VPN providers criticizes Netflix crackdown, promises to counter any measure implemented

271

The game of cat and mouse between Netflix and VPN providers has truly begun as various VPN providers have came out to criticize Netflix crackdown while vowing to evade any measures implemented to region-lock their content.

As reported last week
, Netflix has announced their intentions to block users from using proxies in the company’s attempt to enforce content region locking. Many suspected that Netflix’s decision to do so was due to pressure from content owners. Of course, attempting to block proxies is a challenge by itself as
Netflix readily admits
.

Netflix’s announcement has not sit well with both users and VPN providers.
VPN providers such as TorGuard and SlickVPN have spoken to TorrentFreak
, saying that they intend to counter Netflix’s attempt to block their services. “TorGuard is monitoring the situation closely and we have recently implemented new measures that can bypass any proposed IP blockade on our network,” says TorGuard’s Ben van der Pelt. “We work tirelessly to ensure our customers have access to the entire internet. If we find that our IP addresses start to become blocked, we’ll migrate to new IPs as needed. We also offer the option of static IPs which eliminates the problem away,” says SlickVPN’s Greg Lyda.

From the looks of things, there will be an arms race of sorts happening between both parties with Netflix trying to block VPN services while VPN providers attempt to stay one foot ahead of them. Whatever the case, 2016 seems to be getting really interesting for Netflix.

Source :
Ars Technica
,
TorrentFreak

netflix
proxies
regionlocking
vpn


VR content creation to be possible soon with GoPro and Kolor acquisition

274

While the trend of high resolution UHD video recording is building up, content creators are looking forward to more creative ways of content making and thus GoPro, a leading manufacturer in action cameras has acquired Kolor, a company that does virtual reality and spherical media solutions.

Given the strong competition from other camera makers such as Xiaoyi and
Sony
, it makes a lot of sense for the company to move in this direction since high resolution video recording no longer sets them different. According to GoPro, Kolor’s solutions enable users to combine multiple photographs or videos to produce high-resolution panoromic or spherical content that can be enjoyed on mobile devices, the web or in a virtual reality environment.

Here’s one of the videos from GoPro that uses Kolor’s spherical media technology and it sure looks gorgeous. Are you prepared to shoot some 360 degree videos?


VR Headsets could soon detect facial expressions

349

The technology of VR is still at at infant stage, and is constantly being developed and refined to better serve the experience that it brings to regular users and gamers alike. But sadly, VR headsets can’t read the users expression to make VR multiplayer more immersive. That’s where MindMaze comes in, by using diodes that can be placed in the foam of VR headsets, biosignals and muscles can be read and the device can interpret the emotion that the user is making.

MindMaze has mention that integrating with current VR devices is very easy, as all has to be done is to embed 8 diodes in the foam cushions. The data retrieved by the diodes are then run through a machine-learning algorithm that can determine the facial expression of the user and replicate it in the avatar in the VR world. MindMaze has pride in their speed that the systems can pick up and display the expression and display it on the avatar.

As soon as MindMaze can solidify their partnerships, they plan to reach out to developers to release an SDK so they can not only express emotions but also allows players to interact with them as well. MindMaze has no plans to develop their own VR headset as they are currently talking to the big players in VR headset market such as Google, Oculus and HTC. MindMaze is targeting to release this product later this year.

Source:
Engadget

virtual reality
vr


Vulkan 1.0 is now available

448

After a long wait, the successor to OpenGL is now available as the open consortium of leading hardware and software companies known as the Khronos Group has finally released Vulkan 1.0.

Vulkan is designed from the ground-up to complement the OpenGL and OpenGL ES 3D APIs, allowing it to provide applications with direct control over GPU acceleration for maximized performance and predicatability with minimized CPU overhead and efficient multi-threaded performance.

The release of Vulkan has been warmly received by both Valve and Croteam. “We are extremely pleased at the industry’s rapid execution of the Vulkan API initiative. Due to Vulkan’s cross platform availability, high performance and healthy open source ecosystem, we expect to see rapid uptake by software developers, far exceeding the adoption of similar APIs which are limited to specific operating systems,” says Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve.

“Vulkan has a huge potential! We’re only scratching the surface of what can be done with it, and porting The Talos Principle to Vulkan should be seen as a proof of concept,” says Dean Sekulic, graphics engine specialist at Croteam.

If you’re interested in Vulkan, multiple Vulkan 1.0 hardware drivers and SDKs are avaiable for
download here
.

Source :
Khronos

croteam
khronosgroup
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Walmart reveals their own gaming PCs, the OVERPOWERED series

513

Walmart is joining the gaming PCs society, and they’ve made a partnership with Esports Arena, introducing the OVERPOWERED series.

Image credit : Walmart

The series currently consists of three gaming laptops and three gaming desktops. The OP Gaming Laptop 15 comes with a 15.6-inch laptop with Intel Core i5-8300H processor, GTX 1050, 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD paired with 128GB SSD storage. The OP Gaming Laptop 15+ is similar to the the OP 15 in terms of size, except that it’s powered by Intel Core i7-8750H processor, and it’s equipped with the GTX1060. The 15+ also has a 1TB HDD coupled with a 256GB SSD storage and a 16GB RAM.

Image credit : Walmart

The best specs among the three laptops is none other than the OP Gaming Laptop 17+. The laptop comes with a 17.3-inch screen that is powered by Intel Core i7-8750H processor and GTX 1060, in addition to having 32GB RAM with 2TB HDD and 256GB SSD storage. All three gaming laptops come with mechanical RBG LED keyboards, and cost $999, $1,399 and $1,699 respectively.

Image credit : Walmart

The gaming desktops all run on Intel Core i7-8700 processor though the DTW1 uses GTX 1070, the DTW2 uses GTX 1080 and the DTW3 uses GTX 1080TI. In terms of storage, the DTW1 has 16GB RAM with 2TB HDD and 256GB SSD storage whereas the DTW2 and DTW3 has 32GB RAM with 2TB HDD and 512GB SSD storage. All three desktops come in black and cost $1,299, $1,899 and $2,099 respectively.

The desktops and laptops are available for pre-order on Walmart’s official website, but it is expected to launch on 13 November.

DTW1
DTW2
DTW3
gaming desktops
gaming laptops
OP 15
OP 17+
OVERPOWERED
Walmart


Want a budget gaming laptop? The MSI Bravo 15 is now RM3,499

1.1K

For a limited time till 31st March 2022, you will be able to score yourself a MSI Bravo 15 gaming laptop at RM3,499, this is a huge RM300 discount from its usual RM3,799 price tag, and the specs you are getting isn’t shabby at all, as the laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor and an AMD Radeon RX5500M GPU with 4GB of GDDR6 memory, which is more than sufficient for most competitive games.

The MSI Bravo 15 will be equipped with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of PCIe SSD, which you can choose to upgrade at a later time with up to 64GB of RAM and more storage if you want to. Having a 15.6-inch FHD display that refreshes at 144Hz, you will be able to game for hours with its responsive display, and fast WiFi 6 and Gigabit LAN connectivity option keeps you ahead of the competition, there’s no better choice than this at the same price range.

Go ahead and make your purchase at MSI’s official online store
here
, do act fast as stocks are limited.

budget gaming laptops
msi
msi bravo 15
msi malaysia


Want a Nintendo Gameboy this time? Build one!

285

Having a
Nintendo
 Gameboy back in those days is as common as having a PSP today, if you want to relive those moments, you can now build yourself a Gameboy if you have a Raspberry Pi, 3D printer and a Super NES controller lying around. Of course, you might be probably half geek and engineer if you have those things around, this isn’t going to be as easy as installing wires and sockets as it’ll also require some clever soldering techniques as well as programming on to the device itself. In terms of the ROMs itself, the DIY solution is going to run on those old game cartridges but will run on a
SD card
, you can easily find free game ROM downloads online to fit in the memory card. So, do you want to build a Gameboy yourself or just download an emulator off your computer to run those games? I’d pass this idea if I were you. Check out the video down below.

Source:
Adafruit
,
3DPrint

Via:
Engadget


Do you want a fidget spinner with a phone? Here’s one

304

The fidget spinner is probably more exciting than any tech releases this year, from as low as RM10 you can actually get one looks funky, and the price goes up with RGB lighting effects. If you want more than just lights and interesting shapes, Hong Kong-based company Chilli International has probably made the most useful widget spinner of all, and it comes with a phone onboard, perfect for releasing stress and anxiety after ending a bad phone call.

The fidget spinner phone has a 1.4-inch display and comes with 6 colors, there’s 32MB of internal storage and interestingly, you can expand the storage with a MicroSD card up to 8GB, which I assume it could play MP3s, there’s also a earpiece so that you can listen to phone calls on it, it even has a web browser that you probably won’t use and Bluetooth connectivity for headsets just in case you want to spin the device when you are on a stressful phone call.

Chilli International is selling the phone for $20 (RM84) in India, and there are chances that you might be able to purchase this device over at places such as Taobao and eBay, but we are definitely not going to vouch for its reliability, after all, its a fidget spinner that comes with a phone for less than RM100, what else can we ask for?

chilli international
fidget spinner phone


Warcraft’s Orgrim gets its first look on upcoming movie

351

Those of you who have been playing Warcraft would’ve known that the game is on its way to make a movie debut, Legendary Pictures have released the first poster teaser showing Orgrim, warchief of the orchish horde which looks gorgeous.

Orgrim will be played by Robert Kazinsky from True Blood American series and judging from the CG images being rendered on the character, he looks more human than the orcs that we have seen in Lord of The Rings and that long tooth looks darn amazing, its skin tone at least isn’t green like what we’ve come to expect from the game.

Warcraft is expected to hit theaters on 10 June 2016 and we shall be seeing more characters being shown in time to come. But now let me just say: “I AM THE WARCHIEF!”

game
movie
movies
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Warner Bros knew about the bugs on Batman: Arkham Knight for PC

362

You think that you are badass enough? The publisher Warner Brothers actually knew about the problems with Batman: Arkham Knight, but bold enough to move forward and release the game in hope that end-users would not figure it’s not good enough.

Guru3D claims there are literally thousands of bugs that were specific to the PC version relating to the frame rate with many screw texture issues and they proclaim the Batmobile actually is one of the culprits that causes these bugs happening on the PC version. The company actually has some tester to find bugs and report it to the dev, but the dev keep struggling with finishing the game rather fixing the bug first and when the game was done, and when that happens, they also restrict what you can or can’t bug.

Since the first released, a minor patch was released for the PC version that addressed some crashing bugs, introduced rain effects, and fixed a few other issues. We can see that the game was focused on 720P gaming rather than 1080p because they might think PC gamer wanted to stick with console resolution and they are extremely wrong about this, as a PC gamer we don’t spend over a thousand bucks to play the games at 720P at high settings or ultra setting.

The Batman: Arkham Knight was released last week, but a few days later Warner Bros pulled the digital version of the game from the stores and the date of the game will be inserted into the sales again.

arkham
batman
bros
knight
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wb


Warren Spector will work on System Shock 3

379

Late last year, video game developer Otherside Entertainment revealed that they will be working on
System Shock 3
. Today, it is revealed that Warren Spector, the head producer of the original System Shock, will be working on the game as well.

According to reports, Spector will be joining the Otherside team as studio director. Prior to his appointment to Otherside Entertainment, Spector has been working at the University of Texas as the Director of the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy.

Spector himself has had a very illustrious career in the video games industry of course. He was responsible for many influential video games such as Deus Ex, Wing Commander and Thief: Deadly Shadows. The last video game series he was in charge of was the Epic Mickey series.

Besides System Shock 3, Spector will also be in charge of the development for the spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld, Ultima Ascension. Details for both of these games are currently scarce at the moment, but with Spector in charge, we would like to believe that both games are currently in good hands.

Source :
Ars Technica

othersideentertainment
systemshock3
ultimaascension
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You can now watch Netflix shows and movies for free without an account

577

If, for some reason, you don’t have a Netflix account yet but are considering subscribing for the service, then you’ll be glad to know Netflix is letting non-subscribers watch some of their original programs without actually signing up yet.

Image credit: freestocks.org

This isn’t like a free trial where you still need to sign up your e-mail address – this really just lets you go to their website, using a desktop web browser, and watch a list of shows and movies on there to see if you like it or not.

Image credit: NME.com

Some of the titles you can watch are:

Stranger Things

Our Planet

Bird Box

The Two Popes

When They See Us

The catch is, you can only watch the first episode of any series – but the three movies available for free are there to be watched in full. We don’t know why this is, but we ain’t complaining either.

We think this is a neat way entice people to subscribe – completely no strings attached; if the marketing ploy has got you hook, line, and sinker, Netflix’s subscription
plans
 are as follows:

Mobile, RM17 (SD quality, for mobile users)

Basic, RM35 (SD quality, watch on 1 screen at a time)

Standard, RM45 (HD quality, watch on 2 screens at a time)

Premium, RM55 (Ultra HD quality, watch on 4 screens at a time)

Visit Netflix’s website
here
 to catch your free shows and films, or
here
 to sign up.

bird box
netflix
Netflix Malaysia
stranger things
streaming


Watch OnePlus 2 launch with OnePlus 2 VR app

379

Tomorrow morning will be the day for OnePlus because they finally will be unveiling their next flagship smartphone – the OnePlus 2. Good news for all Cardboard users because you are able to watch the live VR launch using it and now the app is available for download. However, to the lucky ones will be receiving the OnePlus version of Google Cardboard which was only available last month.

Don’t worry for those that doesn’t have a Cardboard because you still be able to catch the live launch via the Cardboard app. The company claim that the launch will not be as immersive, but it will still be interactive and amazing. This will be one of the most interactive launching ever been introduced, this device is called the 2016 flagship killer and is definitely building up to be one very exciting smartphone to look forward to.

The OnePlus Two features Snapdragon 810 processor, possibly one of the largest setback based on comment we’ve seen so far. The company also claims this new flagship phone will run cooler than before and this might be the new 2015 and 2016 flagship killer which its predecessor claim it was the 2014 flagship killer.

The OnePlus 2 launch will be starting at tomorrow morning (July 28, 2015) at 1000 local time, you might want to take a little of your sweet time off to witness this awesome event by OnePlus. Download the OnePlus 2 Launch app from the Play Store
now
.

android
oneplus
oneplus2
oneplustwo
vr


Here’s how you can watch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event

432

The next
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event
 is happening in a few hours’ time, but Samsung will start with a pre-event, The Pre-Party live show.

Join famous Malaysian celebrities and watch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event!

Set an hour before the Galaxy Unpacked Event, you can enjoy meeting popular Malaysians like Jin (@jinnyboy), Alexis (@alexissueann) and DOLLA girls. The Pre-Party live show will come with a series of games in which the hosts and participants will play to compete against each other.

Viewers will also to hear what these celebrities are expecting from the new Galaxy devices like the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. After the live show, you’ll get to watch the official launch event that will begin at 10pm.

To watch The Pre-Party and Galaxy Unpacked Event, you can visit Samsung’s
official site
, their
YouTube
 channel,
Facebook
 page and
official newsroom
. You can even register your interest
here
 to get an additional RM300 Samsung e-voucher that can be used after you pre-order your next Galaxy device.

Galaxy Unpacked Event 2021
samsung


Watch these Apple Watch videos and you will know why you will want one

308

I’m not entirely impressed with the Apple Watch even though it has its perks of being a great companion and exclusivity to the iPhone and I just went to have a quick peek at Apple’s YouTube channel earlier on to take a look at the company’s recent video postings. Just as you know, I love to watch commercials by tech companies and boom, I met this entire playlist of how you can use the Apple Watch, and I’m now partially sold by it.

What really amazed me isn’t really the functionality of the watch itself but how usable it can be, I was particularly interested on how you are able to interact with the supported apps just on your wrists and those beautiful animated emoticons really made me drool to be honest, this is something that no other smartwatches can do and for that 18 hours of battery life, I’ll just try to forget about it and just have to set a routine to charge it every night before I head on to bed.

The Apple Watch will start retailing in the US on 24th April starting at $349, while I’m saying that I’m partially sold on the Apple Watch, I do mean it because of its price tag.


Watch this woman scream over a dead smartphone and you might want to remind yourselves to be less obsessed

288

We are all obsessed to our smartphones these days, thanks to instant messaging apps and social media, most of us shuts the world behind us when we are in subways and even more rudely, in meeting rooms. Watch this video, and you will see how obsessed this woman is over her dead smartphone. Uploaded publicly by Facebook user Akira Chan and shot on Hong Kong’s subway MTR, the woman apparently have got her phone’s battery juice used up or the phone is already spoiled, unwilling to cope with the situation she started screaming and wailing about her dear phone, kicking and shaking on her seat like a 9-year old child.

This is a really shameful act and I’m pretty surprised that no one wants to control her in the train, and in my opinion, this woman had better be sent to see a psychologist to get her mind right, and if she happened to be single, it doesn’t come to me as a surprise at all. Watch the Windows Phone ad from Microsoft down below to cheer yourself up, we know the screaming woman has somehow destroyed your intelligence.

hong
kong
life
mtr
obsession
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woman


Watch Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun’s hilarious speech turned into a music video

278

I was watching the live stream of Xiaomi’s Mi4i launch back then and was quite surprised CEO Lei Jun was present back there, while I wasn’t expecting a speech from him since he doesn’t know how to speak English (or else he won’t have hired Barra anyway), Barra invited him up the stage and I thought I was wrong, until…

“Halo everyone, I’m very happy to be in China…eh no…India.”

“Do you night (like) Mi Band?”

“Are you OK?”

I was stunned but at the same time expected such language proficiency by a typical Chinese company executive. While Lei Jun’s speech isn’t as bad as Mark Zuckerberg speaking in Chinese, his accent has lead to a hilarious laughter from netizens all over and this really creative YouTube has managed to convert his speech into a pretty interesting song, we’ll let you watch and laugh away. Enjoy.


WatchOS 3 introduces faster performance, multitasking, Scribble and new watchfaces

380

The Apple Watch is about to get a big update with the introduction of watchOS 3, which is unveiled in Apple’s WWDC 2016 today, the new operating system delivers significant performance improvements in app load speeds.

watchOS 3 also sports new features and operation methods that is beginning to feel like using iOS on your wrists, you can simply swipe up from the bottom to access Control Center to access the watch’s settings and pressing the side button will pull up a multitasking screen called Dock, which allows you to switch between apps seamlessly just like how you do on the iPhone.

In addition, watchOS 3 introduces a new way to input text with Scribble, which users can simply draw characters to input text to reply to messages, the feature currently supports English and Chinese as demonstrated by Apple.

Last but not the least, watchOS 3 also has more watch faces and users can now simply swipe to change different styles instead of force pressing on the display. Overall, this is a huge revamp on watchOS and its all about making the Apple Watch more usable than the previous operating system. If you are wearing an Apple Watch, be very excited about the update coming soon.

Image Credit: The Verge

apple
applewatch
ios
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watchOS 7.2: Apple Watch gets cardio fitness notifications

393

In the latest iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2, Apple added
cardio fitness
 in the Health app and notification for when user’s cardio fitness level is within the low range.

watchOS 7.2 uses multiple sensors to measure those with low levels of cardio fitness

Currently, the Apple Watch is already capable of measuring VO2 max during intense physical activities, but the new feature will allow the watch to measure those who are in the lower range of cardio fitness. In the past, those who doesn’t have an active lifestyle would’ve needed clinical testing instead.

Check your cardio fitness level in the Health app

To access the new feature, you’ll need to launch the Health app on your iPhone and select ‘Respiratory’. You’ll be able to see your own cardio fitness level and find out what’s the appropriate level depending on your age and gender.

Apple Fitness+ lets you stream workouts on other Apple devices

Apart from that, Apple also added Apple Fitness+, its new streaming service. This allows subscribers to watch workouts on different Apple devices without relying on the Apple Watch’s screen. In addition to the workouts, users can also see their exercise data on the iPhone, iPad or Apple TV screen — there’s no need to raise your wrist and look at your watch. Unfortunately, Apple Fitness+ is only available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.

apple
Cardio fitness
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Waymo to sue Uber for allegedly stealing self-driving car tech

345

Uber as a company is no stranger to lawsuits. However, their next major lawsuit is rather different as the company they’re up against is Waymo, a self-driving car company that was spun-off by Alphabet last year.

The lawsuit in question was filed in a federal court in California. Said lawsuit accuses Anthony Levandowski of stealing 14,000 highly confidential documents during his tenure with Google before leaving the company to form his own self-driving truck company called Otto before eventually becoming a top ranking executive in Uber. Some of the documents that were stolen by Levandowski includes schematics of a circuit board and details about radar and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this entire lawsuit has to be how Waymo discovered that its technology was stolen. In a
post
 published on Medium by Waymo describing their reasoning for the lawsuit, it appears that Waymo was informed of the theft due to a mistakenly CC’d email by a LiDAR component vendor. In this email, the attached schematics of Uber’s LiDAR circuit board “bears a striking resemblance to Waymo’s own high confidential and proprietary design and reflects Waymo trade secrets.”

Waymo is now asking the court to block both Otto and Uber from using its self-driving technology, as well as the return of all stolen materials. As for Uber, a spokesman for the company states that it will review this matter carefully. Those who are interested in the lawsuit can read it on
Scribd
.

Source:
The Verge
,
Medium

alphabet
google
lawsuit
otto
technology
theft
uber
waymo


Waze and Petron introduces Favourite Brands for users to select their preferred brand in the Waze app

347

Have you ever been stuck in traffic and your car is running low on fuel but you don’t see a petrol station in sight? Well, Petron and Waze have come together to make it easier to find Petron station locations with the new Favourite Brands function from Waze.

The function will allow Waze to identify their brand preference in the app and Petron is the first brand to be part of the function. It will allow customers to view the latest product offering so they don’t miss out on any of the promotions. To make Petron part of your Favourite Brands, simply search of “Petron”, tap on any of the Petron stations that show up on the screen and tab on the Heart button at the center to save the brand.

The feature is already live on the app, and if Petron is your prefered petrol station, you can save it as your Favourite Brand and get updated with all the latest news and promotions from Petron.

app
brands
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Waze has released a congestion report for the upcoming holiday season

287

The holiday season is just around the corner and that means the city will be empty of traffic. However, on the highways and in other states, congestion will be present and citizens will be caught in our famous 8-hour traffic jams. Waze is taking the initiative on the best times to travel back during the holiday.

Batu Pahat, Johor

Johor Bahru, Johor

Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Kuala Lumpur

Central Melaka

Kuantan, Pahang

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Kuching, Sarawak

Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

Kuala Muda, Kedah

Waze has compiled the best times to travel around when you are back in your hometown. Waze has done this based on data that they have collected over the years and based on that, has determined the best times to travel around your hometown based on the date and time. Click on the areas above to see the best times to move around.

Other than that, they will release a new function to allow your loved ones to track your location on the highway or any other place for that matter. This function works the same as the Whatsapp live location feature. Where Whatsapp will only allow you to view the live location in the app, Waze will share a link to your loved ones and it can be viewed on a PC or phone.

Lastly, Waze has provided some extra information based on the most congested areas during the holidays. If users want to avoid congested areas, they should stay away from Malls as they tend to have an increase of traffic, while banks see no increase in congestions.

So if you have any banking to do, you will have a better time doing it during the festive season. The Waze app can be downloaded free from the App Store and Play Store.

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Waze introduces Cantonese dialect as new voice navigation option

330

Its undeniable that everyone with a smart phone would have at least one GPS navigation app stored in their phone to help users to navigate around. One of the most used GPS app is the “Waze” app and they have just announced that they have added in the Cantonese dialect into their app as one of the voice navigation option.

With active support and recruitment efforts from the community, the team behind Waze was able to put together the new language option in a span of just two months. Waze localization team have specifically selected a Hong Kong approved Chinese language voice to ensure precise pronunciation and directions to give drivers a clear and secure driving experience.

By adding in the Cantonese dialect, Chinese speaking drivers will have a better understanding of directions and an improved driving experience with plenty of choices to pick from. According to Waze, the app have a total of 50 different type of languages for drivers to choose from.

waze
Waze cantonese


Waze is now available on Android Auto

361

A new app has arrived on Android Auto and it’s an app that a lot of Malaysians use when they are travelling (or checking for road blocks after a night at TREC ). If you guessed Waze you are right because now you can choose Waze over the default Google Maps to be your navigating companion.

Waze on Android Auto has slightly trimmed down version of the mobile app but still retains features that we all use like selecting roads without tolls and giving you alternative routes in case of a traffic jam. The user interface has also been slightly changed but that is probably to make it easier to read or take a glance when you are driving. Users can still report about obstructions on the road like police presence, road hazard, traffic, accidents and more. Before using it in your car, you will still need to setup some stuff on your phone like home address and office address before plugging it into your car.

If you own a car that supports Android Auto and are looking for a navigation app other than Google Maps, then you will be happy to know you can download the Waze app right now and start using it for your next trip into the unknown.

android
app
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Waze provides traffic forecasts to avoid traffic this Ramadhan

670

As with all festive seasons in Malaysia, traffic goes into overdrive as folks hit their destinations for their festive needs; and this is especially true during Ramadhan as those who observe the fasting will take to the roads at different times compared to usual.

As you may remember, popular navigation app Waze had provided insights for traffic conditions during the past Lunar New Year; and they’re doing it again for Ramadhan. They’ve provided suggestions for the best and worst time periods within the day to be on the road. Here they are:

For those who work, Waze predicts heavy traffic from 8am to 11am; while evening traffic remains congested as usual – nothing different here.

What is different, according to Waze, is when you decide to hit up restaurants for a bite. The app suggests that you should head out for late dinners from 9pm onwards, as traffic will be especially heavy from 4pm to 7pm. This is expected as folks will break fast at 7pm, meaning restaurants will be busy a few hours before as patrons rush to buy dinner.

If you’re looking for a leisurely stroll at the mall, Waze recommends that you go from 7pm, and for very similar reasons, 5pm to 6pm will see congestion.

When heading to banks, it is recommended that you make your withdrawals from 4pm onwards, while 8am or 12pm to 3pm will see spikes in traffic as folks will use that time to fill up their wallets in anticipation of a feast
.

Running low on petrol? Be sure to go at 8am or 7pm, and avoid heading to stations from 3pm to 6pm. Waze predicts long queues during this time as those who observe Ramadhan will fuel up to head for dinner.

There you have it folks, a guide to preemptive traffic dodging by our friends over at Waze.

gps
navigation
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Waze releases traffic data for users to avoid jam during this Christmas and New Year season

280

As Christmas approaches, many would head out to spend their day with their friends and family, whereas some will travel, and some would just prefer to stay home. For those who travels or head out to do some Christmas shopping, nothing is worse than the jammed highways while you’re out and about. Hence, this Christmas, Waze is back with traffic data to help you get where you need to be for a jolly good time.

It’s always best to be prepared and keep yourself informed on the best and worst times to travel on the road. Here’s the best and worst time to drive this Christmas :

Besides Christmas, Waze have also provided traffic data on New Years Eve and Countdown to the year of 2019. Again, by keep yourself informed and prepared for traffic is better than being stucked in one. Here’s the best and worst times to drive for the New Year’s celebration :

Other than monitoring which time is the best for driving or traveling, it is also highly recommended that you plan your drive in advance and avoid peak travel season with Waze’s Planned Drive function. For more information on the Christmas and New Year’s traffic, visit Waze official website
here
.

waze


Waze is rolling out an update that will let you get roadside help from other users

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Waze has been on the roll for being the top navigation app and now they have added yet another update to the app that is a really useful feature which can help users who are facing car issues.

The feature is added under the Send a Report section where there is a new option to add a Roadside Help pin on the map to indicate that you need help with a certain issue with your car. Waze has always emphasised that it is a social navigation app by allowing users to indicate hazards on the roads or even road blocks and now this feature will further extend the functionality of what they are targeting to be. However, this might sound like a good feature but we urge you to still be careful as you might be taken advantage of by people with not so good intentions, so please be careful with this feature if you have to use it.

Current, it would seem that that feature has not come to our Waze app but they did mention that they are rolling it out to more users but it will be a server-side roll out. We should be seeing the new feature very soon.

feature
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Waze and Selangor Government are working together to patch up potholes around Selangor

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Waze and the Selangor State Government is working together to patch up potholes around Selangor. Users can easily report about potholes straight from the app and the state government will immediately take action and patch up the hole within 5 days.

Reporting about the potholes is very simple, all you need to do is ask your passenger to tap and hold down the Reports Icon, from there three different report types will appear and while holding down on the screen, drag your finger to the Hazard icon and select hazard On Road. Finally, select Pothole and tap send to share the report with Waze, the road will be patched up and you can enjoy a smoother drive this coming holiday and New Years.

Users that want to contribute to smoother roads can download the Waze app from the Play Store for Android and the App Store for iOS.

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pothole
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Waze shares traffic predictions for Malaysians this Chinese New Year

384

We all know how taxing
balik kampung
trips can be come Chinese New Year, what with all the heavy traffic. Waze has recently shared their traffic predictions for the upcoming festive period (Feb 4-6), and here’s how the forecast looks like.

 For those residing in the capital, Waze suggests starting your journey between 6pm and 11pm; while the absolute worst times would be between 4am and 10am.

 For Johoreans, it is advised that you travel between 6pm and 11pm and avoid driving in the morning. You’d also have to consider those travelling to and from Singapore as an added factor if you’re planning on traveling near the border.

 If you’re in Kedah, you’d best prepare for congestion in the morning throughout the three days. Travel between 6pm and 11pm to be safe.

 Meanwhile, Kelantanese folks should make a move during the night and avoid the roads from 8am to 10am.

 For those in Malacca, traveling during the early hours of the morning should be avoided, instead opt to travel at night from 8pm to 10pm.

 Moving on to East Malaysia, specifically Kuching, periods for heavy traffic is a little more erratic – on Feb 4 and 6, avoid traveling from 3am to 4am, while on Chinese New Year itself, avoid the roads around noon. Again, the best time to travel would be at night.

Now that you’ve got the down-low on next week’s traffic, you can make informed decisions when you plan your journey this Chinese New Year.

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Waze to test carpooling service in San Francisco

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Many of you would be familiar with the navigation app known as Waze of course. Well, Waze may no longer be just an app that allows you to avoid jams as the company will be testing out a new carpooling feature that would make it work a lot like other ridesharing services.

Called Waze Rider, this new app will match users with a driver heading in the same direction. During the test period, riders will be paying the drivers 54 cents per mile. An interesting thing to note about the charges is that Waze is currently not taking a cut out of the driver’s earnings, although that may change during or after the test period.

For now, Google has selected a number of companies to assist in testing out Waze Riders. These companies include Google themselves, Adobe, UCSF and Walmart’s Global eCommerce division. While Google may be expanding this service to other companies during the testing period, it is highly unlikely hat the public will have access to Waze Rider until the service is officially launched.

Source:
Waze
,
San Francisco Chronicle

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Waze users can now check toll prices before starting their journey

307

Waze just introduced a new feature to its users and this feature is a rather useful one, especially for those who always take tolled routes.

The new Toll Prices feature will reveal the prices of tolls of all the different routes so that Waze drivers can make informed decisions when they plan their daily journeys. This allows them to compare prices between different routes so that they can pick the cheaper ones when needed.

Waze credited the feature to its volunteer community that helped gather the necessary data and share it with the other Waze users. “Until now, Waze was trying to reduce your time spent in traffic – now, we’re also helping our users save as much money as possible by giving them the absolute best choice of routes, based both on ETA and potential costs of tolls along the way,” said Moriah Royz, Waze Product Manager.

The new feature has already been rolled out, so remember to update your Waze app on Play Store or App Store.

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Waze version 4.0 lands on Android

267

Five months ago, Waze rolled out version 4.0 of its navigation app on the iOS. Today, Waze version 4.0 is now officially available on all Android devices.

So what’s new with Waze in version 4.0? Well, for starters, it now an improved interface that significantly reduces the amount of clutter on screen that Waze previously has. The new design that Waze sports allows you to set your destination in as few taps as possible, allowing you to focus on the road instead of messing around with the app on your smartphone.

Also new to version 4.0 is the ETA panel that shows you alternate routes, allowing you to check if there is a faster way to reach your destination. Waze also has a Smart Reminder feature that informs you of your Google Calendar events and informs you when to leave based on traffic conditions and drive times.

Finally, Waze version 4.0 has significantly reduced battery consumption, allowing you to use your phone after you reach your destination.

Source:
Engadget

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The WD Blue and SanDisk Ultra solid state drives are now available with 3D NAND technology

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Western Digital is on the move to once again to offer a comprehensive set of storage solutions, and the company has introduced 3D NAND solid state drives to the Malaysian market today, the WD Blue 3D NAND SSD and SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD are the first consumer solid state drives built with the company’s 64-layer 3D NAND technology, which aims to deliver lower power consumption and higher performance, endurance and capacities. Due to the advantage of using 3D NAND, the solid state drives are offered with a maximum storage capacity of 2TB.

Both the new WD Blue and Sandisk Ultra 3D solid state drives come with pretty decent data transfer speeds, they perform up to 550MB/s on sequential read and 530MB/s on sequential write, these solid state drives are targeted at users upgrading from hard drives and want the best endurance, as WD claims that the drives could offer users up to a 10-year lifespan if they frequently perform heavy data transfers. Though there isn’t any difference in terms of performance between these two 3D SSD models, they do offer different form factors. For instance, the WD Blue 3D NAND SSD is being offered in a 2.5-inch case and a single-sided M.2 2280 form factor, while the Sandisk Ultra 3D SSD is only being offered in a 2.5-inch case.

Both the WD Blue and Sandisk Ultra 3D solid state drives are now available in Malaysia with a three-year limited warranty, their prices are listed as below:

WD Blue 3D NAND SSD and Sandisk Ultra 3D SSD 2.5-inch SATA

250GB – RM620

500GB – RM1,100

1TB – RM2,000

2TB – RM3,800

WD Blue 3D NAND SSD M.2 2280

250GB – RM640

500GB – RM1,150

1TB – RM2,100

2TB – RM3,950

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sandisk ultra 3d ssd
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WD Blue SN550 1TB SSD Review: Reasonable Value for the Performance

639

I can’t remember when was the last time I actually purchased a mechanical hard drive for my PC, considering the fact that solid state drives are getting more affordable and I get way better performance even if I’m actually paying more for the same storage amount.

Speaking of affordability and performance, this is where the WD Blue SN550 comes into the picture, the successor to the old SN500 now offers up to 1TB of storage, NVMe speeds yet maintaining an accessible price tag.

WD’s packaging for its solid state drive is minimalist and easily recognizable, and what you get inside is just the drive and a warranty guide paperwork, no extra screw or heatsink, which is expected for a budget-friendly SSD.

One thing to love about the WD Blue SN550 is its single sided chip design, that’s impressive especially considering our unit is the 1TB model, as it allows better compatibility for installing on thinner laptops, there isn’t any stickers on the back of the drive too so you can admire that blue PCB properly if you want to.

Using four lanes of PCIe Gen 3 and 3D NAND, the WD Blue SN550 offers read and write speeds of up to 2400MB/s and 1950MB/s respectively, which is more than sufficient for loading a game and scrubbing 4K video files on Adobe Premiere Pro, the latter has been our main usage of the drive as it is installed on our videographer’s editing rig.

Test System Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i5-9400F

Cooler: Thermaltake TH240 ARGB

Motherboard: SuperO C7Z370-CG-IW

RAM: Patriot Viper RGB Gaming 8GBx2 3000MHz

SSD: Apacer AS340 240GB (Operating System)/WD Blue SN550 1TB

GPU: ZOTAC GAMING NVIDIA GeForce GTX1660 6GB GDDR5

Chassis: Silverstone SG13P

Power Supply: Corsair SF600 600W

WD SSD Dashboard Software

One of the best things about owning a WD SSD is its user friendly software, where it shows you the health and information of your drive at one glance, you will also be able to monitor its real time performance, clone and securely erase the drive with this tool.

WD Blue SN550 Benchmarks

The WD Blue SN550 1TB exceeded its promised speeds when tested with CrystalDiskMark, it performed particularly well when performing random 4K writes with a single thread, which is really impressive for a 3D TLC NAND drive with SRAM cache.

Even without using its cache, the WD Blue SN550 didn’t lose too much from its intended performance when running AS SSD Benchmark.

Verdict

Over one month of our videographer’s heavy usage as a video editing drive, the WD Blue SN550 has so far performed reliably and I detect no performance degradation, while we could have easily written over 5TB over the period, this drive should last the average user for quite a while if mainly used for storing games and as an operating system drive with a 600TBW endurance rating.

At RM539, the WD Blue SN550 1TB is a good budget friendly option if all you want is a fast and reliable large NVMe drive for your system, however if you are willing to fork out an extra RM100, you can get a much faster drive with slightly better endurance for the same storage capacity.

The Good

Consistent data transfer speed

Backed by 5-years WD warranty

Good monitoring software

The Not so Good

Uncompetitve price point

Not the best in class endurance

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wd blue sn550 review


WD Malaysia introduces My Book Duo to storage hungry users

280

Western Digital Malaysia has introduced the My Book Duo, the newest member of its award-winning line of desktop storage solutions for home and office. Utilizing two drives, hardware-level RAID and USB 3.0, My Book Duo delivers massive capacity and file transfer speeds not available on single-drive solutions. Available in 4 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB and 12 TB capacities, My Book Duo also comes with software that creates secure local, cloud and system-level backups for complete data protection.

My Book Duo’s dual-drive design offers superior performance with USB 3.0 connection to enable transfer speeds up to 290 MB/s. Optimized for small RAID environments, the integrated WD Red hard drives with true hardware RAID increase performance and reduce data bottlenecks. Preconfigured in RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) 0 for maximum performance and capacity, My Book Duo offers users the flexibility to take advantage of mirror mode (RAID 1) for ultimate data protection or use JBOD configuration to use the drives individually. In mirror mode (RAID 1) the drives continuously maintains a second copy of all digital files for real-time data backup. One drive is used to store the user’s data while the second drive is used for a duplicate copy. In the unlikely event that one drive fails, all of the user’s data is still available from the other drive.

Software available on My Book Duo offers various forms of data protection with local, cloud and system-level backup through WD SmartWare Pro backup software and Acronis True Image software WD Edition. The automatic and continuous settings within WD SmartWare Pro make file and folder backups quick and easy. My Book Duo offers multiple data protection and access benefits to Dropbox account users. Dropbox data can be securely backed up to the local hard drive and integrated cloud backup to Dropbox accounts with WD SmartWare Pro to provide safe, offsite storage of critical files – creating an extra layer of protection. Additionally, with My Book Duo, users can then access information saved in the cloud with Dropbox Web access. In addition to the performance benefits of hardware RAID, My Book Duo is engineered with optimum security in mind. My Book Duo has 256-bit AES hardware encryption and password protection to provide ultimate hardware and software security.

My Book Duo is designed with a convenient user-serviceable enclosure and a handy USB hub on the back of the device which allows for connection of mobile phones, tablets and more for charging or data transfer, or to help de-clutter the workstation area. Additional features include:

Interface: USB 3.0 (x3)

Drives on board: WD Red hard drives

Available capacities: 4 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB and 12 TB

Data management: RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD; independent CPU for RAID volume management

Security: Hardware RAID, Hardware Encryption, Password Protection

Compatibility: NTFS (default) + Reformat to HFS + J for Mac

Software: WD SmartWare™ Pro, Dropbox™ cloud integration, Acronis True Image Software WD Edition, WD Security™, WD Drive Utilities

Limited Warranty: 3-Year regional warranty (see
support.wdc.com
 for terms and conditions)

Recommended pricing for My Book Duo is RM959.00 for 4TB, RM1,199.00 for 6TB, RM1,499.00 for 8 TB and RM2,199 for 12 TB.


WD Malaysia launches new My Cloud EX and DL series for prosumer and business users

275

WD Malaysia today has introduced a new series of My Cloud NAS storage into its current product portfolio targeted at prosumers and business users, the EX2100 and EX4100 are the new Expert series offerings while the DL2100 and DL4100 are being added to the company’s Business series line up.

The new My Cloud EX series are targeted at professionals such as photographers and content creators who have increasing demands of storing their important data and wanting to access them fast at the same time over the cloud, therefore they are powered by an all new powerful dual-core Marvel ARMADA processors with up to 2GB of DDR3 RAM.

The EX4100 as the top of the line 4-bay NAS storage has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 expansion ports at the rear and a direct copy USB 3.0 port on the front that will let you backup an external storage with just a push of a button, WD’s Red NAS storage are being included as part of the package starting from 8TB and up to 24TB of storage, while users will need to take note that the
hard drives
 come preconfigured with RAID 1 configuration, which means available storage is half of what you’ll be getting out of the sold capacity and you can swap those
hard drives
 should you want to upgrade in future.

On the other hand, the EX2100 will have 2 storage bays and users will be able to configure up to a total 12TB of storage while still being able to enjoy dual Gigabit ports, a single USB 3.0 port on the rear and a direct copy USB 3.0 port on the front of the chassis. The EX2100 and EX4100 will have a retail price starting from RM1,099 and RM1,769 for a diskless NAS storage

Business users who have serious demand for storing their files securely, accessing data fast and requires advanced system management will definitely love the My Cloud DL2100 and DL4100 NAS storage, the new Business series are powered by an Intel Atom dual-core processors and users will be able to upgrade the RAM of these two devices to meet data access and transfer demands, the DL2100 and DL4100 have built-in 1GB and 2GB RAM respectively.

In terms of ports, the DL4100 has
dual gigabit
 ethernet ports, a total of 3 USB ports on the rear and front while the DL2100 only has a single expansion USB3.0 port on the rear while maintaining the front direct copy USB 3.0 port. The WD My Cloud DL series will support 256-bit AES encryption Active Directory security which system administrators will be able to connect to company domains and manage the NAS storage using its Linux operating system.

Similar to the Expert series, the WD My Cloud DL Business series will have WD Red NAS
hard drives
 as part of an optional buying package, the diskless version of the DL4100 an DL2100 starts from RM1,549 and RM2,349 respectively. Both the WD My Cloud EX and DL Series NAS storage bays are now available for purchase in authorised and most IT resellers nationwide.


WD Malaysia launches the My Passport Wireless hard drive

325

Travelling abroad? Then you might want to bring along your favorite movies in your
tablet
, but oh, your tablet’s storage is probably limited to a paltry 32GB of storage with no expansion options. This is why WD have introduced its new My Passport Wireless hard drive to resolve that storage woes of yours, you can now store all your favorite content in 1TB or 2TB storage options and access them wirelessly with your smartphone or
tablet
.

It looks terribly bulky – yes, it is, because the hard drive has a built-in 3400mAh battery that will give you 6 hours of wireless usage and 20 hours of standby time. If you want the fixed connection solution, the hard drive does come with a
USB 3.0 port
 that allows super fast file transfers. Users who wants to access the hard drive’s content via their smartphone or tablet will need to download the WD My Cloud app from Google Play or Apple App Store.

The My Passport Wireless hard drive has a built-in
SD card
 slot that lets you transfer pictures from your camera to the hard drive instantly without needing a PC.

Being a wireless device, the WD My Passport Wireless is pretty well equipped with three wireless modes, you can either have a WiFi direct connection, a hotspot feature that allows multiple devices to connect to the device, or have an internet pass through via the hard drive’s wireless connection. These modes will come in really handy if you are intending to share content between your friends, family and co-workers in a closed environment.

WD Malaysia is offering the 1TB and 2TB model of the My Passport Wireless drive, prices will start from RM599 to RM699 and is already available at IT resellers nationwide.


WD My Cloud EX2100 Unboxing and Walkthrough

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Cloud storage has become a trend for anyone who requires access to their files on-the-go all the time and especially in the creative workspace, your portfolio requires a huge amount of storage and backup features to safeguard your precious work, and this is why the WD My Cloud EX2100 is designed to achieve that purpose, the two bay NAS storage system accepts up to two 6TB hard drives and runs on WD’s award winning My Cloud OS 3 system that delivers easy to use features and convenience for the storage demanding environments.

The EX2100’s hardware is designed with the creative users in mind, the chassis has two USB 3.0 ports for storage expansion purposes and supports cloning your external storage device’s content back into the NAS. Powered by a Marvel ARMADA 1.3GHz dual core processor paired to 1GB RAM and having dual gigabit ethernet ports, I’m very sure this device is already an overkill for our humble 5 person office environment as according to WD’s specs page, the NAS is able to support up to a staggering 500 Samba and 800 ADS user access.

Out of the box, our review unit has been configured as RAID 1 Mirror mode, which you can also choose to reconfigure as JBOD or RAID 0 storage mode depending on your needs. Coming from the My Cloud NAS, the software is much powerful and functional this time, which now allows you to run apps, execute different backup modes and schedule downloads from HTTP, FTP and P2P sources. We are not going to giveaway too much details here as our very detailed walkthrough video will already give you a glimpse of the NAS’ features, stay tuned to our space for our thoughts on the enterprise grade NAS from WD.

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WD My Passport Review: Most beautiful portable hard drive

336

It seems Western Digital likes to deal with colors on their products, we have seen the company doing it with its desktop hard drives, which helps consumers identify them for different applications. Now, the company has released the all new WD My Passport hard drive, which comes with six beautiful color options, though they are merely meant for just storing your data on the go with no specific applications, you’ll definitely feel like owning one of these colors to replace your current boring looking portable hard drive. Despite being a pretty looking gadget, what does the new WD My Passport Ultra has to offer?

Hardware and Features

WD passed us the 4TB model of the My Passport, which is significant thicker than the 1TB model due to the size of the hard drive, hence it also weighs a little in the bag but thankfully manageable. Despite of that, this is not an ultra slim device like the company’s own My Passport Ultra. The My Passport features both a textured and glossy surface, which you may want to store it in a case to prevent that glossy part from being scratched.

Despite USB-C becoming the new standard for both smartphones and storage devices, the WD My Passport still comes with a conventional USB 3.0 Micro B type connector, which isn’t a bad thing considering you can still use your old cables, but it would be good if the company had moved forward with USB 3.1 since it increases data transfer speeds.

One great feature WD has brought to the My Passport is the WD Security 256-bit AES encryption software, the software is preloaded on the drive itself and you will need to install it to your computer to set it up, this feature allows you to block any unauthorised access to the device with a password and works on both MacOS and Windows. Unfortunately, there’s no way that you can password protect files and folders in the hard drive.

In addition, the My Passport also comes with WD Backup software, which users can use it to create backups of their files, the software is rather easy to use and you can also schedule periodical backups as long as the hard drive is plugged into your computer.

Benchmark

The My Passport is a very fast portable hard drive considering that it uses a USB 3.0 connection, sequential data transfer speeds are good for both read and write, while you will need to exercise some patience when transferring smaller files over to the hard drive. On a side note, the WD My Passport has served me well as a good external drive for editing video footages.

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WD My Passport SSD vs Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD – Which one should you get?

6.2K

Portable SSDs are getting more accessible these days, there’s simply no reason not to consider one since they offer superior data transfer speeds and portability compared to external hard drives, especially in recent times where NVMe drives are becoming increasingly affordable, we are seeing more portable SSDs using them.

We received the WD My Passport SSD and Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD for evaluation, both uses a 1TB NVMe storage that boasts up to 1050MB/s of read and 1000MB/s of write transfer speeds over USB 3.1 Gen 2 (or USB 3.2 Gen 2), a rather good timing since this standard is getting common on modern PC motherboards and laptops.

But, which one should you go for since their speeds are identical?

Well, that really depends on how you intend to use these drives because they feature a very different design. The WD My Passport feels very premium to the touch with its dark blue chassis and textured corners, the WD logo is also etched on to the chassis rather than a printed one, so office workers and creatives might actually prefer the look of this drive.

On the other hand, the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD has a more rugged design and has a hole to attach a rope or lanyard, there are dotted textures on the top and rubberized surface on the bottom to give you a better grip, while the drive is IP55 rated that protects it from rain, splashes and dust.

Since Sandisk is a more lifestyle oriented brand, the design is clearly targeted at users who uses the drive in rugged environments. Although both they both offer shock and vibration protection, the Extreme Pro is definitely more capable when it comes to rough handling.

Both drives come with the same content out of the box, including a rather short USB-C to USB-C cable, a USB-A adapter and a user manual, nothing more that one could have asked but I wished they had included a storage pouch, as both drives can be easily scratched when used without one.

The WD My Passport SSD comes with the WD Discovery software that lets you backup your computer and secure the drive, Sandisk on the other hand offers the Sandisk SecureAccess software to encrypt folders and backups, they both perform rather similarly so you are not missing out in terms of additional software offerings.

We ran the same benchmarks on these drives using a PC with an Asrock X570 Steel Legend motherboard, which has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port and got back with almost the same transfer speeds and response times, hence we can safely assume that they house the very same NVMe storage, although they both performed slightly below the advertised data transfer speeds, they are still relatively fast for most file transfer tasks we performed on.

However, as portable and fast as they are, these drives can unfortunately run very hot even when used for a short while and they can be quite uncomfortable to hold, so we suggest that you don’t use it under hot weather and leave it for a bit after a long file transfer before storing.

Conclusively, these portable SSDs have excellent file transfer performance and design that looks good. WD and Sandisk offers up to 2TB for their respective products, the former has an upper hand when it comes to color options, the WD My Passport SSD is available in color options of Gray, Red, Blue and Rose Gold, but Sandisk beats WD’s offering when it comes to price.

The official retail price of the 1TB WD My Passport and Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD are RM1359 and RM999 respectively, a pretty big price variance if you ask me considering they have equal performance, so it’s really up to you on whether you prefer form over function in this case.

If you are interested, grab these portable SSDs over at the Shopee links below:-

WD My Passport SSD

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD

sandisk extreme portable ssd
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wd my passport ssd


WD My Passport Ultra 2TB Hard Drive | KLGadgetGuy Ultimate Christmas Giveaway Day 2

322

Everyone wants storage! So we are giving away two WD My Passport Ultra 2TB hard drive in our second day of KLGadgetGuy’s Ultimate Christmas Giveaway, all thanks to the folks from WD Malaysia for making this possible. The WD My Passport Ultra is an extremely portable hard drive with its thin and lightweight form factor, with Automatic Cloud backup feature and secure features to protect your files in your hard drive, this is the ultimate hard drive for the road warrior. To win one, make sure you read carefully down below to be eligible for the giveaway:

How to Win

Two units of the WD My Passport Ultra 2TB portable hard drive is up for the KLGadgetGuy Ultimate Christmas Giveaway, are you craving for storage in this festive season? This is how you can win one:
1) Like
WD
 (
https://goo.gl/5il7qV
) Facebook page (we’ll verify this so please do so) and KL Gadget Guy (
https://goo.gl/T5Z2q0
) Facebook page.
2) Tag at least two friends in the Facebook post comment.

3) Share the Facebook post and tell us “What do you want to do with the WD My Passport Ultra this Christmas?” with the following hashtags – #klggxmas and #wdmalaysia.

4) Make sure your post privacy is set to “Public” in order to be eligible for this giveaway, we will pick a winner with the most creative post.

Terms & Conditions

1) This contest is hosted by KLGadget Creative Media Sdn Bhd (or “KLGG”) in collaboration with the product sponsor.

2) This contest is open for fans residing in Malaysia only
This contest will run through 15 December 2015, 00:00 to 23:59 (GMT + 8), any posts found to be published past the time or in a different said time zone will be ignored.

3) Winners of the contest will be announced on 22 December 2015, and KLGG will contact the winner to arrange the delivery of the items

4) KLGG will not hold responsibility for warranty claims or exchange of the items should it be damaged or dead on arrival

5) If a participant has intention or has violated the rules of the contest, KLGG has absolute rights to disqualify the participant. Further complaints shall not be entertained. Any unexpected circumstances, KLGG reserves the right to cancel, change, freeze or delay the related contest

klggxmas
malaysia
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passport
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wd


WD My Passport Wireless Review: A bulky hard drive that delivers its purpose

309

WD’s range of Passport
external hard drives
 have always been well received in the mass market all thanks to its reliability and sleek design. Now, meet the bulkier version of its Passport drive – the WD My Passport Wireless, a WiFi enabled hard drive that comes with up to 2TB of storage and a SD card reader that automatically imports files and photos, we have been using the device for a couple of months to conclude this review.

In recent times, computing has gotten more lightweight than ever and so does the storage that comes in most devices, flash storages are no doubt the fastest devices however it cost a fortune to own a high capacity one. The WD Passport Wireless isn’t as light as a external 2.5-inch
portable hard drive
 and there are reasons to it. First, there is a logic board that powers the WiFi chip and SD card reader, then a huge built-in non removable battery that offers up to 6 hours of usage, so be prepared to add some weight into your bag for these extra features.

The value of owning such
hard drives
 isn’t just expanding the storage of your computing devices with ease, but also to be able to access content on the go without tangling wires, and this is where the My Passport Wireless comes in really handy. Similar to WD’s My Cloud hard drive, you are first required to download the WD My Cloud app from Google Play or Apple App Store to get started with the My Passport Wireless, setting the device with the app is effortless and you will be up in no time.

WD has made the hard drive’s configuration fairly simple for users to understand, you are only required to configure an administrator password for accessing the entire hard drive and a guest account is automatically available upon login if you do not want sharing users to access your private files.

The My Passport Wireless offers two wireless modes – Access Point and Bridged, which is configurable via the WD My Cloud app that lets you set up a standalone access point with up to 8 users and connects to your local WiFi network should you require to go online at the same time on your device while sharing files across with other users in the network. On a side note, the hard drive’s configuration can be accessed with your web browser if you aren’t the step-by-step type of user.

For the past few months, the wireless hard drive had been my travelling companion on both international and local field work, I filled up the available storage with my favorite HD movies, imported photos from my camera, and at times, it serves as my Android smartphone’s external storage for storing camera shots. Streaming HD movies from the hard drive is flawless on mobile devices with the supported playback app and codec, however data transmission speeds just isn’t too impressive over a USB 3.0 connectivity, a quick check on AIDA64 reveals a 5200RPM hard drive in the My Passport Wireless, which could be a disappointment to some since this isn’t an affordable product and WD may have just emphasized power efficiency over performance. On the bright side, the hard drive’s battery lasted for 4:50 hours in a single charge with two devices connected.

Overall, the WD My Passport Wireless is a decent product nonetheless, despite of its uninspiring and bulky design, this product delivers usability that road warriors will truly appreciate, be it a storage for your collection of HD movie content or your important working documents, this product delivers convenience for easy accessibility without the need of carrying cables around. The WD My Passport Wireless is available in 1TB and 2TB sizes, which retails at RM699 and RM899 respectively.

The Good
+ Great battery life
+ Easy to use configuration
+ Wireless convenience
+ Easy to use software
+ Built-in
SD card
 reader

The Not so Good
– Bulky
– Slow hard drive for USB 3.0 transfers
– iOS companion app needs improvement

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passport
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WD My Passport Wireless SSD Review: Trading Performance for a Pricey Convenience

356

WD is the only company that has consistently update its wireless hard drives, and I have been a fan of it since the first
My Passport Wireless
. I now own the My Passport Wireless Pro, which I have been lugging around in my backpack for over a year now, and its still a rock solid product that I frequently use to backup photos from my camera’s SD card, however I’m not entirely happy during the ownership, though I’ve learned to live with its cumbersome form factor, the file transfer speeds aren’t great compared to a standard USB hard drive, which I could barely use it to scrub my raw Full HD video footage properly on Premiere Pro, don’t even mention about wirelessly streaming a MKV video file properly without buffers to my iPad Pro.

I received the WD My Passport Wireless SSD for review and have been using as my secondary hard drive for the past three weeks, I was genuinely excited about it as this is the first commercially available wireless SSD, but to be honest, I probably won’t buy one to replace my current My Passport Wireless Pro just yet.

WD hasn’t changed the design of the hard drive from last year’s My Passport Wireless Pro, its technically the same chassis with a grey paint job and feels just as cumbersome to handle due to the large built-in 6700mAh battery. I was happy that WD provided a bumper case to protect the hard drive from accidental drops, though there technically isn’t any moving parts inside, the built-in battery will deserve that protection.

The My Passport Wireless SSD has the exact same ports as the Pro, a USB 2.0 port for importing files from another USB device and charging your smartphone, an SD card slot for expansion or backup, and unfortunately, the old USB 3.0 Micro B port remains in place instead of a USB-C port, that’s considerably dated since USB-C 3.1 has better transfer rates than USB 3.0, and its even more unforgiveable when this is an external SSD. The WD My Passport SSD, for instance, already uses USB-C for connectivity.

WD has specifically targeted the My Passport Wireless SSD at mobile content creators this time. If you are a user of FiLMiC Pro, you’ll be happy to know that it can archive video footages you have taken on your phone to the drive, which I really enjoy as it saves the effort of exporting and transferring the files at a later stage. If you edit videos on your iPhone or iPad, you can use it as a wireless drive to work on your files using LumaStudio, it should technically work with apps that supports SMB and AFP network access, but I haven’t been using that to my advantage since I never use my iPhone and iPad Pro to edit my videos.

Although I don’t mind the WD My Passport Wireless SSD using USB 3.0 for connectivity, since it should still be able to deliver the maximum sequential speeds of a standard SATA SSD, the drive unfortunately disappoint with a mediocre 363MB/s read and 366MB/s write speed in my tests. I know I shouldn’t be complaining, as it is significantly faster than the My Passport Wireless Pro, but WD should have used a better NAND or controller since this isn’t some consumer grade product, 4K sequential read and write speeds are also an utter disappointment. Fortunately, the My Passport Wireless SSD didn’t disappoint in battery life, as it was able to complete three rounds of 2-hour Full HD video streaming, it is two hours more than the My Passport Wireless Pro, I also experienced no frame drops or buffering when streaming videos wirelessly.

The WD My Passport Wireless SSD shows great improvement over the first generation wireless storage, and it is now the best wireless storage in the market if you appreciate the convenience it offers. If you are serious about storage performance, you should probably stay away from this and get the My Passport SSD instead. WD sells the My Passport Wireless SSD in storage sizes of 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB, the price goes all the way up to an unattractive $800 (RM3262) for the maximum storage, this is a difficult recommendation when the My Passport Wireless Pro only retails three times lower for a 3TB model, and the disappointing data transfer speeds just doesn’t justify the product’s value, WD has got to work on a better value for it.

The Good

Great battery life

Works well with video recording apps like FiLMiC Pro

Fast wireless connectivity

Shock bumper included

The Not so Good

Expensive

Cumbersome form factor

Mediocre data transfer speeds

my passport wireless ssd
wd
western digital


WD Purple now comes with 6TB for storing more surveillance clips

260

The WD Purple line up of hard drives has been extremely reliable for video surveillance applications, with today’s high definition video standards, consumers will definitely want more storage to store more important clips for future reference, that’s why WD has expanded its WD Purple line up by introducing a 6TB capacity model today.

Built for seamless integration into new or existing video surveillance systems, WD Purple hard drives are designed and tested to surveillance-class standards and are compatible with industry-leading chassis and chip-sets. First introduced in February 2014 with the launch of WD Purple, WD worked closely with surveillance partners to develop a proprietary benchmark to define and demonstrate performance in surveillance systems. Tests of WD Purple hard drives indicate superior performance to competitive surveillance-class brands of storage, especially as cameras, channel count and workloads increase.

The WD Purple 6TB retails at RM1,088 and is distributed by Achieva Technology Sdn Bhd, Amble Action Sdn Bhd and Eternal Asia (M) Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. For more information, head over to
http://products.wd.com/wdpurple
.


We might be getting an OPPO Find X5 series instead of Find X4

1.2K

OPPO’s new flagship Find X series is set to arrive in Q1 2022 and instead of a Find X4 series, it’ll be named Find X5 instead. This might be due to the number 4 sounding similarly to the word “death” when pronounced in Chinese.

According to
leakster

Digital Chat Station, the series might offer three variants. If we base it on the previous Find X series, the offerings will probably consist of the vanilla Find X5, the Pro variant, and a Lite variant.

In terms of hardware, the series will sport both Qualcomm’s
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
 and MediaTek’s
Dimensity 9000
 flagship SoCs. Other than that, OPPO’s first imaging chip, the
MariSilicon X
 will also be equipped in the new series. This chip is built on a 6nm process technology and even supports real-time RAW image processing and 4K Night Video.

The company has
previously

patented a design with an under-display camera and secondary rear display and if all goes well, we can expect these traits on the new flagship series.

Image Credit: LetsGoDigital

The OPPO Find X5 series is scheduled to release in Q1 2022 so we won’t have to wait too long now, do stay tuned as we keep you updated.

Source –
XiaomiToday

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We checked out these insane Thermaltake case mods at COMPUTEX 2015

352

Thermaltake, a company famous for its PC thermal solutions have been collaborating with a couple of system modders over at COMPUTEX 2015 in building some insanely unique CPU
case
 full of the company’s thermal solutions on it. Even though the PC market has faced its challenge in declining sales numbers, the demand for PC DIY has in fact maintained in the past few years and with newer cooling technology and accessories from Thermaltake, PC modders have taken PC DIY to the next level, here are some PC cases that we’ve been seeing today.

The Core X9
case
 mod is the craziest one we’ve seen at Thermaltake’s booth, having an estimated height of three feet, this PCcase is able to house two motherboards and has been installed with full of the company’s new Pacific RL140 Water Cooling Kit and colorful Riing RGB Fan, we were in fact discussing if this would be better utilized if it were a fridge.

Marvel fans are going to love this, the Thor hammer that you are seeing here is fitted with some powerful hardware inside with Thermaltake’s water cooling solution, it looks extremely cool on display, but if you were to put the casing on the floor, you’re probably going to have trouble with space, don’t expect it to produce lightning and fly you to Asgard, because you can’t. Lastly, this modded
case
 is called Thermalthor, better than being named as an idiotic internet meme.


We could be expecting refurbished handsets by Samsung soon

314

We all do know that Samsung’s smartphones aren’t particularly cheap when it comes to price point. Take the newly launched and highly acclaimed Galaxy Note 7 for example, which could turn out to be the best smartphone out in the market yet. Its price tag however, is another story. A contract-free Galaxy Note 7 costs over RM 3,000, RM 3,199 to be precise. Sure, there are carrier plans available to lessen the burden of paying a huge sum, but with the existence of Chinese smartphone manufacturers with competitive price points, many of us in the Asian market would be happy to settle for cheaper alternatives. However, Samsung is said to be working on future sales of refurbished handsets as
cell phone repairs prices
 are cheap, which could well be the solution to our budgetary woes.

According to Reuters, the Korean manufacturer will be refurbishing returned high-end smartphones for resale at a lower price point. The source, who did not want to be identified, did not mention the availability of the program when it comes to regional markets, neither do we know by how much these refurbished devices would be discounted compared to their original prices.

The said plan is tipped to be one of the ways Samsung looks to sustain its current profits in its mobile department. If the claim by the source happens to be true, Samsung could be seeing an increase in attraction of consumers in the future, especially from markets in developing countries. All we know now is there is a possibility that we could see original Samsung refurbished Galaxy S7’s or Note 7’s soon.

What are your thoughts on refurbished devices? For instance, a Galaxy Note 7 for two thirds of its original price. Let us know your thoughts at the comments section below!

Source:
Reuters

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We ditched the Apple Watch for this RM199 Smartwatch, here’s why

7.5K

Jealous of someone wearing that expensive smartwatch? You really shouldn’t, just because they can afford one doesn’t mean they get to use the best out of it, which is why you should turn your attention to the Maimo Watch R, a premium and stylish fitness smartwatch that not only offers the essential fitness tracking features, it also doesn’t cost you a leg and arm, and here’s several reasons why you will absolutely love it.

Durable and Premium Craftsmanship

The Maimo Watch R screams premium with a stainless-steel enclosed frame, which is only usually made available on smartwatches that’s five times more expensive. It is also more resistant to scratches, dings or dents, making it the most durable smartwatch that no others can match.

The back case then uses a PA+60%GF (polyamide with 50% glass fibre), which is a bio-based plastic that has improved wearproof and anti-allergic performance, so that you will feel comfortable wearing it the whole day.

Strong 12-day battery life

Isn’t it annoying when your smartwatch requires a daily charge or dies halfway through the day? The Maimo Watch R delivers up to 12 days of regular use and 7 days of heavy use, and if you want to go the extra mile, the extreme power-saving mode will further extend the battery life up to 15 days on a single charge. You will hardly get a faceless watch on your wrist even without charging for days.

Over 100+ watch faces to match your style

You don’t need to own over 100 watches, because the Maimo Watch R has over 100+ beautiful and unique watch faces for you to choose from to match your lifestyle. Some of them are even customizable with widgets and colours, and your watch will look so different that even your friends will start asking if you are actually changing watches every time.

Extensive health tracking features

SpO2 Levels? Check. Female Menstrual Tracking? Check. Sleep Monitoring? Check!

The Maimo Watch R automatically tracks over 116 sports (115 for non-GPS model) that some premium smartwatches can’t do from running, swimming, cycling to even surfing and the list goes on from there. It’s equipped with 5 ATM water resistance so that you don’t need to take it off in the pool or in the shower. It also features MaiDay AI Assistant, which understands when you are most active and pops up the necessary information on the screen when the time comes.

There has never been an affordable fitness smartwatch this intelligent.

Supports iPhone and Android

No need to own a new smartwatch every time you switch phones, because the Maimo Watch R supports full functionality whether you use it with an iPhone or Android phone. It syncs with your phone’s calendar to remind you of any important events, controls your music playback, takes photos with a remote shutter and can even locate your phone if you can’t find it.

Over 4000 units sold in Malaysia!

With a premium look and so many features at an affordable price, it is no wonder that the Maimo Watch R is taking over the Malaysian smartwatch market by storm with over 4,000 units sold, and it is going to get even better, because you can save more on a Maimo Watch R on the Maimo Brand Day this 25
th
 August on Shopee.

Instead of paying for its usual RM249 price, you can now own a Maimo Watch R from as low as RM199 for the non-GPS model and RM229 for the GPS model. You also get an additional free strap and screen protector when you purchase on this day, so don’t miss out this great deal and click
here
 to buy now.

This article is sponsored by Maimo and Dasher

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We know everything about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series, except its price and launch date

1.1K

Based on previous
reports
, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 series should be undergoing production right about now — who knows, it might even launch alongside the Galaxy S22 series this
8 February
.

Whether it does or not, the lineup’s specs have already been leaked on the Italian version of Amazon and
Android Authority
 was lucky enough to capture them, so let’s take a look.

Galaxy Tab S8

Image Credit: Android Authority

The vanilla variant sports an
11-inch LCD
 display with a
120Hz refresh rate
; there’s also a
12MP front camera
 housed inside the bezels at the center. Under the hood, we have ourselves a
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
,
8GB
of RAM, and
128/256GB
 of internal storage, along with a
8,000mAh
 battery.

Galaxy Tab S8+

Image Credit: Android Authority

Compared to the Galaxy Tab S8, the Plus variant includes slight upgrades such as the
12.7-inch AMOLED
 display and the
10,090mAh
 battery.

Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra

Image Credit: Android Authority

The most high-end out of the bunch features a
14.6-inch AMOLED
 display and runs with
8/16GB
 of RAM and
256/512GB
 of internal storage. Due to its
dual front cameras
, this tablet comes with a notch housing a
12MP main
 and
12MP secondary
 camera. It also packs a
11,200mAh
 battery.

Similarities between the three

All three variants are powered by Qualcomm’s latest
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
 SoC and an
Adreno 730
 GPU. Sadly, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, but the speakers are
Dolby Atmos support Quadraple stereo speakers
.

Other than that, it comes with
Wi-Fi 6E
,
5G support (optional)
,
S Pen support
,
Android 12
, and
One UI 4.1
.

Although there is no word from
Samsung

yet, we expect the Galaxy Tab S8 series to launch in the first half of the year so stay tuned as we provide you with more definite updates.

Source –
Android Authority

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We toured around ViewSonic’s office and here are the products we love

260

COMPUTEX might be an ICT trade show for every manufacturer to show off their best creation in their industry, ViewSonic has chosen to give us a tour of its Taipei office instead of the crowded convention hall to show us the best of everything in terms of display technology and usability, the experience was overwhelming alright but we have still got on our minds right to feature a couple of cool stuffs that ViewSonic has up its sleeve.

ViewSonic VP2780-4K Monitor

The first thing that you’ll first fall in love is the display’s beautiful factory calibrated colors, this beautiful display features 10-bit and Delta Es2 color accuracy and has a 100% sRGB coverage, thus producing 4.39 Trillion accurate colors that professionals will definitely fall in love. In addition, the VP2780 already has HDMI 2.0 built on to it, allowing high end and next-generation GPUs to utilize the new connectivity standard to produce 60Hz refresh rates at 4K resolution. Last but not the least, ViewSonic has made sure that the professionalism of this display goes beyond that by implementing low blue light tech that soothes the eyes for long duration usage.

ViewSonic XG2701 144Hz FreeSync Gaming Monitor

When it comes to gaming monitors, ViewSonic has always been one of the well known brand among gamers back in the 1ms response time days, now that we have loads of
G-SYNC monitors
 in the market, the company has decided to support AMD’s FreeSync technology, in which officials claim that it is more cost effective in manufacturing and still able to offer what G-SYNC monitors are capable of at a competitive price tag, the XG2701 is a great gaming monitor to have and its ultra smooth 144Hz refresh rate definitely impressed us, not to forget that it has blue light filter technology and flicker free display tech built-in to make our eyes less tired.

ViewSonic VX2573 Full HD LED Multimedia Monitor

My impression of ViewSonic’s monitors have always been that black, bulky and uninspiring design, and today, it is not OK to have that ugly design on your
desk
. ViewSonic’s VX2573 is certainly a looker alright, while it doesn’t have that crazy curved form factor that Samsung has, it has two colors – silver and white – to choose from and they sport borderless panel designs, it uses a Super IPS (in plane switching) to produce great viewing angle and similar to the earlier products we’ve mentioned, this monitor offers flicker free and blue light filter technology onboard.

ViewSonic PJD5153 LightStream Projector

It is time that projectors have big sound and the ViewSonic PJD5153 has definitely got it this time, the projector sports the company’s SonicExpert technology that offers three audio modes – Standard, Music and Movie – which lets you apply sound effects a.k.a EQ to different applications, the projector produces extremely loud room volume with no distortion and nice low effects, and ViewSonic has included two 2-inch speakers into the bulky projector chassis to produce that big sound. One thing that we aren’t quite in favor is that the projector’s output resolution at an outdated 800×600, while its 3300 lumens brightness and 20000:1 dynamic contrast ratio looks good, you won’t want to see all those app icons go really big on screen.

ViewSonic PJD7830HDL Full HD Projector with 16W Speaker

The PJD7830HDL had us drooling all over it, this is definitely the top of the line and the secret weapon ViewSonic has prepped for its competitors, this projector plays 3D movies extremely well and best of all, you don’t feel dizzy at all even after putting on its electric 3D glasses, that bright 3200 ANSI lumens brightness will ensure your dark AV room to have an extremely huge and wide display.


We will soon be using our fingerprint or face to log in to websites

424

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are changing the way we log in to websites. This new method comes with an Authentication API that removes the need for a password when logging in. W3C and FIDO Alliance has unveiled a new way to allow websites to replace passwords by using biometric encryption methods.

The specification is called WebAuthn, where web developers will be able to integrate fingerprint readers and face scanners into their website. Users that want to sign-in to a website will get an authentication code on their phones, to which they will have to enter them into the website, effectively reducing the percentage of password reuse. The update will come to the mentioned browsers in the coming months and is going through a final approval. This new authentication could massively reduce the risks of using passwords that comes from problems like phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks and abuse of stolen credentials, based on a statement from FIDO Alliance.

Using your fingerprint or face to get access to your information is not new, in fact, we use it every day with our phones and so far it seems to be a rather effective method of securing and accessing our information. What do you think about using your face or fingerprint to log in to your favourite websites?

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Webe finally offers 1GB of free tethering data

289

As we have reviewed
webe’s network
 back then, the only thing that breaks its unlimited postpaid plan is that you will have to fork out RM6 for tethering your data connection to other devices, and it is only limited to 2 hours of use. Today, the telco has finally announced that all new and existing subscribers will be getting free 1GB of tethering data for the next three months, and subscribers can rollover their unused data after 60 days, which is definitely good news for those who wants to tether their data to other devices they may have, though limited but it makes a lot of sense than purchasing a tethering plan if you don’t frequently use it.

What will happen after three months later? Webe hasn’t specifically mentioned anything in its blog post, however we can easily assume that the tethering offer could either maintain or see an increase in data quota. If you have used up your allocated data, webe has a new top up option where you can purchase 500MB of tethering data at RM8 (excluding GST), if you still prefer to pay for the 2-hour unlimited quota tethering pass, it is still available at RM6 (excluding GST).

Let’s hope webe continues to extend or enhance this tethering offer, and we can definitely see it coming judging on the company’s fashion of marketing its postpaid plan, which they have always teased about it as a limited time offer, and we certainly believe that this offer won’t be one. For more information, head on over to webe.com.my.

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Webe goes live on the 30th of September

278

After months of teasing, the wait is almost over. TM’s own telco service, webe, will be available to the public starting on the 30th of September.

For those of you who are interested in trying out webe’s services, you will be able to register for webe via the official website, or at the webe Lounges located at Sunway Pyramid, Queensbay Mall Penang, or Komtar Johor Bahru. Registrations will open at 9.30am on the 30th of September, so you don’t have to stay up late to be the first to sign up for the new telco’s services.

As for what webe is offering, the telco will only have a single plan available. All webe customers, both new and current, will be able to enjoy the main webe plan that comes with no contract and unlimited data for a starting price of RM79 per month.

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Webe has been officially launched

300

After months of teasing, it is official. The newest player in the telco market, webe, has been officially launched.

Before the launch, webe has been secretly inviting TM and P1 customers to access its services since June of this year, making them the first batch of people who have been able to utilise webe’s services. With the official launch of webe, the telco will continue to adopt to invitation-only system for the time being, as to overburden the telco’s infrastruture, which would affect its customers’ experience. While webe will remain invitation-only for now, webe CEO Azizi A. Hadi has stated that the company will be opening up its services to the general public by the fourth quarter of 2016.

As for telco plans, webe did not announce any new plans at the launch event, so it seems that the
Postpaid Plan
 that we covered previously will be the only plan available for now. In the meantime, if you’re looking to get an early access to webe, you could always try your luck by registering your interest for the telco
here
.

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Webe has increased their hotspot quota to 10GB for all customers

355

The voice of consumers is a very powerful thing and technology companies are listening as there is a race to release the best features based on the demands of consumers. An example is webe on their hotspot quota. The communications company has heard the feedback from its customers on the 1GB hotspot quota and has just announced an improvement on it.

From now on, new and existing webemobile customers will be getting a 10GB teathering quota, a significant upgrade from what they were previously providing. This news comes from webe’s official Facebook page today and they mention that they have heard from us and understand that the previous quota is not enough. To get this feature up and running, they recommend that you check your mobile network settings on your phone and enable 4G/LTE settings to get the best hotspot experience.

We are at a day and age where a lot of us work remotely and sometimes, the Internet connection at a cafe or public area is not ideal and we need our hotspot activated in order to perform our task. Its good to see a company that is providing unlimited data and a separate hotspot quota for people like this.

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Webe introduces home broadband plan, 30GB at RM59 for a limited time

296

If you have been looking for an affordable broadband service with lots of data, Webe has finally introduced its home broadband plan, designed for use with tablets and 4G LTE modems, the telco is currently offering early birds for a price of RM59/month with 30GB high speed data quota for a limited time. Unlike its unlimited mobile service, the home broadband SIM card will not be able to support voice calls as it is meant for data only, however you will be able to tether your data connection up to 10 devices, which you will be required to pay on webe’s mobile service.

Even though webe has mentioned support for tablets on its product page, it is assumed that the home broadband SIM can be inserted into any 4G LTE devices with support for FDD-LTE Band 5, this is a no contract plan and at this time of writing, Webe hasn’t offer any discounts on devices for its home broadband. Users will also need to take note that the 30GB data quota is valid till 28 February 2017, which will then be reverted to its initial 10GB quota after the said date, but we can confidently assume that webe may choose to retain its current offer, given the fact on how the company has reacted back on its webe mobile service launch, as they maintained its promotional price without the need to be a P1/TM customer and using a Webe certified smartphone.

For more information on Webe’s broadband, head on over to
https://www.webe.com.my/shop/webe-broadband
 or visit the Webe Lounge at Sunway Pyramid.

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webe kicks off pre-launch campaign in Sunway Pyramid

650

Upcoming telco service webe willl be launching its telco plans soon. In the meantime, Telekom Malaysia’s digital mobility services arm and centre of excellence for mobility will be hosting a series of pre-launch campaigns called ‘850 by webe’.

Starting from today, the webe850 app will be available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Those who download and use the app will stand a chance to win RM6 million worth of prizes, including a full year of free data and the chance to be among the first on webe’s new mobility network. One unique twist to the campaign is that those who managed to win rewards from the campaign will be able to choose between keeping the rewards they won, or giving it to their friends by sharing a unique QR code on their social platform.

“We want to engage consumers differently – we want members, not customers. And as a brand we want to touch on the communal energy in Malaysia to make positive change happen in Malaysia. This is why we designed the 850 by webe campaign to be centered around not just getting rewards, but giving rewards back to your community,” says Lai Shu Wei, Chief Marketing Officer for webe.

The first leg of webe’s pre-launch campaign will be held at Sunway Pyramid’s Blue Concourse area from the 11th to 16th of May. Throughout this period, those interested will be able to participate in the Amazing Maze where participants will be given a minute to scan as many QR codes as possible in order to win prizes. After a week, webe will be introducing a different activity which comes with different rewards as well.

850webe
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Webe launches roaming services, RM39/day for unlimited data in top 18 destinations

285

Webe has prepped the media for a trip down to Singapore a couple of days back, and I’m actually now writing this article in my Singapore hotel tethered to my Webe data roaming service, provided by Starhub. At long last, Webe has finally launched its roaming services, currently available in over 180 countries and with a flat rate of RM39/day, you get unlimited roaming data in the top 18 travel destinations while being able to tether your connection to other devices should the preferred roaming partner telco supports it.

Unlike some other telcos, the RM39/day data roam pass will work with the country’s 4G network if available, while the telco hasn’t exactly specified which top 18 destinations are supported on its site, notable countries include Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, India, Indonesia, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and many more. Despite of that, customers are still required to pay for roaming charges when making phone calls and sending text messages, which is quite a shame considering that the data roam pass is slightly expensive than the rest of the players, while Maxis is already offering unlimited calls and SMS once the roaming pass kicks in.

To activate international roaming services for Webe, you can do it via selfcare, calling the customer careline at +6011-1000 1000 or visit any webe lounge. For more information about webe’s international roaming charges, click
here
 for more details.

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