Blake’s Code Studio

This was taken right in front of my house after a thunderstorm. Believe it when people say you shouldn’t stand below a tree during heavy rain.

 (click on enlarge)

The American way~
http://www.betterloverseminar.com/desi_wife_catches_husband.php

Thanks Jimmy for the link. LOL!

After straggling for days, I finally manage to setup the Mail Portlet in Liferay. At first, I wanted to setup Liferay to work with Postfix and Dovecot, the two officially supported MTA and IMAP server in Ubuntu. Unfortunately, Liferay 4.2.1 support for Dovecot is hectic. I couldn’t get it working. Thanks to the VMWARE image which Brian (the guy who made Liferay possible) made, it is finally up. If only Brian made a tutorial on how he made the setup in his image. :/

I would probably write one, but I have no time at the moment. But drop me a mail if any of you need help making it work.

A screenshot captured using my MacBook with the following shortcut: Command (Apple key) + Shift + 4.

I have installed Windows XP using Apple’s Boot Camp and created a dedicated NTFS partition. Some people might suggest using FAT32 but I must disagree. This is more so if you are like me, living in a multi-racial country and being expose to all kind of culture. In short, NTFS uses Unicode file names while FAT32 doesn’t. I got lots of mp3s in Unicode filenames… yes I might not be using them in Windows XP but… just in case. After installation, go ahead and do all the necessary Windows Update.

I couldn’t wait, so I purchased a license for Parallels Desktop for Mac. Forget about the extended blabla thingy which will cost you an extra USD$6.99 on top of the usual USD$79.99. You don’t need it, trust me. After that, don’t bother downloading from the link they provided. Because it’s a link to the VERY OLD stable version… download the RC3 release instead. Which is stable enough for me anyway, and the additional features are great. Follow the instruction provided for installation.

Alright, setting up a Virtual Machine using your existing Boot Camp partition might be a little tricky. You must select the custom option instead of the express option. Follow the instruction, and everything else will fall into place. But if you are like me, who encounter a problem with “parallels desktop cannot find necessery drivers to configure your boot camp”, checkout this thread to overcome your problem. Basically you need to copy sp2.cab (if you are using Service Pack 2, which you SHOULD!) from an existing Windows system to your Boot Camp’s Windows. Make sure you have at least 1GB of RAM in your MacBook and assign at least 512MB RAM to your Windows XP VM. I can’t imagine running Windows with any less.
After all is well and done, you will see the screenshot above. Below are more shots… =)

A screenshot in windowed mode.

The super cool Coherence mode. Look at how my Messenger Live just float on my Mac! I was searching up and down for a Messenger Live which works well in Mac (Video Cam and blablabla), now I don’t have to!

We are so used to Microsoft Office, well… how about running Microsoft Word 2007 with all it’s glory in a sexy looking MacBook! Yes yes yes, you can run Microsoft Project…. Visio….I guess you are running out of excuse NOT to switch to a Mac right?

If you look carefully at my screenshots you will notice that I have installed avast! antivirus (it’s free for home use btw). Yes the virtualization works so well, that it “virtualize” the viruses as well. It won’t infect your Mac partition but it’s not nice to email an infected file to you friend. So basically, I am using my Mac OSX to do my web surfing, blogging, emailing… and I use Parallels to run Messenger Live to keep in touch, and Microsoft Office suite to stay productive. I would probably swap my 512MBx2 for a 1GBx2 RAM. Why? Cause I still find it easier to do programming and testing using Windows.

A big thanks goes to Yen for helping me bring back a MacBook I purchase from Amazon.com. I gave my Dell 700m(not in production anymore) to my brother when he went to Chicago for his 2+2 degree program. After comparing the prices for a portable Laptop (under 14″), the updated MacBook with the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor is the most value for money.

There aren’t many laptops which falls under the 13.3″ size category. I have seen 15″ laptop in action, which is too big, and my previous Dell 700m (12″) is a little too small for my programming work. So, I am left with the new 13.3″ laptops. I did some research on the Sony Vaio C Series, the size is great, the design is not bad but it fails in term of specs and screen quality.

Sony VGN-C15GP
The 2.0GHz MacBook (MA700LL/A) is the one I got. I didn’t want to pay a premium for the black but it will sure fits well with my Black Perudua MyVi car :D. I am gonna compare this particular model of MacBook with the Sony C Series. There are 2 different specification in the C Series; VGN-C13G and the better VGN-C15GP. The main difference between this two Sony laptop is one comes only with a integrated Intel GMA950 graphics processor (same with MacBook) while the other comes with dedicated NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400. Ok, I will just go down to business and list down the difference between the MacBook (MA700LL/A) and the SONY.

1. Both comes with Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Sony uses the 1.66Ghz 2MB cache, while my MacBook uses 2.0Ghz 4MB cache. On top of that, Vitualization Technology is NOT support in the Sony’s Intel processor! MacBook 1: Sony 0.

2. Sony, 512MB 533Mhz DDR2 Memory. MacBook? 1GB 667Mhz DDR2 Memory. The processor bus in Sony is running at 667Mhz, but their Memory Bus is 533Mhz… will there be a bottleneck there? I don’t know. All I can say is, 512MB is NOT enough to run Windows XP in a productive environment. Why? Cause in Windows XP, you need to be running AntiVirus, Anti-Spyware… and all those other applications. MacBook 2: Sony 0.
3. Sony comes with a built-in memory cards reader. MacBook does not. This is a bit sad, I think the next version of MacBook will come with a memory card reader. MacBook 2: Sony 1.

4. I have personally seen the display screen of Sony C Series and I am not impress. It looks dull and you better be viewing it straight on. The MacBook screen doesn’t look as good as my LG 17″ Flatron Slim but it’s better than Sony C Series definitely. MacBook 3: Sony 1.

5. MacBook comes with iSight! That’s a webcam by the way. In my opinion, laptops nowadays should come with built-in webcam. It looks ugly if we get an external one. MacBook 4: Sony 1.

6. With friends and family overseas, we all loves Skype. MacBook comes with built-in microphone. MacBook 5: Sony 1.

7. Sony comes with ExpressCard slot for expansion. Is this slot useful? Normally I just use USB for everything. But well, MacBook 5: Sony 2.

8. MacBook comes with Gigabit (1000) network port, Sony’s only (100). MacBook 6: Sony 2.

9. Sony has built-in modem. I like this one. With Malaysia’s unreliable broadband, using the good old dail-up did saved me in a number of occasions. MacBook 6: Sony 3.

10. Sony VGN-C15GP comes with dedicated graphic card, good for running Windows Vista. MacBook, well… I don’t need it. If you play games, this will be useful. But if you really want to play games, why use a 13.3″ laptop?? MacBook 6: Sony 4.

11. Design and Cool factor. This may be subjective…. but I am pretty sure most of us will give this vote to MacBook. MacBook 7: Sony 4.

Ok that’s enough. Final score, MacBook 7: Sony C Series 4. Seriously, if you want to compare value for money, MacBook is really the obvious choice. You are worried about not being able to run your favorite Windows program? Check out Parrallels Desktop for Mac! The Coherence feature will blow your mind away. My friend know the Malaysia’s distributor, so you can let me know if you want a copy. Not free la of course. Or you could use Apple’s free Boot Camp software. In the next few weeks, I will try to get a copy of Parrallels and use Boot Camp as well. Parrallels supports Boot Camp, so you don’t need two copies of Windows.

Ok enough of comparing…. here is first few things I did when I got my MacBook.

1. Run Update. =)

2. Replace Safari with Firefox.

3. I realise my MacBook was running quite hot, I was worried that it’s because Malaysia is using 240V … but the power adapter support 100V-240V… so technically it should be fine. I installed a temperature monitor anyway.

That’s it! It’s not easy to move away from Windows because we are so used to it. We also have Windows application which we depend on. But with Parallels and Boot Camp, it is easy to move away from PC (IBM campatible) to Mac hardware. =)
Mac being expensive is now a myth and if you just want to surf the web, chat with friends and chill at Starbucks… MacBook is the way to go. You are hearing all this from someone who have been using Microsoft since the first 286 processor.

Unlike China, Malaysia will only revise price upwards….rather than following the market. When will we see “Malaysia cuts domestic petrol prices” on our newspapers’ headlines? Probably never. It’s kinda sad to see Malaysians fight when petrol prices went up, but kept quiet when global prices went down.

IF Malaysians do protest for a downwards revision, guess what our Government will say?

“Global prices down… we are not making as much money as we used to… so we cant subsidies for rakyat…”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6260619.stm

This  follow up to my previous post on my white ants problem. We finally located their “home”, which is in our storeroom. It looks so disgusting and with my very limited vocabulary, I couldn’t find a word to describe what I saw. First up, is a photo of my storeroom after removing all the ‘junk’…

ya… i know, it looks bad. Wondering how much stuff we kept in there? Here is just 70% of them!!

Well, I think it is about them we clean them up. Chinese New Year is coming anyway. Somehow, it is a good thing this happen, if not my dad would be keeping his ‘important stuff’ for another 10 years. There are some casualties, for example a lot of our photos were damage (another reason why we should keep the negatives or scan and upload to a RELIABLE server or Gmail archive them).

The tips of the day? Clean you store room yearly and put some pesticide which is effective against termites!

Pui!!! That was my reaction after reading the news on “No Sexy Dressing“.

Seriously, what are guys at The Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) thinking? How can you put the responsible to woman when they get rape because of “indecent dressing”. So I guess now enforcers in Kelantan will be spending more time checking out girls dressing indecently rather than reducing crime.

I would like to congratulate MPKB for their entry to Malaysia’s Book of Records under the category: “Most Sohai Law“.

I hope the people who proposed and supported this law to stay WHERE they are. Don’t go Miami Beach, anywhere near Thailand, the streets of Brazil or even Perhentian right here in Malaysia. Why? Because they won’t be able to control themselves and start raping those girls who are dressing what they want. Having this law is like telling the world Malaysian man can’t handle the heat. And 2007 is suppose to be Visit Malaysia Year. Will any woman dares visit a country with man who rape because how a woman dress?

Luckily right here in Petaling Jaya, we have a more mature society. Women organizations are outrage.

Can you guys imagine, immature and ridiculous guys in this PAS-led government (current Kelantan government) introducing this kinda law? the same people who wants to run this country? How can they lead this country and face the world if they can’t even control their testosterone?

Ok, this is a copy and paste from their website…

This is AGLOCO™ ’s proposition, just three words: Own the Internet.

Whenever you are online, either surfing, blogging, clicking on an ad, making a purchase, all the money generated by your activities is pocketed by a small number of players. At AGLOCO™ they say not anymore!

AGLOCO™ is a global community, whose owners are its Members (you and potentially the millions of internet users out there). Their goal is to capture a significant portion of the value generated by our online activities and return it to Members in cash. Best of all, it is totally free, Members will NEVER have to pay anything, nor will they have to disclose ANY personal information!

How does this work? Once you sign up on their website, when available you will be able to download the Viewbar software, a free toolbar-sized application (half the size of a traditional Windows tool bar) that quietly sits on your desktop without ever hampering your online habits. That’s all you need to do! Just continue using the Internet as you used to… no need to change your habits!

Do you have several individuals using one computer? You can have different AGLOCO™ viewbars to fit the profile of each user.

Don’t want to see or use the Viewbar at any given time? Just minimize it and the Viewbar stops working!

There are different ways AGLOCO™ can make money for its Members:

* Cash: You get cash by surfing the Internet while the Viewbar is running. AGLOCO™ ’s profits are distributed back to its Members. And you can also receive real-time discounts should you choose to purchase from AGLOCO™ ’s partners. They will never include gambling or adult entertainment sites as partners.

* Shares: In addition to cash, AGLOCO™ will give out shares in the company to its Members. Eventually, AGLOCO™ plans to go public and will be traded on the London Stock Exchange AIM. You can start earning stock options by keeping Viewbar active while you surf. In addition, you will gain extra shares by referring active users to AGLOCO™ (they lose nothing). Click here to see the calculator.

The more people join AGLOCO™ , the more value the community can generate for itself. The company believes those that build the community deserve more: your own profits become larger the more people you refer. You can accumulate hours not only from your Internet activity but also from those who you refer, and their referrals too… Up to 5 levels underneath you! For example, if you refer 10 people and all of them refer 5 people each, you could make over 7000 shares a month*!

Remember, this is all free, you don’t lose anything, all you have to do is sign up, download the Viewbar and that’s it. Build your network and refer friends, family and colleagues to AGLOCO™ and earn even more!

The guys behind this idea include several Stanford MBA’s and a few individuals who started AllAdvantage back in 1998, which gave over $100 million to its users before falling victim to the burst of the internet bubble. Today, the context is much more favorable: The sophistication of on-line commerce, the rapid emergence of communities, the wealth of advertising revenue sources, etc. Isn’t it time you got your share of the Internet?

Don’t wait any longer. This is a win-win opportunity, and you’ll make it even more profitable for yourself when you start referring friends and relatives before others get to them! Since I assume you learned about AGLOCO™ thanks to my website*, please don’t forget to add my referee ID when signing up: BBBB5535. Click here to sign up directly!

What I think about this? It doesn’t hurt to to install. I also tag this under Java. Why? Because it looks like their website uses LifeRay Portal. Actually, I am pretty sure they use Liferay Portal to power their website. I must say, they really did some good tweaking to the templates, cause it looks very much different then the default view.