chaka chaka

blackberry apps warm the cockles of my geeky little heart.

The blackberry craze that hit KL must be a strat planner’s/researcher’s absolute wet dream. Or nightmare. Depends on what grade they are, methinks.

Take me as your solitary dipstick subject aka one-person focus group. Not an “early adopter”, not a smartphone user, hate(d) blackberries, couldn’t give a shit about the current group trend (re: iPhone posse in the office).

Of course it started with bloggers. Which fucking campaign doesn’t ride on the blinged up coat tails of these over-hyped camwhores? Then celcom (cleverly enough) targeted the pseudo indie/elektro group and what have you klubbers by including (baby’s) ah xu. Nice one.

My little echo got a blackberry. And pressured me sweetly with the lure of FREE chat. First learning: don’t underestimate your secondary target.

Being the google freak that I am, I started researching. BIS. Blackberry compression. Push email. BB Messenger. Met ah hiong sometime between this voracious googling and a pitch to fondle his Bold. Switching back and forth between apps got me weak at the knees. Then on monday, dragged by mr music, I touched the Curve 8520 and loved that it had no balls. Sold! Second learning: a no-fucking-brainer, sell a good product.

I now have two lines: voice & texts + BIS. Why? Because Xpax has an awesome daily unlimited plan which is actually giving me 2nd thoughts about chucking the SIM. Third learning: be generous (Maxis, you kiam siap bastards).

So, this phone *ahem* device is not my life. Yet. According to my office tablemate, he hasn’t seen me put the fucking thing down since. But fuck you all, I’ve installed bb app world (not available to malaysians) so I fucking rock. I also get to chat with the lovely baby any damned time I please. How awesome is that?

Posted, of course, from my BlackBerry@ wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile, yo.

http://www.maxis.com.my/3G/about3G_privileges.asp

https://www.maxis.com.my/eservices/vas_mobileconsumer.asp?journeyAhead=3

maxis misleads customers by not keeping their site updated. i called them asking to bump my 3G up to the unlimited package just to be told that it no longer exists and all we can get now is 3-measly-GB for RM88. maxis are a bunch of jerks. AND I STILL DON’T HAVE RECEPTION AT HOME.

does neither maxis nor their agency care enough to update details such as this?

i forgot to introduce the latest member of my family.

Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim (as of today stil unnamed)

slightly geeky boring stuff:

lens: wide 22mm lens

shutter speed: 1/100

aperture: f8

Film type: 135 (35mm) film

got back my first roll (after some procrastination). success rate 1/3 since i overestimated the indoor/night capabilities and a good number of them are underexposed and pretty much unsavable.

i do like what did come out, but rather jealous that vignette-ing is more apparent in lovely’s perhentian set. oh well. photos are all still love.

p/s here’s a tutorial to add bulb mode to your beloved vivitar. (i’m not going to do it. chee sin meh cut my camera!)

i used to process my film at any one of the mid valley photo shops (depending on whichever one was closest). they all charged ridiculous prices for scanning processed negatives. RM15 – RM20 a CD is just madness. so i just developed my rolls and got a friend to manually scan hundreds of them in for me. i am eternally grateful.

recently, mid valley stopped developing themselves. we suspect they got rid of their machines since they aren’t making enough moolah from film. say goodbye to one-day processing. it’ll now take 3-4 days before your get your photos back.

so the last LC-A+ roll was sent to USJ instead. RM5 processing + RM8 scanning was a steal.

i picked it up this morning and i’m ecstatic. 38 photos from a roll = 101% success rate.  best of all, the pics are vibrant and the CD sleeve came with a contact sheet. loverly.

i’ve just found my new default photo shop. can’t wait to send the vivitar photos.

PP Foto Sdn Bhd

27, Jalan USJ2/2C,
Subang Jaya
Tel: 03-5633 6626 / 5633 5113
shop@ppfoto.com.my

i’ve always prided myself on my tidy finances. sure there isn’t any money in the bank, but i’m not stuck in a vicious cycle of revolving credit. 18% APR and compounded interest? banks are evil.

but today i’ve changed my mind. i still believe them evil, nasty things, but perhaps they might be a little *ahem* necessary.

why the change of heart? well:

• LEICA F2.0 24mm wide angle lens
• full manual operation
• HD video (1280×720 pixels 24fps)

panasonic lumix DMC-LX3. need i say more?

damage: USD499.95 ~ RM1700

then there’s also blackbird, fly.

• twin reflex lens
• 35mm film
• and come on, look at it!

damage: USD175 ~ RM595

it’s nothing a little month to month saving can’t handle, but do i really want to wait 2-3 months for a camera? i want it now! and then there’s the trouble with online shopping. no card, no goods. it’s discrimination against people like me, really. i still need a card to facilitate the purchase of USD8 worth of expired films (which is a fucking steal). yummy.

there’s an HSBC credit card booth a mere walk down the street at the horrendous mid valley mamak which i’d intended to drop by later today. but now ah hiong is telling me how his FIVE credit cards nearly ruined his life.

[edit] The *Click* Shop is having a Black vs. White promotion – Blackbird, fly + Vivitar Wide and Slim for only RM500 until 30th June. feel dizzy.

food poisoning keeping me awake so i’m typing out a new layout. as usual, my horrible colour sense is killing me.

green? blue? pink? HELP!

some time ago, aunty nikki was telling me about her friend in beijing who found some awesomely-priced ndsls (nintendo dual screen lites, for the uninitiated). i immediately thought of al, who hasn’t yet succumbed to the mario kart orgies. made a call and asked her if she wanted one for approximately 440, ok, go.

so the thing arrived a couple of weeks ago and i pass it to al. just as she’s about to jizz her pants playing rhythm heaven, the damn screen stops registering and juan notices that the buttons on al’s unit stick out more. uh fucking oh…

my palms started sweating uncontrollably and i gunned it back home with FAKE PIRATED SHIT DS in tow to check.

got chee heng to help snap some photos. and showed al and juan both for comparison. our conclusion? we are impressed. and scared. but very impressed by the uber subtle differences.

the red one is an original; blue’s the A-grade fake.

the casing on the fake one [left] stuck out like killer nips on a cold day.

differences between the printing on the back is the hardest to tell.

the fake printing has a slightly el cheapo feel to it. check out the “Lite” font which, like the rest of the copy,  is slightly thicker. this applies for the logotype on the packaging as well.

the stylus on the counterfeit [bottom] was also harder to remove.

it wasn’t glaringly obvious, though the fake ds didn’t feel as solid or well made. the giveaway wasn’t so much the general detailing as it was the rougher finishing. i was quite blown away that aunty nikki, my dear technologically-impaired aunt, suspected it wasn’t quite *ahem* the real deal.

so baby, aroha and i tagged along with al and juan to digital mall last sunday to pick up real ones which cost only about RM580 these days (excluding the limited edition colours which are still fucking pricey – RM630).

moral of the story? china fucking rocks.