Thursday, April 01, 2010

Holy Week blues

Holy Weeks for me have always been memorable and very introspective. Since college, which is about an eon ago, I and my family always visit different churches in Metro Manila. It's our way of connecting to the One above and also spending quality times together. My memory of those times are still very vivid and they still make me melancholic.

A lot of things have changed. I miss the simplicity of my life, i miss my life with my family. It is truly the most raw and simplest of things and moments that linger and touches us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, February 19, 2010

Lacie's Philippe Starck External HD

You know who Philippe Starck is, right? If not, well, he's just THE man responsible for putting the New Design style at the forefront of consumer consciousness. His designs range from spectacular interior designs to mass produced consumer goods like chairs, tables, watches, motorbikes and yes, even toothbrushes. Chances are, even if you are not aware of him, you have seen and admired one or many of his works and even the products that have been inspired by his original designs (yes, imitation).

And now Starck has another design to boot. This time, an external Hard Disk Drive for Lacie. While it may not be the fastest HD in the market, you can't deny that it's just beautiful and if you're wondering about the price, expect to pay a premium on a Starck-designed product.




Comes in 320GB and 500GB flavors. Embedded USB 2.0 cable with automatic back-up software.

The LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive is the result of a collaboration between LaCie and world-famous designer Philippe Starck. Its sturdy 2mm of aluminum casing keeps the LaCie Starck from overheating, and helps it to be very resistant, enhancing its overall dependability. The polished aluminum exterior is stylish and tough, but also light enough to transport, making the LaCie Starck both completely chic and completely mobile. A convenient aspect of the LaCie Starck is its embedded USB cable, which allows you to maximize its compact nature and portability. It’s easy to extract your cable, as well as coil it back inside of the drive. In addition, it guarantees that you’ll never lose your USB cable—a feature that underscores Philippe Starck’s commitment to practical and usable design.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

iWant.

These are exciting times for a gadget geek (like me); a lot of great things are being released and will soon be released in the months to come... and just when I told myself to stop lusting for more gadgets because it isn't healthy to my bank account, here comes new things that *enraptures* me...

#1 Windows Phone 7 Series + HTC


Forget the long and awkward name. This new smartphone OS is just too revolutionary to ignore. And as much as i love my iPhone3Gs, WP7s just makes it so dated. I am gearing to get this when it comes out hopefully before the year ends. And I hope HTC would release a device worthy of this amazing new OS from Microsoft; well, judging from the current HTC portfolio, it looks like I, and a lot others, will not be disappointed.

#2 HTC Desire with Android


I know. I don't need this. I have my iPhone 3Gs and when WP7s comes out, I am sure to get it. But one can just *want* right? While i love the look of the HTC Legend more with all its unibody awesomeness, this baby just makes it more desirable because of its beefier processor. Plus of course it's running the latest Android 2.1 OS which i must say just makes one go to geek-heaven.

#3 Sony DSC-TX5


When it comes to capable digital cameras, I have always been a Sony fan. I have had three Sony DSC's and though I don't have one right now as I have donated it to my sister, all of my Sony cameras have been very reliable. And while I am itching to upgrade to a DSLR or maybe a very good  point-of-shoot, this one is very, very tempting.

The Sony DSC-TX5 is one very capable digital camera packed with a 10.2 megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS low light sensor, is waterproof and shock resistant. Of course, I still have to consult my partner whether this is the one to get or an entry-level Nikon DSLR.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Preparing to watch...


New York, I Love You starring Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Rachel Bilson, Blake Lively, Orlando Bloom and a bunch of other beautiful people.

New York, I Love You is a collective work of eleven short films, with each segment running around 10 minutes long. It looks like a good, light-hearted movie and a perfect conclusion for a good weekend (i mostly just sleep during the weekends). Hopefully, it doesn't disappoint.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Which smartphone to buy?

I'm gearing to buy a new smartphone in the next few days and I'm twisted between the iPhone 3Gs and the HTC HD2. Both are beautiful and powerful. The features are almost the same, so I'm confused and twisted. What to choose?

Beautiful...

Anne Curtis is just so beautiful (and intelligent too). My kind of girl.


It's National Geographic's 122nd Birthday

One of my fondest memories about my father was when he shared to me his collection of National Geographic magazines. It was back in the mid-80's and i'm still a kid, not more than 8-years old. I have that moment frozen in the cloud of my memories. That one moment stirred my love for reading. That one moment showed to me how incredible the world is. 

So National Geographic has been integral in how i saw the world; on how i perceive it until now. National Geographic is a personal icon. And even if i did not continue my father's subscription to the magazine, I have become addicted to the NGC (Thank you for television!).

But of course, nothing compares to that exciting sensation of flipping through the pages of a physical, tangible magazine and devouring all the pictures, all those amazing photographs that continue to reflect how our world continues to evolve.

Below are some of the covers (compiled and featured by Wired) to celebrate National Geographic Society's 122nd Anniversary yesterday, January 27. 

From the article:
The National Geographic Society celebrates its 122nd anniversary on Jan. 27. The first issue of the magazine was published nine months later in 1888. Though the early issues had rather drab academic-looking covers, by 1959 they were consistently adorned with eye-catching art and photos.

Here we’ve collected some of our favorite covers from 1959 to 2000, including a penguin with a high-tech backpack, a self-portrait by Koko the gorilla and a shark attack.










Inspiration Showcase #3



As a lover of many forms of visual communication, I always find inspiration from other artist's work among many others. When i see an an art work or a design, i study it and try to understand its story. I believe that every art work, in whatever form tells a story, if it doesn't, then the purpose of the work is defeated. Because a work of art is suppose to communicate something; its supposed to rouse a certain spark of life in the spectator.

It is in this breadth that i have compiled some works that i have come across in the past weeks that i found to be in this category; works that not only reflect a distinct concept but are innovative, affecting and beautiful.












Please feel free contribute your own inspiring art works/videos either through email or via twitter (twitter.com/johnluarca). Please put #Inspiration" in the subject line or before your Twitter message.

Underwhelmed about the iPad

Except for the iBooks feature of Apple's iPad, the apparently "oh that's fast" CPU speed and the crazy thin body, there's nothing truly surprising about the device.

I think Apple is still not giving us all the iPad's power just yet though. I think Steve and his boys are still cooking up something. I hope so. Because it's a little disappointing, really.

In the meantime, I think the iPad looks like a Digital Photo Frame. Seriously.


+

=


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Man in the arena

Watched Invictus a few days ago. Good movie. Morgan Freeman is good.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

What i think about Apple's latest creation, the iPad



Obviously, this is not a hands-on review. These are my first impressions while tuned in to Apple's much-hyped launch of its latest creation, the iPad, Cupertino's version of the tablet.

The iPad is the culmination of Apple and Steve's hard work and still-to-be-proven-successful attempt to combine the powers of the iPod, the iPhone, the Netbook and Kindle. The iPad features a 9.7-inch capacitive multitouch display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an accelerometer, compass, speaker and mic. This is also the first device to have the "Apple A4" processor. Battery life is declared to be at 10-hours.

Aside from the expected and "normal" features common to the iPod Touch and iPhone like multimedia capabilities and internet, the iPad can also play games (more efficiently than the iPod Touch and the iPhone i suspect) and run various applications (again, much better than its smaller touch siblings). It also has iWork for those quick and on-the-go office needs.

But what excites me though about the iPad is the iBooks, the iPad's eBook (ummm, no its ePub for Apple) reader. I think this will be what's "huge" in this device. I mean, i don't see it appealing to those people who already have iPod's and iPhone's (Apple fanboys aside) but to those who love to read, like me (hahaha).

What i like about the iPad...
1. Large enough screen to watch a movie decently.
2. Large enough screen and power to handle cool games (not my cup of tea though, but still a +).
3. Battery life; 10 hours and what (?) a month on standby?
4. iWork (but with the portable keyboard accessory; sorry Apple i don't type as accurately as I would hope on touchscreens for long documents).
5. iBooks (this is biggest seller among all the features to me).

What i DON't like about it...
1. The name. C'mon Apple! iPad?
2. The design. Not too enamored by the design, yes, its crazy thin, but the screen just looks awkward to me. It doesn't look seamless. But thats just me.
3. No 3G, well, if you want 3G and Wi-Fi, it'll cost you more.
4. The price. $829 for a full-packed (wi-fi+3G, 64GB) iPad? Seriously.

My verdict...
I'm underwhelmed.
Related Posts with Thumbnails