As you can see, Hiro and Momo always somehow sleeps the same way on the carpet.

This one, is an exception, looks like they’re in “paused” mode.

At times, Lily and Momo sleeps nearby, which is very rare because Lily doesn’t seem very fond of Momo and Hiro:

Another rare shot would be three of them sleeping near each other (usually Lily will sleep in another room)

Get Random with random.ly

Try out an app called random.ly. It is a free app that shows you random websites that are in the bit.ly database. Just fire up this app and click “Randomize“, and you’re good to go!

Sometimes the links expire, and you get this fish (what is it with modern social media tools and fishes?)

Liked the page you’re reading? Add them to your “Favorite Bits“!

Download random.ly from the appstore now (it’s free!)

I’ve been using DiGi with iPhone ever since the first generation iPhone hits Malaysia (grey market, of course), and even after Maxis started officially carrying iPhone in Malaysia, I managed to get my hands on one of the iPhone 3G unit. Good thing is, that the unit is unlocked, so you can use it with any carrier in Malaysia.

I thought I’d share a few configuration tips for DiGi users to have the best experience with the iPhone (yes, for those who can’t wait). I’m sure by the time DiGi have the unit launched officially, they will take care of the configurations on these units.

Note: I’m using a DiGi postpaid plan, along with the unlimited 3G access, so before you proceed with these steps (especially the Internet Tethering), do check your plans if you do not want some unexpected charges on the usage of data.

Configuring MMS and Tethering on the iPhone for DiGi

Oh, in case you don’t know what “Tethering” means, it means using your iPhone as a modem so you can get connected via 3G/EDGE

This step is pretty straight forward, access the Settings app on your iPhone, and navigate to General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network.

On this configuration page, you will notice there’s three parts of the configuration, named Cellular Data, MMS and Internet Tethering.

Now let’s set them up one by one

Section 1: Cellular Data

On this section it is simple, the configurations are as follows:

APN: diginet
Username: (leave blank)
Password: (leave blank)

Once this section is configured, you can surf with the iPhone mobile Safari browser, enabled Push Notifications, and basically any app in the iPhone will be able to access the Internet (there are exceptions, like some app might specifically require WiFi connections).

Section 2: MMS

I’ve tried a few configurations, but these are the one that I find working flawlessly:

APN: digimms
Username: mms
Password: mms
MMSC: mms.digi.com.my/servlets/mms
MMS Proxy: 203.92.128.160
MMS Max Message Size: 200000 (i think you can set up as high as 300000 – this is in bytes, but I want my MMS to send faster so I’m sticking with 200000)
MMS UA Prof URL: (leave blank)

After you have configured this, you will notice that there’s a camera icon in your SMS compose area, tapping on this icon will allow you to attach an image to the message, which the iPhone will send as MMS automatically. If you don’t see this icon immediately, you might have to restart your iPhone.

Section 3: Internet Tethering

This section will allow you to configure the Access Point Name (APN) that you’re going to use to access the Internet while the iPhone acts as a modem. For DiGi, it is the same as the one used for Cellular Data (kudos to simplicity in configuration!). Set it up as follows:

APN: diginet
Username: (leave blank)
Password: (leave blank)

Congratulations! Your iPhone is now fully configures to access the Internet, send and receive MMS, as well as act as a modem for your computer to access the Internet!

How to access the Internet with the iPhone as a modem (Tethering) with DiGi

This step is simple, first, make sure the lastest version of iTunes is installed in your computer (you don’t need to run iTunes to connect to the Internet, but the iTunes installer also will install the networking driver needed to use your iPhone as a modem).

Next, setup your iPhone to enable Internet Tethering:

Go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Internet Tethering.

On this page, slide the “Internet Tethering” switch to “ON“, and it will ask you whether you want to tether via bluetooth or USB. I pick USB as tethering uses a lot of battery power, so connecting it via USB will ensure the iPhone remains charged.

Now, connect your iPhone to your computer, and you will notice after a while, the iPhone will start showing a flashing blue bar with the word “Internet Tethering“, this means your iPhone is now connected to the Internet and you can surf with your computer through it!

Important Notice

Since I obtained by iPhone from Maxis, when I plug my iPhone, iTunes will tell me that there’s a “Carrier Update” and asked me whether I want to update my configurations:

I cancel this message, as I’ve found out that if I accepted the update, it will setup my iPhone with Maxis configuration, which will render my MMS and Tethering inoperable. Be aware of this for now, until DiGi officially releases the iPhone configuration!

I’ve tried a few ways to jailbreak my iPhone 3.1.3 (which I accidentally upgraded to via iTunes), but they either cause an error message, or it just doesn’t jailbreak. Some methods used to jailbreak with 3.1.2 firmware does work with the iPhone 3G (I am not sure about the iPhone 3GS), but I am never comfortable everytime I had to use an older firmware to jailbreak a newer one. I have psychological issues with it.

So, after fumbling around, I found a solution that works for me in Windows 7. Note that I have my User Account Control settings in Windows 7 turned off (slide completely downwards), so I wouldn’t know if any apps used in this process would require administrator priviledges. If they don’t work, you’ll know what to do then :)

First, preparation for the jailbreaking

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Update your iTunes to the latest version (as of now it’s 9.0.3)
• sn0wbreeze for jailbreaking. You can download sn0wbreeze here
• sn0wbreeze requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. If you don’t have it, you can download it from Microsoft website
• iPhone Firmware 3.1.3 original file (download it here)

Next Step: Backup your iPhone

Before proceeding to jailbreak your iPhone, please sync it with iTunes and back it up properly. Jailbreaking will involve restoring your iPhone with a jailbroken firmware, which also means it will wipe everything in your iPhone. Therefore I strongly recommend that you’ll perform a full backup of your iPhone to save yourself some miseries of setting it up all over again. Unless you’re the kind who like it fresh all the time!

Start the Jailbreaking process!

For easy manageability, I would suggest you to create a folder on your desktop called “Jailbreak iPhone” (or anything, for that matter), and move sn0wbreeze and the iPhone 3.1.3 firmware (that IPSW file) together, so it is easy to find. Also make sure you have installed the .NET framework if you don’t have it, as it is needed to run sn0wbreeze.

I keep my iPhone connected at this point, as it will make it easier in the later steps of the jailbreaking process.

Now, start sn0wbreeze, and you’ll see this welcome screen:

In case you don’t know what to do at this point, click that OK button!

Now click the right arrow at the bottom right corner (yes that blue one!), and then you’ll be presented with this screen:

To make life easier, let’s choose the “Simple Mode”. This does the job and there’s less geeky questions to answer! Press the next button to continue:

At this point, click the “browse”, and locate the iPhone 3.1.3 Firmware file (that IPSW file) that you have downloaded earlier and let sn0wbreeze process the file. I know, the message said “3.1.2″, but don’t worry about it, it works with iPhone 3.1.3 firmware!

Click next once the firmware have been verified (and make sure that iPhone image on the left matches your iPhone, i.e. 2G, 3G, 3GS), now sno0wbreeze will begin jailbreaking the firmware.

At one point it will ask if you want to activate your iPhone. You can choose to answer either Yes or No (you probably want to answer Yes if your iPhone is carrier-locked). In my case, my iPhone is an unlocked unit, so I pick No for the answer.

Now it will begin to jailbreak the firmware. This will take a while, so maybe you can grab some drinks meantime.

More screens throughout the process:

Now sn0wbreeze will ask you whether your iPhone is already jailbroken or otherwise, choose “No/Not Sure” for this. Just FYI, No/Notsure works with both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iPhones. For the simplicity of the guide, let’s choose “No/NotSure“:

Then sn0wbreeze will guide you on how to get your device into the DFU mode:

Click start, and follow the guide carefully. Note that in DFU mode, your phone screen will be off. You can tell that your iPhone already in a DFU mode once you notice Windows started to detect a new device.

Back to iTunes

Once your iPhone is in the DFU mode, start iTunes and you’ll notice that it is saying that your iPhone is in the DFU mode and it will need to be restored. Dismiss this message.

Now, hold your SHIFT key (of course, on your keyboard), and click on Restore in iTunes

A browse window will appear, now navigate to your desktop, and look for the iPhone Firmware file (that IPSW file) that have been customized by sn0wbreeze:

iTunes will then restore your iPhone with the custom, and jailbroken firmware. As you might have known, this will take a while, so let’s grab another cup of coffee (or tea in case you hate coffee). Once the process is done, you’ll notice there’s a Cydia icon on your iPhone.

Have fun with your newly jailbroken iPhone!

Possible issues: Error 1600/ 1601/1604 occured when you try to restore your iPhone with sn0wbreeze custom firmware

I face this issue when trying to restore my iPhone 3G with the jailbroken 3.1.3 firmware. But fret not, there’s a way around this!

You will need a tool called “iREB” which you can download here.

First, put your iPhone in the DFU mode again (I hope you still remember how, if not, here’s how: First, turn your iPhone off, then hold both the power and the home button for exactly 10 seconds, then release the power button and keep holding the Home button for another 10 seconds, until iTunes detected your phone and tells you that it needs restore).

Once iTunes have detected your iPhone in restore mode, dismiss the message and exit iTunes.

Making sure your iPhone is still connected to your PC, start iREB, and click on the model of your iPhone (in my case, iPhone 3G).

After a while you will notice that your iPhone is showing either a white or a red screen (at some point iREB might crash, this is expected so don’t worry about it). Once you see this white screen, start iTunes.

Now perform the Shift+Restore with the custom firmware again, and have fun!

And here’s how you do it:

Access the Withdraw Page

Logon to your Pay-Pal account, and under the My Account tab, click Withdraw:

You will see the details of how many days it takes for transaction to be processed, whats the processing fee. Good news, the transaction processing fee is only RM 3.00 if you’re withdrawing below RM400.00, and it’s free if you are withdrawing above RM400.00!. If you click on the question mark next to the “2-3 business days” you’ll see the public holidays of Malaysia where Malaysian banks will delay your processing because they are closed.

Start Withdrawing Funds

Click on Withdraw to your bank account, and you will be taken to a page where they will ask the amount you want to withdraw, and which bank do you want to withdraw it to. There’s also an option to add and manage your bank account(s) from this page. Brilliant!

Note that when you are adding a Malaysian Bank account, it will ask for the bank name and the MEPS routing code (some call this the SWIFT code). You can see the list of bank names and codes by clicking on the Details link next to the MEPS Bank routing code field.

Paypal will then ask you to double-confirm the details before the transaction is performed. Note that in case the Bank rejects the transaction, Pay-pal will charge you for the reversal fee.

Check your bank account after 2-3 business days

Once the transaction is sent, you can check your Malaysian bank account after 2-3 business days and withdraw your cash as usual from the ATM!

You can check the transaction details from within pay-pal to see what’s the status, in case there’s some delays. If the status is ‘Pending‘ then the transaction is not done yet!

Has anyone seen Siti Syakirah?

For more details, you can read about it here.

I just hope she’s not eloping with her lover elsewhere. That would be a very stupid thing to do. Do help spread the word around!

So, fanboy vs anti-fanboy vs agnostics aside, why don’t we try to experience how (almost) it is like to surf the web on an iPad. Follow this simple step and have fun!

Step 1: Install Google Chrome

“Why not Safari?” I hear some of you might asked. There’s a reason for this. But rest assured, the experience would be similar since both of these browsers are indeed based on WebKit. You can download and install Google Chrome here.

Step 2: Change your screen resolution to 1024×768

Now let’s match your computer’s screen resolution to match the iPad’s. If your display driver allows you to rotate the screen, you can choose to do so too!

Step 3: Install CubeMe Google Chrome Extension

This extension will replace all the Flash content on any website with the signature ‘Blue Cube’ that you would see if you’re surfing with the iPad. This will make the experience more accurate.

Download CubeMe Chrome Extension

In fact, if you watched Steve’s keynote on the iPad launch you’ll notice that this blue cube actually shown on the big screen:

Step 4: Start Surfing!

Now, start surfing your favorite sites! With the exception of auto-zoom feature in the iPad, you’ll experience how rich (or how poor) is the experience of using the iPad to surf your daily favorites.

What I did is I surfed the New York Times webpage, and yes, that blue cube is there alright!

What about you? If everything turns out alright, then the iPad is for you, but if everything seems to look like the blue cube, then, please, by all means, stay away from the iPad.

This is where ComparePSD can help!

ComparePSD compares two Photoshop files layer by layer, and highlights the differences between these files in an easy-to-read manner. Here’s a few key features, as mentioned by the developer, PixelNovel:

• ComparePSD compares PSD files layer-by-layer
• ComparePSD handles layers styles (effects), styles attributes and layers visibility flags
• ComparePSD provides a scaled view of the files that helps you to find differences easier
• ComparePSD allows you to select the files in Windows Explorer by right-clicking on them

ComparePSD requires you to run at least Microsoft Windows XP, and the best part, this application is FREE!

Yes, he live for food.

Hiro isn’t the kind who nabs and steals your food at will (although given the chance that you are not around, he would steal some). So anyway the day before yesterday Nirah bought me some half-pound beef burger set from Wendy’s. Naturally the smell of beef burgers attracts Lily, Momo and Hiro. But of course, they know that it’s not for them so they just hung around nearby in hope that they will get a bit.

However, Hiro that day acts a little more aggressively. You see, cats are smart little being. They can plan and they can grab chances. So Hiro, in an attempt to get closer to the food (hoping to get some), started positioning himself to the table nearby where I was sitting.

My guess was that he is waiting for me to leave the table and then storm the food, looking for any munchable leftovers. But since I did not leave the table for quite a while, he started falling asleep… or so I thought. He could be pretending to be asleep, hoping that I will leave the table. So I did try leaving the table and get some drinks to see what will happen.

Now shortly after I leave the desk, he’s still there, pretending to sleep. So I went to the pantry. When I came back:

HAH! See I knew it!. But he’s pretty smart, he pretended that he just want me to rub him, he just stood there and look at me as I begin eating my beef burger again.

So Hiro’s got a plan.

Previously I was using either Palringo (free edition) and eBuddy. Both does the job well, however what meebo offers completely blow my mind. Not only that it sports a clean and crisp interface, landscape support, built-in browser – so you can visit that funny link your friend shares without leaving the app, and what I’ve been waiting for – push notification (yes even in free edition).

Here’s some screenshots of the app:

Download Meebo for your iPhone (iTunes Link)

Yes, Ronn, you happen to say it when I was taking screen caps, promoting ‘interesting’ use of your Nexus One? :D

How do you get this? Simple, follow this easy instructions:

First, visit the Microsoft Silverlight 4 beta client for facebook install page.

If you do not have Silverlight installed, the page will instruct you to download the application and install, then restart your browser:

After your browser have been restarted, go to the same page again, and you’ll be greeted by the usual EULA, click that big light-blue button to continue:

Once that is done, you’ll be greeted by a facebook login screen, followed by no less than four facebook connect permission dialogs, to ensure this application works to the fullest, you must grant all the permissions requested.

And now, you’ll have your new facebook experience!

Try Microsoft Silverlight 4 beta client for facebook today!

So then I started taking snapshots. In the beginning, I actually take the screenshots one by one and stitch them in Photoshop (dumb, I know), then I discovered an app called SnagIt – a payware. The problem is that somehow the recent version of SnagIt doesn’t really capture the websites properly, and on certain browsers (notably webkit-based), it doesn’t even capture at all.

Then, I stumbled upon a holy grail…

Okay, pardon me for the cheesy image. I just can’t help myself

Webpage Screenshot for Google Chrome

Google Chrome can be made more useful with the use of extensions, and this one is called “Webpage Screenshot“. Using it is very simple, you first click on the camera icon next to your address bar in Chrome, and it will ask you whether you want to take only what’s visible, or take the entire webpage (yes the entire length).

Yeah, click that camera icon pointed by red arrow, and oh, click on the image above to see full size

Once you’ve made your capture, a thumbnail of the page will be displayed. Click on it to see it in full.

The page that pops up after that will allow you to save the screenshot.

And you’re done!

Like it? Why don’t grab yourself the Google Chrome browser, then install the Webpage Screenshot extension and go nuts screen-shotting all the websites you want today?

Don’t fret, the solution is here! on a good news, this also available for both 32-bit and 64-bit variant of Windows!

MysticThumbs

The magical solution to this is called “MysticThumbs”. Not only it enabled thumbnail preview of our beloved Adobe Photoshop files (PSD files), it also enabled thumbnail previews for Targa Images, DirectX Texture images, and many more.

Note: You will have to reboot your computer after installation to get this to work

Download this awesome application now and start seeing your PSD thumbnails!

First Impression

When I first launch the new Opera 10.50b, I noticed a significantly cleaner interface, and I couldn’t help but notice how it is extremely similar to how Google Chrome looks (in term of placement of the tab bar):

Firstly, you’ll notice the lack of the main bar on top, and the tabs are moved to the title bar. This minimalistic design will enhance the experience of users while browsing website, especially with the abundance of the web applications these days – by making you see more of the website and see much less of the browser’s frame.

Another thing that I’ve noticed is that all the core functions (all of those in the menu bar previously) have been combined and integrated into what I called the “Opera Button”. This seems to be a trend on modern application these days, and somewhat similar to Microsoft Office 2007’s “Office Button”. Brilliant, Opera!

The Opera Button!

Just like the current Opera 10.10, you can actually drag the tab bar to grow in size, and it will show you the thumbnails of the website instead! Would be awesome to use on a large monitor, since these days anything less than 30″ is pretty common (well, at least in my group of friends, as most of them have 24″ monitor)

Is it really that fast?

Everytime I am using a javascript-heavy web applications, i.e. Google Mail (with loads of labs extension), Facebook, PivotalTracker, 5pm, etc, I will always switch to Google Chrome, as opposed to my default Firefox, mainly because Chrome handles these apps much faster. However, when I tried them on Opera 10.50b, they are even faster! I am thrilled at the sheer performance of this browser. Using these sites now doesn’t feel like using a web-app, they load, behave and execute as if they’re coded in plain cold HTML 4. Added with stability issues of Google Chrome on 64-bit version of windows (it crashes way too often), this makes Opera 10.50 a much better choice for these tasks.

Opera 10.50 now uses a new Carakan engine for Javascript handling, and it claims that it is up to 8 times faster. Curious, I want to test this right away, so I fired all the browsers installed, that is MS Internet Explorer 8.0 (32-bit), MS Internet Explorer 8.0 (64-bit), Firefox 3.6, Google Chrome 4.0 and Opera 10.50b. Let’s see how it fare:

It shows that Opera 10.50 can really perform it’s javascript faster than any of the other browsers (even Chrome 4.0). Internet Explorer is still the slowest of them all, taking a whooping 10 seconds to complete what the rest can do within a second.

Search Enhancement

When I used safari on a Mac regularly a few months back, I noticed that it have a brilliant way of displaying “find on page” results, that is, by dimming the page and highlighting the search term in bright color, saving you time skimming around the page, fumbling for that faint yellow highlight.

Good news is, Opera have taken this step a bit further, not only they have simplify the search hotkey (yes, you can press period ” . ” key to invoke the search bar, or you can press comma ” , ” to invoke the same bar, but only search linked text. This would definitely make life easier on those pesky ad-laden download page where the download link is buried within the ads.

Private Browsing

Opera finally caught up to their competition by providing a private browsing feature, which doesn’t store and remember any private information during your browsing session. This would be handy if you want to do financial transaction with online banking application (or if you are doing odd things that you don’t want anyone to find out). In this mode, the cookies will not be remembered so all your login and personal details are safe from anyone who tries to sniff on them via malicious website programming.

Other Enhancements

Opera 10.50 now integrate very well with Windows 7. It basically works with Aero Peek, so you can quickly access all your tabs from the taskbar itself!

Opera have also refined their address bar to function as a smart bar. Now not only it will display related items as you type into the bar, it will also show the search results from your history (this includes the URL of the webpage and also it’s contents). To make things even better, Opera also allows you to delete a specific history item right on this bar itself!

Conslusion

Opera is heading towards the right direction with this next beta browser of theirs. With the inclusion of support for HTML5 and CSS3, new graphic engine that is very fast (so the browser doesn’t lag, like *cough* Firefox *cough*), not to mention that the performance is very good.

Why don’t you give it a try? Get your Opera 10.50b today!

Sometimes people ask me what the heck does “n.n” means (thinking it’s an acronym or something).

Here’s what n.n means:

Don’t get it? Look at her eyes :D