Of iPhone 4, Signal Problems and Multitasking

I just made a discovery, or perhaps shall I say, saw a relationship between the iPhone 4 signal loss problems, the way the phone is held, and multitasking. You’ve probably read about how the iPhone 4 encounters some problems with its cellular signal strength when held in a certain way. Steve Jobs answer was to simply not hold it that way. It seems that the iPhone 4 works better if held in the right hand. Well, I started to think…

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Android 2.2 Froyo Source Code Released

Hmm, I must sound very geeky to be excited by the release of Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) source code today. There is already a Froyo ROM floating around the Internet, but it is only with the source availability that enables modders to build custom ROMs for various Android devices. Many Android users are happier with the custom ROMs than what originally shipped with their device. Even if it is a pristine ROM, like the one that comes with the Nexus…

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It’s Only Once Every 50 Years

I just heard about what the rain is doing to various parts of Singapore. Like turning Lucky Plaza’s basement into a swimming pool. It’s the kind of rain that happens only once every 50 years that has come to visit us again. Just only 209 days since the last time such a rain struck us (I think it was 19 November 2009). I saw some pictures posted about the scene down on Orchard Road. It looks very third-world. Murky flood…

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A Lesson in IT Project Management

I wouldn’t say I’m really that much of an expert in IT project management. But I’m not fresh out of school. I’ve been working for enough number of years to have seen many things. So it is really annoying when a bunch of non-IT people want to interfere with my project planning, because they think that I’m doing it wrong, and they think they know better how to run IT projects on the basis that they know how to run…

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Building Silos

Sometimes, I think about how silos are formed in organizations. You know, the sort of situation where fellow colleagues are divided into organization groups that are oblivious to the existence of the others. Or, they compete with great hostility. They might as well have belonged to some other company altogether. It’s related to politicking, but it isn’t quite the same thing.

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Rain, Finally

It’s finally raining now in the afternoon of the second day of this Lunar New Year. I think this must be about one of the hottest ever Lunar New Year. It’s been so hot I already feel uncomfortable the moment I step out of the house to go anywhere. So thank goodness it is raining now. Oops. It seems it has stopped. But well, hopefully that brief shower cools down the ground a little, otherwise it feels as if the…

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What if Google Became Evil

Google just launched yet another new service this week. It’s basically a Twitter-like service called Buzz. Not everything Googles jumps into actually takes off really successfully, so it is still to early to say how Buzz will work out. However, at some point, it starts to get horrifying how Google is everywhere. Steve Jobs, at a recent Apple company town hall meeting, made Google out to be evil. Is Google going to be the Skynet of Terminator fame?

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Windows 2000 on UOB ATM?

This is a UOB ATM encountering a “system problem”, spotted recently at a crowded shopping centre in Singapore. The machine is basically a PC running a flavour of Windows. I’m just trying to figure out what Windows it is, and I’m guessing it’s probably Windows 2000. I’m slightly familiar with these things, so it is not surprising to me that they run Windows, even a fairly outdated version of Windows. In fact, I still wouldn’t be all too surprised if…

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SingTel Mobile Mucks Up Again

It looks like SingTel Mobile has mucked up again. In the late afternoon, I found that my mobile phone had no signal. After rebooting, it seemed to be okay. So perhaps it was my phone. Then my colleague noted that he had no 3G data connection on his SingTel Mobile line. Later in the evening, for much of my trip home, my phone again had no signal at all. When it did, it had no data. Eventually, I got to…

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Linux for Newbies

I’m sad to say, Linux still isn’t quite ready for newbies. Although I only had a few simple struggles with my latest Fedora 12 installation, I cannot imagine how a computer newbie is going to handle such challenges. Granted, Linux is probably more suited for the “power user”, many people in Linux-land try to evangelize the idea that Linux can be used by just about anybody. To this end, I think Linux might be going in that general direction, but…

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