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This is the way to make the Mac desktop “more cool”

February 4th, 2010

Besides touchscreen, 3D desktop is also a way to make the Mac desktop better. BumpTop, the famous 3D desktop software from Windows, has released the Mac version recently. Free and pro versions at US$29 are available. I have played the Pro version for a few days and it changes the way we think about the OS desktops.

It takes a few minutes to wait for the BumpTop to load. The 3D virtual desktop runs smoothly on my old 13″ MacBook. It is not that hard to get started. You can just right click and choose  to “pile by type” to make the desktop quickly organized like pictured above. This is may be the main reason to use BumpTop. When you put the mouse near the items, you can easily enlarge them or drag them to anywhere you want. You may also highlight those items to pile them.

After those items are piled, how can we open them? It can be done by double-clicking the item. You may also find the files easily by pressing any keys. It will highlight those items. In this virtual 3D desktop, you can also put the notes or photos on the virtual wall. In the preference, BumpTop allows to set different wallpapers for different parts.

First look: The so-called Windows XP-like and Ubuntu 9.1 based Ylmf OS

December 28th, 2009

I saw the news at Download Squad 2 days ago about the Ylmf OS. It seems the Ubuntu 9.1 based Ylmf OS looks exactly the same as Windows XP when you look at the promotion materials at their homepage. The truth is that Ylmf OS took the real picture of Windows XP. But, the Ylmf OS itself does not really look like that on the website. Yes. It looks similar to the Windows XP (especially the login page), I should say.

After you have downloaded the Ylmf OS, you can use it as Live CD or install the OS to the hard drive. It is easy to install. It provides OpenOffice, Firefox and FileZilla so you can almost use it instantly. Take a look of the icons of OpenOffice. It uses the same icons like Microsoft Office.

Ylmf OS is pretty easy to use. It provides everything we need for the standard PC. After I have been using it for a while, I think Ylmf OS still feels like the Ubuntu. No doubt the Windows XP theme will catch the attention of beginners, but the reasons why those beginners do not want to switch to Linux is because the software and the way to use the PC. Also, I don’t encourage copying others. I would prefer Ylmf OS advertise on how it is easy to use rather than saying “I look like Windows XP”.

It only provides Simplified Chinese as the default language. I have tried to change it in the system settings to “Chinese (Singapore)” and some menu turns to English. If you are not familiar with Chinese but want to know more about how it looks, hope the following gallery will help.

Google Chrome for Mac is now official in beta: what we love and hate

December 9th, 2009

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Google Chrome for Mac is now officially available to download as the beta. Unlike the previous Google Chromium for Mac beta and test build versions, this official one is definitely better. Google Chrome for Mac beta launches a little bit faster than Firefox. I also love the blazing speed of loading webpages in Chrome. It has DNS pre-fetching built-in to improve the performance. Chrome won’t be crashed entirely when Flash is crashed. This is important and saves me from many troubles. In general, Chrome is very stable.

I noticed there are nice effects when I close or open new tabs. There are not many things you can found in preferences, but I love Chrome can save all the pages and tabs I opened, and re-open it at the next time. Phishing and malware protection engine is also available.Private browsing mode is presented as “Incogniton Window” for browsing secret websites.

You can import settings from Firefox and Safari. I can almost switch to Google Chrome but unfortunately there are still some errors during the test. Chrome for Mac window is suddenly not at the front while browsing some specific pages. It could be trouble I can’t click anything at this situation.Watch high definition videos seems slower than that of Firefox, also. Despite these 2 problems, I would say just go and install Chrome for Mac. You will love it. It’s time to try something new and fast.

Simple, fast and nice interface complete: Tweetie for Mac review

April 21st, 2009

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I thought Seesmic desktop is good enough for users. There are something better release recently: Tweetie for Mac. In iPhone, Tweetie has a nice interface. In Mac, Tweetie also have the good quality. It loads quicker than Seesmic and TweetDeck. The interface is similar to the iPhone version. Very simple and easy to get started.

More after the break.

» Read more: Simple, fast and nice interface complete: Tweetie for Mac review

With Video: Innovative or big mistake? Unboxing the new iPod Shuffle

March 19th, 2009

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Lots of journalists and bloggers said the new iPod Shuffle is a big mistake. The reason is that the iPod Shuffle won’t have any controls on the device itself, they are all on the earphone. I got the time to try the new shuffle, and found that the VoiceOver feature is better than expected.

I will unbox the iPod Shuffle, take a look of the iTunes setup and VoiceOver Kit. I will also test whether iPod Shuffle can speak foul languages. It’s all after the break. Videos are also included but sorry for the bad quality.

» Read more: With Video: Innovative or big mistake? Unboxing the new iPod Shuffle

Review: Windows Mobile 6.5 user interface still needs improvements

March 10th, 2009

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Microsoft has announced Windows Mobile 6.5 during the Mobile World Congress. It will be available in most of the smartphone very soon. I have the chance to try the Windows Mobile 6.5 recently.

Nokia, Palm and BlackBerry have introduced a very nice touch OS. They have considered about the interface design. It is nice to see Windows Mobile also have improvements. Let’s take a look.

» Read more: Review: Windows Mobile 6.5 user interface still needs improvements

Review: Reasons why Google Android is good, but still has a long way to go

October 28th, 2008

Finally I can sit down and have a chance to try the first Google Android powered phone: T-Mobile G1. The QWERTY keyboard is easy to type. Track ball makes selecting items quickly. And the touch screen is pretty responsive. The hardware is not the focus, it’s all about the Android. After having fun with the exciting new system, I think it’s good. But, it still has a very long way to go. It’s the first completely open source OS on the mobile devices, but there are some features that should come in first place. You don’t want to install lots of stuff after buying it, right?

Take a look of the screen shots and reasons after the break.

» Read more: Review: Reasons why Google Android is good, but still has a long way to go

Improved. Livestation have more official partners and over 1000 user channels

October 6th, 2008

It’s been a long time ago that I played Livestation. Livestation is a new online television software which provides live channels. In the past, it only has a few channels to choose, and the software is not cross platform. The reason why I checked back recently because I received an email saying Livestation has 7 new partner channels.

Now, Livestation is improved a lot. I mean, it is improved really a lot. The software is now cross platform which supports Windows, Mac and also Linux. Livestation also have big channels like BBC, Bloomberg, DW-TV, France 24, etc as partner. They provide very high quality video quality for users. I can watch all the channels all day long.

More after the break.

» Read more: Improved. Livestation have more official partners and over 1000 user channels

First look of Google browser: Chrome

September 3rd, 2008

Google’s own browser Google Chrome beta is released. It is currently only for Windows XP/Vista. The new browser is really fresh and loads webpages quick. After downloading the installation file and complete all the steps required, I can start to surf the web. You can also choose to import bookmarks from Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome offers a thumbnail tab view page similar to Opera. You can view all the most visited page by the time you start the browser. More experience after the break.

» Read more: First look of Google browser: Chrome

review: WordPress 2.5 experience

March 30th, 2008

I have just upgraded the site to WordPress 2.5, and now having fun with that. It’s been a huge update. I found that it is absolutely amazing while using it. Upgrading is not that hard. And it seems all the existing plug-in can still be used. For readers, you may not notice the difference on the front page, but it definitely looks great in the admin panel.

» Read more: review: WordPress 2.5 experience