Review | k r i s a n d r o

Tag Archive for 'review'

I Had a Hand On Jack Neo And He Had His On My GF!

Published

on August 9, 2008

I have always been skeptical of locally produced shows. The predictability of the script, the cheesy visuals, horrendous camera skills, half-baked acting & amateurish sound effects, just to name a few. And in some cases, especially in TV serials, I see ALL the bad elements I mentioned come together. It’s no surprise that I have not been watching any local TV show consistently and I seldom ‘risk’ buying tickets to a local show in the cinemas.

All thanks to molemole for telling me that Sheylara was giving out free tickets on behalf of Blog Aloud, I quickly emailed her and msn-ed her almost concurrently to enquire on the availability of two shows, ‘Money No Enough 2′ and ‘12 Lotus’.

Luckily, there are still tickets available for ‘Money No Enough 2′ and I asked for a pair for the show at Vivocity on the 7th Aug. FREE tickets! Although I am skeptical of local productions, the lure of a free movie, the good impression of the first installment of ‘Money No Enough’ and Jack Neo were good enough reasons for me to go for it.

I brought KuKuNehNeh (KKNN) along for the movie and boy, did we enjoy it! I wont reveal the story here as I HATE people who review movies and reveal the plots which totally spoils the movie experience. The script was predictable, the CG was cheesy although commendable for a local production and the advertising was too blatant for my liking. But Jack Neo did magic with the way he told the story. The issues he showcased were close to the Singaporean heart and channeled through incredible acting by the cast, especially through the malaysian actress, Lai Ming, who played the role of a mother in the movie. She was funny, she was believable, she made me tear. Credits to Mark Lee as well for he was the best performing local lad in the movie for me.

Jack Neo

Mark Lee

Lai Ming

Jack Neo appeared in the theater after the credits rolled and his presence made the event even more worthwhile. He answered questions to the best of his ability and tried as much as he could to answer them in English. Molemole helped me and KKNN take a picture with him together at the end of the show.

I Had a Hand On Jack Neo And He Had His On My GF

I know that the critics have been harsh on the movie but I think it is definitely worth the money for a movie that will tug at your heartstrings. Thanks again to Sheylara and Blog Aloud for the tickets.

5 Comments

Finally! The Review Of The HP 2133 Mini-Note I’ve Won!

Published

krisandro

on July 30, 2008

in My-Life and My-Views

This is a proper review of the HP 2133 Mini-Note (HP Mini) and not like the last rubbish review I did. And this is definitely a review based on my true opinions of the product, even though I did win it from the Ping Awards II. Be warned though! I am only a half-past six geek and I am better at talking about himbotic stuffs like how many idiots there are in the MRT every morning. So please bear with me if this review is not up to your expectations.

I managed to squeeze some time out of my schedule to collect the HP Mini last thursday and if not for the crowded bus ride, I would have whipped it out in excitement to play with it. It was only till I reached the office when both my colleagues, Claudia and Andy unboxed the HP Mini for me and they would have been mistaken to be having orgasms from all the “OOoooooooo(s)” and the “Ahhhhhhhhhhh(s)” when they saw it. Both of them own laptops and their immediate reactions was coming from the fact that it is so small!

HP Mini VS My Hand

I know it is a bad way to compare the size of the HP Mini to something since my hand is rather large. But I just want to remind you people on what they say about guys with large hands…

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!

And you know what? The people at HP gave me the top of the line model from the HP Mini series!

1.6G Processor!!! 2G of Ram!!!!

But…….

Windows Vista Business?

The bane of all new PCs and laptops - the Windows Vista. It is akin to buying a brand new Lamborghini and fitting it with one tonne of parts. Chio (Beautiful) but useless as it is S.L.O.W. Not to mention that it is buggy. 7 Days with it and it crashed 5 times so far. If only it came with WIndows XP pre-installed!

The other thing that one will notice immediately apart from its size is the built!

Great finish

Upon looking at it closely and handling it, I found it to be very sturdy and a little heavy for it’s size. I am not one who can determine what material a product is made of with a knock or a bite and so a quick google search reveals that the HP Mini is made of aluminum all round and the internal structure is protected by a magnesium alloy. The surface of the LCD is also made scratch resistant which means that if my girl decides to damage the HP Mini because I spend too much time on it, the HP Mini should be relatively safe.

The HP Mini looks moderately pleasing from the outside but I think the finish on the inside makes it one of the most aesthetically pleasing UMPC I’ve seen. I did say ‘one of’ right? The Mac fanbois look to be ready to slit my throats with their Macbook Air.

Gorgeous ain’t she?

The cool power button

People are quite used to seeing people whip out notebooks in public places but not this one. The size and the built turns heads whenever I take the HP Mini out. OKAY FINE! It could have been due to the kaypoh (nosy) nature of Singaporeans but… but it really turns more heads than usual!

Nicely sized for laptops

Extends all the way to the edges for easy cleaning

The keyboard is 92% full sized and it is comfortable enough to type on for long durations without feeling the need to strangle someone to loosen the stiff muscles.

Speakers on the LCD face

Most laptops I have seen have their speakers on the face of the keyboard or around the sides of the base. The HP Mini has the speakers right where the sound should emit from. The front! I think this works well especially to the audiophiles as it makes more sense to have the sound propagating from where you are seeing the image from. The power of the speakers is also good. I haven’t had the chance to increase the volume beyond half of what the HP Mini can offer.

One problem which might be only particular to my unit is that the covers of the speaker (the one that my finger is pointing at on the pic above) keeps popping out by a couple of millimeters. It could be an issue of bad assembly but I am not sure. Not a big problem, but I keep pushing it in so that it can stay flushed with my screen. I don’t have OCD. Really.

One of my last gripes of the HP Mini is of the touchpad.

HP Mini’s Touchpad

The left and right click buttons are unconventionally located on the sides of the touchpad instead of the bottom and it takes some getting used to. My lack of experience with a laptop might prove to be a bonus in this as I should be able to be accustomed to this faster than people who are so used to the conventional placements. The touchpad seems to be over sensitive at times and undersized while the “I-don’t-know-what-is-the-proper-name” scroll thingy that you see on the right side is super laggy. And when it does detect that I am trying to scroll, it becomes overly responsive as well.

Special Button

I took sometime to figure out what that button is. Once activated, it actually disables the touchpad and the purpose of it is to actually prevent users from accidentally activating the touchpad when you are typing for long hours. Not a problem for me so far as my hands don’t seem to have the problem of touching the touchpad when typing.

One final and biggest problem I have with the HP Mini is that the batteries don’t last very long. I use the HP Mini a lot on the go or when I am in my room and even when I am doing my ‘business’ (Ewwwwww! I know!). And I use it mainly for surfing which means the wifi is constantly on. Such usage brings the life of the Mini to about 1 hr 20 mins to 1 hr 30 mins or even lesser sometimes. I wished HP had provided me with the 6-cell battery instead which can theoretically bring the battery life to twice the amount which makes it in the acceptable range for a mobile computer.

In summary, apart from the big problem of the short battery life (*cough* 6-Cell Battery HP? *cough cough*) and the other small nuances, I love the HP Mini to death. It’s small and light for me to bring it almost anywhere (toilet not forbidding)! It’s not much of a workhorse because of it’s small screen and slow OS & processor but it definitely meets the need for blogging and surfing on the go (and while doing ‘business’).

Once again, a big thank you to Ping.sg for bringing in the sponsors, Waggener Edstrom and HP for the prize, and to the people who voted for me!

Before I end this, I shall leave you guys with my favourite website.

WAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!

14 Comments

Bloggers Dilemma. Advertorial or Review?

Published

krisandro

on May 22, 2008

in My-Views

When a company pays a blogger to ‘review’ a product, is it an advertorial or is it really a review? This question came to my mind after a topic in the Ping.sg shoutbox which let to xizor2000 asking me of the following over WLM,

“In your experience…are you able to give an example of what u consider a review and what u consider an advertorial?”

My answer to him was,

“A review would be a complete unbiased view of a product and an advertorial would be a ‘paid to be made positive Advertisement’“

I never really thought of reviews or advertorials as separate entities before his question as I generally felt that most blogger opinions can’t really be trusted as they are paid to blog on the product. Before all bloggers swarm onto me like hungry Singaporeans with a plate of Char Kway Teow, let us be honest lar. How many bloggers in the right frame of mind will say what he/she really thinks about the product if he/she is being PAID to do so.

I mean sure, there are ‘ethical’ bloggers who will say what they mean. But the truth is, the ethical one is running the risk of having no companies approaching him or her for jobs. Like how Wendy puts it,

“if I were a company, I would be feeling quite dumb to pay people to say (possibly) bad stuffs about me”

So when companies pays a blogger to do a ‘review’, are they actually expecting an advertorial?

So when bloggers are paid to do a ‘review’, are we assuming that it is actually an advertorial?

I think that is why a top blogger like kennysia puts an ‘ADV’ in his header which represents ‘Advertorial’ each time he is paid to blog about a product. Firstly, it doesn’t mislead his readers that he is blogging about a product out of his own free will. Secondly, when readers see that it is an advertorial, the clever ones should understand that since it’s an advertorial, the opinions of the blogger should be taken with a pinch of salt.

I think companies and bloggers should adapt a common understanding that when a blogger is asked to blog about a product, it should be stated clearly if it is an Advertorial OR a Review. And this information should be CLEARLY represented on the post to let readers know WHICH it is.

Companies should understand that an Advertorial on a blog is just like an advertisement you see on TV, in between the shows. It’s a total biased view of their product that is in the form of a media to spread awareness of the products existence.

On the other hand, if the company is that SURE of a product, they should tell the blogger to REVIEW it with his/her total unbiased opinions. The company itself or others should also take heart in the true opinions of the blogger and not be afraid of giving the blogger products for review in the future.

If I am a reader and I am presented with the fact of whether the post is of a review or an advertorial, I can read the blog with the correct attitude. I know if I am reading about a product’s existence or the blogger’s true opinions on the product.

And wouldn’t YOU trust a company and a blogger that shows such transparency? I would!

15 Comments

The Review That You All Have Been Waiting For…

Published

krisandro

on May 15, 2008

in Entertainment

Review of products and services were used to be left to the experts. But these days, with the introduction of services like Blog2U.sg and Yebber, bloggers are now tasked to do reviews for various things like gadgets, food, shops and etc. Popular bloggers are even headhunted to do reviews for various companies.

I am not famous enough to have companies approach me to do reviews but I need to practice so that when the time comes, I SHALL BE READY!!!

WARNING: All content after the following line are not to be taken seriously. Known side effects of believing what Krisandro says are the following: excessive question marks popping over one’s head; the urge to smash your monitor with the nearest family member you can find; detecting a foul odor that resembles shit that stems from the crap that Krisandro produces.

———————————————————————–

Review of FP’s Soft White Facial Tissues

FP is a well known household brand that every Singaporean can identify with. And so it was with great pleasure when a spokesperson from FP called me up last week.

“Harlo?”

“Yes?”

“Is this er… er… KISS-SEND-DO?”

“Er…. its KRISANDRO.”

“Aiya, same same lar.”

“Who is this?”

“Ah! My name is Ah Kow! And I got good news for you.”

“Not interested…. KThxBye!”

*CLICK*

.

A few minutes later….

“HARLO!”

“Yes?”

“AH KOW HERE! WHY YOU CUT THE LINE?”

“I don’t like telemarketers.”

“I AM NOT LAR! I am from FP! And we want to ask you to review a product!”

“Orh… say so earlier lar”

“MACIAM I GOT CHANCE TO SAY EARLIER.”

“Okay, okay… Anyway, why you all find me?”

“Oh… we compiled a list of the top 5,000 bloggers in Singapore and we approach the ones from the top lor.”

“Okay! Sounds good!”

“Yah… but we keep kena rejected by all of them. So I don’t wanna waste time. I called from the bottom instead lor. Last name was yours.”

*CLICK*

.

Anyway, I accepted their offer eventually and got the product through the mail.

At first look, I found that the packaging was simple and everyone can carry the tissue around without being ashamed, unlike those cartoon-ish ones. It might be a little on the feminine side but there is a little gayness in everyone for the tissue paper to be accepted.

Next up was the probably the most important in any proper tissue paper review. The softness of the tissue paper. You don’t want to have a nice meal and then wiping your face with a tissue paper to only find out that the tissue paper is as soft as an industrial grade sandpaper.

[Image from here]

And since the word “Soft” is written with 50 pt font size on the packaging, it better be so.

After countless wiping of my mouth with the tissue paper, there was no signs of abrasion. I decided to take it a step further and dig my left nostril repeatedly with the tissue. I did not bleed nor had any abrasion but my left nostril seems to be larger than my right this morning. The things a blogger will sacrifice for a review for you readers. *Sigh *

Unlike some other companies who are boasting about their tissue papers being ‘3-ply’, FP decided to stick with ‘2-ply’ tissues.

I applaud their decision based on the following benefits.

1. The package is 33.333333333333333334% lighter than 3-ply tissues

2. It is much easier to FLING the lighter tissue paper on seats to CHOP seats

3. Using 2-ply tissue paper to dig your nose is less damaging than using 3-ply

Every product always has a big claim on their products. Like “BEST IN THE WORLD”, “NUMBER #1 IN SINGAPORE”, “LEADING BRAND IN….” or “GUARANTEED TO….. IN 3 DAYS!”. FP is no different, and their claim on the tissue paper is that….

… each package got 10 Sheets.

To make sure you readers don’t get cheated, I counted the number of sheets in the package for 254 times to make sure that they really had the amount that they claim.

They were honest.

In conclusion, FP made a great product with a very classy designed packaging. Users will find that the softness of the tissue paper will lose out to their 3-ply rivals but it makes up with its reduced weight. And most important of all, it delivered its promise.

10 Sheets. No More. No Less.

19 Comments

A Review of Blogger’s Treat After Watching Two Episodes

Published

krisandro

on May 9, 2008

in My-Views

After watching episode two of Blogger’s Treat, I decided to write a review on it. After all, the videocast is “created by bloggers, for bloggers and with bloggers”. So, how can a blogger not give his/her 2 cents worth on it?

A little background on Blogger’s Treat; It’s a videocast produced by Aaron Koh with support from Michael Cheng at Podfire.sg and the host is Sabrina.

This is how Aaron describes Blogger’s Treat:

Blogger’s Treat is a under 10 minutes videocast that features blogger’s favourite and popular food haunt.

It is created by bloggers, for bloggers and with bloggers.

Each episode you will see a guest blogger bring the Blogger’s Treat team to somewhere in Singapore to eat.

As you can see, the “with bloggers” element is very strong here as we often let the guest blogger determine where their favourite food haunt is.

We are limiting ourself to kopitiams, food stalls and small cafes because of budget. Hopefully, we can bring bloggers to high end restaurants in future episode, but I think that itself would be another series.

More of his introduction can be found here.

So far, there are 4 episodes filmed and the 2 episodes available to the public right now are the ones below

Episode One with Guest Blogger, Daphne Maia

Episode Two with Guest Blogger, Hillary Chan

The youtube videos can be very slow to load and if you can’t wait, the faster loading episodes can be found here(Ep1) and here(Ep2).

On the positive side of things, it is a great idea by Aaron to create such a show. Who doesn’t like food? And what better way to introduce food online than with bloggers, who are quite the mini-celebrities in recent times. Aaron might have emphasized that the show is “for bloggers”, but I would see that the viewership of the program will extend to the interested readers of the various bloggers who appear on the show. The videos are also nicely edited with a very light and catchy acoustic guitar tune to kick every episode off.

Okay, the stuffs I am going to say next might send hordes of Sabrina fans calling for my demise (or even Sabrina herself) but oh well, it’s just my view.

In both episodes, both the guest bloggers totally outshone Sabrina in terms of presentation, speech fluency, presence, enthusiasm and personality. If I didn’t know beforehand and if Sabrina didn’t introduce herself at the start of the show as the host, I would have easily thought that either Daphne or Hillary were the hosts.

In episode 1, Daphne showed good diction, poise and was very believable as a person introducing a food she really liked. There were moments of awkwardness when Sabrina was introducing the chef and also when making small talk with Daphne. The saving grace of the episode is when the chef performed his ‘la mien’ skills which was very entertaining.

In episode 2, Hillary was much more aggressive compared to Daphne in the 1st episode and it resulted in Sabrina taking a backseat almost throughout the whole episode. I thought Sabrina did pretty well in the 1st 20 seconds of the 1st episode but throughout this one, she appeared nervous and uncomfortable when speaking and disinterested when not. Before tucking in, her reactions to the food were not of interest but of “Ah…. So much food ah. I don’t wanna eat leh.. I scared I will grow fat”. Not that it implies that the food sucks, but it still makes the viewer reduce his/her interest in the food.

I am not asking the bloggers on the show to act till they point where they put food in the mouth and then flip over screaming, “OH MYYYYYYYYYYYY GOD!!!!!!” while having orgasms, but it’s good to show enthusiasm and interest in the food that you are presenting and eat it with gusto.

With that much negatives said about Sabrina, I do have to say that it’s only two episodes so far and she is definitely still nervous on camera. She is very presentable looking and definitely performing way below her potential in terms of hosting.

Evidence of how Sabrina can be more believable is from the video below.

It isn’t the most interesting of videos, but if you watched it till the end, you will mostly likely see the same thing as I did. Sabrina spoke with much more comfort and confidence and thus showed a more believable person that we would want to see on Blogger’s Treat.

Good luck to Sabrina and kudos again to Aaron for producing such an interesting local show. I will look forward to future episodes with anticipation.

24 Comments

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Tag Archive for 'review'

I Had a Hand On Jack Neo And He Had His On My GF!

Finally! The Review Of The HP 2133 Mini-Note I’ve Won!

Bloggers Dilemma. Advertorial or Review?

The Review That You All Have Been Waiting For…

A Review of Blogger’s Treat After Watching Two Episodes

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