December 17, 2008
Reading SMS on external screen - G400 Firmware upgrade
AskarPerang upgraded his G400 firmware which allows the G400 to display sms on the external screen. It’s certainly a welcomed feature. Details as follows.
In order to read texts while the phone is still closed via touchscreen, you must download the new firmware. To do this, do the following:
1. Got to this address:
http://uk.samsungmobile.com/supports/softw…ftwareUpdate.do
2. Download and install the new version of PC Studio listed, but DON’T run it.
3. Install the Phone Software Updater provided at the link. This is an addon for PC Studio.
4. Open your G400 and go to Settings -> Phone settings -> PC Connections select “Samsung PC Studio”
5. Connect the phone to your computer via USB cable.
6. Open PC Studio and select Phone Software Update.
This process will take a while, depending on your internet connection. Took me 30 minutes. Make sure to NOT disconnect the phone during this time. Do not turn off your computer either. And don’t disable your internet either. Any errors can permanently ruin your phone. Updating the firmware is a sensitive process so please do so at your own risk. I also did this with an english language phone so if you’re using one that is in a foreign language, you may consult your region’s website.
Will upgrade mine when i’ve backed up the data.
December 15, 2008
SPAM update
I was It’s been a while since I posted about blocking spam comments on Friendster Blog. The snapshot above shows just how much spam I’ve been getting. It doubles the amount of genuine comments, and yet, there was not much comment notification e-mail sent to me, as these spams are automatically removed, although it will show on the dashboard.
A dear friend of mine Rosidah highlighted something interesting, forum spam. Some blog comment spam might pass the wordfilter mostly due to intentionally misspelled words, or at times try to pass off as genuine comments by leaving generic replies like “thanks for the info” and leaving a dodgy url to a malicious site. filling up the wordfilter with the e-mails from the forum spam list is a good preventive measure against blog cospam.
December 10, 2008
Its Pronounces as Argh!-Famosa Holiday Resort
Looking at the title, you can probably guess that the A in A Famosa Resort means Anguish.
On the 6th of December, I embarked on a journey south towards A Famosa Resort with my sweetheart and her family for a 2days 1night holiday to commemorate my sweetheart’s brother’s wedding. Her brother did the reservation for 6 which cost about RM138/pax inclusive of entrance pass to the Animal World Safari and Cowboy Town (which was fully paid for in advance by credit card), and all I need to do was to show myself and have fun. At least that was the plan.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, sweetheart’s brother was delayed. Since I was there first together with my sweetheart, we took the liberty to check in, or at least register at the resort to claim Animal World Safari and Cowboy Town entrance coupons to be used later in that day.
Upon passing through the guard house the thing that struck me was how big that place is (1300-acre). The signboards are well placed and are hard to miss, with many LARGE “CHECK IN” signboard which points to the resort hotel. A quick inquiry at the resort hotel reception re-routed us to the right direction which is at Beverley Hills Condominium/condotel a few kilometers away. Its a good thing that I drove, because that place is huge. The staff there were friendly and well informed. So far so good.
Checking In
Then, we reached the condotel, got down, and went to the registration counter. There were only two guest in front of me checking out (it was 11am), and it went down hill from there. What seems to be a 3-5 minute job per guest took half an hour to get to my turn. And when it’s my turn at the counter, the crowd has swelled to a throng.
There was only one person at the counter when I went into queue, they added another one 30 minutes later which doesn’t seems to be much help either.
The official check in time is at 4pm, the keys weren’t given to us until that time (they need time to clean up the room and replenish the toiletries), fair enough I think. However, I was allowed to “check in” register and verify the reservation to claim those entry vouchers. So, when 4pm comes, I just need to goto the counter, give them the reservation number and pickup the key, easier said then done. Find out more at Getting The Keys.
So, I’ve already got the entry coupons and “checked in”, with sweetheart’s brother not in sight, we scour for a restaurant at the condotel to kill some time and to calm myself down from the horrid “check in” encounter. We found one near the pool, which was the only restaurant at the condotel. The operation hours was 11.20am till late 11pm and its already 11.30am and nothing was prepared. The waiters were seen hurriedly trying to set the buffet table which is still empty, and the bar counter look ill stocked for a bar counter. Angry and hungry, I left for the Animal World Safari hopefully will be able to find something to eat there.
Animal World Safari
At the Animal World Safari the ticketing counter was filled with people. I stopped counting at 50. As I was queuing in that train of hot and sweaty visitors with wafting stench of manure from inside the park reeking out to the ticketing stand, a staff came to me and told me to go to the redemption counter (since I was holding a redemption coupon) which was much cooler (it’s air conditioned), less then 5 people in queue and redeemed those entry tickets with no drama. My spirits were high again.
A little over 12noon, the rest of the family arrived and we entered the Animal World Safari. Once inside, the first place I looked for is the Bamboo Steak House near the entrance which was marked at the mini map on the A Famosa attraction pamphlet. It just open, the stove wasn’t even turned on yet, nothing was ready. We then headed to the food court and there were visitors all over the place queuing at both the cashier and at the food counter to collect their food. it was orderly but slow.
Paid RM12 for these. Even public school canteen food tasted better then these. The curry is tasteless with almost a centimeter layer of oil floating on top. Its the same price for a KFC snack plate plus drink, but there are no KFC or any fast food chain around.
Done with lunch, we went for our first show which is the Wild Wild West show. We were seated and waited for the show to start. While waiting we were entertained with music from South Park! Imagine that, there are children around and they play Uncle Fucker out loud on the PA system. I’m not even a parent and I already feel disgusted in their distasteful choice of music.
The show however was okay.
After that was the Animal Show. It was meh.
Then the Bird Show, which is the only show I enjoyed as I find it very interactive with the audience. Like the RM10 donation, where an audience would stand up with his donation of RM10 held up high, then a parrot will fly to the donor, perch on his hand, pick up the red RM10 note with its beak, and fly back to the bird trainer on stage. I think they have easily made RM200 or more in that short 10-15 minute stint.
a visitor waving his RM10 donation to attract the attention of the parrot
parrot picking up the donation. i didn’t manage to take action shots of the bird flying off.
The Elephant Show was meh.
Lastly we embarked on a truck ride to tour around the large holding area where the animals are kept and allowed to roam free ala Jurassic Park style.
Getting The Keys
It was 6pm by the time we left the Animal World Safari and headed back to the condotel.
Instead of quickly handing over the reservation number and getting the key which takes less then a minute, I was made to wait again, this time there’s 5 more people ahead of me waiting to check in (the full registration and validation process) NONE of them looked pleased. I was tired, had a lousy lunch which was ridiculously overpriced and had songful of profanities played to me at the Wild Wild West show. Yes, my temper flared that very moment. So, what did A Famosa Resort Beverly Hills condotel management do to handle the throng of guest? Placed a guy to loiter at the counter with a piece of paper and a pen to write down names for the “waiting list”. Instead of queuing at the counter, we are seated for our names to be called. They didn’t even check with me if i need to register or not and Mr Pen and Paper wrote my name as Ms Wong. WTF!?!?!
Over the years I’ve seen government services improve its efficiency with better equipments, online/standardization program, better staff courtersey, service with a smile. I’ve got better, faster, friendlier treatment at the local Municipal Council DBKL a week ago to apply for my factory premise license. And a resort like this that ‘won’ so many so-called-awards that is not even on par with government agencies. Since they like winning awards so much (6 awards since 1996), it is my honor to dishonor them with my 2008 Craptacular Award which I specially made for them under 30minutes.
No it doesn’t end there. There’s more.
Cowboy Town
After a content meal of KFC dinner at the nearest town, Tampin (there’s no way I’m going to patronize any F&B outlets in A Famosa after the horrible lunch at Animal World Safari), we headed back to A Famosa for the Carnival at Cowboy Town. It reminded me so much of the national day parade, but instead of marching uniform men, it’s the stars of the many show from many A Famosa Resort attractions that parade themselves down the tarmac. I was awed by the fire breathing and fire juggling Red Indians. The show ended with a fireworks display.
Then the visitors made a beeline for the exit, which was also the entrance strategically situated next to the 4Dcineplex and public toilet which draws crowd from the opposite direction. Passed that bottleneck you’ll meet with another jam through the shopping arcade with their 12-15 feet walkway blocked with souvenir display smack in the middle of the walkway, narrowing the path to only 3-4 feet on both sides with mixed traffic from two directions. A Famosa Resort has very very very very poor crowd control.
The Condotel
The rooms were adequately furnished, there’s a dressing table and wardrobe in each room in addition to the bed with clean sheets. At least it’s better then Sri Malaysia where the rooms are musky and sheets which is any color but white.
I find the bed comfortable enough the sleep in and maybe sleep till late morning, if it’s not because of noisy neighbors perched outside the entire condo unit. I’m no zoologist so I can’t say for certain what species birds they are or if they are migratory birds, but the only thing in certain is they comes in a flock and are extremely noisy till midnight and woke me up in the wee hours of morning with their collective loud chirping.
I should’ve followed the advice in Trip Advisor to save myself from all the unnecessary stress, especially when it’s suppose to be a holiday. I’d NEVER visit that sick excuse for a resort, EVER!
December 5, 2008
Homebased Data Entry SCAM
I guess there’s time for another public announcement/awareness post before it call it a day.
Times are bad and people are desperate for employment. Please be vigilant about these companies requesting upfront processing fees for employment. The only technically legal job that i know of that you need to pay to work for them are multi-level marketing companies (technically legal, but i think it’s ethically wrong)
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I bet most of you guys that looked through the classifieds had seen quite a few of Job Providers providing homebased data entry or typist job which offers around RM 450-RM 750 per assignment.
Please do not fall into these scams.
I’m one of the victims that had been cheated by these type of company. I went to the company for the interview and was told that I need to pay them RM168 as a “Consultation and Documentation processing fees.” I was further informed that this fees will act as a security fees for them in case I didn’t finish or return them the assignments in time. Without a second thought I paid them the money because I was desperately in need of a part time job.
Never in my mind would I thought that this is a scam since I was given a original receipt and an agreement with their company chop and signature on. After one month with no phone calls from them, I’ve started to get worried.
I’ve called them up asking about the status and was given excuse after excuse on how they are currently facing some problems with the outsourcing companies and will get back to me once they settled the problems.
When I called again the second time, I was once again given the same excuse.
At the back of my mind, I know that I’ve been cheated so I googled the name of the company “Mega Concept Access Resources” and it brings me to this page –> http://asiaparttime.com/blog/asiaparttime/…-job-is-a-scam/
After reading through the comments, I’ve found out that many out there had been cheated too by various of so called job providers.
This thread is to spread this scam to everybody to avoid anyone from falling into it.
Here’s a list of company names and details that had been compiled earlier by http://asiaparttime.com/blog/scam/the-name…anies-revealed/
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Car Thieves in Kota Kemuning (Shah Alam)
I found this public announcement in LYN which i think it’s worth taking heed. Especially the modus operandi of these car thieves.
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I’m opening up this thread to warn those frequenting Kota Kemuning, Sri Muda, and basically areas near it. Car thieves active around shah alam, more specifically kota kemuning, and areas near it.
Suspects information:
1. Positively identified to be indian group
2. believes to be operating in no less than 4 person n at least 2 different vehicle.
3. modus operandi
- like to hit during lunch hour, but seems they move their hit time to later part of the evening.
- they will pry open your passenger key slot or boot key slot n take it to create a key.
- one or two guy would be near u watching your movement while the other
2 goes to create a key. the ones that go n create a key… one would be inside the shop on the handphone rcving info from the guy who is observing you, his other accomplice with him at the shop would be outside the shop either in the car or standing outside watching the surrounding.
- if the guy who is watching u sees u driving off the car he will call the hit off. like yesterday (pls read below)
- if they had made the key but couldn’t get to your car in time since u had driven it off they will possibly tail u n hit u, if u then stop nearby. (pls read below)
i rcvd a call from a shop owner yesterday 4/12/08 that a group of indians was in his shop attempting to duplicate a perdana key n he believes its the same group of ppl who had stolen my car back in june ‘08. this would be the group’s third appearance. 1st appearance - stole my car, 2nd appearance - tried to follow them with my collegues but they manage to cabut, 3rd appearance - which was yesterday they somehow also manage to elude us. the police mpv, CID, my collegues n myself was involved in the search.
chronology of events….
1. approx 1530hrs rcvd call from the shopowner that a group of indians was attempting to duplicate what seemed to be a perdana car key.
2. i called gerakan to make a report n got my collegue to contact the CID
3. less than 3 minutes later the shop owner called n inform that they had left. he overheard one of them telling the other that “itu orang sudah bawa kereta jalan” in tamil. the shop owner understands a little tamil.
4. i drove around the pos office and industrial area in kota kemuning to search for the suspects car positively identified as LIGHT BLUE WIRA SEDAN BEARING REG PDG 2913. after 25mins o so i turned back into the commercial shophouses area (near MBSA kota kemuning branch) n crossed path with the suspects vehicle. i was heading towards maybank block while the suspect was headed towards paramount (developer’s office) block.
5. i saw the police mpv slightly in front of me n stopped them to tell them that the suspect was heading the other opposite direction n proceeded to mcdonalds roadside n waited in case they try to cabut to KESAS.
the CID, police mpv, my collegues went around all the shophouses but couldn’t find the car. damn frustrating. it was so close yet so far. i was hoping that the police would catch them n shoot those bloody *censored*
anyway, i dropped by to see the shop owner who had called me earlier n got an even bigger shock. the stupid police mpv had went straight to his shop after i had called n asked in a rude manner “u kah yang but lapuran polis tadi?” the shop owner told the police that the indians had left but they just told him no need to talk much and ask for his ic to record down his details 
wahlau, what kind of police we have i’m wondering. public give u a tip n so stupid n direct go n see them instead of looking for the thieves. somemore kurang ajar! 
they never think of other ppl’s safety. we hope that those thieves did not notice the police arriving almost immediately after they had left the shop otherwise the shop owner could be in danger. the CID group was more tactful n discreet. all wearing civilian clothing n act like customers. when they later found out that the police mpv had went to see the shop owner, they also got pissed off n even cursed those stupid police in mpv, never use their brain.
the shop owner later related to me that a waja was also stolen right before his very eyes n in front of the owner’s eyes 2 weeks ago. the waja guy had alighted from his car to go makan at an indian shop. the indian shop is located quite near his shop. after the waja guy went in to the shop the thief within a few minutes came from behind n opened his car n drove off in front of everyone. it was around 8.30pm at that time. the shop owner said the waja guy n others threw chairs but didn’t kena cos the guy so damn fast. they believed that they had already duplicated the key n since they didn’t manage to steal it off immediately they had to follow the owner to the shop n took it from there.
these devils r so bold to come to the same place 3 times (possibly more) in such a short time. they dare to even do it in full public view. so guys n gals, pls be careful esp if u frequent the areas i have mentioned. the devils may not just be active here. i believe they move from places to places. kota kemuning is just one of the areas under their ’schedule or program.’
i would strongly advise u guys to call someone u know, prefereably CID when giving tip. i’ve related to you how the uniformed police handles this kind of case…. no use brain wan. we wouldn’t want to endanger the person who tip us off would we.
the cars we have positively identified before are as below:
1. black wira sedan with spoiler at the back - BHM 7187
2. (cannot remember where i wrote it down)
3. light blue wira sedan - PDG 2913
i believe that the number plates, esp the first one could be the real car owned by one of those thieves cos a CID told me that he had traced the registration plates i have given him n they were not reported stolen. one plate no. was traced to an address at sunway mentari while the other traced to the northern part of kuantan, o kelantan i couldn’t really remember. the third plate number cannot be verified whether fake or real cos just got it yesterday. i couldn’t remember the second plate no. will post it once i can remember where i wrote it down.
be on the alert when u r around this area.
1. always look around your surroundings when walking towards your car or before alighting (esp those who drive honda, toyota, beemer, etc) they r likely to hijack those driving these cars cos perdana, waja, satria less complicated to steal.
2. those who drive less complicated cars pls observe your passenger door handle and boot area when walking towards your car. if it has been pryed open quickly call for help and someone to accompany u to make a police report. they could be nearby n may tail u since u r faster than them.
3. if ppl bang u from the back, safest is to drive to a police station or anywhere where there r a lot of ppl n ask for help before inspecting for damage n to talk to the person who hit u. esp if u see from the rear view mirror that the ppl who hit u r indians.
4. on weekends, if u r going to the bank atm or some restaurant to eat be alert to your surrounding. if not many ppl or cars around, be even more alert. they were cases in the past ppl go n cut hair n eat breakfast kena hijack right at the parking lot.
5. use additional safety devices for your car. esp very visible ones. while steering lock n other kinds of lock r not theft proof they deter the would be thieves from targetting your car. time is ‘precious’ to them. ask yourself if u want to steal a car, u go for the easy ones of those where u need to cut n saw the steering/ lock. it takes an average of slightly less than 10 mins to steal a car. well co-ordinated hit may take an even shorter time. my car was stolen in less than 15mins.
while installing captor, i-mob is great for those who can afford it, the fact is it a little out of reach to the majority. so to those who can’t really afford these high tech tracking systems pls be alert n don’t take things for granted. don’t think it won’t happen to u. i can tell u this cos i once thought like that. insurance claim for this kind of cases take at least 3 months (the fastest i’ve heard) unless u r some kind of influencial or powerful person then maybe can get sooner. some cases drag on to nearly a year or so. it really depends on the insurance company. u will also be compensated based on the current market value of your vehicle at the time it was stolen or your sum insured, WHICHEVER IS LOWER.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. i didn’t have any additional safety devices on my car. not even a steering lock. only standard alarm. don’t be like me.
example of market value or sum insured, whichever is lower.
u insured your car for 100k
u read motortrader n star paper ppl selling for 70k
u’ll be quite fortunate to get 70k or more. some insurance company will compensate less than 70k, depending on the loss adjusters report or research. if u get 70k only n your loan full settlement is 80k, then u have to top up the difference. u can talk to the bank to pay the difference in installment if u can’t afford to pay one lump sum. n in case if you’re wondering whether u need to service your installment while the police is investigating your case the answer is a resounding YES!
i didn’t have much help with my claim process n had to basically learn them along the way. i’m posting my experience as a guide to others who may not know where to start o what to do.
disclaimer: i am in no way saying that the following below is the correct, or actual procedure and is applicable to all situations. results may not be the same or as told.
1. report to police
2. notify your insurance company n bank
3. insurance company will send you a set of forms to fill in (looks complicated but its not)
4. get a copy of your car registration card cos when u send back the insurance forms to the insurance company u will need to attach them.
5. send back all the forms your insurance company sent to you. at this point they will ask you to surrender your car keys.
6. follow up with the progress of police investigation on your stolen vehicle at least every 2 weeks. get your IO (investigating officer’s name n contact)
*tip- although the inurance company or police will tell u that it usually takes 2 months o more to complete their investigation u can push your luck after a month n ask them for a report on the outcome of your case. give excuse la say you really need a car for your line of work o something else. i got mine in a month - on the dot (my insurance company say usually 2 months) if i listened to them i would have waited another month for nothing.
7. after u get the report from police (if they have ‘tutup’ your case) quickly hand over the report to your insurance company. they will likely to make an offer for settlement 2 weeks to a month from the date you submit the police report o them.
8. at this point u will need to have in mind the fair compensation amount u r willing to accept. if u read the earlier part of my post they will compensate you based on the market value of your vehicle or sum insured, WHICHEVER IS LOWER. some ppl after their car stolen quickly get valuation from the dealer or manufacturer, newspaper, motortrader, other media. it helps although if the insurance company is ‘keras’ they will fight until need an arbitrater, n go to court. damn messy until the judge have to decide what is fair. during one of my research, one guy was offered a settlement where he needed to fork out some 30k difference, althought the car was insured more than sufficient. both parties fight all the way to court. can’t remember how much the guy was compensated in the end. (if u r prepared to fight, need to consider, cost, time, effort, etc.) remember, installment still need to pay wan.
- this is where we also need to know our car market value so we don’t over insure in the future. no use insure so much but cannot get the amount insured when we need it. pay high premiun get lousy compensation.
9. the insurance company may initially try to offer a ridiculous amount as in my case. don’t panic. write back to them n protest. try not to be overly threathening in writing your letter. a little balance of threat n appeal should do better. this is where u may want to attach whatever valuation or evidence to support your claim that the reasonable amount u r prepared to accept is RMxxxxxx. state your acceptable amount a little higher cos they may still offer a lower amount, as in my case. if the amount they offer although lower makes little difference if u were to seek legal recourse then it makes sense to accept it.
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