Tag: technology

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Day 049/365: A tiny crack, a big problem

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Day 049/365: A tiny crack, a big problem

So, this Friday, trying to get all my work done and I hear someone screaming my name. It sounded a bit panicked. I go over and I hear, “Your CD drive just blew up a CD.” Well to be fair, a drive doesn’t blow up a CD, the speed at which a cracked CD spins blows up a CD. Just a tiny crack can expand in an instant inside of a CD drive. Looks like it might be time to take a look at what we have physically and start converting it to something else to be use. After I took the drive out and shook it out for the photo effect it still sounded like a box of cereal inside the drive. Lesson to be learned here, old discs will do this quick if you don’t notice the crack.

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Sony/GT5 Eye-Candy teaser?

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There is something that I have been noticing lately. What is the deal with Sony/Gran Turismo 5 being the platform to launch something new? No seriously first it was Toyota with the FT-86 (now the GT-86/Scion FR-S):

Then yesterday at the Detroit Auto Show Acura introduced the new NSX with a concept video. No real car just GT5 again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ZSRiDf9ko&hd=1

Now at CES in Las Vegas, Sony is showing off new glasses free 3D TVs with what playing on them? GT5. Really? LoL

So my question, why doesn’t Gran Turismo get more credit. Seriously. What they create is stunning.

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Steve Jobs

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Let’s face it, I’m a PC. Always have been but that doesn’t mean that I hate Steve Jobs, I just prefer PC products. I can say that I appreciate Steve Jobs for who he was. I’m not a big fan of the iPhone, but without it I know we would have never amounted to what we have today in mobile phones. I know that if it wasn’t for the iPod the music we listen to wouldn’t be as available as it used to be. Yes I know that there are many arguments to be had here when we discuss how iTunes could have brought the downfall to Tower Records and other music distributors. We should look past that as we now realize that without that innovation we wouldn’t have the thousands of new artists popping up all over the world. Artists can now go and distribute their music without slinging it from the back of their car.

It is fair to say that competition is what breeds innovation. Innovation is a way of thinking that outside of the box, but in competition it is also asking the question, “what is it that we can do to make this better.” Without competition there is no innovation and with the loss of a great innovative mind I can only hope that there will be someone else out there to push the boundaries. Innovate, create, design, establish, just a few words that the industry is built on. Just a few words that I believe Steve Jobs was responsible for putting into today’s technology.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

This is just a short clip I think you all should watch.

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Weird instances, are they destiny?

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Destiny, it is an interesting word: a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency.

It is strange how my life has turned out as of late. I have come to realize that the past has effected me more than my own comings and goings of everyday life. The things I do today are not that different from what my family had done before I was even born. It is all as if my destiny were to continue on with the things my family has done in the past.

You are probably wondering, “WTF is he talking about?” Let me explain. If you have followed me on my blog for a long time, then you know that I love photography. If you seen me live video streaming music to anybody who wants to listen. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I love the hell out of entertainment and the entertainment business. So let’s talk about these things here.

Photography:

Before I was even thought of, my grandfather (Mom’s Dad) worked for the US Military during the Korean war. He was responsible for “Recon” is a good word to say without calling it “spying.” So he was basically a photographer and come to find out liked it. I never knew this because I have never seen any of the photos he’s taken. I found out when I was digging through my grandmother’s closet back in 2008. I had moved out years before and I was trying to find some stuff I may have. I looked up and there was an interesting leather case that resembled a camera. Sure enough, it was a camera.

A little brief information about the camera:

  • It is from 1957
  • It is the Argus C-Fourty-Four
  • It is technically an SLR as the lenses are changeable
  • The lens it has is a 50mm/f2.8
  • You control the f/Stop via the front ring
  • Focus is controlled through the Range Finder
  • Shutter speeds go from 300 – 10 and Bulb

For how old the camera is I am pretty impressed with the features it does have.  I told my self that I would fix it, but I never really got around to it. In my last blog post, I talk about a family member I lost to cancer just a few weeks ago. During that time I really needed to take my mind elsewhere. So I went about figuring out what I needed to do to get this camera working again. Didn’t take much but it does work. The first photo is something I took  riding home from work one day.

Here are some other sample shots:

Music:

Music has always been an important part of my life as I’m sure it is for a lot of people. In my life my parents brought me up listening to a lot of music from the their past and pushing me to always either play or sing music. I’ve played quite a few instruments in my time of being alive and there are many more still yet to be played. Back in the day my dad played bass for some band, my mom did hula and sang Hawaiian songs whenever the occasion called for it. These are things I knew growing up, but recently I have found that I guess my family did a lot of these things in their days. Sure I knew that the sound guy “Hutch” at Shack Waikiki is my uncle and used to play music with my dad. Sure I knew that my family was friends with many influential groups/bands in days of really good old Hawaiian music. I just never really knew how many of them knew of my family.

It was a real eye opener to hear of all the stories they all had, but one that I found real interesting is my Aunty Ahi. I remember meeting her a long long time ago as a kid but I never knew how important she is to a lot of people I interact with on a regular basis.

As for me, I never knew this but apparently everyone else did that my Aunty Ahi basically taught a lot of the local (and I hate to say it this way) Old School DJs how to DJ and mix music. Another piece of my life that I have been doing for a while and finding out that my family had been done it way before me.

Now lets get into entertainment part of it all here. Yes, I went back to working with the radio group I worked with before. One day I walk into a studio with DJ Kool-E, Potato, and DJ 720 discussing something about some back in the day stuff that was on the air about who was the hotter DJ, Ahi or Lisa D. I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that just a few days before I found out that she is family. I don’t know if it’s just the size of the island or the fact that I’m right where I should be sort of.

You tell me what you thing and if you made it this far thank you for reading. It really means a lot.

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Video Editing

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So recently I have found my self trying more and more to shoot some video. Yes, I love being a photographer, but I want to do more with videos as well. I just have one problem, damn do I hate editing. It takes so much more to do, either that or I’m just not sure yet what I want my videos to contain.

I have recently picked up a GoPro 960 (not the full HD on just yet) and I have to say, what it shoots is simply amazing for such a little thing. Putting something together? well that’s my challenge. I think it’s mostly because I don’t know how to use Sony Vegas hahaha.

Well here are some videos, I hope you like them.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ZXRPLEFvE&hd=1 640 390]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYUHAGZuPSk&hd=1 640 390]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XWDZe-5sWA&hd=1 640 390]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDa5YCFOZIg&hd=1 640 390]

More coming soon I hopes!

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David Choi – LIVE! Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki, Honolulu – May 07, 2011

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YouTube sensation, David Choi, performed live on Saturday night to a packed house. Well when you consider how many people are on YouTube doing music, It’s amazing that so many people here in Hawaii know of his music. Of course it also helps that he is asian and well we have a pretty big population of asian people here.

There was something I noticed though while trying to get pictures of the event… iPhones were out numbered by Android devices. Now you’re probably wondering, “How do you know that?” Lately at concerts it has become apparent that everybody and their Grandma got a cellphone and now most record video. Well when David came out on stage all the cellphones went up in the air and I noticed almost all were Android devices. I was so happy to see that lol :-p

See all the little screens? LoL Anyways if you want to see the rest of the photos here’s the link. You can also view the slideshow :-)

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The Rumored PSP Phone… Now what?

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Warning: This is going to be a dorky post… so I apologize in the beginning LoL

So what do we have here? A video of the rumored Sony PSP Phone?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6cxaVRs60w]

Before all we saw were photos of the rumored device, but now there is video of a working device. Now the question in my mind is “WHEN DOES THIS GET RELEASED!!!” This is of course for good reason, it is a new PSP. Me being a Sony Fanboy, I must admit I want this phone. However, I have a better reason to want this really bad.

Right now I am using a Samsung Vibrant that is beyond a doubt great. Well, maybe a little doubt. The screen is  awesome. The amount of on-board storage space has no one else to compete with besides the iPhone. The speed of the device is epic at 1GHz. The image sensor for the camera is basically spot on.

Where it falls off though is in support. You may be wondering, “what’s the big deal about support?” and in my defense I can only assume that you bought your phone and just use it for what it is. The thing is though (especially with Android devices) that phone you have can do so much more. Manufacturing companies also have a problem where a device can have a few problems and updates need to be sent to the phone to fix these issues. This is where Samsung has failed me.

In a recent podcast on Engadget’s website, they talked about going to a Samsung convention. There they talked to a representative of Samsung and asked a simple question, “Why are your new devices coming out with Android 2.1 and not 2.2?” To that he replied, “We see 2.2 as a marketing idea and not a solution.”

If you don’t know Android 2.2 or Froyo, is the most recent stable update of the Android operating system. This update came with many new features and can improve the phone’s speed and capabilities tremendously. The part that is frustrating is that Samsung has had many bugs on this phone that need to be fixed yet only after six months has one serious issue been fixed.

So lets get back on topic here, the PSP Phone is still a rumored device that just got a little more real with the release of the video above. The question looming over my head right now is, do I leave the happy land of SuperAMOLED and go to Sony? As most gamers know, a gaming console has it’s firmware constantly updated and upgraded. Whether it be new features or fixing and issue. What I’m seeing here though is greener pastures. I know that there will be bugs with a Sony device, but at least I know that they’ll give a s**t about their customer base.

The only other problem I have is not knowing when this device will come out LoL. I don’t get an upgrade till April and hopefully there will be a T-Mobile model that I can get an upgrade from with support for HSPA+!!!

Imagine if you will a mobile gaming unit with the ability to get 17mb down and 5mb up to play games over cell service!!

Ok dork moment over you may go back to your lives now.

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My dilema as of right now get a new one? or wait for the Rumor?

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As of late, I have grown very very tired of my once great SideKick. It was once at the front of technologies that no one had in their phones. However, the times have changed as of late. With the iPhone came a change in the way phone are designed now a days. People want touchscreen, a wide variety of applications to choose from, play movies, awesome camera, and above all now a days social-networking capabilities.

Let’s look back at what the Sidekick has done though. It was an all around device. It had it’s own operating system designed by Danger Technologies/HIPTOP. This particular OS ran off of back-end servers as an industry first for such a wide range of users. This meant that everything a user did on the phone was backed up in a central unit. If you were to break your Sidekick, the replacement you got would in turn just download everything you had on your last Sidekick with ease. Now a day it is called the “cloud” or the location where certain information was stored. It works, but it isn’t the same as how Danger developed it.

Another key feature that the Sidekick had over all the other phones on the market? A fantastic keyboard. It was the soul reason why I loved the Sidekick so much. Don’t get me wrong, it has the best Messaging platform around still beating out millions of other apps on the market, and the best stable OS. However, without that keyboard it would have been pointless.

Let’s go back to the beginning. I bought an original Sidekick Color off of a user on FH (yeah that’s right, I used to post there). I had been eyeing this phone for a very very long time. I had seen someone using the Black and White version and he even let me play with it for a while. Instantly I fell in love. The user who sold me his wanted a good $130 for it and I was down to help him buy the car parts he needed. I called up T-Mobile Sidekick services department and in a matter of minutes my new SKC was rebooted and set for me to go crazy.

I had my regular phone plan of 500 minutes at the time and a $20 SK data plan. I still have this plan for myself too. The SK data plan came with Unlimited Data! This was unheard of on any phone. I was so happy because I was someone who would send over  3000 texts a month. Yes back in the day I would sent that many text all on my Nokia 3390 mind you. It was how you could do AIM back in the day. You text a number to see your buddy list and then you text a number referring to that buddy. It was practically caveman technology compared to what we do now. However, here I was on the rim of the future. This phone came with it’s own AIM, Yahoo, and MSN Messenger. Along with messaging applications it was capable of syncing up with your email addresses and so much more.

Let’s kick up the year a bit to last year. I have my latest Sidekick, the Sidekick LX 09. Through the year Danger and Sharp have done a very nice job in terms of build quality, and the overall OS in keeping Sidekick style. It’s all about user ability to do what it needs to do and do it quick and easy. Then Microsoft buy out the developer Danger Technologies. When I heard about this, Rumors we’re popping up all over the place about “Maybe Danger will help design the next iPhone killer by designing Zune Sidekick.” That was a great idea we all thought. A phone that was running a Windows OS with a Sidekick designed user interface and back-end services from Danger. That was going to be something else. Plus it was going to be something like a Zune?

That whole dream never came real though. The first leaked images of what the two companies came up with were a complete let down. Earlier named the Turtle and Pink. No one knew what to think of these phones. They are now known as the KIN 1 and KIN 2. So in turn what had ended up happening is Microsoft took the technology it purchased, raped the developers, then made their own thing and branded it their own. :'(

So the question is… buy a new phone? End up with buyers remorse? Wait for the next big thing that Project Emerald is? or wait for the rumored HTC Vision (which is looking pretty good).

ARrrrGhhh! LOL