Time for a new laptop

Recently, I had been bitten by the upgrade bug for a notebook. I was looking for something to replace the very reliable Surface Pro 4 2-in-1 that I had been using everyday since it was launched as the main daily driver at work. My must-haves were simple. The following are compulsory features that I am looking for:-

  • Light (I had really grown to like the ultra portability of the Surface Pro line of computers);
  • Large high resolution screen (not necessarily 4k but definitely not 16:9 as I had found the 3:2 form factor to be ideal for work and photography); and
  • Powerful enough to handle my daily work routine (which could range from creating Powerpoint presentations to analyzing complex Excel worksheets to occasionally editing photos on Lightroom).
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Liu Cixin’s Death’s End

Death’s End is the final book of the trilogy that was kicked off by The Three Body Problem. As I have just finished this book, I’ve decided to pen some thoughts and I would have assumed that you had already read no only this book but the entirety of the series. Be warned as there will be major spoilers.

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Liu Cixin’s Dark Forest

Liu Cixin’s Dark Forest is the direct sequel to the highly imaginative Three Body Problem. Set directly after the event of the Three Body Problem, this book chronicles humanity’s effort in addressing the unfolding events at the conclusion of the first book.

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Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem

Cixin Liu’s Three Body Problem is a highly imaginative modern science fiction story that spans multiple generations (or civilizations, once you start to get into it). The story starts rather graphically during the Cultural Revolution, the violent youth revolutionary movement that swept through China during the waning years of Mao Zedong. There, the callous actions of a group of overzealous youths of the Red Guard planted a seed in the heart of Ye Wenjie that would eventually grow into a lifelong resentment of the barbaric nature of humanity.

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Book Review: Billion Dollar Whale

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World

** spoiler alert ** Wow. My brain is fried from reading this.

I’ve been following the 1MDB scandal closely ever since it was raised by Sarawak Report. And I have talked to innocent acquaintances who had worked there as well. But nothing could have prepared me for the scale and scope of the 1MDB scandal that has been vividly retold in this grippingly well researched book.

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Happy 10th Birthday iPhone!

I recalled the excitement that I had the first time I held the box that contained the iPhone. It wasn’t my first smartphone (that was the Palm Treo). It wasn’t my first iPod (I probably had 3 then). It wasn’t my first PDA (that was the Compaq iPAQ). But it was the first that artfully blended all of them together into a seamless amalgamation of software and hardware Continue reading “Happy 10th Birthday iPhone!”