The iPhone 4

Now that I've got a clear mind, I'd like to write a little bit about the phone that I bought a few months back:

The iPhone 4.

Costing at AUD$859 for the 16GB, and $999 for the 32GB, which made it $20 and $60 cheaper compared to the previous model, the iPhone 3GS, which costed $879 or $1049 for the 16Gb or 32GB model respectively.

They announced the iPhone 4 being available in both black, and white. But the problem recently, they ripped off the white iPhone off the online Apple Store. Some say that it will be available in Spring 2011 (US time, so that's Autumn here in Australia; somewhere in April). But by the rate that it is going, they should not have announced it at all.

Now, basic specs of this phone:

960*640 resolution
Apple's very own Retina Display (at 326 pixels crammed into an inch)
Flash storage of 16gb
Apple's very own A4 processor (where if you scrape the A4 and black wrappings, you'll see "SAMSUNG" on it.)
Front and rear camera where front is 0.3 (VGA), and rear is 5mp camera with built in LED-flash.
Full glass body with a matte-finish stainless steel band.
512MBs RAM.

Those are the things that really captures that my attention. Another annoying fact that captures my attention is:

Uses micro-sim card.

For a smart phone, it is pretty dead slim. I never thought a slim phone would make a serious difference in pockets and putting them on surfaces. That compared to my Nokia 6151, boy, it makes my jeans look really bad.

Then again, they boast about it being the slimmest smartphone. We'll have to see about that when Windows kick back into the phone category, and when Android updates their OSes and related phones.

Now, there is a really huge difference after using the iPhone 4. The display is astonishing. It is as uncanny as waking up to a fine morning right beside to Cameron Diaz. After using this phone for months, I am able to see pixels. I have a 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, and..I'm seeing pixels on it. I also see pixels on my brother's iPhone 3GS, and we never really bothered to take all this into detail.

The processor is really snappy. I was convinced by the iPad's A4 performance, and on the iPhone, it worked nearly as well as the iPad.

Don't get me wrong. They're both iOS devices, with nearly the same specs (except for resolution and.. obviously, screen size), but the iPhone 4 tends to lag a bit in between of applications.

Maybe because it is a smart phone. Or it's because of iOS 4.1. You never know. Eventually, the Apple iOS developer team is going to scout around for blogs like these that provides an indirect feedback, and have an update on "performance improvement", so that issue should be eliminated soon.

I just found out that the camera is smart. But what would make it smarter is that instead of giving it HDR and the ability to switch the flash on or off, is the ability to choose the ISO setting and allow the camera to adapt to the settings depending on the shot being taken. I flipped open my ACDSee (after months of not uploading pictures through my laptop - all were uploaded directly via my iPhone), I noticed that the iPhone has ISO settings of 80, 500 and 1000.

And the shots at 1000 ISO does not look that bad at all, actually.

The HD Video Recording feature is acceptable. At 720p, I definitely won't complain much. There is a link that I posted on YouTube in giving one of its app, iMovie, a shot. A short compilation of my Takara Masterpiece MP-01B .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IvMzDsKoAc

But that's all I used it for, anyway.

The front camera.. works. No comments on it. It's a VGA, so what else can I say?

FaceTime, Apple's very own monopolising (what else is new) video-calling for iOS devices (now, the iPod Touch has it as well), and FaceTime Beta is out for Macs. This works in two ways; either you FaceTime with an iPhone-based number, or from an iTunes account to another iTunes account, where the iTunes account is under your email address. Smart.

One good thing is that FaceTime is free.

One bad thing is that FaceTime works only over Wi-Fi. I'd give Apple 5 years for them to allow FaceTime to be done over 3G (Like how long it took them to approve viewing Flash over Macs).

I think I've mentioned this before, but although they made it slimmer, it feels like that the battery took a diet as well. They stuffed in a bigger battery, only to catch up with the amount of pixels and colours being generated over a 3.5 inch screen.

I find that an engineering genius, really. It could have been worse; like they would have not bothered to show up with a better battery solution. Or not do anything at all.

But battery is the main issue with all of these smartphones, anyway. My housemate's running on some Android-based OS. It was a Samsung Omnia or something like that, and it doesn't last long either.

But the display on Android devices are pretty good actually.

And they don't have a 960*640 resolution either.

Sound quality on calls on the iPhone 4 is clear, and good. I am running on three phones at the moment; my Nokia 6151, Nokia E71 and this iPhone 4. Obviously, it is not fair to compare and contrast these phones as they're from different leagues, but the iPhone really does provide an odd experience.

Now, some people will mention that Apple is dumb for introducing a 2nd microphone on top of the phone, right beside the headset jack.

But for people like us who are involved in sound engineering, that is a very very smart idea. The 2nd mic is placed on top of the phone, the opposite direction of our mouth, so it picks up anything - like noise, and filters it out, to allow the caller to hear us better.

And the stainless steel band. The genius of the antenna, and the beginning to a neverending criticism of the well known antennagate, or death grip, or whatever they would call it.

I never had issues with calls being dropped so far. But my Nokia 6151 is on roaming, and it's under Telstra. My Nokia E71 is under Optus, and same goes for my iPhone 4.

When I head into my kitchen, my Nokia 6151 gets maximum signal, the Nokia E71 varies from 2 - full somtimes. And the iPhone only stays as.. 1 and below.

I'm not sure if it's a false reading, or just a bad reception from the iPhone 4. My guess is that it produces less frequencies to send and receive. Another issue is the stainless steel band itself.

Doesn't steel act as one of those conductors for frequencies, anyway?











Overall, I won't complain much about the iPhone 4. It works perfectly the way it is. And sometimes it works better whenever I shut my iPhone off. Maybe because I get distracted less by it.











That's about it. Nothing much about the iPhone 4. Now, I'll go continue reading rumours about the iPhone 5.

Post-Exam Period.

Here comes the long-awaited summer break for degree students in Australia.

I was always envious of having a 3-month break thing going on, and I finally had the chance to really experience it!

And boy, it feels weird on the first day of the long-awaited freedom. I actually tried to find ways to bore myself when I don't have work, and I needed a break from.. work.

It's just crazy to be stressed out by the amount of stuff we have to do.. So, yeah.

Anyways, besides work, toys, uni (what's left of it), and more.. collectibles, here's something you should be aware of before I officially declare myself bankrupt.

That was the most recent order update I got from amiami, and boy, this isn't the updated list yet. This shows 7 figures; four from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and 3 more from Halo: Reach.

.. Until I decided to get all available figures that's released by Play Arts (Kai) from Square Enix. So I've got an updated list of 9 figures coming in this year, and 3 more coming in next year by Halo: Reach.

All shipped by EMS, so it's going to cost quite.. a bit.

*Heart aches.*

Don't ask me when I became a collector, or am I patronising Square Enix's division in making PVC collectibles. You should see the other available figures; they look like crap.

And here's my latest addition after my Takara Masterpiece MP-08: Grimlock.. A limited edition Halo 3 San Diego Comic Con.. thing!








Besides it being limited edition, the shipping for this thing costs 2x more than it how much the figure costed. One interesting bit about this is that the left hand is detachable, and is supported by a magnet for it to clip onto the body. Also, it weighs at about 2kg.

And yes, I'm using it as a paperweight to my Virgil Donati drum clinic ticket for this coming 2nd December 2011!

I just cleared up my table and it looks great. Less messier than it's supposed to be, but because of my odd netbook setup (with the wireless keyboard and mouse combo, and a fuckload of USB cables), it looks like.. shit.

Nevertheless, my figures (and upcoming ones), should have a reasonable amount of space to hang about.

So, I was off today, and I was dropping by my other work place to pass my supervisor a HDD I got for his WD Digital TV box thingamawig, and I just had to stop for this:



A xylophone arranger's wet dreams. This whole team of kids were led by one man with a classical guitar. And what he was doing is to rhythmically play in the key of Am, and ..

.. Well, the kids did the rest of the melody runs.

It was pretty interesting, and there were quite a bit of supporters. These are just the audience from the field area. .from miles away, you'll be able to see them listening and enjoying what this guy did.

It was an interesthing thing. A guitar, and a shitload of xylophones..

And.. I actually felt calm while listening to all this..

Also, two days ago, I see what's the difference between a practice amp (regardless of its power and size) against a proper cabinet with a preamp head. I tried an Orange Dual Terror with an Orange cabinet .. 4x12 cabinet..

And my word.. It sounded so .. warm. The preamp was bloody amazing. And because of it being a high-end Orange preamp, it's a tube preamp. I know they provide better tone, but they also require a shitload of maintenance as well..

And .. I don't think I'm financially stable to maintain all that; nor do I have a clue if I'm staying here in Tasmania .. long term!

Oh boy.

I have to admit that I've been having the worst of days for the past couple of weeks.. Hopefully all will pick up well; if not, I'd be moping over my stupid finals results.












Oh well! That's about it.

Just wanted to clear up some random updates.

Oh. Yes, I do not feel guilty while playing the guitar on my free time now.

:)

(Hopefully I'm able to find more time to play more guitar without annoying anybody in the house..which is far from possible..)

I Just Had To..

I know December is when Santa Claus comes.

This year, he's coming earlier.

But too bad, he's not fat and red.

He looks more like Virgil Donati.



I will see if he's any good like Virgil Donati. And take a couple of pictures too.

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Losing Faith.

I've always been negative, constantly depressed, and now, I feel like absolute shit.

There is no other method or words that can describe what I really feel these days when it comes to life.

Face it, even I'm beginning to piss myself off on the guitar, my studies suck like hell, and I'm not even good at work.

I don't know where my standards are at.

And if any one of you are even idolizing, or feeling that this post is completely wrong, you need to change your mindset.

I had enough of myself.

I cant face my finals in this condition. It's just bloody wrong.

Bah!

Finally.

Last semester of the year is about to end.

And surprisingly, I am extremely calm. I'm not afraid of whatever it is that the finals will toss to me. But one things for sure.

I need to pass with at least 25-27% to know that I'm in the safe zone in passing this whole unit. My internal for this subject would be 26.08%

Wooboy.

This is going to be nice.

Especially when I am still under probation, I hope everything goes well, and lift off the probation period.

I need to set my next semester's subjects as well, come to think of it. LOL.

Oh..Yeah.

And that's the reason why I study better. I've got more space, my guitar pedals are right below me, and my figures have more than enough space. Gotta clear up my table a bit more though.. So I can have my planned World War theme that should be done by the end of November 2010.. :)

Again, With The Updates.

Here's my schedule for these few days:

22th Oct - Work at the newsagent.. 7am - 12pm-ish.
23th Oct - Financial Management finals - from 1pm - 4pm
24th Oct - Work at the fresh fruit market.. 10am - 3pm
25th Oct - Work at both the newsagent and the fresh fruit market - 7am - 11am shift, 12pm - 7 or 8pm shift, followed by preparations for studies in Commercial Transactions.
26th Oct - Work at the newsagent.. 7am until unknown, then followed by preparations for Commercial Transactions
27th Oct - Offday from the fresh fruit market, but Commercial Transaction finals, followed by Principles of Finance preparations.
28th Oct - Work at the newsagent from 7am until unknown, then followed by preparations for Principles of Finance.
29th Oct - Principles of Finance finals.
30th Oct - Plans unconfirmed
31st Oct - 10am - 3pm shift .. and rock my balls off with the guitar until next February.

Now that I wrote all that out, I think I should lay off the idea of working and studying at the same time.

Then again, not.

I'll be able to do this.

I believe in myself.











Besides that, I had a straight 2-day birthday celebration. I had work yesterday, then I treated my brother and my housemates and a friend to dinner out of sheer randomness. Then followed by lunch today .. where my housemates bought lunch for me.. And this friend of mine.. bought a $50 iTunes Gift Card as a present, and then my other housemates bought a cake and dinner for me, so that's cool.

But the iTunes Gift Card was the worst present I ever thought to give to someone else. And this time, I was being offered the ..present.

I mean. $50 on the iTunes Store. What the hell is there to buy?? We can always torrent and download whatever junk we're interested in.. Until..

.. I remembered that Victor Wooten's album - Soul Circus and Yin Yang was not available for purchase in JB Hi-Fi or torrents.

So I got the two rarest album for myself. And months back, I remember updating my status saying that if anybody wanted to get me a birthday present - that would be those two albums.

.. I guess I should really be careful for what I wish for, eh?

I haven't gotten the time to review those albums yet, but from the previews, it's different - and definitely better than Palmystery.

I am looking forward to my break.











And I am looking forward to go back to Malaysia as well. That should be my long-awaited vacation.. Boy, am I stressed out.. bah..!

Birthday 2010

Only 4 people celebrated with me, a 100++ people posted on my wall, and a few texts got through to me.

Thank you for making this a very unique birthday experience, although it felt like another day for me as I had work, dinner and now I'm going to study.

I appreciate everything that all of you did, and more to come. The comments and posts were fabulous!

Thank you all!

I will update again whenever I have the time. My first paper is on this coming Saturday, so if you haven't wished me yet, just wish me luck and that's just good enough!

.. And Another One.

This is what I got for my birthday, originally:

Just simple decorations of the guitars that I'd never own in my life .. Because they're either limited edition, or just bloody rare. The one on the left, the rose pedal Ibanez JEM, would that the designs were printed off from Steve Vai's parent's curtains from their home (!!!), and his triple neck guitar. Just that I didn't like the idea that they added frets to the neck on the far right. IT's supposed to be a fretless guitar, but whatever! Decoration purposes! A good icon to celebrate my 22nd birthday!

Then, my recent eBay fever (again). Scoped around for random figures, and saw this one on.. 'sale'. It's a buy-one-free-one sort of a deal. I've got the Walmart Masterpiece Skywarp, but I couldn't be bothered with opening it.

This, is MP-08. Takara Masterpiece - Grimlock.

OH yeah. <3






I was a bit lazy to take more pictures, so this will have to do.

I know I'm damn happy, and I need a bigger table.

Musclebrain.

Ever felt like you are somewhat awake, but you refuse to learn anything new?

You know you can go on physically, but mentally, you perform worse than a chimpanzee.

What have I done to deserve this?

I hate being optimistic.

Well, that's enough of complaints. Go into war with my final quiz. Then exactly one week to go through 12 weeks of shit, then finals.

Woopee-fucking-do.


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Meandering Thoughts.

I don't know why I put in so much effort into the things and the people around me.

I don't really feel appreciated in return sometimes. That's the sad bit.

The saddest bit is that I've been always feeling this way since forever.

The only cure is for me to stop everything and retreat to my guitar.

Sure, the guitar isn't the best form of "emotional" or "social" return investments, but it's the only thing that keeps me happy and understand others better.

But yeah.





I'm back to my old working schedule like in KL. No off days, work and studies back to back.

It's not like I never got used to it anyway.

This gets me about $600 per week average (which is my current working schedule), and hopefully.. This does not screw up my education.

More to like, I don't really give a shit no more.

I'm a bit outdated

Shots taken with the iPhone 4. I like!









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Quickie.

I'm going to make this a quick one as I'm blogging from my phone.

Just minor updates because I haven't updated my blog for quite a bit. But I think I'll be just fine:

I am currently juggling 2 jobs, along with my main "occupation" (as they would call it here in Australia), a Full-Time student. At least that's recognized.

Benefits of juggling 2 jobs - increase in pay. I have been working in an underpaying job and it doesn't really get me much, but I've made it through somehow.

Outcome: earning nearly $700 per week (shyly at $692 actually).

Now with this one, I'm actually able to get Christmas presents for my family. Only if I want to. I know I've already thought of my brother's gift. Heh.

Besides that, perhaps another iPhone.

Now I just spoke to one of my mates in an unknown retailer and I'm able to get a 15" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz 250GB HDD (which is not even in the list) for $1600-1700. Which is about $500 cheaper. I compared it against Malaysia at an exchange rate of 3.06, and I only managed to see it as MYR200 difference here.

Since it's easier, I might just get the MacBook first. Or not. Save up straight for the iMac.

Dilemma and decisions

Also planning to get a car here for convenience. Not entirely my idea, but better to be safe than sorry.

.. Or not at all. Depends

Well, that's about it. Besides that, I also came up with an idea for my daily routine. Sleep at 6-8pm, get up at 3am, slack off and do whatever required preparations for uni before work (if I have work)

That is most probably going to be my upcoming schedule during the study break in 2 weeks time.

Please don't think of me having 2 jobs is insane. No sympathies. I really hate it when people do that. This isn't compulsory, but this is my own decision.

Besides, Mike Portnoy once worked 3 jobs to finance his dreams.

I should too.

It's been way too long.

This is my first time being sick nearly all week long in Australia. And I thought I was getting better. Bloody BS-ing myself.

Well, hopefully today's going to turn out well.

Hopefully.