New Blog For The PC Enthusiast

There is a new blog out which I created for PC related matters. If you are a PC enthusiast, check out this blog:

http://pctorque.blogspot.com/

Burning Movies to DVD

The different formats that video files come in can be mind blogging at times. These include avi, divx, xvid, mov, mkv, flv , mpeg-1, mpeg2-, mpeg-4, nsv, dvr-ms, tivo, ts, ifo, vob, asf, wmv, realmedia, rm, rmvb, ogm... phew!

Like many people, I wished that there is just one standard format, but it is not the case. So what do you do when you have downloaded movies in for instance, avi format, and want to burn them to a DVD to watch it in the comfort of your living room?

My journey began trying out big names all-in-one DVD burning solutions such as Nero 8 and Roxio Easy Media Creator 10, but did not get a satisfactory result from them. Nero 8 now requires you to purchase seperate plugins for different purposes, and is bugged with errors, and Roxio is not user friendly to me as well, and I ended up wasting a lot of DVDs and time encoding attempting to burn movies, only to end up in failure.

Next, my journey brought me to source for other simpler solutions. I have tried many, including DVDflick, but was disappointed at the quality of the final video output. Then, I found my solution. It is called ConvertX to DVD. This is a much simpler DVD burning solution package that encodes different video formats to DVD and burns it as well. Although it is not as fancy as others I have tested, the encoding is fast, it has enough settings for the important options, I can squeeze in 4 full length movies to a DL DVD-R, and you can create a simple menu as well. The output quality is great, and audio is in sync, and it gets the job done well. You want something that works without the fancy dressings, this is for you.

The following is a demo from youtube:

Evo X vs STi Video Reviews

Adopting a Husky

If you would like to adopt a husky in Singapore, please bear in mind that you have to live in a private property. Please click here to find out what is available.

Dog Grooming in Singapore

Dog lovers exist even in the tiny island of Singapore. Yes, is it any surprise? Well, as part of dog ownership, sooner or later you got to hit the groomers, unless your dog is one with short fur, or a skinned dog.:)

Personally, I have tried many, some good, some not so good. As a personal note, I hate groomers which cage dry the dogs. I think it is inhumane, and have caused death in the past. Would you like to be locked up in a cage and have a warm fan being blown at you? I guess not, and why would you put your dogs through it? Simple question-simple answer.

After many experiences, I finally found a groomer which is pretty good, and their cuts are reasonably priced as well. They even have a pick up service, which I find really convenient. Their description of services is as follows:

Basic Grooming: Cleaning of ears, cutting nails, bath, expression of anal glands, blow dry, clearing of fur under pawpads & sanitary clip.Charges starting from $25 depending on the size of your dog.

Full Grooming: Cleaning of ears, cutting nails, bath, expression of anal glands, blow dry, clearing of fur under pawpads, sanitary clip and clipping/ shaving/ styling to your liking. Charges starting from $45 depending on the size of your dog.

Their contact number is: 64743115. Give them a try.

I'm Back!

After a long absence from doing some regional project works, I am finally back to base and can start blogging again. To all of my friends out there, thanks for reading my blog, and hope to catch up with you all soon.

Cheers!

My Xbox Live Gametag

Having recently acquired my Halo Xbox 360 console through a promotion (meaning it's free) :), I am a pretty new gamer to the Xbox collection of games. If you would like to, feel free to add me as friends to your Xbox Live.

My gametag is as follows:

Review of Xbox 360 Messenger Kit - Chatpad

"Chatting with friends and family on Xbox LIVE® and Windows-based PCs is easy using the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit. This device easily connects to any Xbox 360 controller and provides easy to use chat capabilities while maintaining gameplay functionality in one easy-to-hold device. The Messenger Kit includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 Headset."

The chatpad is an add-on accessory for the xbox 360 controller. It clips on seamlessly to the standard controller without a hitch, and it makes you realize how great the design of xbox accessories really are. Integration is key here.

But you may wonder, why would you need a chatpad on a console made for gaming? Well, there will be instances where you need to enter text, for instance on the xbox Live dashboard, or sending short messages to friends, or simply chatting online by entering some text. You can do without the chatpad by manually entering each letter and symbol using the standard coontroller, but it is painfully slow. The chatpad is a welcome addition to solve this problem.

What is great about the chatpad is that, it does not need any batteries to run it, instead, it draws power from your controller itself. You have a full keyboard style array of buttons on the chatpad, with keys larger than standard PDA phones, which makes clicking on the right keys a breeze. The buttons even light up with a white illumination, which makes entering text in the dark possible.

The package comes with a wired headset which you can connect to the audio jack at the bottom of the chatpad. Everything about the chatpad is great, and the only thing that is bad is that, it adds some weight to your controller, which makes the controller tiresome to hold after long hours of gaming. All in all, it is a highly recommended accessory.

Two Exciting New Honda Concepts To Be Unveiled At Tokyo Motor Show, 2007

•CR-Z hybrid sportscar concept breaks cover
•Funky ‘gel body’ fuel cell project revealed

Two striking new concept models will make their world premieres at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The Honda CR-Z is a lightweight, two-seater sportscar equipped with Honda’s petrol-electric hybrid IMA powertrain. PUYO is a fuel cell vehicle designed to provide fun for both the driver and his or her surroundings.

Read more here.

Treo 500V - A Review

The new Palm 500V is the latest in the Treo lineup from Palmone. When fans of the Treo asks for a new Treo design, this is not what they meant. Obviously, Palmone is not listening intently. Design is not ground breaking, and the screen looks too small for a truely innovative PDA phone.

That being said, let's take a deeper look at the phone. It runs on WM6, which may be a time for celebration for many. It opens up the oppoetunity for users to run the many WM enabled applications, and even local GPS software such as MapKing that used to be out of reach for Palm users. This is especially true for Asia, although in the USA and Europe, you have a wider range of options as far as GPS softwares go.

Glancing at the face of the 500V, you will notice that the querty keypad is a carry over from the 700 Treo series, which isn't a bad thing. Size of the keys itself is exactly the same as the 750V, and takes some getting used to if you are a new user to Treos.While a lot of other PDA phones are adopting the minimalist design without a full keypad, it sure is good news for the rest of us who like the ease and speed of typing with a full querty keypad.

The 500V is smaller in size than the 750V, it has grown more compact. In fact, it is the thinnest Treo to date measuring 110 x 61.5 x 16.5 mm. Being a Palm, the ease of use of the WM6 system is there, it gives it a customized look compared to other WM6 phones. One hated feature that this phone left out is threaded messenging. It gives your sms a threaded chat feel to it. Why on eath will Palm leave such a trademark feature out?

The 500V is a 3G phone, but leaves out HSDPA and no wifi as well. While we see other pda phones come with more features by the day, Palm always leaves something out that keeps the Treo user a little disappointed. It will be great to see wifi and HSDPA in a new phone like this. Internal memory is 256MB with a microSD expansion slot. It should really include 1GB of standard memory by the rate new phones are today. It has a 2MP camera, but with no flash and no autofocus. There isn't a front camera on this phone as well.

As usual, this Treo is a disappointment in terms of its feature set. Users' expectations of today's hot features have been ommitted. Unless you are a die hard Treo user, you may want to give this one a miss.

Honda Stream From Kah Motors - A Good Buy?

If you are at all familiar with the Singapore car market, you will probably know that the MPV segment is a hot one, and demand is high. With increasingly new needs of space, seating capacity and in-car entertainment, it is not difficult to see why.

Now that the local authorized distributor "Kah Motors" is bringing in their own 1.8L model of the Stream, it sure does give the parallel importers some heated competition. But is it a good buy? Let's take a look at the specs. There are 2 models being offered by Kah Motors. Both are a 1.8 L model of the same car, only differentiated by the option of a sunroof. Both are rated at 103kw and 174Nm of torque. Detailed specs can be viewed here.

The standard model lists at SGD$80,000, with a top up of SGD$2000 for the sunroof.

Now this is where it gets interesting. The parallel import model, the 1.8 L RSZ model Stream, a top of the line model lists for exactly the same price at SGD$80,000. What you get on top of the standard Stream are features like paddle-shift, HID headlights, Aero kits, sport suspensions. To me that is worth at least SGD$3000 more.

It is easy to see that the RSZ is going to be a better buy, a better value for money, unless you are a really loyal client of Kah Motors. Servicing wise, you need not worry too much, there are plenty of good places to service your Stream.

Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter Review

If you are at all familiar with today's console gaming, then I am sure you will agree that online game play is an important component. To be able to enjoy multiplayer gaming with friends and people around the globe just adds that replay value of your existing games.


That is why most people who owns an xbox 360 wants to go Live - Xbox Live. To be able to do so, apart from having an Xbox Live account, you have to have an internet connection. If you have your router sitting next to your Xbox 360, you are lucky, just plug it in to have a direct connection.


However, like a lot of us, the modem and router might be sitting in another room, while your Xbox console is in the living room. Then you need to go wireless. The wireless adapter from Xbox is a neat little package for you to connect to Xbox Live. It is small in size, and made especially for the xbox 360, so you know it will work. As you can see from the picture above, there isn't anything much to the design at all. Just the body, a stubby antenna, and a USB connector. Pretty neat. I like it not only because it looks simple and neat. The setup is easy too.


To set it up, just power up your Xbox 360, plug the wireless adapter in, and you are ready to go. It even clicks into place at the back of the xbox. Look how neat it is. Very thoughtful design and integration.




If you have a security enabled wireless network, no problems too. You can go through all the settings on your xbox itself. Simplicity and efferctiveness is what this product is all about. In short, if you want to go wireless, you can't go past this little gadget.