I was browsing the web and came across this great iPad video review by PC Mag, its probably the only one you will need to get an overview of how iPad works, in the shortest period of time. I’m kind of wanting to buy the iPad immediately after watching it, see below to know why:

PCMag: Apple iPad video review from PCMag.com Reviews on Vimeo.

It will be interesting to see in the future whereby people don’t actually need a LCD screen at all, they will not be constrained to one also. If they wanted anything on the spot, just flash it on any surface, its almost instant. At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data — including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” Check out the video above, and you will know what I mean.

I was reading through the magazine on Engineering & Technology (E&T), talking about how design will affect today’s and future products, and was being reminded of around 7 years back, in 2003, when I first saw the 3rd gen iPod at a computer exhibition. The white colour casing of the iPod, is the first thing that got my attention, because back then having white other than the usual black for electronic device, is pretty uncommon.

It was also the first Apple product that I ever bought, its kind of expensive back then costing SGD 700+, but the design and whole idea of iPod totally got me. I didn’t know that an electronic device can look and function that well, until I saw the 3rd gen iPod, which basically consist of 4 touch buttons (previous, menu, play/pause, next), and a touch-wheel, which allow you to scroll through all your songs very easily. The most interesting part is that, the buttons are illuminated when you touch the buttons, kind of make the whole device come into life, and also very “high-tech” feeling.

From that day onwards, I have learnt that design can actually merge with technology, to enhance the overall experience for a user. And later part of the years, I have been watching Apple very closely, with them launching the later models of iPod, iMac, iPhone, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Apple TV, until the recent iPad.

Apple has never fail to show me how they actually innovate over these years, while still focusing alot on user experience. I have come to learn that sometimes its not about creating something no one else has done before, or trying to squeeze in all the features you can within a device, which can complicate things further. Instead, we should work more on the integration part, which is very important to let the users enjoy what they are using, and not finding them a hassle to learn before using it.

P.S. Thanks TZ for lending out the E&T Mag

Since the day when I started using Mac back in 2004, I have been struggling with the mouse acceleration problem. It’s not exactly a problem, but more like a feature included in Mac OSX to allow the mouse pointer to change speed over time while you are moving the mouse across the screen, the reason why I still cannot get used to it, is that I find it very difficult to control the mouse, especially when highlighting texts, placing cursor in between texts or trying to click on an icon or button. One thing I don’t agree with Apple is that, they should allow people to enable or disable mouse acceleration.

According to many people, its a matter of getting use to it, but I do not agree. I have tried for many years, but still prefer the constant curve on the mouse. For the past few years, I have been researching online, and even asked my Mac user friend, but to no solution. Some of the software I tried, including iMouseFix, SteerMouse, USB Overdrive, ControllerMate are of no help at all, if yes probably just improve a bit only, but still not good enough for me.

Yesterday, while I was doing my usual shopping and looking for a desktop+notebook mouse, and by chance, I saw this new Microsoft Arc Mouse. It’s a mouse designed for both desktop computers and notebook, one unique feature about this mouse is that it can be folded to 60% of its fully expanded size while you’re on the go, so its pretty convenient and save space. And when its folded, the mouse will be in off mode, which can help to conserve battery, so its pretty eco-friendly. According to Microsoft specs, the battery can even last for more than 6+ months.

So in the end, I decided to give it a try and purchase it on the spot, it’s a little pricey, costing SGD 70, but I really like the design and hope that it can at least help to ease the pain on my hands while using the laptop for a long period of time. And to my surprised, after plugging in and installing the Microsoft IntelliPoint 7.1 software for Mac, I realized that the mouse acceleration on my Mac is completely gone too!, it’s not something that I expect at all (especially after so many years), because I have tried the IntelliPoint software (older version) last time with another Microsoft Optical Mouse, but with no help. I really think that its worth the time and money for me, and one thing for sure, I love my Mac even more now, and will certainly be more productive while using a Mac than ever before. This time round, Microsoft has done something helpful, and hopefully one day, Apple can consider adding in the Mouse Acceleration setting for its users.

More Information:
Microsoft Arc Mouse
Mac OSX Mouse Acceleration Petition

It’s kind of strange that Apple did not include any support for Magic Mouse in Windows. It’s only available exclusively for Mac users via Bluetooth. However, as expected some random guys from Uneasysilence have come out with a simple solution, and more information can be found here. The hack will allow the mouse gestures to work in Windows XP, all the way to 7. If you really love the Magic Mouse alot, and hope to use it on your PC, you can do it now.

It’s finally here. Not long ago, Mobile One announces that it will sell iPhone later this year, and now its StarHub’s turn. The telecommunications company said on Monday it looks forward to offering the iPhone and a range of tailored service plans to its customers. It added that more information on pricing and availability dates will be released in due course.

SingTel began offering Apple’s third generation network iPhones late last year. Since then, with the exclusive agreement, SingTel has sold more than 100,000 iPhones.

Source: StarHub Official Press

Updated on 7th of Dec 2009:
Starhub has posted more details on the iPhone