Tech On Me

Lego Review: Lego 21103 Back To The Future: The Delorean Time Machine

2013-12-11T13:53:00.000+08:00

"Marty, You're not thinking fourth-dimensionally!"

"Pre-Spin City" Michael J Fox and "Post Taxi" Christopher Lloyd caught our attention in the 80s as High School student Marty Mcfly and Doc Emmett Brown in the Back To The Future movies series which will always be remembered for an excellent cast, thrilling adventure and great humour, not to mention hoverboards, intelligent Nike shoes, self cooling jackets and cars that run on Portable Nuclear reactors called "Mr Fusion" but i digress. Nostalgia is big business these days so there was already a ready made fanbase waiting to lap up this long overdue Lego interpretation of the time traveling Delorean DMC-12. This particular set, like 3 other sets that came before are the results of CUUSOO programme where individuals or groups can submit ideas for new Lego sets and those who gain enough support will then pass through Lego's evaluation committee to assess whether to produce it en-masse for public consumption. On to the review!

Box & Contents

Attractive box design

It is a relatively small box, similar in size to smaller-mid sized creator sets. This is patterned like a creator set in that you are able to build 3 versions of the Delorean from each of the movies in the trilogy just by modifying some of the parts. Opening the box, you will get the following:

5 packets of parts & a think booklet with instructions & photos from the movie

The packets of parts are not numbered so you have to sort out the parts yourself. Lovely booklet with nice photos and instructions to build the vehicle.

No sticker sheets to muck around with in this set.

Minifigs

It comes with 2 minifigs (of course): Doc Emmett Brown & Marty Mcfly:

Doc & Marty

Well they only come in one variation, the version from the first movie.

Assembling

I have decided to go with a different approach than the past where I used to take photos at significant stages of the build to show the progress till completion. This time i am going to show stop motion videos which detail the step by step process of how this vehicle is built. Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

The completed Delorean looks like the following:

Complete!

Note the License Plate displays "OUTATIME"

Back to the Future II

It does not take much to modify the Delorean to reflect the version seen in the 2nd movie in the franchise. See video below for proof:

The completed variation from the 2nd movie is shown below, essentially the wheels are now red, the portable fusion reactor is added and the license plate is now a bar-code.

"Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

Note the Mr Fusion portable Nuclear reactor (in white) & orange barcoded license plate

Back to the Future III

Again, the main modification to version 2 of the Delorean is to add the panel of pieces on the bonnet of the car as shown below:

BTTF III version Complete

Final Thoughts

Essentially quite a nice looking design but it is not without issues. Firstly, the original concept vehicle in the original submission had a wider roof and the front bonnet of the vehicle was more movie accurate. The revised version released in this set seems to skimp on parts and it means a short roof and the pieces used to construct the doors and windscreen are not as "resilient" as I would have liked it to be. The reduction in parts also results in a few problems: You can't fit 2 minifigs in the car because the width of the seat is too short. Even if you can fit one of them in, the roof is also too low and too short, so the minifig has to lean back more and half of his head is sticking out to the right of the car roof. The 2 parts affixed to the bonnet to help form the front windscreen of the car are flimsy and are not actually joined to the roof. Another interesting issue is a spelling mistake on the flux capacitor (see below). "Shield" is spelt wrongly.

'SHEILD' EYES FROM LIGHT

These issues do take the shine away from what otherwise would've been a perfect product. The originators who created this concept are pushing for a UCS version of this car (as well as the train used in the 3rd movie) on CUUSOO. If and when it gets built, let's hope these issues will be addressed and BTTF fans will get the version they truly deserve.

Interested fans who intend to get this set, can get it from Amazon.com for US$34.99 (Full retail price) or cheaper. Currently it is able to be shipped directly to Singapore from the US. If you combine it with other global eligible items to make up the minimum of US$125, it ships for FREE. Till next time, happy building! I'm outahere!

Dealspotting: Savings by buying Lego from Amazon.com

2013-11-06T22:35:00.002+08:00

Those of you who are fans of Lego, will know the reality is that in Asia, we usually end up paying more than our US or Europe counterparts to indulge our building hobby.
So it goes without saying that we are always on the lookout for deals that will stretch our dollars further.

For this very reason, I have taken it upon myself to create a consolidated list (in the form of Amazon astore or associates store) to list all sets that can be shipped from Amazon.com to Singapore. I have done this the hard way by manually checking each and every link for Lego items that ship from Amazon.com to Singapore.
I have made the process much easier for you so that it can speed up your shopping just that much faster.
You'll be amazed that over 100 items ship for free under Amazon's global eligible scheme with a minimum order of US$125. But do remember to select FREE AmazonGlobal Eligible option at checkout.
You can also check out some of the featured sets that can ship (not for free) but will give you significant savings over the Singapore Retail Price. I am not saying everything is cheaper, please do your own price comparison with local prices to justify if it is worth plunking down your hard earned money.

I see it as a Win-Win situation: You get the convenience of everything being laid out for you and if you do purchase something through these links, I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) as a token for my efforts.

Here is the link to the astore : http://astore.amazon.com/gimjlego-20
or alternatively you can click on the Shop Lego and Save ! link on the right side of this blog.
I look forward and am always grateful for your support :)

Some examples of noteworthy sets include:

Lego Architecture Studio set
Those hankering for the Lego Architecture Studio set which is not readily available here now can rejoice too. Here's the most amazing part, it ships for FREE to Singapore from Amazon.com so you only pay the price of the product US$149.99 which works out to be S$192. A great deal! but please Remember to select the FREE AmazonGlobal Saver option at checkout to get FREE shipping.

Lego Mindstorms EV3
Always wanted to tinker with programmable robots? Save S$100 off the full retail price of the Lego Mindstorms EV3! Get it from Amazon.com also shipping direct to Singapore for US$406.48 (including Shipping and GST since amount exceeds S$400) works out to about S$520. Currently retailing S$629.90 in the shops.

Lego Tower of Orthanc
LOTR lego fans shouldn't feel left out, the UCS Tower of Orthanc lego set is also able to ship from Amazon.com to Singapore. Currently going at US$239.87 (including shipping to Singapore) which works out to S$307. The price here is similar to the UCS Red Five X-wing, closer to S$400 so there's still savings to be had. Don't miss out!

UCS Red five X-wing Fighter
For Lego Star wars fans, here's a great offer for you. The UCS Red five X-wing Fighter can now be shipped direct from Amazon.com to Singapore and it's only US$230.39 (including shipping) which is about S$295 after currency conversion. Stores here are selling it closer to S$400. Don't miss out :)

* 6 Nov 2013 - NOTE* While every effort has been made to ensure that this list is as accurate as possible, do take note that Amazon.com's listing of eligible items can be quite dynamic i.e. one day you will find that some sets are able to be shipped from Amazon.com and the next day these same sets may not be able to shipped from Amazon.com. I created the list a day ago but today I found out that some Star Wars, TMNT sets in my list no longer qualify to ship worldwide. It is quite arbitrary and there is no recognisable pattern to this. Moral of the story, grab it before you can't get it shipped.
Of course, If you can let me know of any items that no longer can ship to Singapore by emailing me or leaving me a comment, it would be very much appreciated.

For Lego fans who are not based in Singapore, you might have noticed that I have given the prices and perspective from a Singaporean viewpoint as this is what I am familiar with. Chances are if the item can be shipped outside of US, it will apply to countries that Amazon.com does ship directly to so no harm in trying.

Thanks in advance and have fun shopping!

Dealspotting: Philips Fidelio X1 & Denon AH-D600 Headphones at excellent prices

2013-07-03T00:50:00.005+08:00

Yes, I've been meaning to update the blog in awhile but I've been busy but this is too good not to share. Those in the market for great headphones should check these offers out before they're gone!

Philips Fidelio X1

Philips new top of the line Headphones that retails for US$399 (S$499 in Singapore) now going for a steal on Amazon US. Do some googling and you will find generally rave reviews (e.g. T3, WhatHIFI) for this headphone known for great comfort and sound. Currently priced at a low US$275 (approx S$360). To sweeten the deal further, it is eligible for Amazon Global Saver i.e. Free shipping! To Singapore too.

Denon AH-D600

Second in line to the premium AH-D7100 model (that retails for US$1199) in Denon's Music Maniac range of headphones is the AH-D600. These are excellent headphones that are usually priced at US$499 in the US. On Amazon UK, It is currently priced at £203.97 (VAT included) minus shipping. Buyers outside the UK pay VAT exempt prices which makes it cheaper i.e. the price including shipping to Singapore is £190.02 (approx. S$380). An absolute steal if you compare the fact it is priced at S$749 (RRP) in Singapore.

Prices are time sensitive as they do fluctuate often on Amazon sites so don't delay if you are interested in getting these. Great Audio Gear at Great Prices, what's not to love?

Lego Review: Lego 75003 A-Wing Star Fighter

2013-04-27T22:16:00.000+08:00

Released in the first batch of Lego star wars releases for 2013 is the Star Wars A-Wing Fighter! One of my favourite fighters in the original Star Wars trilogy (Frankly, I like most of them). Not much to add so on to the review!

Box & Contents

New for 2013! The box for the A-Wing

It is a small box by Lego standards. You may have realised that the colour theme of the Star Wars box sets this year is Green (see above). If you are an old hand at Lego and have picked up the new boxes, you may have realised the contents are more compactly packed i.e. less wasted space which also results in smaller boxes. This is especially welcome for us who order and ship Lego from overseas as the volumetric weight of the packages may be smaller i.e. cheaper shipping.

From Left to Right : Parts Packs 1 to 3, instruction manual and stickers

The box contents hold no surprises, 3 packs of lego parts, an instruction manual and 1 sheet of stickers.

Minifigs

It comes with 3 minifigs as pictured below: A-wing Pilot, Han Solo and Admiral Ackbar

A-wing Pilot, Han Solo & Admiral Ackbar

Not sure how Han fits into all this but hey, a minifig is a minifig. No complaints there, In fact the more the merrier!

Assembling

You start off with a simple base foundation like so:

Foundation!

You continue adding the parts as you go along. The picture below shows the view from the back where the jets are added:

View of the back

It's beginning to take shape and bears more semblance to the A-wing design (see below)

Closer to completion...

Fast forward and the final product is shown below:

A-Wing Complete!

To paraphrase Admiral Ackbar, "it's a Wrap!"

Now add the pilot and here we have the ground level view

In line with my previous posts, when compared with the other Star Wars vehicles in the fleet:

Obviously not to scale but what's not to love?

Final Thoughts

Another straight forward build, it took me an hour and a half (including taking the photos) so it should take most people less than that to get it up. One criticism I have of the A-wing is the cockpit is too small, resulting in the pilot minifig actually leaning backwards quite far back when seated in the cockpit as compared to others where the pilots get to sit upright. Lego, how about a new UCS edition :) ?

Available at Toys R US outlets and department stores that sell Lego. Also available at Amazon US, and Amazon France.

Lego Review: Lego 9495 Gold Leader Y-Wing fighter

2013-02-03T14:54:00.005+08:00

This is one of the latest additions to my growing Star Wars Lego Fleet. The Lego 9495 Gold Leader Y-Wing Fighter. Let's not waste a parsec, onwards!

Box and Contents

Y-Wing Box

A Mid sized box with the usual attractive design and colours. Nice but not as exciting. This has not so much to do with any flaws of this set as it is to do with the fact that after building the Lego Millennium Falcon previously, the itch is there to try more challenging Lego sets. Arrrgghhh... the perils of Lego building haha :)

Clockwise From top Left to Right: Instruction Manual, Sticker sheet, Parts Pack 1, Parts Pack 3 and Parts Pack 2

Emptying the box, you would get the usual suspects, the instruction manual, a sticker sheet and 3 packs of parts.

Minifigs

Left to Right : Princess Leia, Gold Leader, R5-D8

The set comes with 3 minifigs, namely Princess Leia, Gold Leader and an R5-F7 droid (another variant of R2D2). Gold Leader and R5-F7 are dubbed as new which I take to mean this is the first time they are releasing these figures or these are new versions of older figures. I find the Princess Leia minifig a bit more unique compared to those in the other sets as it comes with a Long Hair Piece flowing to the back and she also has 2 faces: A happier face as shown above and more serious face as shown below

The Princess has 2 faces!

Assembling

Always start with the spine

It starts with the spine as shown above and you continue building upon this foundation

Now with more definition

As it gets more defined, the overall shape starts to resemble a "Y".

End of Part 1: Starting to look like "Y"

That's the end of Part 1 of the building process. The next part is defining the "head" or front of the ship. The foundation for the front as below:

It does look like a raft

Build upon it and attach it to the main body as built in Part 1

Joined to Main Body

Below is what you get when you refine the cockpit, add the blaster cannons on top of the cockpit hatch and add the 2 jets at the side

Almost there!

Adding the final touches to the jets and Voila ! the Complete Y-Wing as shown below.

"It's a Wrap!"

Here's a ground level view:

The R5-F7 also fits in sideways i.e. similar to how R2D2 fits into the 9493 X-wing

Armed Parking Lady making him pay the fine

To give a comparison of scale, when compared to the other vehicles in the fleet:

It's about as long as the 9493 X-wing.

Also added 2 simple videos on how the weapons (missiles and bombs) are used:

Missiles:

Bombs:

Final Thoughts

Overall, a straight forward build that took me about an hour and a half. Decent level of detail for the size. This set is a Toys R US (TRU) exclusive.

Available at Toys R US outlets.

Dealspotting: Lego 7965 Millennium Falcon now ships directly from Amazon US to Singapore!

2013-02-02T00:29:00.002+08:00

Just had to share this for Lego Star Wars fans interested in getting the Lego Millennium Falcon especially those who live in Singapore. I just discovered that you can get it shipped direct to Singapore from Amazon US (Previously Amazon US restricted it from being shipped direct) for an affordable price.
The Current Price is US$139.97 before shipping. The Price including direct shipping to Singapore is US$165.24. Based on the current exchange rate (with credit card), it should be about S$215 in total. That's 35% off the retail price of S$329.90.

Do remember to select the option "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com"
It is quite coincidental that the last post on this blog was the review for this set.
What are you waiting for? Check it out and May The Force be with you ! :)

Lego Review : Lego 7965 Millennium Falcon

2013-01-20T16:44:00.002+08:00

Next to the X-wing fighter, my next favourite vehicle from the Star Wars Franchise is the Millennium Falcon!

“You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? … It’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.” so boasts Han Solo when he first meets up with Luke Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

Lego-wise, this is the biggest set that I have attempted to build so far since my return to the Lego-fold. So let's get cracking!!!

Box and Contents

The Box

The box itself is quite impressive and has definite heft to it. Emptying the contents from the box, you would find:

15 Parts packages, 2 manuals (Part 1 and Part 2) & 1 sheet of stickers

You get a total of 15 packages of parts numbered 1 to 6 accordingly (a total of 1254 pieces), a sheet of stickers and 2 building instruction manuals.

Minifigs

You get a total of 6 minifigs with their respective weapons i.e. lightsabers, blasters, or crossbow, which is great! You get most of the important figures related to the Falcon minus the droids. See below:

(L to R): Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker & Obi-wan Kenobi

Darth Vader and Obi-wan come with paper capes that you are to attach before adding their heads. Just to point out the Chewbacca figure slightly differs from the rest as you don't attach just the head to the torso. Instead, you attach the top half i.e. his head and hairy chest and belt which are in one piece.

Chewie: Top half and torso

Assembling

Starting with the base as below:

Laying the Falcon's Foundation

Adding more pieces as I go along, now there is a hatch and the base of the outer wall is starting to form up:

Hatch added and base wall foundations

Next, you can see part of the engine assembly, the chess table and some chairs in the next photo:

Engine Assembly, Chess table and chairs added

The Central Computer console is next up:

Central Computer console added

Next, the front walls of the hull and the side support structures are taking shape

Front Walls, Side support structures are taking shape nicely.

After adding the back walls of the hull, Lego ingeniously came up with this method to create the look of the blue light from the Falcon's Jets i.e. a light blue plastic tube is added to 2 securing joints at each side and attached to the back as below:

Ingenious use of a plastic tube

Next, the side support structures are built up and reinforced

Reinforced support structures

Next, you can see on the left, the formation of the cockpit and the side structures are close to completion

Cockpit being built on the left

Turning it over, you can see the twin missiles (red tipped tubes near the front), the rotating laser cannons in the centre and the landing gear.

Of Missiles and Cannons

Next, construction continues with the adding of the back hull plates. Use your steadiest finger to stick on the round stickers here.

Continue with the rest of the hull plates as below

The great cover up

Add the front most hull plate and the cover the hatch with another rotating laser cannon.

I've got it fully covered

Next, you have to attach the front triangular sections, the first one is shown below:

Finally, add the remaining front section and the cockpit cover and Voila! You have a fully built Falcon!

Falcon ready for action!

A close-up showing Han Solo in the cockpit below. Do note, you have to pry open the front section to release the minifig.

Chewie! Get me out of here!

Though not movie accurate in that the top half of the hull is not sealed (in fact they would've died from being exposed to space), the opening hull plates allow you to assess and place your minifigs easily around the ship:

Falcon in bloom

Recreating Classic Scenes:

Luke's Lightsaber training:

"I can't breathe in this thing!"

Chewie and R2D2's chess game: (Note C3P0 and R2D2 have been borrowed from my Droid Escape set, no droids or wookies were harmed in the setup of this scene)

"Let the wookie win!"

Luke and Han manning the Laser Cannons:

This scene is not so straight forward as the tunnels don't allow proper access to the guns. So you need to do it in 3 steps:

Step 1: Remove the top laser cannon guns and attach Luke and Han to the platform that has the controls (as below)

Literally back to back action

Step 2: Lower them in the tunnel like so:

"Dude, I forgot to tell you I had onions at lunch"

Step 3: Attach the laser cannon guns to close off the hatch:

"Oh crap!"

Obi-wan vs Darth Vader:

"I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Now let's see how well you handle it"
Oops ..that's from Spaceballs

Size Comparison

Placing it side by side with my X-wing, you can see that the scale isn't movie-correct. The Falcon is much larger than the X-wing in the film but I guess it would probably mean a very expensive set too if it were built to scale.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is an extremely fun and challenging set to build. I took about 4 and a half hours to complete it. This is probably the best version of the Falcon you could get without forking crazy money (Upwards of US$2000) for the UCS version which is long out of print.

My main feedback/suggestions for this set are:

Lego, please consider making capes out of nylon or cloth material, paper is way too fragile.
Obi-wan minifig's head needs to include his hair, then you can add the hood on top else you cannot do the scenes without his hood.

I got this set off an Amazon Warehouse deal, Condition: used-Like New which kind of explains the slightly dented box. However, it came nicely taped up. There were no missing pieces and all the packages were sealed and did not show signs of being opened before. You are welcome to try this method to get it cheaper but it is at your own risk. Thanks for reading !

Available (should be) at Toys R US outlets and major stores wherever Lego is sold. Of course, you can also check out Amazon US, Amazon France or Amazon UK.

Lego Review: 79000 Riddles for the Ring (The Hobbit)

2013-01-08T00:29:00.002+08:00

Yes, it's not Star Wars and I told myself I shouldn't get too distracted by too many Lego themes but I couldn't resist and picked this up from the Metro store at City Square Shopping Mall with a 20% discount while shopping for toys for my nephews and nieces.
It's a new set based on the new movie : The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Box and Contents

It's a very small box compared to most Lego sets but as usual it is very beautifully decorated:

Opening the box, you'll see the contents as follows:

2 packs of parts and an instruction manual

As it's a small set, you only get 2 packs of Lego parts and an instruction manual.

Minifigs

You get 2 minifigs but 2 of the most important ones from the movie Bilbo Baggins and Gollum!

Bilbo Baggins wielding Sting (Elven Sword)

The Bilbo Baggins minifig has nicely detailed clothing imprinted on the torso and comes armed with Sting, An Elven Sword.

The Gollum minifig below looks impressive (I think it is quite similar to the one released in the Lord of the Rings sets), especially his facial expression and body shape that are accurate to how Gollum's countenance and posture is depicted in the LOTR / The Hobbit films. He comes armed with a fish?? hehe

Gollum armed with fish!

Assembling

There are basically only 2 structures: Gollum's boat and Gollum's Rock.

Gollum on his boat..All Hands on deck :)

I won't go into detail as it is very easy to build. Next up is Gollum's Rock.

Base of Gollum's Rock

Gollum's rock is more like a building structure that has 2 ends that can swivel in and out to hide the Ring. It is more apparent in the picture below which shows clearly the swivelling ends. You can attach the Ring to the rock.

"Get Away from my Precious!"

One cool thing is that among the extra pieces, you get 2 rings and 2 swords. The ring itself has some weight to it and is quite shiny and "precious". The only "gripe" is the ring size is too large in relation to the minifigs so it more closely resembles a bracelet or a set of brass knuckles that Bilbo can use to knock Gollum all the way to Mount Doom. But I do understand that if they did do it to scale, you probably wouldn't be able to see the ring.

A small set nonetheless but no less entertaining especially if you are a fan of the series and what better minifigs to get than these.

You can get it from major department stores where Lego is sold, Toys R Us stores, Amazon US, Amazon UK or Amazon France. Please do check the prices before you buy.

To those in Singapore, it is not worth your while to import this set as the shipping alone will probably bloat the cost too much past the retail price here. Perhaps if you bundle with other Lego sets or items, it may be worth your while.

Lego Review: Lego 9493 X-wing Starfighter

2013-01-06T00:11:00.002+08:00

With the arrival of the new year, I decided to ring in the changes to this blog to give it a fresher, cleaner look. I hope you like it. If you're wondering why the sudden rash of posts on Lego sets, it's because I decided to get off my butt and start building stuff!

To start us off in the new year, it's none other than my favourite Star Wars vehicle, the X-wing fighter!!

Box and contents

As you can see from the pic above, the box is colourfully illustrated and looks pretty impressive. Now let's open it up to see what is inside:

1st row: : Pack 1, Pack 3, Instruction manual
2nd row: Pack 2, Pack 4, Pack 5
3rd row: Lego Storage Box, Sticker sheet, survey promo card

The thing that's different here is there usually isn't a storage box included in Lego sets so I'm not sure if this is a Korean Exclusive. I happened to get this from a seller on GMarket (now renamed qoo10). Cool bonus though!

Minifigs

Included in this package are 4 minifigs, 2 droids and 2 pilots. First the droids:

R2D2, R5D8

That is exactly the same R2D2 figure that was in the Droid Escape set I reviewed earlier, along with a R5D8 droid. Same easy assembly, just pop the head on and the legs into the torso.

Next up, the pilots:

Luke Skywalker, Jek Porkins

You get Luke Skywalker and Jek Porkins in pilot uniform. The torso, hands and legs are the same, the distinguishing features are the helmets, the heads (Porkins has a beard and visor) and the weapons (Luke wields a lightsaber and Porkins a blaster)

Assembling

Following the manual, you start with Pack 1. I'm not gonna go through the building process step by step but I'm gonna show the progress as I went along. This is what the initial base of the X-wing looks like after step 22 Page 18 of the manual:

The progress after Step 22, Page 18

As you can see the parts are rather colourful, which helps you to identify different parts quite easily. End of Pack 1 is shown below:

End of Pack 1

Pack 2 onwards, you get to add more components to the base you created using Pack 1.

The following 2 pics below show how the tapered edge of the front of the x-wing is achieved. You attach this V-shaped portion as shown below:

V-shaped section added to main body

Next you swivel in the long edges of the V and secure it to the main body (as below)

Fast forward, this is what the front portion looks like completed:

Packs 3 and 4 contain the pieces to assemble the wings of the vehicle. The assembled wing looks like so:

Pack 3 contains 2 wings with the same orientation which you attach like so to the main body:

Pack 4 contains the pieces to the other 2 wings which are mirror opposites to Pack 3. All attached:

Now we're talking!! you can see the X-wing body at near completion.
On to Pack 5. Below shows rubber bands (2 in each cardboard pack, 4 bands in all) which you have to attach to the back of the vehicle.

Rubber bands

They are used to secure the top and bottom wings together else they will be loose and flap all over the place.See the bands strung on the black knob?

Securing the Wings

Next up are the jets, see assembled example:

The red translucent piece is to give the impression that the jets are fired.
All assembled below:

Jets on!

All that's left are the weapons: 4 guns and 2 proton torpedoes. An assembled gun looks like so:

Assembled Gun

And there you have it, a completed X-wing (below)

All raring to go!

Close up of the cockpit (this time with Porkins at the controls & R5D8 behind him):

Porkins & R5D8

Also in this picture, you can see the proton torpedoes (small stick with white rounded tip, resembles a microphone or a cotton bud), below the cockpit. Do note that the droid units (R2 or R5) are facing the side when you attach them to the vehicle, not exactly correct if I remember correctly but I'll let it go.

All in all, I really enjoyed building this. It took me slightly less than 3 hours to assemble (includes time taken to position the pieces for better camera angles).

Available (should be) at Toys R US outlets and major stores wherever Lego is sold. Of course, you can also check out Amazon US, Amazon France or Amazon UK.

Alternatively, you might want to hunt down the Korean version of this set if you want to get the free storage box (as shown below).

Lego review: Lego 9490: Droid Escape

2012-12-31T01:00:00.000+08:00

Lego has always been a favourite of mine since I was young. Back then, I remember there wasn't any tie-ins or movie or comic character related themes. I had a quite a big space ship set with predominantly white pieces. You could literally build whatever variation of spaceship with the parts provided, being limited only by your imagination or the parts.
Fast Forward 3 decades and Lego has literally expanded into so many different areas and has the license to do Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, DC and Marvel Superheroes etc etc theme sets. I really love what they're doing with the Mindstorms and Technic lines too.
Admiration from afar until I was brought back to the fold, so to speak, by the DC and Marvel Superhero sets. Like quicksand, I also caved in and started buying Star Wars sets. Droid Escape is the first Star Wars set that I've gotten.
I was drawn to it by how cool the sandtroopers minifigs looked and you can't go wrong with R2D2 too! (nevermind C3PO haha :D )
Enough small talk, back to the review!

The Package

This is quite a relatively small attractively packaged set (as shown below)

Basically, the package contains 4 minifigs (2 sandtroopers, R2D2 and C3PO), a speeder bike and the escape pod that the droids escaped on that crash landed on the sands of the planet Tatooine.

The Contents

Clockwise from bottom left, you get 2 packs containing parts, 2 larger pieces that are part of the cone of the escape pod, a sticker sheet and the instruction booklet.

Minifigs

For R2D2, you just connect his head and legs to his body, like so:

Nice detail for the paint job!

For C3PO, similarly, you connect his head and legs to his torso.

If you notice closely in good light, the paint job on C3PO is quite a shimmery gold. Kudos to the body detail too.

I deliberately did the before and after shot for the sandtroopers as shown below:

In addition to the usual head and legs, each trooper has helmet, a paper cape a rifle and some sort of backpack. These two are differentiated by their weapons(a blaster and a longer rifle) and their paper capes (one is orange, the other white). Great attention to detail was paid on the helmet, body and legs by Lego. The face even has stubble. Guess the Empire isn't sponsored by Gillette. What I don't love is the paper cape. It is pretty flimsy and can be torn easily so handle with care!! Would have preferred better material like rubber or cloth.

The Vehicles

First up is the speeder bike, which is quite easy to assemble:

Pretty sparse, but it does capture the essence of the speeder bike used in the movie. However, it only sits 1 minifig. They probably have to do Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock to see who gets to ride and who has to trudge across the dessert.

"Dude, that better not be a freaking Brompton!"

The Escape Pod

Being the bigger vehicle, definitely needs more assembly but instructions are easy to follow. Below pic shows one half of the escape pod assembly in progress:

The sticker sheet provided is to add detail to the completed escape pod as below:

Need to have a steady hand to handle the stickers especially if you are a stickler for accuracy. But you can restick them if you made a mistake as long as you don't rip them out too fast.

Overall, assembly shouldn't take you more than an hour even if you're half drunk or just really slow. I have an excuse, I was trying to position the toys to take nicer pictures hahaha :)

Overall, a nice set to own.

And I conclude with this parting shot:

"But Sir, Tolong! In my defense, there are no controls or brakes on this thing. Didn't mean to whack into that ERP gantry!"

Available at all major department stores, Amazon France , Amazon UK or Amazon US whichever is a cheaper option for you.

Dealspotting: Klipsch S4i earphones with iphone remote for only US$49.99!!

2012-12-22T22:39:00.000+08:00

Superfast post, so excuse the grammar etc. Now on Amazon Gold box offer - time remaining 1 and 25 mins or till stocks run out, Klipsch Image S4i earphones (with iphone remote) only US$49.99. Singaporeans, this means it is S$85 (including shipping to Singapore). Remember to click on View Gold Box offer and Add to Cart. Make sure it's US$49.99 before confirming. Hurry!!! Check Link below:

or you can click on the Gold Box link below and add to cart. Good luck!
Amazon Goldbox link

Dealspotting: Amazon UK is having a promotion on selected Sennheiser headphoness

2012-12-10T22:09:00.002+08:00

Amazon UK is having a great promotion on Sennheiser Headphones. From 5 Nov to 23 Dec 2012, buy any of the headphones listed in the link below and you can get £20 credited to your Amazon UK account for you to use on your next purchase with them.

Quite a good variety of models in the lineup here including IE8i and IE80 earphones, the top grade HD650, HD598 and the cool blue Adidas Original HD25 (Amperior variant).

Personal take on the great value for money buy is the HD598 priced at £129.99 (including Value Added Tax (VAT)). Speaking from a Singaporean perspective, add it to the cart and the VAT will be subtracted, so the price including shipping is a mere S$248. That's a huge 38% off the S$399 price tag in Singapore.

Did I also mention about the 2 year international warranty (except US and Australia which has different warranty conditions) that Sennheiser offers?
So What are you waiting for? To check out the whole range offered for this promotion, check out the link below!

Sennheiser Headphones Promotion - Get £20 to spend

Cyber Monday Deals & Save up to 20% off Lego sets at Amazon

2012-11-27T00:40:00.004+08:00

If you are like me, you would have been busy camping out on Amazon and other sites these last few days to zoom in on Black Friday Sales. Fret not if you missed out, you still have Cyber Monday which is today or at least what remains of it. Too many lightning deals for me to list out, you have to go to the link below and see what tickles your fancy. Remember if in doubt, Fastest fingers first! just add the lightning deal to your cart first then ponder it later. You would have 15 minutes to decide if you want to confirm your order.

Also, specifically if you are a Lego fan, you would like the following offer of at least 20% off selected sets listed at the link below. The top 2 picks for me are the Star Wars Imperial Shuttle (10212) and the Imperial Super Star Destroyer (10221).

Up to 20% off Select Lego

Or if Lego is not your style, try browsing through the Holiday Toy List for the kids or for the Kid in you :)

Those looking for bargains in electronics can check out the link below

Happy Holiday Shopping!

Pre-Black Friday Deal Spotting 2: Save $$, Shop for Blu-rays on the net!

2012-11-21T22:46:00.002+08:00

Tired of paying exorbitantly marked up prices to your local Video stores for blu-ray movies?? So was I, and I've long since stopped patronising the local stores in favour of on-line purchases. As mentioned before in my earlier posts, Amazon is a good place to start. Some of the reasons why you should do so?

For Blu-ray Region A discs that are sold on Amazon (although some are region-free aka playable anywhere in the world), The region is the same as that in North, Central and South American and Southeast Asian countries plus Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Korea. If you reside in these countries, the discs are compatible with your blu-ray player.
Very competitive prices where you can get more than 50% off Recommended retail prices in your country especially during sales like now.
Shipping rates are quite reasonable. For example, take shipping to Singapore directly from Amazon, the shipping rate starts at US$8.98 per title and goes down from there.Generally, the more you buy the cheaper it gets. But please check the shipping and price in cart before confirming the order.

One of the best times to buy is now, especially in the run up to Black Friday (this year it falls on 23rd November). Some good examples of discounts:
1. Sucker Punch: US List Price : US$14.98, NOW : US$3.99 (71% discount) Singapore Price: S$ 39.90

2. Alien Anthology (Alien 1 to 4) : US List Price : US$69.99, NOW : US$19.99
Singapore Price: S$ 156.76

3. Avengers (2 Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) : US List Price : US$39.99, NOW : US$15
Singapore Price: S$ 41.95

Just for your information and comparison, the current exchange rate is US$1 = approx S$1.28 (credit card currency rate). Even if you add the shipping cost, it doesn't take much to do the math and know it's a no brainer.

So what are you waiting for? Get clicking!

Tip: For a guide on how to create an Amazon account, you can refer to my earlier post : Refer to section: Step 2: Create an account with Amazon and follow steps 1 to 6,. For Singaporeans and non-US citizens, at Step 5, please enter your own Address in your country.

Pre-Black Friday Deal Spotting!

2012-11-18T17:04:00.000+08:00

Yup, you got it, Black Friday is coming up this Friday 23 Nov 2012. Time to warm up your mouse and keyboard for fast and furious action to click like you've never clicked before. Some stores have already started their sales early. You can already start checking up on deals on Amazon in the run-up to the day itself. You can bookmark the following link for that: Amazon's Black Friday Deals

Just wanted to point out a really excellent deal from Amazon on the Olympus XZ-1 prosumer camera.
Even for those who are not living in the US, if you don't mind buying a slightly older model prosumer camera and without a local warranty, This is going for only US$199. (about S$255). That's the price range you would pay for a basic camera and this is anything but a basic camera. For Singaporeans, even if you count in the shipping (via VPOST or Borderlinx or Hopshopgo), it should still be less than S$300 and it's retailing for S$500 here...

For Star Wars fans who have not snapped up the Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray] on blu-ray might want to take note. They just dropped the price to US$69.99 from about US$89

Good news for those of you who want to buy the original or prequel trilogy blurays separately. They've also dropped the prices for Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray] to US$29.99;

Same goes for the Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I - III) [Blu-ray] at US$29.99.

Hmm...it's actually cheaper to buy the trilogies separately, go figure. Anyways hope it whets your appetite for the shopping season. Have fun and go forth and shop!

Best Value Amp on the go: CMOY Bass Boost (BB) Portable Headphone amplifier V2.03

2012-08-04T17:49:00.001+08:00

CMOY ( abbreviation for "Chu Moy", so named after its creator) amplifiers have been around for more than a decade. In 1998, Chu Moy built a portable headphone amplifier and shared his design on the internet via the headwize.com website and generated lots of buzz among DIY audio enthusiasts. The original article can still be found here.
Fast forward to 2012, my interest was piqued when I recently came across a review for a modified version of the CMOY amp dubbed the CMOY Bass Boost. I read more reviews which were very positive so I decided to order 3 fully assembled set (I'm not much of a DIY guy when it comes to electronics) from its creator John Seaber from JDSLabs. 2 sets were for my fellow colleagues.
The basic set will cost you US$59.99 minus shipping. Shipping to Singapore only costs US$6.30 (via USPS First Class Airmail). The shipping was pretty quick and the following package arrived in the mail:

Each amplifier was neatly packaged in an anti-static wrapper like so:

Tearing off the packaging, you would be greeted by an Altoids Box! This is one of the most distinctive casings used for CMOY amps. I guess it's because it's cheap, quite hardy and the right size to fit the components. Do note that the package does not include a Line-out-Device (LOD) cable i.e. an interconnect cable with 3.5mm jacks on each end that you use to connect the amplifier to your audio source.

On the left side of the picture above, (From Left to Right) you can see the Power/Volume Control Knob, the 3.5mm input jack and the 3.5mm output jack.
When you open the cover to unravel the contents:

A very neat arrangement: on the left you have the Green Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with the components mounted while on the right you have the 9 Volt battery that powers the whole setup. If you look carefully at the PCB, you will see the Bass Boost toggle switch (it's the small black piece jutting out of the small white rectangle on the lower half of the PCB). Push the switch to the right to turn on the Bass Boost feature and push it to the left to turn it off.
Now all you need to do is to connect your audio source (MP3 player, CD player etc.) and your pair of earphones and headphones to start!

My Evaluation:

I connected my Grado SR60 headphones and my Ipod Nano (6th Generation) to the output and input jacks and turned the power / volume knob to the right.

First impressions? Wow!! Very pleasantly surprised by what I hear. In most of the songs I tried out, I could hear greater amounts of detail. The background instruments could be heard more distinctly and the music had more nuance. Vocals were clear and warm. Soundstage was well represented.

Just for your information, I listen to a variety of music: from Pop to Folk to Rock and most of the songs on the player were encoded in at least 160 kbps to 320 kbps bitrate.
Where the CMOY BB does not do as well is in Classical or instrumental music. Especially in songs/pieces that weave multiple instruments into a crescendo, the sounds comes out slightly muffled and not so well defined but that probably means.
However, it does not change my view that this is an excellent piece of engineering and definitely worth its weight in gold and then some!

I also tried it with my Shure SE215 earphones and the improvement in audio quality is evident too.

Bass Boost: I turned on the Bass Boost by toggling the switch and it does amplify the Bass. Bass becomes louder and more thumping so those who like Hip-hop and Dance music may love this option. Personally I find it too fatiguing for my ears to listen for long so I prefer to leave it off.

Personal Comparison:
Just for the record, I am not that new to portable headphone amplifiers as I also own IBasso D2 Boa and IBasso T5 amplifiers. When compared side by side (as below):

You can see that the CMOY BB is the biggest of the lot, followed by the IBasso D2 and the iBasso T5.
In terms of sound quality, I find the CMOY BB is at least on par if not better than the IBasso D2 and better than the IBasso T5. It isn't an apple to apple comparison as :

The IBasso T5 is a lightweight miniaturized amp that has an in-built charger. With greater portability, some sacrifices have to made in terms of components and sound but the gap is closing.
The IBasso D2 is also a USB DAC i.e. you can connect to a USB port on your computer and it becomes like an external sound card so you can listen to better audio on the computer.
The CMOY BB runs on a single 9 Volt battery. You have to replace it when the power runs out. Depending on battery to battery, some say that the 9Volt battery can last up to 20 to 50 hours on a CMOY BB. You have the option to buy single use 9 Volt (S$1.40 to S$4) can always buy rechargeable 9 Volts and compatible charger

What may shock you is when I compare the price I paid for each:
I bought the IBasso D2 a few years ago for S$239 (approx US$192) and the T5 less than a year ago for S$230 (approx US$185). I got the CMOY BB at S$86.53 (approx US$69). So if I make a call purely on superior audio quality at lowest price, then it would be a no-brainer.

My portable rig now:

I'm using an Ipod Classic Hippocase (modified) to house my Ipod Nano and the CMOY BB.
Verdict: An excellent, extremely affordable option for anyone who wants to achieve greater audio quality on the go. If you can live without a USB DAC function, do not mind replacing batteries regularly and are willing to carry an amplifier along, then this is for you. It won't replace a high end portable headphone amplifier (as yet), but it packs a lot of audio Bang for your Buck. Highly Recommended!

Where to get it: JDSLabs

Amazon Kindle Fire: Refurbished Sets only US$139 Today (29 March 2012) Only!!

2012-03-29T23:25:00.002+08:00

Bargain Alert: For Today Only (29 March 2012), Amazon's having a sale on refurbished Kindle Fires. At only US$139 per set, it is still worth a look. Do check out the link below if you are in the market for one.

Amazon: Refurbished Kindle Fire Offer

Kindle eBooks: Amazon is having a Kindle eBook sale till 25 Mar 2012

2012-03-21T00:46:00.000+08:00

Just a quick note to Kindle fans out there that Amazon is having a sale on Kindle ebooks from as low as US$0.99. Those interested please check the following link : The Kindle Big Deal is Back!!

Do take note that in order to buy books from Amazon if you are from Singapore, your Kindle settings must be United States (see my previous post on how to do that) and you must use a third party "proxy" software to make it seem that you are in the US. I will not be stating how it can be done, I leave that up to you to google.

Yes I know, I haven't been so prolific with new posts recently but I've been busy with errands and work (and a weekend trip to Bali). I'll try to post more as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!

Cerberus Mobile Security App for Android for free for a limited time only! (29 Feb 2012)

2012-02-25T23:05:00.002+08:00

Just a quick post to share with fellow Android users (Yes, I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy S2 mobile phone). Just found out that you can get the Cerberus mobile security app for free only for limited time (till 29 Feb 2012). See the following link for more details :http://bit.ly/zHJtRm

Instructions for download

1. Download and install the Cerberus app from the Android market,

2. Create an account with username and register your email with them.

3. Go to the following link: http://bit.ly/A8Skmp

to enter your Cerberus account name and email and wait for them to send you your free license code! (Do this by 29 Feb 2012 to get it free)

To test if it’s working:
1. Make sure you turn on GPS setting on your phone/tablet.

2. On your computer browser, go to the following link: http://www.cerberusapp.com
Enter Username and Password to login.

3 Make sure the “Command” = “Start Tracking” and click Send Command button

4. The map should refresh to show location of your phone/tablet.

5. If you try other options e.g. “Command” ="Take Picture" and click Send Command
The photo will be sent to the email address you registered with.

[Update 27 Feb 2012: This is quite cool, I just tried it out today and it works fine. Only Android users need apply. Verified working with Samsung Galaxy S2, Samsung Galaxy Note and ASUS Slider tablet]

[Update 06 Mar 2012: Here's how to check if the free license works:
All licenses for the promotion have been activated, here's what you have to do:
- Open Cerberus on your device and log in to access the configuration
- Check if the "Buy license" option is present
If it's still there, send an email to support@cerberusapp.com from the email address you entered into the form; otherwise, enjoy your free license! ]

Kindle Review (Kindle Touch Accessories): Amazon Kindle Touch Lighted Cover & Kindle Power Adapter (UK plug)

2012-02-18T20:04:00.000+08:00

Amazon Kindle Touch Lighted Cover

When you purchase your Kindle Touch (as with most devices like your IPads and mobile phones these days), you can choose from an array of options for cases or covers to protect your precious device. I decided not to get a screen protector since I would get a cover to protect the Kindle unit.

My criteria was to get a cover that affords sufficient protection from knocks (and other mishaps) and must look decent enough to me.

Browsing through the cover options available for the Kindle Touch, I came across the following cover:

It fulfilled the criteria plus it has a built-in light for reading in dim light! BUT at a price...at US$59.99 (~S$78), it is nearly 2/3 the cost of the Kindle Touch itself.

I spent time mulling over whether I should get it or a cheaper cover plus an additional clip-on reading light. I weight the pros and cons and decided to bite the bullet and get the Kindle Touch Lighted cover by Amazon.

What swayed the decision:

1. I definitely wanted to get an LED reading light to use with the Kindle Touch. The built-in LED light Amazon Lighted Touch Cover is a more elegant and compact option and it runs on the Kindle Touch's battery i.e. no need to buy more batteries in future for an external clip-on LED light. In addition to that, if I had gotten a separate clip-on reading light, there would be a greater chance that I would lose it too.

2. The build quality (at least from the website) looks much better than those offered by most 3rd parties

3. The cover looks more compact and elegant (see the simple lines) than other options I've seen and comes in Wine Red!.

In my earlier post, I did mention that I actually got it together with the Kindle Touch eReader itself so as to consolidate shipping using VPOST (3rd party shipper) to save costs. The Kindle Touch Lighted Cover came together with the 3-pin (UK) Kindle power plug in a separate package from the Kindle Touch itself.

The cost of shipping these 2 items was S$7.20 (This cost was due to consolidated shipping with the Kindle Touch eReader. You have to add S$13.40 base charge if this is the only package)

What was in the package:

As can be seen in the picture below, on the left is the cover itself (closed and viewed from the front) and on the right is a simple card which illustrates how to use the in-built reading light. The cover seems to be made of leather with rounded curves at the corners.

The next picture shows you the view when the cover is flipped open:

The left side of the cover feels like padded foam with the Kindle word inscribed. The right side of the cover is made from some sort of rubberised plastic case (some sort of exo-skeleton? haha) which is moulded with the grooves and curves to grip your Kindle Touch tightly. I suspect the 2 round points near the bottom is how the cover draws the power from the Kindle Touch's in-built battery to power the LED reading light.

The pic below shows the back view of the case (when closed). As you can see, the moulded cover has been covered with the same type of leather material as the front part of the cover.

Adding a cover will definitely add more bulk and weight to the Kindle Touch but I find it quite acceptable as it is still lighter than some paperback books.

However the cover is not built like a tank so don't expect that you can drop it from tall heights without the Kindle Touch suffering damage. It will protect it from minor mishaps and bumps but then the same can be said for most IPad2 and mobile phone covers.

The inbuilt LED reading light:

As you can see in the picture below, all you have to do to turn on the light is to flip out the arm in a clock wise direction.

The next photo shows the LED reading light in action in a pitch black room.

The truest test I feel is to use it in total darkness to see if the light really works well. As you can see from the photo, readability all the way to the bottom of the page is very good. Though you might want to angle the cover to a more upright position to avoid shining the LED light straight into your eyes as it can be quite glaring.

Verdict: The design is well thought out, the cover is quite well built and the in-built LED reading light works well, even in pitch black darkness. I really like the fact that the in-built LED light runs on the Kindle Touch's battery instead of needing to replace batteries on a regular basis.

However, if you do get one, do be careful with the leather parts of the cover. Avoid placing it near sharp objects when you place it in your bag. I have some scratches and indentations on the leather cover probably from contact with my house-keys or other objects in my bag. Overall, I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars! I didn't give it a perfect score as I believe Amazon should price it lower than US$59.99 and the leather parts of the cover scratch a bit easily.

Price: US$59.99

Where to Get it: Amazon

Amazon Kindle UK (Type G) Power Adapter

The Kindle Touch does not include a power adapter (cos it charges by USB) so I decided to buy one. Of course, I could have just used any USB compatible power adapter that I currently have from my other devices. However, I decided to play it safe and order the official Amazon Kindle adapter as I wasn't sure of the current rating and didn't feel like taking a chance of accidentally damaging my Kindle. There are different variations to cater to the compatible electrical socket in your country. I chose the UK (Type G) as shown below:

It arrived in the same package as the Lighted Kindle Cover.

Below shows an angled view where you can see the USB slot:

Nothing fancy, it looks quite like most other USB power adapters.
To charge your Kindle, just connect the micro USB end of the USB cable (included with your Kindle) to the Kindle and the normal USB end to this power adapter and plug this adapter to an electrical socket to charge.
One more picture below to show the close up of the power rating. It is rated at 100 to 240Volts AC meaning it can be used worldwide on your overseas travels. The output voltage is 5 Volts and the current is rated at 0.85Amps.

With regards to chargers, the Amazon Kindle User Guide does state the following:
"Your Kindle should only be charged using the USB cable included with the device, or another USB cable approved for use with your Kindle, with a compatible USB charger or USB port that meets the following requirements: USB-IF Battery Charging Spec, Rev 1.2."

From some forums, they say that it is generally safe to use compatible chargers with the same Output Voltage (5 Volts) and nearly the same output current (0.85 Amps to 1 Amp). However this is for information only and not a recommendation, you do this at your own risk!

Overall, not much to review except that the adapter works well and charges the Kindle faster (4 hours or less) than using the USB port on your computer.
Price: US$14.99 ( US$9.99 (Save US$5 if you get it together with the Kindle)
Where to buy: Amazon

Kindle ebook: How to read ebooks that are not natively supported on your Kindle.

2012-02-18T16:08:00.002+08:00

In my past posts, I did a review on Kindle Touch and also covered how to import it to Singapore.

Now that you've got a Kindle eBook Reader, it'll be useless unless it is loaded with content. If you are like me, you would probably have some ebooks on hand, some of which are not natively supported by the Kindle e.g. LIT (Microsoft Reader), ePUB.

Don't fret! Although the Amazon Kindle can only support some formats natively (Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively), there are softwares available that allow you to convert whatever ebook you have to be compatible with the Kindle. 2 good examples are listed below.

Calibre ebook software:
This is an excellent software available on multiple OS platforms that allows you to convert ebooks into nearly any format that is compatible with a whole range of ebook readers (Sony, Barnes and Noble's Nook etc.) For a full list of the formats supported, please refer to here.

Go to the download page
Click on your preferred version (Windows, Apple OS X, Linux or Portable) depending on the Operating System you are using. Portable version allows you to run it without installing it on any PC.
Run the installer and follow the instructions.
During the installation, if you are prompted for which eBook reader, Select Kindle 1 - 4.

How to use Calibre?
I'm not going to run into really detailed steps here as it is well documented on the site.
Some basic steps to use calibre:
1. Hook up your ebook reader to your PC/Mac (usually via USB cable).
2. Start up the Calibre program. The screen looks something like that below (the screenshot is from Calibre's Demo Page):

3. Click on Add books button on the top left menu bar to add the ebooks you want to add to the eReader and the calibre library

4. Select/Highlight the ebook entries listed in your Calibre Library and click Send to Device button.
5. If conversion is required, the program will ask if you want to convert it to the format supported, Click Yes if prompted.
6. To know if the action has completed, check if Jobs: 0 at the bottom right corner of the screen. If there are Jobs pending, Jobs will not be 0.
7. Eject / Disconnect your Kindle eReader, the eBooks you selected should be listed in your Kindle eReader Library.
# For Kindle readers, the program converts the ePub format into MOBI format.

For detailed screens and the video demo, you can refer to their Demo page on how to use the program.

They also have a useful help page that you can refer to.

The good news is Calibre is "donate ware". Meaning you can download and use it for free. It is entirely up to you if you want to donate money (via Paypal) to support the further development of the product.

K2pdfopt

I have encountered instances where the original PDF ebook is A4 or letter sized and if you just copy these files to your Kindle 6 inch reader, the words are too small to read.
Enter K2pdfopt, which is a nifty software that helps to resize PDF (or DJVU) format ebook files to fit the 6 inch ebook format i.e. make the words bigger for better readability on your ebook reader.

To get the software,

1. First, start up your internet browser and go to this LINK:

2. Click on the Download link on the left side menu bar.

3. Enter the 3 digit capcha code on the left

4. Now click on the version for your computer /laptop OS e.g. Windows 64-bit
5. There is no installation required. When the file prompts you to save, Save to your Computer desktop.

Simple steps to run the software:
1. Just drag your PDF or DJVU file and drop it on the K2pdfopt icon on the desktop and it will begin the process.
2. A command window will pop up and prompt for options, just type ENTER or RETURN to run with default settings.
For specific instructions on how to get started, customising the output etc. please refer to this link.

An FAQ page is also available for you to refer to. This software is freeware i.e. free to download and use.

Some things to note by using this software:
1. The file size of the resized pdf file generated will be much larger than the original file. (MBytes vs Kbytes)
2. You will not be able to select a word (to highlight, to add a note or find a definition ) when you use it on your Kindle as the resized file is actually compiled into a graphic format (bitmap) PDF.

#Practical Tip: If this isn't enough, Amazon has a page which lists some resources on how and where to get free ebooks for the Kindle

Hope the tips are useful so far! Have fun with your Kindle and Read on ! :)

Amazon Kindle Touch : How to import a Kindle eReader to Singapore

2012-02-13T00:21:00.000+08:00

As of the time of writing, Kindle eBook Readers have not been made officially available for direct shipping to Singapore. So in order to own a Kindle, you have to use a workaround which often involves getting friends who are going to the US to get one on your behalf or alternatively getting it shipped here using a 3rd party shipper who provides a US delivery address to deliver it back to Singapore for a fee. The following sections detail the specific steps on how to do this.

Step 1: Create an account with a 3rd party ("middleman") shipper

For more details, see the following link: a complete guide on how to do this (plus other tips on importing items from USA to Singapore)

Step 2: Create an account with Amazon

1. Go to Amazon. As below, click Start Here under the Sign In button to create an account.

2.In the next screen below, enter your email, select option: No, I am a new customer and click on the Sign in using our secure server button.

3. In the next screen, enter all details as requested and click on Create account button.

4. Once you've completed the registration, In My Account page, click Add New Address link below

5. In the next screen, fill up the details of the specific US Delivery Address as given by your 3rd party shipper (for VPOST, you MUST include your suite number VPXXXXX in the Address Line as stated in VPOST site. I suggest to open another browser tab with the address and copy and paste each field accordingly). Click Save & Add Payment Method.

6. To purchase anything from Amazon, you do need to add a payment mode. Here you can add a local i.e. Singapore Credit Card. Fill up all details accordingly. For a Singapore Credit Card, the Billing Address MUST be your Singapore Billing Address (i.e. the address to which all the credit card statements are sent to) else any attempted payment will be rejected! Click on Use this address button to save the info.

Step 3: Kindle Pre-purchase setup (This is the all-important step!)

1. Before you get excited and run off to purchase your Kindle, Navigate to the same Your Account page and scroll down, you will notice a section called Digital Content. Click on the Manage Your Kindle link as shown below.

2. The next screen will show you all the Kindle related settings. Click on the bottom-most link Country Settings on the left side menu bar.

3. In the following screen, click on Change (below Actions) on the right side of the screen. When presented with the list of countries, select United States as the Country and save the setting.

Now you're all set! You can now select your Kindle of Choice!

Step 4: Choose your Kindle

1. Select your poison from among the different Kindle models:
a. Kindle (WIFI) - US$79
b. Kindle Touch (WIFI) - US$99
c. Kindle Touch 3G (WIFI & 3G) - US$149
d. Kindle Keyboard 3G (WIFI & 3G) - US$139
e. Kindle Fire (WIFI) - US$199 (Unlike the rest of the Kindles which are greyscale/ black and white e-ink readers, this is a 7 inch full colour multimedia tablet that runs on the Android OS platform)

2. Click Add to Cart button. You can shop around for Kindle accessories if you want.

3. To proceed with the purchase, click Proceed to Checkout.

4. In the next screen, please verify that the credit card, delivery and billing address details are correct. If you are in no hurry and to keep shipping costs down, make sure you select the FREE Super Saver Shipping (5-8 business days) option - 5 to 8 business days is the average time it takes to deliver from Amazon to the 3rd Party Shipper's US address. Click Place Your Order to finalise the payment.

5. Now you wait till you receive notification that Amazon has shipped out the Kindle.

6. Once shipped, you can check the status of the shipping on your Amazon account page.

7. Next, you wait for notification from your 3rd party shipper that they have received your item. Login to that 3rd party shipper account and pay them the shipping charge so that they can deliver it to Singapore. This might take a few more days to arrive so be patient but trust me, it will be worth the wait!

Practical Tip #1: You may want to list the local shipping address in your 3rd party shipper account as your office address if no one is at home to receive the delivery during office hours. But do indicate if you can that it is an office address i.e. only open on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 6pm else they may go on weekends. Alternatively, you can leave it as your residential address and arrange for re-delivery if they issue you a delivery notice when you are not home.

Practical Tip #2: Although you have configured your Kindle under the United States, it does not mean that you can purchase ebooks from Amazon straight from the Kindle reader. If Amazon detects that you are outside of the US, they may suspend your Kindle account. There are workarounds to purchase ebooks from Amazon's Kindle Store. Depending on whether there are enough requests to provide the info. I may share this in future.

Amazon Kindle Touch: 3rd party shipper shipping costs

In this specific example, I have included the actual shipping bill which I got from VPOST for the Kindle Touch. See pic below.

There are 2 line items listed above.

The 1st line item is for the Kindle Touch reader itself which costs about S$17.90.

The 2nd line item is for the accessories that I ordered with the Kindle i.e. Amazon Lighted Leather Cover (which nearly costs 2/3 of the price of the Kindle Touch itself, OUCH!) and a 3 pin (UK G plug) Kindle power adapter to allow me to charge the Kindle reader using direct connection to a power outlet.

Shipping cost may also vary according to the model of Kindle that you decide to get - Chargeable Weight may be different if the package is a different size / weight.

* Please don't take these shipping costs as fixed. These may vary due to constantly changing fuel surcharges, exchange rates etc. but as of the time of writing, it is an extremely accurate estimate.

With that, I've come to the end of another post. Please feel free to leave any feedback, compliments or suggestions to improve etc.

As you may have noticed, I share all my experiences for free. If you do find the info useful, you are welcome to click on any advertisement that appears on this blog or click on any of the Amazon links on these pages to purchase stuff like the Kindle. I don't earn much (if anything) from these but I take it as a sign of support that people are really enjoying the articles that I've written. No obligations, you are welcome to read for free and lurk too :) To each his own, Cheers!

Kindle Review: Amazon Kindle Touch - Rekindling my love for reading

2012-02-07T23:34:00.002+08:00

I still fondly remember when I first started reading my first full-length storybook. When I was about 5 years old, my mom, in an attempt to wean me away from the TV, forced me to read a storybook (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer). Despite my initial resistance, I found myself enjoying the story.

Fast forward to the present, my love affair with books since then has always been considered an on-off affair. I decided to "re-ignite the spark" by getting an Amazon Kindle Touch eReader.

In this age of Internet tablets with full colour LCD screens and multiple functionality (Surf the web, read books/comics, play games etc), what is the justification to get a grey-scale dedicated ebook reader?
Here are some points I found when I compared it to my Apple Ipad 2 for the sole purpose of reading:

An iPad, though an excellent media device, isn't very good for long term reading as

1. it has a screen that is too reflective, which I find isn't very good on the eyes and your eyes will suffer fatigue after a while

2. its screen is hard to see in bright sunlight due to its own reflectiveness

3. the unit is too heavy and awkward to hold for a long time especially if you are reading in bed.

A Kindle e-ink reader, on the other hand, is better suited for serious reading for the following reasons:

1. it has a matte screen, e-ink technology is easy on the eyes even if you read for long spells

2. Since it is not backlit, it actually is easier to read when there is more light.

3. 6 inch model is much lighter than an iPad so it won't strain your hands to bring it nearer to your eye level.

An additional plus point for the kindle is the exceptional battery life: 1 to 2 months on a single charge!

Without further ado, let's get on with the review! As per the norm, let's start with the package:

To give you a perspective of size, I held it in my hand. A neat small package with a bevelled top. Opening the package, you can see the Kindle sitting snugly in the case:

The contents (as pictured below) of the box:

Clockwise (From left) the Kindle Touch, the USB charging cable (one end is normal USB and the other is micro USB) and a simple quickstart guide.

The Kindle Touch does not have many buttons except for the Power button and the Home button (the button made up of 4 black lines at the bottom of the front of the Kindle touch).
Below you can see the bottom panel (from left to right): Micro-USB port for charging / synching, 3.5mm Audio jack and the Power button. To the left and right of this panel, you can see the rear speaker grills.

Booting Up the Kindle for the first time
Press the Power button to turn the Kindle Touch on and you'll see the screen below:

You can see a status bar below the tree. Once it is loaded, the Kindle User's Guide will be the first thing you see, starting with Kindle Touch navigation basics. The page below shows where to tap on the screen to go to the next and previous page.

The next page shows you where to tap to show the Menu and tool bar.

The third page shows you how to open and use your library (of ebooks loaded to the kindle).

Very easy to navigate and quite an intuitive interface in all.

After the navigation pointers, you will be delving deeper into the brief and self explanatory Kindle User's Guide with all the useful information on how to get started, Device Dos and Don'ts etc. I'd advise you to take the time to go through this simple guide to orientate yourself on how to use your Kindle Touch.

Now you know why there isn't a hardcopy user guide included with the package as it is an included ebook. A stroke of genius on Amazon's part! As you read the guide it also serves as good practice on how to navigate between pages of an ebook.

Once you've finished running through the Kindle guide (or if you're the impatient type), press the Home button to bring you to your library. As shown below:

Other than the Guide, the Touch comes default with 2 dictionaries : Oxford Dictionary of English and the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Registering your Kindle

If you have a WiFi network setup at home, all you have to do is to hook up the Kindle Touch to your home WiFi network. (The wireless adapter on the Touch is switched on by default)

To start joining a network, from the top bar on the Kindle screen, Tap the Menu button.

The following menu screen will appear:

Next, Tap the Settings option. You are now presented with the following options:

Tap the Wi-Fi Networks option. You will now see all the active Wi-Fi networks that the Touch can detect in the vicinity.

Identify and select your WiFi network and tap the Join button. You will then be prompted to enter the Password for your WiFi network like so:

Type in your network password and tap the Connect button. Once you have successfully joined the network, the WiFi icon (waves) appears at the top right of the Kindle screen (as below).

If your network is connected to the Internet, the Kindle Touch will automatically try to register itself. If the registration is successful, you will see something similar at the top left of the Kindle Touch screen: <Name>'s Kindle on the black bar on the top left of the screen. If a Kindle is not registered, the words on the black bar will state My Kindle.

If you want to view Amazon's Kindle ebook Store, just tap the trolley icon to the left of the search bar.

And you're set! All you have to do is load eBook content to your Kindle. This can be done in 2 ways:

Manual Copy: Connect the Micro-USB end of provided USB cable to the Kindle Touch and the other end to a PC/Laptop/Mac. The Kindle will appear in Windows Explorer (or Finder if you are a Mac user) as a USB storage. Just copy ebooks to the Documents Folder. eBook Formats supported natively: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC
Purchase eBooks from Kindle eBook store and let it magically be transferred via Amazon Whispernet directly to the Kindle Touch (WiFi and Internet connection must be on).*

*Practical Tip: Before you get too excited and try to buy ebooks from Amazon straight from your Kindle, please take note of the following restrictions:

If you reside in a country (e.g. Singapore) that Amazon does not have Kindle support, you will not be able to see the Kindle eBook store or purchase eBooks from it (at least not without a workaround)
To be able to view the eBooks in the Amazon Kindle store on your laptop/PC/Mac browser or on your Kindle Touch, your Kindle country settings (which can be set prior to purchasing the Kindle) must be set to a country that supports this feature e.g. United States. To be safe, your Amazon account delivery address should also be set to a valid address in that country.

Amazon Kindle eBook Store on the Kindle Touch

If it is the first time you have accessed the Kindle Store on your Kindle Touch, you will see the following message:

Once updated, the Kindle ebook Store front looks something like this:

As you've noticed, it is a smaller greyscale version of the store as compared to when you view it on your home computer browser. To follow a link or view more details of a book, just press on the option(s) you want.

Reading

Once you have loaded content into the Kindle, it appears in your library. In the example shown below, say you want to read 60 Minute Expert: Wine, just tap on the title to read the book.

The reading page will look like what is shown below:

Add Note, Highlight or Find definition of a word:

To activate these features, just tap and hold onto it till the definition pops up like so:

The definition is shown as above. To Highlight the word or Add a Note, just select the corresponding button. The Kindle Touch has the distinct advantage of speed over its non touchscreen Kindle counterparts in that one just needs to tap-and-hold directly on the word in question whereas for non touchscreen the reader is required to use the Keyboard or D-Pad navigation to move gradually to the word.
You've already seen how to navigate between pages. To exit the pages of the ebook to the Library screen, press the Home button. If you return to this ebook later, the Kindle will remember where you last stopped reading.
Other Functions of the Kindle Touch

There are a few other functions namely Web Browser, MP3 Player and Text-To-Speech that are listed under the Experimental option of the Menu. To access the first two functions, make sure you are in the main Library page. From the top menu bar, Tap the Menu button and the following menu appears:

Tap on Experimental. The next screen shows you the three named functions.

Web Browser:

Select Web Browser option and you will be shown a list of pre-loaded bookmarks (as below)

Say I choose Yahoo Mail and press it. The following screen appears:

Of course, you can also enter your own URLs when you are in the browser page. As seen above, don't have high expectations for surfing on your Kindle Touch. Perhaps only if you really have to check mail or something that doesn't require colours / videos.

MP3 Player:

I guess this function was included more as an afterthought because the implementation is half-hearted at best. But Yes, you can play songs and music as you read. You can copy songs on it via the included USB cable connected to your laptop/PC/Mac. No software is required to sync the songs over, just copy them to the Kindle's music directory which will appear when the Kindle is connected to a laptop/PC/Mac. The player interface when activated looks like so:

At the bottom of the screen, you can see extremely basic functions like Previous/Next song, Play/Pause,Volume Control and an Off button to turn off the player. There is a built in speaker at the bottom of the Kindle Touch so it works even if you do not connect a pair of earphones/headphones to it but the sound buzzes at higher volumes. As I said, Don't expect much. Anyway there is only 4GB of inbuilt non expandable storage on the Kindle Touch so reserve it for ebooks!
Text-To-Speech (TTS):
This function is activated from within the pages of an ebook. Once you are on a page, tap the top of the screen to see the top menu bar and press Menu. The screen below appears:

Tap Turn On Text-to-Speech option. Soon you will hear a voice dictating the words on the page you are currently on (example shown below):

You can select the gender ( Female/Male) of the speaking voice, Speech Rate, Volume and Off button to turn off the TTS. The page will automatically advance with the voice and the voices aren't as bad as the really robotic voices I used to hear in the past from some automated systems but it still sounds digital. It also fails to pronounce certain words correctly especially non-English words (for e.g. it said Sake instead of Sa-Ke when describing the Japanese Liquor). Overall, I find the dictation "soulless" as there isn't much life to the vocalisation which I put down to the current limitations of the technology. It definitely won't replace Mom and Dad's bedtime story telling, at least not in its current incarnation.

I did not get a chance to test Kindle's X-ray feature as I do not currently have an Amazon ebook that has this feature enabled. I also was not able to test the Audio Book feature (Audible) as I do not have one on hand.

Verdict: If I were to judge it purely on its primary function to read eBooks, then it would be close to perfect.
Lots to like here:

e-Ink screen is clear and readable (in visible light)
navigation is very straight forward
battery life looks to live up to what is promised (even with occasional use of WiFi so far I haven't had to charge it since I got it in the mail)
the lightweight and compact form factor of the Kindle Touch and its 4GB of internal storage means you can carry a lot of eBooks along with you wherever you go
Easy to load content into the Kindle via a drag and drop USB interface to your PC/laptop/Mac with no additional software required (unlike ITunes)
Many ebook formats supported (other than the natively supported formats, other formats that can be converted to use on a Kindle Touch using software, I will touch on this in another post)

The experimental features like the Web Browser, MP3 Player and Text-To-Speech are passable, good to haves but nothing to shout about. My only gripe is that in order to read in dim light, I have to buy an additional reading light which may be in the form of a Lighted Cover (see my upcoming post for a review) or a clip-on LED reading light. I believe an LED reading light could have been built in to the Kindle itself but for whatever reasons (perhaps to keep the costs of producing the Kindle Unit down or to create more revenue from Kindle Accessories or a combination of both as I suspect) it is not.
Nearly forgot to mention that I got the version that displays Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers on the Kindle screen when the unit is left idle. This is US$40 cheaper than the one without ads. It isn't a bother to me as these do not interfere when you are reading.
Overall based on my Kindle experience so far, I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The age of the eBook reader is well and truly upon us!

Price: US$99 (version with ads)
Where to get it: Amazon
[Updated 19/02/2012: with actual links to related posts below]
Stay Tuned for related Kindle posts such as my experience in importing a Kindle to Singapore, A Kindle Touch accessories review and how to convert eBooks for use with your Kindle.

iRobot Roomba 550 Robot Vacuum: A cleaner without social problems

2012-02-01T09:00:00.001+08:00

I had ordered my new house helper the IRobot Roomba 550 in November 2011 but only received it just before Chinese New Year due to overwhelming demand.
My Wife and I considered the following factors before purchasing this unit:

We are both working so it is not easy to always maintain that level of House Maintenance especially when you are tired on the weekends.
Even if it could keep the floors 80% clean, it would be better than 0% clean.
It can be scheduled to clean so it can work while we are working too (:D).
Freeing up one cleaning task meant we could put our energy into other tasks
Being a robot, it doesn't have the usual social problems with maids: no need to train on how to do work, no need to worry if the maid steals or if she brings her boyfriend back to our place secretly for hanky panky etc.

The guy who delivered the unit spent some time to demonstrate how it works and showed us the parts that need to be maintained. I had initially ordered the Roomba 560 Model with an additional Aerovac bin (optional for the 560 model) but the guy offered us the Roomba 550 as it was essentially the same thing with a different colour and with more accessories (more brushes and filters).
The box looks like so (a simple but attractive package):

What's in the box? The Roomba unit itself that looks like a very fat frisbee (seen here with the docking base and charger (world voltage 120 to 240V so no need for a voltage transformer)).
Practical Tip #1: Charge the Roomba for 16 hours before using it for the first time.

..And the Accessories:

Clockwise (From top left): 3 x Aerovac bin filters (blue), the brush cleaning tools(red), The manuals & starter guides, 2 x Virtual Walls (yes, i know they resemble liquor flasks) and finally 2 spare sets of Roomba brushes

The below pic shows the bottom view of the Roomba. Here you can see the navigation wheels, triple blade attachment that helps to sweep dirt into its path to clean and the chamber that contains the cleaning brushes.

Opening the chamber, you can remove the cleaning brushes for maintenance or to replace.

Aerovac Bin
The Aerovac bin is an optional accessory with other models but comes standard with the Roomba 550. The image below shows you how to detach the bin from the Roomba Unit (Press the button and pull towards you)

The Aerovac bin (seen below) stores the dust, dirt and hair etc. that the Roomba unit cleans from the floor. Notice the Aerovac bin filter (in blue) fixed inside the bin. After 1 or 2 cleaning sessions, take this bin out to empty the dust clumps into the rubbish bin else the next time the Roomba runs, it won't pick up as much dirt.

Virtual Walls (Setting the boundaries):
The Roomba 550 comes with 2 virtual wall units (no, no, they still remind me of liquor flasks). Virtual walls come in handy when you want to set up barriers just before rooms or areas that you do not want the Roomba to go into. For e.g. in front of stairs, in front of bathrooms etc. In my case, I use it to set boundaries to restrict where the Roomba can go (say only half of the house) so that the Roomba can concentrate on cleaning in that particular area.
Of course, you can alternatively put a big object to block the Roomba from going to a particular room (DUH!).

Top view of the Virtual wall:

As shown above, the direction of the arrow embedded on the top beside the green light is where the beam will emit from and you can activate the beam by toggling the switch on the right away from the Off position.

If you open the casing (as below), you can see that each virtual wall unit is powered by 2 "C" cell batteries. I've been advised to use Alkaline batteries instead of rechargeable (e.g. NiMH - Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries as they can maintain the current needed to power the Virtual Wall unit better.

Alkaline batteries I've been told can last an average of 4 months (depending on your usage) before you need to replace them.

Real Life Performance:
Ad-hoc Cleaning:
To start cleaning on an ad-hoc basis, just press the round "CLEAN" silver button on the top panel of the Roomba and the Roomba will move out of the base station and do its magic. It will automatically navigate around the obstacles it finds and slows down when it senses it is heading for impact with an object in front of it. When the Roomba's batteries are running low, it will find its way back to the Docking station to recharge.

Scheduled Cleaning:
You can set the any day and Time of the week that you want the Roomba to run (of course this assumes you have already set the clock correctly on the Roomba).
How to setup a schedule?

As shown above, Hold down the "Schedule" button with one finger and use another to click on the "Day" button to set which day of the week you want it to run. To set the time, while still holding down the "Schedule" button, Use another finger to press on the "Hour" button to set the hour followed by the Minute button to set the exact minutes. When finished, release the "Schedule" button and that particular schedule is set.
In this way, you can program the Roomba to function any day of the week even if you are not at home, it will go by itself. Now that's what I call Automation!

The following video is a demonstration on how the Roomba cleans and navigates around obstacles:

Spot cleaning:
If you want to clean a very small area of say within a 2 metre radius, you can make use of the Spot cleaning function. Just press the semi circular "Spot" button above the "CLEAN" button on top of the Roomba to activate this function.
The following video shows how spot cleaning works:

Verdict: So far the experience has been positive. The Roomba is simple to use and yields decent results. The floors are mostly free from dust but not all the dirt on the floor is picked up all the time as it depends on the movement pattern that the Roomba decides to take. Due to its size, it cannot reach into tight corners and cramps areas like behind room doors. If you do not find it in its docking station when you get back from work, you may have to hunt around the house for it. It has gotten stuck once into a position that it could not get out from. When that happens, it sounds an alert and a female voice will announce"Error, please move the Roomba to a new location to start" (or something like that). What influences the final decision for you will probably boil down to the convenience it affords versus how tedious you find the maintenance (of the bins, brushes and batteries) and if it is worth your while. So far, I like the convenience and like the feeling of walking on clean floors. My Personal Rating : 4 out of 5 stars

Practical Tip #2: Remember to make sure there are no small personal items on the floor before you start the cleaning or before the schedule starts so that they don't get sucked up into the Roomba.

Practical Tip #3: If you do import a Roomba (US voltage) from the US to use in Singapore, you will need to buy a Voltage Step down transformer to step down the 240V power outlet to 120 V else you will fry the unit.

Price: Really depends on where you buy the unit from. If you don't have a distributor near you, you can get it from places like Amazon or other online retailers.

If you live in Singapore, you can get it locally from irobot.com.sg * (official irobot distributor for Singapore) or if you don't mind getting it cheaper from a parallel importer, you can get it from Autovacstore which is where I got my Roomba. For an additional S$11, they offer you their own 1 year warranty. My experience with Autovacstore was very positive. The staff who came to deliver the Roomba was polite. He demo-ed how to use the Roomba, explained about the maintenance and answered all my queries. They also offer other models of robot vacuums if the Roomba 550 is not what you are looking for, check it out here.

*Do take note that the official local distributor has a strict policy about not entertaining any replacements or repairs if you did not buy the unit from them. You have been warned!

That wraps up another post. I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far. If you have any feedback, comments, questions or queries, you can use the comments section at the end of any post and I will try to respond to you as best as I can. Of course, any compliments are welcome !

or you could just click on any Ad or buy something using my amazon links to show your support :)

Mac Mini (2011 version): Pimp Your Mac Mini!

2012-01-26T00:27:00.001+08:00

It was inevitable. Now that I have a Mac Mini (add coolness factor +10 points!), what now? Time to pimp it out! Precisely because the Mac Mini doesn't come with all the bells and whistles of its Mac family counterparts. you are free to mix and match to whatever pleases you. Woohoo!

Keyboard

I was using a standard Logitech wired keyboard (windows layout) for a while with my Mac Mini when I got to thinking of getting one with a Mac Keyboard layout. I wanted a wireless (to reduce the clutter of wires on my desk) full sized Mac keyboard. That ruled out Apple's own options like the Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and the Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard (which doesn't have a numeric keypad).

After reading reviews, I chose the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac.

It fulfilled all my criteria plus it could automatically recharge itself using solar technology which even works with ambient room light. Excellent! Unfortunately, the local distributor in Singapore does not sell it here so I had to import it from the US.
It came in a no frills packaging :

Opening up the package to reveal the contents:

It is so eco-friendly that the Getting Started instructions are printed directly on the packaging! A very thin keyboard with flat buttons (similar to Apple's bluetooth keyboard) but with a strip of solar cells across the keyboard ( see the dark colour strip on top of the keyboard).
As with most mid to high range Logitech Mice and Keyboards, it comes with a Logitech Unifying receiver as shown below.

Plug it into any available USB port on the Mac Mini in order to communicate wirelessly to the keyboard. One Unifying receiver is all that's needed to communicate with multiple Logitech devices that fall under the Unifying umbrella, saving you the need to use up multiple USB ports. It also means you have more "incentive" to stick with the Logitech family.
Flipping the keyboard around, it is endowed with 2 keyboard "legs" to raise the top of the keyboard such that it slants towards you when you place it on a flat surface. Below pic shows you one leg extended.

How it looks like together with the Mac Mini:

Now all you need to do is to download the Logitech Control Center for Mac from the Logitech website and the Solar App to show on screen the power status of the keyboard.

The Solar App can be downloaded free directly from the App store (New feature of OS Lion is the integration with the Apple App Store).
Price: US$59.99 (approx. S$76) before shipping. Shipping to Singapore via 3rd party shipper (in this case, Vpost) costs about S$20 to S$30
Where to get it: Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard - Mac
Verdict: For me, my only initial gripe is that the flat keys took some getting used to as I was expecting a keyboard with full sized keys which I'm more used to. The keyboard is very responsive and the solar recharging works like a charm (aka plug and forget) which is a huge plus for me not having to worry about getting batteries to replace. My personal rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Mouse
Yes, I suppose I could have stuck with Apple's Magic Mouse. White, Slick and endowed with Multi-touch but I was looking for a wireless mouse with at least 2 physical buttons(to right-click for real) which could be used on multiple types of surfaces and could be recharged easily. Enter the Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX. It is a right-handed Mouse that is compatible with a PC and Mac, employs "Darkfield" tracking which enables better tracking on difficult surfaces like glass and can be recharged easily.
The box looks nifty:

Opening the cover, you see the mouse and the Unifying USB wireless receiver encased in plastic:

The fact that it is also under the Unifying umbrella means I am able to reuse the same receiver that I used for my Wireless Keyboard mentioned above. What does the box contain? Right below:

The mouse and wireless receiver are on the top left corner, the power adapter plug ( US pin layout but world voltage 120 to 240 V) on the top right corner. On the bottom left, you have the quick start guide and software CDs and on the bottom right, you have a USB extender cable and the USB charging cable. The package also includes a pouch much like a pencil case to house the USB cables and power plug.

To start using the mouse, flip it over like so:

Next, pull the arrow shaped piece of paper labelled ("Pull") out. The rechargeable batteries are now in contact with the battery terminals and you can start charging it for first time use.

Recharging the mouse:

Notice that at the front of the mouse, there is a mini USB port. This is where one end of the USB charging cable goes to. The other end can be connected to 1 USB port on the Mac Mini or to the Power Plug Adapter which can be plugged into an electrical socket to charge.

If you charge it through the Mac Mini, it resembles a wired mouse (see below) and the mouse can continue to be used. If the 3 green lights stop blinking, it means the mouse is fully charged.

I won't go into details on how you install the Logitech Control Center which is pretty straight forward, For that you can follow the Getting Started Guide that comes with the mouse.

Darkfield Tracking: Does it really work?

I do not have a glass table at home to try on, so what I did was I tried this out by using the shiny LCD screen of my Ipad 2 as a mouse pad. The following video might give you an idea of how effective Darkfield is:

Price: Yes you can get it locally in Singapore but it costs a whopping S$185 (US$138) !! Holy Markups, Batman! If you are willing to forego warranty, you can get it for US$69.99 (approx. S$94) before shipping. I got mine at US$49.99 (approx S$67) before shipping during the last Black Friday sale on Amazon. Shipping to Singapore would be about S$20 to S$30 via a 3rd party shipper like Vpost

Verdict: For me, my main gripe as experienced by some reviewers on Amazon is that the battery doesn't last very long (maybe at most a week) if the mouse is left on all day even when not in use. Optionally, You can turn off the mouse (switch is on the bottom) to extend the battery life. Performance wise, the ergonomic shape of the mouse means the curves fit my right hand nicely and the mouse has some weight to it which can be reassuring to some people but a bother for others who prefer a lighter mouse. The buttons are very responsive and the cursor movement is very sensitive. ~~The scroll wheel is of the "loose" kind i.e it can be spun quite easily~~ [Updated 30 Jan 2012: My Bad, I didn't realise the button just below the scroll wheel allows you to toggle between a "loose" scroll wheel (where you can actually just spin the scroll wheel and let it go) or a "tight" scroll with slower but more controlled movement, Brilliant on Logitech's part to allow people to configure their preference ]. The recharging feature using the USB cable was a brilliant master stroke on Logitech's part as it means you still can use the mouse (like a wired one) while it is being charged. My personal rating is 4 out of 5 stars. There's still much to like about the mouse but it would have been better if the battery life was much longer. I guess that's the trade-off for better tracking using Darkfield Technology which is probably what's draining the battery so fast. Hope Logitech improves on this in successive models.

Practical Tip #1: As always, try to buy during a sale to get these cheaper. Black Friday and Cyber-Monday are always good times to go online shopping.

Practical Tips for Vpost: If you reside in Singapore and thinking of using Vpost to ship these items from the US, here are some money saving tips:

If you order items in multiple shipments and they reach to Vpost's USA address at about the same time, Vpost only charges you the Base charge (S$13.40) of the first shipment. The 2nd shipment and above are not charged.
Please remember that if the total cost of the item(s) in one shipment plus any insurance and shipping charges (vpost charges included) exceeds S$400, you have to pay an additional 7% GST on that total amount.
If it is the first time you are shipping using vpost, try to make use of the credit card promotions that may give you up to 20% off. For future shipments, if the vpost shipping cost is S$40 and above, there is also a 10% discount for some of the credit cards too. Check the bottom of this page for Credit Card Promotions for Vpost

Hope this article sheds some light for those thinking about adding such peripherals to your Mac devices.

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