Adrian’s Blog

"Listening to jazz nowadays" i said. What?? Trying to show off ah? Jazz is complicated and classy. This is the respond from some friend when i tell that i am into world of jazz. Well i am stil in very beggining of jazz. There is so much about Jazz. Smooth, Acid, Free, Latin, Funk, Soul, Fusion u name it. 

I have a few friends that love jazz very much. They inspired me into the world of jazz. After a few listening, i am getting easy on it. Listening to Miles Davis as well as Fourplay latest album X. Will borrow from my friend John Coltrane later on. Let me indulge with Fourplay first. Hehe. Anyway, this coming Sat will go No Black Tie at KLCC with a few of jazz lover friend. Will see how is it there.

Well, i am still not a pure breed jazz lover but only a beginner. Still need to learn much more from all the jazz aficionados out there. In the mean time, i will just hang on the wagon, enjoy the ride and see where it will lead me to.

Eiww, so big.. Eh, besar la.Oran sekarang pakai yang kecil kecil..hahaha…

This is the reaction my company guard and my dad as well as a few more veteran in age, when they saw me using Nokia Communicator 9300i. When they say this, it flash through my mind that the word they use are so yesterday. How bout younger genration react? Well, some say "Wow, so hi tech, how many megapixel? or how big memory, got 3G or not, nice phone, ugly phone, or so and so but not the nowadays we use small phone thingy". It looks like the older generation are still in 7 years back where small is on top of everything. The smaller the better. The bigger it is, the least favourite. Yup they are so right but that is when 7 years ago la.

Looking back all this year, i have been changing constantly on mobile phone. Call it as waste money but for me it was a hobby. More like gadget freak i guess..Haha. So the history went like this

Nokia 3210>Ericsson T28>Ericsson T21>Panasonic GD68>Nokia 8250>Nokia 6610>Nokia 7250i>Nokia 6100>Samsung SGH S300>Nokia 6600>Sony Ericsson P800>O2 XDA II Mini>SE P910i> and finally Nokia 9300i.

Phew a whooping 14 phone in 7 years. Hmm, average one year twice. Still reasonable la..Hehe. Not sure if i left our any phone. Will i change anymore, hell yeah. But not now la. Must budget budget also mah..Now, newer generation are going into megapixel phone, 3.5G, cable tv, built in hard disk, pda, touchscreen, qwerty, mp3, mp4 and all kind. The form factor does matter but no a big issue. I wonder how mobile phone will grow in another two years. I was hoping a 3D pop out aka star treck movie. Where the image are built by a vapoulise water thin and we can manipulate the figure freely. Or how bout wrapping or teleporting? Nah, i dun see this coming at least for 10 years. One thing for sure, mobile phone are getting more and more hi tech and excited.

When it’s closed, it is just a regular Nokia phone

The size of this 9300i is slightly taller and heavier than my EX-P910i. It weight 172gm while P910i only weight 150gm. Anyway, the addiotional 20gm is hardly noticeable. When it’s closed, i dun have much comment to say as it’s just a regular and a little less function than a normal Nokia phone. The main cons while using this phone while closing is it did not have autolock function. It’s funny to see Nokia left out the highly useable auto keypad lock like in most of the newer version of Nokia phone. I wonder why they left this out. Instead, the have a auto device lock. If set timer, it will automactically lock ur device. To unlock, you need to inset 5 pincode. That is quite troublesome for me. As this device is aim for businessman user. i guest Nokia gave them a hi security device as a businessman phone will content loads of top secret in it. Anyway, i can still live with it. What to do? Manual lock la..

Open Sesame

Inside, we have a Series 80 device, so a 640×200 pixel screen, four command buttons on the right hand side of the screen to access toolbar commands, a full qwerty keyboard and both cursor keys and a joystick with a press in confirmation function. I must say that this device keyboard is the best entries on either sms or email compare to all those phone i ever use. Though it’s a little small if comparing with a notebook but hey, hold it, try comparing it with P910i. Then the benefits become clearer. Most ppl complaint bout the tiny joystick are inaccurate as to be almost unusable. But i found it Ok for me. So far so good. But not very recommended for browsing internet.

Operating system

While Ex- Mini utilising power of Window Mobile and P910 on Symbian UIQ 2.XX, Nokia 9300i platform is Symbian S80. Though being power up by 150mhz processor, i did not notice any too sluggish performance. Except on opening application, it will take about 2-3 second to load. Not a big deal though.

PDA

And so we come to synchronisation. Lot ppl complain bout synchronisation with PC but for me, i dun find any flaw yet. It did sync whatever i wanted to. As i have downloaded the latest Nokia PC Suite, i find synchronising with a pc without any hassle. Infact, Nokia PC Suite are the best among MS Activesync and SE PC Suite. Nokia PC Suite have a lot of useable application on PC like sending sms from desktop, sync with sms, contact, Outlook Express etc etc. Then, there is Music Transfer, Backup, File Manager, Connect to Internet and much more. A thumbs up for that piece of software

WIFI

Note that Nokia 9300i come with wifi 802.11g. Not b but g. G is faster than b but i am not sure if there is anything fast. I use before Xda IIs and HP4150 with 802.11b but it kinda feel the same with g although g promise to have a muct better speed. Maybe 802.11g is fast but let down by 150mhz processor. This is to save battery life i guess. I have tested a few place for wifi namely 1U Cofee Bean, Summit Starbucks and my office wifi. Both give more or less speed. Only that Summit Starbucks is the slowest. Maybe most of the bandwidth are taken by more powerful Centrino and all those duo, trio or hard core processor. Yeah, the notebook! Setting up to connect is easy but u got to do it a few time in order to successfully load. Not sure why. Even in my office, i need to connect a few time b4 it’s useable. Browsing is quite good. The only major problem in navigating the web is moving the joystick.

Device

This phone comes with generous 80MB internal Memory. Expandable to max 2GB utilising MMC slot. The battery life as stated was 260 hours. But if using wifi, it’s only 55 minutes. Anyway, i haven’t fully tested how long it will actually dead b4 recharging again. The main cons of this phone is it doesn;t have vibration! So far, i still dun get any miscal from it. But in shopping complex, it;s a bit hard to hear the phone ringging.

Conclusion

Pros: Nice keyboard, wifi, nice wide colour screen, Love the business man design, good speakerphone, good browser,

Cons: No vibrate, no keyboard light, no auto keypad lock, no camera

What make me love this phone is if u wan a simple and elegance phone with no smartphone function, flip close the phone and it’s just a normal yet elegance Nokia phone. But when u r in the mood of power user, just open up the cover to access numberous of application, wifi etc etc..

Unleashed the Nokia 9300i with wifi…Review coming soon…

Open Sesame….

  Grip on folks. My review will come in no time..

SEPANG, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to push the boundaries of space travel, by making a cup of tea.

The chosen candidate will not become the first Muslim to travel to space. That position is held by Saudi Arabia’s prince Sultan bin Salman, who went into space in 1985 on board the space shuttle Discovery, along with six U.S. and French colleagues.

Is this a joke? Spend so much money on tax payer money to try Teh Tarik in space?? Might as well toss a few roti canai while up there..Man, what are all this VIP thinking?? SPEECHLESS!!!

Hey, Check this out! A potion aka medicine for cure in Final Fantasy game. I wonder if it’s available in Malaysia! This is so cool..Hehe

Suntory Limited have also produced "Final Fantasy Potion" — a drink containing such ingredients as royal jelly, chamomile, sage, thyme, and marjoram. The drink has a unique taste; it is very sweet, but at the same time possesses a bitter herbal aftertaste. The drinks became commercially available on March 7, 2006 in Japan and come in 120ml bottles with a retail price of ¥ 191

As I am sitting here in the office, my mind started to wonder off… Far to the place unreachable. Thinking of sailing to the end of the earth. What am I doing here in the office at 7.00pm? Should I be working off till 8pm? Or should I have gone home instead. But sometime, every corner in everywhere, we will feel a bit of so called ‘downtime’. A syndrome it you wan to called it. You just feel so bored without any reason. For no particular reason, your mind will be wondering off to search for answer that has no question.

People seem to be working their ass up daily. Lot of my fren work before sunrise 8am and comeback later than sunset. Most probably 8pm or some even 9pm. What are we trying to achieve? We work so hard everyday to achieve something. But we can’t. Then we work even harder than before to get into top management level. Manager, director, Senior officer and so on. Then at last we achieve it. And u knows what the rewards are? Nope neither money nor fame.

It’s death!

Why death? Of course is death. You work hard during 20-30 years old. Then you work even harder during 30-35/40 years old and u achieved it. At last… During this workaholic year’s u never see any sunrise nor sunset as u are spending ur time mostly in office. Then when u becomes top management, does u think it time to rest? Hack, u have to work even harder and squeeze every juice in your brain now as u receive so much salary and ur responsible are so huge that even u can’t handle. Then finally, u retired at 60 or 65 (Most Top Management retired at that age). So you are 60 or 65 and you wanted o enjoy life huh? What can u do on 65? Let see, travel? Nah too old, Sports Car, (wasted, That bold old man drive that car), family happy? OK! Children hi education? OK! But I am not talking bout other ppl. I am talking bout u yourself. And you started to look back knowing what u want in your life, but u it’s too late. Yes, your younger age. How you wish u can enjoy your young day where u travel here and there, enjoying a cup of Mocha @ coffee bean or Java Choc Chips @ Starbucks. Enjoying TGI Friday with friends from the last few Rinngit as tomorrow your salary is out. Believe me, it taste nicer if you have the last dollar to spend on it. (How many rich ppl enjoying it anyway? only a typical middle income ppl lik u and me with few rinngit to survive enjoy it). Take a comparison. A cup of Mocha at Starbuck. Who enjoys better? Typical ppl like me and you or Paris Hilton?? U get what i mean.. Then, talking nonsense at mamak shop while laughing at all those jokes with friends. Movies, window shopping, gadgets, find best place to makan and so on. How you wish u could do that…But Excuse me, You are too old now.

That ‘if’ your company or boss recognizes your work. How if you work in a company those backs stab you? How if u work so hard and your boss started to get nervous. He might think u wan to overtake him. He may think you wan greater power than he is?? Then u r totally wasted. U end up being more stupid that anyone else in the earth. Or how if ur boss are the kind who doesn’t appreciate your work. Only to tell u works hard because you have to. That is ur job. This is exactly what happen to one of my fren. He work so hard and even cancel his MC to work. How many company in this world will appreciate if u go working as usual during ur MC?? He work so hard at the end of the day, his hard working becomes his job. It’s his job to be hard working; It’s his job to come to work on Sunday. It’s his job to come work even if MC, it’s his responsibility to work daily from 8am to 10pm… Familiar?

Every people have their own dreams. Own target. I know, some will say this article is for those who are lazy and finding excuse for not achieving in hi rank in ur job or society. But excuse me Sir, I got to attend more important meeting. I am attending to life. So u got all those hi rank officer, but that dun impress me much cause i know u have miss a whole lot outa you life!

Of course some still can enjoy all the perks while working hard. But, how many of this hard working ppl still have the time to enjoy life when young? Again, I am talking about typical people like you and me. Not he and you. My conclusion? Dun work hard and start enjoy life? Nah, of course not. What I wan to stress out here is to enjoy life while you still young but in the same time work normal. Balance out your work and life. Why work so much?

Work hard and the world respects you. Work hard and you can have anything you want. Work really extra super hard and do nothing else but work and ignore your family and spend 14 hours a day at the office and make millions a year that you never have time to spend, sublimate your soul to the corporate world, buy that yatch, Own that Rolex, buy that mansion that you never spend any time in it, and bring you and your shiny BMW 6 Series Coupe into heaven.

An introduction of FFXII

This is the story of a world called Ivalice. The strong military kingdom known as the Arcadia Empire that rules the Valentia Continent, and the Rosalia Empire that rules the Ordalia Continent have been continuously at war for long years. In the midst of it, Arcadia Empire invaded the small kingdom of Dalmasca, positioned in the hallway between the two continents and thus is geopolitically important. Under the invasion of the Arcadia Empire, the Dalmasca Kingdom accepted defeat.
But Ashe, the rightful heir to the trone of Dalmasca, joined the resistance army movements to fight against the empire. The enemy’s chase and attack of this girl with the liberation of her mother nation in heart is severe, but, she can not be defeated. At this moment, she meets the young man Vaan. With this meeting, begins the change in Ashe’s heart. And thus… The meeting of these two people will greatly change the story of this world.

My opening review aka introduction review

After reading the pro review in PSM (an independent PS2 magazine from US), my hand are very itchy to play FFXII. As u know if you follow my earlier blog on Final Fantasy, u will know that i am a maniac and addicted to Final Fantasy game. Yes, FFXII is the latest series of the most anticipated rpg gaming era. After reading the pro review and scoring a whooping 9.5/10, i suddenly have the super urge to try out the japanese version. As the review game is in english, (Damn, this ppl got the Us version) i thought it may be out although i knew the official release date is 31st October for US version.Read somewhere that Europe release will be on 6th October. Hopefully will reach msian shore asap.
So i went to gameshop and ask for the enlish version (hoping luck) and the answer is always the same, early Nov. So i bought a Japanese version at MidValley to cover the my overwhelming urge.
Well back to the game, the opening is quite a long CG. Bout 17 minute to be exact. Not do i mind though. Even if it’s 30 min i dun mind, really. Saw some VIP get married and b4 i even know his name he is dead, then some war occured etc etc. Started the game controlling god knows who (Japanese leh…) Up level him from 4 till level 8 and only to find this guy is dead too. Not so sure if he died o not but it seems to be he is. Then the real epic start. Controlling the hero in FFXII, Vaan started by killing a few rats. Lvl 1. Duh..I really dun know what is happening as all the character speak japanese and subtitle in japanese too. So by guessing and looking at the map very offen, i started to explore.

Battle system
First impression? AWESOME battle system. The era of CTB and ATB aka turn base combat is over. This new battle system, ADB is a new system where the enemy appear on screen along with your characters, meaning no more random battles, no more battle loading screens and victory screens. With a new ADB System, enemies will now also attack each other, as well as you. This battle system had two types of enemies: passive creatures who only attack when attacked first, and fierce beasts who attack at first sight. They can be differentiated by the color of the life bar located above their heads. This battle system let u to run around while attacking the enemie rather that the stand still attacking like all previous ff game. Anyway, i only manage to cover this much of the battle. There is so much more in this battle sytem that i dun quite understand yet. Example, the license board and gambit license. Basically License Board is sorts of like a chess board. Erm a bit similiar to FFX sphere grid system. For gambit, i am not too sure but it;s like a conditional battle system for ur party member. Like "if XX HP is below 30%, YY cast Cura while ZZ attack" It may have a lot of possiblity u can do. Another example is If XX is Silence, YY cast vocal. Or if involve 3 part wil be, If the party are fighting boss while XX is ur hero, YY cast Haste on XX while ZZ cast Brave. So it;s infinite for condition battle.
Ivalice City.
Holy cow, this city is damn freaking huge i must say. As it’s in japanese so i am quite blur where i have to go or waht to do. Well i will only play a few of the place just to satisfied my urge while waiting for the English version to release in another 2 months time.

Conclusion

This game brings you back to the Final Fantasy Tactic era. I will only play this game another few more time before keeping it aside. Just to get a bit familirise with the ADB system. For License and Gambit, i dun think i will understand much as u need to read what is what for gambit condition and license too. I dun wan to spoil the game as i dun know the story line. Playing Final Fantasy without understanding the storyline is a big letdown. The best part of playing FF epic is the storyline itself.