World's fastest home internet is in Japan - download speed: 2Gbps

What is the likely speed that you get from Malaysia's 3G broadband? Maybe 2Mbps, maybe 5Mbps if you are lucky.

How about the so called 4G? Claimed to be up to 75Mbps but the likely speed the folks will get is just 20 to 30Mbps of download speed.

Well. In Japan, we have the world's fastest internet service with 2Gbps (2,000Mbps) download speed. That's about 1,000 times faster than our average speed of 2Mbps!


                                             Illustration by Nuro


Engadget reported that Japan has the world's fastest commercially-provided home internet service called Nuro. Launched on April 15 by Sony-supported ISP So-net, the fiber connection pulls down data at 2 Gbps, and sends it up at 1 Gbps.

An optical network unit (ONU) given to Nuro customers comes outfitted with 3 Gigabit ethernet ports and supports 450 Mbps over 802.11 a/b/g/n. When attached to a two-year contract, web surfers will be set back 4,980 yen (RM154) per month and pony up a required 52,500 yen (approx. RM1,630) installation fee, which is currently being waived for those who apply online.

Consumers can register their house, apartment or small business to receive the blazing speed, so long as they're located within Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Tokyo, Kanagawa or Saitama.


Source

IRB said deadline to submit BE forms via e-Filing extended to May 15, 2013

This should be good news!

LHDN (Inland Revenue Board, Malaysia) is giving you more time to send in your BE Form to avoid penalty for late submission.




Deadline to send BE forms via e-Filing extended to May 15, says IRB

KUALA LUMPUR: The deadline to send the BE income tax return forms for income earned from non-business and to pay the tax balance via e-filing has been extended to May 15, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) said yesterday.

IRB public relations officer Masrun Maslim the extension was to encourage more taxpayers to use the electronic system which was easier and faster.

“However, for taxpayers, who prefer to fill up the forms manually, the deadline remains on Tuesday. We encourage them to send the forms by post to make sure the IRB receives the forms on May 3, at the latest,” he told Bernama.

Asked on public complaints on the difficulty they faced to send the income tax return forms manually, Masrun said the IRB has not received such complaints todate. He said that it could be an isolated case.

“Checks made in several branches such as in Cheras, Wangsa Maju and Kota Baharu showed they still accepted the forms sent in manually.

“There’s a special box provided for them who wished to send the forms by hand,” he said.

Masrun said the IRB had always encouraged taxpayers to fill up the forms via e-Filing as it could not only save cost but would also ensure the safety of the personal income tax data sent to the IRB.

“The e-filing method also helps to preserve the environment as we use less paper,” he said.

To date, the IRB has received about 1.5 million various income tax statements through e-Filing as compared to 1.4 million forms in the same period last year, he said.

Masrun said the response for e-Filing has been very encouraging, accounting for 70 per cent of the total income tax returns received last year.

“Over-deducted income tax can also be processed quickly for taxpayers who have filed their tax returns via e-Filing,” he said.

“Hence, I advise taxpayers who send in their tax returns at the eleventh hour to opt for the e-Filing method.

“I’m sure the problem of sending in the forms late after the deadline has lapsed can be avoided as e-Filing is easier, accurate and safe,” he added.

According to the IRB website, the last date to apply for personal identification number (PIN) for e-Filing via e-mail to send in BE forms is on April 30. — Bernama


Source

Samsung Galaxy S4 is 4G LTE enabled

That's right. The Galaxy S4 is 4G LTE-enabled.


On sale in Malaysia this weekend


As you may have known, The Samsung Galaxy S4 will go on sale in Malaysia this coming Saturday with 4 telcos offering it on contract.

Telecom companies will be offering the Exynos model (GT-i9500) which offers an Octa-Core processor but it lacks 4G LTE connectivity. For those craving for faster mobile internet speeds, there’s the other variant, GT-i9505 which runs on a Quad-Core Qualcomm processor and comes with LTE support.

From what is seen in SIRIM website, the 4G LTE for the Galaxy S4 have just been approved on 24 April 2013. Being the case, it is not expected to be available as soon as Saturday.

Check it out here.

Great move by Maxis and Celcom, with their rolling out of the 4G LTE network recently. Good anticipation.

Maxis activate 4G LTE for iPad 4, iPad mini, iPhone 5

Good news for Maxis customers.

Owners of Apple devices (at least the latest ones) will get to experience super-fast mobile connectivity now.

• Customers using the iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad 4 (iPad with retina display), can now enjoy 4G LTE speeds in selected areas
• By the third quarter of 2013 more areas in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru will be covered

Another first from Maxis

MAXIS Berhad has announced that customers using the iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad 4 can now enjoy the speed of its 4G LTE (Fourth Generation Long-Term Evolution) network.

In 2009, Maxis was the first to introduce the iPhone to Malaysia, said its joint chief operating officer (COO) Suren J. Amarasekera. It is now announcing that customers using the Apple iPhone 5, fourth generation iPad with Retina display and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular model can use its 4G LTE network.

With 4G LTE, customers using iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad 4 can experience download speeds five to 10 times faster than 3G, enabling them to upload pictures and video 10 times faster, Maxis claimed.

Following the 4G LTE activation for these Apple devices, customers on Maxis iValue plans as well as data plans of 1G and above will receive an SMS requesting them to update the settings on their devices.

Once they do so, they will automatically be able to experience 4G LTE speeds in Maxis 4G LTE coverage areas. In areas where 4G LTE services are not available, the device will automatically and seamlessly fall back onto Maxis’ 3G network.

Source

Samsung Galaxy S4 price in Malaysia - RM2,199

Yes, that is the announced Recommended Retail Price, RRP in Malaysia.

To be retailed at RM2,199 un-locked/ without SIM card

While there is no official announcement yet from Samsung Malaysia, it is obvious the official retail price for the Galaxy S4 is RM2,199 - phone set only, without data plan/ contract. One of the local telecommunications service providers - purposely or otherwise - revealed the RRP in its website.

According to DiGi store online, the S4 will be available in the local market at the end of this month, which is just few days away from now. If you subscribe to the telco's data plan, you can buy it for as low as RM1,199.
- Source

It seem that Apple is playing catch-up again with Samsung. iPhone 5S is no where to be heard of yet.

How to identify venomous snakes

How do you identify venomous snakes? AntiPest has the answer.

Although snakebites are pretty common inMalaysia, it is extremely important to recognize which snakes are venomous or non venomous so we do not necessarily panic, thinking that we might be paralyzed in an hour or so. The thing is, 17 out of 105 species of land snakes are venomous so we do not have to wring our hair out when we chance upon a snake.

This is how:-

1. Always study the head shape of the snake you have encountered. If the head is triangular, it is most likely a venomous snake. The head of a non-venomous snake looks pretty much the same like the rest of its body. In short, if the head bulges out, it’s probably venomous.


2. If you are close enough to see its eyes, most venomous snakes possess vertical eye slits while most non-venomous snakes have round pupils. However, a small number of venomous snakes have round pupils, so just be wary if you see a snake.

King cobra

Banded Krait

Malayan pit viper or Ular Kapak Bodor

Source: Anti Pest

Samsung Galaxy S4 price in Malaysia

The Galaxy S4 looks very similar in design to its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. With a 5" screen, matching the size of the Sony Xperia Z, it's big. But the traditional look remains with rounded corners, a physical home button and a removable rear cover.

The Galaxy S brothers. The new S4 is on the right.

Looks better than Galaxy S3?

Official Specifications


Processor   : 1.9GHz quad-core processor / 1.6GHz octa-core processor (depending on market)
OS                 : Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Display        : 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi
RAM             : 2GB
Internal Storage: 16/ 32/ 64 GB User memory + microSD slot (up to 64GB)
Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, 130g
Battery: 2,600 mAh

Network: 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz;
 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz;
 4G (LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps)
Rear Camera: 13 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
Front Camera: 2 Mega pixel camera, Full HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
Video: Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p)
Audio: Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X


Price in Malaysia

There is no official pricing yet in Malaysia but it is believed that it will cost us RM2,299 for 32GB variant.The previous models, Galaxy S2 and S3 were priced similar to this when they were firsm made available in Malaysia.


Source: Galaxy S4

Malaysia GE13: Nominations on April 20, polls on May 5, 2013

Marilah mari, pergi mengundi ♫ ♫

Jangan lupa kewajiban ♫

Pada negara. ♫ ♫

- sing your way to the ballot box!

The Election Commission (EC) has announced that the highly-anticipated 13th general election will take place on May 5, while the nomination of candidates will be held on April 20.

abdul aziz yusof ec spr chairman electionEC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (right) announced the dates after a special meeting at the headquarters in Putrajaya today, exactly a week after Parliament was dissolved.

This provides for a campaign period of 15 days – the longest in over three decades.

Advance polling is fixed for April 30, for the police, armed forces and EC staff and their spouses to cast their ballots.

Voters can check details of their polling centre with effect from April 15.

The announcement was telecast ‘live’ by several television stations, which began the broadcast at 12.34pm.

State and parliamentary polls will take place simultaneously except in Sarawak, where the next state polls are not due till 2016.


Source: Malaysiakini2