Bought the Canon PowerShot S95 from the Canon Service Center at Keppel Towers for SGD$531 (usual price SGD$669) through the Canon Privilege Purchase Program. This program entice users to purchase another Canon product by allowing trade-in/buy-back of their previously owned Canon products and offering them about 20.5% off the recommended retail price (RRP).

I traded-in my Canon IXUS 860IS which I got from Malaysia back in July 2008 for the new Canon PowerShot S95 which was just launched a few weeks back. The RRP of the Canon PowerShot S95 is SGD$669 and after the trade-in, I paid SGD$531. That is about 20.6% off.

Canon service is excellent! I went to the service center on Wednesday, 22nd September 2010 after work which is about 5.30pm and I was the next one in the queue. Within 10 minutes, I am out with a form for collection. All I have to do is wait for their SMS to inform me when to collect it.

The next day, Thursday, I received an SMS about 4pm saying my Canon PowerShot S95 is ready for collection, but unfortunately I forgot to bring along the collection form with me to office. I went there to collect on Friday instead and as usual, when I reached there, I was the next one in the queue. Did the checking of the camera and paid for it all within 10 minutes! The Customer Service Center is at level 4, but I have to proceed down to Canon Digital Lab at level 1 to collect my 8GB SD Card and carrying case.

When doing the buy-back, Canon does not require anything, just the body of your camera will do. No memory card, no battery, no cables and no charger is needed. You pay upon collection of your camera and you can pay by Cash, NETS, Debit Card and Credit Card. Fore more FAQ, check out ClubSNAP Forum: Canon Privilege Purchase Program FAQs.

Here is the address for Canon Customer Service Centre:
Canon Singapore Customer Service Centre
1 HarbourFront Ave
#04-01 Keppel Bay Tower
Singapore 098632
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 7pm (closed on public holidays)

PS: I have not played around with the camera enough yet to give a review. Sorry about that.

Whole Package

Box Front

Box Back

Box Contents

S95 Front

S95 Back

S95 Top

Battery And Memory Card Slot

HDMI And Mini USB Slot

My brother got me the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi from Amazon and shipped to Singapore via Borderlinx as Amazon do not ship certain items directly to Singapore. It cost USD$64.99 (SGD$86) after discount, original price is USD$169.99 (SGD$225) and Singapore RRP is SGD$299. My brother bought 3 and shipping charges for all 3 Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi is USD$25.34 (SGD$33.55).

I kinda like the wire of the UE SuperFi 5vi as it does not get entangle easily as compared to Klipsch Image S4i. There are more earbuds included in the package (including foam ones).

The sound quality seems clearer (especially vocals) than the Klipsch Image S4i but bass wise I think it is slightly weaker than the Klipsch Image S4i. The foam earbuds are quite good but the rubber earbuds are not as comfortable as the Klipsch Image S4i.

I want to add that the remote on Klipsch Image S4i (3 buttons) wins the UE SuperFi 5vi (1 button) hands down. Even the build quality of the button is better on the Klipsch Image S4i.

I kinda like the hard carrying case that comes with the UE SuperFi 5vi.

Box Front

Box Back

Box Contents

Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi

Remote

Hard Carrying Case

*UPDATE* It seems that PayPal restored the access to my account, all I have to do is to remove the Donation button. I have make changes to the button and the code so that it is now a “Buy Now” type instead of “Donation” type. But of course, I will never trust PayPal again.

The email as follows:

Your PayPal Account Access Has Been Restored

Dear Lester,

We have restored your account. But you need to replace other PayPal button with Donate Button on your website. Please understand that Donate button is used predominantly to solicit donations for charitable purpose.

To remove a donate button from your website, you will need to delete the button HTML code that you pasted on to your site.

Delete the PayPal text between the following tags:

< form ACTION="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" METHOD="POST" >

and

< form >

Once code has been deleted, the button will no longer appear. We sincerelyapologize for the inconvenience caused you.

Thanks,
PayPal

My PayPal account has been with me since 2001 and all the while it is a personal account which is verified. My account was flagged with some suspicious terrorist activity back in June 2010. I cleared the flag by photocopying my NRIC and my SingTel bill to them.

On 16th September 2010, I received the email below stating my account is limited because of some non-registered charities and non-profit organizations reasons. But the thing is my account is an individual/personal account, what the fuck does it has to do with charities or non-profit organizations.

Read More (773 More Words)

Received my Speck PixelSkin HD (Black) from the iPhone 4 Case Program 2 days ago. It was shipped on the 7th September 2010 and I received it on the 14th September 2010.

The PixelSkin HD is made up of Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) which makes it much harder than those cheap silicon cases. I like the finish of the case, it is in matt black and according to Wikipedia, it is resistance to oil, grease and abrasion and hence it is somewhat resistance to fingerprints!

I find the “pixels” at the back are just for decorative purposes as I don’t find it improving my grip on the iPhone 4.

Similar to the Apple iPhone 4 Bumper, I think the PixelSkin HD is slightly loose and hence when you press any both sides (top and bottom, left and right) at the same time, it will have a small squeaking sound which I find it irritating. It will be good if it is much tighter fit.

The PixelSkin HD adds some bulk to the iPhone 4 and hence it can’t really fit into the Moshi iPouch easily (it still can fit) and because TPU material is slightly rubbery, it makes sliding it into the iPouch even more difficult.

I will be using the PixelSkin HD for a while replacing my Incase Snap Case to see how it goes.

My previous cases from the iPhone 4 Case Program:

• Apple iPhone 4 Bumper
• Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4

Check out my post on iPhone 4 Case Program if you need more information on the iPhone 4 cases from the iPhone 4 Case Program. You got 14 more days left (till 30th September 2010) to buy the iPhone 4 if you want to get the free iPhone 4 case from the iPhone 4 Case Program. Do note that is the cut off date for iPhone 4 purchases.

Packaging Front

Packaging Back

PixelSkin HD Front

PixelSkin HD Back

iPhone 4 With PixelSkin HD

Ah Kong (阿公) which means grandfather is a 6 minutes short film by Royston Tan about Dementia. The film tells a poignant story of a grandson seeking to understand and reach out to his grandfather who is diagnosed with dementia. Ah Kong is part of HPB‟s campaign this year to raise awareness of dementia.

The short film start off with a few people praising Ah Kong in his younger days, cuts off to Ah Kong talking to the grandson and ends by the grandson understanding his ah gong condition and playing along with him.

After watching the short film, you will feel nothing, but if you watch it once again, you will be able to extract out the key points which will relate to the top three warning signs of dementia. Memory loss that affects day to day functions, difficulty doing familiar tasks and confusion about time and place.

The two-minute version of the film will air on Channel 8, Suria and Vasantham on 26th September 2010 while the full-length version can be viewed on YouTube from 20 September 2010. Copies of the film will also be made into DVDs and distributed for free at Poh Kim and VideoEzy outlets.

Ah Gong Teaser (30 seconds)

What Is Dementia
From Wikipedia:

Dementia (taken from Latin, originally meaning “madness”, from de- “without” + ment, the root of mens “mind”) is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood.

Top Ten Warning Signs of Dementia

1. Memory loss that affects day to day functions
2. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
3. Confusion about time and place
4. Problems communicating
5. Difficulty planning or solving problems
6. Poor or decreased judgement
7. Misplacing things
8. Changes in mood or behaviour
9. Changes in personality
10. Withdrawal from work or social activities