EMP me, baby

I remember the EMP bomb in the Matrix movie, where the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar were saved from the attack of the sentinels by setting off a bomb which killed off (or temporarily suspended service) everything electronic and saved Neo and Trinity. An Electro-Magnetic Pulse bomb is suppose to theoretically suppose to do the following;

“”In less than a billionth of a second, the electrical intensity on Earth’s surface would become so hot that microchips would fry, power lines would overload and the electric grid would collapse,” says National Geographic, describing . “Everything with microelectronics in it would stop: your car, your computer, the subway. There would be no electricity.”

Heres an  interesting video on the effects of an EMP bomb – check it, before you wreck it…bzzzzzzt

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4821/Videos/08222_00

Video Links: IPad v Netbook + iPhone 4 v 3GS

Techland gadget critic Doug Aamoth – a funny guy.

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,90669413001_1995164,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,78277002001_1982379,00.html

Only if you’ve got the time…

BTW – rampant IPADS available at Funan. $1,500SGD plus – easy. Are you up for it?

iPhone 4 v ALL

Courtesy of Engadget

Still no Palm Pre, and in the meantime, the Apple Iphone 4…

Jobs is at it again. The Iphone 4 has been launched – with July as the target date for most countries (Singapore tbc)

Apple managed to make the battery slightly larger, and the new handset is rated at 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, and 40 hours of music..let the madness begin.

btw, still no sight or a sniff of the Palm Pre. In the meantime, I must agree that I am liking the recent stylings of the HTC….

ps – spoke to a person who previously kept well away from the iphone – being an against the trend type of person. They played with the iPad and fell in love with it. Curses!

Like I said, ..let the madness begin.

Google IO – Developer Conference

Android and Google is all about Openess and Innovation. Its only a matter of time before it takes over the world. Look at the data and feel the functionality and user experience. Its Awesome – I cant wait to update my HTC Legend with Andriod 2.2 Froyo!

Worm in the Apple iPad

Despite the iPad not yet being officially released in our little ‘pore yet, apparently Singaporeans are one of the most iPad-crazy countries in the world, judging by data from auction website eBay. (see here)

Image via CrunchBase

Apple said that it will release the iPad in July for another nine markets, including Singapore, however, after much fanfare, to tell you the truth (though I still love the iPhone) Im getting sick of the whole Apple = gawd routine.

Lets check in on the grass roots indicator on iPad:

Technometry friend who has played with the Ipad says: no expandable storage, no go.
Work colleague who has also got her hands on them says; just like a big iphone, – can play Angry Birds on bigger screen, but thats about it

Did a search on features that suck on the iphone, and all that came up were marketing articles that touted that the iphone was actually the best thing since sliced bread.

Till I play with one, I gonna be very skeptical, just like I am about the whole Apple 4g lost phone scenario.

Shopping in the 21st Century

Shopping is like breathing to us all. We love to spend money. We have to spend money. On essential items like food, clothes, utilities and other more luxurious items like bags, jewelry and prissy non-essentials.

Since the dawn of the wheel and barter and trade we humans have become one with exchanging goods for money. It was when I was wandering through the Ion shopping mall on Orchard Road on Sunday when I started thinking about how technology had its special effects on how shopping malls function.

It’s not just the touch screen directories that allow you to navigate your way through the mall to make the shopping experience more convenient and enjoyable. Look at the back end Point of Sale systems that are setup in each Retail store – tracking sales and centralizing the accounts so the Mall can take its desired commission from sales.

The Ion happens to also have a huge outdoor billboard that advertises the malls brands, products and services to the masses. Blasting our commercials and awareness to consumers.

Location based sms messages are also a handy media campaign to create consumer purchases – whereby consumers are sent txt messages with discount offerings based on the signal sent from their GPS enabled phones.

Foot traffic is monitored for every consumer that walks in and out of the multiple entrance so that marketers can calculate peak periods and when best to have events.

The ION even has its own iPhone App where consumers are encouraged to review and share their dining favorites, upload pictures of tasty meals and be informed of the latest dining offers. This goes hand in hand with the social media campaign on Facebook and twitter – not to mention the trusty email mailing list.

They even provide complimentary cellphone charging for shoppers. In case you get lost and run out of power while you are trying to escape the maze and windowless labyrinth that is the ION.

The megalith that is the ION is a living and breathing monster a shopper’s paradise or a shopper’s peril.