Why I will never buy Apple products

I found this piece of news so amusing, that I just had to give my own thoughts about it. Read how Steve Jobs spews nonsense in regards to Adobe Flash. In this article, Steve Jobs reiterates for the N-th time why Apple's mobile devices refuse to adopt the usage of Adobe Flash; I hope you find the article as amusing as I did.

To summarize, the article mentions Jobs' recent outburst on how evil Adobe Flash is, constantly crashing their beloved overpriced Mac machines. Now I don't use Mac machines (and I refuse to) so I can't comment on this but so I'll leave that particular statement alone. He also said that Flash was a CPU hog and had too many vulnerabilities for comfort; I'll give him that much as well. Fact is, Flash can't help but use the CPU to run it's complex operations. Never being all that good a programmer, I can't vouch for nor denounce Flash's capability as a program but I do know that it is a poorly optimized application. I do know about news that Adobe is working on a way to offload the loading of Flash applications to the GPU but that's just making the GPU take all the heat instead of reducing the heat; the underlying issue is not dealt with at all.

Before I go on, I'd like to say I'm not picking sides here. Fact is, I dislike both Adobe's Flash and in general all Apple products. Flash is all people complain it to be: slow and buggy. Where else Apple products are simply too expensive and just don't make sense monetary wise. The 27-inch iMac is closed to RM7,000 last I check and with that amount of budget I could probably get a PC 50% more powerful; that's just how overpriced Macs are. On Flash, web UIs developed by that tend to be seriously bloated and generally takes longer to load compared to other sites. As far as end users go, we only tend to experience or use Flash when we visit video streaming sites or the various Flash games you find online like those in Facebook.

Getting back to the article, Jobs actually claimed that Apple was responsible for getting people to ditch Floppy drives and old data ports, which is simply ridiculous and also oddly amusing; I guess his stupidity and ignorance just makes me wanna burst out laughing. Last I checked, I ditched Floppy drives simply because floppy discs can only store a meager 1.44MB of data, which is just too little for modern use. Old data ports were just part of the evolutionary process of computer components; USB was introduced to the world, giving serial and parallel ports no other choice than to become a thing of the past.

Anyway, Jobs went on to say that Apple will make people ditch Flash as well and like the other claims he made, I just don't see how. Is Steve Jobs even sober or sane when he made those statements? I think many of us who don't worship Jobs realize how the guy is stuck in his own Reality Distortion Field (hello Steve, wake up and smell the coffee will ya?). To put it otaku terms, Steve Jobs is stuck in his own Reality Marble and he wants to drag everyone else in.

I have no doubts that there are many people on the Apple camp who worship and advocate Apple products "just because"; that's the reason you hear many people give when you ask them why they bought an Apple product. Other statements he spouted whilst being delusional were like "creating videos with H.264 is trivial" which is something else I don't wanna comment on due to my lack of knowledge in H.264. But as far as I remember H.264 only does videos, I wasn't told that it could suddenly create game applications or be used to create web UIs (granted Flash-based websites are a pain to load).

Where did all these hoohah come from? Well basically the iPad was partially involved. With the release of the ridiculously named tablet device, the question once again sprung up "will the iPad support Adobe Flash?" To which a very annoyed Jobs said "no". Why? Because apparently the iPad's battery life of 10 hours would be reduced to only 1.5 hours if it were to run Flash apps or used to browse Flash-based sites. Honestly, if the iPad were to be used to run even any sort of video programs, I doubt it'd last 1.5 hours anyway. Heck, can it even run for 10 hours in the first place? 10 hours completely idle maybe, which is definitely not a good way to measure battery life.

Is there a point? Not really, I just wanted to let people know what's going on and what I think about it. While it's true that Flash has many problems, we'll still see a lot of people using it until HTML5's adoption increases and even then it'll not entirely eliminate the need for Flash. What Steve Jobs seems to want to do here is to do exactly that though, with his statement that Apple will make people abandon Flash. Will they come up with something better? Or are they putting all their hopes on HTML5? Honestly, only time will tell.

For now, I'm just happy that I'm sane and clever enough to know that the iPhone is nothing without the app store (in fact it'll be an inferior phone), which would also be nothing if Apple allowed Flash on their mobile devices. Coincidence? I think not.

Life is full of what ifs, innit?

As titled. Day in, day out, we always wonder "what if?" What if I took a certain action earlier would the results would be different? Or what if I had been more careful with my words, would I have avoided trouble? Like we always say, "hindsight is 20/20"; it pains me to say that I don't have hindsight and in fact I dare say nobody does.

Experience, alertness, awareness, and many other factors can help avoid situations that are less than ideal but it's safe to say that there is no one that can accurately predict an outcome to every action. What do I want to say? Shouldn't you know better than to ask by now? I never know what I really wanna say, this blog is entirely the ramblings of a confused mind.

But every cause has an effect right? So what's the cause for the effect known as this post? To put it simply, regrets. One can only lament on what ifs due to fact that one regrets the result of an action. Am I going to talk about it? Perhaps not. You all would do well to know that with Google around, none of your stuff are private anymore.

I wish I could tell the person this particular regret concerns but then if I could, I wouldn't be lamenting here would I? That very night I should have acted, but I didn't and that's all to it on this particular story.

Tired

Very, very tired. It's been two months since I've posted huh? Somehow it seems when I just dunno how to get on with work, blogging is the only way for any sort of words to appear; not like it's possible to get writer's block with blogs, right? (I think)

I have weekends off and I even took an extra long weekend just recently to get some needed rest. However, though my body got a good bit of rest, I still feel constantly lethargic. I have nigh-zero motivation for my work, and constantly having hardware failing on me is so tiring it's not even funny anymore or even fun to try and find out what's wrong. All there is, is the hassle of finding a solution and making sure the damn hardware works so I can take my hands and eyes off the it and get some other work done. Unfortunately my bosses don't think so, they think hardware testing is easy as pie and that every hardware is fault free so there's no need to sit on it to fix any problems because they don't exist.

I had a lecture recently which I didn't expect I would get. Through circumstances my workload for that month seemed exceptionally low, and that exception was taken to point out that I wasn't pulling my own weight in gold or silver or whatever you wanna call it. Was it my fault? I'm not foolish enough to dare say it's not my fault at all, but I certainly dare claim that circumstances this time were out of my control. Soon, I would have been working in my current company for a healthy amount of time and during this period of time I have contributed my fair share. Sure I may not churn out words faster than you can blink but I do what I have to. Is it really wrong of me to wish for more in return? It appalls me that programmers are getting paid almost twice I am, even though just a few years ago nobody wants to be a programmer due to the lousy pay (though in hindsight it's more likely due to the insane workload).

Do I really have to work like a dog just to get a little bit more for a tonne more effort? Do I really have to bow my head and hold my peace because this society operates entirely on money alone? There is no pride and honour, and from most perspective I'm considered a prideful and egoistic person so acting like a stupid meek dog to curry favour is something I will not tolerate. My pride will not allow it, but then the money factor is thrown at your face. Fact is I came into line of work expecting a straight punch, but I got a right hook along with a left uppercut. To say that I have been naive is beyond understatement.

I don't think I can last long. There's no where else I can go, but I might not even be given the chance to remain. I may sound paranoid but after what I have experienced, I think the possibility is there. I was hoping to be able to save up enough to start something up with some friends some day, but I can't really see it happening in the next 5 years at this rate. In conclusion, life sucks hard, it really does. Not that I don't know that already. *sigh*

Sleep, oh blissful sleep

It's ironic how nowadays we have the term "catch up to my sleeping" or something similar. Has sleep become so scarce that it no longer comes to us naturally but runs away so that we have to actually 'catch up' to it? The answer is kinda obvious though: many of us spurn sleep for the sake of having just those few hours of extra time to do the various things we want or need to do.

The situation is not ideal for many, to say the least. When one should be deep in sleep to recuperate from a rough and hectic day at work, we are instead up and about doing our own things that we couldn't do because most of our time is occupied with being at work or in the office. Fact is, many of us also realize how unhealthy such sleeping habits are but we persist and thus we often fall sick. Yes, not getting enough rest and sleep can cause you to be sick. Headaches and migraines are common when one lacks sleep, and at times even fevers; I'll personally testify to that.

Way into 1am in the morning, I'll be doing anything but sleeping and that is really bad sometimes since I get headaches so often (it's gotten better nowadays). Can I stop doing that? Not really. I've got so many things I wanna do and the only way I'll be able to is sleep late. Am I gonna do anything about it? Nah...I'll probably stick to "catching up with my sleep" on weekends.

wtf am i doing?!

*looks at title* The hell I know what I'm doing! I'm killing my own chances that's what! I'm obviously a non-choice here! Now someone give me a fucking good kick in the behind so I'll stop pining for the impossible.

BLARGH! FRUSTRATING! HEART ACHING! *breaths*

100!

Another emo post here. I've got so many on my mind that I need to let out and facebook ain't a good idea. I have so many emotions swimming in my head lately so much so I feel like I'm about to go nuts.

Where to start? If you remember my last post, I said I've become attracted to someone I know I shouldn't. But emotions are such a dangerous things, it makes you do things you don't want to. I still haven't sort out this dangerous can of worm yet and another problem arises.

I've stopped believing in religion a few years ago, as I'm sure I've told a few before. All it does is make me confused and when I'm confused I get frustrated and angry. I need to go off-track a bit here before I proceed. Many would know of me as a very complicated person; not exactly the right word but I'm kinda at a lost of words now so it'll suffice. I look quiet and timid but I can become very confrontational under certain circumstances. Often I look bored and uninterested but then I'll laugh at something random at the drop of a hat.

In many ways, I feel like a hypocrite. I don't seem to have a dominant personality or characteristic. At least not from my own point of view; it's often hard to look inwards and understand yourself. But regardless of what, I'm quite sure that I'm one very willful and opinionated jerk. I wanna do things the way I want to and I wanna live my life the way I want to. However, religion doesn't allow that. I must do this, do that, obey this, surrender my whole life, give of my self without expecting anything in return, and the list goes on.

All I feel is that I'm restricted and tied down. I can't mix with people who might really be wonderful people because they are 'unbelievers' or 'sinners'. I must obey without thinking like a robot and give up a portion of my income 1st and foremost before I get to use it to pay my bills. Let's not forget that other than bills I have to eat and save money monthly; I won't even talk about my needs as priority. I must adhere to a book that has more interpretation and versions than you'd care to count, with equal amount of beliefs and denominations, because if I don't I'd go to 'hell'. The worst thing of all these is I have parents who believes it's imperative that our lives be governed and surrendered to a supposedly existing deity who some people apparently can 'see' or 'hear'. Guess what I call people who can hear and see something that doesn't exist?

But family is family. My parents brought me into this world and they raised me up to who I am today, regardless of the fact that I'm not the best person around, whether physically or mentally or whatever. It makes me angry and above all it makes me sad that me and my parents can no longer seem to understand each other. Perhaps many of us asians need to break out of the "keep the silence" habit, and really hammer things out with our parents. But we hold back because we know we can't change their mind and we don't try to change that.

I don't wanna be tied down like that, yet I can't tell my parents that they should see things my way. Ultimately I believe every individual has a choice to make and I've made the choice of not believing in the nonsense known as religion. But it pains me. I didn't even realize it until today. Me and my parents, we just don't seem to understand each other anymore. If you ask me how my parents are like, I won't be able to answer immediately and when I do it won't be the complete story; the same goes for them when it comes to me. Why? Simply because we don't know the complete story. We just don't understand one another and that makes me realize how dysfunctional a family we have become.

I'm in pain and I despair. Perhaps my parents realize that I'm not like them but I'm not sure if they realize the extend of how different our believes are. They are firm believers and I'm what many believers call a "horrible sinner". My life is a mess. I fall for someone I shouldn't and who would readily reject me. I fail to be on good terms with my parents and my brother. What can I do? I dunno anymore. I don't know what the future holds. I can't believe in blind faith and wait on a deity that doesn't exist. So what do I do? What can I do with this life? How can I tell my parents that we have vastly different beliefs and not break their heart?

Emotions are dangerous. Religion is treacherous. But above everything else...I think we human beings are the cause of all our own problems and too often, all too often, we can't do shit about it.

Just one more post...

Before I hit 100, after like what? 3 years? Most of my old blogs died in a few months, this one managed to keep its head above the water for quite awhile now.

Anyway, I'm only posting because I've got stuff to get off my chest (as usual) and posting on facebook is not a smart idea; nor feasible, in hindsight. I've been thinking about the phrase "opposites attract" for the past 2 days. Personally, I've always felt that line isn't entirely true. Attraction in itself is very subjective, and some people only get attracted to people who are on the same 'wavelength' as they are. But when you analyze the phrase it actually makes a lot of sense; some people are attracted to others who are totally their opposites. Why? One theory is that because they actually find themselves lacking, or don't really like their own selves. They look for someone different from them, to drag them out of their morbid lifestyles perhaps, or to bring them down to Earth. When you think about it, there's just too many possibilities.

"What's your type?" is an often asked question, and in truth it never stays the same for most. In some cases, one may be attracted to different types of people, simply meaning that they appreciate different qualities in a person. Is that how two-timing comes about? Well, I rather not answer that question. It'll seem like I'm making an excuse for the two-timers out there. What's my type? A few I suppose. I've always thought that I'd prefer a girl who is quiet and smart, yet cute at the same time. Further back in secondary school, I had a list of requirement that would never have been fulfilled by any person in this world.

In my defense, everyone would wish for the perfect gf/bf at one time in their life, no? After my failure earlier this year, I've come to realize that the quiet type may not be the one for me. After all, if we both suck at talking and communicating, it wouldn't be much of a relationship would it? Besides, she didn't have the smarts and intelligence that I appreciate in girls. In short, I despise airheads, and she is quite close to being one.

Then I thought, maybe an outgoing girl with street and book smarts would be more attractive. To be honest, it does seem that way. For one, she'd knock me out of occasional 'black moods'; I call them my personal version of PMS, minus the menstruation and pains, with very erratic life cycles. Two, she'd help me make more friends in a day than I would be able to in a year. Three, she'd help me get into things I'd never try and get me to enjoy doing it (I think. I'll probably draw a line somewhere). Four, she'll be doing all the work while I lay down and enjoy the ri- *shot in the head with a magnum*

*revives* Ahem! Went astray for a bit there... Anyway, I won't say this is THE type that I like but A type of girl I've come to like. However! But! しかし！Tetapi! [insert whatever language here] How do I even woo and approach girls like them? This type of girl will usually be so outgoing they are all over the place. They love hanging out with people and making new friends so they wouldn't want a gloomy looking nerd tagging behind them. The fact is, how difficult it is for certain types of 'opposites' to attract each other! It almost seems as if there's a higher percentage for things to be one-sided.

*pauses* I guess I'm long winded as usual. I've even sidetracked; the original reason I felt like blogging was because I had a problem gnawing at the back of my mind. I've realized after so many years that I still dunno what people feel when they take the plunge to confess to another. Is it merely a crush or something more? A crush can also evolve to that something more, no? But I suppose that is only if they get to know the person more. What constitute a 'crush', 'affection', or even 'love'? Do those fairy tale and romance novel kind of relationships even exist in real life? I have so many queries, but no answer.

*another pause* What? You are amazed at how curious I can be at weird and overly philosophical matters? Hello~~what's the title of my blog? It's the way I'm wired. *shrugs* As I was saying, all I've ever felt was what people always tell me is "just a crush" so I can clearly tell when that's all it is. Lo and behold I now have another crush! Bad news it is, I say! You ask why. For the simple reason that I know that this will just not work out. There's a line here, one I will not cross.

Which brings to mind another question, "what is a relationship that is more than just friendship, but not exactly to the next level?" Or to put it more accurately, if I were to only go for something more than just friendship but keep myself in check and know where the lines are, what do you call a relationship like that and is it ok? Deep down I know the answer for the latter is a resounding no, that's why I dare not ask her about it.

What do you do when someone is just that way, very friendly, and you just happen to get charmed that easily? That person is just being extra friendly because they have grown to be comfortable with you but definitely don't think of you that way. Next comes the bummer: that person is attached! All I can do is just shake my head and hope these unhealthy feelings are gone with time.

It's been awhile since I've been as long winded as this but I feel I really needed an outlet, even if it doesn't really help alleviate the problem/issue. Hopefully, my cold and logical analysis here will remain and remind me that these feelings are only momentary and fleeting. I mustn't do anything that will destroy our friendship, or cause something irreparable to happen; I'll only suffer from it. For now, I really need to concentrate on work and hopefully start to get things done tomorrow.