Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 stable version released

After quite a long beta period, finally the stable version of Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 is now officially released.

For those who haven't tried the Opera web browser for mobile devices, you should test it out. It is free, and most of the time it provides much better browsing experience as well as surfing speed than the original web browser that comes with your handphone.

To download Opera Mini 5 or Opera Mobile 10 to your handphone, simply make a visit to http://m.opera.com/ with your handphone, and the automated download and installation process should be initiated.

Opera Mini 5 is available on all Java-based handphones. Opera Mobile 10 is available on Windows Mobile and Symbian S60-based smartphones.

Here is how the new Opera Mini 5 screen looks like in my Sony Ericsson P1i.

And here is how this blog looks like when browsed with Opera Mini 5 (landscape mode).

When you tab on any area, it will enlarge that region, then the text and pictures will be readable.

Air fresheners might contain toxic substances

Do you use air freshner in your office? living room? bedroom? toilet? car?

A report from the Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) organization titled "Foul-smelling whiff from air fresheners!" alerted that air fresheners do not "purify" the ambient air, but on the contrary pollute it by releasing well-known toxic substances.

The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and 5 of its member organisations had tested on 76 air fresheners products, and found out many contain:

• Formaldehyde and benzene - which could cause cancer in humans
• Acetaldehyde or styrene - that irritates the respiratory tract, allergens and potential carcinogens
• Toluene, chlorbenzene, glycol ethers, phthalates and artificial musk - all known to be dangerous to health

Not to mention all the other chemicals not assessed in this test and about which we know nothing.

These products represent a real risk to health not only of allergy sufferers, asthmatics, pregnant or nursing women and children, but also to anyone using them continuously.

As a result, it is advisable not to use air fresheners to avoid exposure to those toxic substances. Perhaps air ionizer is a better alternative.

Malaysia UKM students win 1st place in eVolo 2010 Skyscraper Competition

The 1st place winner of eVolo Magazine's Skyscraper Competition in 2010 has been awarded to 3 architecture students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) - Chow Khoon Toong, Ong Tien Yee, and Beh Ssi Cze. Congratulation!


As a background, this annual Skyscraper Competition recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the use of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organization.

This winning contest entry project examines the possibility of creating a vertical prison in the sky where inmates will have to work and live in a community that will contribute to the host city below. The prison will have agricultural fields, factories, and recyclable plants that will be operated by the offenders as a way to give back to the community. They will live “free” until they have completed their sentence and are prepared to rejoin their communities.

The vertical prison has its own transportation system which consists of different “pods” for officers, prisoners, firefighters, and other workers.

Click here to read more about the brilliant idea of Vertical Prison.

Also worth to mention is another Malaysian entry by architect Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum has also won the Special Mention prize in the same competition. His entry is "Water-Scraper: Underwater Architecture", which is a self sufficient structure designed to float on the ocean.

Click here to read more about the unique design of Water-Scraper.