Man Sues Amoi For SGD$3 Mil For Rejecting Him, Amoi Friendzone and Reject Him

A man who wanted a romantic relationship with a woman initially threatened to sue her for emotional trauma after he found out that she saw him only as a friend.

The legal action was kept at bay after she agreed to take part in his counselling, but almost 1½ years later, Mr K. Kawshigan still could not accept that Ms Nora Tan did not want to be in a relationship with him.

After she cut off contact with him, he filed two lawsuits against her – a $3 million High Court claim for allegedly causing “damage to his stellar reputation” and “trauma, depression and impacts” to his life, as well as a $22,000 magistrate’s court claim for allegedly breaching an agreement to improve their relationship.

The latter suit was struck out earlier in January by State Courts deputy registrar Lewis Tan, who said Mr Kawshigan’s claim was “manifestly groundless and without foundation” and amounted to an abuse of the court process.

In the judgment published on Saturday, Mr Tan said: “Considered in totality, I find that the present action was intentionally initiated by the claimant with the ulterior motive of vexing or oppressing the defendant by requiring her to defend various claims that fundamentally stem from the same factual matrix in different forums.”

He added: “This court will not be an accessory to his calculated attempt to compel engagement from the defendant who, after years of massaging the claimant’s unhappiness, has finally decided to stand up to his threats rather than cower and give in to his demands.”

Ms Tan and Mr Kawshigan met in 2016 and became friends over time.

In September 2020, problems began to arise when they became misaligned in how they saw their relationship. While Ms Tan regarded Mr Kawshigan only as a friend, he considered her to be his “closest friend”.

Ms Tan asked for their interactions to be reduced, which displeased Mr Kawshigan, as he felt it constituted taking a step back in their relationship. Nevertheless, she emphasised the need for boundaries and urged him to be “self-reliant”.

On Oct 22 that year, Mr Kawshigan issued her a letter of demand, threatening legal action for “monetary damages arising from negligent infliction of emotional distress and possible defamation”.

Ms Tan tried to reason with Mr Kawshigan. She told him in a text message that her “discomfort (was) genuine”. He responded by saying she could either comply with his demands to deepen their relationship or suffer “irrevocable” damage to her personal and professional endeavours.

Mr Kawshigan’s counsellor then asked Ms Tan to participate in their sessions. She agreed, as she thought it would help him come to terms with her decision not to pursue a romantic relationship with him.

After 1½ years, Ms Tan stopped the sessions as she felt they had become futile.

In April 2022, she started harassment proceedings against Mr Kawshigan. In response, he alluded to a potential claim against her in a text message peppered with terms like “damage that has strong legal basis” and “make your liability worst”.

After back-and-forth discussions on the steps to be taken to better align their relationship, Ms Tan decided on May 14 to cease communications as she felt she could no longer deal with his requests for increased interaction and his inability to respect her personal boundaries.

On July 7, he filed a High Court claim against her. He alleged that due to certain remarks and negligence on her part, he suffered a loss in earning capacity and business partnerships, as well as costs incurred in rehabilitation and therapy programmes to overcome the trauma he suffered.

Ms Tan then obtained an expedited protection order against him and engaged lawyers to file her defence and counterclaim to the suit.

On Aug 27, Mr Kawshigan filed the magistrate’s court claim for alleged breach of the steps to better align their relationship.

He claimed that as a result of the breach, his earning capacity as an “active high-capital trader by night and a busy CEO by day” has been negatively affected, and that he has had to look for “deeper psychological assistance”.

Ms Tan then applied to strike out this claim.

The $3 million High Court claim is fixed for a pre-trial hearing on Feb 9.

Huawei And OPPO Enter Patent Licencing Deal

Huawei Technologies has signed a patent licensing deal with fellow Chinese tech giant OPPO, the former announced via a press release. This will see both companies share patents of several key technologies with one another, though the exact figure of the agreement is still undisclosed at this time.

According to Huawei, the patents involved include those concerning 5G and Wi-Fi, as well as audio and video technologies. The mutual recognition of intellectual property value between companies is a major step towards fostering a positive cycle of innovation and research in high-value standards: investing, receiving returns from investment, and then reinvesting,” said Huawei Intellectual Property Department head Alan Fan in the press release. “This will enable our industry to keep innovating and provide consumers with more competitive products and services.”

Meanwhile, OPPO Chief Intellectual Property Officer Adler Feng regarded this newly inked agreement as “a win-win deal” for both companies. “We are very pleased to enter into a patent cross-licensing agreement with Huawei,” he said. “It clearly demonstrates that the two companies recognise and greatly respect the value of each other’s intellectual property.”

In a statement to Nikkei Asia, OPPO revealed that the licence deal will give it access to Huawei’s most advanced 5G-related technologies. At the same time, the company will also provide some of its own patents to its fellow Chinese tech giant, likely in terms of audio and video technologies – two fields which OPPO has a long history in. 

Thanks to the sanctions imposed by the US government, Huawei was forced to abandon its development of 5G integrated chipsets and other products, and is also banned from acquiring US-based technologies, especially from the country’s top chipmaking suppliers. However, the company still controls a rich 5G patent portfolio, which it has decided to source out to other companies, including rivals such as OPPO and Samsung.

Speaking of which, Nikkei Asia reports that Huawei has signed a licence agreement with Samsung around the same time as well. However, details regarding the deal are still not known, though it could involve the former’s patents on 5G technology.

Apple MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max Now Available For Malaysia

Aside from the 3rd generation AirPods, the new MacBook Pro (MBP) with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors are now available from Apple Malaysia’s website as well. All these products were first introduced during the company’s Unleashed event last month.

For those who missed the launch, the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors are available for both MBP 14 and 16. In terms of CPU, the M1 Pro is available with 8 and 10-core options which is also inclusive of 14 and 16-core GPU respectively, alongside up to 32GB of unified memory.

On another hand, the M1 Max comes with a 10-core CPU as standard while you can choose to obtain it with either 24 or 32-core GPU together with up to 64GB unified memory. In addition to that, the chip also has double the memory bandwidth of M1 Pro at 4000GB/s.

Meanwhile, other new elements that Apple has introduced through the latest MBP 14 and 16 are thinner screen bezels as well as a notch on their ProMotion 120Hz displays which houses the new 1080p FaceTime HD. These new models also marked the return of MagSafe charging, SDXC reader, and HDMI 2.0 port although the company has also decided to remove the Touch Bar.

Depending on the exact specs that you choose, the price of M1 Pro-based MBP starts at RM8,799 and can go all the way to RM21,999. As for the M1 Max variants, the price ranges from RM12,399 to RM25,199 and all of them can be obtained through Apple Malaysia’s website right away.

Rumour Suggests Next iPhone SE Retains Predecessor’s Design; Gains 5G And A15 Chip

Apple is said to be releasing a new entry to its more occasional smartphone series, the iPhone SE, sometime in early 2022. According to Japanese blog Macotakara, the upcoming model will allegedly come with recent hardware for its core internals, but retains its predecessor’s overall design.

In regards to the latter, this means that the new SE will still sport the iPhone 8’s look once more. Therefore, it may also feature a 4.7-inch LCD display with large upper and lower bezels, a curved aluminium frame, and a single rear camera setup. Concurrently, this would see the return of the Touch ID-enabled Home Button below the phone’s screen as well.

As for hardware, Macotakara suggests the next-gen iPhone SE will be equipped with the 5G-enabled A15 chip – the same SoC that is featured in the brand’s current generation iPhone 13 series. Unfortunately, no information regarding its battery or its front and rear camera sensors were shared by the Apple-specialised Japanese blog. Lastly, it is said that the new SE will begin production this December, and is expected to be launched later in Spring 2022.

This actually isn’t the first time that Apple is rumoured to be releasing a follow-up model to its iPhone SE line-up. Back in June, reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo similarly suggested a new iteration of the phone with upgraded internals is currently in the works, and that it would also feature the same chassis as its predecessor. While the rumours are seemingly corroborating with each other, it is still worth reminding that both of which are unofficially sourced and may end up to be inaccurate in the end.

Sony And TSMC Reportedly Joining Forces To Tackle Chip Shortage With Japan’s Help

Japanese tech company Sony and Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC may be joining forces to help tackle the ongoing global chip shortage, according to reports published independently by Reuters and Nikkei. It is said that both companies are considering a partnership to co-establish a new semiconductor factory in Japan, which is expected to be up and running by 2024.

People familiar with the matter told the publications that the new plant will be based at a Sony-owned location in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture, close to the company’s own image sensor factory (shown above). The project is said to cost US$7 billion in investment from both Sony and TSMC, with half of it reportedly covered by the Japanese government. The new factory will be managed by the Taiwanese semiconductor giant, the sources added.

Reuters and Nikkei reports that the plant would manufacture chips for cameras, cars and other purposes – all of which have recently seen a drop in production capacity due to the ongoing shortage. Both Sony and TSMC declined to comment regarding this potential partnership when approached by the publications. Meanwhile, Nikkei believes that Japanese automotive parts manufacturer Denso is also interested in the project.

If accurate, the new factory by Sony and TSMC would definitely contribute to other efforts that are also aiming to ramp up the manufacturing of semiconductors. However, it will still take some time until it is able to help with the production, seeing that the plant will only be operational in 2024. Moreover, Sony and TSMC themselves – as well as other major companies such as IBM and Foxconn – have noted that the chip shortage will likely continue for another few years until the strong demand for semiconductors could be met.

WhatsApp Reportedly Adding Pause And Resume Functions To Voice Notes

WhatsApp is working on yet another new feature for its mobile app, this time on one that enhances the voice recording experience. On top of receiving new timestamp transcriptions (a new addition which we’ve covered previously), the in-app voice notes feature will reportedly be getting the ability to pause and resume a recording.

A preview from WABetaInfo shows that the voice note interface seems to be overhauled. Instead of the current UI where users are required to hold the record button and slide to cancel, it now features a new “Stop” button when a voice recording is being conducted.  This enables recordings to be paused and later stitched together as a single continuous track, which is quite useful as you won’t need to send multiple voice messages in case you need to stop in the middle of recording.

WABetaInfo claims that this feature is still under development, and that it will eventually be rolled out to both iOS and Android devices that are opted-in to their beta programme on Play Store and TestFlight. Since the preview obtained is based on the iOS version, it is possible that the feature will first come to iPhone betas before being rolled out on Android.

WhatsApp has been developing multiple new features for the platform, with some have already been released on the public beta – such as the multi-device function, which lets up to four devices use the same account without being connected to your phone. Other than that, there is also a feature that lets you choose a default length for the app’s disappearing messages feature.

Spongebob Squarepants And TMNT Made Into Xbox Series X Special Edition Consoles

There have been plenty of special edition video game consoles over the years. Adding to that list, Microsoft has announced that it will be immortalising a couple of our favourite cartoon characters as upcoming special edition Xbox Series X consoles, namely Spongebob Squarepants and Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

These consoles were made specifically to celebrate the recently released Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl video game, which takes on a Smash Bros vibe of allowing players to battle it out using iconic characters from various Nickelodeon franchises. The all-star cast includes popular characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, TMNT, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and more.

Gaze upon the sponge’s eyes when you push and prod them with your fingers on the controller, as he stares back at you from the console seemingly designed to fit hit pants. Leonardo’s Xbox console is, of course, outfitted with his favourite slice of pizza – pepperoni, with no anchovies.

Unfortunately, these limited edition Xbox Series X consoles aren’t up for sale. Instead, Microsoft is offering them through an ongoing Xbox sweepstakes on Twitter. The contest will run until 24 October but to be eligible, you must be living in a country where Xbox Live is officially supported, which sadly rules out Malaysia.

Clubhouse Adds Music Mode, A New Audio Setting For Musicians And Creators

Clubhouse has introduced Music Mode on its app, which will first roll out to iOS devices and later on Android soon after. While its name sounds like an entirely new mode, the addition is actually a new audio setting that is tailored specially for musicians and creators who use the platform to broadcast their music. 

According to Clubhouse’s recent blog entry, activating Music Mode will optimise the platform’s audio streaming capability to deliver “high quality and great stereo sound.” In addition, enabling it will also allow musicians and creators to hook up professional equipment such as a USB microphone or a mixing board to be used during their broadcasts. 

To enable the mode, simply tap on the three dots at the top right corner, select Audio Quality, and then choose Music from the list. Keep in mind that this Mode is only for broadcasters, and regular users and audiences are not required to tweak their settings in order to enjoy the “high quality” music streaming.

In fact, Clubhouse had added a much appreciated audio enhancement feature for all users earlier this month. As we’ve reported prior to this, the platform previously introduced spatial audio support to its app, adding a sense of depth to its overall sound delivery – which is great for chat rooms, presentations, and also live music performances.

Being the pioneer of audio-only broadcasting, Clubhouse continues to face steep competition from its rivals such as Twitter, Facebook and even Spotify. All of which had only recently jumped into the scene after realising the fledgling platform’s ever growing success. Ever since, Clubhouse has vigorously been introducing improvements and new features to its app in order to be a step ahead of its numerous competitors.

HTC Vive Flow Is A Lightweight VR Headset For Lightweight Usage And Gaming

New to HTC’s list of virtual reality (VR) headsets is the recently launched HTC Vive Flow. The headset sports eyewear-style design and is also by far the lightest from the brand, coming in at only 186 grams.

Apparently, its lightweightness applies to its overall functionality as well. HTC markets the Vive Flow as a headset for the casual user who wishes to enjoy VR content related to “wellbeing, brain training and productivity”, as well as some “light gaming”. It is standalone, where it is not required for the user to connect it to a device such as a PC. Instead, the Vive Flow comes with a specialised version of HTC’s Viveport Infinity which offers a wide library of Flow-compatible content for monthly subscription of US$5.99 (~RM25) per month. These include the likes of VR meditation app Tripp, Color Connect VR, Space Slurpies, and much more.

As mentioned earlier, the HTC Vive Flow sports an eyewear or goggles style approach. For a good fit on any head size, the headset sports a dual-hinge system that can be adjusted accordingly. Inside are two 1.6K resolution stereoscopic displays that offer 75Hz refresh rate and 100-degree field of vision. Featured over the displays are a pair of diopter lenses which can be adjusted to allow those with short-sightedness to use the headset without needing to wear their glasses. Despite looking like it has the capability to support AR features, the Vive Flow actually does not feature the technology for it. Rather, the two lenses that are visible in front are actually meant for motion tracking.

For extra comfort, especially for hours of usage, included in the Flow’s frame is a small active fan that is situated under the bridge that sits above your nose. This pulls in air over your face and pushes warm air out of the device’s upper vents. Other than that, connected to its arms is a pair of embedded speakers which is said to offer high quality spatial audio. Connectivity-wise, you can pair the Vive Flow to your smartphone via Bluetooth, and could use it as a makeshift pointer for VR applications as well. Unfortunately, HTC did not mention whether the headset is compatible with the brand’s Vive VR controllers.

While the headset is designed for portability, it unfortunately lacks a substantial power supply – aside from a small cell that is reserved for powering minor processes such as shutting down and so on. For long term use, it is required that the Vive Flow is connected via USB-C to a compatible battery pack, power bank, or a wall charger. HTC says you could even power it by plugging it to your phone if required.

Considering its lightweightness being a selling point for the product, we can see why an internal power supply is excluded. However, the lack of which might seem like a deal breaker for many – especially when compared to the Flow’s closest rival, Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2. Speaking of which, the similarities between the Flow and Quest 2 end at their abilities to function independently. In terms of performance, however, HTC has made it clear that its new headset isn’t designed to tackle high-end VR applications or games.

The new HTC Vive Flow is priced at US$499 (~RM) and is expected to ship out in select markets by November 2021 onwards. However, HTC has yet to announce whether the new headset will make its way to Malaysia in the near future.

Google Pixel 6 And Pixel 6 Pro Officially Launching On 19 October

Google has just announced the date for the official launch of the long-awaited Pixel 6 phones. Scheduled to take place on 19 October, we should finally be able to know more details about Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro including specs and pricing.

The tech giant unveiled some features of the lineup back in August, such as high refresh rate displays and the use of Google’s mysterious custom Tensor chip, which we expect to find out more about during the launch.  While the details under the hood have been mostly kept under wrap, Google already started airing ads and displaying the phones for public viewing at its physical store in New York City.

At the moment, we are already aware that both phones will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor with the base Pixel 6 lacking the Pro variant’s telephoto lens and 120Hz display. We still don’t know how big the sensors are going to be though but a string of code in Google’s Camera app suggest that the Pixel 6 may be using the 50MP Samsung GN1 sensor for its main shooter.

The launch could also potentially announce the official rollout for Android 12 on Pixel devices. Google released the stable update to the Android Open Source Project earlier this week but said that Pixel phones will only be getting it “in the next few weeks”.

As per most tech events for the past two years, the Pixel Fall Launch will take place virtually on 20 October at 1:00 AM Malaysian time. Stay tuned for more updates as we will keep you posted with all the details from the event next week.

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Are Finally Getting “Find My” Features

Apple has begun rolling out new firmware updates for the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max that includes a new “Find My” functionality. The feature, which was initially supposed to launch with iOS 15 but was delayed, makes it easier to find your headphones when they go missing.

The update lets the AirPods take advantage of the vast Find My network to locate them if they go missing. Prior to the update, the Find My function could only show you the earphone’s last known location, albeit being limited to the AirPods’ Bluetooth connection.

The update takes it a step further by finding out of range AirPods through the network of other nearby Apple devices. When Lost Mode is turned on, the headphones will send out a continuous Bluetooth beacon and when other people’s Apple devices detect the signal, they will report the location on the network for the owner to see.

The method is similar to how lost AirTags work but the lack of Apple’s U1 chip means that the AirPods won’t have that precise arrow-pointing location feature. It will, however, notify users when the earbuds are left behind or if their location is getting further away. Reported lost items can be attached with a message and contact details and can also be marked as found by the people who stumble upon them.

The new Find My tools are only available with the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, so standard AirPods owners are out of luck. AirPods firmware updates are a bit tricky, as there’s no direct way to download the update.

Users will have to keep their charged AirPods in their case near a connected iPhone and hope that it will randomly transfer the update. You can check your AirPods’ firmware version in your iPhone settings to see if you already have it, the latest update with the new locating tools being version 4A400.

Router Configuration Is Behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp Massive Downtime

Facebook has experienced a global-scale downtime late last night which also affected its subsidiaries including Instagram and WhatsApp.  Lasted for more than 6 hours, the company has provided some explanation a few hours after it manages to put back all of its services online again.

In a blog post by Facebook’s Vice President of Engineering and Infrastructure, Santosh Janardhan, the root cause behind the massive downtime was apparently due to some configuration changes that were performed on the company’s backbone routers. He pointed out that these routers were responsible for the traffic between Facebook’s data centres.

The changes somehow interrupted the traffic flow which then led to the global-scale downtime. Santosh was quick to point out that the company didn’t find any evidence that user data has been compromised during the incident.

In general, Santosh’s explanation is in line with what Facebook’s CTO, Mike Schroepfer said earlier that the company was experiencing networking issues. Nevertheless, the timing of the massive downtime is rather interesting though as it happened right before Facebook’s former product manager Frances Hauge, who leaked tons of documents to The Wall Street Journal is scheduled to testify in front of the U.S Congress regarding her time with the company.

Acer Malaysia Launces Its First HDMI 2.1 Monitors: Nitro XV2 Xbox Edition and Predator XB3

Thanks to the increased bandwidth capacity, HDMI 2.1 provides a number of advantages over its predecessor including the support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and refresh rate as high as 120Hz at 4K resolution. Manufacturers everywhere have begun to incorporate the new standard into their products including Acer who has just launched two HDMI 2.1-based 4K gaming monitors in Malaysia.

One of them is the 28-inch Nitro XV282K KV Xbox Edition which is an interesting choice given how Xbox is not being made available in Malaysia by Microsoft. For those who are wondering, no, this gaming monitor is not something that is made specially just for Microsoft’s gaming consoles despite being certified for them.

Plenty of features on this 28-inch gaming monitor which carries an Agile-Splendor IPS panel can be utilized by any PCs and gaming consoles that support them. Among them include refresh rate of up to 144Hz at 4K resolution, 1ms response time, AMD FreeSync Premium and VESA DisplayHDR 400.

It is also equipped with a built-in KVM switch that allows users to switch between multiple PCs using just one set of keyboard and mouse. At the same time, you can easily differentiate this particular Xbox Edition model from other Nitro monitors by the green-coloured cable hook on its base.

Moving on, another HDMI 2.1-based 4K gaming monitor that Acer has brought into Malaysia is the Predator XB323QK NV which features an even larger 31.5-inch Agile-Splendor IPS panel. Unlike the Nitro XV282K KV, the Predator model is a universal Adaptive Sync product although it is still a VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified monitor and has a native refresh rate of 144Hz.

The Predator XB323QK NV also features an RGB lighting strip on its back that can be customized using the Light Sense software in which gamers can set it to be in sync with their games, movies, and music. Acer has also integrated a KVM switch into this Predator gaming monitor as well.

In terms of pricing, the Nitro XV282K KV Xbox Edition goes for RM3,299 while the Predator XB323QK NV can be obtained for RM4,299. Both gaming monitors are now readily available for pre-orders until 6 October through Acer Malaysia’s own e-store and Authorized Predator Partners across the country as well as Acer Certified/Official Stores at Lazada and Shopee.