Press Release
SanDisk Corporation and Sony Corporation today announced the development of the “Memory Stick Micro” format, an ultra-small IC recording media designed to meet the growing storage needs of highly compact, multifunctional mobile phones. Licensing for the development of “Memory Stick Micro” compatible hardware will begin October 3, 2005.

“Memory Stick Micro” media is approximately one-quarter the size of “Memory Stick PRO Duo” media, yet only about 1.2 mm thick. The media’s edges are slotted lengthwise to allow for more slim-line designed connectors to reduce space in host devices. As dual-voltage media, Memory Stick Micro supports devices operating at 3.3 volts and 1.8 volts.

Memory Stick Micro is designed as an externally removable media with a controlled eject function to prevent users losing the media. Users will be able to insert Memory Stick Micro into an adapter for exchanging data to a Memory Stick PRO compatible product.

Dr. Eli Harari, president and chief executive officer of SanDisk Corporation, said “The Memory Stick PRO format co-developed with Sony has become a highly successful product line for us due to its popularity with a wide range of consumer electronic products such as digital cameras and videogame consoles. Sony and SanDisk recognize the rapidly growing market opportunity for memory cards with multimedia mobile phones, and are joining forces to develop the ultra-small Memory Stick Micro format to foster development of extremely compact multimedia mobile phones”.

Akira Kubota, President of Micro Systems Network Company, Sony Corporation said “Sony’s collaboration with SanDisk Corporation has continued to develop since our initial announcement of the joint Memory Stick PRO format development in 2003. Today€„¢s joint announcement of the Memory Stick Micro format provides a new, versatile IC recording media for mobile products such as mobile phones for sharing entertainment and data.”

Since the September 1998 market introduction of Memory Stick, cumulative shipments of media have achieved 145 million units as of August 2005. In recent years, Memory Stick media has been used not only to store still images of digital still cameras and sharing data among PCs, but has also been widely used for entertainment purposes such as playing back video and music content. As mobile phones become more advanced with varied functions, including video and music playback, there is an increasing need for smaller, high-capacity media which this product addresses.

The Memory Stick Micro media will be made available in the first half of 2006.

Memory Stick Micro Specifications
» Dimensions: 15 x 12.5 x 1.2 mm, 225mm 3
» Connector Pin: 11-pin
» Maximum Capacity: 32GB (Theoretical)
» Max. Data Transfer Rate: 160 Mbps (Theoretical)
» Operating Voltage: 1.7 - 1.95 V and 2.7 €œ 3.6 V
» Interface: Serial I/F and 4-bit parallel I/F
» Operating Temperature: -25° - +85° C
» Copyright Protection Technology: MagicGate

Click here for the image.

The Beaufort Hotel
LiXiang has been busy with her conference last week at Sentosa. She stayed there for 4 days 3 nights at The Beaufort Hotel. Quite a good hotel, the surroundings is good. I dismounted on Thursday, took off on Friday. Stayed with her on Thursday night and we have American Breakfast at the cafe on Friday morning. Been very long since I last enjoyed breakfast, it is a very worth it price of $28+++ for an American Buffet Breakfast.

We checked out at 12pm, her boss fetched us back to her office to unload all the equipment. After unloading all the stuffs, I accompanied LiXiang home. Left her house at about 5pm because she is meeting her colleagues for dinner and I went to Great World City for dinner with my parents.

Fanny’s 1 Month Old Baby
At night, we went to Fanny’s (her colleague) condominium, The Florida, to celebrate her baby 1 month old birthday. The catered food was not bad. Get to know most of LiXiang’s colleagues during the past 2 days, funny people.

The Sound Of Thunder
Caught The Sound Of Thunder at GV Marina. The show’s plot/storyline is good, but most of the visual effects in the show sucks. It is very obvious that there are 2 different standards of visual effect in the show. The evolved ape and time wave looks good while the landscape/buildings/cars/dinosaurs looks like some polytechnic FYP project. Heard that the initial visual effect company went bankrupt while doing the movie, thus I think the 2nd visual effect company that they hired was on very strict budget.

AJAX
Been playing around with AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and it is very cool. It basically allows interaction of forms without refreshing the page, thus results can be brought to the user almost instantly.

Been busy for with my army life and not forgetting LiXiang for the past 2 weeks. Man power was really down for my section. For standby duties we got only 1 hour break from 7 hours of duty, mounting duties we got like 8 hours break/sleep from 12 hours of duties. Really wears me out, sometimes when I reach home I just feeling like sleeping and not doing any other things else.

Surf & Turf
Tried this western food restaurant at Suntec City, it was quite average nothing special or unique about it. I think Tony Romas may be better because I haven’t tried Tony Romas yet. Will be having my 1 year anniversary dinner with LiXiang at Suntec City Tony Romas. =D

Sun With Moon
There is this newly opened Japanese restaurant at Wheelock Place called Sun With Moon. The food there is slightly above average but the price is abit expensive. The ambience/decorations of the restaurant is quite well done and the cutlery used is very nice, so tempted to take it home. LOL

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
FFVII: Advent Children was released just a few days ago. Watched it and it is great, really bring back those FFVII memories. There is another animé series to it called Lost Order, the story is about Zack, Cloud and Sepheroith. Haven’t seen it yet, thus can’t comment on it yet.

Macromedia Studio 8 And Nero 7
Macromedia Studio 8 is out, but I do not see much of a difference as compared to Macromedia Studio MX 2004, while on the other hand Nero 7 Burning Rom has quite a huge difference as compared to Nero 6 especially in the GUI area.

SE K750i R1N035
Tried updating my SE K750i firmware through Sony Ericsson Update Service (SEUS). It is my 1st time doing so and it failed to update my firmware and hence my firmware is corrupted. The update stop at 50% and the error message “Error In Communicating Device” appears. I did a search and it seems that quite alot of people are getting the same problem. I have no choice but to get my phone re-flashed to R1N035 at Wisma Atria. It took me 3 hours. According the SE personal, the firmware online is corrupted, but if it is corrupted, how come a hand full of people can get their update done successfully. I did check the log, Java just throw an exception and that is all they wrote in the log. But anyway, now my phone is fine.

Seems like Sony has replied to Apple with this.

Quote:

The brand new Sony MP3 WALKMAN is the most cutting-edge yet, combining high-end design with ease-of-use and advanced functionality which seriously upgrades your listening experience.

It arrives in two sizes: the NW-A3000 holds 20GB and the NW-A1000, 6GB. Both are made from a futuristic translucent material, sexy to the touch and gorgeous to look at in all its various incarnations: the 20GB comes in violet and silver, the 6GB in violet, silver, pink and blue. And, of course, even the headphones are colour coordinated.

As it comes to life, the luminescent Organic EL display lightens up. The three buttons make operating the player a cinch.

Naturally, because it€„¢s a Sony, the audio quality is impeccable.

Official Sony Press Release.

Steve Jobs announced Apple iPod Nano on the 7th September 2005.

Quote:

Take everything you love about iPod and shrink it. Now shrink it again. With 2GB (500 songs) and 4GB (1,000 songs) models starting at $199, the pencil-thin iPod nano packs the entire iPod experience into an impossibly small design. So small, it will take your music places you never dreamed of.

Specifications
» 2GB (500 songs) or 4GB (1,000 songs)
» Up to 14 hours of music playback; up to 4 hours of slideshows with music
» 1.5-inch (diagonal) color LCD with LED backlight
» Dock connector, stereo minijack
» USB through Dock connector
» About 3 hours (1.5-hour fast charge to 80% capacity)
» 9cm x 4cm x 0.7cm
» 42 grams
» Earbud headphones, USB cable, Dock adapter

Official Apple iPod Nano Site.

Project Superstar
WeiLian won although I was hoping for Kelly to win, never vote for any because I think it is a waste of money. 1 sms $0.60. With $0.60 I can buy 1 can of drink to quince my thirst.

I think this Project Superstar is so much bigger than Singapore Idol as a whole and that makes Singapore Idol sucks. =D

Joaquim Porridge Buffet
Had porridge buffet for lunch, it is $9.80 nett per person and you can only pay by cash. Not bad, I kinda like the light spread there. Just that it lacks plain water.

Comex 2005
Went to Comex 2005 yesterday. Upon reaching Suntec Conventional Hall, I notice that they have make some changes to the escalator, 1 end is for up and the other end is for down. I think this is a very good way to solve human traffic problems.

Bought a Sony Network Walkman E505 (512MB) (Blue) for $259 from there and got a free Passive Speaker. Upon registering the product, I get a free My Sony Handphone Strap and Cardholder. LiXiang wanted the pink colour, but they do not have it there. Called Sony Customer Service and enquire about it and they told me that Sony Gallery at Wisma has it and I ask them to reserved 1 set there. It also cost $259 but without any free gifts. Went to Orchard to collect it before heading home.

The Cave
Came back home was tired due to Thursday mounting day and thus took a nap till 12mn. Woke up feeling energetic and wanted to watch a movie. Thanks to Cathay Cineleisure 24 hours movie, we caught The Cave at 3.30am and before that we ate Subway which closes at 3am. There is also a 24 hours kopitiam at the Youth Park which all the stores are opened for business.

“The movie is about cave exploration. A group of expertises first came 30 years ago, looking for the cave. What they see was only a church. As they break through the floor and locate the cave, the whole church collapse, burying them. Another group of expertise came 30 years later to find the same cave. This time they believe there is an underground passage. A team of professional cave divers are engaged in this operation too. They would never imagine the danger and threats hidden. Deep inside are monsters which morph and revolve, having special physical features that allow them to survive in the cave environment.” - Quote from LiXiang’s Blog

The cave is kinda nice, I like this type of adventurous show. I think in this world there is still alot of things men yet to discover, look how deep is our ocean and how bug is our mountains.

SonicStage
This is the software that I am using to transfer music to my nw-e505 and it SUCKS. Bloody hell. I can’t even import 5000+ music files as it will crash whenever I try do that. I tried with 1000+ songs and it still crashes. It is fucking annoying. This is no doubt the worst piece of shit software I have ever come across.

To solve this bloody problem, I have to use Winamp to create a playlist of the songs that I want to transfer then use SonicStage to import the playlist in.

I also tried using MP3 File Manager Version 2.0, and for whatever reasons I do not know, whenever I transfer song to my player, it just says “Cannot Play”.

The software for Sony audio products really fucking sucks to the core, no doubt about it.

Pepper Lunch
There is this new Japanese restaurant called Pepper Lunch at Ngee Ann City, just opposite Yoshinoya. They served Teppanyaki type of food like steak, chicken or hamburger onto a very special hot plate which is being heated to 200 degree celcius then slowly cooled down. Vegetables that go along with the meat includes bean sprout, carrot and long beans. They have sauces like garlic soy and honey mustard to go along with the meat. The butter is very special. Good service by the staff there. The steak + hamburger set with rice and drink cost $14.80. It is something special but I think more work can be done in the marinating of the meat. Taste abit plain.

Sony Ericsson W800i
My brother upgraded his M1 line and bought Sony Ericsson W800i for $888 before $120 rebate. The set includes 2x 512mb memory stick if you are wondering.

Comex 2005
Comex 2005 will start this Thursday, 1st September 2005 to Sunday, 4th September 2005 at Suntec Exhibition Centre Level 4 and Level 6.

Land Of The Dead
Caught Land Of The Dead 2 weeks ago at GV Grand. Quite a good show, I think is better than Dawn Of The Dead and Resident Evil 2. I love Zombies and War movies but it seems to me that there are no upcoming movies of that genre. Resident Evil the movie will have another 2 more installations. The 3rd movie is called Resident Evil: After Life which will come only in 2006.

Army Stuffs
My section mate/batch boy got his last finger cut seriously when we are removing the flag poles for Guard Of honor. Imagine how heavy a flag pole is and the flag pole that cut his finger was the state flag pole meaning it is the biggest and heaviest among all. It is so serious that he has a 2 months MC, and need to go minor operation and when that finger is fully recovered, he cannot bend his last finger fully. He is aiming for downgrading, which I think he should.

My best buddy in NS all the way my section mate from PTP to BMT to SOP to Gombak has just been posted to Air Force School. He has always wanted to be a pilot since BMT but during our BMT there are no pilot intake. I wish him all the best in his career, and I will ROD before he ORD. He ORD in 2028. LOL. Miss those good/hard times we spend together during our army lies from the day we enlist till now. All the best my bud.

I have no idea what the heck is Provost doing. There will not be any MPs posted to us till 21st November 2005. And our platoon is SERIOUSLY down in man-power. Imagine a section from 15 men/spec becomes 10 men/spec. It simply just means that the 10 men/spec have to cover all the duties meant for 15 people.

Did a web-based Clearance System for my section commander and I got 3 days off for that =D

Expenses System
There are now 13 members in Expenses System.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Caught this movie at Cineleisure, been some time since I watched movie at Cineleisure. Movie was quite good, short, sweet and pretty straightforward. If you read the book, then I would recommend you to watch this movie. Ate Subway for lunch, now I am kinda addicted to Subway. 1 foot long oven baked turkey breast with extra cheese and extra ham filled with tomatoes, onions and lettuces, top with sweet onion sauce together with the soup of the day and a medium drink. $15.60 for 2 persons meal.

Mos Burger has a new soup, clam chowder. Don’t taste that good if you ask me. Still prefer the corn soup.

Angie’s 21st Birthday Party
Went for Angie’s 21st birthday party at NSRCC. At first I do not know where it is, but after some searching, I found out it is actually the place where my secondary school friends held the chalet last time. It is known as SAFRA Country Resort Club if I am not wrong. As usual the rest was very late, Calvin, Victor and See Ming was there about the same time but Pei Jun and co come at 11pm. Unfortunately all of us left at 9pm. The cake is cute, it is the shape of a burger and it cost $164. Very unique cake indeed.

Bewitched
Caught this movie at GV Grand yesterday, it sucks. Boring and the jokes doesn’t make me laugh. Regretted watching it because on the trailer is looks good, or rather tell me which movie doesn’t looks good on trailers.

Singapore’s 40th Birthday
Singapore celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday. But the national day parade was very disappointing. The air display was average, the MP silent precision drill sucks, and the later part of the program is boring. The best part of the whole parade was the Mobile Column where 204 vehicles from SAF and the home team showed off their vehicle technology. This year fireworks was plenty.

Flu
Down with a flu, will be on MC today and tomorrow. Now when I am little bit sick, I will take go and see the MO. No point slogging for the stupid unit that I am in when they don’t appreciate you at all and ALWAYS take you for granted. To hell with them.

I am going to launch a free service for everyone. It is called GaMerZ Expenses Tracking System. As the name implies, this online software enables you to track your monthly expenses. All you have to do is just to key it in and the software will do the rest.

Features
» Daily, monthly, yearly view of expenses
» Average per day spent
» Calendar view of any month
» Able to filter by category or/and payment mode
» Sorting options
» Uses session instead of cookies for additional security
» Add/edit/delete items, categories and payment modes
» Monthly budget
» Free

To Do List
» Search Engine
» Icons

Screenshots
» Viewing items
» Adding an item
» View by month
» Manage category

Click here to register. If there is any bugs, please email me about it. Thanks alot.