Sony Ericsson K810i (I)

After using a Nokia phone with very basic functionality for six years, I finally bought a Sony Ericsson K810i. I am still learning to use it, but will give my first impression of it here.

Keypad

Among the Sony Ericsson phone users, am I the one who has largest hands?

My first gripe about Sony Ericsson K810 is its cluttered keypad. K810 has a much larger LCD screen than my old Nokia – nearly twice as large – yet the whole phone is shorter by a few mm. Can’t Sony Ericsson make the phone longer by a few mm, and give the extra space to the keypad?

There are a grand total of 21 keys on the front side of the phone. They are: left and right Photo keys, Internet key, left and right Selection keys, Navigation key, Activity Menu key, Back key, Clear key, 0-9, *, #.

Selection key is a concept which I dislike. Nokia probably pioneered the use of selection keys, which it calls multi-functional keys. The Selection keys of K810 change their functions as we navigate through the menu. For example, on default screen, the left Selection key is “Calls” and the right Selection key is “Menu”. When we are writing text message, the left Selection key becomes “Continue”, while the right one becomes “More”.

When you are using the QWERTY keyboard, do you look at the keys before you type? The problem with Selection keys is that we have to look at the LCD screen before we now how to use them. This is cumbersome and counter-intuitive.

I also believe that, with a little bit of ingenuity, Back and Clear keys can be combined. Now, if Sony Ericsson also replaces the two Selection keys with a single key, the keypad would be less cluttered.

The old Ericsson phones

Before forming joint-venture with Sony, Ericsson made mobile phones under its own brand. Even until today, I still think that the now-discontinued Ericsson phones have the most intuitive interface.

The old Ericsson phones have just 16 keys – 0-9, *, #, two arrow keys, Call key and Clear key. Pressing either one of the arrow keys automatically brings you into the menu. Of course, this outdated interface no longer can handle the added functionalities of modern mobile phone, but its concept of simplicity remains useful.

Update

I have one more gripe with the keypad of K810i. When I type a text message, I insert a space by pressing the # button, on the bottom right of the phone. This is a bit awkward, given that I hold the phone in my right hand.

In my old Nokia, I insert space by pressing the 0 button.

Life as a Migrant Worker

In my post, Sightseeing, I mentioned that I traveled to the Grand Canyon, but spent less than two hours there. You may think that I was such a stupid guy. Well, among Malaysian contract engineers who worked in the US, I was actually one who knew how to enjoy life.

America is a land of automobiles. With the exception of a few cities such as New York and Portland, Oregon, one basically cannot go anywhere without a private vehicle. (By the way, SUV, pickup trunk and minivan are not considered cars.) I rented a car from Hertz. Ng, another Malaysian, wanted to save money and never bothered to rent one. He always asked an English guy to give him a lift. Two other Malaysians did rent a car, and they drove to the Universal Studio near Los Angeles. However, they were reluctant to pay the entrance ticket.

As for myself, I had been to San Diego Sea World and San Diego Zoo, aside from Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. As mentioned in my earlier post, I went to the Sin City and the nature’s wonder with Wilson, my co-worker from China. I didn’t pay a visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, though, despite the fact that it was merely a few blocks from my hotel in Garden Grove. I wasn’t stingy, but I couldn’t get anyone to go with me. Everybody was thinking, “Disneyland is for kids.”

I was sent to the Northwest for five weeks with Rogelio, a Filipino. In Seattle, we booked a tour to see killer whales off San Juan Island. Prior to that, I had already watched killer whale show in San Diego Sea World, but watching them in open sea would be a new experience to me. Unfortunately, the tour was canceled due to engine breakdown of the boat. The following week we traveled to Portland, Oregon, and then to Spokane in Eastern Washington. By the time we returned to Seattle, the whale-spotting season was over. What a missed opportunity

Singh, an Indian engineer, brought me to Ecstasy! (No, this was not a drug.) I was kind of sinful there. At the other extreme, I also strived to be a holy man in Wat Metta, a Buddhist monastery in the forest of San Diego County.

Patrick, my soft-spoken American colleague, invited me to the Mexican border town of Tijuana. He was joined by a few other guys. One guy showed off a photo of a Mexican lady and told me, “For $50, you can own her.” Unfortunately, my visa was of single-entry type. If I followed them to Tijuana, I would not be able to return to the United States.

Before I left America, I paid a visit to Hollywood.

Unlike other Malaysian contract engineers, I didn’t go to America just to make money. I had lived a meaning life during my stay there.

Killer whales off San Juan Island - a missed opportunity!

(Picture by www.seattletravel.com)

P/S Are you aware that my co-workers formed a mini United Nations? This is the magic of globalization.

You may also be interested in these posts:
Candlewood Suites
Sightseeing

My Books

I am a bookworm. Over the years, the books I bought have filled up a few bookshelves plus several boxes. Here are some of my books:

Lonely Planet guides for Thailand, old and new. Older edition was written by the famous author, Joe Cummings. Newer edition was “updated” by several authors…

Lonely Planet guidebooks are the Bible for independent travelers. However, I find the newer edition to be somewhat boring. It is full of latest information on accommodation and restaurants, but the background information of the kingdom, originally written by Joe Cummings, has been cut short.

Joe Cummings is said to have married a Thai wife and taken up Thai citizenship. He lives in Chiang Mai.

This is my favorite book, Thailand Handbook by Carl Parkes…

There is so much fun to read Thailand Handbook. It not only served as my guide when I traveled in the Land of Smile, but also helped me kill time when I retreated to the guesthouse in the evening. Sadly, it is no longer updated.

This is Lonely Planet guide for Bali, which I used when I traveled in the Island of Gods…

I am a shutterbug. This is a book that guides us in using Canon’s photo editing software, Digital Photo Professional. It was written by several Japanese photographers and translated into Chinese by two Taiwanese…

Here are two books written by Hong Kong author 陶杰. I quoted his works plenty of times in my posts …

Warning: Do not read if you are pro-China!

Malaysia Airlines’ Hot Meal in Boxes

In July 2008, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) introduced hot meal in disposable boxes in selected flights. Prior to that, meal was served in plastic trays.

Initially, there were doubts with regard to the move. Malaysia Airlines has long been noted for its excellent service. It was feared that disposable meal boxes could hurt the image of MAS as a prestigious airlines. However, in my recent trip to Kota Kinabalu with MAS, I found that disposable meal boxes weren’t a bad idea.

First of all, the boxes were nicely designed. Some passengers actually took them home as souvenirs. Second, I flew to Kota Kinabalu in Ramadan – Muslims’ fasting month. Muslim passengers could not eat during the flight but they could bring home the meal.

On the operation side, the airlines’ CEO reviewed that the use of disposable meal boxes had improved the aircraft turnaround time by five minutes.

Environmentalists are likely to be unhappy, though. Now I hope MAS could use recyclable materials for the box.

A side note:

After flying with Air Asia – the budget airlines – a couple of times, I found the seats in MAS aircraft to be very spacious ^^.

学英文

英文教数理的课题，又在大马掀起争议。华人社会中，反对最强烈的，当然又是董总，教总内的保守派人马。马华公会在大选中惨败，现在为了讨好选民，也同样反对英文教数理。

英文教数理有什么好处呢？又或者，更广泛的说，学英文有什么好处呢？听听香港作家陶杰怎么说吧：

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香港是一个国际商港，英国人在香港推行的英文教育，推行到语文层次即可，或在语文层次上，只达“商用英语” (Business English) 的程度即可，英国文学从来没有受太大重视。

印度人学英文，学得深，是以终难免出了一个推翻英国统治的甘地；香港人学英文，学的浅，是以连半个李光耀的人才也没有。

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我个人在华校念书，中学时读文言文 – 之乎者也那些。但却要上了大学才有商用英语的程度，英文文学就更加谈不上了，连读区区一本 The Da Vinci Code 也要翻查字典无数次。华裔中学生，尤其是住在小镇和乡区的，也都是中文比英文强。董教总里的老头子，还有什么发牢骚的理由？

如果阁下有孩子在求学，为了他们的将来，请多重视他们的英文教育。

P/S I write this post in Chinese so that I won’t be condemned as a banana man.

Related post: How good is good enough

Sightseeing

Several years ago, I worked briefly in Southern California as a contract engineer. During the July 4 holidays, I went to Las Vegas and the Great Canyon with Wilson, my co-worker from Dalian, China.

Both of us were paid on hourly rates. We decided to not take additional leaves, but to make full use of the three days we had. On the first day, we drove from our hotel in Garden Grove, Orange Country to the Sin City. It was a 5-hour drive. Believe it or not, we saw a mini tornado measuring just a few feet tall. The cars stopped at the freeway to wait for the mini tornado cross.

On Day 2 we drove from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and returned on the same day, spending less than 2 hours there. We returned to Orange County on the third day.

We were doing a sightseeing tour at the Grand Canyon. Wilson described the Grand Canyon as a natural wonder which we “see once and go” (看一眼). That was exactly what we did.

Today, I regret for not spending more time there. There were more to do at the Grand Canyon than mere sightseeing. We could have stayed overnight in the park, and immerse in the unusual atmosphere. Both Wilson and I had been working very hard. Why didn't we just relax and recharge beside one of the greatest wonder of the world???

P/S Kikey Loo has traveled to numerous national parks in the US. She is definitely smarter than me. You can read her interesting stories here.

Democracy – USA vs. Malaysia

On September 29, 2008, US lawmakers rejected a US$700bil bailout plan for the financial industry in a shock vote that sent the world market tumbling. By a vote of 228-to-205, the House of Representatives rejected the plan that would have allowed the Treasury Department to buy up toxic dept from struggling banks.

Ironically, out of the 228 Representatives who voted against the plan, 133 were Republicans. You are reminded that President Bush was himself was a Republican. The remaining 65 Representatives from the party supported the plan. Among the Democrats, 140 voted for the bailout plan, while 95 were against it.

In America, Representatives do NOT always toe the party line! Analysts believed that “public opinion” was the force that defeated the plan. Americans were unhappy with the White House’s intention to save the Wall Street using taxpayers’ money.

In Malaysia, Members of Parliament are expected to toe the party line, even if this is against the interests of the voters who elected them. If they fail to comply, they will be sacked from all positions they hold and dropped from future general election.

In theory, MPs are the agents of the voters. The voters are their bosses. In practice, the party is above everything else. This is Malaysian democracy.

Getting High in the Sky

Malaysia-based Air Asia is a no-frills airline. In an Air Asia flight, food and drinks are not served for free. A bottle of 500ml mineral water can easily set you back about RM4, or more than a US dollar.

By comparison, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is a conventional, full service airline which includes the food and beverage charges in the ticket price. In long-haul flights, MAS even serves beer, wine, vodka and other alcoholic drinks. Since they are complementary, many passengers just drink as much as they could.

I believe full service airlines should consider to stop serving alcoholic drinks, or at least not without additional charge. There are a few reasons for doing so:

First, it helps airlines to cut cost, and the savings can be, and should be, passed on to the passengers.

Second, beer and wine, together with trolleys used to transport them, are heavy. Offloading them from the aircraft reduces its weight and thereby cuts fuel consumption.

Third, a drunken passenger can be a trouble-maker, even ground the plane. (Try google for “plane emergency landing drunk” and you’ll know what I mean.)

Fourth, as a teetotaler, I don’t like to “indirectly” foot the alcohol bills of other passengers.

There are many non-drinkers in the world. For a start, Muslims are prohibited to drink. Buddhists are Sikhs are also discouraged to do so, even though the rule, or precept, is never enforced. Even in the West, there are a growing number of teetotalers. U.S. President George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are two examples. Finally, many people drink occasionally, but don’t see it as a must.

Travel writer Shann K (许彩平) is a former stewardess with MAS. In her book (飞同凡想), she writes:

[Translation from Chinese]

Prior to landing, the passenger drank a lot of beer. As soon as the plane touched down, he unfastened his seat belt and wanted to go to the lavatory. The plane was still taxiing. For safety reason [co-worker] Owen stopped him from using the lavatory. Perhaps he no longer could wait, or perhaps he was too drunk, this guy leaned against a window and urinated there! Everyone else was stunned looking at him.