Laptop of the Week: Samsung SF410

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Samsung 14-inch white $579 off BestBuy.ca

BestBuy Link: here Updated link!
Price: $579.99 (on sale!) $679.95
Specs:
  • White, 14-inch Samsung
  • Intel Core i5-480M processor and 4GB DDR3 system memory
  • 640GB hard drive
  • nVidia GeForce 310M – 512MB dedicated
  • 7.8 hour battery (don’t let this fool you, it’ll last 4 hours on high performance but 7.8 on low-everything setting)
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v3.0
  • Pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • Super multidrive, HDMI, USB 2.0 and memory card connectivity options

    • Okay, this one is in stock! I spent a good hour last week about to post about a laptop when it got sold out.
    -_-()

    Why would you want to buy this laptop?

    Price

    This baby is under $600 which means more accessories for you. More about its worth to follow.

    Processor

    This laptop comes with a Intel Core i5-480M processor. I see laptops with Pentium processors that are more than this price. So this is a deal.

    Graphics

    This thing’s got a 512MB discrete graphics card so it can play games without lagging on low to medium settings.

    DVD Drive

    Laptops without an optical drive is an inconvenience for me. It’s kind of like ‘I got three seasons of [insert show/anime name here] that I got on DVD from a friend, I’m gonna watch it on my lap-… oh. -_-()’ Happens to me all the time. You can also use that 600GB HDD on this lappy to good use by downloading and burning stuffs. :D

    Hope this helps! I will probably be posting lappys of the week from now on! ^_^

    Code: Never update your age again!

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    I don’t blog often but when I do, I often have to switch my age in various pages. This is silly because I can code. So use this to never update your age again! Gotta love that PHP.

    My birthday is October 5, 1987. Here’s what you do for that date:

    function getYear($start) {

    $start_ts = strtotime($start);
    $end_ts = strtotime(date("Y-m-d"));
    $diff = $end_ts - $start_ts;
    return floor(round($diff / 86400)/365); // get just the year eg. 5
    }

    echo ('I am ' . getYear("1987-10-05") .' years old');

    I am 24 years old.

    You can also modify it to show the decimals too! Just replace the return line with this:

    // Use this line to get two decimals eg. 4.57
    return number_format(round($diff / 86400)/365, 2, '.', '');

    I am 24.64 years old.

    Obviously it doesn’t have to be just your birthday. You can use it for other stuff too. Can you guess what I’ve also been using it for? ;)

    Computer for under $900 (with LCD screen)

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    I got bored so I put together this setup for someone looking for a quality desktop computer that’s less than 1000$ with a decent LCD monitor. This setup includes also keyboard, mouse, speakers AND operating system*. So it’s everything for under 1000$. This setup is for the casual gamer. The graphics card handles games like BioShock2 and Batman Arkham Asylum just fine on HIGH setting.

    Motherboard ASUS P7H55-M Pro mATX H55 LGA1156 DDR3 PCI-16 PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 HDMI DVI VGA GBLAN Motherboard $103.68
    CPU Intel Core i3 530 Dual Core Processor Clarkdale LGA1156 2.93GHZ Hyperthreading 4MB Cache Retail Box $122.40
    Memory Corsair XMS3 TWIN3X2048-1333C9 G 2GB DDR3 2X1GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-27 Dual Channel Memory Kit ($72.18 x 2) $144.36
    Hard drive Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS 3.5IN NCQ Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty $46.01
    Case Compucase 6C28B ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 4X.3.5INT W/ Front USB & Audio No PS $31.46
    Power supply BFG GS-550 550W Power Supply ATX V2.2 EPS12V 24PIN 6PIN & 8PIN PCI-E 140MM Fan 1 Year NCIX Warranty $35.28
    DVD drive LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM $21.55
    Graphics card Powercolor Radeon HD 4670 PCs 750MHZ 1GB 1.6GHZ GDDR3 HDMI DVI VGA PCI-E Video Card $74.24
    Keyboard & Mouse Logitech Deluxe 250 Desktop Black Keyboard & Optical Mouse PS/2 OEM $13.30
    LCD monitor Samsung SyncMaster E1920X 18.5IN Widescreen LCD Monitor 1360X768 5ms 50000:1DC DVI VGA $125.89
    Speakers Creative Inspire T3130 2.1 Speaker System Black 25W RMS $43.74
    Operating system Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT Dvd Oem $99.99
    Shipping and Handling $0
    Total (before taxes) $861.90

    *If you are a student, check with your school to see if you have any good deals to get Windows 7 for cheaper or even free. If you’re an ENCS student at Concordia, you get Windows 7 x32 and x64 for FREE, so it’s 100$ cheaper.

    The $1000 tower and why building a compy is better

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    I recently was approached by my friend David to build a gaming tower for $1000. Was supposed to do an assignment but I just couldn’t resist and here are the results:

    Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 850MHZ 1GB 4.8GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI Display Port Lite Video Card $178.08
    ASUS P7P55 LX P55 DDR3 LGA1156 ATX 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI 6SATA CrossFireX Motherboard $131.22
    ASUS TA-D54 ATX Mid Tower Case BLACK/SILVER Front Audio USB No PSU $31.46
    Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB Cache 8.9MS Ncq Hard Drive Oem 3YR Mfr Warranty $53.12
    Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan $110.40
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT Dvd Oem $105.79
    Lg GH22NS50 Black 22X Sata Dvd Writer Oem $22.99
    Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1333C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1333 Cl 9-9-9-24 Core I7 Memory Kit $174.99
    Intel Core I5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box $218.88
    Total before taxes: $1,026.93

    I originally chose a mATX board, but my brother’s friend told me that they’re small and cramped so stay away from those boards. Another thing was that I also took an i7 processor cause it would be totally bad ass. However, it didn’t fit with the budget, it was $330 for someone that probably won’t see the difference between an i5 and an i7. My bro’s friend told me that unless you’re doing rendering or some sick graphics, you probably won’t need that 120$ difference in power. Me on the other hand, I would like to try them both out to see the difference but meh, too poor right now. 3:

    And for WHY am I such a geek and love building these things…

    Why I Like Building The Computer Rather Than Buying One From The Store:

    1) I opened my boyfriend’s box because his HP Quad compy (bought for around 750$ with screen) was complaining about hard disk failure being imminent (No, that’s not why I wouldn’t buy, but it sure as hell doesn’t help) is that it’s FREAKING CRAMPED in there! There’s no room for customization if you wanted to change hard drives, add hard drives or just wanted to move shit around. No movement whatsoever. I was nervous just looking at it, everything was so tight [like a 5th grader]. :(
    2) It’s not worth it. For $700, you can build something so much better! If you actually take a look at the specs for the parts that they give you, you can choose a better graphics card, a better power supply and/or a better processor. Why should you be limited to the parts that they have left over? Get a friend to build it for you. (yes, go and make yourself a geeky friend or do it yourself.)
    3) Look at the beast that I just created. Honestly, pick a bad ass tower, add some LEDs on it and you could sell this beast for $1500-2000. Wait, aren’t people doing that already? o_O()
    4) You just bought Windows 7. Stores wouldn’t give you the CD with the serial key. They give you a serial. What good is it if your computer dies? This way, you have the disc, you own it and can use it for a long time. I read somewhere that people pay for PS3 games or Xbox 360 games for 69.99$ plus tax. Why not spend $105.99 (or whatever it is) and buy the OS? It’s useful, you’re BOUND to use it again and it’s legit, no more complaints about activate or blah blah (although I have been hearing about genuine issues from those that own the software -_-) but at least you can say that you DO own it legit-ly.
    5) It’s badass cause you made it. (Or got someone else to.) It’s awesome.

    Ah…! All this talk is making me really MISS building towers. :( Someone give me a tower to build…!

    Christmas Ideas for Family – Part 3/3: Siblings

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    Oh noes! It’s almost Xmas and I only posted this entry today. :O Sorry it took so long guys. I’ll separate this post by age group and/or gender.

    Kidlets (Below 12)

    DVDs:
    - Pixar’s Up
    - Ponyo
    - Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian
    - Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs
    Check out IMDB for top rentals on kiddie movies

    DS and/or games
    - Pokemon Platinum
    - Chrono Trigger
    - Nintendogs (for the uber young)
    - Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
    - R4 with all those games
    Check out Gamespot for top DS games to buy/romify

    Teddy bear (giant ones at Loblaws and Maxi for $20)

    For Bros

    - R4 with all the awesome games
    - PS3 game like Resi5, Braid, Batman: Arkham Asylum (Cross flatform)
    - PC game like Modern Warfare 2, Left4Dead2, check steam for more goodies
    - Leather gloves (Try the Bay for good quality and good price, Aldo for mediocre quality for < 40$)
    - Winter coat (Try les ailes de la mode for affortable and lotsa variety)
    - Dress shirt (for those bros just starting out with their wardrobe, my bro doesn't have any shirts of his own save one white shirt) (Try RW&Co)
    - Wireless mouse, Logitech Nano mouse for $50 at Futureshop, $30 ones at WalMart
    - External portable* (optional) harddrive 500GB for approx 100$ (BestBuy and Futureshop) (BestBuy has a 500GB Western Digital for $99.99! - link)
    - Sick bass headphones $35 on ebay V700 DJ Headphones (make sure they are genuine and in box) (Shipping included, from HK or China so it might take three weeks though ._.)
    - The Hangover
    - Inglorious Basterds
    - Star Trek
    - Something Something Something Dark Side (DVD, Release on Dec 22!)
    - The Bro Code (Book)
    - Funny shirts (Try Threadless, they’re having a 10$ sale, 6DollarShirts for $6)

    For the sis:

    - Gift certificate to Aldo, RW&Co, Dynamite
    - Sick earphones for $20 MDR-Sony EX85SL (make sure they are genuine and in box) (Shipping included, from HK or China so it might take three weeks though ._.)
    - True Blood Season 1
    - Munchkin (Board Game)
    - The Time Traveller’s Wife (Book)
    - Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Book)
    - Twilight Collection (.____.)
    - Sookie Stackhouse Book Collection (-_______-)
    - The Lost Symbol (For bros too)
    - 8GB Flash USB (less than 30 dollars)

    *The difference between an external harddrive and a portable external harddrive is the speed of transfer, the portables are 5400rpm and the non are 7200rpm, portables only need 1 (or sometimes 2) USB ports, externals need 1 USB port and come with a power adapter, meaning they also need to be plugged in. They are also heavier. Portables are thin and can fit into your pocket, non portables can’t.

    Christmas Ideas for Family – Part 2/3: Mom

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    To continue my posts about holiday gifts, mom’s next. :) I found this one much harder to write about actually. It was more difficult than I thought. I think it’s because moms are difficult… Haha… that’s not surprising. So finding gifts for moms are extremely difficult. I think that when you buy your dad something cool, chances are he’ll think it’s cool and want to test it out and not complain too much about it. Moms on the other hand, are not prone to learn new tricks (at least mine isn’t), get frustrated easy and won’t really bother with gadgetry (Sad I know q_q). But I like gadgets and I try to get things that people could need or would want. Same goes for moms. Without further ado…
    Continue reading →

    Christmas Ideas for Family – Part 1/3: Dad

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    Due to a request from my friend, Jerome, he suggested I post for the holidays because people never know what to buy their parents for Christmas.

    With asian parents especially, they’re really picky and will complain about you spending money regardless so make sure to get something on sale, so you can tell them “At least it was on sale” or something useful…

    So to shorten the post since I write a lot, I have divided this topic into three posts: Dad, Mom and Siblings (mostly younger brother but I might throw in a sister one, since I am the sister, I might just post my wishlist.. ^_^)

    Without further ado…

    Ideas for Dad

    Costco Membership $50
    What I have in mind for Dad this year is a Costco membership. It’s 50$ and it’s got one immediate family membership (hello me!) This way, we can buy things in bulk because I have never bought things from bulk before… :( Dad was always too cheap to buy the membership. So this year, I was planning on getting him the membership. This way, I get benefits too! :)
    Western Digital Media Player – $99 at BestBuy or 139$ with HDMI (link)
    This thing apparently plays everything. You shove in a USB of some sort: external, portable, flash; and it’ll play your stuff. The main big deal about this is it plays DivX, REAL (yes, I said REAL as in rm, rmvb!!! Which probably no other player from BestBuy or Futureshop has, not even the PS3 plays it…) and has a simple GUI that even my parents can use. No wai! This makes my life easier, cause I’ll just pop a show that my dad wants on a flash USB and it’s good to go. Or… this is an excuse to get (yet another in my case) a portable external too (500GB Western Digital for 129.99$ anyone? Maybe if you get warranty on the media player, you can get the portable for cheaper??) ^__^

    What Not to Get Dad

    That tie that you think is nice
    My dad won’t wear it. Chances are it’s too modern for this tastes cause I don’t go for oldie style (for clothing anyway). And there aren’t enough joyous, fancy occasions to wear them (and the other ties that you got him from years past). This also applies for…

    Dress shirts
    Unless your dad isn’t an old fashioned guy that wears the same two shirts to work, two shirts to sleep and two shirts and blazer to a wedding. But even if your dad is hip and cool and changes dress shirts every year or two, it’s still a boring gift. You want to have an exciting Xmas this year, right?

    My dad has all those things, what now?

    Other ideas that popped into my head right now:
    - Digital photo frame (60$+?)
    - GPS (They’re on sale at the moment at BestBuy, get one for 150$ or less)
    - New unlocked cellphone (less than 200$, try Electro-Tel (link)
    - FM Transmitter (don’t get it for more than 15$, try Electro-Tel again or DealExtreme (link)
    - That favorite movie or TV show but on blu-ray or limited edition, or burnt haha
    - Something that your dad complained about around the house but was too cheap to get something better/to fix it
    - Something for your dad but is actually for your mom (write a note saying “I got you covered for Vday or Mom’s Bday” cause your dad is just that lazy (yup…)
    - Booze, hard liquor, some Remy Martin XO (be sure to split the cost with mom and siblings, cause that bottle of XO hurts not only your throat but your wallet too… TT__TT) You can never go wrong with booze. …Or a nice wine.

    Build a desktop computer for approx $500

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    I got bored and decided to put together a PC for almost less than $500 (Forgot to include hard drive… -_-). OS not included. You can get it at school for free if you’re an ENCS student at Concordia. I’m sure universities supply free OS or have them discounted. Another thing, you can dual boot, it seems. Have Mac running on a PC if you want! O_O() Read the article: here.

    Anyway, the motivation for this was that I want to build a cheap and powerful computer. So first things first:

    1) Choose a dealer. I chose DirectCanada because there’s no customs, I’ve had no trouble with them before, it’s in Canadian dollars and it’s 9.99$ shipping for over $300, which you’re going to spend anyways).
    2) Pick a price range. Imagine building a computer for $500. With screen. Isn’t that awesome? Bet you can’t build a computer for this price, this good! :) (Try it, it’s fun!)
    3) See where you stand after the building. I like to have Excel open and have the prices in there and a column with the sum function ready. ;)
    Continue reading →

    Why SmartPhones Aren't Worth it for Me

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    At least for me any way. I’ve been eyeing the HTC Hero for a while, an android touch phone, sexy beast with a 5MP camera. But the more I thought about it, the more I’m hesitant in buying it. First off, it’s at least 700$ on Ebay and online stores and secondly, the costs don’t stop there.

    By getting a smart phone, you have to get a data plan and in Quebec, there are two GSM providers: Fido and Rogers. As of now, I still have a year and some months before my contract expires, so I’m stuck with Rogers which means that the cheapest data plan is $40 which includes:
    - 500 MB for e-mail, IM browsing
    - Call Display with Name Display
    - Enhanced Voicemail
    - Voicemail to Text
    - Unlimited Sent/Received Text Messages
    - Unlimited Sent/Received Picture/Video Messages
    - WhoCalled™

    That would eliminate my $12/month for voicemail, text messages and callers ID, so adding it to my current plan of $25, it’d be… $65+6.95+tx comes to $81 a month. Luckily, my current internship offered me a job to stay part time at the company, which gives me a few dollars here and there to pay for school, birthday dinners and whatnot, but if you think about it, part time work isn’t a lot, nor is it constant because of midterms, sick days and exam times. An $80 monthly phone bill to someone who isn’t working full time and worrying about school and money is too much, IMO.

    I normally pay $50 a month for my phone bill, which is $600 annually. Getting the HTC Hero as a smartphone with the monthly plan comes out to be $960, an extra $360. If this doesn’t scare you, don’t forget about the not-so-free apps that can be awesome and the android app market isn’t so huge right now. Perhaps:
    - Waiting for the phone to be cheaper in Canada, if it comes out to Rogers or Fido (changes are pretty high in the next 6 months)
    - Doing the research and making sure not to buy too many apps (if any :P )
    - Hold it in! ><”

    But don’t let me stop you if:
    - You’re not a student
    - You have a high paying job
    - Your parents pay for your tuition
    - Your parents pay for your phone bill
    - Your parents/boyfriend/friends would buy you a $700 phone
    - You can’t live without the HTC Hero