Majolelo Lounge

[MyTweet] My Thought on Copyright

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:26:55 +0700

[Collected from my own tweets dated 19 April 2013]

Today I bought original VCD. You see, it’s all about the price. If it’s reasonable, I don’t mind spending money for it.

Back in the day when CD wasn’t even popular. I’d frequently buy original cassettes. Most probably it’s because piracy wasn’t issue then. But, think of it. Nobody wanted to go into piracy business because it’s not worth it. The cost of production, etc. Not worth it.

Now, back to the present. If you buy original DVD, what do you buy? Physical DVD? The right to watch the content? What?

Now, let’s make hypothetical case, you buy original movie DVD. The physical DVD is broken, so u can’t watch the content. What would you do? Of course, you’d ask for replacement. But, say, 10 years from now, u want to watch, the DVD is broken, to whom you can claim the broken DVD?

Now, if you actually buy the right to watch. By rights, you can actually make digital copy of it for you to watch on your, say, tablet. But, you may not share the digital copy to others, even your loved one. It would violate the law. Is this even right?

As for songs shopping malls actually aren’t allowed to play copyrighted songs. That’s why they have to pay some artist organisation for that.

You know what I think? There’s something broken with intellectual property right. We can recognise one’s work but they may not charge it. If they charge their work, then they should replace my long lost cassettes. But, would they do it?

So, if you take pride in buying original DVD, ask yourself, what do you actually buy?

What's Missing in WP7 from Android User Perspective

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 03:57:00 +0700

It’s a guilty pleasure. I hate to say this, but I wish Android has user experience like that of Windows Phone 7. With the power of Android and with user experience of Windows Phone 7, I think a breed of smartphone will beat the rest. As a long time Android user, I miss these things in Windows Phone 7:

Vibrate/ Silent Shortcut. In a hurry to silent/ set to vibrate your phone? In Android, on locked screen you can easily do this with just one slide. In WP7, you need to push volume button then tap vibrate.

Power control. With native widget, you can easily turn off data/ wifi connection. In WP7, you need to go to setting, then go to appropriate menu to do this. Too many steps. Although there is an app to go to this shortcut, it is still not practical.

Task manager. It might be there. If you press and hold back button, you can go back to a few apps you have opened earlier. It’s not really task manager, because you can’t kill apps. As I just notice, every WP7 app doesn’t have exit/ close menu. I suspect that when you go to home screen, apps are destroyed including the ones that have background tasks. I assume that those tasks are registered in the system, but the apps are destroyed. I know this because if I receive notification from an app, I click the app and the app loads for quite some time. I guess this is how WP7 manage battery consumption.

These are what I can gather as of now. WP7, for some aspects, is still great. I just wish some of the Android power can be incorporated into WP7.

My Nexian Messenger PIN: 45886595

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:38:00 +0700

That’s right. You read it correct. That’s my Nexian Messenger PIN. Now, you’re gonna ask, “But why on earth would I want to add you in my Nexian Messenger? Wait. I don’t have Nexian phone”.

Now, imagine if I’m someone popular. A very famous person. A loveable dude, caring and that blah blah blah, you get the idea. All the good personality traits I’m not. You want to connect to me. You will acquire one of those Nexian Android phone. That’s what happened with Blackberry.

It all started with a famous person. The President of USA. He was crazy about Blackberry. Even when he became the President, he wouldn’t let go this device. So, the protocol made his Blackberry in such a way that it was secure. I mean, you know, he IS the President.

Long story short, everybody started owning Blackberry. They found out that they can send messages with BB Messenger. Then communities start developing. Those who didn’t use would be left out.

That’s the secret of how Blackberry survives amidst its declining of market share. In our country, Blackberry is still popular. It could be that people don’t update themselves with the latest technology trend, or that they intentionally close their eyes because the people they care about still use Blackberry.

They argue it’s good for running business. I must say… huh? I mean, all developed countries have already moved on. They don’t use Blackberry anymore. You mean to say that they fail in business because they don’t use Blackberry? Go to Singapore. Go to Munich. They don’t use Blackberry anymore. iPhone -not my favorite device, mind you- is popular.

The feeling of fear of being left out. That’s the key. If you don’t use Blackberry, you’ll be left out. I’ve been in situation where people giggle over some status on BBM of their friend. I have no idea what they are talking about. Thanks to my social toughness, I don’t feel left out by this. If I really must know what they are really talking about, I will eventually find out. If it’s big news, I would’ve read it online or somewhere else.

Some socially awkward people have even gone to far by abusing Blackberry. They see accidents on the road, they take picture of it and broadcast it. Earthquake? No need to take cover. Update your status first.

Technology was supposed to make your life easy. Push email is great. I don’t activate it, though. I don’t need to know in a hurry if something must be done beyond my office hours. When you have Blackberry, or the company gives you, you are BOUND to do it in a flash at any given hour. Unless, of course, you are running a business that doesn’t require office hours. Other than that, it’s all about looking good. Although, nowadays, you don’t look cool using Blackberry. It never was.

I’m relieved to learn that some of colleagues at the office have started to acquire Android phone. They still hold on to their Blackberry, though. But they have Android phone as additional gadget. Some of them have even acquire iPhone. This is a good thing. Not sure if I have give them influence, though. One thing for sure, Android has been around for years. I’ve only joined the company less than one year and already some of them acquire Android. But, hey, it’s a small company after all ;P

So, will you add me in your Nexian Android phone with Nexian Messenger? I guess not. Because, then, you have to buy a Nexian Android phone first. Flash back. Why did you buy your Blackberry device? Because your friends had it? Because you didn’t want to be left out?

They say BBM is free. This is misleading. You PAY the subscription. Using BBM is free, just like using WhatsApp is free. But, hey, you PAY the operational cost. It’s never really free. It’s cheaper then SMS. Of course, that’s debatable. If you use text messaging service heavily, it is free. With BBM you can even send multimedia files. But, if you’re not that heavy users, all you do is only wait for funny statuses, or someone pings you then you stare at the phone smiling alone… in the crowd. And that’s how phone starers begin their journey.

Welp. I guess as long as Nexian is here to stay, I’m keeping my Nexian Messenger PIN. You can contact me through this PIN. Though, if I don’t recognise you, I won’t bother reply. Yes. I’m not cheap ;P

Nexian Energy A850: Cheap yet Value for the Money

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:41:41 +0700

I’ve always been a fan of value for the money. It means that I like buying stuff for what it’s worth. It’s not always cheap. If I spend big money, I expect many things from it. If I spend little money, I’m settled with what its worth.

Two years ago, I bought Samsung Galaxy S for about USD 600. A few weeks ago, I bought Nexian Energy A850 for about USD60. That’s about one tenth of it! Of course, I don’t expect Super AMOLED screen, high capability processor, big storage, or many supported apps. However, for what it’s worth, I think I get more than I bargain for!

I’m writing this review since it’s hard to find one. Probably because it’s new product and don’t get much limelight. I mean, it’s very low-end product. Who would buy it? I would ;P Why would I want to buy it? Well, first the background. I previously owned another low-end Android phone. It’s not Nexian. The touchscreen was terrible. Probably it was resistive touchscreen. The phone performance was terrible. It feels like taking forever to load an app. Typing on such screen? Please, you don’t want me raging about it. But, it was okay. I chose to buy it. It’s a low-end phone. What do you expect?

As it turns out, you can expect MORE! Nexian, in my point view, has set a new benchmark, for low-end Android phone with its Energy A850.

The Screen

Let’s start with the most obvious: the one thing that you first look at when having the device in your hand. The screen is just plain LCD. But its capacitive touch screen is not like that you’d expect from low-end Android phone. It’s quite smooth. Of course, I wouldn’t compare the smoothness with that of Galaxy S. Considering it’s cheapness, the capacitive screen works smoothly. You can scroll the screen virtually flawlessly.

The screen size is not that big. That is tolerable. Typing can be quite frustrating. You just need to install the right keyboard. I have yet tried installing Swype on it. But, TouchPal keyboard seems doing pretty well. It would solve typing problem.

The Battery

My previous low-end Android phone was quite terrible. On continuous use it would last about 10 hours. Nexian Energy A850 could last for 15 hours! This could virtually mean you could go outside, share stuff from your mobile, browse the net the whole day, and still got some juice on it.

The OS

Out of the box, it is still running Froyo. I haven’t had plan to upgrade, nor do I have plan to install custom ROM. I mean, I don’t know how to enter recovery mode. So, you probably won’t have many choices of app for this kind of OS.

Another thing, I installed Cartoon Camera from Play Store, and the phone started to go crazy. Then it stopped working. I pulled out the battery, the phone just kept looping in the boot screen. Yes, it was my first time having sh*tty moment with the phone. I took it to the service center, and everything works fine now. Oh, the repair guy didn’t mention about having it hard-resetted. So, I lost all my apps. Thankfully, I haven’t installed many. Just a reminder that you should backup frequently. Other than that, I have no issue with the OS.

Connectivity

For mobile data, this low-end Android phone can go up to HSDPA! Can your low-end phone go there? Of course, there is support for WiFi. And get this, it’s also support hotspot tethering! Which means, Nexian Energy A850 can be mobile hotspot! Whoa! My previous low-end Android phone couldn’t do this.

Expectiation

Franky, Nexian Energy A850 exceeds my expectation from a low-end phone. Good battery and quite okay performance with quite reasonable price. If you’re like me, looking for cheap low-end Android phone with such good performance, Nexian Energy A850 could be nominated in the list.

It’s such a shame that such low-end Android phone didn’t get much public attention. I am thankful that it got my attention and I acquire one! :)

Oh, by the way, Nexian didn’t pay me to advertise its product. I’m just sharing my experience in using the product. Because it’s hard to find review on Nexian Energy A850. Hope you like it. I do.

What if I Told You that Sex is Only Incentive?

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:26:00 +0700

Who wouldn’t adore female body? Tell me what kind of guys who wouldn’t adore female body. Wait. There is. But, I’m not going to discuss about that kind. I am fascinated at how God create the creature called female.

People who were born female should consider themselves lucky. It doesn’t mean that I want to be female either. That would defeat what God has destined for me. No. God would want me, as a guy, to adore female. To embrace one. To love one.

What if I told you that the purpose of God put human on earth is to reproduce. That’s crazy, you said. People have sex every day. See, that’s where the problem lies. Let me elaborate more on this.

To reproduce, people of different sex need to have sexual intercourse. Imagine if sexual intercourse doesn’t give you pleasure. Imagine if it feels nothing. Imagine if it’s like sitting and do nothing. You’ll get bored, right? So, to accomplish the task (reproduction), God has given human incentive. That incentive is sexual pleasure. You read that correct. Sexual pleasure is God’s incentive for human to keep reproducing.

WTH, you said. People have sex everyday. I know, you said that earlier. See, that’s the problem of the world this day. People keep jumping into incentive but neglecting the real purpose of their task. People have sex to reproduce!

Nowadays, people just have sex. They keep giving themselves pleasure. They keep enjoying this incentive God has provided. But, the one thing that they neglect to accomplish: the task to reproduce.

The Raid: Indonesian Movie goes Box Office

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:37:41 +0700

Is it the first Indonesian movie ever went to Box Office? I couldn’t tell. If it is, it’s mixed of proud and awkward. Proud to be Indonesian and can tell the world, hey our fellow Indonesians made movie and it hit Box Office. Awkward, because it’s the first time (if it is) we hit Box Office and it’s a violent movie. This movie should’ve been rated R for violence and foul language. But, anyway, if it’s not dubbed, the movie is spoken in Indonesia, anyway :P

Before I go on, let me tell you this. I tend to criticize most part of the movie. It’s not that I don’t like the movie. Rather, as I said before, I’m proud that our Indonesian fellow can make movie and be known worldwide. So proud that, next time they make another movies, I want them to consider what I want to criticize here and make better plot/ details. Most of my Indonesian friends’ blindly praise this movie.

The Plot

The plot is quite straightforward. Just search in IMDB, you shall find it. I don’t need to retell it in my own words. Find it? Or have you watched the movie? Okay, let’s talk about it. It’s a movie about a SWAT team… wait wait wait. Indonesia does NOT HAVE SWAT team. To catch a drug lord, we don’t have SWAT team. They send special tactical force to catch terrorist, not for this simple drug lord.

What’s worse is that the so-called SWAT truck is not bullet-proof! There was a scene where a group of gangstas shot machine gun to the truck and killed 2 SWAT members.

Character Building

The movie started out quite nicely with the character building. The main hero was described as a ‘shaleh’ muslim. As it was early in the morning, I assumed he was doing his ‘Subuh’ prayer. The movie seemed to want to connect the audience’s emotion and build empathy by showing his pregnant wife(?). His wife appearance was solely for emotion building. Nowhere in the movie thereafter did she reappear.

The drug lord’s character building was quite a bit funny. What’s your imagination when the words ‘drug dealer’ come in your mind? Okay, he kills people mercilessly. But the scene where he eats noodle, I found it a bit funny. C’mon, the guy can afford more than just instant noodle. What is he? Dorm kid? Hehehe..

I found that the language used is sometimes a bit too formal. I imagine in real world, people will use ‘lu’ for ‘you’ second person pronoun and ‘gue’ for ‘I’ first person pronoun. But, it’s okay. This thing can be tolerable.

Police characters can be elaborated more in detail. I would like to know what kind of life a member of tactical force. By investigating more into detail of how real tactical force member’s life and implement it in the movie, I bet it can build more emotional building with the main character.

The Action

Oh yeah, who can deny the beauty of the action in the movie? I love the martial arts used in the movie. Some lethal moves were forced to use, some others are just made to block/ break the attackers’ bones. Yup. This is where the violent scenes come in. And I bet, this is the most selling point of the movie.

I wish the movie maker could introduce Indonesian martial arts. I mean, who has never heard of Kung Fu from China? Capoeira from Brazil? Taekwondo from Korea? Let’s mention one from Southeast Asia: Muay Thai. Each of these styles have their signature moves. We could’ve used the momentum in the movie and introduce Pencak Silat. I have no idea how lethal Pencak Silat can be. But, at least, we could introduce it in the movie and send the message to the world.

The after effect in the movie was used quite frequent. Gore scenes can be found almost throughout the movie. It was so good that I could almost feel like it was real. I gotta hand it to the crew behind the movie. The actors themselves were not bad. Did I just say actor? That’s right. Only one female cast in the movie, which was the wife of the main character, and she appeared only in the prologue. This movie is so manly! :D

Another thing, it was quite surprising to see the movie could hit the Box Office. This movie broke one rule of thumb of Hollywood movie: no kids have to be killed. At least, not explicitly. In this movie, one kid was shot with a sharp bullet in the neck. I guess when it hit the Box Office, this scene would be edited.

Overall

I would recommend this movie, but only with the condition that you don’t mind violent movie and gore scenes and people’s neck got broken… well, you get the idea. Just remember, if you see this movie in your town, this movie was made by our Indonesian fellow.

I wish to see sequence of this. Okay, no need to give more gore scenes. Strengthen the plot. Make it more realistic with real cops, we don’t have SWAT here. Martial arts used have been terrific; keep it up! After effects: no doubt it looks realistic.

I guess the movie gained quite popularity that they made comic out of this movie. Normally, it’s the other way around: comic first then movie. I guess the next move is to make PS3 game of it. Or, XBOX. Or, better yet, specially made game for game parlor! :D

Well, there you have it, Merantau Films, I give you my big applause and standing ovation. You have just set a new standard of how Indonesian movie should be: no whiny love story, no ghost or ‘pocong’ or any non-sense mythical stuff. Keep up the good work and wish to see you with better and badder movie!

Amerians Have no Imagination: They Confirmed it in Hostel Part 3

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:22:59 +0700

If you’ve watched part 1 and part 2, you’ll be slightly disappointed with the part 3. The gruesomeness you’re hoping to see, probably ain’t as much as the previous two. Yes, there were killings, a group of ellite people with strange fetish of torturing live human being and enjoying seeing them scream in agony in red blood. It’s the basic concept of Hostel series.

In part 2, I remember the narrator mentioning, “Americans, they have no imagination”. So, in part 3 the plot is in Las Vegas. At the prologue scene, I thought the set was still in East Europe since, the first two cast were said to be from Ukraine. But then, there was this fellow who appeared to be American. I thought, oh this Eukrainian couple will set a trap on this American. I was wrong. It was the American who gave drug to the Ukrainian couple and they were then to be locked up. Well, at least until the end of the movie, none of this couple were told to be tortured. The movie didn’t say whether Anka, the female Ukrainian was tortured. But for sure, she was taken away from the locked up. No body stays alive when they are taken away. The male Ukrainian survived until the end of the movie only to be shot at a riffle after putting up a fight as he tried to escape. There’s no telling of why was he left alive until the end of movie. Probably some deal with the American film producer and the original franchise of Hostel movie that no East Europe people dies in the movie.

Compare to previous 2 Hostel movies, this American version lacks of gruesomeness. The fact that the plot of 2 previous movies were in East Europe was probably adding the gloomy and scary feeling. I mean, what do you expect when a movie’s plot is set in Las Vegas? Party, girls, nudity, those kinds of thing. So, from scary movie this part 3 of Hostel has become nude torture movie. Which is fine, actually. Who wouldn’t love to see almost nude female bodies?

However, plot-wise, it’s kind of disappointing. Let’s not mention about the story. I mean, it’s pretty straightforward since part I. No actual intrigue. It’s just plain thriller movie. If you enjoy the first 2 part of Hostel movies, you may still want to see this part 3. But, be prepared to be a alittle disappointed. If this is your first time, well, consider this is your entry point to enjoy gruesome movies.

The Girls Who Don't Give a F*ck

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:26:58 +0700


[Cinta Laura]	[Syahrini]

What do you see above? Just some 2 celebs you don’t give a f*ck? Don’t get me wrong. I don’t fancy them, either. In fact, they’re certainly not the most beautiful girl in the world. Oh no. But in a certain funny way, I admire these girls. People keep on despising them but they keep on going with the things they do to make people go crazy.

Cinta Laura with her ‘bule’ accent when speaking. Heck, if you know me better I’d despise her. But, no. She’s just keep on going with her accent. She knows it makes her unique. I even wrote about her in my other blog. She’s different, in my opinion. Besides that cheesy accent, she has vision. She knows what to do with her life. She knows showbiz is not going to last forever, so she continues her study. Abroad.

Syahrini. What’s so great about her. She has the same quality as Cinta Laura. Everybody despise about her attitude. But words can’t tear her down. In fact, she’s going to far by trying to drive people crazy with her ‘jambul khatulistiwa’. And when she met David Beckham, did you know what she did? She made him signed on her breast. Oh yeah. And she took pride of it. She didn’t give a f*ck of what people said. She did the things she love to do.

So, these things in common in these 2 girls are the reason why I speak positively about them. It’s not about how Cinta Laura’s funny accent. I don’t even adore Syahrini’s ‘Jambul Khatulistiwa’. No. It’s their attitude. When you love doing something, you have to keep on going. If what you do draws a lot of attention, be it negative of positive, just keep on doing it as long as it doesn’t hurt butt anyone. Everybody can f*ck off, and you can still have fun. In fact, if you enjoy the crowd getting mad at you, it doubles the fun! Go Cinta Laura! Chase your dream and when you return with your Bachelor Degree(?) from the United States, show them who’s having the last laugh. Go Syahrini! Wear that stupid ‘jambul khatulistiwa’! If you think you look gorgeous with that, keep on doing that.

“You are beautiful no matter what they say. Words can’t bring you down” (Christina Aguilera)

November 2011 - A Milestone in My Life

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:24:34 +0700

There are 7 billions of people worldwide; approximately 7 millions of people in Jakarta during daylight; I’m so lucky to be selected to work for a maker of sexy consumer cars known worldwide. It’s not the best job in the world, but it’s the best job in the world that I can afford to have with my background, knowledge and expertise.

I could not ask for more than what I have now. Working at the capital city. Heck, it’s even at the heart of the capital city. Just nearby the building, you can see the statue of welcome. Working in a building that shares location with where the lifestyle is may not be everyone’s dream. But when you’re there, you really know what I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll try as much as I can to remind myself of where I have been and where I come from. I won’t go lunch at those fancy restaurants.. Well, okay, perhaps, once in a while I will. But, I’ll promise to myself to not to be a hipster.

Before where I am now, I’ve always set my objective to get a job that oversees and manages information technology/ system of a company. And now, here I am, doing the abovementioned tasks and in an automotive company that applies information technology heavily to its cars. Technology has been my passion. I can’t tell you enough of how much excitement I can be when this technology is applied to automobile. Now that I’m part of it, I’ll get the chance to learn and go deep about this.

Of course, the stake is high here. I cannot bear the risk of screwing things up. Delicacy in doing tasks must be applied. But, I am sure that with skills and knowledge that I have, I can build up my confidence. And with that confidence, I will go through this probation period and eventually, will impress the employer.

At the end of the probation, which will come next year, I’ll then worry about the other offer in my hand. No one knows about the future. Maybe I’ll grow bigger passion over this job? Maybe I’ll be doing too well for the job and the company will rely heavily on me? Well, I’ll start thinking about weighing the dilemma next year. As of now, I’ll just enjoy both the work and the pressure that will surely come. This surely marks a milestone in my life history.

Warkop DKI, My Guilty Pleasure :P

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:38:32 +0700

Had I known ‘Warkop DKI’ today, I would say their movies were crappy and suck to the bone. As a matter of fact, this is true. Their movies have been and are crappy. Make no mistakes, I have enjoyed watching their movies and still love watching their movies. You can say this is my guilty pleasure: watching crappy movies for my entertainment :P

I grew up with their movies. I laughed at that time and still laugh if I watch their movies now. There was nothing serious about the plot. Did I see the movies for the girls? Nope. I’m being honest. Sure, thighs are everywhere. In the 90’s those were something. But this is 21 century and girls have taken up the ultimate level to make themselves look sexy.

No. It wasn’t the girls. Probably it’s because there is no seriousness in the movies. You know, like Naked Gun. It’s all about crappy jokes and slapstick. But, I love them. I thank them for entertaining me throughout my childhood. It’s sad to see 2 of the members gone to heaven. They are, in my opinion, the legend of Indonesian’s comedy.

I guess there can be no match for their being legend. Any other attempt would make the poor guy like an idiot. So, thank you Warkop DKI for entertaining the humanity. You’ve done great favor to Indonesia :)

Should You Sell Kidney for Android? Nah, Of Course Not

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:27:12 +0700

It’s just a matter of time before we see this kind of news again. Remember when iPad 2 was launched? There was this teenager in China who sold his kidney for it. And now that Apple launched iPhone 4S, the suscessor of iPhone 4, there is a girl from the same country who would do sex in favor of iPhone 4S. Oh I’m pretty sure there will be lonely guys lining up to get into her pants. Heck, I won’t be surprised if one guy would give her 2 of iPhone 4S so that he can have a lifetime with her.

But, do we see the same kind of hype with Android? I don’t think so. Here’s my analysis on this.

Android is no Hype

There’s no hype in Android. Even the super high-end Android phone such as Samsung Galaxy S2 or LG Optimus 2X will not make you look hip. You want to look hip? Get the fruit. Every launch of Android’s product hardly ever receives so much hype. You won’t look hip even with those latest premium Android gadgets.

Many Choices

Unlike the fruit who only releases one type of product each time they launch something, there are waaay too many choices for Android. Ranging from Samsung, LG, ASUS, etc. Each of these manufacturers have their own flagship products. Not enough budget? They have, sort of, budget products with the same OS. You don’t have to wait for another year round for them to come up with brand new release of products. Almost every month they have range of products. With Android, you won’t get hyped because there are too many to be excited about.

Price

Spend so much money for a gadget? That’s what you get if you are into the hype. If you are patient enough, you’ll get better gadget with cheaper price. I bought a Galaxy S for about USD 500. When they release Galaxy S2, the price was about USD 400. You can guess what happens to the price of second-hand Galaxy S: plunging like an eagle soaring and targeting its prey.

So, will we see a teenager sells his kidney or sex for Android gadget? I don’t think so. Android is not about hype. It’s not about being early adopter of things. With many choices in the market, it’s hard to be ‘the first’.

The Remaining 3 Working Days...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:07:48 +0700

This is it. The remaining week. The last 3 working days. It’s a mixture feeling of sad and excited. Sad of what I will leave behind. Excited for what awaits me ahead.

So, how long will I have been at the current workplace when I leave it? Three months. Compared to previous workplace, the tenure is nothing. But, you can say that my soul is more devoted here. It’s a great environment, great team I am in, and a great boss.

Perhaps, one of the things I will miss most is the project manager, the boss. For the first time in my line of career, I finally have a non-Asian boss, and I have to leave him. Not to be racist, but as an Asian, I feel big difference of having Asian boss than non-Asian boss. Though he’s actually an Indonesian citizen right now, my current boss tends to give us freedom in terms of way of work as well as administrative stuff. He’s also generous. There were times when we went out for lunch at his expense. He also paid our portions when there was ‘bukber’. He’s also appreciative of our works, our achievements. Of course, it’s only been 3 months. But, judging from it, you can tell it will be smooth road ahead.

The team is also great. Outposted at government office, we sometimes must face difficulties in getting to know what they want. We have a project there and need to be accomplished within specified time frame. We’ve been able to identify their needs, thanks to our solid cooperation. Outside the office, we are also doing great. There are times when we chit chat, tell jokes. Stuff like that. Coming from IT background, I guess what binds us all is when we talk about gadgets. Yup. I guess we are all nerds in a group. There is one female project assistant and she’s also been helpful to all of us.

The organisation is also generous, overall. I was supposedly to have only 3 month initial tenure of contract. But, there was an offer, if I was to go through medical examination, I would get 6 month instead. So, I did take the medical exam and get 6 month initial contract. Annual leave? We are entitled approximately 2.5 days for each completed month of service. Do the math for a whole one year.

Alas, I have to leave before the tenure ends.

So, how come I make the decision to leave all of these? Well, guys, if you finally read this blog, please know that having joined IOM, I stopped actively looking for a job. Let me tell you the story. It happened before I joined IOM. I was busy sending out job applications to any opportunity which I think I could apply. I was at the end of my tenure at my previous workplace. Apparently, one of those opportunities knocked. So, I answered. Alas, it was not for me. They said I was overqualified for the position.

Over the months, I haven’t heard anything from them. Then, approximately 2 months thereafter, they called. They offered higher position this time. I could’ve turned down the offer, of course. But, I have dependents. If it’s all about me. Maybe I would say no. Maybe. But, it’s a big company offering higher position. The position will be in charge of most of Information System of the company. It’s a big responsibility with so little room for errors. There is, of course, career path which will lead to benefits. My family could use those benefits.

Is it a good decision? I pray to God that I hope I am making a good decision. I could’ve kept on going at current workplace. I mean it’s an International Organization. I am a worker of this organization. I take part in serving the world. Somehow, there’s a pride in that. And, who wouldn’t take such pride?

But, I contemplated, 1-2 years from now, if I still continue at IOM, I might be wondering where I will be if I take the offer. God forbid, I may fail the probation, but at least I will put everything I have, my expertise, my experience, my energy at whichever position I have. By then, at least, I know I have tried and will know my limit. Not just staring at the stars and wondering if I am capable or not. At the very least, I have tried to catch my dreams, not just keeping it in a dream and keep sleeping.

So, the last remaining 3 working days, I will make full use of them. Hopefully, my sucessor will be as much capable as I am. Heck, I hope he/ she will be even better and keeping up the good work we have done so far. Wish me luck at the new work place. It’s a whole lot of new dimension to me. Big responsibility coming up to munch.

All Men Are Animals

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:36:01 +0700

WARNING: this article contains explicit content. If you object to such things, DO NOT CONTINUE READING. You’ve been warned!

In a movie scene, when a girl wears gown, the guy would stand up and say ‘You look beautiful’. Why, of course. What else would he say? There’s something in your teeth? Of course not. Because even if there is, his attention would be drawn to her beautiful body. And, perhaps, cleavage.

Let’s face it. In the history of humanity, guys love women. Women are source of beauty in the universe and we take every single part of that beauty seriously. That’s most probably why most -if not all- famous fashion designers are male. Heck, if you follow that ‘America’s Next Top Model’ show, most of the judges are male. It’s because guys know how to bring up the beauty in female. Not too explicit and make them cheap, but enough to charm people in public.

So, don’t think for a split second that guys would just sit there and do nothing when they see a woman revealing body parts such as thigh or cleavage. Never trust a guy who would say that that kind of body parts do not have any impact on him. Obviously, he does not appreciate women. I mean, seriously, girls wear mini skirt because they are proud of their smooth legs. They wear gown to show off their breast because it’s smooth and have cleavage and they take pride in them. No, don’t trust a guy like that.

However, believe that there are levels of handling this kind of thing for guys. Some would hold back and pretend not see it. Some would take a look intermittently so that they don’t get caught staring. Some would stare wildly and would give uncomfortable feeling and would risk the chance of being called pervert. Some would.. well, let’s not go beyond this.

My point being is that all men are animals. We would want women wear anything they like. We love beauty. And, I must emphasise BEAUTY. Do reveal when your legs are like Jessica Alba. Do reveal your lumps when they are as impressive as Kim Kardashian’s. Don’t wear hot pants just because it’s hot out there. It’s not about being practical. It’s a cruel world out there. People judge.

Never trust a guy who say it’s okay to wear mini skirt. It should be girls who say so. But, bear the risk to yourself. It’s a cruel city. Girls get molested even with full clothes on. Imagine if you let your guard down. No, don’t trust that kind of guy. He wants you to keep revealing your beauty without anyone bitching about it. No. Don’t trust him. All men are animals. So don’t trust those who say it’s okay to keep revealing your body parts.

Did you know what true beauty is? It’s when you have full clothes on, and you still look hot. Mere knitted threads could not possibly block the beauty in you if you are really beautiful. I’ve seen those kind of girls before: no body parts revealed and yet, they look hot. So, here’s a challenge for you, ladies: how to look hot (if you think you are) with full clothes on. Can you take such challenge?

What if...?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:33:54 +0700

“there are moments in life when you have to choose. whatever your choice is, in the future, there will be moments when you think ‘what if..’” - Anonymous

Today marks another milestone in my life. I’ve signed up another contract with another organisation. What makes it different with another milestones of mine? Firstly, I signed when I am still at a UN-related agency, International Organization for Migration (IOM). Secondly, practically, it has been a long time since a filed resignation letter to the organization I worked for. Thirdly, I have such a wonderful boss right now. He is considerate and appreciates my work. At times, he took us out for lunch at his expense. Not at just some restaurant, but fancy restaurants like the one at JW Mariott Hotel or Kuningan Village. Those are just to name a few.

Of course, I can’t avoid feeling like cheating when I took another offer. But, somehow I realise I have to overcome this. I learned in the past that you can absorb with your work but not the organisation. Someday, the organisation will forsake you. It’s just a question of when. It just so happens that the opportunity comes waaay too early.

As quoted above, in the future, I may come to a moment where I ponder, what if I stay at IOM? What would I become 2-3 years if I decide to stay; knowing the fact that I have the opportunity to have better career? As a matter of fact, what if I wait for another opportunity from a commercial bank whose interview process I have gone through. What if… what if.. what if.

So, I realise I just have to make decision whose consequences I think is best for me and my dependents.. my family. Once the decision is made, I just have to pay the consequences. I am hoping for the best only.

‘What if’ will not be taken into account.

The Battle of Cults of Smartphone

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 06:30:18 +0700

In the beginning…

I still remember the days when people used different brands of mobile phone. Some would use Nokia, Siemens (hey, do they make Siemens smartphones?), Samsung, etc. Life was easier back then. There were no trolls. If I think about it now, it’s because mobile phones back then were pretty basic. Besides making phone calls and sending text, no other features worth boasting about.

Other features, even if existed, were pretty much today’s basic features on smartphones: organisers, memo, alarm clock, etc. There were practically no smartphone features back then. No push email, no augmented reality, no “magical” stuff. Some other features that may be considered “cool” might be: high quality sound when playing music. That’s all.

Blackberry has existed since circa 2000. It can be safely said that push email technology on mobile devices has existed since then. But, Blackberry didn’t receive much of hype as they do now. Well, at least, since the current President of the United States was reported to be addicted fan of it. We know now that Blackberry is dimming.

Seemingly targeted at corporate, back then, hardly “retail” users, teenagers would use Blackberry. I suppose Blackberry Messenger (BBM) has existed since its first appearance. But, this messenger has been, and still is, exclusive to Blackberry devices. This exclusivity didn’t bother anyone back then. It’s so exclusive to corporate users that everybody wouldn’t bother if someone next to him/ her was busy tapping keyboards on that shiny glimmering Blackberry. Who cared?

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) has also long existed. It’s like a mini version of computers or laptop. Was PDA also considered smartphone? Is smartphone just buzz word? It probably is. But, even back then PDA hasn’t received much of hype, either. One could own a PDA device without him/ her boasting about it. They all use it as tools that help them running businesses to make profit.

Then the game changed

How did the game change? In my opinion, it was when Blackberry received attention when Obama was reported to be a die-hard fan of Blackberry. Since then, the media have been hyping so much that seemingly everyone rushed to own one for whatever reason there was. Apparently, this changed RIM in playing the game. They started to target on “retail” users. Blackberry used to be corporate devices and now has become “retail” devices.

People would boast that Blackberry devices help them connect: push email, compressed secured line in sending messages: connectivity. It got so much of hype that almost everyone I see in buses I take in the morning sticks their eyes on Blackberry devices. I doubt that they are working on important business documents. I had a glimpse on a screen of one user. Guess what I saw? Blackberry Messenger.

What follows is even game changer. Circa 2007, Apple released the first shiny iPhone. There was no physical keyboard; only large eye-candy screen. There was hype. But, there were hardly brawls between the cult of iPhone and other similar smartphones.

Apple wasn’t the first player in smartphone. Windows Mobile-powered devices, Symbian and Blackberry have been in the field way long before Apple came in to play. But, none of those devices offers the same experience like the first iPhone. Sure, there have been touchscreen mobile phones. But, usually they need stylus in the operation. Even the term touchscreen didn’t use in terms of what iPhone was intended: you just touch it. Cannot swipe your finger on the screen.

The Icon

So, how come there are “brawls” among smartphone users now? If you constantly follow gadget updates, check out the comments section. Everyone would bash another for boasting a device that they adore (not necessary use it). People would attach to their gadget. The gadget creates feeling inside them. What gives? They are all just smartphones… with different features, hardware and experiences.

I would consider myself as a fan of Android. So, I might be biased in giving opinion. But, just for the record, back in late 2009, when I had enough cash in hand to buy a gadget, I did have a choice between owning a Blackbery device and an Android one. I was really tempted to own a Blackberry device. iPhone didn’t come into consideration. I can’t remember why. But, one thing I remember why I chose Android: it’s the freedom. I would like to have full control of the device I own. I like hacking into device and optimize the use of it. This is something I thought I could not achieve with other smartphones. Yes, this is bias.

Opinion aside, so, how come there are brawls? Why can’t one just peacefully own and take pride of their gadget? I know some people could own an iPhone and a Blackberry. Some others would use Blackberry and iPad. But, I hardly know someone who owns Android and Blackberry or iPhone. Usually, Android owners just stick with one gadget. Yeah, you would say that Android users don’t have enough cash to buy some more gadgets. Or, it’s probably that they have all the things they need in one place.

I tend to blame the icon of Apple, Steve Jobs. He has been marketing the shiny eye-candy iPhone like it’s exclusive. Note that there is NOTHING WRONG with that. Sure, Android-powered Galaxy series don’t receive much of hype. To top it all, no smartphone has iconic characters who promote their device into exclusivity like Steve Jobs. It’s been 4 years since its first appearance and there were like, what, 4 releases of iPhone? Android has way many ranges of smartphone. From low-end to high-end. While one of top manufacturers of Android-based smartphone has been sued many times by Apple, it still continues to innovate by releasing new products offering ranges of features.

It’s the icon. That’s where the problem lies. He has been giving misleading statements. And when people pointing out the fact otherwise, people would argue. Hence, the brawls.

Let me start with the word “retina display”. Steve claimed that the display on the latest iPhone exceeded what human eyes can see. Thus, when looking at its display, you’d hardly see or notice pixels. Google retina display steve jobs and you’d see that it’s just marketing buzz words. There’s no need to call scientist on this one. The world we are seeing now is NOT PIXELATED. It’s vector-based graphic. In other words, images reflected on our retina is not composed of pixels. It. Is. Misleading. But again, some -or all- would say, he can say whatever he wanted to market the product. Fine.

But it’s still misleading. And it has led millions people into thinking that Apple has innovated in many ways. In fact, all people would think that the first table existed is iPad. They must’ve thought that way because Apple is suing Samsung for copying its design. Apparently, the first appearance of electronic device with round corners wasn’t invented by Apple.

When iPhone 4 was first released there were issues like, one of them, death grip. How did Steve Jobs react to this? He went public and took other smartphones with him, namely, BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Omnia II, and the HTC Droid Eris. So, he didn’t bother to address the problem of iPhone 4. Instead, he bashed other smartphones. He even wen’t further by blaming users of iPhone 4. He has coined the phrase “you’re holding it wrong”.

He can; why can’t I?

So, all these misleading statements from Steve Jobs -published by media- have created the environment we live in now. One could not just leave one device live happily ever after. I know. I am one of them. But I blame Steve for that. Here’s a question to ponder: how come Steve can bash other products and that other products’ fans CANNOT bash Apple products?

[Reflection] Time is Running Out

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:16:53 +0700

Birthdays, to me, are just another days. What makes them different is that, on the same date you were born, you reflect your life; what you have achieved so far, what your impacts are to this world, how people will remember you. I am lucky I am surrounded by gorgeous people who remember me, though my existence could be annoying and, sometimes, awkward. But they bear with me.

Even in tough times like these days, some have truly shown the true friend in them. A friend in need is a friend indeed. I appreciate your helping me, guys! I also appreciate your having confidence in me and trusting me with work and opportunities.

This brings me back to the topic. Life is full of milestones. One should plan what he/ she’s going to do with their life; what and where they want to be in 5-10 years from now. I used to have such plan. I plan that when I reach the age 40, I will lead a steady and stable life with wife and kids. No need to worry about the future, got everything I need to nurture the family. And probably, I got everything for the kids as well and I’ll live to see them making their own nuclear families. Probably will have the chance to hold their babies like I hold my kids when they were small.

And now, I have to reconstruct the blueprint. At my age, people are worrying about promotion, how to get increment, enhancing careers and alike. It’s so ashamed that I am worrying about keeping my job. I don’t want to blame anyone, especially myself. I hate sounding like a loser. The storm will go on no matter which way your finger is pointing. While we are at this point, I am quite nettled with those who complain so much about their job. If it is lousy, which makes them complain so much, why don’t they just quit? I’d appreciate to take their job, if they recommend me to their employers. If I don’t think clearly, their complaining their jobs sounds like boasting their cool job, but in a subtle way.

My worry now is redesigning my life plan. With current situation, it is almost impossible to reach my target. Unless.. Unless miracle happens.

This is why I don’t wish to remember that this is my birthday. It only reminds me that time is running out. Browsing through job advertisements can be worrying. All (I would say some, but unlikely) companies require their candidate to be 30-35 at most. And where do people go when they reach beyond? It is not fair. They beat me at something I cannot control. Time. My age.

I still appreciate the wishes, though. They show that you care, friends. And I thank you all for that. Believe me when I say that your wishes have coloured my day :)

Biometrics is Impressive but Bad Idea

Tue, 17 May 2011 21:46:38 +0700

Biometrics, to put in layman words, is methodology used in recognising authorised users by computer. One example you may have dealt with at workplace is fingerprint scan. When you go to work and have to clock in, you may have your finger scanned for clocking in.

Imagine you are working on a top secret project and the only way to access the room where you work on the project is secured with biometrics. For example, using fingerprint scan. We’ve seen on movies, such as Charlie’s Angles where the girls break into a secured project using fingerprint scan. Of course, that only happens in movie. But, in theory, it can be done. You can outsmart the fingerprint scanner using duplicated fingers and using modified contact lens to outsmart the retina scanner.

However, for low-life criminal, they will take the shortcut. And I mean it literally. It was reported on the news, in 2005 in Malaysia, car thieves deliberately cut the finger of the owner of a Mercedes because the car was secured with fingerprint security.

The owner was lucky, he was still left alive. In a movie, “Demolition Man” in order for the villain to escape, he has to cut off an authorised user’s eyes.

In the latest news, there was this iris scanning biometrics to identify authorised users. It can be used for any purpose of securing data.

What I brought up here are mostly based on movies. But you cannot escape the fact that one of them is based on true story. And this is one thing scientists have to bear in mind when developing biometrics: impressive as it may sound and look, biometrics can bear complicated implication. In my opinion, applying biometrics for top secret project or sensitive data is a bad idea.

Amygdala: Fear as Manifestation of Mind

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:23:13 +0700

I watched this TV series, Leverage. The episode was about a convict who has got nothing to lose and that a gang of talented thieves need information from him of whereabouts of the money he stole. They need something he’s afraid of so that this information gets out. Hence, they manipulate a situation in such a way that creates fear to him, so terrifying that his nose bleeds. Then, I learned about amygdala.

Amygdala is a small part of your brain that controls your fear. From Wikipedia, it is mentioned that amygdala performs its functions as processing and memory of emotional reactions. The same source mentioned that “the amygdalae perform primary roles in the formation and storage of memories associated with emotional events”. So, it can be concluded that when you undergo unpleasant events it will stick into your memory and it stays there and creates fear whenever the same event occurs. For example, if you were once bitten by a dog, it will create fear in you next time you see one on the streets, even if the dog is tame.

Our fear towards things can even be conditioned. It is where your fear of something is associated with objects. For example, you are afraid of ghosts because you have seen what they do in movies and the terrifying events happen in the dark. Therefore, you associate dark rooms with ghosts. Hence, you are afraid of dark rooms. Even though, the fact is that there is no ghost in that room. It’s just dark room. But, since you have associated dark rooms with ghosts, all dark rooms become scary to you.

I am not a scientist in this field, so I could not go on elaborating about this amygdala thing. But, to touch upon the skin of the topic is very interesting. And why not? It’s in your brain. Your fear is generated by physical thing that exists inside of you.

So, to feel fear is very humane. A person who has no fear towards everything is not a human. In fact, he is either stupid (hey, the amygdala is in your brain, right?) or just saying that to hide his fear. No, every normal human (and animals, too, if you’d like to know) feels fear. Bungee jumping off the bridge creates fear. Walking in a snake pit creates fears. Speeding on a motorbike creates fear. Then, why are there people do those things? You ask this to them. I bet they say, it’s the rush of adrenaline in the brain that creates such excitement. In other words, it’s the fear that excites them. They feel fear when bungee jumping; but the fear creates excitement. They speed on a motorbike; but the fear creates excitement.

So, to feel fear is normal. However, just like any other part of your body, amygdala too can be controlled. In other words, you can control your fear. Who knows, maybe you can control your fear and be a daredevil?

It must be noted, however, human need to feel fear. You just need to prioritise what fears you most. Speeding on a motorbike surely terrifying especially when you have no protection over your head. If you have no fear, you will do stupid things. Like crashing your motorbike to a wall. No, you need to control your fear and not end up doing stupid things.

I watched this Batman movie (see, we can learn things from movies), and there’s this quote “to conquer fear you must become fear”. It’s said that Bruce Wayne is very afraid of bats. And he learned that to conquer his fear of bats he become the bats that virtually fly and only come out in the dark. He learned the power of the bats and he becomes the Batman as we know now. Of course, his character is fictional. But his quote is hard to deny, “You must bask in the fear of other men. And men fear most what they cannot see. You have to become a terrible thought. A wraith. You have to become an idea! Feel terror cloud your senses. Feel its power to distort.. to control. And know that this power can be yours. Embrace your worst fears. Become one with the darkness.”

See, it’s all about control. Understand what you fear. Of course, you don’t have to be the fear. You’ll look silly in Batman suite. I can’t imagine what your custome will be if you are afraid of rats or house lizards. No, you just need to understand them. Rats and house lizards are even afraid of human. Snakes do not bite unless they are disturb. Control. That is the key.

Now, what about ghosts? What are there to be afraid of? Why do you need to be afraid of? If you cannot see them, why do you need to be afraid of ghosts? Heck, even those who claim can see ghosts don’t even flee from the room. So, why bother? It’s because you fear what you can’t see. This is the key.

So, is your next plan now watching horror movies? Perhaps, one step at a time.

Once in your life time, there must be a situation where you have to be in the dark. Be it due to power outage or when you have to go back to your office in the middle of the night and there’s hardly illumination of lights. See and hear things. You’ll notice that you see nothing but doors, chairs and office utensils sit in silence. You’ll hear nothing but wind. Don’t let these objects get into your mind and create funny manifestation. It’s all in your mind. You think you’re hearing voices, but they aren’t there. You think you’re seeing things, but they aren’t there. It’s just your manifestation. And don’t take someone who claims he can see things. He will just deteriorate your fear of darkness. To have fun, just claim yourself you can see things too. And tell him that there’s a clown in the corner of the room and he’s laughing at him. Perhaps, that way, you’ll break the ice and will have a good laugh.

So, let’s control our amygdala. Learn the fear.

What's Stopping Them From Squeezing the Gas?

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:05:00 +0700

Trolls on the street. This is not a race, dude! [Photo courtesy of http://fotolepas.blogspot.com/2011/03/pelanggaran-berjamaah.html]

At the traffic light, motorbike riders look like they participate in race or something. If they do, they should be disqualified for stealing the start. The green light isn’t on yet and already do they squeeze the gas.

I myself ride a motorbike but I don’t have the adrenaline of rushing my motorbike to get to my destination. What are on those idiot’s mind? Let me rephrase that. Do they have mind?

Then I think of it and come up with 2 theories.

1. Insecurity

I don’t want to brag about my welfare, but looking at the types of motorbikes that run red lights I can safely say that they lead a poor life. Poor in terms of financial. It can be said that they have insecure life. Their boss might scold them for their poor output work. Their co-workers might stab them in the back. So, they need to be good somewhere. The street is the answer. They need to be good there. They lead a poor life, anyway. Running red light and got hit won’t make it worse, they think.

Compare this to people in more developed countries. Sure, prices are high and their bosses might be more demanding. But they lead more secure life. So, it’s hard to find scoundrels running red lights there. So, in order to have order on the streets, people should have secure life.

2. The Power of Crowd

I hardly ever found the case where there was only one rider running red light. They always come in mass. Yes, you can imagine how barbaric traffic light here. Traffic light is supposed to serve as administering flow of vehicles on the account that the drivers are following the rule: red means stop and green means go. Nobody says that when the situation is clear, despite the red light, you can go. But, no. They always do this. And they have the gut to do so because there are just too many of them. Who’s gonna stop them? Even when you have the green light, you can not run over those idiot bikers. The police will take you in despite that you have the green light.

You can say that these kind of motor riders are troll. I would say the same thing. I mean, after the green light, I can easily catch those motor riders who run the red lights. So, what’s the point of running red lights other than just being a troll?

So, what will be the best solution to this?

First, let’s talk about what cause this idiotic behaviour. I tend to blame the weather. What? You say. Read on and close your jaws first. I will try to bring sense into this. The weather in the city is humid and hot. Not a perfect place for sightseeing and joyride. Wearing jackets in hot weather will surely make riding motorbike as a replacement for spa treatment. So, the key weather element is hot and humid which will make motor riders uncomfortable on the street. Staying at traffic light in less than 10 seconds under the burning glittering sun will make them start sweating. They need to move on so that they can enjoy the breeze as they squeeze the gas. So they hit the red light.

Solution

You may laugh at my solution but I would love to listen any better idea than suppressing those idiotic riders. Now, my hypothesis of why they run red lights is because that they are too uncomfortable with the weather. We need to make them stay where they are (traffic light) when they still have red light.

Some traffic lights in the city have timer display. It counts down to how many seconds riders have until they have green light. Apparently, at some intersections this might work. But, we can still find riders run the red light.

I am proposing 2 solutions to this.

1. Automatic Spike

Yes, you know spike. The one you see on TV where police want to catch the running bad guys and blow the tyres with spikes. Using the same idea, spikes are deployed when the red light is on. The spike will be undeployed when the green light is on. This will guarantee make those idiotic riders think twice for running red lights. There will be cost, of course. But, consider it as investment. For such idea, who will oppose? Everyone will agree.

2. Babes Show as Replacement of Red Light

On the street, there is no sex discrimination: female riders are just as stupid as male riders. But, we cannot avoid the fact that there are more male riders on the street. Hence, I propose that besides traffic light, there should be a video of babe stripping off her clothes during the red light. The idea is the same as countdown timer I mentioned earlier. It’s just that instead of countdown timer, we replace it with the babe stripping video. I can guarantee that more and more riders will stop at the red light. Heck, even those at the green light would switch road with that of the red light.

Okay, so the babes stripping may be too much. But, I am sure you get the idea. We need to make sure those troll stay where they are at red lights. Something has to be done. Someone needs to take initiative. I am just a regulare citizen and don’t have the power nor authority to execute my abovementioned plans. I am just hoping those who do have the power and/ or authority can make sense of my plans and come up with better ideas. We’ll see.

[REVIEW] PICTURE COLLAGE MAKER

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:26:26 +0700

It is hard to limit what this software does. You want to create simple birthday card? It can help you (although, at the end of the day, you will want to create more than simple birthday card). You want to create memorabilia scrapbook for your leaving friend to another country? It can help you. You want to run a campaign and need to print out your photo on t-shirts, mugs, bags, etc.? It can help you. You are running a printing company? This software will ease you in designing layouts, templates and let you focus on the content.

Even during trial stage, the software is already impressive with the things it can do. At the end of the day, you will wonder yourself how it will cost you only $29.90 for single-user personal license. For a startup printing company, this will be their highly valued investment. For $59.90, the software will provide predefined customizable layouts/ templates leaving them to focus on the contents.

The name of the software describes exactly what it does: it enables you to create collage of pictures. The software interface is very friendly that it doesn’t take long for one to intuitively use Picture Collage Maker. If you use other Microsoft products (Word, PowerPoint and alike) you will have no problem using the software.

INTERFACE

Basically, you can start your project quickly by clicking and dragging a template you’d like to use from the template bar. The predefined templates are ranging from calendars, occasional greeting cards, or just a number of simple layouts.

Having clicked and dragged a template, you can start placing your photo by double clicking any image placeholder, locate your photo in your system, click OK. That’s it. Repeat the same procedure for other image placeholder and you are done with the project.

At the very least, all you have to do is start a new project, choose a template, select and place your own photo, and you complete the project.

Of course, you will want to do more with your project. This is just to give you the idea of how simple it is to create your own photo collage project. Basic operation of using Photo Collage maker is simply point and click. You will have no trouble mastering it within minutes.

Even if this is too hard for you, Photo Collage Maker offers Wizard button with which you can create your own project simply by selecting photos, the template you wish to use and you are done with it.

One thing to note is that for every output you create with the software at trial stage, a tiled watermark text will appear. If you want to have your project printed without ordering the full license AND without having the watermark included you can do so by creating custom collage product online.

CREATING CUSTOM COLLAGE PRODUCT ONLINE

This will be of your interest in using Photo Collage Maker. When you are done with your project, you can have it printed on any media ranging from t-shirts, bags or mugs.

Your photo collage will be uploaded onto their website and you will be redirected to Zazzle website which allows you to create custom t-shirts, personalized gifts, posters, etc.

You can preview your project on t-shirts, photo card, stein, bags, mousepad or mug.

You will have wide range of customization. For example, if you want to have your project printed on t-shirts, you can choose any of available colors, any size, or even gender-specific t-shirts.

CONCLUSION

Photo Collage Maker is built to serve exactly what you need like the name implies. Customization of photo layouts will empower you to break the limit of your project. You are not limited to print your projects on paper. You can output it onto any printable media.

Be it for personal use or for commercial mass printing, Photo Collage Maker is recommended.