Echo Binary

Mozilla Labs released a prototype extension for Firefox that lets you use different background on top of your currently existing theme. At the moment, this prototype is compatible with the default theme of Firefox. I have tested other themes and they looked ugly at some parts so I want to see more customization option in the next release of this prototype extension to change more than just the background in Firefox.

“The Persona selector is dynamically loaded and populated from a JSON feed and all designs are loaded via URLs to remote resources”.

I don’t know the security model for these theme resources so anyone paranoid enough may worry that some theme authors can put arbitrary code in their themes if there’s no special verification, digital signature or seal of approval from Mozilla. Even though it is really convenient for designers, I don’t like the idea that it downloads the graphics on demand just like that from the internet. I don’t even know if the graphics are coming from Mozilla Labs or any secure location. Maybe not?

There is an API currently being developed so there should be more changes on the way for this extension. It looks great on the default theme but someone will immediately notice that it simply adds background picture on Firefox toolbar with some transparency on tabs. Sometimes, I find it hard to read the tab texts when the background is too dark. There’s no transparency option so you cannot customize it anyhow. You can only choose from the existing lists of background designs at the moment. I really hope they add more option in this extension because Persona looks like a bland IE toolbar background changer. Some users may find this useful because it make their plain themes colorful; however, some advanced users maybe annoyed with this. To a certain extent, I find Persona too simple to fit my taste. I’ll uninstall it for now but I’ll try Persona one again when a new version arrives. For now, I’ll stick with the default theme of Firefox no matter how boring it is.

Link: Mozilla Labs: Persona for Firefox

Gizmodo compares Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader. They have many differences and I don’t think none of them is the perfect e-book reader, for now.

If I pattern this to my trend in buying gadgets, I won’t purchase any of these until a 2nd-generation model comes up or it has become terribly cheap. I like books on paper and reading e-books on LCD monitor isn’t that bad either. I just think that this kind of e-book reader will be popular when marketed to gadget-frenzy people who likes reading books as well. However, I don’t see these gadgets appealing to bookworms. I’ve asked many friends before — they all prefer novels in paper. My girlfriend for instance, won’t read e-books unless it is the last resort. On the other hand, my colleagues like e-books for reference materials and IT publications. The convenience of search and multiple bookmarks is very useful for such of type books.

Now, I don’t want to spoil your reading so you might as well head to the source of the article.

Link: Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader

I’m testing the new Yahoo! Messenger version 9.0 beta and it’s quite stable. It has not crashed on me yet or gave me any serious problem.

Few things I noticed in this beta version is the ‘detailed’ listing of friends. You have an option to go back to classic ‘compact’ friends list if you don’t like this new format. The plug-in area is now cleaner and is collapsed by default. Maybe Yahoo Messenger dev team have noticed that very few liked many plug-ins opened so they decided to let the users activate the plug-ins one by one instead. This is good because casual chatters won’t bother what those extras are anyway. What’s more obvious now is the phone-out balance, placed on top to remind you on your available phone-out credit. A new group to show address contacts is visible by default but it can be disabled in ’show/hide’ option from the menu. The small ad banner at the bottom is still there and cannot be disabled.

The skins are improved and you can easily change them depending on your mood. You just have to click the orb-like thing near the minimize button and you can access new skins — orange, green, blue, purple, pink, violet and brown. These skins are more artsy now because they sport unique vector art unique for every color. In version 8.1 you only have 3 skins to choose from so you have to download extra themes in order to get more colors but version 9.0 has 7 themes out of the box. Not entirely useful nor useless but it’s neat to have these new themes by default to suite your style.

For the message window — still no tabbed options. I don’t know how useful it is for typical users but power users have been screaming for this feature quite some time already. If 3rd-party chat client such as Trillian can have it, why not YM? Down to the core feature of the new IM window, you can now preview links to pictures and videos right in your IM window. It’s really convenient when you are showing off pix or vidz from the web to your friend. There are new emoticons for this beta release but I have not checked if there are new hidden emoticons. You may want to invite your friend to get the beta release because the current version (8.1) cannot render them yet.

YM 9.0 beta has an option to forward calls to your mobile phone, pretty much like Skype-in, and yes, you should have a ‘phone out’ credit to use this feature. Sending SMS to a friend is now well integrated in YM just like ICQ. Good news to Philippine local users because YM is now localized so it has better support to text messages. I tested it and the text messages are transmitted from mobile phone to YM chat window, and vice versa, almost instantly.

To share a few disappointments, there are things I am not happy about. If you are using picture avatars instead of the default Yahoo flash avatars, I noticed that there is a bit of distortion on your friend’s avatar in the IM window. Sometimes the dimension is correct, sometimes, it’s a bit stretched. It’s irritating to look at. Then, they removed the option to reveal/hide your avatar and your friend’s avatar separately in the IM window. Now, you only have the option to reveal or hide both avatars at the same time. But why? Why would they remove the option to hide your avatar? I’m happy to look at my friend’s avatar but viewing my avatar in the main window and the IM window is redundant already, that’s why I miss the separate hide option for each avatar. This new beta also has a bit of increased RAM usage.

Anyway, if you want to improve this new version of YM drop your feedbacks to Yahoo Messenger team. You can also report some bugs if you encounter one. So far, in the duration of my test, this beta release is very solid and stable so don’t hesitate to try it out.

Link: Yahoo! Messenger beta website

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

I watched the movie “The Departed” this afternoon and I was really entertained. I didn’t expect much at the beginning because I knew from reviews that it is a remake of a Hong Kong 2002 movie “Infernal Affairs”. I haven’t watched the original so I did not have any idea how the remake would be.

It’s a cop movie but there’s not much chase-and-run scenes here. It’s a detective story with a perfect blend of action thriller and drama.

Set in Boston, the undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) joined the mob syndicated lead by Costello (Jack Nicholson). He leaks information to South Boston Police Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg). On the other hand, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) gained high position in the Special Investigation Unit using his wit and raw talent in solving cases while serving as Costello’s mole in the police. Soon, Costigan and Sullivan would have to unveal the identity of the mole so it became a race against time on who would be the first one to uncover the true identity of the other one.

I’ll just jump to the ending but I won’t tell any spoiler here. It is shocking. If you haven’t watched the original movie, you will be surprised. It’s not the way I would imagine the ending of the characters at all. WTF. The twist is just too unforgiving.

Since then, I wanted to know more about the film so I watched “Infernal Affairs” and I found out that the ending of “The Departed” departed from the the original. I would prefer the ending of the original but the ending of “The Departed” is also brilliant. There were subtle differences in the story but “The Departed” is essentially an American remake with added action and a bed scene. There’s only one woman involved with Sullivan and Costigan but in “Infernal Affairs” there were several. I would think that at some point, the original is better than the remake but I would rate the two of them 5/5 solely for the story. “The Departed” was Americanized and re-interpreted to suit the environment in Boston since Hong Kong police is very different. And since “The Departed” has a different ending, there won’t be any sequel to it unlike “Infernal Affairs” that has a sequel. However, I doubt that Hollywood would remake a sequel. That is way too much…