Microsoft Research Asia Innovation Forum conducts the most cutting-edge fundamental research in computer science. It is Microsoft’s premier research lab in Asia Pacific and it aims to drive the usage of computers and the Internet to foster more healthy knowledge economies in the Asia Pacific region.
The heavily sought after tickets for the “Microsoft Research Asia 10th Anniversary Innovation Forum” celebrated the lab’s efforts on “turning ideas into reality” for the past decade. More importantly, it brought together some of the best visionaries in our time to explore new avenues for us to make a contribution to the world.
I was on hand last night at the HK Convention & Exhibition Center for Bill Gates keynote speech. He spoke very little about what Microsoft Research Asia Labs was doing, instead he gave a motivational speech encouraging the students within Hong Kong to embrace innovation, think outside the box, and challenge traditional procedures to create more green, efficent, and effective lifestyle centered around technology.
In addition to Bill Gates keynote, there was panel discussion that consisted of Bill Gates and three of Hong Kong’s top University Presidents, Professor Paul Ching-Wu Chu, President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Professor Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor and President, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Hong Kong. Dr. Hsiao-Wuen Hon, Managing Director, Microsoft Research Asia served as the moderator to their discussion.
The discussion amongst the panelist was very much centered around education and was fueled by very generic questions, nothing that you may not have heard answered by Mr.Gates already; however, I still felt the forum was a success. The presence of Mr. Gates and our fellow University Presidents has inspired me (and possibly my fellow classmates) to innovate and not give up on what we want to achieve.
Pegged by the numerous issues I encountered when upgrading from Wordpress 1.x to 2.2, I have been hesitant to upgraded to the much talked about v2.6. However, with the release of their Wordpress iPhone app, I was force to make the transitions. I completed the update last weekend and the process (kind of) painless. The only issue that I ran into was my categories table got deleted in the DB upgrade, but it wasn’t all that difficult to resolve. A bit manual, but David Cumps has the solution here. Overall, the update has been really great. The media library is intuitive, the plugin manager is a godsend, but even more the ability to blog from your iPhone via the new app is worth the upgrade alone.
Dr. Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor whose final lecture inspired millions, died in Virginia of pancreatic cancer (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) . He was the founder of the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University and worked on the Alice 3D authoring system, an animated computer programming educational system for high school and college students.
“It’s not difficult to find educators in CS who are as personable as Dr. Pausch was but it is definitely rare to find one filled with such kindness and an undeniable love for life, ” said John Biggs of Tech Crunch and I couldn’t agree more with this statement.
Dr Pausch gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
The iPhone Dev Team has released PwnageTool 2.0. This jailbreaks iPhones/iPod Touches running firmware 2.0 to support non-App Store third-party application. The first-generation iPhones can also be unlocked, but the iPhone 3G cannot be unlocked or used with BootNeuter.
I tested this and the Pwanage Tool is flawless. Everything has worked for me so far and I provided an outline of what I did to get my iPhone 1st Gen unlocked and jailbroken with the 2.0 firmware.
Warning: Jailbreak / Unlock at your own risk. I will take no responsibility what so ever for what may occur before, during, after the Pwnaing process. I tried it myself and was successful. Please proceed with caution.
To Jailbreak and Unlock a first-generation iPhone:
Open iTunes 7.7 and connected the iPhone. When the iPhone is detected iTunes will ask you to upgrade your firmware, select the download only and disconnect iPhone after the download starts.
Open the Pwnage Tool
Select expert mode
Chose iPhone 1st Gen / iPod Touch
Browse for the 2.o firmware
Browse for the boot loader
Further customize the third party installer, custom boot / dfu screen, etc and select build (Optional). This will create a custom ipws for you to restore your phone from in iTunes
When the custom ipws file is created, the Pwanage Tool will instruct you on how to put your iPhone into dfu mod. Follow the on screen instruction , dock your phone, and close the Pwanage Tool.
Once your phone is in dfu mode and docked, iTunes will not recognize your iPhone and will ask you to restore. Select “alt” and the restore button, browse for your the custom ipw file you created with the Pwanage Tool and sit back and relax.
Once iTunes successfully restores your iPhone, it will reboot and bootneutral will opened automatically. First, it neutral the boot and then flashed the baseband.
Your iPhone 1st Gen / iPod Touch is Jailbroken and Unlocked
Dell’s mini notebook, Dell E is on track for an August launch. There will be two models, a 8.9-inch model meant to compete with the Eee 900, and a 12.1-inch (0.8-inches thick) ”E Slim” to take on the MacBook Air and X300, but at a lower-end capacity. It will come with an instant-on Linux distro running atop Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom processor, a 1,024 x 600 display, 3x USB, a wee SSD, integrated webcam, and WiFi in a 0.82-1.22-inch thick sled weighing about 2.2-pounds. It’s still unclear if the E will come with a full feature Linux disco, but at a USD$299 price point, this looks very appealing.
Engadget is reporting that GPS turn-by-turn directions is possible for the iPhone. This is just another reason for me to upgrade my first gen iPhone to the 3G model. It seems that their is no way to avoid the lust over this magical device.Despite the good news, Apple has stated that cut and paste is a low priority feature for them. Lets just hope someone can address this need with an app.
VB’s new secret project as been announced to the world: Qore, an interactive program on the Playstation Network. The premier episode includes in-depth exclusive and never-before released content on upcoming PlayStation titles such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Secret Agent Clank, Soul Calibur 4 and Afro Samurai, as well as the latest Blu-ray Disc trailers, an exclusive SOCOM: Confrontation theme with an invitation to the SOCOM: Confrontation beta, art galleries and other surprises.
To get Qore, simply log onto PSN and go to the PLAYSTATION Store, as you would purchase any other form of downloadable content. Once the single Episode or annual subscription is purchased, that month’s episode will be downloaded under the “Game” heading on the Cross Media Bar (XMB). Users who purchase the “Qore Annual Subscription” will notice only that month’s episode is available to download. The following month, the new episode will automatically appear in your download list. The introductory price for Qore is $2.99 for a single episode and $24.99 for an annual subscription of 13 episodes, using your PLAYSTATION Network wallet.
Playboy has published the profiles of nine women bloggers / vlogger - Xeni Jardin, Violet Blue, Julie Alexandria, Veronica Belmont, Amanda Congdon, Brigitte Dale, Sarah Lacy, Sarah Austin and Natali Del Conte. They are asking readers to vote on which one is “sexiest.” The winner will be asked to pose for Playboy; however, I doubt that any will argee to strip down. I voted for VB (no I dont want her to do Playboy, I just want to see her win), cast your vote here.
Today, the iPhone 3G finally comes to Hong Kong and I stopped by to party with the mac heads.
Only the 1,500 lucky preregistered customers, which were chosen randomly will be able to get an iPhone 3G in Hong Kong; thats is at least until Three is able to get more supply (I’m guessing it will take at least 2 months).
There are no long lines for the iPhone 3G in Hong Kong due to the pre-registrations process they have setup.
The 1,500 iPhone 3G owners will get a special gift pack that includes a limited iPhone 3G case.
