Samsung 2253LW Review

August 22, 2008 | Filed Under Other, Photography, Review, Thoughts | Leave a Comment 

I got my Samsung 2253LW 21.6″ 2ms LCD monitor today for $289 at Netplus Micro Computers in Myaree. It was their official opening today and I was probably one of the first few customers, if not the first, to buy anything from them in their new store. A little upset because all the stock has yet to arrive at the store and most items are just being displayed today when they could have done it prior to the opening day. The main store is located in Osborne Park, a little too far for me to travel to get my parts.

This review is based on my first impression and my 4th hour or so running it from my laptop. Displaying 1680×1050 which is the same as its 22″ competitors, Samsung 2253LW doesn’t look any smaller than its .4″ larger counterparts. In fact, I reckon it looks larger than the others due to its frame that is rather thick. Sporting a glossy frame and base, it stands out and looks elegant unlike the normal matte look on most panels. However, this means more dust and fingerprint will be collected and is definitely more prone to dirt. I was initially worried that the glossy look of the frame will be distracting when watching a movie, but it proves to be not a problem at all.

Backlight bleeding is minimal on my unit, at least to me anyway, with about 4-5% of top and bottom of the LCD, which is really unnoticeable unless if I probably have another >$500 LCD placed side by side. I honestly don’t think it’ll be a problem at all when watching movies, more to say gaming. I also checked for dead pixel on my unit with Dead Pixel Buddy and didn’t see any dead pixel, so this unit is close to perfect

Only one glitch that is common among some Samsung LCD panels - the audible humming frequency when the brightness is below a certain point. Mine is about 60 or so? It’s not a problem for me because I set my brightness to 100%, but it still is annoying knowing that you paid your hard-earned money into an item that has problems, small or big.

The viewing angle of this panel is simply great vertically, but not exactly the case horizontally. The colour changes to slight yellowish when viewed horizontally (don’t ask the angle because I won’t know). The base/stand swivels with the monitor, which is quite weird, but thankfully it swivels with ease, so I won’t complain on that.

The monitor can be tilted upwards by a great deal, which is really good, but doesn’t really tilt downwards much, which I would like because I like watching movies away from the desk on my bed. One downside of the LCD is that there isn’t an adjustable height stand for it, so for people with low/high desk, you may need to get either a new desk or chair. Mine is just right, so no fuss with that.

Anyway, enough rambling:

Pros - Great IQ, viewing angle (vertical), swivels & tilts (with limitation), great resolution, response time of 2ms, 1000:1 contrast ratio, elegant looks (may not be the case for some), value for money.

Cons - 8000:1 DCR gimmick, bad Magicbright bullshit (use default please), horizontal viewing angle quite limited (but viewable), buttons a little hard and plasticky, humming audible sound at certain brightness level, no height adjustment.

Don’t let my description of the monitor fool you. I give Samsung 2253LW 4/5 because it’s a great deal for <$300 22″ LCDs and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great LCD monitor but doesn’t know which one to go for.

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Logitech EX110 Review

August 21, 2008 | Filed Under Review, Thoughts | 2 Comments 

I got myself one of the lower end keyboard and mouse combo by Logitech today, the EX110. Comes with a USB/PS2 receiver with a pretty long cord, it is decently priced at $49 at PLE Computers, Perth. I had thought of the EX310, which comes with the same keyboard but slightly better laser mouse instead of the optical mouse that the 110 has, but seeing that this mouse is going to be upgraded in months to come just doesn’t seem to be wise for me to pay $20 for a mouse that will not be $20 more in terms of quality.

I personally like the keyboard of the EX110, definitely better than the ones in Murdoch University and larger than the laptop one that I have been using faithfully for the past 2 years or so, although definitely not the quietest. It requires two (2) AAA batteries on the keyboard and I believe the battery life is decent on the keyboard (according to trusted reviews). It’s also spill-free (read: spill, not water-free), so I’m safe to drink my glass of water without fear of spilling on the keyboard. Although the Home/End/Delete keys are placed a little bit different from the common ones by Microsoft and most other keyboards out there, it just takes some getting use to.

The mouse is disappointing. I read reviews of the mouse battery (2xAA) life which is short, ranging from 2 weeks to a month or so. I’m definitely going to use rechargeables for a while until I get an upgrade. The scroll wheel is too loud compared to any scroll wheels I’ve used, but it’s fixable according to a user who reviewed the mouse. I’ll definitely fix it when I get the time to in a couple of days time (it will probably void my warranty though). The glide of the mouse is not as smooth as the more expensive ones, which is not too bad but considering the price paid for the mouse and keyboard, I guess that’s what you get.

In short:

Pros - great keyboard, does everything that needs to be done, plug & plays well even without installation, great build quality, good value for its price.

Cons - mouse battery, mouse scroll wheel, keys on keyboard not the quietest, no backlight on keyboard, not very strong signal for the mouse.

I give Logitech EX110 Keyboard and Mouse 4/5 for its simplicity and value. Definitely recommended for consumers who are looking for cheaper alternatives to the overpriced keyboard/mouse combos in the market.

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HOYA CPL 52mm

August 7, 2008 | Filed Under Accessories/Equipment, Life in Uni, Photography, Thoughts, Work | 2 Comments 

It’s finally week one of university. To be exact, it has been three days since university started, but I have already missed out on two lectures. I just can’t bring myself to wake up on time to get to campus, somehow.

Work has been really demanding, with me working almost every night and me not having enough time to spend with loved ones. The only consolation is that my manager told me that I will be trained in a new section in a couple of weeks time, which is timely as I have been dreading to leave my current section.

My sleeping hours are still unchanged, and I’m struggling to reverse it to normal sleeping hours so I can use my day time to study instead.

Believe it or not, I just dozed off and had visuals of work in my head. Ugh. Have a good week ahead

P.S. I don’t know if it happens to you guys, but I fell asleep before hitting the “Publish” button. That’s not the first time it happened.

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A Couple of Announcements

August 2, 2008 | Filed Under Announcement, Thoughts | 3 Comments 

A couple of announcements:

• I need a desktop.

I upgraded my Adobe Lightroom 1.4.1 to 2.0 yesterday and I must say I am very very impressed with the new features it offers. And yes, I need a desktop because my laptop is just too slow and old to be used for photo-editing softwares like Lightroom, more to say Photoshop. I’ve got my friend to help me build it from scratch, with specifications I can never comprehend. All those technical jargons are just like a foreign language to me, so I’ll let the professionals do the job while I slave away at work for more moolah to buy the parts.

I’m hoping to set it up in a few weeks’ time, but being me, the money I have right now may just end up elsewhere anytime anywhere without warning.

• I’m selling my 1990 Nissan Pulsar Hatchback

If you haven’t read my “Carrots” post properly.

• I’m selling my 1990 Toyota Supra Coupe GA70 GT

Haha yes this one too.

P.S. I fell asleep while waiting for Lightroom to process my actions. That’s how slow it is. So no pictures in this post.

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Wet Wednesday

July 23, 2008 | Filed Under Announcement, Other, Photography, Thoughts | 3 Comments 

Wow. I read back on what I wrote last night and I thought it was pretty childish of me to rant so much on a single issue. Ah well, at least that triggered an update for my blog.

Rain

It’s a wet Wednesday. Rain has been pouring since I woke up, and hasn’t stopped since. It reflects me of my mood - cold and sombre. Grabbed my D60, peeked through the side door and snapped a couple of shots and before I go off to work, decided to blog.

Rain 2

Sorry for the strong message I was trying to pass on the previous post. No harm was meant to be done and none was harmed in the process. Have a lovely day ahead.

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“I Love my Job”

July 22, 2008 | Filed Under Announcement, Gibberish, Observation, Rough Times, Thoughts, Work | 3 Comments 

Only a few days of lazily written entries and I noticed that my stats have dropped drastically. I guess this is the price to pay when I had decided that this blog become my (amateur) photography cum personal life cum ranting space (not a very good mix when not done properly). But I really shouldn’t complain, as I still have loyal readers who comment on my postings on a frequent basis such as Hwey and Deng, Shan, Feng, Jason, ehon, Clem, Neo and even Lilian. Thanks guys for keeping me motivated to continue blogging on a not-so-daily basis.

Another day, another entry for me to ramble on about my job. Pardon the misleading title of this post, I am merely restating what my colleagues have been saying about me (without my knowledge, of course) - “He seem to really love this job”.

I would have taken it as a compliment, but knowing that people are actually saying it behind my back, this goes to show that it is being seen as a negative thing. Only people like Shan (a manager in the food industry) would probably see it in a positive light, I guess. But why on mother Earth would your colleagues who are supposedly your friends see such a thing as something negative? Are they in fear of their job security, that I will “rob” them of their positions with my supposed “passion” for my job? Or perhaps being such a person with a positive, cheery mood at work puts them off to bad mood?

I had proposed a couple of solutions for myself to tackle this new-found problem at work that I’m facing:

1. The Reversal Method
   - Title says it all: Reversing my positive, cheery facade and channeling all my negative aura to my face. This method has yet to be tested and probability of success is unknown, but chances of losing my job is exponentially increased with more negative aura. Although I am very much tempted to test this method, I dare not risk my sole income at this stage in time.

   
   

2. The IgnoRaythod™
   - I’m sure many have heard of the phrase, “Ignorance is bliss”. This is an example of when you can apply this method. It has been tested and the probability of success is high. Chances of losing my job is on all-time low and chances of promotion is all-time high.

3. And more.

As to the statement of where I “love” my job, I hereby openly announce to the whole world that I really, really, really hate my job despite the cheery, positive facade that I have been putting on. The reasons of such dedication and positive outlook for me at work is:

• Money
• (Fun) Colleagues/Manager (notice the singularity) who can share stories and let me see the real them.

  and last but not least,

• Money

Think about it - why would a perfectly normal person like you and me love a job which you only earn enough to survive on (weekly), and still isn’t enough for yourself to lead a completely liveable life by yourself, more to say your other half? One cannot simply judge another by how they carry themself, anywhere. Just because I’m good with appearing happy doesn’t necessarily imply that I’m a happy person. It’s akin saying that your cat is horny when it rubs itself against you. No, your cat is not horny. You are the horny one to suggest such implication on it.

In short to this lengthy rambling, mind your own fucking business while I mind mine.

Thanks for reading and have a good week while I continue slaving myself for more moolahs to pay off my bills, cars, uni books/carpark, and life

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Bummer

July 18, 2008 | Filed Under Gibberish, Observation, Pets, Photography, Thoughts, Work | 1 Comment 

Elvis is laughing at me

There are more and more work colleagues in my Facebook profile, and I actually went on to add a few more a while ago. Looks like I’ll have to cut down on my workplace ramblings from now onwards or start a new censoring method just like Malaysia’s censorship (ie. heavy) before the people I bitch about gets me I get into trouble at work.

Heck, even one of the managers have a Facebook account! What has come to the world today?

Have a great weekend guys.

p.s. NO, I did not add the manager.

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