One of my friend, Salhi Khaiessa Ahmad has been missing from home for about two weeks now. He suffers from schizophrenia, and has not been taking his pills since missing from home in Kelantan. He had been missing several times before but was always found within a few days at Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. This has been the longest he's been gone. Each time, he had been trying to make his way to Kuala Kangsar, most probably to get back to the Malay College where he studied 10 years ago.
Another friend has set up a blog in an effort to gather support from the online community. The chances may be slim, but any kind of help cannot be overlooked. If you happen to work in the broadcasting or mass media, or happen to have anyone we can contact, please do not hesitate to contact me.
the blog can be found here. the Star report here. my thread at Lowyat.Net online community here.
if you happen to see him anywhere, or can offer help in any form, please call En Ahmad at 09-786 6040, 017-970 3227 or 012-296 2642.
Please help us in our search. May Allah bless him and protect him until he safely returns to his family.
I mentioned in a previous blog entry about how I was looking for a perfect gadget to replace my aging O2 XDA II Mini that I have been using for the past 2 years. Enter the HTC Hermes. Well, at least this is the code name for a device of many names, among them HTC TyTN, O2 Trion, Dopod 838 Pro, i-mate JASJAM, etc. Over here in Malaysia, the most common incarnation of the Hermes is the Dopod 838 Pro, which roughly costs about RM3200+ to date.
Lucky me, and thanks to the internet, I got my hands on a variant of the Hermes called SoftBank X01HT at the bargain price of RM1900, together with 1GB of microSD card! SoftBank actually is a telecom carrier in Japan very much like O2 or Orange in the UK who buys HTC Hermes and re-brands it as the X01HT.
If you want a detailed review on the Hermes, you can head to here. This entry is just for me to roughly review my unit as I received it from my source. The unit comes with everything intact, in a box and complete with all SoftBank's bundled accessories. It is black in color, and as expected the QWERTY keypad has Japanese characters on them.
If you look at the Today screen in the above picture, everything is in English instead of Japanese. The ROM has been flashed to the latest cooked Windows Mobile 6.0 LVSW dated 2007-06-16. To date, none of the Hermes variants has WM6 pre-installed. So far only Dopod has announced a future upgrade to WM6 for their 838 Pro devices and that is scheduled to happen in July 2007. Hopefully the ROM will be compatible across the Hermes variants so we can have a properly supported WM6 by then.
The Hermes is truly a powerful device. It is powered by a 400 MHz SAMSUNG ARM processor with 128MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM built in. It has all kinds of connectivity options you can ever hope for in Malaysia. It supports quad-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE, tri-band UMTS and HSDPA. Simply put this devices supports all 2G to 3.5G standards over here. Apart from these, it also supports 802.11b/g WiFi standards, and of course, Bluetooth 2.0 albeit without EDR.
The Hermes is equipped with a 1.9MP camera at the back of the phone, and one CMOS camera in front for 3G video calls. The 1.9MP camera is way better than my O2 Mini's 1.3MP. The camera has some sort of lever to switch between normal and macro mode. An LED flash is available for better shots in low-light area.
The Hermes has a 2.8" touchscreen display, a sliding QWERTY keypad, a jog-dial and navigation buttons so there are many different ways to interface with the device. On the downside though, there is no standard 3.5" audio jack available, only a proprietary USB jack that works for data transfer and also for the bundled headset. But fret not; this baby supports A2DP and AVRCP which means it supports stereo Bluetooth headsets. I'm getting a Motorola S705 SoundPilot to pair with the X01HT so that may be in another blog entry XD. The 2.8" screen and stereo Bluetooth headset will instantly turn the Hermes into a portable media player.
The battery included is Li-Ion with a capacity of 1300mAh.
With all these features, the Hermes is future-proof for at least the next 2 years. There is already a successor called HTC Kaiser that is set to retail in August 2007 but for now, the Hermes is the perfect device for me. It is way better than even the latest HTC Touch, iPhone and the like in terms of features and price, and packs a punch in such a small form factor. If you are interested in getting one, send me a message via email or IM and I will give you the contact information of the seller.
I was asked by a friend for opinions on 2 of the most anticipated phones to date; what else, the HTC Touch and the iPhone, and compare them with Dopod C500 (just for comparison's sake, I guess XD). As I am just a poor layman who will never get items to review for free ;-) I'll just pull off the specs from the internet and rant on. To each his own opinions so if you agree or disagree, feel free to shoot me.
Specs that matter are summarized in this Google spreadsheet. Really, who cares about infrared connectivity nowadays?
Dopod C500 is in fact HTC Vox. It is basically a slider phone, with QWERTY-keyboard and no touchscreen. It is a standard PocketPC powered by Windows Mobile 6. The good thing about WM6 is that it's already very well established since it shares the same base with Windows Mobile 5; both are powered by Windows CE 5.0 and there are tons of third party software for it, whether payware, shareware, freeware or pirateware XD. The bad thing is it is only powered by TI OMAP 850 which clocks about 200Mhz, so it might be a tad slow especially if many applications are running at the same time.
HTC Touch (codename HTC Elf) is the sudden competitor to the iPhone, featuring TouchFLO technology that basically lets users to interface with the device using a finger. There is also the option to use a stylus. Powered by Windows Mobile 6, there are tons of third party software for it whether payware, shareware, freeware or pirateware. Since its main interface is TouchFLO, you might like it or hate it so checkout this video, decide for yourselves.
The screen size is 2.8" which is quite big compared to other standard PocketPC devices. The bad side is, at ~USD$600, the price is quite steep for a device that is only clocked at 200Mhz, bundled with a 1GB microSD card and lacks 3G connectivity.
iPhone is the current talk of the town. Everything around the iPhone seems to be blown out of proportions since its announcement by Steve Jobs in January. This device has been designed from the ground up to solely interface with human fingers, no options to use stylus. The 3.5" screen is even topped with optical-quality glass for this purpose. It also is powered by an optimized version of Mac OSX. Just like TouchFLO, you might love iPhone's 'Multi-Touch' interface so see for yourselves here.
To add in the cool factor, there is a proximity sensor that shuts off the display and touchscreen when the iPhone is brought near the face to save battery power and to prevent spurious inputs from the user's face and ears, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power, and an accelerometer, which senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, albeit in only one 90 degree direction. iPhone can be described as an iPod with phone functions, and this is evident looking at the size of its storage; a humongous 4GB or 8GB. No wonder it doesn't need any memory expansion slots.
The downside of iPhone would be third party software support. Steve jobs recently announced that third party "add-ons" for iPhone will only be in the form of AJAX or Java-based widgets as extension of its built-in Safari browser. This doesn't make much sense to me since the device only supports WiFi so it seems to imply that the user must always stay in a WiFi hotspot to keep those web-based widgets running. It is not impossible that the widgets will work offline but it still sucks when users can't install any alternative applications like web browser, media player, word editor etc. True to the Apple spirit, the iPhone will limit users' choice of software.
iPhone is also locked to only one cellular carrier which is Cingular in the US. Users that want the iPhone will have to sign up to a 2-year contract with Cingular. In Malaysia so far there is no information yet on whether the same restrictions will be applied if and when the device enters the market. The idea of locking a particular device to a network has never worked well over here. One more turn-off for me would be the batteries which will be non-removable on the device just like iPods so if they are damaged, users won't be able to replace them without going to a service center. In terms of price a 4GB iPhone will retail at USD$499 while 8GB at USD$599, which in my opinion is rather reasonable given the excellent screen size, the cool technologies that come with it and the huge storage.
Out of the three devices, my pick will be the HTC Touch primarily for the sheer expandability and compatibility with many existing 3rd party software. The best example to demonstrate this flexibility is how these guys at lifehacker.com succeeded in copying iPhone's interface on any Windows Mobile-based device, which in a way proved my points. There is nothing that the iPhone can do that an open Windows Mobile-based device can't do better. However HTC Touch's main drawback would be its steep price.
For the iPhone, it will no doubt appeal most to Mac users, iPod lovers and Apple's fans. If you don't mind being locked to Apple's software offerings and the irremovable batteries, the iPhone would be an excellent device at a very reasonable price for the technologies that come with it. It also has the largest screen size at 3.5" which makes it an excellent media-player.
It is a tough world for a Muslim living in a mock Muslim country called Malaysia, where the lines of Halal and Haram is often blurred and the government is incompetent enough (or doesn’t care enough) to do what needs to be done.
Lately I have been trying to look for a place where I can set aside some money on a monthly basis for future use ie my kid’s (or kids’) future school fees, house renovation, inflation etc, so I started looking around, asking around and did some research. It was shocking to find a few things that we took for granted as Muslims, especially on Islamic finance here in Malaysia. Of course, there are not many ways around a house and car loan, most of us even me are stuck with conventional loans that definitely are not Syariah-compliant. (actually I’m trying to convert my house loan to Syariah-based but I’m tied to a 5 year contract with the bank, therefore I have to wait another 4 years before I can switch) But the subject of matter for me this past week has been insurance and investment.
The first shocking truth was that ASB is not Syariah-compliant. Although exclusively for Bumiputera who 99% of the time would be a Muslim, the scheme does not meet Syariah standards because of these investments:
1)37.3% in conventional banking (Maybank) which allows riba’
2)1.11% in Commerce Asset Holdings Berhad (Conventional)
3)1.07% in British American Tobacco Berhad
4)0.89% in Malaysian National Reinsurance Berhad (Conventional Insurance)
Explanations and arguments can be found in these links, including on riba’(interest) and gharar(uncertainty) elements of ASB: here, here, here, and here.
Point no 4) in the above paragraph lead us to the second inconvenient truth: Life insurances are already fatwa-ed as Haram by a majority of ulama’. This became a hot topic in my mailing lists with people bombarding me with questions and disagreements involving life insurance, medical insurance, and Takaful. I have to point out here that there is a clear line between modern insurance with Islamic insurance in the form of Takaful, both are not one and the same although they have the same functions.
Lastly, even for a Syariah-compliant trust fund ie Public Mutual and gang, they are monitored by Islamic Banking and Finance InstituteMalaysia who in turn only monitor portfolios, investment methods, counters of investments, calculations and everything else related to the handling of the funds. Nothing is being done to monitor the system itself for example how the agents are being paid commissions a-la Multi-Level Marketing which in essence is decreed Haram by Islamic standards. Therefore by entering one of these Syariah-compliant funds, we are only guaranteed clean profits in the sense of where, how and on what our money is being invested on. There is no guarantee that the system itself is 100% Syariah-compliant, a classic “The-end-doesn’t-justify-the-means” situation.
Bear in mind that I am not an expert in Islamic laws and what I’m trying to do is to look for the best way to invest my money in line with Syariah. It is not easy dealing with these inconvenient truths, moreover when I have had my ASB account for the past 10 years (though I never have more than RM1000 in there except some cash my mother tried to hide from my father XD). It is hard to learn and unlearn these things I trust and believed in for the better part of my life. Some harsher responses that I have received in my so called ‘conquest’ have been along this line: “If you don’t agree with it, then don’t bother to bother us with it”; which is fine, I guess, considering that I have done my part in trying to at least create an awareness among my peers. The way I see things, Halal is Halal and Haram is Haram no matter how we try to sugar-coat things. The end does not justify the means.
So, where do I go next? Judging from what I have discovered, I guess my best bet would be a Syariah-compliant trust fund. At the very least I know that the money will not be invested in Carlsberg. A friend also has pointed me to Al-Rajhi bank, which is the world's largest Islamic bank and a major investor in Saudi Arabia's business world. Unfortunately to date there are not many investment options offered yet as the bank is still very young in Malaysia but I do expect things to change for the better very soon. At the rate where Islamic awareness is generally on the rise in Malaysia, I sure hope more will be done towards achieving a purer Syariah-compliancy in the future of our economic system. Thanks to colleagues, friends and family who have shared their information and views.
It has been more than 2 years since I last bought a new gadget. In my younger days I was a geek-who-has-to-have-it-all. I was the first among my peers to venture into the realm of "gadgetry". I used to own the latest Sony Ericsson(K700i, Z1010 and Nokia(7650, 6630 and finally settled down with my first Windows Mobile device in O2 XDA II Mini (HTC Magician). It all ended the day I got married, and the day my kid was born.
Now I’m back to gadget-hunting as nowadays WiFi hotspots are everywhere, and 3G charges are quite affordable so my O2 Mini no longer fits the ‘IN’ picture. My perfect device has to fit in my palms and pockets, have at least 802.11b/g wi-fi connectivity, 3G for some future-proofing, acceptable screen size with touchscreen input, and most importantly plenty of third party software for me to turn the device into whatever I want it to be. It has to work primarily as my home desktop companion and must not look like a brick. It also has to be reasonably priced and has to last at least for a few years.
Being a Linux-guy I always dreamed of a perfect Linux phone. There are many initiatives around, but not one really stands out above the other. 2 of them that I’m looking forward to are the Ubuntu Embedded project and of course, OpenMoko. None of them have a solid product yet and even when they do it will take them a while to catch up with the big guns (Windows Mobile, Palm). Motorola seems to be the only ‘significant’ phone company (the others being Nokia and Sony Ericsson, the rest do not matter :) that has Linux-based phones in their roadmap. The closest to what I want would be the Motorola ROKR E6 which ships with Monta Vista Linux, but pity it doesn’t even have WiFi.
Another alternative would be a Symbian device, most probably from Nokia or Sony Ericsson. On the plus side, there are plenty of 3rd party applications for the Symbian platform rivaled only by Windows Mobile and Palm. Symbian's touchscreen input is called UIQ and so far has only been deployed on a few high end phones, most notably Sony Ericsson and Motorola models. Motorola has since jumped ship to support Linux. To date none of the UIQ devices look as good as a HTC-based Windows Mobile device. They are typically on the bulky side with the exception of maybe the Motorola RIZR Z8. I wonder if things would be any different if Nokia comes out with a UIQ device. Nokia's designs have always been top of the class especially their N-series phones. But in terms of touch screen interface, UIQ still got some work to do to catch up with its Windows Mobile competition.
Then there’s the iPhone. I, for the life of me can never understand the zealotry behind Apple addicts. Yes, they are pretty, have superb designs and all, but Apple products are always locked to Apple. Cross-platform flexibility, if any, is expected to be very limited if the software model of Apple's Mac PCs and iPods are to be any indication. Of course this subject is always a hot discussion between the pro-Apple camp and the skeptics but I remain very skeptical about iPhone. If you are interested in reading more about this from a pro-Apple POV, you can always go to here and here. There are also the controversies behind the iPhone, most notably the dispute over the 'iPhone' trademark with Cisco and most recently by LG who claimed that Apple stole their ideas for LG Prada phone. Besides the LG Prada, iPhone will also face competition from the upcoming OpenMoko Neo1973 which have the advantage of open source behind it that could potentially attract more developers, and most recently HTC Touch which have the advantage of well established Windows Mobile platform. 4 devices similar in concept yet very different in their design philosophies, I just can't wait to see how it will turn out in this market segment. However at this point of writing, none of these 4 "touch-based" devices support 3G yet.
Unfortunately, as much as I try to avoid anything branded 'Microsoft', for now my choice of a mobile gadget will have to be a Windows Mobile device. I would have gone to Palm but Palm of late is heading towards the way-of-the-dodo. With tons of software supporting the platform despite its closed source nature, Windows Mobile without doubt is the man to beat in this segment. The platform has been well established and the designs of Windows Mobile devices are always rich with features. They also often look sexy and cool especially the ones made by Taiwanese HTC. Given enough time and resources, the table may turn in favor of the competitions but it will take at least a few years for that to happen and when that happens, maybe it will be time when I start my next gadget-hunting.
So which exactly is my gadget of choice? That will be in another blog entry. :)
It is funny how time flies. Those who know me would remember my first attempt at blogging like... 6 months ago? Well, it lasted 3 posts before work (and life) caught up. Now, 6 months later, I found out that my account had been locked and I had to create a new one to resume blogging. Little that I know that I actually had to 'claim' back my old account. I found out how just now and so here I am.
Looking back, I think what really didn't work (apart from crazy workload, nagging wife and crying baby :D ) was cliché. Looking forward, to me this blog is going to be a tool of expression. It is for me to share news and views, and a place where colleagues and friends from afar can keep in touch. Maybe occasionally some lurkers may find it and read it and hate it or like it, and you are always welcomed to leave a piece of your mind behind whoever you are.
Do welcome me the second time to this world of blogging. Now, let's see if it can last more than 3 posts... XD
