Windows 8 - Another Vista

Oh no, I fear Microsoft has birthed another Vista. It’s none other than Windows 7’s successor, Windows 8. How could Microsoft let history repeat itself again? It all started when tablet computers become all the rage, and Microsoft with its juggernaut desktop OS is trailing Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android as the platform of choice for the hottest gadgets in the marketplace. Consequently, Microsoft inspiringly decided to create an OS from the ground up which can support both desktops and tablets. If you don’t know, the user interface for desktops which rely heavily on mouse input while tablets rely more on finger input or stylus pen. Hence the user experience for each device is correspondingly different.

Using the same OS for both devices is fine. You get to reuse a lot of overlapping code, saving cost overall. (Apple decided to keep its phone/tablet OS separate from its desktop OS for now, by the way). However, it’s conceptualization of the interface is disastrously erred.

The Metro UI or Modern UI is comparable to Android and IOS in nature. It has a pretty different aesthetic and operation, so it really depend on the individual if it suits them. For a tablet PC, you can go Metro all the way, and it’ll be perfect. They have special features if you peel the screen from any of the four corners too.

However Windows 8 has a desktop mode which we are familiar with. The problem is the desktop mode is easily accessible from the Metro UI start page (that multi coloured wall of blocks). Herein lies the problem, the Metro UI is meant for touch input, while the desktop is for a mouse input. For a mouse to drag the start screen to flip between pages is tiring, since the motion is almost from the far left to far right. And with the popularity of large screens, it’s not practical. And as for the Start button we are so accustomed to in previous Windows versions, it’s gone, replaced with that whole Metro UI start page.

That’s a lot of relearning to do, especially if you want to work on Windows 8 the way you use Windows 7. That’s fine, however, if the new way of doing things makes it more of a hassle, then that would be wrong. Unfortunately, I did find it a greater hassle.

In Windows 8, programs are duplicated, or doubled to serve both desktop mode and metro. For example there are two media players, one is your ordinary familiar media player, and the other is one that is similar to the Windows mobile’s media player, full screen and all. Both programs are independent of each other and even have their own codecs, in fact both can play different media at the same time. There is no syncing whatsoever.

My last gripe is about aesthetics. Design philosophies teach that your design must be different, must stand out. And Windows 8 does. However, the Metro style features monochromatic styling without any colour gradient or transparencies. Each program is assigned one drab colour and is assigned an uninspiring tile on the Start Page. Different Yes, Boring Yes, Ugly Yes. What happen to cool icons? I missed Windows 7.

Tablet modes are great when you using a tablet. Desktop mode is also fine when you are at your desk. Unless your device is the Asus Transformer laptop series, the way Windows 8 forces the user to switch between the modes is outright impractical. Alas, Windows 8 is a software which can’t decide what it wants to be, an OS for touch based tablets, or an OS for mouse based desktops, so it settled on a hybrid of sorts, with a notable detriment to desktop users.

But they can fix it. There are some devices that can benefit from this dual modes, like a PC that’s hooked up to be a media center in the living room, or those touch based all-in-one PCs that gets displayed at store fronts. So, in my opinion, the decision is clear, the two modes should be available as the click of a switch. And when you’re in one mode, you should stay in it. You shouldn’t be allowed switch arbitrarily. And bring back the Start button!

Windows Vista may have failed because of its inefficiency, but Windows 8 fails because of a lack of conceptualization. Windows 7, we’re going to get cozier with one another. Will it beat Windows XP’s record?

Resident Evil: Retribution

Guilty. I admit not remembering the first three movies of this franchise. It’s too long ago and I’m too lazy to rewatch. I only really remember the Afterlife. While that movie seemed like a stylistic movie-length video game cutscene, Resident Evil 5 is kind of the opposite.

Retribution made me feel like I was actually playing the game itself, complete with badly acted cutscenes. Yes, the acting was cheesy and robotic, but if the aim was to recreate the gameplay feel, they succeeded exceptionally well.

Nevertheless, if you like the Resident Evil movies, you can’t miss this one. Apparently Retribution is setup as the penultimate movie to the series. Can’t wait for the next one. Milla is still hot though.

6/10

Why Does Malaysia Have 2 National Days?

 

For 52 years since 1957, Malaysia celebrates its national day on the 31st of August. It commemorates the day when the Federation of Malaya (West Malaysia) was granted independence from the British. It is usually known as Hari Merdeka or Independence Day.

Six years later on September 16 1963, after much political wrangling, the states of Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah agreed to join Malaya to form Malaysia (the additional ‘si’ in honour of SIngapore). Singapore was the crown jewel, while sadly economically backward Sabah and Sarawak were added just to balance the racial composition. It was envisioned to be a strong united country that comprised of former British colonies.

Even Brunei was encouraged to join Malaysia by the British. However Brunei’s Sultan repeated refusal to join led to a very late independence in 1984. On the other hand, Singapore was kicked out of the Federation in 1965 due to outstanding social and political issues.

For the Malayans, or West Malaysians, or Peninsular Malaysians, August 31 1957 holds greater significance as all the struggles for independence culminated on that date. For Sabah and Sarawak, or East Malaysia, that date has little significance; it certainly does not commemorate their own state’s independence. Instead September 16 1963 was more important as shortly after they gained individual state independence, they joined Malaysia.

The reason why Aug 31 is the sole national day for so many decades is because the Peninsular Malaysians greatly outnumber those of the East, and they dominate the economic and political scene of the country as a whole. East Malaysia forms 61% of Malaysia’s landmass, but just under 20% of the population and only 15% of the country total GDP.

In 2009, the prime minister declared that the Sept 15 be made a federal public holiday known as Malaysia Day. The obvious objective is to garner more East Malaysians votes for the next general elections or to reward them for sticking to the ruling coalition during the 2008 elections. It is regretful that Malaysia Day is only rightfully recognized because of a political maneuver.

It is also regretful celebrations for Malaysia Day are largely confined to the minds and hearts of East Malaysians, when rightfully it should supersede Hari Merdeka as the National Day for the whole Malaysia. We should not forget that Malaysia did not even exist before Sabah and Sarawak’s accession to Malaysia.

Does Malaysia need two national days? Malaysia’s total number of public holidays are among the most numerous in the world. One solution I can think of is to alternate the national day, meaning that one year, Aug 31 will be the public holiday, while the next, Malaysia Day is made the sole national day public holiday. Would that make everybody happy?

The Inequality of the Paralympics Games

London 2012 delivered a fantastic Paralympics games, probably outdoing the previous also fantastic Beijing Paralympics. The reality remains however, that despite what the Paralympics committees say about viewership, disabled sport is not what people want to watch lounging in their living rooms or cheer on at the local ‘mamak’ shops. If someone even glances at a newspaper article on the Paralympics, that is already considered a win.

The only people that would watch it are the host country citizens, who have been fed with non-stop marketing, the disabled themselves, more sympathetic Western nations, and gold hungry countries who actually have a chance to win (China).

Actually I applaud the Brits for filling the stadiums to the brim. But in the rest of the world, less commendable human instincts prevail; able bodied people just feel uncomfortable watching disfigured and less able people competing in sports. Perhaps a reflection of a fear for their own unwritten fate, mortality.

How uncomfortable is it? I was watching a 100m S1 freestyle race. S1 represents the highest degree of disability, many taking part have cerebral palsy, one usable limb and other motion restrictive diseases. Some swimmers were in wheelchairs, and their able bodied helpers just plonked them into the water. My immediate thoughts were: Your trainer just dumped you like garbage from your wheelchair! He’s not swimming, he’s just quivering in the water. OMG he’s going to drown! Oh wow how brave! Should they even be in the pool? It’s the pinnacle of human perseverance. So many conflicting thoughts swirling in my mind.

The Paralympics got me thinking about the sport and life itself. And how everything in spite of how equal it is in design, really isn’t equal in real life. The Paralympics tries to level the playing field by introducing a roster of categories. But science still hasn’t caught up. Are single below the knee amputees faster than double below the knee amputees? Is your paralyzed right hand causing more drag in the water than someone without a hand? Arbitrary allocation into categories is no exact science.

If you contemplate on such things as equality between contestants, it would serve you better if you quit now. Life is invariably unfair. The Paralympics simply casts that aspect of life under the magnifying glass. The difference is that those disparities between contestants are more visually assessable in the Paralympics. All disabled men (and women) were created unequal, as are able bodied men.

So while the Olympics has a narrow minded view, the celebration of the greatest, fastest and the highest (but nowadays it’s a commercial driven gala), what then is the Paralympics all about? Their mission statement is ‘to enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world’. It is not to be confused with the Special Olympics where participation alone is a cause for celebration. The founder of the games aimed to create an elite sporting competition for people with disabilities.

I completely see the rationale for a disabled person. If I were incapacitated physically, excelling in a particular sport would be the ultimate motivator. But the rest of the world, what would it really be? Inspiration, yes, excitement, maybe. Could it be a pity sport? Sincerely I question what role the Paralympics should play for the abled world.

Increasingly, Paralympics broadcast has been gaining popularity over the years. I fear that the Paralympics might follow the same over commercialized path as the Olympics. While Europe, America and China may have slowly warmed up the Paralympians, South East Asia isn’t so enchanted, Malaysia included. But when it does arrive, let’s welcome it for the right reasons and with the right motive, this most unequal of sporting events.

Helicobacter Pylori

For the longest time, I have always had a bad stomach. I am nauseated easily and my stomach feels bloated even after a small meal. It’s not caused by eating too much, because even after I put my fork down, my abdomen bloats up shortly later. Uncomfortable and debilitating, sometimes it takes hours to subside. The social embarrassment takes much longer.

I blame a few of my panic attacks on bloatedness. A bloated stomach leads to reduced lung capacity with leads to hyperventilation and thus panic attack. Another gastrointestinal related issue was that my stools were black, has the consistency of toothpaste, and could never form any condensed shape. It happens so often recently, I thought of having it examined.

In March this year, taking advantage of a Groupon offer, I went for a regular blood test which this time included a H. Pylori test. The pin prick was more painful than usual, but instead of a clean bill of health, I tested positive for the H. Pylori. It’s something I’ve read about, but my test results was astonishingly multiples of the maximum limit for normal patients. My count for H. Pylori IGG was over 80u/ml while the max limit was 10u/ml. I do not really know what it means, except that I’m probably infected with Helicobacter Pylori bacteria.

The Confounded Bacteria

Helicobacter Pylori is apparently a kind of bacteria, spiral in shape, which lives in the stomach and upper intestine. It attaches itself to my stomach lining and thrives in acidic environment of the stomach which in the past doctors thought nothing could survive.

Symptoms of Helicobacter Pylori infection include:
• Abdominal pains due to peptic ulcers
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Bloating
• Burping
• Nausea
• Vomiting (vomit may be bloody or look like coffee grounds)
• Black, tarry stools

More Tests

The next test that the doctors recommended was a Urea Breath Test. It’s a pretty simple test, I’m given a pill to swallow, several minutes later, asked to breathe deeply and exhale into a silver balloon bag. A Urea Breath Test is based on the bacteria’s ability to convert urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. As if it was fated, I was tested positive, by a far margin.

The alternative is an endoscopy, the procedure where they insert a tube with an attached camera and a robotic arm down your throat all the way to the stomach. There they can look for bleeding ulcers, cancerous tumors and maybe take some tissue sample for biopsy. Compared to a Urea Breath Test, the endoscopy was invasive. And luckily I was exempted mainly because I don’t have gastric pains, and because treatment can start with the positive result of the breath test.

Treatment

My two week treatment regiment include a medication called a proton pump inhibitor. This medicine decreases the production of stomach acid, which allows the tissues damaged by the infection to heal, assuming I have ulcers. The proton pump inhibitor is combined with a pair of antibiotics, just in case if the bacteria is immune to one of the antibiotics.

I suffered an awful side effect of the antibiotic one morning, where nausea claim the better half of the day forcing a sick day. After that regimen I continued taking just the proton pump inhibitor for another two weeks. The follow-up appointment was 2 months following that that. On the whole, I was feeling pretty much the same, except the conditions of my stools were improving although still blackish in colour. So I didn’t think I was completely cured, and ready for another positive H. Pylori test.

Cure 

To my complete but pleasant surprise, the Urea Breath Test conducted during my follow-up appointment yielded a zero count, which is positively negative. Over the next few weeks, my digestive tract felt healthier, very few instances of bloatedness and my stools returned to solid and healthy light brown hue. This led to my hypothesis, that I have been developing bleeding ulcers over the past few years, if I had an endoscopy done, it would have shown up.

I don’t know where I contracted the bacteria, but it must have been when I was in school. I suspect I’ve been living with it for decades. Damn you school canteen!

Although the chances are slim, Helicobacter Pylori induced ulcers may develop into stomach cancer. So I feel lucky to have caught it before anything sinister developed. So I urge any of you who have the symptoms of H. Pylori infection to get tested, at least the blood test. It may save your life.

What Happens in Vegas Review

Joy (Cameron Diaz) is a highly restless Wall Street stock trader who works a staggering 90 hours per week. Her career driven life pressed her fiancé to leave her, unintentionally but publicly in front of all her friends. In stark contrast, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) is a bona fide slacker who assembles furniture at his father’s factory. One occupational blunder too many, Jack Sr. played by Treat Williams decides to terminate his son’s employment. Dejected, Joy and Jack, strangers at this point both head to Vegas to forget their troubles, like so many of us would.

They stumble upon each other in Vegas. And true to most Vegas lore, they got married in an Elvis chapel after one intoxicated party-hopping night. Reality came to them only the next morning and they both agreed that filing for annulment is the next best step. A few slot machines later, Jackpot, the newly weds just won 3 million dollars, with each claiming the victory for him or herself. Back home in New York City, the battle shifts to the courtroom. The judge gives his ultimatum: stay together for 6 months, that means going to Queen Latifah’s weekly couples’ therapy sessions, or lose the 3 million dollars.

You’d think that this is another run of the mill Hollywood romance, and you’d be quite right. But unlike rom-coms (romantic comedies) of recent years I think this is really well executed. Ashton is strong as himself. Think whacky irritating ‘Punk’d’ host in a relationship. Couple that with Cameron’s super assertive persona, and you have a pair so adamant about hurting each other. The peeing in the kitchen sink and uncomfortable toilet position like falling into the toilet bowls are one of the cruder antics mean Jack plays on Joy. Okay Ashton Kutcher haters might want to skip this one.

The movie’s humor is mostly concentrated in the middle of the movie where Jack and Joy engage in volleys of tit-for-tat pranks. As expected their hateful relationship slowly turns mellow. But I for one think that their dysfunctional relationship works, on the screen for the funnies of course.

Towards the end of the movie, drawing parallels to ‘The Breakup’, Joy was given a real life choice to make. That to me brings out a sense of realism of the consequences of each choice you make. And Joy’s choice might put some off.

It’s a story of how hate turns to love gruelingly through outlandish circumstances, and is certainly a crowd pleaser. I’m cashing in on Vegas.

Impossible to Learn Mandarin @ the Global Hanyu Centre

Arrgh! Another attempt at Mandarin class foiled. The first Level (Groupon) was fine, but the follow up level was impossible to catch up. Actually for first time beginners, I think the first level may be a little too tough. This could explain the high number of absentees and slackers. I was on the other hand a rung above with my history grappling with Mandarin.

I was a good student, at least I thought so. I actually revised past weeks’ lessons and tried to copy whatever there was on the board, tried to ask questions when in doubt, attended every lesson, on time as well.

After Level 1, a test was conducted, I scored well, earning me a place in the next level with a discount price. In Level 2, I was in for a surprise. She stopped speaking English altogether. She said, “We need to learn fast.” Also, she wrote less pinyin on the board and started teaching Chinese characters (something I look forward to).

Problem is, I can no longer ask questions, because every 1 in 2 words is new to me. Sometimes she takes up to half an hour delivering her ‘grandmother stories’ which the other 4 students more advanced than I, seemed to understand, laugh even. The official material looked like a photocopied primary school textbook, from which we learnt Chinese characters. Now and then she would derive certain new characters because they are related to some other character we’re learning.

Bottom line is, from the first lesson to the last, the difficulty level increased exponentially. Once she hits your current level, she only goes upwards from there, and that’s when you’re doomed.

My buddy system failed, because my ‘buddy’ has been holding out on me. Apparently he understands everything and his level is a lot higher than mine. It’s just that he refuses to speak unless forced to. That's a lesson for me. Next time pick a buddy who's on par with you, and not secretly hiding his linguistic skills.

The lessons weren’t all that bad, she was clearly trying to shake things up with her lesson plan. Once she had a dumpling festival celebration in a potluck style. One of our homework assignments was to sing a friendly song in Mandarin and record ourselves. One time she made us watch half a movie (thank God it has English subtitles).

But the killer was definitely the second level final exam. Not only do we have to take a written test where half of the questions were based on things never taught (kind of like University), we had to prepare a presentation based on a certain topic and present it to the class. I mean I haven’t learnt enough words, conjunctions not even for a wholesome conversation, and now a PowerPoint presentation?

I really love to continue with the next level, I do, but at this point I expect Level 3 to astronomically difficult, probably discussing Confucius teachings, Fengshui theories etc. Alas I concede defeat, I cannot continue to Level 3.

Southern Thailand Malay Region

The modern provinces of Southern Thailand have a very Malay past. The backwater province of Satun and its northern neighbor, Trang used to be, in antiquity, part of the Kedah Sultanate until progressive Siamese campaigns claimed those territories.

The name of the province of Songkhla was a Thai corruption of the name Singgora, an old Malay tributary state which was once part of Langkasuka and then part of Nakhon Si Thammarat. This is where the largest city of the region is located, Hat Yai. No doubt a favourite destination for many Malaysians.

The old Malay state of Patani actually consisted of three modern day Thai provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. In fact Malaysian state of Kelantan was a tributary of Patani, until the British pried them from Siamese claws.

These three provinces is the epicenter of the Southern Thailand insurgency. All three provinces have the highest proportions of Malay people of any province in Thailand. If autonomy or independence is granted, it is likely to be based on these three states.

Today, Songkhla is almost as Thai as Bangkok, a successful result of Thai assimilation policies. However some eastern districts are largely Malay populated and share the same aspirations of Patani.

The Satun Malays on the other hand, while small in number retain as much Malay culture as they can, but are not as inclined towards separatism or militancy as their Patani counterparts. A lot of Thai-Malay intermarriages reflect this.

Thailand would not give up Patani easily. Such a large acreage, with offshore oil to boot, would be a better target for Thai transmigration, if not for the insurgency.