Perodua Alza launched!

Here it is – the new Perodua Alza! We’ve been following the development of this MPV ever since we first got news of its existence back in early 2008, where it was reported that Toyota and Daihatsu were going to build a new MPV and produce it in Indonesia. When the Daihatsu Luxio MPV came out we all got a shock – that more of a van so we waited patiently until Christmas last year when the Toyota Passo Sette was finally unveiled in Japan. Nearly a year later, the Perodua-badged model with a new front, rear and interior is here. Read the full details after the jump.

Alot of people that are casually (not urgent) in the market for an MPV will have probably been waiting for the D46T project to be launched for a long time now. After all, the majority of the country can only afford either a Proton or a Perodua, and you really have to wonder why it took them so long to serve this market niche when all of its competitors have been priced out of affordability.

As for the name Alza, it actually means ‘to rise’ in Spanish. Probably symbolises Perodua rising up the product segments once again – its cars are getting bigger and bigger.

source: paultan.org

Perodua Alza 1.5L Standard M/T Solid – RM55,490 Metallic – RM55,990 S. Metallic – RM56,190	Perodua Alza 1.5L Standard A/T Solid – RM58,490 Metallic – RM58,990 S. Metallic – RM59,190
Perodua Alza 1.5L Premium M/T Solid – RM60,490 Metallic – RM60,990 S. Metallic – RM61,190	Perodua Alza 1.5L Premium A/T Solid – RM63,490 Metallic – RM63,990 S. Metallic – RM64,190

Google's Chrome OS revealed

Google had a low-key event today to preview Chrome OS, its new operating system based on Linux and the Chrome browser. Things are still pretty early -- it's not even in beta yet, let alone on shipping products -- but that's the first official screen shot right there, and the big features are all roughed out. The entire system is web-based and runs in the Chrome browser -- right down to USB drive contents, which show up in a browser tab, and the notepad, which actually creates a Google Docs document. Web apps are launched from a persistent apps panel, which includes Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and Hulu, among others, and background apps like Google Talk can be minimized to "panels" that dock to the bottom of the screen. Local storage is just used to speed up the system -- everything actually lives in the cloud, so all it takes to swap or borrow machines is a login, and you're good to go. Google also said it's "very committed" to Flash, and that it's looking to hardware accelerate whatever code it can -- although Google didn't have a solid answer to give when asked about Silverlight. Overall, Google was upfront in saying that Chrome OS is focused on very clear use cases for people who primarily use the web, and that it's not trying to do everything: "If you're a lawyer, editing contracts back and forth, this will not be the right machine for you."

As far as going to market, Google's not talking details until the targeted launch at the end of next year, but Chrome OS won't run on just anything -- there'll be specific reference hardware. For example, Chrome OS won't work with standard hard drives, just SSDs, but Google is supporting both x86 and ARM CPUs.

Microsoft CEO Ballmer says Windows 7 sales are double its predecessors'

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer was on hand for the company's annual shareholder's meeting in Washington, and news of Windows 7 sales came up right away. While delivering the opening remarks, Ballmer said that Microsoft has sold twice as many copies of Win 7 as any previous Microsoft OS in a comparable time frame. That's including both OEM sales and boxed retail copies, of course, and though no specific numbers were mentioned, the good news isn't completely unexpected as pre-orders were through the roof. High five, Microsoft.

Thor begins in Jan

Source: Twitter by: Niki Stephens

It's time for the hammer to fall. Pretty cheesy opening, huh? Anyway, some good news is coming from Production Weekly's twitter account: "Filming on Marvel's "Thor" is scheduled to begin in LA mid-January, then move to Santa Fe, New Mexico from March till late-April." Who's excited? It was sort of disappointing to hear that Alexander Skarsgard would not be the mighty God of thunder, but at least his Dad, Stellan got a part. Not sure what part it was though. I really think this is going to be insanely epic. For starters, you've got Kenneth Branagh directing. That automatically makes it worth seeing. Then there's some good names in the cast: Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. As for the casting of Chris Hemsworth as THOR, I think it's alright.

Perodua MPV to be launch on Nov 23rd

Perodua held a media test drive for the new Perodua D46T MPV this morning somewhere in Putrajaya. I’ve tried it out and will share my findings with you after the MPV’s launch (due to embargo reasons), which is expected to be on the 23rd of November 2009. Showrooms will officially start taking bookings earlier, from the 13th of November 2009 onwards.

Canon EOS 7D gets high marks all around

Canon's EOS 7D is a pretty grandiose piece of image-recording equipment, whether you're talking about its size, features or price. You're probably aware of the 18 megapixel APS-C sensor and dual DIGIC 4 processors already, but we've all had to be a bit more patient than usual in waiting for the pro reviews to come out. Dpreview doesn't disappoint though, with a thoughtful 31-page tome awaiting the keen reader, and we've also got more digestible video reviews from DPhoto Journal for the less patient among you. If you're after direct comparisons against competing models, such as the Nikon D300s, you'll find those sprinkled in among the reviews as well, with Cameratown throwing in a direct head-to-head with Canon's own 5D Mark II. The 7D was found to produce "virtually no visible noise" all the way up to ISO 1600, and scored further points for its gorgeous 100 percent frame-covering viewfinder and fast 19-point AF. With a weather-sealed, highly ergonomic body design, ridiculously fast processing and a sensor so good that "in most situations the lens, rather than the camera, is likely to be the limiting factor," the only thing reviewers could criticize was the somewhat uncompetitive pricing, but that's likely to soften with time anyway.