When Lenovo announced this new RapidDrive Technology that they’ve been working on during CES 2010, I was scoffed it off as another hybrid SSD + HDD implementation that wasn’t anything interesting. That is until I read up more about it from possibly Lenovo’s only article that talks about the technology in-depth – Introducing RapidDrive technology. I realized it wasn’t really just some cheap implementation that uses RAID 0 striping combining both physical drive into 1 “logical” drive, but possibly some interesting optimizations built on top of it to bring out the full potential of an SSD and HDD hybrid. (more…)

Yes, I know. This is late. But nevertheless, I will still post this out.

Hackerspace Hack Time
Mon, Feb 1 6:00 pm Tue, Feb 2 12:00 am

We’ve finally set up our security access system and will be activated soon. We also have the following projects being worked on – Sucktionator, Water Rocket, Stop Motion Animation, and many other miscellaneous projects currently worked on by our members. So come join in and hack on any of your projects!

JFDI Presentation
Tue, Feb 2 7:00 pm Tue, Feb 2 8:30 pm

Ever wondered what is JFDI? Still wondering what is happening with it? Come on down for a status update on the progress and future of JFDI.

Singapore Ruby Brigade
Wed, Feb 3 7:00 pm Wed, Feb 3 10:00 pm

Today, we have a face-off between Chef and Puppet. If you speak Ruby and have that dying question which configuration management automation tool to use, then you’ll have an engaging time listening to our 2 resident Arun and Ohad fight it out! You want a match, you’ve got one! Be prepared to draw blood.

LinuxNUS HackFest
Sun, Feb 7 1:30 pm Sun, Feb 7 5:30 pm

LinuxNUS has decided to do a mini CrisisCamp in the good name of helping people. I’m not too familiar with this topic, but feel free to browse this on how to organize a CrisisCamp. It is for a good cause, so come and help out.

I’ve been writing a lot of anti-patterns and “not to do” code. I’ve kind of exhausted out my “Code You Should Not Be Writing” series because I’ve completed this project and moved on to another project. So this will be another new series of some interesting quirks I’ve encountered reading proposals, reports, requirements specification documents, etc. I don’t know how this will take off or if I have enough content to even make a series out of it, but let’s just try it out.

First up! Objective statements! Here’s one objective statement I’ve often read in various proposals that should not be followed.

To build an application that is intuitive and user-friendly.

How many of you who have read proposals ever seen these things in objectives? This is not the first time I’ve read something objectives that are similar to that effect.

So how do you write a proper objective then? Let’s first understand what an objective is, and the purpose of writing an objective statement.

An objective is your goal in this project or proposal. It can be to solve a current problem, or to create a tool to increase productivity or reduce cost, or anything along those lines. From Merriam Webster,

an objective is something toward which effort is directed : an aim, goal, or end of action.

So an objective statement is a statement about the end result. Some might argue that the statement mentioned above is a valid end result, building an application that is intuitive and user-friendly. If you can elaborate what kind of application it is, and what concrete measurement of intuitive and user-friendliness that will make your application a success, then that will be a better objective statement.

The purpose of the objective statement is to give you a summary of your problem, your success criteria and additional details that might support your claims. This becomes the “What” of your proposal. Here are some questions you might ask yourself while thinking of what you’re to write for your objective statement.

• What is your problem?
• What is your proposed solution?
• What is the aim of this solution?
• What are your success criteria?

A lot of your answers to these questions will overlap with each other, and hopefully you’ll start realizing that this is exactly your objective statement.

Here’s what an example of a better (not the best) objective statement.

To build a solution that will at the very least half the time taken to process the business accounting of the company.

Notice that there are several detailed points you can gather from this initial objective statement, which can be elaborated further in sections below the proposal. For example, now I know this project is about a business accounting problem. I also know that the measurement for success is time. Furthermore, I now understand what you’re trying to achieve and I can come up with a rough idea that can solve your problem specifically. Now, with this short statement I know more about this proposal than just the initial statement.

What do you think? Have you read any interesting proposals, or reports lately that is so ambiguous?

Recently, I was just scavenging the web looking for ways to make my life easier because my constant reinstallation of an Operating System, namely Windows 7, takes me at least 2 hrs to do a complete install with my favourite applications (does not include my development environment). One way was to create an unattended answer file to automatically handle my installation, which I’ve yet to figure out installing custom applications during the setup.

Anyway, I found this cool tool called Ninite which will create an installer that will download your favourite apps. All you do is select the apps you want from a list and it will create a custom installer which you can download and start the installer. The installer will download the selected app installers from the internet and install each one with the default settings, saying no to all adware, toolbars, and crap, getting you what you just want, the application.

If you don’t see an application on the list, submit a request and get your friends to do so too!

Try it out. Ninite.

We’re at the end of the month and HackerspaceSG is 2 months old this week. We’ve come pretty far these 2 months with lots of good times and many teething problems. Nevertheless, we’re slowly growing and figuring out as we go along.

Hackerspace Hack Time
Mon, Jan 25 6:00 pm Tue, Jan 26 12:00 am

Our regular scheduled reserved time for our members to get anything done is back to Mondays. We currently have the following projects being worked on – Security Access System, Sucktionator, Water Rocket, Stop Motion Animation, and many other miscellaneous projects currently worked on by our members. So come join in and hack on any of your projects!

Take a look at what we experimented 2 weeks ago. We’ll continue experimenting until we get it right.

Show and Tell: 3 Young Indie Film-makers
Fri, Jan 29 6:30 pm Fri, Jan 29 9:30 pm

Today, we welcome 3 young Indie film-makers to showcase what they have been working on for the past 1 year. Lincoln, Teck Siang and Michael will be screening 3 films from their portfolios, all festival awarding winning pieces, followed by Q&A session. It’s open to all hackerspace regulars, vagabonds and passerbys. Just anyone interested to know a little bit more about the local independent film scene… from the perspective of these 3 younglings. Be creative, be critical, and support our independents!

The Weekend
Sat, Jan 30 6:30 pm Sat, Jan 30 9:30 pm

This idea started on NYE 2009 when the guys and gals were sitting in HackerspaceSG, high on beer and bouncing ideas off the wall. The problem we are facing now is that bloggers doesn’t know what the PR folks wants and the PR folks doesn’t know what the bloggers want. So to solve this problem, we decided to have this networking session where people from social media meet together and discuss on how they can work together better. Since we can’t think of a better name, we decided to call it “The Weekend”.

I have some time to sneak in while waiting for my flight at the airport in Singapore, so I decided to post the most ridiculous bug I’ve ever come across.

The Welcome screen may be displayed for 30 seconds during the logon process after you set a solid color as the desktop background in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

Yes. You read that right. If you use a solid color as your desktop background, it will take you 30 seconds to log in. My colleague encountered this yesterday, rebooted multiple times because he thought his computer hung on logging in and caught a virus.

Workaround? Put a pretty picture as your desktop wallpaper. Turn off the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service. Or download the hotfix in the link above.

Do you think it is ridiculous? I do. If you’re wondering, I’m already in Hyderabad, India by the time this post is out.

I won’t be blogging for the next few days. Just in case anyone is wondering what happened to my daily blog posts, I’ve gone to Hyderabad, India on a business trip for a conference till Sunday. Hopefully I can sneak in a blog post or two during my trip there, but I’m doubtful. Anyway, see you guys soon!

The new year is over and the first 2 weeks at HackerspaceSG has been pretty slow. But never fear, we’ve got more events coming up in the next few weeks as we slowly ramp up our awareness and get more groups meeting at HackerspaceSG.

Singapore Linux Meetup Group
Mon, Jan 18 6:30 pm Mon, Jan 18 9:30 pm

First up of the week is the Singapore Linux Meetup Group. They having their regular meetings at HackerspaceSG from now on every 3rd wednesday of the month. For this month, they have a presentation on Blender, a free open source 3D content creation suite, by Mr Victor Yap from the Blender User Group. The Blender User Group of Singapore would give a general overview of 3D technology with relation to how Blender is use to create 3D images. Works of local artists will be showcased and discussion about open movies that the Blender foundation has been engaging in the past and
present. RSVP here if you wish, but not required.

Hackerspace Hack Time
Tue, Jan 19 6:00 pm Wed, Jan 19 12:00 am

Our regular scheduled reserved time for our members to get anything done is yet again moved to Tuesday to make way for the Singapore Linux Meetup Group. We currently have the following projects being worked on – Security Access System, Sucktionator, Water Rocket, Stop Motion Animation, and many other miscellaneous projects currently worked on by our members. So come join in and hack on any of your projects!

Singapore Singers & Songwriters Meetup
Fri, Jan 22 7:00 pm Fri, Jan 22 10:00 pm

We have the Singapore Singers & Songwriters Meetup group here at HackerspaceSG! How cool is that? It is a gathering of musicians to share their music and network with like-minded passionate people. Those who are singers and songwriters out there, come and join us! You can RSVP here or just turn up.

Singapore Humanism Meetup (RSVP required)
Sat, Jan 23 2:00 pm Sat, Jan 23 5:00 pm

All HackerspaceSG Members needs to RSVP to sg.humanism.meetup@gmail.com. Mainstream values, mainstream culture, mainstream population. In the past few years, the word “mainstream” has been bandied about in our mass media, on a wide range of issues such as “family values”, “global warming” and “death penalty”. But what are they referring to, exactly? Do they refer to the values or opinions held by the majority of our population? Or those few who are most vocal and persuasive? How do we know if these values are right or rational? Whose mainstream is it, anyway? Although consensus may be hard to reach, come to this month’s SHM and have a fun-filled afternoon discussing in small groups a range of issues from varying perspectives.

Meetup etiquette : Participants come from different backgrounds and with different age and experience. Still, every individual deserves dignity and respect and therefore I urge participants to observe strictly our meeting etiquette.

Yesterday, Daniel Tsuo and I did a live ustreaming video on the Nexus One Unboxing. There were as many as 15 people joining us live asking us questions about the Nexus One. We had a great time and special thanks to Honcheng for letting us have a first look at Nexus One.

For those who missed it, don’t worry, there are videos available! Check them out!

Google Nexus One Part 1

Google Nexus One part 2

Google Nexus One Part 3

Google Nexus One Part 4

Sorry about the remaining parts when we switched over to my HTC Hero phone to ustream. Apparently it didn’t get saved. But the quality isn’t that great anyway, so nothing much lost. I hope you enjoyed our video and just ask us at Tech65.org or myself about anything you want to know about the Nexus One.

I got the Sony Vaio X a few weeks ago to review, and I think it’s one of the best notebook/netbook I’ve ever laid my hands on to except for a few problems that some people might not find it a problem.

Specifications

This baby has an Intel Atom 1.8 GHz processor which is a nice bump from the usual 1.6 GHz processor from most netbooks. With this small speed bump, together with the 64 GB SSD makes the Sony Vaio X feel very responsive. Together with this performance, it is amazingly thin and light at around 1.4 cm thick and 650 grams. There’s 1 sd memory card slot and 1 memory stick slot in front. On the left, there’s the power DC in, kensington lock, 2 USB port and 1 3.5 mm headphone jack. However, there is no microphone jack available. On the right, there’s the power indicator light, 1 VGA output and a custom ethernet connector simply because the notebook is so thin.

Sleep to Wake Time

I simply can’t believe how fast it takes from sleep to wake is for this. It takes less than 5 secs to get this baby woken up. Check out this video.

Dislikes

I have only 1 dislike about this amazing laptop, besides how expensive it is. The keyboard is difficult to type on for me, especially with the close range between the bottom row keys and the ridge.

Likes

I love how thin, light, portable and fast this laptop is. The first time I held it, I literally expected it to be heavier and it got lifted higher when I held it. It was a pleasant surprise. Even though it is running a 1.86 GHz Atom processor, the performance is hardly ever a problem with my normal usage. Together with the extended battery, this is the ultimate laptop that’s worth the price if you have the money.

Differences in models

Here are the specifications of this wonderful piece of engineering feat. I’m only going to show the interesting differences of each of the models offered.

Notes

• Does not support 64-bit.
• Has Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) available.
• Maximum ram is 2gigs. (already maxed out on all models)
• Extended battery (8200mAh) costs SGD$429 + 550g.
• 3G WWAN is located under the battery.

Summary

The Sony Vaio X is a notebook/netbook that is very confused, yet not quite. It’s faster than most netbooks, extremely light, and because of the SSD and 2 gig RAM standard, it purrs like a little kitten. However, the downsides are the price and the keyboard and mouse. If you have some extra money to spend, and do not mind the keyboard and mouse, buy this little kitten and you’ll love it forever.

• For the road warrior who finds his current light notebook still too heavy.
• Not for someone looking for a netbook.

More Photos