Harry Potter: The Final Book

Today, in another 8 hours, the final book of the Harry Potter series will be released. Fans have been counting down to this day, which has been named the P-Day. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the most anticipated book in the series, it is the final book of the series. Adding to the anticipation, J.K. Rowling (the author) mentioned that 2 main characters will die in the final book.

Security has been tight surrounding the release of the book. In the US, some booksellers even have a special section that handles the Harry Potter books. The section is continually watched by security and only employees that have direct relation to the book can be there.

There has been some slip though with 1200 pre-orders being sent early (a couple of days ago) in the US and a New York Times reporter writing a review of the book a couple of days before the official launch.

Some materials have been published online, some real and some fake. But the determined fans have been able to block all that and wait for the actual book.

Well, it's not long to go until the world knows what happens to Harry Potter, the boy that managed to captivate children and adults alike for the past 10 years.

Events are being held all over the world for the launch of the book. In the US and UK, I believe they will launch the book at midnight and in Australia, it will be 9am eastern time (7am for Perth and 8.30am for Adelaide).

For Melbourne, they will have huge celebrations in Federation Square by Borders and the city by Readings starting early morning. The Lord Mayor John So (Melbourne's mayor) is going to officially launch the book (by opening a chest) in the city. There will be stunts as well, with plenty of broomsticks going around.

I, myself, am not a hardcore fan of the Potter series. I have not read any of the books but I watched all of the movies (especially the last one in glorious 3D - check my review). But I have a theory of how it's going to end. I think it will end with Harry having to sacrifice himself in order for the Dark Lord to be killed (and therefore Harry dies). It's a sort of Matrix ending whereby Neo has to sacrifice himself in order to kill Agent Smith. It is the ultimate sacrifice.

Well, I guess we'll know soon enough whether I'm right or wrong.

Just a small tip from me for everybody that is going to get the book tomorrow. First of all, be patient (there's plenty of books around) and after you get it, go home and read it. Don't open them until you reach home. Hopefully, the first kid in line to get the book won't flip straight to the last page and scream to the other people in line, "NOOOO!!! everybody died".

For everybody that is looking for a bargain, Toy's R Us is selling them for $19.99 if you buy something else from them. All the major bookstores (Borders, etc) are selling them at $29.95. Target and Kmart are selling it at $27.95. Big W promised to be the lowest place to buy but still yet to reveal the price (maybe it'll be like 3 cents cheaper or something). All are AU$.

Mac Bundle - Update

Only 1 hour to go until the deal by MacUpdate ends and ALL programs have been unlocked. So it's 10 programs for $49.99 (valued at more than $400). Buy through MacHeist and you'll get 5 more programs.

Go check it out (or even buy it) before it's too late.

Because ALL applications (10 of them) have been unlocked, MacUpdate is giving a time extension for everybody, an extra 3 days. So for all of you that haven't heard about it or didn't get a chance to get it then get it NOW.

As another incentive, MacUpdate has included another program to the bundle. Buy through MacHeist and you'll get 5 more programs.

Go to MacHeist or MacUpdate promo.

Note all currency is in US dollars.

MacUpdate Bundle

All you Mac lovers out there, a couple of days ago I told you about a deal that is going on for Mac users. MacUpdate is bundling 7 of favourite Mac programs for one low price, $49.99. However, to sweeten the deal, MacUpdate is going to throw in 3 more programs into the mix as long as a certain quota is reached.

So, if the sales reaches 2,500, MacUpdate will throw in another program. The other two programs will be released if the sales reaches 4,000 and 9,999 respectively.

At the moment, one program (Little Snitch) is already unlocked and sales currently stands at 3,233 (800 shy for the next program to be included in the bundle). So, I am strongly recommending you to go and buy the bundle. Why? Because one, so you can enjoy the great apps included (I've tried a few of them) and two, we might get the next app to be included with the bundle. At 4,000, Intaglio will be included into the bundle. So what are you waiting for ?

There is not much time left, only less than 48 hours to go until the offer ends.

Click here to go to MacUpdate promotion page.

To get referral for the promo, click here. (You get an extra membership of MacUpdate for free if signing up via referral.

To get the bundle with Macheist, click here (You get 3 more programs, access to beta software, and one more app to be revealed at the end of promo)

Recycling by Apple

This email just came yesterday from Apple.

This is definitely good news. You can recycle your old computers (and parts) for free (if you happen to be in Sydney and Melbourne). There are a few locations, to know more check out the link, here.

So if you have been thinking for a place to dump your big, old chunky monitors, here it is and now is the time. Please check the website for further information of what can or cannot be thrown away.

Reminder, there is no incentives from this. The only reward you'll get is from mother earth, rewarding you with fresher air, cleaner water, better weather and everything else. You will also help to reduce landfill.

So, check the website, find your nearest location, note down the dates and times, and set a reminder for it. Don't forget about it. Please recycle for a better tomorrow.

Seriously, green is the new black.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I don't normally get excited with a Harry Potter movie but this one sure does. Not because the story is darker like everyone said but because of IMAX 3D. Yes, that is correct. The latest installment of Harry Potter is available at IMAX and the last 20 minutes or so of the movie will be in 3D.

The Cinema

The movie premiered all around Australia on Wednesday, 11th of July (yesterday) and I went to watch the latest show on IMAX Melbourne (10.15 pm) thinking that it won't be crowded because no parents would take their children to a near midnight show even though it was the school holidays (I originally wanted to go the 7.30 show but it sold out a week before). To my dismay, the theater was FULL. I came at 9.30pm to find a long queue of people. As it was free seating, the first ones in will get the best seats.

You will get a pair of 3D glasses when you go in. Keep these well and truly safe, don't smudge it or anything so you could enjoy the 3D scenes later on. For all of you with glasses (spectacles), not to worry, the glasses are big enough to accommodate them. If you wear glasses and have a flat nose like me, you might have to adjust the 3D glasses every now and then.

Based on my personal experience in IMAX, you would not want to get front row seats. Not that it's bad or anything, being in the front row just means that you have to look up a bit more. But if you are the type of person who get dizzy easily, I won't recommend the front seats. The screen is fairly big so wherever you seat, you will still be able to enjoy the movie comfortably.

The show started on time, no extras or commercial or movie trailers, so make sure you are not late or you'll miss part of the movie. When the movie starts, you will know that you have made the right choice to have watched it in IMAX. The pictures were massive and clear, and the sound was loud. It was loud enough and just right so you would be able to enjoy the experience.

The Movie

I don't follow the book at all (I'm more of a visual kind of guy) so I have no idea about the story line, new characters, and everything else. I only know that this will be yet another adventure of Harry Potter and friends.

I will not spoil anything for you here but for you readers of the book, you would probably know everything. Let me just say that I think the book was condensed a lot for the movie. I don't know to what extent the truth of that statement but I feel there was a lot of jumps between scenes. All you readers can correct me.

There are more characters on this movie as well. It's like a big 'reunion' from past Harry Potter movies, making it hard to focus on individual stories. I think the director was wise to focus on Harry Potter more. It is hard to balance when you have a lot of characters.

Everybody said that this movie is 'darker' than the previous one. But I don't think that really explains it. I do agree that it's a lot 'heavier' for children to 'chew'. It is no longer straightforward and simple. It deals with a lot of the emotion and thinking. It certainly goes along with the characters turning into a teenager. For children, parental guidance is strongly encouraged. The movie itself is rated M (for Mature) in Australia.

The 3D

Once the 3D scenes are to be played, green glasses symbols will be displayed at the bottom of the movie. That means it's time for the glasses. There was only a few seconds to put your glasses on as the next scene immediately goes 3D. I will spoil when this will happen (I'll try to be very discreet) as not all of us will go and watch it in 3D.

The 3D scenes starts when Harry Potter and friends goes off and fly to the Ministry of Magic from Hogwarts. It will end when the duel between Dumbledore, Harry Potter and Voldermort ends.

I personally think that the combination of the 3D scenes and the amazing surround sound will blow you away. Girls, I can tell you that this is as close as you'll ever get to Daniel Radcliffe (I think).

They really did well with the 3D scenes. It made the battle more exciting especially the one with Voldermort. The flying scene was also accentuated because of the 3D. It really makes the whole experience a lot more real, like we are supporting Harry Potter in a way.

The moment the 3D scenes started, I knew that the extra money for the IMAX ticket was justified. It was money well spent.

The Ticket

Well, there is a price to pay for a good experience. In IMAX Melbourne, an adult ticket costs $20 (concession $16.50), they are dearer but not a lot if you normally pay full price on normal cinemas (I think they are around $15-$16). But because this is IMAX, there will be no 'Super Tuesday' that will magically reduce your ticket to $9 so watching it any other day won't make the tickets cheaper.

The best method to go in cheap is to go as a group. If you have more than 10 people, you qualify as a group already. The group price is $15 for adults and $12.50 for concessions. That saves you a lot. With group bookings you can book over the phone, you can book pretty much in advance and the tickets will be ready to be collected pretty much right after you order them. You could also leave it until the day when you come and watch it.

IMAX Melbourne has an online booking facility for advance booking tickets. Normal tickets cannot purchased over the phone whilst group booking can only be done via phone (or at IMAX itself). Be aware though that there is a booking fee for using the internet service.

Overall

I guess overall I think that it's not a bad movie. It certainly feels that the story is shortened so that it can fit to the two and a half hour movie. The only character that developed during the movie seems to only be Harry Potter. The rest had their moments but it was too short, I believe. There is quite a number of scenes to scare you at the beginning, adding a more suspense feel to the movie.

All the negativity though is rectified by the glorious 3D scenes. It's really the icing of the cake and without it, I don't think that I'd be as happy and excited about Harry Potter.

It is definitely worthed to go and see it at an IMAX near you. Out of 5, I'd give it 3.5 (if I didn't have the 3D) and 4 (with 3D).

For more info on IMAX Melbourne, online booking and session times, click here.

Software Bundles

Do you own a Mac ? If you do then this is good news for you. The people from MacUpdate is offering a special deal for a bundle of Mac softwares at the moment. They are selling 7 softwares (as a package - worth more than US$200) for just US$49.

The softwares are:

• SRS iWow (audio plug in for iTunes)
  
• GarageSale (ebay listing software)
  
• Cocktail (system utility)
  
• ProfCast (recording presentations)
  
• Amadeus Pro (multitrack audio editor)
  
• Fetch (for FTP)
  
• GraphicConverter X (image editor/converter)
  

If the number of sales exceed a certain point then another software will be included in the bundle. There are 3 extra softwares that will be offered:

• Little Snitch - unlocked if sales exceed 2500 buyers
• Intaglio - unlocked if sales exceed 4000 buyers
• TechTool Pro - unlocked if sales exceed 9999 buyers

MacHeist is also sweetening the deal by adding more software into the bundle. Provided you buy the MacUpdate bundle from MacHeist, they will add 2 more applications (Browseback and Exces), a chance to trial a couple of softwares (Pixelmator and Flow) and a secret app that will be revealed later on.

To go straight to the MacUpdate deal, click here.

To get it from MacHeist, click here.

Come on, there is not much time left (6 days from today). Go and grab a bundle and unlock all the software.

Tiger vs Jetstar

As mentioned before, Tiger Airways (one of Asia's low budget airline) is coming to Australia and will be based in Melbourne. As a follow up, they will start flying Australian domestic routes from November 2007.

Their first announcement (a couple of weeks ago) was Melbourne to Darwin and a special fare was introduced at $79.99 one way. They then launch more routes around Australia. Up until today, they have:

• Melbourne - Gold Coast ($49.95 one way)
• Melbourne - Mackay ($59.95 one way)
  
• Melbourne - Rockhampton ($59.95 one way)

I'm pretty sure that there will be more routes available so keep an eye out at their website www.tigerairways.com and select Australia.

Tiger is also offering an international route from Melbourne to Singapore via Darwin. This is currently on offer at $499 return, making this probably the cheapest flight to go Asia from Melbourne. If you go to New Zealand or Fiji, it will cost you around about the same. Even Jetstar's international fare would still be around $700 return to Thailand.

The only bad thing about flying to Singapore with Tiger is the time it take to reach there. It takes 11 hours to reach Singapore and I'm guessing it's because of the stopover.

Anyways, Jetstar did not stay quite but they launch a series of attacks to countermeasure Tiger. Jetstar has discounted the fare from Melbourne to Gold Coast to just $39 (which has already sold out). They also made the fare to Darwin to be the $0.99 cheaper than Tiger at $79.

Jetstar also sold $1 tickets yesterday for two hours (between 10.00am and 12.00pm). The offer was available for email subscribers and include routes Melbourne - Tasmania (Hobart, Launceston), and Melbourne - Adelaide.

Basically, this will continue on and it will surely create a new pricing point for domestic travel (and maybe international as well) in Australia. We just hope that the plane will always be checked before flying.

Note: the sale fares are for Nov 07 until March 08. Further details, please go on the website for each company: www.jetstar.com.au and www.tigerairways.com.

Out of Jail

I think today will not be complete until I let you know that PARIS HILTON IS OUT OF JAIL and she's ready to take on the world once more.

picture from theage.com.au

Paris......that's HOT!!

Plant Trees

Do you ever feel that you are wasting too much electricity with your computer ? Well, not to worry cause Cars Guide will help you ease that guilt.

They want to plant 10,000 trees to help offset the carbon emission. I suppose they want to plant it in Australia so sorry for the people from overseas, guess you still need to breathe the smoke a bit longer (but you can still help).

Helping out is (as an Aussie would say) simple as (meaning: really simple). Just visit the link. CARSguide.com.au/trees. That's it. Simple ? Of course.

When I visited, they already got more than 75,000 visits. For every 15 visits, they'll plant 1 tree so we just need another 75,000 people to visit the link.

You can win stuff if you want but that involves sending an invite to a friend and so on. But if you just want to feel good knowing with that tree you can stay up downloading more episodes of Heroes or Grey's Anatomy then just please click on the link CARSguide.com.au/trees.

Five Second Rule

I'm sure everybody has heard of the 5-second rule. If you drop your food on the ground, you can still pick it up and eat it as long as it has not been on the ground for more than 5 seconds. True ?

Well, 2 American students went and put the rule to the test. The experiment is simple. The students used sliced apples and sweets/chocolates (like M&Ms). They dropped the food on the floor, leave it for a while (and time it of course), picked it up, use a swab to collect samples of the surface that touched the floor and check it under the microscope. Simple ?

The results were surprising. On the apple, it took about 30 seconds for bacteria to start growing and on the chocolate it took nearly a minute. Don't believe me ? See this video news report from ABC here.

Well, I was never a fond believer of the 5-second rule anyway. It has always been the 5-minute rule for me :)

picture taken from Yahoo

Update Soon

Well, it certainly been a while since my last update. Apologies for that and no I'm not going to abandon the blog. I was away for 3 weeks (tell you more about this later as well). But for now, I need to sort out myself first, get organised and get back to my normal daily routine (which is sad in a way).

iPod Nano Product Red Launched in Aussie

Finally, Australia gets the red Nano. It was launched in the US last year and several countries followed. New Zealand even had it before Australia.

Well, better late than never. Buy a Red Nano if you want to help support fight against AIDS campaign (Bono and friends). More info here.

New Price for iPods

Today in the paper I noticed three commercials about iPods, all of them about price reduction. It was a bit weird cause there were no rumours going on that mention Apple might reduce iPod's prices. But then I checked the Apple Australia website and confirmed that there has been a pricing drop for all iPods.

I am guessing that the drop is to reflect the currency differences (Australian Dollar is really pretty strong right now), only iPods are reduced though. No other system seems to be affected. Strangely, Apple is not really promoting this new price on their online store.

Anyway, here is the summary of the new price:

• iPod Shuffle - $109 (old: $119)
• iPod Nano 2GB - $199 (old: $219)
• iPod Nano 4GB - $279 (old: $299) UPDATE (TYPO)
• iPod Nano 8GB - $349 (old: $379)
• iPod Video 30GB - $349 (old: $379)
• iPod Video 80GB - $479 (old: $499)

As you can see, the prices drop $10 for Shuffle, $20 for Nano 2GB and 4GB, $30 for Nano 8Gb and Video.

For more information or to buy, check out Apple Online Store.

PS: You might want to check Kmart, Target and Myer first before going straight to the online store (the 3 commercial on the paper) cause I saw the Shuffle advertised for $98 in Kmart (more savings).

Macbook Update

Today, Apple released an update to the Macbook line. The update include faster processor, bigger memory and hard drive.

• White, 2.0GHz, 13.3", 80GB, 1GB RAM - $1599
• White, 2.16GHz, 13.3", 120GB, 1GB RAM - $1899
• Black, 2.16GHz, 13.3", 160GB, 1GB RAM - $2199

It's not an exciting update but if you were thinking of getting a budget (or not) Mac laptop for some time then this update is for you. Even the lowest specification is pretty decent (if you don't mind not being able to write DVDs).

For more info or to buy go to Apple Online Store (Australia).

Live Earth

What is a fun way to help combat global warming ? By having a PARTY of course, one that involves the whole world. Yes, it's Live Earth concert, to be held at several different cities around the world (7 cities around 7 continents if I'm not mistaken), including Australia.

In Australia, the concert/party/event will be held in Sydney and the tickets for it goes on sale this Friday, 18th of May. The event itself will be on the 7th day of the 7th month 2007 (a.k.a. 7/07/2007). Tickets for the Australian event are available from Ticketek.

For other countries, have a look at their website, http://liveearth.org/ or at http://www.liveearth.msn.com/.

Personally, I don't see how holding a party will make you more aware of ways to combat global warming but hey, everything counts.

Harry Potter in 3D

For the next Harry Potter movie, instead of watching it at your normal cinemas, you might want to check it out at IMAX. For your information, IMAX uses a totally different movie format than the one used in normal cinemas. It has bigger screen (massive I'd say) resulting in bigger picture. I cannot stressed how big the picture in IMAX is. IMAX is also known for its IMAX 3D movies.

Anyway, IMAX will be screening the new Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) from 12th of July 2007. And the interesting part is that the last 20 minutes of the movie is going to be in 3D. Check out the info page at IMAX Melbourne here. It will be very interesting to see the adventure of Harry Potter in IMAX and 3D.
However, the IMAX experience will come at a price. The ticket is $20, double the price of an ordinary cinema.

Currently, 300 and Spiderman 3 is also playing at IMAX.

Movies....Movies....and Movies

This upcoming months, there an amazing line up of new movies hitting the big screen and most of them are sequels. Yes it is indeed the year of the sequels.

Here are some of the sequels and the release date in Australia:

• Spiderman 3 - Out Now
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 24/5/2007

• Shrek the Third - 7/6/2007
• Ocean's 13 - 14/6/2007
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - 21/6/2007
• Transformers - 28/6/2007 *

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 12/7/2007
• The Simpsons Movie - 26/7/2007 *

• Die Hard 4.0: Live Free or Die Hard - 2/8/2007

* not a sequel

Obviously, this is not all the movies that will come out, there are others as well. This is just some that catches my attention.

For the latest trailers, check out Apple's trailer collection here.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this Sunday, 13th of May (in Australia) so don't forget your mom. Get her some gifts, pamper her for a day, take her to a movie and let her enjoy the day.

Do Not Call Register

Are you annoyed by telemarketers ? Great news (if you're in Australia), now you can list your phone numbers with the Do Not Call register, an initiative by the Australian government. Once in the list, your phone numbers cannot be contacted by telemarketers. If they do, the telemarketers will face a hefty fine. You can put in your home phone and mobile. If you want to put your number, just register at the website https://www.donotcall.gov.au/.

This service was launched yesterday and the website crashed. Apparently, around 50,000 Aussies registered and the website could not cope. I think the problem has been rectified.

The service will not eliminate all calls, there are some exemptions like calls from political party, religious groups, and so on. However, the worst of them all can also still call you, the market researcher.

I think the problem with telemarketers is they are really pushy. I mean it is their job but if somebody doesn't want the product or service then that should be it. I don't hate all telemarketers and sometimes I think they have genuine deal. I got my pay TV service through direct marketing and I was allowed 12 month contract instead of the normal 24 months.

I hate telemarketers that are pushy and hard to understand. I'm not trying to be racist but how can you expect me to buy the product or service if I can't understand anything that the person is saying. And if I said that I don't want to change my phone 100 times, then stop asking me to change it.

Market researchers are actually alright until you actually realise that the survey is going to take half an hour. It should just be short survey and the answer should be simple as well or do an online one, always better.

It is amazing to see that every people has their own tactics to combat telemarketers, from diverting the call to an answering machine to reading gospel to the telemarketers.

Well, we can just hope that with the register, our phone will be quieter.

Paris, Je T'aime

I am sure everybody knows about Paris, Jet T'aime. It is a collection of short love stories that is packed into a single movie. It's about Paris and it's about love. There are 18 short stories to be exact. It starred some of well-known stars (French and international), like Gérard Depardieu, Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Willem Dafoe, Wes Craven, Steve Buscemi and so on.

I recently watched the movie. Here is my honest opinion, I came out not understanding a single story at all. In other words, I didn't really like it. I wanted to like it cause of all the hype surrounding the movie but I can't. I laughed when the rest of the cinema was quiet and when they laugh, I don't know what they were laughing about. It's bizarre.

I understand that the movie is about love, in Paris (the city of love) especially. I just don't understand the message it's trying to convey. Maybe I'm a bit dumb or I don't understand short stories cause my missus was really happy with the movie. She thought it was excellent and beautiful. I couldn't really agree with her.

If you ask me for my favourite story, I would say the last one. It's a story about an American tourist in Paris. I think she was learning French and she was traveling in Paris to practice her French. The story was narrated by herself in French, like a report back to her language class. It's really touching, both sad and heart-warming. My missus said that it sums up the movie really well.

An interesting story is one about an American tourist that got beaten up in a subway. He accidentally 'made eye-contact' with a kissing couple across the platform.

Overall, I'd say don't watch the movie if you just want to see Natalie Portman (or any other stars in it). The film is deep and requires a lot of concentration, with mix of feelings. Because each story has a different director, it offers different takes on the storyline. Watch this if you are into the beautiful scenery of Paris, its culture and the love that surrounds Paris.

Well, I think I will re-watch it again when the DVD comes out. Maybe it's as good as everybody says, maybe something got lost in translation.

Tiger in Melbourne

Only yesterday I mentioned that Tiger Airways is coming to Melbourne and was still deciding its base. Well today, it has been decided. It will be in Melbourne. This decision is expected to open more jobs for Victorians and bring a bigger price wars between the budget airlines.

Tiger Airways is 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines. It is believed that the airline will start operating within months however no exact date is confirmed.

Jetstar Sale

Yesterday, I told you that there was an exclusive 3 hours sale for Jetstar email subscriber. Well now they have another sale to celebrate their 3rd birthday. It's "Take a Friend for $3 Sale". Basically on selected routes, you can take another person with you for an extra $3.

The sale is not only for domestic but also for international routes. For example:

• Melbourne - Christchurch : $111 per person one way
• Melbourne - Bangkok : $221 per person one way
• Sydney- Osaka : $251 per person one way
  

Sale ends 7th of May so be quick to grab the bargain. It's not valid for all dates, check the website for offer validity. The normal terms and conditions apply (such as credit card surcharge, etc), again check on the website. For more info go to their website, http://www.jetstar.com/sale-fares.html.

May oh May

Wow, it's already May, nearly halfway through the year. I think they'll be selling Christmas trees pretty soon. I don't think I've done anything much this year. But anyway let's check what's making headlines.

NO Interest Rate Rise
This morning, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to put the interest rate on hold. This is good news for all home buyers/owners that has a mortage. Although it is 'safe' for another month, we will never know what is coming ahead.

A New Attraction
Melbourne will soon have a new attraction for tourists. It is a glass box. Now you may ask how can a glass box be a tourists attraction. Well, it can if it is sticking out from the 88th floor of the new Eureka apartment (Eureka is currently the tallest building in Melbourne). But this is not for the faint-hearted, don't believe me ? Just have a look at these pictures (picture: Herald Sun),

So far from the pictures we know that it can suspend 1 person safely. If I was inside, I would make sure that I'm the only one inside.

Budget Airline Ticket-fight
Yesterday night, between 8pm -11pm, Jetstar made a huge sale. $3 to fly on selected routes. Yup, only $3 and nothing more. It was only offered to Jetstar email subscriber, Jetmail (I read the email an hour late so all I could do was cry). Anyway, some sources said that this (very low ticket prices) might be more common when the new budget airline, Tiger Airways, enter the Australian market. Tiger is currently flying in South East Asia and based in Singapore. There is still no details when Tiger will start operating in Australia or which route it will cover. So I say, bring on the competition.

Less Tax for Cars in Victoria

The state government of Victoria has just announced a reduction of duty rates payable when you purchase a new vehicle. The reduction mainly affects cars that are priced between $35,000 to $45,000. The new duty is a 2-tier system as suppose to the old, 3-tier system.

Here are the comparison between the old and new rates (taken from the State Revenue Office website - www.sro.vic.gov.au)

Old Scale		New Scale
Price	Duty Rate*	Price	Duty Rate*
$0 - $35,000	2.5%	$0 - $57,009	2.5%
$35,000 – $45,000	4%	$57,009 +	5%
$45,000 +	5%

It seems that duty reduction aims at family cars. Small cars like Holden Astra, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla (normally priced from $15,000 to $25,000) will miss out on the new rates. However, Australian favourite large cars such as Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Toyota Camry will benefit from this new duty. It is expected to cut the price of new family cars by around about $600.

The new rates will apply from the 1st of May 2007. For more information on this, go to the State Revenue Office Victoria website. A media release is also available on the site.

Breaking Nintendo News

I just received this SMS from Nintendo:

Breaking News Nintendo: Pokemon Diamond & Pokemon Pearl 2b released in Oz June21. Dont miss out pre order yours now! For more info or 2 opt out nintendo.com.au

Nice!

Hamish and Andy Now Closer Than Ever

picture courtesy of Fox Fm

Do you know Hamish and Andy ? They are two young radio presenter. Their radio program is called the Hamish and Andy Show airing daily on weekdays at 4pm.

Anyway, they always have crazy ideas for the show. Even though they only have a radio show that didn't stop them from doing 'interesting' activities. Their past 'activities' have include,

• Testing a nappy - Andy wore a nappy and let Hamish filled it with drink. They checked when the nappy started to leak.
• Nude camp - Hamish went to a nude camp to confront his fear of being nude.
• Hen's night - Andy had to strip in a listener's hens night. He had some dancing tips from Jamie Durie. A listener also borrowed Andy his fireman suit for the night.
  
• Helmet bet - Hamish and Andy bet on who will win the Celebrity Race during the F1 2007 between both of them. The loser will have to wear their helmet for a whole week. Hamish lost and he had to wear the helmet for a whole week. During the week, Andy also 'tested' the strength of the helmet by making Hamish do some 'stunts'.

Their latest antics is to strap themselves together and lived as conjoined twins for 5 days. They will do everything together even going to the toilet. They made special shirt and jeans that allow them to be stuck together.

They are doing this not for charity but because a listener suggested it after they made fun of conjoined twins. They intended to do it for one day but Rove McManus (from Rove Live) challenged them to do it until Sunday. They agreed. So, they will be 'freed' from each other on Sunday night during Rove Live.

There has been several issues that come up because of this latest stunt. Hamish's girlfriend is having her birthday during the weekend and Andy needs to play guitar for his band on Saturday so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Follow their progress on their website, www.hamishandandy.com.au, you can also podcast what's happening during the show. Video webcast should be available soon. Also, tune in to Rove Live this Sunday to see them being freed.

Missy Higgins

If you're an Australian, you would know Missy Higgins. She made a huge hit with her album, The Sound of White. After a few years, she is now back with a new one. Soon to be released to the Australian market is her newest album, On A Clear Night.



The first single to be released from her new album is Steer. I must say after listening it on the radio, I find it to be a very nice song. I liked her previous album but I won't say that I am a big fan. But this new song sounds different. It has a little bit of that 'old' Missy Higgins style but it brings something new and refreshing. The song feels more mature. I really like it.

The music video for the song is kind of funny. Missy is working as a test driver to crash cars. She drives a few different old cars and every time she has to drive it (and crash it) to a huge concrete wall. After each impact, she will be examined. At the end, she didn't crash the car but took it instead and drove off. I don't know how she did the video but one thing is for sure, don't try it at home.

The single will be released on the 16th of April 2007 and you can pre-order it from BigWEntertainment.


The album will be released later on this month and you can pre-order it from BigWEntertainment as well.

Mac Pro 8-Core Out

The top of the line Mac machine has just got its upgrade. It is now available with the newest processor from Intel with 8-core technology. Configuration starts at AU$3999 for the Australian version. Shipping is available within 24 hours from the Online Store.

Along with the announcement of the new Mac Pro, Apple also seem to be discounting its display line (a sign of an upgrade soon ?). The new prices are:

• 20 inch - AU$899
  
• 23 inch - AU$1399
  
• 30 inch - AU$2798

For more info on Mac Pro, click here.
To get the it, go to the Online Store or any Mac retailers.

Interest Rate Steady

For Australians home owners and buyers, today comes as a good news. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to put interest rate on hold (at 6.25%) for another month. Speculation has been growing these couple of days that interest rate will go up again because Australians are still on a spending spree. It is reported that even though there had been 2 interest rates rise late last year, Australians are still coping.

However, it might not be a good news next month as the data suggest that another interest rate is likely. But we can only wait and see. For home owners that are already struggling with repayments, maybe it's a good idea to look at your loan and making the interest fixed for sometime.

DRM-less Music

Today in the London (UK), Apple and EMI has just announced that they will offer DRM-less music. Sound quality of the tracks will be doubled at 256 kbps AAC. This DRM-less tracks will be offered at a higher price rather than the normal tracks, about $0.30 more (US$1.29).

Music videos will also be DRM-less and the price will remain the same unlike the music.

Album will also be DRM-less and with no premium charge as well.

OK, that's a lot of jargon and weird languages. Let's start from the beginning. DRM is short for Digital Rights Management and basically it's a copyright control. It allows the major companies to control the distribution of its product (music, movies, etc) cause as you know, it's harder to control digital stuff as suppose to CDs or DVDs. Let's have a look at Apple iTunes as an example. The music that you download from iTunes can only be played in iTunes. You could also transfer it to your iPod and burn it to a CD as a backup for several times. But this is not the same with all provider, other might have different rules.

That's why you need to always check what is the terms of your download purchase whether it can be played everywhere, by anything, and so on.

So one advantage with having no DRM means that you can buy music from iTunes and play it with your iRiver, Creative Zen or any other player instead of just using your iPod.

This is a big move by EMI and one that will definitely 'rocked' the music industry. There is no plan by other major record label to follow EMI footsteps. Even though the main focus of the announcement is about DRM, people seems to be more excited with the fact that the music from EMI will be better in quality, something that has been an issue in the past.

The DRM-less music will be available from May. For more information, refer to Apple's press release here.

Earth Hour

picture courtesy of The Age

On Saturday, 31st of March, Sydney 'celebrated' the Earth Hour. It is an initiative to combat global warming, a campaign to reduce Sydney's greenhouse emission. At 7.30pm, Sydneysiders were invited to turn off their lights for an hour.

For more information on this initiative, check out their website at www.earthhour.org.

Picture: above - Sydney on normal nights, below - Sydney during Earth Hour.

Mobile Phone = Personality ?

Does mobile phone really say something about the owner ? I don't have a fancy mobile myself but according to the latest research in Australia, they have managed to stereotype people based on their mobile.

So have a look and does your mobile really say something about you ? Maybe next time, we will be more cautious showing off our mobile phone.

Here are the results,

Nokia

• Family-minded
• Middle aged managers
• Balance seekers
• Health conscious

Motorola

• Fashion conscious
• Under 24
• Fun seekers
• Individualistic

Sony Ericsson

• Ambitious young men
• Professionals
• Success driven
• Individualistic

LG

• Favourite of mums
• Stay-at-home parents
• Success driven
• Harmony seekers

Samsung

• Young women
• Career focused
• Success driven
• Fun seekers

Source: Nielsen Media Research

SALE!!!

Play-Asia is having a sale from today (30th of March) for a week. The sale is 20% off items that are in stock. Only in-stock items will be discounted and new releases will miss out on the deal as well. New release is define to be any product that was released 30 days before the sale.

Play-Asia has games for all type of consoles, console accesories, old school or next generation, movies, music and toys. It offers really cheap postage to Australia and other countries. Payment by major credit cards and Paypal.

So, what are you waiting for ? It's an excellent time to complete your games library and to get on that one game that you have been wanting for a long time. Go to Play-Asia.com.

Xbox360 Elite Announced

As previously posted, Xbox360 is launching an 'improved' version of its console. It's called Xbox360 Elite. As expected, the Elite version will offer bigger hard drive and HDMI connection built-in. There is no change of drive to be HD-DVD.

The Xbox360 Elite will be available in the US on 29th of April. It will retail at US$479.99. There are no announced details for Australia yet but it will be expected to sell around winter.


picture courtesy of Microsoft

As a summary, the new features are:
- 120 GB hard drive
- HDMI connection built-in
- Black finish - console
- Black wireless controller
- Black headset

Microsoft will also line up accessories with a black finish to match with the new console.

Goodbye Quota for Yahoo Mail User

If you have an account with Yahoo Mail, you're in luck. Yahoo is going to offer unlimited storage for its web-based email service, Yahoo Mail. Currently, the quota is 1 GB for normal user and 2 GB for the premium ones. These will all be unlimited starting May.

Yahoo is doing this as a 'present' to everybody for Yahoo Mail's 10th birthday. This makes Yahoo the only provider (that I know) to give unlimited storage for email. Gmail (Google Mail) gives a generous 2.8 GB and Hotmail quota is 1GB (if you upgrade to the new service).

Yahoo has been rolling out their new service, Yahoo Mail Beta (still under development) that enhances the use of web-based email. The new service allows users to use keyboard shortcuts, preview messages, more interactive commands with the mouse and so on. Basically, it wants to have a look and feel of a desktop application (for example: MS Outlook, MS Outlook Express) as suppose to a web-based service. The catch is you need at least broadband to use it comfortably.

Yahoo Mail first started out with only offering a tiny 4MB (although at that time, it was already very generous compared to Hotmail's 2MB).

Domestic Airfare Easter Sale

It's on now until the 2nd of April. As usual, Virgin Blue and Jetstar (not to forget Qantas) are having a domestic sale. The sale if for travel between the 24th April and 21st of June 2007. So if you haven't planned your June holiday, now is the time to grab a bargain.

For more details, go to their website
www.virginblue.com.au
www.jetstar.com.au
www.qantas.com.au

New Breed of Xbox360

There has been emerging reports that Microsoft is going to launch an 'elite' version of their Xbox360. This is done to coincide with the 1st birthday of the console. The 'elite' Xbox360 is rumoured to be black in colour, has bigger hard drive (120 GB), has HDMI built-in and possibly an HD-DVD as well.

It is expected to be sold around US$479 and only available in limited quantities. Major announcement is expected tomorrow so I guess we will have to wait and see what is up Microsoft's sleeve.

picture courtesy of TheAge

Blu Ray vs HD DVD = PS3 vs Xbox360 ??

Well is it ? At the moment it looks like that's the case. PS3 is equipped with the new Blu Ray format and Xbox360 is offering HD-DVD drive as a peripheral (for AU$250).

A lot of people compare the battle between the two formats to the battle of Betamax and VHS, and VideoCD and DVD. The winner of course was VHS and DVD. But can't the 2 formats co-exist together ? In the case of Betamax and VHS, it's impossible because the size is different in the first place. But with Blu Ray and HD DVD, it is more likely. A lot of "neutral" manufacturers are developing a player that will support both formats. I say "neutral" because they are not taking sides (yet).

However, Blu Ray might have the lead in Australia. JB Hifi, one of the popular retailers for CDs and DVDs, has said that they will only stock Blu Ray movies. Hmmm.....I don't how much Sony need to fork out to get JB to say that.

JB is not the only onw influenced by Blu Ray, it turns out that Xbox360 might go with Blu Ray format as well if it wins the battle of the next generation format. A Microsoft representative in UK mentioned this. This might happen or it might not. But does this portray a defeat for the Xbox camp ? The answer to that might still be a long way ahead of us.

Right now, people are still happy with DVD right now, the price is right, the collection is abundant. The high definition (HD) revolution has only begun to be embraced and people are still learning about HDMI, 1080i, 1080p, etc etc.

So until we see $100 players for both formats and a whole stack of movies in the new format, we might not know the winner just yet. And as far as the consoles are concerned, I think it's should be up to the games to decide who wins instead of the format they support.

March, O March

March is probably the month you want to be in Melbourne. It is jam-packed with.....stuff. Some has past but there are more to come as well. So I would like you guys to keep updated with all the news.

FUTURE EVENTS

Daylight Savings
Daylight Saving will be over this Sunday (25th of March) so on Saturday night before you sleep, wind back you clock an hour. I always can't remember which is the one where you get an extra hour of sleep.

FINA Championship
The swimming championship is still on until the first of April.

Antipodes Festival
It's the annual Greek festival that happens on Lonsdale St. It's happening again this year on the 24th and 25th of March (this weekend). More info here.

Flower and Garden Show
The annual show will start next week on the 28th of March. It's a showcase of amazing gardens and beautiful flower arrangements. It's happening at Carlton gardens as usual. Check out their website.
I went to the event last year and it was spectacular. Tickets are a bit expensive though so make sure you get the best out of it. I don't know about this year though cause of the drought and stuff.


PAST EVENTS

PS3 Launch
It happened last night, all around the country. The long-awaited PS3 finally arrives in Australia. Retailers were opened from 11pm to welcome this black machine. Sony claims that it's the revolution for entertainment.
Anyway, I didn't go to any launch last night so I can't really report on anything I saw.

Stage 3A Water Restriction
Yup, it's going to happen again. Water level is still constantly dropping in Melbourne (and maybe Australia) so a tougher restrictions will be enforce. Currently, we are under stage 3 water restrictions. This has limited the use for water outdoors such as watering the plants, washing the car, etc. The 3A restriction will again toughen this. The major difference that I noticed for stage 3A (for the household) is limited in watering the garden, only mornings nor more in the evenings.
If there is no significant rain and the supply of water continues to decrease, further restrictions are possible. I believe stage 4 will not allow water to be used outdoor at all. And the ultimate restriction is water for drinking only. Let's hope that this will never happen.
Here is an FAQ provided by the government to help you understand the restriction better.

Apple TV shipped
Yeah I know there no relevance on putting this here but never mind. Apple TV has begun shipment in the US and Australia soon to follow. Some people have been kind enough to share their "take-it-out-of-the-box" experience and some has shared how to set it up properly. Others opt for a more different experience, dismantling the unit. Anyway, just want to let you see some pretty pictures (if you think transistors are sexy).

Moomba Festival
I didn't see anything much of Moomba this year. I blame it on "domestic dispute" with my wife.

F1 Championship
Again, I didn't see it happening at all, not even on TV. I only know the next day that the winner was Kimi Raikkonen followed by Alonso.
Anyway, one thing I find funny from F1 is the celebrity race. Hamish and Andy (from the Hamish and Andy radio show) were in the race. They decided to make a bet with each other, whoever loses the match must wear their helmet for a whole week. If you have been tuning to their show, you would know that Andy won the race and has been torturing Hamish with his helmet. The "torture" included playing drums at Hamish's helmet, throwing tennis ball at the helmet and so on.
This afternoon, Andy will decide whether he should let Hamish go from the agony or whether it will still be on until Sunday (the initial deal was Sunday). So tune in at 4-6pm at 101.9 Fox FM (if you're in Melbourne) for their show. If you would like to hear or see Hamish's agony, check out their website where you view pictures and subscribe to their podcast.

New Game Store Found !!!

Ok, I like games period. In Australia, we always get the last of everything. Games arrives here lasts, console delayed, etc, etc. So it's really sad. Imagine this, the US got the DS game, Final Fantasy III, about....ermm....several months ago and Australia just got it several weeks ago.

Anyway, that encourage me to look something overseas, getting import games and stuff. So far, I have not found any nice website that stocks lots of games. BUT, I have found one now. It's called Play-Asia. They have got a lot of stuff from the new consoles to the older ones. The consoles that they support include Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Dreamcast, Gamecube PSOne, etc etc. They also have games soundtracks, stuff that is really hard to get when you're in Australia, movies, and toys.

Another thing that I like about them is their shipping. To Australia, it's CHEAP. For a game, it might be US$3. This does vary and is based on the most economical option. If you like tracking, etc then obviously it will be more. Also unlike other websites, they tell you the shipping cost on the product page. So you know straight away, no more guessing with the parcel weight, etc.

Their price is alright. It's not that expensive and it's not that cheap. They use US dollars and you can pay with credit card or Paypal. I think they are "Verified by Visa" and "Mastercard Secure" merchant, which means extra protection if you want to use your credit card.

The games are mostly NTSC, meaning it's either from Japan, US or Asia. So for region specific console, make sure that your console can play them first. Shouldn't be a worry for PS3, PSP and DS cause they're all region-free. Just make sure you can understand the language.

I suggest you check them out. I'll give you some links to the games that I think would be an excellent play.

Good Stuff

Ok, who said that reading newspaper is boring and you cannot get anything from it ? Today for example, by reading the Herald Sun I found out that the newest edition of Zoo Weekly magazine has some 'saucy' photos of John Howard's potential daughter in law. The photos were taken way before when she was in university or something.


picture courtesy of Herald Sun

Anyway, there's another interesting news when I was reading The Age (let's not start on the debate of which is the greatest newspaper) and this one is really something HUGE. For every university student in Australia, you can buy Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for just $75 and that's yours to keep. Now that's what I call a good deal.

The Office Ultimate 2007 is the top of the range for the Office packages, it includes everything: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and so on, and so on. Check here for complete products and its functionality. It retails for more than $1000 and it can be yours for $75 forever or $25 for 1 year. Just check out this website, www.itsnotcheating.com.au.

picture courtesy of Microsoft

The website might look a bit doggy and you are normal if you think that this is some kind of spam or fraud. I mean, come on, what did we (students) do to Microsoft to get the honour of 95% discount ? To earn your trust, it actually have a link back to Microsoft's website that explain the deal.

The website has all the details of how you can get the deal, each person is only allowed one copy and MUST be a student of the university listed. Payment can only be done via credit card and you MUST have a valid university email. This last one is important cause your serial/unlock code will be delivered to that email.

Although you might want to be careful when you type in the website. If you type in itsnotcheating.com.au without the www then you will go to the xbox360 website instead of the offer. Give it a try though.
[update: Microsoft has fixed the wrong link so you will get to the offer page however you type it in]

I'm not being paid by Microsoft nor will I get anything by telling you all this. However, I am trying to enter their blogging competition and I wouldn't mind the Vespa cause I got a motorcycle license from a year ago and I've never ridden a bike ever since (pathetic, I know).

So, just check it out and if you're a student, make sure you get it even though you don't need it. Cause this deal will not repeat itself. It will end on 28th of May 2007 but just get in early, in case the directors changed their mind and decide to withdraw the whole thing. It's one decision that you will not regret.

Just as a personal opinion, MS Office is a nice and handy product to have on your computer. Unlike it's relative Vista, Office does not get a lot of beating from critics. And if you are in university, there's a 100% chance that you will use the Office products. I know cause I survived my Bachelor degree with Word and Excel. So why not get an original and legitimate product and do the right thing.

Is PS3 going to be Sony's downfall ?

PS3 will launch in Australia sometime in March, 23rd of March to be exact, just 5 months shy from the US and Japan launch. Launch price is $999.95 with the 60GB hard disk. Retailers have been taking pre-orders and offering bonuses to come with it. Dick Smith will invite you to a PS3 launch party with celebrities with $5 pre-order, BIG W will give you an extra controller, Toy's R Us will give you a game for half price and many more.

But that's not what I'm going to talk about here. Instead, I want to look at Sony's downfall. Future doesn't look so good with this Japanese electronic giant. Why ? Because Sony is not delivering the 'goods' anymore.

Sony has always been a popular brand. They had a long standing in TVs, Hi-Fis, LCDs, DVDs and so on. But what they like to do is to create a revolutionary product. They achieved this with their Walkman several years ago, gaming industry with PS1 and PS2, and now with their Blu-Ray technology. However, they are slightly losing their touch. Walkman has not been keeping up in the digital music industry, and now PS3 seems to fail the games industry as well.

Sony's downfall seem to start when they recalled thousands of laptop batteries that they supply to other companies (such as Dell, Apple). Apparantly, the batteries can overheat and you can fry an egg while browsing the internet. Some might think that this is an innovation but not for people who puts their laptop on their lap.

Sony then decided to make PS3 launch simultaneously (well, almost) worldwide, Japan would launch first (of course), North America after, then lastly Europe and Australia. I think this is a good marketing strategy to show that PS3 is not region-locked, meaning they can play all games coming from all over the place. This was suppose to happen on November last year but then Sony doesn't have enough screws to bolt the PS3 together so they postpone Europe and Australia's launch.

Even with separate launch, Sony wasn't able to fully ship PS3 to their loyal supporters on the launch day at US and Japan. So eBay had to take over, PS3 was seen to reach $6000 during launch.

But for us in Australia, all we can do was wait. Wait until the launch day is announced, wait for the specifications to be downgraded. What ? Yes, the PS3 specifications for Australia has been downgraded. They will not include a 'chip' that enables PS3 to backward play PS2 games. But instead they will use a software to emulate this capability. Arghhhh, for $1000, you expect Sony to give you a royal treatment but instead Sony is giving you junk. I'm upset by Sony. I've always backed them all the way but now, I'm seriously considering my position.

Maybe closer to the release date, we will get a new announcement. "The Australian PS3 will not have a cover and you must always hold if you want it to work" or something like that. Sigh. You lost my vote Sony.

Anyway, back to Sony. This kind of behaviour is unusual of Sony (well, it's not unusual behaviour for a corporation that seeks profit at all cost). So, is this the start of their downfall ? Will Sony brand be less known by people in a few years time ? Will PS3 be the cause ? Will you start buying Toshiba ? Will you support HD-DVD ?

Well, I hope Sony will not go from bad to worse and plunge to their death. I still have some hope for you. But for the PS3, you definitely smashed all my hope and expectations.

DVD by Mail ?

Do you like to watch movies? Do you watch a lot a lot of movies? Well, I do. If you do too then maybe you want to check out Quickflix. It's basically an online store where you can rent DVDs, all the latest release and a whole lot more. Think of it as Blockbuster or VideoEzy without the store. Everything is done online.

How does it work ?
So, this is how it works. You sign up with them, choose your plan. They have 2 types of plan, the limited and unlimited one. Limited means you have a maximum number of DVDs per month and unlimited means you can have as many DVD as you want. If you like to watch movies, choose unlimited but if you're a casual person choose the limited. With unlimited, you have to choose the number of DVD that you can borrow at any one time. I'd recommend 2 or 3 DVDs. But if you live in front of the TV or make a living out of watching movies, well go crazy.

Once you sign up, you have to make a list of all the movies you like to borrow. This is your queue list. You order the list based on priority, meaning the movie that you really want to watch you put it in number 1, and so on. Just so you know, putting it number 1 doesn't mean that you'll get it tomorrow. It just means that you really really want it and if they have it, they will send it to you absolutely but if everybody wants it, then you might have to wait. With every movies, there is an estimate time, whether a lot is available or only a few left.

The DVD will then be sent to you via mail. If you have 3 DVDs out at one time then 3 will come, not necessarily at the same time. Then you watch it and return it whenever you like. If you return 1, another 1 will be sent to you. If you don't return anything, no more movies will be sent.

To return the movies is quite simple as well. The movies all come with a reply-paid envelope, so just pop it in and put it in the mailbox.

What's the catch ?
As far as I know there is no catch. So, it is possible for you to get as many DVDs as you want. You must make sure that you have a long queue list though.

There are other provider (Bigpond is one) that do this sort of thing but I like Quickflix. They've got a huge library and more delivery centres so you can get your movies faster. One of the reason why Quickflix has a big library is because in a couple of years ago they obtain Homescreen, which is another DVD-in-the-mail provider and their library just doubled.

Tips
If you like Quickflix and decide to subscribe, I have a few tips to get the most out of your membership.

1. Try to return your DVD before 5pm. The postman will empty the box at around 6pm depending on your area so you want to get there before him. Normally, it will reach the Quickflix centre the next (business) day so they can tick it off and send you another one ASAP. However, if it's a Friday see tips #2.
   
2. Do NOT return your DVD on Friday cause they are close on weekends so there is no use. Instead, return in on Sunday before 5pm. If you don't know, the postman also empties the post box on Sunday but not on Saturday. So you can enjoy your movies with you mates over the weekend.
3. Make a long lists so they can choose anything of it. Put a combination of the rare items and the available ones in the top 10 if you really want to see those rare ones.
4. With TV shows, try to separate each discs. If you put Grey's Anatomy Season 2, disc 1 to 8 as your number 1 to 8 list then there is a chance that you will get disc 2 first or 8 for that matter. You should put all the 1st disc of the show in the top 10 and the rest outside the top 10. Once you get the 1st disc, shuffle the 2nd disc to the top 10 and so on. That way you'll always get it in sequence.

My opinion
Quickflix is an excellent service for movie-lovers, no need to go out to get movies, just wait for it to come with the mail. I absolutely love it. One is the convenience and another thing is the library selection, they've got anime, non-Hollywood movies, TV shows and many more.

Just give it a go. They have a 14 day free trial, so just try it whether it's suitable for you and your area. Here is what I think you should look out for during the trial period:

• If the DVD delivery takes 3-4 business day to reach you then forget it, don't join them.
• If the DVD is received by them longer than 2 business days then don't join them.

I'm not saying this because they're bad but this service heavily relies on the post service so if the post in your area is not so good the you might be better off going to your local video store.

So, take the trial first then see whether it suits you. Click here or the banner below to take the trial. Enjoy Quickflix.

New Number Plate Style

Melbournians or should I say Victorians, good news. I just got a letter today from Vicroads (thank God it's not a bill or a fine). The letter was about a new style of number plates that will be launched next week. They call it the Signature Plates. It's a 2 letter, 2 letter+1 number, and 2 letter + 2 numbers combination so it's like AA, AA2 and AA12.

I have no detail on the price yet but I'm guessing it'll be above $500. Some limited edition ones, like RR, GT, SS, GT0 will be auctioned on Monday 12th March at the Melbourne Motorshow. Then, the rest will be available the day after from Vicroads and vplates.com.au.

The colours for the new plates is quite awesome as well, check out the colour combination below.

Pictures courtesy of Vicroads

I personally like the gold ones. They would look really nice if I have a car to match it. So for the number plate junkie, circle 13th of March, bold it, write it in your diary, make a poster, do anything so you won't forget it.

Chadstone VIP Night

I just received an email from Chadstone. They will have another VIP night next Wednesday, 7th of March from 5.30 pm to 10pm. Full details check on their website and for offers on the night check here.

End of February 2007

Yup, last day of February. Let's see what is going on in this last day of the month before going onto a new month tomorrow

Jesus' grave found...along with wife, child
Yes, it's for real, not another book by Dan Brown. This time, James Cameron is involved. The whole family graveyard of Jesus, Maria (2 Marias), and Judah (acclaim to be the son of Jesus) was found in Jerusalem. This is a part of a documentary to be screened soon. Everybody is taking sides, is it for real or is it for ratings ? Anyway, just decide for yourself, the DNA test should be coming.

Parking inspectors get new uniforms
Yes, that's right. City of Melbourne is changing the look of their parking inspectors. They don't want their parking inspectors to look like the police wearing a blue uniform, instead they want them to look more like boy scouts or a ranger. Nice. I think every parking inspectors need to get 10 issued fines to get the new uniform. If they want the sweater, they must issue another 5 fines and so on.


Picture courtesy of Herald Sun - taken from their website.

Petrol is going up up and away
It's rumoured that petrol will stay around $1.25 a litre after spending quite some time at $1.09. It's time to take out your bicycle again guys.

Skeleton mania in Australia
It seems that everywhere in Australia, they've just found a skeleton of human remains. One in Windsor station (near South Yarra), another one in Northern Australia. Maybe you'll find one in your backyard as well.

A boy age 8, weigh 88 kg is found
And I thought I was fat. Man, something seriously need to be done to combat these problems. Maybe Americans should start eating rice. And for you people that are wandering, they don't have Chinese parents and the number 8 is just coincidental.

Yeah, I think that's enough news for today. We'll anticipate the coming of tomorrow, a new day, a new month.

Bye Hard Rock Cafe!!

Hard Rock Cafe in Melbourne will close down in July when their lease with Windsor Hotel ends. But it is not goodbye forever as they might plan to relocate somewhere else (Fiuh, I can still eat those delicious ribs).

The current space will be incorporated into Windsor Hotel. The hotel is planning a major refurbishment. Windsor was recently changed owner and I believe, one of the co-owner is Indonesian.

Nice quote

I found this quote in my Church Weekly Bulletin, it is definitely interesting. Made me think for a while. It is true, do you agree ?

Aren't we strange - we pray for a long life but fear old age

Spice Girls is BACK!!!

How exciting, the Spice Girls is apparently going to team up together again for a charity concert. They had similar ideas in the past but nothing happened. But this one seems to be for real. I heard that they want to get the royalty from the TV station that will air the concert, maybe everybody ran out of money (well maybe not for Posh Spice) ?

If you don't know Spice Girls, they're an all-girl group. They were big in 1997 with their zig-a-zig-ah from their Wannabe hit. They promoted "Girl Power", went on and make a ridiculous movie, Spiceworld. I can't remember when they split up but it was Geri H. who first left the group. Another album after that, they all went their separate ways. Everybody tried a solo career after that but only a few survived. I guess 5 is still better than 1.

Spice Girls consists of Baby Spice (Emma B.), Scary Spice (Mel B.), Sporty Spice (Mel C.), Posh Spice (Victoria B.), and I forgot the one for Geri, I think it was Ginger Spice :)

Shuffle those colours

If you don't know, a couple of weeks ago Apple launched more colours for their iPod Shuffle range. It's still the same price but you get the newer headphones. Check out Apple Store or retails locations.

Evanescence ROCKS!!!

Evanescence is currently touring Australia. They had their concert in Melbourne last weekend (Sat and Sun). I was lucky enough to be able to go for the Sunday concert. The Saturday one was sold out. The only reason that I went to their concert because my partner loves them. But it turned out to be a good concert.

I arrived around 7.30pm and the ticket says that it's going to start at 8pm. I went and find a park at Alessandra Ave. I thought it will be packed but it's not hard to find a carpark. In fact, there were plenty. Apparently most of them parked near Vodafone Arena or dropped off by their parents/friends.

I reached Vodafone Arena around quarter to 8 and there are a couple of security checks, as usual. As I had a General Admission ticket, I had to get myself banded. After that, I was surprised that there were a lot of people in the foyer just lingering around even though I heard some noise from inside the stadium. I just went inside, and it was dark. They have covered both the seats on the sides so the only seating was straight in front of the stage and that's it.

I went inside to the arena and was quite excited cause it was only half full, cause that means better view. The opening band was already playing when I came in. They were called Shade or Shihad or something like that. They're not bad. A curtain (Collingwood style - Black and White) was blocking the entire view. They played on until 8.45pm.


At 9pm, I thought that Evanescence will start but nothing. There was only a guy standing on stage doing mike checks, "Mike check, one, two", he said that like 10 times.

9.15, everything went dark, curtain pulled to the side and the show started. I can't remember what song they started. As I said, I came to the concert cause of my wife so I don't really have time to listen to their stuff. Anyhow, I think it was Sweet Sacrifice which I think will be their next single after Lithium and Call Me When You're Sober.

The band was wearing all black, except Amy Lee which also wore a Scandinavian type skirt. The band's logo was highlighted on the background. The drummer has 2 sets of drum, which I think incorporates the digital one as well.
There were 2 guitarist and a bassist.



After they started then it was NON STOP ROCK. All I can say is Amy Lee, the singer, is truly a talented person. She's got an amazing voice. She did all the numbers flawless and she actually drank less water than everybody in the band. Amazing. Her voice quality did not even go down after a few "screaming" songs.


After a few songs, Amy Lee took the stage by herself and a grand piano. There was some "snow drops" during the songs.

All and all, it was about one and a half hour of good ROCK. They played songs from the new album, and a couple of songs from their previous album, Fallen, the album that launched them internationally.

In the end, the band gave out a few "merchandise". Amy Lee threw out some water bottles (Mt Franklin, I think), the guitarist threw a couple of picks, and the drummer threw his sticks.
It was really interesting to see how many people are so interested with the water bottles.

I've got some photos (blurry ones) from the concert at my flickr. It was only from my camera phone so nothing special.

Finished about 10.30pm and I've got to say their songs are not bad at all. I'm listening to them now so I suggest you do the same. The new album is The Open Door and the band is EVANESCENCE.

Boys Toys Night

If you're not doing anything tonight, Chadstone Shopping Centre has an event called Boys Toys Night. It's some kind of celebration for the upcoming Formula 1. So, expect to see everything cars, gadget and games. I think the girls won't miss out as well cause I saw a few offers from other retail that doesn't have anything to do with cars. So tonight, starts at 6.30pm. Check their website.