We cannot always have bad vibes on Techniama right? Even though it is supposed to be bitching about things but sometimes we still need to infuse some positive energy a bit la…

So, some nerdy looking dudes from Yale found some fungi in the Amazon (not the online bookstore though) that can turn the evil plastic bottles that we throw away everyday like any other biodegradable stuffs! That’s a freaking techniama good news!

Please read this Mashable report!
Read more…

Just read about the mentioned new device recently launched by YES 4G in the newspaper. After reading through the PR article, I was pretty sure my face went all WTF troll face as seen on social networks. The article went on emphasizing they spent more than a year developing this particular phone and is designed locally.

Read more…

According to this blogger (thanks a little bird for the lead), YTL’s innovative idea/prototype competition has NO WINNER! Oh year! just a Thank You webpage and a consolation USD150 thank you for participating cash. There you go YTL hopefuls… you must have signed something when submitting your entries. Too bad la kawan, next time smart a bit lor…

Ok… Now NOT anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. Why? Let’s see…

1. We all know teachers are not in the well-paid category of the workforce. If you use older Macs, you have the problem above. Not even OS X version 10.6.8 is close to 10.7 when it comes to iBooks Author. So Buckle up and buy the OS upgrade, get a loan if you have too. And that is provided if you have slightly old-ish Macs using Core 2 Duo processors. Because that’s the minimum requirement. And my experience says “minimum requirement” means your computer will run (sometimes walk) but it won’t fly, be patient and expect your life to move in approximately 10 15 fps instead of full 25fps or 30fps depending on your geographical zone of PAL or NTSC. If you have really old Macs, don’t even think about upgrading the OS because you just can’t do it, period. Just buy the latest computer from your nearest Apple Store. Break your children’s piggy bank if you have to.

2. If watching the demo video on Apple website about iBook Author makes you think : “Wow! It’s so easy to make interactive text books now”. Well, you have just been sucked into the reality distortion field of Apple. Yes, the reality distortion field works even Steve Jobs is no longer with us (sob sob). Boom! It is not that easy. Think deeper… if you’re a teacher and would love to self-publish a rich interactive book on the subject you’re teaching… Who’s gonna make the 3-D model that is just being dragged and dropped into your layout? Who’s gonna make you those wonderful intro videos with a view of earth from space with the sun coming out from the horizon? Who’s going to custom code the interactive widgets with HTML5 and JavaScript? Those things won’t just fall from the sky, and without them, your book is just a book, not a rich interactive book. So, please go learn how to make 3D models, stunning professional videos,and also, code in HTML5 and JavaScript.

OK teachers, are you discouraged enough now? I hope so, because that’s why my friends and I are here to help. We can help you to make those things that you can just drag and drop into your new rich interactive book. Just leave a message here and make sure you break a few more piggy banks to pay us enough so we can buy the latest Macs from the nearest Apple Store.

When Lucy and friends roamed around the world millions of years ago… there were no boundaries. Then we, mankind, started to stick together and started to form groups and clans. Then the network grew became villages, towns, cities and kingdoms. There were boundaries everywhere. Then we became more “civilised” we have national boundaries and I don’t know why people are willing to kill each other for over a line that can be seen on paper but not on site. Hence today’s global politics. Each country is minding their own business in their own world with a few big brothers stirring some shits somewhere to maintain their status quo.

Then came the Internet. A network of computers around the world that virtually has no boundary. With everything so stuck up within each national boundary, the arrival of the Internet is a very good relief indeed. People found new creative ways of using it. The Internet has undoubtedly pushed human civilisation to a new height.

Unfortunately, there are a bunch of bozos running every country in this world. Their mode of operation and the understanding how modern society works is so… 1980. How could they manage the Internet like they manage and protect their own turfs? The modern society and the Internet is inseparable these days. They simply have to shift their mindset. The Internet is based on a very open and free concept. Politicians can’t simply pass stupid bills like PIPA and SOPA to go against the fundamental spirits of the Internet.

To know more about PIPA and SOPA you may read this opinion piece and this statement from Electronic Frontier Foundation. This video gives you an overview of how PIPA and SOPA can harm you and me. Google has a petition that you can sign to protest against PIPA and SOPA.

I started to think… perhaps the world could be a better place if it is managed by geeks. TECHNIAMA!!!

What if your workspace let you develop ideas with the following setup:

And let you realise your ideas later like this:

I used to have a boss who wanted to be Bill Gates. Nothing’s wrong with wanting to be Gates, just his motivation was not exactly right. He wanted to be Gates because Bill Gates is rich. So Actually, my ex-boss really don’t care who Bill Gates is, as long as he’s the richest man in the world.

So he started an “IT startup” a.k.a. a web design company, hoping to turn it into the next Microsoft. Erm… he hired me and bought A computer. Not an “A” class computer but A, as in ONE, computer. I started to work in his office, thinking he will hire more people and I was wrong. That’s it! I was the one and only hope of him being Bill Gates. Wow, I didn’t know that I was such an important asset in the company. And frankly speaking, even Apple Computer needed 3 persons to spark the supernova event in the IT history. And don’t scratch your head, there was actually a third person called Ronald Wayne other than Woz and Jobs when Apple Computer was formed.

I spent a few months there, it was like reading a book called “How not to succeed in building a new tech company”. Actually, I used that time to plot something new with my high school friends and started something in my living room. We were building web apps. Well, we called it dynamic websites then because program that runs via web browsers were not called web apps then. It was fun but unfortunately, I had eccentric programming business partners, I believed in making the user happy via nice GUI, they think elegant codes should rule the world, and users need to adjust themselves to use their super efficient programs. We had big differences. So we departed, another valuable lesson for me was users hate awkward user interface, I can’t be there teaching them how to use the application forever.

Just when I think those days were over, I just met two flers a few months ago who want to build the BEST SELLING iPad games. I asked what games do you want to build? They show me all the games they bought on their iPhones, I asked them again, what do you really want? They point at the screen on the iPhone and say this one. I was like duh? If you can see it, people has already built it and selling it. No point copycatting. And they don’t even want to think! They though they can just tell a computer “Computer, give me a fun game” then the computer will generate a fun game. Techniama la! They should read this first before started thinking la… How To Create Your First iPhone Application.

If you think the Peaceful Assembly Bill (which requires you to ask permission from the police to meet your friends every time) read in the Parliament is bad enough… wait until you see this! Tada!!! THE COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL BILL 2011!!!

In a nutshell, it’s C R A P. Yes, CRAP! If the bill is approved… You have to STUDY COMPUTER in order to work with computers in the IT industry. What the Eff is this? That means, if you’re Woz or Steve Jobs, sorry, you will never see the bright future of being someone really crazy who change the world unless you go to college or some sekolah vokasional first. Because:

“A Registered Computing Professional may only provide Computing Services in the disciplines or specialisations of Computing he is qualified to practise…”

Ok, 1st thing 1st… Why a Computing Professional has to a HE? Girl cannot play with computers one meh?

2nd… I (as if I am qualified like that) have to do what they think I can do??? What the EFF is this? I lived through BASIC, BASICA, Turbo BASIC, Turbo C, FORTRAN, VB, VBA JavaScript, PHP, ASP, MySQL, HTML12345, CSS-I-dunno-what-is-it-going-to-be-tomorrow… so I have to tell the GOVERNMENT the next time I am buying a computer book izzit???!!!

Erna Mahyuni is right! GEEKS and IT flers! We need to oppose this till our death!

Like she said:

Oppose it because it seeks to force you to limit and narrowly define the scope of your talents.

Oppose it because the government is effectively trying to decide what you can or cannot work on and who you can work with.

Oppose it because unnecessary regulation like this will cripple, not enhance the already challenged industry.

Oppose it because this is a poorly thought out, badly put-together piece of bullcrap.

And this is the hightlight from Jeremiahfoo.com. Clause 42 of the bill says:

No action, suit, prosecution or other proceedings shall lie or be
brought, instituted or maintained in any court against—
(a) the Board; or
(b) any member of the Board or any employee or agent of the Board,
in respect of any act, neglect or default done or committed by it or him in good faith or any omission omitted by it or him in good faith, in such capacity.

Ya! They are not liable for anything that they do. And WOW! The following clause is getting better, sorry… I mean HORRIBLE… sounds like a secret society operation to me…

43. (1) Except for any of the purposes of this Act or for the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings under any written law or where otherwise authorised by the Board—

(a) no member of the Board or any of its committees or any employee or agent of the Board or any person attending any meeting of the Board or any of its committees, whether during or after his tenure of office or employment, shall disclose any information obtained by him in the course of his duties; and

(b) no other person who has by any means access to any information relating to the affairs of the Board shall disclose such information.

Let’s fast-forward to clause 46:

The Fund shall be expended for the following purposes:

(a) paying any expenditure lawfully incurred by the Board;

(b) paying allowances and other expenses of the members of the Board and other benefits;

(c) paying remuneration, allowances and other expenses of the administrative staff;

(d) paying any other expenses, costs or expenditure in relation to the procurement of goods and services, including the engagement of consultants, assigning committees, legal fees and other costs, properly incurred or accepted by the Board in the performance of its functions and powers under this Act;

(e) purchasing or hiring equipment, machinery and any other materials, acquiring land and any assets, and erecting buildings, and carrying out any other works and undertakings in the performance of its functions or in the exercise of its powers under this Act; and

(f) paying any general expenses for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.

That means… expect a bunch of family members and cronies to sit there and collect $$$. Kaching! Remember the Cow-in-the-condo fiasco?!

Wait until you see clause 49…

Subject to this Act and approval of the Minister, the Board shall determine its own financial procedure.

Isn’t that amazing?! This is really techniama smelly crab!

Oh, by the way, if this bill is passed, you need to pay membership fee to those people who may know nothing about IT to control you. Good luck fellow Malaysian IT PROFESSIONALS!

Wah… after so much money burned. This is what we get lor. And we are talking about real money here ok. This is like everyday is Ching Ming and our gomen is freakin burning money to worship you-know-who (leh… that fat fler leh married to Mrs Big Hair leh…).

To make the national bon fire bigger… still remember this?

Money also burn oledi. And read somewhere in middle… the Tricube conman says

“Hopefully, we can get it ready by July”

Wah the lan eh… now November d, he still driving his Masili! Where is the freakin email system he promised?!

Thank you 1Malaysia! Now everyday is Ching Ming in Malaysia.