8×10 Tasveer – Review

Yesterday we went over to the Avenues to watch the latest hindi thriller – 8×10 Tasveer (picture). I’m not a huge fan of hindi movies but I must say it was a refreshing watch.

Th movie was quite different from the standard fare and I have a suspicion that the content is a rip-off (which is usually the case when you get a ‘different’ movie coming from Bollywood).

It stars Akshay Kumar and the story revolves around him where his father has just died in an accident on a boat where some other friends and family members were also present. Soon a murder conspiracy starts and we follow the hero through the plot twists and turns. The interesting part of his character is that he has a supernatural power through which he can look at pictures and psychologically transport himself to any person in that picture at that moment in time and see what happens from that person’s eye-view for about a minute. Its portrayed to be a potentially life-threatening skill that for some reason leaves him needing a blood transfusion almost every time he does it.

A view of the inside of the new Avenues multiplex. Very nicely done design which I couldn't capture properly.

I won’t say much to ruin the plot, but its definitely a fun watch that had us guessing and re-guessing the culprit. Rohail was pretty much alright through it with an occassional comment, though there was this guy sitting a few seats from us continuously burping!

My iPod SwitchEasy RebelTouch cover

Last month I got the delivery of the SwitchEasy RebelTouch iPod cover I had ordered. Ever since I got my iPod Touch 2G, I’ve been on the search for a cover that would not only protect my iPod; but also make it look good. This cover fits the bill perfectly, IMO. It has a sleek hard plastic outer-shell that protects it and also lets it get in and out of your pockets with ease, while on the inside it has a softer silicone-type cover. They have given a lot of thought to the design of this cover as it offers the right feel for the buttons (which actually get hidden inside as well). I almost felt it made the tactile response even better.

The best thing is that they give you a ton of extras included in the already reasonable price. Below is a picture of the entire contents of the package – image courtesy of iLounge Review.

That’s basically two screen protectors (which is great, as I managed to ruin one while applying it), a screen cleaner, a squeegee to apply the cover, a port protector, a universal dock adaptor, a video stand and a headphone port extender (which is really useful if your regular headphones don’t fit easily).

Too bad they don’t have them here in Kuwait. Even if they did, I’m guessing it would be selling for rip-off prices.

My Asus EEE 900 review

We’re once again in Dhaka for 1-2 months and then headed to Lahore for a month. All this moving around lately has increased and due to this I decided to get a portable laptop for my wife, Maliha so she can chat and surf while I’m at work during the day.

Basically, we didn’t need to have another full-sized laptop to lug around and from this perspective; the Asus EEE series has been a real blessing. ‘Netbooks’ is the name awarded to the recent small laptops that are popping up everywhere.

I was going to order mine on Amazon, but learnt that Best Buy (fake one) was selling it in Hawally. I thought I’d check it out and after roaming around for a while I found a shop (a few shops before Best Buy) that gave me a pretty good deal at K.D.140 which is quite competitive to what I’d have paid to Amazon.

I got a black EEE 900 and this is the 20GB Linux version. The Linux based OS it comes with is decent but doesn’t give me sufficient flexibility. I formatted it and installed Windows XP instead. FYI, they also sell one preloaded with Windows XP for about the same price, but that has a 12 GB HD, so why lose out on extra space? It also comes with a very nice pouch to keep it cozy.

We’ve been using it for a month now (mostly her though) and its an amazing little device.

Maliha's netbook

The first thing you notice is how small it is. At 225 x 165 x 35mm (WxDxH), I can place two of these back to back to have a footprint the same size as my 14.1″ HP laptop. The 8.9″ screen is pretty sharp and can go up to a decent 1024×600 resolution. The 1 GB RAM keeps things moving at a decent pace. The 1.3MP built-in camera performs really well with the IMs and the wireless network works like a charm. 20 GB of solid state space is sufficient and efficient for its purpose. What’s more; the touchpad supports multi-touch and gives you some pretty cool ways to scroll (using two fingers) and zoom in/out of pics by pinching. The battery life is decent and it gives around 2+ hours of usage.

Weirdly enough, the speakers are placed beneath the body, though I find this aesthetically more pleasing than on the sides like in the 700 series models. The only downside so far is that typing isn’t as convenient as on a standard laptop. The keys are small and it takes some time to get used to it.

Overall, I’d say this is a very impressive machine yet it serves a specific purpose. If you are looking for a power-horse, this is not it. If you are looking for something ultra-portable, light, that lets you do basic stuff and even watch movies and listen to music; you can’t go wrong with this Asus.

The Best Worst Book Review

This is a really funny review on what seems to be the worst book ever written. It actually makes me want to read the book.

Check out the first review at below link and even the comments against the reviews are a hilarious read.

One of the seemingly numerous jewels in this book: “Already, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. In fact, he KNEW he wouldn’t.” ROFL!!!

[Link]