Is this your future?

Forget about the cliche of picture and thousand words, here is the real deal from the brilliant street photographer Bob Kurt:

You can click it to enlarge


and have you noticed what he's wearing?
There is so much one could say about this picture. funny, yet really sad.
What do you feel after seeing this picture? what titles come to your mind?


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Text Messaging still No.1

In a recent survey by Access Systems, 73% users indicated text messaging to be the most important feature in a phone, 61% for Internet access and 63% for emailing. This totally trumpets the music features with only 34% preference and video capability at 34%.

Well its really comes as no surprise obviously, even though some people do get blind sighted by flashes of glitzy gizmos. But a phone is all about communication first and foremost. Adding an mp3 player to it is secondary, or didnt you already know? And while Apple has in fact managed to come away with just the right mix with iPhone, right look and right interface for its device... it does however, let you down in the main function: communication. Primarily text or email, basically anywhere you need to have more keystrokes than just dialing a number, you'll have a bit of a struggle with the iPhone, unless you have fingers that look like knitting needles. Or you text like this guy does on his ancient phone, using a pencil!

Though it may be hard for some users to admit it because their iPhone so cool and er... they've already spent a real good sum of money on it. The novelty does wear off for some, specially those who actually do need a serious phone, particularly smartphone users.
Bottom line: a phone HAS to be good for "communication"
I've never had any problems communicating with people, and I think its cuz my phone does the job for me quite well:

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

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Why So Serious?

Ok forget about GPS, I'm getting the first phone that comes with sonar! :) pretty cool huh? if you dont know what I am talking about, you gotta watch The Dark Knight. Dont let the comic book theme fool you, even from the trailor. This is no ordinary blockbuster.



I think its very appropriate they didnt title this movie as "Batman...", because this is actually a great crime thriller riddled with twists and turns all through the movie and would stand on its own as an awesome movie without any superhero and super psychotic villains. Twice during the movie I thought the movie had reached its "conclusion" and each time Nolan throws in a new twist, each one more interesting than the previous.

The friend I dragged along with me, actually didnt want to watch it because he thought its a "comic book movie" and he never watches silly comic book movies. But when the movie was over he didnt even realize it was two and half hours long!

There is much to talk say about this great piece of work, but I'm not even going to say anything about Heath Ledger's acting here, because you'll hear about it for years to come. And I have to admit, I thought it was all hype, but no it isnt! ReelViews sums it up just right: "...The Dark Knight, a film so impressive in every significant facet that it makes one wonder why it took so long for the genre to reach this high level."

The action sequences are awesome! Particularly towards the end of the movie. I wont mention what happens to the batmobile (a transformation all its own!), but they actually destroy TWO, not one, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640.

Gotta watch it again!

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

iPhone 3G Complaints Start Early

Apple claims more than a million units got sold within three days of its launch. But this time it seems that iPhone has some serious quality issues, literally end-to-end.

Much lower battery life (roughly 3 hours less than its predecessor), mostly attributed to being 3G and its push mail feature. Some users suggest turning it off. Some sources have tried to brush aside this problem, claiming that its battery life is still better than other mobile phones. But its quite interesting to note that they compare it only with Windows Mobile phones. Ok why is that a surprise? Secondly, I don't believe its accurate to call iPhone a "smartphone". Its a mobile infotainment device, and yes has the capability of becoming a smartphone, once it has the right software available. But its not a smartphone *yet*, and would not be fair to compare its efficiency and battery life with other smartphones, even Windows Mobile phones.

Problems with its Safari browser freezing up or frequently taking back to home screen.
Even the beautiful display didn't escape quality issues. Many users have been complaining their 480 x 320 has a dead pixel or two.
Many of the expensive third party iPhone accessories cant be used with the new iPhone 3G.
Even MobileMe (iPhone equivalent of Exchange) has had its own issues.
So much so that Apple has decided to drop the word "push" from MobileMe's description.

Worse of all, even reports of iPhones being bricked! so be very careful when doing any firmware updates on it.

I am sure Apple will sort these issues out over time, and these problems would not deter most users. But then again, what sort of users are we talking about? Face it, majority of the users are not getting the iPhone because of its capabilities. Those who do get caught up in the hype and buy it for its capabilities as a "smartphone" end up selling it off pretty quickly. I've seen such examples among my friends.

One of my really cute friends, Valerie (i'll post her shots another time), once asked me "is iPhone a good phone?" I promptly replied "its a cool phone". That just about sums it up. Sure I love the beautiful sleek design, the nifty user-interface. All very nice, I love it. But when I wanna communicate or do something useful where you need an actual "smartphone", I would quickly put it aside on the desk and pick up my trusty old E61 in a heartbeat or would get the newer N71. When I need a feature rich smartphone with massive multimedia capabilities, I don't have to think twice before getting the powerhouse N96 or even N95 8GB. No comparison.


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Watch your step!

Yes I am back from the dead... well from illness, and back breaking work. So whats brought me back to blog life from my long hiatus? a bizarre and unfortunate death.
A recently released report describes a young Canadian woman died after stepping onto a few caterpillars. Thats right, not spiders or scorpions, but just caterpillars. Two simple and obvious, yet often neglected things could have spared her the unfortunate fate:

• Do not walk barefoot out in the open! Specially when exploring nature, you've got to wear proper footwear.
  
• Seek medical attention ASAP when you know something is not right, *even* if you think you are feeling better.

To reduce the affects of encounter with any venomous/hairy caterpillars the immediate treatment is nearly the same for all types and does help reduce the affect of their venom:

"Place Scotch tape (or any adhesive tape) over the affected area and strip off repeatedly to remove spines. Apply ice packs to reduce the stinging sensation, and follow with a paste of baking soda and water. If the victim has a history of hay fever, asthma or allergy, or if allergic reactions develop, contact a physician immediately." - Poison Information Center, Tampa

Sometimes it may help to remember the warning colors: any combinations of black, yellow, red and brown. These colors often indicate that a certain bug is venomous and best to keep your distance. A bug with red and yellow or combo of it, is not trying to say "I am pretty, come pick me up". Most likely it wont kill you, but can really hurt like hell. And not all venomous bugs will have these warning colors though. Trust me, i've been there many times hehe mostly painful stings from wasps and hornets of all size and shapes. The most painful and lasting one of all came from the tiniest one of them. Was also lucky enough to avoid scorpion and centipede stings many times as a kid.

The caterpillars this unfortunate woman encountered is most likely Lonomia (found in South America). Their venom is the most potent of all known land animals! Of this group of caterpillars, the most venomous is Lonomia Obliqua. Check this, the fatality rate from Lonomia is 1.7% compared to that of rattle snakes which is 1.8%

Lonomia Obliqua

This is despite the fact that the amount of venom dispatched by their "bristles" is less than one thousandth of what you could get from a snake bite. Hmmm sounds like a good candidate for the next CSI episode.

Could someone get me a crate of these critters for my petting zoo?

Bilal
http://www.elanist.com/bilal