The offending image is below: try saving it on your iPad and try editing it in the Photos app to see if this happens on your iPad.  In current testing, it doesn’t seem to affect the new iPad (3rd gen), iPhone 4 or iPod Touch (4th gen).  I can still edit other photos or screenshots so this totally puzzles me and is completely reproducible. It this another one of those special Apple bugs just for me?

This is not the maximum zoom of the Google Maps android application as my ZTE V9 tablet can zoom in much further as shown below

While you may think that this is a trivial matter, it really rises as a problem when I look for tram stops and street names here in Melbourne. Take a look at the CBD of Melbourne in the screenshot below and see how problematic this is: I can’t see the names of the smaller streets and I have to tap each tram stop in order to see the stop name.

To rub salt into the wound, apps that use a map view can zoom in further than the Google Maps application! Below are screenshots via the Domain.com.au app.

I’ve tried to search for a reason for this discrepancy and have yet to find one. The map settings are both the same in the tablet and phone. CPU and RAM-wise, both devices are comparable: 600MHz each with about 420MB of RAM. Both devices are rooted with my Optimus One running the official Android 2.3.3 ROM from LG and the tablet running Android 2.3.7 via CyanogenMod. The only other difference would be screen size and resolution: 7″ 800 x 480 screen on the tablet and 3.2″ 480 x 320 screen on the phone.

Anybody who has a clue what’s going on, do let me know. Any help would be well appreciated.

[categories Android, Technology]

Features:

• Downloads current days paper and saves to SD card (/sdcard/Pictures/bt/date)
• Pages download in the background
• If all pages are downloaded, no further network connection is needed

Todo:

• Add home screen for listing all previously downloaded papers
• Possibly find the high resolution images used in the iPad app
• Notification of download status
• Carousel image gallery with multi-touch zoom as seen in image viewers (swipe to move page to page)

So after dusting off some Android development cobwebs I have managed to get the following beta app for your feedback =)

Direct APK download

draft

A couple months back my 2 year old 13" MacBook Pro’s power adapter fizzled into oblivion while in the middle of working on a project. And thus began the quest for a MBP power adapter. Coincidentally lots of places were out of stock (AV, Yihfa, Dee Jay) or required a custom order which would take several days and thus I even considered knock-off power adapters from B.I.T. The next step was looking up if other Apple laptop power adapters would work to replace my 60W power adapter. AV did not recommend using a 85W power adapter for 15" MBP on my 13" MBP but after looking things up online it seems fine: the main take away is to ensure the same voltage but higher or equal amperage. Even Apple says a high wattage (voltage*amperage) power adapter is fine (via StackExchange: "Can a 60W MagSafe power adapter work interchangeably on a Macbook Pro that “requires” an 85W adapter?").

Surprisingly enough, I found my power adapter at Incomm at the Mall as I randomly just walked in to look a some phones.

Places to get Apple power adapters:

• AV – Kiulap, The Mall, KB
• Dee Jay – Gadong (same row as McDonalds – other branches doesn’t seem to stock power adapters)
• Netcom – Kiulap, The Mall – custom order (thus will take a few days)
• Yihfa – Kiulap
• QQeStore
• Yappe – Serusop
• Incomm – Gadong, The Mall
• BIT Computer – Kiulap (knock off / non original chargers)

A couple of months back there were articles about mobile phone roaming charges and I feel the best way to prevent such a problem is to just use a local SIM card. So on my short trip to Melbourne, a couple of months back, I was lucky to have my brother’s Optus prepaid SIM which he had used the Optus $2 Days Prepaid plan which offers:

• Unlimited National Voice Calls
• Unlimited Standard SMS/MMS
• Unlimited Mobile Internet Browsing

This trifecta makes is perfect for practically anybody! The last time I was in Melbourne, I tried Vodafone and the data prices were horrendous (most prepaid plans seem pretty expensive in Australia), so I was very surprised to see unlimited data for $2/day. I’ve tried M1′s and Singtel’s offerings in Singapore and both only offered data: no voice or text.

As with all mobile data, coverage is important: there is no use having unlimited data if there is no reception! Check out any coverage maps to ensure that the place you go indeed has 3G reception (Optus coverage map). Also if there network is congested and saturated with people, it can be a frustrating experience. Thankfully, this was not the case with Optus in the CBD area, where I was most of the time.I manged to get consistent 6Mbps download speeds while downloading my podcasts.

Also do remember to read the fine print when signing up for these plans so that you don’t get charge unexpectedly (by wrongly assuming something is free or counted in the deal when it is not). Sadly when you do read the Optus fine print in the Terms & Conditions it says the $2 charges exclude "mobile handset tethering and use of non mobile voice devices" which I made sure I didn’t do just in case. Also their Optus Mobile Fair Go Policy applies to your usage which is basically guarding against ‘excessive usage’ which would probably be detrimental to the general network (i.e. causes congestion for other users)

All in all, I enjoyed the freedom of being able to use my phone without worrying about any caps or running out of credit. I would highly recommend this plan for all those data hungry Twitter / Facebook / Foursquare / Instagram / WhatsApp / Viber / other text alternative apps / general web addicted people out there. Heck if you need a SIM card before you go, I (or you) could ask my brother to borrow the SIM card.

Terms & Conditions of Optus $2 Days (via Optus website)

• Daily usage fee is $2 and includes unlimited standard national calls, SMS & MMS to Australian GSM mobiles (excluding Pivotel); standard national calls to Australian fixed lines; voicemail retrieval and mobile internet browsing on your handset within Australia. Includes free voicemail deposits within Australia.
• Excludes premium SMS and content, international and satellite calling and text, international roaming charges, Zoo content usage charges, video calling, 966 calls, mobile handset tethering and use of non mobile voice devices. Optus Mobile Fair Go Policy applies.
• Timing is based on AEST (the time in Sydney, NSW) regardless of your location. Please adjust your usage to allow for time differences.
• The usage fee is charged on the first outbound standard national call, SMS, MMS or mobile internet access each day after 12.00.00am AEST. Usage fee is not charged on days when no outbound standard national call, SMS, MMS, voicemail or mobile internet access is made.
• Unlimited standard national daily calls maximum duration is 24 hours.
• International calls are charged in increments of up to 10 minutes.
• Daily usage fee inclusions expire on the earlier of: 1. 11:59:59pm AEST each day; or 2. the time on which you select another offer.
• If you change from $2 Days to another offer after you have paid your daily usage fee, you will forfeit the benefits available under the Dollar Days offer.
• Me2U is not available with these offers.
• Recharge voucher expiry : $10 is 10 days, $15 is 15 days, $20 is 20 days, $30 is 30 days, $40 is 40 days and $50 is 50 days, $70 is 70 days and $100 is 100 days
• Unused credit rolls over when your next recharge is before your credit expiry.
• Options for $5, $10, $15 & $20 top-ups are not available. Some handsets are set to seek data automatically (eg email or other apps). This will use the internet and, in some cases, charges will apply.
• Mobile Internet access requires a compatible handset. Optus may in the future require customers to change their Internet connection settings to be able to access the Internet while on the Dollar Days offers.
• ^Rollover credit: You must recharge a minimum of 24 hours before your credit expires for rollover to apply.

As the year ends and 2012 beckons, there was quite a lot that was done this year. Finally started up Corner Geeks after finding the fantastic mr @mfirdaus, got involved with some events (Twestival, Live Streaming of ran8adidas, MovemberBN) and managed to get recordings (Brunei Online – Social Media: that’s where it’s @, Convergence) and met some fantastic people.

Going forward, Corner Geeks will still be active as Skype makes things possible so long as I don’t hit my Internet cap here in Australia (be thankful for no bandwidth caps back home Brunei!). If my visa gets approved, I will be here for 2+ years and thus would not be able to get physically involved with Brunei on-goings as I did this year. This will indeed be sad, as things seemed to start gearing up this year and I’m sure next year will be a much bigger year with more things in store. So to all those in Brunei, hope you enjoy the ride that next year, it’s going to be great!

Bye bye Brunei, hello Melbourne.

Direct APK Download

This app is still very beta and there are quite a few improvements I am looking at implementing on a standalone KristalFM app

To-do

• Notification & Background service
• Track/Buffering information

If there is anything else you would like to add for a standalone app, do let me know in the comments.

Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011

Steve Jobs
1955 – 2011

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve

Source; Apple – Remembering Steve Jobs

No matter what you think about the man personally, he did great things and did inspire many.

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

The Crazy Ones Ad

CornerGeeks.com has been registered and podcast content will be available there. I will probably retweet announcements and updates but probably will not post the tech content here. The website is still a work in progress but thought it should be up and beta tested haha. Feedback will be most welcome. Have a great week guys!

My main issue is ads that seem to fill many Bruneian websites. I understand the need to make money, but when I see multiple and obtrusive ad spots all over your page, it really turns me off. To me, it conveys that you value the money from your advertisers more than you value my experience (as a customer / viewer) on your site. I’m sure everybody is familiar with one of the biggest offenders in Brunei which is BruDirect. Going to the page and I’m greeted with 4 huge ads and no content. I’m not sure how everybody else feels about it, but I for one tend to boycott these sites by not going to them.

I would also like to raise the question as to why so many Brunei websites do this and if there are any globally popular websites that do the same kind of obtrusive ad marketing. I personally can’t name any (perhaps because if I did run into it, I probably boycotting it =p). But either way, I would like to know your thoughts on this matter and, if you would be so kind, do answer the questions below and leave your reply in the comments. Add any additional remarks or comments as you wish.

1. Do you find ad filled pages in Brudirect ok?
2. Do you find them annoying?
3. Do you still read the website?
4. If you find them annoying and still read the website, why do you put up with it?
5. How many ads is too much?

Note: I started this post several days back when I ran into a new website (can’t remember the exact URL) that had all those "Your-ad-here" spaces which seemed to litter the page. I’m not against ads as a whole, just website owners who seem it is best to fill the page with all of them. I took some time to let this post sit here so I can simmer down with my utter disdain for the act of ads littering a page. Maybe I’m too idealistic, maybe I just want a better experience when viewing websites or maybe I’m full of it. Let me know in the comments.