The Track

I had still to use my Fenix 2 for fitness. With the combination of busy days and hazy weather, I had yet to take the watch out for a spin.

Maybe I would be using it a lot more when I walk in Penang. With my camera of course. Hopefully the weather there would be nice ....

So, once the watch record the walk, the data would be uploaded into the cloud and could later be shared using a GPX file format. That way, you could open it in Google Earth, or in this case, an app called ConnectStat. You can then track your activity at the click of a button.

My Z10 gone LTE

After a good year using the Z10, I decided to upgrade. Not to a new system as such, but to an upgraded version of the same phone. The Z10, LTE version. Shame that it only came in White. Pricewise, it had certainly took a dive. There was no guarantee if BlackBerry would continue making phones. In fact, they were talking about selling their phone portfolio.

Why did I upgrade? Well, Maxis offered LTE at no extra cost and my workplace was covered. And the price, it was under RM800! I just couldn't say no to that! It was too good an offer.

As it stood, the keyboard was miles better any I had ever used, including the iPhone. I was not ashamed to admit that. The App Store was improving although it still lack plenty in the imaging department, but who in their right mind would be using a BlackBerry for their photography right?

I pray that BlackBerry would continue to soldier on. They had plenty more to offer on the platform I was sure, even if the profit margin was against that ...

The New Workhorse

My current main desktop system was a 4 year-old iMac 23-inch, running Mountain Lion since it was the only OS which can connect to my P1 dongle for internet connection. Not ideal, but that was the best I could do in Gombak.

At the apartment, I have a 30Mb fibre connection and it seemed that all the bandwidth being utilised only on iPad and Mac Book was rather a waste. I decided to get a new desktop permanently stationed at the apartment. I thought about a new iMac, but I decided to go a step further than that. A system which could easily last me for another 4 years.

Walla, I ordered the Mac Pro and I received the delivery last week. I spent the time since then tweaking the peripherals and decided on which monitor to use. The main one was easy, I also ordered an Apple Thunderbolt display which also served as the main speakers, camera and microphone. I got a second similar-sized monitor from Dell. And I also installed a third monitor in the form of a Wacom Cintiq tablet. That provide touch interface for photo editing as well as an input mode for the whole system if needed. The dual graphics card system sorted the resolution out with minimal effort.

I also installed Parallels for running Windows 7 concurrently. No issues. I could run Windows on one screen while keeping Mavericks on the other monitor. And I was able to play games at maximum resolution and setting on the Windows part.

I also bought a Thunderbolt WD external hard drive connected to the Mac Pro. The on board SSD was only 256 Gb, hence I save space by using the external drive for my Aperture and iPhoto library. The 10Gb/sec transfer time meant that there was no lag even when I opened the photo for editing on Photoshop. I decided against wifi storage mainly for speed. When I have time, I might dabble into video editing - in 4K maybe.

A lot to discover still with the new system and it would take a while before I realise the real potential, as only a handful of the current crop of apps were able to utilise more than couple of processor cores, 64 bit operation and dual graphic processor. The system was no slouch ….

So far, I have yet to encounter any hardware issues with the system. I might add on more memories to the system in the future, but that would be about it.

4G FTW!

Not sure what had happened over the weekend, but my Nexus 7 - which was recently updates to Kit Kat - had been registering 4G connection on Celcom. I had to upgrade my SIM on the iPhone for LTE connection, but I didn't bother doing anything for the Nexus tablet.

It had only started doing so from this morning. So, I assumed that there had been an upgrade over the weekend. I wasn't complaining. It was just that I was pleasantly surprised. And yes, the connection was about 20 Mbit - which was slower than Maxis at SJMC - but it was noticeably faster.

No Celcom LTE yet at Taman Setia, so I had to make do with HSDPA and WiFi at home. Fast enough but could be slow at times inside my bedroom.

At work, although there were WiFi available for staff members, speed could be found wanting during peak clinic hours. The LTE was definitely welcomed to do quick browsing in between my clinic patients.

Still no Air

I had been busy in the past week, and didn't have the chance to look around and sample the recently released iPad Air. So, when I had the chance yesterday, I stopped by a shop at Hartamas which stocked Apple products.

They had rows of iPad, but they were all from the previous generation. No idea as yet as to when the new model would be coming in. Looked like I would have to head out to Low Yat to have a feel of that .... Maybe this weekend.