Human Torch Panorama

Flame On! That is the first thing that came to mind when Samsung mentioned to me that they’ll be having the first ever Human Torch. Only later after reading a little bit more of the press release did I understand that the torch was a form that would be fitted with people. The relevance of the torch and the timing of the lighting of the torch is to the lighting of the real Olympic flame bearing torch in Greece.

Samsung arranged a total of 2,010 students from the following educational institutions to make up the torch.

• Assumption English School
• ITE East
• Nanyang Polytechnic
• Republic Polytechnic
• Singapore Polytechnic
• Temasek Polytechnic

The flame lighting, using torch lights (that’s flash lights for the Americans and Canadians reading), was at 8:10pm Singapore time and this coincided with the lighting in Greece.

You can see what the torch form looks like in the daytime below.

Samsung Human Torch Collage of Views

It looks pretty good from above and on top but what does it look like on the ground?

A view of the human torch from the ground backstage

You are probably wondering what the heck I am doing just showing you daytime shots.   Never fear I’ve got a bunch of night time shots to share. In fact, I have a 30 second time lapse of the torch and the flame as it formed up and lit up in the wonderful colours.

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CommunicAsia is a huge exhibition that has several components – Enterprise IT 2010, MobileCommAsia 2010, SatComm 2010, NetworkAsia 2010, BroadcastAsia 2010 and InteractiveDME. It is big and given that my interest is not with satellite comms, broadcast, and even some enterprise technology my visit to the event was left to the last minute and I only stayed a couple hours. Actually, I went on the last day and only had two hours before the show floor closed.

So, who was there in a big way. Big booths from Samsung, Huawei, Skype, RIM, Ericsson, NTT Docomo dominated the show floor. Samsung’s booth looked about the same as it did last year in 2009. Absent from the show floor was LG Electronics.

I understand Huawei was showing off an Android tablet but I didn’t drop in to look. I did visit Samsung’s booth as usual to catch a glimpse of the Wave, Galaxy S and any new Omnia.

Some interesting devices in the deep recesses of the show floor. Some of which are to be seen in the Singapore showcases. The Dr. phone that can take a baseline of your wellness with a ECG. It would be neat if it could also do temperature, pulse,  blood pressure and blood sugar level but the latter two requires other interfacing. So, maybe there is hope for the temperature and pulse readings.

Chumby One is a small little screen in the form of a computer monitor. It is really a small client side computer with minimal system specs  but with big ambitions. It can basically serve as a news feed reader and application reader for news, music, podcasts, social networking, games, weather, videos, sports, messaging and to boot it has a built-in FM Tuner and alarm clock. It needs to connect to a special server which according to the McCoy person does not require monthly subscription fees. Instead you just make a one time purchase of $279 and signup to the server. It would be cook if it can also give an updated and consolidated reading of new mails from all mail sources, new tweets, new facebook updates or messages. Calendar integration would also be cool but as the device wasn’t functioning and the vendor did not make any attempt to get it working for a proper demo, I cannot give you any additional information regarding the capabilities and ease of use.

Does the world need yet another Microsoft Office clone? Kingsoft bodly put out the signage that showed their ‘Office 2010′ was a good replacement for the original Microsoft Office 2010. The layout and operationing menus look very familiar and the save or open dialog options supports Microsoft the usual list of file formats.

When you first see iTwin as a product you’ll wonder if someone was playing an April Fools joke having a USB stick with two plugs. iTwin is an ingenious piece of hardware that allows the transparent connection between two computers (Windows only) using the Internet as the cable linking the two machines. Copy, Paste, Delete and so on are all functional working commands which makes it ideal for sharing files. The two halves contains an algorithm and a key that allows only the person holding the key to plug-intoa system and have it function.

YouGotSnapped is a Facebook app and service that enables FB users to sell and/or buy pictures hosted up on FB. It also even allows the uploading of larger, higher resolution images. An interesting concept that may not work or be sustainable in the short term. Would you purchase any of my photos in any of the albums for US$1.99?

That’s all for my CommunicAsia 2010 coverage. I hope you found my reporting of the small interesting items useful. I know I may just put in a pre-order for the iTwin and I’ll highly recommend it for a variety of uses some of which can at this point be malicious.

Have a look at a short video I shot of Samsung, Chumby and iTwin.

THE SCHOOL holiday period may not be the best time to hold a computer fair because it is a time for the family to vacation, usually abroad. Personally, I felt the show was not as crowded as others because outside behind the doors was not super crowded. I had the opportunity to have a media preview earlier. The media preview is a good time for us since we don’t have to put up with the shoulder to shoulder pushing of crowds in the aisles or at exhibitor counters.

I’m still in the middle of putting together a short video documenting some of the interesting things I saw on my mad dash through the halls. I usually catch a hundred or more bucks of stuff while I’m at the show but this year either I rationalised very well that I didn’t need stuff or I realised that I had already spent a bunch on buying my new but used digital camera. I bought a second hand Panasonic Lumix GH-1 with the 14-45mm kit lens. In fact, it is with that camera that I recorded the video clips I’m stringing together.

I still have my other digital camera, a Canon DSLR which also shoots video but I felt inclined to have the more compact GH-1 for video and sometimes I don’t feel like toting the big monster. Besides, shooting with a new found interest – Manual focus lenses on the GH-1 is a lot easier. Sorry, I tend to wander in thought and writing – back to the PC Show. While on the subject of digital cameras, do look out for the new Sony NEX-5 that is on promotion for S$1,199 (choose either the 18-55mm or 16mm f/2.8 pancake lens with body). There’s a lot of other Sony stuff to look out for if you don’t want so serious as a DSLR look for the Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5K that I’ve reviewed.

The usual big names are present with the exception of LG. LG is not participating this year for reasons unknown to me. You’ll find the big brands on Level 4 and some on Level 6 but Level 6 is chock full of those gadgets, small items and even items you’d not have thought of showing up at a computer fair. I eventually succumbed to buying something before I left the show floor. I made my small, very small, contribution to the Singapore economy.

I bought a handphone pouch that clips onto the belt. I bought this because I just recently received a Motorola Milestone XT720 handphone from a lucky draw…lucky me! Now I’m Android powered and I needed to keep it safe from scratches since the phone is so new (only just released on 10 June 2010, exclusively with StarHub) it does not have a screen protector. You need a screen protector for this baby because it has a beautiful 3.7-inch WVGA (Wide VGA) display. That’s a whole lot of pixel realestate with the touchscreen. Yeah, it isn’t near the resolution of the announced Apple iPhone 4G or as good looking as the recently launched Super AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy S but I’m not complaining for a lucky draw gift.

My $6 catch from BagManWorld - Motorola Milestone XT720 not included

Oh yeah, the pouch and many more designs is available from BagManWorld. I paid S$6 and left the show floor a happy camper. By the way, my parking charges came up to S$3.50, I got there a little early just so I could get a parking spot. So, my bargain has some hidden costs. Perhaps the next time I must buy more to spread out the cost. /Smirk/

Find some time to go down to PC Show 2010 to see and touch what’s new and pickup a bargain or two. Do take public transport when possible or plan to go early to get a parking lot or you’ll end up parking as far away as Esplanade or Funan. Just imaging trying to lug your purchases all that way.

PC Show 2010 runs for four days, 10 June to 14 June 2010 from 12am to 9pm. If you want to plan ahead check out the PC Show floorplan here.

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IT SHOW 2010 is upon us (Singaporeans) and it seems that everyone had quite a haul over Chinese New Year and their Ang Pows (Red Packets). I was amazed at the crowd on the first day, a weekday none-the-less and in the middle of the afternoon. Just take a look at one of the aisles I had to navigate my way through.

As one would expect the show has the usual anchor brands – Lenovo, Samsung, Dell, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Acer, and so on. The three telcos are also on hand vying for customers with their mobile promoters carrying banners, placards and distributing flyers. I didn’t even bother to stop at Level 2 to have a look.

As I browsed Level 4 I got this feeling of boredom. I walked aimlessly ignoring the flyers being stuffed into my hands and face. I felt as though there wasn’t anything really exciting to see and touch and come back and write about. Who wants to read about more Netbooks, Desktops, LCD Monitors, Media Players and of course the accessories and memory cards on Level 6.

I had absolutely no interest in Level 4 stuff but I’m sure there are many interested in finding the best deal on a 42-inch LCD TV or the latest dSLR camera and other big hardware items. So, if you are keen at finding that kind of hardware I suggest you scope out the floorplan before you go and do strategic strikes for the brand or store of your choosing. The floorplan is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF from the IT Show website here.  http://www.itshow.com.sg/cont/floor-plan-level-4.pdf

Upward and onward to Level 6 where I spent most of my time, partly because the aisle was so packed and the fact that this is where all the trinkets can be found. There was one thing I noticed at this show and that is the proliferation of anti-virus resellers. Everywhere I turned there was ESET, Kaspersky and Norton. If you looked carefully you would also see McAfee, TrendMicro and AVG. I was amazed at the special pricing for Norton Internet Security at S$39. The usual price is S$59 for a single user. You can save even more if you get the three user pack at $69. Norton 360 Version 4.0 was also launched at the show and was reasonably priced at S$59. I hope to get a review out for you on Norton 360 Version 4.0.

Check out the floor plan for Level 6 here.  http://www.itshow.com.sg/cont/floor-plan-level-6.pdf

 I wasn’t in a discovery mood to go hunting and inspecting each and every booth to see what was new and find some hidden gems. So, I walked without purpose and well the booth babes was attracting attention so I went over to the Linksys by Cisco booth. It seems that they’ve decided to bring in the Flip mino and minoHD pocket digital camcorders. In Singapore we’ve always had the Creative VadoHD and recently Toshiba’s P30 and others. Now the Flip models are here.

I did have another reason for visiting the show and that was to buy some rechargable batteries. Like last year GEES Trading was back and they sell the Sony CycleEnergy batteries that maintains their charge even when left on the shelf for a long time, like over a year. Sanyo’s Eneloop were the first to the market and I also went and found the booth selling Sanyo’s. So, in all I bought 4 AA’s of the Sony brand and 4 AA’s of the Sanyo brand. It may seem strange but my purpose is to test the performance of the batteries and when they are sitting unused. According to both companies the batteries should maintain 75-80% after one year. So, last year at the IT Show 2090 if you may recall I bought both Sanyo Eneloops and Sony CycleEnergies. One year later I have two pieces of the Sanyo and the Sony that I’ll put to test and record their run time. Compared to a new out of the box Sanyo and Sony to see what kind of performance difference is present.

You can see in my photo above I also snagged a wired remote. This was on Level 6 at the far back wall. I took a picture of the booth for those who are also interested in some camera accessories.

 They carry the wired remote (like a manual cable release for SLR cameras) and other interesting gizmos. Speaking of gizmos and gadgets this was my last find as I was about to leave the show.

The bugs are cool but they look fragile. I guess in real life they are quite small and delicate.

So, I’ve come to the end of my short story and experiences. As I shared last year the things you should consider doing or following as a guide to avoid congestion, trampling, sickness (dehydration) and more. Read last years experience and guide here. http://i-digitall.com/2009/03/10/ready-set-it-show-2009/

WHAT a great day I had today at the National Geographic + Canon workshop with Bob Madden. Needless to say, if there were more workshops like this and I actually had to pay, I would. Thanks to Canon and National Geographic for the invitation and for Bob Madden for his guidance and inspirational words of wisdom. Hope I get to see you again in Singapore.

Watch out for a more complete post on the experience.  To be updated…

-UPDATE-

Introduction

MORE than 25+ years ago, I took a photography class that included darkroom work in secondary school. I continued to have an interest in photography for those 25+ years but at varying degrees competing with teenage hormones, the emergence of personal computers, and more. Most of the time I was carrying a Canon SLR while others a compact 35mm. I remembered most of what I learned - f-stop, DoF, shutter speed, lighting, etcetera. That is all well and good but somethings need practice and time to hone, something I didn’t really do.

Bob – He’s the Lava Guy

This is where Bob Madden (Bob) comes in. He has an eye that can process a scene and quickly realise the money shot. I believe during his early days of SLR film camera shooting he had to learn this fast because he didn’t have the luxury of shooting hundreds of shots just to get that one good shot. These days with digital camera photography, I believe this ability has been lost.

The workshop itself was simple. Listen to Bob’s great stories, anecdotes and find out more about all his varied assignments. Luckily, I was seated at his table for lunch. The workshop assignment was to go out to the Singapore River vicinity and shoot, with an emphasis on people photography. We had to understand that photographing strangers isn’t easy but Bob shared with us a variety of tips.

We started out in three groups of 5 to 7 and there was a little worry that everyone would eventually end up shooting the same subject matter over and over again. It turns out that there was very little overlap in the photographs presented at the critique session.

Subject Shooting

!Note: No cropping, colour balancing or photo editing of any kind has been applied to these photos with the exception of resizing and arranging.

Here’s a series of my first few shots as we were dropped by the shuttle bus at South Bridge Road, literally at a bridge over the Singaproe River (Seen in a shot later at the end).

Nothing to be excited about, still trying to get into the groove. While surveying the area which is just next to the Singapore River and elderly couple came along and sat down. I believe they were a bit tired. I asked them if I could photograph them and they obliged. I had thought to get a shot of there faces but because I approached them from behind I had already sort of envisioned my shot. You can see from my sequence of shots that it gradually developed into an interesting shot.

A police man was doing his rounds and it looked like a interesting shot but in landscape it didn’t have any punch. I took aa portrait shot and that made the high security wall contrast the short police man and his long walk ahead.

Walked around a bit to the back of the old Supreme Court and the Padang. Took some shots. Bob commented on a number of the building shots that were shown during the critique session and noted that on gray overcast days buildings will lack depth and look really flat. Not sure why I shot the bowling green.

Back over to the Arts House and we’ve got gates of steel and something more comforting and soft…ice cream! I was waiting to see the happy smiling face of the kid but it didn’t happen. I have in the past taken an ice cream kid photo.

Move on over to the underpass and across the river from the Fullerton Hotel. I missed a great shot of the foreign workers raking the leaves and maintaining the grounds.

This is a young lady that was intent on texting (sms) a friend.

Living and working on the Singaproe River and the boats that ply the river water.

Tying up along the river’s edge. A lone yellow shirted man makes sure the rope does not have any knots.

Some idea shots of which doesn’t really show off with the exception of the lone bicyclist.

Back at Handy Road, the Luxe Museum for the critique session.

At the end of the shooting by the Singapore River all the participants were required to choose 3 photographs they felt were their best.

Can you guess which 3 photos that I chose to be presented and critiqued?

Bob’s critique was good and his comments will help me in future shots with careful attention to the composition. By composing your photograph well you won’t be burdened by the need to crop to obtain the best shot. The beauty of getting this correct is less need to use photoshop which may compromise the quality of the photo.

 Thanks to Canon Singapore for supplying the wonderful LEGRIA HF21 high-definition digital video recorder.

THE EXCITEMENT hit Singapore last night in anticipation of the retail launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. Some fans were so eager they even came earlier than the announced 5pm start time and queued at 3:30pm. That is eight and a half hours early. Why bother? Well, the promotion from Challenger Superstore was the special pricing to the first 177 customers. I guess it is difficult to say just how fast the 177 queue tickets would be taken up so Mr Samuel Ng and his girlfriend were not taking any chances to miss the opportunity.

I had the chance to ask Samuel a few questions while he queued.

Chester: Will you be sleeping or staying up to do your Windows 7 upgrade?
Samuel: Staying up to complete the upgrade.

Chester: Are you upgrading from XP or Vista?
Samuel: Upgrading from Vista.

Chester: Were you also a Vista fan or early adopter?
Samuel: Yes, I was an early adopter of Vista.

Chester: What feature are you really looking forward to using in Windows 7?
Samuel: The multi-touchscreen interface…I like it so much I’m going to get a touchscreen LCD to use.

When I spoke to Samuel he was a bit tired, I’m sure I would be too waiting in the queue for 8 plus hours. Luckily he had is girlfriend with him who was also queuing for a copy. Nothing like having a supporter with you when the going gets tough.

When the time grew near, we were waiting for 00:07 on 22 October 2009, the Challenger staff started processing the queue up the escalator so they could proceed to the cashier to make their purchase. Of course, Samuel and his girlfriend were featured with Microsoft and Challenger management.

After a few more photo opportunities and all things 7 the queue was processed. Here’s 7 fans of Win7 waiting for 00:07 the next step would be 7heaven.

Before I forget, there were only 177 lucky customers, that had to be Challenger members, who got the promotional price of S$77. I took the opportunity to seek out the holder of ticket 177.

I caught up at the end of the long snaking queue with Mr Kenny Kan. It turns out that Kenny didn’t really expect to be so lucky and snag the last copy at the promotional price.

The launch event was also an opportunity for Microsoft to get the media excited. Mr Matthew Hardman from Microsoft took the time to demo the cool new features.

Congratulations to Samuel, his girlfriend and the rest of the 175 for being the first in Singapore to lay their hands on Windows 7.

A great launch event for Challenger and Microsoft. The place was just buzzing with excited people. Watch as the excitement reaches greater heights as the rest of the world wakes up to their own Windows 7 launch.

THE GAMES XPO 2009 opens today and runs until 5 July 2009.

Date: 3 to 5 July
Venue: Suntec Singapore Hall 404
Show Hours: 10am to 10pm
Trade & Media: 3 July
Public: 4, 5 July
 
A great way to spend a weekend with your family and friends. You may also find a good bargain on games, accessories or other goodies. Take a look at the exhibitors.