DJI & Seagate announce partnership for UAV ecosystem

January 6th, 2017

The strategic partnership aims to advance data solutions for the UAV ecosystem.

“Seagate is honored to partner with DJI to help UAV users tackle their evolving and unique data needs. Seagate is committed to working together with DJI to evolve UAV workflows so users can focus on what matters most – capturing data in flight to bring new and amazing experiences to the world,” said Tim Bucher, Senior Vice President of Seagate Consumer Solutions.

“Seagate is honored to partner with DJI to help UAV users tackle their evolving and unique data needs. Seagate is committed to working together with DJI to evolve UAV workflows so users can focus on what matters most – capturing data in flight to bring new and amazing experiences to the world,” said Tim Bucher, Senior Vice President of Seagate Consumer Solutions.

DJI, one of the world’s leading manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and Seagate Technology, a world leader in storage solutions, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show a strategic partnership to work jointly to solve the data demands of UAV users.

As drone cameras gain resolution and drone flight times grow longer, DJI and Seagate are focusing their efforts to securely and efficiently store, manage, download and share the hundreds of gigabytes of data that can be generated from a single drone mission.

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New arrival: Canon compact cameras in PowerShot & IXUS series

January 5th, 2017

Canon has announced four new compact cameras: PowerShot G9 X Mark II, PowerShot SX430 IS, IXUS 190, and IXUS 185. All prices and availability yet to be announced.

New compact cameras from Canon. Clockwise from top left: PowerShot G9 X Mark II, IXUS 185 (red/black), PowerShot SX430 IS, and IXUS 190 (black/blue).

New compact cameras from Canon. Clockwise from top left: PowerShot G9 X Mark II, IXUS 185 (red/black), PowerShot SX430 IS, and IXUS 190 (black/blue).

Featuring the latest DIGIC 7 image processor used in the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II and EOS M5 models, the PowerShot G9 X Mark II produces high quality images and new levels of performance for accurate detection and precision tracking of subjects.

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New arrival: Samsung Galaxy A5 & A7 Android smartphones

January 4th, 2017

Samsung kick-starts the new year and unveils the first of its #Galaxy offerings for 2017 – the new Galaxy A series (from 21 Jan) mid-tier smartphones: 5.2-inch A5 (S$548) and 5.7-inch A7 (S$648).

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The Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) will be available in three stylish colours – Black Sky, Gold Sand and Peach Cloud. The Galaxy A (2017) Neon Flip Cover is available in Black, Gold, Pink and Blue at $78.

Also released today is the Black Pearl version of the Galaxy S7 edge (S$1,198) from 7 Jan.

Samsung Galaxy A3 has been excluded from the series in Singapore, probably because it’s too close to the S$398 Galaxy J7 Prime – the top end of Samsung’s entry-level series of smartphones that’s available in Singapore.

The new Samsung Galaxy A series smartphones were launched in Singapore at Cocotte, the farm-to-table French Kitchen in Little India.

The new Samsung Galaxy A series smartphones were launched in Singapore at Cocotte, the farm-to-table French Kitchen in Little India.

For the first time on the Galaxy A series, the smartphones are equipped with IP68-certified water and dust resistant capabilities, allowing it to withstand elements including rain, sweat, sand and dust.

It also enables users to enjoy versatility in its use – with a longer battery life and Fast Charging capabilities, the smartphones are ideal for active mobile lifestyles.

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Nanyang Polytechnic launches Diploma in Sustainable Architectural Design

January 3rd, 2017
“Recent developments in the built environment sector require a new breed of architectural designers and technologists. We have brought the expertise of two schools – Design and Engineering – together so that the graduates of the new Diploma in Sustainable Architecture & Design can thrive in the future economy. We believe that they will be in great demand in multiple sectors, including architecture, construction, green and smart building development,” said Albert Lim, Director of School of Design, Nanyang Polytechnic.

“Recent developments in the built environment sector require a new breed of architectural designers and technologists. We have brought the expertise of two schools – Design and Engineering – together so that the graduates of the new Diploma in Sustainable Architecture & Design can thrive in the future economy. We believe that they will be in great demand in multiple sectors, including architecture, construction, green and smart building development,” said Albert Lim, Director of School of Design, Nanyang Polytechnic. Image credit: Nanyang Polytechnic.

The built environment in Singapore is expected to evolve rapidly in the next decade with the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) identifying areas needing innovations and rethinking the way we use resources, energy, spaces and transport.

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Event forecast: CES 2017 celebrates 50th anniversary

January 2nd, 2017

The first big tech event for the year on the global scene – CES 2017 happens this week in Las Vegas: 5-8 Jan (Thurs-Sun).

CES 2017 will have more than 3,800 exhibitors covering 2.4 million net square feet of space.

CES 2017 will have more than 3,800 exhibitors covering 2.4 million net square feet of space.

Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) – CES is expecting more than 165,000 attendees, with more than 50,000 international professionals representing 150 countries.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, CES was first held in June 1967 in New York, with 17,500 attendees and 117 exhibitors.

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Holiday greetings: Happy New Year 2017

January 1st, 2017

It’s 2017. Happy New Year!

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

Craft animals on display in a shop along the old streets of Jiufen (九份) in Taiwan. Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.

May 2017 be a fantastic year for you and your loved ones!

Last day of 2016 – New Year’s Eve for 2017

December 31st, 2016

It’s the last day of 2016. Hope you had a good year!

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Golden Sunset at Tamsui in Taiwan. Photo credit: kkmakesandbakes (my wife). Taken with Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 lens.

Glad the year’s drawing to a close. Best wishes for the New Year!

Review: SuperCharged Huawei Mate 9 Android flagship phablet

December 30th, 2016

The Mate 9 is Huawei’s flagship phablet boasting the fabulous camera from P9 that was co-developed with Leica and now improved, a fast Kirin 960 processor and Android 7.0 Nougat with EMUI 5.0 user interface. Price in Singapore: S$898.

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My take: The Huawei Mate 9 is another winner from Huawei. The Android 7 flagship phablet works swiftly as a smartphone and has a fabulous camera that churns out wonderfully toned black and white snapshots. Fantastic for monochrome shooters that want Leica-like photos without any post-editing.

The 5.9-inch smartphone has dual SIM slots capable of supporting 4G and 3G networks.

The Huawei Mate 9 ships with 4GB RAM and 64GB memory, and you can use the secondary SIM card slot to add up to 256GB from a microSD card.

Have been trying out the Huawei Mate 9 since its launch & availability in Singapore last month. Was curious to see whether the camera performance of the Mate 9 had improved over the P9, which had impressed me when I tried it (see the P9 photos here).

With the demise of Samsung’s Galaxy Note7, the Huawei Mate 9 is a strong candidate to take up the mettle left by the Korean flagship phablet.

The phone sports a Type-C USB socket – an adaptor to convert into a regular mini-USB is included in the box – and has a 4000mAh battery that can be SuperCharged for a day’s usage within 20 minutes.

I brought along the Mate 9 when I went on vacation in Taiwan to put it through the grind of daily usage, and to take some photos with its fabulous camera (see the Mate 9 photos here).

The highlights

  • Android 7 Nougat.
  • EMUI 5.0 user interface.
  • Latest Kirin 960 CPU for faster performance.
  • SuperCharge technology (full day’s charge in 20min).
  • 2nd gen Leica dual-lens camera with 12MP RGB sensor, and now with 20MP monochrome sensor and Hybrid Zoom, enabling 2x digital zoom.

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N.E.mation! 11 : Art used in N.E.mation! 11

December 9th, 2016

Here is a sampling of the art used in this year’s N.E.mation! competition.

Simple but innovative use of ink cartoons on plastic cups for use in stop-motion animation. Rotate the outer cup to get different facial expressions or different stages of a chin-up exercise. Prop by N.E. HEH HEH (#NE11C09).

Simple but innovative use of ink cartoons on plastic cups for use in stop-motion animation. Rotate the outer cup to get different facial expressions or different stages of a chin-up exercise. Prop by N.E. HEH HEH (#NE11C09).

To many, N.E.mation! 11 is first and foremost an animation competition – with animation themes based on the National Education message of building a strong and resilient country that can defend itself against adversity and external threats.

My favourite is this finger puppet of a soldier sewn by [BlankSpace] (#NE11C01). Other finger puppets included civilian clothes like those worn by the Sylvanian family of toy figurines.

My favourite is this finger puppet of a soldier sewn by [BlankSpace] (#NE11C01). Other finger puppets included civilian clothes like those worn by the Sylvanian family of toy figurines.

Cut-out pop-up park to be used as background for the animation. The cylinder can be rotated to simulate movement of foreground objects in the animation. By [BlankSpace] (#NE11C01).

Cut-out pop-up park to be used as background for the animation. The cylinder can be rotated to simulate movement of foreground objects in the animation. By [BlankSpace] (#NE11C01).

So a lot of emphasis is focused on the animation techniques used and how slick and accomplished the completed animation looks.

MADEit (#NE11C08) animates the images on a $10 Singapore bill, adding their own elements to it in their animation.

MADEit (#NE11C08) animates the images on a $10 Singapore bill, adding their own elements to it in their animation.

N.E.mation! 11 bestows upon participating teams the skills of digital animation.

Finding Sanity (#NE11C05) draws their artwork on a computer for their 2D 8-bit animation. I like the patchwork look.

Finding Sanity (#NE11C05) draws their artwork on a computer for their 2D 8-bit animation. I like the patchwork look.

More than that, the competition also brings out the artistic talents in every participating individual.

Passionfruit (#NE11C10) draws their artwork digitally on a graphics tablet.

Passionfruit (#NE11C10) draws their artwork digitally on a graphics tablet.

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N.E.mation! 11 : Spotlight on “Passionfruit” (#NE11C10)

December 8th, 2016

We met with one of the Top Ten teams for this year’s N.E.mation! competition – “Passionfruit” from Evergreen Secondary School.

Update (14 January, 2017):

Passionfruit’s animation, “Shields of Singapore”, is now available for viewing and voting. You can find out the four methods of voting your three favourite clips here.

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N.E.mation! 11 Team “Passionfruit” from Evergreen Secondary School. From left: Wong Xin Yuan Mabel, Maybelle Ong Hui Leng, Yolanda Low Jing Xuan, Pamela Lee (Li Ming Fang).

This team is the most passionate of the lot – seriously folks!

Leader of the bunch (of Passion fruits) - Mabel Wong Xin Yuan.

Leader of the bunch (of Passion fruits) – Mabel Wong Xin Yuan.

I could tell from talking with these four young ladies about the digital 2D animation that they have been working on for the past three weeks of production.

The title of their 1-minute animation is “Shields of Singapore”.

Using the allegory of an umbrella to express their main idea, the theme is that “Everyone is a shield of Singapore, no matter rain or shine”.

And this is embodied in what citizens do in their everyday lives, manifesting itself in how Singaporeans help one another in sticky situation and even in the littlest things – shielding one another from harm and giving a hand when needed.

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