For more indepth information on the Smart Surface, please visit the official website at http://smart-surface.com/. You can also get in touch with the Smart Surface team directly via phone at +6017 393 4084.

Released on 30 June, the latest Mozilla Firefox version 3.5 promises to deliver quicker speed as compared with the previous version. Available in more than 70 languages, Firefox 3.5 also supports HTML 5 – a revised Hyper Text Markup Language that provides more functionality. However, since its release, several users have reported issues that make these new functions seem like only a fragment of your imagination.

Some of the known issues with this new build include crashing due to problems caused by the new TraceMonkey Javascript engine, but thankfully Mozilla has responded quickly and announced that a newer release will be available sometime this month. Version 3.5.1 won't be perfect though - it's more of a quick fix to keep you satiated till Firefox 3.5.2.

(Source: eWeek.com)

Have you ever noticed how common it is for people to complain that they have “no choice”? Well, choices are all around – all you have to do is look. Today, Canon Marketing (Malaysia), a global leader in photographic and digital imaging solutions is giving consumers more choices of printers and scanners that are especially useful in the current economic downturn; bringing into the market the PiXMA MX328, PiXMA MX338, PiXMA MX868, LASER SHOT LBP 7200C series and LiDE 700F – all equipped with different features so consumers can choose which best suits their usage.

The joy of putting information online is to be able to share with close friends and families, however,everything has its cons – privacy related especially. Yesterday, Facebook rolled out major changes to simplify its privacy settings, making it easier for users to control what type of information should be displayed to the word – using the revamped privacy settings that went from 6 pages to 1 page.

The new refurbished site will be tested by 40,000 users that will be providing feedbacks on the new tools. This beta-testing will be going on for several weeks before it gets officially released for the rest of the users. For more information, check out http://www.crn.com/security/218400063.

Source: ChannelWeb

If you haven’t already seen the hypethat’s going on in Mid Valley Megamall, now’s the time to make that trip –especially if you’re an Apple Mac or iPod/iPhone fanatic. Apple PremiumReseller, Machines and other supporting companies are holding a five-dayroadshow that will go on until July 5 – a good way to explore the capabilitiesof a Mac; a machine that can do more than just designing and image enhancing,and iPod; music, applications and even making a side income.

Throughout the event, Mr. Tan Tze Mengfrom Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) will be introducing MDeC’siPhone Application Development Training Program that will give developers thesupport to be able to learn and build their own iPhone applications. During theopening today, Mr. Bikesh L from iTrain demonstrated the ease of creatingapplications.

 Also to be found at the event,Gameloft is showcasing some of their latest mobile game specifically developedfor iPhone and iPod Touch. Competitions will be held by Ecaz Studios iPhoto wherebythey will give complimentary portraits taken by professional photographers tovisitors and these photos will be submitted for a “Portrait of the Day” and“Portraits of the Show” competition. On Saturday and Sunday, local acts such asQings & Kueens, Otam, Altered Frequency will be performing at the centrestage.

Machines will be holding specialoffers and workshops for consumers, teaching them how to create music, moviesas well as editing and managing them. Apart from that, they are also showcasingtheir Mac, iPod and iPhone 3G products and accessories. Finally, there will bedaily workshops on Apple software iLife ’09 and iWork ’09, Aperture, Final CutStudio and Logic Studio.

For more information, log on to www.discoveryweek.com.my or followtheir Twitter at www.twitter.com/discoveryweek and stand a chance to win an Apple iPod. 

What happens when a 13-year old boy - a boy who's probably never come into physical contact with a cassette tape before in his life - trades in his shiny iPod Touch for a clanky Walkman from yesteryear? Well, according to this interesting piece on BBC UK, it wasn't exactly a week filled with fun and games.

When I wore it walking down the street or going into shops, I got strange looks, a mixture of surprise and curiosity, that made me a little embarrassed.

As I boarded the school bus, where I live in Aberdeenshire, I was greeted with laughter. One boy said: "No-one uses them any more." Another said: "Groovy." Yet another one quipped: "That would be hard to lose."

OK. So maybe the classic Sony Walkman doesn't score too highly on aesthetics, but surely in terms of functionality...

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn't is "shuffle", where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down "rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured.

Hmm... Well considering that it took him a whole three days to realize that there were two sides to the tape, the Walkman does notably suffer from some ease of use issues. Thankfully though, the young man's father shed light on how delicate cassette tapes really are, and how the constant rewinding could potentially transform his museum worthy Walkman into an ancient paperweight.

You can catch the full story on the BBC UK website here: http://tinyurl.com/mebjkx and check out the young man's thoughts for yourself.

Just days after the shocking death of Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett, Malaysians had to brace themselves for yet another high-profile celebrity death - this time involving 80's pop sensation Rick Astley. Known best for his uptempo hit, Never Gonna Give You Up, an 80's chart topper that was recently revived thanks to a series of online pranks known as Rick Rolls, it looked like the laughs were about to come to an end when news of his untimely demise hit Malaysia's most popular daily newspaper's website.

However, when news of the report hit Twitter some moments later (as things like these usually do), the reactions weren't exactly mournful. In fact, they were downright critical. A quick look at my Twitter list showed questions like "Did he really die?" and "Where's the source?" instead of the usual "Oh no... I'm going to cry my eyeballs out tonight T_____T...".

Pwnage continues after the jump.

The organizer of World Cyber Games Asian Championship 2009 (WCGAC'09) has just released the group draw for each of its official games: DoTA, FIFA'09 and Guitar Hero World Tour. The grouping looked pretty comfortable for Team Malaysia as none of our national players was drew into any group of death. The event will take place at Singapore this coming weekend. (http://bit.ly/uW4tI)

As for local news, Online eClub will be on tour across a number of states in Peninsular Malaysia to organize qualifiers for their Left 4 Dead Versus Mode Tournament. Apart from cash and product prizes, winners from each venue will qualify to a national championship, expected to happen in few months time. Gather 3 of your best friend and let's get the zombie frag fest started! (http://bit.ly/DbCow)
 
Last but not least, Blizzard recently confirmed that they decided to ditch LAN mode in Starcraft II. For us, it was a questionable decision as the original Starcraft is very LAN-centric which made it very popular in cybercafes for years after it was originally released. We guess no LAN party with your friends on Starcraft II release day then. :( (http://bit.ly/Q0gwf)
 
Don't forget to tune in to Multiplay (http://multiplay.lowyat.net/) daily for the juiciest news from across the world and within Malaysia's gaming community.

PocketPC aficionados HTC have introduced yet another sleek number to their already bursting WinMob-phone portfolio. Called the HTC Touch Pro 2, this sexy slider is actually the successor to one of their previous flagship models, the HTC Touch Pro.

Featuring a refined bezel, a glossy two-tone finish, and an angled slide up keyboard, the Touch Pro 2 looks way slicker than it's blocky predecessor and promises an enhanced user experience too. As usual, HTC's proprietary TouchFLO 3D interface makes a return to the device and effectively masks the boring (and occasionally confusing) WinMob 6.1 default Today Screen with an intuitive and easy to use touch-controlled interface.

Designed with business professionals in mind, the HTC Touch Pro 2 is also equipped to handle business-centric applications such as Push Internet technology (for push mail, etc), and a new HTC hardware/software pairing called HTC Straight Talk that turns your Touch Pro 2 into a boardroom quality teleconferencing device when flipped over.

The HTC Touch Pro 2 is available on the market now and will retail for RM3,199. For more detailed information on the HTC Touch Pro 2, visit the official website here: http://tinyurl.com/ajtd8t