Thursday, November 18, 2010

A New Beginning

( T_T)\(^-^ )

Sent from my iPhone

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Birthday!

Dear all, <-- perasan, ada ke followers since lama tak update?

It's been a very looooooooooooooooooooooooong time since I've last update (yes that long).. but today its special as this entry is dedicated to a buddy of mine.

Today its her birthday so and I've said that I will wish her Birthday on every possible media; so far I've covered Facebook, SMS, Fixed Phone, in person and public announcement/humiliation (bunyi je gempak.. sebenarnya just org sekeliling dalam lift and on escalator kita hebohkan dia birthday girl) and now as requested by birthday gal.. via my blog.

The person I'm talking about is no other than.. Ninie!!

Happy birthday dear.. thank you for being such a good friend..
May Allah return back all the favors you've done to others..
And in return grant you all the wishes that you've wished for..
Wishing you a good year ahead filled with happiness :)


Saturday, April 11, 2009

A Different Kind Of Book



Went to PC Fair today, man the place is jammed pack with people. However I don't want to comment much on the event, as this time round it is a quick operation for me. I just went there to buy a book and go home. Sounds weird huh buying books at PC Fair huh?

As pictured I did buy My Book but its is in actual fact an external hard disk drive. Specifically it's a Western Digital My Book Home Edition with 1 Terabytes of storage space. That's a whopping 1,000 Gigabytes; enough for 440 hours of DVD movies or 250,000 MP3 music files or 285,000 JPG photos. The fact figures are what is stated on the packaging box, but I'm sure everyone knows all is subject to type of compression and size of the media itself.

Like all gadgets I own, rarely will I buy something without doing "some" research on it. I choose this particular model for its multiple connection options (USB, Firewire & eSata) and auto power on/off function following your PC. The latter to me is a cool and practical functionality; one less thing to shut down and no need to worry of shutting down while the HDD is writing.



Package content includes (from left) the My Book ext HDD unit, USB cable, Firewire cable, power adapter and a quick install guide. Installing the My Book is very easy; just hook-up the data cable (I'm using Firewire for faster transfer speeds) and power cable, Windows will immediately identify the HDD and install automatically the driver. In Windows, you will see that the HDD is pre formated to FAT 32 and the total HDD space available is 931 GB.

This point forward I can use the HDD immediately just like another drive, but Western Digital also bundles some optional backup softwares (in the HDD itself); WD Anywhere Backup and Memeo Auto Sync. WD Anywhere Backup is basically a program which sort of mirror your PC content (content selectable) for backup, however it is not automated. So you would have to periodically remember to back up. The second software Memeo Auto Sync is very useful piece of software since it enables auto backup. Didn't install it as it is a trial version.



Design wise, I rather like it as it is sized similar to a paperback novel and it fits nicely on my book shelves (on the right of the monitor). Heat is not an issue as My Book has heat dissipation vents on top of its casing and a there is also a software (on your system tray) which monitors the HDD health and tempreture. The emitting lights at the front shall indicate accordingly; the HDD state whether the drive in use, on standby or power on/off.

Overall I'm satisfied with My Book; its form, practicality and price is well ballance. Snatched it at PC Fair for only RM399 and that works approximately 40 cents per Gig. Normal retail price is RM445 at Low Yat. Now I can download and store more stuff!! Should I temp you with this entry, its not too late as tomorrow is the last day for PC Fair if you want to grab it at this price. Cheers :)

Friday, April 10, 2009

PC Fair 2009 Opens Its Door Today



Dear boys and girls, today PC Fair 2009 opens its door. I'm rather excited to attend this time round as I've have a few things in mind to purchase, mostly PC necessities (ye ke ni ? >:D). However I'm currently bogged down at work unable to take half-day off; though of getting there early beating the crowd and grabbing the first offers.

OMG Friday prayers.. GTG.. will update this later! Anyhow, for those who had the opportunity to go during luch-time etc; just share some crazy offers if any :)

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

HP Mini 1000: Sweet Deal at Harvey Norman



If you've been eying a HP Mini 1000, now is a good time to buy as HP has reduced its price. from RM1,699 to RM1,499. Based on my observations through the web, there are 2 main reasons for the price slash:

1. Introduction of HP Mini 2140 early April (most likely during PC Fair 2009)
2. HP Mini 2140 will be priced at RM 1,699 >> same price as HP Mini 1000 (before price cut)

The swirly design on its case both contemporary and eye pleasing. A colleague of mine is currently using this Netbook and similarly to what I've said on HP Mini 2140; it's does the job well for office work, surfing and light multimedia. Only drawback is the absent of a VGA port which hinders you from using it for presentations.

The deficiency is easily fixed with HP optional VGA cable for this Netbook which retails at US$19.90. However if you really need VGA out; better opt for HP Mini 2140 as not only it has a VGA out, it also boast a larger and faster HDD, 3D HDD Protection and Expresscard Slot.

If you don't mind what HP Mini 1000 lacks, then by all means get this nice Netbook. Harvey Norman is selling it at RM1,499 with 2 free gifts which you can choose (Kesington Lock, USB hub, Optical Mouse, Screen Protector and etc) plus 50 pieces of blank DVD-Rs.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

My Very Own HP Mini (^-^)


At last, after a month and a half of constant internet monitoring.. I've finally got my hands on my very own HP Mini 2140. Been waiting for its arrival in Malaysia, but HP representative informed that it will only reach Malaysia by end of March or early April. Hence my main purpose of the recent trip to Singapore was to buy it from the Singapore IT Show 2009.

You might think, why to this extend this bloke would go and get this Netbook? Well.. I really needed something small and light for work; namely to check e-mails, simple document editing and do presentations. I've been hauling the office's 14 inch notebook and it is killing my back, to add insult.. the wireless didn't even work!

I chose this Netbook as it has an aluminum chassis, 92% full sized QWERTY keyboard, VGA out, large HDD (160 GB) and its minimalist design. But my other main deciding factor was the HP brand, which I fully trust on their excellent support (based on past experience). The only letdown for me is the power brick; which if the wires are all wound-up, its half the size of the Netbook itself :D It would be nice if they could do it like Dell's Mini 12 power brick, which is similar to a hand phone charger.

Anyhow, tt has been a week using the HP Mini 2140 and I'm glad to say that I am very pleased with its aesthetics and performance. It coped well with it intended purpose, which is web surfing, light office work, presentations and some multimedia playback. Setting your expectation right on Netbooks is crucial as "it is not a notebook" and people are going to get disappointed if you expect it to perform like one.

A little bit more details on the user experience; the system itself comes with Windows XP Home OS, on which I've installed Norton Internet Security and re-installed the MS Office 2007 (got enterprise license). In terms of protection and office work, everything performed well. Responsiveness of loading and editing large office files was nippy.

Web surfing on the other hand, Google Chrome is the fastest browser but IE7 which came second is my default browser. I choose IE7 as it is surprisingly fast to load, supports full screen browsing and it can be integrated with the Norton Internet Security password management. Both browsers loads and streamed multimmedia content well. Firefox on the other hand; crashed and loads very slowly, I've uninstalled it shortly.

Lastly in terms of multimedia; it played 16:9 DivX videos smoothly with perfect full screen display (without the letter box due to its resolution 1024x576). It also can play High Definition 720p and 1080 movies provided it is encoded in *.avi format. Matroska or *.mkv video simply a no no.. it jitters a lot and not watchable. I think the high compression level of Matroska is too much for the Atom processor.

Additionally apart from what I've described above; it is light at 1.2kg, well constructed and the battery lasts over 3 hours between charging. A good combo for any people who are constantly on the move. Nowadays, I carry it evrywhere in my trustee Crumpler :D Oh ya, bought the HP Mini at Singapore IT Show for approximately RM 1,850 (after tax rebate) which comes with free 2GB RAM upgrade and HP Slipcase.

Interested? Check out the upcoming PC fair in KL, should be here by then.




Sunday, March 15, 2009

Singapore IT Show 2009


The view today as I waited outside the hall 15 minutes prior to Singapore IT Show opening. This is my third consecutive time I've attended this event and it has become something I look forward every year.

It is sort of become; another excuse for a trip to Singapore :) But basically I like to attend the IT Show there as it showcases many new gadgets which some may or may not reach our shores. Last year it was on GPS navigation device, companies like HP, Packet Bell, Garmin and few other which I cannot recall; put forward their latest devices. Had a chance to test almost all of them!

This year I think belongs to LCD TV, huge companies like Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic, Harvey Norman and Courts are selling the televisions like an auction format and it all went like hotcakes. Best deal I've heard is two 40 inch LCD, Full HD was sold for the price of one by Courts. However this time also its a little bit crowded and noisy with the auction going on.

On cameras, Sony still offer the best deal. Even though it is a fraction cheaper than Malaysia, it really is still a good bargain. Why? Because they've bundled item like 8GB Memory Stick plus another 2 4GB Memory Stick, Leather Case, Sony Photo Printer, International warranty!! The freebies alone cost half of the camera cost if it's in Malaysia.

If you're into Dell Mini 10, the one locked with Maxis 3G in Malaysia; you can also purchase it here at an offer price of SG$699 (approx RM1690). If you have already subscribe to 3G data plan, just pop-in your sim card in this Netbook for wireless connectivity. LG and HP Mini 1011 also offers their own Netbook with 3G capabilities built in.

If you're into personal music, there are abundance of mid-to-high-end earphones to choose from. Senheiser, Sone, Audio-Technica, Panasonic and Creative just to name a few. Basically there are many things to see if you're a technology or gadget buff. I can keep rambling with a long list but I won't.

I just would like to recommend, if you have the opportunity; take a trip next year and see the IT Show for yourself! Signing off from Lion City :)