It’s been a while since i did a photo editing session on myself. One that i can play around with. I won’t say this is much of a manipulation but i’m quite happy with the outcome. A big thanks to Candid Photography for lending me their studio. And of course to three lovely photographers : Wingz, Dale and Alicia. All took the time to come by and shoot lil moi.

Considering it was only about a 2 hour shoot, i think quite a fair bit was covered. Why do i need these shots? Basically for my portfolio and also my own satisfaction Besides i like taking shots. It was quite random and the great thing about shooting indoor is that you can do a lot more with the end results of the pictures. Easy cropping and photo editing.

This is the first photo that i decided to edit on. Base on the last theme which i decided to just go crazy with. No, my make up was a lot more subtle at the beginning

This is before all the editing.. not including the whitening of the background and the slight fixtures of the scars on my skin here and there.

To the final version. Well it’s not fantastic but it was satisfying enough. If you have any ideas on how else i can make it different. I’m all ears! The grunge background is taken from Photoshop.kingtutz.com.

There’s more to come though Thanks a lot again to Wingz!

Yesterday i was walking around in the mall, i decided to pop into a Nike store. As usual they would have really cool ads running on their tv screen. I personally enjoyed watching the ad “V is for Victory” , the powder ad. Sure this was released sometime back in Jan, but I still think it’s worth mentioning. Below is the video of the actual ad campaign followed by the behind the scenes and making of the video.

As much as it’s called www.footballshirtculture.com but Nike had other favourite sportsmen wearing the V on their chests.

The first photoshoot session has Nike’s favourite ambassadors Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba, Joe Cole, and Andrei Arshavin wearing the new line of Nike Chevron Eugene jackets.

I love the effect you get from the powder and them placing the footballers in a dark room with a slow shutter speed. I would like to try it one day hehe. Here are some still shots of how the photoshoot was done with powder being thrown on to their hard core bods

Lets not get any of that into their noses now.

The next you have them just in their boxers or shorts, with an emblazed V on their bare skin.

Out of all the shots.. and as much as i DISLIKE Drogba – even if he is a fantastic football player – I have to admit that i do like his photo. It’s very umm.. manly? For lack of a better word. Images take from Dazeddigital.

Didier Drogba

Adriano

Rafael Nadal

On another note if you want to check out their interviews for the Nike V is for victory, read it here

***My apologies on the previous post, i had accidently let my draft get published before i was even finished with it :S. Here is the tutorial on how to make your Twitter Background Clickable.***

I was always more of a Plurk or Facebook person. I had my karma going up and everything. After a while i decided to just switch to twitter and after seeing a number of people with their own twitter background. I decided to make my own. However i wanted to make it even more interesting…

By making my background clickable.. with links!

Why make your twitter background even with clickable links in the first place? Well it’s a lot cooler than having your future/current followers move their mouse all the way to the right column of the page (which they may miss sometimes) or typing your link in the address bar, or even searching for you.

So i say make your twitter background clickable with actual links that work!

Is that possible? Yes it is. Let me show you how you can make yourself even more interactive with your twitter followers by making your twitter background clickable!

Yeap you can put in links and have people click on your background! And no i’m not talking about the profile section. This will be literally your background. Just follow the steps.

Step 1

Create your Twitter Background. You can have some ideas on how to create your own Twitter Background here on my post “Custom Twitter Background”

I spent a while on this. I still feel something is a miss but i’ll figure it one day.

Step 2

Now head on to your Twitter Settings>Change Background image.

Step 3

Once your new background image is in place, head on to Clickablenow.com.

Step 4

Just follow the steps But ok as a heads up, you will need to install a script that will first allow your browser to be clickable. Please note that not everyone knows about this feature so it’s a good thing to get people aware. This script is supported on the following browsers:

• Firefox 3.*/Flock
• Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Opera
• Safari for Mac
• Any browser that supports Greasemonkey.  See the script at userscripts.org.

I’m using Google Chrome so i downloaded the script/ extension for my Chrome browser.If you like go ahead and download Chrome first.

Then install the Clicakblenow Extension here.

Step 5

Once done, sign in with the button on the right hand column. They will ask you whether you would like to allow the application to access your twitter account. Just allow.

You will then come to this page and that’s where the fun starts

Here just add links to where you want. The new link button will look like the one shown on the image below. Showing a faded white box with two words in them “Link | Remove”.  Key in the link url of where it is you want your followers to go too. Don’t worry about them moving on to a new page, for each link will open up on a new tab.

Save your ‘work’ and go test out your twitter page.

Check it out roll your mouse on your twitter background and you’ll notice that the areas with a link has a scrollover button feature. For mine I’ve shaded it to pink when you have your mouse over it.

Now i’m not sure for some of you, but when i first tried out clickablenow, it will state at the left corner of the page that the twitter background is clickable. Just a small “clickable” will be there. However that doesn’t appear anymore. All the same don’t worry as long as you can see that your links are shaded with the color you’ve chosen, you’ll know it’s working.

Things to keep in mind.

1. If you have just loaded a new twitter background, click the “refresh” button if not it’s going to end up showing you the old twitter background.
2. SAVE! always save your new added links.
3. Also note that it’ll be good if you save the new twitter background which will have a name like this “yourtwitterbackground_.jpg”.
   Load that jpg into your twitter background. I just do it as an extra precaution to make things work
4. If you want to add the Social Media Icons, please be warned that it can be a bit of hassle. This is because when you want adjust your icons, it may not be very friendly. You’ll have control of the icon but it’ll look like your mouse is at the top of the page but the icon is somewhere at the bottom. :S

   Was a prob for me and even more so if you don’t have steady hands. My suggestion, you want the icons, just add them on photoshop

Below are some examples of how the clickable twitter backgrounds will work.

Or even Giden’s twitter page which i’ve designed and made clickable first before mine. You can read about his post too on making the twitter background clickable.

So go ahead and make your background Clickable! Show me and i’ll go click on it hehe.

A day like this doesn’t always happen. A day that all Chinese people will celebrate and also a day that young couples, old couples and wannabe couples will proclaim their “love” to one another.

Yeap this 14th February. We will all be celebrating Chinese New Year collecting lots of ang pows and we will be using up those ang pows later in the day to pamper our chosen person for Valentine’s Day.

Before the day ends, I just want to wish everyone.

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHywTq5a2Bo

A couple of days ago, i raved about how I want a Google Nexus. Then after filtering through some tweets and Mashable posts. I came across this wonderful video by Google of how Google Nexus One came to be

I don’t know about the rest of you. I thoroughly enjoy watching how things form As in how an idea first came to be. Then how someone took that idea and gave it a shape. After giving it a shape they then make it into a reality… yeah i’m such a nerd in that respect. And to think i didn’t like history in my school days.

and yes yes i know this story has been floating about for some times and i’m only sharing it now.. yes yes.. you still can’t stop me from sharing it. heehee

***Please please permit me to go all geekly on this post and don’t mind the occasional drool.***

I’ve already gotten myself a Nokia N97 last year. I was waiting for that phone to come out and i got really excited bout the specs. However, yes.. i know, the phone i was harping on has been dethroned from my list. Short from the fact that i own it, of course

I’m now toying with the idea of getting the Google Nexus One. Oh my GOSH!!! After checking it out on the Google Nexus One site, checking out reviews on youtube. I’m a sold bunny. I believe in android!

The only annoying part of the entire image above, is the little grey box that says “Sorry, the Nexus One is not available in your country.”  

This was the video that had me completely sold. Now I just wish that Google Nexus will come to my stores soon. If not.. well there is always Singapore. Which according to Saadkamal price of Google Nexus in my ringgit currency would be

$529, Shipping DHL – $28.32 + there is a 7% vat in SG which is $37. SO total = US $595 (Aprox – RM 2,000). 4-7 days..

After going around online and doing some virtual reserach (since i couldn’t get my hands on the real thing) I landed on Youtube. I want to express my utmost appreciation for Lisa from MobileTechReview.

She gave a wonderful breakdown of the phone which you can watch here.

And after that what i really wanted to know was whether I could live without a keypad in the future if i do consider getting the Google Nexus. According to Lisa, the other phone in the market which is similar in terms of OS, functionality and roughly in size is the Motorola Droid. The only big difference is that The Droid has a keypad. Something which i’m still very much comfortable with. Here is the difference between the two.

I’m still a keypad person, however i do like the look of the Google Nexus. I may complain about how i can’t live without a keypad. It’s just a matter of getting used to. Playing around with my Ipod Touch, typing isn’t so bad. As long as you cut your nails and there is the option for the keyboard to be shown in landscape format, i think typing on a keyboardless gadget is reasonable.

There were some comparisons on the Iphone too. I have been getting suggestions to wait for the new Iphone 4 which will be out soon too. Well i hope Apple will get it right especially after their iPad let down. For me anyway.

Back in the day, there was the pencil and paper. For taking down notes.

Back in the day, there was a thing called the bookmark. For dog earring where you left off in a book or in your research or whatever.

Now in the present, we still use those. In my generation though, there is a thing called the internet. The mother of all information providing in a snap. When you come across all this information, you would like to have a way to notedown and bookmark and hopefully share your finds.

And that ladies and gentlemen is where Clipmarks and Ibrii come in.

I came across Clipmarks about 3 years back.

The first time i did, i was fascinated. What i love bout the concept of Clipmarks? You know how when you surf around on the web, there maybe some sites whereby not all the content is something that you require. Perhaps only a portion is what you really need or interests you. Could be a photo, a line or a video. Whatever. Bookmarking is great but i personally would like to note down why i bookmark a link in the first place. With Clipmarks you can do just that.

Originally with Clipmarks you need to install it into your browser, only then you will be able to clip your interesting materials. But now since Clipmarks has just affiliated themselves with Amplify. It’s just a bookmark click away.

Now comes along Ibrii.

I’m sure Ibrii has been around for a while, however i only got my hands on it just about a couple of days ago. And i have to say i love it!

This is what Ibrii will look like on any browser. A column on the right will pop open and from there just start jotting down your notes. Drag images straight off from any website. Highly the text, bold, underline, do whatever you wish.

So far online.. these are the only two services that i have found that provides this kind of social and convenient bookmarking/clipping/not taking. But if anyone knows anymore please let me know.

Difference

Can be installed on IE and Firefox	Installed on IE, Firefox, Chrome
Has it’s own widget	N/A
Social sharing ability	Social Sharing Ability
Friendly	Friendly (can be buggy cause it’s still new)
Registration required	Registration not required

Now the biggest difference between the two, to me anyway is that ibrii, allows you to continuously edit one particular note. Where as Clipmarks, once you’ve saved it, that’s it. You can’t add on more. With Ibrii, even after saving i can still add on more stuff into my note.

Oh and a lil trivia. Ibrii was actually set to replace Google Notebook (also something i used before and thoroughly enjoyed)

I still like using Clipmarks, since that’s where i started. But since everything of mine is now on Google Chrome, I think Ibrii has won my heart. Until of course clipmarks decides to create a Chrome extension

Do give them both a try, i’m quite certain your the sharing if information will be a lot more interesting.

Interesting things that happened since the launch of the iPad from this morning. Firstly I was looking on my tweetdeck. Let’s just say at that point in time, there were tons of people tweeting and updating their statuses on Facebook as Steve Jobs revealed the iPad. Shortly after though, there were also comment on how it is over hyped and over priced.

I’m all for Apple products because it really knows how to place itself in the market. Good technology and good branding means good sales. However I wonder what Apple was thinking when he named it the iPad? I mean in our asian culture parents always make it a point to usually name their child with something that is not easy to make fun of.

A name like the iPad? I personally preferred it when it was named the iTablet.

So much so that i found this video on youtub. A little mockery of the iPad. Have a good laugh hehe

After Steve Jobs revealed the iPad. We are all keen to know how much it is. Here are the prices revealed.

It comes as stated in the previous post, in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. All in all fair enough i suppose but i don’t think it’s enough space.

I don’t know if i’m all that crazy about the 3G addition. You basically spend another $130 to get it in WiFi and 3G. Is that really worth it? Shipping will start in 60 days. hmmm but another 30 more days for one to get it together with 3G. I think i can survive

After much anticipation. The time has finally come for the iTablet to be revealed by Steve Jobs. For those of you who are online now – like now on Thursday 28th January, 2:22AM (my time) – you can catch the liveblog update of what is happening now here at Engadget.

If i’m not mistaken Crunchgear is also showing a livestream of what is going on now too.

Yes it’s not actually called iTablet but deemed the iPad. Like a friend of mine from Tech Idiots mentioned to me before when i was drooling over my laptop, think of it like a humongous iPod Touch. I won’t be surprised when they somehow turn this into an iPad Phone

Details of the iPad

• Completely Multitouch (Whooaaaaaaa)
• Thickness : " .5 inches thin, (Sooooo Da Thin!)
• Weight: 1.5 pounds (Its practically weightless!!)
• Display size: 9.7 inch IPS (I’m in heaven!)
• Processor: 1GH A4 Chip made by Apple (umm… ok? sorry to geek for me )
• Harddisk space: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB of space (Only?)
• Battery Life: 10 hours (not enough!)
• Speaker, Microphone: Yes
• Wifi : Yes
• Bluetooth: Yes
• Applications : Compatible with all the Iphone Apps (thats what they say, don’t blame me, if it doesn’t)
• Availability :

In the meantime you can catch see what it looks like. Pictures of the iPad are from Engadget

Steve Jobs holding up his new baby. The iPad.

In it’s full glory.

This is probably one of the things that intrigues me most. It looks like a darn book but on screen. lol. Yes i’m going all geekly on this.

The AppStore.

Environmentally safe?

Watch movies in wonderful galore.

Putting on schedules will now become a dream.

At least my eyes won’t be soar anymore from reading really tiny prints on a small screen. I’m really appreciative of this It’s turnable… if that is even a word. Have your iPad on landscape or even portrait mode.

This feature is really cool! Embedded video inside of articles that can be played.

Seeing a map on screen never became this cool! Oh my gosh i’m getting goosebumps from just the actual thought of trying it out myself.

I don’t think i can possibly get everything squeezed into the one post. But those are the few things that have caught my eyes so far