My headphone fetish continues. Minimalist, no-BS design. Focus on function, forget about fluff. Could someone add to cart for me?

The final standings of the knockout round with the total population and nominal GDP per capita for each country.

This footage truly captures the Chinese electronic megastore experience. All shot with the Canon T2i.

Like many who followed the iPad announcement with great anticipation, I was less than impressed. Apple has spoilt us. They've set the bar so high in the past that when they show us something as "magical" as the iPad, we complain that it doesn't do more. During the iPad launch I tweeted:

"iPad looks disappointing. Needs more connectivity options. Needs to do something the iPhone can't do."

Here are some of the reasons that made me hate the iPad:

1. No camera

   This means that an entire category of apps will not work, no video conferencing, no scope for apps using augmented reality. Since a camera was featured on the iPhone since the first generation, it really felt like Apple just needed a big feature to be released further down the product roadmap.

2. No USB

   Instead we're stuck with the proprietary Apple dock connector, which means we're forced to buy Apple's overpriced accessories. And what if I want to use an accessory whilst charging?

3. No built in video output

   So I wasn't expecting HDMI (although that would've been magical) but at least give us a good way to watch our video content on a larger display. I understand size is an issue, but the Macbook Air managed a Mini DisplayPort.

4. iPhone OS

   The iPhone OS is great for a small device, but I was expecting the iPad to do more. I wanted something more like OS X with the touch interface.

5. Apple A4 chip

   Who knew Apple made processors? I'd feel safer with an Intel.

6. The iPhone already does so much, what would I use an iPad for?

   Well that leads me to the next part.

Why I love the iPad

Firstly, I think the iPhone is by far the most amazing piece of technology that I have ever owned. It is so amazing, that I actually feel sorry for people who don't have one. It transcends every other smart phone out there, purely because of the amazingly diverse range of apps available at your fingertips.

And that is one of the main reasons why I love my iPad...it's like my iPhone with a bigger screen!

Now that may sound trivial, but just by having the extra real estate allows it to be used for so much more..

Here are some things that I do on the iPad that couldn't do well on the iPhone:

1. Watching Videos

   I did use my iPhone for video podcasts, YouTube and the occassional movie whilst travelling. But after doing these things on the iPad, the iPhone seems like a joke. Also, NetFlix streaming is unbelievable.

2. Viewing Photos

   I use the iPhone camera a fair amount, but the pictures usually go straight to Facebook or Twitter, where I would would do most of my viewing on my laptop. Viewing photos on the iPad reminds me of my Dad's giant 8x6 inch prints that he used to swear by before he went digital. The iPad's glossy black bezel makes it a perfect digital picture frame.

3. Browsing the web

   Even though I did this a lot on my iPhone, websites that weren't optimized for the smaller screen rarely provided a pleasant user experience. Even though I still think the iPhone does a great job and is still very usable when on the road, it pales in comparison to the iPad browsing experience.

   Viewing websites in portrait mode feels so natural that I may start rotating my HP monitor everytime I start Firefox. The double-tap to zoom into the paragraphs makes content whole lot easier to read.

   I wouldn't go as far as saying the iPad is better or worse than a laptop for browsing, but it's different. The only reason it's not better is because of the way that web is, and has been primarily designed for the mouse and keyboard, making use of mouse hover states and sometimes click and drag, both of which are awkward on a touchscreen.

So I got over most of my initial gripes except for the decision to leave the camera out, because I do think that the only reason they left it out is to sell more of the 2nd gen version. It certainly isn't perfect...I have a list of negative experiences that I'll write about some other time.

But if you take it for what it is, it may not be "magical", but it certainly has enough cool tricks to make it worth paying for.

Today, Google has announced that it has stopped censoring search results in China. This comes just 10 days after China made an official statement warning Google that there will be "consequences" if they do not comply with their censorship laws.

This is a very brave move by Google, especially since only 13% of the Chinese internet users use their service (the government friendly Baidu.com is the leader). If history tells us anything, it's that China is as stubborn as they come.

My bet is that China will block all Google services in the coming weeks. Just watch this space.

I'm writing to see how it feels posting an article on my iPhone. The current editor is just a standard textarea which means that I am marking up as I go.

Opening and closing these paragraph tags is a bit of pain. I'm planning to get TinyMCE on here by the end of the week. I wonder how that would work on the iPhone?

For those of you who aren't Chinese, you may not know about the significance of todays date. Chinese people go a little crazy about the number 8, truly believing that it can bring them good fortune. That makes today possibly the most blessed day ever!

I am sat right now watching the opening ceromony of the Beijing olympics in complete awe.

Since I am writing this post from my new iPhone I'm gonna cut it short.

With the last blog post being 3 months ago & the fact that only half the links on the left do something, it leads me to the question "Where in the world is Bun Mun?"

Maybe he needs some help from his cuz on how to run a website ;)

We've survived our first SXSW and can confirm that, yes, it is fairly crazy. Here are the acts we saw in order:

Simian Mobile Disco, These New Puritans, Lightspeed Champion, Mae Shi, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Lindstrom, Kim Hiorthøy, Rogue Wave, Shout Out Louds, Hanson, Yo La Tengo, Death Sentence: Panda!, Boyz Noize, Dizzee Rascal, Joan Of Arc, The Little Ones, Vampire Weekend, Headlights, Tilly and The Wall, The Ting Tings, The Most Serene Republic, The Constantines, Son Lux, Thee Oh Sees, Why?

Ratings from "The Critter" (aka Wife) will follow.

Girlfriend is Better (live) - Talking Heads.

From the 'Stop Making Sense' DVD

Only in America is politics so darn entertaining! Can't wait to hear the McCain song!

Finally...it seems that Bush is starting to address the root causes of the conflict.

The Guardian Story

Isn't the world a better place with Radiohead?

While it's hard to pinpoint the moments of greatness in both the film and the anime, I'd heartily reccommend this great series to anyone.

The film itself is a superb two parter that derives from elements of the anime almost frame by frame, whilst the anime is derived from the original comic, which is all available in a few volumes.

The character of L is something to be amazed by and he could be one of the modern great characters of the screen. His own spinoff film, L : Change the World, is due out in Japan next February.... when I'll be there.......

As you can see below, Alex has shown us that anyone can post a blog entry here. Thank you Alex. Alex has also shown that unless you have something interesting to share, there probably isn't much point in posting.

So please, hit the login link above and post about a film you've seen that made an impact on you (good or bad), or recommend something for us to listen to...

"...or whatever...pretty sirens don't go flat, its not supposed to happen like that..." - of Montreal, Suffer for Fashion

So the famous Bunmun of London's east end is now living it up in the US OF A. AMEN!

Its always nice to put your faith into something and then have it totally pay off. It took me a while to watch Tekkonkinkreet because I could never remember the name. And when I did remember, Blockbuster never had it in stock. So I decided to just go ahead and buy the DVD and hope that it would be as great as I imagined.

This film is definitely one of the best animes I've seen. Not only does it look utterly incredible but the story and characters are really special.

Watching the relationship between the two main characters 'Black' and 'White' unfold is a beautiful, visceral experience. Even the side characters have great depth to them and go through a whole library of complex emotions.

The DVD includes a great 'Making Of' documentary that follows the American director, Michael Arias, through the process. It is fascinating, to see how a project on this scale is managed. You get to see behind the glitz and glamour and witness the real grit and grind of the process. There was a scene where the team and the director watched the first edit of the film for the first time and were totally underwhelmed. Their spirits were crushed from the weight of disappointment, as they were expecting something...better.

Anyway, obviously they got the project back on track. It just shows what is required of people to create something that is truly amazing.

Hopefully by now, after everything that has happened, everyone knows that the war in Iraq was wrong. However, if you want an insight to the level of wrongness, you need to watch 'No End In Sight - Iraq's Descent Into Chaos'.

This film focuses on the events, decisions and the whole bowl of wrong that took place after Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in May 2003.

Unlike Fahrenheit 9/11, this film features interviews with the people who were actually involved in the post-war occupation of Iraq. This film highlights the fact that many people working under the Bush Administration were really passionate about rebuilding Iraq for the good of the Iraqi people. Lots of good advice was given to the President and the decision makers, but unfortunately, they decided not to listen.

The film is vital to understanding how the current insurgency and chaos in Iraq was created largely by principle errors of U.S. policy.

So the latest aging high street corporation is going down fast. Blockbuster, the blueprint for the modern day video store is the latest victim of the broadband boom.

Its kind of sad really. Internet killed the record store, and now the videos. Whats next? With sites like Threadless and Little Paper Planes, maybe clothing and art retail aren't safe.

This CNET article ends with some ideas on what Blockbuster can do to compete. I think that maybe instead of trying to beat NetFlix at their own game, Blockbuster should maybe focus on their strengths and assets. For example, the experience of going into a video shop and just browsing around can be fun. Sometimes its fun to judge movies by its cover. Maybe if Blockbuster focused on making this experience better, they'd be able to offer something that no NetFlix member can get. Shops like Borders and Barnes and Noble thrive on their customers "hanging out" in their stores.

Having said that, I hope they don't just throw in a Starbucks.

The first post in a blog is always going to be weird. With no apparent audience, I have that same distinct feeling I get when I'm talking to myself.

When I first heard of the Internet, I wanted to have my own page to put my short stories. Well here, you won't find any stories but soon you'll find some of my other creative outputs.

Right now, the menu above just links to other pages. This site will be used to showcase my creative projects in the form a blog.

Feel free to comment on the blog posts, or you may login to post your own blog posts in this stream.

I have created this website from scratch using PHP, XHTML, CSS and a little Javascript.

Some people have asked me, "why didn't you use WordPress? Or Blogspot? Or any other blog?"

Well here is my long convoluted answer:

When I was 13 yrs old, I was in my first band. Being our first band, we were all pretty poor musicians. We started out playing Oasis covers.

Of course, after many weeks practicing, our rendition of 'Live Forever' was still a bit rubbish. But when it came to our first gig, why didn't we just put on the Oasis CD? It would have sounded far better than us playing it (trust me).

Ignoring the obvious performance aspect of why we decided to play it live, we also did it to learn.

And that is exactly why I am spending all this time programming the features on this site.

Its gonna be a while before it has all the features of other blogs but its satisfying creating things from scratch and watching it grow.

Try commenting or register below and post your own blog entry here.