The compelling case for the SONY Alpha A700...

Gordon Laing, Editor of Cameralabs.com offers a terrific review of the technical specifications of the SONY Alpha A700. It's not the newest model, but its features and design still represent some classic thinking that will outlast minor technical and application updates.

Could the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 be the Best HD Camera?

Fortunately, my sensible budget limits my option to forgo the new mobile phone and live with the Omnia I now use, and consider the A550L body alone or the A500. It will also depend on which deal is available and few places have stock for the body kit alone. If I had a choice, I would love the A700 because of the alloy body and not bother with it having few megapixels. Whatever the case, I do need a DSLR soon!

Silence of the lambs

I was really surprised to see the lambs all herded by the Scottish sheep dog along the hillside, and they all seemed to know exactly where they were heading. In fact, the lambs were all heading back to the very places and spots they were born. But what made this scene so unusual, in my mind, was the sheer silence of the hills, apart from the wind being caught in my ear. The sheep dog did its work without a bark, and the sheep were not bleating a bit. Then I realised these were all just lambs. Then it dawned on me how we have lost appreciation for the expression, "the silence of the lambs", except for the popular horror flick of the same name (Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster). I realise that we are so removed from our pastoral and agrigarian roots - hunter or cultivator - that these wonderful observations of nature are being lost. There is something eerie and peculiar to the modern mind to see lambs moving up the hillside in such silence. Perhaps, it is a survival instinct to keep predators afar through stealth. But perhaps it is just part of their compliant nature? The silence of lambs: perhaps meekness is good for the pilgrim who only wants to arrive and complete the journey.

I think I finally found my babe: the SAMSUNG Omnia Pro B7610

After looking around of a replacement mobile set for my faithful but aged Samsung Omnia (2007), I almost settled on the arguably good but not the latest tech platform in the HTC HD2, and that was aftering feeling I had to settle for the S$997 (now promo-priced at S$879) Samsung Omnia HD. So my brother Chris - a tech-geek - says that I should away the Windows 7 mobile OS, which should be available by year-end. I don't know if Windows Mobile is worth waiting for, because with the Omnia I use, I had to bear with a great deal of problems, particularly when tapping the touchscreen to accept a call. Then, just last month, I checked the website and decided to upgrade the firmware, which included a revised version of Windows 6.1, which the Omnia uses. To my surprise, the firmware upgrade resulted in much better performance, and most importantly, after about 2.5 years of usage, the ability to reliably pull the phone out of its protective leather sleeve and answer the incoming call without a hitch. Now, finally, after two over years, I actually answer my phone calls directly off the phone. You may wonder why I did not dump the phone earlier. Firstly, because I was told it was a software problem, and secondly, the phone did cost a lot of money - even though it was less than the first version iPhone impported from the USA. While speaking to a M1 mobile phone sales promoter at Funan Centre, he did remind me that the Omnia is in fact a goood phone except for the touchscreen troubles, but that could be corrected with the firmware upgrade. I did upgrade the firmware twice before and this cursory mention motivated me to spontaneously download the latest upgrade available off the mobile support site. That aside, the question now is whether I would still be happy to hold on to this old sweatshop. She's not a beauty anymore but her size is perfect for the vest pocket and phone pocket in my shoulderbag. The downside is that she can't play any of the digital movies I have downloaded for my mobile phone, even with the DivX registration. The problem is that the phone memory is too small, and only the useless Touch Player works off the storage card memory (16GB), and the additional 2GB microSD card. So, I am reviewing all the phones right now to find my new babe. I think I found it in the newly arrived SAMSUNG Omnia Pro B7610 I had a look at just today at the phone showroom, and a chance to play with the menu and options at the M1 licensed store at B1 Plaza Singapura. Oddly enough, the distibutor shop had a model to play with, minus SIM Card, but the Samsung Showroom did not. Makes you wonder who actually manages the Samsung brand customer service and showroom in Singapore, because I get the ickie feeling after dealing with them for my Blu-Ray player and other appliances, that it's a licensed company that is authorised to act as the Samsung agent here. Complaint about the agent aside, it's really now about how reliable and good this product is. Here are the specifications: General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 3.6Mbps Form factor: Full QWERTY side-slider Dimensions: 112.6 x 57.8 x 16.2 mm, 159g Display: 3.5" 16M color (65K effective) resistive AMOLED touchscreen of WVGA resolution OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 (upgradable to 6.5), TouchWiz 2.0 UI Memory: 1GB built-in storage, 256 MB RAM, hot-swappable microSD (up to 16GB) CPU: 800 MHz processor with dedicated graphics accelerator Camera: 5 megapixel auto-focus, with dual LED flash and VGA video at 30 fps Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, TV out, 3.5mm standard audio jack Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD video support, work and leisure modes Battery: 1500mAh Li-Ion battery The assorted reviews are generally good, and the only complaints may be about specific preferences. For now, the verdict is out, and this is my babe!

HD Smartphones (No secret which I like powered by Symbian) Vivaz Pro ups the ante, HTC HD2 slips

I earlier blogged how I shamelessly gushed over the AMOLED screen of the SAMSUNG HD smartphone with its large internal memory space (32GB, expandable). After the World Mobile show last month, Sony Ericsson unveiled their new Vivaz and Vivaz Pro, with QWERTY keyboard. Also powered by Symbian (3 or 2?) it has a 8.1MP camera and full touch sensitive HD screen, although this model has not moved to AMOLED which most other top-end smartphones are likely to shift to by year-end. So this means that the SAMSUNG by OS, internal memory, touch-screen quality, size and slimness, is still top of the list. What puzzles me though is that SAMSUNG developers have not: (a) created a mini-USB remote keyboard (this allows for the full screen to be used for Internet surfing and viewing) with 3D trackball for thumb and finger usage; and, (b) a desktop docking station for pro-use with full size handset and stereo speakers so that you can charge it and use it on the desktop. Finally, one feature the HTC HD2 does which is smart is to allow the laptop or several devices to connect to it for data-transfer and 3G internet access. Presently, this is not a need or concern for me, as I have a 3G dongle and smartchip which can be used in the phone as well. So, the SAMSUNG HD it is still, except that at the IT Show this week at Suntec City, there is no special deal from the telcos for this model, and at full price, it's about SGD900.00, though that is less costly than the first iPhone or the current Omnia I am using...

Improved look S$110 China-made Bicycle that rocks better

Now after the sticker job... looks like a million bucks. Okay, maybe not. Still, it's money well spent!

Contemplate this: click picture to learn more!

That doggie next to the ginger puss is really cute...

S$110 China-made Bicycle worth the ride

Getting around on a bicycle in Singapore has never been so popular. Thanks, in part, to the foreign nationals taking to this mode of transport and making it all seemingly convenient and practical, which it is.

I have enjoyed my custom-built TREK bike with Easton Rims but it's just too expensive for me to scoot around in Singapore roads during the day and leave it on the sidewalk while I get into the mall or church. The bike is built for speed and racing, not commuting. So, after a year and half of abstinence, it is enough penance even for the most ardent pedestrian. I decided to respond to a long harboured impulse. There seemed like no good second hand bicycles were available - checked out the Cold Storage notice boards and even Cash Converters (you never know!). I dropped by Benson's bicycle shop at Lorong Five Toa Payoh, and asked him for a S$90 bike. He also showed me the S$110 version with a slightly better quality rim. It looked great. So, I got it fixed up with a few more add-ons, and later on bought LED lights for safety, and rode it home. Later in the afternoon, I rode it to East Coast Park via the Bishan park connector when I realised that one third of the Bishan Park was closed for works. The PCN was very badly done. It looked like the designers/planned only fixed it as a clear line on the map and never took seriously how smooth the flow ought to be for anyone on wheels, whether in a wheelchair, inline skates or urban bicycle. There were five crossings involving carrying the bicycle up or stopping and getting off the seat, and worst of all, a portion where it PCN disappeared into a series of private road lanes and onto a narrow sidewalk. This is simply bad public planning and does nothing to boast of the successful concept only in parts, and neglected in others.

Nonetheless, it did mean getting to East Coast Park for the most part in a safe way, and without the buses and cars cutting in front of you. I rode all the way to the Bedok jetty near Tanah Merah and back, in very short time and with glee. It says it all. I finally have a commute bike I am not afraid to have locked at the side of a mall or sidewalk.

The SAMSUNG Omnia HD I8910 - my dream mobile just waiting to get into my hands...

No secret that I have been a SAMSUNG mobile fan, when NOKIA was still leading the pack, and right before iPhones were launched in the US. It all happened first with the ultra thin, and light, Blackjack by SAMSUNG. I literally threw my Nokia phone away to get it. It was unbelievably light, smart, fast, took very good 2.5MB pictures and its keyboard was perfect for texting.

After the Blackjack, I moved to the iPhone and spat out S$1399 for the 16GB version, which when it hung, I brought it to the shop at Lucky Plaza and the chaps there stole it. I couldn't do anything about it. Imagine turning up to collect it after it was supposed to have been upgraded (firmware), and they just tell you that it "died" and there is nothing you can do about it. I am convinced that the kid there, Kelvin, who was constantly trying to borrow money from me, had flicked it for cash.

So, lessons learnt: parallel import phones are fine if you really want to be an early adopter, but the earliest adopters who are selling these phones are going to scam you, like it or not, particularly becareful because they look like Zac Efron when they all smile. Other lesson learnt: you are never really the early adopter. There are always others ahead of you and they ultimately are going to make a buck out of you. So, picking and choosing your tech platform after awhile, and choosing something which reflects what you do and use, means waiting a bit more. Finally, emotional intelligence has caught up with me and this means, delaying gratification somewhat.

But I can't resist anymore. Everything about this SAMSUNG Omnia is what I want in a phone. I bought the first Omnia after dishing the iPhone and trying various mobiles inbetween, including the new Nokia E71 (disappointing like HELL except for the bronze back cover). The Omnia was simply ahead of its time.

It has been three years since and I have been aching for a new phone and wondering what next. Then last year, SAMSUNG released the new HD I8910 model with the AMOLED screen, which meant correcting the first problem I noticed about the current Omnia and all other touch screen phones - because the displays disappear in bright sunlight. Next, the screen sensitivity was corrected - apparently because of the software issue in the first series, where you try and answer the phone but the slow response results in the call being cut off. It is amazing that I lived with this problem for so long. Third, that the MS Windows Mobile 6.1 is fraught with problems including taking up so much of the phone's basic memory that when you update the Calendar and other content, the next time you synch with the PC, it hangs. It is not the MS Windows Mobile Centre platform itself; it is the way developers and software creators have just not given enough buffer in their rush to get the products out to earn cash for shareholders. No one's fault by today's greed standards, granted that sucker-consumers like I would want to buy stuff early just to use and test the latest technologies. Crash test dumbies that pay for stuff!

Now, finally, the Omnia uses Symbian and that is plainly perfect. I think the only other tech platform I am a bit weary of is the DixV multi-format playback in video. There's something pretty fishy about how they operate and I think it will soon be made known.

It is still a tad too expensive, but I think I will get around to forking out the cash somehow. The Omnia I am using is simply "dying" and its memory is just too tight, resulting in it hanging. I really need to get out of the MS Windows Mobile platform. I tried the Android in the Samsung Spica Galaxy and it failed to impress. Well, nothing like a little more time to await and find out more, or if a new version is in the flanks.

Some things are worth waiting for...

A politically insensitive follow-up: my old new favourite: Perry Ellis America

I understand if you think I am politically insensitive.

But it just so happened that I chanced on this classic fragrance and got a bottle of it and just love it.

It is so easily to gravitate to those engineered fragrances with an overpowering sweetness and strong top notes, like Armani Code. There are great fragrances, for sure, like Hermes Terra and so forth. I did not say I don't use or don't like them.

But I have always like the crispness of Perry Ellis, and when I think of the late designer's clothing line, I think of my days visiting LA, San Francisco and Hawaii. Almost a naval crispness to the colours and cool fabrics. And that typical Perry Ellis sauve look so easy on the eye.

But America turned up to be wonderful on the skin for all day use, and great after the gym, too, for the tropics.

So, although it's no new discovery, it gets my vote, having got my attention - pure olfactory sensation.

Singaporeans Actually Do STINK: try our packed trains to decide for yourself

You probably can't understand this if you are usually in the driver seat of your favourite car, or any car, day in and out. But the one thing which 'stinks' in Singapore is the squeeze in the public trains especially in the evening between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, and then again between 9 pm and 10 pm, the latter being the retail crowd being done with their window shopping and somesuch. It is just that the trains are packed with people like sardines - an expression that is all quite an anchronism because if you have seen a sardine can lately, it's mostly sauce and air - well, let's say "spam". But that the people in the trains actually have rather bad odour, body odour actually. Yes, the truth is out, Singaporeans SMELL and they STINK after work. It may be the salty diet, the problem with water (we have to buy it and worry about it every day, and even created our very own New Water recycled from our sewer through very savvy osmosis). The folks from China understandly are not used to bathing regularly; Singaporeans shower at night and some do not. The latter wake up in the morning, and in the crispness of the morning, you can smell their overnight sweat from three metres away... Nowadays, most of the Indian (or Pakistani) contract labourers bathe and dress well after their day in the open, and kudos to them, they do smell good, with washed shoes and all. The Chinese labourers are entirely at ease with their sandy and mud-stained boots, sweat stained and dried shirts crumpled from the whole day's use. Then, there are those white collar workers - lean and overweight - men and women - all sorts, who spring a surprise on you when they have to jostle right next to you and the first awkward feeling you experience is their wet or sweaty skin when their arms brush against yours. Nothing you can do about it, really! Or, when the air is suddenly pinched with a staleness from oily sweat and growing bacteria spilling out methaneous waste. Your noise is instantly hit and you feel like you are trapped in some sort of modern gas chamber with a sense of the end being very near as you fight off asphyxia from holding your breath just too long. Then, all of a sudden, you have to open your mouth to breathe and let the air escape into your hurt lungs: I pretend to yawn. Is there anything we can do about this? Do a "drink more water" campaign, remind people to "smell good" with perfume and colonge posters in the subway? Make EDT part of the investment in Singaporean hygiene? Review our diet, invest in R&D and find out if there is such a thing as a smelly gene (to help some people cease to propagate themselves) or if there are reasons why some people have such gut troubles not related to a high protein diet? Singaporeans may otherwise have another problem if no one wants to admit to this phenomena: being perfect ostriches with our heads stuck in the ground - we don't want to deal with this. May be we need ionisers in our public transports. No wonder the buses do smell better, even if the commuters may not. Thankfully, most buses don't get to be as packed like SPAM as the trains. If not in a hurry these days, I skip the trains in those packed evenings, and saunter around to get aboard a spacious ride or take the bus.

Bachelor Feast - Cooking Pasta Like Chinese Crockpot ("sa-poh-fun")

The Chinese have a clay crockpot which is heated over a fire (coal or gas) with rice and any variety of food eg. marinated meat or seafood, with vegetables, and condiments. The rice is usually pre-cooked and then put into the crockpot, with the meats and vegetables added, and usually topped off with a sweet, dark soy sauce. I used to create my own versions of this "sa-poh-fun" when I had a gas cooker (not guest cooker, as I would have liked that more), but changing to induction did mean also having to change the way I cook, and eat.

But the convenience of having an all-in-one meal is just too easy for any bachelor to avoid. It doesn't always look glamourous, but it is usually between yourself and your food, your appetite and whatever nutrition you have whipped up from the grocer's. So, you tend to be happily biased even if it tastes less flavoursome than Pizza Hut or Il Lido. But the upside is always that you known precisely what has gone in.

I just liked the idea of pasta all-in-one, and as Italian as you want to make it, this is Singapore and the Far East. So, in went the garlic on the olive oil on a low heat. I can hear it crackling so slowly, I imagined the garlic bleeding out its essence to the oil. Then I put in three finely sliced shallots (instead of the English onions), and these cook very slowly on the low heat, with an occasional toss of the pan to ensure they don't burn. They caramelise very slowly and I can smell the sweetness emerging from the heat, in fine wisps of steam.

The minced beef has been marinated earlier, from the chiller, for about 40 mins, a tad too short for me, but beef is a sensitive meat. Ground black pepper, salt, and a generous dash of ground, dried paprika, completed with Italian herbs - Oregano, Thyme, Basil, and some rosemary. It is all minced and ready.

Into the pan it goes, and you spread it out over the shallots and oil, so it doesn't get burned as beef heats up fast and quickly turns brown. To get it golden and crumply, I have to spread it out and turn it often. Now, it seems like a different dish altogether and already I almost just want to end there and start eating off the pan.

But the better part is to start, and this happens with the tomato pesto being poured in, over the ground beef, in the pan. I think of all the lycopene and sweetness, edged with an unforgetable saltiness. It needs some water and I sprinkle some freshly boiled (airless) water into the sizzling pan.

It is all heating up nicely and not overly boiling or saute, then I get the vegetables ready to be added. For this round, I had French beans (not so Asian?), all finely chopped, carrots finely diced, and Chinese cabbage thinly sliced, all poured into the Bolognaise. It is immediately slowly turned so that the whole sauce is mixed with the vegetables to cook it together.

Now, for the pasta, I like the firmer Wholemeal Wheat SPIRALS and these have been cooked in hot boiling water for 8 minutes, and sitting in its pot, they have soaked up some water and now looked like fatten sheep in a pen, huddled against a winter blast. Drained into a coriander, I give it a toss to flush out the extra water and ready this for the pan.

After the Bolognaise a la Chine is all hot and well mixed, I put the pasta spirals into it and mix it well. Then once this is heated uniformly, I turn off the cooker and let the pan it, putting the lid over it for a few seconds to heat the lid up.

I get out my mixture of sliced mozarella and red cheddar cheese and sprinkle these over the Bolognaise, and then replace the lid. It is ready. The cheese melts on to the top of the Bolognaise and makes it perfect.

To keep warm, I pre-heat my oven to about 60-80 degrees Celsius and put the whole pan into it with the lid.

After I am done, the balance I transfer into a Pyrex casserole and put it into the oven for a while at about 120 degrees, just to firm it up and get rid of any excess moisture from the air. It burns the top slightly and gives it a rosta-like look, as if I dropped it into the Tandoor. It is a lot better than I expected!

With a lid on, I keep it in the oven until it cools for the fridge where I keep it for the next day, not expecting to have left over, but because I had a dinner invite for the last day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, with friends at their porch. It will be Chinese steamboat and I hear that the caterer is one of the best.

Now, I think I am all warmed up again, and "cooking"!