How to choose cases for your phone

If you have an iPhone, iPod, or any other phone, you might want to consider getting a case to protect your device. However, do keep in mind there are a few things to consider when you're out choosing your case.

1) Matte over glossiness
Most of the cases these days(especially those China branded ones) are quite glossy. Cases like these will make your case very scratch-friendly. You wouldn't like your brand new iPhone in a cheapo case that looks like crap, right? When you're out case hunting, just look around for matte cases. You'll appreciate the matte case much, much more than those glossy ones. And matte cases, usually look better!

2) Don't be penny wise, pound foolish please
A lot of people that I know, have this mentality. Look, investing in a proper case will be much better than those 'cha-pa-lang' cases, trust me. I've been there and done that. The last thing you want is a case that just gives way because of the crappy material that they use.

3) Make sure all your buttons work properly
If you're thinking the case will spoil your phone's buttons, then that's not what I meant. Cheap cases(China branded ones), usually have this problem of the ports or buttons slots not being cut properly. Yes, most of these cases might not fit your phone properly. So bear in mind, if you're buying those cheap cases.

4) Go to a retail store/seller
Yes, this is the number one thing I'll ask anyone to do(even my mom or dad) when they're considering to buy a case. Go to a retail store. There will be loads of cases to choose from. There's a shop called MacWorld or something similar in One Utama. I definitely recommend that shop because of the vast variety of cases one can discover. They have two shelves filled with Apple accessories for crying out loud! As fussy as you might be, you're still bound to find a case that suits you. Check this link for more info: Apple's Retail Distributors

Other tips from me...
Okay, many salesmen, usually just promote their products or say things that aren't true. Silicone cases, are usually very bad in quality. I'm usually scared when there are slots, 'cause these might just give way causing your iPod or iPhone to drop out of the case(a few cases like these happened). The average price of a case is usually around RM60-RM80+ for an iPod or iPhone. All the best.

How to make your lens SHARPER

Sharpness. Yes, all everyone cares about is sharpness. And its one of the gimmicks camera manufacturers usually use against us innocent consumers. 'Softness' is a term that basically means that it isn't sharp. Usually, lenses will have this softness at different focal lengths. Depending on the lens, different lenses will have different amount of softness. Even huge, large, heavy pro lenses still do have softness like the Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8.

But, if you do know how to use a lens, a cheap RM300+ lens might be sharper than that pro lens you're dreaming about. It all depends on whether you know how to use your lens or not. If you're given the 24-70mm f2.8 and if you don't know how to use it, softness still might appear.

Okay, cut to the chase. How do you sharpen your lens??
Simple. It should work for all lenses. Cheap, old, expensive, you get the point. Anyway, its quite simple. Simply, stop your lens down to two stops. Depending on what aperture your lens has, it's usually in the f7.1/f8 zone unless you're buying fast zooms or primes with apertures at f1.4 - f2.8. Check your manual for further reference.

Should you buy a sharp lens?
Well, its hard to decide. I don't do lab tests. And my tests are usually not-so-scientific tests. But what I can say is, it does help. But should you buy an expensive lens over a cheap lens that has almost the same optics? Not necessarily. You're most probably paying for the better build quality, bokeh, less distortion, etc.

How to choose your laptop/notebook/netbook

Choosing your laptop/netbook is a very time consuming thing. You wouldn't want to waste your hard earned cash, right? Follow this guide and you might save your hard earned cash.

Be sure of what you want
This is probably the most obvious thing, is to make sure what you want? Are you for complete mobility? If you are, then get a netbook or a 13" laptop. But be sure that you're getting a slower processor and limited RAM. Usually, people who get netbooks only wish to surf the Internet, do their Facebooking and chatting. 'Cause that's what its made for.

Or maybe you're for everyday computing? Its more powerful than a netbook. I have one, and it pretty does what I want it to do. Since I'm not a hardcore gamer, this will do for me. And I do photo editing too. It does get a bit sluggish some times, but its a cheaper alternative than another type of laptop which I'm gonna talk about later.

How to choose your tripod

Night as well as landscape photographers require a lot of stability to get that perfect shot. Buying an expensive camera system and buying a cheapo tripod isn't going to work. First off, cheapo tripods tend to be weaker. It won't withstand a lot of weight and therefore might not exactly keep your camera steady. Looking for a tripod can easily be as time consuming as choosing your camera system. Tripods are divided into two main parts, the head and the legs of the tripod. Just like your camera, doing research isn't IS a must as it can determine what you're going to buy. Companies to recommend? Manfrotto, Benro and Bogen(currently owned by Manfrotto) are known for their specialty as tripods and monopods companies.

The first thing you need to do is to check how much weight your tripod is going to bear. Bear in mind that if it can't hold that much weight, the tripod's legs might bend. Usually, it's just the camera body, the lens and the flash gun. A good system like mine would weigh not more than 3 kg. But that's because my system is all compact and lightweight lenses. If you're getting a really long or heavy lens, your tripod will have to withstand around 6-8 kg. And I'm not just talking about the legs of the tripod, even the head has should withstand the weight. If its too heavy for the head, and if you're using a ball head(more on that later) you might have to buy another one to replace it. There are a few types of tripods to choose from(depending what type of camera you're using). If you're using a compact, then a pocket-sized tripod will do the job. If you're using a DSLR, then you have to find a medium sized tripod or a heavy duty tripod depending on what you shoot.

How to set a custom URL for your Facebook profile page

 If you've not done some tweaking to your Facebook account, you'll realise that if you visit your profile page you can see that list of numbers after the /. It should look like this before and after you tweak the settings.

How your Facebook profile URL looks like before you tweak some settings

How your Facebook profile URL looks like after you tweak some settings(No more random string of numbers)

These 'tweaking' do make a difference. They make it more 'neat' and makes your profile easier to find if you do a Google search. Before starting you'll have to know that the new url is based on your username. If you've noticed, you log in via your email address and password. With the tweaks you're about to do,

you can also log in via your username.

How to download free games for your Wii

Sigh, you got a Wii, but you don't want to burn a hole in your wallet. Boy, did I save your life and money. This guide will guide you how to get wii games for free. This ain't one of those websites where they force you to pay them membership fees just to download games. So, what do you need to get awesome Wii games?

• An internet browser
• A download manager(recommended)
• A disc to burn your game onto it
• A disc burner(most computers have this)
• A Wii(duh)

You basically have everything except maybe a download manager and a DVD to burn your game onto. For the download manager, open my blog in a new tab and search for download manager. It should come up, so just download it and install it. As for the discs, you can get them very cheap. For 50 DVDs, I got it for RM50/$20. If you really want to save, buy DVD RW discs. These discs basically mean that they can be reburned over and over again. Generally,
they're more expensive when compared to the -R and +R versions. But in a long run, its worth it.

How to get a sharebar for your website

Yeah, blogging is not my profession, but I wanna share something with you. This is an honest opinion - a sharebar is the best way for people to let others know of your website. Why? Because it's always there, wherever you scroll, it's always there. It doesn't take a widget's space, like what I did. Don't get what I mean? Look below.

How a widget's box/space looks like

Yeah, you get the point. So, what you have to do to get this awesome widget for your blog is to:
1. Go to your Dashboard.

How to download free music or movies

Music? Movies? Yes, the legal way is to purchase them. How about getting them paid for free? You don't have to do much, just download a software and you're ready to start downloading your content to your computer. Firstly, you need a torrent downloader. There are a few out there, like uTorrent, Vuze, BitTorrent and BitComet. I've used all four before, and preferred uTorrent. As what they advertise, it's lightweight and it's really small sized. At only 400KB and taking not more than 10MB of memory, its definitely a no-brainer. The layout is somewhat simple yet the controls feel like they're organized(image below)

uTorrent layout