Tips Before You Buy Online

Last December, I bought a few items from e-Bay, a touch screen replacement for a Sony Ericsson P910 Phone and a screen protector for my iPod Video. The items I bought were from a merchant in Hong Kong. Luckily, the transaction was not fraudulent and the items were sent to my house while I was in Manila.

The item was shipped through an ordinary HK Courier service. The merchant did not have a tracking number to track the parcel.

After I got my PayPal and done this online shopping thing, I though it would be a good idea to give tips before you shop online.


Tip 1: Consider buying as an option, not as a mere end.

Think first before you buy then ask your self, "Do I really need to buy this item?". Consider your reasons. If it's indeed a need, then go and get yourself that item. Buy if it's for the sake of "I-want-that-item-because-its-sooo-cute", then save yourself from spending electronic bucks.


Tip 2: Look for a trusted e-commerce site.

So far, I only tried eBay because I know it's high reputation and reliability when it comes to online shopping. You can also try other shops like Amazon, Dixons and PC World. Find or ask reviews from other users who have done online shopping from your desired shop.

Tip 3: Check the merchant's reputation.

For sites like eBay, consumers are given the option to rate the reputation and reliability of the merchant where they bought the item. This ensures the consumers a guarantee of the merchant's reliability.


Tip 4: Know the transaction and payment method..

Learn if the payment and transaction method being used is secured. A lot of phishing sites are out in the internet which tricks users when doing online transactions. So far, I only get to use PayPal and my Visa Electron card and I have not yet encountered any attempts of phishing or other illegal transactions.


Tip 5: Check and compare prices.

It's not enough to know where you can buy your item. You should also learn which seller offers the best price for a certain product. I encountered this website in the internet which is very helpful in locating the best buys in the internet. Save Bucks has this price compare feature wherein you can get the different prices from the different online shops when you do a single product search. It's pretty helpful when you are in need to compare prices of your desired product. I used this as a reference in buying products online since I get to know the product's price in the market.


Tip 6: Patience.

Be patient. Usually, the delivery of your parcel takes a few weeks before it arrives. The items I bought took three weeks before I received it. Just follow the tips I have suggested above and be assured that your product will arrive. If not, you can always verify it from your merchant or seller.

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Using mobile phone to view MS Power Point, works with any model

I've been digging the net of applications that I can use for viewing Microsoft Power Point presentations on my K608i . Some of my teachers provide us with power point presentations for handouts. I'm having problem in viewing this files from my phone since I don't have the necessary application needed. Printing the file would cost me a lot. Viewing it from my laptop is not that convenient either.

A couple of days ago, I realized how stupid I am not to learn it earlier before. I've been searching the internet for solutions. I did not realize that the solution in in Microsoft Power Point itself.

How does it work?

Simple. Microsoft Power Point has this option of saving the presentation into a JPEG File for every slide. Since most colored phones now can accommodate JPEG with less than 1 Mega-pixel dimension, it is very feasible to use this technique in viewing power point presentations. Follow the steps below.

1. Open the MS Power Point file.
2. Click on File > Save As and change the file type to JPEG (*.jpg, *.jpeg, *jpe)
3. Create a bluetooth connection to transfer the saved slides (jpegs) into your phone
4. Open the image files from the phone
5. Use horizontally oriented full screen mode to view and browse the slides.

Now you may view your presentations on the go. I use this to study my lessons in the jeepney while on my way to school.

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Project PIC Loader, now WORKING!

At long last, my PIC Loader is now working. I went to school this afternoon to continue working on my unfinished project. I am still expecting that the first circuit I worked on would go to junk. I started working on my second circuit (a new one) but I stopped when I realized that several solpads were not drilled. Since I don't own a hand drill and nobody in the laboratory had the initiative to bring one, it would be a waste of time to stop working. The only option I have is to continue working on the first circuit I made. I fixed some lines which was disconnected due to my careless handling. After placing all the lines in place, I went inside the stock room to check if it works.

Whoala! It works!

Yes! It does. I don't get that stupid "Verification failed at address 0x0000h" error anymore.

Below are the images of my finished project.

Circuit II PCB

The finished project.

The unfinished Circuit II

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Project PIC Loader

I have no class yet I'm here at home doing my school project. I still have lots of school work on queue. Help me please!! T___T

I'm working on my PIC Loader now. It's a device used to load programs (or to program) into the Microchip PIC16F84A Microcontroller. The circuit is simple but troubleshooting it is ...(i dunno). I always get this "Program Verification Failed at address 0x0000h". T____T. Most of us actually get this error. Anyway, the deadliest deadline is on Tuesday. I can still work on it on Saturday and Monday. I was hoping I could work on it today but I don't have the 'equipments' needed.

Eto nga pala ang design for those "I'm a Microcontroller Programmer" Wannabe's.

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Opera Mini™ 4 Beta: My New Phone Browser

Several days ago, I downloaded the new Opera Mini™ 4 Beta on my K608i. I was not able to try it yet because of some technical problems. My Internet connection can't be detected by the application. I had to redo all the 3G/GPRS Set-ups. It was last night wherein I was able to try the application. It is really cool. I imagine my K608i competing with N80's phone browser. Check these screenshots I got.




Anyway, Opera Mini published 10 reasons to love Opera Mini™ 4 Beta.

1. Surf the Web in style
   
   The Web. Period. You can get any site, anywhere, at any time. It's your Web, to go.
   
   
2. "X marks the spot" — start at the right place
   
   When you load a page, Opera Mini will automatically suggest a place to begin reading. When it's time to dive into the page, Opera Mini zooms in and cleanly focuses on the content you want.
   
   
3. Stay at the right place
   
   Opera Mini dynamically changes the size of text and images to make it convenient to read without a lot of unnecessary scrolling.
   
   
4. A mouse!
   
   We included a virtual mouse to make it easy to scroll in any direction. The mouse cursor will look for content and links, and snap the view to them.
   
   
5. Power scrolling
   
   Scroll faster using the keypad. Simply hit 2 to go up, 4 to go left, 6 to go right and 8 to go down. Opera Mini will snap the view to the content. Hit 5 to zoom in and out.
   
   
6. Fast and cheaper browsing
   
   As always, Opera Mini delivers the pages you want, quickly. In doing so, Opera Mini makes your data bill cheaper, too. Opera Mini loads pages more than 2x faster than other mobile browsers.
   
   
7. Good old Small Screen Rendering
   
   Is it just too much scrolling for you? Turn on "Fit to width" and enjoy the pages in the Small Screen Rendering view. In this view, the structure of the Web page is changed into a single vertical column, removing the need to scroll horizontally while browsing.
   
   
8. Quick access to key functionality with the context menu
   
   Hit 1 to open the context menu, where you can turn on Small Screen Rendering (Fit to width) or reload the page. When focusing the cursor on a link you can see where the link really will take you, or choose to open the linked page with images turned off. When browsing with images off, you can choose to load the images in a page by selecting "Load images". You can even load the image in its original size and uncompressed, high quality by choosing "Open image".
   
   
9. Web designers go wild
   
   We included all the cool CSS support you need to make your mobile web pages look pixel perfect.
   
   
10. It's just the beta
    
    More crazy stuff will arrive shortly.

Check Opera Mini™ 4 Beta here.

I first tried using the browser to view my BY site and here's what I got.

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