Steve Jobs (Feb 24, 1955 – Oct 5, 2011)

At 7.43am this morning, I received an SMS (via CNANewsPack) of the breaking news:

"Apple announces Steve Jobs has died."

For a moment, I pondered if this was true and it turned out to be so as the tweets and news articles rolled. It was something that we kind of expected, but when it came, it still caught me slightly off-guard. Maybe it was too soon after he stepped down in August, and just a day after the announcement of the new iPhone 4S.

It is at times like this, that one would think of how a visionary such as him had influenced our lives and lifestyle. We know it's all team work, but somehow he made things move. You could say he changed the way we lived, and also pushing other tech companies to come up with more competitive products.

In my own personal journey with Apple, I believe my first encounter was with the Macintosh. It was when my primary school first introduced computer classes and what they had was that. I was intrigued by this first all-in-one PC which was diversely different from the old black-green screens of the older generation (I had only used computers to play games then). Following that, being the young me then, always thought Apple = Macintosh. And that's how Apple got stuck in my mind, even as a childhood memory.

Fast-forwarding to more recent times (after a seemingly dull period for Apple...probably when Steve Jobs left for a while), I recall the first iMac range with its delicious look in my Uni days. Another iconic innovation where looks and compactness mattered in functionality. And during that time, the first iPod emerged too. It changed the way we would carry music. Although I believe they weren't the first to have MP3 players (Creative?), it played a major role in revolutionising the way we used them. The 'touch' would be it. No more walkmans and discmans. And the move towards iPod Touch.

Then we have the iPhone that literally changed the smartphone industry. Ya, there were smartphones and there was THE smartphone that even babies can use. I think most can do the "slide" thanks to that. All the apps and ease of use. And of course the iPad with it's amazing graphics. Not the 1st tablet, but one that made a difference. Not forgetting the MacBooks, revamped iMac too, and their powerful OS and software applications that made making music, etc. so simple.

Apple has continued to introduce innovative and cool products that made computers and affiliated gadgets become accessories, and it achieved this under the direction of Steve Jobs. So salute to the man. The memory of his legacy lives on.

Apple has pinned a notice and message in memory of him and for those who would like to share their thoughts, memories, and condolences, they can email rememberingsteve@apple.com

All-in-ones

I've been wanting to change my home PC for a long time (with all its crankiness and lug getting to me), probably by the next IT fair in June. And due to space constraints, Have been considering some 'All-In-One's and currently considering 2 soon-to-be-released models by Lenovo. Prices and models unavailable yet...seems like they'll probably be out in June.

IdeaCentre A320:

IdeaCentre B320:

Their specs are generally similar and well, it's a tough choice, although the 'B' might be a more high-end machine.

But then, yesterday I read the release of the new iMac which has tempting specs that seem to have comparable specs (if not better, at least for graphics and maybe speed) and can be custom-configured. And the price might not be too far off, starting at S$1,648 (but the leaps up are big).

As usual, Apple design wins hands down. The issue now is, do I want to give up Windows OS at home?

Vivaz™ Pro

It's time to recontract my phone again (actually that was a couple of months back) and with the $100 off a new mobile if I recontract by end Sep, it's really tempting.

Well, actually I've been thinking about getting a new phone for months now. My current phone is the G900, which is really good, having served me well for the past 2 years. Although it's still working well, I'm tempted, partly because my contract ended and it seemed slightly natural (*guilty*). Ok, considering how some others change phone so frequently, I'm already quite good to wait for over 2 years. And I really research first leh, before I buy, so no suitable phone, I won't go buy for the sake of buying. Anyway, I find the screen a bit small lah, so if I wanted to surf the net, a bit "squinting" for me. I know, these all sound like excuses...

Anyway, I've been considering getting the Vivaz™ earlier part of the year...until the Vivaz™ Pro came out a couple of months back. You can say I waited it out since I checked the "coming soon" and as the Pro is supposed to be the more advanced version, thought I'll just wait and see.

 Vivaz™

Vivaz™ Pro - White

  

Vivaz™ Pro - Black

I must say both the Vivaz™ look about the same, except the Vivaz™ Pro is a slider with a keyboard and is slightly thicker (still slim). Functionality are almost exactly the same, except the Vivaz™ has an 8.1 MGP camera, compared to the 5.1MGP (same as my current phone) of the Vivaz™ Pro. However, Vivaz™ Pro has handwriting recognition and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which is easier to type. So I guess I'll choose Vivaz™ Pro instead, despite the Vivaz™having more funky colours like cosmic black and pink.

 However, now I can't decide if I should get the Vivaz™ Pro in white or black. Any suggestions?

Cameras Cameras!

I'm sad to say I'm "retiring" my Canon IXUS 60. It's a pretty good camera, but it's more than 3 years old, so technology has advanced much since, with image stabiliser, greater megapixels and optical zoom, etc. So I decided to seek out a new camera at SITEX'09 today. I might still use it as a backup though.

Doing my research, I was initially set on getting the Canon IXUS 990 IS...until I found out that it has been taken off the market. I have a soft spot for IXUS due to my old camera, so I shortlisted a few more models like IXUS 120 IS, IXUS 110 IS and IXUS 100 IS, but I wasn't really that sure about them, which turns out true when I went down to test it out today. I didn't like the function keys of these and was hesitant.

I had also researched on Lumix DMC-TZ7.
It had good reviews and looked really nice with strong functionality (25mm Ultra Wide-angle, 12x Optical Zoom LEICA Lens, HD Movie Recording, among other things). And I would have bought it if not for the fact that there was no Panasonic booth at the fair (how can that be?!)! I could not get a feel of the camera and with an uncertainty with the IXUS models I'd seen, I was contemplating not buying a camera at all at the fair (yes, my friends with me would have "killed" me after dragging them along and spending so much time considering), until a photographer friend of mine suggested checking out Fujifilm. I wasn't sure coz I never researched on it, but I checked it out anyway...

And I bought the FinePix F70EXR.
After all that research and I didn't get any of those! Well, my photographer friend said that this model fitted my specs so it's worth a buy since it was selling at only $469 at the fair, inclusive of a bundle pack of an 8GB SD card, 1 spare battery, 1 screen protector, 1 mini tripod, 1 card reader and 1 camera case. It's not bad, with 10x opitical zoom, intelligent flash, 27mm wide angle, etc. It's a bit heavy, but that's due to the metal casing which makes it sturdier. Only thing there's no HD movie recording, and it doesn't look as nice as the Lumix. Well, for movie recording, I guess I have to compromise. After all, the objective here is to take good stills. If I want video, I should get a proper video recorder.

Well, hope this camera will serve me well. I'll treat this as a Christmas present to myself.

1st Garageband Meetup

We had our 1st GarageBand (GB) meetup last night at SUNTEC's McCafe.

At first, we didn't know who or if anyone would turn up, but in all, 6 of us did.

It was a fruitful session to me, seeing that I'm still very "blur" about the features & functionality of GB. Learnt some new stuff...hope I remember them by the time I return from my work trip! Haha...it felt like Ivan was giving 1 of his workshop lectures. But there were some exchanges of tips, which was good.

The only problem was that McCafe was very noisy so it was a bit hard to hear the tracks & samples clearly. Probably next time we can book a venue somewhere (library?) or go to a quieter cafe to have our meetup.

iPod

Yeah! I've finally bought my iPod! 80GB!

Heehee...as it was the GSS, there was a 20% off for it & 10% off for accessories (bought a cover) with DBS cards. Yippee!