Tag Archives: content

Your Instagram Feed is About to Get Stranger

July 28, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, still is known for Facebook, has just posted their quarterly earnings report. For the first time since 2007, they have posted a decline in revenue, US$ 28.82 billion versus US$ 29.07 billion in the second quarter of 2021. That is a whopping 1% drop in revenue year-on-year. No, that is not a lot, to be fair. It is not that alarming either, if you ask us. What could be more alarming is that the drop in revenue comes with a larger drop in net income for Meta, about 36% loss compared to the same quarter last year (Q2 2021).

The drop in revenue could be due to many reasons. One of the reasons could be also because of the loss in user base and daily user counts thanks to the ongoing crisis over in Russia and Ukraine. The loss in revenue and profits could also be largely due to Apple’s new “opt out” policy that significantly changes how ads are being served on iOS devices.

While a decline in revenue and profits is bad news, it is not something we should really feel bad about. After all, Meta still rakes in profits in the billions. What could be bad news to us though is what Mark Zuckerberg is planning for Instagram to make it more profitable than before.

Instagram primarily does photos and images. It started its life to be a one-stop shop for sharing your photos with your friends and family with no fuss or frills. When Meta, or then Facebook gotten a hold of Instagram, they saw it as an opportunity to level the playing field with Snapchat and introduced Instagram Stories, a sub platform within Instagram to share photos with your followers available for the next 24 hours. A sort of “what’s on my mind”, or “what am I doing right now” kind of thing for the masses.

Recently, Instagram has started to favour more video contents. Understandably, the rise in short form video contents had an astronomical rise thanks to the likes of TikTok. Instagram tried to introduce more video features within their platform starting with Instagram TV, a long format video platform within Instagram to encourage content creators to post longer format videos on Instagram. Then there is Reels now, a short form video platform within Instagram that is supposed to encourage content creators to post more bite sized chunks of videos on their profile.

While more contents from our friends is great for us in the grand scheme of things, Instagram has also tweaked their algorithms alongside all the new features they have added. Your Instagram main feed is now loaded with posts from strangers and accounts you have never followed. They are recommendations based on the posts you have been responding to or interacted with. Nothing wrong with that, except you are seeing less of your friends and more strangers on your feed. It is starting to be more like TikTok, and people have mentioned that they hated it.

Unfortunately, their woes will fall on deaf ears. Meta’s CEO has mentioned that the company will be doubling the amount of ‘recommended’ contents to users by 2023. The same changes apply to Facebook as well. This also means that at least 30% of our feeds on Instagram and Facebook will be filled by contents from people we do not know or have never followed suggested by Meta’s recommendation algorithm.

If you want to only see feeds from people you are following, there is a way. All you need to do is to hit the ‘Instagram’ logo on the top right corner of your display or the app and select ‘following’ there. That way you are seeing feed only from people you are following. It is an extra step, but hey, it is better than seeing strangers on your feed all the time.

Source: The Verge, Tech Crunch, 9to5Mac

Business, Computers, Gaming, Lifestyle, News

Microsoft Introduces the Surface Laptop Studio with Windows 11 – The Ultimate Windows 11 Content Creator?

September 23, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The content creator market is a hot one these days. Everyone wants a piece of the action in the content creator space. Of course, it is not like the Microsoft Windows platform was not an appealing platform for content creators in the first place. The Windows PC platform is still one of the most popular platforms in the content creation industry.

That was Windows 10 though. It was a versatile platform that could run anything you ask it to. It could do about anything you want it to with little compatibility issues. Because Windows 11 is pretty much Windows 10 in basic architecture, you should expect pretty much the same compatibility and versatility from Windows 11 devices.

Except, before we even see Windows 11 devices from manufacturers hitting shelves, Microsoft kind of jumped the gun a little and introduced their own Windows 11 devices. We want to say these could be reference devices, but it does not look like Microsoft is interested in creating references devices. Instead, these devices are built to compete and be as premium and powerful as Windows wants them to be for their purposes. The new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is the very culmination of what Windows envisions a prefect creator class device should be.

First, it is powerful. You get to spec the new Surface Laptop Studio with up to an 11^th generation Intel Core i7-11370H. You also get up to 32GB of RAM to work with, which is ample when it comes to video editing, photo editing, and even 3D workloads. On the graphics department, you can opt for a very powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU for an even more seamless workflow. You can store all the works of art in a 2TB SSD (up to).

Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft

Of course, you get the highest standards of Windows 11 experience for creators with the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. The touch screen display does not just tilt open and close like the regular laptop you might be used to. There is a second hinge in the middle part of the display shell that allows the display to swivel a bit more. You can bring the display closer to you, for example, to have better access to the touch sensitive display. You could also use the Surface Slim Pen 2 to draw on it when you need to. Or use it as a tablet completely, when the mood takes you.

The display is not just some random cheap display too. It is a bright 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow Display that refreshes up to 120Hz, in case you are in the mood for gaming. It is a 3:2 aspect ratio displays at 2,400 x 1,600 pixels; odd, but it is a creator first display. With Dolby Vision as well, you can be proud at whatever film edits you would want to show your clients on the display.

The webcam you get on the Surface Laptop Studio is capable of Full HD resolution for crisp looking video calls. For good measure, the Surface Laptop Studio also comes with Windows Hello face authentication feature on the Surface Laptop. Of course, the Windows 11 device must have far-field mics for voice command and crisp audio for video calls. It also packs four Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos certification. Of course, for smooth, uninterrupted video calls, you have WiFi 6 capabilities on the Surface Laptop Studio.

The new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio with Windows 11 will be available in select regions 5^th of October 2021 onward. Prices start from US$ 1,599.99 (MYR 6,703*) and tops out at US$ 3,099.99 (MYR 12,990*). There are no other colour options other than Platinum on the Magnesium and Aluminium built Windows 11. There are no confirmations on when the Surface Laptop Studio will arrive in Malaysia currently, but we are keeping our ears close to the ground. More information on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.19 on xe.com as of 23/09/2021

Accessories, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

DJI Launches the DJI OM5 – Mobile Film Making Just Got A whole Lot Better for MYR 689

September 9, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When DJI launched the OM4, we thought that it was the best DJI could make a gimbal for smartphones. At the same time, they made a smartphone gimbal that was more affordable than ever, in terms of a fully featured gimbal for smartphones for that matter. Those were the few criteria that influenced our purchase of our very own DJI OM4 gimbals. Then the DJI OM5 launched.

The DJI OM5 and the DJI OM4 shares a lot of similarities, to begin with. They are both foldable, and ultra-portable, the DJI Om5’s design allowing it to be a lot more so. Both have a large battery that you can charge via USB Type-C. Both also feature the same magnetic modular design that allows a larger convenience and versatility with any number of smartphones. In some sense, the OM5 is really the OM4 in a different body.

Except there are some differences that make the OM5 a better smartphone gimbal for content creators and even floggers. For one the DJI OM5, while being more compact than ever, packs an extension rod that extends up to 215mm to create new angles and opens new shooting options, especially when your main contents are vlogs.

The DJI OM5 also comes with a slew of improvements on the software end to make film making on smartphones easier and better. With new ShotGuides, DJI automatically understands your environment and cleverly recommends templates and even guides for getting the best out of your smartphone and gimbal set up. The end goal is to achieve a video that looks professionally filmed on your smartphone. There is also ActiveTrack 4.0 that is supposed to be a lot more responsive and cleverer than before to ensure that your tracked subject is never out of frame even when the subject turns around.

Screenshot 2021 09 09 132024 — Source: DJI

The more compact design and clever folding mechanism makes the DJI OM5 even more portable than before. At just about 300g, it is even lighter than the OM4 that it replaces. If you already have a DJI OM4, the magnetic attachments are also compatible with the OM5. It still features all the software capabilities that made the DJI OM4 such a friendly tool for content creators. You still get Gesture Controls to remotely activate your DJI OM5 and smartphone to either take group photos or a group footage even. You still get TimeLapse, MotionLapse, HyperLapse, and even Panoramas function on the OM5 as well. For more creative flexibility and inspiration, Story Mode templates are there for you.

On top of all of that, the DJI OM5 also comes with a fresh new magnetic accessory that would really help in a lot of content creation situations, especially in low-light condition. The new Fill Light Phone Clamp is a friendly clamp for your smartphone just like the regular magnetic phone clamp you are familiar with if you come from the DJI OM4. Except, the new clamp comes with LED fill lights on the clamps itself. The built-in battery powered LEDs ads a fill light of sorts in three colour temperature options. It is also perfect for vloggers that needs the perfect sort of lighting anywhere.

Source: DJI
Source: DJI
Source: DJI
Source: DJI
Source: DJI

The DJI OM5 is now available in Malaysia for MYR 689. You can get your hands on one from DJI’s online retail partners, Shopee and Lazada, or DJI official stores across Malaysia. It is available in two colour options: Athens Grey and Sunset White. Currently though, only the Athens Grey variant is available. The Sunset White variant is expected to be available 15^th September 2021 onward and will ship out 20^th September 2021 onward.

Computers, News

ASUS Going All-In with OLED on the ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED and ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED

September 3, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Innovation is ASUS’ middle name. Well, not really. But they are one of the most innovative PC manufacturers of late. They were the first and still the only manufacturer that offers a dual function touchpad that works as a mouse tracking pad and an extra number pad at the same time. They are the only manufacturer currently that ships some of their notebooks with two displays in a notebook PC. At this point, when ASUS launches new devices, we are basically asking, “what will be the next big thing?”.

OLED is not a new technology. By now you would have known and understood the power of an LED display and what it can offer in terms of colour reproduction and contrast, in comparison to regular LCD displays. It is not a new technology on ASUS devices too, in a sense. They have integrated the OLED technology into their ZenBook before this.

ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED

The top-of-the-line ProArt notebook PC is the no compromise notebook for the creatives that needs the power for 3D CAD work. The OLED display that is splashed on the new ProArt StudioBook Pro measures in at 16 inches as per its name. The 16:10 display pushes 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD resolution into your face. The 4K UHD OLED display also boasts 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage with up to 550 nits in maximum brightness. At ΔE<2 as well, the pantone validated display should be a lot of help for creators.

Inside the 16-incher’s chassis you can find either a very powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (W5600, up to), or an industrial 3^rd generation Intel Xeon W-11955M (W7600, up to). Alongside the choice of two processors, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 can be specced with up to 64GB in 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM. At the same time, you can pack the StudioBook Pro with up to 4TB of PCIe SSD from the factory to ensure you have ample storage for all of your work and quick access to the files you need. Speaking of storage, the SD card reader on the StudioBook Pro is capable of reading SD cards at 985 MB/s for an extra smooth, extra fast workflow.

In terms of graphics, you get NVIDIA power for both variants of the StudioBook Pro. The notebook can be packed with up to an NVIDIA RTX A2000 GPU (A5000 of W7600 Intel variant), which is made specifically made for the studio environment. Thanks to modern machinery as well, you get the benefit and power of a full HDMI 2.1 port on the notebook.

While all these are well and good, it does take away from the interesting innovation that ASUS has fitted into the StudioBook Pro though. The innovation is on the surface of the keyboard on the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. On the keyboard surface of the StudioBook Pro is not just a keyboard and touchpad combo. The touchpad does not need to double as a numpad as well, because this has dedicated physical numerical keys. The innovation comes in a form of a small circular dial that sits just below the keyboard.

They call it the ASUS Dial and it is brilliant for the creative industry. Using dials to have more granular and finer controls over your creative software, or even volumes, is nothing new. But having that packed in a notebook and having it accessible wherever you deploy your mobile workstation without extra accessories is new. This is what the ASUS Dial is though, a dedicated, built-in dial that is compatible with Adobe’s suite of apps. The implementation is not limited to Adobe though, imagine working with CAD software to create your next big project. The Mousepad also has a third middle button now just to really suit content creators for their projects and apps.

ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED

There is also the ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, a less bonkers version of the ultimate creative working laptop. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16, visually, shares the same design cues with the more expensive and powerful ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. The StudioBook 16 even features the same ASUS Dial that the Pro variant gets. The touchpad also features the third middle mouse button.

You still get a 16-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD OLED display that boasts the same colour accuracy as the pro variant. The difference lies in the hardware that powers the device. While you can still opt for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX AMD powerhouse if you are team red, the Intel variant only goes up to a Core i9-11900H processor. While it is no workstation powerhouse, the latest generation Tiger Lake Core i9 processor is still a respectable and mighty powerful processor for the notebook.

Graphics wise, the Intel variant stops at NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 while the AMD variant goes up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. Both the notebooks support NVIDIA’s studio driver, these are creator-centric notebooks after all. You still get to pair the powerful processors with up to 64GB 3200 MHz DDR 4 RAM for smooth operations especially when you are relying on creative apps and 3D rendering projects. With up to 4TB in SSD storage as well, you are not going to be really wanting more storage space for your ongoing projects. On top of all of that is a super-fast SD Express 7.0 SD card reader with up to 985 MB/s read speeds.

Price and Availability

Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS

There are no announcements on the availability of the new ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays just yet. There are no mentions on pricing either but remember these are made to be the ultimate portable workstation for content creators. In that regard, you can expect them to come at a premium. With that kind of price premium, its availability in Malaysia might be even more delayed. However, if you are a production house in need of powerhouse like the ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays, you can try ringing up ASUS to come up with a deal.

Android, Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Netflix Games is Going to Be a Thing – Tests for Android Starts in Poland

August 27, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Netflix has pretty much changed the way we consume contents. To be fair, this whole streaming business started becoming a thing when YouTube started blowing up. To be fair to that also, YouTube’s rise to popularity is contributed by the increase in interest with short form contents and independent content creators.

In some sense Netflix’s rise in popularity is a little different than YouTube’s astronomical rise. Of course, Netflix has been in the general entertainment industry for longer than we know them to be the top Over-The-Top (OTT) content streaming service known to man today. Instead of dabbling in independent film makers, Netflix dabbles is offering the big budget film and on-demand TV shows on a single platform. You can watch all that Netflix has to offer in terms of films and TV shows at any time you want and at an affordable price. It did for films what Spotify has done for music. It democratizes big budget contents that were traditionally made for a scheduled TV programme or even the theatres. It put the controls of consuming these contents right in your palms and at home.

Their disruptive business model proves to be a winner with us, the users. Netflix, currently anyway, is still the top performing content streaming platform in the world with a huge global presence. Their success in the world of end-user entertainment platform leads to plenty of “me too” products we see today like Amazon’s Prime Video, Paramount+, HBO Max, and even Disney+.

While Netflix is still the king in content streaming platforms, they want to be more than just providing watched contents. They want to dabble in interactive contents. You can see Netflix experimenting with interactive contents when you look back into Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a kind of movie where you can decide what your ending would be. It is like playing a game, except you are doing it on your browser and it involves a live-action content.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, while a successful endeavour, is a huge undertaking though. It is time consuming to create, it is also complex to work with, which are all usually translated into the final cost of production in terms of currency. There is a cheaper way to do what Netflix wanted to do with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, create actual games and host them on Netflix itself. That is what they want to do into the future though.

Netflix’s own exclusives have inspired games like Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3. While they are not strictly games you play on the PC or even a console, they are still games that puts you in the shoes of the main characters imagined from the Netflix exclusive series, ‘Stranger Things’. Yes, we are saying that they are mobile games.

Let’s talk Netflix and gaming.

Today members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3. It’s very, very early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but this is the first step. https://t.co/yOl44PGY0r
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) August 26, 2021

So, Netflix is trying to make games and launch a gaming platform of their own. That is nothing new though. Since Google announced their Stadia platform, their competitors have all been jumping on board and are betting their futures with Cloud Gaming. In other words, everyone wants to get into game streaming, since the gaming industry is on a steady rise. Netflix wants that piece of action too.

Of course, at this time, Netflix has only confirmed that they are going to be integrating mobile games into their platform instead of a whole dive into cloud gaming. In that sense, Netflix Poland has already started testing their gaming platform. The experience, so far, has not been reportedly great though.

You are not accessing a completely different app, which is great news. While you are accessing the Netflix app to get to the games that are on offer though, it is not the third-party app store experience that Netflix wants you to believe at this time. The games that are on offer, at least according to current reports, are the two Stranger Things titles we mentioned earlier. They are not cloud based gaming as well, at this time anyway. You still have to download the games to play the games. Users are also led to the Google Play Store for the games to be downloaded too.

Once downloaded though, the games can only be launched via the Netflix app, which is a little counterintuitive. The games are tied to your Netflix credentials instead of your Google Play credentials though, which kind of makes sense. Reportedly also, the games you play through Netflix will not feature any ads or in-app purchases. Currently also, Netflix is focusing on bringing mobile optimised games on their platform, hence the test starts with smartphones. In some sense, it does sound a lot like Netflix is trying to create a platform that is likened to Apple Arcade. Unlike Apple’s Arcade though, membership is free as long as you have an active subscription with Netflix, for now anyway.

At the time of writing, there are only two game titles available on Netflix’s gaming section. The test is also only currently conducted in Poland with no other regions being confirmed at this time. Netflix also says that the iteration that is being tested in Poland is a very early development. While it does not feature cloud gaming yet at this time, it is not ruled out, at least from our point of view anyway. Still, would you play games on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.

Lifestyle, News

[Update] OnlyFans is Going SFW! Yes, Really It Is!

August 20, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Update: OnlyFans has reversed their decision on banning sexually explicit content. The originally cited pressure from banks has apparently be worked out. OnlyFans has only said that they have secured financial assurances to support their content creators and as much creative freedom as before.

We haven’t spoke about OnlyFans much. That is because, as novel as the platform’s visions are, it inevitably became exploited to a little more than that. The platform quickly gained popularity as a sort of “Patreon for Porn” since its boom in 2020. It became popular for all sorts of wrong reasons.

You might think that OnlyFans is mostly about paying for explicit contents, and you can be forgiven for that. Since the platform came under limelight, its most popular contents are mostly what can only be described as porn in all kinds of form. At the very least, you can pay your way to getting photos of naked people on the platform.

The thing is, if you try to download OnlyFans for Android (OFTV) on the Google Play Store, you will find an app that is strictly SFW (safe for work). You cannot be accessing contents with naked people from the Android app at all. You can thank Google’s Play Store policies for that, Google does not want porn in their app store ecosystem.

As we have stated before, the idea behind the content subscription service is a novel one. On the OFTV app, the platform pushes differing content creators that reflects the novel idea of OnlyFans. It pushes content creators that dabbles in soft skills like cooking, crafting, and even photography for its users. That was the main idea of OnlyFans though.

Of course, OnlyFans garnered plenty of attention since it allows content creators the freedom to bring any form of contents into the platform, including sexually explicit ones. To be fair, the porn industry, in today’s day and age, is one of the most lucrative in the world. At the same time, the nature of the pandemic since 2020 has pushed the industry way forward with digital availability and demand skyrocketing.

It did not just gather the attention of users though. The platform got plenty of attention from authorities and drew plenty of criticism from everywhere. Investigators started scouring the platform for illicit contents. Critics say that the platform gives its creators too much freedom in infringing the platform’s own content guidelines.

Today is a big step for OnlyFans though since they have announced that they are no longer allowing sexually explicit contents on the platform from the 1^st of October 2021 onward. The move as reportedly due to the rising pressures from OnlyFans’ bankers and investors in its recent bid to secure funding to hit US$ 1 billion in valuation. This is not the end of nudity on the platform though as OnlyFans has stated that it would allow its content to post nude contents if it complies with their content guidelines.

Of course, not all of the platform’s users would be happy with the announcement. Plenty of content creators who have kept themselves sustainable on the platform will be majorly affected by the changes that is to come October 2021 onward. On the bright side, OnlyFans could keep its lofty ideas of creating a reliable platform for its content creators to live off their contents without relying on brand sponsors or ads.

Source: Bloomberg

Camera, Lifestyle, News

Sony Introduces the Alpha ZV-E10 – The Perfect Small Camera for Content Creators

July 28, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The content creator market is huge in 2021. Of course, the rise in various social media mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and even Twitch has created this huge demand for contents over the internet. To be fair, Twitch may not be a social media platform per se, but it does create a huge demand in more live streamed contents; pretty much what Facebook is doing with regular and even Facebook Gaming platform. In all these, the most popular contents are also the visual contents like videos and photo updates. Written contents have been taking a backseat for a while and we all know that.

On that note, we want to thank everyone who is still coming to the site to read our news updates, reviews, and editorial articles. We appreciate you and you are the reason we do what we do. Do let us know what you think we can do more of, or better in the comment section below or our social media platforms though.

With modern social media as well, content creation has been at its simplest form today. All you need is a smartphone that can support all the apps to start creating contents. Of course, using your smartphone to create contents can be pretty limiting. We always say that if you want to make the best video or photography content, invest in a camera; there are plenty of choices out there too. Today, your decision-making process is going to be a little harder, or easier, depending on how you look at it.

The Sony Alpha (α) ZV-E10, as they call it, is meant to sit above the ZV-1 compact camera. Rightfully so, with an APS-C cropped sensor instead of the small 1-inch sensor of the compact ZV-1. It is also an interchangeable lens camera with Sony’s proprietary E-Mount. This opens up a whole plethora of creative possibilities with Sony’s extensive E-Mount lenses as well.

It features a 24.2-Megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor backed by Sony’s brilliant BIONZ X image processor. Of course, with a bigger sensor than the ZV-1, you should be getting a better image quality and better low-light performance from the ZV-E10. At the same time, there are a few features that makes this camera perfect for both experienced and new content creators.

For one, the Sony α ZV-E10 packs a clever Background Defocus feature that was first seen and highly acclaimed in the ZV-1. While the feature is more catered for vloggers, it is a clever system to sort of mimic the depth-of-field effect you get with more expensive lenses and larger camera sensors without spending the extra money. At the same time, it is less focus sensitive in this implementation, which allows subjects extra movement tolerances. “Product Showcase Setting” mode is also something that content creators can appreciate to quickly shift focus from the subject’s face to a highlighted object.

At 343g (body only), the Sony α ZV-E10 is lighter than even the Sony α6400, and way lighter than the high-end Sony α7 series of cameras. That also means an added portability and versatility in your shoots. You do not need a large space to lug the ZV-E10 around and setting it up can be as easy as pulling it out of the bag and just point at your subject.

The α ZV-E10 is made with videos in mind though. It shoots at up to 4K 30fps and Full HD 120fps (slow-motion) to make this one of the most versatile compact shooters available in the current market. Of course, Sony’s clever electronic image stabilisation makes an appearance here. You do have to turn on Active Mode for stabilisation to kick in though. Still, you can get a crisp, stable 4K vlogs from the camera.

The new Sony compact camera is also sort of made to be a one-stop-shop for content creation. That is why the α ZV-E10 comes with Sony’s industry leading Fast Hybrid autofocus, and real-time Eye autofocus and tracking for all sorts of contents. You can use the camera to take great looking and detailed photos and track a moving subject for fast moving videos. You may not even need a separate mic with the α ZV-E10 too with its built-in Direction 3-capsule Mic and a wind screen included out-of-the-box. If you have a mic, you can easily use the ZV-E10’s mic jack on its side.

Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony

The Sony α ZV-E10 will be available in Malaysia from September 2021 onward. You can select between black or white colour options with the new camera. At launch the Sony α ZV-E10 will be available for MYR 2,599 (body only) and MYR 3,099 for a kit lens (E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS) bundle. More information on Sony’s camera systems and the α ZV-E10 can be found on their website.

Computers, News

MSI Launches new 11th Generation Intel and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series Laptops for Creators.

May 18, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

MSI is one of those names that you normally associate with high-performance computing especially in the field of gaming. Unlike their competitors, their entire line-up of PCs and laptops are focused on high-performance and high-demand computing solutions. Now, that also means creator-grade PCs.

Their single-minded drive to produce the best and most powerful solutions for all kinds of gaming and creation needs also pushes the brand to create the most desirable machines with the latest and most powerful innovations. For 2021, it means Intel’s latest 11^th Generation Core processors and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series. But power is just half the story, aesthetics rule too, in the modern world of creator-class rigs.

MSI Creator Z16 & M16

Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI

For creators, the display could be everything. When you are on-the-go though, sometimes it is a case of ‘beggars cannot be choosers’. Not in the case of the Creator class Z16 though.

You still get a large 16-inch display at 16:10 display factor. For a super smooth experience in your work and 3D work, the panel refreshes at 120Hz as well. Technically, 120Hz (Z16) on this IPS display will look stellar too, if you are thinking of gaming. It is a creator class PC though so the QHD+ resolution is displayed at 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut for the most colour accurate images possible. It is also a touchscreen for even more flexibilities on the move.

A display like this requires a lot of power from the rest of the hardware within the notebook though. This is where the 11^th Generation Intel Core i7 processor kicks in to ensure you have 120fps from your programs and final product. The powerful processor is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 mobile GPU (RTX 1050 or RTX 1050 Ti for M16) to keep up with all sorts of 3D and rendering demands. With up to 64GB of configurable RAM, you would not be wanting for more power from this thin (16.8mm, Z16) and light (2.2kg) package.

There are two NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD slots (1x PCIe Gen 3 M.2 SSD for M16) within the svelte and understated all-metal body too. That means you can even get up to 4TB of storage if you want with two 2TB SSDs. With Gen4 speeds too, your workflow will be smoother and quicker than ever with nearly no bottlenecks.

You still get two full USB Type-A ports alongside two Thunderbolt enabled USB Type-C (1x for M16) ports for the best-in-class expandibility in terms of I/O. Unfortunately, power still goes through a proprietary port via a 180W adapter (150W for M16). There is also a 3.5mm combo audio jack if you are into music production and audio engineering, but the four stereo speakers tuned by Dyneaudio should be powerful enough for audio monitoring and even enjoying music on the side.

MSI Creator 17

Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI

Working on-the-go also means that you might have to compromise on display size. But there is a way with MSI. The Creator 17 is that way to have no compromises whether or not you work on your desk, and even when you are working on-the-go.

First things first, you get the most powerful processor of the lot; an 11^th Generation Intel Core i9 processor. You can spec your desktop replacing machine with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (up to) if you want or need to. You can even spec your rig with up to 64GB of RAM if you really need.

Storage wise, you have one NVMe PCIe Gen4 slot for your ultra-fast working storage unit and another NVMe PCIe Gen3 M.2 SSD slot for whatever that you have already worked on. It is still fast too in today’s standards, if you need it to be your working drive still.

The internals powers Windows and other creator programmes that projects on a 17.3-inch Ultra HD 4K resolution Mini LED display. Just so you can do your best work even on-the-go, the Creator 17’s display is a HDR 1000 certified panel with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. For your audio needs, you have two stereo speakers designed and tuned for Dynaudio for the best sound reproduction you can have in a notebook PC.

While all that might sound like a lot of heft in a notebook PC, the MSI Creator 17 weighs just 2.45kg. At 20.25mm in thickness as well, it is not what you would call a hefty item. It comes packing a 230W slim adapter to keep the package small and portable, just in case you need to get going quickly.

Android, iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

#MYReels Simplifies Content Creation on Facebook and Instagram in Malaysia

March 23, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Instagram today just introduced a brand-new feature for content creators. They call it ‘Reels’ to help content creators make even more variety of contents on Instagram stories at least. Of course, short form contents on Instagram Stories can be shared across to Facebook as well.

Reels for Instagram will bring the long-awaited Instagram Music feature that has been available in other regions for a while now. But Reels is not just about taking the Music feature into Instagram Stories for Malaysia. It is also about helping content creators to create more varieties of contents on Instagram.

There are a few tools that comes with Reels too to make it a speedy content creator tool of choice for the many content creators on Instagram and Facebook. You can control your video speed for one, to make seamless and great looking slow-motion videos. You can record your videos now without even touching your smartphones too with a timer and countdown function now. You can add timed texts and stickers on selected parts of your video too now, instead of guessing and just hoping for the best. You can even align yourself up from previous videos to create a smooth, seamless transition in videos. Most of the time as well, on your smartphone, you are shooting free-handed so Instagram Reels can touch-up the videos to add extra stability and control over your short form videos.

Obviously, bringing Music feature into Instagram and Facebook in Malaysia is huge too. Creators in Malaysia now have access to an expanded licensed music library for their own contents on Facebook and Instagram. Users can also use music stickers on their Instagram and Facebook Stories and even easily add lyrics on their contents. It does not stop there too, you can now have music on your Facebook Profile.

If you think that Reels adds some ‘TikTok like’ functions and features to Instagram and Facebook, you may not be completely wrong. The rise of TikTok has empowered plenty of content creators to quickly make compelling short form contents that you can easily follow on their platform. TikTok has also appealed to plenty of Instagram and Facebook content creators thanks to the innovative tools that TitTok has provided for quick and seamless content creation. The introduction of Reels and its suite of content creation tool should bring some content creators back to Instagram and Facebook.

Reels is now available for Instagram and Facebook users in 50 regions. Malaysia is a part of those 50 countries with Reels introduced in Instagram and Facebook. Music is available in 90 countries so far and Malaysia is now part of those countries to have Music features available. Instagram and Facebook are two free apps available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

techENT