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This is a huge step-up from my previous Xacti. Sporting the same universally-praised form factor, the Sanyo Xacti Dual HD2000 records video at Full HD (1920x1080) and up to 60fps. Video quality is really, really good at these settings. But be prepared to free up some space on your computer or get extra storage ‘cause a 30-second video clip will easily take up about 100MB of disk space. Gotta say it’s well worth it though. You should never sacrifice video quality for space. After all you only get to capture those precious moments once. And there’s nothing quite like watching your own masterpiece in all its high-definition glory.

Been wanting to take my open water diver course for a long time but never got around to do it. So I guess getting this underwater camera set would in some way force me to find time and go dive as soon as possible - just for the sake of testing if these stuff really works as advertised! This Olympus µTough 8000 is unlike any other point-and-shoot cameras in the market. Well at least on paper it seems so. It’s built to be dustproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof, and even waterproof. When used with the special underwater housing, it’s capable of going as deep as 40 metres! Well not that I’d dive that deep but it’s good to know that this bad boy can withstand so much pressure!

Last time I was in Tokyo I didn’t manage to drop by the famous Akihabara district. This time I made it a point to check out the area and boy was it a geek haven. The sheer variety of electronics, video games, anime and all sort of otaku goods available are just astounding. I’m not much of an anime or gaming fan so I didn’t check out those stuff. But if you consider yourself an otaku I’m sure you could spend all day here. I went looking for some accessories that I saw online which are Japan-only. (Don’t you just hate that?!) Oh well, I found this 7-inch LCD monitor by Buffalo Japan. You can power this baby up just by USB alone. Isn’t that amazing? And it works with both Mac and PC. You can easily extend your screen area and have your calendar or the latest news headlines constantly on display while you’re working on the main screen. Would be so perfect if it’s touch-enabled!

I just had my first alcohol-free beer in Yokohama. Yes, 100% ALCOHOL-FREE BEER! Apparently it’s the world’s first and was released in Japan last month. Why, you ask? Well I guess sometimes you might want a beer but don’t want the buzz that comes with it. Say, after a round of golf, you might want a cold frosty before you get behind the wheel. Or maybe you just love the taste of beer to go with your lunch but don’t wanna get all lit up afterwards. I guess Kirin Free is your best bet. But honestly if you ask me, this stuff tastes like crap. It kinda made me throw up a little bit in my mouth just now. But who knows? Try it out! You might like this watered-down beer-flavoured soda to go with your sushi!

At the risk of sounding like I have a sock fetish, I just love to buy socks. Oftentimes I think socks don’t get the attention they deserve and men just tend to forget the basic rules. Anyway that’s not the point. I came across this brand the other day and I just wanted to ask… Is it just me or is PUSSYFOOT a friggin’ hilarious name for men’s socks? God how I amuse myself sometimes.

This stuff just keeps getting better!

Stopped by Bennetts Lane Jazz Club for a short while last night. It’s one of the most secluded jazz clubs I’ve ever been to. You’re probably gonna have a hard time finding it if you don’t know Melbourne CBD very well. But hey, this is definitely the place to go if you wanna truly appreciate jazz musicianship - ‘cause nobody talks during the performance!

Thanks to the craze started with the Asus Eee PC, netbooks have taken the world by storm and are still selling in massive quantities. This newly created market is now flooded with offerings from Dell, HP, Toshiba, MSI, Lenovo and etc. They typically have a small keyboard and screen ranging from 7 to 10 inches, run Windows XP or Linux, and usually go for less than USD400. So how does Sony get in on the action and avoid being labeled as a mere trend follower? They went back into their archives and dug up the classic VAIO PictureBook and worked on that concept, fused it with new technologies, and came up with the most gorgeous ultraportable computer they call a Pocket Style PC - the VAIO P.

Naturally, I couldn’t resist and got myself a piece over the weekend when I saw it in Singapore. But let me just say this up front: Straight out of the box this machine sucks big time. It’s terribly slow. Font size is ridiculous. You’ll hate yourself for blowing your hard-earned cash on this. But once you uninstall the dozen or so bloatwares that come with it, do some cleaning and tweaking here and there, this baby springs back to life and can easily perform most computing tasks without choking. It’s so small and just so great for notetaking, surfing, email on the… WILL YOU TAKE A LOOK AT IT AGAIN? It’s just so sexy it doesn’t really matter what it can or can’t do! I’ve always wanted a PictureBook when I was in school and now my wish’s finally fulfilled. 9 years later.

Update: I’ve been running Windows 7 Release Candidate on this baby for weeks. Everything’s so much snappier compared to Vista. All buttons and drivers are working fine. Can’t wait for the final release! Oh yeah, Sony Japan just refreshed its VAIO P line and you can now get it running Windows XP SP3 on Atom 2GHz with 256GB SSD. There are also some new colours and patterns for you to choose from. Japan-only for now. Sweet, ain’t it?

I get asked a lot whenever I’m reading a magazine on my laptop at some airports or coffeeshops what is it that I’m using. So I thought I’d share this magazine, well, e-magazine subscription service that I’ve been using for quite some time. It’s called Zinio. Basically you sign up for an account, pick the magazines that interest you, subscribe to them (at heavily discounted rates), download the Zinio application (Mac or PC) and that’s it. There’s a Delivery Manager that’ll automatically download the magazines you’ve subscribed every time a new issue comes out. It’s so convenient and easy to use that I’ve subscribed to a hell of a lot more magazines (18 and counting) than I actually have time to read.

Friends of mine brought me to the first exclusive Gustav Klimt exhibition in Asia. Never thought I’d see such a huge collection of Klimt’s artworks in the flesh all in one place. Especially not in Asia. There were some unrepresentative early works, some unfinished pieces, some portraits, some landscapes, some allegories, and lots of drawings - mostly preparatory sketches for some of his larger works and some life studies of women posing nude and… well, masturbating. You really gotta admire his talent and guts. If you happen to be in Seoul before May 15, make sure you drop by the Hangaram Art Museum and pay homage to this legend.

Just been to JZ Club in Shanghai and Once In A Blue Moon in Seoul. Two of the finest jazz clubs on the planet in three days? God must love me.

Another day at the driving range trying to get my swing right. Took a break and downloaded the new Tumblr iPhone app and trying to post a photo entry over 3G network now. Can’t help but think that mobile technology has really, really come a long way. I wonder if the highly anticipated Palm Pre will be able to match what Apple have achieved with the iPhone… Just plain simplicity with solid functionality.

Update: Photo resized. The original photo uploaded with the iPhone was too big for my liking. They should add a resize function in the next update. And maybe throw in a simple colour and contrast adjustment slider for good measure.

Here’s the iWood (yeah I know, pretty lame name) for iPhone 3G. Made from 100% real wood in Holland. It’s really different from all the plasticky cases out there. I had my company logo etched on the back. You can have your own logo, monogram or personal message engraved if you want, making it truly one of a kind.

Photochromic lens are the kind of lens that automatically darken when they’re exposed to UV light, and automatically adjust themselves back to clear state when there’s no UV rays present. They’ve been around for some time now but were never quite practical because of low sensitivity and slow transition from one state to another. All that’s changed with the latest Transitions lens, which feature the most advanced photochromic technology ever. They now change from clear-indoors state to sunglass-outdoors state in a matter of seconds. Made from virtually unbreakable materials, I highly recommend these to anyone wearing glasses. By the way I designed these pair of lens myself, not too bad eh?

Finally got around to setting up a small marine aquarium in my office. Bought a clownfish and a blue tang to test the water today. If these little guys survive the first week then I’ll bring them some new friends when I get back from CNY. Let’s just hope I set the water parameters right.

Update: They didn’t make it. Shhhit. Maybe I should just stick to freshwater fish. Anybody want a hydrometer?