Panic

I had my heart in mouth when it happened to me about a month back.

Thanks Flee, for the link!

To my darling...

Thanks for 25 wonderful years, Apple. Here's to another 25 more! 
Long live Mac! Woohoo!

Oh iPhone!

I've had the iPhone for 10 days. It's definitely a larger and heavier phone to carry around but I love it. However there are several things that I wish Apple had paid attention to before releasing version 2.0.

1. A little blinking light for missed calls or received SMSes. This comes in handy especially when your iPhone is in a case, with Auto-Lock turned on.

2. SMS forwarding. Such a basic function in ANY mobile phone.

3. Copy and paste functions. Now how could Apple forget this?

Minor gripes indeed for a phone that I believe will change the UI of mobile phones forever, just you wait. Ok, I'm severely prejudiced here. :-)

Use iTunes to make iPhone ringtones in 5 steps

Thanks to a YouTube video from mattsiphone, I was able to tweak some of the steps to make it work on a Mac. This works for all songs NOT purchased through iTunes ie. ripped from CDs and downloaded from other sources.

1. Open iTunes. Go to Preferences and click on Advanced Importing. See Import Using? Click to select AAC Encoder, then click OK.

2. Select the song you want to make a ringtone. Now you can choose to make the entire song a ringtone, or select a part of it. Get Info on the song and click on Options. Use the Start Time and Stop Time to select the part of the song you want as a ringtone. I suggest that you listen to the song first and note the start and stop times, before entering it here. This will also create a much smaller file (between 200 to 300K). Click OK when done.

3. With the song still highlighted, go to Advanced in the menu above screen and select Convert Selection to AAC. If you didn't do Step 1, you'll see Convert Selection to XXX (XXX being whatever mode you have left selected for song conversion). A copy of the song will be made as it converts.

4. When done, go to your iTunes Folder in your hard drive and find the folder of that song. Use Finder, it's faster. The song will be a .m4a file. Drag it to your desktop. IMPORTANT: Highlight the extension and change it to .m4r (this is the extension for iPhone ringtones). A window will pop up asking if you want to use.m4r or remain as .m4a. Click Use .m4r.

5. Almost there... I suggest you create a folder iPhone Ringtones and put that in the same folder as your iTune songs. Now when you connect your iPhone to your Mac, go to Ringtones tab in iTunes, and select the iPhone Ringtones folder and click on Synch. Voila! Now you have the chosen song in your iPhone as a ringtone.

Enjoy!

iPhone heaven...

I got to the Comcentre around 7pm and was #16 in the queue!! I thought there would be hundreds by then but 16!! Wow! My cousin joined me for a bit and a bite which helped to kill about 2 hours. I rejoined the queue at around 10pm, and that was when things got really exciting. They moved us to a spot in front of the 'glass house' - a replica of the Mac Shop in NYC. Only this was wrapped in a big white bow.

There was a band and an MC to get things pumping. The organisers gave out coffee, snacks and water. TV crew from the region's various media were filming and interviewing. By then I was almost dying of thirst (didn't dare drink too much in case I needed to pee cause getting out of there was a pain!).

At the countdown, the bow was unwrapped and fireworks showered golden sparks on the first guy who got to go inside and make his first purchase. After that, the first 50 (including yours truly) entered the glass house to applause and cheers! Haha!!

My friends thought I was crazy to do this. I suppose. I did promise myself last year that when the iPhone comes to Singapore, I would do to be one of the first to get it. I'm glad I did. It was a fun though exhausting experience. There isn't much I'd get into a line for, the iPhone was one of them. Another was the last Harry Potter book (2007). Tickets to a U2 concert if and when they EVER decide to play here would be another.

And my iPhone? Sigh....

Oh baby...!

This gorgeous hunk is finally here. At 12.01am on Friday, 22 August at the ComCentre. You must be registered and have booked this time-slot. If not, visit Singtel's hello shops to add your name to the waiting list.

Excuse me while I calm my racing heart...I have a date with destiny.

Roll over Moleskines...

Moleskines are getting ridiculously expensive here (no thanks to inflation). A large notebook is currently retailing for S$37 or approx US$25. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to justify the price when I'm using my notebook for just that: notes, and lists, and thoughts, and stuff. I've got one for when I travel, and the NYC Moleskine.

Thanks to a good friend who hoards these beauties, I've found an alternative - Monologues. The sketchbook version has 100gsm acid-free cream sketch paper that can take washes but has no pocket on the inside back of a flexible black cover. It takes the ink of my Pilot G2s very well, with no smudges or bleed throughs.

The ruled version however has a pocket a la Moleskine and a stiffer cover that comes in several colours. They both have wrap-around elastic holders and a ribbon bookmark. And better yet - they retail for under S$15 (USD$10)! I can buy two for the price of one Moleskine!

If you're in Singapore, Monologues are available at Kinokuniya at Takashimaya, and at Popular bookstores. Sorry Moleskine...

The Word from Jobs is...

The iPhone is finally coming here. In September. And a 3G version too.

*faints*

My new toy

This was what I've been waiting for over the past few weeks. Nokia announced the E51 in early September and it finally arrived on our shores last weekend. Nothing was wrong with my old N70 but it's bulkiness and heaviness were getting really annoying compared with the slimmer models already out there. Also, Nokia has a new and improved Symbian OS; I can actually surf the net without annoying lags.

Flee says I should wait for the iPhone next year in June. But I say that if it comes here in its current state, I'll pass but I'll definitely be in the queue if it's version 2.0 though. If there's an expandable memory slot, I won't hesitate. Unlocked iPods are available here for a whopping SGD$1000 to $1600 (or USD$695 to $1110).

The iPod Touch you say? Pass on that too. Apple has cleverly locked it to iTunes. It can no longer be used as a hard drive. And with only 8GB, and I heard a sucky earphone connection, I'll stick to my iPod Classic, thank you.

For now, I'll just enjoy my new mobile.

My new toy

I finally caved. After reading about the Razer mouse and getting increasingly frustrated with Apple's Mighty Mouse and that annoying always getting stuck little button, I splurged on a new Pro|Click V1.6. Don't be too alarmed at the price you see there because I got it for half that at a computer store here in Singapore!

It's super fast, smooth and has a beautiful iridescent blue glow. Oh...not to mention, it's a very Apple white and gray - perfectly matched with my Powerbook.

The IT Show Of The Year!

The largest consumer electronics and IT show started yesterday (till 3 Sept). It is filled from floor to high ceiling with stuff to make anyone think she died and went to geek heaven. This is the first time it was held in the cavernous halls of the Singapore Expo Halls 4 to 6. And it was overwhleming. All the major guys were there: Apple, Canon, Panasonic, Pentax, Creative, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, Hitachi, on and on... Not to mention the local guys with some of the funkiest gadgets yet.

I was in search of a camera and was torn between Canon 800IS and Panasonic FX07. They both take great pictures, have high megapixels and image stabilisation. I trotted between 2 halls looking at and comparing the two. It was Panasonic that won me over with its sleek looks, ease of use and compact shape. Now to wade through 114 pages of how-tos for this pint-size wonder.

The new Walkman

You may know I have a thing for all stuff made by Apple but with 100 iPods sold a minute around the world, those little white and black gizmos are now in nearly every man's pocket. Too common. I'm looking for something different.

And this purple beauty caught my eye. It's a Sony (took them long enough to make one!). It's smaller and has a longer battery life. What it doesn't have is a color screen which if you only use it to play music, you don't need.

I have to find one, test it out...and let you know.

22/2 - Omigosh! These things are really gorgeous, especially the purple one which is a rich violet! And it's much cooler than the iPod (sorry Apple!). BUT... and yes, there's a but. THEY DON'T WORK ON MACS! My heart sank when I heard that. *Pout!*

It's happened again!!

I sob, scream and rail at the Apple juggernaut!

Barely one month after purchasing my beloved Powerbook, Apple unleashes the MacBook Pro. WITH the Intel DualCore processor, no less. And this is after news in mid-2005 that declared such a machine won't be out for another year or two.

Never mind. My G4 Powerbook is a thing of beauty, perfectly suited for my 'more copywriting, less design work' state these days. Besides, what a silly name - MacBook Pro. Sounds like a piece of software, not the long-awaited holy grail.

*bleah*

I love my new toy!!

Oh, this Mac G4 Powerbook is a thing of beauty - I think I'm in love. LOL!

I've finally set up my internet connections, hooked up a new mouse, downloaded software, configured my email and ftp. The next step is to transfer all my files from my old laptop to this one.

So bear with me for awhile. This site may experience some downtime. I hope to get everything just right by the end of the year.

Woohoo!! I got it!

I finally got my Mac. Or more specifically, a G4 15inch Powerbook with 512 RAM and a Super Drive. With FREE 1GB RAM, 25 blank DVDs, Phillipe Starck Mouse and a laptop bag. Also bought an incase sleeve and got the Apple Extension Warranty at a great price!

You see, this morning when I opened the papers, there it was. A full page ad of the grand re-opening of Apple Orchard. And some really GREAT laptop deals. Including that free 1GB RAM with vouchers to the first 20 Powerbook buyers!

I flew out of the chair, into the shower, dressed, changed and was at the store in 30 minutes and BOUGHT one of the last 4!! I was so excited, I was shaking as I cornered a sales guy to see if they had any left. I did a small 'Whoop! when told they had! A good friend, Flee, had been hanging around there with instructions to secure the last one with whatever means necessary for me.

I was also eyeing the iPod Nanos that were half off but those got snapped up early. Never mind...I got what I really really wanted.

Now...the sad bit. I've got to put everything away till Tuesday as I've got tons of copywriting to do by then. So everything is still in boxes and bags till then. *Sigh!*

There's hope for old iPods yet...

I've been eyeing the new breed of iPods that Apple has been rolling out this past year - the Shuffle, the Nano then the granddaddy of them all - the video iPod. But frankly, while their lush looks and streamline bodies have many drooling and emptying wallets and maxing out credit cards, I'm quite happy with my first generation baby - the 5GB iPod.

Only thing is, the battery is near kaput.

A small story in today's The Strait Times gave me hope. Sonnet Technologies have given old iPod users just that. Well, batteries actually. Ones that can turn on the music again and make them last even longer than Apple's batteries.

Trouble is, they're only sold in the US, Canada and Mexico. What!?! Don't they realise that there are iPod users in other countries who are dying for this very thing they're offering? Now I have to get my sister to help ship this thing out to me.

D...if you're reading this...please check your email and see the link above. And help!

PS...I've caught a cold, on a Saturday. Sniffing, tearing and sneezing when I should be at an outdoor jazz concert. This sucks!

Sexy Mobile Phone Holder

Now you can still be connected when you're out clubbing without having anything as cumbersome as a handbag in your clasp. The Tsaya ladies' thigh holster for the mobile phone looks drop dead sexy as it keeps your mobile phone close while you're partying the night away.

Great with a skirt, but what about when you're wearing pants?