MMX

 

The year in blogging & other stuff.

 

Posts: 35 
Comments: 574
Most commented – 225 comments: New Adsl prices: -Rs 100 & My.T: Speed DOUBLE!!!

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2010 wasn't a great year due to a massive drop in posts. Well, doing the last year at UOM & having to devote time to final year project, that was to be expected.

 

Reviews

The most significant thing for me was indeed the reviews. What’s the use of being a blogger if all your “reviews” are based on other reviews & crappy YouTube videos. Well, in 2010, that finally changed. I became a proper tech blogger. I had my first hands-on with some trial hardware. & not just any hardware. Smartphones!
So big thanks to WOMWorld Nokia for the devices & gifts. Special thanks to @Rwishi for introducing me & some other Mauritian tweeps/bloggers to WOMWorld.
The devices were the resistive touchscreen Qwerty slider the Nokia N97, the portrait Qwerty Swiss knife Nokia E72 & the megapixel monster, the Nokia N8.

Nokia N97:

• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The Software
• Part 3 - Multimedia & Apps
• Part 4 – Camera & Wrap-up

Nokia E72:

• Unboxing Pics
• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The Software
• Part 3 – The Camera

Nokia N8:

• Unboxing the Nokia N8
• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The OS
• Part 3 - Native Apps
• Part 4 - 3rd Party Apps

What remains of the N8 review - gaming & the camera. I still haven’t been able to trial the dream device I’ve coveted for so long – the N900. & mind you, these were completely honest reviews – I have been extremely critical of these devices. Not sure I’ll get more Nokia devices now… Hopefully, other manufacturers will step up. Unbelievable that I still haven't used any Android device!

 

Nikon L20

The best thing that happened to me in 2010? That's quite easy - I got my digital camera - the Nikon L20!
Managed to snag it from Rapidshare's reward program by converting my earned points (uploading mostly Top Gear!). I was lucky because just afterwards they closed down the rewards (& went downhill ever since).
After being "camera-less" since Oct 2008, it was an enthralling experience to discover photography all over again. Furthermore, it allowed me to accomplish something I've always wanted to do – open a photo blog.
109 posts & 305 comments. Very positive response. Here are the most popular posts:

• Pointe aux Biches
• Black River Gorges National Park – Part 1
• Black River Gorges National Park – Part 2
• Infinity
• Port Louis - Moka Range
• Vieille Fille II
• Vieille Fille IV
• Angry Bird
• USB LED Fan
• Roche Cari

As for the Nikon L20, I initially thought it was worse than my previous HP 635. I was obviously proven wrong, but even I have been amazed by what the cheapest of all Nikon cameras can do. Low-light performance aside, I think it's worth every cent... or rather every minute I spent "uploading" files.
I should single out the PAPM (Photographes Amateurs et Pros Mauriciens) Facebook group for having contributed towards sharpening my photographic skills. The sharing of photos with the accompanying critiques is much more valuable than any photography book.

 

First Bloggers Meeting

Once again, the L20 proved its versatility for my very first Black River Gorges National Park trek with fellow Mauritian bloggers. High fives to Yashvin, Tushal, Sun & everyone else for making this a success!
Some of the prominent bloggers present were active bloggers while others have already been extinct dormant for a while. The Mauritian blogosphere remains very vibrant with new blogs cropping up, especially with a rise in photoblogs & tumblrs... Let's hope for a bigger party at the next Mauritian Bloggers Meeting.

Prior to that there was the Caudan tweetup organised by @sjdvda & co. Was nice meeting @rrikesh, @yurit0s & some other tweeps!
The tweetup/Shootup was repeated in early November where even a larger cohorts of tweeps came for a lively get-together at Shooters.
Meeting all these lovely people is definitely an experience all other Mauritian tweeps should try!

 

Orange Mauritius

There was a speed double this year. But only for My.T+TV subscribers. The most faithful subscribers were left in the cold. ADSL users had a Rs 100 decrease & My.T (no TV) had nothing.  As it stands, I won't be getting any 1Mbps connection. & every time I download something on my 512kbps, I'm painfully reminded of the knife firmly stuck in my back...

 

Infotech 2010

An absolute turn-off as there was really no innovative products there. 3D TV still remains a gimmick – although Orange is pushing it a lot (bet they’ll launch a 3D channel!). Android devices were invisible & the iPad was only on display only for some Face Time, no hands-on...
Oh, & let's not talk of the Electronic & Technology show...

 

Inception

I went to the cinema only three times this year - Avatar 2D, Iron Man 2 & Inception. Only one of them was mind-blowing. Christopher Nolan has yet to disappoint me. & that's why he's my favourite director of all time. The background score, the action, the plot. It was sublime. Double paisa vasool as some would say.
Still 2 years to go before we have Nolan's next magnum opus, The Dark Knight Rises.
In the meantime, next year will be the year when Android robots will explode on your screen with Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

 

A Thousand Suns

A die-hard LP fan, I knew that the only way to listen to this album was to listen it as a whole in one go. It was only several months later that I got my chance with the N8. It's not the best LP album of all time, but it's great. Nu-metal era is over, but I like these new experiments...

 

Man Utd

I seriously don't know what positives to extract from this 2010-2011 season. Yes, we are top of the league. Yes, we are the only unbeaten team. Yet, last Tuesday's yet-another-draw-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-victory brought everyone back down to earth. In 2010, we had 40-year-old Van Der Sar guarding the goal, Vidic rocking the back, Rafael bombing on the right, Anderson controlling the middle, Nani stepping up the assists, Park showing his mettle & Berbatov having the season of his life! Yet everything was shadowed by Mr Ambition’s saga. Notice how he hasn’t scored a goal ever since. Cursed, I believe he is.
However, I believe the problem is that the squad lacks depth & loses concentration when playing away. Remember the defeat against West Ham. The signing of Javier Hernandez is a mystery. He’s the fastest player in the EPL & is the most talented young player, yet no one gives him through balls. Someone should read this ZonalMarking post on the offside goal!
This season will be a tough one. Even while United aren’t playing at 100%, we are top. Here's my best goal of the year. Watch & learn...

 

World Cup 2010

Of course it crossed the line you dimwit! One man missed what a billion other people saw. We need technology. Sadly, the most despotic organisation in the world absolutely refuses to listen. & instead pretends that the most expensive auction of all time is a vote.
These controversies aside, Spain got their due & South Africa reveled in what was a great world cup. It was nearly the time for Africa as Ghana faltered on the doorstep of History.

 

Top Gear

Top Gear - The Three Wise Men Special. It wasn’t the best Special (Vietnam/Bolivia is much better), but the level of entertainment was classic Top Gear! Jokes, challenges, unforgettable quotes & the usual bantering, everything was there! James May’s non-serious head injury means that the Top Gear orangutan is the only who hasn’t had an accident yet! Now that everyone knows who The Stig is, I couldn’t think of any way Top Gear could re-introduce The Stig without over-doing it. Fortunately, they nailed it perfectly in that last scene! That was effing awesome! Bring on S16 on 23rd Jan! :D

 

 

That was it. I’ll end here on these photos, taken today. The last sunset of 2010.
Happy New Year 2011!

PS. Don’t forget to change your blog footer to 2011! ;)

More about → MMX

MMIX

A review of 2009.

 

Blogging
For the first half of this year, my blogging frequency was pretty constant. But as soon as UOM resumed, the post count started dwindling down & this blog was almost threatened with extinction... I had to make a choice between Twitter studies & blogging. Instead, I came up with a compromise - at least 1 post per month, & I'm barely clinging to that resolution.
This state of blogging lethargy is expected to persist for the next 2 years. :(

Total posts: 313
Total comments: 2207
Most commented – 110 comments: Orange ADSL & My.T prices decrease on 1st March 2009!
Only 1 post did not have a comment – Nokia N86 8MP ;)
According to Google Analytics:
Total visits: 411,300
Total pageviews: 628,800
OS – Windows: 92.45%, Mac: 4.38%, Linux: 1.49%
Browsers – Firefox: 51.99%, IE: 31.87%, Chrome: 7.24%

 

Orange Mauritius

On the 1st of March 2009, Orange doubled the internet connection speed while maintaining the same price… & the same slowness - unusable between 6pm & 11pm. My 512kbps connection drops to 100kbps. It gets worst during holidays when speed drops during the day.
The only positive thing is that existing My.T users were given the choice not to pay for the additional TV channels.

A new fibre cable, LION landed in Mauritius, interconnecting Reunion & Madagascar for the time being, before extending to Mombasa in the future.
The good news is that the network of fibre-connected DSLAMs is already being laid by both Orange & Emtel. But there is no backbone to exploit its full potential - Eassy & SEACOM cables are expected to be connected to Mauritius next year.

28th September 2009 - Disaster. @OrangeMauritius joins Twitter & becomes massively unpopular. Check out some of the kind tweets that mention @OrangeMauritius.
In the wake of @OrangeMauritius's arrival on Twitter, a new Twitter meme was born. Following @OrangeMauritius is like ... manz mine bouille dans dipain. & so on...
& a hashtag as well, which has been used by almost all Mauritian tweeps - #orangemauritiusfail

 

Freebies

In 2009,  I received tons of freebies.
On the 1st of January, I won several Rapidshare accounts & gave away one of them. (No, I won’t be organising any contest next year. Sorry.)

My good fortune vanished on Friday the 13th of March, & I had my PC power supply fried by a lightning bolt.

In April, I received a USB-powered plasma ball from Rapidshare. A really stupid choice because that thing is utterly useless to me. :|

In May, I got the chance to participate to the Microsoft’s Qui Veut Gagner Un PC competition. I managed to clear the first round & was among the 10 finalists. I did pretty well in the semi-final until the last question. A simple binary to decimal conversion stood between me & a laptop. & my brain failed me. :(
All I got was a Microsoft wireless keyboard & mouse. (& Sun got a PC!)

On Twitter, I won a domain from @NameCheap & a T-shirt from @District_Lines.
I thought 2009 would be very lucky for me, but my personal record of loserness remains untarnished - I still haven't won any major contest, competition or giveaway. o_O

 

Movies

My top 10 movies of 2009:
0. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
1. District 9
2. Gran Torino 
3. Star Trek
4. Up
5. 2012
6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
7. Public Enemies
8. Fanboys 
9. Watchmen
10. X-men Origins: Wolverine

I had a mind-blowing experience watching Transformers 2 at the cinema - awesome CGI, massive explosions & Megan Fox gargantuan robots. But I have to admit that it had huge plot holes. That's why District 9 is the no. 1 film of 2009 for me. Star Trek fans will obviously disagree but D9 was the better sci-fi movie.

This list is quite constrained because I haven't had time to watch movies such as HP6, GI Joe, The Hangover, etc. & Avatar has neither been released in Mauritius, nor is there any decent rip on the web.

My track record with Hindi films is getting worst each year. I watched only 3 films this year!!

 

Music

The king of Pop, Michael Jackson died from an overdose of prescription drugs. A reminder of how not to live your life.
Linkin Park released a great song, New Divide, as Transformers 2 theme track & Atif Aslam sung his way yet again to the top of the charts with Tu Jaane Na & Tera Hone Laga Hoon from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

 

Lance Armstrong & Michael Schumacher

The great Lance Armstrong was back in the Tour de France after a 3-year absence. Nevertheless, he still managed to finish 3rd, which means that next year's Grande Boucle will be a showdown between Armstrong & Alberto Contador.
The big news of 2009 - The Stig will be back in 2010! While he was unsuccessful in making a comeback for Ferrari as a replacement for injure Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher will be racing under Ross Brawn for Mercedes. I can't wait for the 2010 F1 season to start! :D

 

Manchester United

2009 was definitely not a great year for Man Utd. While the team defended the Champions League title up to the final, the better team, Barcelona won it.

We lost Ronaldo to Real Madrid (bastardos!), Tevez to City (losers!) & bought Antonio Valencia & Gabriel Obertan. & the biggest surprise - of all strikers United could have bought, it was Michael Owen who joined on a free transfer.

The 2009-2010 EPL season hasn't been good so far. Only 1 defender, Patrice Evra (our best player this season), was not injured. With key midfielders turning into central-backs, United's performance has been mediocre. Hopefully, the January transfer window will bring in some much needed reinforcements. But given the inflationary prices, I doubt we'll be able to purchase the crucial creative midfielder.
The only consolation of 2009 - we won an 18th EPL title! (Which means that other club can no longer pretend to have won the most EPL titles, back in 1728.)

My top 3 goals of 2009:

Macheda vs Aston Villa

Ronaldo vs Porto

Michael Owen vs Manchester City

 

 
Climate Change

At the start of 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the US president. Big promises were made, some have already been fulfilled. In October, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, for reasons that are oblivious to most of us.
& at the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference, he demonstrated his sheer incompetence at convincing world leaders for a united stand towards tackling global warming with drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. You could say that he had his hands tied by powerful lobbies & senators back in the US. But if Obama cannot lead the world by example, who can? For me, the epic fail of the year is Barack Obama. No, he couldn't.
In Mauritius, we have our PM happily proclaiming how he got more money at COP15 from the rich countries. Will that money save Mauritius from sinking? Fighting global warming seems to be a lost cause...

 

Supercars

There were several supercars announced this year – the Aston Martin One-77, the Ferrari 458 Italia, the McLaren MP4-12C, the Lexus LF-A & the already available Lamborghini Murciélago LP-670-4 SuperVeloce & the Lamborghini Gallardo LP-550-2 Valentino Balboni. Best of the lot? No doubt the Ferrari 458 Italia. :P

 

Top Gear

Series 13 of Top Gear was pretty under-par compared to previous series, despite the unveiling of The Stig, Luckily S14 was much better & it was topped off by the best Top Gear episode ever, better than even Vietnam, Botswana & the Polar special.

The Bolivia Special was truly epic. An incredible journey throughout the Amazon jungle, the Death Road, one of the highest roads in the world at 5000m & one of the driest place on Earth, the Atacama desert (where the smallest living thing was Richard Hammond).

I did not even miss The Stig's South American cousin. Just one word - Wow! 10/10.

 

Windows 7

The best Windows OS of all time launched in 2009. Speed, reliability & usability were the main focus areas, not to mention the little tweaks & add-ons like DirectX 11, Virtual WiFi, XP mode, etc. that paves the way for future improvements.
Although I have yet to install Windows 7 RTM, I've been using many such apps/hacks that make Windows 7 a powerhouse. The best one is Microsoft Security Essentials, a lightweight & free antivirus solution. I'll surely write a post on that next year. For the time being, there’s my review of the Beta 1:
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part I – The Performance
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part II – The UI
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part III – The Bugs

 

H1N1

After the H5N1 bird flu virus, we had the H1N1 swine flu in 2009. Fortunately, the effects of this virus was no worse than seasonal flu. But the most worrying fact is that once a virus reaches pandemic levels, it becomes unstoppable. Even if you’re on an island in the middle of the ocean, you still can be affected. Now imagine if we have a deadly virus spread… :S

 

Mauritius - C'est un plaisir

Hey, Mauritius is the World's Leading Island Destination, & this is what they came up with!? Whether we like it or not, it's done now. We'll have to live with it. :|

 

Twitter

What can I say? 2009 was the year when I transformed from a mild-mannered helpful tweep into a Jeremy Clarkson-inspired noob-&-twoob-bashing vicious Twilight-hating @orangemauritius-thrashing ruthless twat. Wow!

 

The Mauritian Pyramids

Arguably one of the most entertaining posts I’ve ever written. Quoting:

-  This is a freemansory invention to bring mauritian people to a false religion and these pyramid are use for satanic ritual...

- Some spheres in Mauritius is now comparing the Great "Sphinx" of Egypt with the "LION Mountain" of Mauritius.
There is also the Amazing/famous Spiritual Park in Mauritius, which is near Pte Lascar.
The unbeileuvable "Energy Vortex" at Surinam.( which is now internationally recognised.)

- Let me also point out that Mauritius has high energetic spots. It has been clearly pointed out of the Energy Vortex at Riambel, pt lascar spiritual park, we got the grand bassin, pieter both mountain as well as corps de garde, among other points.

- I can't miss to add concerning the 2012 phenomena. Its the date for a global ascension and i could see that Mauritius contains lot of these spots to help us for Ascension.

- we do have a phoenician past. just because we dont have documents does this imply that the phoenicians were never here..

- ..and let me add that the existence of portals/stargates are reported to exist round the planet...so y not one here?? mauritius is a mythical and mystical place, this is what i believe..

Read more on these 2 posts:
- The Mauritian Pyramids
- The Mauritian Pyramids II: More Than Meets The Eye

 

I’ll end this post with this EPIC Xkcd comic & a Happy New Year to all readers, bloggers, twitter followers, well… everyone! xD

 

More about → MMIX

Top Gear Series 14 Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for the upcoming series 14 of Top Gear is out!

Once again featuring mini-Hammond, mini-May, mini-Clarkson & mini-Stig.
The previous Series 13 trailers can be found here.

- Airport Vehicles

- South America special (like the previous US, Botswana & Vietnam specials)

- Electric Car

- Roadster challenge in Romania (the Carpathian mountains) – Ferrari California, Aston Martin DBS Volante & Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder.

Aren’t you excited? :P

Update:

Top Gear S14E01 -
In the first of a brand new series, Jeremy, Richard and James take an Aston DBS Volante, a Ferrari California and a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder to Romania in search of an obscure stretch of tarmac that some hardcore drivers claim is nothing less than the greatest road in the world. James compares two powerful limos, the BMW 760i and Mercedes S63 AMG. Plus, Eric Bana is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Top Gear S14E02 -
Jeremy, Richard and James attempt to save the planet by building their own electric car, and then put their latest 'green' creation through the rigours of the new car testing process. Meanwhile on the track, Europe takes on the USA in the battle of the continents, as Jeremy pits the Corvette ZR1's muscle against the finesse of Audi's R8 V10. The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Hollywood's hottest new property, Frost/Nixon and Damned United star Michael Sheen.

Update 2:

Download links for Top Gear S14E01 - Xvid HDTV (700MB) + x264 720p (1.6GB) & Outtakes - http://paste2.org/p/517650

More about → Top Gear Series 14 Teaser Trailer

Top Gear - Series 13

Last Sunday's disturbing 7th episode brought an end to the 13th series of Top Gear.

Was it the budget cuts? Or was it triskaidekaphobia? All Top Gear fans will agree that S13 was definitely one of the least exciting series.

 

Episode 1 started off with a bombshell - a car vs motorbike vs train epic race. Followed by Ferrari FXX posting an incredible time around the track – 1:10.7.

Then there was the massive stunt that was the unveiling of The Stig as some bloke called Michael Schumacher. Review of the Lotus Evora was ok.

Some say he invented the curtain… And that he recently submitted a £20,000 expenses claim for some gravel... for his moat. All we know is, he's called The Stig.

 

Episode 2 was still great with a superb review of the Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SV (same time as an Enzo!) & a drag race against the McLaren SLR 722. 

Followed by a very funny cars-for-17-year-olds. James May's stereo hack was awesome! :D

An epic race - Bugatti Veyron vs McLaren F1, a bit too short to my liking.

Some say that last week, he was found locked in a room tied to a chair with German piano wire… And that this week, MPs turned him down for the job of Speaker. All we know is, that's three things he has in common with Margaret Beckett.

 

Things started to go downhill as from episode 3 with that cheap car challenge where the only funny bit was the dog challenge. Clarkson's review of the Mercedes SL65 AMG BLK was good.

The only highlight was James May's meet up with FaceTube & YouBook celeb, Ken Block in his Subaru Impreza.

Some say that he thinks crisps are animals… And that if he'd done well at Wimbledon once in a while, he might have been able to raise a smile. All we know is, he's called The Stig.

 

Episode 4 was bad with the boring Ford Focus RS vs Renault Megane R26.R. The Porsche Panamera vs letter on Royal Mail race had a predictable outcome.

Jeremy's Mitsubishi Evo vs British army with "live" fire was obviously scripted & looked straight off one of Jeremy's DVDs.

Some say that he's absolutely baffled by urinals... And that on reflection, this was a bad week to launch his debut Single; it's a tribute to Farrah Fawcett. All we know is, he's called The Stig.

 

Episode 5's only positive point was the Jag XFR review. The rear-wheel drive challenge didn't please me because it looked still too pre-arranged, especially the piano crashing the Morris Marina.

Jeremy's Range Rover & greenhouse trailer was outright stupid!

Some say he has 12 GCSEs, all in Domestic Science... And that he's been producing artificial sperm for years, even though we have repeatedly asked him not to. All we know is he's called The Stig.

 

The classic car challenge brought back life to Top Gear, reminiscent of previous great challenges. All the hosts got a perfectly suited co-driver, with James May coping with model Madison Welch.

Episode 6 also had the BMW Z4 & Nissan 370Z review, spiced up by animatronic dinosaurs.

Some say that on Thursdays, he becomes incredibly bulbous… And that recently, pigs in Mexico have started to die of something called Stig flu. All we know is he's highly contagious.

 

Episode 7 started with an uninteresting Vauxhall VXR8 & the Maloo review by Hammond. The car ad challenge was entertaining, with Jeremy Clarkson insisting on adding explosions every time - like Michael Bay. :P

It finally ended with that totally un-Jeremy-Clarkson review of the second best supercar in the series - the Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

Nothing was said about the car. But I confess that it took me by surprise - that was the best piece of cinematography I've seen on Top Gear. The shots of pristine nature were of such beauty that it'll even put National Geographic to shame.

“I just have this horrible, dreadful feeling that what I’m driving here is an ending. Goodnight.”

Some viewers thought that it was the ending of Top Gear... :|

Some say that he cut that man's hair… And that if he compensated a soldier for getting wounded, he wouldn't try to take it all back again. All we know is he's called The Stig.

 

Compared to previous series, SIARPC had more widely-recognised celebs than before - The Stig, Jay Leno, Usain Bolt, Sienna Miller, Stephen Fry. 

But what really annoyed me was that many segments shown on the preview weren't shown in any of the episodes! Audi R8 V10 vs Corvette ZR1.

Airport vehicles!

To sum up, if I had to put Series 13 on the Cool Wall, I suppose it would be somewhere in between cool & uncool.
If you're a new Top Gear fan, do not judge it from S13. I would rather recommend you to watch Series 10 or the Vietnam Special.

Download links for Top Gear S13 + H.264 Webrips + Out takes (Rapidshare)

More about → Top Gear - Series 13