Looking forward to iPhone X Plus

For a huge iPhone fan, I am embarrassed to admit that I am still using a iPhone 6 Plus, the first batch of iPhone which went big screen, almost 4 or 5 years ago. The phone is pretty durable, battery life is still superb (although I will take advantage of the Apple Battery Replacement program) and the phone performs very well. However, I am missing out the innovations brought by the X - FaceID, no-home button, OLED screen, new user experience. Naturally, I am pretty excited for the end of the year launch of iPhone X Plus! Here's hoping the rumors are true, the phone will reach Malaysia by year end and that it is affordable under maxis.

Why an Apple fan switched to Spotify?

Yup.. I recently dumped Apple Music and switched to Spotify. The monthly prices are the same. So, why does a self professed Apple fan blogger sees himself switching? My wife wondered aloud too and so I am here to tell you why.

I have two iTunes accounts - a Malaysia account and a US account. Actually, the US account was my first - I had songs purchased from iTunes Music Store years ago. And I have tons of TV series (especially Games of Thrones) tied to the US account. I also have US-only iPhone app - most importantly Kindle. Often, I find myself switching stores so I can access my content. Trouble is, whenever I switched, Apple Music wiped off all my music and playlist from the device whenever I switched. When I returned back to iTunes Malaysia, my phone or iPad have to redownload or resync the playlist. It become a chore and annoyance when this happens too often.

Secondly, I really dislike the idea that when you stopped subscribing to Apple Music, Apple will keep your playlist in the cloud for only 3 months, after which they will wipe it away. Come on, Apple, playlist does not take a lot of space. Keep them there. When you threaten your customer that way, I don't like the feeling of being held hostage. I tried Spotify years ago and then I stopped subscription. A couple of years later when I resume my subscription, all my playlist remained. I was so pleased I don't have to rebuild them. Screw you Apple! Seriously, what were you thinking?

Watching Live Telecast from Padang Timur

Never in my life that I'd expect to see a change in regime in Malaysia. That the Opposition is now the government. I'd never have thought to see this in my lifetime. And yet, it happened, a week ago... what an exciting moment for Malaysia. We have been suppressed and under a cruel regime for so long.... and no, there's hope for a better Malaysia. A hope to return us to our greatness!

More importantly, I have utmost admiration and respect for Tun Dr Mahathir. He seemed to have unlimited energy and his mind is still as sharp as ever. For a 93 old man, he is so sharp, so full of energy and so strong. How many 93 year old can go through the ordeal he went through the whole of last week? It's just so amazing and so motivating. Lots of things to learn from the old man, huh?

Let's hope Pakatan will truly transform the country and make Malaysia a safe and progressive country! Maybe we don't need to migrate after all!

Apple Watch Orientation

I wear my Apple Watch on my left wrist. Instead of the digital crown on the right side, I turned it the other way around. Its unconventional but please hear me out.

The mic and speaker are on the opposite side of the Digital Crown. When wearing it the conventional way, I have to put my arm across my mouth to speak or to raise my arm higher so that the speaker is at the same height as my ear. It looks funny and odd because of the way I hold out my arm.

By turning the Watch around, I can speak and listen at a natural arm position - as though I’m resting my chin at my knuckle, in a thinking man posture. In this position, the mic is just right ubderneath my mouth and the speaker will blast upwards to my ear. I can just speak and listen to the Watch in a natural way.

note: I need to swap the strap so that it is the way it was. I don't have to learn new way of wearing the watch.

green arrows showing where the mic and speaker are

Wisdom

In our daily life, we need a lot of wisdom because we made a lot of decisions. Wisdom allow us to make the right decision. But oft times, we did not exercise the right wisdom and make a wrong judgement. This is where fortune comes in. Or a high life state to handle the erred decision. These two things - wisdom to decide and a high life state or fortune to handle a wrong decision, these are stuff that we pray for every day when we chant in front of the Gohonzon.

Case in point today - super heavy rain on a Friday evening. I was on my way to father in law's house in Kota Damansara to collect dinner. I used the Persiaran Surian way - and if you recalled a few months back, there were viral videos and photos showing flash flood around the Pelangi Utama condominiums. And I was there today. Some cars decided to make a U-turn, going into the One Club to escape. I was trying to decide if I should make a U turn or should I continue. My wisdom failed me and I decided to go ahead - I was observing the cars in front - if the sedans could make it through, my CRV should be ok.

And as I tackled the rushing water, I regretted my decision. If my car stalled or if the down pour doubled down within that 5-10 seconds as I was zooming through, I would be doomed. And my brand new CRV will be useless.

And this is where fortune comes and I was thankful. Truly thankful today - because while I was foolish, I had protection such that the water did not rise higher. Maybe, some where the monsoon drain did not get stuck and was able to flush the water fast enough that it didn't collect.

My car made it safely. But it is a lesson learned. Never, ever, gambled or take the risk, especially since that place was known to flood. There were tons of videos and photos to proof it. So, why not make that U turn and escaped through One Club?

How durable is the Apple Watch Series 3?

The Apple Watch came with a fixed number of watchfaces. There is no third party watchface support. So, getting the Nike+ is a better bang for your buck as you get additional 2 watchfaces and I must admit that the Nike+ watchface is one of my favourites!

I recently bought a Apple Watch Series 3, Nike+ edition and I am pretty pleased with it. While the battery is not as long lasting as my Pebble watch (5 day vs 2 days for the Apple), the brightness of the OLED screen, the heart-beat sensor, the size and how well it works with the rest of Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, Airpods) made this a must-have if you are heavily into the Apple gated garden. One thing I was extremely worried about is how durable is the aluminium body? I have seen MacBook Air or iPads get dented over a drop. Imagine a watch on your hand which is super exposed to hitting doors, tables, walls .. and having a dented aluminium watch body is glaringly ugly on the wrist.

Well, it seems I might not have to worry so much because it is pretty durable:
From iMore:

First, Apple has chosen to use a harder aluminum alloy — 7000 series. While the standard 6000 series aluminum is plenty strong for a watch, 7000 series aluminum offers roughly double the hardness and twice the tensile strength, approaching figures typically seen in mild steel. This means the anodized surface will have a much harder underlying structure to resist scratches and dents.

More importantly, Apple has deployed some advanced anodizing technologies. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that "grows" a uniform layer of aluminum oxide across the surface of the part, and there are a number of different methods for making this happen. In anodizing, the raw aluminum part is placed on a metal rack and (after a quick acid bath to clean the surface), is dipped into a tank of sulfuric acid. While in this tank, a positive electrical current is passed through the metal rack and the anodizing parts, while the negative end of the circuit is located in a metal plate inside the tank. This current causes oxygen molecules in the sulfuric acid to bond to the outer layer of the aluminum, creating a skin of aluminum oxide - a ceramic material that is far harder than the underlying aluminum.

Sounds pretty convincing, isn't it? How about impressions from other people? Read this thread from QuarterToThree:

I have a Sport series 0 I got day one 3 years ago. Couple of minor dings and I wear it every day.

or

My Sport 0 had no scratches on glass or body of every day use for 2 years. 

or

If you are worried about durability of the Watch, don’t be.

finally, one person's view of the Series 3:

For my most recent purchase I went with an aluminum Nike edition Gen 3, just because didn’t want to invest too much since I wasn’t sure I’d use it any more than my old one, and despite being concerned about durability. I needn’t have been concerned in either case; I use it a lot more than my first Apple Watch, and it’s currently in perfect condition after a few months.

And if you think about it, there was no scratch-gate outcry associated with Apple Watch. I think it should be safe and ok! Let me know if you have heard otherwise.

Additional photos and captions below:

The Nike+ comes in a black box. It's very classy!

I was surprised to see that Apple include a shorter writsband in case our hands are smaller. Very thoughtful of them. I am using the shorter one as my wrist are not big.

The Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ edition has a nice Nike+ logo etched behind it.
Very small, subtle, not very loud.
The back says Apple Watch. Series 3. Nike+. 42mm.
Aluminium Case. Ion-X Glass.
Composite Back. GPS. WR-50M.

And I'd really recommend browsing this article below:
The best Apple Watch face and complication combos

So we've put together our own watch face and complication combinations grouped by activity. Going flying? We've got you covered. Want the perfect face for your morning commute? We know just the thing. Love the hell out of Siri? Here ya go. 

There are what feels like hundreds of more combinations out there, and the ones you'll find below are just some examples of mixing and matching apps and designs. 

Honda Malaysia CRV 2017 Recall - No Need to Panic

So, it seems there is a product recall which affected the new 2017 CRV. You can refer to this website to see whether you car is affected => https://productrecall.honda.com.my/

I am one of the 1st batch of 2017 Honda CR-V owners as I took my car in July 2017. Two days ago, I received a call from Honda Malaysia (*) regarding this recall and then I went to the website and entered my Chassis Number and sure enough, it was listed as being affected in the website. I suggest you checked yours if you haven't. The Chassis Number can be found in your car registration card.

So I made appointment with Honda service center and send the car for inspection. The service agent told me that during assembly, some batches of car did not have a certain drummet (spelling?) installed onto the electric steering wheel motor and as such, water could potentially seep in and causes the motor to degrade and jam over time.

When they inspected my car, they told me that my car was ok because the drummet is in place and so, they do not need to replace the steering wheel motor. That motor cost MYR$1900, but of course, Honda will replace FOC for you if your vehicle is affected.

Please go and check and call Honda to service. You don't want your steering wheel to jam while driving! Very dangerous.

(*) I saw in forum that someone else received a letter from Honda Malaysia. Your mileage may wary.