[Saving Tip] How to save a WET Cell Phone....

I saw this from one of the tweets I follow and I'm not sure if this gonna works (touch wood!!)

Graphic sourced from - "The Geek Squad Blog"

IT product fair can be fun and enjoyable, if one...

Always plan your route
Normally, the event hall of any large scale IT fair is like venturing into a giant maze with booths, stalls of vary sizes dotted around everywhere.

Despite the very best effort to widen the walkway that segregated stalls from stalls, many visitors still find it a mammoth task to walk among the crowds. Very often, pushing and shoving being part and parcel of the game while scavenging through the wares.

As the result, it's important to plan your route properly before entering the war zone, so that you need not have to waste your precious time hunting high and low amid the human jam.

Common sight at any IT product fair - WHERE'S MOMMY? (think carefully before bringing small kids to such condensed venue)

Unfortunately, it's not always the case that the floor plan of any fair is made available for the visitors (unless, there are some kind Samaritans who are kind enough to scan and uploading popular message forums to share with the rest.) that one has to be at the main entrance, take a sneak peek before plotting their next move.

Since such an event would spread over the weekend (traditional from Thursday to Sunday) and if I really have the time and something to look for, this is normally what I do.

• FIRST DAY – collect brochures, hand-out of ONLY my desired products
• REST of the EVENT – compared and monitoring the prices fluctuation of those products, while researching for more essential information from whatever source.
• DECISION DAY – it could be any day other the FIRST DAY, when you decided to head down, pay the money and EXIT out of the human jam, unless you still have the mood to carry on.
  

Price-slashing exercise is a common gimmick to draw customers who are constantly on the lookout for best bargain.

Although, I tend to be apprehensive if it's true that best time to get the best bargain would be the LAST day of the event, as numbers of booths are keen to offload their barang, thus carry out price-lashing on the final day.

Know what you want.
My observation is that many people always think you'll get the best bargain in fair like these.

I bought this bluetooth headset, but only to sell it away as I hardly use it because hassle of using it.

True to certain extent with some of those freebies that come along with it, which at the end of day you would realize that either those complimentary gifts are those lower-end or you deemed redundant.

Although, there were case that if some of these complimentary gifts are not required, some consumers would just ask for some other stuff of similar value OR put up for sale on the net to recover some of the costs.

Be firm and don't easily get sway by those sweet-talk by those promoters about how great, wonderful their gadgets are and end up paying dearly for nothing (like a solar-charger- pictured above - which I hardly use it).

Do your homework at HOME
Of course, without saying it's true in this instance.

You can't never depend much on these promoters (illustrated in picture below) for more in-depth information on your desired product, other than asking them the price, warranty and those freebies.

Never my intention to belittle these girls and boys, nonetheless, in my countless of dealings with these kids you can tell that lack of knowledge and uncertainty when dealing with floods of enquiries from those often eager, yet impatient customers.

Once, I asked one of these kids whether a PDA phone I keen on is loaded (pre-installed) with Chinese language software.

"Yes..." he replied confidently.

"So what is the name of this software?" I followed up from what he answered.

Nonchalantly, he added, "No, you must install it!"

Rather taken aback but I pressed on, "And what is the name of software?"

"DUNNO!" he answered.

"#$%*&..." I said to myself after wasting my time at that booth.

So from then onwards, I followed what seasoned consumers always do – researched and concluded everything at all places, except at the venue halls.

Sites like "HWZ" and "VR-ZONE" are places where most IT problems are answered and discussed.

To put it bluntly, it's the commission that these kids count on and consumers themselves have a part to play by not asking those irrelevant or too technical questions that no one really have the luxury of time to explain in such a constrained environment.

Conclusion
At the end of the day, I would say go to any IT product fair can be fun and enjoyable, if each and everyone play his or her part for being more patient, considering etc.

Just sharing some of my insights and please feel free to share your thoughts with me too.

How and Why I saved my BAG...

For one simple reason - TIMES ARE BAD... simple as that.

This bag may look ordinary, but it's useful to me as it can stuff quite a number of stuff in it. Furthermore, it was a complimentary gift!!

So when recently, the adjustment buckle or fastener gave way due to crack in the piece that holds the strap. I decided to do something like this (as pictured below).

By removed the buckle, that supposed to snap the straps together, that was meant for a waist pouch, I decided to use it as a replacement for the adjustable fastener for the carrying strap instead.

Anyway, not the first time that repair job is being done on this bag, as months ago, the lousy material of the "hook" had made way to allow this metallic ring to hold the strap to the end of the bag.

I would say in times like this, one really have to think hard to be prudent and not being perceived as a miser.

Not "Angkat" but admiration

(The word "Angkat" means "get cosy with someone" or put it bluntly as "getting into someone's good book".)

I still don't know why AirAsia insisting in flying off from Changi's Terminal ONE despite the higher cost

At this moment, the name Tony Fernandez, the trail-blazing CEO of Airasia, can only empitomize all the good things about travelling on shoe-string budget.

Just 10 years ago, who the heck in this part of the world could imagine flying around the region is like taking a coach ride out of your town to a faraway destination?

One example, in the past the idea, travelling to-and-fro Singapore and Kuala Lumpur by air meant one MUST ready to fork out considerable amount to do so, since this lucrative route was the dual-poly of the state carriers of both sides.

Onboard the AirAsia flight to Penang

Having seen that unjustifiable rate air travellers had to bear, Fernandez lobbied tirelessly for them and eventually succeed in breaking up the stranglehold held by SIA and MAS in 2003.

It was indeed a master-stroke as the breaking up of the dual-poly meant travellers need not have to pay astronomical rates when flying around this part of the world.

Furthermore, long journey coach operators are now facing stiff competition from any budget flight operators that follow the path of this once loss-making government-linked airline, since it's just a matter of topping up a few more dollars to fly to places in minutes than hours.

On top of that, Airasia also branched itself into the hotel industry through a joint-venture arrangement with various parties to start up their own hotel chain - “Tune”.

You need to pay for the air-con if you want to use it, but the fan provided is good enough.

Just like its sister company, “Tune” is a non-frills concept accommodation that cater for budget-concious travellers, where room necessities such as air-conditioning, television set and complimentary toiletries are things of a past and will only be provided after paying certain charges for them (in short it's “Pay only when you require” kind of arrangement).

Although, one have to bear this in mind that everything comes with a price and you get what you paid for all.

Correction:

Initially, I thought free wifi is not available at the "Tune" Penang hotel lobby, only to realize 30-minute free internet access is available only if you use the terminal there, but to be sure about that, please check and confirm when you check-in.

[Travelling + Saving Tips] Cut the Roaming Costs

Got a shock weeks ago when I finally got hold of my latest phone bill.

While I was mentally prepared for the surge after my recent trip and the recent addiction to the "twitter" (before I realized I'm allowed to text to a local number), nonetheless I felt it's time to stop the surge before I suffered another shock!

Having consulted some folks on and off the line, I summarized some of the feasible options available to cut down my phone bills when out for a short getaway.

MSN logo ripped from somewhere

Some guys suggested making voice-call using MSN messenger (if I decided to bring my MSI Wind along and the accommodation provides LAN cable) but the drawback is this is only limited to users using this popular communication tool.

Pre-paid SIM (above) by local operator is another option but with a lifespan of only THREE months and might be useful only for local dialling, not make call back home due to higher charges.

International Calling Card (ICC) by Singtel was mentioned too but the hassles are I always tend to forget my PIN (need to call and reset each time if happened) and also the bill takes it "own sweet time" to come.

The irony is I still keep my ICC in my wallet but hardly use it.

Furthermore, I was told it's economical to use fixed-line to make a call (even more troublesome if one is always on the road).

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) softwares such as "Skype" and "pfingo" are probably two of the most widely-used tool to make inexpensive call as compared to roaming calls.

Both the VOIP softwares can be installed on laptops equipped with Win XP or Vista and also on mobile devices such as PSP and PDA phones alike.

I only recently unpacked this "skype" phone after two years picked up as a door gift

Also the attractive part of these softwares is that calls made are not restricted within their own users (which free of charge), as users can make connecting external call to fixed-line and mobile number at a cost.

Maybe some of you guys must be thinking that I beating around the bush after the I seems to list more advantages of the VOIPs as compared than to the others but that's exactly I'm trying to prove.

I cannot deny that VOIP is, indeed, the most attractive option available that's why I need to protrude the minus-point of others before reflect the plus point of “skype” and “Pfingo”.

Below is a tip from an internet user sharing his/her experience using “Pfingo” while in China (rather tedious process though, just be patient when going through the steps).

to save your roaming cost, you can do the following:

• 1. register to Pfingo - basic user $2 per month (for 1 month) and top it up with $10 credit. You will have a number starts with 3xxx xxxx.
• 2. when u reach China, get a China pre-paid card. Take note the number
• 3. call forward your Singapore number to Pfingo number. You will be charge mobile outgoing fee, typically 16 cents per mins, depending on which plan or Telco (Singtel, M1 or Starhub) you are with.
• 4. call forward your Pfingo number to China prepaid number. You will be charged IDD for Pfingo to dial to your China prepad number. I think it's 2 cents per min.
• 5. So total = 18 cents per min as compared to probably $1 per mins or more (depending on your Telco).
• 6. Similarly, you can call to any Singapore number or any international number via Pfingo BOUNCE

Based on the above, you save 80% or more of your roaming fee. In addition, you do not need to subscribe roaming service but pay per use.

The only catch is that you need to find an internet to logon Pfingo and call forward Pfingo number to China prepaid number since you will not have a China prepaid number prior to going there to get Pfingo call forward to it.

Though it's tedious, but if you plan to make a lot of calls for whatsoever reason, you will save a lot. But if you make 1 or 2 calls throughout your trip, just use roaming... probably pay per use (+20% charge of typical fees).

In case you wonder, why need Pfingo is that you cannot call forward your Local singapore number to International number like China or any others. This is a regulation issue not just Singapore but everywhere in the world. Pfingo level "3" number helps to circumvent this issue.

"Tweet" with "tweet.sg" to avoid paying unnecessary SMS charges

I used to think there's no way but to incur those overseas SMS charges by my telco when I "tweet", since "twitter" only provided "+44..." not "+65..." when I signed up weeks ago.

But this morning during my usual "morning surf" before the start of my dreaded routine, I came across a "tweet" that linked me to "Tweet.sg".

What a relief when I realized the plus point of "tweet.sg" actually allows local users (Singapore mobile phone users to be precise) to ultilize their SMS quota when "tweeting".

So thanks to this wonderful service, I can save some $$$ now since I need not have to SMS to the "+44..." number when "tweeting".

Still, there's a paypal "donate" button provided by the creator, which I duly donated some in order to keep this free service on-going.

Thanks so much :)

Click on this button to link to "tweet.sg"