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Richmond Night Market Has Food Now

Last night I skipped dinner because I wanted to go to the Richmond Night Market for food. Due to some difficulties, the night market did not open its food court in the past few weeks. Now it is finally open and the food area is as packed as usual. If you live in Greater Vancouver and you want some fun outdoor shopping and some great food, you must go to the Richmond Night Market. It opens every Friday and weekend night. It is located behind the Home Depot on Bridgeport Road. Here are some pictures from last night:

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Rogers To Offer iPhone In Canada

The Apple iPhone is finally coming to Canada. I don’t really like the iPhone and you can see why here. However, lots of people in Canada have been waiting for official iPhone launch in Canada. It is set to be availible on July 11, 2008. If you are one of those iPhone fans, don’t be so happy yet. Rogers is going to be the exclusive provider of the iPhone, and using the Rogers iPhone plans will set some weight to your wallet.

A Decent iPhone Plan From Rogers Will Cost You $100 Per Month

Getting the iPhone in Canada will no longer be an issue. But look at those plans! If you want some decent amount of talk time and data, it will cost you at least $100 per month. That’s crazy! For $75 you only get 300 weekday minutes and unlimited eveninngs and weekends. Most people talk more than 300 minutes in a week. And don’t forget the $6.95 system access fee and caller display costs. Keep the monthly cost in mind and see if you still want that cool iPhone. Don’t forget the 3 years contract too.

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Vancouver Sunshine Nation 08

Sunshine Nation 2008 is now accepting applications in Vancouver. This going to be the best oppurtunity for you shine your summer and your future. It is the easiest route for you if you want to become the next super star in Asia. More details here.

The Fastest Shortcut Into The Asia Entertainment Industry

This is Sunshine Nation’s 10th annual event. Every summer they put up a great show to find the best potential super star in Vancouver. Once you become the Sunshine Boyz or Sunshine Girlz winner, you will get instant popularity not only in Vancouver, but also in Asia. Great example is Calvin, Sunshine Boyz champion in 2004. After he won, he was signed to be part of a Taiwanese group called Fahrenheit. In less than one year, Calvin and the group became extremely popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. His success began here in Vancouver with the help of Sunshine Nation.

Joining Is Extremely Easy

There are very few requirements to enter the contest. All you need is one parent being Asian. It is also a good thing to speak some Chinese. Maybe can sing and dance a little will help you too. However, it all depends on how you do during the interviews. Deadline for applications is July 18, 2008.

Fahrenheit Being Special Guests

Calvin and his Fahrenheit group is coming back to Vancouver to become the special performing guests for this year’s Sunshine Nation. They have millions of fans all over the world now, and this year’s event will sure be very interesting.

Update: Application has ended. A new contest is now taking applicants. Fahrenheit is looking for a female partner to sing with them on stage. Click here for details.

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My First Ever Mac Is a MacBook Pro!

I’ve been talking about switching partly to Mac for quite a while now. Since it’s quite an investment, it took me some time to actually force myself to buy a Mac. I am happy to say that I’ve finally made my move, partly thanks to John Chow’s blogging station showdown.

John Chow’s Blogging Station (From Johnchow.com)

First Impression

Both the exterior and the OS look very nice. It gives me a sense of freshness and exploration. Also quality is the major factor seperating real Macs and HackIntoshes. The Macbook Pro doesn’t make a noise at all when you are not using the SuperDrive. Typing on its keyboard feels good too, it doesn’t make much noise and keys are soft to press. However, I don’t really like the trackpad because it isn’t as precise when moving slowly.

My desk is too messy right now to show everything

It Worked (kind of) Out Of The Box

Macs’ always claim that they work instantly out of the box without additional parts or software. They are right, they work instantly after the first startup. However, there are 3 things that I think are essential if you want your Macbook Pro to work at its full potential. (1) A mouse. You need a nice mouse to work your MBP because the trackpad isn’t as nice as one would expect. I got the Logitech MX620 to use with my MBP. It provides exceptional precision and comfort. I highly recommed it for both Mac and PC. (2) A USB2.0 hub. The MBP has only 2 USB ports. If I want to use my Wacom tablet, Logitech mouse, and an external drive, I am out of luck. More USB ports is a must. (3) Memory card reader. The MBP lacks a memory card reader. I want to transfer pictures from my camera easily and a good memory carder is a must.

Still Learning

I can’t really say anything at this point since I am still learning how to use the Mac properly. However, this is a good investment no matter if you are a blogger, designer, or student. No to mention the long battery life for your work or class. I will post more of my Mac experience once I’ve become more comfortable.

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Firefox 3 Download Day: A World Record Setting Event

I know most of you fellow bloggers and visitors have ditched the old Internet Explorer because it sucks. What is the most popular browser these days? Firefox for sure. Firefox in my opinion is way better than IE in any way, especially in performance and usability.

You Can Help Set A New World Record

Firefox 3 promises to deliver even better performance and stability. It’s official launch date is June 17, 2008. The team is aiming to set a new world record for most downloads per day for Firefox 3. They name the launch day “Download Day 2008′. They are asking everyone to help out in their Spread Firefox website.

Spread The Word

No problem! I will play my part in this meaningful event. I will download my copy on June 17 and help spread the words. Do you use Firefox? Do you like the performance and usability of Firefox? It’s super nice for Mozilla for providing a top-notch browser for free. Do your part too! Help spread the words!

edit: 8 million people have downloaded Firefox 3 on Download Day 2008. That’s 3 million more than their expected 5 mil. Congratulations to the Mozilla Team!

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Bugs Can Spit Out Crude Oil

Even though I drive a somewhat gas efficient vehicle, my wallet still hurts after a trip to the gas station. What can we do? Nothing. Maybe drive less, but public transit in Vancouver totally sucks. We, consumers, have to pay for whatever they want at the pump.

According to Times Online, people in Silicon Valley have developed some bugs that can eat away agricultural waste and can excrete petroleum. They are genetically altered bacteria that can produce a truly alternative fuel. What a great invention!

I don’t care what they use to spit out that oil. Let it be animals, insects, or bacterias. Just slash that high oil price I am paying for, then I will be happy.

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iPhone 3G? No Thanks!

The recent buzz on the new Apple iPhone 3G has annoyed me! I don’t mind one or two posts about it, but I don’t want to see details about it over and over again. Visit Gizmodo or Engadget and you will see what I mean.

It’s Nice, But It’s Not The Next Big Thing

Yes, the new iPhone 3G looks cool. I am a big fan of Apple products except the iPhone. Why? I don’t find it that much useful to me. Its simplicity and web interface are nice but it lacks what I really want in a phone. I want a good camera like my Nokia N82. I also want the phone to record decent quality videos. And I want to have lots of software choices like what the Symbian platform has.

3G Is Too Expensive Here

3G is nice and fast but I don’t think I will start using it until the price lowers in Canada. Data rates are way too expensive here compared to Hong Kong and China. I would rather stick with Wifi and iPhone’s wifi takes too much battery.

Keep Looking

I will keep my eyes looking before jumping on a new phone. I think the Nokia N96 will be a nice phone and don’t forget about the HTC Diamond. If Apple make a phone that has better grip and a better camera, maybe I will consider it too.

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Wacom Bamboo Graphic Boards Are Worth Your Money

I had a temptation for buying a tablet graphic board since very long time ago. However, I held my horses because I couldn’t justify the price for one. Now, a decent board costs only around $70 CAD. There is no reason why I should not buy one.

Wacom Bamboo

So I bought a Wacom Bamboo small graphic board today at Futureshop. The salesperson wouldn’t price match for $69 at first (they were selling it for $70). After a few minutes of convincing, he sold it for $69.

I didn’t get the Bamboo Fun package, which includes a mouse, because it looks more like a toy and much thicker than the one I bought.

High Quality And Ease Of Use

After opening the package, it totally gave me a sense of coolness and high quality. The packaging was prepared very nicely and the first thing you see after opening the box is a very nice welcome and thank you statement. The board looks very nice and professional. Much more like the Apple type of feel but in black.

The tablet and pen are very easy to use and customize. I can feel it is very well built and developed. What impressed me the most is its tutorial CD. The tutorials show you step by step how to use the tablet for writing, editing, draw, or whatever you want to use it for. Very straightforward and only took me 10 minutes to begin using it fluently.

Good Investment For Your Digital Life

If you like editing photo or drawing or painting on the computer, you should get this product. It is totally impressive and easy to use. For $70 you can get this kind of well built product, you should get one now!

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Mac vs PC

Saw a Mac commercial on TV yesterday. It kind of reminded me of the first time I saw a Mac ad few years ago. The ads still tried to make fun of PC (Windows). What is shocking to me is that I’ve totally changed my view about Mac since the first ads.

They Are Both Good

Right now I have 3 computers to myself. A desktop and 2 notebooks. The desktop and the larger Asus A8 notebook are running XP and the last one is my Asus Eee PC which is running Linux. I am quite happy with XP right now but my desktop is getting ready to retire. A replacement for my desktop will certainly be a Mac. Also I’ve plans to get a Macbook Pro.

Vista Is The Killer Of PC

The reason behind my switch to Mac is mainly because of Vista. It is the worst system I’ve seen since Windows ME. Microsoft will end support for XP and force everyone to move to Vista in the near future. I just can’t see myself running Vista for one day. Also, I want a system that can fulfill my photo and graphics editing needs. Mac is the best choice.

PC Not That Bad

After my switch, I will still keep my Asus notebook running XP because XP still has its use. There are certainly things that you can do on a PC that a Mac can’t, so if you decide to switch too, make sure you keep a computer running XP too. Things like bittorrent and video conversion are still better of using Windows.

Conclusion

Mac extremists may say Macs are better than PC in any way. I don’t think it’s true because they both are useful, they are just better than each other in different ways. The best workstation is a combination of Mac and PC.

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DTP 2008 Many Cars But Not Many Models

Even though Driven To Perform 2008 charges $20 to enter, lineup for ticket was insane. That proves a point that Vancouver has lots of young people willing to pay for anything fun. The show had a lot of imported and modified race cars. Also there were modified exotic cars like Ferarri, Audi R8, Austin Martin, and Lamborghini. Show was packed with cars but not many models to stand beside them. Companies with race car models generated bigger crowds. I have no idea who those models were or how famous they are. I just don’t think they look that nice. I should say they can’t even compare to Japanese car models. Click here to view full album.

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