LOCUM PART 2

One of the busiest radiology department I have worked in. You are alone, reporting 40 plain films, 7 MRIs, 6 CT scans and doing 20 ultrasounds. Luckily fluroscopy cases are very rare. All must be finished by 5 pm on the same day. It seems that you are doing the work of 4 radiologists, if it is a government hospital. I don't know how the resident radiologist can cope with this all this years. I couldn't cope with it, too tired after a few days. Can't wait for all of this to end.

MSI WIND U100 : The Best Macbook Nano

Is it true? Maybe it is true, since the recently released realtek Wifi driver for MSI Wind, makes it a complete working Macbook Nano. It is a very good buy now, selling at RM1699 with a 6 cell battery. Upgrading another 1 GB RAM, is another RM50 adding up. However since MSI Wind is also using a WD 2.5 inch SATA Hard Disk, upgrading the HD would be a breeze. So for you out there who wants a very big HD to keep all your data, you can upgrade it to a 320GB SATA hard disk. A WD Passport portable HD 320GB costs around RM350, about 2 months ago. Would be much cheaper now. So in total, upgrading the RAM to 2GB, HD to 320GB, the total cost of the upgraded Macbook Nano would cost you RM2000++. Anyone for a Macbook Nano???

CELCOM ONLINE REGISTRATION

As mentioned in my previous post, I did an online registration for Celcom Postpaid Executive 20 package together with the Unlimited 3G package. This registration was done on the 1st December 2008. After more than 2 days, i didn't receive any call from celcom about the delivery of my SIM card. I went to Celcom Centre in Kuantan, yesterday. Checked with the officer in charge. They couldn't find any information about my registration at all, even though my credit card was already charged. I forwarded her, my completed registration form, for checking. She will check with KL Main office about my registration and will inform me back tomorrow (Tuesday 9th December 2008). For this, thumbs down to Celcom again. It seems, that the online registration service is not connected to their online registration network. Peh!!!

HP MINI 1000

I am really spoilt for choice now. HP had just released its update of their netbook. The old Mini Note 2133 using VIA chipset was updated to a new Atom based Intel netbook, ie the HP Mini 1000. The specs are quite impressive, reviewed here by www.notebookreview.com. The reviewer had given it an Editor's choice due to a good keyboard and good screen. However the disadvantage of it is that you need to buy a proprietary adapter for the VGA port and also it is using a slow 1.8 inch 4200 rpm HD, maximum at 60GB. Now, need to find whether anyone had done a Hackintosh on it. It shouldn't be difficult since it is also using an Atom processor too. Will need to take a closer look at it during the PC Fair this weekend.

CELCOM 3G INSIDE BUILDINGS

I have mixed experiences for Celcom 3G signals inside buildings. As a radiologists, we usually worked inside rooms, mainly barium plastered rooms to shield the radiation from radiation emitting sources such as CT or Angiograms. Have mixed experiences on Celcom signals. In Kuantan Hospital, when i am inside the room, i only get GPRS signal. No 3G. Whereas, for Digi, I managed to get EDGE signal. However in Cheras, within the hospital building, Digi signal is very poor, to get a GPRS signal is very good already. However for Celcom, I can get full bar HSDPA signal. In Batu Pahat, Johor, I only get a GPRS signal inside the room. However for Digi, i can get an EDGE signal, even though it is only 2 bars. At home in Kuantan, as i mentioned in the previous post, I can get 3G signal for Celcom. Maybe this is due to the positioning of the Celcom and Digi towers. Or is it due to the wavelength of the Telco signals? Only a technical person can tell me about this.

CELCOM 3G AND HSDPA IN DAMANSARA KUANTAN

Mobile internet anyone? Since using a smartphone for 4 years, i need to have an always stable GPRS line with me. I have been subscribing to an unlimited package since then. For the last 3 years, i am using Digi EDGE as my primary line together with the RM66 unlimited data package. But ever since a few months ago, this digi edge has becoming unstable. I couldn't get signals or no EDGE in certain areas. As you know, Digi coverage is not as good as other telco coverage. Since I also don't have any internet line at home, i also need to have another unlimited data package for my kids at home. I noted recently, probably since October 2008, Celcom has increased its 3G coverage in Pahang. My house has already been covered with 3G. I don't want Streamyx or Slowmyx, have bad experience with them. Very unstable line. Digi has been very slow to increase its coverage in Pahang, it is still GPRS at home. Due to this, i terminated my supplementary RM33 SIM for data with Digi and subscribed to the Celcom 3G line at RM68. This is for use at home. My children don't need the HSDPA speed. However sometimes, we got the HSDPA signal at home. Thumbs up to Celcom in Pahang. Thumbs down to Digi in Pahang.

LOCUM

My first locum after 6 months. Do i need to do locum? Yes, I need to do it for the money. But the job is very dull and boring. My hands is getting itchy to do all the interventional procedures which I have been doing for the last few months. I also need it to polish back my general radiology skills. After doing subspecialty in interventional radiology since August 2008, i didn't do much general radiography, mammography, ultrasound, CT scan or MRI scan readings. 4 months without doing all this, will makes you rusty. So, this is a good reason for me to do locum, besides the money. Haha! Now to find another good reason for it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

It's my birthday today. I am one year older today. Got a present from my wife and children during lunch time. Just wondering, should i get a present for myself. Should i change my smartphone? Nah! Both my Treo 750v and Dopod D810 is working wonderfully. Couldn't find any new smartphones which could replace my Treo 750v. Should i get a new notebook? Nah! My new Macbook 12 inch with 4GB RAM and 250GB HD is working well, using dual boot with Windows XP Pro. For portability, i am using my Asus EEE PC 900. New notebooks doesn't interest me at all now. New smartphones also doesn't give me new adrenaline high. Maybe i am getting older. Trips to Low Yat or PC Fair is getting very boring now. Nothing new excites me. So, i don't think i need a birthday present for myself.

QUEST FOR A MACBOOK NANO

After using a Macbook since the last 3 months, i need to carry it around with me replacing my 2kg Dell Latitude D420. A Macbook usually weighs at least 3 kg, if you include the charger. Due to this, i will usually leave it at home or in the office and carry the sub kg Asus EEEPC 900 instead
Since netbook becomes a hot seller after the successful story of Asus EEEPC 700, many hackintosher managed to build a netbook running Mac OSX Leopard. These Mac OSX netbook is usually called a Macbook Nano. However most of this netbook will suffer some non functioning hardwares, depending on which model, due to unavailability of Mac drivers for the hardware. You can use either use the Kalyway 10.5.2 which can be upgraded using the Kalyway 10.5.3. Some also use the IATKOS v4. However most of them will use the MSIWindOSx86.iso, which is actually made for MSIWind.

Below are the few guides on installing a Mac OSX leopard on a netbook.
1. MSI Wind

2. Acer Aspire One

3. Lenovo S10

4. Dell Mini 9

5. Asus EEEPC 901 or 1000

Out of these 5 netbooks, Lenovo S10 had the most impressive specs which include an express card slot. However Lenovo S10 will suffer a non working Ethernet. Acer Aspire One is also a good candidate with a working ethernet. However the specs is not that good, with no bluetooth and only a 0.3 MP camera. Besides, the wifi won't work unless you change to a Dell 1390 or 1490 mini PCI card. Asus EEEPC 901 also suffer the similar fate of Lenovo S10 with non functioning ethernet.

So, you are left with either MSI Wind or Dell Mini 9. MSI Wind has an impressive specifications similar to Dell Mini 9, with the only difference of a much bigger hard disk (using a 2.5 inch notebook HD). It has its own MSIWindOSx86.iso which is about 4.3GB in size. The only problem with MSI Wind, is that the native wifi card won't work at all. You usually need either a Dell mini PCI card model 1390 or 1490 to get the wifi working.

At this point of time, for me, the best candidate for a Macbook Nano is Dell Mini 9. The specs are quite good with built in BT, 1.3MP camera and Wifi. Only that the maximum HD is 16GB which is a SSD. SSD would be better for a netbook, since it can stand more impact and fall compared to a normal HD used by MSIWind. Besides, other than the HD, it share similar specs with MSI Wind, so you can also use the same MSIWindOSx86.iso DVD for this hackintoshing purpose. The best thing is that, most of the hardware will work, including the wifi.

With this in mind, i went to the Malaysian Dell website to order my customized Dell Mini 9. Upon logging in, i found that the Dell Mini 9 is only sold at Dell Retailers, not online. For retailers, the Dell Mini 9 specifications are standard with only 0.3MP camera and 8GB SSD. I emailed Dell Malaysia asking whether i can order a customized Dell Mini 9. Got a reply after a few days later. No, we don't sell Dell Mini 9 online since it can only be sold by Dell Retailers with the standard specifications. My only hope to get a customized Dell Mini 9 is to get is from ebay or ask my cousin in US to buy it for me there.

However MSI Wind is also a good candidate for Macbook Nano. Only that i need to buy the Dell miniPCi Wifi card first. I will take a careful look at MSI Wind on my next trip to Low Yat Plaza. Meanwhile will be searching the Dell miniPCI card in ebay before that trip.

NTFS EDITOR FOR MAC OSX

Now you are having both Mac OSX and Windows in your Macbook. Usually Windows Hard Disk partition is in NTFS format. Mac OSX has the capability to read and edit either FAT or FAT32 HD format. However for the NTFS format, it can only read it, but not edit. This would cause a problem for you, since you would like to do some editing of the files that you have saved in the Windows NTFS hard disk, when you are in the Mac OSX boot.

NTFS also has several advantages over FAT32 format, which you can read yourself elsewhere. FAT32 also has a limitation of 32GB only. You need to use a NTFS format if your partition is bigger than 32GB.

There are two ways to do this, both using a third party software.
1. Using McFuse and NTFS-3G, which are both freeware. You need to install them both to make it work. However after reading the instructions, it looks a little bit complicated for an amateur like me.
2. Using Paragon NTFS, which is a shareware costing around USD40. It is very easy to install. After the installation, you just need to restart your Mac, and it works immediately. There is a trial version available which runs for 10 days only.

So, now you can do the editing of the files that you have saved in your Windows NTFS hard disk without doing a transfer to a USB thumbdrive.

Next is to get a partition software for Mac, so i can keep all my documents folder (Home) in it and use that partition in both Mac and Windows. That would be great. Anyone can suggest me one?

DUAL BOOTING YOUR MACBOOK OR MAC

You want both Mac OSX and Windows in your Macbook. This is due to several reasons. Some of the softwares that you have previously doesn't work in Mac OSX. Even then, if it works with Mac OSX, you still prefer it to be done in a Windows environment. Or you are being greedy to have it both. With Mac OSX 10.5 ie Leopard it can be done easily using Boot Camp.

Just open utilities from the finder. Click on Boot Camp Assistant. First, print the installation guidelines. This would be very useful during the setup. Then click continue. You first need to partition the hard disk to accomodate the Windows installation. Select the size of the hard disk that you want to allocate to Windows. About 20GB is good enough for Windows. If you want more it is your choice. Then you follow the instructions given. This is when the printed manual becomes handy. You can only use Windows XP Home or Pro, Service Pack 2 or later (better to have Service Pack 3) or any type of Windows Vista. I did a Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 installation which i later upgrade to Service Pack 3 via Microsoft Online update. The good thing about Boot Camp, if you don't like the Windows Partition, you can just remove it also using the Boot Camp Assistant. Please refer to the manual.

After the complete installation, you need to put in the Mac OSX DVD (you can find it in the small box that comes with your Macbook). This DVD will install all the drivers needed for all the hardwares in your Macbook to work with Windows. After doing it a few times (installing and removing Windows from Mac), i found that Windows installation is much easier and faster on a Mac due to availability of this DVD.

Next you need to do a software updates. First you need to update the usual Windows programme using Microsoft Update. Then you need to update the Apple Software (from the program file Window). Since you want to use Windows, you need to have a good antivirus, spyware programme, etc. I am using Kaspersky Anti Virus 9.0 for this.

So, now you have a dual booth Mac OSX and Windows XP or Vista in your Macbook. However there is another option of running Windows in a Mac OSX without rebooting your Macbook. This is to use a third party software such as Parallel or VMWare Fusion. However both of these softwares are sharewares. Boot Camp is free and preloaded in your Mac.

END NOTE FOR MAC

Have been using it for my reference manager for the past few months, after getting a tutorial from Dr. Jamaluddin. End Note for Mac is slightly more difficult to use as compared to Windows. For windows, it is just click on the download citation manager and then open the file in End Note, the article will be downloaded into End Note. For Mac, it need to be downloaded to text. Then we have to import the text file. Until now, i haven't managed to import any reference yet. As for the Microsoft Word integration, i couldn't find any link for the End Note integration.

So, as for now, when i want to download new reference, i would use End Note for Windows. Then i will copy or sync the End Note file for my paper into my Mac.
This is possible since i am using Boot Camp in my Macbook, with both Mac and Windows XP Pro installed. For sync, i would use Chronosync.

This will continue, unless someone can teach me how to use End Note for Mac. Or when i have a good knowledge and skills to use End Note for Mac.
This is the weakness of Mac.

USB BLUETOOTH ON EEE PC 900

I just wanted a bluetooth in my EEE PC 900 just for the sake of completeness. You want everything available. Since bluetooth is missing in EEE PC 900, i kept just thinking how to install it. So bought myself a USB microbluetooh which extends about 1 cm beyond the usb port. So i went to EEE PC wiki. Used the instructions given.

dmesg

sudo hciconfig

But i am stucked at the "sudo hciconfig". Command not supported. Searched the forums, not very helpful and some complex advice. Later on found out that actually hciconfig tool is not installed in EEE PC 900. So, what i did is doing the update of the EEE.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install bluez-utils

Then confirm and say yes to everything. After this only you will have the hciconfig. Then continue back what was mentioned in the EEE PC wiki.

sudo hciconfig

This will list the bluetooth interfaces.

sudo hciconfig hci0 up

This is to activate the bluetooth.

sudo hciconfig hci0 down

This is to stop or deactivate the bluetooth.

So, you can use bluetooth with your EEE PC, it was very easy to install.

I need to remember these three command to activate or deactivate my BT.

sudo hciconfig
sudo hciconfig hci0 up
sudo hciconfig hci0 down

So, whats next. A lot more things can be done with the bluetooth such as:
- using your Nokia phone or WM6 smartphone internet sharing or 3G via bluetooth.
- using a BT GPS
- using A2DP with your stereo BT headphone.

This is for later. Might start with the BT GPS first since i already have an internet connection with my Sierra 875u USB modem, which make the internet sharing option not very important.

Hehe!

WINDOWS XP PRO ON EEE PC 900

Tried an experiment few days ago to install Windows XP Professional on my EEE PC. It took me nearly half a day since i need to use a USB thumbdrive since i don't have a USB CD or DVD drive around. Installing Windows through USB thumbdrive is painstakingly very slow. One complete installation need around 1 hour. However later on i have problems in making the EEE PC to dual boot. With the problems of the dual boot, i later on decided to have only Windows XP for the EEE PC. So, i have now a Windows XP EEE PC. Tried to use it for two days. The boot time for the EEE PC is very slow, which takes forever for me (about 3 minutes). However with Windows XP i have the advantage of installing other softwares such as SPSS and etc.

So, after two days, due to slowness of the boot time, i decided to switch back to Xandros. The USB thumbdrive method to recover the Xandros from the supplied DVD is very easy. It took me about half an hour to reinstall the Xandros on my EEE PC and also format the primary and secondary drive. Currently very happy with the Xandros EEE PC. Now, this post is typed from my EEE PC with Xandros. The boot time is very fast around 15 to 20 seconds.

Will never install Windows XP again in my EEE PC.

Haha.

WELCOME TO RAMADHAN

Today is the first day of Ramadhan. To all muslims out there, happy Ramadhan. This year, it will be the first time, my second daughter will be fasting. She is seven years old now. Luckily for the first day of Ramadhan this year is a school holiday, post "Merdeka". Hope that she won' be tired for the first day of fasting.

LEFT RADIUS ULNA RADIOGRAPH

A teenager with long history of painless swelling on the foreram.

Findings
A soft tissue swelling seen anterior to the distal radius and ulna with some areas of calcification within. There is also associated bowing of the distal radius. No evidence of periosteal reaction. No associated lytic or sclerotic bone lesions.

Diagnosis:
Soft tissue tumour, most likely haemangioma.
MRI confirmed intramuscular haemangioma.

CT SCAN OF ABDOMEN

A 35 year old lady with severe abdominal pain and continous vomiting.

Findings:
Typical appearences of bowel in bowel sign indicating presence of intussusception. Minimal free fluid in the pelvis and paracolic gutters.

Diagnosis:
Jejuno-jejunal intussusception which is usually self limiting.

Progress:
The symptoms resolved after the barium follow through examination in which the initial presence of gastric outlet obstruction sign seen resolved completely. The patient also said that the pain completely resolved. No more vomiting seen.

LARGE POST COMMUNICATING ARTERY ANEURYSM

A 3D RA image from Philips FD2010 Angiography machine showing a large bilobed posterior communicating artery aneurysm in which the the posterior cerebral artery seems to arise from the aneurysm itself. This is a very challenging aneurysm for an endosvascular treatment since if the aneurysm was coiled, it would sacrifice the posterior cerebral artery. Another option is to stent the posterior cerebral artery and then coil the aneurysm. After discussions, the best option is to clip the aneurysm until the origin of the posterior cerebral artery by neurovascular surgeon.

LINNC 2008, PARIS

LINNC 2008, for Live Interventional Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery Course organized by Prof Jacques Moret, a world renowed Interventional Neuroradiologist. Very interesting 3 days course which include presentation and hot discussion. The most interesting discussion is regarding the EVA3S trials (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00190398) which was presented by the researcher himself. It was very hot and interesting and had to be stopped by Prof Moret himself. For the uninitiated, EVA3S really change the perception of carotid stenting practice in the whole world especially France.

What i really like is the way the transmitted live transmission of angiography suite from Fondation Adolphe De Rothschild Hospital and neurosurgery operating theatre from Helsinki. It was very clear with only a very minimal delay in sound transmission from Helsinki. From what i know, the live neurosurgery from Helsinki was transmitted via satellite. And the way the transmit the images on the screen, interchanging from two to one screen was fantastic. I think they are using Mac for this.

For 2009, the course will be combined with ACINR (www.ics08.org) which will be held in Paris. For 2010, it will also be combined with ACINR and will be held in Istanbul. Looking forward for the Istanbul course in 2010.

PARIS JUNE 2008

Went to Paris last June 2008 for the LINNC course (www.linnc.com) which was held in the Carousel du Louvre (where the keep the Mona Lisa painting in the museum there). This is my second trip to Paris, after the first visit in 2007. Since i am not an art lover, Paris is not so exciting for me, and things in Europe are expensive. However the organizer and EV3 made a boat trip that night and i took a few shots of Paris with my Dopod D810 camera (so the images are not that good), which includes Arc De Triompe and Eifel Tower.

Went for a walk around town and found this crooked building image, which is actually only a drawing to conceal the construction of a building behind it. Very interesting drawing as compared to a very plain partition in any constructions in Kuala Lumpur.

For the last night, the organizer had a dinner in Chateau de Versailes, which is the last castle of the French Monarch. We skip this visit, since it is quite far from centre of the town and also we miss real meals. If you know Frenchmen, their lunch is very small and most of it not "halal". So instead of going to Chateau de Versailes, we go and find some Arabic food, and we have Kebab for dinner. Haha!

And as for the conference, it is fantastic, which i will talk about in another post.

DRAGON FRUIT

All my children love fruits. The third one (Aina Mahirah) really love fruits and vegetables. She can eat fruits only and skip her meals. But as usually, she cannot miss any meals, since my wife will force on her.

Went to Kluang during the weekend for some business. Stopped by an organic farm and bought four units of baby dragon fruit tree, which we have planned to buy since a few months ago.

Yesterday, planted the four trees in my backyard. Made the dragon fruit housing using some woods from the nearby construction site. Polishing my unused carpentry skills. Asked a few questions to the seller, it need very little water since it is actually a cactus. However it need a lot of organic fertilizer, in which you need to put it in every forthnightly. I will post more pictures as the tree grew. It will take at least 8 months for the first harvest.

Dragon fruit or pitaya, with a scientific name of Hylocereus has many uses. It can be eaten raw or made into juice.

This will be my experiment and if works, i will plant more of it around my house.

MAC AND OSIRIX

I am currently using a black 2.4GHz dual core Macbook with a 4GB RAM and 250GB hard disk. As for the time being, i still have Windows Vista Home in it, using dual boot from Boot Camp. The initial reason why i want to use a Mac is to use OSIRIX. After that, Mac is very irresistable.

OSIRIX is an opensource PACS workstation software. It is a fantastic software which can function similar as a modality workstation provided by system vendors such as Siemens, General Electrics or Philips. The only thing that cost you is to buy a high end Mac. The best is to use a Mac Pro, since you need to view thousands of images in one period. I will give some screenshots of OSIRIX. For more information, please google for OSIRIX.

COMPARISON OF MONEY MANAGER PROGRAMME FOR WINDOWS MOBILE

When I was searching for money manager programme for WM6 which can sync with my Macbook, i managed to try a few or almost all of them. There are a few which is SPB Finance, Pocket Quicken, Splashmoney and Ultrasoft Money. However during this period i only tried the first three. Didn't manage to try Ultrasoft Money. But i have used Ultrasoft Money for Palm, a few years back.

For basic function, almost all has it. However for the backup, import and export function, only SPB finance has it. There is none for Pocket Quicken and Splashmoney. So, SPB Finance wins here. Ultrasoft Money for WM6 has a similar function with SPB Finance. However i can't remember if it has an import or export function.

However, amongst all, Ultrasoft Money for Palm is the best, provided you sync it with Microsoft Money. It can sync your budget and also all your scheduled bills that you have programmed in Microsoft Money. Ultrasoft Money for WM6 didn't have the function to sync all your scheduled bill. This is a flaw.

I am still pondering to go back to Palm, probably Centro. However since i am a Macbook user, it would be useless since i won't have Microsoft Money for Mac. So, i will continue to use the current option of managing my account.

MONEY PROGRAMME FOR MAC

This is a problem when using a Mac. There is no Microsoft Money for Mac version. There is Quicken and Splashmoney for Mac. Tried them both, quite similar with the Windows version. I easily import the data from Microsoft Money via this method.

First i did a final sync of my Microsoft Money data into SPB Finance in my Treo 750v. Then from the Treo 750v, I export the data to a QIF file. Then from either Quicken or Splashmoney, the QIF file can be imported into both of them. However final editing need to be done for the initial balance of each account, that is to balance out the accounts. This is the first part.

The second part is to find a programme which can sync either Quicken or Splashmoney to my Treo 750v. Sadly, there is NONE. Full stop. I am very sad.

So, in the end, i continue to use SPB Finance in my Treo 750v with no sync option with an QIF file and email it into my backup gmail account.

Still hoping someone will make a programme to sync.

Very sad.

MIGRATING DATA FROM MICROSOFT OUTLOOK TO MACBOOK

I am now starting to be a Mac user after all these years of being a Windoze user. Fell in love with Mac, after only 1 week. After a long thought, decided to completely be a Mac user. However i have a problem. I need to transfer my Microsoft Outlook data into Ical and address book for Mac. Searched a few forums and discussion and finally found a solution. Let me share how i do it here.

For the contacts in Microsoft Outlook, I installed Mozilla Thunderbird first. Then import the contacts using Thunderbird from Outlook. Then export all contacts to *.ldif file. Take the *.ldif file. Use the Mac address book to import the *.ldif file into your address book. Microsoft Entourage can sync with the address book, if you decided to use Entourage later on.

For calendar, first sync the Outlook with the Google Calendar using Google Calendar Sync. Then open manage calendar and choose the calendar in Google Calendar. Find ICAL in the option. Right click on ICAL (the private calendar part), and save the data in your PC. Take that file into your macbook. ICAL can import that file. Microsoft Entourage can sync with ICAL easily, if you decided to use Entourage later.

However if you are very lazy to do all this, just buy OUTLOOK2MAC, for USD10. It can do it all for you.

Next is for me to find how to transfer my Microsoft Money data to Mac. That would be another headache.

HUAWEI E220 MODEM WITH EEE PC 900

Found some new findings about the Huawei E220 USB modem. It can be used with Xandros EEE PC which everyone knew. What people didn't know is that it is very easy. From the eeeuser.com forum, it is a difficult process with much tweakings need to be done.

What i did is to follow exactly the methods and programming used for the Sierra 875u USB modem. Even during the dialing process, the screen show it is using the Sierra driver. However after that, the modem seems to work.

The advantage of Huawei is that it is cheaper than Sierra. The price difference is about RM200. I should have gotten the Huawei and use the difference to buy a leather case formy EEE PC 900.

WATCHING DVD ON EEE PC 900

Your EEE PC 900 or 901 is has a big 9 inch LCD screen. It would make a great DVD player when you travel or in the car. But the problem is that it doen't have a CD or DVD player within. The easiest way is for you to buy an external USB DVD drive and play all your DVD movies from the USB DVD player. But the disadvantage of an external USB DVD player is that it will use more power from your EEE PC battery and it also add more bulk to your travelling items, an extra thing to carry.

So, the best way is to convert your DVD movies to format which you can keep in the EEE PC hard drive or a large 16GB SDHC (An A Data 16GB cost around RM200 now). With formatting, you can keep around 12 to 13 full length 90 minutes DVD movies in a 16GB SDHC card. That would give you around 20hours of movie time.

There are several converters around for both Windows and Mac. What i use for my Macbook is Handbrake (http://downloads.zdnet.com/search.aspx?kw=dvd+ripper&osfilter=mac&licfilter=free). It is a freeware and does the job well. I recently coverted "Hancock" at it gives around 1GB in AVI format. It took about 1 hour for the conversion process. Sorry, i can't give any Windows software, since i don't use Windoze now. Hehehe!

For the Xandros EEE PC, it can read mpeg, ogg and avi format faultlessly. However if the movie is in mp4 format, you may need to downgrade the mplayer to an older format, which i did. You can try using this tutorial ( http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=937). But if you are not adventurous enough, just convert all your DVDs into avi format.

Don't worry if you are using a Windows XP EEE PC, the built in Windows Media Player should read the file well. However if you need to read divx or xvid movies, you need to install an older version of WMP. Google for it.

So, enjoy your movies while you travel. With a power inverter in your car, you can have 20hours of DVD movies while travelling. But since the EEE PC speaker is awful, you may need to buy an external speaker to get a better sound. It would be much better, if you can find a way to connect the sound to your car sound system. That would be great.

Now i am in the process of converting Dark Knight and X Files into avi.

Enjoy.

BEING MOBILE WITH ASUS EEE PC 900.

I just got my Asus EEE PC 900.  It is the Xandros version with 20GB SSD hard disk.  It doesn't need any introduction since it is known to everyone unless you are living in a cave without any internet connection. First impression, very small and light.  The 8.9 inch LCD screen is a very good improvement compared to the 701.  The keyboard is quite small and cramped and i am still learning to type with the keyboard using all my 10 fingers.  This mini review is written using the EEE PC.  

The built in Xandros OS has nearly all the necessary software for your everyday use.  For example, Firefox, Thunderbird, Skype, Openoffice, File Manager and etc.  You don't really need to upgrade it to Windows,since Windows is make the EEE PC very slow.  After using it for a few days, i found it gives you nearly the full function of a desktop or high end notebook, minus the weight.  So in the end i decided to use it as my secondary notebook when mobile or not at office.  The weight of less than 1 kg, makes it a truly portable notebook.  With the aid of a full keyboard, it is much better to emails, surfing and writing documents compared to a smartphone.  

Next is to make it a better and faster notebook. So, i upgraded the Xandros to a full desktop version.  You can do it easily via the eeeuser wiki (http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:getkde). Next to be portable, i need to use it with a 3G modem.  So i use my Sierra 3G modem 875u USB.  You can do it via here (http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1100 &

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=22695).  

Next i upgraded the RAM to a 2GB RAM.  According to an eeeuser forum, this would not void the warranty.  I bought a Samsung 2GB DDR2 667MHz RAM.  But it could not be used, the screen goes haywire.  So, what i do is to exchange it with my Dell D420 2GB DDR 500MHz RAM and voila it works.  So my Dell D420 got a new 667MHz RAM.  I am not sure what is the cause of this. The original RAM is a 400MHz DDR 1GB.  Initially i want to have a USB bluetooth in it, but i am not sure whether i am going to use it or not, since the Sierra USB modem is working well.  But you can use a USB BT via this tweaking (http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:bluetoothdongles).  

Next is to sync your documents from your Mac or Windows PC to the EEE PC, since you don't want to always copy and paste the documents to your portable harddisk or SD card.  Since the EEE PC has a SD card reader and it also supports SDHC, using a SDHC would be a good idea.  A 16GB SDHC card would cost less than RM250 now.  Currently i am using a 1GB SD card, since i am still waiting for my 16GB SDHC card to arrive.  To sync the documents to the SD card, i am using CHRONOSYNC  for Mac. (http://www.econtechnologies.com/site/Pages/ChronoSync/chrono_overview.html).  For Windows, you can use ALWAYSYNC (http://allwaysync.com/).  Both are shareware, but it is a small price to pay for a true portability.  With the SDHC card, all my important documents will be synced into it, located in the built in SD card reader of the EEE PC.  At home or office, i just connect the SD card to a card reader and sync it with the Macbook or notebook.  I didn't even try to transfer the files into the already small EEE PC hard disk.  

I have yet to test the true length of the battery life of this EEE PC.  But according to reviews, the original 5800mAH battery would last at least 3 to 4 hours on normal usage.  Since i don't use wifi at all, it would probably last me slightly more than that.  However if you need a longer life battery you can get it a WORCELL at Sing135 minus postage (http://worcell.com/product_info.php?products_id=74526&osCsid=11c78453355389bfdf6acea455bf1932) which is available in both black and white.  And if you want to get silicon skin or a leather casing for it, you can get it at BRANDO.  They are offering a few choices.  

I also have a first try on using the Openoffice Impress, the equivalent of Powerpoint yesterday for my presentation.  It doesn't recognize the Office 2007 files (pptx, docx and etc), but the Office 2003 and below didn't cause any problem.  The external output to LCD projector works flawlessly and my presentation was perfect.  

The Skype with the 1.3MP camera works well even with Digi EDGE only.  I talked to my sister in Japan on it yesterday.  So, for now, i am very happy with this EEE PC.  

The new EEE PC 1000 with a 10 inch LCD would be better but the price might not be good enough.   With the current price of around RM1500, it would be a better investment compared to a Treo or a HTC.  

After this, i think i will buy the leather case from Brando.  Maybe after a few months, i will buy the big battery 10400mAH from Worcell.  But for now, the current setup is good enough for me.

Tapping off.

NEW PLACE, NEW IDEAS

Hi! It is nearly 1 year since i update this blog.  Been pushed by my friend to start again.  Maybe i will start again, trying to do it with my EEE PC 900 or from my Macbook.  Just have to find something to write about.  Maybe i will write about my daily work and see how it goes.  Will start again tomorrow or tonight.  That depend......