BENNY's RANTS

Thursday, July 8, 2010

NOTICE of Blog transfer over to WORDPRESS

THANK YOU for visiting my Blog.

With effect 8 Jul 2010 - I have move my blog and all its contents to :

http://leemn.wordpress.com

You are most welcome to visit my new site.

Have a nice day

Regards

Benny Lee MN

iPAD : Saving files from iPAD

When you receive an email with attachment, the iPAD do not have an option for you to save the attachment. You can only view it . There are 2 ways you can save your attachment. In both methods, you can easily transfer your file out to your desktop.

EASIEST : Use ReaddleDocs ( cost US$ 4.99 ) - it is a good buy

ReaddleDocs is a revolutionary document viewer, file manager and attachment saver for iPad.
It can catch documents from any source you can imagine: PC or Mac computers, web sites, email attachments, iDisk, Dropbox and other online file storages and even iPhones. All files are saved to your iPad locally so you can enjoy reading them anywhere!

ReaddleDocs features outstanding PDF viewer that:
✚ opens large PDFs
✚ supports full text search
✚ has text reflow mode
✚ handles PDF links and outlines
✚ opens password protected documents
✚ extracts text from the PDFs

★ Copy files From Mac or PC via Wi-Fi
Any Mac OS X, Windows XP/Vista/7 computer can connect to the iPad running ReaddleDocs and operate it like a wireless flash drive. No additional software is required.
★ Read Office Documents
ReaddleDocs' built-in viewer supports PDF, MS Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) and Apple iWork files. To read documents from other software like MS Project, Visio or OmniGraffle simply print them as PDF files and copy to ReaddleDocs.
★ Save Email Attachments
Forward email with attachment to your unique Readdle Storage mail-in address and save it to your device using ReaddleDocs. Or download files directly from IMAP/POP3 enabled mail servers.
★ Share Files With Your Friends
Email files directly from ReaddleDocs. Or even transfer documents between the iPads.
★ Transfer files to iPad with or without Wi-Fi
ReaddleDocs supports transferring files to your device using both EDGE or 3G network. Just upload your documents to Readdle Storage using regular Internet connection and instantly access them from the ReaddleDocs.
★ Save Documents From the Web
Use built-in web browser to find and save files from the Web directly to your device. Save whole webpages with images to read them offline.
★ Access iDisk, Dropbox, GoogleDocs And Other Storages
ReaddleDocs allows you to download and upload files from MobileMe iDisk, Dropbox, GoogleDocs and other services. If you use more than one online storage, ReaddleDocs will handle all of them. Even some home NAS drives are supported.

CHEAPER OPTION :

You can easily save files to your DropBox account from your iPad. All you need is a free DropBox account and GoodReader. GoodReader is a file management system for the iPad, and cost only US$0.99.

Most files on the iPad, including email attachments, can be opened in GoodReader. Once you have your file in GoodReader, select “Manage Files” on the right side of the app and select the file you want to move. Notice the options to Cut(Move) or Copy? Select the one you want.

Once you select the file you want to move, a green dot will appear next to the file name, and scissors will appear below the file name if you chose “Cut” instead of “Copy”:

Next you want to select “Connect to Servers” on the right side of the GoodReader app. Here you can connect GoodReader to your DropBox account.

Select DropBox, and the list of folders and files you have in your DropBox account will appear in a new window with an option to “Paste” at the bottom right of the new window:

Select “Paste” and the file you selected in GoodReader will be pasted in your DropBox account and available on the DropBox website and any device you have DropBox installed on.

The file then appears in your DropBox account:

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

iPAD : Transfer files from Mac using Netatalk

Netatalk lets you transfer files between iPad and your Mac wirelessly

WiFi MUST be enabled on both Mac and iPAD

This procedure can ONLY works on Jailbreak iPADs. You can refer here for the steps for Jailbreaking.

1. Download the zip file from Nettalk and run it on your Mac.

http://netatalk.sourceforge.net/

2. On your iPAD, download Netatalk v 2.0.4-7 on Cydia. Install the program on the iPAD.

3. After install, Open Cydia - Select Sections/Networking - click on Nettalk : Select the option " Connection How to MAC " . Just follow the 3 screeen instructions listed " FIND, CLICK Connect and LOGin.

4. Under Finder on your Mac, you will see the iPAD as a shared device.

5. Click “ Connect As ” button to logon as another user.

6. You’ll be prompt to enter name/password. Type “root” or “mobile” for name and “alpine” for password. Then click “Connect”.

Once connected , you will see " Connected as : root " if you use "root"

You can now just drag and drop files onto the iPad.

NexusOne with Android 2.2 Outperforms iPhone 4

Source : JohnHaller.com

Ars Technica just did a review of the much-anticipated update of the Nexus One to Android 2.2 (Froyo) and the peformance improvements have been quite good. They ran the typical speed tests in the browser including the Google V8 benchmark and the Sunspider benchmark. The big surprise was that the Nexus One now bests the just-released iPhone 4 in these same tests by a very wide margin: over a 3x better score in the V8 benchmark and nearly twice as fast in the Sunspider benchmark.

Google V8 Benchmark Version 5 (Higher Score Is Better)

Device                                 Score
Nexus One (Android 2.2)    287.0
Nexus One (Android 2.1)    65.0
iPhone 4                                83.4
iPad                                       101.0
iPhone 3GS*                          49.3
iPhone 3G*                            23.0

* Note: The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G scores are using version 3 of the Google V8 benchmark which seems to run about 15% slower than Version 5 due to the fact that both devices failed to run version 5 of the benchmark.

Sunspider JavaScript Benchmark, In Seconds (Lower Score Is Better)

Device                                 Score (in Seconds)
Nexus One (Android 2.2)    5.8
Nexus One (Android 2.1)    14.3
iPhone 4                                10.9
iPad                                       10.1
iPhone 3GS*                         14.2
iPhone 3G*                            41.4

Conclusion :
Android 2.2 (Froyo) yields some big performance improvements for Android devices due to the new Just In Time compiler built-in. The latest incarnation of the open-source Android OS allows the 6-month-old Nexus One to outperform the just-releases iPhone 4 running iOS4 by a significant margin in both the major browser benchmarks. The Android 2.2 update should yield similar performance improvements on other devices like the Motorola Droid and HTC Evo, making Android phones an even better bet than before.

Sources :
Ars reviews Android 2.2 on the Nexus One (Page 5)
iPhone 4: the Ars Technica review (Page 9)

iPAD : Alternative browsers to Safari

Safari the browser on the iPAD is disappointing. It doesn't provide tabbed browsing, and tapping any link opens a new window that must be loaded prior to viewing. Once you select a new link, the previous pages are not available to view and you need to use the back button to view it , losing your current view. Unlike the browser on the desktop, previous pages are not cache in a History page which you can search for past webpages visited. You cannot even email out any website page link to others. So I have been scouting round and found these 2 browsers which are better alternatives - there are not perfect but at least offer more features.

Here are reviews of 2 alternatives which I have tested : Life Web Browser and Atomic Web Browser

Life Web Browser
Developer :
http://www.itsabouttimeproducts.com/Life
Price : US$ 1.99

This browser is designed just for the iPad. It does not attempt to mimic the features of a desktop browser like Firefox but instead tries to add new twists that take advantage of the iPad’s unique features. Life Browser eliminates the concept of tabs entirely and operates with a swiping mechanism similar to Cover Flow.

Imagine being able to swipe through your favorite websites on your iPad the same way you swipe through pages in iBooks. That’s what Life Browser for iPad does and more. While you're looking at the home page in Life, you'll notice the edges of two other pages, one to the left and another to the right. To navigate to these other sites, you can use the left / right arrows at the bottom of the page (which conveniently have the name of the sites on them), touch one of the edges (this works well when you're holding the iPad in both hands), or swipe right or left using four fingers. You swipe through sites as if you are swiping through pictures in iPhoto.

Other Key Features:

- It’s easy to add and remove a website with the plus key and minus key at the bottom. You can also swipe pages using the labeled button keys at the right side bottom.

- Because Life Browser can guess where you may go next, it pre-loads pages to the right and to the left. That way, they’re ready when you are.The "side pages" are loading while you're looking at a page. When you're ready to move to one of your other favorite pages, they're already loaded and ready to view. Want to view a page in full screen mode with no buttons or the address bar? Tap the full-screen button at the bottom of the screen to toggle full-screen viewing on and off.

- The Q (queue) button is another powerful feature. It makes it easier to load up lots of websites and to read them without reloading. Tapping the “Q” button makes every link you tap queue up below the current page. Users then can page up and down between these pages, each of which load in the background while the current page is being read. When you're ready to start reading, tap the up and down arrows at the top of the page to move through the stack. Most of the time those pages will already be downloaded and ready to view

-Favorite Sites are identified and saved automatically for future use

-Advanced multi-touch features recognize a variety of gestures. One finger can scroll through sites, two fingers can zoom in and out, three fingers go backward and forward in the history, four fingers move between open windows.

-Instead of text representing a bookmark, a thumbnail image of the site is saved and used as a bookmark. The makes recognizing a remembering a good site easier and more intuitive

-A single URL address bar and a Google search bar complete with auto-suggestions. Google suggestions will appear underneath the address bar.

-Emails can be sent with a simple tap of a button. You can share a page with someone without leaving Life Web Browser by tapping the email link button.

Some weakness :

- The pre-loading feature can cause a lot of the Ipad’s memory to be used up quickly. This can cause the application to start lagging and the system to slow down noticeably. Additional problems arise with saved sites. Some pages are not able to be cached or saved for future use during a browsing sessions.

- Bookmarks are not easily transferred to the Ipad from another browser such as Safari.

- In some cases, links that worked fine in Safari wouldn’t activate in Life Browser. The developer is looking into this.

- As Life Browser is doing some page loading in the background, it can sometimes seem not as responsive as Safari.

Official Video :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNOZrP7Cr9U&feature=player_embedded

Links :
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/06/17/first-look-life-a-web-browser-optimized-for-the-ipad/
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/life_browser_for_ipad_swipes_through_websites_like_a_book/

Atomic Web Browser
Developer : Rich Trautvetter
Price : US$ 0.99

Atomic Web’s main attraction is tabbed browsing. Atomic Web handles tabs like a desktop browser, displaying them directly underneath the address bar. When you press and hold on a link, a contextual menu allows you to open the page in a foreground or background tab. Switching between tabs is instantaneous — a huge relief given that Safari sometimes has to reload pages if you stray for too long.

Tabbed browsing isn’t Atomic Web’s only advantage. There’s also full screen browsing, find in page, multi-touch shortcuts (two-finger swipes with customizable actions), support for a couple dozen search tools, private mode, an ad blocker and customizable colors.

However when you quit the browser, it has to reload all your pages again next time you start up, even if you set the browser to preserve all open tabs after quitting. Even worse, your navigation history (forward and back buttons) resets. What this means is that Atomic can’t be used seamlessly: without saving the user state upon exit, no amount of functionality in the world can help it compete with Mobile Safari, which is always running and always remembers what you were doing when you exited.

Atomic makes the same mistake as Safari in that it treats the location bar and search bar as distinct when it could be merge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Ame439tJo&feature=player_embedded

Links:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/194488/atomic_web_a_better_ipad_browser.html
http://www.cultofmac.com/quick-review-atomic-web-browser-for-ipad-iphone-has-tabs-adblock-offline-mode-and-more/38244
http://ipadthoughts.net/2010/04/15/recommended-atomic-web-browser/

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The NutGraph " Found in Conversation" with Tony Pua, Khairy and Nurul Anwar

On 20 June 2010, The Nut Graph kicked off its first Found in Conversation event titled Creativity and Innovation in Politics. Around 80 guests attended the Sunday evening event at Leonardo’s Dining Room and Wine Loft, Bangsar, which was the venue sponsor.
At the event, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua and Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Nurul Izzah Anwar spoke on current political issues and innovative practices within their parties. The conversation among the politicians and with the audience was moderated by The Nut Graph co-founder and editor Jacqueline Ann Surin.

FOR those who missed it, the 15 part videos is now available to view at :
http://www.thenutgraph.com/talking-about-political-change/
Each video is about 5 - 6 mins .
Contents of the videos :

1. Political landscape post-2008
Nurul Izzah and Khairy answer the question about what it will take for politicians or a political party to survive the next general election.

2. Pua, Nurul Izzah and Khairy talk about the changing demands of voters post-2008, and how that has affected their role and the role of their parties.

3. On structural reforms
Khairy talks about changes within Umno and what’s needed.

4. Pua talks about reforms and challenges within the DAP.

5. Khairy explains capacity-building measures within Umno.

6. On the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s successes and challenges. Both Nurul Izzah and Pua respond to a critical question from the floor about what the PR has done since they were voted in in 2008.

7. On women
Nurul Izzah talks about the challenges women face.

8. On women within the party structure. Khairy admits that the odds are stacked against women in Umno, while Pua says the DAP has a more open structure.

9. On political futures
Pua and Nurul Izzah talk about the state and future of the PR as an alliance.

10. Can the PR convince the rakyat that it is capable of governing? Why won’t it set up a shadow cabinet to demonstrate its seriousness and capability? Nurul Izzah and Pua field a question from the floor and respond to a challenge from Khairy.

11. Khairy takes on a question from the floor about whether Umno needs to lose power in order for it to change. He argues that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a reform-minded leader, and that it is important for Najib to know that he has support to push his reform agenda.

12. On education and the arts
Nurul Izzah and Pua talk about what their respective parties and the PR are doing to support education and the arts.

13. Khairy takes on the question: “It’s not the amount of money that the government puts aside for the arts. It’s where it’s going. And I think that’s the problem. It’s not going to the right places. And it’s going to a lot of mainstream [stuff], basically, at the moment, which needs to change.”

14. On creativity and innovation in politics
Pua and Khairy speak concretely about the one creative and innovative thing their parties have done since 2008.

15. Nurul Izzah says PKR’s most innovative act was her father Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call for the New Economic Policy (NEP) to be revamped so that affirmative action is based on need. Pua agrees that Anwar took a political risk, and that his consistent call to revamp the NEP was what convinced him that Anwar could be an alternative prime minister. Khairy agrees that Anwar has been consistent on this point, but argues that Anwar has it easier than Najib in bringing about such a change.

Link :
http://www.thenutgraph.com/khairy-yes-umno-can-change/

iPAD : Watching unsupported video formats

The 9.7-inch high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching HD movies, TV shows, podcasts, music videos, and more. However, the video formats supported by the iPad are relatively limited compared to the number of formats available on the market. Below are video formats that are actually supported by iPad device:

iPad Supported Video Format
H.264 video (up to 720p, 30 frames per second; main profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats)
MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.
Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format .

You can use various software to convert your movies - example my favorite freeware is "Handbrake" which I find it simple to use. There are better and more specialized software with editing features and it costs around US$ 20 to US$40. However the disadvantage of using such software is the time needed to convert the videos is terribly long . A typical 1.5 hour movie ( eg in avi format ) will take about an hour plus. I have given up using such software and has found a FREE and FAST solution to watch my collection of movies/videos in other formats ( mainly avi ) on the iPAD.

The solution is AIR VIDEO. I use the free version as it is sufficient for my use. You can upgrade to the paid version with more features. Just download this app from the Apps Store.

The whole process to convert a typical movie of 1.5 hour length takes only about 20 minutes and the conversion quality is very good.

The shot below shows a screenshot on my iPAD after I have converted the 2 movies. You can watch the movie while it is being converted or after conversion on this screen itself. As I find the screen is only about 2/3 of the original screen, I choose to " Add to iTunes". The converted movies will appear in the Movies folder in iTunes. Just sync your iPAD and the movies will appear in the Videos app.

Using AIR VIDEO v 2.2.4 to watch video files :
Video Streaming
Air Video can stream videos in almost any format to iPAD . You don't need to copy your videos to the device just to watch them.
Live Conversion
If the videos in your collection are not in format supported by iPad, Air Video will convert them on fly*. You don't need to wait until the entire video is converted. You can start watching it almost immediately!

Features :
- Videos that can not by directly played by iPad can be easily converted - mp4, m4v, mov, avi, wmv, asf, mpg, mpeg, mkv, 3gp, dmf, divx, flv. DRM protected videos as well as proprietary codecs are NOT supported.
Live conversion allows you to play videos without having to convert them upfront.
Requires firmware 3.0 or newer and sufficiently powerful computer.
Option to convert entire video before playing it (offline conversion)
Files converted offline can be put to conversion queue
Adjust quality, zoom and resolution for each video individually
Select audio stream (language)

Setting Up Air Video
You need to download and install Air Video Server.
Once the server is running, add folders that you want to share. If you have videos in your iTunes playlists, you can also share those playlists.

If you have been running Air Video Server before the window will not open. You can access it using Air Video Server icon in menubar (on Windows the icon is in system tray).

Using Air Video
In Air Video on your iPad add your computer to server list.