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So, it’s PIKOM PC Fair 2008 (II) today! Have you been there? I am going to Kuala Lumpur today to join the crowd. I plan to do some shopping at PC Fair such as Apple iMac, external hard drive, MSN Wind, WebCam, and Camcorder.

Apple iMac 24-inch 2.8GHz

It’s time to upgrade my Mac experience. My 3-year-old Apple 12-inch iBook G4 is working fine but I think it’s time to upgrade for a better Mac experience. I plan to get the Apple iMac 24″ 2.8GHz model (RM6,399/~USD 1965). I will have another 24″ monitor then!

Hopefully, I can get a good deal at PC Fair. Normally, there is no discount but you might get some freebies, perhaps an iPod?

External hard disk

If I buy an Apple iMac, then I should get an external hard disk too. The external hard disk is needed to activate Mac OS X Leopard’s Time Machine realtime backup feature. I would buy Western Digital’s My Book Studio Edition, which is a Mac-ready external hard disk. The price is around RM500 for a 500GB model. 1TB model is available.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

There are several computers at my home but none has proper backup. In order to keep our data safe, I think NAS would be the ideal backup solution because ALL computers can backup to 1 NAS over the Local Area Network (LAN), consider the NAS has enough storage space.

To be specific, I need a NAS that support both Mac & Windows. RAID 1 (mirroring) support is better. Hot-swap is good to have. My budget for NAS is around RM1,500.

I did over 10 hours of online research…and found a few that look good: Netgear ReadyNAS Duo, LaCie 2big Network, and Buffalo Linkstation Pro Duo.

As well as network storage enclosure (does not come with hard disk): Synology Disk Station DS207+, Thecus N2100, and QNAP TS-209.

Generally, network storage enclosure has more and better features but they are also more expensive, considering that they come without hard disk. You have to buy the hard disks.

Do you have other NAS recommendations?

(Continued…)

For the whole next week, I will be in the Hong Kong. ShenZhen and GuangZhou. My dad, younger brother and I are going to China for holiday. We do not follow any travel agency tour. We travel at our own, kind of backpackers. We will spend 3 days in Hong Kong, 1 day in ShenZhen and 2 days in GuangZhou.

Planning a tour online

Basically, we did everything online, such as booking AirAsia flight tickets and hotel rooms. There are many websites for travelers on hotel booking and travel guide. My brother and I did online research for a couple days to find the good one. I also asked for friends advices.

The AirAsia return flight tickets (Hong Kong) is about RM1,000+ for each person (not the recent RM0 promotion). The Hong Kong hotel room is HKD450 per night for 3 pax. ShenZhen is slightly cheaper. We will stay in a 4 stars hotel in GuangZhou with river view.

As for the attractions, we didn’t plan much about it. We have a list of attractions of each city but we haven’t planned a traveling route. Freestyle!

"The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides)"

Shopping, shopping, shopping!

Hong Kong is well known as the shopping heaven because it is duty free for branded stuff. I checked a Canon camera listed price, Hong Kong is few hundred bucks cheaper than the listed price in Malaysia! That’s around 20% cheaper!

(Continued…)

The first edition of PIKOM PC Fair 2008 has started in April 2008 and held in 15 locations nationwide!

Here is the timetable for the PIKOM PC Fair 2008 (I):

• 4-6 April 2008 — Johor Bahru, Taiping, Sandakan, Tawau & Kuching
• 11-13 April 2008 — Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kuantan, Kepala Batas & Muar
• 18-20 April 2008 — Penang, Melaka, Sibu, Miri & Manjung

Too bad, I can’t join PC Fair this time because I will be in Sabah with my friends. I was planning to get a slim camera that can put in my pocket. My elder brother wants to get a digital camcorders.
What do you plan to buy at PC Fair? I think you can get a good deal on LCD monitor, printers, camera and camcorders.
P.S. If you have published review of PC Fair 2008(I), please add your link in the comment.