PS3’s “in-game XMB”

Argh, haven’t I waited long enough already?

Why do people like to release teaser videos of what isn’t released yet? From movies to games to software, they’re always doing it. “Look at what we’ve done.”

It’s like “You see… but you do not touch!”

Well, that’s exactly what is happening on the Playstation Blog at the moment with their coming release of the in-game XrossMediaBar (that random system you can even find on TVs that lets you navigate to different sections and play music and all that).

What’s the point of showing without getting to download it? Everyone knows about this update, so why don’t they just keep the suspense?

Maybe they like to boast as well… like me…

“Hey look, I got this working, and guess what? You want it? Well, YOU AREN’T GETTING IT!”

I wonder why they used the word “walkthrough” instead of “trailer” though.

See the video here: Playstation Blog

Microsoft Fiji

Microsoft Fiji’s only a codename. GASP! I’m astonished… at how in the world a person knows about Microsoft Fiji but not know it’s a codename…

And, amazingly, that’s exactly what happened.

Fiji’s interim attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum today released a letter sent to Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates yesterday, after media reports the software company may call its yet-to-be-released software “Windows Fiji”.

“As a sovereign state the government asserts its absolute ownership over the use of the word ‘Fiji’ and reserves all its rights under all relevant laws to protect and defend the use of the word ‘Fiji” [...] Microsoft Corporation is hereby instructed to immediately cease and desist with any use of the word ‘Fiji’ in relation to any of its products now or in the future.”

81st Blog Post

I have made 80 posts so far. This is my 81st. So what’s so special about 81? A lot, actually.

81 (eighty-one) is the natural number following 80 and preceding 82.

• 81 is the square of 9
• It is the fourth power of 3.
• It is a tribonacci number.
• It is the year 81AD, 81BC or 1981.
• It is the atomic number of thallium.
• It is a short film by Stephen Burke.
• It is the international code for Japan for telephone calls.
• It is 1 of 2 ISBN identifiers for books in India
• It is the number of provinces in Turkey.
• In China, 81 always reminds people People’s Liberation Army as it was founded on August 1st.

But why in the world am I saying all this?

Why in the world am I reminding you of what 81 could stand for?

There’s a reason alright. This is the lesson, and I hope you remember this: Do not ever ever ever copy information from Wikipedia directly and then use it in a speech without citing it!

Source of information in dot points above: Wikipedia

Observations on the Apple iGlasshouse

I finally got the chance to visit the iGlasshouse today. After parking about 1.3km away and walking for 15 minutes (why doesn’t the Apple website say anything about monorail?), I got there. Don’t you just hate the city? Loads of cars, loads of horns blowing, loads of… loads of stuff.

Oh yea, back to the Applestore: It’s right next to a McDonalds. I managed to make some observations and take some pictures as well. First impression: woah.

If only they sold apples…

2 Easy Questions

No, they’re not philosophically challenging. They’re just logical.

1. What is the angle made between the long hand and the short hand on a clock when it is showing twenty past four? After how many seconds will it show that angle again on the clock?

2. An astronaut went on the moon. He planted a flag at eye level (1.5m) and then went across the flat surface until he could just see the flag’s top on the horizon. Then, he whipped out his favorite laser beam and measured the distance between it and him. 4.6km. Find the radius of the moon.

Have fun thinking about it. I don’t have the answers.