I wrote a piece for the Sunday Times published today about the emergence of the smartbooks – netbooks which use mobile processors and Linux/Google operating systems instead of the usual Wintel duopoly. I drafted the specs from the info provided and e-mailed it back to the computer company for them to confirm the specs. Everything was in order, except the OS part which the PR wanted me to
“pls state OS to be ‘comprising of a customer user interface layer, built on a custom Linux-based OS.”

In other words, a Linux OS. “That’s rubbish” was my response and I simply told him/her that the sentence was a total waste of valuable space on the newspaper. He/she said he/she did not understand why I used the word rubbish and went on to send me more info:

Q. What is the OS for Skylight and why did you choose it?
A. The Skylight User experience is comprised of a custom UI layer built on a custom Linux base OS.   The average user will not be aware that the OS is based on Linux.  We chose this approach because it provided the flexibility to deliver a simple, discoverable, and fun gadget based way of presenting web applications and media.

Q: Is this a Lenovo Operating System?

A: That depends on your definition of “Operating System”.   We have created a unique software stack optimized to achieve a specific user experience focused on web applications, media and cloud computing.    The focus of our investments have been on the User Interface layer.

Q: What did you base the OS on?

A: Lenovo’s Skylight Interface runs on Embedded Linux.  ThunderSoft is Lenovo’s Linux System Integrator.

Q: Are you working with a Linux distribution partner? Who is it?
A: Yes Thundersoft.  Lenovo recognized the value of running Linux as a base platform for the Skylight User Interface for everything from performance to extensive customization.   This allowed us to pick the best and most appropriate elements to solve the SmartBook equation.   An extensive team of partners along with internal development teams from Lenovo and Qualcomm worked together to pick, customize and create what we needed to provide a world-class solution.

Yes my friend. It is still a Linux OS.

A must-read for everyone.

Written by an ex-MS employee, this guy shares why Microsoft has become what he calls a “clumsy innovator” and why non of the “wow” gadgets coming out these last few years – Kindle, iPhone, Android, Facebook – is from the computing giant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/opinion/04brass.html?pagewanted=1

I was just gushing down a bowl of extremely salty French Onion soup at TGIF near the Marriot Grand Hotel in Moscow where I am staying when I saw Jobs flashing the iPad in some Russian news channel. That was enough for me to spend the next 90 minutes watching Job’s keynote.

Two things struck me from the iPads launch today:

1. Apple is really going into a closed lock-down system.

   The iPad will be utilising Apple’s new 1GHz processor (Apple now totally owns the hardware and the OS).

   It also launched iWorks (competitor to MS Office) for US$9.99 for each of the spreadsheet, presentation and word processor software (called numbers, keynote and something else I cant remember) It also launched iBooks – an e-book reader and store.  With App Store and iTunes Music Store,  now Apple also owns the software and services platform.

   Apple struck a deal with AT&T for adding 3G at US$29.99 per month for unlimited access. So like the iPhone, you are stuck again with a specific telco. And my guess is the two will work together to lock-in consumers and share the money.

   It looks like the Apple way is increasingly becoming a closed, lock-down system. I dont like lock-down systems and it sure makes Microsoft (who only controlled the OS and the apps and tried with the browser) look like an angel in comparison.

2. Is the iPad simply a glorified smartphone?

   Yes, it did look cool watching Jobs spin the thing round, but what exactly is the Apple 1GHz processor? Early rumours are swirling that it is simply one of the many 1GHz ARM processors (ARM licences its processor tech to people like Nvidia and Qualcomm to make smartphone processors) around. The same architecture that powers the Google Nexus One smartphone. But can it be powerful enough to support a mini-laptop? In case you are still wondering why the iPad does not support the ability to run multiple apps at the same time, perhaps this is the answer!

Domino’s Pizza is back in Singapore and their first outlet is just 5 mins from my home. I urge everyone to order online at www.dominos.com.sg instead of calling them on the phone. Why? Because you can simply key-in the promo codes for amazing deals – like 2 pizzas for $25.80 nett – without physically having to show them your discount coupon. (They don’t check for coupons even though they are supposed to) Once you know the promo codes you can keep using them. The online ordering form is one of the best I have seen and extremely easy to navigate. And the pizzas always arrive on time (within 30 mins) and are piping hot!

Here they are, in order of best deals (in my opinion)

BT3OR SF7 – $39.80 for TWO large pizzas with EXTRA cheese (save $25.80)

BT5 OR SF6 – $25.80 for TWO regular pizzas (save $19.80)

SF 8 – FREE regular pizza when you buy a large one (save $22.80) Tuesday Only

SF 5 – 30% off any regular, large or xtra large pizza

I was so excited to unwrap my newly minted Nexus One which arrived at about 3pm today but I did not get a chance to mess around till an hour ago as I was outside. I was immediately impressed by its speed, cool looks and excellent touch feel. I immediately installed Hoiio and SMS Backup and Facebook to get my basic apps up and running. They were all working fine and I even listened to Amazon MP3 30 second free top hits previews. Then I went downstairs and out of the Wi-Fi zone and everything stopped working. I have tried everything I know, checked my settings three times, rebooted twice but 3G simply does not work. This is obviously a problem and I am very disappointed this did not work out of the box. Will be calling HTC for support real soon!

Update: OK i figured out the problem. The phone strangely does not set the access point settings automatically when you insert the SIM card, so it needs a manual configuration, for starhub users you need to go to settings>mobile networks>access point names>press menu>then press new apn then set apn as shinternet or as shwapint, 3G should work now.

When you are a tech reporter, you get to play with any gadget or game that you want, most of the time. The problem with gadgets is that the yearning and desire is strongest when you can’t hold them, but since I get to test almost any gadget I am interested in, the desire is no longer to own the gadget but just to play with them for a week or two.

So when I sat down and asked myself what I would like for X’mas, I really had to think hard. But here’s what I think I would need:

(1) Time.
I want to rip all my DVDs, VCDs, convert my LDs plus convert my home video tapes into a digital format, and store them all in my 4-bay NAS. Sounds like a lot of time, which is what I really need but don’t have much of.

(2) A new mobile phone plan
Since my contract ended in October, I am going to switch from my 800 minutes plan with 0 GB free data  to 100 minutes plan with 12GB  free data. I am going to start using Hoiio or pfingo Bounce to make local calls to cut down on my mobile phone bill. Why pay 16.05cents per minute when I can get it for 3.8 cents per minute.

(3) A gaming laptop
I have many laptops but I think it’s time to get a 15.6-inch or 17-inch machine that can do everything including games. I have been testing the 17-inch Gateway P series and so far I am very pleased with it. The laptop does not overheat after hours of gameplay! Trying to see if prices will fall under $2,500.

(4) A sound system
The stereo speakers from my 40-inch Samsung TV really sucks and having done quite a few stories on hifi-systems at Audio House, I am convinced it’s time to get a good 5.1 sound system. I liked the Polk Audio speakers I tested the last time, will probably combine that with a Denon amp. Trying to get it all for about $2,000.

(5) A new phone for my wife
This is the toughest choice of all. It’s hard to figure out what women really wants, and that also applies to getting a phone for them. I think I’ll stick to a Sony Ericsson with a good camera. And no, I wont get her an iPhone.

Hot on the heels of testing the HTC Hero Android phone, I took a spin with the new Acer Windows Mobile 6.5 touchscreen phone and I can quickly summarise it – it cannot make it lah, seriously.

Why?

(1) Not only is 100-200 apps in its Marketplace pathetic compared to the thousands in iPhone and Android, the worst is that I tried connecting to it 10 x thru Wi-Fi and 3G and all I got was an error msg that says servers might be busy. Oh God!

(2) In the world of Android, and I suspect iPhone too, everything syncs in the background. Gmail on Android was like Blackberry Push mail without paying a cent – your mail gets updated in the background in seconds after it is sent or received. With Gmail on Win Mobile, it still had a schedule that asked me how long did I want to set the send & receive mail? SEND & RECEIVE??? Wake up Redmond, its push mail now, and no it’s not Blackberry I am talking about.

Here’s a secret. Normally you need to have an online ST subscription to read the full length of ST articles online. Those that you get to access for free are usually only short snippets of the full version.

But there is Red Nano. (rednano.sg) Red Nano is SPH’s (the media giant which owns ST, BT, TNP, Zao Bao, etc) search and directory service which lets you view any SPH news article that was published in the last 12 months and any reviews of products with no time limit. The articles will appear under Red Nano’s archives a day after the news went to print. If you search for it on the day itself, you will be directed to say straitstimes.com. Once you are out of Red Nano, you cannot view it for free.  Unfortunately, Red Nano needs some training to learn how to use it this way. Here’s how to do it.

Tamiflu screencap

Singapore’s Ministry of Health has sent expired Tamiflu supplies to the general practitioner’s in Singapore.  Tamiflu, which comes in boxes of 10 pills each, is the anti-viral drug for the H1N1 flu. According to the report and to my own sources as well, these Tamiflu meds hve expiry dates of 2007, and was manufactured in 2003. MOH has added a sticker that says that these meds can be used beyond their shelf life – to 2010.

MOH’s circular to the GPs say this:

“We would like to assure you that the extension is with the approval from the manufacturer (Roche), U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and our Health Sciences Authority. This extention  is  made possible due to our stringent conditioning and maintenance requirements in our storage facilities. The efficacy of the drug is not compromised in any way and is fit for usage.”

Straits Times has done really well to get doctors to give their response. 

Dr Wong Tien Hua, a general practitioner in Sengkang, said an expiry date can vouch for a drug’s effectiveness only for that period. ‘If it is past the expiry date, the effectiveness of the drug might not be good,’ he said, adding that someone with the H1N1 virus might take longer to recover if given ‘expired’ medication. (from ST)

Agreeing, Dr Vincent Chia, deputy director of Healthway Medical, said although it is a national stockpile, the onus will still be on the doctor to explain to patients. ‘Tamiflu is not without its side effects…so when that happens we won’t know if it’s because the drugs are expired or because of the side effects,’ he said. (from ST)

For the full story, go to ST.com here, if you are not a subscriber use red nano here.

For years, Apple fans have lambasted Windows for being insecure (which is true) while boasting that their own Macs “had no viruses.” It’s not that Mac had no vulnerabilities, its market share was just too small to make it worth the hackers’ time. But with iPhone and ipod Touch now taking over the world, it is only a matter of time before the viruses will appear.

What is interesting about the iPhone 3.0 OS is that while it is free for iPhone users, iPod Touch users like me ( I only bought it because I thought my wife would like it) have to pay US$9.90 for 3.0. Now 3.0 has a host of nifty features which in Apple’s principle justifies charging users for the update.

Of course only Apple gets away with this rubbish, charging users for updates to the operating system of their machine as they have done with Mac OSX for years with fancy Big Cat names to updates. Imagine if Microsoft  charged for Windows Vista Sp1 – the world would probably descend onto pandemomiun.