Ford Malaysia – Ford Driving Skills For Life
Paultan – Ford’s Driving Skills For Life kicks off in Malaysia
Motor Trader – Ford contributes to road safety

The reason I’m writing this article is to share the lessons learned throughout the course. If you are not interested on the practical part of the course and is only interested on the theory, or if you would like to start downloading the theory files while reading the article, please skip to the bottom of this article and continue reading after starting the download.

Ford Driving Skills For Life (17th Dec 2011)

Registration was RM50 as a way to filter in only owners who are both really interested and able to attend the event. There were 2 sessions (morning and afternoon) for that particular Saturday (17th Dec 2011) and I chose the afternoon session. I must say that the directions given to the venue (MAEPS, MARDI, Serdang) was pretty bad. Many went lost before reaching MAEPS and also within the MAEPS compound including myself. A point to take note by the organizer.

We (the afternoon batch) started off with lunch. While lunching, the morning batch was receiving their certificate of completion and also having the group photo session. After lunch we started off with theory in the briefing room by Harvinder Singh (Driven 8TV co-host). Besides being a funny guy, his resume is really impressive! (refer to the Ford DSFL Level 1 Basic Skills Slides PDF).

Theory

I know that you can read so I will not repeat the information from the Ford DSFL Level 1 Slides. The theory touches on topics such as seating position, steering method, understeed and oversteer, safety features on your Ford, taking care of your tyres and also a description of the practical exercises that we will perform after the theory.

What I learned that was not in the slides was the seat belt height recommendation. I can’t remember if I can adjust the seat belt height in my previous Proton Satria but I am able to in my current Focus. He mentioned that from his experience most accident victims who survive suffer cuts on their neck as a result from having their seat belts too high. It makes sense why we never thought of it because we won’t find anything wrong with the seat belt height until we met an accident, when our body lunges forward. So if your car has the seat belt height adjustment feature, set it so that the seat belt land on your shoulder comfortably. Too high will result in cut on your neck and too low will result in your arms being locked, or in worse case, dislocated.

Practical Exercise 1 – Slalom Drills

After the theory presentation we were separated into 3 groups, each with their own instructors, we ended up having Ching Eu Earn, a very cool guy. The reason for this is to save time, with 3 practical exercises and 3 groups, we all can start simultaneously and switch with other group once we’re done. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve never attended such courses, so everything that I did that day was new to me. My group started off with the slalom drills.

In more advanced driving technique, the weight distribution of your car and understanding them is very important. From there you will understand the behaviour of your car and how you adapt to it. As with understeer and oversteer where the weight is being thrown to the back or front. Slalom drills will throw the weight to the sides, left and right. From this exercise I have a higher appreciation on how the Focus handles such situation with relative ease without losing much control.

Practical Exercise 2 – Skid Control

While we were performing slalom we couldn’t stop noticing the group who is performing the skid control exercise. From our distance it was like those cars in the movies that screeches like mad which resulted in tyre smoke and skid marks. It was very generous of Ford Malaysia to supply us with 2 Fiestas for this exercise, 1 without ESP and 1 with ESP. We were told that the black patch at the skidding area was poured with oil, to induce skidding.

We did the first try with the manual Fiesta, I haven’t driven any manual car for almost 2 years, so it was quite awkward. We did 2 runs for the first try with the instructor sitting on the front passenger seat. For the first run we traveled at 60kph and we did an abrupt left turn to induce understeer, you will feel that even when the steering was turned left the car is still going forward. To rectify this situation you will need to lift your foot from the accelerator pedal and the car will slowly turn to the left. For the second run we traveled at 60kph and make a slow left turn, the instructor will then suddenly pull the handbrake to induce oversteer. To rectify this you will need to turn to the opposite direction, right in this case and floor the accelerator pedal.

For the 2nd try we did it in a dual clutch (PowerShift) Fiesta with ESP. We did the same 2 runs as in the 1st try and I can instantly feel the difference. The ESP is able to brake a single tyre to rectify understeering or oversteering which is not possible for a driver (unless we have 4 brake pedals!). You can really feel the ESP struggles to keep you alive. Like what Mr Lee, Head of Sales, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion said “It takes out all the fun, but keep you alive”.

Practical Exercise 3 – Braking Technique

This exercise was something that I always wanted to do myself, to test the ABS/ESP while driving in the rain, but didn’t because it will be really stupid if I ended up having an accident. Like in the slalom, we drove our own car in this braking exercise, so we can really know how the ABS/ESP feels like during hard braking. We did multiple runs of straight braking and also maneuvering while braking. Really nice.

Conclusion

For something that I would pay RM500 for, this was definitely a great experience and value for money. We learned something that we will never learn unless we attend a similar course. Mr Lee also hinted that there will be a Level 2 course in 2012. Let’s hope that it works out as well as this one.

FORD. Drive Safe.

Course Materials

Ford DSFL Level 1 Basic Skills Slides
Ford DFSL Video – 9-3 Hand Position
Ford DFSL Video – Cross Steer
Ford DFSL Video – ABS
Ford DFSL Video – ESP

Picture Gallery

Ford Driving Skills For Life – 17th Dec 2011

Related posts:

1. Malaysia’s First Ford Focus TDCi Fuel Efficiency Drive Challenge 2011

Part 1 is an attempt to capture it at its stock condition. Many thanks to Edward, a friend and also a freelance photographer for his assistance in capturing these images.

Our trip brought us to the Ministry of Finance building, the Prime Minister’s office and then to an open carpark at Putrajaya. Then we head on to Sepang Gold Coast, it was the first time for both of us to be here. Heading home we made an unplanned stop at KLIA. Visit the link below for more pictures of the stock Ford Focus TDCi 2010 model in Diamond White : http://selfmod.net/MyFordFocusTDCi2010Part1/

* Updated with Dyno run results, all stock Ford Focus TDCi 2010 *

Related posts:

1. Malaysia’s First Ford Focus TDCi Fuel Efficiency Drive Challenge 2011

Recently I’ve been invited to a Fuel Efficiency Challenge from Ford Malaysia or more accurate, Sime Darby AutoConnexion who is the sole Ford distributor in Malaysia. Having listed Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat which worth RM2100 per night and Hard Rock Hotel Penang, I quickly became interested. I invited my girlfriend to join as the limit is 2 person per car at RM300 per person, is definitely worth it!

There are already a few press coverage regarding this challenge as listed below, however, I’m writing this from a customer’s perspective :

Ford Malaysia : All Participants of the ‘Ford Focus TDCi Drive Challenge 2011′ Exceed 1,000km Target

PaulTan.Org : Ford Focus TDCi: 1,365.6 km done on one tank of diesel!

Motor Trader : 1,250 kms on one tank of fuel!

Cars Bikes Trucks : Fuel efficient Ford Focus

 Day 1

We met up at Shell NKVE for flagoff and were told that there would be 5 customer cars and 4 cars for the media. I also made to understand that the media would parked their cars at SDAC (Sime Darby AutoConnexion) PJ and then drove to Shell NKVE with cars supplied by SDAC.

We started the event by filling up each car with diesel sponsored by co-sponsor Shell, then we arranged the cars in 2 columns. It was followed by briefing by the organizer SDAC on the basic safety and rules and regulation of the challenge. We were given GPS device, Ford souvenirs, lots of snacks and fire extinguisher for each participating car! After that was the flagging-off by both SDAC and Shell and off to Banjaran Hotspring Retreat in Tambun, Ipoh we go!

I’ve already did some research on how to reduce fuel consumption so I did some preparation beforehand like inflate all 4 tires with the correct pressure, remove unnecessary weight (I’ve considered removing the spare tire but didn’t because we will be travelling quite a distance, roughly over a 1000km!) , try to drive at a stable speed (I started off at 70-80 km/h), shutting off the aircon, lowering down the windows when driving below 50km/h, etc.

We started driving towards Banjaran Hotspring at around 70-80 km/h with the aircon off but since I cannot stand the heat (it was around 35 degree Celsius outside), I turned on the aircon for 1km every 20km travelled.

We reached Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat at around 5pm and quickly check in our villa. There were 2 types of villas, water villas and the garden villas. We got the latter. I can seriously say that this is the best accommodation I’ve stayed in, it is a very big villa for 2 person with our own living area, huge bedroom, own natural hotspring jacuzzi and own swimming pool. At one point while I’m trying to get online I was trying to trace the network cable from bottom of the table to where the other end is so that I can plug it into my notebook, as I traced up it ended connecting to the phone, it was an IP phone! We had fine dining with the organizers (SDAC) and other participants and an impromtu photo taking session before we end the night.

 Day 2

We started our second day with the complimentary spa and breakfast and then took a walk around the resort, it was really relaxing. We then need to check-out around noon time and wear the Ford’s t-shirt for a group photo shoot. This time, we are heading to Flemington, Taiping for lunch!

After lunch we had a long drive to a Thai restaurant in Alor Setar, Dee Dee Thai Restaurant for dinner. After that we head to Hard Rock Hotel Penang, it was almost 10pm when we reached. We checked in and had a walk nearby and then to Hard Rock before calling it a day. It was really hard rocking in Hard Rock, I went almost crazy when they played Sweet Child O’ Mine live!

 Day 3

We had breakfast at the hotel in the morning and then had to prepare to check-out as we have a long way ahead of us. The organizers had a special announcement before leaving Hard Rock that they have decided to give extra cash prizes as an incentive for us to break the 1000km per fuel tank mark, it was well received! We then head to Unique Seafood Restaurant, Ipoh for lunch, this restaurant is very near to where the Banjaran Hotspring was in our first day.

It was our last stop before heading to our final destination, SDAC PJ where the announcement of winners and prize giving ceremony will be held. I felt that the added cash prizes suddenly motivated every participants to be competitive as I felt everyone started to drive slow! I’m driving quite fast at 80-90km/h as I noticed that driving at this speed will keep the rev low and stable at 1.7k rpm.

Alas, before reaching SDAC PJ I took a longer route to record a personal best of more than 1000km travelled in a tank, I reached SDAC PJ having travelled 1002.7km with 217km left according to the trip meter making an estimated total of 1219.7km per full tank of diesel. Very impressive! For those who are curious, this car is having a 53L tank. The results were announced and I got second place, 0.1km behind the first winner. Very competitive indeed but I already felt a winner even when I was chosen to be part of this challenge, the prize was only a bonus.

Conclusion

It began as a surprise when I was chosen as 1 of the participants of this challenge and it also ended with a surprise with me driving my own car breaching the 1000km mark in a single tank of diesel. So it really proves the efficiency of this Ford Focus TDCi. Ford is the fastest growing brand for the first half of 2011 in Malaysia and I hope they will organize similar events to engage and even reward their customers directly.

You can view some pics from the event by clicking here.

Go Ford!

Related posts:

1. My Ford Focus TDCi 2010 : Part 1

Besides all those useless experiences, but experience nontheless, I was also into discovering deeper truths. When I started schooling, I was very interested in star constellations, the bermuda triangle, time travel, among others. There was a time when I have a theory that time travel is not possible. The reason is that if it is possible, people in the future already did that. I’m so proud because I read the same theory somewhere (newspapers, magazine? I can’t remember), but not published by me of course! Another theory is that even if time travelling is possible, there might be existing policies in the future that prevented them from using it.

That was a very long time ago. Now, I see the concept of time as a different thing altogether. I no longer see it as a linear concept, like how our life and community based them upon. I now see time as a static concept, and everything that happens, happening and will happen is a branch from this static time concept. This concept is very complicated to explain, but most people call this “The Power Of Now”.

The Real Buddhism

As a kid, I am very curious into why different people have different kinds of belief, and hence, different Gods. To know them better, I need to know more about my own religion to start with, which is Buddhism. Buddhism was founded by Siddharta Gautama, who was born a prince, shielded away from sickness, aging people and suffering by his king father. Siddharta Gautama at the age of 29, having seen the first old man, was explained by his charioteer that all people grew old, he decided to embark on a journey far beyond the palace. Having experienced an ascetic life, a life of begging for alms (money and food) and also a period of food depravation that almost lead him to die of starvation, he finally achieved enlightenment at the age of 35. He was then known as Buddha, or the Enlightened One. Buddhism is a teaching and not of worship, it is one of the few religions that does not have a god. Buddha once said “Do not worship me, for the god is within you”.

This finding strucked me hard. This meant that what I’ve been doing, the worshipping of those idols at the altar at home is wrong and I’ve been doing that for 20 years! At that moment, I felt like I’m the biggest fool in the world! From that point onwards, I’m a true Buddhist, refusing to worship anything else but myself.

The Benefits Of Religion

It is true that I felt like an idiot when I found out that Buddhism is not a worshipping religion but of a teaching one, still it gave me a good structure to grow at a young age. Starting from the first day we are born, the environment or the community is shaping us towards a certain direction. With a religion, we have a guide on how we can live our lives and how we can lead a happier life. This is true until religion is not capable of improving us anymore, in other words, until we outgrows our religion. This is not a surprise because most religios materials are made out of writings from a thousand years ago, and to make things worse, those first written books or scripts are from words passed down orally after hundreds of years. This is like giving future Microsoft Windows 5000 user our Windows XP manual. It surely are not 100% relevant but still provides a good history background. Same goes to religion, one day, you will need to start finding your own truths, because religions can only offer that much.

The Effect Of Religions

After finding out the truth about Buddhism, I went further to understand more religions and the impact they have on the community and the world at large. The findings too, are not good. As a Malaysian, living in a country of multi-etnics, multicultural and multilingual society, I have a better view of what religions can do to a community. It’s really cool when people takes religion as guides, but things can turn really ugly when they are obsessed with it. They are the reason why communities of different race and religion doesn’t mix with each other, they create a transparent barrier between them.

Exorcism

Let me use exorcism as an example to explain why religion is man made. Recently I watched the movie The Rite, it’s an exorcism movie where those priests perform exorcism on patients suspected of being possessed. Imagine this, Father Lucas tried to coerce the name out of the of the demon as part of the exorcism process :

Father Lucas : Demon! Speak your name! Speak your name!
Demon : Argh… *$^)**@
Father Lucas : Speak you demon! Tell me your name!
Demon : Giong Siiiii….. (Vampire in Cantonese)

Father Lucas (calling Master Wong) : Hi Master Wong, this demon is a Chinese demon! Crap, not my department! Can you follow up?
Master Wong : Sure Father Lucas, let me know the details, I’ll be right there.

This was made up with some humour, but still the point remains. According to Wikipedia and Religious Tolerance there are around 40 religions in the world. So in the worst case scenario we need to forward that poor soul being possessed by demon 40 times around the world?!! Is that even logical?

You tell me…

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From this rule, the 80% are the followers whereas the 20% are the creators. Creators gains more wealth by giving and sharing more value and the followers often follows these creators and have less wealth. This sounds very disproportionate but it is a very balanced system.

Accepting Social Conditioning By Default

The reason for this happening is what I call accepting social conditioning by default. Most of us are born with parents, and it is from them that we learn our survival or living skills from. We will accept and inherit by default things like religion, god, behaviour and social practices (celebrating christmas, new year, birthday, etc) from our parents. This is what experts call “external factors” of social conditioning.

As we age, we will learn, accept and inherit social conditions from our colleagues, friends and mentors. Without realizing, you are already categorized as The Follower, and the more you follow, the more uneasy you will feel as this will restrict The Creator inside you from being able to express themselves. Wealthy people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs realized this at a very early age and rebel against the Social Conditioning System, they dropped out of college and went on to fulfill their goal as a Creator.

Dropping Out From The System

I’m not sure what got into me but I’ve always been a born rebel. When I was a kid, I always questioned why my family has a worshiping altar. They have idols like Guan Yin and Guan Gong but I don’t find them cool, at that age (I think maybe 5 years old?), I prefer to worship Ultraman, and I think many would agree with me!

As I age, I saw and found more flaws in the system, very much like how Neo felt in the Matrix. Having lucid dreams was one of those experiences that brought me to the edge. As a result, today I am a person that don’t believe in Demons (I won’t be afraid of them even if they exist), I don’t worship Gods (I will not respect them even if they exist) and I don’t believe in fear (I will try to conquer them one at a time).

What I believe is myself and myself only. I’m not saying that everyone should start worship me instead of God, but what I’m trying to achieve in this lifetime is to have as many people believing in themselves like how I believe in me.

The Follower In Us
Believe me, being a 24/7 creator is a very tough job that even I think isn’t worth it. The reason we are living now is for us to have a chance to enjoy life. We do that by being both the creator and the follower. The follower in me loves Lord Of The Ring Trilogy and still finds that the best movie so far, and I enjoy listening to Rap music. You follow on areas that you do not excel in.

The Creator In Us
Every individual is unique. This statement is true even if you are born as a twins, you might have similar biological structure but your soul and mind is truly unique. Being unique guarantees each and every one of us to have the chance to do something that nobody else is able to achieve. Since I started believing in myself, I’ve shed many fears like fear of the dark, fear of heights, fear of approaching females, fear of roller coaster rides (no matter how high, fast or whatever), fear of correcting superiors/customers when they are wrong, fear of losing a job and many many more.

I think I excel in the fear of demons department, so much so that even if they exist they will fled the very moment they see me because I will tear them apart and send them to hell again. The problem is I’m not sure if they can die twice. With this kind of courage, I’m able to help friends close to me to shed their fear of demons and spirits. Even my most timid friends are doing quite well now. Somehow they are able to rub on my fearlessness and benefit from it. One of my dreams are to be able to sleep overnight in a morgue full of dead bodies, so if you know of anyone who can assist me, please let me know. I’m even willing to pay for the experience!

Living Life To The Fullest
In the end, what matters most is everyone is able to live their lives to the fullest. We are all Creators from the first day we live and have the right to create whatever it is that we want, so stop being a full time follower and for once follow your heart and gain the courage to create. It will not be easy, but the Creator will always be there to encourage fellow Creators and will reward those with persistence.

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I decided to try again recently when I have the idea of updating Twitter on my BB (Blackberry) and having it sync with my FB (Facebook) status. Reason for this is that since having the BB and enjoying the ease of messaging between BB users via the BBM (BB Messenger), I found that I am distancing myself with non-BB users. So I’ve decided to revisit the Twitter to FB sync to bridge this divide.

So for anyone who wishes to do the same, or just for the fun of having a twitter account (it is free!) and have it sync with your FB, you may follow the steps below :

1. How to create a Twitter account.
2. Configuring Facebook to sync with Twitter.
3. Installing Twitter in your Blackberry (For BB users only)
4. Test your Twitter to FB sync.

1. How to create a Twitter account.
a) Go to http://twitter.com/ and click on “Sign Up”.
b) Continue with the registration process and click on “Create my account”.
c) Remember your username and password, you will need this later.

2. Configuring Facebook to sync with Twitter.
a) Login to your FB account.
b) At the search bar, search for “Twitter” and click on “Twitter (Application)”
c) At the “Would you like to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts?, enter your Twitter username and Twitter password from Step 1 and click Allow.
d) After connecting your Twitter and Facebook accounts, you may choose to transfer/sync your FB profile photo over to your Twitter account. Then check the “App permissions” to allow Twitter to post updates to “Facebook Profile”.

3. Installing Twitter in your Blackberry
** If you do not own a Blackberry, please proceed to step 4 **
a) You need to have Blackberry App World installed. See instructions here.
b) Start the Blackberry App World, and Search for “twitter”. Install Twitter which is developed by Research In Motion Limited.
c) Start Twitter and sign in with your Twitter account.

4. Test your Twitter to FB sync.
a) If you are a BB user, try to post your first tweet via the Twitter app and see if it shows up on your FB status.
b) If you are not a BB user, you can still test by posting your first tweet via the twitter.com website. You can do this from any non-BB smartphones!
c) If it shows up, you’ve just successfully configured the Twitter to FB sync. If it doesn’t, try removing the Twitter app and reinstall it the next day. I know this sounds weird, but it actually worked for me!

Start Tweeting!
Well, it’s all you from this point onwards! By synching your Twitter to FB, you can reach two different social networking sites from a single post. Don’t have a Twitter account? Register now (it is free anyway) and start tweeting! Don’t forget to add me (arkchane)!

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The very first thing that I notice after using the phone is the sheer speed that the BlackBerry 9700 has to offer. It gave me the feeling of almost hardware speed, wait time is almost non-existent when compared to the Windows Mobile platform of the HTC Diamond, but perhaps that is the advancement in hardware after 2 years. Of course the animation is quite dull when compared to the much hyped iPhone, but I will trade speed over superfluous design any day.

Let us move on to the 10 things that you should learn about the BlackBerry :

1. Apps

As with any device nowadays, smartphone without apps (applications) is like a car with no fuel. It is only through apps that the BlackBerry can unleash its true potential. Below is the list of my apps and the instructions on how to install them.

Google Mobile App
(From your browser go to http://m.google.com -> Download Google Mobile App)
This is the app version of the web search engine, I prefer to do my searches using the app as I find it quicker. Maybe it is just me.

BBNotePad (click here to download)
(http://www.blackberryfreeware.com/2008/08/free-blackberry-text-editor-software.html)
Notepad has always been my favourite application, light weight and simple. It is fortunate for me to be able to find a free version of it for my BlackBerry.
*Note* – Refer below for the instructions to install using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager

BlackBerry App World
Your browser should load up http://mobile.blackberry.com by default . From here click on “BlackBerry App World – Download today!” and follow the instructions.

Facebook
After installing the BlackBerry App World, I installed Facebook for BlackBerry using its search feature.

Windows Live Messenger (Installed By Default)
I use Windows Live Messenger a lot, it is convenient to have it installed by default. To launch it go to, Menu -> Instant Messaging -> Windows Live Messenger

NEW! iSkoot For Skype (click here to download)
(http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/Communications/iSkoot-for-Skype-BlackBerry-57183.shtml)
After almost 1 month of using the BlackBerry I found that the only instant messenger that I’m missing is Skype. Thanks to Ken, a friend of mine for letting me know that there’s actually a Skype client for the BlackBerry. This version is compatible with BlackBerry 9700 running OS 5.
*Note* – Refer below for the instructions to install using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager

To Install Using The BlackBerry Desktop Manager (BB DM) :
- Download the file and extract it to a folder.
- From the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, go to Application Loader -> Add/Remove Applications -> Start.
- Click on Browse and browse to the folder where the file was extracted to and seach for the *.alx file and click Open.
- From the BB Desktop Manager, click Next and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

2. YouTube

Digi Need To Enable APN (digistrm) For YouTube Streaming
(http://www.digi.com.my/blackberry/faq.do)

This section is particular to DiGi’s BIS subscriber, for some reason (most probably for bandwidth control), DiGi need us to configure the APN to digistrm before us being to view YouTube video streaming. To do this, follow the steps below :

Menu -> Options -> Advanced Options -> TCP/IP

(TICKED) APN Settings Enabled
APN: digistrm
(TICKED) APN Authentication Enabled
Username for APN:
Password for APN

*Both Username and Password for APN Authentication are left blank*

Error Playing. An error has occurred attempting to play media.

For the first 2 weeks since getting the phone, I have not been able to watch any YouTube videos. It keeps prompting “Error Playing. An error has occurred attempting to play media”. The search for any information in google and my personal attempt to troubleshoot the problem led me to no solution. At the end of the 2 weeks I had nobody to turn to, so I gave DiGi’s support an attempt. I’m determined to solve this issue no matter what, even if it means terminating Digi. But to my surprise Digi support did manage to solve it. Kudos to DiGi!

To save the heartache of many future BlackBerry users I would like to share the solution with you. Please configure your BlackBerry browser with the below settings :

Browser settings

Menu -> Browser -> Menu -> Options :

[1] Browser Configuration

Browser: Internet Browser

(TICKED) Support JavaScript
(TICKED) Allow JavaScript popups
(TICKED) Terminate slow running scripts
(TICKED) Show Images
(TICKED) Use Background Images
(TICKED) Support Embedded Media

Browser Identification: BlackBerry

Start Page: Home Page

Default Search Provider: Google

Home Page Address: http://mobile.blackberry.com/

[2] General Properties

Default Browser: Internet Browser

(Type of Fonts here doesn’t really affect the settings)

(NOT TICKED) Full Screen View
(TICKED) Enable JavaScript Location support

Prompt Before:
(NOT TICKED) Closing Browser on Escape
(Ticked) Closing Modified Pages
(NOT TICKED) Switching to WAP for streaming media
(NOT TICKED) Running WML Scripts

**NOTE**
If the YouTube streaming still does not work after the reconfiguration above, please try restarting it (ATL + RIGHT SHIFT + DEL).

3. Configure Email
Configuring email on your BlackBerry is a breeze through Menu -> Setup -> Email Settings , however, if you are anything like me, you will not want to use the signature feature from the BlackBerry (BB) BIS. The BB BIS attaches your signature at the end of mail, not at the end of the message which is something like the below.

—————————————————————————
—–Original Message—–
From: selfmod@def.com
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 3:01 AM
To: selfmod@abc.com
Subject: Re: Test signature

Test signature.
——Original Message——
From: selfmod@abc.com
To: selfmod@def.com
ReplyTo: selfmod@abc.com
Subject: Test signature
Sent: Mar 6, 2010 02:55

Test

Best Regards,
abc.com
Sent via BlackBerry®

Best Regards,
def.com
Sent via BlackBerry®
—————————————————————————

I personally prefer it to be at the end of my message. To do this you must first clear up the Signature field on your BB BIS email settings. Then configure your signature using the AutoText feature, go to Menu -> Options -> AutoText. Then, Menu -> New.

Replace:
mysig (or any other short text)

With:

Best Regards,
abc.com
Sent via BlackBerry®

Using: SmartCase
Language: All Locales

So the next time after you finished writing your email, go to the next line and type “mysig” follow with a space and your signature will appear automatically.

Another feature that I would recommend is the Auto BCC feature (Delivery Options -> Auto BCC) which act as an email sent confirmation and also for your own reference.

4. Sync With Outlook
Honestly, the migration from my Diamond to the BlackBerry was seamless. My Calendar & Contacts sync beautifully within minutes after installing the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

5. Backup
The BB Desktop Manager also features a very complete backup tool (Backup & Restore -> Backup). I can easily restore all my data and settings even after a full reset on the device. I would recommend you to perform a periodic backup, at least once a day since the backup process will complete within minutes.

6. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)
The BBM is one of the most stable, easy to use and full featured Instant Messenger that I’ve ever used. I’m quite certain that you will come to the same conclusion yourself. Having both Live Messenger and BBM online all the time will also cut down your usage on voice and SMS.

7. Encrypting Media Card
Since most of your personal data is stored in your BlackBerry, I would highly recommend you to at least enable the encryption on the media card using “Security Password” mode of encryption. Please view the link below for more details :

http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB16088&sliceId=1&docTypeID=DT_SUPPORTISSUE_1_1&dialogID=331830763&stateId=0%200%20331834153

8. Personalization
I’m not a fan of changing background wallpaper and using the hottest rock song as ring tones. However, the many tones that are available in the BB to differentiate different types of applications (call, different types of email accounts, different types of instant messaging, etc) makes it very intuitive.

I had a hard time trying to sleep at first when I’m awaken by the email alerts in the wee hours of the morning only to find out that I just received a spam email!! I’m very appreciative of the effort by RIM (Research In Motion) to include the “Phone Calls Only” profile.

9. Configure Convenience Key
The convenience keys at both sides of the phone can be used to quickly open often used programs, by default Camera (right) and Voice Dialing (left). To configure it to use other apps, go to Menu -> Options -> Screen/Keyboard -> Left/Right Side Convenience Key.

10. Tips

a) Turning on mass storage mode while connected to the computer without mass storage mode.
While connected to the BB Desktop Manager in sync mode. In your BB, go to Mode -> Options -> Memory, go to the bottom of screen, Menu -> Enable USB Mass Storage.

b) Turning off flash while using camera
While the Camera app is on, press on “space” to toggle Flash, Off/On/Auto.

c) Short cut keys
- double space for a “.” and an upper case for the next letter
- while using the browser, keying in “space” will result in “.”

Special thanks :

harrysolve from KawanBB.Com

I always believe that everyone should own their home, regardless of the size and location. If you can do better, you can always upgrade to a better one, and if you’re in a bad situation, you can always go back to your home. I would also advice those who are keen on investing in a property to at least want to live in this house. Should your investment does not work out as expected (no buyer, not able to rent out, etc..), as least you can still use it as your home instead of letting it rot but still pay for the installments monthly. Another advice is that if you already have a car, try not to tempt yourself into buying another car instead of getting a house, always remind yourself that the car is the worst investment of all time!

I was purchasing a completed service apartment by applying for a Flexi loan. The procedures might be slightly different for you if you’re getting other types of property, and maybe under development, but I believe the overall experience should be more or less the same.

The Hunt

Choosing your home is no easy task. Even when I’ve decided on the condo/apartment that I wish to buy, I still need to view the units and make sure that it is the unit that I will be staying for awhile. One wrong decision here and you’ll be demotivated for a very long time (30 years usually). Perhaps this is the challenge for us who is buying a completed property, but I still think properties under development will have their own set of challenges. Lucky or not, I spent 3 months looking for my unit, and I got exactly the unit that I had in mind when I started!

Booking Fees

During my 3 months search, it got so competitive that I brought my cheque book with me when I went for viewing with the property agent so that I can place the booking on the spot if the unit is suitable. Most of the time, it is first come first serve basis when it comes to booking.

There was same issue the owner had with the existing tenant that hold me back from issuing my booking fee on the spot. I had to thank my agent for being able to convince the owner that I’m very serious in buying and there’s no need to ask for other agents to help sell the unit.

Once everything is cleared, I placed my booking fee. It should be around 2% or 3% of the purchase value, and you will need to sign on the Letter Of Offer. Bear in mind that the Letter Of Offer needed to be signed by the buyer (Purchaser) and the seller (Vendor) to be of legal value. Which means that the owner can still accept offers from other agents. Once the owner signed the Letter Of Offer, your agent will give you the original copy. With this Letter, you can now start applying for loan. At this stage, referring to the Letter Of Offer, you should have 14 working days to get your loan approved. You will be penalized/fined if you don’t, so start working on it!

Loan Application

My brother is a banker, so I got very detailed information on the types of loans available and how to apply them in a way that it gets processed quickly without delay, to avoid the penalty. There are generally 2 types of loans, Conventional and Flexi. I’m not going into the details on the differences of these 2 but basically Flexi loans (the one that I chose) have the flexibility for you to deposit and withdraw from a current account that you own, and the loan interest will be calculated daily based on the amount of extra cash that you deposited into the account.

Each bank has their strength and weaknesses, some has better interest for completed properties, some has better interest for Conventional, some has better interest for Flexi, some provides higher value for your property, hence the ability to get higher loans, and so forth. So it is wise to apply for several banks for more options.

To apply for housing loan, you need a set of these for every bank :-

1. Letter Of Offer
2. Copy Of Identification Card
3. Copy Of Income Tax Form
4. Copy Of Income Tax Payment Receipt
5. Latest 3 Month’s Salary Slip
6. Latest 3 Month’s Bank Statement
- First Page (That States Your Name And Account Number) & Statement, Certified True Copy (You Need To Go To The Branch To Get It Stamped) – Depending On Bank’s Requirements.
- Make Sure Your Statement Matches With The Amount On Your Salary Slip Or You’ll Have A Very Difficult Time Getting It Approved!
7. Name Card Current & Previous (If You Just Changed Job)

Getting A Lawyer

Once you have your loan approved, the next step is to appoint a lawyer to process the deal. Most of the time, the Purchaser’s lawyer alone is enough but sometimes the Vendor might want their own lawyer to protect themselves. The lawyer will prepare the new Sales & Purchase document where it will be signed by both parties, the Purchaser & Vendor. During the signing, you will need to pay the remainder of the down payment (usually 10% minus the amount you paid during booking).

At this moment, if for any reason that you’ve decided that you do not want to sign the S&P, you will lose your booking fee. And also, in the event that you sign it before getting a bank loan approved and that loan ended up being rejected, you will lose your 10%. So make sure to get your loan approved within 14 working days before signing the S&P! Once signed, all you can do now is wait for your lawyer to process the transaction.

It is very important to set up your current account before the release of fund from the bank, or the funds will have nowhere to go to. This is quite a tricky step if you are not confident of when the First Disbursement (the release of funds from the bank) will occur. Since the bank will charge a service fee (Rm 10 per month in my case), it is also not clever to set up your account too soon because the bank will charge you every month for nothing. Since I expect my First Disbursement to occur in between the 3rd and the 6th month, I set up my current account on the 2nd month.

Towards the final phase before I get the Key to my property, I was asked by my lawyer to do a joint inspection with the Vendor on the property. I think this is just a formality as I don’t think the previous owner will pay for any visible damage since you’ve already paid for the property, it’s yours now!

I will then need to contact my lawyer to let them know if the property is in good condition and if they should proceed. Once you give them the green light they will proceed to process the loan and will instruct the bank to release the First Disbursement. In my case, since the previous owner bought the property in cash, I do not need to wait for the Second Disbursement. This reduced my waiting time by 1 to 2 months.

The Key!

Once the First or Second Disbursement is released to the Vendor, the lawyer will contact you to pick up the Key! Congratulations! The first phase of your headache is now over! At this point, most buyers will want to at least do some renovation, according to budget and taste. This will further increase your wait to an extra month or two.

So that’s all you need to know to get your own property! Like in all of my articles, I hope to provide some kind of value, not just empty blogging. So once again, welcome to the year 2010!

There’s no place like home!

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I got my USB-to-Serial converter to work after installing Prolific USB-to-Serial Driver. Click here to download it.

I came to know that HyperTerminal is no longer a part of Windows since Vista and I found Putty to be a very powerful alternative, besides terminal emulation, it is also a Telnet and SSH client. You can download it from their link here http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ .

To connect to your USB-to-Serial converter using Putty, first you must identify which port is allocated to your converter. To do this in Windows 7, Go to Start -> Right Click Computer -> Manage . Then Computer Management (Local) -> Device Manager -> Ports (COM & LPT) -> Prolifec USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM3) . You should see your device listing similar to the image on the left.

Take note of the Com Port that your connector is using. You will need this information to configure your Putty. To connect using Putty to your device using the serial interface, firstly startup the Putty program. Enter the correct port at the “Serial line” input box. Then at the Connection type: choose Serial. Click on Open and your session should start immediately.

Press on the Enter key and you should get some response from your device.

References :

http://www.sevenforums.com/drivers/4476-prolific-usb-serial-driver.html

http://www.windowsvistaplace.com/hyperterminal-alternative-in-windows-vista/downloads/

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