Overkill.....

I finally got around to reformating the laptop. It was due. This thing runs so much faster now, even the booting it up is lightning fast. It used to take at least 30 seconds to go from the WINDOWS XP Splash screen/logo to the Desktop. Now, it only takes about 5 seconds or so.

There have been some official reviews already out. Some lucky bastards have managed to catch the screening for the press. All of them have been generally positive for now:

a) 3.5 Stars out of 4 - Rolling Stone Magazine

b) 8.5/10 - The Movie Blog (check out the video review for the reviewers thoughts on Heath Ledger's performance)

Along with all of that, there were video clips and images etc.

All of the reviews I've read so far give Heath Ledger's performance heaps of praise. He already looks amazing from the trailers. I think for once, I'm actually more hyped to see the villain instead of the hero!

18 days to go. Just 18.....

And then, there's this:

We (fans) were teased with some "spy/stealth" pics taken from a Toy Exhibition in Hong Kong or Japan.

And then, the official manufacturer's photos were released.

Batman (The Dark Knight suit):

New Bruce Wayne alternate head (serious VS. calm)

The Batpod (cost RM 740 here!!!!!):

And finally, the mother-fcuking TUMBLER! (ONLY RM 1380 here)

OMG - that thing is HUGE!

The Batpod and Tumbler are scheduled for release in December 2008. They would make really, really NICE Christmas presents :D

There were also some photos from the exhibition of the Medicom versions of "The Dark Knight" figures.

Batman is impressive, Joker's headsculpt is good, shame about the outfit



The Bruce Wayne looks too cartoony, but the suit is an Armani replica!


Medicom Joker (left) and Hot Toys Joker (right)

Also seen at the show - I'm sure thats pretty recognizable.

"Get to da choppaaa!!!!!"

And finally, something else that has my attention:

I just Wiki-ed and found out that she's a Japanese character called Machiko Noguchi from the Aliens VS. Predator comics.

I see Angelina Jolie right there

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!

What's going on.....?

There's now something strange going on with the laptop. The power adapter finally failed me so it was time to get a new unit.

Headed down to Low Yat Plaza with Weng on Saturday. I previously bought one for Deidere's laptop so I thought I could locate the same shop.

Lugging a laptop around, walking about from LRT station to LRT station, around Sungai Wang Plaza, Low Yat Plaza and Berjaya Times Square isn't fun. Even with a padded backpack.

When I finally found a shop that sells the adapter, I tested it. The first unit was weird. The mouse cursor was unresponsive when I plugged in the adapter - but worked fine when I took it off. The owner was scratching his head too - claiming its the first time he's seen something like that.

They swapped it with another one which worked fine. I then had to scout around for a cheapo pair of speakers to be used for work (which I could claim back from the company of course). Saw a decent looking pair and paid RM 25 for it.

When I finally got home, I charged the draining laptop battery and a few hours after that the same thing was happening. Problem is, its happens on and off. I've never encountered such a thing and I don't know how plugging in a power adapter can affect the mouse cursor. I don't know if its power fluctuations or anything of that sort. It just doesn't make any sense.

Then, I decided to open up the speakers to test it. To my horror, it was a pair of USB speakers (which I failed to check at the shop)!!!!! All the USB ports are disabled to prevent staff from copying sensitive information.

At this point, I was extremely frustrated with how things turned out. No frickin way I was going to go all the way back to Low Yat for an exchange so I'm keeping this pair.

Decided to go to The Curve/Cineleisure on Sunday to get another pair of speakers. On the way out, the folks requested for some groceries - "No problem", I thought. "TESCO's sure to sell computer peripherals and I didn't need to go to The Curve or Cineleisure".

Boy was I wrong. As huge as TESCO was in terms of floor size, they didn't even have a SINGLE, fricking pair of cheap computer speakers! It just didn't make any sense! So, I ended up walking over to The Curve after all. Got a pair for RM 28, which is far crappier than the set I got from Low Yat. And this time, I made sure to check that it WASN'T USB speakers.

I think its time to finally get the laptop reformatted and see if that fixes the problem with the mouse pointer. If all else fails, I'll be using the laptop running on the batteries, and using the adapter to recharge it. In the meantime, I'll just post the problem in the Low Yat forums and see if there's some help or advice.

Time to start with the backups. Shit, I hate that.