Browser war accelerated - Firefox 3, IE8, Chrome

People always say competition is a good thing. Looks like that's really the case with web browser. Remember the days where IE squeezed out Netscape, we are forced to rely solely on IE. There after, it came Mozilla with Firefox which "take back the web".

I have been using Firefox since version 1, till now, no regret. It is a piece of great work. The very recent firefox 3 even got a world record under belt. Compare to Firefox 3 vs IE7. Firefox is a clear choice. IE is too bloated, slow and more security problem. Although, browser like Opera, Safari are still in the game, the market share is still very small.

The entrance of Google might just change the game. They have come up with something new and relevant. They also got the marketing strategy right. That is to educate the user, what works behind the scene. Trying to get user to appreciate how good it is and cultivate the loyalty.

I just downloaded the Chrome browser, it looks pretty good and fast. Whether I would ditch my firefox remain to be seen. IE8 release is around the corner. Hopefully, as the competition intensified, we would get better user experience.

Melaka trip part 5 - Portuguese settlement

After a day of activities, evening has came and everybody head towards portuguese settlement for some seafood. The people there should be heir of portuguese. But they look quite localized already. I remember when I went there donkey years ago, there was only one stall. Now it operate like a zi char stalls.


Every stall owner trying to pull us away


Look, so many stalls, like hawker centre


We are eating beside the beach.


Can see sunset somemore


The first dish was the grill fish, looks good right?


Then, come the sambal chicken


Asam fish with lady's finger and others


The scallop was yummy


Steam fish


Finally, it is crab time. Just alright only.

After the meal, our Melaka trip ended and everybody heading home.

Melaka trip part 4 - Jonker walk, St Paul Hill

I didn't really finish on the chicken rice ball. So, here are some more pictures.


The coffee shop signboard. The first shop who come out with this dish


Rice ball on close up

Ok, after eating, it is time to move on. But, guess what happen, they went into another shop to eat again!


Look at what they have ordered.


Laksa in close up, it does look very yummy


Another bowl of cendol. But this time is the Durian cendol. Taste not nice.


If you walk down the Jonker street on day time, still get to buy more kueh.


Many shops selling the handycraft


Ok, now is some history about the street. Why it is called Jonker walk.

After eating so many things, everybody move back to Mahkota Parade again. Some people went sight seeing.


The St Paul Hill church. Some 400 years at least.




Good view from the top of the hill. You can see almost the whole Melaka city. Guess that's what make it special.

How much is Perdana maintenance cost?

Malaysia is a country full of surprises. Now, the hottest topic in the country is about Proton Perdana maintenance fee. The story started when Terrenganu government wants to buy Mercedes as official car. They argued the car is of poor quality and 4 years maintenance fee is about 117 million ringgit.

The figure is stunning. Anyone with a logical mind would immediately think it is enough to buy how many new cars already? Can the car maintenance fee go to this extent? I think most probably everyone would have a common answer. We hope the truth would be revealed eventually. How could maintenance fee cost so much?

Another interesting issue that it brought up is whether Proton car quality. Is it so poor in quality?

Togi korean restaurant

Last Friday, as part of friend gathering, we went to Togi korean restaurant at China town mosque street. It was suggested by my friend, otherwise I won't have go to korean restaurant, since I was never a fan of korean food.

When we sat down, they served the starter - some pickles. The taste was really good and if I remember correctly it is free flow. The tea also taste great. I didn't take any picture because too busy in eating.

I ordered a squid hot pot rice. Frankly, after tried some food court korean food, I feel hopeless regarding korean cuisine. But, when the rice is served, it really surprised me. The rice is full of squid and mixed with some red chili sauce. After mixing, it is ready to be eaten. The taste was great. Squid was tender and rice is full of flavour. It is worth every cents of the price ($9.8 I think). We also tried the fried ramen with rice cake, also very good.

The restaurant was opened by Korean owner. I guess that's the real taste of Korean food which is much much better. The restaurant offer authentic, delicious korean food which is light on the wallet. Thumb up from me.

Red Cliff - short review

I watched the Red Cliff last Friday night. It wasn't the original intention to catch it immediately, but due to the work stress, just want to watch a movie to sort of distress. So, I choose the red cliff directed by John Woo.

For the sake of following reason:
- One of the heaviest investment film
- Great battle scene

I wasn't with great expectation. The film did just alright. Because it is supposed to have part 1 and part 2. But, as the clock tick towards the end of show, I became worried. Where is the climate? True enough, it was an anti climate. That means as the movie goes into the 2.5 hours, it just stopped there and "to be continued..."

It is a total let down. It should have allow for at least a small climate before letting it continue into the part 2. Almost all my friends had the same feeling. Nevertheless, it is a must for watching part 2. So, not much choice.

Melaka trip part 3 - Dataran Pahlawan, Chicken rice ball

After sleep for one night, the next day we had the Melaka Da Pau for breakfast and set off to Mahkota Parade. There is a new shopping centre opposite it called Dataran Pahlawan.


Side view of the mall. It is a double storey building with shop at level 1 and open space at level 2.


We walked past the museum. Seems like not many people go there.


Old train


We walked pass the centre area again for the Chicken Rice ball.


Finally, we reach the Chung Wah coffee shop. This is the first coffee shop selling the chicken rice ball.


This is what we had. Frankly speaking, I was never a fan of chicken rice ball. The chicken just taste like any other hainanese chicken. The rice ball is expensive and not tastier than the usual rice. Why take so much trouble?