Founder of lesterchan.net, a Singapore tech and gadgets blog running since 2002. An engineering leader by day and a WordPress plugin developer since 2003, with a soft spot for gadgets, smart home, and a good deal.
As I manage my mom's domain, firstfood.com.sg, a scam email I received looked legitimate. Addressed to the CEO and Manager, it claimed to come from a domain registration and dispute organisation in Asia, handling companies' domain registration and IP protection.
Adobe Creative Suite 2, released on 2nd April 2005, is now free, downloadable from the official Adobe CS2 Download Page. Note that the Mac version won't run on current Intel-based Macs, as it was built for Power PC machines.
Alienware has opened its second Alienware Arena in Singapore, on Level 3 of Lucky Chinatown, conceptualised by Alienware from the ground up. The first Arena sits at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, having been bought over from JCube Cybercafe and rebranded.
The Timbuk2 Dime Bag seems discontinued, as I can no longer find it on timbuk2.com, which explains the 50% off at Cineleisure's Timbuk2 shop. Usually S$29, it's now just S$14.50, in red or green. Note the shop has moved.
The Dell S2440L 24-inch Monitor (S$379) is part of Dell's new S series, alongside the S2240L, S2340L, and S2740L. The smaller models are virtually borderless, while the S2440L and S2740L are almost frameless, with flush edge-to-edge glass.
Thanks to Benjamin Eng and his cousin for helping me buy the Nike+ FuelBand (Black Ice) from the US. I'd tried myself via a freight forwarder, but neither my credit card nor PayPal would go through. I paid US$180.
I launched lesterchan.net v3.0 on 5th June 2008, and four years on, it's time for a fresh design. Welcome to v4.0, built with Bootstrap and Fatcow icons, with a new logo by Li Xiang. I've returned to a light theme.
In my Looking Back 2011 post, I'd hoped for a new iMac and MacBook Air to replace my ageing desktop and MacBook Pro, and I managed it. My 2012 wish is simpler and cheaper: just those same two replacements.
I'd been waiting to order the new Apple iMac 27-inch (Late 2012), announced on 23rd October, to replace my four-year-old desktop. Apple's Online Store opened orders on 30th November, and I placed mine that day under my brother's name.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 is a 16.2MP camera with 4x optical zoom that's also water, shock, and dust proof, and works in low temperatures. I got it from Amazon for US$149.99 as the Gold Box Deal of the Day.
Western Digital is entering the router market with three routers and two more featuring built-in storage. The range runs from the My Net N600 at S$99 up to the N900 Central 2TB at S$399. Here I review the N900.
The Mayans were wrong, and we're all still here. There's a strong tradition of 'world ages' in Mayan literature, but the record has been distorted. According to the Popol Vuh, the K'iche' Maya believed we're living in one such age.
I love Klipsch, especially their patented oval ear tips, which fit me perfectly. I bought the Klipsch Image X10 during Amazon's Cyber Monday Gold Box deals for US$84.99, upgrading from the Image S4i I'd used for over two years.
On 12th December 2012, eneloop announced two new limited-edition 'eneloop tones' rechargeable battery packs: eneloop uomo for men in purple, grey, black, and white, and eneloop rouge for women in pink. Each glittering pack holds eight AA batteries.
When I bought the Elevation Dock, it shipped with a 30-pin connector, since the Kickstarter predated Apple's Lightning announcement. Elevation Lab worked hard afterwards on a Lightning adapter, and on 8th November 2012 it finally went into production.
Google has released its annual Zeitgeist, a look at 2012 through the world's collective searches, offering a window into the year's biggest events and trends in Singapore. Top trending searches included Olympics 2012, Gangnam Style, SOPA, Legoland Malaysia, Zerg Rush.
Just like last year's 11-11-11, I'm marking 12-12-12 at 12:12pm. 2012 is the last year until 2100 when the month number matches the last two digits of the year. WordPress 3.5 was also released today.
Cubby: Coat-hook + Storage Unit was a Kickstarter project funded on 6th May 2012, raising US$53,707 against a US$29,000 goal. Backers could get a Cubby for US$19, plus US$8 shipping. I didn't back it, as I only learned of it.
The SanDisk ReadyCache SSD, announced in September 2012, retails for S$78. It's an affordable 32GB 2.5-inch SSD to complement your existing 7,200rpm hard drive. You install it like a drive, and as a 2.5-inch unit it ships with a bracket.
The SingTel Experience Centre is a tech playground letting you manipulate multimedia images with Minority Report-style body gestures, spanning Paris, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro across a giant 14-metre, 180-degree circular screen. It's open to the public inside SingTel Shop.
If you're visiting Singapore as a tourist or on business and plan to buy mobile phones, gadgets, computers, or components, this post is for you. Hopefully you'll find it via Google beforehand. First, do not buy anything from Lucky Plaza.
Two years after buying the MicroSIM Cutter, I picked up the NanoSIM Cutter, also from Deal Extreme. Both are made by NOOSY. It cost US$6.60 with free shipping. I ordered on 6th November 2012 and received it on the 28th.