Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Get back the Start Menu in MS Windows 8.1 with the free IObit Start Menu 8

Microsoft has removed the Start Menu since version 8 of the Windows operating system. The Start button at the bottom-left corner of the screen now acts as a toggle between Windows Desktop and the Metro UI interface.

If you are using MS Windows 8.1 and you miss the Start Menu in previous versions of MS Windows, you can get it back with 3rd party software.

I use IObit Start Menu 8 to achieve this, as it is free, and very easy to customize and use.

This is what you can get with IObit Start Menu 8 installed in Windows 8.1:


The appearance of Start Menu can be configured to use the Default Theme, Classic Windows 7 Theme, or the Windows 8 Theme.


You can also select your favourite Start Button, as it is configurable.


Similar to the Start Menu in Windows 7, you can customize how the links, icons and menus look and behave on this Start Menu.

With this, you can get back your user experience in using Windows operating system the same style as before.


Thursday, June 12, 2014

FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 soccer match schedule

The FIFA World Cup Brazil has just started and will last for one month until 13 July 2014.


You can look up to the schedule of all its matches in this website:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html

The time shown on the webpage is Brazil local time. Just click on "change to your time" to switch it to your local time. Remember to adjust the date yourself because the date shown on the webpage will remain as the date in Brazil.


Sunday, May 25, 2014

Impact of Malaysia GST to Investors

Malaysia is expected to implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 1 April 2015 at the initial rate of 6%. The cost of a lot of things will be affected, including investment vehicles and products.

I believe nowadays everybody deals with banks. How the GST will impact our deposit, interest, loan, credit card, bank charges, etc.? Refer to the table below.

The next of our concerns is our investment in the local stock market and unit trust funds. The brokerage and clearing fee will be affected, but not the stamp duty. The impact on unit trust funds is more severe, so your fund manager has to work much more harder to bring you a good profit after minus all the charges and fees and now the additional GST imposed.


How about insurance policies? Your premium paid to life and education policies will not be imposed with GST, but it seems that most if not all other insurance policies are affected. Note that general insurance products including car insurance, house/fire insurance, accident insurance, etc. will be affected too.


For those who invest in precious metals (gold, silver), jewellery, collectibles, etc., if you trade with the physical product, you are affected.

If you trade with a gold/silver investment account with a bank without touching on the physical product, you are probably not affected.


A 6% GST of PAMP Suisse 100g gold bar selling at RM14,000 will be RM840, quite a big sum.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Sending my kid to learn WeiQi (Go) at N-World Go Academy

WeiQi (a.k.a. Go, 围棋) is a kind of strategic chess game originated from ancient China.


I just found out that there is a WeiQi academy for kids called N-World, operated by a small team of young people. They have classroom in Setapak and Puchong.

They offered a trial class, and my son seems to like it. Therefore, we signed him up for the WeiQi lesson, which we believe will provide good training to his brain as well as personality.

If you are also interested in N-World Go Academy, here is their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NworldGo.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The worst reason in the world to buy anything is just because someone else did

How many times you can find yourself buying something as a result of just following the crowd or because someone else did?

It could be a hand phone, a gadget, a book, a music album, a drink, a food, a car, a property, or even an investment instrument (stock counter, futures, forex, mutual fund, etc.).

Why is it being the worst reason in the world to just follow someone else to buy something? Well, the keyword in the sentence is "just".

It is really a bad idea to blindly follow other people, particularly in buying, without your own reason(s) to do so.

Always remember the saying: one man's food is someone else's poison.

So, do not simply buy a stock just because Warren Buffett bought it. You need to find several other reasons to convince yourself before making the order.

Do not simply buy a property just because people around you have bought theirs. You need to assess your own financial situation, your gut feeling about the property, your planning, your willingness to manage it, etc.

Do not simply buy certain brand of smartphone just because people around you are using that phone. Have you find out the pros and cons of the phone? Have you find out the features and map them to your own need? Have you compare it with some other alternatives?

A lot of time, if we chose that worst reason in the world to buy something, we might end up buying the wrong thing, or buying the unnecessary, or even buying a nightmare. This is particularly true in the investment world.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

EPF i-Account Android app launched

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP) has recently launched their Android mobile app called EPF i-Account, which is now freely available in Google Play Store.

You can click here to download the EPF i-Account app from Google Play Store.

It is an HTML5 based mobile app, which you can login your EPF i-Account with the same username and password which you've setup in the web-based EPF i-Account at https://secure.kwsp.gov.my/secured/member/login/

The EPF i-Account Android app enables us to view our EPF account status and the monthly contributions detail. The EPF statements for current year and previous year are also available.

We can also see our personal profile info stored with EPF.

Other features are listed as in the screenshot below.


Currently, the EPF i-Account Android app can only be used to view information. It doesn't have function to make withdrawal request or make change request.

This app is currently having Malay language user interface only.

So far, more than 10,000 people have already installed the app. Have you?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

BNM to postpone execution of 50 sen cheque processing fee from 1 April 2014 to 2 January 2015

There is insider news from local media that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will soon announce a postponement of the execution of 50 sen cheque processing fee from 1 April 2014 to 2 January 2015.

About one year ago, I have written here that BNM reduced  the processing fee of Interbank GIRO (IBG) money transfer performed online via internet banking or mobile banking to 10 sen only, effective 2 May 2013.

At the same time, BNM intended to discourage the use of paper cheque by imposing a processing fee of 50 sen per cheque transaction on top of the existing 15 sen stamp duty, making the transaction per cheque to cost 65 sen to be borne by the cheque issuer. This is supposed to start soon on 1 April 2013.

Now, we are glad to hear the news that this policy will be postponed until year 2015.

In my previous article, I ended by saying that BNM really need to think through carefully before enforcing the "discouraging mechanism" of using cheque in order to get people to use electronic money transfer.

Now that after one year, we are still having a lot of questions which need clear direction, including:

  • We can write cheque that honours a large amount of money transfer, such as hundreds of thousands to millions. How will this be handled in electronic transfer, which only allows a small amount of money to be transferred per day?
  • We can have current account that requires 2 valid signatures on the same cheque before it is honoured. How will electronic transfer handle the requirement for co-signature?
  • In certain scenario, we can make use of cheque to act as deposit/guarantee, which is kept by the recipient but will not be banked in immediately. How can electronic transfer handle this kind of requirement?
I hope that BNM can at least come out with a list of FAQ with answers, before the cheque processing fee is imposed, be it on 1 April 2014, or 2 January 2015, or other date.


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Rooting the HiMedia Q5ii Android TV box

You might wonder why you need to root the Android TV box in the first place. Well, I also never thought about this, until the recent Chinese version of Q5ii firmware taken away the Google Play Store, and I need root access to restore the Google Play Store in the HiMedia Q5ii Android TV box.

In order to gain root access of the HiMedia Q5ii from your computer, you need to put connect them to the same local network. Then, as usual, you'll need the famous Android Debug Bridge (ADB.exe) which is distributed in the Android SDK Tools in Android Developers website. All Android developers and/or hackers should already have this Android SDK Tools in their computers.

Alternatively, you can also install ADB in your computer by downloading and installing the Minimal ADB and Fastboot package from XDA Developers website.

If until this point, you don't know what I am talking about, and you have no idea what is "root", you should not continue. This is because rooting an Android device, if not handled properly, might introduce risk and damage to your Android device.

If you still keen to continue, then copy these 3 required files to a new folder in your computer:

  • adb.exe
  • AdbWinApi.dll
  • AdbWinUsbApi.dll
Then, we need the "su" binary and the Superuser.apk.

Download Superuser-3.2-arm-signed.zip here, unzip the file, and copy these 2 files into the folder where you put ADB just now:
  • su
  • Superuser.apk
Then, you need to find out the IP address of your HiMedia Q5ii Android TV box and use ADB to connect to its port 5555.

Go to Windows command prompt by executing "cmd" in Run...


Go to your folder with ADB, and issue the following commands:
  • adb connect your_himedia_ip_address:5555
  • adb root
  • adb remount
An example of the command issuing and respond is as below...

Then continue with the following commands:
  • adb push su /system/bin
  • adb push su /system/xbin
  • adb push Superuser.apk /system/app
  • adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
  • adb shell chmod 4755 /system/xbin/su
And finally, reboot your HiMedia Android TV box with this command:
  • adb shell reboot

After the reboot, you should be able to gain the root access to your HiMedia Android TV box now.




Wednesday, March 12, 2014

CIMB credit card Statement of Account Delivery Instructions form

Effective 1 April 2014, CIMB Bank will force all their credit card members with online CIMB Clicks account to access to their monthly credit card statements via CIMB Clicks website. The bank will no longer send out the monthly credit card statements to them.

If you are affected, and wish to receive your monthly credit card statements by email or in hardcopy by post, you need to inform CIMB by filling up the so-called Statement of Account Delivery Instructions form and fax to 03-2381 7198 or email to cardcentre@cimb.com.

If you are looking for the form, it is available here as below:


You can also click here to download the CIMB credit card Statement of Account Delivery Instructions form in PDF format (English and Bahasa Malaysia).

You will receive a Notice on CIMB Bank Credit Card eStatement and its Terms and Conditions together with you March 2014 credit card statement sent by CIMB. Click here to download the softcopy of the Notice on CIMB Bank Credit Card eStatement and its Terms and Conditions.

I wonder if CIMB Bank has any legal standing to force their credit card members to accept such change in such a short period of time using this manner. Any lawyer reader here who can give some comment?


Updated my HiMedia Q5II Android TV box firmware to Mango Hi Q v1.0.6

After the successful upgrade of my HiMedia Q5II Android TV box firmware to Mango Hi Q (芒果嗨Q) v1.0.5 in January 2014, I have now updated its firmware to the latest Mango Hi Q v1.0.6 without much problem. This new firmware v1.0.6 was just released on 8 March 2014.

You can download the Mango Hi Q v1.0.6 firmware for HiMedia Q-series dual core Android TV boxes here.

Make sure you download the firmware that matches with the model number of your HiMedia Q-series dual core Android TV box. If the label on your box has the wording of "eMMC" (which is the newer version sold to the market since November 2013 onwards), download the firmware for EMMC version. Otherwise, download the firmware for non-EMMC version.

The update process is pretty simple. Just put the downloaded file in a USB thumb drive, then plug the USB thumb drive into one of the USB port of the HiMedia TV box, and perform the update from System Settings option.

This version of Mango Hi Q v1.0.6 brings the long awaited support for DVD ISO replay function, support for Apple iOS 7 Airplay and Airplay Mirror, WiFi hotspot function, user defined wallpaper, and bug fixes.

Unfortunately, my WiFi Analyzer app disappeared from the Application Management screen after the update. The app is still there, just that it is not showing up in the listing in Application Management screen. Hopefully this new bug can be fixed soon.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Youtube for Google TV that works with HiMedia Q5ii Mango Hi Q Android TV box

If you have a HiMedia Q5ii Android TV box with Mango Hi Q firmware and find that it doesn't work well with Youtube, I've found the solution for you.

If you install the Youtube app (for Android smartphones and tablets) from Google Play Store into your HiMedia Q5ii Android TV box, you might face the problem that the Youtube always showing a black screen without any video, while the audio can still be heard.

The solution is to install Youtube for Google TV version 1.7.3 and it should work fine.

Youtube for Google TV was once available in Google Play Store, but is now unavailable. Anyhow, you can still download its APK file from here to install into your Android TV box.


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

MSWG Seminar on Privatization & Take-Over Matters

The corporate scene has witnessed a spate of privatization and take-over exercises carried out particularly over the last one year. Launching of privatizations or take-overs seem to be the trend, and many are amazed or baffled with such news reported with increasing frequency.
 
Against this backdrop, the compelling and burning questions ringing in the minds of many is why the increasing need to privatize and exit from the public domain and particularly more important to minority shareholders or the non-interested shareholders is whether the price offered to them is fair and reasonable.

As a result, the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) is organizing a seminar themed "Privatization & Take-Over Matters",  to be held at MSWG Training Centre on 25 March 2014.

MSWG aims to look for a particular outcome from each of the current privatization or take-over bids in question to curb what is seen as short-term motivations, delivering a target listed issuer easily into the hands of the bidders.

The seminar will discuss and look at various matters and issues pertaining to privatization and take-over bids, including:
  • Factors leading a listed company to consider a privatization or a take-over bids
  • Review of legislations and regulatory rules governing privatization of listed companies
  • Role of various parties and relationships in a privatization or a take-over bids
  • Privatization or take-over implications: Voluntary general offer vs mandatory general offer scheme of arrangement (SOA), selective capital reduction/repayment, assets & liabilities acquisition, offerors and parties in concert
  • Practical issues, and useful tips, Qs and As on case studies in question
The fee for this seminar is RM80 per seat.

Click here for more information and Registration Form of this MSWG Seminar on Privatization & Take-Over Matters.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Garmin nuvi 2565LM Sing/Mal GPS firmware v8.00 update

I have just updated the firmware of my Garmin nuvi 2565LM Sing/Mal GPS from v7.60 to the latest v8.00.

This new version is said to have improved the route calculation issue.

You can find this firmware update here: http://www.garmin.com.sg/products/ontheroad/nuvi_2565lm_sg_my/#updateTab

The instruction on that firmware update webpage is very clear and easy to follow.

Besides, the latest MalFreeMaps 2014.10 with latest Singapore MCE (Marina Coastal Expressway) data is also available now. You can find it here: http://www.garmin.com.sg/mapupdate/

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Family retreat weekend to Felda Residence Hot Springs, Sungkai, Perak

Last week, my family had a nice retreat weekend to Felda Residence Hot Springs, Sungkai, Perak.

Sungkai is a small town near to Bidor, accessible from either North-South Expressway or federal trunk road.

The Felda Residence Hot Springs is quite some distance away from Sungkai town, hiding deep inside an oil palm plantation area. Not to be worried, there are a lot of sign boards showing the way to this attraction along the way, so it is pretty easy to find.


We booked a 3-bedroom villa from MATTA Fair quite some times ago. The price was RM600 for one night stay including breakfast for 6 persons.

After entering the entrance, we need to register our stay and get the key of the villa from the reception, located in a building with a large car park in front of it. The hot springs park and villas are located quite some distance away from the reception building.

The 3-bedroom villa is very nice. It has a quadrangle design with a private Jacuzzi at the center.


It has a nice living room with flat panel TV...


... and a fully furnished kitchen.


Its 3 bedrooms are large and comfortable. This is the master bedroom.


The Felda Residence Hot Springs has a cold mountain springs swimming pool...


... and of course, the natural hot springs pool.


In the place where hot springs flow out from underground, we can have egg boiling activity. The water temperature there is close to 100 degree Celcius.



We had our dinner in Sungkai town. There are a few famous Chinese restaurant in the town, such as Choy Kee (财记) and Sun Kee (新记).

The next morning, we had our buffet breakfast at the restaurant within walking distance from the villa. There is nothing much to shout about the food, but considered quite OK if you don't have high expectation.

One thing to note is that, Celcom has a good HSDPA Internet coverage at Felda Residence Hot Springs in Sungkai, while the Internet speed of Maxis and Digi there is pretty slow.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 - my first wireless mouse

Recently the mouse attached to my desktop PC became less responsive and less precise to scrolling, and I decided to replace it.

I have been using wired mouse all the while, be it PC or laptop. Wired mouse has the advantages of being cheaper price, lightweight, operates without the need of battery, and precise pointer handling.

However, wireless mouse is cool, can operate quite a long distance away from the computer, and its price gap with wired mouse has gone narrower and narrower. I decided to give it a try.

I have finalized my selection between Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 and Logitech Couch M515 Mouse. Their similarity being able to work on almost all type of surfaces, can scroll sideway by tilting the scroll wheel, and has a comparatively bigger size than most other wireless mice (though still slightly smaller than normal wired desktop mouse).

The price of Logitech Couch M515 Mouse is higher, and I doubt the M515 is still in production as it can hardly be found in the market. Therefore, I settled down with Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000, which cost me around RM70 (bought from Lazada with credit card discount campaign).

The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 comes with a nano transceiver running on 2.4Ghz wireless technology. It can be stowed at the bottom of the mouse, which will intelligently turn off the power of the mouse. When first plugged into the USB port of my PC, the installation program is automatically loaded, and it will automatically pair with the mouse.

All the 4 buttons on the mouse (left button, right button, scroll wheel button and left button) are programmable with Microsoft Mouse and keyboard Center which is automatically downloaded and installed when first use.



The wheel button can be used to quickly flip through opened applications in Windows 7. It is be programmed for other function too.



The scrolling speed of its wheel is also programmable.


I like the smooth scrolling of this Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000, particularly the accelerated vertical scrolling function.

This is a 1,000dpi mouse, which I find it moving quite slow on the screen. This can easily be solved by setting the pointer speed to be faster under Windows' Control Panel > Mouse Properties > Pointer Options.


Despite it weights heavier than my previous wired mouse, and the need of changing battery in the future, I like this mouse very much for its ergonomic design and size, good set of programmable functionalities, precise BlueTrack Technology that can even work on glossy surface, and being wireless with freedom to operate from any location near to the computer.



Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Converted my CIMB Petronas Platinum Mastercard to CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum Mastercard

Recently, I have successfully converted my CIMB Petronas Platinum Mastercard to CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard, and the process is more straightforward than I thought.

I just made a call to CIMB credit card customer service center to request for the card convertion, and upon approval (1 week later), the conversion was done and I received my new CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard.

Sharing out my credit card conversion experience here:
  • The credit balance of existing card will be transferred to the new card.
  • The auto-payment arrangement (for utility, telco, etc.) with existing card is automatically carried across to the new card. The auto-payment seamlessly continues in the new card.
  • The CIMB 0% Easy Pay instalment payment plan with the existing card seamlessly continues on the new card. 
  • The CIMB Touch 'n Go Zing card that tied to the existing card will now be tied to the new card. I have successfully made an auto-reload to the Zing card just as before.
  • The RM50 Government Service Tax period continues from the existing card, and will only be charged upon expiry.
  • The new card has a new expiry date, which is later than the existing card.
  • The CIMB Cash Rebate Platinum MasterCard is capped with a maximum credit limit of RM20k only. If your existing card has a higher credit limit, it will be reduced to RM20k.
Conclusion: with CIMB, if you want to switch from one card to another, you don't need to cut your existing card and apply for the new card. Just make a call to the customer service center to request for the conversion. You will need to verify your identity over the phone with some questions and answers, but the good news is, you don't even need to fill in any application form for the new card. The auto-payment, Easy Pay instalment and Touch 'n Go Zing will also be automatically migrated to the new card without any hassle on your side.

Monday, February 17, 2014

PDF Split and Merge (PDFsam), free tool to split, merge, extract, rotate, reorder pages in PDF files

If you want to extract a few pages from a PDF file to another PDF file, or you want to insert a few PDF pages (such as the cover page) into an existing PDF file, what tool will you use to accomplish that?

There are several commercial tools available, which require you to buy a license. There are also several shareware tools and online tools which imposed a lot of limitation to the PDF file, such as with an accepted maximum page of a small number only.

I am using a free tools with the open source GPL2 license to do this. It is called PDF Split and Merge (PDFsam) Basic, developed by an Italian guy Andrea Vacondio and his team.

PDF Split and Merge Basic is able to:

  • Split your PDF documents (into chapters, single pages, etc.).
  • Merge many PDF documents or subsections of them.
  • Extract sections of your document into a single PDF document.
  • Mix alternate pages taken from two PDF documents in straight or reverse order into a single document.
  • Rotate pages of the selected PDF documents.
  • Visually reorder pages of a selected PDF document.
  • Visually compose a document dragging pages from selected PDF documents.
  • Save and load your workspace to automate your recurrent jobs.
  • Manage PDFsam settings and set a workspace to load at start up.
PDFsam is running on Java, and is cross-platform. You can run it on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and the developer has also created a trimmed down version called PDF Merge for Android.

It has a simple and clean user interface, making it pretty easy to use.


You can download PDFsam here: http://www.pdfsam.org/download/

There is also an Enhanced version of PDFsam, which the source code is available. The developer has requested for a donation of any amount, and he will provide you with the compiled executable file and installer.

The additional functions in PDFsam Enhanced version are:
  • Encrypt your PDF files (RC40 bits, RC128 bits, AES128 bits) and set permissions on them.
  • Add a PDF document as front page or addendum (or both) to your PDF documents.
  • Mix alternate pages taken from two PDF documents in straight or reverse order into a single document.
  • Extract attached files from a PDF document.
  • Decrypt your PDF files.
  • Set viewer options to tell the viewer application how should open the document.
  • Set the metadata of a document (author, title, subject and keywords).

Sunday, February 16, 2014

EPF declared 6.35% dividend for FY2013

With the approval from Minister of Finance, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP)  declared on 16 February 2014 for the dividend rate of financial year ending 31 December 2013 to be 6.35%, representing a dividend payout of RM31.20 billion to its members, up 13.66% over the RM27.45 billion paid in FY2012.

EPF gross investment income from Malaysian Government Securities & Equivalents and from Loans & Bonds have decreased from previous year, while the income from Equities, Money Market Instruments and Real Estate & Infrastructure have increased.

 As the EPF membership rose to more than 13 million, a total of RM4.91 billion was required to pay every 1% dividend rate for 2013. This was 10.06% higher compared with RM4.46 billion paid for every 1% dividend rate for 2012. The amount needed to pay a 1% dividend would continue to grow between 8%-9% annually.


The Fund’s total overseas exposure constituted 20.97% of its total investment assets based on book value as at end December 2013, registering a rise from 16.98% the year before. During the year under review, the EPF had outsourced USD2.20 billion to the external fund managers for global equity mandates, while a total of RM2.25 billion and RM850 million were injected  into domestic fixed income and equity mandates respectively.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

SMB and Media Server sharing of my external harddisk with TP-Link TL-WDR3600 router to PCs, tablets and TV box

I have just purchased a Transcend StoreJet 25A3 USB 3.0 1TB external harddisk from Lazada at the cost of  RM189 (with discounted price of RM219 and Lazada Chinese New Year voucher of RM30) and successfully shared it out with my TP-Link TL-WDR3600 router to my PC, laptops, Android tablets and HiMedia Q5II TV box using the SMB (Microsoft Server Message Block network file sharing protocol) as well as Media Server service.

This article is to record and share out my experience in setting up this external harddisk sharing.

By default, the Transcend StoreJet 25A3 is formatted with a single FAT32 partition occupying all its 1TB storage capacity. I learnt that the FAT32 partition type has the limitation in file size capped at a maximum of 4GB only. 4GB is just too small for partition image backup, for HD movie images and some other files which have big size.

I have tried to format the Transcend StoreJet 25A3 into different file systems, and here is my finding:

  • NTFS - this is supported by my TL-WDR3600 router. However, it is not a preferred file system for Linux (which is used in the firmware of the router), and its read/write speed is slow.
  • EXT2 - this is the most preferred file system for external harddisk connected to a Linux host. However, it is not supported by the stock firmware of my TL-WDR3600 router.
  • EXT3 - this is basically EXT2 with a journalized file system. It is also not supported by the stock firmware of my TL-WDR3600 router.
  • EXT4 - this is the most commonly used file system in Linux today. It is also not supported by the stock firmware of my TL-WDR3600 router.
As I need NTFS to store large files, and also FAT32 as a more stable file system for Linux host to store smaller files, I ended up formatting my Transcend StoreJet 25A3 into 2 primary partitions, one NTFS and another FAT32.

The harddisk partitioning and formatting was done using MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition, which is a free harddisk partition management software running on Windows that is capable of dealing with FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3 and EXT4 file systems. Most other Windows based partition management software can't deal with Linux file systems such as EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, etc.

After the partitioning and formatting, I made a Windows system image into the NTFS partition of the external harddisk, which is a crucial Windows restoration data that will be critically useful when the Windows system is corrupted (when infected by virus, critical system file is damaged, etc.). This can be done from within Windows 7 by going to Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore > Create a System Image.

Then, I plugged the external harddisk into one of the USB port of my TL-WDR3600 router. Both the NTFS and FAT32 partitions are detected and ready to be shared out.


The stock TP-Link firmware supports USB file sharing using SMB (Storage Sharing), FTP (FTP Server) and Media Server.

Once a folder with photos, videos and/or music is shared out using Media Server, the TP-Link router will be detected as one of the Media Devices in the Network section of Windows 7, and the shared media files are accessible from there. They are also accessible from UPNP media access in HiMedia Q5II TV box.

As for the SMB sharing, it is accessible from Windows by opening Windows Explorer and key-in "\\tplinklogin.net" in the address bar. It is also accessible from Android devices by installing apps that is able to access SMB server, such as ES File Explorer. It is accessible from HiMedia Q5II TV box from SMB media access using the IP address of the router running the SMB service. You need to start the Samba service of the TV box in its Settings page before searching for the SMB server.

For easier future access, I have also mapped a drive in my Windows PC to the shared external harddisk partition.


I heard that the Asus RT-AC68U router supports USB sharing with Linux partition format. You can also add support for EXT2, EXT3, EXT4 in TP-Link router's USB sharing with custom firmware such as OpenWRT. There is reason why I didn't changed my TL-WDR3600 router to use custom firmware, which you can read here.




Saturday, February 8, 2014

Updated my HTC One to Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) with Sense 5.5

My HTC One received its OTA update from Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) to Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) yesterday (7 February 2014).



The Sense UI version remains as 5.5, so there is not much changes to the UI from previous version in this update.

Here are some of the noticeable changes found in this update:
  • The battery bar in the battery icon changed colour from green (as in Android 4.3) to white.
  • There is a new icon for the Quick Settings screen called HTC Mini+ which can configure the phone to pair up with a HTC Mini+ device.

  • In Settings > Wireless & Networks, we can set the Default SMS app for the phone.

  • BlinkFeed can restrict auto refresh to use WiFi only. Can also configure for offline news reading. Its menu is now accessed by swiping from left side of the BlinkFeed screen.

  • New Location settings screen. The GPS toggle is controlled by the Mode setting here. Anyhow, you can still toggle GPS sensor on/off with the Quick Settings icon as it is still available as before.
  • Change in Gallery app and Music app.
  • Camera screen showing estimated video time and number of photos that can be taken with current storage available. The notorious purple-tint problem is still there, but seems to have improved from previous version (HTC One with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has the worst purple-tint issue, worse than 4.2 and 4.4)
  • Built in support for Google Cloud printing. You can find a new Printing item in Settings menu.
  • New settings for Do Not Disturb found inside Sound settings.
  • Can switch over to QWERTY keyboard from the T9 keyboard in call dialer, and vice-versa.

Friday, February 7, 2014

What determines the salary of employees

Have you wonder what determines the salary of employees?

In my point of view, the lower limit of the salary is the price offered by employer so that the employee will stay put with the company, and the upper limit is the cost of the company to remain competitive in the business.

If the salary is on the low side compared with market rate, the employee will have a lot of options, including:

  • to join another employer who offer a better package
  • to self-employ
  • to stay at home
If the employer is paying a high salary, the cost of maintaining the company will be high, and that need to be compensated with either one or more of the following:
  • to charge higher price for goods/services provided to customers
  • to tolerate a lower profit margin
  • to cut cost from existing operations
  • to get more customers and/or sell more goods/services to existing customers
If the company charge higher price to customers, the customers might have options to buy from another company, or just not to buy.

If the company tolerate a lower profit margin, that will bring down the net profit, and in turn, lower down the dividend to shareholders/investors.

If the company try to cut cost from existing operations, it might need to sacrifice the quality and/or quantity of goods/services produced, which in turn reduce the customers satisfaction level, and the customers might have options to buy from another company, or just not to buy.

So, it is a rule of thumb that salary cannot be too low, or else the employees will part away. At the same time, it cannot be too high until the business is unsustainable.

The salary is indeed directly related to the productivity of the employee. A productive employee will be able to help the company generates more quantity and quality of goods/services that is saleable to customers, which can realized into sales and profit.

So, its seems that the only feasible option for sustainability is "to get more customers and/or sell more goods/services to existing customers" which needs to be backed up by the productivity of the employees. If the employees are not productive enough, the employer will need to hire more employees, which will then share out the HR salary budget of the company.

The more productive employees deserve higher salary, because competitors are willing to pay for that to bring over the employees to work with them. The supply and demand in job market will naturally drive the salary of productive employees.

In the investment world, there is a common indicator called Price/Earning (P/E) ratio to evaluate the worthiness for investor to buy and hold a share. Perhaps in the mind of the employers, there is also a Salary/Productivity ratio to evaluate the worthiness for the company to employ and maintain the employee.

As an employee, if you want to have high salary, then you need to:
  • be productive
  • join a highly productive company that is very profitable (driven by its productivity)
If you are not very productive and get a high salary, the good time might not be for long. If your company is very profitable but not supported by productivity, the good time might also not be for long.

During the 80's when Dr. Mahathir just became the prime minister, Malaysia is on the right track by emphasizing on productivity to boost the nation's economy, particularly the GDP. It seems that the current government has completely lost track by intervening the pricing of certain goods/services (instead of letting the free competition supply-demand factor to drive the price), intervening the salary with minimum wage, intervening the supply-demand by imposing restrictions that is non-productivity related, etc. Is there any hope that we will be on the right track again, and who will be the long waited hero to put back the right track in place?


Friday, January 31, 2014

KFC Golden Wrap Chicken promotion set

On the way back to hometown for my Chinese New Year holiday, I stopped by Tapah R&R (Rehat & Rawat) station for dinner, and found a new menu item in KFC - the Golden Wrap Chicken (纸包鸡) with new Orleans flavour.

Golden Wrap Chicken is a Cantonese recipe, and is a famous dish of several Chinese restaurants (of Leong Ya (梁雅) family) in Seri Kembangan and Puchong, Selangor.

Last year around Chinese New Year, KFC Malaysia offerred their first Golden Wrap Chicken promotion set for a limited time, but I didn't try it.

Now, the Golden Wrap Chicken is back to KFC Malaysia and also some other places including KFC Taiwan. There is a change in its recipe too. Last year the KFC Golden Wrap Chicken is cooked together with mushrooms and corns, and this year, the corns are gone, and it has a new Orleans flavour.

The RM9.95 KFC Golden Wrap Chicken Combo set comes with 2 pieces of paper wrapped chicken and 1 large cup of Revive isotonic drink. There is another RM39.90 Golden Wrap Feast set available, which has more items.

I personally found the KFC Golden Wrap Chicken tastes even better than their fried chicken. It worth a try.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Streaming internet live TV, movie, drama, etc. to Android TV box with Togic and music video, MTV, etc. with Rainbow

If you have a China made Android TV box such as HiMedia and you are located outside China, you will probably experience that the live TV, movie, drama, show, etc. often don't stream smoothly even though you have a high speed broadband Internet.

One of the way to overcome this with HiMedia Q-series Android TV box is to manually pick to use the server in Hong Kong (default is automatically picked, and all other servers are located inside China).

I found that the 3rd party app called Togic liveTV (泰捷视频) works well internationally too. It also has a location setting which we need to set to Hong Kong - Hong Kong. It will then help us to choose the best streaming source, and most of the time, I am able to watch HD programme or HD movie with Togic without any lag in transmission.




Togic is actively maintained. The app has frequent new version update, and its video sources are updated on daily basis. You can always find the latest episode of TV show or drama in Togic. The movies are quite up-to-date too.

If you like to watch music video or sing KTV, you will probably find that most music video app produced in China does not work well outside China. You will even get error message when trying to watch the music video, stating that the video cannot be played at your region due to copyright problem.

However, there is one called Rainbow (彩虹音乐) which works well internationally. They claim that their music videos are licensed by original copyright holders.


The above are 2 of my favourite apps in my HiMedia Q5II dual-core Android TV box.

If you have come across with other good apps for Android TV box, feel free to share with me.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Upgraded my HiMedia Q5II Android TV box firmware to Mango Hi Q v1.0.5

My HiMedia Q5II Android TV box comes with firmware v1.0.2 (released in early September 2013). Subsequent to that, they have released firmware v1.0.3 in October 2013 and v1.0.4 in December 2013. Both of them were found buggy with numerous complaints from users.

In January 2014, HiMedia has worked together with Mango TV (芒果 TV) to come out with Mango Hi Q (芒果嗨Q) firmware v1.0.5 which is pretty good.

You can download the Mango Hi Q firmware for HiMedia Q-series dual core Android TV boxes here.

Make sure you download the firmware that matches with the model number of your HiMedia Q-series dual core Android TV box. If the label on your box has the wording of "eMMC" (which is the newer version sold to the market since November 2013 onwards), download the firmware for EMMC version. Otherwise, download the firmware for non-EMMC version.

The firmware upgrade file for my non-EMMC HiMedia Q5II Android TV box is update_dualcore_Q5.zip. I put it in a USB drive, plug the USB drive into one of the USB port of the TV box, and tried to flash it into the box by using a pin to press its "reset" button and boot up the box. The upgrade failed. Apparently this is due to the firmware that pre-installed in my box is English version instead of Chinese version.

I then renamed the file in my USB drive to become update_dualcore_Q5_en.zip, and tried again. This time, the upgrade is successful, and I got Mango Hi Q v1.0.5 in my box.


The default language of Mango H Q user interface is Chinese. You can set it to English by going to Settings (the right most tab at the bottom of above screen), look for Language and Input Method (the icon is a square box with an "A" at the center), change the Language ("语言") to English.

After you installed Mango Hi Q firmware, you will notice the following are missing:
  • HiTV
  • LiveTV
  • HiStore
  • Google Play Store
  • Web browser
You can restore back HiTV, LiveTV by download and install this APK into your TV box:
Alternatively, you can download and install the Jailbreak APK into your TV box, and run it once: http://pan.baidu.com/s/1eQDWWT0

After that, you can remove the Jailbreak APK.

You can also restore back the built-in web browser through the pre-installed WiFi Analyzer app. Just go to Online Help in WiFi Analyzer once, and the web browser will be back.

As for the missing HiStore and Google Play Store, I use 7PO Market (奇珀市场) as alternative.



Sunday, January 19, 2014

Windows XP end of life on April 2014

Microsoft has once again announced that they will terminate the technical support for Windows XP, with a firmed date on 8 April 2014.

This means that they will no longer release new bug fixes and security patches for Windows XP after the deadline. Technical assistances for Windows XP will also be ceased. They will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP on that date.

Anyhow, Microsoft will continue to provide updates to anti-malware signatures and engine for existing Microsoft Security Essentials running on Windows XP until 14 July 2015. This security support deadline also applies to System Center Endpoint Protection, Forefront Client Security, Forefront Endpoint Protection and Windows Intune running on Windows XP for enterprise users.

On 13 July 2010, Microsoft ended their support to Windows 2000, which was once widely used in enterprise as well as in banks' ATM machines, retailers' Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, etc. Since then, Windows XP has replaced Windows 2000 to become the de-facto standard for embedded operating system of those ATM machines, POS systems, etc.

The ATM machines, POS systems, etc. that use the stripped-down version of Windows XP known as Windows XP Embedded will still get support from Microsoft until 12 January 2016, two more years to go before the embedded OS reaches its end of life.

According to NetMarketShare website, Windows XP is still the world's 2nd mostly used desktop operation system in the world to date, commanding a market share of more than 28%. The top desktop operation system is Windows 7 with more than 47% market share.

If you still have any computer running on Windows XP, you can still continue to use it after 8 April 2014, but any new security vulnerability would not be fixed by Microsoft. There will still be 3rd party security and antivirus software continue to provide protection to your Windows XP computer.

If you plan for an upgrade, the most popular Windows 7 is a good choice and its end of life date is set to 14 January 2020, 6 more years to go. Of course, you can also consider the latest Windows 8 which received a lot of criticisms.

Alternatively, you might want to switch over to the Apple's world using Mac OS X as operating system. Apple iMac and MacBook has regained popularity upon the success of iPhone and iPad over the past few years.

For PC users, you can also switch over to Linux operating system. Ubuntu Desktop is a famous one and it is free. Ubuntu has a shorter end of life than Windows, whereby its Long Term Support (LTS) versions receive support from Canonical for 5 years only. However, you can always upgrade your PC to the latest version of Ubuntu for free.

For manufacturers and vendors of ATM machines, POS systems, they are most likely switching over to Linux or Android operating system, and say bye-bye to Microsoft. Android has gained its popularity as embedded system, particularly in TV boxes, car navigation systems, etc.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Lazada launches iOS app for iPhone / iPad with RM30 voucher given to downloaders

A good news for Apple mobile devices users!

Lazada, the e-commerce online shopping website in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Phillipines) that is established by the famous German-based international online business incubator Rocket Internet GmbH, is going to launch their Lazada iOS app for iPhone/iPad on 16 January 2014.

Lazada online shopping website at http://www.lazada.com.my was launched in Malaysia in April 2012. Initially, they faced quite a lot of hiccups and customer complaints, particularly in year 2012. My recent 2 purchases with them (one done in year 2013, one in 2014) convinced me that they have improved a lot, because I received my goods promptly with friendly email and SMS delivery status update, and the whole buying experience is good.

Lazada has already launched their Android app in June 2013. To date, the Lazada app for Android received more than 100k installs since August 2013, but yet to hit the 500k installs target.

In conjunction with the launching of Lazada iOS app, you will get a RM30 voucher if you download the app from Apple iTunes App Store and install it on your Apple mobile device.

Click the ads below to download the Lazada iOS app.



Note that the offer is valid for 3 days only for downloads between 16-18 January 2014. The RM30 voucher can only be used via the iOS app. The terms and conditions for this promo is available after you clicked on the ads above.

Lazada plans to surprise three lucky shoppers who have made a purchase through the new app by giving away three vouchers worth RM500. This lucky draw is eligible to shoppers purchasing using the app from 19 to 31 January 2014.

For Android users, you can also download the Lazada App for Android here.

If you want to shop using the Lazada e-commerce website, please click the Lazada ads on the right of this webpage.

The pros and cons of WiFi frequencies 2.4GHz and 5GHz

Nowadays all WiFi access points (APs) or wireless network routers work on the 2.4GHz band of wireless frequency, while the newer dual-band devices also support the 5GHz band.

The WiFi standards that work on 2.4GHz band are:

  • 802.11b (speed is up to 11Mbps)
  • 802.11g (speed is up to 54Mbps)
  • 802.11n (speed is up to 150Mbps for 20MHz channel width, 300Mbps for 40MHz channel width)
The WiFi standards that work on 5GHz band are:
  • 802.11a (speed is up to 54Mbps)
  • 802.11n (speed is up to 150Mbps for 20MHz channel width, 300Mbps for 40MHz channel width)
  • 802.11ac (speed can reach 6.8Gbps with 8 antennas running at 160Mhz channel width)
For the dual-band WiFi AP or router, you can turn on either one of the frequency bands, or turn on both of them at the same time.

The pros / advantages of 2.4GHz band:
  • Has a wider signal coverage area.
  • Better penetration through walls and physical barriers.
  • WiFi b/g/n supported by all wireless devices
The cons / disadvantages of 2.4GHz band:
  • As most of the WiFi devices are using this band, it could be congested with a lot of interference if there are a lot of WiFi devices nearby.
  • Out of its 13 available channels, only Channel 1, 6, 11 are not overlapping.
  • Might get interference from microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, wireless keyboard/mouse, cordless phones, etc. which are also operate on 2.4GHz frequency band.
The pros / advantages of 5GHz band:
  • At the mean time, few WiFi devices are using this band, so it is less congested with much lesser interference.
  • Has 23 non-overlapping available channels.
  • Supports much higher network speed with 802.11ac standard.
The cons / disadvantages of 5GHz band:
  • Has smaller signal coverage area.
  • Poor penetration power through walls and physical barriers.
  • Older wireless devices might not be able to work on this band.
  • Might get interference from radar which also operates on 5GHz frequency band.

Below is the WiFi signals detected in a shopping mall. You can see how congested is the 2.4GHz band and how clear is the 5GHz band. Congestion and interference can cause wireless connection problems such as intermittent connection lost, slow speed, unable to establish connection with AP, etc.



I am sure you will get similar result at your office or in your residence when your neighbours are also using WiFi.

If you have mobile devices that can work on 5GHz band and you have a dual-band AP/router, you might probably want to turn on both of them to get the best of both worlds.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Auspicious dates for ground-breaking of new building construction in 2014

Here is the list of auspicious dates in year 2014 for ground-breaking ceremony (动土) of new building construction. It is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably be interested to also find out the auspicious dates in 2014 for:

You might probably be interested to also find out for:

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The historical relationship between FIFA World Cup and stock market performance

The 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament will take place in Brazil from 12 June until 13 July 2014. Have you wonder what will be its immediate impact to the stock market before, during, and after the tournament?

Based on historical charts of Dow Jones and KLCI from 1990 until today, I have summarized the stock market performance in US and Malaysia during the years with FIFA World Cup, for the short period of early May to end July. The FIFA World Cup normally held in summer of northern hemisphere (around June) and last for about a month.

Here is the summarized chart (click to enlarge):


Based on historical stock market performance, in the US market, there is equal chance to be sideline (yellow box), trending up (green box), or trending down (red box) before and during the FIFA World Cup tournament. After the tournament, it is very likely to go down. Historically from 1990-2010, only 2006 US market goes up after the tournament.

For the Malaysian stock market, it has high chance of going down before the tournament, sideline during the tournament, and going up after the tournament.

These are the considerations during the FIFA time which might affect the stock market performance:

  • Retail participants in stock market might allocate their time and money to football gambling, therefore temporary gone out of the stock market.
  • In Malaysia, as FIFA held in western host country happens at mid-night, the market participants who watch the matches during mid-night might be sleeping during market opening time, or not having enough concentration to the market.
  • The FIFA news will overwhelm other news, including industry and business news.
So, what will happen to the stock market this year around FIFA time? Let's wait and see.


Monday, January 6, 2014

Pro features in Timely Alarm Clock App for Android set free by Google after they acquired Bitspin

It is officially announced that Google has recently acquired Bitspin, the small Switzerland company founded by some ETH Zurich's computer science graduates.


Bitspin produces the famous beautiful Android app called Timely Alarm Clock, which has accumulated more than 1 million downloads within a year.

Timely is available for free in Google Play store, and now its in-app purchase features are also made free. Good news to all that haven't purchased the in-app features, and bad news for those who already spent some money on the app.

Hint: Click on the "Older Posts" link to continue reading, or click here for a listing of all my past 3 months articles.