Life Tech

Besides the usual software updates and know-hows. I thought I’ll just share how the n800 has become part of my life.

I usually set my n800 to charge over night like my mobile n73. So I actually start using my n800 straight off my bed when I wake up.

I know there is an alarm program for the n800, however I don’t have a use for it (as my trusty n73 and Sony Hifi does the job). However, I have thought it would be nice if the n800 can wake me up and starts playing a series of pictures/music to start the day… Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up to a picture of a sunrise on a beach? Or have some motivational picture to get you in the right frame of mind!

Anyways, when I awake and I do a quick check on my gmail –> gmail.google.com to see if there’s any emails I should read…
And check –> www.sbstransit.com.sg for the latest bus arrival timings using IRIS – Intelligent Route Information System.

Singapore Bus Services, just recently put in this system which I have to say, is really quite good. It gives you the estimated arrival times of the buses you wish to commute on, the one arriving and the one after. So you can plan your timing accordingly. They just need your bus stop number (which if you don’t know, you can use their location system to figure it out) and bus number.

It has become a habit for me to check if I have enough time to rush to the bus stop for my bus or have a quick skim through the morning Strait Times or not.

Sometimes, I would think I missed the bus, but checking the website on the myIRIS system, I find out that somehow the bus was delayed and I still have a chance to get my ride on it. MyIRIS needs you to register but once you have, you can store all the bus services you use and check on their timings.

This system is also available via SMS or GPRS on the mobile phone (though it costs you extra). I highly recommend all in Singapore to check it out if you take the public bus service. It really beats reaching the bus stop and not knowing if you just missed your bus and had to wait for 15-20mins for the next one, when you could have chilled at home, watch the extra segment on Channel News Asia or read the funnies from Strait Times’ Life section.

Before I step out of the house, I would load up 2 pages worth of RSS feeds to read on my way to work. As I can’t get any reliable signal from WirelessSG on my route, so this is the best way instead of spending money on GRPS/3G data charges.

Using –> https://readermini.com – which is a mobile version of Google’s Reader program, runs on the Nokia n800 Opera browser nicely. I usually pick the folder, so it displays as many entries as possible. I’ll open 2 windows in Opera to have 2 RSS feeds to read.

Then a final check on myIRIS for my bus timing’s and I’ll be on my way… or not…

On my walk to the bus stop, sometimes I would have stored an audio book the night before to listen on my n800. This is the time when I use the built-in Media player on the n800 to play my audio books.
Why I don’t use Kagu or UKMP or Canola, is simply because I really just need a simple player with a time line to know where I stopped or moving it forward/reverse. I don’t need the fancy album covers or playlists as usually my audio books last me all the way to work.

Using my Sony headphones MDR-KX70, I find this is the better way to listen to audio books then using my Motorola S9. I love my S9 paired with my N73 and frankly I think the quality is quite good even when I use the eAAC compression (which a normal 5mb mp3 files is now about 2mbs only!) codec!

I alternate some days with music and some days with the audio books on my journey. Sometimes I change mid way. Especially if I have a book I wish to read. I usually read my RSS feeds on the MRT train (because it’s hard to have an open book when you are squeezing with lots of other passengers! and flipping the pages with your fingers while holding the book, while your other hand struggles to get a grip on that silver cold pole).

Ok, I’ll share the rest of my day’s experiences in the next posting.

When I was looking for a hosting company to put my files, blog and basically start a web site online presence, it took me a while to find the best deals out there.

The problem is, you don’t want to have the cheapest hosting package to realise they will charge you more for each feature you need. Nor do you want to pay for the most expensive package but have bad customer service and problems with your site.

For us in Singapore, the only reason why you want to pick a local hosting company because of the local bandwidth and speed they can offer as compared to the overseas companies.

However, if you are not doing loads of streaming and big files downloading/ uploading, I believe US hosting companies offer some of the best deals out there.

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So after careful research, I settled for Lunarpages. And since I joined, they have given me a free upgrade of 100gb more (now 350gb) web space and 1 terabyte (3.5 terabyte) of bandwidth. This may still grow! Which hosting company you heard gives you 100gb of space.. for free?!

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Having so many gadgets does present it’s maggie noodle (instant noodles) wire problems!

So here’s a real neat and cheap idea!

BTW, you can also do this with a simple box. The trick is to have a cover/lid on it.