Echo Binary

Here we go… last 2 stickers and I feel like NOT completing it…. I think it’s too early! I would miss the coffee addiction.

:: sigh ::

11/26/2006
I’m supposed to complete the sticker yesterday (i.e. buy 2, 1 for me and another 1 for my girlfriend) but that didn’t happen so I guess my expected completion date would be extended.

Another update
I actually managed to complete another one by January so I gave the other one to my girlfriend. She’s currently using it while my organizer is collecting dust.

So I finally got the latest firmware update in Nokia Software Updater (NSU) after painstakingly waiting months for the official update to appear. I tried to update NSU several times but it seemed to be not working at all. But tonight, after I rebooted my PC and reinstalled NSU, I managed to make NSU work!

Anyway, the update process was quite scary because if you accidentally pulled out the cable or disconnected the bluetooth, your phone might be damaged and be rendered unusable. I’m so careful while updating my phone that I really got mad when someone tried to go near my PC. When my N73 firmware update was completed, my phone rebooted and every file in my phone was wiped out. That’s true. Thank God there is a backup tool that comes with Nokia PC Suite, restoring backed-up files was a breeze. So, don’t forget to backup your phone when updating firmware so that you can keep everything in your phone intact.

I know that there are still bugs in the latest firmware version but hopefully they are less troublesome than what I used to experience. These bugs are somewhat tolerable but I hope that firmware v4.x for N73 will come out very soon to fix whatever was left out in the bug-fixes. After updating the firmware of my phone, I could feel that the applications run faster and the transition is smoother while switching between apps. I’m sure that other S60 phones in Symbian OS 9.1 had some issues in the pass, too, but firmware updates like this made those phones more stable.

Here’s a screenshot of my phone with the latest firmware.

To get NSU, just go to Nokia Phone Software Updater website.

Technorati Tags: Nokia, N73, firmware, Symbian OS 9.1

I couldn’t come up with a good title so I just mashed-up the 3 main topics I’m going to discuss.

First of all, iPod. I don’t own an iPod but I have a problem with my girlfriend’s iPod. I don’t know what happened to it but it suddenly decided not to communicate with Windows. I tried to troubleshoot the problem and looked up several forums but every information I got didn’t help. It won’t show up and it is not detected by iPod updater. So, I told my dear girlfriend to go to the nearest Apple Center in order to claim warranty for her defective iPod. We went to the nearest Apple Center I know. Unfortunately, the Apple Center in Greenbelt 3 is not yet open (I was hoping it’s already in operation because I saw the place being readied 3 weeks ago). After doing a little research, and to my surprise, I didn’t know that there is an Apple Center in Greenbelt 1.

Next, CCNA review. Hmmm… I’m sacrificing a fraction of my weekend for the review for Cisco certification and it’s going pretty well. However, I am thinking if I would take the exam as soon as the review is over. Having a weekly review doesn’t seem to be enough because during weekdays what occupies my mind is all about SAP, Unix and business. Whatever happens to my CCNA exam, and whatever is the result, I’m not yet sure if that will be a turning point of my career.

Then, Fashion Ability. It’s an Animax fashion show, complete with real ramp models and cat walks held at Ayala activity center last Saturday, inspired by Paradise Kiss anime. I didn’t know how would the models and designs look like but I still waited quite long just to watch the fashion show. I was impressed by the designs, specially the 1st, 2nd to the last and the last entry. It’s a pity that I didn’t take pictures of the fashion show. My phone camera can’t zoom far enough and clear enough to capture a decent shot. I stood more than 2 hours starring at nothing just to watch this fashion show. My girlfriend insisted to wait at the 2nd floor balcony since 5:00 pm but the show started at around 7:15 pm. I guess it’s worth waiting after seeing the designs but it’s funny how I endured the long wait. I tried to close my eyes and meditate while standing in order to relax, but I nearly collapsed while dozing off. Thanks to my girlfriend, who was very enthusiastic about Fashion Ability, I didn’t fall asleep or literally fall down while sleeping. After the ramp modelling, we already left even if the fashion show is not yet over because it was too late already… and I was already hungry.

Lastly, we ate at Burger King to satisfy our hungry stomachs. While we were eating our burgers, a year-old boy seating on the adjacent table started playing peekaboo with us. He was laughing while doing his own peekaboo. He’s so cute. He repeatedly do his peekaboo for quite awhile. Then, his parents tried to stop him already because he was giggling and laughing so hard at us. He continued his peekaboo ignoring his parents’ distraction and kept showing funny face to us. He’s so adorable. When my girlfriend and I were leaving BK, we bid goodbye to the young boy. He managed to say “byebye” in a cute way. I can’t really understand why he became so fond of us so fast. Perhaps he was attracted to my girlfriend? Probably…

I’m actually game enough to complete the Starbucks promo this year. Last year, I only had two (2) stickers which is somewhat pathetic because I didn’t bother collecting the stickers even though I love Frappuccino. Today I collected 2 stickers.

I’m joining the Starbucks bandwagon because most people in our office would like to collect the limited edition Starbucks Coffee 2007 Planner, and I certainly want one just for fun. It would hurt my budget a bit but I guess the coffee experience is worth it. Since I frequently get sleepy in the afternoon, it’s very timely to have an ice or Frappuccino blended coffee break at those times. Let’s see and wait if I would be able to collect 21 stickers to claim the planner.

Need for Speed: Carbon is the recent installment of the popular Need for Speed game franchise. This year’s NFS Carbon mixed different features found in the previous Need for Speed games with some cool new additions, giving this arcade racing game a thrill that I have never experienced in Underground 1 and 2, and Most Wanted.

Most of the Need for Speed games are quite similar to each other but varies subtly with the game features. Carbon is not revolutionary kick-ass game at all. It’s very generic if you have played NFS games for at least 3 years. The cars do not receive realistic damage. You can turn on “cosmetic damage” but your car will still function perfectly. There are FMV cut-scenes and the story begins with your character starting from scratch and then you slowly build your reputation by winning races.

The new stuffs here are more exciting because the game feels like a combination of Underground and Most Wanted. The city is back to darker atmosphere, glimmering city lights and shady downtown. The police do not function the way they do in Most Wanted. You don’t have to beat the police or set retraction records. They just chase you when you “heat up” and becomes their target on streets. Even during race, you’ll end up having a police chase together with the other racers. What’s even more fun is the return of drifting! I love drifting and I’m just relieved that draft racing is removed. I don’t really like drafting in Most Wanted. During boss races, you have to race in the Carbon Canyon. It’s the special feature in NFS Carbon, hence the name Carbon. Canyon races are two-leg race. At first you act like a police and your goal is to tail as close as possible to your opponent. Score is determined by how approximate you are with your opponent in the entire course. Then, the second half of the race, your opponent will act as the police and you have to be as distant as possible so that he won’t earn higher points than you. At the end of the race, the points are compared and whoever earned higher points wins. You can also win by overtaking the car during the first half or speeding ahead during the second half for a period of 10 seconds.

You can build your own crew in NFS Carbon and they are quite fun to have. Blockers, Drafters and Scouts — these are the types of crew members you can recruit. I find Blockers the most useful crew in circuit races while Scouts in sprint races. Blocking off your opponents gives you a leading advantage while finding shortcut is very helpful to overtake your leading opponents. Drafters are useless IMHO because I get pass them easily so their drafting-effect are futile, at least in my experience.

Modifying cars using Autosculpt™ is very innovative because you are not limited to the pre-built aftermarket gears and visual upgrades. However, it turned out that you have fewer options in tuning your car’s performance in NFS Carbon. Well, at least the visual customization compensates for this. Layering vinyls is back and there are more types of car paints now. Am I missing neon lights? Yes, I think so.

The collection of cars in NFS Carbon is probably the best in the series because there are wider array of car models included in the car selections. Cars are classified to three different types - muscle, tuner and exotic. Each type is divided to three tiers. Tier 3 models are the best. I personally like exotic cars because they are well balanced. I choose tuners for drifting and muscle cars for circuit. Handling is very distinct in each type of car, muscle cars being the worst. Tuners are generally the slower type of car in Carbon but they handle curves very tightly. Control and speed is moderate in exotic cars. Since you have control on fine-tuning your car, the player can decide on which car he prefers. Each car types behave differently on the road so they require different skills to drive them effectively.

I give this game 4.5 out of 5 stars. Why not perfect? Firstly, I don’t like some of the sounds. Sound effects are really good but some of the songs are terrible. I prefer those rock songs found in Underground 1 & 2. Secondly, there are only 4 bosses in this game. That’s too few compared to 15 bosses in Most Wanted. Thirdly, there are way too much cut-scenes and the character intros are over-done. I like this game very much but I believe EA could still deliver better sequels. Still, this is a wicked racing game.

Official website:
http://www.ea.com/nfs/carbon/us/home.jsp

Technorati Tags: NFS, Need+for+Speed, Carbon