Tech and app reviews

Save Money With Restaurant Reservation App

9/18/2016

It's quite imposibble that a restaurant reservation app does not charge clients who use it and gives you discounts based on the time of your reservation as well.

I thought there would be a catch, but having used this app for exploring new food places (and sometimes old favourite haunts too), I am pleasantly surprised at how useful and easy it is to use this app. Besides using it on your IOS or Android phone, you can also make reservations on the PC/Mac.

Just go to http://www.eatigo.com on your computer and you will be able to start saving money on your meals, from a modest 10% to a whopping 50%, depending on what time you have decided on.

If you want to reserve using your phone, simply download the app by searching "Eatigo" and follow the easy download instructions.

Registering yourself is easy! You can even use facebook to login without the need for a credit card nor any other information.

If you have any questions, Eatigo is using Singaporean LIVEChat, Zopim to answer all queries. If they happen to be offline, their extensive FAQ and video tutorials are very useful indeed.

Just click on the 3 lines for more options.

See the three lines that depict "Menu" on the top left hand corner? Find out more about Eatigo, one of the best restuarant discount apps I have found, with great restuarants and even hotel buffets on offer.

Notice that the 50% discount applies only for food, not drinks nor dessert. Total steak lunch with a tall glass of tomato juice cost the grand total of less than $20 at The Jazz Restuarant at The Southbridge Hotel.

Use the Eatigo App / Site and Save More Money When Dining Out!

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How to find location using a photo

1/15/2015

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While travelling, I found I was often unable to recall the exact location at which I took the photo, or did not know the name in English. There is a pretty easy and cool way to find out the exact address, using a free online service and any photo editing or viewing program that allows you to check properties. Windows also allows you to right click and view properties of a photo. The latitude and longitude of a place will be clearly shown, unless you are at a location which is off the grid and you are unable to get a signal for tracking. Also, if you turn off location services on your phone, you will not be able to use this simple hack.

So now, you have the GPS coordinates, but how are you going to find the address? The next step is to do a reverse address lookup. I used the site at www.findlatitudeandlongitude.com

You will see a page like this when you get to the site.

Enter your GPS coordinates into the box in the same format, and viola, you know exactly where you are!

Key in the coordinates with the value with the "N, "S. "W or "E first, followed by the other numbers you see, and the address pops up, which in my case, shows

2348, Tambon Klang Yai, Amphoe Ban Phue, Chang Wat Udon Thani 41210, Thailand

Pretty cool, isn't it? It's a great tool for finding out where you were, and you can also use it to track almost anyone, provided the original photo was uploaded!

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Ocbc Marked Cheque

12/19/2014

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If you are banking with Ocbc, this information will be pretty useful, especially if you need your funds real fast!

So how do you mark a cheque? What does marking a cheque mean?

To mark a cheque means that you get your funds on the same day. Different banks have different charges but Ocbc charges $40 for Ocbc cheques and $80 for non Ocbc cheques. The procedures are slightly different, depending on the cheque that you have.

1) Ocbc cheque - this is the best cheque to mark at Ocbc because you can do it at any branch, every day except for Sunday (new restriction) and at any time, there is no cut off time. As long as the branch is open, you can get your funds just by paying $40, which you are allowed to deduct from the cheque amount or make payment by cash or deduct from your account.

2) For non Ocbc cheques, the procedure is more complicated and troublesome.

You need to go to the tampines Cpf building branch to mark the cheque, and after that, deliver the cheque and proof of payment to the Ocbc cheque clearing center at UOB building in Tampines.

The charges are $80 and you will have to either pay in cash or via deduction from the account. You will not be able to deduct from the cheque amount. Also, did I mention that there is a cut off time? Well, there is. You need to mark the cheque and deliver it to the officer at the cheque clearing center at UOB building 3rd floor before 1pm. If you arrive at Ocbc bank late and there is a long queue, you can inform the officer there that you are marking a cheque, they will usually try to put you at the front of the queue.

In a nutshell

Ocbc bank cheques

- Any branch will do and on any day except Sunday with no cut off time.

- $40 per marked cheque

Cheques from other banks

- Only the branch at Tampines Cpf Building.

- Before 1pm Monday to Friday only

- $80 per marked cheque

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Financial Mastery with Adam Khoo, Fabian Lim

8/26/2014

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What a fantastic 2 day conference where you get to rub shoulders with the smart, the rich and the famous! What normal people have always dreamed about having - a mentor to teach and to coach them on how to be successful and attract wealth is now coming true for 30 lucky people! I have a total of 30 tickets which admits 2 each to be given away for FREE! All you need to do is share this post on FB / Google + / Twitter using the share buttons on this post, and if you are the first 30 to do so and post a comment at the bottom of this post, you get the tickets originally worth $188 for FREE!

Date: 6th and 7th September 2014
Time: 9am to 7pm
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 2B

According to them:
" 17% of Singaporean households are millionaires (over US$1m excluding owner occupied property) (Straits Times 2 June 2012). The number of millionaires is projected to double by 2016 (Straits Times, Oct 19, 2011).

Despite the growth of millionaires in Singapore and the world, many ordinary Singaporeans are finding it increasingly difficult to fulfill their financial dreams & retire comfortably as costs escalate and the income gap widens.

This is because many of us have been taught to work hard, but have never been taught the money skills to create, manage and grow our wealth. If you want the essential money skills you need achieve your financial dreams and security, then you must attend Financial Mastery 2014."

And this is so true! I wish I had mentors teaching me how to manage my money when I had over 500k saved during the years of hard work, before I lost it all to bad business investment decisions, friends who borrowed money and not watching the way I was spending!

Now you can get the chance to listen to these wonderful people for FREE, just by clicking like and sharing this post. Be the first 30 to POST A COMMENT BELOW, and I will be sending you the link to fill in your details in order for the organisers to send you your free ticket ( that admits 2! ).

This is amazing.. Adam Khoo and Fabian Lim are usually so busy, it is hard to get hold of them...right now, you get to listen and ask questions for two whole days!

I personally have met Adam Khoo when he was just 20 years old, and in the matter of a few years ( less than 10!) he had become a millionaire.... and now, he is willing to share how he did it.

Fabian is another interesting speaker - you can learn so much about SEO and online selling from him...he is one of the few who has really made it big in the online arena!

The other speakers are known in their fields too, it's just that I haven't met them yet...I wish I could go for this amazing conference and learn about how to manage what little I have and grow it, but I will be working on both days.

BUT!

You can go, and do comment here after you get your FREE tickets, let me know how you enjoyed the 2 day conference and what you learnt from them! I would love to hear all about it!

If you would like to find out more about the conference, click here!

So what is the catch? There is a catch....you only have 2 days to respond. I will be giving away the tickets on 28th August 2014 at 6pm. You must like this post, share this post on your fb and drop me a comment at the bottom to get a ticket. Remember...I only have 30 tickets ( each admitting 2 people ) to give away for FREE!

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How a phishing attempt looks like

8/15/2014

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Hackers who write scripts to steal passwords are bad enough, but when you unknowingly reveal your password to them, that is even worse! They have been known to create email addresses that look like a normal email from certain companies, and most people would not even notice the difference.

One of the latest scams to circulate is one that supposedly comes from Google. Can you spot the difference?

Just by changing the domain from "[email protected]", the email is from
"[email protected]", which means that the person sending you the email is from a
" [email protected] " address in actual fact.

Subdomain is google, main domain is account.com.

So if you receive such an email, what is the best course of action?

Mark as spam / PHISHING before you delete, so at least google/yahoo/hotmail is able to flag it down as spam and not send you emails of similar addresses in future.

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How to Solve Facebook Bug - Sharing of link returns 404 Error

6/11/2014

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I was trying to share a new article I had written about retirement planning for financial adviser Biondi Goh when I encountered a facebook bug.

When trying to share the link, facebook showed a preview which essentially said that my page does not exist, and the error was a 404! (404 is very serious, it means your page is not on the server at all.)

YET, I was able to click through with no problems. No matter what I did to my page, (edit, reupload, republish ) the error code persisted.

I tried sharing it on twitter, and there was no problem there. Goggle+ sharing was ok too - this is when I decided it must be a bug on facebook, which is entirely not my fault.

So I decided to start searching for workarounds or at least, a solution to start being able to show my links properly.

I found this on the fb developer pages, and strangely, it worked. After I put my link in the box and clicked debug, everything worked fine, and I was able to share my link easily, and was able to select a preview image for the images on that page.

So how did I do it?

Click on the photo to bring you to the right page to debug your own links!

Ta Da! It was that easy. Input your link, click debug and the error magically disappears!

Super thankful that the developers of facebook thought of this wonderful workaround and solution for the rare occasion that the sharing of links don't work the way they should.

Goodbye 404 errors on fb!

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8800mha Power Bank

6/2/2014

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With the advent of the Smartphone, it is impossible to do without a power bank, spawning thousands of designs and capacities.

I managed to get this pink power bank for review, and it has a capacity 8800 mAh. Some power banks do not perform as expected, so I was pleasantly surprised that this one does. Retailing at only $25 at E-Power, ( Sim Lim Square #04-77 ) it is available in four colours, black, blue, white and pink.

It was able to charge my iphone from zero to hundred percent thrice, and it didn't heat up either. I loved the texture which is smooth and what is even better, it is light and thin. I was also able to charge two phones, an iphone 5 as well as a Samsung clone simultaneously, though the speed at which one of the phones got fully charged was slowly than the other, as one output is higher.

If you are looking for a low cost but high powered solution, check this out!

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Note3 Clone Review - Low Priced Phone That Amazes

5/12/2014

4 Comments

When I first got my hands on the Note3 Clone, I was a little skeptical about its quality and ease of use - after all, I had just sold my Note3 because of its multiple hanging issues and it was difficult to hang a call up.

I was pretty surprised and happy with my Note3 clone, as it did everything I was using the Note3 for, and I didn't need the features that it came without, like air view, S-Pen and flashy camera settings.

Do note that there are many Note3 clones available at Sim Lim Square, starting from $160 - $250. Mine was just $230, and it came with 2 covers, ( one which is just the back, one with a flip cover and a little window in front which I am using) a screen protector, (already applied, you just need to peel the protective layer off ) 2X3.7V li-on batteries, S-Pen, Ear phones, a 2 pin charger and a micro USB charging cable. I was immediately impressed by their accessories, as I was going to get myself a flip cover as well as a screen protector. The colours on the screen was vibrant, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought I managed to get the real Note3 at one quarter of its actual price.

Some Note3 clones have screens which look faded, some have screens which are blur while others seem to have a blue hue on photos taken - if the shop assistants tell you it is the settings, don't believe them. All phones are tuned to their best settings on display.

The day after I bought this phone, I went to Malaysia, so it came in very handy indeed, with its dual sim feature.

This is the first time I am using a dual sim phone, so I was immediately impressed that it has a standard sim slot and a mini sim slot, and that I can decide which sim I am using for which function - I can specify that I am using only Sim1 for calls and Sim2 for data - extremely useful since I can use a Malaysian sim with a data plan and still use my whatsapp, wechat, gmail and internet. There are also options like "ask", so whenever you make a call, you can choose to dial out from either sim.

On the way to KL, I entertained myself on the 6 to 7 hour bus ride by playing games, watching movies and writing. Writing was a joy on this clone, as it didn't autocorrect as often - only when I needed it to. I felt it was better than my previous Note3, as the Note3 had the samsung built-in "predict your word" feature which was kind of irritating to me, especially if I wasn't writing in English.

Music wise, the single speaker played louder music than my previous Note3, and the ring tone was super loud too! ( Oh joy! I kept missing calls on my other phone. )

The game I played was 2048, and I achieved the highest score I've ever achieved so far on the trip! There was no lag when playing the game, but sometimes, the sensitive multi-touch screen made me move cubes where they were not supposed to be moved to.

Tips and Tricks

The phone will hang or run slowly if it runs out of memory, so I store all my applications on the 32GB Ultra SD card I bought for my Note3. Make sure you check under Settings->General->Apps->SD card. Click on the app and click on "Move to SD Card".
To take a screen shot, press the on/off button and the volume DOWN button at the same time - this took me a long time to figure out!

Click on read more for the technical specifications as well as the benchmark tests I ran.

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Nets FLASHPAY reader

9/13/2013

2 Comments

This app is way cool...maybe it is because I get to use my phone as a Nets Flashpay reader, and am able to check my card balance and transaction history anywhere in the world. To use this app, you have to have a NFC enabled phone and switch on NFC. Place your Nets FLASHPAY card on your mobile phone, and it works like a dream.My Samsung Galaxy Note2 is on the list, so I tried all my cards that are Nets FLASHPAY enabled!

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Plant Vs Zombies 2 released at last!

8/19/2013

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It's about Time! I have been waiting for the sequel for what seems like years...and yes, it has really been years! I first played Plant Vs Zombies way back in 2009 when it was still fresh, and while waiting for the sequel, completed the entire Zen Garden, replayed the game 5 times, accumulated every single trophy and was still playing the game on long bus rides while travelling and while waiting for people. What an epic! It was also the best paid game I downloaded, and it offered hours upon hours of entertainment, even providing the much needed dumbing down of my brain so I could go to sleep easily each night. The Sequel is no different, I have been on the game for two entire days so I could complete the levels, and this time, the game download is FREE! How does Popcap monetize the game then? You can buy coins for powerups, special plants or even plush toys!

Do you see the chinese bok choy in the screen? It's one of the new plants that really pack a punch, literally!

How cute is this? The Snapdragon plant is a fire breather that spans 3 lanes with a depth of 2 squares. They kill normal zombies really quickly too.

At the moment, there are 3 worlds, with more worlds being rolled out as they are developed. After playing the game for two days, I managed to unlock all 3 worlds, Ancient Eygpt, Pirate Seas and the Wild West. A tower defense styled game, it includes little "incidents" and mini games to break the monotony of just trying to pass level after level. This time round, a host of new plants appear and they are all too cute! One of my current favourites, Snapdragon is featured here.

You need to collect stars( you will have to complete the game once in order to make the other levels/stars appear) in order to open the Star Gate that will bring you into another timezone / world, and the challenges are certainly not easy. At some levels, you will see three stars appear, and while the zombies of that level are the same, you will need to get the star by performing some seemingly impossible tasks. This game is fun as it involves some planning and strategy. The number of stars required to open the gate into the new world is in that blue circle next to the gate, so start earning stars real fast.

You need to collect stars to open the star gate and keys to unlock extra levels. For keys, they randomly appear in the game, after you kill a zombie. For stars, simply complete the level.

I feel that this time round, it is much easier to complete the game, as there are many items that you can utilize, from powerups ( Look at the 3 buttons next to to shovel at the bottom of the screen ) to plant food. What are the powerups available to you in the game? Make sure you get plenty of coins - you are going to need them for some levels where it is impossible to complete without the powerups. 3 powerups are available at the moment - you can pinch the zombies so they die, toss them off the game board or electrocute them to a second death. Plant food makes each plant food behave differently, and I find myself liking the corn and cabbage putt with their mass bombing.

Spoiler Alert - What does plant food do for the New plants in Plant Vs Zombies 2?

Want to start playing already? Download the Plant Vs Zombies here, for IOS devices only, at the moment. If you want to check out 10 quick views and tips to completing a level, read on by clicking read more!

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Author

Hi! I'm Vivien Goh, and have been a clown, a ventriloquist and an emcee since 1995. Writing is a passion of mine, and I hope you will enjoy reading the reviews here in "Get Techie" as much as I have enjoyed playing with the apps and testing them.

Save Money With Restaurant Reservation App

How to find location using a photo

Ocbc Marked Cheque

Financial Mastery with Adam Khoo, Fabian Lim

How a phishing attempt looks like

How to Solve Facebook Bug - Sharing of link returns 404 Error

8800mha Power Bank

Note3 Clone Review - Low Priced Phone That Amazes

Nets FLASHPAY reader

Plant Vs Zombies 2 released at last!

Spoiler Alert - What does plant food do for the New plants in Plant Vs Zombies 2?

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