Sabre 2/3rd Tiger v3

What better way to start a new year, then with a new yearning? [*]
Yeah I want one of this Fujitsu U810. Only 1.5lbs, with 5″ WSVGA and all wireless connectivity, including 3G for the version at CES.

Deliciously Over-Engineered Gadgets Loom on the Horizon – Fujitsu u810 with “integral cellular modem”

CNET :Fujitsu LifeBook U810 verdict “Best ultramobile PC keyboard yet”, but can *I* touchtype on it?

… more at del.icio.us

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Image courtesy www.chasedeluca.com

Wow, it’s been a busy 2007, off-the-blog. >:-}

Anyway, this bLADE Wiki for Windows Mobile is a great freeware.

Works very well and it comes with a desktop version, that allows you to easily synchronize the wiki on your PPC with the wiki on you PC via Activesync. Best of all its author Dale Lane, is very responsive on his bLADE Wiki forum.

I just found that TiddlyWiki 2.1.3 runs quite well on my Windows Mobile 5.0 PDAphone. It does need the USD29 (30 days trial) Opera 8.6 browser. WM5’s Pocket IE is too puny to run the JavaScript required for TiddlyWiki.

However, the QVGA (320×240) screen resolution of WM5 PDAs does require tweaking the CSS of TiddlyWiki to be in 2 columns layout (display area + sidebar) instead of its default 3 columns layout (main menu + display area + sidebar).

• TiddlyWiki 2.1.3 on Opera 8.6 for Windows Mobile 5 10 December 2006.
• TW on PPC – Opera works! 13 April 2006.

One of my colleagues, an experienced Visual Studio developer, recently had a look at IBM’s Websphere development environment and was enamoured by it. I think he would be interested in what the industry is saying about Eclipse (and NetBeans for that matter). I wasn’t wrong, in pointing him towards Eclipse, was I?

• IBM Websphere and Eclipse – describes “The IBM WebSphere Studio development environment extends Eclipse technology to a whole new level, integrating enterprise-level project management, advanced Java development, visual editors, extensive Web infrastructure management, and Web services support, to name a few, within a flexible open architecture.“
• Eclipse Casts Shadow on Sun – Darryl K Taft on 20 May 2005 reported, «a Microsoft source said: “The game is not over, but when we think of developer ecosystems other than Visual Studio we think Eclipse. We don’t think NetBeans.” … Pat Kerpan, Borland’s chief technology officer, said Eclipse “might be the end of the constant retooling we’ve gone through over the years. … This could be the beginning of a framework that will live across multiple epochs to come.” … Forrester’s Zetie added: “There’s no doubt in my mind that as far as enterprise developers are concerned, Eclipse has won—at least outside of Microsoft’s sphere of influence—with major tools vendors such as Actuate, Borland, BEA and Sybase lining up to join IBM/Rational in porting their tools to Eclipse, a vibrant ecology of plug-ins, and an architecture designed explicitly to support extensibility and integration. Eclipse is more than just a development platform; it is a full life cycle platform.”»

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Phoenix just posted in EXIF – Plugin for IE and Firefox thread on MPC forum regarding Opanda’s IExif plugin.

Opanda IExif is a professional Exif viewer in Windows / IE / Firefox, From a photographer’s eye, It displays the image taken from digital camera and every item of EXIF data in the image from beginning to end. The user can learn about how and where to take the photo, what the camera’s model is, the detail of photographer and more in IExif.

This looks very useful to me, where previously while browsing interesting web pages, I had to save the images to disk and use IrfanView exif plugin to read those camera settings information. When massaging my photos I usualy keep its original exif information intact for easy future references.

An alternative exif viewer for Firefox is Ted Mielczarek’s FxIF, written entirely in Javascript.

[I'm classifying this under "Computers" until I decided to have a camera or photo sub category. ]
Links:

• Opanda IExif – EXIF viewer for IE and Firefox – SnapFiles rated 3 of 5 stars (Good).
• Opanda IExif – Tucows rated in 3 cows, too.
• View EXIF with Firefox – Garette LeSage’s post in Camera Hacks on 11 April 2005 regarding FxIF and users comments about IExif.
• Opanda Exif viewer extension for Firefox available – Paul’s post in StevesForum on 17 March 2005 recommending IExif.
• Canon S400 Digital Photo Date/Time manipulation – Davenaff question on 17 February 2005 regarding “application needs to be able to review a large set of files, and shift the three EXIF tag values by a fixed amount (X days, Y years, Z hours)” and “will allow me to make the date/time edits in bulk“. The answering comments leads through the_rename, iexif and jhead programs. The last was the “perfect utility” for his need.
• Opanda IExif 1.8 — the Best EXIF Viewer in FIREFOX! – Tonychien’s post in PBase on 22 January 2005 with screenshots of IExif in action in Firefox.

Following up on my earlier blog, I notices this news in the local papers about the CardExAsia 2005 event. “Don’t procrastinate, says NRD”, NST 18 May 2005 reports …

   Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. That is the message the National Registration Department (NRD) has for the three million Malaysians who have yet to apply for their MyKad.
   “If customers come now, our system can manage very comfortably, but don’t come at the last moment,” NRD director-general Datuk Wan Ibrahim Wan Ahmad said …
Speaking after opening the CardEx Asia 2005 Conference and the SmartLabels 2005 Exhibition at the Putra World Trade Centre here, Wan Ibrahim said security aspects of the MyKad were “perfect”.
   “There are people who try to play with the system, people who abuse my trust, but there is nothing wrong with the system itself,” he said on the recent debate over MyKad security …
   The three-day CardEx Asia event, organised by Protemp Exhibitions Sdn Bhd, showcases 60 exhibitors, including companies from Belgium, Spain, China and Hong Kong.
   The event, in its fifth year, has attracted more than 130 delegates …

Links:

• Sistem Kompakar Sdn Bhd – reports “17 May 2005 To 19 May 2005. Kompakar eHealth Tech will promote SmartCard and its benefits in healthcare ICT in the upcoming CardEx Exhibition at PWTC.“
• CardsNow!Asia – online site for the monthly trade magazine who is the “Exclusive Official Media Partner” for the event.
• MasterCard & Visa Agree To A Common Contactless Protocol – CNA reports, “they have reached an agreement to share a common communications protocol and associated testing requirements for radio frequency-based contactless payments at the point of sale. This protocol is based on the MasterCard PayPassTM ISO/IEC 14443 Implementation Specification.” I wonder why unlike last year, MasterCard & Visa were not at CardExAsia.
• Events in May, 2005 – shows the next exhibition in Malaysia will be NEPCON Malaysia 24-27 May 2005 at the Mines.

Today I managed to squeeze some time to visit PWTC for the annual Smartcard Exhibition running on 17-19 May 2005. My impression is that this year’s is smaller than last, or it could just be my memory. Anyway, I did find a few interesting exhibits, as well as finally applying for MyKad …

• MyKad: The Government Multipurpose Card – had the biggest booth, with four counters for MyKad application including photo taking. There are smaller booths around it showing off MyKad applications such as: Putrajaya Hospitals putting health info in MyKad, Iris passport and MyKad kiosks, JPJ summon checking, Touch’nGo transportation card, and MEPS cash counter.
• FEC International (M) Sdn Bhd – shows off their MM chip, that was bought by the government, and other readers and writers. I was particularly interested in their MRW-3010 Multi-protocol reader/writer containing two SAMs. Their Japanese engineer showed off how to read the 0.5mm wide MM chip when only having on-chip small antennae, also a card with three antennas connected to one MM chip giving “multiband” reception.
• Modular Corp (M) Sdn Bhd – showed off the PMPC card application they design/implement for Bank Islam at UUM and UPM.
• Asia Pacific Card & System Sdn Bhd – showed the smartcards and readers they manufacture in Port Klang. Their own website seem down at the moment.

My significant other decided to be generous, and left her Nokia 7200 on the back seat of a taxi. Needless to say, we couldn’t get it back. So now, I’m on the market for another Nokia clamshell with the following specs …

1. Clamshell – she really likes to physically close the phone, though a slide cover type maybe acceptable.
2. No aerials – she keeps it in her handbag, those aerials get caught in the many things in there.
3. Nokia – she’s already so familiar with Nokia’s menu system, and I hate to retrain her for some equally quirky but different system.

My quick search found me the following candidates …

• Review Nokia 8910 – Mobile Review reported, “Nokia 8910 is a successor of 8850 … First of all, an exterior is made of titan.” [Nokia 8910i @my]
• Nokia’s shining star – Nokia 8850 – The Star InTech’s Kelly Goh on 9 May 2000 reported “You just gotta hand it to these Finnish dudes. IMHO they really know how to make fine-looking handphones and the sexy Nokia 8850 is one such example.“. [Nokia 8850 @my] also [Nokia 8855 @my]
• Review: Nokia 7270 – Mobile Phone UK reported, “another ‘fashion’ phone from Nokia … beautifully styled clamshell phone with rounded corners and made from a combination of metal, textiles and plastic.” It has a very close design features to that of the 6170. [Nokia 7270 @my]
• Review: Nokia 6260 – Mobile Phones UK reported, “a business-orientated smartphone … One of the characteristics of the 6260’s clamshell design is the rotating screen which can be rotated to a number of positions – open, closed, facing inwards and facing outwards.” [Nokia 6260 @my]
• Nokia 6170 review: A new generation clamshell – Marek Lutonský on 7 October 2004 reported, “The second Nokia flip phone got new untraditional look … nowadays we know already five clamshell phones from the Finnish company … 7200 … 6170 … 7270.” [Nokia 6170 @my]
• Review: Nokia 2650 – Mobile Phones UK reported, “… released in October 2004 … has nearly identical features to the Nokia 3100 that was released 15 months earlier … It is hard to say anything very positive about this phone, and it confirms the impression that Nokia don’t yet ‘get’ clamshells. Our advice would be: ‘look elsewhere!’” [Nokia 2650 @my]
• Nokia Phone Models Malaysia – complete collection.

Any others, I missed out?

Updated @1850h: The choice finally went to Nokia 7270, the “fashion phone”. ;-}

I wondered what’s the current status of the 7 MSC flagships. The official updates status was as of one year ago, I’d guess they’ll update that just in time (JIT) before the next MSC Expo in September 2005. Excerpts of that with some additional notes of mine …

1. Electronic Government – “PMS (Operational System, Managerial Functions and Knowledge Base Repository) is currently operational in all agencies … [HRMIS] 13 out of 15 modules has been rolled out to 10 pilot agencies (JPA, MAMPU, PM’s Office, Jabatan Pengairan & Saliran, MoH, Jab. Perkhidmatan Haiwan, MARA, DBKL, PKNS and Jab. Ketua Menteri Sarawak) … [GOE] Completed roll-out site preparation for 14 agencies with 3,086 users … [EP] Central Contract, Supplier Registration modules and interface with Elektronik Sistem Perancangan dan Kawalan Belanjawan (eSPKB) completed … [E-Services] 27 kiosks have been fully operational – 12 in Klang Valley and 15 outside of Klang Valley … [ELX] Project completed nationwide … [E-Syariah] 83% of Phase 3 have been completed. SPKMS has been rolled-out to 102 locations throughout the nation.” E-Services access either MyEG or Rilek service providers.
2. Multipurpose Card – aka MyKad. “All main [GMPC] deliverables completed (ID, Driving License, Passport, E-cash, ATM, Touch n’ Go, Health Information and Public Key Infrastructure). 9.9 million [GMPC] cards issued. 8.97 million [PMPC] Bankcards have been issued (as of 1 March 2004). 3,422 (84%) ATMs have been upgraded to accept ATM application in MyKad. 3,986 (100%) ATMs for domestic banks have been upgraded to accept Bankcard. 5 Banking institutions in total of 160 branches were available to issue ATM application in MyKad are as follows: Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, Maybank, Public bank, Bank Islam, Citibank.” JPN’s GMPC MyKad main site.
3. Smart School – “Various options for a cost-effective roll-out model leveraging on Computer Lab and SchoolNet projects was presented to the Smart School Steering Committee Meeting on 5 April 2004.“
4. Telehealth – “Read & write Health Data on MyKad: MOH decided to pilot at the Putrajaya Clinic.“. Website www.telehealth.com.my unreachable, domain still active under MDC. Worldcare site regarding Teleconsultation is active.
5. R&D Clusters – “MSC R&D Grant Scheme (MGS) Types of project funded … Awards garnered by MGS-Recipient Companies …“
6. E-Business – “Retail Sector : Efficient Consumer Response – Central Item Repository (ECR-CIR) Project … Letter of Intent issued to the successful RO – Tradenex. com Sdn Bhd.“
7. Technopreneur Development – “National Unipreneur Development Program (NUDP) … National Lead Generation Program (NLGP) … National Incubation Development Program (NIDP) … Centre for Health Innovation & Medical Enterprises (CHIME) … BATIC Technology Labs … MSC Technopreneurship Centre (MSC-TeC) … International Representation Program (IR) … Strategic Partnership Program (SP) …“

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Japanese mobile phonecams users have been using QR Code for some time to scan/enter URLs from newspapers, magazines and business cards. However in the US a competing 2D barcode, Semacode, is a bit more known. The two sample 2D barcodes encode the URL http://www.sabre23t.com in both QR Code and Semacode format.

• O I C U R A QR Code – M Keadle on 4 May 2005 wrote, “the current candidate to take over barcodes looks to be QR Codes“.
• QR Code Chocolate – Gizmodo on 26 April 2005 reported, “QR Code Blog explains (exclusively in QR codes, disturbingly) how one might go about creating a QR Code using white and dark chocolate.“
• QR codes update – Chris Heathcote on 25 April 2005 wrote, “… seeing how QR codes have really become part of life there [Japan]: business cards, adverts, magazines, any printed media will have a QR code, either for the URL, address, phone number, or even little pieces of content themselves (ringtones, pictures) … What I want is an open source QR code reader for Western mobile phones.” He also provided a good summary of the current status of QR Codes apps.
• Forget QR code, here comes the ColorCode – Regine on 22 April 2005 wrote, “While Europe and the US are still wondering what QR codes are (square-like “barcodes” that contains the URL of a website), ColorZip has developed ColorCode to allow mobile phone users to download anything, from text to music, to video, to drinks in vending machines.“
• Phones with eyes – Economist on 10 March 2005 reported, “enable phones to read two-dimensional bar-codes … such bar-codes are already quite common in Japan, where they are known as quick-response (QR) codes … perhaps the most imaginative uses of two-dimensional bar-codes come from Semacode, a firm based in Ontario. Simon Woodside, a graduate student from the University of Waterloo who founded the company, has applied “Semacodesâ€? to bus stops in California.“
• QR Codes & Semacode – David Adams on 12 February 2005 wrote, “The whole barcode thing is a chicken and egg problem. It took off in Japan but only after the technology had been embedded in phones for more than a year. Will it take off in the US? I bet it will. Whether QR Code, Semacode or something else. It just solves so many problems.“

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