Applying for ETA online to travel to Australia

I am going to travel to Australia, and I need a visa to enter into the continent. The fastest and easiest way is to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) online.

The ETA provides authorization for visitors holding a valid passport from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei, Japan, Korea, USA or Canada to travel to and enter Australia.

The ETA is valid for 1 year from the date of application, or until the expiry date of your passport, whichever earlier. With an ETA, you will be able to have multiple entries to Australia until its expiry date. for each entry, you can stay in Australia for a period of up to 3 months.

The service charge to apply for an Australia ETA is AUD$20 payable online with credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, or JCB) when making the application. If your ETA is rejected for any reason, this service charge is non-refundable.

You need to be located outside Australia when making an ETA application. You need to provide your personal detail, contact detail and an email address to receive the letter of confirmation. If you are travelling with your family members staying in the same house, you might find it a bit cumbersome as you need to apply ETA for each of them, and need to repeatedly enter the same contact information (address, phone numbers, etc.)  during each of the ETA applications.

I received the email confirmation almost instantly after making the online credit card payment.

For each of the ETA applications, you will be given a reference number, enabling you to check for the ETA status and expiry date in the same website.

Click here to go to the Australia ETA application and checking website.

Conditions apply to the Australia ETA:

• Working is not allowed.
• Taking short term study course is allowed, but you must not study for more than 3 months.
• You must be free from tuberculosis.
• You must not have any criminal convictions.

Ten questions you should ask during a job interview

The following is an inspiring list of 10 questions that job interviewee should ask during the interview session.

1. How will this position change after I’ve been here a while?
2. If this is not a new position where has the prior person gone? Did they get promoted or leave? How stable is the group that I am being hired for?
3. How will you use my skills if the activity I am being hired for is stalled or something unexpected arises?
4. What is the career path for this position? — to jobs with more responsibility? Management posts? Positions that require specific technical expertise?
5. What is the project/product road-map for the next one to three years?
6. What kind of training and support for ongoing education does the organization offer?
7. Is there an open door policy to communicate with upper management levels within he organization?
8. How will my role contribute to the overall mission of the company?
9. What outcomes will you use to measure those contributions? What metrics will be in place to measure personal and team performance?
10. Will I have opportunities to work directly with the line organization outside of my group?

Source: the blog of Janco Associates.

Index call warrants and put warrants listed in Bursa Malaysia

The stock market has gone volatile recently. During a volatile market, sometimes it could be a better option to trade on index warrant, which is a structured warrant that is issued by warrant issuer (such as CIMB, Maybank, RHB, Ambank, Kenanga, Macquarie, etc.) over an underlying stock market index, such as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBMKLCI, 富时大马指数), Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI, 恒生指数), etc.

There are 2 kinds of index warrants listed in Bursa Malaysia. If you feel bullish on the market, you can look into the call warrants, and if you feel bearish on the market, you can
 on the other hand look into the put warrants.

Each of the index warrants has the following information:

• Expiry date: You can buy and sell the warrant in the market until its expiry date. Upon expiry, the warrant issuer will pay you money if your cash settlement amount is positive. Else, you will get nothing and your money invested in the warrant will be burnt.
• Exercise level (a.k.a. strike level): the index points to exercise the warrant. For call warrant, the lower the better. For put warrant, the higher the better.
• Exercise ratio: this is the leverage element of the warrant. It is the amount of warrants required to exercise one underlying index.
• Settlement level: the index points on the settlement day.

The cash settlement amount (CSA) is calculated based on the formula below:

where FX Rate is the forex exchange rate to convert overseas index warrant settlement value to RM.

The current index warrants listed in Bursa Malaysia is as below:

It seems like FBMKLCI-HB deserves some attention. You will break even if bought it at RM0.145 and KLCI drops to 1753.50.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for sharing of point of view only. It is not an advice or recommendation to buy or sell any of the mentioned stock counters. You should do your own homework before trading in Bursa Malaysia.

Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2016

I have posted the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2016 quite some times ago, and here is the reverse, namely the inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2016. The list below is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

 

If you are concerned, then you should probably avoid getting married on the listed days above.

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.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2016
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2015
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2015

Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2016

Many couples plan for their wedding more than 1 year ahead in order to have sufficient preparation time.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in year 2016 (year of Monkey), which 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.

Related articles:

• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2016
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2015
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2015

The Edge forum on 2015 Economy and Investment Outlook

The Edge Malaysia is organizing a forum on 2015 Economy and Investment Outlook - Make Better Decisions.

Date: Saturday, 1 November 2014
Time: 10.00am - 12.30am
Venue: Security Commission Malaysia, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Admission: Free

The speakers are:

• Jason Chong from Manulife Asset Management Services Bhd
• Chen Fan Fai from Eastspring Investment Bhd
• Datuk Tong Kooi Ong from The Edge Media Group

Are you shocked with the recent market turbulence and want to listen to the view of these renowned fund managers and/or investors?

Click here for more information and online registration to The Edge forum on 2015 Economy and Investment Outlook.

Fixed Windows 8 boot into black screen with mouse cursor problem

This morning, I found my laptop unable to boot up to Windows 8.

During boot up, it stuck at a black screen with mouse cursor. The mouse cursor is movable. There were harddisk activities which eventually stopped, and nothing happen next. No Windows logo shown, and no login screen.

I've tried the following but nothing worked:

• Press ctrl-alt-del, nothing happened.
• Press the Power key to turn off the laptop, then press the Power key again to start up. It went to the same situation.
• Press F8, F12, shift-F12, etc. during boot up, nothing happened. There was no boot menu shown up.

I searched the Internet and found that this is a problem faced by many. I fixed it by having an abnormal power off in the black screen with mouse cursor, and let Windows heal itself during the next boot up progress.

To do so, unplug the power cable, and remove the laptop battery while it is still in the black screen with mouse cursor, after the harddisk activities stopped. Wait for 30 seconds, then put back the laptop battery and plug back the power cable. Press the Power key to turn on the laptop. Viola! Finally Windows is back to normal.

The key to this fix is that, you need to abnormally power off the system. The problem won't fix if you press the Power key to shutdown properly and restart.

I checked the Event Viewer, can't find anything logged about this problem. Microsoft, why your Windows always caught us by surprise, and yet left us clueless to troubleshoot the problem???

Download and read the Handbook for Goods and Services Tax (GST) for Businesses

Malaysia government is going to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 1 April 2015.

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has published a Handbook for Goods and Services Tax (GST) for Businesses, which is a very good reference book for everyone in Malaysia to have better understanding about this upcoming GST. You can download its e-Book for free from their website.

Click here to download the Handbook for Goods and Services Tax (GST) for Businesses.

The content of this 183-pages handbook consists of:

1. Salient features of GST

• What is GST?
• Proposed GST model
• Basic elements of GST
• Registration for GST

2. Accounting for tax

• Charging output tax
• Entitlement of input tax
• Apportionment rules
• Credit note & adjustment
• Debit note & adjustment
• Bad debt & adjustment
• Filing of GST return & payment
• Record keeping 

3. Implementation of GST and business preparation

• Preparation for implementation of GST
• GST implications
• Tax code
• Business preparation for GST
• Supplies spanning GST
• Non reviewable contract
• Special refund

Beside this handbook, you can also find many information about GST implementation in Malaysia from this official website: http://gst.customs.gov.my/en/Pages/default.aspx

Top 30 property developers in The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards 2014

The Edge Malaysia has just announced the Top 10 winners in their Property Excellence Awards 2014, which are:

• Sunway Bhd
• Sime Darby Property Bhd
• SP Setia Bhd
• UEM Sunrise Bhd
• Gamuda Bhd (Property Division)
• Tropicana Corp Bhd
• IGB Corp Bhd
• Eastern & Oriental Bhd
• Mah Sing Group Bhd
• IOI Properties Bhd

Following the Top 10 winners above, the subsequent Top 11-30 are:

• UOA Development Bhd
• I&P Group Sdn Bhd
• Bandar Utama City Corp Sdn Bhd
• IJM Land Bhd
• KLCC Property Holdings Bhd
• Glomac Bhd
• YTL Land & Dev. Bhd
• Eco World Development Group Bhd
• Naim Holdings Bhd
• Bandar Raya Developments Bhd
• WCT Land Sdn Bhd
• Selangor Dredging Bhd
• Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd
• MKH Bhd
• Paramount Corp Bhd
• KSL Holdings Bhd
• PJ Development Holdings Bhd
• OSK Property Holdings Bhd
• Plenitude Bhd
• TA Global Bhd

Congratulation to the Sunway Group for winning this award. Besides, their Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat also won The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award 2014.

iCapital.biz newsletter RM25 one year subscription special offer

In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of iCapital.biz, this newsletter run by Mr. Tan Teng Boo is now having a special promotion of RM25 for one year subscription (normal price: RM720), a very generous 96.5% discount!

This newsletter, available in English and Chinese language, in printed and online platform, contains detail analysis of local and regional macroeconomics observation, their view on equity markets in Kuala Lumpur, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, company news and analysis, several stock portfolios, trading picks, etc.

Considering the amount of effort, intelligence and skill required to produce this weekly newsletter, I believe RM25 is really value for money for all stock investors in Malaysia.

For the printed version, postage charge is free if you choose ordinary POS Malaysia service, and you will need to pay extra for other faster and/or safer delivery service.

Even if you choose the ordinary mail option, you can still access the updated content online while waiting for your printed copy to reach your doorstep.

Click here to find out more detail and online subscription to the iCapital.biz RM25/year special offer

Besides, Capital Dynamics is going to have their 2014 Investor Day on 11-12 October in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. You can click here for more detail and online registration to the event.

Full report for free download: ICT Job Market Outlook in Malaysia (June 2014)

Are you working in the ICT industry or as an ICT personnel in your organization? Or are you a student studying an ICT related subject now? If yes, you might be interested in this newly released  ICT Job Market Outlook in Malaysia (June 2014) by PIKOM in collaboration with Jobstreet and MDEC.

Given the orientation towards a service focus economy, the ICT Service (ICTS) segment in Malaysia is projected to register significant growth in 2014.

The ICTS segment grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.4%, lifting its value-added services from RM11.77 billion in 2000 to RM59.83 billion in 2013. The ICTS segment is poised to reach the mark of RM67.99 billion in 2014 by registering a repeat annual growth rate of 12.4%. In tandem, the share of ICTS in the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased from 3.3% to 6.4%, almost doubling over the period of 2000-2014.

The average monthly salary of an ICT professional in Malaysia in 2013 was RM7,152. This represents an increase of 7.2% from RM6,673 in 2012. The growth continues steadily, and this figure shows that ICT professionals in Malaysia, generally earn a higher salary in average than most other professionals.

The average salary over then past 3 years, by job category ranging from fresh graduates to senior management, is as below.

Interested to find out more detail? Click here to download the full report of ICT Job Market Outlook in Malaysia (June 2014).

Restrict apps network access in Android smartphones with Firewall Plus

Do you want to block the mobile advertisement from appearing in the screen of your standalone (can work locally without network connection) apps or games?

Do you feel suspicious and insecure when you discovered there are network activities from some of the apps installed in your smartphone, even though you didn't open them, or the apps suppose to work locally without the need of connecting to the network?

Would you like to restrict certain apps that consume a lot of network data usage, such as e-Magazines, e-Newspapers, etc., so that they can only use WiFi connection to access the network, and not using your precious mobile data plan?

If you have already rooted your Android device, you can install the free Firewall Plus.

I found this Firewall Plus very straightforward and easy to use, and it has a very small file size of 239kb only.

It will list down all the apps in your Android device, which you can select to allow the apps to have WiFi access, or 3G/4G mobile access, or both, or none, respectively.

It has 2 modes, the Blacklist mode is useful when you want to allow majority of the apps to have full network access, and the Whitelist mode is useful when you want to disallow network access to all the apps by default.

Firewall Plus works on top of the built-in iptables firewall in Android.

If you haven't rooted your Android device, you can also try another app called NoRoot Firewall. NoRoot Firewall leverages on the VPN function of your Android device to perform its firewall function, which I think is less efficient than Firewall Plus.

By the way, if you have installed 3G Watchdog or its Pro version in your Android device to monitor your network usage, it is able to show you the usage by apps very clearly.

Of course, you can also make use of the Data Manager inside the Android Kitkat system to check for network usage by apps.

Reenabling external SD card access that is restricted in Android 4.4 (KitKat) with SDFix

If you have updated your Android smartphone to version 4.4.x (KitKat), you might find that access to your external SD card is now restricted by the system.

The system now comes with a file explorer that is having full read/write access to both your internal storage and external SD card storage. However, 3rd party file explorers lost the write access to the external SD card and can no longer create, move or edit files or folders in it.

Many apps can no longer save data and files in the external SD card, including your backup apps, multimedia apps, file transfer apps, etc.

This will bring problem to the operation of numerous apps. You might also face storage shortage if the internal storage of your phone is less than 32GB.

Luckily, you can reconfigure your Android smartphone to treat your external SD card the same way as before version 4.4, and let you get rid of the restriction that causes you hassle, trouble and problem.

There is only one condition: your Android smartphone must be rooted, as root access is required to change the affected system configuration file.

I use a free app called SDFix: KitKat Writable MicroSD by NextApp Inc. for my HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (GT-N5100) after they've updated to Android 4.4.x. This app is simple, easy, and works like a charm.

You will need to reboot your phone for the change to take effect after the app changed the system configuration file. If the change is successful, you can proceed to uninstall the app as you only need to run it once.

Deepavali public holiday in 2014 changed from Thu 23-Oct to Wed 22-Oct

Malaysia Federal Government vide Gazette notification dated 6 December 2013 has declared 22 October 2014 (Wednesday) as the Public Holiday for Deepavali.

This superseded the earlier Gazette Notification of Deepavali which declared it to be on 23 October 2014 (Thursday).

Source references:

• Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) Circular No. AG 7/2014
• Warta Kerajaan No. 43367 dated 6 December 2013
• Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) webpage for Public Holidays 2014

ecoLiving Advance E27 LED light bulb

I need to change the light bulb in one of my pillar lights, and found this ecoLiving Advance LED light bulb (9 watts, 910 lumens, for E27 base) selling at promotion price of RM15.90 in Tesco.

I used to use energy saving CFL light bulbs, which cost around RM10-15 too. On the same day, Philips brand energy saving CFL light bulb (18 watts, 1040 lumens, for E27 base) was selling at the price of RM11.90 in Tesco, only RM4 cheaper.

Other brands of 9W E27 LED light bulb available in Tesco include Osram and Philips. They were priced at above RM40 in Tesco on the same day.

Since its cheap price, I decided to give it a try. So, this is my first purchase of E27 LED light bulb. Let's see it in action...

It is as bright as the 18W CFL energy saving light on other pillars beside it, yet it is able to save 50% of energy by operating at 9W only!

It also claims to have 1.5x longer lifespan (up to 25,000 running hours) than the CFL energy saving light bulb (10,000 running hours).

When the price of LED lightings become more and more affordable, I can foresee that they will replace the CFL energy saving lightings, which currently replacing the traditional fluorescent and incandescent lightings.

Malaysian Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (GT-N5100) received firmware update to Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat)

After a long waiting period, the Malaysian Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (GT-N5100) finally received its OTA firmware update to Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat) from previous Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).

The build number of this update is: KOT49H.N5100XXDNH3, with Android version 4.4.2, baseband version N5100DXDNG1. Kernel version is 3.0.31-2637964 dated Fri Aug 29 2014.

This firmware incorporates Samsung Find My Mobile service, which you can perform remote control from the website http://findmymobile.samsung.com to:

• Locate your device
• Lock your device
• Ring your device
• Retrieve call logs
• Wipe off your device
• Unlock device's screen

Converting nano SIM card to micro SIM card or standard SIM card using Noosy SIM card adapter

During the good old days, all handphones use standard SIM card with the same size of 25mm x 15mm.

Then, certain high-end smartphones such as Apple iPhone 4, HTC One X, HTC One (M7), Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy S4, etc. started to use a smaller size micro SIM card of 15mm x 12mm. The standard SIM card couldn't fit in their micro SIM card slot, and need to be cut with a SIM card cutter, or you need to request for a new micro SIM card from your telco.

Not long after that, the later high-end smartphones such as Apple iPhone 5, HTC One (M8), Motorola Moto X, etc. started to use an even smaller size nano SIM card of 12.3mm x 8.8mm. Again, the standard SIM card or micro SIM card couldn't fit in their nano SIM card slot, and need to be cut with a SIM card cutter, or you need to request for a new nano SIM card from your Telco.

In some occasion, you might want to convert your smaller SIM card to a bigger one. For example, when your new smartphone is faulty and need to send back for repair, and you need to temporary fall back to your old smartphone which uses a bigger SIM card.

Luckily, there exist SIM card adapters that enable you to convert your smaller SIM card to a bigger one, similar to the concept of converting micro SD card to a standard SD card.

Noosy SIM card adapters come in a pack with 4 items:

• 1 x Nano SIM to Micro SIM adapter
• 1 x Nano SIM to Standard SIM adapter
• 1 x Micro SIM to Standard SIM adapter
• 1 x SIM tray ejector for iPhone, HTC One, etc.

Each pack only cost me RM1.80.

Favelle Favco (FAVCO, 7229) - business growing, share price yet to catch up

About 2 years ago, I mentioned about Favelle Favco (FAVCO, 7229) here.

Now, its share price already more than doubled up (29-Nov-2012 closing: RM1.47, 5-Sep-2014 closing: RM3.31, dividend paid between the period: RM0.18. Gain = 137.41%).

This stock counter caught my attention again, as its business continues growing over the period, but its share price topped at RM3.89 on 9 April 2014, after that dropped to RM3.24 on 9 May 2014, and has been side-lining until now. In fact, its share price dropped a bit during the last week in August 2014, and has been struggling between the range of RM3.25 to RM3.39 recently.

Below is its 3 year price chart, showing that despite its share price is laggard behind its business growth speed, but it is still keeping on moving up at a steady rate. In any month of the year, its share price in current year is always higher than previous year.

Now, lets see the changes in its fundamental over the past 2 years.

Traditionally, the 1st quarter is a slow period for FAVCO, which hopefully will improve in 2nd quarter, and becoming better in 3rd quarter, then slow down a bit in 4th quarter. This is reflected in its quarterly profit margin as shown in the table above.

The clients of FAVCO, who specialized in cranes, are mainly from Oil & Gas sector, and also from Construction (i.e. high-rise building), Marine (i.e. ship terminals), etc.

Its revenue derived from its outstanding order booked. Once the order booked materialized into revenue, the outstanding order booked will decrease. At the same time, new projects are secured with new Purchase Order (PO) received, which will then add on to the order booked figure subsequently.

FAVCO will announced their new substantial PO received in Bursa Malaysia Announcement website. PO with smaller value are not announced, but will be included in the outstanding order booked figure announced in the next quarterly report.

We can see that FAVCO's outstanding order booked has increased to above billion since the 3rd quarter of 2013. Over the past 2 years. every quarter in between the quarterly reports announcement, FAVCO had at least one announcement on new substantial PO received without fail. This mean they continue to get new business throughout the year, while fulfilling the secured projects on hand.

FAVCO announced their 2014Q2 report on 25 August 2014. This is a very good result, as its revenue and net profit growth are substantial, be it compared to last quarter or to same quarter in last year. It net profit broke a new record high. Its profit margin also gone above 10% for the 2nd time. However, its share price has not react to this good result, probably dragged by overall market sentiment.

Note that on 3 September 2014, FAVCO announced new substantial order booked amounting RM119.9 million. There are 2 more months to go before they announce the next quarterly report in November 2014. If within the next 2 months, they announce another new substantial order booked, then it will be confirmed that their outstanding order booked is breaking a new record high!

On 5 September 2014, FAVCO's share issued is 216.51 million. Its trailing 4 quarters net profit is RM84.228 million. We can calculate its EPS to be RM84.228/216.51 = 38.90 sen. With this, we can calculate its PE ratio on 5 September 2014 closing to be 331/38.90 = 8.5.

As long as FAVCO's business continue to grow, it is a matter to time for its share price to catch up and reflect its fundamental strength.


Disclaimer: This article is intended for sharing of point of view only. It is not an advice or recommendation to buy or sell any of the mentioned stock counters. You should do your own homework before trading in Bursa Malaysia.

HTC One (M8) users get 100GB free Google Drive storage (doubled from previous 50GB)

Today, I received an email from Google Drive with title the "Changes to your Google storage plan". Its content is as below:

Huray! HTC One (M8) users' free Google Drive storage is now increased from 50GB to 100GB! This includes existing users who have already activated the free Google Drive storage and had already received 50GB free storage, now it is doubled up to 100GB too.

This 100GB of Google Drive storage is on top of the existing free storage of 15GB, which is shared among Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ photos.

Thanks to HTC and Google!

Upgraded my HTC One Android smartphone from M7 to M8

Last week, I traded in my HTC One (M7) for a new HTC One (M8). I am glad that after slightly more than one year of usage, the M7 still carries a good resell value, and I got my brand new M8 at the cost of RM1,000 only.

To date, the M7 is still a great Android phone. Anyhow, it is a good move to trade it in for a brand new M8 while it still has good resell value.

One of my main reason to upgrade my M7 to M8 is to get better cameras both front and back. M8 has duo back camera, and front camera is 5-megapixel (compared to 2.1-megapixel in M7). M8 camera has additional features too, such as the UFocus function.

Another main reason is the availability of the innovative HTC Dot View case for M8. I can check current time and temperature, make call, and answer call without uncover the M8 from the Dot View case. The M8 screen also auto wake up when I open the cover.

M8 is longer than M7 and is having a larger 5" display (compared to 4.7" in M7). However, the bottom part of its display is used by softkeys, and the actual display length of M8 is slightly less than M7 (meaning, M7 displays slightly more vertical content on its screen). This is due to both M7 and M8 are having the same resolution of 1920x1080, but the M7 has higher pixel density at 468ppi compared to 441ppi in M8. This is something that M8 loses out to M7!

As a result of lower pixel density, the text in M8 (of same font and size) appears larger than in the screen of M7.

M8 is slightly slimmer than M7, and comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (claimed to be 3 times more damage resistant and 40% more scratch-resistant than Gorilla Glass 2 used in M7).

The aluminium build in M8 is more solid than M7. There will be wear and tear in M7 micro USB port and volume button. Its seems that the M8 design is more durable. IMHO, the position of power button and headphone port on M8 is also better than M7.

The 2600mAh Li-Po battery in M8 surprisingly charges much faster than the 2300mAh Li-Po battery in M7. With a larger battery capacity, the M8 can generally last longer in one charge cycle than M7.

M8 also comes with a micro SD card slot, enable you to expand its storage up to 128GB. You will need the tray eject pin to access the micro SD card holder, the same way as the nano-SIM card holder. Bear in mind that Android Kitkat has imposed some restriction on the use of non-internal storage in order to improve on security, which will limit the usage of micro SD card in the phone.

M7 is using micro-SIM card, while M8 is using nano-SIM card. As the size is different, you can't simply migrate over the SIM card from M7 to M8 without modification or replacement.

Processor wise, M8 is using a newer and faster quad-core Snapdragon 801 compared to quad-cord Snapdragon 600 in M7. In normal use, you won't feel much different in terms of speed between them. You will feel the different when using processor hungry apps, such as certain 3D games.

Both M7 and M8 received software update to Android 4.4.3 with Sense 6.0 recently. There isn't much different between them in terms of the OS and default software. M8 has some additional features such as Motion Launch which you can't find in M7.

M8 is using Boom Sound audio enhancement (which can't be turned off when using internal speakers), while M7 is using Beats Audio. Both are great and is a key HTC feature that makes a difference from other smartphones in the market.

I have already got some additional storage space in Google Drive by using M7. I received some more additional storage in Google Drive after upgraded to M8. This can also be considered as one of the major advantage of upgrading M7 to M8.

As a conclusion, it really worth it to upgrade HTC One from M7 to M8, while the M7 still has good resell value now. You will get the newest HTC flagship smartphone with slightly larger screen, better build, faster battery charging speed, new features (particularly major enhancement in camera functions), and innovative Dot View case.

Migrating the contacts and conversation history of SMS, Whatsapp and WeChat from old phone to new phone

When you want to migrate from one smartphone to another, one of your major concerns is probably how to move over the contacts and chat history of your SMS, Whatsapp, WeChat, LINE, Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, etc.

You shouldn't be worry about Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger, because everything is stored in their cloud server in the Internet. You just need to remember your user account and password, and setup accordingly in your new phone, in order to regain access to your contacts and chat history of these 2 apps.

If you are using Android phone, it is strongly recommended to store all your phonebook contacts in your Google account. In this way, you can always get back your address book by setting the same Google account in your new Android phone. Besides, setting the same Google account enable your new Android phone to install all your previously purchased apps from Google Play Store without additional charges too.

Your new phone should have a way to retrieve the SMS and phone calling history from your old phone. In the case of HTC smartphones with Android 4.4 and above, go to Settings > Get content from another phone for this purpose. You might need to install HTC Transfer Tool in your old Android phone to facilitate the data transfer.

For Whatsapp, backup your existing conversations in old phone with Settings > Chat settings > Backup conversations. Then, copy over the entire Whatsapp folder from your old phone's storage to your new phone.

After that, install Whatsapp on your new phone. Whatsapp will auto-detect the Whatsapp folder with backup data, and prompt you to restore your message history. Make sure you select Restore in this step, and your Whatsapp contacts, chats, group chats, attachments, etc. will all be restored. You can then continue using Whatsapp in your new phone with everything from the snapshot point of your latest backup in your old phone.

WeChat make use of their server for backup and restore. Go to Settings > General > Chat History Backup and select Back Up to backup your chat history.

Your backup will be stored over the Internet in their server for up to 7 days. If you don't restore your backup data within 7 days, it will be deleted from the server.

You will be given the option to password protect your backup data. The same password is required during restore process.

To restore, install WeChat on your new phone, go to the same place Settings > General > Chat History Backup and select Restore. You will get back your chats and group chats history.

In the case of LINE, there is no restore solution yet. After installing LINE in your new phone, you will be able to get back your LINE contacts, but you will start over your conversations from zero again.

How to cancel wrongly pressed lift (elevator) button

If you accidentally pressed one or more lift (elevator) buttons, or your kid is playing around with the lift buttons, or you just want to unselect a lift button, here is the tips.

All you need to do is double press the button, and its light will go off. If double press doesn't work in your lift (elevator), try a long press instead.

If you find this tips working and useful, feel free to share this article out to your friends.

Check TNB electricity bill payment status with myTNB app for Android and iOS

I just discovered that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has released a mobile app called myTNB for both Android and iOS smart mobile devices.

You need to register an account in order to use myTNB. After that, you can link all the electricity bills under your name to this myTNB account.

Then, you are able to check the billing status of each of the bills. This is particularly useful for residential property owners to check and ensure their tenants have paid for the electricity bill.

Beside that, you can also use myTNB to check for new electricity supply application status, Renewable Energy payment advice, report faulty street light, etc.

However, the report faulty street light is not done through the app itself, but still using traditional SMS method, which might cost you SMS charge for sending to 15454.

• Click here to install myTNB for your Android mobile device
• Click here to install myTNB for your iOS mobile device

Updated my HiMedia Q5II Android TV box firmware to Caidy Custom Mango Hi Q v1.0.7

The official Mango Hi Q v1.0.7 for HiMedia Q5II Android TV box has been released about a month ago. It comes with some known bugs, and some bloatware that is undeletable.

I have chosen to update my HiMedia Q5II with the Caidy Custom firmware v1.0.7 which is lighter (by removing unnecessary components from the official firmware, including the bloatware) and with several enhancements and bug fixes.

Caidy Custom firmware v1.0.7 is available for the following models of HiMedia Android TV box:

• EMMC version: HD600AII, Q5II, Q12, Q15, Q9
• NAND version: HD600AII, Q5II

You can download this Caidy Custom firmware v1.0.7 for HiMedia 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.
I have to warn you that you will very likely encounter data lost during the firmware update process, as this update will factory reset your HiMedia TV box. Make sure you copy out and/or backup your apps and settings before you perform the firmware update.

After update, this is how your screen will look like. Note that the icons in the middle bar is fully user configurable.

If you want to add in Google Play Store, which is not included in this version of firmware, you can download the Gapp_V2.exe installation file here.

Put the file in a Windows computer within the same local network with your HiMedia TV box. Make sure your HiMedia TV box is switched on, then execute Gapp_V2.exe from your Windows computer.

The password is "newer1".

When prompted, key in the IP address of your HiMedia TV box, and press . Don't worry if you can't see the Chinese words on the console box, you just need to key in the right IP address, and Google Play Store should be installed to your HiMedia TV box when the process ended.

If you want to install YouTube, search for "YouTube for TV" in your Google Play Store.

Obtain read and write access to Linux ext4 partition from Windows using Paragon ExtFS

If you have an SD card or an external harddisk or any other storage which is formatted in Linux native ext2/ext3/ext4 partition, and you want to mount and have full read/write access to it from Windows, here is the solution! Better still, it is free for personal use!

Paragon ExtFS for Windows is a small utility that enable you to gain both the read and write access to ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems, which is not recognized nor accessible by stock Windows OS.

This is particularly useful when you want to use your Windows computer to read, write, delete, rename, move, or copy file in your SD card or external harddisk or any other storage that is formatted with the ext2/ext3/ext4 file system.

You can download Paragon ExtFS for Windows here.

You need to register on their website in order to obtain the Product Key and Serial Number required during installation. Don't worry, this product is free for personal use, and the information will be emailed to you without any charge.

When it is running, by can automatically detect the partition with the ext2/ext3/ext4 file system, and by default will auto-mount it as a storage drive.

The drive will be seamlessly accessible by Windows.

Note that Windows detected my 16GB SD Card with Ext4 file system and assigned it to Drive E. However, Drive E is inaccessible, and Windows will ask you to format it if you try to access to it, resulting in total data lost if you choose to format it to a Windows recognizable file system (FAT32/NTFS/exFAT).

Paragon ExtFS mounted it as Drive F, which is fully accessible just like other drives.

When you right click on Drive F and look into its Properties, you will notice that its file system is shown as DOKAN.

You can click here to learn more about the Dokan file system driver.

Updated the BIOS of my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop to Version 38

I have just updated the BIOS of my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop from Version 31 to Version 38.

You can download the latest BIOS update utility of Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro from their support website here.

Beside BIOS update, you can also download the driver update files from that website as well.

The BIOS update is pretty straightforward. Make sure that the battery level of the laptop is at least 80%, and it is plugged on to the AC power supply. Then, run the BIOS Update Utility.

 

 

The new BIOS will be flashed with the InsydeFlash utility from Windows 8.1. After that, the system will reboot itself, and the BIOS update will be performed.

You will eventually reach to a state that the keyboard backlit of the laptop is on, and the screen is blank. Wait for a while, then long press the power key of the laptop to switch it off. When you switch it on again, the new BIOS is now up and running.

There is no data lost for this BIOS update. Even the BIOS settings and passwords remain after the update.

Updated my HTC One (M7) to Android 4.4.3 (KitKat) with Sense 6.0

My HTC One (M7) received its OTA update from Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) to Android 4.4.3 (KitKat) yesterday (24 August 2014).

It seems that this update focuses on security fixes, particularly the fix for OpenSSL vulnerabilities (Heartbleed Bug and some other bugs).

Visually, there is no noticeable change from the previous version. The Software Information section in the phone informs us that:

• Android version updated from 4.4.2 to 4.4.3
• HTC Sense version updated from 5.5 to 6.0
• Software number updated from 4.20.707.6 to 6.13.707.1
• HTC SDK API level updated from 5.69 to 6.25
• Kernel version remains as 3.4.10

How to get into the BIOS Setup Utility screen of Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop

In order to get into the BIOS Setup Utility screen of Lenovo Ideapad series of laptops, you need to locate for a button called the Novo Button on the laptop.

In the case of Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro ultrabook, this Novo button is a small round button located beside the Power button.

While is laptop is powered off, press and hold this Novo button for a few seconds, and you should be able to see the Novo Button Menu with 4 options:

• Normal Startup
• BIOS Setup
• Boot Menu
• System Recovery

Select the 2nd option namely "BIOS Setup" and press . There you are, the BIOS Setup Utility screen of Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro!

In this BIOS Setup Utility, you can view some of the hardware information of the laptop, including its serial number. Most importantly, you can setup the BIOS passwords (administrator and user) and also the harddisk password here as a basic security measure to protect the data in your laptop.