The TechBlogger

Singapore has a rather high mobile phone penetration rate of 137.4% as of Dec 2009.  Of course, this is nothing compared to places such as the UAE, which stands at 193.5 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia with a rate of 165.5 percent.  Well, I was reminded of the statistics again a couple of weeks ago, and so I decided on impulse to do a count of the number of smartphones lying around in my house and realized… that I beat the national average by a wide margin.

I decided to do a roll call and assembled the smartphones for a family portrait.  From left (Top row): HTC Tilt2, BlackBerry Curve. (Bottom row): BlackBerry Bold 9000, Apple iPhone 3GS, Prototype Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Wave S8500.

Absent with apologies: My wife’s BlackBerry Bold 9000 and Nokia E65, as well as an iMate Ultimate which I gave away last month.

Final tally of the mobile phone penetration in my house at the time the photo was taken: 400%.

Anyway, the prototype Samsung Galaxy S has since been returned to Samsung Singapore; though an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G has since been added to the lineup…

Interesting Note: With the exception on the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve, all the phones in the photo runs on different operating systems (BlackBerry OS, Android, Apple iOS, Samsung’s Bada, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile)

I read a lot of fiction.  Its been my pastime since I was encouraged to read when young; others watch TV or cable for relaxation – I just read.  Strange for a tech guy? Then again, perhaps not, since my favorite genre of books is science fiction, though I do read the occasional thriller and fantasy title.

The iPod Touch (32GB) that I bought late last year was the catalyst for me to read even more, as I find myself buying ever more e-books from Amazon’s Kindle store. I previously purchased my fix books from Mobipocket and then Fictionwise – but lets just say that their selection just doesn’t cut it where my needs are concerned.  Today, my main e-book reader is an iPhone 3GS (32GB), which I hope will eventually be replaced by an iPad once it becomes available in Singapore.

For the publishers out there, no, I’ve not read one (fiction) physical book in the last few years.  The titles below represent books that I’ve read since November 2010, and I estimate that they form only about one third to a quarter of all the ebooks that I’ve ever read.

Note that there are titles that I liked a lot more than others, and a few that I’ll never recommend to anyone (Thankfully, there are few books in this category). Maybe I’ll get around to sorting the list one day, or writing some reviews.

Here goes for now, in no particular order: (All ebooks purchased from Amazon Kindle unless otherwise noted)

• Mission of Honor by David Weber (WebSubscription EBooks)
• The Lost Fleet: Victorious by Jack Campbell (Mobipocket)
• Helfort’s War Book 1: The Battle at the Moons of Hell
• Helfort’s War Book 2: The Battle of the Hammer Worlds
• Helfort’s War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef
• Axis by Robert Charles Wilson
• Brainbox by Christian Cantrell
• Human Legacy Project by Christian Centrell
• Containment by Christian Cantrell
• The List by J.A. Konrath
• Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston
• The Clone Alliance by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Betrayal by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Elite by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Republic by Steven L. Kent
• Rogue Clone by Steven L. Kent
• Death’s Head: Day of the Damned by David Gunn
• A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
• The Machinery of Light by David J. Williams
• Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman
• Seeker by Jack McDevitt
• Singularity Sky by Charles Stross
• Supervirus by Andrew W. Mitchell
• The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
• The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton
• Earth Strike by Ian Douglas
• Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
• Without Warning by John Birmingham
• Dominant Species by Michael E. Marks

Non-Fiction

• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

PS: I have another 10 ebooks that I’ve purchased but not yet read.  I guess I’ll have to update this list again then.

If you’ve ever wondered how my workstation looks like, above is a photo  of my desktop taken a few months ago.  As you can see, I am a firm believer on how a multi-monitor setup can increase productivity; you can read Increase Your Productivity with an Additional Monitor for more about what I have to say on this topic. And yes, Bill Gates is also known to use three monitors.

There are other hardware that makes up my workstation, though not everything can be seen here – I’ve listed them below instead.

• 2x Samsung P2350 – 23″ LCD monitors @ 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Samsung 223BW 22″ LCD monitor @ 1680 x 1050 resolution
• Ergotron LX Dual side-by-side arm (Review)
• Ergotron LX Desk Mount LCD arm
• Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital operating in dual output configuration (Review)
• Apple Wireless Keyboard (3 battery version) (Review)
• Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 (BlueTrack sensor, nano transceiver) (Mention)
• DisplayLink USB to DVI adapter
• Andrea NC-181 Headset with Noise-canceling Microphone
• Logitech USB 2.0 Hub (with AC adapter)

And anchoring the entire workstation would be my (almost) two-years-old Sony Z series VGN-Z16GN which is 13.1″ @ 1600 x 900 resolution that has been revved up with a Samsung PB22-J MLC 128GB solid state drive (SSD). (Review)  Sony Singapore declined to assist or offer advice on swapping out the pre-installed 4,200 rpm HDD, I did it myself. (Upgrading the HDD involves dismantling part of the laptop)

Check out the harrowing installation process with photos here.

Moving on, the network side of things are powered by the following hardware:

• Linksys WRT310N (802.11 b/g/n in 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz, 5-port gigabit Ethernet ports)
• Linksys WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander (Review)
• Samsung SCX-4623F Multifunctional Printer (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax)
• IOGEAR USB 2.0 Multi-Function Print and Storage Server (Review)
• Synology DS210+ NAS Server (Mention, Pending Review)
• Peplink Balance 380 multi-WAN router (Mention, Pending Review)
• Huawei UMTS Femtocell Access Point (Mention, Not working for me; be returning soon)

At the moment, my Internet service is a 30Mbps cable broadband (2Mbps up) with 6Mbps ADSL (512Kbps up) load-balanced via the Peplink Balance 380. Algorithm used is weighted balance for HTTP (10/3 in favor of cable), persistence for HTTPS and priority to cable for all other traffic.

Finally, for music:

• BlackBerry Bluetooth Music Gateway
• 2x Yamaha HS50M Powered Monitor Speakers

I’ll try to keep this page up-to-date.

Look what just came in via my e-mail.

SINGAPORE, March 25, 2010 – Fusion Garage announced that its category-creating joojoo Internet tablet has begun shipping from the factory today.  joojoo devices are now on their way  to U.S. customers who pre-ordered them.  Devices should be received by Monday, March 29.

New joojoo orders can be placed at https://thejoojoo.com/store at a cost of $499 USD.  With its easy to use user interface, joojoo allows users to tap into Internet applications, news, music, high definition video, social media and Web services. The device boasts the largest capacitive touch screen of any device on the market, measuring 12.1 inches in length. joojoo is Flash 10.1 and Java compliant and comes equipped with a built-in, rechargeable lithium-polymer battery.

For more information, please visit www.thejoojoo.com.

So the JooJoo has finally arrived.  It sounds like Fusion Garage is shipping the Internet tablets via air courier (Read: FedEx, DHL, UPS etc) direct from the factory in Taiwan, which is sure to cost a pretty penny.  Meeting the end-March deadline is crucial however, as the delivery of the product has been pushed back once from its original end-February date.

What’s more, the Apple iPad will start arriving in the hands of consumers from next Saturday onwards, leaving just one week for the JooJoo to maximize on its publicity.  So just how good will the JooJoo be?

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my hands on a review unit soon.  Will write more about it then!

I did a recent readjustment of my desktop so that my three monitors can be arranged into a usable position.  Unfortunately, that meant placing my laptop on a side-table, which is a tad further away from the position where I typically use my Microsoft wireless mouse.  However, this resulted in intermittent skipping of the cursor, which goes away when I move the mouse nearer to the nano transceiver.  (This never happens when used next to my laptop)

Good thing I remembered this little USB extension gadget I had lying around, which allowed me to do a… mouse extension.  I honestly cannot remember which Logitech product it came with, but it seems to work well enough with the Microsoft transceiver so far.  I’ll take some photos of my desktop and post them the next time round.

Anyway, time to go back to writing!

Mouse Extension

Ever experienced instances where your workstation starts to chug along very slowly?  Or more specifically, have your web browser ever become unresponsive, or crash without any warning?  Well, this has happened to me more times than I care to count.  If you were browsing the Internet, chances are that the problem can be traced to Flash running amok – 9 out of 10 times.

Below is a screenshots of Flash misbehaving.  Note the memory and CPU utilization.

This screenshot shows the updated situation after I killed off the offending Shockwave Flash process.  Notice the clear dip in processor utilization.

This issue outlined here is particularly disruptive if you’re working at a cafe without any accessible power outlet.  If not detected and rectified immediately, the laptop’s runtime can get dramatically reduced by the excessive processor utilization, cutting short your stay there.

Now, can you imagine your iPhone (or iPad) running Flash?  Essentially, the juice in your device or smartphone could well be drained within a few hours.  No wonder Apple wasn’t keen to support Flash on the iPhone. Having said that, I’m not sure how this would work out for tablet devices like the JooJoo, which supports Flash.  When I interviewed him, founder and CEO Chandra did tell me that the Internet tablet gives “5 hours of continuous operation.”  I’ll report back on that once I get the final production unit for review.

Ironically, having Flash crash my browser one time too many was the factor that made me switch from Firefox to Chrome.  The Chrome browser offers superior process management (every tab runs as a separate process), which allows me to selectively shut-down errant tabs.  The overhead is slightly higher, but I think its a fair price for grater browser stability.  Unlike Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, a misbehaving instance (or tab) won’t be able to bring down the entire browser.

As an independent tech writer, I find it a little hard to explain what I do at times.  Well, not in one line anyway.  The result is that I invariably end up describing myself as a lecturer for the sake of simplicity.  Of course, I do teach a few days per week at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore, and derives joy in that.  I actually spend many more hours per week doing writing, however.

This page contains a list of publications and websites that I currently contribute to, and should shed some light as to what I do.  Publicists are welcome to contact me if they have a relevant product to review, story pitch or news.

I’ll try to keep this page updated.

IT Business Edge SMB Tech

I write the SMB Tech blog over at IT Business Edge.  In a nutshell, IT Business Edge is a site targeted towards IT executives and decision makers to provide them with a strategic overview of running IT.  Or to quote from the About IT Business Edge page, it provides “a service that combines the strength of advanced online search techniques with the critical thinking of experienced industry journalists.”

For sure, you won’t find regurgitated reports there but seasoned journalists critically analyzing the latest enterprise IT developments and giving their take on them.  In fact, many of my colleagues there have years of experience numbering in the double-digits either practicing, or reporting IT.  It’s a worthy site to bookmark.  Alternatively, you can subscribe to the free newsletters here.

ITBusinessEdge.com belongs to a network of sites including CTO Edge, Data Center Edge, Network Security Edge, and Unified Communications Edge.

FierceCIO:TechWatch

I am the editor for FierceCIO:TechWatch, a twice weekly IT news update covering topics on security, hardware and storage news, networking, storage, and more.  The aim here is to keep readers updated on key developments and news pertaining to IT.  So if you are a busy executive, but want to stay in touch with the latest happenings in the enterprise, then this is the right place to visit.

The TechWatch e-mail newsletter is sent out twice weekly to over 29,500 active IT management professionals, and comes under the Enterprise IT vertical of publisher FierceMarkets.  FierceMarkets is a leader in B2B e-media, and also has many other publications in the life sciences, healthcare, finance and telecom industries, totalling well over 900,000 registered newsletter subscribers.

Colleagues Judi Hasson, Lynnette Luna, and Ron Miller write on CIO, MobileIT and Content Management newsletters respectively.  Judi also writes the GovernmentIT.

CBS TechRepublic

CBS TechRepublic caters to IT professionals, and was the very first site I started writing for back in 2007.  I wrote for the (defunct) IT News Digest blog edited by Sonja Thompson then.  The folks there are really wonderful people, and they do an excellent job in helping its vibrant community of IT professionals network and learn.  At the moment, I continue to contribute to its Network Administrator blog and Product Spotlight blog, and recently, its new Smartphones blog.

DailyTech

DailyTech is a leading online magazine dedicated to covering up to the minute CE, PC and information technology news.  Readers lean towards the well-educated and the techie crowd.

Tech at Play

Tech at Play is a technology blog that is edited and maintained by me since 2006.

The TechBlogger

You are currently at The TechBlogger, and you can find out more about the rationale behind the creation of this blog from the About page.

In addition, I also contribute sporadically to ArsTechnica.com, AsiaOne, ZDNet Asia, as well as various IT trade publications locally and in the region.

Just came back from a trip from the office of Fusion Garage, the Singapore company that created the JooJoo tablet.  I spent some time using the device (It’s exactly the same as the one demo’ed in December 2009) and also spoke to founder and CEO Mr. Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan about the JooJoo.

Now that we are nearer its launch, I was able to confirm some key information (Production has started) pertaining to the final hardware (USB port stays).  I also quizzed Chandra on his take about the Apple iPad, and if Fusion Garage will be modifying its pricing (no)  in the wake of its unveiling.

I’ll post the rest of the details shortly in the full write-up.

Update: Write-up is now live on Ars Technica.  JooJoo maker: iPad won’t crowd us out of tablet space

Last week, the tech world waited with bated breath as the Apple iPad tablet was finally unveiled at a media event put together just for this purpose.  By now, you have probably committed its hardware specifications to heart; such is the sheer volume of related news reports.  As @Alvin_Yap tweeted, “Wonders why there are is little tech news these 2 days. Oh! Cos all talking bout iPad”

Watching anxiously from the sidelines are the folks from Fusion Garage, though for very different reasons.  A Singapore company, Fusion Garage has demonstrated a touch screen tablet called the JooJoo just two months ago in December 2009.  Built from the ground up as a tablet for browsing the Web, the JooJoo bears striking resemblance to the iPad.

With the same price point as an entry-level iPad however, a collision with juggernaut Apple appears inevitable.  Indeed, the ability for the JooJoo to generate sales could well be severely impaired to crippled, given that the iPad has far more capabilities.

And this is on top of legal troubles from a botched partnership with Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.  (As I write this, I received an e-mail from Fusion Garage that the company has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit) On whether approaching TechCrunch in the first place was a mistake though, a VC friend of mine noted: “It’s better than no publicity at all.”

For today however, the more pertinent question is actually: Will the JooJoo be dead on arrival?

I’ll have the chance to speak with Fusion Garage founder and company CEO Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan tomorrow about the JooJoo, courtesy of an interview opportunity that was scheduled earlier.  I’m excited to see the completed software on the JooJoo, which Gizmodo says was only 75 percent complete in December.

More importantly, it’ll be a week since the iPad was announced, and it would be a fantastic opportunity to hear what Fusion Garage has planned to compete with the iPad.

More pictures below

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