My attempt at learning Photoshop.

Before:

After:

I did this with instructions my little sister gave me via gtalk. I’m also expecting some of her Digital Imaging notes I didn’t even attempt removing the reflection of the curtains from the glass. One step at a time.

My current phase is Plants vs Zombies. It’s part of the PopCap Games collection, which I’ve tweeted about several times especially Peggle. Man, these game developers are really something – making a whole collection of games that are so addictive. It’s not a good combination with my personality but on the plus side (I think), I go through alot of phases and thank goodness the Tinkies phase is over. Can you imagine what I’d look like if it weren’t?

The game is really simple, you plant your plants strategically so they kill the zombies, thus preventing them from entering your house. Each stage requires you to plant sunflowers so you earn points to purchase ‘weapons’ like pea shooters, walnuts, cherry bombs etc. More sunflowers = more points. Like any other game, it starts off really simple but gets quite challenging and given the nature of the game, it gets very  addictive.

The first few stages look like this:   

It includes “regular” zombies, some with hats (take more damage) and pole vaulting ones. Then you get stages with a pool in your backyard:

The zombies from this stage include some with a bucket over their head (really difficult to kill, totally dig the sound effect when the peas hits their head), the sneaky snorkelling ones and the dolphin riding ones. The next stage gets really difficult as it takes place at night and there is fog:

Along with tombstones, lack of sunlight and really strong zombies, it gets challenging. You use special mushrooms (not that kind) to build up ’sunlight’ slowly. I’ve gotten past the garden stage and am now fighting zombies on the roof, which is tilted.

If you can get your hands on this game, like downloading the torrent then get it. It sells for R185 on the site with an option to download the trial first.

Disclaimer: Plants vs Zombies may kill productivity.
Originally blogged on www.nafisa.co.za

Create your debut novel cover:

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
The name that appears is your author name

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik or something similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and or zoom in.

5 – Post it to your blog along with this text.

I tag anyone who is reading this.
Originally blogged on www.nafisa.co.za

Good news! If you’re a fan of Skullcandy and Paul Frank as I am, you’d be just as excited to know that we, third world South Africa, will be getting the Ink’d line of these cool earphones next month. But, we wont be getting the Hesh line. This is according to Luks Brands, Africa’s sole distributor of Skullcandy.

I’ve got my eye on the blue Julius pair

Last night Nokia launched Comes With Music in South Africa. Comes With Music gives you access to the Nokia Music Store for 12 months of unlimited track downloads (you only have a choice of 5 million tracks). It will be bundled with the following 3 handsets: 5130, 5530 and 5630.

So if you take any of these phones on a Top Up package, you’re getting the airtime and the phone free, along with a unique code to download any track in the Nokia Music Store for a year. After the 1 year is up, you will own every single track you downloaded for free, for life. If you upgrade to another Nokia Comes With Music compatible device, you will be able to carry over all your music. I’m no analyst but I’m pretty sure these phones are going to fly between the 16-24 demograph.

The formalities of the launch took place at the Holiday Inn Sandton. From the moment you stepped out of the lifts, each corner was ‘propped’ with a Nokia girl, talking on her phone or listening to music - to tie in with the theme.

Nokia’s country manager, Mathia Nalappan, spoke about what Nokia will be focussing on: messaging, music, maps, media and games. Head of music (Middle East & Africa) Jake Larsen officially announced Comes With Music is now available in South Africa.

Thereafter we were ‘bussed’ away to Mythos in Fourways for dinner. A pink pashmina style scarf waited for the ladies when they got to their seats while green beanies were left for male partners, who were also invited. We later returned to the Holiday Inn for coffee and dessert where Zebra & Giraffe provided entertainment for the evening.

The media were given a choice of 1 of the 3 handsets to take home and play with for a year. Unlimited track downloads included! I didn’t go for the touch phone (5530) because it didn’t support 3G and that would just annoy me. I chose the 5630. Thank you Nokia for a lovely evening.

The 5130 will be available exclusively from MTN and the 5530 & 5630 will be available at Nashua Mobile, Autopage, Cell C & MTN. The handsets will be available mid-September.

There are people out there with issues

I’ve been using my Asus EEE pc since March this year and I’m happy with its performance. I wanted this particular brand of netbook because it was Asus who introduced us to the netbook (something along the lines of surely they know what they’re talking about). Since then, other brands have jumped on the bandwagon and came out with their versions too. I’m not disputing other brands; they saw the Asus EEE pc as a ‘prototype’ and fixed its ‘bugs’ by bringing out their versions.


I currently have the Sony Vaio netbook on test (a review of it will appear in the next Digital Life magazine). I thought I’d do a post squaring off both these netbooks before Vaio gets collected.

Battery Life
One of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a netbook / laptop. My Asus EEE pc gave me 3 solid hours while the Sony Vaio W Series gave me only 2 hours 15 mins. I performed the same tasks on these netbooks: connected to the internet wirelessly, surfed and watched the occasional Youtube video (which is what netbooks are intended for).

Looks
The Asus is chunky compared to the Sony. Sony’s design is minimal and smooth with rounded edges. It has a matte finish which is great – no fingerprints. Both have large trackpads – always a good thing. The Sony weights 1.19kg and the Asus 1.4kg.

Sound Quality
Both netbooks have stereo speakers but the quality on the Sony is very disappointing. Listening to music feels like you’re listening to the radio from the 70’s, it’s vile. You definitely would need portable speakers or earphones to go with the Sony. Sound on the Asus is clear – not wishy-washy like most netbooks / laptops.

Screen resolution
Sony wins, hands down. Their 10.1-inch display is crisp – I’d say it’s the best feature of the netbook. It has a 1366 x 768 resolution. The Asus has an 8.9-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution – which is decent. You have nothing to complain about, only after using the Sony, you’d agree that it’s (Sony) awesome. Both netbooks are widescreen (I think most are).


Just like most netbooks, both have 1GB of memory (therefore runs on Windows XP), built-in WLAN, Ethernet jack, VGA out and a webcam. One other thing I’d like to point out – the Sony only has 2 USB ports, while the Asus has 3. I think that any netbook should have a minimum of 3 USB ports. If you have a mini mouse and speakers connected to the Sony, you will have to remove one to access information from a flash stick.

I’d say that the Sony netbook would suit the busy fashionista or a spoilt rich kid. The Asus is a good choice for students and journalists who work from public hotspots every now and then (longer battery life a big plus).

Technical specs for both netbooks in my possession:
Asus EEE pc here and Sony Vaio W Series here.

When I received the HTC Touch Diamond 2 to play with, I was not as excited about it as when I received the HTC Magic. Quite simply because Windows Mobile sucks. I would not recommend a WM phone to anyone, ever.

When you insert your SIM card and switch the phone on, it’s still in “offline” mode. The phone isn’t user-friendly so if you’re using this phone for the first time, like me, you will only realise that its offline when you attempt to make a phone call, which is when you’re prompted to switch to “phone” mode.

After taking a few pics, I plugged in the USB cable and thought I’d be seeing the images in the few minutes it would take to transfer them via USB. But no. Windows Mobile loves making your life difficult. It will not let you read your phone as a mass storage device, as Nokia does. No, you have to install the software that comes in CD in the box first before being able to transfer the images. Can anyone explain the logic in this?

Before installing the software, I tried transferring the images to my PC via bluetooth. You think that even worked? There was no option under send image to send via bluetooth. Again, logic?

The touch interface on the Touch Diamond 2 was supposed to be better than its predecessor. Fortunately for me, I didn’t get to play with it. After experiencing Nokia’s responsive touch technology, the touch interface on this phone was a big disappointment. For a phone with a large enough screen - 3.2″ LCD, the icons at the bottom are fairly small, forcing you to use the stylus. I hate using a stylus.

Setting up your Gmail is quite simple, you just need your username and password, and the mail app searches the web for server details. Connecting to a wireless LAN is (surprise) easy.

I tried watching a Youtube clip via the one touch access (it was a Dane Cook making fun of Vanessa Hudgens clip), the video took very long to download. After about two mintues, only 13% downloaded, which I couldn’t view. It was then that I saw that two connections to the internet were being run simultaneously! Er, what? Logic? So Youtube was trying to load via my crappy Vodacom 3G connection.

The 5MP camera (which takes good quality images) and Bubble Breaker (oh yes) were the only two good things about this phone.

To say this phone was dubbed an “iPhone killer” is a joke. It doesn’t come anywhere near the iPhone or the N97 for that matter. It’s not an easy phone to use. If you’ve been using HTC / WM since forever, then maybe you’d like this phone.

Full specifications here.

Check the next edition of Digital Life to see what Theo has to say about it.

I think the last time I blogged a topic similar to this was before I received my N97, so the good news is I have a new favourite gadget. Tomorrow will be exactly one month since I received my N97 but it feels like I've been using it for much longer.

My phone doubles up as a mini PC when I'm away from a PC, which says alot.

Yes, I'm one of those social network addicts, with Twitter and Facebook being my two favourites. I don't really care much for other networking sites. I don't see the point in signing up with all.

So, with my phone I'm able to stand in queues without getting annoyed or bored because I can logon to Gmail, and check Twitter and Facebook. I don't think think is unusual - especially since there are loads of mobile apps existing for this purpose ;) My favourite mobile app has to be the Gmail app and second, Gravity (Nokia Twitter app).

It's even more cool when I'm in public and in a wifi hotspot. Yes, you do get some companies who don't bother locking their network, so why not hop onto it? :) Bad, I know. But, if they didn't want people to use it, they should have password protected it.

My phone also has a fantastic camera, which is 5MP. Sometimes it takes better pics than my CyberShot. I like that I can focus and take pics close up. Here is an example of a pic I had on my phone, taken at Nino's Rivonia:


I think that touch technology is just a natural evolution and I took to mine very easily. I have played with other touch phones in the past but Nokia's technology is responsive and makes it one of the best out there. I prefer using the virtual keypad that pops up instead of the slide out Qwerty keypad.

Thus far, the N97 is definitely the best gadget I've owned.

I decided to take some pictures with my N97 but it’s not something I haven’t done before. I’ve taken random pictures, some of which can be found on nafisa.posterous.com.

I received a Sony Vaio netbook to review today - in hot pink and for someone who hates pink gadgets - I’m finding this one surprisingly likeable. I’m glad that the keyboard isn’t like the last Lenovo I played with (the Ctrl and Fn keys appear left to right, respectively) - exactly how I like it.

I know I’m not the world’s best photographer, this was just a test on the N97 camera. It’s very difficult to take pictures of products and this is the best I came up with (pics taken at night): 

 

 After connecting and hopping onto the wireless, what did I do? Download Google Chrome, Picasa and Google Talk

The review of the Sony Vaio netbook will appear in the next edition of Digital Life. It’s currently not available for sale, so I don’t have any prices.

Originally blogged on www.nafisa.co.za