PageFlip Cicada wireless Bluetooth pedal

PageFlip Cicada wireless Bluetooth pedal

What’s included inside the PageFlip Cicada wireless Bluetooth pedal package

Various page flip modes available. (Page up/down, left & right, up & down, left & right mouse click, space followed by enter)

Rubber base back of the PageFlip Cicada wireless Bluetooth pedal to make it non-slip while placed on the floor

PageFlip Cicada wireless Bluetooth pedal

A USB bluetooth dongle is included right beside the batteries compartment for PC/Notebook which do not have bluetooth build-in.

Pairing the PageFlip Cicada with iPad over Bluetooth (Select Dual Pedal)

The PageFlip Cicada does exactly what I bought it to do: flipping the sheet music in forScore app.
I can simply pop in 2 x AA rechargeable batteries into the PageFlip Cicada, power it on, connect via Bluetooth to a PC, Mac, iPhone, iOS etc, select the mode of flipping I desire and I’m good to go!
The build quality is a bit on the flimsy side since it’s just plastic, but it’s definitely cheaper than buying a USD119.95 AirTurn BT-105. There is also slight clicking sound when the pedal is being depressed.

Ratings:
Ease of use: 10/10
Build: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

Garmin Forerunner 610

Garmin Forerunner 610 (Back of Box)

Garmin Forerunner 610

Charging cradle, Premium heart rate monitor, USB ANT Stick, AC charger (2-pins & 3-pins adapter) and the Forerunner 610 watch

Quick Start manual, Quick Start Guide, Safety and Product info for the Garmin Forerunner® 610

Magnetic (Sort of like the MagSafe) USB charging cradle for the Garmin Forerunner® 610

Charging the Garmin Forerunner 610

Garmin Forerunner® 610 menu

Comments after using the Garmin Forerunner 610:
The detecting of the provided heart rate monitor is almost instant. So far, locating of satellites takes about 30 to 60 seconds. Tracking of running distance is just as similar and accurate as the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS.

The toggle of information on the watch can be easily done by just tapping on the screen during your runs.

Wireless syncing of the running data via the USB ANT stick is most welcome improvement since using the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS which requires the plugging the watch end into the USB port for syncing with Nike+.

The Garmin Connect portal is much more responsive and easy to use compared to the Nikeplus portal.

Ratings:
Ease of use: 9/10
Build: 8/10
Overall: 9/10

Panda Chopper

This chopper is handy if you have a small family to cook for and when meal menus are mostly last minutes. The chopper  comes with a plastic container (with lid) to hold the items for chopping, guaranteed no messy worktop after all the chop-chop. Although the stainless steel blades are sharp, most items need to be cut into smaller pieces before working the blades.

Panda Chopper

To chop, simply press the handle downwards continuously as if pressing a button and the blades will rotate clockwise at every press motion. The more you press, the finer the good will be chopped.

I have tried garlic, ginger, tomato, shallot, onion, carrot. So far so good as long as they are cut into smaller pieces prior. Otherwise the larger chunks are likely to get stuck in between the blades. Refer to photo.

Panda Chopper

Washing up after use is also easy. The blades are rather deep, close to one other and not detachable. I simply soaked the entire chopper into a deep container with dish detergent. Be careful of the sharp blades when washing. What i did was i used a chopstick to push the sponge up & down the tight space between each blade to thoroughly washed them. You just need to dry the blades by airing the chopper.

Panda Chopper

Why not invest on an electric chopper?? There are Plenty of good brands with inexpensive price tags out there! Well, being a weekend cook I do not want to stock up on kitchen appliances and gadgets simply:

1. I do not want to chalk up my electricity bill
2. My mum taught me to use my hands “to feel” the garlics and the onions, the mixing and the seasoning to know my ingredients well. So getting dirty and smelly fingers in the kitchen was never an issue for me.
3. The truth (hahaha above all) is, I am quite an idiot when comes to electrical appliances and tech-kie gadgets  … I cannot even tell the difference between a LED TV and a Monitor !!! Hahahaha …

So do I think it’s worth paying $16.90 for a manual chopper? Sure why not ?! Storage ? No problem at all! I just stashed it away in the drawer.

Panda Chopper stashed it away in the drawer

Reviewed by: Orange Ranger

Xiang Sheng USB DAC-01A

Tube Output
If you are looking for a tube output at an inexpensive price, stop reading this article and just go out and buy it. I have not seen one at this low price before. The tube itself is not high-end (you cannot seriously expect high-end for this price), and uses a China made 6N3 tube. From what I’ve read in the online forums, you can tube roll this bugger.

Solid State Output
Ok, since you are still reading, it means you are not sold yet. To sweeten the features, it comes with a solid state output as well. Yes, dual output. The Opamps are OPA2604 x 1 and LF353N x 2. The OPA2604 is socketed, so it’s designed for Opamp rolling as well. At the same time, the headphone output passes through the Opamps as well.

Inputs
It was several inputs – on the digital side, you get Co-axial, USB and Optical. On the analog side, you get two additional RCA ports for Aux and CD/DVD.

Volume Control
It has a volume control knob, which is useful because the OS volume control in my Hackintosh doesn’t work. Most USB DAC I’ve tested doesn’t support software volume control. However, the Xiang Sheng USB DAC-01A only allows you to control the volume for the headphone output only. The headphone output does not go through the tube stage, and is purely solid state.

Pretty annoying, no way to control the volume on the tube side. Good thing we have Google. It was discussed in a forum that it is possible to modify it, and allow the volume knob to control the tube (and solid state) output volume. To make the story short, I wrote an email to the manufacturer, and they replied the very next morning. So easy, just change two jumpers and its done. Take note you have to break the warranty stickers to open the box though.

One beef I have is the volume knob itself, in particular, the way it turns.  The volume knob has detents and “clicks” as you turn it. Total opposite of the smooth turning volume knob I was expecting.

Sound
Every time I play something off it, I kept asking how is it possible to get this quality for such a price? Sound separation is very good, and I could hear individual instruments and sound distinctly. It has a wide sound stage, and nice warmth from the tube. Once it warms up, the dynamic range soars and the crescendos really punches. A really good hoot.

Reviewed by: Cosmo Kramer

Polar WearLink+ transmitter Nike+

Easy to snap the transmitter onto the chest strap

Comparing it with my old Polar WearLink transmitter

Polar WearLink+ Nike+ (L) and Polar WearLink (R)

Chest Strap Size M-XXL (Metal Hook + Fabric loop)

New Chest Strap (L), Old Chest Strap (R)

One thing I don’t like about the new Polar Wearlink Strap is the use of the metal hook and a fabric loop. My fabric loop has a hole now because of not aligning the metal hook properly when putting on the strap.

Metal hook of the strap that catches onto a fabric loop

Turn the Heart rate option to 'on' before you start running

Splits & Heart rate Info

Heart rate Diagram

Pace diagram with lowest & highest heart rate indicator

Conclusion:
The Polar WearLink+ transmitter Nike+ works well with the Nike+ SportWatch GPS. It’s instantly detected upon adding the new device option into the watch.
Occasionally the heart rate did not get registered into the SportWatch GPS (Might be due to chest strap sensor not wet enough to detect the heart rate).
The only thing I don’t really like is the metal hook+fabric loop chest strap design for all new Polar WearLink devices.

Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Nike+ SportWatch GPS with Nike+ Sensor

Content inside the Nike+ SportWatch GPS box includes the User Manual, Nike+ SportWatch GPS, Nike+ Sensor and a USB extension wire.

Content inside the Nike+ SportWatch GPS box

Comparing the new Nike+ SportWatch GPS (left) with my existing pair of Nike+ Sportband (right).

Nike+ SportWatch GPS & Nike+ Sportband

Screen protector – Let’s go

Dual pins for snapping in

Nike+ SportWatch GPS Powered by TomTom

USB connector is hidden at end of the watch strap

Flip to access the hidden USB connector

Size of watch isn’t too big for my wrist

Huge LCD display, you can cycle through the pace, distance, time, etc using the 2 buttons on the left

Strong tap on the screen will turn on the backlight

Usage/Review:

Test setup:
Nike+ SportWatch GPS
Nike+ iPod Sensor
SwitchEasy RunAway Adapter

In an open area with no buildings, syncing the SportWatch GPS with the Nike+ Sensor and the Satellite took less than 12 seconds.
In area with lots of trees and high-rise buildings, the syncing of the SportWatch GPS with the Nike+ sensor and satellite took around 35 seconds.

My running route being accurately recorded

The running route around Chinese garden, Jurong Park and Boon Lay way is clearly recorded by the Nike+ SportWatch GPS.

Overall I’m very pleased with the watch as it has the ability to plot the map of my run upon uploading it to the Nike Running website.
Being an existing Nike+ Sportband user, I have no problem using the SportWatch GPS by just following the watch’s on-screen display and instructions.

Ease of use: 9/10
Build: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Update (Oct 15, 2012): After 1 year and 5 months, the SportWatch GPS cannot be detected as a Nike+ Device anymore via Nike+ Connect although it can still be charged over the USB connection. Guess time to get a new SportWatch GPS or shall I wait for an updated version that doesn’t relies on physical connection and uses Wifi/Blutooth?

Update (Oct 19, 2012):  Decided to switch to using a Garmin Forerunner® 610 instead of getting a new Nike+ Sportwatch GPS watch.

The OpenNet’s Optical Fibre termination point is in the living where most of my servers, NAS, computers being in the bed room. Hence I’ve decided to try out the new Aztech HomePlug HL280E which enable network connection through the use of powerline up to 1000Mbps.

A pair of Aztech HL280E Adapter from Bizgram

I’ll be performing a series of tests using iPerf (TCP mode only test).

Test Machines & Software
Server: MacBook Pro 2.66GHz Intel Core i7, 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, Raid-0 (2 x 240GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Serial ATA 2.5″ Solid State Drives)
Server IP: 192.168.2.2, Gateway 192.168.2.1, Subnet: 255.255.255.0

Client: MacBook Pro 2GHz CoreDuo, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB SATA HDD
Client IP: 192.168.2.1, Gateway 192.168.2.1, Subnet: 255.255.255.0

Power Strips: 02 x Taiyo 8 Gang 3 Metres Extension Sockets

Tool version: iperf version 2.0.2 (03 May 2005) pthreads

iPerf Commands
Server: iperf -s
Client: iperf -c 192.168.2.2

Client will attempt to iperf server IP for 3 times in succession.

Test 1  (Server and client in the bedroom, on the same wall socket)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Bedroom

Test 1 - iPerf results

Test 2  (Server connected to wall socket, client connected to wall socket)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Living Room

Test 2 - iPerf results

Test 3  (Server connected to wall socket, client connected to power strip)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Living Room

Test 3 - iPerf results

Test 4  (Server connected to wall socket, client connected to wall socket)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Utility Room (Room furthest away from bedroom with wall socket extended from kitchen’s existing power circuit)

Test 4 - iPerf results

Test 5  (Server connected to power strip, client connected to power strip)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Living Room

Test 5 - iPerf results

Test 6  (Server connected to power strip, client connected to wall socket)
Server location: Bedroom
Client Location:  Living Room

Test 6 - iPerf results

Test 6 will be the likely scenario of how my network will be deployed since there’s only 1 wall socket closest to where all my NAS, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro were, hence the HomePlug for the bedroom will definitely be on a power strip.

When my SingTel exStream gets activated eventually, a network speed of 50 Mbits/sec isn’t too bad.

Messy gadgets everywhere

Stacking will definitely help to clear up the messy table and create more space.
The IKEA RAST is a good choice as it has the height which can accomodate the mio Box should I let it stand instead of lying down.

IKEA RAST bedside table

Completed re-arranged computer table, cleaner and much neater. Still need to find time to manage the wires still dangling behind.

Much neater table

With the modem still connected, hold down POWER + OK + DOWN button on the front of the mio TV set top box for 5 seconds, release and wait up to 15minutes or more for the entire process to complete (Patience). Seems to me this helps to reset the set top box settings and restoring the STB firmware hence taking such a long time (I guess).

Single gear with incrementing progress bar

2 Gears with looping progress bar

2 Gears with incrementing progress bar

2 sets of 3 dots

The box will self-reboot a few times. mio TV should boot up successfully now.

mio TV running again