Computers and Stuff

Mobile Computing

A huge believer in "uncluttering" in life, I also took the opportunity to digitize as much of my belongings as feasible. I traded in my old Dell mini-tower PC for a sleek powerful portable beauty - a Samsung Ultrabook 530U3C. My entire life is in this baby now. All my documents, photos, music and what-not. All my bills are eBills so I hardly receive anything by snail mail anymore, and all banking transactions and billings are done over the web.

Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook

Gone also are the over 200 books I had lining my bookshelves. Instead I now have an ever-rowing eBook library on my iPad and only buy / read ebooks nowadays.

I have sold and given away a tonne of stuff accumulated over my 40 years in life, realizing that most of it is stuff I hadn't touched in years and really had no need for. Material possessions can only bring so much happiness.

Fibre-broadband

I also took the opportunity to switch over from cable to fibre broadband. SingTel had a good offer which included a free 150Mbps at only S$49.90, including a free Pace modem and a host of other freebies.

The main feedback I want to give is that the Pace "integrated wireless modem" sucks. It supposedly provides "Better WiFi coverage of 200m", however the reality is that it can't handle anything over 10m! Unless perhaps you live in a large space with no walls..?! Reception is just inexcusably poor.

Also, when the SingTel technicians were in my apartment to fix up the modem to my fibre point which terminates near my front door, they offered that I could fix my modem at an alternate location by connecting through my existing phone (copper) wires in my apartment. I did want the modem to be placed in my study, however was of course concerned about the drop in performance from fibre optic cables to old technology copper wires. That was when the guys told me that any data transmitted over WiFi networks automatically runs at a max of 54Mbps only! I was shocked as I had signed up for 150Mbps. I wrote in and spoke to SingTel, and although their answer was evasive, they did not deny the wireless speed cap of WiFi networks. I am not a techie, however based on what I've read online in forums such as Hardwarezone I think it has something to do with the 802.11g standard for wireless networking, which supports a maximum bandwidth of 54Mbps. If I wanted to enjoy higher networking speeds, I would have to plug in a fixed line. Come on, nobody does that anymore..!

Anyway I agreed to the SingTel technician's proposal and they came to make the extension on a separate day, for an additional fee (cash only no receipt, so I assume this was a private arrangement). 

At this time of writing I note that M1 has an offer for 200Mbps at only S$39/month, with similar bells and whistles that I got with my SingTel package..  Wonder if their WiFi modem also only runs up to a measly 54Mbps!