Tweetering Into Fourth Year

I did not realise that I registered and posted my first tweet at 10.50pm on 11th July 2007. So when the clock strike 12.01 on 12th July 2010, I'll be going into my fourth year on tweeter. When I registered my profile with tweeter, the application was not as popular among internet savvy individuals and/or bloggers. After registering I just left my profile there and as far as I can remember, I get serious tweeting only in early 2009 after reading and hearing other people talk about tweeting. 

Today tweeting has become as popular as blogging and it can be a source of advertising, messaging, babbling and promoting hate etc. Tweeting has become another source of instant information for mobile internet. I am sure most if not all who can access the internet on their mobile phone has tweeter account and tweets.

Go Mobile 2009

This weekend the're will be GoMobile2009 at Kuala Lumpur convention Centre with the theme "We Are The Mobile generation"

23- 24 October 09 11.00 am - 9.00 pm
25 October 09 11.00 am - 8.00 pm.

 Attractions

• Mobile phones and other prizes given away at random every hour
• Appearances by music celebrities, including Reshmonu, Altimet, Elvira and others
• A free LG phone for the first 50 subscribers to Mobile World magazine every day
• GoMobile Moments Photo competition

FREE Admission to Gomobile Expo

Details on the Website. 

For me, thinking to attend to find out what is it all about. Maybe can find something to write and post for Blog4FT competition. 

Kindle

This might be a new word or a new gadget for most of us and for me I found it while browsing for books at Amazon. (Scroll down this blog to go to Amazon). This new gadget is called Amazon Kindle that function as an e-book reader. Read more HERE.

Took this description below from Wikipedia.

Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform for reading electronic books (e-books), developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126, first launched in the United States on November 19, 2007.^[1] Two hardware devices, known as "Kindle" and "Kindle 2," support this platform, as does an iPhone application called "Kindle for iPhone."

The Kindle hardware devices use an electronic paper display and download content over Amazon Whispernet using the Sprint EVDO network. Kindle hardware devices can be used without a computer, and Whispernet is accessible without any fee.^[2] These devices also provide free internet access to Wikipedia.^[3]

On March 3, 2009, Amazon.com launched an application entitled Kindle for iPhone in the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch owners to read Kindle content. Through a technology termed "Whispersync," customers can keep their place across Kindle hardware devices and other mobile

The Amazon Kindle has the following advantages:

• Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
• Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback
• Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
• Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
• Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images
• Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging
• More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books
• Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns
• Read-to-Me: With the new text-to-speech feature, Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud to you, unless the book is disabled by the rights holder
• Large Selection: Over 245,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available
• Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

I am not sure whether this new e-reader which from what I read is more convenient that carrying a laptop to read e-books, has landed on our shore.

All photos taken from Amazon website.

Another Membership Card

Last night I went to KL Downtown and sign up for another membership card. This time it is for active lifestyle. I am not sure at the moment about the effectiveness of what was claimed on the card. I had a bad experience with Narsco for being felt cheated and wasted more than RM 400 for a forced registration with that membership card. 

This ACTIVE card membership is just RM 39 with quite a number of facilities as claimed. I decided to join since I started playing paintball and hope that I will get back the investment by discounts at the participating paintball venue. 

This is the membership card which was issued instantly. I have to activate the card using SMS to a given number. I sent an SMS as instructed but was not successful. A first experience is already bad. I have to call their office for assistance. What a number to be given to me. 007 is on the card. Wa, being a JamesBond at paintball games la after this. 

Below are the benefits of being a member. 

Their official partner is as printed on their active guide book. 

Semobi T1

I bought a new handset at Alor Setar. It was cheap version of a high end gadget and Made In China. I was looking around to buy a second handset for my U mobile simcard and I have to look for a 3G enabled phone. Bought the cheapest 3G handset a few month back and was a  Nokia but gave it to my daughter.  That set was cheaper in Kota Kinabalu compared to here in West Malaysia. However that set was for the Taiwan market but imported legally here by a legal company. As a second handset I was looking for a cheap one and found a TV-mobile. Its a Made In China product Semobi T1 Dual Sim Dual Standby TV Mobile. 

The phone function: Dual SimCard, TV reception,FM reception, Bluetooth, 3.0 Mp Camera, Touch screen, MP3/MP4, VTR, Webcam and E-book reader. 

 Price? Just RM 380.00.

Waaa, like an iPhone interface

Receiving TV 3 reception.

Alamak!! The Instructions is in Chinese. SOS, anyone can help?

This model has one feature that I had not seen on other phones before. Its the charger. The cable can be disconnected from the socket head and plug into the USB port on the computer. So one will need just one power point to run the computer and charge the phone. Only one minus point is the socket can't fit into our local standard 3 pin plug socket and need an adapter. It is a flat two pin plug. 

The charger. 

More information about the phone HERE and FREE Java Games and phone applications HERE. 

Am I Migrating?

At the recently concluded Jom Heboh at National Sports Complex, Bukit Jalil, I registered a dot com at My Portal. The URL that I registered is www.xperienceoflife.com. I was promised to be given the administrators website today but at the time of publishing this post, there is no news about it.  Well maybe I'll wait till tomorrow. 

What is lingering in my mind is whether I will migrate this blog from blogspot to the new address. During the demonstration at the My Portal booth, actually I was not convinced that I can migrate from blogspot to the  new dot com address. Some of my questions were left unanswered. The demonstration only show me how to copy and paste from the present blog to the new address and I can see that it will be a tedious job. 

Now I am weighing the option. If I am not going to migrate from blogspot to the new site, then I might start a new blog and link it here. 

P1 WiMAX Going to Tanjung

I received this in my email and wish to share.

P1 W1MAX, KEY COMPONENT IN WIRELESS@PENANG INITIATIVE

PULAU PINANG - Wireless Internet surfing via WiMAX will be a reality in Penang as early as December 2008, as part of the state government’s move to ensure that the island state becomes an "i-Land" by 2010. Today’s announcement is also part of Packet One (P1)’s expansion of its WiMAX broadband service nationwide.

The Penang State Government and P1 today entered into a partnership for P1 to supply the infrastructure for WiMAX@Penang under the Wireless@Penang initiative to bring the state’s infrastructure offerings to a higher level.

Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Lim Guan Eng said, "We are all responsible for continuously driving the state of Penang forward. We need to take the next natural course of action in order to further improve the standard of living of the people here. The wide availability of WiMAX in Penang will certainly provide a welcome boost to the existing and future industries."

"With this project, Penang will be the one of the first few WiMAX states in the world. And for Malaysia, we are taking another step closer towards making Malaysia a WiMAX hub in the region," CEO of P1, Michael Lai informed.

The first phase of WiMAX@Penang project will commence in October 2008, with the deployment of P1 base stations to cover areas around George Town, Penang Island, and Seberang Prai. The targeted areas are based on the highest population density and commercial viability.

The partnership with the Penang State Government is slated to expedite the Phase 1 rollout of WiMAX@Penang to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

"With this partnership announcement, P1 is keeping to its promise of delivering wireless broadband via WiMAX to Malaysians. As the first WiMAX telco in Malaysia and one of the first in the world, we hope to contribute positively to the economic development of Penang as the Silicon Valley of Malaysia," Lai informed.

"P1’s deployments of the iconic Wireless@KL (May 2008) and Wireless@Sunway (July 2008) initiatives to bridge the digital divide of Malaysians are our notable WiMAX milestones. Adding a feather to the cap, we are very proud and excited that our partnership with the Penang State Government on the Wireless@Penang project is another milestone that will go into history," Lai said.

P1 is the first Malaysian WiMAX converged telco to commercially offer WiMAX services, branded as P1 W1MAX on a large scale. The service is currently available in the Klang Valley. - P1 Press Release.

The word FREE really attracts prospective consumer. The question is (at least in my mind) can I just get connected directly using my WiFi ready laptop? Do I have to subscribe/buy the WiMax modem from Green Packet?

Going Cashless?

Today I registered myself with this new mode of transaction in cyberspace- Mobile Wallet. What is Mobile Wallet?
Go to the website and get the information.

Going mobile will be the trend of the future. Its going towards cashless spending and one does not have to carry lots of cash to shop. However the limited outlet will make the popularity of Mobile Wallet a bit slow. If the usage of the service is no better than local banks debit card than people might opt out for debit card which is more convenient.

I own debit card from two banks that I have an account with and it function as a credit card too. With debit card I spend at my affordable credit that I have in my account. This way one can control spending to equate the amount money one has in his/her account compared with credit card. By having a debit card it means that one will carry only one card instead of two. One on my debit card has a TouchNGo facility and that means I still carry one card for three services now. Just waiting when will 7Eleven accepts debit card for electronic transactions just like the 7Eleven in Hong Kong where they accepts Octopus Card to buy even a can of Coke.

Tun M- The New Millionaire

He might not be listed on Forbes but he has became a millionaire of sorts. He is a millionaire blogger. No! not earning millions of RMs by blogging but had a million ++ hits after only a month in the blogosphere.

It takes something extraordinary to reach a million hits and his popularity as an Ex Prime Minister and his retaliation to certain things by the UMNO President and the Presidents men contribute to the hits. I have not been an ardent reader to Tun's blog since his first day and could not make up what he has been blogging or what the visitors comment on it. Unlike some 'political celebrity blogger' who receive thousands of hits a day but in the end have to filter the comments

He quotes in his blog: It is quite an experience to be a blogger even though I am only a month-old. Much as I saw the importance of cyberspace during my tenure as Prime Minister and hence my commitment to the setting up of Cyberjaya and pursuing the Multi-media Super Corridor (MSC), I did not envisage that I would one day be a blogger.

Is this the return of his mind and effort the set up the Multimedia Super Corridor?

No Streamyx And Celcom 3G Sucks

I have been without Streamyx at home for the past three weeks and today Friday 2nd May will be my 4th Friday without my Streamyx. No!, not because I did not pay my bills but something is wrong with my line I think. My status bar shows the Sent Packets is in thousands but the Receive Packet is less than 50, which means I receive just peanuts from Streamyx. I called the suppose to be techies at TMnet once but the answer is that my line is working properly on their side. I thought it was my ADSL modem but when I used the modem provided by TMnet when I subscribed the same problem persist. So it is not the modem problem. My phone line not working? But there are incoming calls : so it is working. Now for the past month I had paid my monthly subscription just for nothing. I know TMnet will not accept my reason for not getting to connect to the internet.

I subscribe to Celcom 3G at RM 68 for unlimited usage. But the service also sucks. I have to wait for ages to download even one page on my screen. Besides the more than a snail pace slow downloading, it gets disconnected occasionally. I am getting fed up and this is what we are getting from our Broadband services. And we have the guts to boast that we have the MSC.

What is worth as a blogger, I can't even get logged on to blogger website and even my Gmail. Oh!!! this really sucks.

Any reader who know the performance of DIGI Edge and/or Maxis HSDPA? I am in Bukit Jalil area.

Setting A Standard

Is it acceptable to have one standard for most items in the household or society? Do you at one time or another ind it quite a problem when using electrical items and the power cable can't fit into the electrical outlet on the wall socket because of a different standard. A common three pin plug for example can't fit into the air conditioning wall socket outlet and vice versa. Maybe that is because of the function of the plug. Different countries in the world too have different sockets for their power supply.

Today most people have and use handphones. Did you ever wonder why there are different types of chargers? A Nokia charger can't be used on a Sony Ericcson. Motorola, Samsung etc. In the market too there are different flash card format. Sony has its own memory stick and can't be used on other brand. Would it be easier if there is only one standard and one type of memory card can fit into all different equipment brands. BTW with all these different formats, a third party was set to gain by producing adapters.

I still remember during the early days of video machine entering our local market. There were two formats that was Betamax and VHS. I made a mistake of buying a Betamax machine after reading about the pros of the format and it is the preferred choice of the broadcasting industry. However shops that rent movies on video are stacking their racks with VHS format and that leaves me less choice of movies. As time goes on, the Beta format has become obsolete and VHS took over the market.

In Tech, Tuesday 15 April 2008 published an article tittled OOXML Sparks Protest. It was reported that roughly 60 data experts staged a demonstration protesting the adpotion of Microsoft Corp's document format as an international standard. It was in response to Iinternational Standards Organisation(ISO) voted in favour of the Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) format as the world standard format. Their claim is that it will lock out competitors and force people to keep buying US software giant's programs.

Steve Pepper, former Chairman of the Standards Norway Committee called the protest and argued that' "People shouldn't have to pay money to Microsoft to be able to read my documents."

"There was already a good ISO standard, called OpenDocument Format (ODF) that allows documents to be opened from different software companies." He said.

Well, as an end user, I somewhat agree with him as long as I can open and read my documents on any other computers irrespective of what format it is using.

Search Engine Optimization - SEO

What is SEO? Learn about this optimization for your blog through video tutorial.

Firefox Addons- Clipmark

Whenever the newspaper arrives at my office (No! I don't buy them) the first thing that I will do is flip for the inserts on IT and from The Star its In Tech and New Straits Times Tech&U. Today in In Tech, I found something that needed to be tried out. It is about Mozilla Firefox scrapbook extension. This extension will snag webpages and organise them like bookmarks and can be retrieve from the Firefox menu bar. The add ons are FREE. Click HERE.


Here's the demo on How it works.

Anti Spyware Trap

I just don't know how this anti spyware system guard clings onto my laptop. It just appeared one night while I was logging in and a message appears notifying me that my system guard needs updating. Unsuspecting I click yes and the systems runs the installation and then asked me whether I want to check my laptop for spywares. In the present day of spyware and viruses surely I want to know whether there is any on my computer. Viola!!!! it detected 67 infection in my registry item, 16 infected cookies item and 22 infected files and folders. Wa, so much infection already.

The program then asked me whether I want to remove all the unwanted items and definitely I answered yes. A message appears "This basic version cannot remove threats, Click yes to uprgade antispyware for only $14.99". So thats it. I did not upgrade the software but the problem does not start there. The program is still on my hard drive and every 10 minutes whenever I surf any new website, the annoying reminder appears. This program also starts whenever I start my computer. It has been residing in my system ever since making its visit.

Is this intrusion not considered as "crime". An anti spyware program planting spyware on my laptop and also on any unsuspecting users.

I have already uninstall the program from my laptop using the Windows Add or remove program facilities.

International Calls At Local Rates

We knew about phone calls using Skype facilities and the latest development is WiFi mobile. It make use of WiFi enabled phone to landlines and mobiles all over the world. WiFi mobile offer unlimited free calls to landlines in over 40 countries as well as mobile phones in certain countries including the USA. Calls can be made over WiFi WLAN access point or 3G data plan.

A 14 day FREE trial is available and after which monthly subscription or $ 15.99 will be charged.

At present free calls can be made over Wi-Fi on the Nokia E60, E61, E61i, E65, E70, E90, N80, N80ie, N91, N93i and N95. The Nokia N73 can also be used but as it is not WLAN enabled VoIP calls can only be made over 3G

At present free calls can be made over Wi-Fi on the Nokia E60, E61, E61i, E65, E70, E90, N80, N80ie, N91, N93i and N95. The Nokia N73 can also be used but as it is not WLAN enabled VoIP calls can only be made over 3G.

Celcom Broadband Sucks (Sorry)

I was missing from this site for a few days.the reason being I find it very difficult to log on to Blogger using my Celcom Broadband. In Kuala Perlis I just get a 230.4kbps speed and getting pages loaded takes me ages. The speed is just not better than the normal Dial-up. At Kuala Perlis, I just get 2.5G and that is one of the reason for the slow speed. At RM68 a month and with just a 368kbps speed I think it is still not a cheap option to Streamyx's RM 88 per month. The only advantage is that Celcom Broadband is mobile.

Last might I found out I am not alone. A friend of mine from Gurun who has just subscribe to the same package complain of the same problem. Slow speed. So all thos advertisements by Celcom is all too good to be true. I hope I get responses from other subscribers and most of all from Celcom themselves. My conclusion, it still sucks but I have no choice.

Oh My...My Laptop

I blog about reformatting my laptop a few blog back and yesterday (8th Oct) I went to Low Yatt Plaza to further fix the reformatting problem. I did not find my disc 2 to complete the formatting. Found out that disc 2 consists of drivers for the components installed. So the girl manning the customer service centre help me a lot when she downloaded the drivers from the BenQ website. All the drivers were installed but the wlan driver. So that means my laptop can't have the wireless operating function. An error message show that there are some missing files in the system and could not be installed properly. However she advised me to buy the wireless adapter which is much cheaper than replacing the motherboard. Well, my laptop is already 3 years old with me. It might be high time I invest on a new laptop but alamak....No Money la. Then I remember that I had a 4 in 1 Wlan PCMCIA card I bought a few years back and can try out that card instead of buying a new WiFi adapter.

Back home I tried to use back the PCMCIA card but ooooo, where's the cd that has the driver in int. Without it I still can't use the card. BTW, I am having some problem with my laptop. It starts to hang. Programs starts to give a Not Responding message. Everytime the message appears it means I have to force shut down my laptop. Whenever I did a forced shutdown, the restart will begin with a disc check by Windows. So irritating. I decided to reformat my C: drive with the hope it will be back as near as normal just like before I first reformat a few days back.

Stil the problem persist. So now I have to think of a way how to get hold of a new laptop. Adsense ka? But how long have to wait. Think must go to Da Ma Cai 0r Magnum (LOL)

IT - Mozilla Firefox Portable Browser

Ever since I started to use Firefox as my browser, I now stick with. From my experience, Firefox loads faster than IE (on my laptop). Yesterday I was reading past issue of Majalah PC and found something new about the browser. Its a portable browser. By portable it means one can save the browser on to a portable device such as thumbdrive, CD-RW, zip drive or external hard disk and carry it around with you. It is convenient if you travel a lot whereby you can carry your browser especially if you keep bookmarks.

I downloaded the Portable Firefox 2.0.0.5 and saved it to my 4 Gigabyte thumb drive. The new feature with this portable browser is that you can save webpages as image and not as webpages. This is so with the Save Page as Image function. This version can also be integrated with PortableApps Suite. This application includes unique features such as pop up blocker, tabbed webpage, integrated search, automatic update etc. Another important feature is that this browser does not leave any personal information on the PC that you had used.

I have tried this application and think I will switch to this browser since I move around a lot (even using my laptop). I downloaded lots of pictures from the internet and since this browser can save page as image, I don't have to save picture by picture bust just save the whole website and edit them later. However to be able to use the Save page as Image you have to download the addons here.

File size is just 6Mb when downloading and 25Mb when you install. It is compatible with all version of Windows OS such as Windows 98, ME,2000,XP and Vista.

Reference: Majalah PC Bil: 129 September 2007

Tech- Going 3G

Recently I bought a Motorola 3G phone and that means I have entered the 3G world. Then I upgrade my sim card to 65K 3G. Luckily its FREE because after that subscriber was charged RM5.00 to upgrade (if I am not mistaken).

With 3G card now I can make video calls, access the internet and even use my hand phone as a modem for broadband access using my laptop. To date I haven't subscribed to the broadband yet since I am using Streamyx at home. However I have plan to subscribe because I travel a lot and internet has been part of my life. Instead of going to cyber cafes, I can access it from my hotel room, provided there is 3G coverage, of course. Moreover it is cheaper than Streamyx. Presently I am paying RM 88.00 per month for my Streamyx access . I find it not worth continuing subscribing to the package because now TmNET is offering RM 77 for unlimited 1Mbps and if I subscribe to Celcom's unlimited access, I will terminate my Streamyx and resubscribe to the cheaper new package.

I was in Brunei recently and bought another phone of the same make that is Motorola Vmaxx for my wife so that we can get connected using video call. Reason? I subscribe to Celcom's 3 + 1 plan which means between us we can make FREE unlimited voice/video calls, MMS, Voice calls, SMS. All these with an additional RM 5.00 per month.Video call functioning. The call was made from my phone to my wife's. Hmm, so now I can't hide myself anymore if my wife were to call me because the external camera view will show where I am. Just hope when she make the call, there is only 2.5G coverage (LOL)

These are the two phones. The one on the right belongs to my wife and on the left is mine (bought in Brunei). I am not sure whether it is a problem with my phone or common for Motorola phones. Battery is very unsatisfactory. Standby last about 24 hours only and there are times I have to charge the phone twice a day due to fast run down.

Tech- Terestrial TV over Internet

I don't know whether there is a terminology regarding this matter but if there is none I am giving it as TToT just as Voice Over Internet Protocol known as VOIP. I knew about Media Prima providing opportunity to watch their programme over the internet but just today only I tried it out. Todays trial I watched Majalah3, a documentary produced by TV3 . This programme started as early as its birth in the 80s.

Logging in is easy as there is no subscription needed or registration. Below are samples of a TV 3 programme and TV9.