The new Macbook and Macbook Pros

It's out! The new Macbook and Macbook Pros. Made from a single piece of aluminum, it's slimmer, lighter (Macbook pro is slightly heavier), feels extremely well built and shows off a new LED-backlit screen. The multi-touch trackpad is now made of glass, is bigger, and the pad is also the trackpad button itself. Internally, expect a big update too. The Macbook now comes with a new integrated graphic processor - the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, which promises a 5x performance boost! The Macbook Pro comes with an additional NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT processor which speeds things up another 2.3x! However, this is only activated when the applications require it, meaning better power management too. The only thing that bugs me is the unavailbaility of a non-glossy version for the screen. I always liked that better. Watch the video here.

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Heroes Season 3 returns with a vengeance!

I've always been an avid follower of Heroes, the TV series. After Season 2 was abruptly cut short due to the writer's strike in the US, Season 3 returns stronger than before with a much tighter script, more action and plenty of surprises to keep you at the edge of your seats! What more can you expect with a theme like "Villians"? Heroes Television gives one of the best update of Season 3 with many spoilers to whet your appetite for more. Some interesting revelations in Season 3 include the return of Ali Larter as Tracy Strauss, the last and still surviving triplet sister of Niki and Jessica. We also hear of a certain the "Big Bad" who might turn out to be the ultimate baddy so far! There is also Level 5, a place in "The Company" where many villians with extraordinary powers are kept imprisoned until Sylar frees them. With the different characters starting to take sides against each other, it's really starting to sound like X-men on TV, only this is infinitely better. Enjoy the promo trailer if you haven't!

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Much ado about Venice

I was recently in Venice for 2 weeks to set up the Singapore pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2008: "Architecture Beyond Buidlings" architecture showcase. It was a great experience to be there and I certainly learned much through the whole process of working in this project. There is a whole story of how I even got to be involved in this and I will leave that for the next post. But for now, let me leave you with some frames of this beautifully textured city in Italy.

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Great friends are priceless

Friends, they make all the difference in this world. When you are down and out and feeling like you are walking through the deepest darkest valley of your life, these are the people who help to shine some light on the path ahead with their encouragement and support. That light might not exactly be the one at the end of the tunnel, but it is all you need to keep you going. Some of you know that I had did not clear my final year thesis for the second time. It was a little hard to swallow the reality of it when I saw my results slip. I was discouraged, disappointed and frankly, just really tired. A dear friend helped put together the above video to encourage me and remind me that there were people around me who believed in me and are supporting me through it all. To Meiqi and all who took time to record down your encouragements, and the rest of you who encouraged me in your own little ways, I am thankful and encouraged. Thanks for the love shown. :)

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Photo Essay: "A Certain Comfort in Freedom"

There is a certain comfort and freedom to do the most outrageous things when we are kids. Somehow we know that our mum or dad will be nearby to make things ok again if anything went wrong. We throw caution and safety to the wind and go on the most daring adventures. As we grow up, we learn to take less risks and stay within the comforts of our usual routines. That does not need to be so. I believe that accountability to close friends and personal mentors liberates us and gives us the wings to fly again.

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