Goodbye G Suite

~ DK ~ Leave a comment

Early this year, Google announced that it is ending the legacy free tier for G Suite. I’ve been on the free edition of G Suite since 2011. While it’s a good product, there are some issues with it like not being able to use certain Google products. Not complaining since it allows me to use my personal domain name for email.

Honestly, I don’t mind paying for the service. But the cheapest Google Workspace Business Starter cost S$8 per month. That’s S$96 per year. That’s too expensive for personal use.

It’s a wasted opportunity for Google. There are many people using the free G Suite for personal use. If they provided a cheaper alternative for personal use, I think many people don’t mind paying a few dollars a month for the service. Now they are just losing all these customers.

So goodbye G Suite. I’m moving to Apple iCloud+ which costs only S$1.28 per month for the basic 50GB plan. iCloud+ allows me to use my custom domain for email. And since I’m so deep inside the Apple ecosystem, why not jump further inside. I get 50GB storage now which means I can finally back up my 14GB WhatsApp chat log.

Setting up the custom email domain for iCloud+ was pretty straightforward. (Although it messed up my CloudFlare settings causing this blog to be down for a while.) The web-based email client for iCloud doesn’t look as good as Gmail but I guess I’m ok with that. I heard that iCloud’s spam filter isn’t as good as Gmail. Not surprised there but I think I’m fine with that (for now).

The only thing that I’ll miss is all my other data with Google. My Google Calendar, Google Doc/Sheet, YouTube channel subscription. I think I’m going to create another Gmail account and move the important stuff over. Sigh. Why do all good things come to an end?

Update on 17 May: Google backtracks to allow non-commercial users to continue using G Suite for free. I guess they are seeing too many people leaving the Google ecosystem. But this announcement came a little too late. I’ve already moved my email to iCloud+. I’m not moving them back.

Auld Lang Syne

~ DK ~ Leave a comment

Wah lao eh! This DK ah, whole year only blog 4 times (including this post). Wah piang.

But seriously, where did 2021 go? It felt like December 2020 was just a few months ago. Now we are counting down to 2022. And I honestly thought that the pandemic will end by now. Well, looks like we are not done yet. I’m just hoping that 2022 will not be 2020 too even though it sounds the same.

I usually spend the last day of the year looking back. But somehow I don’t have much to look back this year. It’s not that I didn’t do anything. It’s just that 2021 is an average year to me. Nothing special. In fact kinda boring year. But at least there is nothing bad happening. And at a time like this, boring can sometimes be good.

I think I need to get my blogging momentum back. And update social media more. Been consuming and not creating for the whole of this year. Even my Instagram looks empty. But no, I’m not going to start going into TikTok. Not my kind of platform. Maybe I might try 小红书. Don’t know. See how.

I think 2022 is the time to explore new areas. Learn new things and try out stuff. The pandemic will end eventually and new opportunities will arise. Let’s be ready for the new world. The post pandemic world.

Have a great 2022. Happy new year. Stay safe.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

41

~ DK ~ Leave a comment

And just like that, it is October. Where did 2021 go?

I’ve been looking back a lot lately. Thinking of the past and all the crazy stuff that I’ve done. (Crazy in my context but most likely mild and boring to most people) Some of the things felt like just a few years ago but in actual fact it’s been more than 10 years. It’s amazing how time flies. Have to constantly remind myself that I’m not young anymore.

I’m also starting to forget some of the stuff. Let’s be honest. It’s impossible to remember everything from the past 41 years. There is simply not enough storage in the brain to store so much data. Luckily I still have old photos, sms, emails, calendar schedules, social media post etc etc to remind me. And I guess there is no need to remember everything. Just remember the important ones will do.

Oh ya, this is a scheduled post. I scheduled it to be published at 9:40am because I’ll be at HDB signing myself in the biggest debt I’ve ever taken. It’s a coincident that HDB scheduled our lease agreement signing date on my birthday. I wonder if there’s any birthday promo. Lol.

Last year, I wished that my 40s will be extraordinary. It has not been extraordinary yet but it is going to. I’m always slow to start but I’ll eventually catch up and even exceed.

Cheers to 41.

Let us die young or let us live forever

We don’t have the power, but we never say never

Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip

The music’s for the sad man

PS: I know I’ve been neglecting this blog lately. I’ll try to blog more frequently. TRY.

This is not the Nintendo Switch Pro you are waiting for

~ DK ~ Leave a comment

Nintendo just announced a new Nintendo Switch Pro…… oh wait. That’s not the long rumoured Nintendo Switch Pro. Oops.

Instead, Nintendo just announced the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) which as the name suggest comes with a OLED screen. From the specs available online, it has a 7 inch OLED screen, a slight upgrade from the 6.2 inch LCD screen on the original Switch. Comes with 64GB internal, better speakers and a improved kickstand. The Nintendo Switch OLED comes with a new Dock with build in wired LAN port.

Despite all the changes, the new Nintendo Switch OLED is just 0.25 cm wider and 22 grams heavier. It is compatible with the existing Joy-Con and dock. And given that it is just 0.25cm wider, there is a chance that most of your existing accessories will work with the new Switch.

However, there is no 1080p display on handheld and 4K TV output. Resolution is still the same despite all the rumours. This will no doubt disappoint many fans.

The new Nintendo Switch OLED Model will be available from 8 October 2021 at US$349.99. Comes in white and neon red/neon blue colour.

GENKI ShadowCast: Connect your Nintendo Switch to a laptop

~ DK ~ Leave a comment

If you own a Nintendo Switch, you might want to check out the GENKI ShadowCast currently on Kickstarter. The ShadowCast is an easy way for you to use your Laptop screen to play your Nintendo Switch (Or PS5).

Simply connect GENKI ShadowCast to the HDMI out port of your console, connect the USB Type C cable to your laptop, launch the Genki Arcade app and you are good to go.

And the best part is that you can record your gameplay and even stream online. While it may not be at the same level as a professional grade capture card, it’s more than capable for most gameplay capturing needs while being much more flexible and easy to use across multiple platforms.

You can back the GENKI ShadowCast at Kickstarter now and receive it as a reward if you pledge $39. That’s a lot cheaper than most video capture card in the market.

Do note that this is a Kickstarter campaign. You should know the usual risks involving Kickstarter campaigns before you back the project. If you are not comfortable with the risks involved, then wait for the product to hit the market.

Auld Lang Syne

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I was scrolling through my old blog (which is now sitting in my Synology NAS) and I realised that I’ve been doing these “end of year reflection” blog entry since 2005. Or maybe even longer since I started blogging since 2002. (I feel old talking about this) So I guess I’ll continue this tradition.

2020 was a horrible year. Nobody expected a global pandemic that would create a huge mess around the world. Sometimes I wonder how will the history textbook talk about Covid 19. We should have listened to Bill Gates.

I went to see a fortune tell back in late 2019 and he told me that 2020 will be a bad year for me. So bad that I would reach rock bottom. When he told me that, I didn’t really believe it. You see, 2019 was already quite bad for me. I was thinking that it couldn’t get any worse than that. I was wrong. Really really wrong.

So I went to see the same fortune teller again recently and told him that he was right about me hitting rock bottom in 2020. The good thing is that it is over. According to him, 2021 will be slightly better for me.

2020 was really an eye opener year for me. Even though it was a bad year, I get to experience a lot of new things. Got a part time job. Meet a lot of new people. And successfully applied for BTO. Should be moving to our new home in 4 years time if there’s no delays in the constructions. I think I’m going to love the view from my new home.

Let’s hope this pandemic will end soon so that life can go back to normal. I don’t know what’s in store for me in 2021. But if I can survive 2020, I’m sure I can handle all the challenges ahead.

2021 New Year countdown is going to be a different one. Unlike the past, there won’t be fireworks at Marina Bay. To minimise the crowd, there will be fireworks at 11 heartland locations. Covid 19 is not over yet. So stay safe while you celebrate.

And we have lots to celebrate. We survived 2020. That’s something worth celebrating. Happy new year!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

What’s happening?

~ DK ~ 5 Comments

In case you missed my previous blog post, I’ve decided to change my blog hosting to WordPress.com. The previous web host is fabulous but too expensive for my personal needs. Hosting on WordPress.com is a lot cheaper. I managed to get a very good deal on Black Friday. So good that I decided to sign up for 2 years. The amount that I’m paying WordPress for 2 years is less than 50% of what I’m paying my previous web host for 1 year.

Which means I’m staying with WordPress.com for at least 2 years. Fingers crossed. Let’s hope everything goes well.

So what’s new? For a start, the URL is now dk.sg. No more blog.dk.sg. But the good thing is that if you type blog.dk.sg, you’ll still be redirected to this blog. So let’s hope I don’t lose anyone with this move. You can also access this blog via blogdksg.wordpress.com but I’ve no idea why would anyone want to do that.

And the biggest and most obvious change is that all the old post has been removed. Part of me is lazy to transfer all my old blog entries to WordPress.com. And the file size is quite big too. More than 3GB worth of data. The current WordPress.com plan that I’m on only gives me 6GB storage. So I think it is better for me to start new. Besides, who needs to read my old blog entries from 2005?

But don’t worry, I have everything back up in my Synology NAS. I could basically host the old blog from my NAS but I don’t really see the need for it actually. So it is just going to stay in my NAS in case I want to refer to some old stuff.

I guess the rest will more or less be the same. I’ll still be blogging about the things that I usually blog. There are some new things that I want to try out too. Let’s see if I manage to find the time and motivation to do them. In the meantime, please excuse the current mess here. Still a lot of things need to be done on this new blog. Hopefully I can get them done within the next few week.

PS: Just curious for those who are still using RSS reader. Does this new blog post gets delivered to your RSS feed? Is anyone still using RSS reader?