Microsoft’s Origami

1. Origami is one of the few Microsoft ideas which has really impressed me, and not just because it’s a very slick promo video. It’s intriguing, moving the focus of tablet PC from business to personal usage, and combining it with a slick UI that seems half MCE and half Xbox 360. It shows that Microsoft is learning a few new tricks, from its Xbox division and even a bit from Apple: sell more than a product, sell an experience. Then again, that device shown is about the size of a Filofax, which is about ten times bigger than what I’d want something like that for (I’d rather get a smartphone personally). And if it is to be as indispensable as the video makes it out to be, I’m gonna want at least two full working day’s worth of battery life out of it — that’s at least 15-20 hours of battery life, with liberal usage of WiFi. Now, where’s my jetpack?

(And while we are on Microsoft videos, check this out: “What if Microsoft designed the iPod Packaging?”

Update: 28/2/06

1. With only 22 days before I leave, things are starting to fall into place with loud and meaningful “clicks”. My flight has been booked and paid for (thanks Kate!), lists about what to pack are being compiled, arrangements for storage made, money exchanged, items needed bought…

2. …only thing missing really is that bloody computer.

3. So, final details. I’ll be flying Cathay Pacific, leaving on March 22nd for Hong Kong:

Leg 1

4. …staying in Hong Kong to visit family for a few days, then flying to Tokyo on March 27th:

Leg 2

5. …training in Tokyo for 3 days, and I should be in Hiroshima around April Fools. Hmmm.

6. (Those pictures are from the flight tracker widget that came with OS X. Input your flight details and it finds the flight info on the internet and gives you a map — how cool is that?)

Gadget Envy

1. I’m so far behind with mobile phones these days, having found other things to do than lusting after phones I can’t afford. But it’s a bit like falling asleep and waking a century later — all of a sudden there’s all this Really Cool Shittm.

2. Like this, the Sony Ericsson m600i, a phone that finally meets my requirements: easy to carry (it’s only 15mm thick, and the other dimensions are reasonable, if not exactly tiny), equally capable as a phone as well as email (runs Symbian OS, syncs with OS X, has a full suite of internet apps) and packs a QWERTY keyboard without the width of some thumbboard devices. It’s even a UMTS device, so I may even be able to get it in Japan. Only thing is, it’s not out, and I can’t hold off on buying a phone when I get there. Add to this the problem of not being able to speak the language, not knowing whether I’ll be signing up to a contract or whatever…

3. Eich!

4. But really, the larger problem is that I have no idea what anything is going to be like over there. There’s only so much one can read, but the sheer onslaught of New Thingstm I will have to learn is bewildering. And I’ll have a pretty wide support net; part of the reason I went with a big school despite the bad stories is that they are big and there’s people who can help if I find myself in a bind. What must it have been like for the Jewish refugees and Italian and Greek migrants coming to Australia in the 50’s and 60’s?

I am clear of the Telstra Beast!

1. I’ve made my final payment to Telstra (and that shitty little CEO), and I’ve packed up and boarded the good ship Vodafone. So, I am finally free of everything Telstra, which is very nice indeed*. Actually, the whole experience has been very easy; I bought a SIM card from a Vodafone store, called their activation hotline, asked to have my number ported, and within 20min it was all working. Simple!

* I am not counting last mile copper for my phone line. Damnit.

The Waiting

1. Those who know me personally would probably know that I am not a very patient person. I don’t just want things now; I wanted them yesterday, before I even knew I wanted it. The pessimist may say that my life has so far been made up of the odd triumph and and long string of small disappointments. I’m not a pessimist — just as well — but I do find the waiting to be, well, insufferable.

2. Yes, this has something to do with my soon-to-be-delivered-but-not-yet-shipped MacBook Pro. And it has to do with a small but important package I bought from eBay (which I now fear is my first experience of eBay fraud). And there’s my suits that I bought very recently that are still with the alterations people.

3. There’s the two more weeks of work before I finish, which is a little sad since I’ve made lots of friends there (and got drunk with a bunch more), but finishing work is the last step before jumping off the cliff. There’s all the little things I need to buy before I go (like my allergy meds and stuff that’d be too hard to explain), and all the little things I have to organise before I go (like booking my flight. And actually getting my visa.)

4. See, all this waiting is bad for my health. I get stressed with waiting. I get stressed, and I can’t sleep. I get frustrated with rolling around in bed for hours so I get up, then collapse with exhaustion a few hours before I need to get up again. Rinse, repeat. Though, strangely, I’ve found a strange peace over the last couple of days, not thinking so much about it all… which I’ve just ruined by writing about it.

5. So. The Waiting Continues.

Tomodachi

1. I have been curious about this restauraunt since it opened a couple of years back, but it wasn’t until last Tuesday that I finally found time to try it out. Situated in a food court of a shopping centre isn’t exactly doing it any favours (who goes to a food court for a night out?), but the restaurant itself is nicely decorated, and once inside the food court melts away and doesn’t intrude. Prices are reasonable, pushing expensive, but the servings are big! An entree of Tempura Prawns were fantastic and almost mains size; and the Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box that followed is big enough to share. Featuring a mixture of Tempura (crisp), Sushi (delicate), Sashimi (very, very fresh), Teriyaki Chicken on rice (yum!) and a selection of salad and fruit, one is almost overloaded with choice — in fact it would be wise to skip the entree and go straight for the Bento, unless you are really hungry!

Tomodachi, level two, food court, shop 220, 2 Bay St Broadway, Sydney. Tel: (02) 9281 6000

Computer Upgrade

1. In a rare turn of events, the computer I ordered became obsolete before I even received it, because Apple no longer ships my particular model. Instead they have replaced it with an even faster model, at no extra cost. Sweet as! Looks like my shiny new MacBook Pro 1.83Ghz will start shipping next week, which means I can now go and get some sleep :)

UPDATE: Damnit! A speed bump I got, but now it won’t ship until the 28th Feb. I fucking ordered 10hrs after the keynote! I never wait 7 weeks for anything!

0602_mbporder.png

The Secret Cause for Flame Wars

1. From Wired:

“People often think the tone or emotion in their messages is obvious because they ‘hear’ the tone they intend in their head as they write,” Epley explains.

At the same time, those reading messages unconsciously interpret them based on their current mood, stereotypes and expectations. Despite this, the research subjects thought they accurately interpreted the messages nine out of 10 times.

The reason for this is egocentrism, or the difficulty some people have detaching themselves from their own perspective, says Epley. In other words, people aren’t that good at imagining how a message might be understood from another person’s perspective.

Moderate Christians on Darwin

1. From the article:

McLennan doesn’t buy it. In fact, his position is that intelligent design demeans God. It relegates God to the position of explainer of things science can’t explain, a position that gets smaller and smaller as science uncovers more and more answers.

2. I often wonder why fundamentalist Christians try so hard to refute Evolution, since the simple argument could be that the system of Evolution is such a beautiful system, and such a great idea that only God could have created it. Is it because their heads are so far up their own arses that they see nothing but shit?

Vice President shoots companion in the face

1. Bwhahahaha!

1. From Reuters:

“A bird flew up, the vice president followed it through around to his right and shot, and unfortunately, unbeknownst to anybody, Harry was there and he got peppered pretty good with a spray of 28-gauge pellets,” Armstrong said in a telephone interview.