheap. $1.50 for a FULL Western Meal.. Woohoo! Who knows if I would continue working when I’m studying. Still getting freelance offers from individuals and companies and if required I might continue at my job on an ad-hoc or project basis. Just see how things goes. My priority is to get my uni life flowing smoothly.
Goodbye Toure
King Kolo - A Distinguished Service Rendered
Most Arsenal fans didn’t feel much when Adebayor left. I’ve covered that before so I ain’t beating on an old horse again. But Toure is a world of difference. This is the chap that put his body on the line for the club. He’s loyal but well, performance wise he dipped quite a bit after Sol Campbell left for Portsmouth. Wasn’t an ideal partner for Gallas. Frankly, I thought Thomas V. was brought in to replace Gallas since the later is 33 years old and would be hanging his boots up in a season or two, or five if he changes his last name to Bergkamp. It looks like its Gallas + Thomas V / Djourou with Djourou taking over Gallas when he leaves. I hope Wenger brings in replacements in defence. We’re pretty well built on the final third, but where is that DM? Maybe he’s putting faith with Song / Denilson and the command that Thomas V. brings might be the final jigsaw. Then we need our attackers to learn to track back and defend. I think some Arsenal fans have forgotten that Henry, as graceful a striker he was, tracked back almost all the time to help in defence. We need to see players like Walcott, Arshavin, RVP, Nasri, etc do that more often. No use waiting upfield for the ball when your opponent is tossing it behind you. Well goodbye King Kolo. Even if we don’t miss you for your performances (tbh you’ve dipped a lot), we’ll miss your dedication and loyalty to the team. All the best at teh Citeh.
Let Go
Careful Careful...
I think I’m guilty of needing things around me under control. I was a single child in the family so I had my toys, my room, my anything neatly tidied and categorized in a manner coherent to me. Some people think I have OCD thanks to that. When planning big events or running various organizations, I have things planned to the final detail, tagged into various sets of categories (read: categories of categories) and have everything rehearsed x times with y trial runs. I’ve realized multiple times that it is very unhealthy because you cannot do that to another human being. If your safety comes from having everything calmly under wraps, you’re going to be a sad man in this volatile world. I’ve to learn to balance everything with good organization while embracing the need for surprises or even shocks. It’s hard to maintain a balance, I’ve to get that ingrained in me within the next 3 years or the years after would be worse. C’est la vive~
The Need to Upgrade
Not Me! (Yet)
It’s like an addiction. Geek addiction. There’s always something you want to improve, something you want to add, something… damn it. I was pretty excited about my switch over to Win 7 running on a Raid 0 setup. It runs really sweet but a few weeks later I’m thinking, what’s next. Frankly, there’s nothing else to upgrade besides another 6GB of DDR3 RAM (taking the total to 12GB), a DX11 card (which is not even out in production yet and would cost an obscene bomb on launch) and a 24 inch monitor (so I can give my mom my 22″ and my mom can give my dad her 19″). The 24″ is gonna need a 1GB GFX so everything is bottlenecked there. It’s a bit sad huh? Guys tweak cars at this age. I’m tweaking PCs. Oh well, at least I’m saving the dough! One day, I’ll have a room with slide out wall sized screens, a speaking voice controlled AI assistant.. Alright enough geeky indulgence.
Thoughts for the coming semester
Jul 26th
Back to school!
Well there’s no hiding that everyone in my shoes is anticipating with excitement and a certain level of anxiety of being a freshman. I have been trying to gather as much information to ensure I get my homework done about my school. Didn’t want to join any orientation camp as I had work to complete and honestly this may sound antisocial but I’m not the type that will go out to make friends just for the sake of having plenty of friends. I take my time with friendships preferring good long term quality friendships as opposed to multiple frivolous ones. The good ones will make themselves known over time. Take it easy.
Economics, no?
I always wanted to major in Economics and I have been told by every source out there that Economics is the hardest major in my faculty and no one dreams about getting a honours there. I’m not superman and I see myself as the bottom half of the cohort but I’ll do my best to maintain that crazy CAP requirement (>4.0 at all times) and see how far I can go. I guess the only way forward is doing plenty of background preparatory work and giving my 100% in every assignment. This is going to be a heavy 3-4 years but I kinda waited all my life for this final round of studies so might as well give it my all. Fingers crossed!
CORS
Much to hate and love about this system. The great thing about it is complete freedom in selecting your modules, choosing your lecture groups, tutorial groups, etc. The bad part? A lot of work planning your own academic journey (there are tons of requirements to fulfil before you can file for graduation) and you have to balance your timetable and examination schedule. Any clashes is your own fault. And a wrong move can cost you a wasted module in that semester. To maximize your experience in NUS and to maintain a good CAP, you’ve to be wise about picking modules that interest you and are generally easy to score. I’ve heard of some who took supposedly easy to score modules, know the content on the back of their hands but did miserably at the exams just because they were not used to the style of writing that particular subject required. Been familiarizing myself as well with the different rounds and I more or less know what to do when the Round 1C comes on 30 Jul 0900hrs. Planning is done, now its eBay time!
Adapting
I don’t really have trouble adapting anyway as I’m easy going and accommodating but as usual the first few days will be a little awkward. Just hoping that I get to meet the right friends along the way. Well for those who know me well, its not just personal adaption that counts. I’m going to have to adapt in another way as well. I’m hoping that will turn out great too. =’)
Well here it is for now as I will be attending Orientation Talks on this coming Monday and Tuesday and would be matriculating on Wednesday. The week has finally come and its time to make the most of it from here on.
Another Transition Incoming
Jul 20th
Stalford Stint
Learnt to use more than just Photoshop!
Time really flies. I’m drawing near to the end of my 6 month Stalford stint and it has been helluva interesting journey. Some things are better not said on this public blog! 2 weeks left and I’m rushing out some concept art, logos and 4 websites. Have already done up more than 50 signages, brochures, art boards and countless countless countless ideas and concepts. It’s been a good exposure in understanding what a full time designer does. I think the biggest fear of a designer is a creativity drain. Besides that the job is pretty fun and intrinsically rewarding.
Facebook – Addictive & Powerful
Will Events Facebook Group!
I’m involved with an investment startup called Will Holdings and we’re working on our first subsidiary Will Events. Our main marketting material has been to use Facebook and it has been pretty useful especially in our latest event “Clubbing For Charity”. Even with a bleak H1N1 shadow trailing the event’s venue, the event was a success. (Thanks guys for supporting!) Support us at this Facebook Group!
I’ve been using FB to keep old school memories together after Edwin (I know him better as Kah Wang) posted some old sec photos. Unglamorous but who cares! Really good memories! Been putting up photos from MI where I was the main photographer for 3 years. Keep posting photos, 04A4!
Windows 7 All Clear
Windows 7 - What Vista Should Have Been
Well on the geek side, it has been pretty interesting these few weeks. I’m moving my Core i7 system straight into Windows 7 RC1 as its main OS. The RC will expire 1 Mar ‘10 so I have a good 8 months before I decide whether to buy Windows 7 retail. Will be running W7 as my only OS this evening after setting up a Raid 0 drive combination.
I’ll be getting the HP ProBook 4310s from NUS come 27 Jul. Good that they’re offering a free upgrade to Windows 7. I can’t wait to be able to do work on the bus or train. All the time spent in public transport is often wasted.
Arsenal – Time For the Old
Remember the old days, Wenger
Adebayor is gone! And I don’t think he has to be replaced. The point is Arsenal never really had a target man upfront type of playing style during Wenger years. We were originally a soak-and-strike team. Relying on speed to catch the opposing team’s defenses down. That’s how the Henry, Pires, Viera, Ljungberg system worked. Viera was a box to box player that suited this style. Henry always cut in from the left and the 2 wingers were.. well wingers. That also gave our defense stability since we were waiting for them to come to us first. Adebayor was supposed to be the foil for Henry. However, Henry left soon after he came. Well now that Adebayor is gone. I hope Wenger plays back to the old ways and focus on defence and midfield stability. We have enough creative juices to spark a goal from no where especially when we lure the opponent into our half. I see Arshavin and RVP up front with Rosicky back on the wings and Nasri on his opposite end. I think Adebayor would do ok at Man City except he’s going to need to be a lot more clinical considering he ain’t getting the same midfield service he is used to at Arsenal.
School
CORS - Bid well or bid farewell
Well my mind is now swirling on the NUS CORS system. It’s a module bidding system and it kinda sucks to know that hardwork isn’t only the requirement to get preferred modules, you have to know how to play the market in order to get your favoured modules. Losing out could mean taking a harder module that would affect your CAP almost certainly. Well, no use complaining. I’m going to have to play it right with advice from the seniors. =) Tks guys (and gals)!
HP ProBook 4310s vs Acer AS4937G-964G50Mn (Cont’)
Jul 11th
NUS Notebook Offers: HP vs Acer Compared
Processor & Chipset
Draw: Exactly the same processor and chipset used for both.
RAM
Draw: Exactly the same.
Storage
Draw: No mention of drive speed but size wise again an exact copy.
Screen
HP: 13.3 inch is perfect for mobility and the 4310 doesn’t skimp on hardware even with a small footprint.
Video Card
Draw: The ATI 4330 and nVidia G105 don’t differ by much. Going to have to play games on lowered settings but yet again I’m not gaming on my laptop. The lower resolution on the 4310 will suit an average GFX compared to the AS4937G.
Web Cam/Mic/Sound
Draw: Exact copies. Checked the 4310 thoroughly. It had a stereo mic system as well. Acer simply spelled themselves out more clearly on the NUS site.
Peripherals
Draw: Same as above, unless you’re a retro fan of a V90 modem that the AS4937G provides.
Weight
HP: About 320grams lighter. Not a big difference and not surprising considering we’re comparing a 13.3″ to a 14.1″.
Warranty
HP: Longer international warranty. Helps for student exchange programmes.
Conclusion
HP’s ProBook lineup has a considerable reputation for build quality compared to its consumer line up (DV3, 4, etc). Looks wise the HP 4310 triumphs as well. With the comparison above, its the HP ProBook 4310s that takes the cake. Will probably get it if the specs do not change when the sale goes on 29 Jul 09.
HP ProBook 4310s vs Acer AS4937G-964G50Mn
Jul 10th
Both have solid processors and average discrete graphics. I can get either nearly free. Help me decide!
HP ProBook 4310s
The HP ProBook 4310s
Processor & Chipset
Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology Core 2 Duo T9600
(2.8GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset
RAM
4GB DDR3 SDRAM (no slot left)
Storage
500 GB SATA Hard disk
Built-in DVDRW Drive
Screen
13.3″ LED-Backlit HD anti-glare LCD (1280 x 800) 16:10 Aspect Ratio
Video Card
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 discrete/dedicated graphics with 512MB dedicated video memory
Web Cam / Mic / Sound
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Webcam
Integrated Microphone
Realtek High Definition Audio with Built-in stereo speakers
Peripherals
Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN
VGA port
1 HDMI
USB 2.0 x 3
Media Card Reader
ExpressCard/34 slot
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (802.11a/g/n)
Built-in BlueTooth 2.0+EDR
Notebook carrying case
Weight
1.9 kg (with battery and integrated optical drive).
Warranty
3 years Local on-campus warranty and 3 years international travelers’ warranty
Acer AS4937G-964G50Mn
The Acer AS4937G
Processor & Chipset
Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology Core 2 Duo T9600
(2.8GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset
RAM
4GB DDR3 SDRAM (no slot left)
Storage
500GB Hard Disk;
DVD Super Multi Double-Layer Drive (DVD+/-RW)
Screen
14″ High Definition (1366 x 768) LED-backlit Display, 16:9 aspect ratio
Video Card
Nvidia GeForce G 105M Discrete Graphics Card with 512MB VRAM
Web Cam / Mic / Sound
Integrated Acer CrystalEye High-def Webcam, featuring 640 x 480 @ 30fps or 1280 x 800 @ 30fps resolution image capture
Intel High Definition Audio Support
Dolby-optimized surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers
Acer PureZone technology with two built-in stereo microphones
Peripherals
Built-in 10/100/1000Mbps LAN
Expresscard/54 slot
USB 2.0 x 3
HDMI port with HDCP support
eSATA port
Built-in V.92 modem
Built-in Intel Pro/Wireless 5300 (ABGN)
Built-in BlueTooth 2.0+EDR
6-in-1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), MultiMediaCard Plus (MMCplus), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS-Pro), xD-Picture Card
Integrated Acer Bio-Protection Fingerprint Reader
Notebook carrying case
Weight
2.32 kg (with 6-cell battery and optical drive)
Warranty
3 years On-Campus Warranty and 1-year International Travellers Warranty
Both
Software
Windows Vista Business
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium
Microsoft Office 2007 Standard
The laptops are offered under the NUS scheme for students matriculating in 09/10. I’ll write more later after more research into build quality and end user feedback. Both laptops are very new to the market.
Round Up – So Bored I Blogged
Jul 4th
What A Saturday Morning
Working in the office on another Saturday morning when most my work is completed. Sleepy as hell, eyes hanging out and needing more rest but nope here am I ready to fulfill another 9 hours of company time. No one needs greater motivation than such to write a little junk on a sleepy morn.
Football – The Arsenal DM Mystery, Chamakh to Replace Ade? & Owen to United
Melo isn’t signing for us. Inler, Cana, etc looks like a pipe dream. Nothing going on except for Chamakh whom I’ve never heard before. Supposedly Adebayor’s replacement and I hope that Togo chap goes. Basically his heart isn’t here anymore, his form has dipped and he wasn’t a really good striker anyways. Lacking a solid first touch and sharp finishing, what Ade had was plenty and plenty of tireless hard work operating ahead of RVP alone upfront. Think about it, he’s a bit of a Heskey like player, important but he could be better. No idea how good Chamakh is though in comparison with Ade. Actually, I really miss Bergkamp, Petit & Wright.
Owen signed for United! Think its good for him. I’ve always liked players like him. Quiet, leads a decent life even with the riches he has on hand. Good professional but whether his injuries plague him again is another thing. He was with Liverpool when he was young and used his pace to burn up defenders. Now at 29, he’s slower and is back in the English League (read: physical). We’ll see how he does. It’ll be good for his England aspirations partnering with Rooney who can operate behind him or being a pacey striker to front man Berbatov. Might be an excellent deal for United in the end since he is on free transfer.
Geekish – Time for a Laptop
This is the time of the year that every uni going chap wants to get a laptop. I’m going to hold out until:
1. September IT Show sales.
2. NUS offers.
3. I know the exact requirements of my faculty.
4. Confirmation of the sponsorship so I can work out my budget.
It’s hard for a geek like me to choose a laptop. Idiots like me love power and performance. Everything must be top of the line but with a laptop, portability and battery life comes to mind so one has to balance this. I can’t go for a C2D 2.53ghz with SLI GFX and expect my laptop to be featherlight and still last a long time on battrey power. I’d still need a fast processor (can’t skim on that), good RAM and a doable GFX. I’m not very familiar with the GFX lineups for notebooks but here’s a good link to check.
I’m not going to game much on a laptop but would like my laptop to be ready in case there are adhoc gaming sessions that kinda thing. I don’t play high res games anyways, TF2 isn’t that demanding.
So basically depending on price, I’d like a:
Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz or 2.53Ghz
RAM: 4GB DDR2/3 RAM (This is dirt cheap anyways)
Hard Drive: 320GB minimum
Screen Size: 13.3″ to 14.1″
GFX: Non onboard. Preferably ATI Radeon HD4570 / nVidia GeForce 9600M GS and above.
OS: Windows 7 32-bit. (I’m going to run W7 64bit on my desktop so I need a little variety)
Build Quality: No skimming on this. Has to be tough and solid.
Budget: $1,600 (Pretty tight)
News – H1N1 will become a common flu.
H1N1 was given a SARS level welcome mat and everyone went bananas about it. After following the news and talking to a few doctor friends for a bit, there’s nothing much we can do to shut the strain out. First it is not life threatening when treated on time. The 100+ people who died early in the outbreak did not know it was a new strain and it was common flu. Thus untreated >> dead. Second, recovery rate is excellent in H1N1 and there’s nothing to be too panicky about. Same rules apply, good hygenie, enough sleep (oh man), proper food (oh boy), and see a doc the moment you have symptoms. You won’t die, you need not panic. Just live your life the way it should be. Most countries are going from containment to mitigation and in 3 months to come, H1N1 would be so widely spread no one will be keeping figures (just imagine how keeping numbers of people with common flu will be like) and it will, in the end, become a common flu. Vaccine’s on the way if you’re interested.
