Month: April 2010

Kindle Software Update Version 2.5

The 2.5 software update for Kindle, Kindle 3 and Kindle DX is coming soon. Amazon is rolling out the new software update to first a limited group of Kindle users and plan a broad release in late May 2010. I shall update you all the goodies of this update once I got my Kindle upgraded.

Here’s a list of the coming enhancements:

  1. Collections: Organize your books and documents into one or more collections.
  2. PDF Pan and Zoom: Zoom into PDFs and pan around to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics.
  3. Password Protection: Password protect your Kindle when you’re not using it.
  4. More Fonts & Improved Clarity: Enjoy two new larger font sizes and sharper fonts for an even more comfortable reading experience.
  5. Facebook & Twitter Posts: Share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter directly from your Kindle.
  6. Popular Highlights: See what the Kindle community thinks are the most interesting passages in the books you’re reading.

I can imagine I will use the second enhancement a lot …

Update 1: (2010-06-12) You can now upgrade the Kindle firmware to 2.5.2 manually, don’t miss it.

Cloud Computing – Benefits and Risks

Just finished a presentation in the CIO Asia 2010 conference about Cloud Computing. My presentation focuses on the business benefits and risks of implementing Cloud Computing for an organization.

Here is the slide deck:

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=cioasia2010-100504014956-phpapp02&rel=0&stripped_title=cloud-computing-benefits-and-risks

Mini review – Olympus Micro Four Third M.Zuiko 9-18 Zoom lens

I knew the M.Zuiko 9-18 zoom lens is small, lightweight. But not until I held it in my hand, I didn’t realize how freakingly small and lightweight it is. Once I mounted it in my Olympus PEN E-P1 and I immediately recognized that it’s the perfect lens I would use all the time … for landscape and travel photos as well as for snapshots. The focusing is fast, zooming is smooth and it is a very quiet zooms lens.

Will certainly take many more pictures in the days to come, but for now some sample snapshots.

Upgrade Thesis 1.7

DIY Themes released the latest version of Thesis and it is certainly a great upgrade. The latest generation is version 1.7 and the upgrade process is rather easy:

  1. Backup the /custom folder of your current Thesis installation to your PC;
  2. Download the new theme to your PC and unzip it, it will be a subfolder with name /thesis_17;
  3. Upload /thesis_17 to your /wp-content/themes folder, via your favorite FTP client;
  4. In that new uploaded directory, rename the /custom-sample subfolder to /custom;
  5. [Important] Copy the contents from the folder you backed up in step 1 above, to the new /custom folder – folder by folder, file by file;
  6. Set the permission of /cache folder to 775;
  7. Set the permission of layout.css file to 666;
  8. [Optional] Remove the WordPress Admin link in the footer. Please refer to Update 4 of how to enhance the Thesis theme;
  9. Inside WordPress dashboard, Appearance -> Themes, activate Thesis 1.7. You shall see the new Thesis links on the left of the dashboard;
  10. Visit the Design options page, and save all the updates once.

That is it !! As smooth as silk …

Thesis 1.7