My Vention 3-port 5 Gbps USB 3.0 hub with RJ45 gigabit ethernet LAN adapter

If you are using a laptop with limited number of USB ports, and/or without a built-in RJ45 ethernet LAN port, this Vention 3-port USB 3.0 hub with RJ45 gigabit ethernet LAN adapter could be a handy and useful companion for your laptop.

At the price of around RM50, this small gadget is able to extend one of the USB port of your computer into 3 USB ports. At the same time, it also converts the USB port into a gigabit ethernet LAN port that supports 1,000 Mbps network bandwidth.

The LAN port can work at the same time with the 3 USB ports on it.

 

It supports USB 3.0, which is able to provide a maximum data transmission speed of 5 Gbps.

It is also backward compatible with the older USB 2.0, which is able to provide a maximum data transmission speed of only 480 Mbps.

You can refer to the table below for the comparison of different generations of USB port.

As such, if your computer comes with both the USB 2.0 port(s) and USB 3.0 port(s), you should plug this gadget into the blue colour USB 3.0 port to obtain a much faster data transmission speed than the USB 2.0.

This gadget also has a micro-USB power in port for you to provide charging power from wall charging adapter or car charging adapter. It supports 5V/2A fast charging.

You might need to make use of this micro-USB power in port to provide additional power for charging your handphone and/or tablet with the USB 3.0 ports on the hub, or to power up certain external harddisk that requires a larger power to work.

Other than this 3-port USB 3.0 hub with RJ45 gigabit ethernet LAN adapter, Vension also has different range of similar products, such as USB-C hub, USB to audio port adapter, USB to 100 Mbps ethernet adapter, etc.

There is a cheaper Vention 3-port USB 2.0 hub with RJ45 100 Mbps ethernet LAN adapter that looks alike. I would recommend you to go for the USB 3.0 version with gigabit ethernet LAN adapter for much better performance. Don't buy the wrong version for a cheaper price!

My L01 handphone selfie stick and tripod with Bluetooth shutter button

You might have awared that I am using Iruin to make use of my handphone camera as computer webcam.

This solution works pretty well. However, I found that I need a mini tripod to hold my handphone to get a better camera shooting angle, and I have found this L01 selfie stick which can also act as a tripod stand. Its price of below RM20 is very affordable.

The length of this L01 selfie stick, when folded, is only about 18.6 cm, which is very handy to carry along. It has a pretty light weight of 155 gram. It comes with a nice pouch too.

To use it as a tripod, just hold your handphone with its clamp, and unfold its 3 retractable legs.

The clamp is flexible to hold handphone of width between 5.5cm to 8.5cm, including the thickness of protective casing, if there is any.

Its length can be extended up to 70cm, by pulling out its stainless steel pole.

Obviously, you can use it as a selfie stick as well, by folding its 3 legs.

Its handphone holder is 360 degree rotatable, so you can take photo and video in portrait mode as well. 

The holder can be tilted up to 200 degree, to adjust the camera shooting angle.

This selfie stick has a handy Bluetooth shutter button, which is detachable.

The shutter button is powered by a CR1632 battery inside it, which is changeable.

To pair this Bluetooth shutter button with your handphone, just long-press it, and confirm the Bluetooth pairing in your handphone.

After pairing, you can use this button to take photo with your handphone.

The button will automatically disconnect and shutdown itself after 600 seconds of non-operation.

This L01 selfie stick is multi-functional, very easy to use, and made with pretty solid material. I like it very much.

Fixed Xiaomi Redme AirDots left earbud no sound problem

When you put on both the earpieces of the Xiaomi Redme AirDots wireless earbuds, by right you just need to Bluetooth connect to the right earpiece (Redmi AirDots_R) and the left earpiece will connect itself automatically to give you a stereo audio experience.

After some times of usage, I noticed that my left earpiece no longer automatically connects to the right earpiece to form the stereo audio, and it has no sound unless I connect to Redmi AirDots_L, which will in turn causing the right earpiece to have no sound.

Here is the fix to solve the problem:

Step 1: Unpair the Bluetooth device Redmi AirDots_R (and Redmi AirDots_L, if any) in your handphone's setting, or any other device that paired with the Redme AirDots earbuds.

Step 2: Shutdown and reset both the earbuds together.

Long press the button of both the earbuds together for at least 15 seconds. You will see the red and white lights of both the earbuds flicker alternately and then go out. Very important - do not release yet! Continue your long-press, after a while, you will see the red and white lights of both the earbuds flicker alternately again, and then go out.

You need to hold your long-press until the red and white lights would not turn on again.

In my first few attempts, I failed this Step 2 and the problem still remain unfixed, because I thought it was done after one time of lights flickering and go out. It turned out that there will be second or even third round of lights flickering and go out cycle, before the reset process is totally done.

Step 3: Put back both the earbuds into the charging box. Wait until both of them enter the charging state (red light on). Let the charging to continue for at least 5 seconds.

Step 4: Take out both the earbuds from the charging box. The left earbud should now be trying to pair itself to the right earbud, and the right earbud should now be trying to seek for a pairing device.

Step 5: Go to your handphone's Bluetooth setting, search and pair with Redmi AirDots_R. Your problem should be fixed by now.

My Prolink PDC66001 60 watts 6-port USB charger with QC3.0 fast charging support

I was looking for a replacement to my Belkin B2E027 4-port USB charger and finally bought the Prolink PDC66001 60 watts 6-port USB charger.

There are many brands and models of multiple port USB chargers available in the market, varying in quality, price, charging speed, and safety features. My considerations in choosing a multiple port USB charger includes:

• Reliability - Prolink is a trustworthy Singapore brand with many decent ICT products.
• Safety - Prolink PDC66001 is IEC and Singapore Safty Mark certified. It comes with S$1 million product liability insurance. Its IntelliSense feature provides protections against over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature, overload and short-circuit.
• Total number of charging port - its 6 charging port is more than the 4-port Belkin B2E027.
• Charging speed - Prolink PDC66001 has 2 Qualcomm certified QC3.0 fast charging ports and 4 more 5V/2.4A charging ports.
• Total output power - Prolink PDC66001 has a maximum output power of 60 watts, while most other multiple port USB chargers are having maximum output power of 30 watts or even lower.
• Availability of 3-pin UK plug - Prolink PDC66001 comes with a 1 meter long AC power cord with 3-pin UK plug.
• Price - I find Prolink PDC66001's price of around RM100 quite reasonable.

Its size is pretty small, about the size of a mouse, making it very easy to be carried along while traveling.

Its QC3.0 charging ports are differentiated from the other ports with green colour.

Each of the Prolink PDC66001 product has its own serial number. Registration for its 12-month warranty can be done online on their website.

Choosing the correct cable to connect DVB-T2 television to aerial wall socket

Since August 2019, Malaysia free over-the-air television broadcasting has been switched from analogue to digital.

The good news is, nowadays most newer model of television has built-in DVB-T2 decoder to receive digital over-the-air TV channels.

If your house/condominium/apartment has an aerial wall socket that connects to the external aerial antenna of the building that looks like the one below, you can use a TV cable with male-to-female connectors to connect your TV with DVB-T2 decoder to the TV wall socket and receive the broadcasted digital TV channels.

If your TV is facing problem of missing channels, pixelated screen, snowy screen due to weak signal strength and/or weak signal quality, it can probably be caused by the type of cable used.

Referring to the table below, if you are staying in a highrise building, the cable buried inside the call connecting the wall socket to the external antenna should be coaxial cable of type RG11/U.

If you are staying in landed property which the distance between the external antenna and the wall socket is below 225 meters, then maybe RG6/U cable still be used without much problem.

For the portion of cable connecting your TV to the wall socket, RG6/U cable is recommended. Using RG11/U cable is even better, but its cost will be higher too.

If you are using RG59/U cable but don't face any problem with your TV, then you can continue using it, otherwise, consider upgrade the cable to RG6/U.

In the photo below, the black cable is type RG59/U and the white cable is type RG6/U. You can easily notice that the RG6/U has a much thicker diameter than RG59/U.

If your TV problem persists despite using RG6/U cable, you might probably need to resort to other solution, such as adding a signal booster, using digital TV decoder box, or receiving the TV signal using an internal antenna.

DIY hair cutting at home with Xiaomi Enchen Boost wireless hair trimmer

Due to the prolonged Movement Control Order (MCO) period which has caused all the barber shops and hair salons to shutdown until further notice, I have bought a Xiaomi Enchen Boost wireless hair trimmer for DIY hair cutting at home.

Enchen is a startup company in ChongQing (重庆), China that has successfully crowd-funded their hygiene care products in Xiaomi Youpin (小米有品) platform. They have several models of wireless hair trimmer product, with the name of Boost, Hummingbird, Sharp3, etc. and I found the Boost model is easier to use and more suitable for novice users.

At the price of around RM50, the package comes with:

• The electronic hair trimmer with built-in rechargeable battery
• Cleaning brush
• USB type-C charging cable
• A small bottle of lubricating oil
• 2 stainless steel hair cutting scissors
• Plastic comb
• Barber apron
• User manual in Chinese language

There are sellers selling this Xiaomi Enchen Boost hair trimmer at a slightly cheaper price, but without the scissors, comb and apron.

Before using the hair trimmer, its battery needs to be recharged, and its cutting blade needs to be lubricated with the lubricating oil supplied in the package.

The package does not come with a charger. You will need to use your own wall charger or computer USB port to charge the hair trimmer. When charging, one of its LED will blink slowly, with "breathing" effect. After it is fully charged, the LED light will stop "breathing" and become continuously on.

The hair trimmer can be used while connected to its charging USB cable. Normally, it is used wirelessly after unplugged from the USB cable, so that you can move it freely without being tangled by the USB cable.

It takes about 60 minutes to reach 90% charge, and another 30 minutes to be fully charged. At 90% charged state, it can be used for 80 minutes. When fully charged, it can be used for 90 minutes.

The one button at the front of the hair trimmer functions to turn it on/off, as well as to toggle its normal/turbo speed. You can toggle into turbo cutting speed by turning it on with a long press instead of short press.

Its motor is pretty quiet without producing much noise. At normal speed, the motor rotates at 4,500 rpm and at turbo speed, 5,800 rpm. It is strong enough to even cut down fine copper wires, as shown below.

The Enchen Boost hair trimmer can be easily adjusted to trim down the hair from 3 mm to 21 mm at a slide to its back button.

Note that the hair trimmer body is not water resistant, and should be avoided from contacting with excessive water. Its cutting blade can be removed and rinse with water for cleaning purpose.

You can use the comb and scissors to fine tune the hair slope for nicer look after the trimming.

This Xiaomi Enchen Boost wireless hair trimmer is very easy to use and value for money. With it, you can easily DIY your own hair cut, and also help your family members' hair cut, even without any prior hair cutting experience. It is suitable for hair cutting to people from infant to old age. Its low noise operation is generally more acceptable to infants and toddlers, so that they are more cooperative and emotionally calmer during the hair cut.

One thing to criticize is that it only comes with user manual in Chinese language. The user manual has clear instruction on how to operate the hair trimmer, cleaning and maintenance, and also some fault troubleshooting steps. It would be much better if English is included in the user manual.

The differences between Huawei Watch GT 2 and Huawei Watch GT 2e

Huawei has recently launched the Huawei Watch GT 2e which priced about 30% cheaper than the flagship Huawei Watch GT 2.

While Huawei Watch GT 2 comes in 2 case size variants of 46mm and 42mm, the Huawei Watch GT 2e only has one case size, which is 46mm.

There are a lot of similarities in the specifications between Huawei Watch GT 2 and Huawei Watch GT 2e. Many people has been asking, beside the obvious different in price tag, what are the differences between both of them?

After some fact finding, I have concluded that the Huawei Watch GT 2e is a model with features and functions in-between the 46mm and 42mm variants of Huawei Watch GT 2.

The main differences of Huawei Watch GT 2e from Huawei Watch GT 2 42mm

• The case size of Huawei Watch GT 2e is 46mm which is larger than 42mm.
• Its battery life of about 14 days is longer than the 42mm's 7 days.

The main differences of Huawei Watch GT 2e from Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm

• It has a smaller RAM size of 16MB, compared with the 32MB RAM of Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm.
• It does not have a microphone and unable to make phone calls.
• It does not have a speaker and unable to play music directly or listen to phone calls.

As such, the Huawei Watch GT 2e can be seen as a scale-up version of Huawei Watch GT 2 42mm but a scale-down version of Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm, with a new attractive price tag. This can be summarized in the table below.

By the way, since the Huawei Watch GT 2e is newer, it comes with a firmware with more features, such as the SpO2 blood oxygen saturation measurement. The sports mode also increased from 15 to 100, with sport activity auto-detect capability.

Anyhow, these software features improvements are anticipated to be made available to the Huawei Watch GT 2 as well through new firmware update. For example, right now, the SpO2 measurement is now already available in Huawei Watch GT 2 after firmware update to version 1.0.6.26 and above.

Huawei/Honor car charger comparison - AP31 vs CP31 vs AP38 vs AP38C vs CP37 vs CP39S

Huawei produces several models of car charger under its own Huawei or Honor brand. Different model of the car charger looks about the same, but their maximum charging output is different, and their price is different too.

Let's take a look on their differences, so that if you want to buy one, you could buy the correct model at the right price tag.

Huawei CP39S

Technology: SuperCharge wireless
Maximum power output: 27W
15-layers safety protection
You won't get this wrong, as this model is a wireless charger which looks different from the other models. It can only charge handphones that support wireless charging, such as Huawei P20 Pro, P30 Pro, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 30 Pro 5G, Mate RS, Mate 20 RS, Mate 20 X, etc.


Huawei CP37

Technology: SuperCharge 2.0
Maximum power output: 40W
12-layers safety protection
Charging USB #1: 5V2A
Charging USB #2: 10V4A max


Huawei AP38

Technology: SuperCharge
Maximum power output: 27.5W
Charging USB #1: 5V1A
Charging USB #2: 4.5V5A / 9V2A
5-layers safety protection
This is the same as Honor AP38C, but under Huawei brand.


Honor AP38C

Technology: SuperCharge
Maximum power output: 27.5W
Charging USB #1: 5V1A
Charging USB #2: 4.5V5A / 9V2A
5-layers safety protection
This is the same as Huawei AP38, but under Honor brand.


Huawei CP31

Technology: QuickCharge
Power output: 18W + 5W
Charging USB #1: 9V2A
Charging USB #2: 5V1A
5-layers safety protection
This is the same as Honor AP31, but under Huawei brand.


Honor AP31

Technology: QuickCharge
Power output: 18W + 5W
Charging USB #1: 9V2A
Charging USB #2: 5V1A
5-layers safety protection
This is the same as Huawei CP31, but under Honor brand.

Buying guide for electronic dance mat for TV / computer

Nowadays, particularly during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, a kind of electronic dance mat that works together with TV or computer has become a hot selling item in many e-commerce platforms.

This kind of electronic dance mat is a kind of portable floor blanket with electronic sensors underneath, so that it can become an input device to its dancing/gaming console box, using TV or computer screen as its interactive screen display.

It is ideal for home aerobic exercise, and to have a fun interactive time with children.

Normally, the electronic dance mat system has 3 main functions:

• Dancing with music by accurately stepping at the right region on the mat at the right timing, which could also include waving your hand at the right timing.
• Aerobic exercise and yoga training by on-screen coaching.
• Playing console games

Below are some of the key considerations when buying an electronic dance mat for your reference.

1. Dance mat for 2 persons

There are 2 variants of this kind of dance mat. The square single person mat, which is cheaper, and the rectangular 2 persons mat, which is double the size of the single person one.

Unless you are living alone and always using the dance mat alone, otherwise you won't be regret buying the 2 persons mat, so that you can dance together in 2 persons, and playing interactive console games in 2 persons mode.

2. PU surface material

Normally the dance mat surface material is made of either PVC or PU. PVC type is slightly cheaper, but less durable. The PU type is more robust and durable, and provides better touch with the foot. It is also water resistance, and easier to clean.

The PVC type comes with varies thickness, some can be as thick as 30mm to 50mm, depends on the filler foam inside it. The PU type is normally as thick as the thin PVC type without extra thickness. Anyhow, you can always achieve the same thickness effect by laying a layer of tatami foam tiles underneath the PU dance mat. The cost for tatami foam tiles as shown below is much cheaper too.

3. HDMI connection

Older version of the dance mat console box connects to the TV by composite RCA cables. Newer version connects to the TV by HDMI cable.

Unless your TV has limited number of HDMI ports, it is better to choose the dance mat which uses HDMI connection rather than composite RCA connection, as HDMI supports higher screen resolution.

4. Wireless connection

Older version of the dance mat is integrated with its console box. The distance between the dance mat and your TV will then be restricted by the length of the connecting cable.

Newer version of the dance mat connects wirelessly to a separate console box, which in turn connects to the TV with HDMI or RCA cable. In the way, you can place the dance mat anywhere within the wireless communication distance. The dance mat will need to operate using batteries.

5. Wireless hand controllers

Hand controller is another input device beside the dance mat. Beside buttons, it also has a gyroscope sensor inside to detect hand movement.

If your dance mat is for single person, your package will come with one hand controller; if your dance mat is for 2 persons, your package will come with two hand controllers.

There are 2 types of hand controller. The older version is wired to the console box, and the newer version is wireless. You should get the wireless one which provides you with freedom of movement.

Certain dance mat packages don't come with any hand controller. They are either having a console box with camera that can capture your body movement, eliminating the need of using gyroscope in the hand controller, or the package reduced the price by not supplying with the hand controller.

Hand controller is quite essential which playing console games. Without the hand controller, the games could become very difficult to play, less fun, or even totally unplayable.

6. SD-card external storage

SD-card makes it possible to add more games and music to the dance mat system.

More intelligent dance mats can automatically generate dance steps by analyzing on the new MP3 files you store in the SD-card, while other less intelligent dance mats (usually cheaper) will always generate the same set of dance steps regardless what MP3 file you store in the SD-card.

Some cheaper version of dance mat system is without SD-card slot, and you are confined with the games and dancing music provided in the internal storage of the system. You are not able to add more on top of the existing.

7. Language

Most of this kind of dance mat are made in China. Most of their system only come in Chinese language. Some of them have English user interface. If you need English, make sure you choose the correct one, which needs to be explicitly indicate it has English user interface.


Below are some of the optional features and functions that are nice to have, which you can consider as well. Usually these additional features and functions will raise up the price tag of the dance mat accordingly.

a. Dancing stage light

Some dance mat comes with a crystal ball dancing stage light, making it more fun to dance on it.

b. LED guiding lights

Some PU type dance mat comes with LED lights to guide you to step on the right place when dancing on it. Those dance mat with LED lights will consume more number of batteries.

c. Augmented reality

Some dance mat system with camera can make yourself appear in your TV screen as a character. You can then dance interactively together with animated character(s) in the TV. It is also more fun playing games in augmented reality.

d. Connect to computer

Most newer version of dance mat's console box is able to connect to your computer by using a USB cable.

After installing the correct device driver, your computer will then be able to recognize the dance mat and its hand controllers as input devices.

The dance program, exercise coaching program and games are of separate set from those in the console box, and need to be installed in your computer.

There are also third party dance program such as StepMania which you can download and install in your computer to work with the dance mat.

This feature is good to have, because your computer screen is usually much smaller than your TV, unless you use a projector screen. Normally, people will just use the dance mat with TV, and seldom with computer.

List of smart watches, bands, weighting scales and wearable devices that can be linked with Huawei Health

Huawei Health is an integrated mobile application for health management, physical activity journaling, professional exercise coaching and wearable device management. It is available for free download in Google Play Store, Apple App Store and also Huawei App Gallery.

 

Although Huawei Health can work as a standalone mobile app in the smart phone, its power is only unleashed when it is wirelessly paired with smart watch, smart band, weighting scale and/or other wearable devices with Bluetooth.

Huawei Health has a pedometer which can intelligently takes your step counts collected from the handphone and also from all the connected devices, and display the composite result.

It can display the total distance travelled by your body from combined activities of walking, running, climbing and other. It can also display the amount of calories burned from such activities. It can even display the height climbed by your body from the composite data recorded through the barometer in your smartphone and connected wearable devices.

It also provides dashboard for heart rate records, SpO2 blood oxygen saturation measurement, sleep quality analysis, stress level analysis, weight measurement, exercise records, and even menstrual cycle tracking for women (by using data from another mobile app called Huawei Cycle Calendar).

Huawei Health is also a wearable device management center for paired devices. You can use it to upload and change watch faces, upload and manage music in the wearable, configure device settings, and even perform firmware update to the wearable.

Currently, the list of officially supported devices that can work with Huawei Health are as below. Devices not in the list are not yet fully tested by Huawei for their compatibility with Huawei Health, which you can still try your luck to find out if their can successfully paired with Huawei Health without much problem.

Huawei Health supported smart watches:

• Huawei Watch GT 2 (both 46mm and 42mm)
• Huawei Watch GT 2e
• Huawei Watch GT (both 46mm and 42mm)
• Huawei Watch 2
• Huawei Porsche Design Watch
• Huawei Fit
• Honor MagicWatch 2
• Honor Watch Magic/Dream

Huawei Health supported smart bands:

• Huawei Band 4 / 4 Pro
• Huawei Band 4e
• Huawei Band 3 / 3 Pro
• Huawei Bend 3e
• Huawei Band 2 / 2 Pro
• Huawei TalkBand B5 / B5 Lite
• Huawei TalkBand B3
• Huawei Color Band A2
• Honor Band 5i
• Honor Band 5 / 5 Sport
• Honor Band 4 / 4 Running Edition
• Honor Band 3

Huawei Health supported weighting scales:

• Huawei Body Fat Scale
• Honor Scale 2
• Honor Smart Scale
• PICOOC S1 Pro Body Fat Scale

Huawei Health supported heart rate monitors:

• Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Headphones
• Suunto Smart Belt Heart Rate Strap
• Polar H7 Heart Rate Chest Strap

My Tx8 3.5mm AUX to Bluetooth 5.0 converter for audio transmitting / receiving

My Ruizu X02 MP3 player is without Bluetooth output function, and I think it would be good to add Bluetooth function to it, so that it can output audio to wireless earbuds, Bluetooth speaker, soundbar, etc.

There are cheap AUX to Bluetooth converters available, some even priced below RM20. Based on their product description and customer review, the follow shortcomings are quite common to them:

• Single function of either Bluetooth receiving or transmitting only.
• Poor and short distance connection.
• Sound is lagging behind due to low transmission rate.
• Battery only works for short hours before recharging needed.
• Product quality not so good with high faulty rate after some times of use.

Anyhow, I managed to find this Tx8 2-in-1 Bluetooth transmitter and receiver, at the cost of below RM30, with the following features:

• Supports Bluetooth 5.0 for better audio data transmission quality.
• Can work for 8-12 hours before battery recharge is needed.
• Transmission distance exceeding 33 feet.
• Able to remember the paired devices.

It is very compact in size, easy to carry along. It even has a fixed folder design. It comes with USB charging cable, AUX cable, RCA cable, and a user manual.

I have purposely put my Logitech M590 mouse beside to give a better idea about its size.

By connecting the Tx8 with cable to the audio output of MP3 player, computer, handphone, tablet, TV, and any other devices with AUX audio output port, the Tx8 can transmit the audio wirelessly through Bluetooth connection to wireless earbuds, speaker, sound bar, Hi-Fi system, car audio system, etc.

On the other hand, by connecting the Tx8 with cable to the audio input of a speaker, radio, sound bar, and any other audio devices with AUX or RCA input, the Tx8 can receive the audio wirelessly through Bluetooth connection from handphone, tablet, computer, TV, media player, smart watch, etc.

The Bluetooth pairing is pretty fast, and the connection is pretty stable.

If you are looking for similar gadget with an affordable price, you can consider this one.

Raspberry Pi - fully working computer at the cost of RM300++ (best for home use during and beyond MCO period)

During current Movement Control Order (MCO) period, there are quite a lot of schools have resorted into online teaching and learning mechanism. There are also quite a lot of companies practicing work-from-home (WFH) concept.

However, this raised a question: what if the family does not have a computer at home? And, what if the family only has one computer at home, but needs to be shared by parents who need to WFH and also multiple children who need to learn from home?

Well, you can buy a fully working computer online, including additional computers needed for all your family members, at the cost of RM300++ each, in the condition that you have a screen (either computer monitor or TV) at home, and Internet access (either phone's hotspot sharing or broadband Internet).

The full set Raspberry Pi (recommended for Version 4 model B with 2GB RAM) with all its required accessories, is a fully working computer at the cost of about RM300-RM360 only. Beside its low cost, it also consumes minimal amount of electricity and requires minimal storage space due to its small size.

It is good enough for normal online learning, doing assignments with office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation slides, database, etc.), and some entertainment including games.

With about RM360, you can buy the following full set of computer:

• Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with Quad core CPU and 2GB RAM - RM174
• Casing for the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B - RM25  (*1)
• Official Raspberry 15W power adapter - RM35
• Micro-HDMI to HDMI cable - RM10
• Wired earphone - RM15 (*2)
• 16GB micro SD card preinstalled with NOOBS - RM36 (*3)
• Logitech MK220 wireless keyboard & mouse - RM65 (*4)

*1: The casing is an optional item. Without the casing, the Raspberry Pi will be a naked computer board as shown in the image above. With the casing, it will look like below:

*2: If you connect the Raspberry Pi to your TV using HDMI cable, you can make use of the audio output from your TV. You need an earphone or speaker, either wired or Bluetooth, to listen to the audio from Raspberry Pi if you are using a monitor without audio output.

*3: Raspberry Pi makes use of micro SD card as its "harddisk". You can also buy a blank micro SD card, which is much cheaper, and download NOOBS for free from Raspberry's website. That will require some basic computer knowledge to download and install NOOBS into the micro SD card. NOOBS is an installer that will prepare the SD card for Raspbian (including partitioning, etc.), and automatically download and install the operating system into it.

*4: Alternatively, you can also use cheaper USB wired keyboard & mouse to further reduce the cost.

The recommended operating system will be Raspbian, a scaled down version of Debian Linux. It has fully functioning Chromium or Vivaldi web browser, LibreOffice resembling the Microsoft Office, and tonnes of installable free softwares in Raspbian repository. This is good enough to access to Google suite of applications (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Hangout, ...), watch online & offline video, listen to online & offline music, access to learning portal and other websites, attending audio/video conferencing, etc.

There are also programming tools and graphic design software available in Raspbian for learning purpose.

In fact, you can install a full LAMP stack in Raspbian and turn your Raspberry Pi into a web application server as well.

The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B also supports webcam and voice input with additional module, which will need additional cost to buy and some technical skill to assemble.

Beside Raspbian, there are other choices of operating system that works with Raspberry Pi too, including Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Edition, which you can explore if you are enthusiastic with them.

Logitech MK220 wireless keyboard and mouse combo - work well with Raspberry Pi Zero W

The Logitech MK220 is a combo of Logitech wireless keyboard K220 and Logitech wireless mouse M150, both sharing the same USB receiver communicating using 2.4 GHz band with effective connection range of up to 10 meters or 33 feet.

The keyboard is powered by 2 AAA size batteries, while the mouse is powered by 2 AA size batteries. The batteries in the keyboard can last as long as 24 months, while the batteries in the mouse can last for about 6 months.

The keyboard is very compact in size, makes it easy to carry around and also need less space to store. Despite its compact size, it has full size keys of the same size like normal keyboards, except for the first row of function keys which are only half the size of the other keys. This keyboard is pretty quiet. It is also spill resistant.

The mouse is of the same size like other normal mice. It doesn't have fancy features, just 2 buttons and a scroll wheel.

I can't find any power on/off switch on both the keyboard and mouse. I think they are designed to be always on, and will go into standby mode when connection is not made with the USB receiver.

This Logitech MK220 is plug-and-play to Windows, Linux and Android systems. I find this combo pretty ideal to be used as input devices for Raspberry Pi.

It works flawlessly with my Raspberry Pi Zero W, by connecting its USB receiver with a micro-USB to USB converter to the Raspberry Pi's micro-USB port.

Using Vidmore video converter to convert MP4 / MKV / MOV / WMV / AVI / FLV video to AMV format

AMV is a kind of compressed motion JPEG (M-JPEG) video format, commonly used in MP3 and MP4 players.

For example, the Ruizu X02 MP3 player can only play one type of video file, which is AMV. I would need to convert music video (MV) in the format of either MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, AVI, FLV, etc. into AMV before my Ruizu X02 MP3 player can play the video without any issue.

There are several websites in the Internet that claimed to be able to online convert uploaded video file into AMV format. There are also several video converting software that claimed to support conversion to AMV format. I have tried some of the popular one, but all of them failed as the AMV file produced by them end-up with "invalid video format" error when I tried to play in my Ruizu X02 MP3 player.

Finally, I managed to find one video conversion software that works, which is Vidmore video converter, and it is surprisingly very easy to use for AMV file conversion.

Vidmore is a freemium software, in which the free version only allows conversion of video of length not more than 5 minutes. This is good enough for music video conversion, because most of the songs are less than 5 minutes long.

Another restriction to the free version is that, you can only convert 1 file at a time. This is also OK for me, as I only need to convert a small amount of MV to put into my Ruizu X02 MP3 player.

To perform the conversion, set the "Convert All to" selection to "AMV AMV General" and leave all the settings as default. Leave the resolution setting to be 170x144.

Then, open the video file one at a time, and click on the Convert All button to perform the conversion.

The output AMV file should be able to be played in the Ruizu X02 MP3 player.

How to update latest firmware to Ruizu MP3 player

I have mentioned that the default firmware in Ruizu X02 MP3 player is not so user friendly, as its navigation is a little bit weird. For certain function, you need to press its left and right button to navigate up and down on the screen. This has been fixed in its latest version of firmware. The new firmware also brings in additional functions to the Ruizu X02 MP3 player, such as the 3 additional games.

New firmware for Ruizu MP3 players, be it X02 or other model of their range of products, can be downloaded from their official website.

You can click here to reach the Ruizu X02 MP3 player product page, and the click on the Newest Firmware tab to download the latest firmware file.

Alternatively, you can also click here to reach the Manual & Firmware page of Ruizu range of MP3 player products, search for the right model of your MP3 player on the screen, click on its photo, and then select Firmware to download the latest firmware file.

In order to perform the firmware update to your Ruizu MP3 player, you will need a computer installed with the firmware update application called Actions Multimedia Product Tool v2.07 which you can click here to download it. After download, just uncompress the file and install it.

The steps to perform firmware update to Ruizu MP3 player is pretty easy.

1. Download the latest firmware from Ruizu's website. Make sure the firmware file belongs to the matching model of your MP3 player.
2. Uncompress the downloaded firmware file in your harddisk.
3. Connect your Ruizu MP3 player to the computer with a USB data cable.
4. Launch the Actions Multimedia Product Tool v2.07 application.
5. The software should show 1 USB Device Detected on its screen. If there are more than one, make sure you select the correct destination, which is your MP3 player.
6. Load in the uncompressed firmware file.
7. Uncheck the FLASH_ERASE checkbox. If you didn't do this, the internal storage in your MP3 player will be formatted, and all the files you stored in it will be erased.
8. Click on the firmware update button to perform the update.
9. When finished, you can then safely disconnect your MP3 player from your computer.

 



My Ruizu X02 MP3 player with 8GB internal storage

I have bought a Ruizu X02 MP3 player for my kid who is studying in a boarding school. It is a budget MP3 player which cost around RM50.

This Ruizu X02 MP3 player is very lightweight, compact at the size of just 3.9cm x 9.0cm x 0.7cm, and surprisingly feature rich. Its only shortfall is not supporting Bluetooth audio. Anyhow, Bluetooth is supported in higher ranked models of Ruizu MP3 player, such as the X06 which cost about 50% more expensive than the X02.

It doesn't come together with a earphone. well, you can easily get a decent earphone that come with your handphone, or to purchase one from the market.

Its default firmware is not so user friendly, because for certain function, you need to press its left and right button to navigate up and down on the screen. There is a new firmware version available for download in Ruizu official website. After the firmware update, its UX screen navigation is much better now. You can click here to learn about how to perform the firmware update to Ruizu MP3 player.

This MP3 player has an internal storage of 8GB. It also supports using SD card as external storage, but I found that after plugged-in the SD card, there will be additional steps to access and play the music and files, making it less convenient. In the end, I find it much better without the SD card. After all, 8GB of storage is large enough to store in a lot of songs and files.

One of the unique selling points (USP) of this Ruizu X02 MP3 player is its built-in battery's run time, which is able to play music for as long as 80 hours for a full charge cycle.

Another USP is that it supports as many as 25 languages, not only able to display the menu text in different language, but also able to correctly display filename, tag info, lyrics, and text in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French, and characters of other languages.

Among its functions are:

1. Music player

Its music player is able to play MP3, APE, AAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, WAV and FLAC.

It has a decent software equalizer, and able to play music with satisfactory quality when paired with a good stereo earphone, or a music speaker connected with AUX cable to it.

It supports display of song lyrics with LRC file, and also display of song album image when the music is playing.

2. Audio recorder

It has a built-in mic for audio recording. Supported audio recording file formats are MP3, WAV and ACT.

The effective sound recording distance is less than 8 meters.

3. FM radio

It makes use of the connected earphone wire or AUX cable as antenna for its FM radio. It is able to memorize up to 30 favourite stations, which is quite a lot. It is also able to perform FM radio recording.

4. Photo viewer

It is able to display JPG, JPEG and BMP files on its 1.8" TFT screen. Do not expect much, as the screen resolution is low.

5. Video player

It can also play video in AMV format of resolution 128x160. You can convert Music Video (MV) into this AMV format, and it will be able to play the MV.

6. E-book

It can display content of TXT files, and allow you to put a bookmark onto the reading file. Text files with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. are supported.

7. Games

Its default firmware does not come with games, but after updated its firmware to latest version, there are 3 small games found in it, namely Snake, Sokoban and Tetris.

8. Other functions

Other functions include clock (as screen saver), calendar, stopwatch and alarm.

It would be nice if it could include a simple calculator as well, but that is lacking.


All in all, this is a feature rich MP3 player with very affordable price. A nice gadget for students in the situation that use of handphone is very restricted within the school compound, but MP3 player is allowed, particularly in the library area.