Dear PC World, Is 43.2% Good Enough?

Dear PC World magazine,

I was at my local Border's bookstore today and saw your latest issue. However after briefly browsing through it, I have noticed there is a significant amount of full-page advertisements.



Not including the front and back cover pages, I have jotted down this actual content list with their starting page number :

5 - Content list
8 - Credits
11 - Techlog
13 - PCW Forum
18 - Forward
41 - Consumer Watch
47 - Business Center
53 - Security Alert
60 - Reviews & Ratings
82 - Main Article, Get the Most Out of Your Laptop
95 - Article, Stay in Sync
105 - The Best TV on the Web
116 - Here's How
131 - Magazine Contact Information
132 - Full Disclosure

Now let's count the number of full-page ads shall we?

Pages 1-4, 6-7, 9-12, 14-17, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33-40, 43-46, 49, 51-52, 55, 57-59, 65, 67, 73, 75, 79-81, 89, 91, 93, 99, 101, 103-104, 109, 111, 113-115, 123, 125-130.

That does not even include the half-page ads like on pages 68-71 & 76-77:



Out of 132 printable pages, the total number of advertisement is 72 pages. That only left readers with 60 content pages.

If we subtract pages 5 (content list), 8 (credits), & 131 (magazine contact information), the end result is actually 57 pages.

I don't know about you, but 57 out of 132 is only 43.2%. If you are a student, that is definitely an "F" on your report card.

Just like the Reviews & Ratings section in your own magazine, what would you do with a product that only scored 43.2%? Would you recommend it to someone else?

I don't think so.

Jackie Chan's Hong Kong Hideout

When MTV's Cribs interview celebrities in U.S. about their residences, most of them would boast about their private entertainment room, numerous luxury vehicles with over-sized wheels, & other superficial wealth.

Jackie Chan on other hand decided to be as low key as possible in Hong Kong. Living in an old factory building with rusty roller gate as entrance, the world famous movie star's ride is a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, & enjoys collecting tea sets & wine.

Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Chan donated ¥10 million (925K Euros) to help those in need. In addidtion, he is planning to make a film about the Chinese earthquake to raise money for survivors. In June 2006, he announced the donation of half his assets to charity (HK$500 million or 40.5 million Euros) upon his death, citing his admiration of the effort made by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to help those in need.

Suburban Exploration: Foreclosed House in Chandler, Arizona

We all know there is a housing crisis in U.S., but how exactly is a typical foreclosed house look like?

Today I visited a foreclosed property priced by the bank for US$136,000 near Jupiter & Rush in Chandler, Arizona.


Closet door took a heavy beating.


Bedrooms are covered with trash and there are smell of feces & urine.


More trash.


and more...


It is sad to say this bathroom door with only one fist hole is the least damaged of all doors.


ID tag of what I assume is the former owner.


Backyard with trash.










Busted window.

MS Outlook Hyperlink Annoyance

If you ever have to work with Microsoft Outlook, you would know how annoying some of its features are or lack of.

For a while, my Outlook would not open any hyperlinks sent through emails.



The error message popped up does not provide any specific information regarding the reason or how to rectify the situation. All it does is to add more frustration on the user.



"This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator."

It turns out there were no restrictions that prevented hyperlinks from opening, rather a registry issue.

After upgraded Internet Explorer 6 to IE7, one little registry setting is either corrupted or missing.

HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command

To fix this, IE must be set as the default web browser first,



Open IE>Tools>Internet Options>Programs tab>Default web browser>Make default button

I then quickly set Mozilla Firefox as my default web browser after that.

By the way, the link I was trying to open in China Success Stories was very interesting read. I would highly recommend it.

Canon Powershot S1 IS Recalled Due to Image Sensor Failure

Recently, a Canon Powershot S1 IS I have purchased three years ago started to have some image issues.

Instead of photos, purple streaks have appeared:





I first checked Canon's website for repair estimate,



Then I did a search for "Canon Powershot S1 IS recall", found it has been recalled by Canon regardless of warranty status.

From Canon's site:

Service Notice: CCD Image Sensor Advisory (Updated 10/31/2006)

PowerShot S1 IS

This Service Notice will update Canon U.S.A., Inc.'s previous CCD Image Sensor Advisory, dated October 6, 2005.

It has come to our attention that the vendor-supplied CCD image sensor used in certain Canon digital cameras and digital video camcorders may cause the following malfunction: When the product is used in recording or playback mode, the LCD screen and/or electronic viewfinder may exhibit either a distorted image or no image at all. While reports of this malfunction have been rare in the United States, we have determined that it may occur if the product is exposed to hot and humid environments.

Notice of Additional Affected Products:
As a result of our continuing investigation of this malfunction, we have determined that the 11 models listed below, in addition to the 16 models listed in our Service Notice concerning this malfunction, dated October 6, 2005, may be affected.

Affected products:
- Camcorders: ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, ELURA 40 MC, ELURA 50
- Digital Cameras A60, A70, A75, A300, A310, S230, SD100, SD110, A40(*), A80(*), A85(*), A95(*), S1 IS(*), S60(*), S200(*), S330(*), S400(*), S410(*), S500(*)
*Models added as of Oct.31, 2006

Malfunction:
It has been confirmed that the connecting parts of the internal wiring of the CCD used in affected products may become disconnected, especially if the affected products are stored or used in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. If this occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD normally in Shooting Mode, which may cause a distorted image or the absence of an image. This malfunction can be confirmed on the LCD monitor screen during shooting. The same malfunction also appears on the recorded image.

Canon's Response:
Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair.

U.S. residents are kindly directed to contact the Canon Customer Support Center for further assistance at 1-800-828-4040. Support hours are Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight; and Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (all times EST). Alternatively, if electronic support is preferred, please send your email to carecenter@cits.canon.com This information is for residents of the United States of America and Puerto Rico only.

If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this issue, and appreciate your understanding in this matter. Thank you for your support and patronage of Canon products.

I called the number & my camera will be repaired free of charge, even shipping will be covered by Canon.


Update: Since Canon Powershot S1 IS has been discontinued, Canon sent me a Powershot S5 IS as replacement!

Ghetto Siphon Coffee

Several months ago I read an article in New York Times about a $20,000 Japanese siphon bar at Blue Bottle Cafe in San Francisco.

A siphon bar or vacuum coffee maker uses vapor pressure & vacuum force to brew coffee. Many believes this would give coffee a cleaner, crisp, rich & smooth taste.

As a coffee aficionado myself, I believe the attraction to siphoned coffee is purely based on placebo effect.

To prove my point, I have built my own vacuum coffee maker for using only a moka pot & a glass salt shaker. Of course, you can also purchase a Bodum Santos for less than $100, but where is the fun in that?



My total cost was much lower than $20,000. Granted, I did not have fancy glass globe as the water reservoir.



After filling moka pot's boiler with water, I placed empty salt shaker over the top & coffee ground around it.



Heat.



Similar to regular siphon coffee maker, water has expanded after heating & traveled upward into the upper chamber.



After removing the moka pot away from heat source, brewed coffee siphons back into lower chamber as it cools.



Voila! Now you can also enjoy the same kaleidoscopic beverage all the pretentious hipsters are raging about.

Would You Pay to Watch an Infomercial?

Five fellow colleagues and I attended a what supposedly to be time management seminar today, however it turned out to be a seven hours long infomerical.

It was presented by National Seminars Group, a division of Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center, Inc.



For the entire day (9am to 3:30pm), the speaker has spent a maximum of two hours going through the topics in the workbook. Even with that, very little time was spend on covering time management. Rest of the time, he strongly suggested audience to purchase supplemental material, such as books & CDs. I actually felt like I was attending a pyramid scheme meeting.



Here are somethings that bothered me the most from my seminar experience:

1. Random "facts from studies" & " studies have shown" without clarifying the context. These so-called "facts from studies" only benefited his sales of supplemental material. He never explained why findings from other studies were wrong or incorrect.

2. Chitty & chatty, lack of clear objective, talking in circles. It is good to use scenarios to engage audience. When the seminar speaker start to pull out social & culture cliche to fill the time, he is wasting my valuable time.

3. Lost of Creditability. At one point while trying to hype up his sales pitch, he actually said: "these materials are only available through us, you can't get them from Amazon.com..." Which is a complete LIE! As a test, I found not only the books are available & one of the books, Lifescripts, was actually 35% cheaper at Amazon.com.