DreamPlus Studio Blog

MacHeist nanoBundle – 6 Top Apps for FREE!

tysoh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:54 +0000

MacHeist is currently providing this free nanoBundle consisting of 6 different apps for your Mac. It’s totally free (Usual price: USD 154). However, you have 3 days left only, get it fast today! Following are the 6 different apps and its descriptions:

ShoveBox – Catch all the little scraps of information that you can’t immediately act on, but don’t want to forget. ShoveBox sits up in your menu bar, waiting for you to drag in text, images, URLs, and more.
WriteRoom – A simple, but powerful app that provides you with a distraction-free writing environment. WriteRoom does one main thing and does it incredibly well: It’s all about writing…
Twitterific – An exquisite app that enables you to make the most out of your Twitter experience. It has a clean user interface that’s designed to take up little of your precious desktop space.
TinyGrab – A simple, powerful app that enables you to quickly share screenshots of everything on your Mac.
Hordes of Orcs – A Tower Defense strategy game where you build walls and towers to defend your village from orcs gone rogue.
Mariner Write – A fast, streamlined word processor that’s useful for everyone… professional writers, educators, students, casual computer users, and everyone in-between. It has a simple, elegant user interface so that you can create beautiful documents the very first time you start using it.

StarHub to bring iPhone to customers in Singapore

tysoh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:42:06 +0000

It’s finally here. Not long ago, Mobile One announces that it will sell iPhone later this year, and now its StarHub’s turn. The telecommunications company said on Monday it looks forward to offering the iPhone and a range of tailored service plans to its customers. It added that more information on pricing and availability dates will be released in due course.

SingTel began offering Apple’s third generation network iPhones late last year. Since then, with the exclusive agreement, SingTel has sold more than 100,000 iPhones.

Source: StarHub Official Press

New Experimental 3D Work unveiling this December

tysoh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:56:24 +0000

It has been nearly a year since my last published work in DreamPlus Studio, this is due to my academic load in school, its getting busier each semester and I have no choice, but to concentrate more on my studies. However, in this semester, I have managed to choose a subject I really enjoyed, its called ‘Computer Graphics and Applications’. As for the lab assignment part, we are required to design our own 3D house by using VRML (Virtual Reality Markup language), and I have came out with this ‘Eco-Friendly’ house concept. Simple and Green, that’s basically the idea behind. In order to polish the house a bit more, I will only unveil the house design this coming December, whereby all the exams are over by then…

Wallpaper Clocks by Vladstudio (Mac + PC)

tysoh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:33:52 +0000

Recently, while I was browsing the web to look for new interesting wallpapers to decorate my computer desktop, and happen to come across this site called Vladstudio.com. All the wallpapers are designed exclusively for the site, and by the author himself, some of them are available for free downloads, while those older design will require you to purchase either a life-time, 3-months or 1-year subscription to gain access. Nevertheless, its worthwhile to visit the site, and give it a try!

Other than the wallpapers, there is a category called Wallpaper Clocks, whereby the desktop wallpaper will refresh itself every minute to keep your time and date precise as well as stylish in many artistic ways! Its kinda cool. However, before using the wallpaper clocks, you will need to install a program, which is available here to download. Enjoy…

DreamPlus Showcase updates

tysoh — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:10:49 +0000

Yes, its back in PDF format! Hopefully, this will provide an even easier way for the users to browse through all the works presented in images (requires Adobe Reader 9 and above). Instead of clicking through the browser back and forth, the users can just download the PDF file, and choose to view it later. For any future new projects, that I would like to showcase, they will be filed under this PDF document, in a way it helps me to save alot of time too.

Getting Microsoft software from MSDNAA

tysoh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:19:58 +0000

If you are a Singaporean student, and would like to look for most of the legal software (excluding Microsoft Office) from Microsoft, here is the good news, you might want to check out if your school has been enrolled in this MSDNAA (MSDN Academic Alliance) program. Some of the new software such as Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit are readily available for you to download). However, each student is entitled to one license per software. For NTU students, you might want to visit this site straight away, and get your login account from Lee Choi Wah (through NTU Webmail). You should be able to receive your login account to MSDNAA pretty soon… Enjoy!

Solving BSOD problem after installing Windows 7 on iMac 24″ (white)

tysoh — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:00:24 +0000

After upgrading my iMac 24″ (white) from Win Vista to Win 7, I seem to have problem booting into the OS (BSOD), after its first reboot. However, I have discovered the following solution below and solve the BSOD problem (due to the graphics card problem), you may want to try it out if you have got the same problem as me:

After the BSOD, allow the iMac to restart with the Win7 install DVD in. You will get a message saying press any key to boot from CD, do this and you will go back in to the Win7 Installer.
Select you country and click next but don’t click the “install now” button, instead click Repair My Computer. You will be presented with a list (after some time) of windows installs on the iMac select the one you just did.
From the Repair options presented select command prompt navigate to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder by typing
c:
cd windows
cd system32
cd drivers
Rename the broken driver file by typing: ren nvlddmkm.sys nvlddmkm.old
Close the command prompt and restart the computer, you should be able to continue with the setup. (Remember to download the latest Graphics Driver for Win 7 after first boot in)

Apple 20.09.2009 Mac Hardware Updates

tysoh — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:12:55 +0000

As expected from many previous online rumours, Apple has refreshes its Mac Hardware line, following are the updates round-up:

New 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs with a true 16 x 9 HD aspect ratio. All of the new iMacs can be loaded with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 2 TB of storage. The top-of-the range can be configured with Intel Core i7 quad processor 2.8GHZ and ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card
New mouse which is called the ‘Magic Mouse’. This mouse will bring Multi-Touch capabilities to desktop Macs for the first time, something that the iPhone has had since its release in June 2007 and the MacBook Air since it was released in February 2008. It loses the scroll ball found on the Mighty Mouse, but adds support for scrolling gestures. This mouse is also wireless, using Bluetooth, and has a four month battery life. (Come standard with all iMac models).
New Unibody Macbook with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life.
Updated Mac mini line with faster processor and more ram, 2.26GHz, 2.53GHz, or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
New Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server. Instead of a standard SuperDrive, there are two 500GB hard drives that give you all the power and storage you need to help your group work more efficiently than ever.
New Apple Remote that has aluminum niceness and works with the iPhone, iPods with the Universal Dock, and iMacs introduced since 2005 that have a built-in infrared receiver.
Updated Airport Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule. Both are now certified to the 802.11n specification (not draft-n), and along with this certification come improvements in antenna design, which promises 50% better Wi-Fi performance and 25% better range.

Windows 7 available WorldWide 22/Oct – but many Windows users still not happy…

tysoh — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:36:48 +0000

So, its finally coming, just a few more days to go… Its the same old question the Windows users will be asking, should I upgrade or not? According to many reviews online, its definitely going to be better than Vista, in terms of the new task bar, speed and stability. However, in terms of the pricing wise, its not going to be appealing for majority consumers. Some people are saying why should we pay for the mistakes made by Microsoft when they released Vista 2 years back? And when it comes to the upgrade path for XP users, many of them are complaining no upgrade option is available for them, and they can only use the custom install (clean install), and everything will be wiped out.

So that’s the latest strategy by Microsoft to totally ignore the XP users (not providing upgrade option), and expected the current Vista users to pay for another premier price to get Windows 7. Regardless of all these complains and etc., I believe Microsoft will still be doing very good for this new OS, as their support for previous OS (XP and Vista) will slowly diminished.

“THIS IS IT” – The new inspiration to be inveiled soon

tysoh — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:16:55 +0000

NEW YORK, NY – At the stroke of 12 a.m. (midnight) EST on October 12th, a never-before released song from Michael Jackson – a single entitled “This Is It” – will be unveiled to the world on www.MichaelJackson.com. ”This Is It,” a brand new song, marks yet another exciting moment in music history for one of the world’s most revered artists; featuring backing vocals by Michael’s brothers The Jacksons, the song plays during the closing sequence of Sony Pictures’ forthcoming film MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT and is on the 2-disc CD set Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which is the stand-alone companion to the motion picture. The single artwork – a new photo of Michael taken recently at his Staples Center rehearsals – will also be disclosed.

Later this month, Sony Music Entertainment’s Columbia/Epic Label Group will release the two-disc album Michael Jackson’s This Is It internationally on October 26th and North America on October 27th to coincide with the worldwide release of the motion picture, which arrives in theaters on October 28th and runs for a limited two-week engagement.

Disc one features the original album masters of some of Michael’s biggest hits such as “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” ”Human Nature,” and “Thriller” arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film. The disc ends with two versions of “This Is It,” the original and an orchestral version. “This Is It” is featured in the film’s closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael’s brothers, the Jacksons.

Disc two offers fans a rare listen to the early demo versions of classics “She’s Out Of My Life,” “Wanna Be Startin’,” “Somethin’,” and “Beat It.” This disc also features a recently discovered spoken word poem from Michael Jackson entitled “Planet Earth.”

Source: MichaelJackson.com

Last Quarter of 2009 – Continue to stay positive!

tysoh — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:25:11 +0000

Just less than 3 months to 2010, and how are you doing so far for this year? What have you achieve? This has always been a question I like to ask myself, it’s quite an important question for me, as it can help to reflect on the things I have been doing in the past. Other than focusing more on my school projects recently, I have been observing things that happen around me too, be it good or bad, pressure or not pressure, its just part and parcel, I have been learning to accept all of them, and move on with my life, every failure or obstacles I met, will eventually be over, and I know they can help me to become stronger (mentally), more independent and most importantly, more focus. I wouldn’t want to lost myself in the big ocean, and don’t know what to do next. Of course, I know that I’m not all alone, I really appreciate those people who have help me so far, be it advices or other forms of help, thay are very important to me. Hopefully, all of us will be doing better for the coming days, months or even years… Just continue to stay positive!

“Imagination is more important than Knowledge” – by Albert Einstein

tysoh — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:42:25 +0000

When I saw this quote in a book on Branding, I couldn’t agree more on this words from Albert Einstein. With today’s society, it’s not hard to see that there are more and more people with higher education, it’s a very competitive world.

Most people often think that knowledge is very important, because it can help us to understand more, and therefore can pursue more. I do not deny this, however as I have mentioned earlier, there are just too many people with the same amount of knowledge, I often think that knowledge can be a constraint at times, knowledge will often cause a person to stay in their respective comfort zones, and think that what they do is right, and others are wrong. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking everyone to move away from their comfort zones, staying in comfort zones is good, as the percentage of making sure everything works correctly is higher).

What I’m trying to say here, is to think broader, with a more open mind set. We should learn to imagine, imagination can be really powerful, it can often make impossibles possible. Although, sometimes its really beyond us, but we should still continue to imagine. You will be surprise to realize later that imagination can actually help to bring knowledge to an even higher level…

One good example from myself is that, last time I used to dream of having my own website, therefore in 2003, I have decided to start learning about XHTML/CSS and other graphic editing software, and after having my own site, I thought that should be good enough. But, later when I started receiving web design requests from other people, I was inspired by this movement, and started imagine how great if I can transform my passion for web design, into some sort of business model, and I can earn some income too. And from there, you can see how imagination can help to bring knowledge to the next level.

Google Sync services now with Gmail Contacts, Google Calendar and Gmail support

tysoh — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:10:45 +0000

Looking for an alternative services similar to Apple’s MobileMe? You may want to consider Google Sync, which is totally free of charge too. Although it doesn’t include some of the MobileMe’s exclusive services (e.g. MobileMe gallery, online disk storage space, cloud data backup, and Find My iPhone and other remote anti-theft and security features). However, overall it’s still a pleasant experience using the Google push service, personally I am using it for my iPhone contacts, and so far its working alright, pretty easy to set-up too.

News source abstracted from Google Mobile Blog
Earlier this year, Google has launched Google Sync which allows you to synchronize your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar with your iPhone, Windows Mobile, and S60 devices. Today, they are adding Gmail support to Google Sync for iPhone, iPod Touch and Windows Mobile devices.

Using Google Sync, you can now get your Gmail messages pushed directly to your phone. Having an over-the-air, always-on connection means that your inbox is up to date, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Sync works with your phone’s native email application so there’s no additional software needed. Only interested in syncing your Gmail, but not your Calendar? Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three.

News Source: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/
Google Sync Official Site: http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sync.html

HTML 5 now supported in more major browsers

tysoh — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:05:46 +0000

Although the projected date for the final version of HTML 5, will only be completed in 2012. However, currently there are already more and more support for HTML 5 features, starting to appear in many major browsers, such as IE, Opera, Safari, Firefox, Chrome and etc. So, have you plan to start experimenting with HTML 5, and testing them out? Wikipedia has an article published, detailing the comparison of layout engines (HTML 5) used by the various browsers. You can make use of the comparison chart, to decide which HTML 5 features to try out now, which can be supported by most of the layout rendering engines.

Below are some other useful links for HTML 5:

Zune HD’s User Interface – a class of its own

tysoh — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:11:48 +0000

Frankly speaking, since Apple debuted the iPod in 2001 and iPhone in 2007, I have not really seen any other portable device designed with a UI, with a look and feel of its kind, and most importantly it must be easy to navigate. And I used to think that Microsoft cannot come out with any nice UI (because of its plain boring Windows), and this time round, after looking at the brand new Zune HD’s UI, I’m pretty impressed by its simplicity, with a artistic touch to it. The UI, together with the industrial, luxurious, angular and slim design look of Zune HD, really makes the device unique to its kind. Just watch the video demo below, and you will know what I mean. (Note: Zune HD is available in US market only)