Rambling on…

Dell’s cool Studio XPS 16 has gotten a new option over in the US. The guys over there can now choose from either an AMD ATI Mobility Radeon 3570 or an AMD ATI Mobility Radeon 4670. The 4670 is significantly faster than the 3570. The 4670 will even come equipped with 1GB of RAM versus the 512MB that’s offered with the 3570. This will definitely make the Studio XPS 16 more desirable if you’re a gamer. It has already created a buzz with people on Notebook Review Forum starting an official owners’ thread.

Dell Studio XPS 16

Dell has finally addressed one of the main reasons why I’ve not gone out and purchased this notebook. Now the only questions remaining are:

• Will Dell bring this option to Malaysia?
• And if so, how much will it cost?

Photographing portraits isn’t the easiest thing to do. Foremost in my mind when doing a portrait shot is mostly technical things. Stuff like:

• Did I get the lighting right?
• Am I using flattering angles?
• Am I being creative with the subject and background?
• How do I avoid the reflection in the glasses?
• Do I need a gold/silver/white reflector?
• DAMN! I need another flash!

But that’s the easy part. The most difficult bit (for me anyway) is always the interaction. Depending on the subject, this can be easy.. or HELL. My first few tries at portrait photography were disasters.. I went in feeling all tense and intimidated, which naturally resulted in crappy shots. But I’ve realised a couple of things that has made more recent attempts at portraiture easier to handle.
(continue reading…)

Nokia has released a new business class device, the E63… Looking at the specs, it seems to be a baby E71.. with some features missing. Nokia says it represents a new proposition, that it provides people with a way to keep in touch with both their personal and business sides.. I’m not too sure about that.. but if it’s cheaper than the E71.. I might get one. Now.. which should I get.. the blue? or red?

Update 1: ARGH! It has a plastic body! Darn… E75 maybe?

I’m writing this just as Massa prematurely leaves the pitbox with the fuel hose still attached! This isn’t the first incident this year, there have been numerous other pitlane related errors, something that wouldn’t have happened when Todt, Brawn and Schumacher were around… and I suspect when a traditional lollipop was still in use.

Think of it logically, if you have one big carbon fibre board which has “STOP” and “1st GEAR”, along with the pre-requisite advertisers’ logos.. it’s quite impossible for the driver to miss it. Even if it were pulled up early by mistake, it is easy for the lollipop man to actually just drop it back down in front of the driver, thereby stopping the driver.

But if the LEDs have already indicated a go, is the driver still gonna be looking at the overhead lights? I doubt it… so Ferrari.. Suck it up.. bring back the lollipop!

related links: F1-Live: Ferrari denies need to ‘lollipop’ return

** Update: Looks like Ferrari reverted to a lollipop on Raikonnen’s second stop.. I didn’t catch the other stops though…

When I started writing this entry, I was thinking of yet another “BOOO!” to the Malaysian government. But I think there’s more than enough of that on the Internet.. my adding to it won’t help matters.

The fact is, petrol prices have gone up. And we have to do something about it. No, not by complaining.. but by changing how we do things. Here I’ll present to you what I’ve been doing to save petrol.

1. Avoid taking unnecessary trips.
2. If possible, do your driving in the morning or evening. Cooler temperatures mean denser air which is easier on the engine. Plus, cranking up the air-conditioning in the afternoons just adds to your petrol consumption.
3. Similarly, top up on your petrol when it is cooler. The cooler temperatures mean denser petrol.
4. Don’t drive aggressively. Curb that right foot! The harder you accelerate, the more petrol you burn.
5. Plan your trips to avoid jams and heavy traffic.
6. Let your car coast in neutral. Of course, you have to make sure the situation is safe as a neutral engine means a lack of engine braking.
7. Don’t leave your engine idling. When waiting for someone, turn your engine off. Too hot? Get out of the car and in the shade.
8. A friend of mine does this in Australia, he turns off his engine when waiting at a long traffic light. Of course, you need to be familiar with the lights and anticipate when the lights will turn green so you don’t bring any unnecessary attention on yourself.
9. Don’t drive with your windows down or your sunroof open. These create drag. The more drag you have, the more your engine has to work. Remove that bicycle rack when you’re not using it! Thinking of adding some cool rear spoilers? Think twice… those spoilers may look cool, but they also add drag. Besides, how fast do you think you’ll be going that you’ll need to add more rear downforce??
10. Ensure your tyres are properly inflated. An underinflated tyre creates more rolling resistance. It also wears your tyres out. Oh, and remember.. a tyre’s pressure goes up after some driving due to heat build-up. So, if you drove 10 minutes to the petrol station and then inflated your tyre to the recommended pressure, chances are, it’s still underinflated. The recommended tyre pressures are for COLD tyres. So, overinflate your tyres at the station, get a pressure gauge and measure the pressure in the morning when they’re cold and adjust the pressures down accordingly. Need I mention not to overinflate your tyres past their recommended limits?
11. Make sure your car is in tip-top condition. If your spark-plugs aren’t working as they should it means your petrol isn’t burning as completely as it should. Keep your air filter clean… a dirty filter means an inefficient engine.
12. Polish your car! A clean car means less drag.
13. Carpool! Yeah.. the added weight makes your car less efficient, but it sure beats driving two or three cars to work or to that mamak.
14. Reduce weight! Stop carrying that bag of golf clubs in the boot!
15. Do you leave your car to warm up in the mornings? Don’t! Just drive gingerly and you’ll be fine. Leaving the car on idle for 10 minutes is a sure fire way to increase your petrol consumption.

I’ve been practising some of these tips for the past 3 months. And it does affect my petrol consumption. My car’s trip computer calculates an average distance (km) per litre of petrol (L)consumed, or km/L. I used to get about 9.8 – 10.1 km/L. Now, I’m averaging 10.8 – 11km/L. At the maximum, it’s a 1.2km/L increase which means I can go 50.4km further on my full tank (42L) of petrol.

Give it a shot… and see what kind of improvements you get!