ton.is.my.name

Pinterest: the answer to the social gap I’ve always been a...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:43:24 +0700

Pinterest: the answer to the social gap

I’ve always been a big fan of Tumblr. I don’t see it as a photo-blogging or sharing platform like the majority of the people on it but I see it as a really simple blogging platform that does the job so well for most casual bloggers. A lot of people may prefer Wordpress or Blogger to it but if you ask them whether or not they’ve ever used all the functions that Wordpress and Blogger offer, I doubt they do. The amount of time spent on fine-tuning them is enough for me to say, fuck that, Tumblr it is, for you. They are just overkill’s.

Now if you talk about Twitter, it’s just information overload. I follow most of the people because I want to hear everything they say but for some I just want see what they have to share, not all their thoughts, opinions and rants. You are seeing where this is going right?

Introducing Pinterest, a new social platform dedicated to sharing your interests. It resembles a pin board where you can pin links using photo or video as reference. I am always a bit concerned before I am going to “reblog” things I like on Tumblr because I want to keep my blog tidy and full of useful stuff to me and my readers. Not every single thing I want to share without having time to write descriptions or the reasons why.

On the other hand, my Twitter account is beyond readable. I tweet in both Thai and English. It’s pretty hard already just to understand half of my tweets yet I tweet so much everything I’d like to share then disappear within hours. Even I myself can’t dig my own Twitter timeline to see what I’ve shared. This is why I find Pinterest a perfect platform that fills the “social sharing” gap here.

If you are already a Pinterest user, why don’t you just follow me! I am new to Pinterest too and could use a few friends. If not, have a look at my Pinboard, you may be you’ll learn to like it. The learning curve is a bit steep though.

This is not an advertorial, in case you’re wondering.

Using mobile internet, iPhone or iPad in Japan for tourists This...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:12:43 +0700

Using mobile internet, iPhone or iPad in Japan for tourists

This April I am planning a trip to Japan, and as we know Japan is one of those countries where there aren’t that many English speakers around. Given how complex the city itself is with language issues, an internet connection which tends to be my last resort of survival in a foreign country, is needed.

Here comes the problem: Japan is a country that doesn’t primarily use GSM mobile phone technology, which means obtaining SIM cards isn’t exactly the easiest thing for short-term traveler. I also heard that obtaining and filling down local paperworks isn’t one of the things I’d love to be doing on a 8-day trip either.

After an extensive research (yes, I did spend 2 hours on this), the easiest and the cheapest option for me is to rent either a SIM card or a device from this company. The rates are probably the best you can get if you live in Japan for less than a month and they even let you rent devices.

Since I’ll be traveling with my parents this time, I’ll just go with the Mi-Fi that lets me connect five of the devices to the internet on the go since I can route all the calls via Skype or Viber anyway so there really is no use to get a plan with local calls.

And after seeing what my hotel is going to charge me for 24-hour internet access, it’s a no brainer.

Oh, and the link: Global Advanced Communications

Mac users, don’t you just hate the way Windows render...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:47:00 +0700

Mac users, don’t you just hate the way Windows render texts?

It’s been a week now with my new gaming rig. It’s a desktop PC that runs Windows 7, and I love it very much—mostly for its gaming capability, but not really anything else. Using Windows for some kind of work for just less than a few hours can give you massive headache for how unintuitive it is.

One of the issues I have with Windows machines is the way texts are being rendered on screen. Texts are incredibly jaggy! They just look ugly and it’s as if Microsoft is trying to tell everyone fuck off and print everything you wanna read.

Here’s the solution: install gdipp, and turn off ClearType and you’re one step closer to the ultimate on-screen reading experience.

An important thing to note here is that this isn’t really Windows fault. It’s just about two different approaches to font rendering taken by two parties. But apparently, I agree with Steve Jobs who said that Microsoft just has no taste.

P.S. This site has been made to look especially good on Quartz based texts. Install this, restart your machine and come back to this site.

Reflection on 2011 As much as I hate writing about myself, I...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:10:33 +0700

Reflection on 2011

As much as I hate writing about myself, I think this is the most appropriate time to have a yearly self-reflection. What will 2011 be remembered for about myself? Has I spent the time well? Have I done something for the greater good of myself, people around me and the world?

2011 was supposed to be a gap year. It’s a year of self-discovery. I tried working with my parents in our family business. I struggled through a nine-to-five culture of the corporate world. I got out of it and thought that I would be able to go back to school, doing something I really enjoy doing: being a student, just like how a pal said to be that if I ain’t in a hurry I should go back to school.

Unfortunately the plan was interrupted by something totally out of my control. I am not short-listed for the program I’d like to do, instead I got a second preference which I don’t intend to do, so I chose not to; and where I am now is in the position I was at the end of last year, what’s next then.

It feels as if I am trying to avoid asking myself this question and to make decisions. Going back to school seems to be the easiest option which gives me what I needed: well-defined goals. After spending a bit of time doing what my parents do, I felt, things are obtained far too easily. It lacks motivation and it felt as if I am jobless. On the other hand, I know I couldn’t cope well in a corporate ladder culture. Having spent considerable amount of time in a nine-to-five job, I felt weak and powerless. My ideas were nothing to my superiors and I was always unable to make choices even for the greater good of the company. And with the amount of work they gave me, I didn’t even need to be there in their office full-time at all.

So what’s next then?

I’ve come up with three possible options now and they shall be revealed later this year.

Happy New Year 2012 everyone.

Note to self: a list of upcoming games to buy There won’t...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:04:06 +0700

Note to self: a list of upcoming games to buy

There won’t be any high profile games releasing in the next couple of months but after that it looks like bunch of good games are going to be out at about the same time again. My mid-2012 vacation for me will be dedicated for:

Mass Effect 3
Bioshock Infinite
The Last of Us
Command & Conquer: Generals 2

2011 Summary of events in 2011 in a very well presented three...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:11:00 +0700

2011

Summary of events in 2011 in a very well presented three minute video from Google Zeitgeist. The soundtrack playing in the clip “Sooner or Later” by Mat Kearney.

Zeitgeist is a Google yearly publication summarising its search terms over the year. And this year tops the list are Rebecca Black (*facepalm*), Google+, iPhone 5, Battlefield 3 and not surprisingly Steve Jobs.

2011 will be remembered as a remarkable year for liberation, and for me it has been a year of personal reflection and discovery. Life decisions have been made and postponed:

I’m going back to school in 2012. Fuck yeah :D

“Address is Approximate” This is just brilliantly...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:00:55 +0700

“Address is Approximate”

This is just brilliantly done that it deserves an entry without any further explanation! ‘Address Is Approximate” is a stop-motion animation short made entirely with Google Street View.

Enjoy.

Little Printer This is probably one of the best idea of how to...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:48:49 +0700

Little Printer

This is probably one of the best idea of how to integrate the new media into our semi-high tech liftstyle. Now please tell me you don’t want one of these.

Little Printer lives in your home, bringing you news, puzzles and gossip from your friends. Use your smartphone to set up subscriptions and Little Printer will gather them together to create a timely, beautiful mini-newspaper.

Pros and Cons: Samsung Galaxy Nexus It’s been three days since I...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:30:44 +0700

Pros and Cons: Samsung Galaxy Nexus

It’s been three days since I started using this new phone of mine, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. So far it’s given me this magical experience ~~*imagine glittery images in your head*~~ just like the first time I had my first iPhone back in 2007. So here’s what I love/hate about this phone. (Looking for a full review, head over to the Verge)

Pros

You’ll melt once you see its beautiful screen—in fact it’s so sharp it’ll cut your eyeballs open
The user interface looks to good to be Android! That’s because it runs the latest version of Android, the Ice Cream Sandwich.
It’s fast, almost zero lag. It feels like a more colorful version of iOS.
The design is so minimalist… even more than the iPhone 4S!
Great reception and call quality.

Cons

Y U NO CHARGE YOURSELF AT MID DAY. The battery sucks big time. 5 hours of use, and you’re out of juice.
3rd party apps don’t run well, at least not today. They still look bland and urgently need to be updated with ICS looks and feels.
The camera needs work. Poor color reproduction and poor auto-focus. It shouldn’t be this difficult to get a great photo.
No external storage. 16GB and that’s it but I can still live with that no problem.
Materials for casing are third rate. iPhone being the first and Nokia second.

Verdict? I freaking love it! It will be my main phone for at least six months or until there’s a worthy competitor appearing on the market.

“Occupy Flash” - Time to move the web forward Flash...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:59:00 +0700

“Occupy Flash” - Time to move the web forward

Flash used to be the platform that enriched the web experience. But today, it’s a mess. It loads very slowly, consumes a lot of your computer’s resources for no reason and it is just annoying especially when it’s being used to just waste your time and energy.

Don’t you hate it when you enter a website and find that you have to wait 30 seconds plus for that Flash page to loads up its intro animation?

By and large, I don’t find Flash to be useful to average users today apart from playing interactive web-based games like Farmville. Apart from this, Flash really hinders web development particularly when there’s a superior standardized platform available: HTML5.

Convinced? Head over to occupyflash.org and see what you can do to join the cause.

Even its maker, Adobe, admitted that it sucks!

Worldwide Digital Content Distribution: the Missed...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:25:00 +0700

Worldwide Digital Content Distribution: the Missed Opportunity

When you think of eBooks, the first product that comes up in your mind for a lot of readers around the world would be the Kindle, not the iPad, nor the Nook from Barnes and Noble. I personally want to highlight the one factor that makes the Kindle considerably more appealing to buyers around the world; which is the fact that it’s a true world product. And by this, I mean anyone can get the same experience from using product just like anywhere around the world regardless of their location.

Amazon’s Whispernet, a service which allows anyone to access and purchase eBooks anywhere in the world is fundamental to its success. But the main contributor here is the contents that are made available to all Kindle users. The Kindle eBook store is open to international audience. For example: Non-American residents basically have access to 90% of what’s available in the US.

Now when you look at the entertainment industry, things are still looking gloomy. There isn’t really a choice for anyone who wants to legally obtain contents not marketed in their own country. And you know there’s no national boundary on the Internet, thus no one can really stop people from pirating although they don’t want to. Do you see the massive market failure here? Suppliers and consumers just don’t meet in the market at all!

And it doesn’t mean that these people [me included] aren’t willing to pay for the contents. They are! But please make it easy for them to buy and please charge them the same price you charge your local customers. It’s absurd to charge people from a different market more just because they’re physically out of reach. The cost of delivering digital content isn’t exactly location dependent.

From the Steve Jobs book by Walter Isaacson, it looks like we won’t see any changes coming until someone comes up with a revolutionary ice-breaking solution and makes it work, just like how Apple introduced the iTunes store despite the initial skepticism from the music industry. Sure this is going to create conflicts throughout the supply chain systems, but if you really think about this carefully; there’s no real motive for content distributors to take a step further to market each foreign films, TV shows and music, given the risk and the size of the target market. So why don’t content makers market the content via a qualified online vendor or even by themselves? The Internet has made this quite easy.

Think about it, the foundation of the Internet is that it’s global and this is exactly why the Internet has become so popular and ubiquitous today—because it has no national boundary. Unfortunately, the way digital contents are being delivered to end consumers today doesn’t exactly take the advantage of it; even when it is known there’s the demand (via piracy.) Content makers should really do something before we start pirating some more.

The price we pay for living in a forced city state...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:25:00 +0700

The price we pay for living in a forced city state nation

Thailand is now suffering from the worst floods in half a century. It wasn’t that much of a threat until the water hit Ayutthaya, a province full of ancient ruins and many of the country’s very important industrial estates and product distribution centers. The worst bit is perhaps the fact that water level remains high for at least a few months.

Things had gone worse once the authority realized that Bangkok, our capital city and the only economic center of the country would inevitably suffer the same fate. Now you’re starting to see people who never once bother to think about the floods that damaged other parts of the country becoming panicked. You’re finally seeing the full media coverage on floods… only once it’s about to hit Bangkok.

A tad bit too late, don’t you think? It’s been two months that the water has been destroying the homes, factories and farmlands in other provinces, and no one paid attention. That’s because other provinces in the eyes of the so-called more educated people in the capital are expendable to them, and it’s always been like this for how many years now? The gap between Bangkok and the rest of the country has remained so high, but people, influential Bangkokians who happen to represent more than half of voice of the country has ignored it for all this time.

And what has made it so painful to think about this? The female deputy governor of Bangkok said this on Thai PBS a few days ago that if you think of Thailand as a human body, Bangkok is its heart. The country can afford to lose all other bodyparts and continue to live, but it cannot afford to lose its heart. This screwed up mentality is exactly what drives the perpetual political crisis we have today.

Thailand has let Bangkok become too important in all aspects; whether it’s economical, social, and political. We taxpayers, regardless of which province you live, pay for Bangkok to continuously grow, while other provinces have to live of off what’s leftover. We pay for the mass transit systems in Bangkok that we’ll probably get to use only once or twice in our lives. WE, have forced Thailand to become a city state when physically it shouldn’t.

Think about it, when Bangkok is about to get its fifth or sixth mass transit lines, people who live in secondary provinces like Chiang Mai, Phuket, Korat, Khon Kaen or Chonburi don’t even have any mean of reliable local transport. It’s 2011 and we’re still using song teaw taxi.

The damage of this flood is a sunk cost. Given that we’ve spent so much in Bangkok, we now have to do our best to protect it. But after this, I hope we learn ourselves a few lessons, from crisis management and urban planning to growth redistribution. Thailand must not depend on just a single city. The fate of a city shouldn’t judge the fate of a country.

Best purchase ever: MacBook Air A month and a half ago I was...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:24:00 +0700

Best purchase ever: MacBook Air

A month and a half ago I was salivating over a MacBook Air, but then I turned myself down with the thought of it being a totally unnecessary spend. A few weeks after that, I impulsively got one after having tried my friend’s out. Now, all I’ve got to say is that: it was my best purchase of the year.

All this time I thought that having two laptops is stupid. (There’s only one me, and I can only use one at a time?) But the more I think of it, there are so many times I could be so much more efficient (about work) if I have got a laptop with me all the time. Too bad all I’ve got is this super massive 17” MacBook Pro. It isn’t that heavy but the size is what always drive me nuts. It’s hard to find good-looking bags to put it in. Most of the time I ended up having to carry it in a backpack, and in the corporate world that doesn’t look so professional.

Now with the Air, I feel like I have the freedom I had always wished for. Popping it in my little messenger bag and I’m good to go everywhere. I sometimes forget that I actually have a laptop with me. And now I can literally work anywhere.. even on trains (just kidding, but I think I’d look smarter than those standing on trains, playing with an iPad.) It’s just so small that you don’t mind having it with you 24/7!

And for argument’s sake, smartphones and iPads don’t really get your work done especially if it involves keystrokes and multitasking. There’s no way, if you really have to work on the go so often (like me), that tablets will fathom a computer.

MacBook Air. Best. Purchase. Ever! How had I been so stupid for so long.

I think I’m getting better at living more minimalistic. First I...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:06:32 +0700

I think I’m getting better at living more minimalistic. First I thought it’s going to be 100% impossible, as I know I have a little bit of OCD and I grow so attached to everything I own most of the time.

Why did I start thinking about being a minimalist? Well last year when it was time for me to move back from Australia to Thailand, I amazed my parents and everyone else around me with 120kg+ of stuff to fly back with me (thank god the whole family flew business class to help me carry the stuff back) plus another 80kg+ of books and portable air-conditioner shipped to me via boat, I realize perhaps it’s time for me to learn to let go of things.

It’s been three months now that I work in Bangkok on weekdays and stay with my family at home in Chiang Mai on weekends. I now get a better picture of the things I really need to have with me all the time at both locations. And now I can rule out many of the things I rarely need to live.

I used to be very douchey about my workstation, stationary and such. But now, I think I’ve nailed it at being productive on the go, of-course thanks to my spacious office cubicle (ahem) and acknowledgment of the fact that I don’t need more than just a pen, paper, a MacBook Air and an internet connection to get at least 80% of my work done.

There, I proudly report to you that I am quite happy with my progress. It’s been a while since I posted last because most of my free time was spent on figuring out how to do things on my new HTC Sensation. Yep, so far I’m okay with it but being an iPhone user for 4 years now things can be tough at times especially when things won’t just work! Expect more Android rants to come.

This post is going to be a little bit materialistic. As you...

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:42:38 +0700

This post is going to be a little bit materialistic. As you know, I’m a geek and I love my toys. I’ve been loyal to iPhone since the first one was made available for purchase. And this time I think I’m starting to grow tired of it. I’m getting bored of how iOS looks and feels.

I’m really considering getting a Nexus Prime, Google’s next flagship phone. After the many hours spent researching about the Android experience, I’m sorta certain that I would love it too. But the migrating decision to Android from iPhone ain’t that easy. Many of the problems I have with it are cosmetic related. First, most Android apps just look plain bad. They all look unfinished in comparison to their iOS counterparts. Second, scrolling on Android isn’t as smooth, quick or as intuitive. You won’t get that bounce at the end of the page, for example.

And a problem I’ll surely have as a Mac user: syncing my contacts, calendar and iTunes library. It’s just inevitable. Android phones are no iPod.

But Android’s strongest part is the customization that I always crave for. All apps are also more integrated thanks to the open environment. When you hit “share” on one app, you get options where that app you’re using will pass on information to the other app you selected as a default app for that type of information. Also, you can change everything freely, no jailbreak required. Even the keyboards, you can change everything about it. This is something you’ll never get on any Apple mobile devices, unless you jailbreak them.

The problem I face now is whether or not I will fall for Apple again once they announce the new iPhone next Tuesday? A friend of mine told me that the new iPhone is going to be awesome because if it’s not what have they (at Apple) done for the previous 18 months? That, I can’t disagree, especially when they’re probably the most resourceful company in the world now.

One last problem: totally about personal feelings and image. Android phones go obsolete so quickly given the amount of devices that come out every month. As a geek, I know I don’t cope well when there are new and better devices jumping around me all the time, whereas when you use an iPhone there can only be one model in a year time. And you don’t get to feel the ‘cool’ factor, because almost every Android device looks cheap. iPhones will still be the Mercedes in the mobile phone world.

What I don’t want to end up with is getting both of them in the end.

Again, please check back after next Tuesday to see what I’m up to… if you’re interested. Bye now.

This is the last week I’m working at this company. Often, I...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:19:27 +0700

This is the last week I’m working at this company. Often, I find myself really attached to the things I do. But for this job, I can’t fucking wait to be out of it.

First I started off loving everything about it. I was passionate about the industry it’s in and I was excited about my role in the company. But the truth is far from what I imagined. A state-run company cannot fuck around just like privately run firms. I tell you this is not a state authority or anything, it’s a state enterprise. For a long time I thought governments set up state enterprises so that they can run, do things, and compete on the private level, but hell no. Not in Thailand at least.

The ridiculous amount of time is spent on stupid issues like finding politically correct justification for buying a printer for my department. Seriously? Of all the time spent on this I was so close to buying one for the team.

In terms of making any corporate decisions? Every little thing is a fucking mission impossible. They fear even about the tiniest little mistake and that’s why things don’t get done! Too much politics and bureaucracy! Don’t mention about the political interference from the government. It’s ridiculous.

Oh, did I mention that the head of PR team at my company was a waitress? (Flight attendant? Same thing!!) No qualifications or skills for PR whatsoever and that are why our company is now everyone’s piñata.

Some say one shouldn’t bitch about the previous companies one worked at. I wholeheartedly agree. But since this company is so exceptionally rotten, and all their ex-staff are talking shit about it everyday on the news, this one is an exception. Future employers of mine, worries not. If you’re not a state enterprise, I know how to behave. Oh, and I didn’t mention names right?

Photo taken from the BMW Xpo’11 at Siam Paragon. First I...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:00:05 +0700

Photo taken from the BMW Xpo’11 at Siam Paragon. First I thought this was supposed to be the new BMW i8 but nay, it really is a concept car, with glass doors and everything.

My friend happened to be one of the BMW salesmen there at the expo and he revealed that on a tiny five-day expo like this, they can actually make heaps of money. They sold around 300 cars this year, which isn’t bad given the condition of the economy. It shouldn’t be surprising either given that Bangkok is a city with 10-million plus people living in it.

Interestingly, the best selling car this time was the BMW X1. The X1 was designed to target those who are usually attracted by Japanese cars. The pricing is quite clever as well at only 100,000 baht more than a Camry.

When I asked about the possibility of them importing BMW i8 to Thailand, you guess it. It’s not going to happen as Thailand isn’t EV friendly at all. Rich Thais, you can go back to your Porsche. The cool looking BMW is never going to come.

About a few weeks ago I was on the verge of impulsively buying...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:51:23 +0700

About a few weeks ago I was on the verge of impulsively buying a MacBook Air. Well, I am here not to brag but to express/confess a slight guilt of ending up buying one. This time, I really thought about it. To be honest, I’d been craving to get one for about a year. But what’s been stopping me from getting one was the mistake I made back then to buy an Eee PC, which was totally not working for me.

I went for the more expensive 11-inch one just to future proof it and hope that it’ll be able to run things perfectly a few years from now. The screen real estate is worse than I expected, but that’s probably because I’ve been using a 1920x1200 screen on a 17-inch. The chief reason for 11-inch was so that I can carry it to the university, use it on lecture desks, which only come in sizes smaller than an A4 paper.

It’s light enough that it feels indifferent to an iPad. I can conveniently use it whilst standing on trains (though I would totally look like a retard). And I think it is a much better investment than an iPad, which really cannot be used for word-processing, not for lectures.

There. Guilt confessed. 39,900 baht less in my bank account. Quality of life-unchanged but emotionally? Quite satisfying.

You don’t really know how it feels to be alone until you...

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:46:48 +0700

You don’t really know how it feels to be alone until you really enter the workforce. When you’re at home, there’s always someone to talk to. Even though they can be annoying at times. Even though you have to sacrifice your privacy.

On the other hand, things are a bit different at college. When you’re in school, there’s always someone to talk to. It’s funny. But once you sorta leave home, you start to feel more comfortable with friends than with family. I don’t feel like I have to sacrifice my privacy amongs friends.

But now, entered the workforce in an entirely different environment, different city, in a small organization where everyone else’s gotten families to look after after work, I finally learnt why there are lonely people out there.

So, to all the lonely people out there. You’re not alone. We can all be lonely together. At least for now :)

Photo from: DanielN

The new Facebook Timeline is probably the first time I actually...

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:51:00 +0700

The new Facebook Timeline is probably the first time I actually fear being on Facebook. I mean, they have just made it so fucking easy for someone to stalk you, tracking your every move since you got on Facebook.

Of-course, all the information is pretty useful if it’s made available only to the owner of that account. It’s nice to see yourself back then, like a diary. But making it available to all your friends? How about having to manipulate all your history simply because you want to make your new girlfriend more comfortable. I mean, you probably will have to delete all the traces of all your ex’s.

And it’s not like I have something to hide, you know, it’s just I don’t feel so comfortable.

This is scary. It’s not Facebook anymore, it’s Lifebook. It’s a CV with friends’ comments.

Perhaps Google+ is where I belong (oh, and Tumblr too)