Whatever...

OSX Key: Keyboard Shortcut Key For Delete Function

2010-10-29T23:38:00.001+08:00

You can use one of the keyboard shortcut key below to perform 4 way of delete action:

delete
Delete one typed character at a time to the left.

fn + delete
Delete one typed character at a time to the right. Just like "Del" key on PC.

option + delete
Delete whole typed words at a time to the left

command + delete
Delete all typed charters to the left.

As far as I can tell this works all over Mac OS X and in most apps, including Safari, TextEdit, Terminal, Finder, iTunes, iChat, and more.

OSX Network: Network Error (tcp_error)

2010-07-10T22:46:00.004+08:00

If website not loaded and the following error is displayed usually it's caused by DNS cache.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Error (tcp_error)

A communication error occurred: "Operation timed out"

The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time.

For assistance, contact your network support team.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

DNS request are usually cache, that’s good as it speeds up the lookups within the same host but sometimes we will want to clear the cache so it don’t hold the values that are no longer valid.

In Leopard (Mac OSX 10.5) or Snow Leopard (10.6) to clear DNS cache , just type this in your Terminal and hit enter:

dscacheutil -flushcache

Note:
A DNS server matches the URL of a website (eg www.domain.com) with its numeric IP address - it translates www.domain.com into the unique numeric IP address (XX.XX.XX.XXX). Whenever you request a web page, your browser asks the name server to find the numeric translation of the URL.

Without the DNS servers, it would be a complicated web because we would have to know all the IP addresses rather than the nice friendly name, like Google.com.

Testing Post From iPhone

2009-01-24T03:18:00.000+08:00

Fire Exit Sign

-- Post From My iPhone

OSX: Quake II On Mac OS X

2009-01-13T12:29:00.006+08:00

Old school game is back. One of my old time favorite, Quake II! To be able to run Quake II on Mac OS X you need:

Mac OS X v10.0 or higher. Mine Mac OS X 10.5.6
Cocoa version of Quake II v1.1 which includes the software and OpenGL renderer plug-ins. You can download it here at fRuitz oF doJo site.
Definitely you need retail version of Quake II. It doesn't matter if you own Classic MacOS or the PC version, both will work. Mine is PC version.
Optional... you'll need a graphics board that provides accelerated OpenGL rendering if you want to use the OpenGL renderer instead of software renderer. Mine is Intel GMA X1300 and it's working flawlessly.

Oohhh... Sorry... I didn't mean it...

After you meet all above requirement, just follow below step to install:

Create directory /Application/Quake II.
Copy baseq2 folder from Quake II CD to directory /Application/Quake II.
Open Quake2v1.1.dmg that you download from fRuitz oF doJo site earlier. Then drag Quake II application file to directory /Application/Quake II. After that go "Into 'baseq2' folder" and drag file GameMac.q2plug to directory /Application/Quake II/baseq2.
Click Quake II application file to play.

Enjoy gaming.

Band Used CCTVs To Record Music Video!

2008-09-07T01:00:00.003+08:00

Could not afford a camera crew for music video? No problem for Manchester base band, "The Get Out Clause". Their were performed in front of a load of CCTV cameras around the city. Then they requested the footage from the camera operators under the "Freedom of Information Act Data Protection Act" and stitched the results together for their music video. Darn briliant.

Luke Jobs VS Darth Gates: The Games

2008-07-16T13:48:00.006+08:00

Gates fans would like to have a revenge!!! Now it's the time.... Enjoy

Luke Jobs VS Darth Gates

2008-07-16T13:41:00.003+08:00

Hahahah... Watch it.... It's fun... Apple future product, iHome without Windows!

iPod Touch: Hohoho... 2.0 Software Update

2008-07-13T00:58:00.004+08:00

Hohohoho.... I just upgraded my iPod Touch to 2.0 Software update. You can buy it at App Store. It Just USD $9.95 said Apple.

DARN!!! Can you just give it free... As you gave to iPhone users. Do us, iPod Touch users are second class citizen??? I'm feel sorry for who already paid for upgrade in January because you need pay it again for this upgrade. Me... I'm lucky my uncle Jack paid it for me.... Hehehehe....

Now I'm busy downloading apps for iPod Touch. I will let you know my finding later on.

Below what you'll get once you upgraded to 2.0:

The App Store - Shop for applications on the App Store, download them directly to your iPod touch, and install them right away. Or shop the App Store on your computer for applications you can sync to your iPod touch.

Push Email with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync - Email — also contacts and calendar — can now be pushed instantly to your iPod touch. Updated Language and Keyboard Support
Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, and Polish.

International keyboard and dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France), French (Canada), German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian,Swedish, Korean (no dictionary), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, and Polish.

Contacts Search - Find people faster by tapping a name, address, or other data into a new search field.

Multiple Calendars - Have a calendar for work, a calendar for home, and more. And manage them all with a touch.

Scientific Calculator - Rotate to landscape view for solving complex science, math, and programming problems.

Improved Mail Attachment Viewing - View more types of attachments, including iWork and PowerPoint files. And save photos emailed to you in your library.

New Mail Management Features - Delete and move groups of email messages, reply from a different account, and send with BCC.

Also get the new features added in the January ’08 update - Google Maps, Mail, Weather, Web Clips, a customizable Home screen and more.

Hohoho... It take about 15 minutes to finished this. So be patient.

Taraa.... Finaly 2.0 Software update.

iTune Store: Malaysia iTune Store!!!

2008-07-12T22:54:00.004+08:00

Hah! At last, Malaysia iTune Store. Spotted this last night. But they only selling Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch. Still no music or original iPod games. Anyway iPhone and iPod Touch geek.... faster register. Better hurry... they got some freebies.

Finaly... Malaysia iTune Store.

No music. No iPod Classic or nano games. It is just iPhone & iPod Touch application and games.

Movie: The Real Superhero... Hancock!!!

2008-05-18T18:08:00.003+08:00

"There are heroes... There are superheroes... and then there's Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility-everyone knows that-everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroic might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough- as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn;t the kind of man who care what other people think - until the day that he save the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, and the sardonic superhero begins to reliaze that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock's greatest challenge yet - and task that may prove impossible as Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insist that he's a lost cause."

Will Smith's latest superhero-themed flick Hancock. The film will be directed Peter Berg (The Kingdom). Hancock is set for a July 2, 2008, release. Watch trailers below its look fun and will be next Will Smith box-office.

Official Trailer

Extended Trailer

OSX: How to create icon?

2008-05-15T00:26:00.001+08:00

Have you ever wanted to have your faces as a Home icon? I’m not that freak... ok. But I love to have own icons for certain folders, so icon image will describe the folder contents. A picture is worth a thousand words... huh! If you would like too, below tutorial is for you.

[1] ICON DESIGN
Get the image you like to convert as icon (below is mine). For Leopard the best is to get image at least 512px by 512px or bigger. Make and desire changes (transparent, white background, etc) using any image editor like “Photoshop”. Then resize the image to 512px by 512px and save it as a PSD or PNG.

[2] CONVERT IMAGE TO ICON
Open application called “Icon Composer” (under /Developer/Application/Utilities). Icon Composer is part of Apple’s Developer Tools. You can find these tools on your Mac OS X install disk. Drag the PSD or PNG image file to the “Icon Composer”. Below box will pop up . Just select “Copy to all smaller sizes”. Then click Import button.

So here the look like after you drag the image onto application. Save the file.

“Icon Composer” save the file as .icns file, which is almost usable. We need to convert .icns file to a .rsrc file, so Mac OS X can recognize it as icon. This can be easily done with free “Icns2Rsrc” application. Open .icns file with “Icns2Rsrc”. It will ask you where to save the .rsrc. Save anywhere you like.

[3] CHANGE THE ICON
After done save, icon ready to be used. So you can change any folder/file/application icon by right click (or command+click) on folder/file/application icon and select “Get Info”. Then just drop created icon onto most top icon on the info windows (see picture below).

[4] SHOW IT TO THE WHOLE WORLD
DONE!... Screen capture and upload to the internet like me :D

OSX Safari: Safari 3 Always Show Tab Bar (Leopard)

2008-05-13T04:20:00.004+08:00

Like I’m stated, I just upgrade my Macbook hard disk. I’m installed and updated everything from beginning. While reconfiguring my environment, I realized option "Always show the tab bar" from Safari has gone. In Safari 3's preferences, the option removed, but the inherent functionality is still available. (If you enabled it in Safari 2, it will be enabled by default in Safari 3)

I like the tab bar always there because, just need a double click on the bar and new tab will open. So I don’t need to go through long way for new tab open by clicking “File“ menu and “New Tab“.

Ensure you close the Safari.
Open Property List Editor (/Developer/Applications/Utilities/Property List Editor) Don’t border to search for it if you don’t install developer tools.
Open the Safari plist file (~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist).
Click the triangle to open the Root list, then click once on Root to highlight it.
Click the "New Sibling" button.
Change the name (New item) to "AlwaysShowTabBar", set the Class to Boolean, and set Value to "Yes".
Save changes and quit Property List Editor.
Then open the Safari. TARAAA!

Life Always Not Enough! Hohoho!

2008-05-13T03:48:00.002+08:00

Let get Big Hair Brother jealous. See below photos... Hohoho!!! Before this I’m added 4GB RAM to get me to listen to musics (iTune) while editing photos (Darn! Aperture suck all the RAM). Just now, I’m bump the hard disk to 3200GB (297.77 GB in real, 1GB=1 billion bytes.) because existing 120GB hard disk run out of juice after I bring back 16GB RAW photos from Euro trip.

For who got big appetite, to make your life easier, below listed model that I’m used. Tested and verified by ME! But install on your own risk.

2 x Kingston KVR667D2N5/2G RAM 2GB, 667mhz, DDR2, CL5
Western Digital Scorpio 320GB SATA, 1.5Gb/s, 5400RPM, 8MB Cache, 2.5“ HDD

Tivoli Storage Manager: Virtual Node Restore

2008-05-10T02:49:00.002+08:00

Recently one of my colleague asking how to restore backup from client A to client B using TSM Virtual Node. I think I just wrote working guide here so the others can read as well.

SENARIO:
Restore all sys*.dat files under directory /u02/oradata/ on ORAPROD (Client A) to directory /staging/proj04/oradata/ on ORADEVE (Client B). Backup need to be restore from 20/10/2007 until 26/10/2007

Client A = ORAPROD
Client A's Backup Server = TSM_SERVER_US <----- Get from dsm.opt file under ORAPROD

Client B = ORADEVE
Client B's Backup Server = TSM_SERVER_EU <----- Get from dsm.opt file under ORADEVE

Note:
dsm.sys - the file defines all TSM Backup Server client configuration option required.
dsm.opt - this file contain/determine which TSM Backup Server should client contact or backup to.

Check backup on ORAPROD (client A) either exist or not (this case within certain period):

dsmc q b -fromdate=10/20/07 -todate=10/26/07 -inactive "/u02/oradata/sys*.dat"
Confirmed backup available, get which TSM backup server ORAPROD (client A) backup to and get all the TSM Backup Server client configuration option.

# grep -i servername dsm.opt
SERVERNAME TSM_SERVER_US

# cat dsm.sys
SERVERNAME TSM_SERVER_US
COMMMETHOD TCPIP
TCPPORT 1500
TCPSERVERADDRESS tsm-us.palo-alto.com
PASSWORDACCESS generate
SCHEDMODE prompted
COMPRESSION on
SCHEDLOGRETENTION 14
SCHEDLOGNAME /var/log/tsm/schedule.log
ERRORLOGNAME /local/log/tsm/error.log
TCPBUFFSIZE 512
TXNBYTELIMIT 25600
INCLEXC /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/inclexcl
RESOURCEUTILIZATION 4
TCPNODELAY Yes
Then login to ORADEVE (client B) and add above ORAPROD's TSM Backup Server client configuration option to dsm.sys on ORADEVE (client B).

# cat dsm.sys
SERVERNAME TSM_SERVER_US
COMMMETHOD TCPIP
TCPPORT 1500
TCPSERVERADDRESS tsm-us.palo-alto.com
PASSWORDACCESS generate
SCHEDMODE prompted
COMPRESSION on
SCHEDLOGRETENTION 14
SCHEDLOGNAME /var/log/tsm/schedule.log
ERRORLOGNAME /local/log/tsm/error.log
TCPBUFFSIZE 512
TXNBYTELIMIT 25600
INCLEXC /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin/inclexcl
RESOURCEUTILIZATION 4
TCPNODELAY Yes
On ORADEVE (client B), log on Tivoli Client using ORAPROD (client A) credential by issuing below virtual node option:

dsmc -servername=TSM_SERVER_US -virtualnodename=ORAPROD
Restore desire ORAPROD (client A) backup files /u02/oradata/sys*.dat to specific directory /local/IOPLPR1/arch/ on ORADEVE (client B):

restore -fromdate=10/28/2007 -todate=10/29/2007 -inactive "/u02/oradata/sys*.dat" /staging/proj04/oradata/
TARAAA!!!

Some test Tokina 11-16mm F2.8

2008-04-10T14:30:00.004+08:00

Yesterday after doing some inspection on my new house, on the way back spotted a beautiful sunset scenery near by Kota Warisan. I also thinking to test a little bit a new toy Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX 11-16mm F2.8. Without tripod below is the result:

p/s: Tomorrow I will start my Eastern Europe journey and will test this lens heavily. We will see the result end of this month ;-)

OSX Finder: Sort Folder Before File

2008-04-07T13:54:00.015+08:00

Most of switchers getting used with how windows and linux sorting folder and files. Under Windows Explorer or Gnome Nautilus or KDE Konqurer, folder have a priority and displayed first before files if your order by type (or kind under Mac OS X).

Mac OS X is more logic than other OS; under Finder, filetype .dmg (or any filetype starting before alphabet F) will display first before folder since folder filetype is folder (and starting with alphabet F). LOGIC, BUT MAKE ME SICK!!!

Here the trick to change this behavior under Finder.

Open Terminal.
Open InfoPlist.strings file using vi text editor as a root.
sudo vi /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings

(change English.lproj to your language)
Find below line:
/* General kind strings */
"Folder" = "Folder";
Do following change (by adding space before " Folder" word after equal sign).
"Folder" = " Folder";
Save the InfoPlist.strings file by press [esc], type wq (mean write and quit vi) then press [return].
Close Terminal
Restart your Finder, right click on Finder icon while pressing the key[option] and select Relaunch your Finder.
Open Finder and order by Kind.

TARAAAA!!!.... COOOOLLL!!! HUH!!!

Update: Tested and no problem on Leopard and Snow Leopard.

p/s: If your InfoPlist.strings corrupted after you done the change and you don't copy it first, don't blame me. Blame your BRAIN!!!

New Toy: Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX 11-16mm F2.8

2008-04-02T15:20:00.007+08:00

Finally after 5 days waiting my wide lens reached me. Let have some stats below:

Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX 11-16mm F2.8.

Approx. Focal length (35 mm equiv.): Nikon DX - 17-25 mm/Canon APS-C - 18-26 mm
Aperture: f/2.8 - f/22
Lens formula: 13 elements in 11 groups
Closest focus distance: 30 cm
Maximum repro. ratio: 1:11.6
Aperture blades: 9
Filter diameter: 77 mm
Dimensions (D x L): 84 x 89.2 mm
Weight: 560 g

Hohohoho.... let get 77mm filter and snap some kicking a*s photos!

Sharp or not? Need a field test.

Nice bokeh huh???

p/s: Busy calling Big Hair Brother for filter finding and test shot, will upload more teaser later.

Crystal Mosque at Islamic Civilization Park, Terengganu

2008-03-23T14:18:00.011+08:00

Islamic Civilization Park interactive journey of Islamic monuments of the world. It is an entertainment and educational destination. Located on Pulau Wan Man (Wan Man Island) in Kuala Terengganu. The 23-hectares Park is part of a project under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) to further boost Kuala Terengganu as a waterfront city.

Crystal Mosque is an icon for the Islamic Civilization Park and a new landmark for Kuala Terengganu beside Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah aka floating mosque.

The Islamic Civilization Park Complex has 21 replicas of famous historical Muslim complexes throughout the world, which is situated on 23 hectares of land. The main attractions of this theme park are five interactive monuments, namely Malaysia’s National Mosque, the Dome of the Rock of Palestine, the Sacred Mosque of Saudi Arabia (Masjidil Haram), Al-Hambra Citadel of Spain, Taj Mahal of India and more.

Crystal Mosque was officially opened by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on 8 February 2008. Anyway Islamic Civilisation Park currently still under construction. Just 5 monument open when I was there. I believe mid of this year it's fully ready for public. Enjoy some photo below.

Kuala Terengganu From Crystal Mosque

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.5.2

2008-02-12T15:54:00.000+08:00

Apple just released bundle update 10.5.2. It's about 341MB size. Currently downloading, will test it in 11 minutes. It's include all the update from 10.5.1 and bring some new features and updates to Stack, Time Machine, Menu. New bug fixes, for iCal, iChat, Mail, Finder, Printing PDF Preview, Safari and others also included. RAW support for DSLR Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D3, Nikon D300, and Sony Alpha DSLR-A700. iSync, adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones.

You can read full review on new features update on 10.5.2 at below sites:

MacWorld

ArsTechica

10.5.2: What's new, pussycat (and what isn't)

Read full update details at Apple site below:

Apple

You can get 10.5.2 from software update or download standalone installer here.

If you just finished 10.5.2 update, Apple also just release 'Leopard Graphics Update 1.0' which contains graphics drivers (specifically, an AltivecDVDDriver, IntelGMA drivers, ATI drivers, GeForce and NVDANV drivers, and a new OpenGL framework).

Now rebooting for new 10.5.2. Happy update!!!

p/s: Who's said Mac OS X no need to reboot?

OSX Cmd: Change Your Shell

2008-02-11T13:02:00.000+08:00

Mac OS X Leopard root shell default is, /bin/sh. My favourite is /bin/bash. Tried to change from /bin/sh to /bin/bash by editing /etc/passwd but it's not working. When su to root either via terminal or SSH remotely it's still used /etc/sh. Search for usermod command to change shell, as I always doing with others *NIX , but so far I couldn't find either usermod, useradd and userdel command on Mac OS X Leopard at all. Dang!!! Almost a week like a mad cat tried to figure out, at last found chsh command.

The chsh utility allows editing of the user database information associated with user or, by default, the current user. Type in below command to change your shell.

$ sudo chsh root

It will prompt you for password. Just put in your password.

Changing shell for root.
Password for root:

Then it will open up vi with below information. Move to 'Shell:/bin/sh line', and then press I to enter insert mode. Delete sh and replace it with bash. Then press , enter :wq and press to save file and quit.

# Changing user information for root.
# Use "passwd" to change the password.
##
# Open Directory: /Local/Default
##
Login: root
Uid [#]: 0
Gid [# or name]: 0
Generated uid: FFFFEEEE-DDDD-CCCC-BBBB-AAAA00000000
Home directory: /var/root
Shell: /bin/sh
Full Name: System Administrator
Office Location:
Office Phone:
Home Phone:

Issue below command to check root default shell, it should return you /bin/bash.

$ sudo echo $SHELL
Password:
/bin/bash

Dance Dance Revolution Universe: I Want Too!!!

2008-02-08T01:11:00.000+08:00

I remember last time, saw teenager playing Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) arcade version at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway, Malaysia. It's really fun. I would like to try but... Not enough strength to embarrass myself.

I got chance when me and my buddy Apai (did you remember this?) went to Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, US. I'm thinking that nobody know us, then we start playing and keep playing and keep playing without knowing that we got some audience at the back, embarrassing situation, just like two king kong dancing hulala. However it's worth and it's really.... really... FUN.

Today you can play DDR Universe from Konami at your living hall. DRR Universe is one of the top games in my long wishlist. And at last DDR Universe & DDR Universe 2 Asian Version for XBox 360 released. DDR Universe is designed to be a "universal" DDR—a game that everyone can play and enjoy, your ma, pa, grandma, grandpa, children, including the guy with two left feet. If you don't know what DDR Universe really is and how fun DDR Universe can be, just watch video below:

Trying DDR Universe For The First Time.

Enjoy some DDR Universe freak with some attitudes videos below:

DDR Universe Bumpy Wompy Edition

DDR Universe Too Much Kool-Aid Edition.

DDR Universe Mother Vs Daugther Edition

Time to have some FUN!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!

My 360 is back with a Blue Dragon attack!

2008-02-04T19:50:00.000+08:00

I just get back my precious Xbox 360. They said some component on motherboard loosen. Fuuuh.... thanks to 3 years warranty. Please no more red ring of death.

Almost a month play nothing, I just pickup game tittle Blue Dragon. Now I'm on 2nd DVD out of 3 and just wasted about 34 hours 17 minute 22 second of my precious time :-)

Blue Dragon is an RPG just for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was developed by Mistwalker and Artoon, based on a design by Final Fantasy series originator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Game play almost similar to Final Fantasy but a little bit simple. Blue Dragon got magic, spell, accessories and shadows (similar to guardian force in Final Fantasy) and tons of items . What Blue Dragon don't have compared to Final Fantasy is a weapon.

Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball Z creator is responsible to Blue Dragon character design. Most of character on Blue Dragon cute like Dragon Ball Z, but with more characteristic. You can see their believe on their face an action. The background details for every scene also excellent in showing culture for every ethnics exist in this game.

Nobuo Uematsu is a producer and composer for Blue Dragon soundtrack. Uematsu is the guy who also responsible for Final Fantasy music.

So far I'm half way on finishing this game, I will say Blue Dragon is fun as Final Fantasy but in their own way. It's feel like you playing RPG and at the same time also watching anime. It's might slow story line at the beginning, but, excellent graphics and outstanding musics made this game shining.

Blue Dragon trailer. Just watch it and feel it.

You can get more on game story, characters and shadow details, game videos and pictures at Blue Dragon Official Site. Below listed rating given to Blue Dragon by most game reviewer:

Gamepro.com: 4.4/5
Famitsu: 37/40
GameSpy.com: 4/5
Game Informer: 9/10
IGN.com: 7.9/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly: 6.83/10
1up: 6.5 /10
Eurogamer: 5 /10
Gamespot: 6.0/10
GameTrailers: 7.5 /10
X-Play: 3/5
Hyper: 88/100
Xbox World Australia: 81/100
Xbox 360 Achievements: 90/100

My Rating:

Game Story: 3/5
Game Music: 4/5
Game Graphic: 4/5
Game Play: 4/5
Fun Level: 4/5

OSX Cmd: Copy & Burn DVD/CD

2008-02-02T19:35:00.000+08:00

I would like to copy DVD/CD image on Mac OS X. I don't want to install something like Toast since it's also install other craps that I don't need. Disk Utility comes with Mac OS X doesn't create ISO images. It's only can burn it. Tried to find out if there another way to do this on Mac OS X (Leopard in my case) without need installation others application. I found below useful command.

Copy DVD/CD

Typical way to duplicate DVD/CD is to make an ISO image. ISO9600 compliant bit-wise copy of content of an optical disc that allow it to be used on any operating system. You can burn this ISO image to any number of disk and use them anywhere, on any machine.

On Mac OS X, an ISO image can be create using hdiutil command. Below command will automaticaly create .iso file name Photo2008.iso on current directory.

hdiutil makehybrid -o {image_name} {image_source}

eg: hdiutil makehybrid -o Photo2008 /Volume/Photo2008

Note: /Volume/Photo2008 is a DVD

You can also use additional options below.

hdiutil makehybrid -o {image_name} {image_source} [filesystem] -verbose

[filesystem]
Option: -hfs, -iso, -joliet, -udf

-verbose
To see all the operation details.

Burn DVD/CD

Following command to burns the image created to available optical media and verifies the burn.

hdiutil burn {image_source}

eg: hdiutil burn Photo2008.iso

You can also use additional options below.

hdiutil burn {image_source} -speed [x_speed] -testburn -noeject -noverifyburn -verbose

-speed
[x_speed] option: 1, 2, 3 ...., 8, max. This depend how many CPU your DVD/CD drive have. If specified 4, means the drive will be instructed burn at "4x speed". If no -speed specified "max" is the default speed.

-testburn
Don't turn on laser (laser defaults to on).

-noeject
Do not eject disc after burning. The default is to eject the disc.

-noverifyburn
Do not verify disc contents after burn. The default is to verify.

-verbose
To see all the operation details.

Music Album: Dreaming Out Loud (OneRepublic)

2008-02-02T01:29:00.000+08:00

Music time!!! I got couple of albums in my hand early this year; Allicia Keys: "As I Am", Britney Spears: "Blackout", Radiohead: "In Rainbows" and OneRepublic: "Dreaming Out Loud".

Just finished OneRepublic's Dreaming Out Loud, impressive album for new comers. OneRebuplic not new comers per say, they already famous on popular social networking site, MySpace, since 2006. I really surprise with impact that social networking site can give these day. I think, all this happen due to high exposure within the online community. And, this is one of the best way for new comers or small budget artist to advertise or show their talent.

Back to OneRepublic; This pop rock band formed in Colorado in 2003 with Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, backing vocals), Drew Brown (guitar), Tim Myers, and Eddie Fisher (drums) as a original team members. Later in 2007 Tim Myers left and replaced by Brent Kutzle (bass, cello). You can get more info on them by visit their official site or preview their song at OneRepublic MySpace page.

"Dreaming Out Loud" was their first full album. The album killer song is Apologize. Apologize lyrics is simple and straight forward. It is all about a lover who betrayed by the love one. When the love one realized and asking for sorry, the lover replied "It's too late to apologize". For me it's never late to anybody for apologize if it's bring peaceful to this world. More than half songs on this album are good and nice with the same simple straight forward lyrics. This album suitable for relax, who like simple thinking, have not too fast and no to slow, nice beats.

Album: Dreaming Out Loud

Artist: OneRepublic

Genre: Pop Rock

01. Say (All I Need) - 3/5

02. Mercy - 4/5

03. Stop And Stare - 3/5

04. Apologize - 5/5

05. Goodbye, Apathy - 4/5

06. All Fall Down - 3/5

07. Tyrant - 2/5

08. Prodigal - 3/5

09. Won't Stop - 2/5

10. All We Are - 4/5

11. Someone To Save You - 3/5

12. Come Home - 5/5

13. Apologize (Remix feat. Timbaland) - 5/5

Overall: Nice, simple, clean, and fresh. 4/5

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-01T05:05:00.000+08:00

I'm working tonight. Kind of busy, but still managed to have mini party (Ginger beer + Cheezel) with my teammate. Not to late I think:

Macbook Photos

2007-12-30T11:58:00.000+08:00

As promised below listed my beloved Macbook photos:

The Macbook box is minimal.

In the box.

On the left Macbook itself.
On the right are manual and accessories.

Macbook accesories:

[top lest] manual and Macbook restore DVDs (Mac OS X Leopard and iLife).
[top middle] 3 pin plug for Magsafe Power Adapter.
[top right] 60W Magsafe Power Adapter.
[bottom left] Apple Remote
[bottom right] 3 pin plug with extended power cord and in the middle is 2 pin plug for Magsafe Power Adapter.

Great design, 1.08 inches thin, 5.0 pound weight easy to bring anywhere, fit on most of backpack of briefcase. Durable polycarbonate outside shell enough for my rough and tumble of every life. Inside shell dirty magnet, so you might want to buy some protector. Macbook used magnetic latch. So nothing to jam opening or closing Macbook.

Ports on the left side:

Macsafe Power Adapter.
It's brilliant, its using a magnetic connection instead of physical one. So far I'm tripping over power cord more then 5 times. Thanks to it's no more notebook flying off the table.
Ethernet
Nothing I can say about this built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet. It's work as it's should.
DVI output
"mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video (requires adapters, sold separately)"
That what Apple say and that I what I get. Need to fork another RM100 just for the cable (see picture below). Damn expensive for such a short cable.
Firewire 400 (8 watts)
I didn't have any firewire device to test it.
2 x USB 2.0
At first I think it's wierd when both USB port is on the left side since majority users are righthanded and mouse should be attached on the right side. Since mac is desinged for artists and most of the artists are left handed, it's acceptable. I'm left handed anyway :P
Optical Digital/audio
I didn't test it yet.
Optical Digital/headphone
Sound came out from this port is good even on my cheapo Panasonic headphone.
Kesington cable lock slot
I think this slot should be at the back or the first in the row. It's distrubing other port when you slot in the Kesington cable.

8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) on th right side.

Keyboard and trackpad:

Here the uilt-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, and 4 arrow keys (inverted "T" arrangement). Might take some time to get use to it. Some people might not like it, but it's working fine for me.
Solid-state scrolling trackpad supports double-tap (it's mean you got right click), tap (left click), two-finger scrolling (move scroll bar vertical and horizontal), and drag capabilities (left click and hold).

Screen and camera:

Top of the screen is built-in iSight camera.
The screen is 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
Currently booting Mac OS X Leopard. Other software included iLife ’08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Front Row, Photo Booth and Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork ’08 (30-day trial)

External accessories:

On the left is Mighty Mouse. This laser-guided precision mouse working almost on any surface. But you might want to test it first before you buy. The design not comfortable with my hand.
On the right side is The Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter. I need this adapter to connect to an external VGA monitor or projector. I use this cable in both video mirroring and extended desktop modes for photos and videos editing.

So far everything working smooth for me even though bugs here an there on new Mac OS X Leopard. Looking forward for Apple update on those bugs.

No Posting For A Month?

2007-12-18T01:21:00.000+08:00

Why no posting for a month? Simple answer I been hell busy. Long answer, I been a lot of hell busy, because of:

I'm took RHCE exam. Busy doing some reading, testing and review the possible question. Finally, wasted, I'm just 4 point away to reach RHCE. So instead I just got RHCT. Better than nothing. Ok, don't want to talk more on this.... little frustrated :-(
My XBOX360 gave me ring of death. Busy finding a guy who can repair it with lower charges.
Busy searching good boarding school for my little genius brother.
Busy eating some fine steak... finally Colosseum Cafe won the best steak 2007.
Busy finishing books and magazines that I bought but doesn't have time to read.
Busy watching movies. I bought to much movies last moth.
Busy coughing... Since a month ago I'm not feeling very well. Could be because of weather changes... maybe.
I just bought Macbook (will post some pictures later). Busy doing stretch test to see how tough Macbook. Busy for searching and testing alternative software on Mac OS X. Also busy backup my iTune library, documents, photos collection and my precious e-book.
Busy restored my old Acer Aspire notebook for my sister. She need it for her thesis.

Last word... busy... busy... busy.... and busy..... thinking excuses for being busy.

BusyMan picture taken using Photo Booth on Macbook.

p/s: This is the first blog entry using Macbook :-)

Music Album: Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)

2007-11-11T17:39:00.000+08:00

Earlier this week I'm looking for easy listening and not too classic music. While in the music store I came across to Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" album poster. Gave a try for two songs on the spot, "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good". I'm like it.

Amy Winehouse is an English soul and jazz singer songwriter. She wan born in Southgte area of Enfield London. Beside won 7 awards, she also scores with drug, alcohol and bulimia problems. For her new single "Back to Black", she picked up the British Female Solo Artist award. The single is the title track from Amy’s new album “Back To Black”, which looks set to go triple –platinum in a matter of weeks with sales fast approaching the 900,000 mark.

Just finished listen to all tracks, below is my rating:

Album: Back To Black
Artist: Amy Winehouse

01. Rehab 5/5
02. You Know I'm No Good 5/5
03. Me & Mr Jones 3/5
04. Just Friends 2/5
05. Back To Black 4/5
06. Love Is A Losing Game 1/5
07. Tears Dry On Their Own 4/5
08. Wake Up Alone 1/5
09. Some Unholy War 2/5
10. He Can Only Hold Her 3/5

Overall: Nice jazz/soul album and worth for money ;-) 3/5

My Songs Library: Hilarie, Please Don't Leave Me!

2007-11-10T18:10:00.000+08:00

Couples of month ago, my 40GB songs collection gone, after my hard disk crash. I felt like Hilarie Ross Burton just dump me without notice.

Since the tragedy, I start with fresh new songs for my collection. Today, in my iTune I have got:

965 songs = 2.7 days party = 4.73GB need to be backup

It's just 11.82% compared to previous collection. Then I curios to know which song I played most... and the award goes to......

Song: Away From The Sun
Album: Away From The Sun
Artist: 3 Doors Down

It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
Can anyone tell what I've done
I missed the life
I missed the colors of the world
Can anyone tell where I am

'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun again
Away from the sun again

I'm over this
I'm tired of living in the dark
Can anyone see me down here
The feeling's gone
There's nothing left to lift me up
Back into the world I've known

'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me
To find my way back into the arms
That care about the ones like me
I'm so far down, away from the sun again

It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
And now I can't tell what I've done

And now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me

'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun
That shines to light the way for me
To find my way back into the arms
That care about the ones like me
I'm so far down, away from the sun again

p/s: I'm not sure why I'm keep playing this song... I think I should screening my life back....

Audio Book: BMW Audio Book

2007-11-10T14:31:00.000+08:00

BMW and Random House brings you four BMW Audio Book to download for free. It's a uniqe series of specially- commissioned short stories showcasing the work of some of the finest contemporary writing talent. So you can download and listen to them on your MP3 player, your laptop or ideally, in the car. Below is the summary of the books:

Beautiful Ride audio book by Don Winslow

Back then he was looking at a fat IPO and a boat. Back then he was rich. Back then he had a condo overlooking the ocean, a wife, and had just bought the BMW Z4 convertible. Cobalt blue, like the ocean on a clean, clear day in early spring. Now what he has left is the car. Ted's a real estate investor in Laguna Beach, California. He's been kicked out by his soon-to-be ex wife, his assets have been frozen by the IRS, he's holding on to his Beemer, but the car company's repo men want it back, and he's living in a tent. He's falling through the cracks of the 'Gold Coast' life, until he turns to money-laundering to get back in the game. Then things get worse...
Master Of The Storm audio book by James Flint

This is the story of a man who finds himself arriving at exactly the same service station over and over again. He leaves, he drives away, but every time he tries to exit the motorway he discovers that he’s back in the same Happy Break. Who is he? Where has he come from? What is he running from? What exactly damaged the wing in his car while he was tuning the radio? And who is the hitchhiker he stops to pick up?
The Debt audio book by Simon Kernick

Boxer, Billy, needs to pay off his errant cousin’s vast gambling debts to local loan shark, Jim ‘The Crim’ Sneddon. However, he’s short and is forced at gunpoint to use his pride and joy, a brand new BMW 7 Series to make up the total. He is determined to get it back. But, to do so he has to fight his way past Jim’The Crim’s’ goons, an errant MP and a Slovakian hostess.
Cold Cold Heart audio book by Karin Slaughter

PARENTAL WARNING: Some content in this story is unsuitable for young children. For twenty years, Pam did her duty as loyal, compliant wife. She and John shared their friends, their careers, and a son - for richer for poorer, for better for worse. Until the day tragedy struck their family and John betrayed his wife in the most public of ways, walking away to a lucrative new life. For three years John becomes richer while Pam becomes poorer; John's life becomes increasingly better while Pam's becomes worse. But then a reversal of fortune brings them back together, and Pam gets the chance for a revenge John could never have dreamt of ...

Howto: Get iTune Album Cover For Without iTune Store Account

2007-11-08T13:20:00.000+08:00

You need to have an account if you would like to get album artwork from iTune Store. To register need a credit card information. It's didn't make sense for me to register because I can't buy music from iTune Store since they doesn't have present here in Asia. One more thing not everybody got credit card.

My friend always ask me how do I get all the artwork for the album in my iTune. Do I Google it one by one??? Naaaaahh..... I'm not that crazy.... Here my secret, art4itune.com.

Export song list as plain text from iTunes:
File > Export... then select 'Save as type: Plain Text files'
Upload song list at art4itune.com.
art4itune.com will return album covers and track listings for your iTunes mucic collection!
Drag and drop the album covers onto the image box in iTunes (how to do this).

Anyway thank to the guy who develop the site. You save a lot of my time ;)

Howto: Convert AAC/MP3 Files to Audiobook In iTune

2007-11-08T03:36:00.000+08:00

Why you would like to convert podcast/others audio file to audiobook? iTune will remember where you left off on your audiobook, so it will always start where you want it to.

List/show audiobook under library by:
- Edit->Preferences
- Select General tab
- Check box Show: Audiobooks
If your source file in MP3, WMA & etc. format, please convert to AAC (.m4a) first.
Rename extension desire AAC track, .m4a to .m4b.
Import new .m4b file to iTune.
Then it's should listed under audiobook library.

Macbook Santa Rosa Confirmed!

2007-11-01T22:33:00.000+08:00

New Santa Rosa Macbook already in Apple Store. Check Macbook new spec below or check yourself at Apple Store Online US or Singapore.

-> New Santa Rosa MacBooks in Apple Stores [Confirmed] from Mac Rumors
-> Macbook Spec at Apple.com

I believe in a week should be here in Malaysia. After 3 months waiting for Mac OS X Leopard , then Apple just upgrade Macbook to Santa Rosa, I definitely will get one...

(MB062LL/B) 2.2GHz MacBook
- 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- L2 Cache 4MB shared
- System Bus 800MHz
- Memory 1GB (two 512MB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB
- HD 120GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
- 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- Graphics Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory*+
- Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
- One FireWire 400 port (8 watts)
- Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
- Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)4
- Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
- Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet

*Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 144MB. An additional 16MB is required when using an external display.
+Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors