Archive for July, 2017

Tech I use: Dell Vostro 14 5000 (5468) business notebook review

Friday, July 28th, 2017

Dell launched its series of four business laptops end last year and the Vostro 14 5000 notebook has been my computer of choice for the last few months. Here’s why. (Prices start from S$1,164.)

The Dell Vostro 14 5000 is an affordable notebook that packs good performance to keep you productive, with excellent connectivity, long battery life and light weight that won’t break your back.

The Dell Vostro 14 5000 is an affordable notebook that packs good performance to keep you productive, with excellent connectivity, long battery life and light weight that won’t break your back.

First off, I use the notebook in the course of work – churning out word documents, browsing the web for research, reading PDF and web articles, viewing videos and presentation slides, as well as browsing and simple editing of work and personal photos, with the occasional video production.

So I’m looking for a no-frills machine that just works – it doesn’t have to look good or offer any gimmicks – just something portable with the essential connectivity to let me set up anywhere quickly.

The Vostro 14 5000 is just that.

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Weekender: Open House Carnival – Riding for the Disabled Association

Saturday, July 22nd, 2017

The “Riding for the Disabled Association” (RDA) of Singapore is holding their annual Open House tomorrow. The fund-raising drive will have games & food stalls, and activities stations such as handicraft & horseshoe decorating and more. Details below.

Help someone with disabilities and have some fun with your families at the same time.

RDA is a registered charity which conducts all of its equine-assisted therapy sessions free of charge for children and adults disabilities.

At the open house, children pony rides will be conducted between 10-11am and 1:30-3pm.

The money raised through its various fundraisers throughout the year, including this Open House Carnival, goes into the cost of maintaining RDA facilities, running the therapy program and the upkeep of their therapy horses.

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Weekender: Hotdogs Inc with beer garden

Sunday, July 16th, 2017

If you’re a hotdog lover in Singapore, here’s a restaurant where you can hang out and enjoy some delightful hotdogs with beer.

* This article first appeared in The Travel Memoir and is reposted here with permission.

Hotdogs Inc is in PoMo Mall, where many adult students attend classes at schools such as Kaplan in the vicinity.

Hotdogs Inc is in PoMo Mall, where many adult students attend classes at schools such as Kaplan in the vicinity.

Hotdogs Inc doles out high-quality sausages paired with freshly made buns.

Since its inception last year, mainstays such as Wagyu Beef Roll; Soft Shell Crab; and Pork Cheese Sausage have won the hearts of gourmands.

My Favourite

I tried out the new menu dishes at Hotdogs Inc and was delighted with the variety of hotdogs on offer.

My favourite was the Kurobuta Pork Roll which is made from the juicy, tender and high-end meat culled from Berkshire pigs, which boasts delectable marbling.

You can have it with either Asian, German or Japanese topping – I was partial to the German one.

The Kurobuta went down well with the Great White Beer by the New Zealand-based Mac’s Brewery.

New additions to the A La Carte menu include (clockwise from bottom rightt) Truffle Fries (S$5.80), Kurobuta Pork Roll (S$8.80), Man’s Jumbo Special (S$14.80), and Lady’s Secret Delight (S$9.80).

New additions to the A La Carte menu include (clockwise from bottom rightt) Truffle Fries (S$5.80), Kurobuta Pork Roll (S$8.80), Man’s Jumbo Special (S$14.80), and Lady’s Secret Delight (S$9.80).

The restaurant also serves up delectable side dishes such as Cheeky Spicy Wings and Premium Squid Balls.

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Weekender: Newby Teas in Singapore; adds 2 new flavours

Saturday, July 15th, 2017

Try out these two new offerings – Earl Green & Highland Green – in the Classic Tea Bag Collection, and sip these premium brews as you browse through tech4tea.com. S$19 per box with 25 tea bags.

Tea tasting at the launch of Newby Teas in Singapore, at Wangz Hotel.

Newby Teas has been officially launched in Singapore.

The London-based luxury tea brand also introduced two new green tea blends in its Classic Tea Bag Collection – the Earl Green and Highland Green.

The two new teas in the Oolong & Green Teas category in the Classic Tea Bag Collection - Earl Green and Highland Green.

The two new teas in the Oolong & Green Teas category in the Classic Tea Bag Collection – Earl Green and Highland Green.

Tea lovers can make purchases online at www.newbyteas.sg.

At the moment, there’s a sale where some of the blends are being sold at half price.

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New arrival: BenQ projectors & interactive flat panel

Friday, July 14th, 2017

BenQ launched in Singapore the X12000 (S$9,299) home cinema projector, the LU9715 & LU9235 laser projectors and the RP750K (S$9,999) 75-inch interactive flat panel display.

BenQ X12000 DLP 4K UHD LED Home Cinema Projector (S$9,299).

BenQ boasts that the X1200 (S$9,299) is the world’s first DLP 4K UHD LED Home Cinema Projector.

It combines exclusive CinematicColor™ technology and Philips ColorSpark™ HLD LED technology for cinema quality color in 8.3 million pixels.

BenQ LU9715 & LU9235 colour-accurate digital laser projectors.

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New arrival: Canon EOS 200D entry-level DSLR

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

The EOS 200D is an entry-level DSLR targeted at the fashion conscious photographer. Price & availability TBA.

The EOS 200D features Dual Pixel CMOS AF, 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and the latest DIGIC 7 image processor.

More details from the press release below.

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New arrival: Plantronics BackBeat 505 Bluetooth headphones

Sunday, July 2nd, 2017

The wireless Bluetooth headphones lasts up to 18 hours to make phone calls, listen to music, play games. Available now in Singapore (S$139).

Plantronics BackBeat 505 will be available in Dark Grey, Grey, and White.

The new BackBeat 505 headphones from Plantronics can stream music up to 10m, pair up to 8 Bluetooth devices and connect to 2 devices simultaneously.

More details from the press release below.

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Tech focus: CyArk & Seagate preserves world heritage sites

Saturday, July 1st, 2017

CyArk & Seagate are collaborating to preserve world heritage sites in the digital realm for the benefit of posterity.

I came across a meaningful project this week – an international non-profit organisation named CyArk is actively capturing digital images and physical dimensions of historical sites and structures to create photorealistic 3D models for archival.

Editor’s note:

I’m really happy that such meaningful work is being carried out by organisations such as CyArk, founded by Iraqi civil engineer Ben Kacyra.

It is a great example of how technology is being harnessed in a positive way for the benefit of humanity.

It’s also fantastic that CyArk enjoys recognition and support from the public and large corporations such as Seagate, Google and Autodesk.

Bravo!

This is so that future generations can reference these resources even if the actual archeological sites are damaged – through war, natural disasters, or age – or completely destroyed.

They have been at it since 2003 and are supported by corporations such as Seagate which began their partnership with CyArk in 2015 by providing its data storage solutions both in the field and in the office.

Since 2003, CyArk has amassed high-tech digital records of over 200 heritage sites in 40 countries, including Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

In recent years, CyArk has upped the ante by capturing additional photos that can be used to render interactive virtual reality (VR) content for users to enjoy an immersive experience when “visiting” these historical sites in the virtual realm.

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