Random Ideas

Awakening Zone from Rise of the Eldrazi

My favourite card from the next set is Awakening Zone. I don't know why, but it feels like the kind of card I play often. =D

• Waiting for a ONECARD bus. #
• I know it's time to buy a new phone. And yet, I hesitate. I wonder why? #
• My CT6 exam was another disaster. Somehow, I'm not fazed. #
• I'm always excited about Apple product leaks. What's weird is that I haven't bought an Apple product since 2005 (being my Powerbook). #
• An iPhone HD just might be enough to change my mind. #
• I hate having exams. The irony of it is that I like actuarial studies. -_- #

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Recently it's been becoming more apparent that I'm having less and less free time to blog (and tweeting more instead) – but that's really because I've been doing two very important things: studying for my exams in April and shopping for a new phone.

As far as studying for my exams is going, it's not going well. I'm not sure how to study for something I've studied for before, and practising isn't quite working as well as I'd hoped. Finding a new strategy is a lot more difficult than I thought. I guess I'll be roughing it out until I find new motivation and methods to study properly.

Shopping for a new phone hasn't been easy either. There are now three smartphone-type operating systems to choose from – the last time I went shopping for a PDA + phone combo in 2006, I had only one choice – Windows Mobile. Now, there are three main contenders in my view – Windows Mobile, iPhone OS and Android. (I'm aware of Symbian, and even more aware of Blackberry – but let's face it – the flagship devices of these two OSes are totally incomparable to the other three. Perhaps the iPhone 3GS is lagging in this area now, but I'm sure the next iteration due this year will change that – and when I'm shopping in this window of time, it's worthwhile to wait 2-3 months.)

The best thing is that phones of this class have gotten much cheaper. They used to cost RM2,500 to RM3,000 pretty easily – and while they still do sometimes, they can often be bought much cheaper a lot earlier in their life cycles. (like say RM2,000)

Windows Mobile's flagship device is clearly the HTC HD2. Nothing else comes close to it. The biggest reason I dropped it out of contention was the fact that Windows Mobile is going to be replaced by Windows Phone 7. And Microsoft seems to be fully intent on alienating its current userbase. With every announcement they make about Windows Phone 7, I get less and less happy. I can't blame Microsoft for the radical changes they are going for for WP7, but they could have at least made an effort to keep their remaining userbase.

Let's move on the iPhone. The current flagship is crappy compared to the HTC HD2 and the HTC Desire. It has one button. It doesn't have a nice home screen – if you could call what it has a home screen. (I lived with a home screen like that once. That was when Palm OS was king, and was about to be dethroned because it forgot that OSes need updating.) What it does have however, is awesome third party support. There are apps for everything – and if those don't satisfy all your needs, you can jailbreak for the remaining missing features – customizable home screen, lock screen info and so on. However – the current flagship is set to be replaced this year, and so anything could happen.

The Android flagships are probably the Google Nexus One (for the US) and HTC Desire (for the rest of the world). Considering that Android's situations is similar to what Windows Mobile's situation was previously, it's difficult to know when they will be replaced – although a good bet is within a year's time. I didn't even consider Android until I saw it for myself and realized why it just fit. I don't even know why. Widgets on the home screen, the apps all felt like what I was used to. The openness of the platform seems the same as Windows Mobile – except that the SDK default language is Java – which I'm guessing can make things a little sluggish at times – but I'm not worried since there's an accompanying NDK for those apps that really need speed. When people realise that speed matters more, they'll work on apps in the NDK.

So, currently, I'm planning to purchase a HTC Desire – but I'll be waiting 2 months to see if Apple can change my mind. It hasn't won any points with me with iPhone OS 4, but Android so far certainly has won many with version 2.1.

• I have found out today that I'm still godawful at playing Starcraft. #
• Still have a darned fever. And to think I went to work this morning as if nothing happened. #
• I believe I screwed up my interview today. Horribly. #
• Playing Final Fantasy XIII to cool off. Despite I've read about it, I find it a lot more fun than Final Fantasy XII ever was. #
• Final Fantasy XIII seems to be kinda short. I've already finished disc 1. What gives? #
• I'm pondering my future. And it's a lot hazier than I originally thought. Which is awesome. #
• Speedcubing again. Trying to get my speed below 20 seconds. #
• Why is it every time Microsoft announces something about Windows Phone 7, I dislike it more and more? #
• I lost my PDA stylus. T_T (And I didn't notice it for a very long time. Shows you how much I actually use it nowadays.) #
• I'm not sure if it's TM's HSBB that's unstable or the router they gave me. I know for a fact the router is dropping wireless connections. #
• Found my stylus! Apparently I dropped it at the office. #
• Stuck in the office with nothing to do for another hour. #
• I've been installing a lot of crap on my old phone. Now it feels a little newer. XD #
• Taking a bus home due to Kelana Jaya line problems. #
• Just in case you're wondering, I'm still keeping tabs on the Rise of the Eldrazi spoilers despite being busy studying. -_- #
• Pondering about the new iteration of the iPhone. #
• Thanks guys for the present. Will play it as soon as I get the time. =D #
• Had a meeting from 9.00am to 6.00pm. Not fun. #
• @chewxy That was the few 5 minute breaks I had in between. in reply to chewxy #
• Is it weird that I turn to programming to solve problems at work? (this is not a statistical job, btw) #
• You'd never know when knowing a tiny bit of SQL will save you massive amounts of work. #
• I think Opera didn't like deleting 14000 old messages all at once. #
• I just realised that I shouldn't be dismissing Android quite yet. We'll see what iPhone OS 4 has to offer that could change my mind. #
• And so Apple didn't announce what I wanted to see in iPhone OS 4. Oh well. #
• iPhone OS 4 disappointed me. Looks like be making plans to acquire a HTC Desire. #
• It has dawned upon me that I have zero OS loyalty. }:) #
• Exams are nearing and I'm nowhere close to ready. -_- #
• I have decided to wait exactly 2 months to think through my decision. #

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