Rants 'N' Ravings etc

Notice for a long period of absence

2009-08-17T00:18:00.001+08:00

I will not be blogging for a pretty long time as I have some important examinations coming up. When these exams are done with, perhaps I shall blog again, perhaps not. Future blog posts shall be according to mood.

TC

How to change your display picture on Facebook

2009-06-13T19:13:00.004+08:00

It's an easy process but I know of someone who didn't know how to upload pictures onto Facebook so this guide can teach people how to.

Left4Dead Review Part 2: Survival Mode

2009-06-13T00:00:00.004+08:00

Today I would like to introduce the Survival Mode in L4D. Basically the players just face hordes and hordes of Infected and Special Infected as well. The goal is to stay alive as long as possible. It's hard and challenging as when you face a horde and are reloading, a Smoker may just suddenly pull you away. Likewise a Hunter can just leap onto you.

Unfortunately, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) aka the bots leave you alone especially if there are two human players. For example, bot Francis got caught by a Smoker and bot Louis goes to save him and gets pounced on by a Hunter while the two human players are fighting a Tank. See what I mean, because since the two human players are together, the bot's priority is the other bot, as he is in trouble. Logical, but a Smoker is less deadly than a Tank.

As the pictures tell, I died after 5mins because a Tank punched me off the cliff. It was also my fault as I was at quite a high spot and I didn't see the Tank.

Back to Survival. To start the game, a player must "Activate the fuel pump". It's kind of like triggering a Panic Event in Normal Mode.

Well, hope more people try it.

2009-06-06T23:38:00.001+08:00

Windows 7... It all looks quite promising now doesn't it? The Aero effect has been heavily enhanced and it looks much cooler now. This is just the Release Candidate (RC) so I can't really expect much but I liked Windows Vista and Windows 7 is much better.

Razer equipment in Singapore and Malaysia (comparison and slight differences)

2009-06-06T01:16:00.004+08:00

This is to some people who said that Razer stuff in Singapore is cheaper than in Malaysia, think again.

The price of the Razer items which I saw (in BEST, Paragon Shopping Centre, Orchard Road) were: -

Razer Krait - S$49.00 = approx. RM120

Razer Lachesis - S$120.00 = approx. RM292

Razer Salmosa - S$49.00 = approx. RM120

Razer Copperhead - S$79.00 = approx. RM192

Razer Diamondback 3G - S$79.00 = approx. RM192

The price of the Command & Conquer 3 : Kane's Wrath DeathAdder bundle was S$89.00 which is about RM216. I bought mine for RM199 if I'm not mistaken.

And I'm sorry I didn't see the prices of the Razer Tarantula or Razer Lycosa Mirror for comparison XD I didn't want anyone to catch me (you are not supposed to bring cameras into the shopping complex)

So my conclusion is that it's cheaper in Malaysia guys!!! Our DeathAdder is now about RM150 when theirs is about RM180-200.

MapleStory Episode 2 preview

2009-05-23T12:02:00.001+08:00

It's pretty weird that suddenly Asiasoft would develop an incomplete MMORPG and the thing that made MapleStory popular was the fact that it was 2D. Moving into 3D would obviously require more RAM, hard disk space etc. The first two pictures are MapleStory while the bottom two are screenshots from MapleStory 2.

MapleStory became addictive to me because of it's simplicity as a side-scrolling game with "ok" backgrounds. The soundtrack was awesome, the only thing that bugged me was that it was too hard to level up especially when you're at a higher level. That's what resorted me to play private servers.

So, my point is I don't know how well MapleStory2 is going to be better than it's predecessor..

TC.

Left4Dead Review Part 1: Introduction

2009-05-08T18:29:00.003+08:00

Left4Dead, commonly known as L4D is a co-op based FPS (first-person shooter) by Valve Corporation, makers of the award-winning Counter-Strike, Half-Life series, Portal and Team Fortress.

Introduction
There are 4 main characters that the player can take control of. Zoey, Francis, Bill and Louis. The abilities of each character is equal, so there's no point with fighting with a friend to choose over any of these characters.

The goal of the game, which depends on which mode is being played, is generally simple. Rush to the next safehouse. That's normal mode.

In versus mode, there can be 8 human players, 4 on Survivors, 4 on Infected. You can play as Boomer, Tank, Smoker or Hunter while on the Infected side but not as the Witch which is still AI controlled.

In the newest mode, Survival, players have to face hordes of Common Infected and 4 Special Infected at a time. For example: Usually there are only 2 Tanks, but in Survival there can be 2 or more.

The Infected (in case most of you don't know) are the names of the zombies you fight in Left4Dead. Common Infected run at you and start slapping you to your death. In hordes, they are lethal but are relatively weak in small numbers.

There are 4 types of Special Infected:-

Boomer, a big-sized Infected which vomits bile onto Survivors, attracting hordes of Common Infected. Boomers make gurgling sounds and can be heard when nearby. A few shots should take this one out.

Hunter, an Infected which pounces onto Survivors rendering them helpless. The sign that this Infected is near is it's high-pitched scream. This Infected is quite dangerous and once it pounces, another Survivor must help the Survivor that was pounced on.

Smoker, an Infected which grabs Survivors using it's tongue and constricts it's victim. Smokers make coughing sounds and can be heard quite easily. Similar to Hunters, Smokers can render a Survivor helpless until another Survivor shoots the Smoker or it's tongue, which will free the Survivor constricted.

Witch, a female Infected which is always seen on the floor crying. The Witch's crying can be heard from a distance. Witches are provoked when:
1)A Survivor goes too close
2)A Survivor shoots the Witch
3)A Survivor's flashlight shines on the Witch
An effective way to kill the Witch is to have 3 Survivors ready to shoot her while 1 Survivor provokes her.

Tank, this is the final and 5th Special Infected. The Tank has immense strength and is capable of punching cars, or objects towards Survivors, incapacitating them immediately, the Tank can also throw boulders at Survivors, causing great damage. The best way to take down one of these is to throw a Molotov, or aim for it's head.

That's the end of Part 1 of my review, the introduction.

NOTE:TC's L4D review Part 2 will be back with more screenshots.

An introduction to.... Domo-kun!!!

2009-05-01T20:46:00.002+08:00

This cute creature is known as Domo-kun, a mascot for NHK and it's so cute lol (I know I sound gay) but it's true in my opnion it's a cute thing. (:

iPod Touch

2009-05-01T08:50:00.003+08:00

Currently I'm really interested to get an iPod Touch so that means I seriously have to study for my examinations...

Microsoft Sidewinder X8 Gaming Mouse pictures

2009-04-26T11:49:00.003+08:00

Comparison in size with the Razer DeathAdder, it's huge therefore I find the DeathAdder fits into my hand much better than the Sidewinder X8. The X8, however, is wireless and tracks almost all surfaces except reflective surfaces.

Sony Ericsson W508 pictures

2009-04-19T09:31:00.003+08:00

Key features:-

-Quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA support
-3.15 megapixel camera
-2.2" 256K-color TFT display with 240 x 320 pixel resolution
-Secondary monochrome OLED external display
-Scratch-resistant surface for both displays
-Touch sensitive external music control keys
-Hot-swappable M2 card slot (up to 16 GB), 1 GB included
-Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
-Walkman music player with Shake control and SensMe
-FM radio with RDS
-Gesture control
-Accelerometer for screen rotation
-Basic multi-tasking support
-Smart dialing
-Threaded messaging
-Exchangeable StyleUp covers

Main disadvantages:-
-Camera doesn't have auto focus or LED flash
-Low-grade video recording (QVGA@15fps)
-No web browser screen auto rotate
-No document viewer

Nintendo Wii review Part 2

2009-04-18T13:55:00.004+08:00

As I said before, the Wii has Gamecube compatibility. Performance-wise, the Wii's graphics are said to be like a Sony Playstation 2's graphics which is far from the Sony Playstation 3 or Microsoft Xbox 360. Most games on the Wii use motion movements, the best example is Wii Sports. You swing the Wii remote like a tennis racket when you're playing tennis and you swing the Wii remote like a club when you're playing golf.

Verdict:The Wii makes up with it's poor graphics for fun gameplay, console size and value-for-money.

Mobile Windows Live Messenger on DiGi

2009-04-18T12:09:00.004+08:00

Now all Malaysians can use Windows Live Messenger on their mobile phone. The supported models are:

-Nokia 5300 XpressMusic, 6288, 6300, 6600, N70, N73 and N95

-Sony Ericsson K530i, K550i, W580i, K750i, K800i, K810i, C902, C905 and W910i.

New Nokia & Sony Ericsson phones

2009-04-05T13:48:00.006+08:00

The phones you see are phones that have not been released but they look so stylish and cool that anyone would surely love to own one of those. The phone on the top is the Sony Ericsson Idou, a touch-screen Symbian OS powered device. I would think the Xperia X1 is better though but that's just my opinion. We will see when it's released. The other phone you see is the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, a Wi-Fi enabled, 3.5G device. This device also has a Qwerty keyboard that slides out... Isn't that cool? Furthermore, it has MicroSD support up to 16GB. This is surely a phone I would love to own.
That's it for now.

The Nissan Skyline GTR (R35)

2009-04-04T11:06:00.002+08:00

The Nissan Skyline GTR... It's a thing of beauty. Anyway, I've been trying a few blogger layouts and all didn't really suit my theme so I'll be leaving the template as it is for now.

2009-03-27T12:46:00.003+08:00

28th March 2009 8.30pm - 9.30pm (GMT +8) just one hour and you can sort of save the earth lol (somehow true) Remember to do your part people :)

Windows Vista

2009-03-19T00:15:00.002+08:00

I just love Windows Aero lol can't wait for Windows 7.
Signing off,
TC.

Changed blog layout

2009-03-18T00:21:00.002+08:00

I just changed my blog layout... To all my readers out there, kindly leave some feedback and inform me whether it's better or worse...

Nintendo Wii review Part 1

2009-03-15T09:34:00.010+08:00

The Nintendo Wii is a game console which I would call quite sophisticated and advanced as the technology used in the Wii is really amazing. Firstly, compared to it's direct rivals, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony Playstation 3, the Wii is the smallest game console compared to the other two. The Wii-remote is advanced as it uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect movement, speed etc. Furthermore, the Nintendo Wii has Nintendo Gamecube support (4 Gamecube controller ports), (Gamecube memory card slots).

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Pictures

2009-03-15T08:25:00.004+08:00

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

The Razer DeathAdder Command & Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath Edition

2009-03-12T15:07:00.006+08:00

The Razer DeathAdder C&C3: Kane's Wrath Edition

Typing on the Wii

2009-03-08T15:33:00.000+08:00

As I type this, I'm using my Nintendo™ Wii. It's kinda slow to type things as you use the on-screen keyboard. (you have to point and press)
Since this is a pain, that's the end of this post.
TC

Canon Powershot G10

2009-03-04T18:29:00.002+08:00

This is the camera I used to take the photos in the previous post. Unfortunately there isn't going to be a review about this camera as I haven't really fiddled around with it. Hopefully in the near future there will be a review about it.

Edusmart

2009-03-04T18:20:00.003+08:00

This are pictures of one of the many things that happen in Edusmart supposed "Parental Consultancy". A guy (Anonymous) plays his PSP before class starts. The second photo just shows the class we are supposed to study in.

Boring lecture at school....

2009-03-03T17:44:00.002+08:00

Today nothing much happened at school.. Just that there was this guy who came and lectured us about "Technics to answer Paper 2 PMR level". To me it was quite boring... I mean VERY boring as I hate lectures... I prefer tuitions to lectures as:
1)Tuitions have air-conditioning
2)Tuitions allow you to talk freely to the teacher (though excessive talking will lead to trouble)
3)Lectures bore you to death
4)Hot and crowded environment

That's it for now. Until the next post,
TC.

Unfortunately, more random-ness...

2009-02-23T20:33:00.003+08:00

In this post, i will blog about the importance of water bottles. Everyone requires water. If you don't require water, either:
1) You're not human
2) You're a camel (although camels still need water)
3) You're dead ( it's quite obvious if you are dead water is irrelevant)
Ok, enough about this. The above picture shows my new water bottle. As most people should know, this Nike bottle allows the user to squirt water out from the mouthpiece. This, of course is convenient as you don't have to loosen the bottle cap, position the bottle above your mouth. You simply just fire away! Into your mouth of course... It requires target practice or you will end up wetting your shirt or worse your pants.

That's it for now. I'm bored of doing Mathematics Form 3, so i'm utilizing the full capabilities of my Nokia 5320 XpressMusic. :D

Random-ness...

2009-02-23T20:25:00.003+08:00

The above picture shows my pencil case: In fact, the pencil case/pencil box is something that every student needs. You can't go to school without a pencil case because you have to borrow stationery from friends (or enemies for that matter) which will eventually irritate the teacher as to borrow stationery you have to walk around the class.

Note: To keep blogs alive, sometimes bloggers have to post nonsense to sustain their blog. This is my nonsense but i prefer to call it knowledge. :D

Nokia 5320 XpressMusic Review

2009-02-23T00:36:00.006+08:00

Firstly, this phone's already aging slowly as it was released in 2008. As this is just my review of the phone it's going to be brief but detailed.

Design: The Nokia 5320 XM sports quite a youthful design that appeals to the eye. Although the keys are a little cramped but once you're used to it you can use it while you're blind-folded. However, the "End Call" button is placed too near to the directed buttons (which caused me to minimize a game once while playing) Overall, the phone design is good but the piano finish isn't my fancy because it's a fingerprint magnet.

Performance:
The Nokia 5320 XM runs most applications quite smoothly. It's using Symbian 60 3rd edition. But unfortunately, the phone tends to crash sometimes when it runs too many applications in the background. The music player is quite responsive most of the time but it crashes as well especially when your headphones are plugged in. Once you remove your headphones, the phone becomes responsive again.

Camera:
Not much can be said of the Nokia 5320 XM's 2.0 Megapixel camera. Picture quality is average. Nokia should have put in a 3.2 Megapixel camera which is quite common in most phones these days.

Music:
As this is an XpressMusic phone, it comes with a 3.5mm audio jack that enables you to use headphones of your choice. Sound quality on the loudspeaker is magnificently crisp and clear, and when you are listening on your headphones the sound is clear as well. However, before i updated my phone with the Nokia Software Updater, the music player made a funny "ticking" sound once any music file was played through the loudspeaker. After updating to v4.13 the sound hasn't appeared anymore.

Web browsing:
Web browsing is quite a pleasure on the Nokia 5320 XM. My only grievance is that opening a new window is not customisable. A new browser window can only be opened once you press a link or a pop-up appears. While viewing webpages, you can zoom in and out of the webpage which is quite handy if you're loading a huge page.

Nokia Say and Play:
This phone's supposed highlight, the Nokia Say and Play feature to find songs through either album title, artist or song name can be quite frustrating at times, especially if you can't really pronounce the artist/album title properly. For instance, i said 周杰伦 and Sean Kingston and Usher came out in the list. However i'm not trying to say that this feature will be 100% wrong because when i said 周杰伦 it was the 1st result. It's just that i don't use this feature often although i'm pretty sure there are people who use it.

Conclusion:
The Nokia 5320 XM is a phone worth buying for great sound quality, value for money and a cool design. It's also the cheapest S60 3rd edition XM phone on the market currently.

2009-02-22T08:47:00.002+08:00

Went for karate yesterday... Got tortured by standing in "horse stance" and everyone was counting from 1-20... Some counted slowly while most counted at moderate speed...
Well... This is just in a way to keep this blog alive XD

Need For Speed: Undercover review

2009-01-06T14:22:00.007+08:00

Need For Speed: Undercover is the latest installment to the Need For Speed series.

Platform(s) tested on: PC
Rating: 5.0/10
Developer: EA Black Box
Publisher: Electronic Arts

My verdict on Need For Speed: Undercover is that this game is actually quite a good game to play but it gets kind of repetitive sometimes. The selection of cars is quite wide, the AI is quite smart although sometimes stupid.

Pros: Wide variey of cars, good graphics, open-world environment
Cons: Gets repetitive after sometime, don't really need to drive around in the open-world environment as races can be launched from your map.

DISCLAIMER: This review is based on my personal opinion about this game and shall not be used against me.

1st day of school 2009

2009-01-05T15:53:00.002+08:00

Well... there's nothing much to say about my school.. Just that the 1st day of school was kind of tough.. Homework was piled onto my shoulders... Some of my teachers seemed ok but the rest just kept giving me homework.. On the 1st day!!! It's quite depressing after a long holiday you go back to school and what's waiting for you there? A bunch of teachers ready to pile homework on you... Geez... Well since this is my 1st post I wouldn't want to bore anyone who reads this..

Signing off,
TC

Introduction

2009-01-05T15:41:00.001+08:00

This is my blog which I freely rant or rave about anything, anyone at anywhere, anytime. Call me TC and nothing else.