Playing with this gadget. Basically, it allows you to read the cashcard as well as your handphone SIM card. However, to be able to do this, one needs to install 3rd party applications like the NETS E-Wallet to read the cashcard and SIM Manager to read the SIM card.
By reading the cashcard, you can see all the purchases that you have made using the cashcard. By reading your handphone SIM, you can transfer all your contact details to another SIM card or enter contact details through the computer to the SIM card instead of typing these through your handphone.
Yes, life is about learning and there is so much to learn about everything around us.
Spent the last few days sorting out one of my PCs. This is a relatively new PC with an Asrock motherboard running the Intel i5 chip. Over the past few weeks, the PC took a long time to boot and hung on to the bios start up screen for over a minute. I thought there was an error on my harddisk and I ran all kinds of tests only to show this was OK.
After searching through the internet for a while, I realised that others too faced issues with Windows 8 running on the Asrock B85M motherboard. The solution was to update the bios to the latest version and thankfully, this did the trick. Never knew that the operating system can affect the motherboard. Always learning all the time.
Bought 2 of these laser printers from Harvey Norman today. Comes with a free 2,500mAh Powerpack charger retailing for $38.... the branch I went to did not have any of the older 2,200 mAh and they kindly offer a higher capacity one.
The printer comes complete with a standard 1,000 page toner which cost over $50. Hence, it makes more sense to buy an additional printer! I have a Samsung laser printer together with 2 other HP laserjet printers and the kids end up printing on the laser printer most of the time. The print is very much better and one can print both sides of the page together. I have been refilling the HP laserjet cartridges but found that I still need to buy new cartridges all the time and at $25 a pop, the laser printer may make more sense. I now use the HP laserjet printers for their scanning ability as these cheap laser printers do not have integrated scanners.
Yes, it is wasteful to buy a spare printer just for its cartridge but sadly, from a numbers standpoint, it makes more financial sense to do so. Good thing about this Brother laser printer is that it has a separate toner cartridge and a the drum unit. This ensures that the toners will cost less than the other brands like Samsung that combine both. Drums usually last 10 times longer than the toner cartridges. Of course, buying a spare printer gives me a spare toner cartridge as well as a spare drum on top of everything else making up the printer.
I had a previous Samsung ML-2164 laser printer that ran out of toner. I went to Sim Lim Square today and bought a compatible toner cartridge (MLT-D104S) for $52 from Ink Station (#05-77) which can print 3,000 pages. This works out to be around 1.7cts per page. An original will cost around $85 and this can print 1,500 pages. The other reason I wanted to try this compatible toner cartridge is because it appears to allow one to refill the cartridge. When my kids have printed the 3,000 pages, I will certainly want to try to add new toner!
I asked them about the cost of the toner (TN-1000) for the Brother HL-1110 and it is around $48 for 3,000 pages. The Brother laser printer has a separate toner and drum units and an original toner cost around $45. This can print 1,500 pages. Maybe I will buy the original toner for the Brother laser printer when the toner runs out given that the cost savings is not that much. For those interested to buy the Brother HL-1110 laser printer, it is selling at Best Denki for the same price as I bought it in a sale in Harvey Norman (without the free powerpack charger).
Bought 2 of these laser printers from Harvey Norman today. Comes with a free 2,500mAh Powerpack charger retailing for $38.... the branch I went to did not have any of the older 2,200 mAh and they kindly offer a higher capacity one.
The printer comes complete with a standard 1,000 page toner which cost over $50. Hence, it makes more sense to buy an additional printer! I have a Samsung laser printer together with 2 other HP laserjet printers and the kids end up printing on the laser printer most of the time. The print is very much better than the ink jet. I have been refilling the HP laserjet cartridges but found that I still need to buy new cartridges all the time and at $25 a pop, the laser printer may make more sense. I now use the HP laserjet printers for their scanning ability as these cheap laser printers do not have integrated scanners.
Yes, it is wasteful to buy a spare printer just for its cartridge but sadly, from a numbers standpoint, it makes more financial sense to do so. Good thing about Samsung laser printers is that they have separate toner cartridges from the drum units. This ensures that the toners will cost less than the other brands like Samsung that combine both. Drums usually last 10 times longer than the toner cartridges. Of course, buying a spare printer gives me a spare toner cartridge as well as a spare drum on top of everything else making up the printer.
I am having fun with the stuff I just got from Amazon this afternoon. Am impressed that it was delivered on a Sunday by UPS. Total delivery time is just 16 days from ordering it from the US. Best is that delivery is free.
The IT gadgets that was in this package included the latest Samsung skype TV camera. Basically, one connects this to the Samsung Smart TV and it enables Skype video as well as the hand gesture feature of Samsung TVs. Yes, instead of paying a lot more for Samsung TVs with this feature, I bought this attachment that does the same thing and better still, gives full 1080 HD resolution instead of the lower resolution of the current TVs sold in Singapore. Even better it only cost US$70 and is transferable.
I also bought a logitech wireless keyboard to attach to the smart TV. This cost US$28 compared to over $50 here in Singapore. Now, I can surf the internet on a large screen TV easily.
I am now waiting for my second package from Amazon which includes the ASUS RT-N66U router which cost US$125 compared to $209 here. Will also be be waiting for some replacement filters and brushes for my iRobot Roomba which is significantly cheaper than over here. It is wonderful to shop through the internet. I really pity our local retailers.
Received the Asus RT-N66U from Amazon today. Set this up in AP Mode and then connected a LAN cable from my primary Starhub modem-router to one of the 4 LAN ports in the Asus (leaving the WAN port empty). With this Asus router, the wireless coverage throughout the house improved dramatically. Fortunately, I had already given up on the powerline adapters and had laid physical LAN cables to each floor of the house. Hence, it is easy to connect the routers together. My Starhub modem-router is on the 3rd floor and my Asus router is now on the 2nd floor acting in AP mode. Interestingly, the wifi signal of the Asus router is so strong that it is even stronger on the ground floor than the existing router that I have on that floor!... soon, I will be removing this redundant router.
Yes, I bought this through Amazon for US$125 with free delivery. In Singapore, this would have costed S$209.
My CCTV recorder was restarting every hour and I decided to get another one from AliExpress. If I called the CCTV company, they would have charged me $50 for the house call and on top of that, I have to pay for any parts that they replaced. Buying it directly from China costed me US$62 and it is a much better recorder with all the new features incorporated. I am still learning about the features and am impressed that setting up a CCTV system nowadays is really straight forward. No wonder prices for installation of CCTVs have gone down so much over the years to be more like a commodity rather than a systems integration effort in the past. Yes, not an easy business to do given the plug and play capabilities nowadays.
The delivery from China was also very prompt. 2 weeks after ordering, the CCTV recorder arrived.
Playing with my latest toy from China. This is a USB endoscope which cost just US$12.75. Pretty neat stuff. Surprisingly good quality and comes in a metal box. It needs about an inch to focus correctly. The picture below is 1 inch from the monitor screen. The bright light is the light that is given out by the endoscope. When you put the endoscope further away, everything still remains in focus. But the nearest distance is about 1 inch from the object.
Looking forward to using this when I next have a blocked drain as I always wanted to use one of these to locate the blockage!
PS - The CCTV folks drilled a hole in the wall and everytime it rains very heavily, some water seeps through this hole. I used this device to look at the hole that they drilled. I think they may have drilled through a drain pipe. As the hole is very deep in, I agreed with them that they will try to patch this with a mass bond material which solidifies within the hole that they drilled.
I love repairing things. If I cannot repair, I like taking things apart before throwing them into the bin. This way, I learn something at least!
Last night, I decided to repair my GPS as the suction cup provided was not very good and the GPS kept falling down. This time, it fell down and ripped away the inside of the mini USB power socket. I had no choice but to remove the rest of this socket from the motherboard and then solder the power leads to a wire which is then connected to the car power supply. Yes, I had to read up info from the internet to find out which contacts to wire up. Thank goodness for the internet.
It was good fun repairing it and it is now working well. However, I am not sure how long this can last and decided to buy another one as a spare. I am buying this through Amazon as it is a lot cheaper than buying one in Singapore. The US price is US$95 compared to S$190 here ..... of course, it is also more fun as one has to configure the US set for Singapore roads.
Me too...I like to 'tear' stuffs and reassemble back. Innovative ways to see the inner workings.
However, be careful especially the electrical component known as 'capacitor'. Even though your product is off-powered, the static charge can give a nasty shock or burn. Happened to me when I opened up a camera and touched it..
Cheers.
P.A.I.N.s = Positive Attitude In Negative Situation
Received the Garmin nuvi 52LM GPS today after ordering it 2 weeks ago. Amazon is wonderfully efficient. Actually, it is quite easy to install the Singapore/ Malaysian maps. One just has to go to MalSingmaps.com and download the latest map version and then follow the simple instructions to copy 2 files to the micro SD card.
Best thing is that the US maps are still in the GPS and one just needs to select these maps if one intends to drive in the US one of the days.
Cannot wait to drive out tomorrow to test out this GPS.
I also got the Google ChromeCast in the same package but left this to my son to play with. Yes, I like him to be fluent in IT as I am sure his world will be more IT centric than mine.
I love repairing things. If I cannot repair, I like taking things apart before throwing them into the bin. This way, I learn something at least!
Last night, I decided to repair my GPS as the suction cup provided was not very good and the GPS kept falling down. This time, it fell down and ripped away the inside of the mini USB power socket. I had no choice but to remove the rest of this socket from the motherboard and then solder the power leads to a wire which is then connected to the car power supply. Yes, I had to read up info from the internet to find out which contacts to wire up. Thank goodness for the internet.
It was good fun repairing it and it is now working well. However, I am not sure how long this can last and decided to buy another one as a spare. I am buying this through Amazon as it is a lot cheaper than buying one in Singapore. The US price is US$95 compared to S$190 here ..... of course, it is also more fun as one has to configure the US set for Singapore roads.
Garmin is a good choice. It offers lifetime maps updates free for certain units. I bought in SG and thus region applicable will be Malaysia / Singapore.
Overseas maps can be rented from the Orchard Road distributor shop at S$2/day. Thenafter, it is yours. Still having the Aussie maps....hehe.
One of my relatives bought a Garmin GPS in America but unable to download the latest software version support through Garmin Express. However, he is able to download the SG maps from malsingmaps.com.
Received the Garmin nuvi 52LM GPS today after ordering it 2 weeks ago. Amazon is wonderfully efficient. Actually, it is quite easy to install the Singapore/ Malaysian maps. One just has to go to MalSingmaps.com and download the latest map version and then follow the simple instructions to copy 2 files to the micro SD card.
Best thing is that the US maps are still in the GPS and one just needs to select these maps if one intends to drive in the US one of the days.
Cannot wait to drive out tomorrow to test out this GPS.
I also got the Google ChromeCast in the same package but left this to my son to play with. Yes, I like him to be fluent in IT as I am sure his world will be more IT centric than mine.
I love repairing things. If I cannot repair, I like taking things apart before throwing them into the bin. This way, I learn something at least!
Last night, I decided to repair my GPS as the suction cup provided was not very good and the GPS kept falling down. This time, it fell down and ripped away the inside of the mini USB power socket. I had no choice but to remove the rest of this socket from the motherboard and then solder the power leads to a wire which is then connected to the car power supply. Yes, I had to read up info from the internet to find out which contacts to wire up. Thank goodness for the internet.
It was good fun repairing it and it is now working well. However, I am not sure how long this can last and decided to buy another one as a spare. I am buying this through Amazon as it is a lot cheaper than buying one in Singapore. The US price is US$95 compared to S$190 here ..... of course, it is also more fun as one has to configure the US set for Singapore roads.
Singapore if use google map with internet, yes, it is possible to move around. However, for remote places even for Malaysia or overseas, google map can lead you to Holland . Take note google map is updated 2 years ago if not wrong. I went to Malaysia at one place whereby Google map indicates it is still unknown territory.
Bought 2 of these laser printers from Harvey Norman today. Comes with a free 2,500mAh Powerpack charger retailing for $38.... the branch I went to did not have any of the older 2,200 mAh and they kindly offer a higher capacity one. 
. Take note google map is updated 2 years ago if not wrong. I went to Malaysia at one place whereby Google map indicates it is still unknown territory.