Tuesday, September 26, 2006

HP iPaq rw6828
"when it works, they are great.. & when it won't, they'll cost you a fortune"

HP initiative motto on rw6828 : Designed in Asia for Asia
HP describes the rw68xx handheld as a "designer" device that's been built from the ground up to "reflect the young Asian consumer's chic, minimalist style today".

*faint*

come to think of it.. just mention HP ipaq, i got a chilled.. like those eerie cold wind pass thru your body in the midnight - and go straight into your bone!

1st incident : just got it less than a day, tested immediately - the screen went blank after a while, went dead.. button all hang, OS hang, need a reset via stylus.. and this process is on-going
--> direct 1-to-1 exchange
2nd incident : 2 weeks after e 1st incident, no sound coming out from the PDA speaker but surprisingly, with a headset plug-in, is working.. once plug-out, is a PDA without a Phone!
--> technical support

HP : hello, how may I help you?
kok : i got problem with my PDA
HP : can i have yr model and serial number
kok : i tot i already key-in just now
HP : err.. can i have it?
kok : ok lor.. the serial no n product no is : ...
HP : ok, what is the issues?
kok : no sound from my pda speaker, but can work with headset
HP : oh.. can you open any mp3 now, got sound?
kok : opened, no sound
HP : move the speaker slider up n down..
kok : done, no sound
HP : plug-in the headset and plug-out
kok : done, no sound
HP : can you try slowly plug-in and plug-out the headset 10 times
kok : har?
HP : just plug-in n out..
kok : err... like that also can?
HP : how's the result?
kok : more than 10 times.. no sound
HP : ok, then i guess what you can do is to send back to service centre
kok : oh.. is that so? then thank you very much lar

fxxx... damn...
wtf is this, unacceptable!
plug-in and plug-out repeatedly to make the sound back?
if one day the speaker fail twice... so i must get ready my headset and keep plug-in and out repeatedly like an idiot to make the sound back?

fine... i do an intensive search and found out that this is a known issue/bug for this series and a lot of users already make official complain to HP.
most users hope to get a firmware upgrade which .. dunno when!

so i can't do anything beside sending back to service centre (SC)
SC also got policy lei, 4-6 working day... so what do you think?

i log an official complain to HP Singapore, telling that guy :
- whole s'pore not only HP got PDA phone
- Sony, Nokia, O2, Moto... they got service centre which attend customer immediately
- why HP can't do that?
- do HP treat this PDA phone as a PDA or PDA phone?
- since u dare to venture into PDA phone business, you should have the capability to run the service centre like others, not the stupid policy of 4-6 working business day policy
- so in a week period, u expect me to buy an additional phone to standby for this PDA phone?

balbir : sorry sir, i'll expedite yr case as soon as possible. normally it'll take 3 business day to resolve everything.
kok : you better let me know what they do to my PDA
kok : i want to know precisely what they do, what they upgrade, exchange or repair or firmware/software upgrade
balbir : sure, i'll follow up and update you
kok : thank you.. i dun wish to get back that PDA and get this intermittent problem again
balbir : sure, no problem. once done, i'll personally call your handphone
kok : thank you

VERDICT : 3 out of 10
An expensive venture (experiment) by HP into PDA phone business

Pro : Windows Mobile 5
Cons : un-intuitive menu, expensive new faults found on daily basis

Opinion/Issues so far :
- screen distorted in direct sunlight, see nothing
- yellowish screen compare to o2 n dopod
- speakers stop working intermittently
- miss call for no reason
- miss sms for no reason, and come in only when u dial-out
- battery indicator can stop working as it like
- previous alarm times don't go away
- awful position of time
- no international warranty
- sms and ring sound inaudible
- can't use BT headset with wireless
- slow processor with WM5
- stupid positioning camera button
- low quality camera 2mb
- wifi search for its own even u turn it off
- after sales service sucks now

It's a taste of what could be, but falls short of the mark - and at that price, you'd have to have a love affair with HP to buy this product.

sMurFy at ... [ 11:01 PM ]

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================================================================ Monday, September 25, 2006

Oldtown Cafe

just mention the name "oldtown cafe", i'll think of my 2 naughty xiao-mei, ahsi & nemo.. why? cos last week they sneak out to oldtown cafe without me and take some photo purposely to show me... "i'm there to drink kopi without you"

i've never been to any of the oldtown cafe outlet in m'sia, the only way to drink the white coffee is to buy from supermarket which are available everywhere including s'pore.
somehow.. it is too sweet to me but fortunately, it consists of an additional Liberica bean which this species of bean is prized for its special bitter taste.

here are some of the photo taken by them.. and ladies, can anyone of you tell me "THE WHITE COFFEE SERVED inside the outlet, use sachet or freshly brew?"

ok.. here's the oldtown coffee ladies, pretty n sweet right?

---

ok.. here's the singapore version of oldtown cafe
more or less the same, and purely serve coffee, tea, etc.. with bread, toast n runny egg too

sMurFy at ... [ 9:05 AM ]

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================================================================ Sunday, September 24, 2006

pEnAnG memorable trip

i think i already long time didn't update my bloggy, tired mah lately.
today go for badminton session as usual but not in a form.. n end-up have a heavy lunch at boon tong kee while a heavy dinner with buddies at soup restaurant.
guess before 35, i'll got spare tyre around my waist man...

oh.. after my GZ trip, i go to penang..
an interesting and funny trip, and most interestingly.. with colleagues.. but to me, they're no longer my colleagues.. i already upgrade them long ago from colleagues to good friends lar
not easy lei.. north to south man

penang = 2
kl = 3
s'pore = 2

i travel via coach to kl in the morning, with my lovely sister.. reach KL around noon, have a walk at KLCC, then drive all the way from KL to penang
i miss so much the penang laksa, the prawn noodle, the more authenticate char keow tiau and the tambun biscuit.. and most importantly, i know i got a group of good friends around. i value and appreciate them very much
oh.. and the most brave & suffering gal goes to my dear althea.

i never expect that stupid apartment so 'lok-kok' and old, can u imagine that stupid old tv only come with 14" and without remote?
the channel button also spoilt..
haiz.. suffer 2 straight night.. poor ah tear.. no worry lar, no next time
next trip we all stay hotel, president suite.. at least!

here are some of the precious moments we've captured.

on our way (fr KL) to penang, highway rest area
buying some fruits to replenish our lost liquid
i think michelle is too hungry, her mouth already munching something...

the soon-to-be sleeping beauties...

nah.. this is the stupid dunno what sri dunno what stupid name service apartment
i guess i shall write an official complain to 'persatuan pengguna' or write in to the straits times, let others know the stupid rules that imply
stay 2 night, must pay immediately... damn, where got such a thingy
the condition n the cleaniness of that apartment sucks.. and amazingly, is fully occupied.. my goodness... when u shower, u need to shower slowly, cannot open the shower tap too big.. cos it'll flood the bathroom!

place of interest in penang

wah.. this auntie o.. like getting a damn good bargain lei, maybe buy 1 get 1 box free while another auntie behind is furiously slashing price with the seller
the uncle in the middle.. of course speechless with mouth open!

do u ppl know in ancient china, there's a famous clause refer to 4 beauties of china "zhong guo 4 ta mei ren"?
damn it man...
i prove them wrong here

in south-east-asia (SEA), these SEA 5 beauties can easily beat them hands-on, no horse run lei.. if u guys dun believe, try to tell them they're not beauties.. u'll know the serious dealdy consequences immediately

2 famous jokers, one from north and the other from south
refer them to the famous 'bei qiau feng, nan murong' wu-xia

on our way back from penang to KL, at baskin robbin
the weather is too hot, the ice-cream melt too fast n furious for us to taste it slowly n peacefully

u gals see something different in this photo?
ah chris suddenly turn into an innocent, demure gal-next-door type.. ppl see, ppl like, car see, car fetch..

sMurFy at ... [ 11:45 PM ]

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================================================================ Sunday, September 17, 2006

dSLR : digital single-lens reflex

Canon EOS 400D
Sony Alpha 100
Nikon D80

i've narrow down my soon-to-be new gadget into 3 specific model (hopefully) by year end. all these are mid-range dSLR camera which can be a good investment with appropriate lenses.
last Sat after hi-tea with buddies, i went dslr windows shopping before going to chalet.. these dslr really make me drooling man!
expensive toy...

i'm in such a dilemma that i really had no idea which one i'll get, by reputation, by strong presence worldwide, by budget or by lenses?
canon is the industry leader.. u can't denied, is a fact but the upcoming 400D doesn't have the right feel for me and not so propotionate.. so i give up after play around with those 3 models.

now left alpha 100 and d80!
alpha 100 is more value for money.. while d80 is highly recommended from those professionals, so what am i gonna do?

sony alpha 100 still commanding a SGD1700 price tag with a kit lens
nikon d80 is more expensive, around SGD2100 with kit lens
so i need to allocate SGD3k (at least) for either one of this... haiz... expensive man!

sony alpha 100

nikon d80

canon eos 400d

sMurFy at ... [ 6:59 PM ]

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================================================================ Tuesday, September 12, 2006

buSy mOnThS

project, project n projects... these are the stuffs that occupied me lately
in a short period of a month, i fly to Taipei/Taoyuan, back to SG and again to GZ for pre/post ERP projects
pre : SAP R/3
post : BPCS (AS400)

in summary, tons of data/stystem backup, archiving and documentation need to be done while preparing for the new system & powerful infrastructure for the new SAP system
oh.. also need to take care of our SEA entities too
suddenly i feel tired and exhausted..

hmmph.. i guess it is time for me to delegate most of my infrastructure works for my new team member, poor him...
but if not, poor me cos i really need time to concentrate on my projects.. else, my far-east jepun boss will bark and bite me for being recklessness

lately also got some issues with the jepun boss, dunno what is happening between HQ, far-east & my parent company IT head
can sense there's something like funny politics or power coup going on... huh but no matter what, i'm sandwich in-between
my jepun taukeh is giving me pressure, flying around to oversee all of us... but the funny thing is, he know nothing about what we do, so?
i dun wanna talk about it anymore.. talk more, kek more

i guess it is time for me to go up mountain and meditate, to polish my 'tai-chi' skills to strenghten my inner 'chi' to another level... to deal with all those 'wu-ling' high-hand.

one of my team member going silk road lately
i heard of silk road from movies and from word of mouth.. dun really bother what is silk road and my perception is :
a great route liking roman empire in the west with the imperial court of China in the east.

but a lot of tours now offering silk road tour, in about 8-10 days
such a distance, take train n bus... probably lor
but never mind.. i google it out

Named in the middle of the 19th century by the German scholar, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, the Silk Road, which is regarded as the greatest East-West trade route, was first traveled by Zhang Qian when he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions in the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The Silk Road was the information super highway of its age, serving as the conduit not only for goods but also for the transmission of knowledge and ideas between east and west.

The Han-dynasty Silk Road began at the magnificent capital city of Chang'an (today's Xian ). The route took traders westwards into Gansu Province through Lanzhou , Tianshui, Zhangye, Jiuquan along the Hexi Corridor reached Jiayuguan - the giant barrier of the Great Wall and the first key point of the route- Dunhuang. Dunhuang is in the west end of the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province. It is one of the well-known Chinese historical and cultural cities, and the bright pearl on the ancient Silk Road.

Scenery of the Silk Road - Crossing Shaanxi, Gansu, Hexi Corridor, Xinjiang and many other great places in China, the Silk Road is definitely worthy of your visit. Xian, Xiahe, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Urumqi, Turpan, Hotan and other cities and towns are full of historical culture relics and beautiful scenery.

sMurFy at ... [ 10:12 PM ]

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