Sunday, December 15, 2019

Cooking hob type comparison: gas vs ceramic vs induction

Currently there are 3 major types of cooking hob available in the market.

The traditional cooking gas type has been around for a long time, and perhaps is the most commonly used type.

On the other hand, there are 2 types of electrical hob, one type works using radiation under ceramic top, and another is the induction type. The heating source of the ceramic hob can be of cooker ring elements, halogen lamp, or some other materials.

The table below compares the characteristics, pros and cons among the gas hob, ceramic hob and induction hob (click on the image to enlarge it).



There is little doubt that the electrical hobs are better than the traditional gas hob, especially in terms of safety.

While the induction hob seems to be a better choice than the ceramic hob, its limitation in cookware compatibility is a major set back.

Luckily nowadays there exist 2-in-1 cooker hobs that contain both ceramic burner and induction burner on same piece of hob for you to get the best of both.

Another major consideration when buying a hob is the material used for its glass surface, as poor material is easier to get scratched, cracked or broken. Brand names such as Eurokera, Schott, NEG, etc. could give you some confidence on the ceramic glass material quality.


Malaysia year 2020 national and state public holidays

The official 2020 national and state public holidays in Malaysia has been announced by Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Government Relation Division (BKPP), Prime Minister Department.

There are 14 days of national holiday (12 national holidays, whereby Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa have 2 days of holiday respectively, and all the rest are 1 day).

3 of them fall on Friday, 4 fall on Saturday, 2 fall on Sunday, and 2 fall on Monday. Most of the states will have around 4 state holidays in addition to the national holidays.

Chinese New Year falls on weekend Saturday and Sunday (25th and 26th January 2020). As such, Monday 27th January 2020 will also be a holiday.

Hari Raya Puasa falls on Sunday and Monday (24th and 25th May 2020).  As such, Tuesday 26th May 2020 will also be a holiday.

Unfortunately, Deepavali falls on Saturday (14th November 2020), which is already a weekend off day for many people.

Click here to download the table of Malaysia year 2020 gazetted national and state public holidays.

Monday, December 2, 2019

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

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

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

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




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

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



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