Mozilla Firefox 19

About a week back, I did an update to Firefox and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it now has a built-in PDF viewer. By doing this PDF integration, Firefox has eliminated the sometimes inconvenient step of downloading content or reading it in a plug-in like Firefox Reader. I have tried it out and it works fine…so far. So update your Mozilla Firefox today!

Flash floods in Singapore

I got this pic from the Yahoo Singapore Newsroom on Facebook and I was just horrified. Yes, there was very heavy rain yesterday. I was caught in it and I could not leave a client’s premises because I did not have an umbrella and the rain was just pelting down. This is a picture taken in Thomson…with flood water at a pretty high level. Someone in the PUB said that this kind of flooding happens only every 50 years. What? has it been 50 years already? This is ridiculous!

The usual morning traffic jam in Shenton Way

I was late for work because of this jam in Shenton Way in the Central Business District of Singapore. That is the sad thing about our way of thinking in Singapore. We can easily take public transport and get to work but when we do take public transport, as I was when I snapped this picture, the public transport has to deal with the number of cars on the road. Its not as if our public transport is the pits. Actually, it is in a way but it can be improved. But to the point, maybe it would be better if everyone took public transport to work instead of causing jams like these?

Yamaha Stagepas rental

My trusty Yamaha Stagepas was rented again for a Chinese New Year dinner last week and it gave a sterling performance. The source of the music was a laptop playing Chinese New Year songs. Sound was the usual great performance from Yamaha. If anything, it was a bit too loud and I was asked to kindly turn it down! Such is the power of the Stagepas 500. I am still contemplating getting the Stagepas 600i in the future but there is a lot left n this Stagepas 500 of old. I think I will stick with it for a while longer.

Hercules DJ Console RMX

I have a friend who uses this Hercules DJ Console RMX. I must admit, I like this piece of equipment. The thing is built solid and it is pretty heavy…an overall nice feel to it. I have not heard the sound of it yet but if it is like all Hercules products, it must be pretty sweet sounding. It will never be a Serato box but from what I use, which is a Hercules controller too, it holds up just fine. It comes with the usual Virtual DJ, has a mic input and most importantly, a built-in soundcard. The specifications and features, according to the Hercules website:

• Mic input for talk-over
• Headphone output
• 2 stereo outputs – 4 x ¼” jack mono out (+4dBu) for pro gear and 4 RCA mono out (-10dBv) for standard gear
• 2 stereo inputs – Plug & mix external sources with MP3s
• Metal casing – Aluminum plate on top and metal sheet on bottom

And you know what? This thing is even rack-mountable!

D-Link DIR-505 mini router

I came across this mini router last night. I was pretty impressed. It packs a router, access point, wireless repeater, and network storage drive in a device that fits in the palm of your hand. You can connect a USB storage device to this to create a shared storage space, making it easy to share files between computers and devices connected to the network. The only limitation I see is that the maximum recommended external harddisk capacity is up to 250GB. Interesting!

Smarvo loudspeakers

I was at a small beer bar a couple of days back and I found out that they had this particular brand of speakers. A very unique name it has too. Smarvo. Could not find anything on their official website but a trawl through the Internet yielded this picture which was put up on a music site fairly recently by this owner of a jamming studio that was selling it. It looks like the bar that bought this probably bought it from the jamming studio owner, complete with speaker stands and four-channel amplifier. From what was described on the music site, this speaker sports an 8″ woofer and from what I can see, a piezo horn. It looks similar to a Phonic Powerpack system. I had a close look at it in the bar. This baby can handle about 150 watts. Not too shabby!

The old Hotmail

It was in 1997. I was introduced to this then-revolutionary web-based email client by a friend of mine. Hotmail was a fantastic mail system and I still have the original account which I signed up for in 1997 and I still use it occasionally. It has improved dramatically over the years and is now owned by Microsoft. This is the window that used to grace my PC screen then whenever I wanted to check mail.

TP-LINK TL-WR702N nano router

The TL-WR702N is an ultra-compact router that’s similar to the TP-Link MR3020 3G router but it does not have a USB port for the attachment of a 3G/4G dongle. Its features are:

• 150Mbps wireless data rates ideal for video streaming, online gaming and internet calling
• Tiny – Ideal for home and travel use
• Supports AP (default), Client, Router, Repeater and Bridge modes
• Powered through a micro USB port by an external power adapter or USB connection to a computer

Its compact size makes it perfect for travelling, and you can even power it from a spare USB port on your computer or laptop. It utilises very little power, so you’re unlikely to drain your laptop’s battery.

Interesting this is. I had a friend who called me up just the other day to ask if there was a solution to her travel woes. Looks like the solution is right here!

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS5 camera

I bought this camera in September 2008. The reason why I bought it is because my old Sony camera, which had been with me since 2002, was showing signs of remorse and since it only had a 16Mb Memory Stick, I was running out of space…and fast! So I bought this camera on the recommendation of a friend who told me that Panasonic Lumix cameras were pretty good. He should know…he is a photographer after all! Here is a tip…when you buy a camera like this, make sure that it is Made In Japan. I cannot stress this enough. They will last a long time and it is also if you treat them with care. All my cameras have received nothing but the best care from me so maybe that is why so many of them lasted this long.

What this camera has is:

• 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor
• 4x optical 30-120mm f/3.3-5.8
• Leica DC Vario-Elmar zoom lenses
• Sensitivity of up to ISO 1,600 at full resolution.
• 64mm (2.5-inch) LCD screen.

I have been very happy with the pictures that this camera has been taking but I must admit that low-light conditions do not help much when it comes to taking quality photos. But all in all, a great camera and since I bought it from a vendor during the IT show, it came up relatively inexpensive. It is 5 yeras old this year…it still has a lot more life in it yet!