Using Android phone's camera as webcam for PC and Mac with Iruin

Not long ago, I wrote about DroidCam which can turn the camera on your Android smartphone into webcam for your Windows or Linux computer, to be used in Skype, Zoom, and other applications that utilize a webcam.

The main limitation of DroidCam is that, right now, it does not work with Apple's product. You cannot use it to capture and stream video from iPhone or iPad, nor use it as webcam in iMac or MacBook.

Not to worry, because there are alternatives to DroidCam that can also work with Apple's product, such as Iruin.

Similar to DroidCam, in order to make use of the camera of your smartphone as webcam for your computer with Iruin, you will need to install the Iruin webcam app in your phone, and then install Iruin webcam software in your computer.

• Click here to install Iruin from Google Play Store
• Click here to install Iruin from Apple App Store

and then

• Click here to download Iruin for Windows
• Click here to download Iruin for Mac
• Click here to download Iruin for Ubuntu

Iruin is very easy and straightforward to use. It has a very clear-cut Settings page too.

It is simple, yet powerful. It's free version can support high resolution and even 4k video (3840 x 2160). I found its video brighter, clearer and finer than DroidCam too.

To use Iruin as your webcam, just select "Iruin Webcam" as your video camera source. Below is an example of how to set it in Zoom.

You might probably also be interested to read about:

• Using Android phone's camera as webcam for computer with DroidCam

Huawei Watch blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) measuring feature

Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) is a feature in the latest Huawei and Honor smart watches.

Image from Huawei's website

This feature is available in the Huawei Watch GT2 sold in China, but had somehow been disabled in that model sold in the international market. Anyhow, this feature has now been enabled to Huawei Watch GT2 sold outside China as well, following its firmware update version 1.0.6.26 and above (latest firmware version as of now should be 1.0.6.32).

SpO2 represents an estimation of oxygen levels in a person’s bloodstream. According to description in Huawei's website, "blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) is one of the important vital signs that can reflect the oxygen supply of the body. Very low levels of SpO2 can result in serious symptoms such as lack of energy, fatigue and light-headedness."

Under normal conditions, a healthy person should have an SpO2 level between 90 and 100.

The heart of an average adult normally pumps about 5,000 ml of blood per minute to the tissues and organs of the body, delivering about 1,000 ml of oxygen per minute to the body. Body function will be affected if the oxygen is at low level, causing hypoxemia and even hypoxia problem.

There are 2 types of hypoxemia. Acute hypoxemia occurs over a relatively short period of time, while chronic hypoxemia is ongoing over a longer period.

Common symptoms of acute hypoxemia include: shortness of breath, rapid breathing, wheezing, cough, confusion, headache, fast heart rate, and bluish colour in skin, fingernails and/or lips.

Common symptoms of chronic hypoxemia include: pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale (enlargement of right-side of the heart), heart failure, and polycythemia.

People who are having a higher risk of hypoxemia should regularly check their SpO2 level. You are one of them if you are:

• always on a busy work schedule
• working or living in a stressful environment
• working in a situation that needs to use a lot of brain everyday
• located in a place of high-altitude (with low atmospheric pressure)
• elderly people (with decreased body function)
• snoring a lot or having sleep apnea problem (might cause respiratory obstruction)
• having heart defects
• having lung conditions, including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, corona virus infection, etc.

Huawei SpO2 sensor technology makes it easy to measure SpO2 level, anytime, at any place. Clinically, SpO2 level is measured using arterial blood gas (ABG) test, pulse oximeter, etc.

To measure SpO2 with a Huawei / Honor watch or band that supports the feature, just keep your arm still, fasten the strap tightly, and make sure the screen is facing up. Then, swipe on the screen for the SpO2 function, and start your measurement. It will take about 1 minute to complete.

Using Android phone's camera as webcam for computer with DroidCam

You need a webcam in order to do video conferencing, or to do vlogging, or to perform online talks, ...

You might have a desktop computer with a monitor that without a camera (which is usually the case), or you need a better camera than the one on your laptop (which usually has a low resolution), or you need a replacement for your malfunctioned laptop camera, or for whatever reason that you need a webcam for your computer, wait a minute and read this before you go and purchase a physical webcam, because you can turn your Android phone into one.

DroidCam is a solution to let you make use of the camera on your Android phone to become the webcam of your computer running on either Windows or Linux operating system.

It has a pretty low hardware requirement, so you can easily turn your old Android phone with a functioning camera into your webcam. Of course, it is even better when you run it on Android phone with better specs.

All you need to do is download and install DroidCam Wireless Webcam by Dev47Apps from Google Play Store, and then download and install DroidCam client into your computer.

• Download webpage of DroidCam for Windows
• Download webpage of DroidCam for Linux

Beside video, DroidCam is also able to optionally stream audio from the microphone of your phone to your computer.

DroidCam can connect and stream to your computer either through WiFi, USB or HTTPS connection. WiFi is the preferred one, as it is the easiest to setup and use.

When you run the DroidCam app in your phone, you should be able to see its connection information, including the internal IP address of your handphone, and the DroidCam server port.

By default, DroidCam is using the back camera of your phone (which usually has a better spec than the front camera). You can switch it to the front camera in DroidCam setting.

If you run the DroidCam Client in your computer with the IP address and port number as shown on the DroidCam app in your phone, and click the Start button, you should be able to see the video captured by your phone's camera in DroidCam Client.

For example, before clicking the Start button in DroidCam Client, there is no webcam video shown in Skype. It will show a blue or green background.

After clicking the Start button, Skype will immediately captures the webcam video.

Note that Skype install through Microsoft Store is not working with DroidCam. If you encounter this problem, just uninstall Skype and install the Skype desktop version from the URL given below. It should work then:

• https://www.skype.com/en/get-skype/

On your DroidCam screen in your phone, you can also find 2 HTTPS links.

The first link is accessible from your web browser such as Google Chrome, and it will open up the DroidCam web client.

The second link is accessible with video streaming client, such as VLC Media Player. The setting for VLC Media Player is as below:

DroidCam has a feature to allow you to protect your HTTPS access with username and/or password.

DroidCam is free for use, with in-app ads support. You can also buy DroidCamX Wireless Webcam Pro in Google Play Store to remove the ads and to get more features.

You might probably also be interested to read about:

• Using Android phone's camera as webcam for PC and Mac with Iruin

Yoodo provides free weekly additional 1GB data plan until end April 2020

Currently, Malaysia is undergoing a Movement Control Order (MCO) to prevent the widespread infection of COVID-19 corona virus. Most people are ordered to work from home.

In view of this, Yoodo has announced to provide free additional 1GB data plan on every Monday to all their active users. This free additional 1GB data is given automatically, and users need not do any setting to enjoy the free data.

The first additional 1GB data has been allocated on Friday 20 March 2020. Thereafter, on every Monday of every week until 27 April 2020, active users will automatically get another additional 1GB data in their plan.

Note that if you did not subscribe to any Yoodo data plan during the period, you will still get this free 1GB data as long as your account is still active. However, the 1GB data will not be seen in your Yoodo app's dashboard.

If you have an active data plan, you will be able to see 1GB added on top of your remaining data quota in the dashboard screen. However, the 1GB free data will not be added to your total data plan value.

In the example above, the active data plan is 2GB, and 0.03 GB has already been used. The remaining is 1.97GB. Then, the additional 1GB is added, so the remaining is now 2.97GB instead.

Unifi Mobile #bebas prepaid provides 7 days FREE unlimited LTE data pass during 2020 Malaysia Movement Control Order period

Currently, Malaysia is undergoing a Movement Control Order (MCO) to prevent the widespread infection of COVID-19 corona virus. Most people are ordered to work from home.

Unifi Mobile has just announced that they are providing a 7 days FREE unlimited LTE data pass to all their  #bebas prepaid users.

Note that this 7 days FREE unlimited LTE data pass, namely BEBAS Weekly, is not given automatically, and you have to subscribe to it from within the mobile@unifi app.

All you need to do is to tap on the BUY NOW! button at the bottom of the screen, go to the Data menu, and select BEBAS Weekly at the price of RM0.

I believe after 7 days, when this free data pass is expired, you can go to the same place and subscribe for another 7 days, until this option is eventually revoked from the menu.

Sciener A2F fingerprint smart digital door lock

Locks and keys have been used for decades to safeguard access to the door, for those with the valid key to unlock it only.

Traditional mechanical locks to lock/unlock with physical keys work great. However, their main disadvantages include:

• Inconvenience for the necessity to carry the key.
• The key can be duplicated.
• The key could be lost, stolen or seized. Anyone with the key can lock/unlock the door.
• The lock could be picked open by using special tools, without using the key.

Typical smart digital door lock is in fact a mechanical lock, with digital keys (well, there is another type of electromagnetic lock with digital keys too). Its main advantages include:

• Not necessary to carry physical key.
• Each person can be assigned a unique key, which enable tracing of who has used the key to unlock the door, by what time.
• Key can be easily generated, and also revoked, by using software method.
• Key could be replicated to multiple devices belong to the same authorized person.
• Time based (the key can only be used during certain time period) or event based (the key can only be used once) access control is possible.

Digital key can be in the form of:

• Biometric: fingerprint, palm, face, iris, voice, vein, ...
• Passcode
• Digital signature key pair
• ...

And the data transmission methods between the key and the lock can be of:

• Physical contact - fingerprint, palm, vein, ...
• Computer vision - face, iris, QR code, ...
• Voice recognition - voice
• RFID
• NFC
• Electromagnetic wave - Infrared, Bluetooth, WiFi, ...
• ...

The Sciener A2F fingerprint smart digital door lock is a product that combines security and convenience. It supports multiple unlock ways, including:

• Fingerprint
• Smartphone app unlock (eKey)
• Smart watch (eKey)
• Passcode
• RFID card (touch access card, wristband, MyKad, Touch n Go card, credit card, debit card, other brand's RFID access card)
• Physical backup key (for emergency purpose)
• Smart speaker voice assistant command control (require WiFi Gateway module)

Sciener lock management functions - including assigning new key, key revocation, key management, key usage monitoring, user management, lock behavior setting, etc. are all done using the Sciener Smart Lock app available for free download in Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The Sciener A2F fingerprint smart digital door lock has a pretty elegant and modern look, adding aesthetic to the door.

It is operated with 4 AA size batteries. Its battery consumption is pretty low, and the batteries in it can last for many months. The battery compartment is located at the lock behind the door, with a single button to open its cover.

The electronic components inside the Sciener smart digital door lock is illustrated as below.

(Picture from Sciener's website)

The Sciener app communicates with the lock using Bluetooth. Communication between the app and the lock is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. The smartphone running the app needs to be near to the door lock (within Bluetooth communication range of 10 meters) for most of its function to work.

Optionally, the app can also communicate with the lock through Internet via a Smart Gateway module. In this way, you can use the app to access to the lock from anywhere, by using Internet connection.

After a new lock is installed, it needs to be paired with a user registered with Sciener. The user is identified by email address and/or phone number, and the user account is stored in Sciener's cloud database. The user info is automatically synchronized between the Sciener cloud and the mobile app login with a valid account.

That first user will automatically become the Authorized Admin to the lock, which has full access to all its functions and settings. The Authorized Admin can appoint other users as Authorized Admin to co-manage the lock. He can also revoke the Admin rights of the other Authorized Admin.

In the event when the property is sold to another person, the Authorized Admin can transfer the ownership of the lock to another user.

The lock has an internal clock, which when its time is synchronized with the smartphone clock of its Authorized Admin, the admin can use his Sciener app to generate new passcode or send eKey to other users to unlock the door, at any time and any place, even without the need of communicating with the door. The clock, settings and records of the lock will be synchronized with the admin's Sciener app from time to time, whenever they are connected with Bluetooth (i.e. when the admin's smartphone is at home with Bluetooth turned on to communicate with the door lock).

Sciener eKey and passcode can be created with the following time limit settings:

• Permanent - can be used all the time until revoked.
• Timed - valid from a defined start date and time until a defined end date and time.
• One time - can be used to open the door once only.
• Recurring - can be used within a time period during the defined day of week (e.g. every Monday only, every weekends only, etc.)

The passcode is automatically generated, but can also be manually changed to a number that can be easily remembered. Changing to manually created passcode need to be done near the lock with Bluetooth connection.

For fingerprint and RFID access, it can be:

• Permanent - can access all the time until revoked.
• Timed - can access from a defined start date and time until a defined end date and time.

All the door unlock records are stored in the lock, and the admin can view the records in his Sciener app.

With these multiple ways of flexible keys assignment to multiple users, Sciener A2F fingerprint smart digital door lock is very suitable for use in:

• Family
• Office
• Shop
• Rented residence
• Short stay
• Airbnb / homestay
• Hotel
• ... any other places you can think of

You can unlock the door even without carrying anything (by using fingerprint, or punching passcode at the lock's keypad) or by using your smartphone, smart watch, RFID card, etc.

The lock admin settings that can be configured in the Sciener app including:

• Changing the default admin passcode used to unlock the lock.
• Allow/disallow the lock to be unlocked remotely via the WiFi Gateway. When this is configured properly, you can even open the door using Sciener app when you are far away from home.
• Set the timer for the lock to auto-lock itself after unlock, in any seconds.
• Set the time period when the lock will be auto unlocked by itself - the Passage Mode. This is useful for shop or office environment to allow general access during day time, and keep the door locked during night time.
• Set the lock to feedback with sound when operated, or be silent.
• Synchronize the clock of the smartphone with the lock.
• Retrieve records from the lock to the smartphone.
• Perform lock firmware update. 

Sciener app is designed to be very flexible. A single app login with a single user is able to paired with multiple Sciener locks. You can also create grouping to the locks for easier maintenance. Each of the locks will have a user definable name for identification.

Note that certain digital door lock can be easily hacked and unlocked with a small device called Tesla Coil black box. Being an industry leader, Sciener is aware of this and their locks, at least the latest version of their locks, are immune to Tesla Coil attack.

Another common security concern is brute force trial-and-error on the passcode. Sciener lock's keypad is designed to stop working for a period of time after 5 attempts of wrong passcode entry. while the keypad is temporarily locked, the lock can still be opened by using other methods such as fingerprint, RFID card, physical key, etc. This makes the lock hack deterrence and yet fool proof.

Instruction manual for Xiaomi Redme AirDots TWSEJ04LS true wireless earbuds

The Xiaomi Redme AirDots TWSEJ04LS true wireless earbuds looks very identical to its cousin Xiami Mi AirDots Basic TWSEJ02LM.

The key different between them is that Xiaomi Redme AirDots has a large physical button on each of the earpieces, while the Xiami Mi AirDots Basic is using touch sensitive surface instead of physical buttons on its earpieces.

The Xiaomi Redme AirDots TWSEJ04LS features a 7.2mm dynamic driver, Bluetooth 5.0 support, and IPX4 rated waterproofing.

Despite selling at a very affordable price, its sound quality is pretty much satisfactory. It is able to produce strong punching bass, energetic treble, and lively vocal.

Before using the product after unboxing, remember to remove all the plastic films and stickers on the earpieces. The plastic films are isolating the earpieces from getting power charge, and need to be completely removed to ensure you can re-charge their built-in battery properly.

The casing itself is also a charging dock for the earpieces. You can find a USB port at its outer surface for charging purpose.

To re-charge the earpieces, put them in place inside the casing, close the cap, then connect the casing to a USB charging source.

When charging, you can observe a dim LED light in front of the casing. The LED is red when charging, and turns into white when fully charged. The white light will automatically turn off itself after 1 minute.


Using the earbuds:

To use the earpiece,  press its button for 1 second to turn it on (white LED on the earpiece will light up).

To turn off the earpiece, press its button for 5 seconds (red LED will light up for a while).

Use your handphone's Bluetooth function to search for Redmi AirDots_R to do pairing. No pairing password is needed.

You can use the earpiece either in left ear only, or in right ear only, or in both ears. When both are used, you can get stereo sound effect. If only one of them is used, it will be running on mono mode.


Resetting the earbuds:

If you find anything not functioning well, you can try resolve the problem by resetting the earbuds.

First of all, take out both the earbuds from the casing, and then proceed to turn them off.

After that, press the earbuds button for 15 seconds respectively. When you see the earbud's LED is alternating between red and white, put it back into the casing. It will then be reset and all previous settings will be restored to factory default.

You will need to redo the Bluetooth pairing with your handphone before it can be used again.


Features and functions:

When there is incoming phone call:

• Press the earbud's button once to answer the call
• Long press the button for 1 second to reject the call
• Double press to toggle between mute and voice
• When in a call, press the button once to hang up the call

When there is another call coming in while you are already on a phone call:

• Press the button once to answer the other call, and put the first call on hold
• Long press to reject the second call
• Double press to switch between the 2 calls

To listen to music played from your handphone, when not in any call:

• Press the button once to listen to music with the phone's default music player
• Press again to pause the music

To call up the handphone's virtual assistant, when not in any call:

• Double press the button to call up virtual assistant (Siri, Google Voice Assistant, Xiaomi XiaoAi, ...). After that, you can issue command to your phone by talking to the virtual assistant. For example, you can ask it to open up Google Maps and guide you to a destination. You can use the earbuds to listen to the turn-by-turn driving instruction with voice navigation.

Upgrade Huawei Mate 20 series from EMUI 9.1 (Android Pie) to EMUI 10 (Android 10)

Huawei has already released the new EMUI 10 firmware with Android 10 to its Mate 20 series smartphones by now.

However, you might not be able to find it under the normal Settings > System & updates > Software update section of EMUI 9.1.

You will need to ensure your Huawei Mate 20 series handphone has been updated to the latest version of EMUI 9.1 (Android Pie). Then, you can proceed to search for EMUI 10 by using the HiCare app and perform the firmware upgrade from EMUI 9.1 to EMUI 10.

After you have open the HiCare app in your phone, make sure it has the latest version first. Go to Me > Settings > Check for updates. Your HiCare version should be 10.0.5.341 or above.

Then, go to Services > Update > Check for updates. You should be able to find EMUI 10 and perform the upgrade there.

Using handphone to pay Selangor & KL street parking and parking compound with Smart Selangor Parking mobile app

The traditional ways of paying street parking to municipal council is no doubt inconvenient, be it using the parking meter or parking coupon.

Using parking meter means you need to get ready some shillings, park your car, find and walk to the parking meter, feed the parking meter, print out the receipt, walk back to your car and display the receipt on your car's dashboard.

If you need extra time, you have to wait until the parking period on the receipt is about to expire, then rush to the parking meter, feed it and print out another receipt to be displayed on your car's dashboard.

Using parking coupon means you need to buy the coupon from its sales agent, estimate your parking time, scratch the parking coupon(s) after you parked your car, and display the coupon(s) on your car's dashboard.

If you need extra time, you have to walk back to your car, scratch additional coupon(s) and display them on your car's dashboard.

With the initiative from Smart Selangor Delivery Unit (SSDU), now you can pay for street parking in Selangor state as well as in Kuala Lumpur area by using their Smart Selangor Parking mobile app, available for download in Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

In addition, you can also pay for parking summon compound in Selangor state and Kuala Lumpur area using the same mobile app.

Although the user interface of this Smart Selangor Parking app is quite ugly looking, it is indeed a very handy app for you to pay street parking and parking compound in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. You can use it to monitor the remaining time before your parking period expire, and use it to extend your parking period with ease too!

This app supports payment to multiple councils in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, and it is able to detect your location and automatically decide which council you should pay your parking to.

The supported councils are:

• Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ)
• Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKJ)
• Majlis Perbandaran Klang (MPK, newly added recently)
• Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ)
• Majlis Daerah Kuala Selangor (MDKS)
• Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS)
• Majlis Perbandaran Sepang (MPSepang)
• Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA)
• Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ)
• Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL)

Before using the app to make payment, you need to reload it in a similar way you reload other e-wallets in your phone. Note that the money you loaded into the Smart Selangor Parking app cannot be withdrawn at this moment, so it is not recommended to load too much money into it.

Then you need to register your car number plate in the app. You can in fact register up to 10 number plates under one user account in this app, and select which car number plate to pay for the parking when you use it to make parking payment.

Despite there are still many rooms for improvement in this app, I still strongly recommend it to car owners in Klang Valley area, as it is really very convenient to pay for the parking.

Using Boost to make cashless payment at merchants that accept UnionPay QR code

One year ago, Boost, the e-wallet operated by Axiata Digital, has announced its partnership with UnionPay.

Now, the UnionPay services in Boost e-wallet is finally launched! If you activate the UnionPay services in your Boost account before 31 December 2019, you can get RM3 cashback from Boost.

To activate the UnionPay services, tap on the UnionPay New Payment Service under Explore Exciting New Features in Boost's Home screen.

Then, tap on UnionPay Malaysia under Enable other Payment Services, and follow the instruction to enable it.

Don't worry, if you don't like the UnionPay services in Boost, you are given the toggle to disable it.

With the Boost UnionPay services, you can make cashless payment with Boost at all merchants that accept UnionPay QR code. You just need a handphone with active Boost account with enabled UnionPay services, and no need to have any UnionPay card or UnionPay account to make such payment.

Payment using UnionPay in Boost is similar to using Boost QR code payment. Both modes of you scan the merchant's QR code or the marchant scan your payment QR code are available. The payment amount will be deducted from your Boost e-wallet accordingly.

In Malaysia, UnionPay is widely accepted in airports' duty free shops, hotels, Chinese restaurants, e-commerce marketplaces, convenience stores, and other places that display the UnionPay acceptance signboard.

If you are not a Boost user yet, you can download the Boost e-wallet app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store. When you register a new Boost account, remember to use this Invite Code foocnm9 so that you can get RM3 cashback after your first spending of RM10 in a single transaction with Boost.

Note that you can load Boost e-wallet using BigPay prepaid card, which in turn can be loaded using your credit card, debit card or bank online transfer. In this way, you can earn AirAsia BIG Points from loading Boost with BigPay.

Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost

If you are looking for a way to use your credit card to repay your PTPTN loan or to top-up the SSPN-i fund of your kids, you've found the right place here!

The idea is pretty simple: use your credit card to load up your Boost e-wallet, and pay your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i with Boost.

 

The following payment targets are currently supported by Boost:

• PTPTN Konvensional
• PTPTN Ujrah
• PTPTN SSPN-i
• PTPTN SSPN-i Plus

If you also have an AirAsia BigPay account, you can make use of the following way to get the best out of both e-wallets while paying your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i using your credit card.

First of all, make sure you have enough balance in your BigPay account to make the payment. If you have insufficient balance, load it with your credit card. Your BigPay e-wallet can store up to RM10,000 in it.

After that, in your Boost e-wallet, set your BigPay Mastercard as your top-up source.

Your Boost e-wallet can store up to RM1,500 in it. For every RM10 Boost top-up you made using BigPay Mastercard, you will earn 1 BIG Point in your AirAsia BIG Rewards account. If you reloaded RM1,500 into your Boost e-wallet using this method, you will get 150 BIG Points.

Before you proceed to make your payment in Boost, you can look for any Mission available in Boost that is relevant to your payment to be made, such as the one as shown below.

 

Remember to activate your Mission first, before you proceed to make your payment. You will have chance to earn some money by completing Mission in Boost.

To make payment to your PTPTN and/or SSPN-i account, go to "Do more" menu (tap on the Boost's heart shape icon on the top menu), and tap on "Pay Bills".

Search for PTPTN / SSPN-i under the Loans list. Currently they are listed at the very bottom of the page. You can make use of the quick search function inside the Select Utilities page to seek for them.

After that, just follow the on screen instruction to complete your payment. Note that RM1.00 will be charged by Boost and deducted from your payment amount.

Your payment should be reflected in your PTPTN / SSPN-i account within one working day, and you will receive a notification email from PTPTN as confirmation of your payment made.

Note that you can join the SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus lucky draw contest if you top-up your account now.

Lastly, remember to repay your credit card when your statement comes. You can earn some cashback using this method if your credit card is of cashback type. Note that not all cashback credit cards are giving cashback for AirAsia BigPay reload and/or Boost reload. If you are using credit cards that give reward points, you can earn some reward points instead.

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WhatsApp tips: how to make the message text become bold, italics, strike through and/or monospace

Feeling bored with the plain WhatsApp text and want to make it livelier with bold, italics, strike through and/or monospace?

In fact, this is a built-in feature inside WhatsApp.

To make bold effect, put an asterisk (*) at both side of the text that you want to bold.

The make italics effect, put an underscore (_) at both side of the text that you want to italics.

The make strike through effect, put a tilde  (~) at both side of the text that you want to strike through.

These formatting effect is not only can be used for alphanumeric characters, but also can be used for Chinese characters as well.

You can also combine the effects onto the same text, such as bold and italics.

There is another formatting which change the text's font into monospace. But the effect is not so obvious, and it has no effect on Chinese characters.

To change the text into monospace font, put three backticks (`) at both side of the text.

It would be nice if WhatsApp can include the underline effect as well. But currently, I am unaware of any support from WhatsApp to underline its message text.

My Realme C2 budget phone with Color OS 6

Realme is a brand of OPPO. Realme C2 is a decent budget phone which you can get at the price of slightly below RM400.

Realme C2 is a successor of C1. I would say it is an alternative option of C1, which both of them are identical in terms of actual performance, which in some areas C2 is slightly better than C1 and some other C1 is slightly better than C2.

The 2 main differences are that C2 is using Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 (12 nm) chipset and running on Android 9 OS, while C1 is using Qualcomm SDM450 Snapdragon 450 (14 nm) chipset and running on Android 8.1 OS.

Its size of 6.1" is big enough to have a screen suitable for elderly people to use after the font size is configured to be the largest.

Although it is a budget phone, it has pretty well performance with just a little bit of speed lagging compared with those flagship phones for normal applications. Its back cover is pretty nice and modern looking too. Therefore, it is also very suitable for kids and for people that just need a decent phone.

The Realme C2 comes with 2 options of specification: one with 2GB RAM & 16GB storage, and another more expensive one with 3GB RAM & 32GB storage. Bear in mind that the actual usable storage for the 2/16GB option is only around 6GB. The other 10GB was already used by the system and OS. It has a dedicated slot for microSD and supports external storage up to 256GB.

This phone only supports 2.4GHz WiFi and does not support 5GHz WiFi. However, it does support dual SIM 4G LTE.

It has a normal 13MP f/2.2 main camera working together with a 2MP f/2.4 camera for depth sensor. At its front is a 5MP f/2.0 camera, not a good option for people who loves selfie, but still usable.

Its Color OS 6 has a Control Center with big icons, provides convenient and easy access particularly to elderly people.

Color OS 6 also comes with  the Android App Drawer, which you have a choice to switch it on or off.

It's home screen has a handy smart sidebar for quick access to your favourite apps, which you can access by swiping from the side of the screen. The apps listing in the sidebar is configurable. You are also given the option to switch it off if you don't want to use it.

The phone has all the essential features in Android 9. It has quite a number of security related functions.

The anti-harassment/fraud function is actually the call and/or SMS blocking function. It has interesting features such as blocking of one-ring incoming calls, which you might not find in other phones.

The Realme C2 4,000 mAh Li-Po battery can last for more than 1 day for normal use.

One thing I dislike is its battery saving feature, which I think is too over. It always kill a lot of background running processes and apps, which might stop automation app and widgets from working after a while.

A lot of tweaking needs to be done to find the way to let the automation app and widgets continue working at normal even when the phone is in sleep. Smart Power Saver will always kill them off. You need to use Custom Power Consumption Protection option, and manually configure each of the apps for them to be able to continue running in background, and to automatically start when the phone starts.

All in all, this is a nice phone with high performance/cost ratio. Most apps (including the not so resource demanding games) can run pretty well on it, also I found Facebook is quite slow (takes a few seconds) in launching up in it.

My UGREEN LP144 gravity handphone holder for car CD/DVD slot

Handphone holder (a.k.a. phone cradle) is a very handy and useful gadget when we want to hold our phone in our car at eye level.

One of the common use case is when we use our handphone for navigation on Google Map, or Waze, or some other similar navigation apps.

There are generally 5 types of handphone holders available in the market:

• CD/DVD player slot holding type
• Air-cond vent fin clipping type
• Suction mount type which attached onto the windscreen
• Standing type putting on top of the car front panel
• Rearview mirror attaching type

I would recommend the first 2 types, because they can take advantage of your car aircond blowing to cool down your phone. If you attach your phone onto the windscreen or put it on top of the car front panel, the sunlight will heat it up to a high temperature, which is unfavourable to the phone and its Li-ion battery.

Depends on the design of your car front panel, you can choose the more popular air-cond vent fin clipping type, or the CD/DVD player slot holding type.

My UGREEN LP144  gravity handphone holder of car CD/DVD slot holding type costs at RM20++ and has a simple packaging.

This is how it looks like (front and back).

 

As you can see from the picture, it has 3 rubber pads to be inserted into the car CD/DVD slot to hold it firmly. The big button at the back of the center rubber pad is used to align the rubber pads for insertion and removal.

This handphone holder can still be used even when there is CD/DVD inside the player. It would not affect the CD/DVD playing.

I have chosen it because of its special 3 arms design, whereby when the lower arm is pulled down, the left and right arms will contract. When you slot in your phone, the weight of the phone will pull down the lower arm, forming a strong grip by the side arms.

As such, it can hold your phone firmly, and you don't need to be worried about the phone fall off the holder when you are driving on bumpy road.

This holder can fit for handphones with width up to about 8.3cm. If the phone is too large (for example, the Huawei Mate 20 X with width of 8.54cm), then might not be able to fit in.

For my car, the phone is sitting at the position just nice to be cooled by the air-cond behind it.

The only thing I dislike about this product is that, it will produce rattling sound when you are driving on uneven road, and there is no phone put on it. This is caused by its plastic arms knocking onto the center part and producing the noise. Anyhow, this problem does not exist when there is a phone put on it.

If the manufacturer can enhance its design by putting a layer of thin soft sponge at the knocking points which produces the noise, then it will be a perfect product.

T-Max full glue 3D tempered glass for curved edge display screen handphone

If you have a handphone with dual curved edge display screen, such as the Samsung Galaxy series of Note 8, Note 9, S8, S8 Plus, S9, S9 Plus, ... or the Huawei Mate and P series of 9 Pro, 10 Pro, 20 Pro, 30 Pro, ... or some other similar phones, you will need to be more cautious in selecting a screen protector for your handphone.

Due to the curve nature of the screen, curved edge tempered glass is a much better choice to fit for the phone than plastic screen protector.

Certain curved edge tempered glass only has adhesive at the curved surface, leaving the flat surface of the screen non-sticky. This will greatly reduce the touch screen sensitivity and is a big no-no. It will also cause "rainbow effect" which is a big distraction to screen viewing.

Certain tempered glass tends to attract dirt and dust at its edge, which is also a kind of annoyance.

Certain tempered glass when applied, would not fit well with the phone casing.

I find the T-Max full glue tempered glass for curved edge display screen handphone, when applied correctly, would not have these common problems and is good to use.

This tempered glass is to be applied with adhesive for full coverage on the flat and curve surfaces. The liquid adhesive needs to be dried with UV light. A UV lamp is included in the package.

It fits seamlessly on the phone, fits well with the phone casing, has a crystal clear display, does not affect touch sensitivity, and the phone's on screen fingerprint scanner can function well.

It also has a layer of smooth oleophobic coating, which will repel water droplets and reduce fingerprint left on the screen.

Installing this T-Max tempered glass on the phone will need some skill. You can watch the video below to see how it is done.