Li Xiang got for me 2 presents this year and a short trip to Malaysia for my birthday! The Twelve South MagicWand (Apple Store – Singapore link) which cost SGD$45 is my first present and the Twelve South BookArc (Apple Store – Singapore link) which cost SGD$65 is the second present!

The Twelve South MagicWand is essentially a holder which holds the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Trackpad together.

I expected the build of the MagicWand to be good or at least made of aluminium, however to my disappointment it is made of plastic. The instructions came in pretty handy this time as it stated not to slide the keyboard or the trackpad in, but to “snap” it in.

The first time I assembled it, I forgot about the “H-beam stabilizer” which is essentially a plastic that is used to hold keyboard and trackpad side by side so that it is more stable.

Removing the keyboard and trackpad from the MagicWand is pretty easy and hence it should not interfere with you changing the batteries of the keyboard or the trackpad.

Twelve South MagicWand – Packaging Front

Twelve South MagicWand – Instructions

Twelve South MagicWand – Made Of Plastic

Twelve South MagicWand – H-beam Stabilizer

Twelve South MagicWand – Joined

Went over to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia over the weekend (Friday, 23rd March 2012 – Sunday, 25th March 2012) for my birthday celebration! Stayed at Piccolo Hotel located right in the heart of Bukit Bintang.

The location is fantastic, it is just in between Lot 10 Shopping Mall and Fahrenheit 88 and just 5 minutes walk from Pavilion. The price is pretty reasonable as well. Paid a total of MYR 566.08 (SGD$232) for 2 nights (SGD$116/night).

We took Jetstar there, paid a total of SGD$196 (return trip for 2) for the air tickets. We took the first flight out on Friday (7:05am) and the last flight back on Sunday (9:20pm). One thing I prefer Jetstar than AirAsia is that it lands in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) instead of Low Cost Carriage Terminal (LCCT) which is nearer and more convenient to the city.

Breakfast at Changi Airport Terminal 1′s Delifrance

Piccolo Hotel

1st Day Lunch At Sun Fong Bak Kut Teh

1st Day Dinner At Duck King

1st Day Movie – Hunger Games

2nd Day Launch At Wah Kiow Hakka Yong Tou Foo

2nd Day Dinner At Outback Steak House

Caught The Vow on the 2nd day and the movie is nice and touching and not forgetting it is based on a true story!

3rd day lunch was at Kim Gary! I always make it a point to go to Kim Gary when I am in Malaysia because the food taste the same at 1/2 the price when compared to Singapore!

Birthday Wishes On My Timeline

Thanks for all the birthday wishes through Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Whatsapp and even SMS! Thanks guys and girls!

Thanks to my Parents for fetching us to the airport and of course bringing me up!

Thanks to my Wife for organizing this trip (and paying for it!). Muack <3

Looking Back

• 27th Birthday
• 26th Birthday
• 25th Birthday
• 24th Birthday
• 23th Birthday
• 22nd Birthday
• 21st Birthday
• 20th Birthday
• 19th Birthday
• 18th Birthday

Got my very first SSD which is the Kingston HyperX SSD 120GB from Newegg.com thanks to Benjamin’s cousin who is in the US.

The usual price of the SSD (on 3rd February 2012) on Newegg.com is USD$205 (SGD$259), however there is mail-in rebate of USD$50 (SDG$63). After the mail-in rebate, it cost only USD$155 (SGD$195).

I paid an addition SGD$25 for shipping as I am sharing it with Benjamin and this SSD only cost me SGD$220. Sim Lim Square’s Fuwell is selling it for SGD$321 (as of 8th March 2012).

I still can’t find the time to install it on my 4 years old desktop, but it should pro-long the lifespan of it for 1-2 more years before I changed to a Mac!

Kingston HyperX SSD – Box Front

Kingston HyperX SSD – 120GB Front View

Kingston HyperX SSD – 120GB Back View

Kingston HyperX SSD – Connectors

Kingston HyperX SSD – Mounting Bracket

Placed my order for the Multifunction 3-in-1 Retractable Charging Adapter – Black from Deal Extreme on the 4th February 2012 and it arrived in my mailbox on the 5th March 2012, it took exactly a month for it to reach my home. Paid USD$5 for it and with Deal Extreme, shipping is always free.

This 3-in-1 Retractable Charging Cable is similar to the Innergie Magic Cable – Multi-Tip USB Cable which I bought last month but it cost 50% lesser and it has support for Apple’s 30-pin connector.

I am pretty impressed with the build quality of this cable, I got a couple of cheap iPhone USB cables from Deal Extreme and the build quality has always been disappointing. The common problem is that the 30-pin cable fits into the 30-pin dock connector too tightly. But with this cable, it fits almost perfect.

Previously, I bought a similar retractable cable from Deal Extreme, however because each of the port is located on one side of the square and each side of the square took up too much space, I am unable to connect the cable directly to my Canon 50D DSLR as the location of the Mini USB port is not on the surface due to the cover.

Packaing Front

3-in-1 Retractable Charging Cable

Mini USB to Micro USB to Apple 30-pin

Diablo III – Pre-Sale

Diablo III is coming on 15th May 2012. You can pre-purchase the digital version via Battle.net for SGD$90. The retail box pricing in Singapore and Malaysia is SGD$89 and RM$218 respectively.

Diablo III – Collector’s Edition

If you are like me and prefer to own the collector edition’s (CE) physical box, you can get it from Amazon (Diablo III: Collector’s Edition) for about USD$100 (SGD$126) and they do ship directly to Singapore for USD$20 (SGD$25), so total cost including shipping would be USD$120 (SGD$151).

Diablo III – Normal Edition

Amazon also sell the Normal Edition for USD$60 (SGD$76) and I am guessing shipping would be about the same USD$20 (SGD$25), so all in all would be USD$80 (SGD$101).

If you are intending to get the normal edition, you are better off getting it locally rather than via Amazon as it cost only SGD$89. You can preorder at GameScore (orders@gamescore.com.sg) or stay tuned to d3.playpark.net for more authorized resellers from AsiaSoft (an official Blizzard games distributor in Southeast Asia).

If you really can’t wait, get the digital version from Battle.net for SGD$90 as you can start downloading immediately so when the day comes (15th May 2012), the game will be unlocked/decrypted for you to play instantly.

Press Release

IRVINE, Calif. — March 15, 2012 — The end is nigh! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Diablo® III, the next chapter in its critically acclaimed action role-playing game series, will be unleashed from the Burning Hells on May 15.

Starting that day, gamers with a thirst for fast-paced action and adventure will be able to purchase Diablo III at retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In addition, gamers in the regions above as well as in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil will be able to buy Diablo III digitally via Blizzard’s Battle.net® website.

Players in the listed Latin American countries and in Russia will be able to purchase Diablo III at local retail locations starting June 7. Digital availability for the Russian version of the game will also begin June 7. In addition to the English version, Diablo III will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Korean, and Traditional Chinese.

Blizzard also kicked off global digital presales for Diablo III today. Would-be wizards, witch doctors, demon hunters, barbarians, and monks throughout the world should head to http://www.blizzard.com/games/d3/ now to reserve their digital copies.

Press Release: DIABLO III MAY 15
Official Blog Post: Diablo III Launching May 15 – Digital Pre-Sales NOW OPEN