Tips & Tricks for a simpler life

Stop Your Macbook Fan from Spinning!

2010-05-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Macbook, especially the earlier models, has a fatal flaw - it is just too hot! If you experience the problem where your macbook fan starts to spin crazily especially when running just a little bit of flash application, hopefully this article will help. Especially if you are a fan of youtube!

Most websites are full of flash application, especially the top banners or side banners. Even if your macbook is running a supposedly decent html content page, your machine will be extremely noisy in no time due to all the other flash "junks" around the body of your web page.

A simple solution is to use flash-blocking application for your browser, such as ClickToFlash for your Safari browser. ClickToFlash is my favourite plug-in amongst all, because if you really want to see flash app, you still can click on it to run the application.

Blocked Flash App in Safari

Un-Blocked Flash App in Safari, with just a mouse click!

This way, you have complete control over the flash application and you can decide exactly which flash application to load! When browsing normal websites, this stops 90% of all the noise problem I have with Macbook!!

But wait - what if you are a fan of YouTube? Although you it is blocked, you would still need to see it right? Yes, if you choose to click on the YouTube clip, flash will run, and your Macbook fan will go crazy. What do you do? This is where HTML5 comes in ! All you need to do is to type in the following URL to retrieve HTML5 video!

That URL will lead you to an experimental page for YouTube, but it has almost all the video that you need! You will see the following page:

Search as usual, and watch to your content all the YouTube clips that you want without the Macbook noise in the way!!

Weighing Nexus over iPhone - a practical review for the everyday user!

2010-01-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

This review will not be covering all the technical details of Nexus versus iPhone, which can be easily found on the Internet. Instead, it will cover the bits that actually matters - what is it that would appeal to normal everyday user like us to go for a Nexus or an iPhone? Here's how it stacks up!

1. Nexus does not even have gesture or multi-touch capabilities [iPhone 1, Nexus 0]

One of the primary reasons why iPhone revolutionises the mobile phone industry is the ability to perform multiple gestures, or multi-touches to zoom into webpages in browsers, or photos. And to do so smoothly, and naturally - a far cry from the prehistoric "single-touch" capability of Windows Mobile or the absurdly, physically clunky Blackberry storm "touch". As users, we want to be doing much more of multi-touches, in novel, and creative manner. Expectations was set high, aligned with those such as the 3D multi-touch patent from Apple.

2. Nexus has a much higher resolution camera than Apple [iPhone 1, Nexus 1]

Nexus has 5 megapixel camera while apple only at 3 megapixel. The photo quality does look better at 5 megapixel rather than 3, and this is an area in which Apple has to improve on. However, if you are looking for a really good camera phone, go for Sony Ericsson Satio instead, which has a whopping 12.1 megapixel with high resolution shot. Beyond 3 megapixel however, one should really focus on other camera features instead as megapixel is not a good overall measure.

3. Nexus is a (heaven) gateway to its cloud services [iPhone 1, Nexus 2]

Yes, we all love (or will soon learn to love) google services. From gmail to picasa and to google doc, all are hosted online, available on almost any devices. Nexus may not be a revolutionary phone, but it is closely coupled with the cloud, and enabling seamless integration with all the goodies that google has. A prime example is the option for an automated upload of photos taken on Nexus directly to Google Picasa - which means no more wires, bluetooth or even annoyingly e-mailing yourself via gprs every single photos that you have ever taken. More of these, and Nexus II might be on to something. With apps forbidden from running in the background, it is hard for iPhone to catch up on this.

4. iPhone's look and feel is still much more superior [iPhone 2, Nexus 2]

Despite being Google and having a few years lead than Apple, its desperation to get a slice of the mobile phone application market shows in the Nexus design. Not only it does not support multi-touch, it has stole essentially a trackball from Blackberry, for which Blackberry themselves are abandoning in their latest range of models such as that of Blackberry 9700.

A "tri-color" trackball is like trying to cram a disco-ball of the 80s into a phone, and expect that to woo users. What happened to Google's innovation team? We used to accuse Microsoft of copying everything that Google does, but it seems that Google is the new Microsoft. The trackball is at such an awkward position at the bottom of the phone that it is not natural to use unlike a trackball at the centre of Blackberry devices. Back to the drawing board, Google!

5. iPhone has an app for everything (for now) [iPhone 3, Nexus 2]

The final verdict still comes from the plethora of apps that iPhone has for now. Android apps is nowhere near, and nowhere as polished as iPhone apps. For that, I think iPhone still win hands down.

Of course, there are others that Nexus has to offer, but they are seemed to be irrelevant features for now. For example, Nexus has a second microphone for active noise cancellation - okay, perhaps improve the voice quality by 10%, but does that truly matter? All phones nowadays are not just "good enough", the voice quality is very good that it's no longer an issue. It has an OLED screen, but without multi-touch, it will not be as gorgeous looking.

Perhaps the net generation of Nexus II would be a much more worthy match, but by then, I am sure that iPhone would deliver another revolutionary killer phone that it would also be too late for Google to displace the leader. For those who wants a compromise, perhaps an Android in iPhone may be your cup of tea!

The Twilight Saga : New Moon

2009-12-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

After the success of the first, the romance continues between the mortal and vampire as the sequel dive into even more mysteries, supernatural world - with more action, suspense and passion than before!

Is it worth watching?

If you like Twilight, you will want to watch this. You do not want to miss what will happen between Bella and Edward, a scene worth watching all by itself! For those who has not ventured into the vampire world, you do not need to watch the first movie to follow this!

Check out your local cinema right now for Twilight Saga: New Moon! Don't miss it!!

Structured Settlement

2009-11-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

One of the most useful things that you will find is structured settlement. At one point in your life, this article probably would prove to be most relevant for you!

Firstly, what is structured settlement? When you a plaintiff settles a court case for a big sum of money, a structured settlement is proposed as a means of paying the settlement in installments over a period of time, instead of one big lump sum of cash. This is typically created through one or more annuities which provide a stream of fixed payments over a predefined period of time usually.

There may be tax advantages in structured settlement which, with the appropriate set up, can reduce the plaintiff's tax obligations. In some circumstances, it may be tax-free! Structured settlement can be used also surprisingly as a means of protecting the plaintiff himself against he or she may be able to manage the cash available to them carefully, therefore protecting them against unnecessary squandering. Other people may also benefit from structured settlements - the young, injured, disabled for example. If you get into an accident, auto insurance may also do this.

However, there are some disadvantages of course. Those who need the cash immediately may not have access to all the cash as it is being spread over a long period of time. Those better with cash could actually get a higher return from the single lump sum if invested wisely in bonds, stock markets or property. Therefore, over the long run, the effective cash is higher if paid all upfront than spread over a period of time.

There are other things that you need to worry about when it comes to structured settlement. Firstly, the insurance companies can charge a large amount of commissions on the annuities or overstating the value of the structured settlement. Certain lawyers are not totally independent, and may have self interest in their insurance business at the same time.

There are also cases where structured settlement can be sold! For example, if you are receiving $20,000 every year for the next 10 years, by the end of the period, you will be receiving a total of $200,000. If you are in need of a big lump of cash, you can sell to a willing buyer for $150,000 (for example) for the cash upfront - so it is a win-win situation for both parties. However, depending on where you are, local laws may restrict such practice, and also you would most likely require court approval for the sale.

In summary, we have covered the basic of structured settlement, and also the following:

Selling Your Structured Settlement
Cash for Structured Settlement

Blackberry Tip #1 - Search all your mails from blackberry, instantly!

2009-11-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

This article is written out of years of frustration with Microsoft Outlook. Even now, running the latest Outlook on Windows 7 is still a painfully crawling and slow process, probably because the gigabytes of pst outlook storage. Against advice to archive and shrink existing active pst Outlook file to megabytes, all mails are kept so one could continue to search and read through for references. Also important to keep them active for desktop search such as Google Desktop. Although moving all .pst online means that one could search all on gmail, the preference may still be to search locally so that one could reply or forward using the original e-mail if needed.

However, what if you are on the move with only your Blackberry (or iPhone), and you need to find a particular important e-mail from 3 years ago? This is where the power of Gmail + mobile devices come in! All you need to do, is to point your blackberry browser to www.gmail.com, and gmail should recognise your blackberry device and provide a simple to use interface that looks something like this:

After you logged in, you can search for whatever you need through the search page. However, this web-based approach is still slow compared to downloading a dedicated mobile gmail application, from here. Then, with just one click, you can log into gmail effortlessly, and use the Option button to bring up the search prompt. Instead of a slightly awkward and flimsy mobile web interface, it will be a much more solid, dedicated blackberry app that looks a bit like this:

If you leave this gmail blackberry app running in the background, it will also alert you of any new e-mail messages (though you can also use your blackberry service to automatically retrieve your gmail messages!). However, being able to search *gigabytes* of years and years of your e-mails with such simple application really saves lives (a few times to be precise)!

Disentangle from Microsoft Outlook - make the migration now !

2009-11-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are stuck with Windows, one of the primary worry is how to leave Microsoft Outlook behind. A necessary evil, and most of you trapped, handcuffed, and imprisoned by what should be making life easier! Not!

The first thing you should do, is to sign up for a Gmail account. Trust me, it's probably one of the best thing you will do in years to come. Then, do the following steps. Most instructions can be found by simple google search online, but the general steps are as follows.

Step 1: Post your outlook data in .pst to gmail
First, you need to find where your .pst file is, and make a backup. Then, you can use a number of applications to import .pst into gmail, and this is quite a useful application to use. Gmail can also import e-mails from a range of from non Outlook e-mails in their help manual.

Step 2: Configure gmail to check your existing e-mail account
Configuring your gmail is quite straightforward. You need to be able to use gmail check your existing e-mail account, but make sure that you leave all your e-mails in the server, unless you totally would like to abandon your Microsoft Outlook. It does not matter whether you are using POP or IMAP, asking gmail to leave all e-mails in the server means that you can continue to use your Outlook as usual, but all having a backup in gmail.

Step 3: Automatically forward all sent e-mail in outlook to your gmail e-mail address
Since all your incoming e-mails are now automatically backed up into gmail, the sent e-mails from Outlook needs to be somehow archived into gmail as well. Have not found a way to do this using Outlook rules, and there does not seem to be an easy way to do this. For those slightly more technically savvy, there is a way though. If you are using IMAP, you can set Outlook to save the sent e-mails to your outlook IMAP server sent folder as instructed here.

Step 4: Sync your outlook calendar with gmail calendar
One of the favourite features of Gmail is the ability to sync calendar with multiple accounts and devices. For Outlook, simply download Google Calendar Sync and install on your windows machine. Follow the instructions, and preferably use 2-way sync. Therefore, anytime your calendar events in Outlook changes, it will be automatically reflected in your Gmail calendar and vice versa!

Abracadabra! That's it! Let gmail crunch everything in the background for you - your emails will always be backed up in gmail, and your calendar service available for not just your Outlook, but for your other computer, PC or Mac, and your mobile devices or cell phones! Check out my other posts on how to do these!

Pimp your Blackberry

2009-11-14T05:51:00.001-08:00

Tips and Tricks for a better Blackberry

Being an avid user of Blackberry for years now, have the luxury to own the newest and latest blackberries as they are freshly rolled out from the production lines. This to include:

Blackberry Curve 8310
Blackberry Pearl 8100
Blackberry Storm 9500 (never a blackberry so unfriendly)
Blackberry Bold 9700

Blackberry saved lives! Ploughing back time from creaky, squeaky and rusty Microsoft Outlook on an even shaky Windows PC.

In the next few posts, tips and tricks for those who are keen! Watch this space!