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Could this be real?

I admit I’m a sucker for IT hoaxes and rumors. All these years of experience hasn’t turned me into a professional hoax spotter but made me a believer that technology can seems like magic and fantasy in the way they work. Everything suddenly becomes possible.

So I’m stumped today when I received this in my email today:

“A new device has been introduced to the marketplace that is a huge danger
to anyone who uses a PC that is not theirs. It is known as a key tracker
and it sits between the keyboard and the PC. As can be seen in the pictures
it is very discreet but is probably one of the most dangerous items of
equipment to personal information that is readily available. These devices
record every key that is pressed on the keyboard. Due to it’s position (it
sits between the keyboard and the PC) the information is logged by the
tracker before the PC knows about it and as such is very difficult for the
PC to detect. They are available in both USB and PS2 formats so pretty much
any PC can be logged. The user puts the tracker in line, leaves it there
for a set amount of time and then retrieves it. They can then download the
data onto their own PC.

If you intend to use a PC that is not yours (ie hotel business centre,
internet café, airport etc) I would advise looking at the back of the PC to
see if one of these trackers has been placed in line (scrambling under a
desk is the better alternative to losing your email details). If you cannot
get to see the back of the PC, I would suggest you don’t use it for
anything personal. If a tracker is there and you do not notice it, whoever
placed it there (could be any user of that PC before you) will be able to
recall all of your keystrokes – logins, passwords etc.”

The article reeks of spam and hoax but Gmail spam hasn’t filtered it off and the device does look menacing.

I suppose something like what they say exist but it doesn’t look like the picture they attached. Also if I were to find one, I’d probably keep it. Like the author of the email.

Anyway I’m gonna to trash it if no one can tell me how the heck do they download your keystrokes and why does it look like a PS2 extension.

Car test drive

Woot!

Got to drive a H.City yesterday.. can consider 90% getting it after that test. It was just soooo goood!

I liked it the moment I stepped inside, plush black and dark grey mixing up a palate of cool, then the engine was so quiet I didn’t know it was started. Somemore thanks to the self illuminating panels I had no idea the car was running until I tried to start the engine and the sales guy ask me what am I trying to do! Aiks… pai seh.

Sorry la, I drive a Wira. Understand me.

The car has gone through a facelift and now boasts more sporty design. Civic’s front and City’s butt. Serious, check it in Honda.com.my if you want to. The only thing left unchanged is the 2 small triangle windows at the sidemirror. Too small to be of use but too ugly if closed off. So it was left there. Let others know it’s an A frame car.

Anyway the seats are comfortable, the steering is a bit too small for me but Honda changed the steering design to the Civic 3 spoke design so it’s cool enough for me. The steering column comes with manual gear shifts and a “sports mode” that gives a lower gear ratio so in theory we can drive faster at lower gears (more torque). Very nice indeed, hee heee…

Anyway the interior is nice to say, spartan in fact. The CD player on the VTEC model is different from the i-DSI model. This comes with removal plates and has MP3 support. Not sure if it comes with a remote though.

The handling is superb. On the test road I drove on, I hit a few port holes on purpose and the car didn’t shake as much as a Wira does (OF COURSE!). Likewise on the highway I raced with a BMW and I won (cause the BMW had to pay cash while I got Touch-and-Go). Nevertheless I’d like to heap praises on the engine as well as the manual shifts.

131Nm of torque at 2300rpm is fun!

On the visibility issue, the windscreen is deeper and wider. Good but I’m not used to it. Likewise, several pro points is the engine compartment is shorter compared to my Wira, however due to the deeper windscreen I actually stopped further away from the car in front when I thought I’m at my normal stopping distance. Good point there.

The side mirrors are the best. Compared to my Wira, it’s actually like switching from SD to wide screen Hi-Def. I can see things much taller and it has a wider viewing angle. For once I can see the entire tool collection centre (not only the booth, the whole string of them).

The sales guy told me the VTEC model has 15km/L while the iDSI model has 16km/L but the VTEC model has 22 extra horses in the engine and it costs 5k more. When I asked about why bother coming out with the i-DSI model then since both has similar fuel consumption and he said it’s because the VTEC model is meant for both cruising and “racing” while the i-DSI is always stuck in the cruising mode.  Likewise the VTEC has more gadget in the car, better design and other goodies.

VTEC for me then.. so far so good.

Safety issue is more than what my Wira has definitely.  Dual air bags for the people in the front and seat belts for those at the belt. The sales guy says “unofficially” that in a City, the people at the back is actually more likely to get injured than those in the fron. Not due to the airbag but due to the G-CON system. It distributes impact forces from the front around the frame, avoiding the passengers and merges back at the rear. That’s also why in a head on collision, the windscreen doesn’t break while the rear mirror does. G-CON at work.

Add an air bag to the front and the people at the back should be scared now.

The carrying capacity of the car is also another major plus point. A whopping 500L. That’s more than enough to stuff 2 full golf bags + 1 hostage and still got space left for a subwoofer. And somemore the i-DSI back seats can be folded down to form a flat flooring all the way to the front. Honda calls it Ultra Seats. Ikea should not be a problem now.

After the round trip we settled down for some $$ talk, Maybank made a deal with Honda so I can get ultra low interest rates and 1k off plus 2 years free maintenance and 3 years warranty on parts.

My interest peaked so I asked how long do I have to wait for the car.. and he said not more than 10 days from loan approval. Yay!

Now the problem is the loan… aiks.

Starcraft 2

Just got word from HERE that Starcraft 2 will be announced by Blizzard on the 19th of May 2007 at the Blizzard World Wide Invitational where pro gamers are invited to test out their new games.

According to the source, over 100 media partners has been invited setting the stage for the unveiling of a new game. Probably a sequel.

Chairman of Blizzard Korea leaked that “we cannot answer anything about Starcraft 2, we will have a new game on 19th so please come and find out.” (duh!)

It seems there will be a new race (Protoss + Zerg?) and will be in 3D.

According to GosuGamers.net which compilled a list of previous hints on the game:

Whether or not these claims are true will be difficult to confirm because of the nature of the source (anonymous leak). Over the years there have been much said about the sequel – Blizzard has repeatedly mentioned that they have always been interested in “revisiting the StarCraft world”. However, only recently has there been an increasing number of leaks regarding Starcraft 2, all hinting that it is indeed coming out soon. Here’s the recent history:

# December 2006: An ‘Unannounced project’ was what Chris Sigaty, Lead Producer of WarCraft 3 (and its expansion), said he was working with when GosuGamers met up with Blizzard in our recent interview called » When Blizzard started talking. He would not comment further on what project it was.

# 8th January 2007, GosuGamers » reported about a claim that StarCraft 2 would be announced early 2007. That source also leaked a lot of other unconfirmed information to the gaming community, much which have turned out to be true.

# Only days later, 16th January 2007, at the launch of the Burning Crusade, » a Blizzard representative made further, and this time public, hints about StarCraft II.

# 9th April 2007, sources at FighterForum (» translated at TeamLiquid) claimed that information about a new race and 3D graphics being included in StarCraft 2 had leaked from the company and that a beta would be out by the end of 2008. It only contained claims for a new “Kerrigan” race and that the original units of StarCraft would be included in the sequel, but with a modification.

Just as everyone grew up on Starcraft, bear in mind that Blizzard say they will announce the game, not release it for sale. Beta would be out before 2008 so game proper would likely be available later. Hype it up first.

By then I’d have graduated and can enjoy my game in peace.. hahaha

[Update]: Cannot read Korean? Know Google? Translate it la! 

Chinese Uni entrance exam prowess

There is just that special something that most chinese students has (other than me) is a profound understanding in maths.

At least that’s what most felt when they compare maths exam papers meant for students of the same age. Since maths is a universal “language”, it’s either you know how to solve it or you don’t. There no language barrier whatsoever.

Below are a sample of an entrance exam for a very well known University in UK:

Those who follow the UK version of academic syllabus should have no trouble solving this.

However take a look at what students in China has to go through just to get a place in a local University:

Solve it if you can and you might just win £500 offered by the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry. No kidding.

Anyone wishing to enter the competition should go to the RSC website and send the correct answer by Friday 27 April to be included in a prize draw.

Source @ BBC News