Mr Feedback

I don’t usually review latest technology products, as this blog is not designed for such occurrences. However with the latest announcement of the Apple iPad, I thought I will make a few salient points.

Point to note: I have not reviewed it, I have not used it, I have not seen it. My post is based on other people’s written/video reviews, and experiences. Other people who have a little bit more knowledge about technology than me, however I hope to provide a consumer aspect to this by relating to how I would use it (if I had one).

2009: Having been an avid fan of Windows operating system and PC rather than Apple’s equivalent I decided to give way and but an Apple iPhone 3GS. It transformed by day to day life. The phone feature is pretty mundane, and there is nothing special about it. However, the rest of the iPhone is simply brilliant. I use it every day, keep in touch with News, Stock, Facebook, Videos, Photos and much more more. I cannot stress how much I enjoy using it, and I take my hat off to Apple and Steve Jobs who were responsible for such a wonderful creation.

Having said this, I still think Windows is a more practical operating system and PCs are better than an Mac book pro, or Air or whatever else Apple calls it.

Unfortunately for Apple, my love for their product stops there. Their new iPad is not a super tablet as Steve Jobs made it out to be in his much hyped announcement a few days ago. Here are my problems with it from a consumer point of view, and why it won’t be as useful as my iPhone even (In his announcement, Steve claims the iPad is better are many things when compared to a smart phone, or Notebook so I will be phrasing my opinion surrounding this statement)!

1. The name: There has been much fun poked at the name, and I suspect a lot of women find those comments offensive (even though some women think it’s a great name!). Why is it OK to say “notepad”, but not “iPad”? But there were better options out there such as: “iSlate” or “iTablet”. A slate is a small blackboard used in many developing countries, so “iSlate” would have complemented the huge advances we have made in technology when compared to 30 years ago. Steve is wrong!
2. No camera: This is just stupid. No camera means you cannot take photos, or use internet video calling software such as Skype. I use Skype every day on my notebook/laptop, so why would I buy a tablet computer if I cannot do that. Steve is wrong!
3. No multi-tasking: This is a no-brainer. Right now, I am checking news and stocks while I am typing this post. I can’t do that on the iPad. This is also an annoyance on the iPhone and I hate that aspect of it. Steve is wrong!
4. No USB or HDMI: My laptop/notebook has both of these connectors. I use it every single day. I connect my laptop to my TV and share photos with visitors when I hold a party. It’s the best way to share. I also display all movies I watch onto my TV. These cannot be done on the iPad. What’s the point of watching high definition video on a 9 inch screen? Steve is wrong!
5. No GPS support: The iPad has Google Maps, but no GPS. What’s the point? Yet again, I am perplexed to find that even the basic feature of the iPhone is not included in the iPad.
6. iBooks only US based: Why treat other countries as pariahs? Don’t we also deserve to use the iPad as an e-reader. After all, isn’t that what Steve is using to sell the so called “cool” product.
7. Restricted to iTunes: Apple has a business concept tied to the iPhone, and iPad. The App store, iTunes and now iBooks. Restricting consumers to these features just annoys people. I think Apple has to set the tone by allowing people to add third party applications from other online stores, and eventually other companies will follow.
8. No 3G support: Do you expect me to only use the iPad within the house. Defeats the purpose! Sure,this is one thing I cannot do on my laptop/notebook but nor can the iPad.

Reading online reviews about the iPad, there are plenty more reason “why the iPad sucks?” as one article put it, but a lot of the other reasons don’t really apply to me. For now, I will be sticking to my laptop however I think Apple will hit back with the next generation iPad with all these features. By then, people will find something else to complain about.

One of the things I find hard to grasp is, the iPad doesn’t even have some of the basic features we take for granted in a laptop/notebook. If Steve wants to promote the iPad saying “it can do things better than a laptop”, he better have a better product to put forward next time he takes centre stage because a lot of what he was showing off during the announcement I already have my beloved iPhone 3GS!

Clive Peeters are hosting their VIP customer invitational only sale in December. You need to ring up your local Clive Peeters dealer and register your interest to attend this night.

It is a one night only event where they are guaranteeing all products at cost price + 5% across their range. It’s a good saving if the product you want is not already heavily discounted.

I got my invitation recently, however I have already secured a great deal at Clive Peeters for some electronics but if you are looking for a bargain then it’s a great opportunity. Snacks and beverages will be provided on the night.

Note: there is not much out there about this sale on the internet.

Digiworld
224 La Trobe St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 6699
Fax: (03) 9663 6696

I had been on the hunt for a new computer for quite a while, and finally had the opportunity to purchase it. I was looking for either a Dell, or Asus. Ausus is a good brand, but a little bit expensive but they are a quality manufacturer, and they offer 2 years international warranty on all their laptops. Here are the specs I wanted:
* Pentium Dual Core
* 4G Ram
* Windows Vista
* Wireless card
* At least 250G hard drive
* At least a 15.1″ screen

Pretty basic specs really. I found a computer at Digiworld after doing considerable research. I didn’t know about this shop until I scoured La Trobe Street, which is where Landmark Computers was – my initial shopping place.

Friday the 13th
I was up for almost 20 hours since I began my night shift at work, and heard about Harvey Norman’s Friday the 13th sale. “Millions of dollars off all electrical items” the radio screamed at me on my way home from work. Anyway, ignoring the radio’s advice (I listen to TV more!), I visited Landmark Computers in La Trobe street. I was greeted by an Indian chap, seemed to be the boss of the store. He showed off his arrogant characteristic during his explanation of the sale.

I know a reasonable amount when it comes to computers, and have a few buddies who are in the industry. However, it’s always nice to pretend “basic customer”, and I was taken for a ride. The guy at Landmark Computers basically told me I was not going to get the specs for the budget of $1300, and that I was free to look around. He diverted me to an Asus with poorer specs that I had wanted, but threw in a free laptop bag to get my attention.

I left the store, and told him I will come back if I don’t see anything better.

Digiworld
My next stop was Digiworld located opposite Melbourne Central. They did not have a range of laptops but had the one I wanted. It was an Asus, with a full spec keyboard along with 16.1″ display, but only a 250Gig HD and 2 Gig RAM. You see, I am a greedy person (aren’t we all – LOL) so I wanted to see how much I can squeeze out of the sales person. Over the course of the past year, I have made reasonably big purchases, so knew a thing or not about bargaining. However, rather than try and get a better price, I generally try and get a better product for the same price. There is a difference.

I told the sales person that I am really interested in the laptop, and that I wanted to buy it today by 4pm and pay straight cash for the purchase. That got his attention, but I also made it clear the offer must be better than the displayed price. My eBay search revealed the same laptop for around $1300 with similar specs. The advertised price was: $1370.

I told him, I am going to Harvey Norman as they are having a “massive sale”, and if I found something similar with better value then I will not come back to Digiworld. It frightened him a little, however I felt he kept his calm and allowed me to leave the store.

Harvey Norman
I made my way to Harvey Norman. Let’s face it, Harvey Norman for electricals is a bit of a rip off in my opinion and there is no bargaining power in major department stores. I saw many computers in Harvey Norman, but couldn’t find anything close to the price being offered at Digiworld with similar specs. Harvey Norman was at least $300-$500 more expensive on comparable products.

The Strategy
I walked back into Digiworld, and told the guy: “Okay, I found an excellent deal at Harvey Norman, a bit more expensive but much better specs. So I would like the following: Price: $1300, Specs improvement: 4 Gig RAM upgrade, 320Gig HD upgrade, free 17″ laptop bag”.

His first response was, “You must be kidding me”. I had asked for a better laptop, for lesser money, and a free laptop bag. At that stage I was thinking perhaps I had pushed it “too far” this time, but let’s see what happened. After about 20 minutes with the sales person going back and forth to speak to his manager, the price slowly dropped: $1350, $1330, then bingo: $1300. He promptly accepted the sale and I was on my way.

If the sales person who remembers this sale is reading this, sorry mate – it’s business, nothing personal!

My laptop has been playing up, and unlike last time (i.e.: losing all my data and pictures) I decided to purchase an external hard drive. I needed about 500GIG of space, and wanted it to also be my future entertainment hard drive. I hope to buy an entertainment system in the future, and required it to have HDMI inputs, and the ability to play DVD, MPEG, AVI and Divx files.

I found a good Seagate hard drive on eBay from ITBox.com.au. It mentioned that I could get $80 cash back. ITBox contacted me and advised me to buy direct from their website. If you have eBayed before, this is not advisable because the feedback system does not apply. eBay recommends all transactions through its website. The motive is good, but also economically sound for eBay, as it charges sellers fees for each sale.

The product
I bought a 1TB (1000Gig) Seagate Hard drive with entertainment system for about $269 + $20 P/H (including insurance). If you purchase it through eBay, insurance costs an extra $3.00. The hard drive comes in a cool ceramic finish, and in black and silver (although Silver is more popular and difficult to find). It has HDMI, USB 1.1 and 2.0 inputs, and has its own power supply (although you can use the USB for power supply as well). My laptop is not powerful enough to give enough power through the USB, so I have to use the electrical power supply. However, I suspect newer computer models will be able to provide enough power through the USB.

The best thing about this external hard drive is that I can connect it to my future LCD/Plasma TV, and use it for storage of all photos and movies. I have about 10GIG worth of photos (and growing by the day), and even more worth of personal movies etc. So it hopefully will turn out to be a good investment.

The product is assembled in China (like everything else these days), as the instruction manual quite obviously exhibits (i.e.: poor English grammar).

The front digital display illuminates in a neon blue colour, making it even cooler. The hard drive is extremely quiet too, thus far I am happy. It comes with a 1 year case, and 3 year hard drive warranty. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been using a couple of free web sms services lately. I just find typing my sms so much more easier than using my crappy O2 phone to write an sms. Web 2 Phone sms is absolutely ideal for office workers who are sitting in front of their computers most of the day. Typing is just so much more easier than texting.

I gave an introduction to SMSPup when I wrote about Snapfish.com.au. You can find the post here. I have also been using Yakedi.com, which I have found to be truly excellent so far.

SMSPUP
SMS Pup allows you to earn points, and use them to text people via the internet. Each web sms is worth 1 point, and periodically you get “junk mail” where you have to click on links to earn points. The higher the email worth (i.e.: more points), generally the longer it takes. They also use surveys to gauge your opinion so points can be awarded.

The service and efficiency
I have found it pretty useful, although the emails are annoying. I usually just click on them no matter what but sometimes have found some good deals. They are from reputable companies in most cases. SMSPup has been around for ages, and you can manage your contacts online as well. I have found sometimes the messages are “sent” but “not sent” as in the receiver doesn’t get them. This is annoying.

The system itself is pretty useful and simple to use which I like and I probably will continue to use it now and then.

Yakedi.com
I came across this service over the past couple of weeks, and I must say its fantastic. No annoying emails or rewards systems. I have never had sms’s not delivered, and the system is very easy to use. You register, and then start web texting. The good thing is the receiver doesn’t know you are using a web texting service, so you  get replies to your mobile phone. They get it as from your mobile number.

The service and efficiency
The whole process is very simple, and it takes me less than 10 seconds to send an sms. It is only valid in Australia and NZ, but I can see this can be useful for people living overseas who have an Australian mobile number etc (on roaming etc). I really like that Yakedi.com maintains a log of all of your sms’s, very useful when you need like keep records etc. Note that only 10 free texts are allowed per day.

What both services lack?
Unfortunately with both services, you cannot send messages in the “future”. So scheduled texting is not possible. This will be an invaluable service if you want to sent a reminder for yourself, or want to send a birthday wish to your friend tomorrow. I am not sure how many mobile phones offer this service, but certainly my O2 doesn’t. Scheduled messaging is a must service, and is easily implemented. SMSPup does have annoying earning rewards schemes, but hey – you get free texting so don’t complain. Some of the deals are worthwhile. The annoying aspect of Yakedi.com (which can easily be fixed) is that sending a text message requires multiple pages. They can easily incorporate the whole thing into one page, and then have a confirmatory page.

Suggestions
* Both services would benefit from scheduled messaging service
* Making sending text messages more streamlined, and less page intensive would be very useful and appreciated on Yakedi.com
* Perhaps also have the feature of when you receive a reply to your text, a copy of it is also visible in your text log in your respective web texting service account.
* How about a Facebook application which allows my friends to send me a text message free of charge. This will spread like wild fire.
* How about an embeddable version which can be installed on websites, so users can contact the site’s owner live. Of course, privacy has to be maintained. Better, and faster way of communication than email.

Rating – SMS Pup (7/10 – annoying emails, and sometimes messages don’t get through and you never find out), Yakedi.com (9/10 – simple, easy, but too many pages to send an sms).
I like both services, and I think they will provide value to those who like web texting. However, I must say Yakedi.com has impressed me the most over the past couple of weeks and I find myself using it more and more.

I read this post in The Age Newspaper: Google backs down over browser amid privacy concerns. I promptly uninstalled my Chrome browser, and went back to my faithful Firefox.

With all the craze around Google Chrome, I decided to install and try it out. I loaded my Commonwealth Bank Internet Banking site, and before I put in my user details I flicked open another tab and there it was: right on the front page about Google’s terms and conditions of using Chrome. Holy cow!

So it seems one of the world’s biggest IT companies just uses standard user agreements, and then realises that not all of it will fit appropriately for all applications. Basically, the old agreement stated that Google will have exclusive royalty free rights to anything and everything a user entered into the browser, including banking details, search terms etc. That was promptly changed when users started to backlash. I guess somehow at Google is already fired over this embarrassment.

Interestingly, I found the Official Google Video about Chrome where this guy says (at 2.28): “In building Chrome, we were very concerned about security“. Whoa!!! LOL.

For more information on Google Chrome, visit their home page, or read about it on Techcrunch, CNET, GigaOm and other tech blogs. However, I feel these sites offer quite a biased opinion. There’s hundreds of other blogs/sites out there with their own two cents worth.

Anyhow, I will stick to Firefox until Google fine tunes its browser.

Update (13.09.08): One of the most annoying non-features of Chrome is that it does not show the bar of how much a page has loaded. This is so fricken annoying! You never know when your page is about to show up, or whether even it is! Which idiot didn’t add this feature, one of the most basic ones of all.

I have been asked to write a review about WhatsOpen.com.au. This is an unpaid review.

The idea
I think it’s an ingenious idea, and a simple one at that. I have sat around at home, wondering what was open at wee hours of the night. Particularly in regards to food (me love food) outlets. The website will let you know what is open in your area (as specified by you). The default time is set to “current”. You can even SMS a search term, and a response will contact the nearest venue, the distance, and the times it is open. Similarities are borne with WhatsOpen.com which is an American version, but you can sign up for the full beta to get international locations.

The website (design, features etc)
The venues are updated by the site administrators, and also by members of the public (which are approved by the site administrators). You can add venues here, and they will be updated as soon as possible by the administrators. The website has a very clean, neat and usable design. It gets to the point right away. Once you log on, you are faced with a search bar where you can type in any location in Australia. The great thing about the search feature is you can use vague addresses, or landmarks and the site picks it up. For example: I tried “Cnr Elizabeth Flinders Melbourne”. I was looking for Pepperoni’s Pizza (reviewed here), but it wasn’t listed. I promptly added it as one of the venues and it was promptly accepted by the administrators. It’s that simple!

The site has a Web 2.0 appearance, the blue makes it easy on the eyes. The simplicity of the site is what I like, because you don’t need to spend too much time on it to find out what it’s really about. The maps and distance feature is also a very smart way to localize the information.

The confusing part
I typed in “Racecourse Road”, and for the first 22 pages (and then I gave up), it brought up all the businesses in Victoria. That’s great for me because I am based in Victoria. What about Racecourse Road’s elsewhere in Australia. Therein lies a small gap in the system. As the site grows, you would expect it to be smarter by picking up which State you are from. So I chose: “NSW” as the preferred state, and it promptly brought up all the businesses that are open currently in NSW, but when I typed in Racecourse Rd it defaulted back to Victoria.

The advertising part
The site does not make it clear how advertising makes a difference to what you find in your search results. I do notice in their about page they offer paid advertising programs, so whether it’s already implemented in the question. A bit more information will be useful. There in lies an opportunity to Googlise the search to display “sponsored results” and make money from it.

Suggestions
Some of these suggestions I am sure the brilliant minds at WhatsOpen are already on to, but here goes:
* You have great database of information, so you need to get more people into it. A simple and effective way is to allow people to become members.
* Once there are members, allow them to interact with the site by allow them to rate the businesses, and comment on them.
* Once there are members, you can incorporate a social networking component to it – recommendations from friends is more valued than me finding a business through random search.
* When you search for a generic term, allow the results to be displayed according to state. This means, in the results page – split into the various states and allow the user to click on which state they would like (or better yet – default the state by detecting where the viewer is located)
* If you want to be real smart, then allow users (like me) set default locations (i.e.: during membership I provide my address/postcode and this becomes my default location). Generally, we would to find out WhatsOpen near our homes first, then everywhere else.

The cost
This is the best bit, it is free to use by the public. I am not sure how they are sustaining the service, and the company does not openly disclose if they receive advertising money from the businesses they list. None the less, its free for the public which is the most important aspect (and the one that matters) of the site.

Rating – 8/10 (ingenious concept, really looking forward to your development)
These guys are onto something special. It’s such a simple concept, and I am not sure why Yellow Pages or White Pages didn’t think of it. It’s a neat, simple, unique, and ingenious idea and with further development will go a real long way. Excellent work, certainly a site I will be using again. (Never mind the 8/10, it’s only because there are plenty more features you can add on, and I’m being harsh to motivate you guys!).

I’m in Sydney as I write this, and have a few more reviews up my sleeve. Just attended a pretty full on conference for 3 days, and I’m in information overload.

Recently, I received a letter from Virgin about my “unreturned modem”. This is what it said at the bottom in bold:

“Please note that if the Modem is not returned by May 23, 2008 you will be charged $400 for the Modem as per the conditions of your agreement with Virgin Broadband”.

Did any of you receive the same letter? I’d be interested in hearing from you. If you are new to Mr Feedback, check out my earlier posts: here, here and here.

Sadly, I had the receipt from Toll Priority who collected the modem in the pre-paid satchel. I promptly rang them up, and informed them of their mistake. The call centre guy did not seem surprised, and said it was an “oversight”. Bloody oathe it is! Hopefully this is the last I have heard from Virgin Broadband. These guys are a joke!

I recently joined up to SMSPup mainly due to lack of credit for my mobile. Yes, I use it up quite quickly so I wanted a free, easy way of being in touch via sms with family. Just the odd sms when I am at work. Besides, where I work – there is poor Optus reception for mobiles.

The way SMSPup works is by sending you promotional emails, and you click on them or sign up to their products (if you want to) and you get points. Each point is worth 1 free sms, which is mainly what I use it for. Their free sms service is quite prompt. So far I have not experienced any delays at all, but I have only been using it for a few weeks.

Anyway, I got a promotion to getting 50 free prints at Snapfish. This is a HP photo print service, and their prices seem reasonable. Anything free must be great right! In true Mr Feedback spirit, I quickly jumped onto this opportunity (sorry GetDigital). Here is my analysis:

The process
The uploading process was quite stream lined, and because my photos were quite small in size I just uploaded them individually. Didn’t bother with their quick upload software. I had a similar experience recently with GetDigital – read here. The best thing about Snapfish is that they offer UNLIMITED ONLINE STORAGE OF YOUR PHOTOS, as long as you buy something at least once every year. I wonder if they accept cheap purchases once yearly to get free storage. Seems like a great way to beat the system, because Flickr and other professional photo storage options can be expensive. Especially if you have thousands of photos. All those memories, and no where to put them. Ok, back to “the process”.

I created my album, and within minutes was able to upload all my photos. Then I confirmed checkout. I got an email confirmation, and I can easily view my “free order” in my Snapfish account. Read the rest of this entry »

After I bought my Pentax Optio S10 camera from Camera House, I have been getting 20 standard prints and one 10″ by 8″ per month free. I have been using this for a few months, and am quite happy with the quality of prints. I still got until December to go, and in total – thats 240 prints, and twelve 10″ by 8″ prints.

But, it seems different people interpret this deal their own way. I was told in March that I am only entitled to either one of the free offers, not both. But today when I went – the lady was quite happy to give me 20 free prints, and a free large print.

The self service machines are very simple to use, and it took me less than 5 minutes to complete what I wanted. But took them about 3 hours to get the prints ready. Fair enough, free items are their least priority. You can edit the photos (add text, black & white) quite simply using those machines.

This month only, they are offering free VIP membership for every camera bought. Usually this costs $20.

So if you buy a camera, then ask for this special offer so you don’t miss out. The prints are great! Customer service still lacks though. But who cares when it’s free right!