Eee PC Asus 901

"Eee PC Asus 901" ; Small And Better


My Comment

After restraining myself for months now, I finally buckled and got myself an EeePC 901 (XP version) – it’s a pearl white beauty with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB Ram, and 2 SSDs (4GB for the OS and 8GB for program files and documents). I paid NT$16500 over here in Taiwan (got it at NOVA in Taichung), or just over US$540.

It shipped with a Chinese version of Windows XP which I’ve promptly replaced with an nLited version of XP Home in English. It would probably have made more sense to install XP on the 20GB Linux version of the 901, but I was told there wouldn’t be stock before August. Though the nLited XP is far smaller than the usual, I’ve decided to leave a 1.5GB page file active on the OS drive, leaving very little space to spare on that drive. I installed all the EeePC drivers from the supplied rescue CD without a hitch.

I got the Eee with an eye to replacing the aging BenQ Joybook 5000U I’ve been using to do my live shows on and also for streaming shows into SL. Reason 4 installed without a hitch, along with my T-box USB midi interface and was soon doing tests with my WX-5 windcontroller. I was a little concerned with the performance until I remembered to optimize XP for music applications (following this guide). I’m happy to report that the little Eee is now performing on par with the BenQ machine it is replacing. Latency using the built-in souncard is at 42ms, and though that’s rather high, it’s the same as what I’ve become used to with the BenQ. Audio quality is perfectly acceptable, but I’ve opted to up the ante a little bit and have just ordered a Behringer UCA202 USB audio interface. There are a number of reasons for this choice:

a) it will be much less expensive to replace the US$30 UCA202 than to repair the audio jacks on the Eee should they start to give problems after multiple plug-ins and plug-outs (the jacks on the BenQ have become a little finicky with use).

b) the optional ASIO drivers for the UCA202 should theoretically give me much better performance in Reason, allowing me to reduce the previously mentioned latency figure.

c) the UCA202 is USB bus powered. A big consideration given the fact that I’ve run into problems on stage before when the wall-wart powered M-Audio USB Audiophile was unhappy with the amount of current it was receiving.

d) I did streaming tests with the ShoutCast plug-in for Winamp (essential for my SL live shows) and whilst the Eee had no problems encoding the audio (in fact barely registering CPU use), I wasn’t happy with the sound quality of the audio coming into the Eee via the built-in mic-in jack. I think I might have been overloading it with the output from my desktop’s M-Audio Fast Track Ultra interface. The UCA202 should fare better. That said, I’m more than happy with the audio quality of the Eee’s built-in mics when using SKYPE.

e) man, it’s cheap! Add the US$30 for the T-box and I’ve got a USB audio/midi solution for roughly US$60…

And thankfully YES, the Eee is more than happy to play my WMV encoded video/backtrack whilst running Reason. Keep in mind that my Reason requirements for performing live are not too high, never running more than a single combinator device. No doubt, you’d run into “computer too slow” messages pretty soon if you started to do more complex arrangements (confirmed when I tried to play back the included demo tracks).


Feature

- Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Home/GNU Linux
- Display: 8.9"
- Intel CPU & Chipset: Intel Atom 1.6 GHz
- Wireless Data Network: WLAN: 802.11 n, Bluetooth
- Memory: 1GB (DDR2)
- S.S.D. Storage (Solid-State Drive): SSD 12GB (Genuine Windows? XP Home)/SSD 20GB (Linux)
- Camera: 1.3M Pixel
- Audio: Dolby Sound Room Certified, Stereo speaker, Digital Array Mic
- Battery: 6 Cells, 4.2 ~ 8 hrs*(Genuine Windows XP Home)/6 Cells, 4.5 ~6 hrs*(Linux)
- Weight: 1.1 kg
- Infusion: Red, Green, Black, Peony White, Pearl White and Fine Ebony

* Available on selected models

"What's Your Comment?!?"

See All in My Blogger

HTC Touch Diamond; My Impressions

HTC Touch Diamond
Model: HTC TOUCH DIAMOND


Feature

- Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz
- Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Memory: ROM 256 MB/RAM 192 MB DDR SDRAM/Internal storage 4 GB
- Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with VGA resolution
- Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA/WCDMA
- GPS and A-GPS ready
- onnectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR/Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g/HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
- Camera: Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
- Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera
- Audio: Built-in microphone, speaker and FM radio with RDS


My Comment

I’ve been looking forward to the arrival of the Touch Diamond for quite some time. Windows Mobile used to be my mobile platform of choice, but since using the Nokia N95 and N95 8GB, I have been swayed over to the Series 60 OS. The N95 8GB has been my main phone for about 6mths now, and it’s been great. It was faster, more stable, had much better signal and camera than any Windows Mobile device I had used. My hope with the Diamond was that Windows Mobile had caught up to provide the easy and speedy experience that other phones provide these days.

Straight out of the box the Touch Diamond feels special. It’s not only small for a Windows Mobile device, it is small full stop! It is absolutely tiny, yet still packs in HSDPA, WiFi, BT, GPS and FM radios, underneath a VGA display! It is a fantastic achievement, and shows that a Windows Mobile device can be good looking, thin and capable at the same time.

The front of the unit is completely flat, with a flush screen and buttons. A flush mounted screen is sooooo much better than the quarter inch high frame around the screens on previous HTC devices, especially when it’s going to get dirty from being poked every few seconds.

I can’t help wishing the four buttons and the d-pad at the bottom were touch-sensitive as opposed to physical buttons. That was it would have been one continuous slab of glass from top to bottom, instead of getting cut short to continue with plastic. Still the buttons have a solid feel, and the d-pad button is rather clever. In the Camera application, a light touch (not a press) on the center button will focus the camera!

The VGA display is absolutely stunning, undoubtedly the best I’ve seen on a Windows Mobile device. Compared to my iPod Touch it is not quite as bright, but it is so very close. Where it does one-up the iPod Touch (and more importantly the iPhone) is on resolution, a fabulous 640x480 pixels squeezed into 2.8". My N95 8GB has a 2.8" screen, which up until now looked pretty good. In comparison to the pin-sharp display on the Diamond it is just left for dead.

To be honest though, I’m finding the beauty to be only skin deep. The TouchFlo 3D interface looks quite nice, but I’m not sure how functional it is. Anything that can be done in TouchFlo 3D can be done elsewhere, and often without the lag that is constantly hurting the experience. Obviously it’s been designed to go up against the interface on the iPhone, but the performance makes it more of a hassle to use than a help.

The Opera browser suffers from similar performance issues. Opening the browser is sluggish, and results in long pauses. The zooming isn’t particularly smooth either, and has a weird bug that chops of the top and/or bottom of some pages (like Gmail).

Signal strength isn’t great either. Compared to my N95 8GB is quite poor actually. I run my phones locked onto 3G, because when I drop back to GPRS/EDGE I am roaming (hence data is very expensive). I don’t have very good signal in the house, but it was never an issue for the N95 8GB. With the Diamond, I am forever seeing the “searching for network” icon, which obviously means emails, messages and calls don’t come through.

I’m posting this in the afternoon, so I can speak about the battery life, and the news is “OK”. I disconnected the Diamond from it’s charger at 6:30am, and by 12pm (as you can see in these photos) I had the low battery warning indicator showing in the menu bar. I was at work so it hardly got thrashed. The unit I have is absolutely brand new, so the battery may take a few charges to wear in. I will reserve judgment for now.

On the whole I’m a bit disappointed at this point. It just feels too slow, and the signal issues are driving me crazy. Perhaps a ROM update will come out soon to fix these things, it has happened before. I will report back when I have used the Diamond for a bit longer.

You can see HTC TOUCH DIAMOND in clip video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_vKsxOT3Lw

"What's Your Comment?!?"

Philips MCD908 Wow! Amp Micro Hifi System

Philips Valve Amp Micro Hifi System
Model: MCD 908


My Comment

Pros: This is a good-looking HTIB. Three-way speakers with high-gloss rosewood sides and black glass tops, same rosewood on the sides of the amp and player, an amber window backlit with a red LED highlighting the “glowing” tubes, and blue LED accents that turn on briefly when changing functions. Three way speakers look great without their grills. Compliments the high gloss black of my TV beautifully. Not true “audiophile” sound, but I think better than most comparable priced 5.1 HTIB in two channel mode. Great option for listening to the music channels on cable. I think the 720p picture quality over hdmi is first rate, but I haven’t compared it side by side with other players.

Cons: Big problem: Audible hiss with null input that is noticeable during playback of quiet passages. This is in the amplifier and not a ground loop. Too much effort into flash, not enough into designing a good power supply. The DVD playback hangs when doing a cold start at 720p; no problem with a warmed up system or at 480p. Single disc system without repeat play; eco-power turns system off if no input for 15 minutes. Doesn’t have the massive I/O of some systems; just one AUX input connected to the TV audio out. All sound from cable, VCR, etc must go through TV. No fake surround sound processor. Addition of a sub-woofer is essential for theater-like LFE with DVDs. 10 sec pre-heat for the tube amp before any sound. CD/DVD tray is flimsy, disks can be misaligned.

Other Thoughts: All-in-one solution to adding DVD & better audio to my small TV on built-in bookshelves. I have it teamed with a Sharp Aquos 20” LCD-TV and an Aperion Audio S8APR sub woofer. This isn’t a fake surround sound system, it’s a stereo with a sub woofer output. Amp & player combo is small, but the 3-way speakers are much larger than typical HTIB (make sure they’ll fit your space). This is a strange thing, with a tube pre-amp and a class D power amplifier. Red LEDs that slowly increase in intensity during the warm up (The tubes themselves don’t actually glow, just Chinese fakery). Up converts to 720p, which is fine for small screens. Sound for CDs is more musical than typical HTIB.

Feature

- Premium Hi-Fi tubes for perfectly pure and natural sound
- Class 'D' digital amplifier for quality sound performance
- Picture enhancement: High Def (720p, 1080i),Video upsampling,Video upscaling
- Playback Media: DivX,DVD+RW,DVD-Video,Picture CD,Video CD/SVCD
- Playback Media: WMA-CD,MP3-CD,CD,CD-R,CD-RW
- Picture compression format: JPEG
- Neodymium Ribbon Tweeter for impressive audio fidelity
- Dome mid range speakers and woofer for crystal clear sound
- Gold-plated speaker connector for finest signal transmission
- 2x75W RMS/ 2x150W music power
- Video Output - Analogue: Composite CVBS (yellow cinch),S-Video (on Hosiden),Scart
- HDMI out for digital high-definition video and digital audio
- 12-bit/108MHz video processing for sharp, natural images
- Main Speaker: 3 way,Ribbon tweeter,Dome mid range,5" woofer,Gold-plate speaker connectors,Speaker grilles detachable
- Tuner Bands: FM Stereo,MW

"What's Your Comment?!?"

See All in My Blogger

Panasonic FX520 ; My Best Shot!

Panasonic Lumix Camera
Model: DMC-FX520


Feature

- Optical sensor : CCD
- Sensor Resolution (max) : 10.7 megapixels
- Optical zoom : 5x
- Focal length : 25mm to 125mm (35mm equivalent)
- Macro focus range (min) : 5 cm
- Shutter speed : 60 to 1/2000 seconds
- LCD capability : Touchscreen
- Light sensitivity : ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/Auto
-Other useful features : Intelligent Auto; Intelligent Exposure; Digital Red Eye Correction; Auto angle detection; Travel Date/World Time; Text Stamp; Histogram
- Software : Photo Fun Studio; Arcsoft (MediaImpression/Panorama Maker); QuickTime; Adobe Reader; USB driver


My Comment

Since I came back to Singapore three years ago, I have gone through many technology exhibitions and great sale of cameras, computers and mobile phones, usually accompanying different technologists to look for cool and interesting gadgets. For the first time, I have decided to make a purchase in the PC Show 2008 over last weekend. For the longest time, as an amateur photographer with a Nikon FA601 SLR camera, I resisted the change to digital photography. As a super late adopter for digital camera (considering I move quick on other technologies), I finally made my purchase.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX520 is my first foray into digital photography, and actually it is going to be used for a project which I am planning to start. You can check out the review on the camera from CNET. At least for a start, I can go to all the unconferences and gatherings and take pictures with friends for a change. Here are some reasons why I have decided on this camera.

Here is how I consider what I want to look for a digital camera:

Minimalist design of the camera: As you can see that the digital camera is pretty minimalist in design, it blends with my taste for Apple Design products. My first instinct is to check whether the camera is compatible with Apple products. The other thing is that I will like to carry the camera while attending important networking and party occasions. Hence I picked something pretty compact and simple similar to Apple gadgets. The grip of the camera is firm and I find it comfortable to take pictures.

Resolution & Quality of Images are important to me: The main thing I was looking for is the resolution. I almost bought a Lumix camera three months back with 8 Megapixels. I decided to wait a bit longer for a higher end camera that can give me better digital images.

A few people appreciate that it is Leica lens: Most people don't appreciate that most amateur photographers in the past decades yearn not a Canon or Nikon lens, but Leica lens. The lens produced by Leica is considered very high quality by design. Of course, I chose this camera for the 25mm ultra wide angle lens and the optical zoom.

I want a touchscreen camera: As the world is going to be touchscreen pretty soon given that the iPhone will dawn on Singapore soon, it will be great if I get a touchscreen camera.

Word of Mouth marketing from other users: A lot of people told me that the Lumix camera is the best at dealing with shaky images, and told me not to buy the other brands. Besides, I did some research by checking out the different cameras from gadget stores and find that the other brands don't match up to the Lumix.

So, I am now starting to learn how to use this new digital camera for my own purposes. Believe it or not, I actually spend some time reading the short instruction manual that comes with it, particularly the parts on how to control the aperture and shuttle, along with the IA mode of the camera.

IA Detail

http://panasonic.net/pavc/lumix/popup/ia_beautiful_pictures/index.html

"What's Your Comment?!?"

My First Time Scarlet LCD

http://kohcomav.blogspot.com

Hello everybody, my name is Koh. I like to comment everything that i can see and ever see, so i think everyone ever think like me but i am recommended you are not more than me . My comments are not make any brand in my comment feel bad or attack to be lost! But I'm the one of all comments in that product which I'll present. In the same time, you or anyone who ever/never use this product can comment together..... Our comments are the best information for new user who want to buy and use this product which we commented.

The First Product!!!

LG LCD
Model: 47LG60FR


LCD FEATURE

-Full HD 1080p Resolution
• 50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• TruMotion 120Hz
• 3x HDMI V.1.3 with Deep Color
• Intelligent Sensor
• 24p Real Cinema
• AV Mode (Cinema, Sports, Game)
• Clear Voice
• LG SimpLink Connectivity
• Invisible Speaker System
• USB 2.0 Port (support JPEG, MP3)
• ISFccc

Full HD 1080p Resolution
Displays HDTV programs in full 1920 x 1080p resolution for a more detailed picture.

TruMotion 120Hz

Advance 120Hz panel provides clear, smooth images, even during fast action scenes creating a stable structure for a crisper picture.

Intelligent Sensor

Unlike other sensors which can only sense brightness of ambient light, LG’s “Intelligent Sensor” uses 4,096 sensing steps to evaluate its surroundings. Using a sophisticated algorithm, the LG processes picture quality elements including brightness, contrast, color, sharpness and white balance. The result is a picture optimized for it’s surroundings, more pleasing to watch and which can also save up to 50% in power consumption.

24p Real Cinema

Hi-def movies run at exactly 24 frames per second speed that they were originally filmed in, making your home-cinema experience one step closer to a “Real Cinema” experience.

Clear Voice Technology
Automatically enhances and amplifies the sound of the human voice frequency range to provide high-quality dialogue when background noise swells.

My Comment

LG tried a new venue promoting the new LCD TV series LG60 (LG6000 in Europe). The launched what looked like a hot new TV series named Scarlet three month ago.

At a red carpet event on April 28th in Hollywood, USA, the twist was first revealed that Scarlet is in fact a new series of TV's from LG. The London reveal event will take place on today, as the full post-reveal campaign rolls out in multiple languages in more than 27 markets across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

I like LG's idea. The whole campaign looks very professional and the TV series trailer is hot and sexy. The trailer was directed by David Nutter and stars an up and coming actress named Natassia Malthe. Possibly this advertising stunt is Natassia Malthe's big break.

I must admit though, that I have not been aware about this mystery Scarlet TV show until now that LG announced it. Doing some research, it looks like not hat many news sites fell for the scam. I could not find coverage of a Scarlet TV series on a major news outlet. So, I am not sure how many consumers actually have been reached with this elaborate marketing campaign.

The LG60 HDTV is a very nice looking HDTV featuring full HD resolution, TruMotion 120Hz, 4 HDMI ports, USB Media host and invisible speakers. Available sizes of the LG60 include 32, 37, 42, 47 and 52 inches.

Thank you for
http://www.scarletseries.tv/main.aspx?lang=gb_en

"What's Your Comment?!?"