Malwarebytes Software Review

Well I do hope that there are still people checking up on this blog. I know I haven’t been putting much effort into this but well, there is only so much I can write about without boring you to death. Today I decided to write about a certain software which I especially LOVE. Yes I did just say love. Being the self proclaimed computer geek, this is one program which I don’t think I can live without. It is called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. What does it do? It catches malware, adware and Trojans. I know some people would say that certain anti-viruses would do that too but heck, what’s wrong with having a second line of defense? Is it worth the price? I would say so because it has saved me countless times from problems. The paid version comes with a protection module which would monitor your computer’s behavior. The free version would just come with the scanner and remover. Even the free version has helped me out with a lot of my friend’s computers. You would be surprised sometimes with the amount of infected files it may detect.

The program don’t use up much memory and the Quick scan is also reasonably fast. On a normal hard drive, it would take about 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how many files your computer system has and on SSDs, it would take less than 2 minutes. Pretty awesome I would say. Paid version comes with a scheduler for auto updates and also scheduled scanning.

So just a friendly tip to anyone whose computer is acting a little funny, download the free version and scan your computer, won’t hurt to check it out.

I rate thee – 9/10

Awesome protection tool for anyone and everyone

Check it out here >> Malwarebytes

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Thank you!

Signing off,
YJ

My Lenovo Y580 laptop review

Yay! *celebrates* Yes I got a new toy! Hello people.
So first off, thank you dad for the new lappy!

Okay moving on. So after much research of laptops available below $1000 and fully loaded (end 2012), I finally ended up with an Asus and the Lenovo, well you know which I went with.

The specs in my laptop-

• Intel i7 3630QQM 2.40GHz
• 8GB DDR3 ram
• Windows 7 Basic 64bit
• 15.6" 1920x1080 FHD 
• 128GB SSD + 500GB HDD
• NVIDIA GTX660M
• USB 3 & Backlit Keyboard

So the Y580 is marketed as a multimedia laptop which to me is a dying breed. If you look at laptops these days, its all trying to be thinner and more portable, which ain't something bad but you will have to just live with not having as much anymore. You would have a smaller screen, less ports, less GPU power with built in-graphics.

My SteelSeries Siberia USB Soundcard Review

Finally another review! Well technically its not even a new product but screw that I bought it and so I want to write about it.
I have to admit I never actually had any problems with my laptop's soundcard but the audiophile in me took over and tadaaa the usb soundcard.


Pros

• 7.1 virtual surround sound - Awesome for movies. LOTR and Matrix. Just sounded amazing!
• small, sturdy and lightweight
• Wire is fairly long - good for gamers at computer cafes. 
• Volume control & Mute buttons on it.

Cons

• It's incredibly loud - Yes this can be a problem as well. Volume at 1 and its still loud on my headphones. So you have to go through the trouble of turning every application volume down.
• Sometimes the connection between the wire and the card comes off pretty easily. Could be a Pro or a Con. 

I actually really like the soundcard. It adds more fullness to sounds and definitely more bass for those bass heavy songs. Playing games with it is a hell lot more creepier since you hear stuff behind you while running around and movie watching is just a total blast!

Is it worth the price of it? Pretty sure it's not but heck if you watch a lot of movies on your laptop then this could be one of those experience enhancing devices.

I Rate Thee - 7/10


No Matter how much I like it, I still think it's pretty overpriced.

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Thank you!

Signing off,
YJ

My Maha PowerEx MH-C800S Smart Battery Charger Review

So one thing I found out about being in the States is that not every electronic would work here. The ones from Msia that is. Its because of the lower power supply in the US.

I found out about this when I plugged my battery charger into the socket to charge up my AA batteries for my flashgun and tadaa nothing happened. Worst part was cause the current was so low, its barely charging 2 of my 4 batteries. So, I decided to get a universal battery charger that would work anywhere in the world and that it would last me for years.

After my googling and review reading, I ended up with the PowerEx 800S. It cost $40+. I know its a little expensive but I would justify that in a bit. I think its the exact same thing with the other more expensive Maha chargers. Only thing which I found wasn't so good was that it charges only AA/AAA.


So what did I find good about it?
First thing, it can be used anywhere. So even if the electric current is different, there should not be a problem. 8 batteries can be charged all at once or a single one can be charged. Mix brands if you wish and it will still work. Way better than charging in pairs.There is a LCD screen at the front. I know this might just be a fancy add on but being able to track how much the battery is charged is good. Its way better than just staring at a LED light anyways. It will say its DONE charging, good for my 2700mAh  batteries since it takes forever.

The best feature however I would say is the Condition charging. Instead of just a fast charge and a slow charge, The condition charging will charge your battery up to full, fully discharge it to empty and then slow charge it up again to full. This will fix most of your old rechargeable batteries back to a sorta new state. Wish it worked with phone batteries and laptop batteries tho.

Personally, I find this charger very good. As a normal user/ amateur photographer, I burn through batteries fairly quickly and this has been great help.

I rate thee - 8/10

If only the charger works for different sizes and it being so expensive, I would have given it full points.

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Thank you!

Signing off,
YJ

Samsung Galaxy Tab Review

Hey as some of you may know, I was recently fumbling around with the new 10.1 Tab by Samsung and well here is my video review!

I would say sorry tho cause its out of focus. Was really hard trying to record it with my dslr.
But anywho, it is pretty descriptive.



I would say tho, I do still prefer a laptop than a tab. Sure its lighter and it can be used at anytime but if you have a small laptop 11" maybe, fitted with a SSD hard drive, put to sleep. Then you pretty much can use it in a snap as well. Batt life wont be that significant but still you can do so much more. To me, lugging the tab around wasn't so diff as to lugging the Series 9 around.

If you like this, please click on the LIKE button to share this and show your support by liking the blog's fanpage @ http://www.facebook.com/yeejinlimblogspotcom.

Thank you!

Signing off,
YJ

Gigabyte M7700B Bluetooth Mouse Review

Kk, I got this mouse recently cause I was running out of USB ports and that just gave me a reason to upgrade XD.

Anyways here are the pros and cons of it

Pros

• Portable bluetooth
• Sensitivity button. 800dpi/1600dpi
• Laser mouse
• On/Off button
• 5 button mouse

Cons

• Its a tad small. Skinny mice?
• The side buttons are hard to press if you have big hands
• The scroll button needs some getting used to  

What can I actually write about a mouse? 

Its accurate, laser guided. All the buttons work as designed. The Bluetooth was easy to set up and quick. It doesn't have that red LED light at the bottom as its a laser mouse, so don't go thinking its not working. Cause I did that (blonde moment)

The design is comfortable as there are groves for your thumb and pinky fingers. In the groves there are also rubber fittings for more grip. The mouse sensitivity on 800dpi is actually pretty good but if you are lazy and you don't want to move as much the 1600dpi would suit you better. The mouse runs on 2 AAA batteries which are also included in the packaging. 

Yep, that's all I can think of to tell you guys. 

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Thank you!

Signing off, YJ

Samsung Series 9 First Impression and Usability

The sample unit comes with Intel i5 2537m, 4GB Ram, 100GB SSD Hard disk and Intel HD Graphics.
Weighing at only a little over 1kg, a bottle of water would weigh about the same.

Exterior
Well first thing I noticed was how damn thin the laptop was. It can easily beat netbooks in the lack of thickness. It ain't easy to comprehend how thin this 13'inch laptop is until you actually see it. The design is sleek and sexy but the one thing I noticed which was missing from normal laptops was the connectivity ports usually found at the sides of normal laptops. Ports on the Series 9 are cleverly hidden on both sides. Just pull down at the side and the ports would show. Since the laptop is also made of that duralumin airplane thing, you can feel very little flex, very sturdy. The Duralumin is a little sharp at the sides so you might feel it poking you sometimes and it may be scratch proof but not finger print proof.

The portability theme is also carried over to the connectivity ports. Besides the 2 normal sized USB 3.0 ports (one USB can charge your mp3 even when turned off), everything else is downsized and dependent on wireless connectivity. On the left, 1 mini HDMI, 1 USB and 1 mini/ micro network port. Even I haven't seen a mini network port before but here it is.
On the right , 1 USB, 1 audio out/ input (there is only 1 jack. So I guess the mic and headphone needs to be integrated together) and 1 micro SD reader. If this laptop is placed on a table, bigger USB devices would have difficulty connecting to the laptop, such as my mouse dongle.
The laptop does lack a CD/DVD player. So this might be a little troublesome.

Samsung Series 9 First Impression and Usability Coming soon

Hello, well some have mentioned that since I didn't give enough credit to it and some even said its not fair since I don't own one, I have gotten my hands on the Samsung Series 9.

So for this whole week. I am gonna bring it around and use it.
So no geeky specs, all I am gonna write about is the impression and how the laptop works out under daily conditions of a teen/uni student.

Give me a few days and some time to write up the post. For all you planning to get this laptop but still need a user review on it?
Well here it is!
**UPDATED** Here it is! LINK LINK

YJ

Samsung's 2011 netbook sneak peek coming soon!

Okay I have just had the chance to see the new netbooks from Samsung.
It has not yet been officially been launched yet and the specs are also not out yet. 




I will however be able to play around with it when it reaches my hands. So I will be able to give you a hands on write up about the feel and touch of the netbooks. Since usually the specs can always be found online. 




There were 2 models, one running on the new MeeGo OS and the other would be the FIRST netbook with a Solar Panel. 




But till then, here are the 2 pictures I took to tease your senses. 


More will be revealed when I get my hands on the netbooks. Can't wait!

My Samsung Series 9 laptop Review

Finally had the time to write this up. Sorry for the delay.

Well I'm sure many out there would have already played around with this laptop but what the heck, I'm still gonna write it anyways.
I had a chance to play with the laptop during its launching recently.

First I shall begin with the specs of it.

• Intel i5 2nd Gen 1.4GHz
• 4GB ram
• Windows 7 64bit
• 128GB Flash Hard Disk
• Chargeable USB port
• Backlit keyboard

The Samsung Series 9 laptop is designed for people on the go. With its thin and lightweight design, being portable was definitely one of the main themes. The laptop is also pack with a Intel 2^nd Gen processor, so don’t you worry about lagging and not being able to multitask. One of the main points that Samsung highlights would be the SUPER bright LED screen(1366x768) which is supposed to be the brightest in the current market, so for all those users who likes using their laptop out in the sun, don’t you worry about it. For users who like to sit in the dark, a backlit keyboard is provided and it is sensor guided. When it is dark enough, it would automatically switch on.

Starbucks Cocoa Cappuccino Review

Most of you who are Starbucks fans would know that Starbucks is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary. A celebration which is celebrated with an introduction of a new cup size, a new logo, new pastries and a new beverage, the Cocoa Cappuccino. This post would be a short review on the experience I personally had with both Hot and Iced versions of the drink.

So, the Cocoa Cappuccino is a cappuccino with mocha sauce, in simple terms, a Chocolate Cappuccino. Some may ask, what's the difference between a Caffe Mocha, and a Cocoa Cappuccino? Both are made with Milk, Mocha, and espresso. A cappuccino is by standard, half foam and half milk, with shots of espresso. A Caffe Mocha is about 3/4 milk, mocha sauce, shots of espresso, and topped with whip cream. It really does just come down to the feel of the drink. Some think foam is disgusting, some may like foam. I eat foam with a spoon and my friends said it's like eating J***.

Anyways, being a barista at my local Starbucks, I was able to carefully create and sample the drink.

I shall start off with the appearance of both drinks. Done properly, that drink looks stunningly pretty, especially the cold version (which is a B** to make, or well, all iced caps are). I personally liked the color contrast of the mocha drizzle and the foam of the cappuccino itself. It looks modern, earthy, and soothing. From the side, the Iced versions looks better due to the process it is made. Each part is layered and the result would be as the picture above, while the hot version would be.. a 'brownier' cappuccino.

Now for the taste and feel. Get ready.

HOT: It felt a little 'murky' to me. Probably because what I think is the separation of the Mocha sauce by the foam, causing it to have this chalky, muddy feeling. Taste wise, I personally didn't like it, but I think it was drinkable. The bitterness from the Mocha(I think it's more of a dark chocolate mix) caused the sweetness of the milk to be lost, which is saddening.

Cold: Nassstyyy~ Very chalky/sandy, the taste does not please me at all. It may have like a '9' for presentation, but taste and feel wise, horrible. You may think it's all the same ingredients, but I would rather have the hot version because the heat keeps everything melted together, all the taste to complement. The ice version is all over the place in terms of taste.. horrible.

So, my verdict.. as an honest blogger, DON'T buy it.. but as a Starbucks partner, BUY it!

One thing good about this drink though, it's thicker body is good for Latte Art =)

By yours truly,

Chester

My X-Mini Max II review.

I'm pretty sure that a little while back you must have seen little ball shaped speakers being used around. It was pretty popular back then but now the craze sorta died down.
Feeling that I needed a pair of good speakers on the move, since laptop speakers are really enough for me, I decided to get the x-mini speakers.

The design is the usual, rounded but instead of just 1 speaker, this gives a stereo sound. Having magnetic bases, both speakers can be stuck together for easier transport. Plus they give this little pouch for carrying it in, so its pretty simple to move it around. With the design, its pretty to use it, just on the speakers, plug in the cables and turn the volume up.

The sound quality is awesome coming from the little thing. When it is closed, the sound is sharp but bass would be lacking. When you open it up, you do get a fuller sound with more deeper tones but don't expect heavy bass sounds. Amazing thing about it is the sound doesn't crack even when it is at full blast. Compliments on that. I tried it with my SGS, using the 5.1 sound surround for a concert vid, awesome shits! Felt almost if I was there.

It has this cool feature called the Buddy Jack, where you can actually connect more X-mini speakers to each other. So if you have a few friend who have it, you can all get together and have a party just with it.
Battery life is pretty long. Stated 12 hours but from normal usage, I'm pretty sure it will last way longer than that.


My thoughts - I would definitely say, I love these little speakers. Sound quality is great and it is light and small. Only flaws about it is the price, for such small things, S$ 50 is pretty steep and the amount of base could be a little bit heavier. If you don't mind the price, great idea for a present for a loved one or yourself.

I Rate Thee - 8/10

*Note* There has been reports of it not working or having certain problems with it, so when buying it, please check whether everything is working properly.

Videos of it can be found on youtube.

All for now,
YJ

My Toshiba L645 - 1126XL Review.

I have gotten my hands on the new Toshiba L645. The new blue colored laptop.

Well, its my sister's actually, so I still get to play around with it.

Specs.

• i5 M560 2.67ghz
• 4gb ddr3
• ATi Radeon HD 5650 1gb
• 500GB 
• 14" Screen and size. HD ready.

What is it exactly? A 3k budget laptop with a kick-ass processor and graphic card for the time being. 

The exterior is a little plain but the new blue color does give it a mysterious feel. 

The keys are pretty big and the touchpad is acceptable. The multi-touch function is a little annoying at times.

Eg. zooming-in the web browser unintentionally.

The laptop runs smoothly when multi tasking or even when a heavy application is running in the background. It is fairly light and the battery would last about 4 hours when using the Eco mode by Toshiba. Not bad I might say. The keys on the keyboard is a little oddly placed but with time, the user would get used to it. Somehow some of the functions on the Fn keys are a little out of place and I do wish I can assign them to more important applications.

When running games on this baby, it would pretty well. As if it is laid back while still spitting performance. Running Modern Warfare 1 and 2 at High is not a problem . L4D and L4D2 is also not a problem. Currently testing out COD BlackOps on it. From what I got so far, its smooth sailing all the way.
As I do use Adobe Lightroom 3 from time to time, I did try it out on this baby. I found it pretty usable on my own lappy, only on this processing was faster and with little to no lag.

The thing I don't like about it is the simplicity. The laptop is so simple till they left out the nifty little media keys.
Alot of the other functions are for the Fn buttons and even till then, there is no media keys for Media player. No Play/Pause button. The screen is good but not as bright as I like it and the speakers are not as loud as many would like. It does come with a few unwanted software as well but those can be easily removed.

Here are some benchmark scores for the graphic card. *Click Here*

Notebookcheck gives very detailed benchmark scores.

I rate thee - 8/10

My comment - This laptop here would be a bargain maybe in a few more months to come when the price drops. Eventho I dod mention about the media keys but I did find a solution to it so not such a big problem there. Would have been nice if the keys were backlit and the screen was a little sharper. Since it is just a budget laptop, it wont win in every aspect but it will still deliver.

YJ

Logitech MK320 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Review

About 2 weeks back, I managed to get my hands the Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard.
For a typical laptop user, this is quite an added feature.
This would make your tech savvy boyfriend or girlfriend quite happy?

Both the wireless and mouse use the same wireless receiver. It is not a very big receiver so it is quite portable. It is also very easy to install as it is just plug and play technology. Something very cute about the receiver is also that it can be stuck on to the bottom part of the mouse, to make sure it wouldn't be lost when brought around.

The mouse is quite accurate and is capable of playing first person shooters. The keyboard on the other hand is quite a fun little thing. A full sized keyboard for those laptop gamers who would use the number pad. At the top, multimedia keys for music and video, volume and skip buttons. For the lazier people, a button just for jumping around windows, a desktop button, a music button, a mail button and even a Power button.

Everything else is the same but the lack of wires is a prettier sight, especially when I already have camera cables, phone cables, speaker cables and power cables running around.
The keyboard and mouse set would have been much better if it was a bluetooth device for laptops but since it was made with desktops in mind, no comments there.

Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel, Manhattan.

It is Restaurant Week in New York (January 24th till February 6th). What is Restaurant Week you may ask? It's an occasion that happens twice annually, where participating restaurants, usually mid to high class, lower their prices to a standard price for the given time period. This Winter's Restaurant Week prices are $24.07 for Lunch and $35 for Dinner.

For this event, I've chosen to dine at my culinary idol's participating restaurant. The Maze by Gordon Ramsay is located at the London Hotel between 6th and 7th Ave, 54th Street in Manhattan. The 'screaming chef' is highly noted for his exceptionally exquisite dishes, as well as being the star of the  TV series, Hell's Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay has earned 12 Michelin Stars over the years, placing him the world's 2nd for most Stars.

Up ahead are ALL of the dishes offered for the Restaurant Week event. Get ready for some food porn!

Photo credits to Alvin

Pre-Starter

Lightly salted '???' Bread with butter.

Not bad really, beats any bakery near me, that's for sure. It also goes well with the squash soup further down this post. (They provided 12 slices for my table)

Appetizers

Hubbard squash soup,
ragout of braised duck, black truffle

This, I would say is probably the best dish I've ever tasted in my life. The squash soup was seasoned perfectly. And in addition to that, the hints of spiciness in the soup worked really well with the braised duck and truffle. The duck, honestly, blew me away. It was simply immaculate. The combination of the two ingredients made this dish fit for a king. Tres Magnifique.

Marinated beetroot, ricotta, pine nuts,
Cabernet Sauvignon dressing

This sweet, yet sour creamy goodness was the prettiest of the dishes we had. The beetroot provided the sour delight, the ricotta changes the acidity to a nice gentle sweetness from heaven before the dressing kicks in for the wine aftertaste. I'm not much of a fan of the taste of wine, but this was an exception. It lifts the flavor.

Butter lettuce salad with Pommery mustard vinaigrette
tarragon, pickled red onions

I did not sample this dish. Sorry, was too busy 'gluttonizing' on my squash soup. What I'm assuming though, would be that it'll be pretty acidic, obviously due to the vinaigrette and pickled red onions.

Entree

Roasted Amish chicken breast,
braised red cabbage, bacon, thyme jus

The Amish chicken, oh my god, the chicken! It melts in your mouth with it's juiciness engulfing your pallets with its spot-on seasoning. The best chicken I've ever had! All those Peking Chickens in those fancy restaurants around here or in Malaysia's 5 star hotels rate no where close to this. It's an experience I can't describe since I only sampled a small amount from a friend. I did not have enough to fully analyze it. But I tell you this, there is no need to analyze, it's flawless.. This chicken's life was definitely not wasted. =)

Classic bouillabaisse Marseilles
with fennel garlic crouton and sauce rouille

The bouillabaisse may be the entree with the least portion, but this seafood delight is packed with absolute flavor. The gravy is infused with the taste of mussel and clam, and that my friends, is the key to this dish being as delicious it is. See, it's not all about having 10, 20 fancy ingredients in efforts to make it taste good, but giving the main ingredients its say on your tongue is perhaps best.

Aged 10 oz. rib eye, sautéed broccoli rabe, country bread

 This beats Applebee's 50:1! I don't know what's in that sauce, but it's minty and yummy. The mid-rare steak cuts as smooth as butter, or a little rougher, but smooth nonetheless. The bread is lightly salted, and could be applied with optional butter, but it being so good, it deserves the 'You can even eat it on it's own' title, and not Gardenia. The broccoli is salted with what seems to taste like salted fish. Not sure if it is, but it does taste like it. Anyways, the steak was tender, juicy, and well seasoned.

Carnaroli risotto of sunchoke,
Honshimeji mushrooms and mascarpone

My risotto! Reason why I chose this was because I simply never had a risotto. It's a famous dish that's always cooked up in Hell's Kitchen, and I'd like to have tasted it, which I did. It's a creamy dish. The rice was interesting, I love it's texture. It has a little crunch, a feedback, but not undercooked. The mushrooms don't really compliment the rice as I hoped it would, but it went well with the cheese topping. It's an overall good dish, but I prefer the Amish chicken though. =)

Dessert

Valrhona chocolate fondant with green cardamom caramel
sea salt and almond ice cream

Now, 5/6 of the party ordered this for dessert, including me. There's only 2 choices, and majority chose the fondant because it sounds more attractive. Seriously, would you go for Custard, or a Fondant(pronounced Fon-Dohn, with a Frenchy accent)? Fondant sounds high class, even though the dish is somewhat a souffle. But in my opinion, the dessert started off delicious, the sea salted almond ice cream was exquisite. The chocolate fondant however, it started off great, but down at the bottom consists of the green cardamom caramel, which is gingery, and I don't really like ginger. So, sadly to say, that was a turn off for me.

 Vanilla custard with citrus fruits
brown sugar oats and mandarin sorbet

Ah yes, the word which lost to the fondant, the custard. I should have chose this. I sampled it, and the  sweet and acidic mix of the custard and sorbet went incredibly well together. The nuts were somewhat hard (That's what she said!) according to my cousin, Alvin. But everything else complimented each other well.

Bill for 6

USD208.61

Final Say

"Orgasmic!" 9/10

"Look at Chester, he looks like he's about to cry," Ryan Chong, after I had my first spoon of squash soup.

My transition/ photo gray lenses review.

Recently I changed my spectacle lens as it was a while back when I changed it and well, I kinda chipped it but that ain't the case.
Anyways since I suffer from astigmatism, which means - any form of light glare, I would feel it more and I would squint more.

So, after wearing transition lenses for about a week, in tropical weather, in blazing under the sun conditions,
what do I think of it?

Here's what I think is good about it.

• Its less painful on the eyes
• Its pretty handy to reduce squinting
• Don't really need to change between shades and glasses
• Because the change is pretty slow at times, you wont notice the change. 

But here is what I don't like about it

• Doesn't change as fast as I want it to be, it takes about 30seconds to a minute before it starts to change color.
• Its super overpriced. Unless you know the owner of the shop or there is some massive discount, on usual days, its bloody expensive.
• It doesn't work when under a shade. Which totally sucks for drivers like me. My best solution, I have this cheap shades which cups on perfectly over my specs. Doesn't fit closely but doesn't fall off as well. Still does whats its made for. 

My view for it is, transition lenses are for "lazy" people. Instead of getting a pair of shades with power or getting a pair of contact lenses, which I have a pair btw, just not very into the whole eye poking thing, a transition user would just walk around in the sun hoping and waiting for the lens to change color. 

My iPod Shuffle 4th Generation Review.

I got my hands on the Apple iPod Shuffle 4th Gen. recently and at the first glance I thought it was a joke.
Since it looked exactly like the 2nd Gen. one, till I checked the Apple website to confirm.

It makes sense really. Look at the iPhone as well, a slight upgrade and they call it a new model.
Exactly like how car makers add little details on cars and call it a facelift, then charge more for it.

See that little middle button at the top? Thats new. 

So after fumbling around with it, I decided to test it out with the Sennheiser headphones I got. Since certain mp3s and phones tend to be a little underpowered with headphones.
I will admit, I was really surprised.
The sound driver on the Shuffle is pretty powerful thus being able to deliver quite a punch on my headphones. Sadly tho, there ain't anything new with the Shuffle besides having the Voice Over feature. The design of the Shuffle is still pretty easy to use but then its still pretty easy to press the wrong button.

I rate thee - 7/10

Having a Shuffle is good at times but lacking the ability to choose songs does suck.

JLYJ

My Sennheiser HD 428 user review.

Out of the many options for quality of sound, there are plenty to choose from but this time I went with the HD428. I met it at the Bangkok international airport and sorta fell in love with it on the spot.

Pros

• Sound clarity. I know people may argue about this but for the price that I payed for, I find it very good. The highs and lows are heard. Little details can heard instead without the blasting of the volume.
• Comfort. Having the headphones fully covering the ears plus having them fit snugly makes you feel as if it was made specially for you. The padding is soft and I barely notice wearing it after a while. It also cancels out sounds pretty well, not around loud people that is. 
• Cord length and additional jack. The long cable provided is longer than I need and the option of connecting it into a 6.3mm jack is likable. It is also only on the left side, more freedom. 
• Design is fairly simple and the cross-hair adds a little bit more spunk into the design. All else, fairly simple. Minimalistic.  
• Built. Eventhough plastic, it doesn't feel flimsy and the cushion feel durable. Hopefully. Just don't be too rough with it and all should be good. 

Cons

• Thin cable. The cord is slightly thinner than expected. In many reviews, this is one of the main few complaints. 
• A little warm. Wearing it in air conditioned rooms are fine but when in normal tropical room temperature, about 45 min later your ears would be feeling warm. Still better than the AVF headphones I have at home, 15 min in and  I would sweat around my ears. 
• Lack of bass. It is a little bit on the weaker side but I still feel it rumbling away. Definitely not for those heavy bass people. 

My Thoughts

Personally, I love how it feels and fits so well around my head. I like how Sennheiser managed to put hinges on it so that the cups would follow the angle of the head instead of just sitting on it. Last comment, I like it, sounds good. 

For more detailed specification, http://www.sennheiserasia.com/private-audio/headphones/wired-headphones/hd-428.html

I rate thee

7/10

Gran Turismo 5

It's finally here! The long awaited Gran Turismo 5 has finally been released after 6 years of waiting. And yes, being the petrol head I am, I've got it.. the Collector's Edition =) This review wont cover all of the game just because, there is way too much to cover.

The pack includes:

*Gran Turismo® 5 game

*Exclusive limited edition 1:43 scale diecast 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V with custom Gran Turismo livery designed by Polyphony Digital, produced by well-known collectible car maker Kyosho

*In-depth 300-page car-lover’s guide written by the experts at Polyphony Digital, covering everything from the history of the modern automobile to driving techniques and game reference material

*Custom etched Gran Turismo key chain

*Voucher for five (5) exclusive high-end cars(Including the Lamborghini Murchielago LP640 Chrome Line Edition =D) with custom Gran Turismo livery and performance upgrades

*Numbered certificate of authenticity

*Custom collector’s packaging


The Game
I would say its pretty damn good. 1031 cars, 75 tracks. Graphics was improved from the Prologue, smoke effects are better, weather and time effects are now available as well. Having played the game for a total of about only 5 hours, I noticed that the cars now handle slightly sharper than before. You can feel it, I don't know how to describe it, but you could.

A 'Course Maker' feature is available, allowing you to custom make your own track and race around it with AIs and/or friends.

 

GT Mode
Basically 'Single Player' mode. In this mode, there are 2 Specs. A Spec, which is you racing to unlock race events and leveling up to buy cars, yes now there's level requirement. B Spec is like an RPG, yes a racing RPG! You'll be in the paddock, giving instructions to your driver to pace down, maintain pace, pace up and overtake. Decisions will affect your driver's strength and mental ability. You could also see all the times distances between cars.

In addition to that, there's also options to tune your car, do maintenance(yes, the more your drive, it'll affect your performance, so maintain it) practice, race in special events, earn driver licenses, and many more.

Oh and since I have the exclusive McLaren F1 with me since I bought my game off Gamestop, every race up to now have been a breeze 'cause the AI's of the low level races are using Daihatsu's and other junky cars. =)

Lounge
A lounge is where you could meet up with other Playstation Network friends. There, you could chat, as well as hold race sessions of up to I think 12 players.

Overall
It's a complex yet unique system which was developed by the Gran Turismo crew which allows the player to manage his/her experience instead of just racing, tuning and buying like previous GT's. Race experience is much more realistic. You can actually tell when your car is going to kill you if you push an inch more gas, that's if you're decent enough to figure out when. If you want to know more, GET THE GAME!

Downside
My dream car, the Lamborghini Murchielago can't turn to save a life =( They should have given it superb handling.

Clips
Featuring the Stig's Communist Cousin! Sorry about the clip quality.
 
Me test driving the McLaren F1 on the Suzuka Circuit.

Me making sloppy donuts with the AC Shelby Cobra at the Daytona track.

Chester

My Samsung GalaxyS Review

Okay. For anyone interested in the GS, I'm pretty sure you already know, its either this or the iPhone 4. For malaysians that is. I know there are like Droids and Evos overseas but since we don't have that option here...like that la..sad case

Anyways, I recently got the GS and before I got it, I was forced to choose between the 2 and after a lot of research and reviews and people's opinions I got the GS instead.

Both phones are very evenly matched. In some areas, one would have the upper hand but in the end everything evens out. Enough said, here is what I really think should be mentioned about the GS.

• The screen is definitely the brighter one and all but when under direct sunlight, with the brightness at full blast, it is still a little difficult to see. 
• The battery life under normal usage would last about 1 and a half days but if you have a data plan running, it would be less than a day. Bring that charger around. 
• The option of putting the speakers behind is stupid. If you have the phone on its back, sound levels drop by 50%. When you place it screen down first, then it is freaking loud. 
• The phone would lag under multi tasking but of course which phone wouldn't. My sis has the iP4 and it lags as well. So that's even as well. There is a fix for it tho which requires it to be Rooted. 
• The front facing camera is VGA. Which is 1.3mp? For placing so much muscle in this phone, the FF camera would be one of the saddest part of the phone. 
• I thought that the lack of apps would not affect me but after using it for a while, it hit me that the only things that are missing are mostly games. XD
• Made of plastic but luckily high grade plastic which is quick scratch proof, luckily. 

Of course with all the bad, there must be perks to this phone. 

• You get this huge ass screen to yourself, and damn it feels good. HD games and vids. Who wouldn't love it? Plus the Super Amoled screen is more power efficient. 
• You can just drag and drop files without a care in the world or go through all the hells of iTunes. Mount the phone and viola. 
• No need for jailbreaking and unlocking. It is great on stock but if you want a really smooth phone best to Root it. 
• Free apps, most of it at least. Just that they come with ads. But they can be totally ignored.
• The bluetooth connects to everything. I know there are apps for the iPhone for the bluetooth, but for the GS, it is a native feature. Just that remember to set the Appear to devices in the settings. 
• The GS has a back button and menu button. I like it. 
• It has a notification bar from the top with easy access to wifi, bluetooth, GPS, Silent Mode and Auto Rotation. It also allows you to change screen brightness as well. Kinda nifty actually. Quick access. 
• It is notably lighter than the iPhone. Very obvious weight difference.
• General MicroUSB adapter. Since it is more popular these days in the newer phones, definitely a smart move. 

I would have to say, this is a great phone to have for a person who doesn't want the hassles from Apple. If you don't mind it then well pick whichever. Many other options as well with the same 1ghz processor.

My final verdict - If you ignore everything I wrote above, both phones could be called twins. One the bigger one, one the clearer skin complextion one.  Really depends on which you like better. If you don't like to fiddle around, you know the Iphone is easier but if you like to fiddle around, have more control of your phone, more compatibility, pick the SGS. 

JLYJ