Li Xiang got for me 2 presents this year and a short trip to Malaysia for my birthday! The Twelve South MagicWand (Apple Store – Singapore link) which cost SGD$45 is my first present and the Twelve South BookArc (Apple Store – Singapore link) which cost SGD$65 is the second present!

The Twelve South MagicWand is essentially a holder which holds the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Trackpad together.

I expected the build of the MagicWand to be good or at least made of aluminium, however to my disappointment it is made of plastic. The instructions came in pretty handy this time as it stated not to slide the keyboard or the trackpad in, but to “snap” it in.

The first time I assembled it, I forgot about the “H-beam stabilizer” which is essentially a plastic that is used to hold keyboard and trackpad side by side so that it is more stable.

Removing the keyboard and trackpad from the MagicWand is pretty easy and hence it should not interfere with you changing the batteries of the keyboard or the trackpad.

Twelve South MagicWand – Packaging Front

Twelve South MagicWand – Instructions

Twelve South MagicWand – Made Of Plastic

Twelve South MagicWand – H-beam Stabilizer

Twelve South MagicWand – Joined

Got the Sapido MB-1132 for NT$1,790 (~SGD$76.83). Thanks to my relative, Andy, who got it from Guang Hua Digital Plaza in Taiwan when he was there to attend Computex 2011.

The Sapido MB-1132 was recommended by Justin Lee and I was impressed by what it can do. In a nutshell, it can:

• Charge your USB devices
• Act as a router by plugging in a LAN cable with Internet connectivity to create a Wi-Fi hotspot
• Connect your iPhone/Android phone to it or even a 3G USB Dongle and it can create a Wi-Fi hotspot
• Re-broadcast Wi-Fi (eg: if you paid for Wi-Fi, login to the paid service using MB-1132 and re-broadcast your own Wi-Fi it so others can use it for free)
• Compact & lightweight, good for travelling

There is also a similar model called Sapido MB-1112 (N+ Mobile 3.75G Modem Router). It is identical to the Sapido MB-1132 except that the Sapido MB-1112 does not allow Internet sharing via iPhone/Android/3G Dongle. You have to put in a 3G SIM card in order to create a Wi-Fi hotspot.

I have not seen these devices at any computer stores yet (have not check Sim Lim Square), but checking their website, they do have an office in Singapore:

SAPIDO Singapore (Vasss Pte Ltd)
www.sapido.com.sg
9010, Tampines Street 93, #02-79, Singapore 528844
Tel: + 6789 8310 / 3131 9038
Fax: + 6788 3213

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Was invited to Intel exclusive blogger event on Monday, 7th June 2010, at Starhub center which is where the Intel office is. My first impression of the office is that they got tall cubicles!

We are introduce to the latest Intel technology, SSD, Wireless Display, Project “Tangent Bay”, Light Peak, Super Thin Laptops and Intel’s AppStore!

SSD

Memory vs CPU Upgrades

The bottle neck of our computer is no longer our ram or graphics card and even processer, but our hard disk drive. A computer with SSD with just 3GB or ram will outperform a computer with 7200rpm HDD with 6GB of ram. Not many applications make use of the extra free ram, not in the eyes of normal consumer, they don’t run virtualization or even Adobe Premium Pro. Anything more than 4GB of ram will not bring significant improvement speed, the money will be put to better use in SSD.

I always wanted a SSD, regretted not getting it in Taiwan as it is cheaper by about SGD$70 over there at Taiwan’s Guanghua Computer Center. 300GB to 600GB SSD is expected to be release before the end of the year and that will push down the prices for 40GB/60GB/80GB SSD.

I have the misconception of SSD that once the limited 5 years lifespan is up, I can no longer use the drive and my data is gone. That is not true, you can no longer write to the drive, but you still can read from it.

Official Site: Intel SSD

Wireless Display

Netgear Setup Box

I was blown away by the Wireless Display. You just need a small setup box connected to your TV via HDMI and you can stream your laptop screen OTA to the TV! It also streams audio to your TV as well.

It is using 802.11g technology capable of delivering 54Mbps of bandwidth. The secret lies in the Intel Wireless Display built into your laptop where it compresses and encodes the signal and when the signal is sent OTA to the setup box, it gets decoded and decompressed and outputted to your TV!

Netgear is the only maker of the setup box at the moment but more will come soon!

Official Site: Intel Wireless Display

Tangent Bay

Tangent Bay

Tangent Bay is a project by Intel that brings 3 touch screens placed below the screen and above the keyboard. You can drag windows down to these screen even playing a movie there as well. The reason of putting 3 touch screens instead of a single piece is because of cost and availability. It is easier and cheaper to get 3 touch screens the size of a normal smart phone then to make one specially for laptops.

This is coming in Q1 2011.

Gizmodo: Intel’s “Tangent Bay” Laptop Concept Has 3 OLED Multi-Touch Screens Above the Keyboard

Light Peak

Light Peak

We have maxed out the bandwith of copper cables and that is where light comes in. The longest cable length you can go without slowing down the transfer speed with a single USB3 cable is 3m and for USB2 is 2m. For light peak, the limit on the length is limited by transmit power.

I wonder what comes after light?

Intel Research: Light Peak Technology

Super Thin Laptops

Dell Adamo

I call this MacBook Air for the masses! The chips are soldered directly on the motherboard and thus reducing heat output and hence reducing the need for fan or a cooling system. It is a reduction of 32% in size.

App Store
Intel also jumped onto the App Store bandwagon with its own App Store called AppUp Center. It features apps for netbook for platforms like Windows, Moblin, Meego. It also allows OEM manufacturers to have a co-branded store front. Intel’s own Moblin will eventually be replace with Meego

Visit: AppUp Center

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Intel Adverts
We are shown some funny Intel adverts and the people acted in the video are all Intel’s staff! Here is my favourite advert:

YouTube: Intel’s Channel

Thanks to Elvin from Intel for the invite!

I love my Dell 2408WFP Monitor because it has not 1 but 2 DVI ports! This allows me to connect to my Windows desktop as well as to my MacBook Pro without physically switching the DVI cables from my monitor.

As I have been using Mac a lot during office hours, I wanted the same setup I have in my office at home which is 1 external monitor and dual screen it with my MacBook Pro. In order not to clutter my desk with too many items, I bought the Apple Wireless Keyboard for SGD$98 and together with my Apple Magic Mouse paired using bluetooth to my MacBook Pro, I am able to have both Mac and Windows environment with just a single monitor but having 2 separate sets of keyboard and mouse.

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Bought the Phottix Cleon 2 Wireless Remote C8 from Red Dot Photo for SGD$59. You can pay using PayPal and delivery is free! Ordered on the 16th February 2010 and it was delivered to me in just 2 days, on the 18th February 2010!

The reason why I decided to get a remote control is because I have been bringing out my tripod lately to take group shots and it is kinda a hassle to keep repeatedly setting the timer. Did some research on Club Snap Forums and found out that the Phottix is one of the best wireless remote around.

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On The Camera