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A walk down the Yellow Brick Road of Malaysia's Corridor of the future

by Alan Tan, Malaysia


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Evident eco-consciousness in China than in Malaysia



Continuing geek observations in Shanghai... 

Remember the days when China was famous for having hordes of bicycles on its streets? Possibly a sea of practical, standard-issue black bicycles as transport for the people? Well, two-wheelers are still commonplace, albeit more so in smaller towns and villages, but technology has caught up. Many, if not most, of the bicycles are now electrically assisted. It's not just a few of them which are electrically assisted, virtually all the bicycles are. Here's a picture of one of the more common models.
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Shanghai through the eyes of a "Malaysian bumpkin"



I'm in Shanghai for a week on vacation. I don't travel often on a free-and-easy vacation often at all. Shanghai is funny. Kinda place for geeks. I got an excellent piece of screensaver installed on my camera, customized fit, by the side of a river, in (where's this?) Qida? for US$1.50. Excellent fit it was, too.
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Are all Gadgets created equal (or are some more equal than others?)

 

     There comes a time where we are always faced with a truckload of choices. We're just out to buy one of the necessities in life. A Thumb Drive or a Backup Hard Drive. These are probably the most difficult choices for the geekiest of us. Just any one of the many many .... many drives won't do. Its got to stand out. There has to be a reason why we're buying one over another. AND... the large availability of different types and brands just isn't helping out. Thats how geeks choose stuff isn't it? I for one won't just buy simply a run of the mill drive. It has to have something outstanding, Just plain looking cool just isn't enough. Looking cool and functionally outstanding is my minimum requirement. My quest for a backup drive finally became fruitful with this Hitachi 500gb Carbon Fibre casing "SimpleDrive"  This is not the best for you, but it matches my personality.. Carbon Fibre for the racy feel and light weight. Give me the feel of the fast and furious while backing up. Petrolheads would love it..(Yes.. I would like a carbon fibre bonnet for my Honda S2K as well) , under the drive white LED lights give it a glow from below. Just like all the boy racer modded cars :) As for the drive performance.. well.. its fast enough. No supercharger for the external hard drive just yet..

 

      What I'm trying to portray is that in this era where Gadgets are plentiful, and seemingly, everyone in the market only has the same things to sell, there could be, and should be lots of effort to personalize the stuff. Gone are the days where HDD casings could be crude and uninteresting and cheap prices are the only selling points. All tech needs to be polished and interesting or otherwise they're gonna be left behind. Although I applaud simplicity, and dislike too much stress on aesthetics, a good balance would be what everyone is looking for, isn't that right?

 

     I still remember Nokia, being the pioneer in adding personalization to the standard black colors of mobiles.. the express color covers.. That was by far the boldest and biggest stride towards making technology more human.. Wonder if anyone at that time realized they would have carbon fibre styled portable hard drives?  

     I'm looking forward to the current trend where aesthetics meets technology. Just to add some more colour to the previously drab world of technology.

 

 



 

Aircraft carriers are just like the Battlestar Galactica



I was lucky enough to have visited the USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier last week while it was in dock. OMG... it was big. Really big... from the Trekkie and BSG point of view, it was everything as expected. The bridge was a little smalller though, not big enough to have people beaming aboard, nor to have gun battles as seen in many Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica episodes.
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Malaysia's first cycle of technology



The age of tech gadgets started somewhat about 10 years back. Goes without saying that tech has always been there, from the earliest digital calculator watch Casio Databank or even the first LED calculator. (Yes, I have collected an LED calculator.) I'm sure every tech geek will love to collect examples of pristine tech. I consider the PDA to be one of the techie toys of this decade.
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About Alan Tan

I'm a medical doctor by profession, but as with all inquiring minds,technology has become an addiction. I'm also constantly in awe of all kinds of tech, from a piece of Velcro to the latest diving computer. Constantly adapting new tech to my lifestyle is a priority. Being a faithful follower of the "MacGyver concept", any tech is useful tech if you use it the right way. I use tech to plug my deficiencies, enhance my capabilities and explore all possibilities. What tech would you like to use today?

 

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Recent Comments

alkabong: Very interesting. I would have thought Malaysia would be welcoming electric scooters; since the weather is perfect for it! Here ... more »
sirsteven: Welcome to China! Those 'electric bikes' (ie: lightweight electric scooters) are pretty nifty. The battery is not exactly light, ... more »
shanghaikid0606: Hi! I am trying to buy a gift for a friend who loves to scuba dive. I was wondering if ... more »
scoobydoo: You could possibly fit a whole carrier in just one of Galactica's two landing pods alone! Now we'll never ... more »
realpagan: Charles: please see the email that I just sent you. This is happening in other parts of the world, ... more »
danaelliottMD: Hi Alan, I will like to introduce to you our our non-profit volunteer organisation, First Aid Corps. It is founded ... more »