Recently I asked myself some questions. What is my hobby? What are my passions?

I really could not come out with an answer. So I asked my wife.

And she replied, “playing games.”

I was contemplating her statement in my mind, thinking if gaming actually qualifies as a hobby.

I mean, normal hobbies are reading, sports, fishing and collecting stuff right?

Then she added, “you’re addicted to games.”

“Addicted?”, I denied. “I’m not addicted.”

“Yes, you are.” she said.

Then I started to think when this addiction started (feel free to skip to the end if you have no interest in my life history).

Childhood

Like any young boy, I loved video games. I still remember we would go to those shops where you can pay RM1 to play for half an hour.

I can’t recall any specific games, but I can still remember Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-A-B-A-B-Select-Start.

I wouldn’t say I was addicted, but I remember games could take up my interest and attention for a long time.

Teenager

I remember a few things related to video games. First of all, we were always obsessed over video game arcades. For some strange reason, our beloved government only allowed those above 18 years old to go into video game arcades.

This created a desperation to get my hands on Street Fighter 2. I convinced my parents to buy me a Super-NES so I “didn’t have to go to those game arcades with smoking gangsters”.

The second memory is the first time I installed a sound card on my computer. Some of you may remember the days when computers only played silly 8-bit music from the speakers, and you actually had to pay RM300 just for music and sound.

My friends and I messed around with our computers, trying to get games working (and sharing them on 1.2MB 5 1/2 inch diskettes).

I truly fell in love with computers when I was 14, and that decided my career.

There was a year when I stopped playing games , totally abstaining in 1997 when I was in Form 5.

College

College days were the days when the Internet was starting to become available.

My fondest memory was playing Diablo with a bunch of strangers on Battle.net. The game quickly became boring (due to cheaters and hackers), but I enjoyed the chat forum so much.

The Internet was a pretty boring place back then, so another platform took my attention: the Sony PlayStation.

Working

When I started working I resumed my gaming habits, purchasing a PlayStation 2.

Then Warcraft 3 and DotA came along.

I spent so much time playing games, often until 3 am in the morning.

Facebook

I remember when I first joined Facebook there wasn’t anything you could do except poke people.

Then they released their platform to developers and games started coming up. Companies started to develop better games and I was totally hooked.

Most of the games had an element of time, where you had to login every few hours to play the game or risk falling behind your competitors.

I would quit a game only to find another new game taking up my attention.

I even started a separate account just to play games!

It’s Not That Bad

I’ve just re-read everything I wrote and I think I should be checked in to some clinic immediately.

I know some of you feel like dragging your children to the screen to point to my blog and tell them, “see this uncle? See he play games all his life? See la, you play games some more la? See this addict? Don’t follow this uncle”

But I hope you take into consideration that I’m just sharing one of the things I did during all those years. It’s not like I played games non-stop for my entire life.

I did finish school, completed college, started a career and had a family at the same time.

I also want to point out that I learned a lot from games, because they force me to explore new worlds all the time.

I’ve Changed

If you ask me to stop totally, it would not be possible. Games are fun, and I admit I enjoy playing games.

I’ve come to a conclusion and realization that many games offer no real value. They suck you into their world and get you to do repetitive tasks like watering and harvesting crops.

So I’ve quit most of them.

I hardly login to Facebook any more. There are no video game consoles in my house. There are no computer games installed on my PC.

I only have a few games installed on my phone, though I admit I’ve been spending too much time on Defender in the past couple of weeks.

I’ve been playing Glitch, which is interesting because it’s funny, it’s a large world and you get to do a lot. But honestly I’m losing interest. Haven’t even logged in in the past week.

Conclusion

So back to my original question.

Is this my hobby? Definitely!

Is this an addiction? I think my wife is right.

I was quite surprised this 8 year old computer was still working well.

Before I put the laptop into storage I had cleaned it up, removing unnecessary programs and documents.

So when I booted it again I just had to update the antivirus and browsers and I was good to go.

The only problem was the screen.

If you notice the photos above, you’ll see the LCD screen seems to be wrinkled like paper. I think the plastic has dried and shriveled up.

This is the Dell laptop beside the downed iMac, displaying a photo of themselves from 3 years ago.

The Dell Inspiron 5100 is so old, I have even forgotten the specs.

But turning on the computer again reminds me of the times before I got married.

Some of the memories that came back are:

1. Playing DotA and Star Wars Jedi Academy on this laptop.
2. Doing my assignments and writing my dissertation.
3. Getting this laptop. It was the first computer I bought with my own money.

I had to take out my 8 year old Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop. Surprisingly it still worked.

This is an old photo of the Dell laptop that was about to be placed in storage.

At first the iMac would not boot. It was stuck at the grey screen with Apple logo and did not proceed from there.

I rebooted in safe mode (Shift-S) and saw a lot of disk i/o error messages. Oh oh.

I tried running fsck and Disk Utility, and both told me that they repaired the disk successfully. But after that I still could not boot.

It finally ended up booting and stuck and the white screen of death. No response, no disk activity, nothing.

I suspected that the hard disk had finally died.

So I contacted the different Mac stores to ask for hard disk replacement quotations.

Would you believe it, only one store bothered to reply? It was MacCity (where I bought the Mac). I also requested a quotation from MacCores, a non-official service agent.

Both MacCity and MacCores quoted RM250 for hard disk and RM150 for labour. The difference was:

1. MacCity was replacing with 500GB hard disk but MacCores was replacing with 1TB.
2. MacCores response time was amazing. Replied to my email within hours.
3. MacCores can replace my hard disk on-site. For MacCity I will have to bring the iMac back to 1 Utama and they will send it back to service centre.

I finally decided on MacCores.

In fact, they will be coming today to replace the hard disk at my condo. No need to send in to service centre, and no need to wait.

Update: Disk replacement was completed in less than 1 hour. Now that’s what I call great service!
 

This morning I received the welcome news via KeeMan’s blog about the Android Gingerbread JV9 update for Samsung Galaxy S.

Okay I know I’m a week late but I was on holiday and didn’t have my computer.

I plugged in my phone, opened Kies and was greeted with this screen:

If you don’t see any updates, make sure you have the latest version of Kies (this link is for Malaysia version phones only).

Finally, the long awaited update! I clicked Update and out came this long warning message.

I proceeded to minimize the Kies window and backed up my files and photos just in case something went wrong.

Here are the steps to proceed with the upgrade:

1. Click Start Upgrade. A screen will come up asking you to backup your data. You should backup any files you can’t afford to lose.

I skipped the backup because I had already backed up my photos, and my contacts are already synched with my Google Contacts account.

2. Kies will then proceed to download the firmware files and you will see the following screens:

3. Once download is complete, it will start flashing the new firmware on your phone. You will see a yellow downloading sign on your phone, and the following screen on your computer. Guard your phone with your life! This is a critical stage.

4. Less than five minutes later, the phone update should be completed. You will see a confirmation screen as follows, and your phone will have some geeky looking yellow text.

5. Your phone will then auto-restart and stay at the “Galaxy S” logo for 5 minutes. Wait for it to complete (and pray hard) because the upgrade is still in progress.

If you want, you can hold your phone’s hand, ask it to breathe and PUSH!

6. When the phone boots, you will be asked to do some setup. I just chose English (US), then clicked ‘Next’ all the way until Finish (because the settings were the same).

7. Ta-da! Firmware upgraded to DXJV9. Check out the new icons on the notification bar.

• Lag fix (oh-yeah!)
• GPS fix
• Upgrades to Contacts, Camera, Video and Music Player, Browser, Gallery, YouTube, Phone Dialer and Keyboard

This is a follow-up to my previous guide on upgrading firmware from 2.1 Eclair to 2.2 Froyo using Kies.

Note: This guide applies to SGS GT-I9000 phone bought from Malaysia. I am not sure if it applies to phones from other countries.

As usual, make sure your phone battery is (more or less) fully charged, and you have a stable Internet connection.

Steps

1. Download the new Samsung Kies version 2.0.0.11011_16_5. The old Kies isn’t even smart enough to know it needs to be updated.
2. If you have an older version of Kies, you will need to uninstall that before installing the new one.
3. Connect your phone via USB to your computer. If Kies cannot detect your phone, you can refer to this hub page to fix that problem.
4. Start Kies, Kies will inform you that a new firmware is available for your phone. The new version will be PDA:JPE and PHONE:JPB.
5. Click Update, accept the terms and conditions, proceed without saving phone numbers and click Next.
   
6. You will be given an option to backup your data. You should do this. I’ve recently done a backup, so I just skipped some of them.
7. Click OK and the download will start.
8. Wait for Kies to download the firmware from the Internet. It took me 15 minutes. How long you wait will depend on your connection speed and Samsung’s server load. Don’t disconnect your phone from your USB cable, guard it with your life!
9. After Kies completes the download, a yellow “downloading” sign will appear on your phone for 3 minutes. Don’t turn off your phone even if the building is on fire!
10. Your phone will reboot and you will see a lot of system text as the phone updates some files. It will then stay at the startup “S” animation for about 3 minutes.
11. Done! The Froyo version will still be 2.2 but you will see DXJPE as the firmware.
    
12. At this point you can safely disconnect your phone from your PC.

First Impressions

The phone is really much faster. This is what I really wanted. The only lag seems to happen when the media scanning process takes place.

All the great new features of Froyo 2.2, yet faster than a rooted and lag-fixed 2.1.

I just opened my media gallery and all the photos fly on the screen.

I will be writing a follow-up to this post next week so share my usage experience after upgrading, so stay tuned!

Conclusion

You need to perform this upgrade to fix some issues that have been bugging you, especially the lagging.

I’ve just upgraded my Samsung Galaxy S firmware from Android 2.1 to Android 2.2 Froyo.

Update: Refer to my latest guide to upgrade Samsung Galaxy S to 2.2.1.

This step-by-step guide will show my Galaxy S brothers and sisters how to upgrade Samsung Galaxy S to Android 2.2 Froyo.

This guide applies to SGS phones bought from Maxis Malaysia. I am not sure if it applies to phones from other countries.

Before you begin, make sure your phone battery is fully charged, otherwise Kies won’t allow you to proceed.

You also need a stable (and fast) Internet connection.

The Steps

1. Install / update the latest Samsung Kies software (version 1.5.3.10103_102 or later). You need to use a Windows PC so Mac users like me have to borrow a Windows machine.

2. It is strongly advised that you backup the contents of your SD card, contacts, photos, etc to your computer. There is no way to backup your text messages and call logs unless you use third party apps.

I used AppBrain to store a list of all my installed apps.

Don’t worry, if everything goes well your data should remain the same.

3. I used RyanZA’s One Click Lag Fix, so I reversed the lag fix and unrooted my phone. I’m not sure if this is necessary but I wanted to be safe.

4. Connect your phone via USB to your computer. If Kies cannot detect your phone, you can refer to this hub page to fix that problem.

5.  Kies will inform you that a new firmware is available for your phone. Click on the box where it says “<GT-I9000>’s firmware can be upgraded. Please click here to upgrade firmware)”.

6. You will be given an option to backup your contacts.

7. A popup window will appear showing you your current firmware. You will see something like:

Current Version: PDA:JF4 / PHONE:JF4 / CSC:JF4
Latest Version: PDA:JPA / PHONE:JPA / CSC:JPA

If you are in another country, you may see another Firmware such as JPM. Don’t worry because JP means it’s Froyo. The A or M at the end is used to denote the region.

Warning: Make sure you are using the right firmware version for your phone. I repeat, I used the JPA version because my phone was bought in Maxis Malaysia.

8. Click Upgrade, accept the terms and condition and click Next.

9. You will be given an option to save phone numbers in Samsung servers. I chose ‘Proceed without Saving’ and clicked Next.

10. Wait for Kies to download the firmware from the Internet. I waited 90 minutes. Don’t disconnect your phone from your USB cable, guard it with your life!

Fun isn’t it? So many steps to do a simple firmware upgrade. I wonder if iPhone users have to go through so many steps.

11. After Kies completes the upgrade, your phone will reboot. It will stay at the startup animation for about 5 minutes.

12. You will then see the new lock screen, and you’re done (cute baby not included)!

Just go to Settings -> About Phone to check the firmware version.

You just need to setup your home screens icons, folders and shortcuts.

All my media, contacts, and apps were still there after the upgrade.

Improvements

1. Speed. I haven’t even done the Lag Fix yet and it is almost as fast.
2. Flash support (hello Flash games!)
3. Pinch to zoom flyover on home and application screens
4. GPS toggle button in notification bar
5. Interface improvements such as new icons and colours
6. Access to more applications. Previously I could not access some free apps like Angry Birds but now I can. Maybe those apps were locked to Froyo and above only.
7. GMail app upgrade (but not much difference)
8. Camera app upgrade
9. New apps such as Google Places, Latitude, etc.
10. Screen capture by holding home and back buttons. Really useful!
11. An easier way to drag and drop the cursor during text entry.

Non-Improvements

1. The GPS is still unreliable. Hard to get solid fix on GPS satellites even when outdoors.
2. Lag is still noticeable when doing heavy data reading and writing, though there is a vast improvement from before.

Conclusion

You really should upgrade if you have a Samsung Galaxy S.

I know it may sound like a scary process but just take precautions and it will be okay.

Thank you Samsung Mobile for delivering the Froyo upgrade, great job.

Is it too much to ask for Gingerbread or HoneyComb?

One of the main questions people ask me is “does the Android phone have apps?”. Hopefully I will be able to convince some of you that the Android platform does have many great apps (although honestly it still doesn’t compare to the number of iPhone apps).

The main way to get Android apps is to use the Android Market. I like the Market because:

• You can find thousands of apps
• No apps censorship (as long as it’s legal)
• You can quickly download apps directly from phone
• Easily install apps with a few clicks
• It’s easy to update your apps to the latest version or patch

When you start the Market application, you get to choose between viewing Apps or Games.

In each of those choices, you get to choose between different app categories such as Finance apps, Comic apps, Arcade & Action Games or Puzzle Games.

Clicking in a category will display a list of the top apps or the newest apps.

Once you choose an app, you get to see a description, screen shots, user ratings and comments. I find the comments really useful because I can tell immediately if the app is buggy or does not work as promised.

Having said that, there are a some things I wished Google would improve:

• Malaysians do not have access to paid apps (the workaround is to root your phone and install the Market Enabler app)
• It can be difficult to find great apps if you do not know what you are looking for. A better search and recommendation method is needed.
• Some free apps are not available to non-US users.

My Favourite Apps

Okay, moving on to my favourite apps. These are the apps I use all the time. I will describe each app, then let you know how I rate them in four categories:

• Usability: a measure of user-friendliness and ease of use
• Performance: measures the speed and efficiency of the app
• Design: measures the beauty of the visual elements and interface design
• Functionality: measures how well the app does what it is supposed to do

The ratings are 1 (FAIL), 2 (bad), 3 (okay), 4 (good) and 5 (exceptional).

Twitter

The Twitter app allows you to read tweets and post your Twitter updates in a simple and clean interface.

On the app home screen, you can access all the functions you get at the Twitter website.

You can tweet a plain text message, or you could attach a photo via TwitPic.

I like the simple and minimalist interface. I think this app is the best one to use for accessing and updating your Twitter account.

Usability: 5/5
Performance: 4/5
Design: 5/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 19/20

You can use this QR code to download Twitter on your Android phone.

StumbleUpon

If you are the type of person who gets bored on the Internet, then StumbleUpon is the perfect app for you. If you’ve never used it before, then it will change how you browse the web for fresh and cool stuff.

The home menu displays all your favourite topics. Clicking on your topics will bring up a random website about the topic.

The four shortcut icons at the top will bring up content most suitable for mobile devices. This helps to save you time because you will skip sites containing large amounts of text or Flash sites.

Here are some examples. The first screen shot shows a cool photo I found when stumbling Photos, and the second screen shot is a site I found while stumbling the topic ‘Fitness’.

After each Stumble, you can thumbs up or thumbs down to train the system on your preference and taste.

I like this app for helping me to find new things to blog about, or to find awesome and fresh content whenever I get bored.

Usability: 4/5
Performance: 3/5
Design: 4/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 16/20

You can use this QR code to download StumbleUpon on your Android phone.

Goggles

Google Goggles is an amazing app that can identify objects, logos, barcodes and text from a photograph. How it works is, you snap a photo and the app will do a Google search and show you the results.

For example, I see a nice cartoon character but I don’t have any idea who it is. I just take a photo and let the app do its magic.

Like magic, the app identifies the cartoon character for me! Isn’t this the kind of technology they use on CSI?

In another example, I may come across a book at the book store and want to read reviews or check out prices online. I just take a photo of the barcode.

The result is displayed and I have immediate access to book reviews, author information and price comparisons!

It also allows me to scan QR codes with my phone to instantly download an app or access a website!

I think this app is awesome because it combines the power of mobile cameras, mobile Internet and search engines. I do think that i it can be improved because search results are not always accurate.

Usability: 5/5
Performance: 4/5
Design: 2/5
Functionality: 3/5
Overall Rating: 14/20

SNESoid

Let’s move on to some games, shall we? As the name of this app implies, it is a SNES (Super Nintendo) emulator for the Android. What this means is you can run SNES games on your phone.

The home screen of the app allows you to choose the game to load. You can get games (or ROMS) from sites such as Roms4Droid.

Here are some screenshots from my favourite game on my SNES.

If your Android phone has a keyboard, you use the keyboard to control the game. Otherwise you can use an on-screen keypad.

If you get the paid version, you can even save games. If you don’t like SNES games, you can find emulators for NES, Game Boy, Sega, PlayStation and even Atari games.

Unlike some emulators on the PC, graphics and sounds are reproduced accurately on my Android phone.

I just love this app so much, because it turns my phone into a portable gaming device. My only complain is, the on-screen keypad is not responsive enough to multi touch… it can be hard to execute some combos.

Usability: 3/5
Performance: 5/5
Design: 3/5
Functionality: 3/5
Overall Rating: 14/20

You can use this QR code to download SNESoid on your Android phone.

Angry Birds

This is the super-popular pig-killing game where you have to shoot some birds on a slingshot.

It’s a simple game, but it’s really addicting. It’s not hard to finish the game, but it’s harder to get three stars (the maximum) for each stage.

I’ve spent countless hours on this game.

Best of all, iPhone users have to pay for this game but Android users get it for FREE!

Usability: 4/5
Performance: 4/5
Design: 5/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 18/20

You can use this QR code to download Angry Birds on your Android phone.

Flight Director (Lite)

In this game, you play the role of an air traffic controller, and have to guide the planes to land safely. Planes are colour coded, so you have to make them land on the correct runway.

What I like about the app is it uses actual airport layouts from Google Maps.

It’s pretty easy at first, but gets more challenging as time goes on because more planes arrive simultaneously.

It’s nice whenever games like this incorporate touch screen functions in a clever way.

Unfortunately, the lite version only comes with two maps and the hard difficulty mode disabled. The full version (paid app) is not available on the Market, but I am planning to buy it via Market Enabler.

Usability: 5/5
Performance: 4/5
Design: 4/5
Functionality: 3/5 (because it’s a limited lite version)
Overall Rating: 16/20

You can use this QR code to download Flight Director (Lite) on your Android phone.

3G Watchdog

This application runs in the background to monitor your data usage. Obviously if you’re using DiGi’s DG Smart Plan, you don’t have to worry about bandwidth because you get an unlimited data plan.

But I’m the curious and techie type of person who just loves to keep stats on everything.

You just have to configure your quota, and the app will warn you if you reach your quota. You could even disable data access when you reach the limit.

As you can see, I’m a light data user because I’m on WiFi most of the time.

Usability: 3/5
Performance: 4/5
Design: 2/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 14/20

You can use this QR code to download 3G Watchdog on your Android phone.

Evernote

If you are an Evernote user, this app will give you a convenient way to add notes.

If you’ve never heard of Evernote, the service allows you to track notes containing images, links and sound clips. These notes can be tagged, and are stored online to be accessible on any computer or mobile device.

This is the home screen of Evernote. You can take a new snapshot, upload a file, write a new note or record an audio clip. You access your notes via the menu.

As you can see, I use Evernote to keep coupons, recipes, name cards and all sorts of random information.

My favourite feature about the app is the searching. In the following example, I search for the phrase ‘Large pizza’ and it returns one of my Domino’s coupons.

That’s really amazing because any text in any image you upload to Evernote is indexed via OCR (optical character recognition)!

This app helps me to keep my house clear of those small bits of paper, and it could be even more useful if you use it to keep your study notes or journals.

My only complaint is, it can be quite slow to upload an image. Probably could be due to the OCR indexing.

Usability: 4/5
Performance: 2/5
Design: 4/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 15/20

You can use this QR code to download Evernote on your Android phone.

Ringtone MP3

One of the first things people do when they get a new phone is to change ringtones right? In fact, the ringtone download industry is very lucrative.

The only problem is, it’s difficult to get ringtones of your favourite songs, and even if you can find the song, you can’t gurantee you can get your favourite part of the song.

This app is your solution.

There are three options in this app’s home screen. Download Panel shows the status of current downloads, My Music shows you all MP3s on your phone and My Ringtones shows you all ringtones on your ohone.

Entering text in the search will browse the Internet for MP3s matching your search term. In the following example, I searched for ‘Coldplay’.

It returns a list of Coldplay ringtones, but most of the time MP3s of entire songs are also displayed.

You can select which portion of the song to convert into a ringtone, set the play duration and it will be saved as a new MP3 file. You can then use your custom MP3 as a ringtone.

Obviously, one undocumented feature of this app is allowing you to download pirated MP3s, but I’m not encouraging you to do that.

Usability: 4/5
Performance: 3/5
Design: 3/5
Functionality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 15/20

As I write this review, this app seems to be removed from the Android Market, but a version 2 of the app is there. You can use this QR code to download Ringtone MP3 v2 to your Android phone.

Waze

Waze (pronounced Ways) is a real time traffic reporting tool / maps / GPS navigator application.

If you like listening to traffic reports on radio then this is the app for you.

I like this app because it allows me to see if there are traffic jams along my route If yes, I can plan to take an alternate route.

When you open up the app, it uses GPS to find your location and plot your path on the map. Any traffic jams will cause the road to turn red, and any accidents are marked with an icon.

You can scan real time alerts… in the following example I saw a report of an accident on LDP.

You can also send chit chat messages, in case you want to chat with other Wazers in the area.

The app adds a gaming element to your travel by granting points whenever you make a report, or whenever you discover a new route.

The service is still in beta, so you might encounter some bugs (like suddenly going off the map). Also, there aren’t many Malaysian Wazers yet so your experience with the app will vary depending on your location.

Usability: 3/5
Performance: 3/5
Design: 2/5
Functionality: 3/5
Overall Rating: 11/20

You can use this QR code to download Waze on your Android phone.

Conclusion

I hope I have done justice to the Android apps, and I hope you enjoyed my list.

I’ve covered 10 apps in this post and I haven’t even mentioned live wallpapers, multimedia apps and phone security apps.

I could easily include 10 more apps, but I think that’s enough for today.

Feel free to suggest in the comments if you have any other Android apps to recommend.

If you read a lot of blogs, then you have probably seen the terms feed and RSS very often.

You may ask what are feeds? What is RSS? What are feed readers? How do I subscribe to feeds?

This is a beginner’s guide to understanding feeds and subscribing to them.

What Are Feeds?

A feed is just a channel that is used by readers to pull content from websites.

Most websites use the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format. RSS will convert a website article or blog post into a format that is readable by feed readers.

What Are Feed Readers?

Feed readers / RSS readers are the software that you use to read website feeds.

The advantage of using feed readers are:

1. The software automatically checks for the latest updates
2. The software tells you which items you have not read
3. You can organize feeds in categories or tags
4. You can save articles for future reference
5. You can easily share feed items with friends

Feed readers come in online or offline versions.

Online feed readers require you to login to a website to read all your subscriptions in one place. The advantage is you get to read your subscriptions from any computer.

Offline readers will download your subscriptions into your computer / mobile device. The advantage is you get to read your subscriptions offline.

How Much Does It Cost to Subscribe?

It’s absolutely free.

Why I Love Subscribing to Feeds

Personally I find it really convenient to subscribe to feeds because:

1. I read a lot of blogs and sites. It will be too tedious for me to visit over a hundred websites daily to find new content
2. I don’t have time to surf the web every day. If I subscribe to a feed, I won’t miss a single article
3. I get to categorize feeds, so I can set aside some feeds to read only when I have the time.
4. Having all items in one place allows me to quickly process hundreds of articles a day.
5. I can read articles using my favorite fonts and font sizes

Why Bloggers Love Subscribers

You might be wondering why it’s such a big deal to have subscribers. I’m sharing honestly from a blogger’s point of view:

1. Subscribers allow me to estimate the size of my readership. Honestly if I have 1 or 2 subscribers, I really have to think twice about continuing to blog.
2. Subscribers can be used to gauge the quality of website content. More subscribers means people want more of your great content.

How Do I Subscribe to a Feed?

1. Find the website’s feed. Normally there will be a RSS icon or an invitation to ‘Subscribe’. For example, this blog’s feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Adino
2. Click on the link and it will bring you to a subscription page.
3. If you can’t find the feed link, sometimes try to put in the website url (e.g. http://www.adinochang.com). Some feed readers can discover the site’s feed automatically.
4. Choose a web-based reader like Google Reader, Bloglines or My Yahoo.
5. That’s it!

Alternative Method to Subscribe to Feeds

I prefer this method because it’s slightly faster.

1. Find the website’s feed. Normally there will be a RSS icon or an invitation to ‘Subscribe’. For example, this blog’s feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Adino
2. Select a suitable feed reader. I like Google Reader.
3. Find the ‘Add Subscription’ button and paste in the feed link.
4. Add the necessary tags and you’re done!

What If I Don’t Like Feed Readers?

If you don’t like feed readers, there is usually an option to subscribe via email too. This option may be suitable for those of you who prefer to centralize your workflow to your email inbox.

You can easily do that too, usually by looking for a ‘subscribe by email’ link and clicking on it. For example, you can get my blog posts through email.

Some sites require you to fill in a form, and confirm your email subscription.

Conclusion

I hope this short guide will help to enrich your blog reading experience.

Feel free to share your blog reading methods in the comments below.

Finally, please add my blog feed via RSS or email.

Photo By: n0seblunt / CC BY 2.0

Technorati Tags: RSS, How To, Feed Reader, Guide, FAQ

If you remember, I actually wrote a post on the 3 year total cost of iPhone ownership.

I was so tempted, because I am a DiGi subscriber, so I crunched the numbers.

iPhone Comparison Chart for DiGi Plans

If you compare this Digi iPhone plan vs the Maxis iPhone plan, it would seem that the DiGi plan offers cheaper phones, but will cost more in the long term.

Of course, the DiGi plan gives you more voice minutes, more messages, more bandwidth and no charges for exceeding monthly bandwidth quota.

I don’t know… I’m still very undecided. One day I will almost walk into the store and sign up. Other days I hesitate.

It’s not that I don’t have the money… but four or five thousand would look really comfortable in Rachel’s education savings account, instead of a gadget in my pocket.

Old Galactic Republic Era (The Sith Era)

Lost Tribe of the Sith

Precipice John Jackson Miller 5000 BBY	Skyborn John Jackson Miller 5000 BBY	Paragon John Jackson Miller 4985 BBY
Savior John Jackson Miller 4975 BBY	Purgatory John Jackson Miller 3960 BBY	Sentinel John Jackson Miller 3960 BBY
Pantheon John Jackson Miller 3000 BBY	Secrets John Jackson Miller (Coming 2012)	Pandemonium John Jackson Miller (Coming 2012)

The Old Republic

Revan Drew Karpyshyn 3950-3945 BBY

Deceived Paul S. Kemp 3653 BBY

Fatal Alliance Sean Williams 3653 BBY

Red Harvest

Red Harvest Joe Schreiber 3645 BBY

Knight Errant

Knight Errant John Jackson Miller 1032 BBY

Darth Bane

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction Drew Karpyshyn 1003-1000 BBY

Darth Bane: Rule of Two Drew Karpyshyn 1000 BBY-990 BBY

Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil Drew Karpyshyn 980 BBY

Rise of the Empire Era

Darth Plagueis

Darth Plagueis James Luceno 67 BBY

Legacy of the Jedi

Legacy of the Jedi Jude Watson 88.5 BBY – 21.5 BBY

Jedi Apprentice

The Rising Force Dave Wolverton 45 BBY	The Dark Rival Jude Watson 45 BBY	The Hidden Past Jude Watson 44 BBY
The Mark of the Crown Jude Watson 44 BBY	The Defenders of the Dead Jude Watson 44 BBY	The Uncertain Path Jude Watson 44 BBY
The Captive Temple Jude Watson 44 BBY	The Day of Reckoning Jude Watson 44 BBY	The Fight for Truth Jude Watson 43 BBY
The Shattered Peace Jude Watson 43 BBY	The Deadly Hunter Jude Watson 43 BBY	The Evil Experiment Jude Watson 43 BBY
The Dangerous Rescue Jude Watson 43 BBY	The Ties That Bind Jude Watson 41 BBY	The Death of Hope Jude Watson 41 BBY
The Call to Vengeance Jude Watson 41 BBY	The Only Witness Jude Watson 41 BBY	The Threat Within Jude Watson 40 BBY
Deceptions Jude Watson 41 BBY – 29 BBY	The Followers Jude Watson 40 BBY – 28 BBY

The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi

Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi Ryder Windham 44 BBY – 9 ABY

Secrets of the Jedi

Secrets of the Jedi Jude Watson 40 BBY – 21.5 BBY

The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader Ryder Windham 39 BBY – 4 ABY

Cloak of Deception

Cloak of Deception James Luceno 32.5 BBY

Darth Maul

Darth Maul: Saboteur James Luceno 33 BBY

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter Michael Reaves 32.5 BBY

The Phantom Menace (Episode I)

The Phantom Menace Terry Brooks 32 BBY	Star Wars Episode I: The Queen’s Amulet Julianne Balmain 32 BBY
Journal: Queen Amidala Jude Watson 32 BBY	Journal: Anakin Skywalker Todd Strasser 32 BBY	Journal: Darth Maul Jude Watson 32 BBY

Rogue Planet

Star Wars: Rogue Planet Greg Bear 29 BBY

Jedi Quest Series

Path to Truth Jude Watson 28 BBY	The Way of the Apprentice Jude Watson 27 BBY	The Trail of the Jedi Jude Watson 27 BBY
The Dangerous Games Jude Watson 27 BBY	The Master of Disguise Jude Watson 27 BBY	The School of Fear Jude Watson 26 BBY
The Shadow Trap Jude Watson 25 BBY	The Moment of Truth Jude Watson 25 BBY	The Changing of the Guard Jude Watson 24 BBY
The False Peace Jude Watson 26 BBY	The Final Showdown Jude Watson 26 BBY

Outbound Flight

Outbound Flight Timothy Zahn 27 BBY

The Approaching Storm

The Approaching Storm Alan Dean Foster 22.5 BBY

Attack of the Clones (Episode II)

Attack of the Clones R.A. Salvatore 22 BBY

Boba Fett Series

The Fight to Survive Terry Bisson 22 BBY	Crossfire Terry Bisson 22 BBY	Maze Of Deception Elizabeth Hand 22 BBY
Hunted Elizabeth Hand 22 BBY	A New Threat Elizabeth Hand 19.5 BBY	Pursuit Elizabeth Hand 19.5 BBY

Republic Commando Series

Hard Contact Karen Traviss 22 BBY	Triple Zero Karen Traviss 21 BBY	True Colors Karen Traviss 21 BBY
Order 66 Karen Traviss 19 BBY	501st Karen Traviss 19 BBY

Clone Wars Series

Shatterpoint Matthew Stover 21.5 BBY	The Cestus Deception Steven Barnes 21 BBY	The Hive Steven Barnes 21 BBY
Medstar I: Battle Surgeons Michael Reaves & Steve Perry 20 BBY	Medstar II: Jedi Healer Michael Reaves & Steve Perry 20 BBY	Jedi Trial David Sherman & Dan Cragg 19.5 BBY
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous Sean Stewart 19.5 BBY

The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny

Tethan Battle Adventure Sue Behrent 22 BBY

Crisis on Coruscant Jonathan Green 22 BBY

The Lost Legion Tracey West 21 BBY

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The Clone Wars Karen Traviss 21 BBY	Wild Space Karen Miller 21 BBY	No Prisoners Karen Traviss 21 BBY
Gambit: Stealth Karen Miller 21 BBY	Gambit: Siege Karen Miller 21 BBY

Revenge of the Sith (Episode III)

Labyrinth of Evil James Luceno 19 BBY

Revenge of the Sith Matthew Stover 19 BBY

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader James Luceno 19 BBY

Coruscant Nights

Jedi Twilight Michael Reaves 19 BBY

Street of Shadows Michael Reaves 19 BBY

Patterns of Force Michael Reaves 19 BBY

Last of The Jedi

The Desperate Mission Jude Watson 18 BBY	Dark Warning Jude Watson 18 BBY	Underworld Jude Watson 18 BBY
Death on Naboo Jude Watson 18 BBY	A Tangled Web Jude Watson 18 BBY	Return of the Dark Side Jude Watson 18 BBY
Secret Weapon Jude Watson 18 BBY	Against the Empire Jude Watson 18 BBY	Master of Deception Jude Watson 18 BBY
Reckoning Jude Watson 18 BBY

A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker

The Life of Luke Skywalker Ryder Windham 15 BBY – 4 ABY

The Han Solo Trilogy

The Paradise Snare A.C. Crispin 10 BBY

The Hutt Gambit A.C. Crispin 5 BBY – 4 BBY

Rebel Dawn A.C. Crispin 3 BBY – 0 BBY

The Adventures of Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu L. Neil Smith 4 BBY

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon L. Neil Smith 4 BBY

Lando Calrissian and the StarCave of ThonBoka L. Neil Smith 3 BBY

The Force Unleashed

The Force Unleashed Sean Williams 3 BBY – 2 BBY

The Force Unleashed II Sean Williams 1 BBY

The Han Solo Adventures

Han Solo At Star’s End | Han Solo’s Revenge | Han Solo and the Lost Legacy Brian Daley 2 BBY

Shadow Games

Shadow Games Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff 2 BBY

Death Troopers

Death Troopers Joe Schreiber 1 BBY

Death Star

Death Star Michael Reaves & Steve Perry 1 BBY – 0 BBY

Dark Forces

Soldier for the Empire William C. Dietz

Rebel Agent William C. Dietz

Jedi Knight William C. Dietz

Rebellion Era

A New Hope (Episode IV)

A New Hope Alan Dean Foster & George Lucas 0 BBY

Hand of Judgement

Allegiance Timothy Zahn 0.5 ABY

Choices of One Timothy Zahn 0.8 ABY

Galaxy of Fear

Eaten Alive John Whitman 0.5 ABY	City of the Dead John Whitman 0.5 ABY	Planet Plague John Whitman 0.5 ABY
The Nightmare Machine John Whitman 0.5 ABY	Ghost of the Jedi John Whitman 0.5 ABY	Army of Terror John Whitman 0.5 ABY
The Brain Spiders John Whitman 0.5 ABY	The Swarm John Whitman 0.5 ABY	Spore John Whitman 0.5 ABY
The Doomsday Ship John Whitman 0.5 ABY	Clones John Whitman 0.5 ABY	The Hunger John Whitman 0.5 ABY

Star Wars Galaxies

The Ruins of Dantooine Voronica Whitney-Robinson & Haden Blackman 1 ABY

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye Alan Dean Foster 2 ABY

Rebel Force

Target Alex Wheeler 2 ABY	Hostage Alex Wheeler 2 ABY	Renegade Alex Wheeler 2 ABY
Firefight Alex Wheeler 2 ABY	Trapped Alex Wheeler 2 ABY	Uprising Alex Wheeler 2 ABY

The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V)

The Empire Strikes Back Donald F. Glut 3 ABY

Shadows of The Empire

Shadows of the Empire Steve Perry 3.5 ABY

Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi James Kahn 4 ABY

The Bounty Hunter Wars

The Mandalorian Armor K.W. Jeter 4 ABY

Slave Ship K.W. Jeter 4 ABY

Hard Merchandise K.W. Jeter 4 ABY

The Truce at Bakura

The Truce at Bakura Kathy Tyers 4 ABY

New Republic Era

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor Matthew Stover 5.5 ABY

X-wing Series

Rogue Squadron Michael Stackpole 6.5 ABY	Wedge’s Gamble Michael Stackpole 6.5 ABY	The Krytos Trap Michael Stackpole 7 ABY
The Bacta War Michael Stackpole 7 ABY	Wraith Squadron Aaron Allston 7 ABY	Iron Fist Aaron Allston 7.5 ABY
Solo Command Aaron Allston 7.5 ABY	Isard’s Revenge Michael Stackpole 9 ABY	Starfighters of Adumar Aaron Allston 12 ABY – 13 ABY
Mercy Kill Aaron Allston 44 ABY (Coming Aug 2012)

The Courtship of Princess Leia

The Courtship of Princess Leia Dave Wolverton 8 ABY

A Forest Apart

A Forest Apart Troy Denning 8 ABY

Tatooine Ghost

Tatooine Ghost Troy Denning 8 ABY

The Thrawn Trilogy

Heir to the Empire Timothy Zahn 9 ABY

Dark Force Rising Timothy Zahn 9 ABY

The Last Command Timothy Zahn 9 ABY

The Jedi Academy Trilogy

Jedi Search Kevin J. Anderson 11 ABY

Dark Apprentice Kevin J. Anderson 11 ABY

Champions of the Force Kevin J. Anderson 11 ABY

I, Jedi

I, Jedi Michael Stackpole 11 ABY

Callista Trilogy

Children of the Jedi Barbara Hambly 12 ABY – 13 ABY

Darksaber Kevin J. Anderson 12 ABY – 13 ABY

Planet of Twilight Barbara Hambly 12 ABY – 13 ABY

The Crystal Star

The Crystal Star Vonda McIntyre 14 ABY

The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy

Before the Storm Michael P. Kube-McDowell 16 ABY

Shield of Lies Michael P. Kube-McDowell 16 ABY

Tyrant’s Test Michael P. Kube-McDowell 16 ABY

The New Rebellion

The New Rebellion Kristine Rusch 17 ABY

The Corellian Trilogy

Ambush at Corellia Roger MacBride Allen 18 ABY

Assault at Selonia Roger MacBride Allen 18 ABY

Showdown at Centerpoint Roger MacBride Allen 18 ABY

Scourge

Scourge Jeff Grubb 19 ABY (Coming Apr 2012)

The Hand of Thrawn Duology

Specter of the Past Timothy Zahn 19 ABY

Vision of the Future Timothy Zahn 19 ABY

Survivor’s Quest

Survivor’s Quest (with Fool’s Bargain) Timothy Zahn 22 ABY

Junior Jedi Knights Series

The Golden Globe Nancy Richardson 22 ABY	Lyric’s World Nancy Richardson 22 ABY	Promises Nancy Richardson 22 ABY
Anakin’s Quest Rebecca Moesta 22 ABY	Vader’s Fortress Rebecca Moesta 22 ABY	Kenobi’s Blade Rebecca Moesta 22 ABY

Young Jedi Knights Series

Heirs of the Force Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	The Shadow Academy Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	The Lost Ones Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY
Lightsabers Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Darkest Knight Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Jedi Under Siege Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY
Shards of Alderaan Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Diversity Alliance Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Delusions of Grandeur Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY
Jedi Bounty Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	The Emperor’s Plague Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Return to Ord Mantell Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY
Trouble on Cloud City Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Crisis at Crystal Reef Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 23 ABY – 24 ABY	Jedi Sunrise Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta 25 ABY

New Jedi Order Era

A Practical Man

A Practical Man Karen Traviss 25 ABY

The New Jedi Order

Vector Prime R.A. Salvatore 25 ABY	Dark Tide I: Onslaught Michael Stackpole 25 ABY	Dark Tide II: Ruin Michael Stackpole 25 ABY
Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial James Luceno 25 ABY	Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse James Luceno 25 ABY	Balance Point Kathy Tyers 26 ABY
Recovery Troy Denning 26 ABY	Edge of Victory I: Conquest Greg Keyes 26 ABY	Edge of Victory II: Rebirth Greg Keyes 27 ABY
Star by Star Troy Denning 27 ABY	Dark Journey Elaine Cunningham 27 ABY	Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Aaron Allston 27 ABY
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Aaron Allston 27 ABY	Traitor Matthew Stover 27 ABY	Destiny’s Way Walter Jon Williams 28 ABY
Ylesia Walter Jon Williams 28 ABY	Force Heretic I: Remnant Sean Williams & Shane Dix 28 ABY	Force Heretic II: Refugee Sean Williams & Shane Dix 28 ABY
Force Heretic III: Reunion Sean Williams & Shane Dix 28 ABY	The Final Prophecy Greg Keyes 28 ABY	The Unifying Force James Luceno 29 ABY

The Dark Nest Trilogy

The Joiner King Troy Denning 35 ABY

The Unseen Queen Troy Denning 36 ABY

The Swarm War Troy Denning 36 ABY

Legacy Era

Legacy of the Force

Betrayal Aaron Allston 40 ABY	Bloodlines Karen Traviss 40 ABY	Tempest Troy Denning 40 ABY
Exile Aaron Allston 40 ABY	Sacrifice Karen Traviss 40 ABY	Inferno Troy Denning 40 ABY
Fury Aaron Allston 40 ABY	Revelation Karen Traviss 40 ABY	Invincible Troy Denning 41 ABY

Crosscurrent

Crosscurrent Paul S. Kemp 41 ABY

Riptide Paul S. Kemp 41 ABY

Millennium Falcon

Millennium Falcon James Luceno 43 ABY

Fate of the Jedi

Outcast Aaron Allston 43.5 ABY	Omen Christie Golden 43.5 ABY	Abyss Troy Denning 43.5 ABY
Backlash Aaron Allston 44 ABY	Allies Christie Golden 44 ABY	Vortex Troy Denning 44 ABY
Conviction Aaron Allston 44.5 ABY	Ascension Christie Golden 44.5 ABY	Apocalypse Troy Denning 44.5 ABY

Short Stories

Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina Kevin J Anderson 0 ABY – 3 ABY	Tales of the Bounty Hunters Kevin J Anderson 3 ABY	Tales from Jabba’s Palace Kevin J Anderson 4 ABY
Tales from the Empire Peter Schweighofer 4 ABY	Tales from the New Republic Peter Schweighofer and Craig Carey 4 ABY

Done!

I’ve only read half of the 250+ books. How many of these Star Wars novels have you read?

Please share in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Star Wars, Novels, Books, Chronological, Space Fantasy, Science Fiction

Originally published at Adino Online. Links are welcome.

There were these few Facebook games that got me hooked, specifically the wildly successful Country Story, Pet Society and Crazy Planet by Playfish Games.

At first, I was just playing for fun. You know, trying to do fun things. Silly things.

Then the competitive side of me started to take over.

I wanted to climb the rankings. I wanted to be first.

Little by little, day by day, I spent more time on Facebook playing these games.

I would pore over the online forums to read strategy guides. I logged in every day to make sure I watered my plants, fed my pets or got my metals.

I would sneak out of bed to harvest crops.

You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get the gold betting trophy. I still shiver when I think about it.

I even started playing with Poey Chin’s Facebook account.

From 15 minutes a day, I started spending 2 to 3 hours a day on these games.

The quality of this blog suffered.

I quit playing the games a few weeks ago. One day I just woke up and didn’t have the urge to play any more.

I’m sure you noticed that I’ve even been more talkative on my blog lately.

So, no more. No more addictive Facebook games for me.

(As I write this, Playfish has just released a new poker game. Sooo tempted!)

What will I do with my free time? Maybe I’ll get an iPod touch to play games.

Perhaps you have already created an account but have never saw any use for it.

This is a beginner’s guide for Twitter.

Step 1: Create an account

Browse over to the Twitter website, and click the ‘Sign Up Now’ button.

Fill in your details and click confirm. If successful, you will be asked to search your Gmail or Yahoo contacts for friends who are already on Twitter.

Otherwise, you can just click on the “skip this step” link.

You can skip the suggested accounts as well.

You have created your Twitter account!

Step 2: Update your settings

Use the settings link to setup your account preferences.

Some items to update are your time zone, your website URL, a short description about yourself and your city.

Most important of all, you should upload a picture of yourself.

You may also want to change your email notification preferences.

Another option you may select is to restrict your messages only to your followers.

Step 3: Follow

Click on the ‘Find People’ link at the top right corner of the screen.

Key in a name, email address or Twitter account name in the search box.

Click the follow button to follow that person. The  follow button has the icon of a person with a plus sign.

Following someone means you will be able to see their twitter updates. Think of it like a subscription.

There will now be messages in your Twitter stream!

One of the coolest things about Twitter is finding and following your favourite celebrities.

Step 4: Post your first Twitter update!

Many beginners (including myself!) do not have any idea what they should update, or tweet about.

It is actually up to you. Generally, you would tweet about the cool websites you are visiting, your thoughts and feelings, or interesting happenings in your life.

Think of it like a micro-blog.

Warning: Unless you choose to secure your Twitter updates, they are visible to public, and can be picked up by search engines!

Some tips:

To reply someone, just key in that person’s Twitter account name before your message.

@adinochang Yes, I agree with you about durians. They should put them on Christmas trees!

• Remember to put in some context to your answer. Otherwise your other followers will not know what you are talking about!
• Replies can only be seen by people who follow you and the person you are replying to.

To send a private message to someone, use d followed by the person’s Twitter account name

d adinochang Ok, we go ahead with the durian robbery at midnight

To retweet means you are republishing someone else’s Twitter update. There are no standards, but generally it looks like:

RT @adinochang: Why can’t I have a holiday today? | Look on the bright side, weekend is almost here!

• I like to place a vertical line, then add my own message after that.

To shorten website addresses, you can use is.gd to generate a short URL. This is important because you only have 140 characters per message.

Step 5: Install a Twitter Client

You might want to install a Twitter application so you don’t have to view your Twitter updates from the website.

A popular client for your PC or Mac desktop is Tweetdeck. I prefer to use TwitterGadget because it sits in my Gmail window, which is open all the time.

The choice is up to you. There are even browser extensions for Twitter clients!

There are clients for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and mobile phones as well.

Step 6: Create and Subscribe to Lists

A new feature in Twitter is the list. A list is a collection of Twitter accounts. Anyone can create a list. You can follow lists like you follow a Twitter user.

List messages will not appear in your Twitter stream.

I like lists because they help you organise the people you follow into groups. It is also a quick way to find new people to follow.

Bonus Tip: Beware the bots!

There are people abusing the Twitter system to get a large number of followers. The objective is to spam these large number of followers to get income.

They may use bots (automated programs) to scan Twitter for messages with certain keywords. Then, it automatically follows that person, hoping to be followed back.

There are those who follow hundreds of random people per day. This is a common tactic to gain a large number of followers.

Just be careful who you follow (make sure it’s a real person). You don’t have to follow someone who follows you.

You can block spammers and bots so they don’t bother you again. Just go to your followers list, and choose the “block this person” button.

Conclusion

I hope you found my guide useful. Take a few minutes to get on Twitter and join the fun! Do follow my account @adinochang.

Have you started using Twitter? How do you use it? Do you have any suggestions to add to this list?

Feel free to discuss and share in the comments.

Last week we were shopping for milk powder when I came across one tempting me in the toys section.

I thought it would be a fun toy (for me), so I chose one that seemed sturdy enough, and looked at it for a few moments.

“No la,” I said to myself, “I shouldn’t”

“Why not?” said the plastic snake in the shelf below.

“Poey Chin doesn’t want me to waste time on toys and games”

“Did she really say that? Wasn’t she only talking about computer games?”

I reached out to touch the small package.

“You see? Doesn’t it feel good? It’s an educational toy. Surely Poey Chin will approve of it.” the plastic snake coaxed.

I was carrying Rachel in my arms at that time, so I passed the little plastic package for her to hold.

“See Rachel, do you like this toy?”

We went back to Poey Chin at the milk powder section, and I said: “Rachel wants to buy this toy”

I don’t know how it got “approved”, but here I am with my very own Rubik’s Cube. Would you believe that this is the first time I’ve owned one in my entire life?

It’s not an original, but manufactured by Dian Sheng.

It came with an instruction booklet which I threw away. Only one word to describe the instructions… FAIL. I turned to the Internet for answers.

Right now I’ve managed to get one side done, and I’m working on the middle layer.

As you can see from the photo, I’m trying to get six squares of red and six squares of green, etc.

The middle layer seems to be 3 times harder to solve compared to just one side. Solving just one side involves thinking in two dimensions, but solving the middle layer requires you to track the squares in 3 dimensions!

Once I solve the puzzle, I might try to put up some sort of guide on my blog.

Unfortunately it is harder to describe how to do it, compared to actually doing it. Maybe I think so because I am not completely sure what I’m doing haha.

I know it seems very childish and I’m quite excited. But do forgive me, I didn’t have a chance to play with this when I was young!

You can play this flash game for free. Just click play.

While you’re waiting for the game to load, I wanna share that I’ve become interested in Beatles songs. I finished reading Shout!, a biography about the band. Then I went on Amazon to check out the previews for their albums. Who knew that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and even Ringo Starr wrote so many catchy songs?

I wanted to buy some of their MP3s but sadly it’s not available outside of the US. Wonder if anyone has a Beatles CD they want to get rid of?

I can’t get by a day without reading about the latest iPhone applications or read how some blogger is using their iPhone.

Each time I see the word iPhone, I go to YouTube and start looking at iPhone reviews. Just wishing, just longing for one.

And then I will go to the Maxis website to look at their iPhone plans, and continue wishing, continue longing…

The Figures

I looked at several options.

1. First of all, I had to decide which model of iPhone I wanted. It came down to two choices, the iPhone 3GS 16GB or the iPhone 3GS 32GB.
2. Next, I had to choose from one of the Maxis rate plans. The best choices for me were:
   - A supplementary phone line with iData 1 plan (250MB usage per month)
   - A supplementary phone line with iData 2 plan(500MB usage per month). The iPhone is slightly cheaper if you lock for 2 years.
   - A Hotlink prepaid account that comes with 500MB free data per month for 12 months.
3. I estimated that the phone would last for 3 years (before I was compelled to upgrade) so I calculated the cost over 3 years.
4. I put the numbers in a spreadsheet, which looks like this:

iPhone Comparison Chart for Maxis Plans

To summarize (in case you are not a numbers type of person):

1. The difference between an iPhone 3GS 16GB and 32GB is RM500.
2. You have to pay an extra RM100 to reduce lock-in period from 2 years to 1 year.
3. Over 3 years, you pay RM220 extra to get 500MB bandwidth per month, which is a fair deal.
4. The iValue plans cost the most, but would not suit me since I won’t be making calls

Why Do I Want One?

Looking at the thousands that I have to spend, the next question I asked myself was, why do I really want one?

My answers were:

1. App Store applications look really interesting (especially the games!)
2. I can use it while I’m waiting, or when I’m travelling
3. GPS
4. Camera
5. It’s got cool factor

The Next Best Thing

The next natural step for me, was to take a look at the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch can also run App Store applications like the iPhone.

The obvious benefit for me was I didn’t have to sign up for any new phone lines or data plans. I could happily remain as a Yellow Fellow.

With a price difference of RM3550 (the 3 year cost of owning an iPhone 3GS 32GB versus an iPod Touch 32GB), what extra value does the iPhone provide?

1. It has phone, texting and MMS functions
2. GPS
3. Compass
4. Camera
5. Free OS Updates
6. Slightly faster performance

BUT, the features I really wanted were:

1. App Store applications (the iPod Touch can do this)
2. Mobility (ditto)
3. GPS (I already have a semi-useful GPS)
4. Camera (I already have several digital cameras)

The Killer Question

It is already quite obvious by now, that I don’t really need an Apple iPhone. The iPod Touch will meet my requirements quite nicely.

Which leads me to one last question.

Will I have time to use it?

Taking a serious look at my current life style, I really don’t have time to spend on another device.

The last thing I need is another gadget to divide my time and attention.

Final Decision

And so it is with a sad and heavy heart that I have to pass on the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPod Touch.

At the most, I could get the cheapest iPod Touch 8GB just for fun. But probably not.

With the facts staring at me, it’s hard to justify spending the money.

Perhaps things will change in the future. I will see if I can justify spending on an Apple Tablet.

One last thing. I hope no one will misunderstand me. I don’t mean that the iPhone or iPod Touch are not good devices to buy. I want one sooo much!

It’s just that in MY situation, at this point of time, I can’t afford one.

I’ve been watching late night reruns of the Transformers on Astro channel 611 for the past few weeks.

Somehow, the cartoons don’t looks so cool any more.

Nostalgia

It’s strange how I can still remember name of the characters after 20 years. I have even forgotten some of those characters existed!

I see Ramjet, SeaSpray, PowerGlide, Omega Supreme, Grimlock, the Insecticons…

So it is with a warm feeling of nostalgia that I remember the cartoon.

My mind drifts to memories of my childhood, of playing Transformers and watching cartoons at my grandmother’s house. I remember playing with my cousins.

I even remember my old Transformer toys.

I remember how I used to drag my parents to the toys section in the mall to stare at Transformer toys, wishing, just wishing I could have all the toys I want.

Nowadays I drag baby Rachel to Toys R Us, pretending to get toys for her. But when nobody’s looking, I stare at the Transformer toys, wishing, just wishing I could have all the toys I want.

Cracking the Illusion

Then I start to see the imperfections.

I see how the animators got a bit lazy. If you observe, you won’t see all the transformers transforming. The camera zooms in to one robot transforming. Zoom out, and everyone has transformed.

You also notice “re-used” animations. Why do all the poses look so familiar? Why do they walk the same way? Why are transformations viewed from the same angle?

Once I even saw StarScream change colour from red to blue, back to red between shots.

I understand that these are normal tricks of the trade used by animators in the old days when everything was drawn by hand.

But this wasn’t the Transformers I remembered. My memories looked much better than this. My childhood visual memories seem to be like high definition, and what I see is like a 16 bit GIF animation.

Why? Why? Why?

In the second season, the transformers have moved into a city. There, they get involved in mundane things like foiling car thieves.

And then you watch a scene where they have a battle inside a shopping mall.

In one episode, things get philosophical when the transformers are accidentally transported to an alien world where they become toys for an alien boy. In the end, the Autobots fly back to earth in one of the boy’s toy rockets.

I wonder how many millenia it will take for them to arrive back on earth, on an inter-stellar flight with a chemical rocket.Maybe they modded it with hyperdrive.

Then there is the classic question… why don’t you kill each other if you hate each other so much? Why spend precious seconds gloating rather than make the killing blow?

Where does Prime’s trailer go when he’s in robot form?

How do the transformers grow and shrink?

I Still Like Them

All these minor issues aside, I continue to enjoy watching the Transformers cartoons. At the very least, they bring back some nice memories for me.

The imperfections I mentioned are only cosmetic and surface layer. The core concept of robots that can transform is still very interesting, proven by two blockbuster movies.

After all, nothing can be perfect, and in all fairness to the hard working people who worked on this, they did get better as their success (and budget) increased.

Technology was also a limitation, and we cannot expect old cartoons to look like our modern cartoons. After all, even movies were in black and white in the old days. But we can’t say that those black and white movies were no good.

It may seem like I’m contradicting myself, but I’m just trying to view the topic from both sides.

+Level Up!

INT + 1D6, WIS + 1D4, STA -1D24 -6, DEX +1D21, STR = 0

*blink blink* What just happened?

I think I’ve just leveled up as a geek. I can’t believe I wrote a 650 word post on the Transformers.

And threw in a durian joke somewhere, too.

P/S: I’m currently catching up on M.A.S.K. re-runs at YouTube!

Apple will release their latest operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard on August 28th.

You will be able to get an upgrade copy of Snow Leopard for RM109, or $29. You could get it for even less if you bought your Mac recently.

From what I’ve read, Snow Leopard is Apple’s answer to Windows 7 (which will be released in October 2009).

Looking at the features, I don’t see drastic changes on the user interface. Most would agree that Apple has worked to improve the features they already have, rather than adding new features.

Check out this comparison between the Windows 7 upgrade path and the Snow Leopard upgrade path. There are 66 different upgrade combinations in Windows.

Just 3 combinations for the Mac

What’s New

1. 64-bit OS. This allows faster processing and the ability to use huge amounts of RAM (up to 16 terabytes, or 16,000 GB!). Nearly every built in app has been rebuilt in 64-bit.
2. Better thread management for multi-core CPUs. This means your dual-core or quad-core CPU can function more effectively, and be used to do tasks at the same time.
3. OpenCL allows applications to utilize the full power of graphics processors.
4. QuickTime X. A new version of media player.
5. Chinese character input via multi touch trackpad.
6. Improvements to Expose and Stacks.
7. Built in support for Microsoft Exchange email.
8. Faster bootup and shutdowns. While this is well and good, bootups and shutdowns were already fast in Leopard.
9. Smaller footprint, which means Snow Leopard will use less disk space on your computer.
10. Improved Services menu that can match the right service options with the current application (I hardly use this feature).
11. Improved iChat that uses 1/3rd of the bandwidth.
12. Safari 4 (you probably got this already)

Read the detailed list (and screen shots) of Mac OS X Snow Leopard refinements.

Windows 7

Allow me to briefly detour to explore the new features in Windows 7.

From what I understand, it has many exciting features as well. Some of them are:

1. Improvements to security management console
2. A new task bar, that will function almost like the Dock
3. New features added to Aero interface (looks really interesting!)
4. Improvements performance for multi-core processors
5. Built in support for virtual hard disks
6. Windows Powershell, which is a administration console
7. Easily disable features you might not need, such as IE or Windows Media Player.

An upgrade will cost you between RM420 (Premium) to RM770 (Ultimate)

Will You Upgrade to Snow Leopard?

Personally I don’t see much value in upgrading the OS. If it has been running fine all this time,  then I don’t need to spend some money to upgrade.

I may want to, but I don’t need to.

In my case, I don’t see how any of the new features justify an upgrade.

I think I will wait for others to upgrade, read about their experiences and then I will decide.

How about you? Will you upgrade? Have you upgraded? Share your experiences here.

(Originally published on my frugal blog on July 7 2008)

If you’re bored of Solitaire or Minesweeper, I have found another way to find full version computer games.

I have written before about downloading free games.

Wikipedia actually has a list of commercial computer games released as freeware. If you take a look at the list, you will find a list of computer games released in the 90s.

I found downloads for games like Railroad Tycoon, Simcity, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Star Control II.

To download the games, look for the download or developer website link under the External Links header in the individual game’s wiki entry.

The Frugal Beagle loves Wikipedia!

Photo: Jordi Soro

I have added something to my wish list.

Most of you would have heard of the iPhone, which is Apple’s super cool smart phone. The iPhone is not officially available in Malaysia, but here is another device which is just as cool.

The iPod Touch can do everything an iPhone can do except take photos and make phone calls.

What I love about the iPod Touch is you can run Java applications just like the iPhone, and you have the same multi-touch interface.

In case you are wondering, what sets the Apple iPhone apart for other touch screen PDAs and smart phones is the multi-touch interface, which means it can detect more than one touch at the same time.

This allows you to do things like ‘squeeze’ a picture to minimize. There are rumours that the new MacBooks may come with a multi-touch trackpad.

This iPod also has limited motion sensing capabilities which detects motions like tilt and shake.

While I don’t really care for the music playing capabilities, I am intrigued that Apple is trying to push the iPod Touch as a portable gaming system like the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS.

I’m wondering if can replace my aging PDA.

It even comes with a microphone so the hardware is actually capable of supporting a voice over IP application.

It retails for RM1800 the last time I checked, which means that the chances of me getting one will be almost impossible.

iPod Touch

I need your advice!

Many many people have reported to me that they have trouble accessing my blog.

Some of the embarassing comments I received are:

1) Are you hosting your website at your home computer? Why always down?

2) Did your blog get banned by the government?

3) I tried accessing your blog for several weeks, but can’t.

4) You banned me from visiting your blog?

5) Very difficult to access your blog. Always down.

Sometimes it happens to me too, and I have to refresh my browser a few times to get in. I figure it has something to do with DNS, because my web host claims no problems on their side.

I’ve tried using wp-cache plugin which improved things somewhat, but the problem is still there.

Any advice on what else I could try? Any software I can install to troubleshoot this problem?

I hate this problem because I think I’m losing traffic, irritating my readers and getting less ads revenue.

What if one day Google’s spiders can’t access my blog?

In the mean time, I have no choice but to advise my readers to either try again a few minutes later, or sign up to automatically get my posts in their RSS reader or by email.

Should I change web hostess? I have received a few suggestions for new hostess(es?) but I’ve read some bad customer reviews on those sites so I’m not confident to switch.

Photo: Mike Thorn