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Tuesday, February 24, 2009 12:33 AM
Kevin's review on Mr hen's blog - New ruling for cyber cafes

Once again its another "talk the talk" but no "walk the walk" which you can only find in our homeland. Its been almost a year since this issue has been addressed, but i don't see any action taken yet so far. But, anyway its a good news to cybercafe owners as in my own opinion the new ruling definitely will put an end to this industry. (Which is why Tbun cybercafe, just in front of UTAR sg long had close down as its wiser to retreat then waiting to be slaughter, in my opinion) I've grown up to be a game addict, and this reminds me about the olden days when i "socialize" with my buddies through gaming in cybercafes nearby Ktar setapak. With my "experience", i will highlight the new rules that will doom the business.


Ahhhhh..those were the days...


1st ruling : Cybercafe outlets had to close by midnight daily.

This ruling alone laid the path to devastation to all cybercafes. As what i know, most cybercafes makes most of their profit after midnight. If memories serves me right, its quite impossible to get a "computer" once the clock strikes twelve, in the morning of course. And have you notice that most cybercafes operates 24/7? The reason seems to be clearer now.

2nd ruling : Prohibited from providing gaming activities, gambling, pornography, music and
publications with negative element

I would like to give credit to the minister upon the prohibition of gambling, pornography, and publications with negative elements but not on the prohibition on gaming activities. I believe instead of net surfing, gaming is one and only reason for the existence of cybercafes in the first place. Gamers had laid their roots on CC ever since gaming was introduce in the premises. And since then, gamers made up the majority profit of CC in malaysia as well as around the globe. Therefore, banning games in cc will lead to two chain reaction, which i believe it is true.

No games = no customers = no profit = less/no tax = poorer government = more corruption

No games = no need acquire gaming license = game developers less profit = less tax = poorer government = more corruption

Even without the new ruling, cybercafes owner finds hard time to substain their business moreover from the unnecessary legal bombardment courtesy from the gov. By referring to a post by Mr Lim Kit Siang (one of the elite from DAP) i would doubt there will be any cybercafes in malaysia in the near future. Its hard to win a losing battle and it gets even harder when all odd is against you. Hopefully the ministry will rethink or scrap their idea on this new rulings.

Original Source








Monday, February 23, 2009 10:09 PM
Lizzie's REVIEW ON AMAZON.COM~ wuhoo!


Amazon.com
is an American electronic commerce company in Seattle, Washington. It is currently America's largest online retailer which was found in 1994. It was launched online in 1995 and started as an on-line bookstore but soon diversified to product lines of VHS, DVD, music CDs and MP3s, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, etc. Amazon has now established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, and Japan.

First Impression

When I first log into the home page of Amazon.com website, I was attracted to the pictures (item) on sale which was display in the front page. Especially this...OBAMA T_SHIRT!! how cool is that! :)


Colours used are simple which look nice, but in my opinion, the logo was quite small, which i did not notice when i first log into Amazon.com because it was not very big and was locate on the very top left corner of the site. Maybe the logo could be placed in middle, made bigger or the colour scheme of the logo should be brighter or bolder. For me, the website looks corporate and the layout does seem to fit well for an e-commerce site. I thought the site is well designed - simple, elegant and have stand out contents.


Graphics and Navigation

The graphics and layout is easy to see and understandable for a newbie like me. I especially love its "personalized recommendations" and "getting started" function because I feel that Amazon.com really tries to help new customer to get familiar with the site.



I also think that the footer was also helpful for customer to track recent orders, to view or change orders and so on.



The sidebar on the left side provides easy navigation for first time user to view or find for items according to it's department and amazon.com also have this function call "check it out" on the left corner which is aim to inform consumer about the news about bargaining zone.


. .


Meanwhile, on the left hand side of its sidebar, a blog by amazon.com can be seen on the top right corner. I was surprise to found this blog function and i thought it was pretty interesting and unique. Consumer who have log in to amazon.com can also comment on their blog post, and i thought the blog post was quite entertaining.



The latest news or latest gadgets available in Amazon.com was also display in the left hand side of this site and i thought it was very informative for the consumer. I think most people will want you to tell them what new items is available on the site rather then them finding out for themselves.




The use of multiple section on different pages or department has worked well within this website, with, for example, a gallery style on the "View Cart" page and a "Search" page.





The design on these pages looks balanced enough and makes good use of white colour to add simplicity to the website. Quite cluttered but has a very systematic layout arrangement.

Conclusion

Overall, Amazon.com has a huge potential to be the world number one e-commerce site in the future but there is still space for improvement. As for me, I think Amazon is a great place to shop for a variety of item selection, which have free shipping to certain countries, have product reviews and I definitely will be a returning customer. hehehe~ :-)

Resource: http://www.amazon.com/





Saturday, February 21, 2009 2:28 PM
Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction.

Nowadays, internet auction fraud is a growing epidemic worldwide, as online shopping has grown significantly every year that online shopping has been available. In order to prevent this e-auction fraud, there are some tips on keeping consumer risk at a minimum when purchasing items from an online auction website.
  • Become familiar with the auction website. Look into the websites protection policies. Never assume you are protected from auction fraud.

  • Before placing a bid, learn as much as you can about the seller. If you can’t find anything out about the seller, than avoid doing business with them. Never fall for promises of better deals by moving away from the original auction website.

  • If the seller wants you to use an escrow service you’ve never heard of, look into it. Check out the website. Call up customer support to find out data on the business in question. If you can’t confirm the legitimacy, don’t use it.

  • Never ever give out your social security number, drivers license number, credit card number, or bank account information until you have thoroughly checked out the seller and the escrow service.

  • Always save 100% of the transaction information. You’ll be glad you did in the event your case makes it to court.

  • If after the sale you feel the item/payment should have been delivered already, try to work it out with the seller/buyer. If at that point you feel that fraud is involved, immediately contact your state attorney general’s office.

  • Always use a credit card. If the goods are unacceptable, you can challenge payment through the credit card company.

  • Search for feedback forum. It allows buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides user with ability to comment on their experiences with other.

Useful links ( http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200707/26/P200707260192.htm)





Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:54 PM
Credit card debts : Causes & Prevention



So, what do we know about credit cards? For me, i view it as an evil plastic card that accumulates..(our worst nightmare)..DEBTS!!! Basically a credit card allows consumers to purchase products or services without cash and to pay for them at a later date. Credit card debt has become a major social problem in some countries, including Asian countries. Debt can undoubtedly cause both worry and stress, not just to the debtor, but their immediate families too. What is actually the causes of this credit card debts?

#1 Too many expenses
to cover but not enough cash or income to do so. For example, the main breadwinner of the household loses his job but monthly expenses are not cut down in line with the reduction in income. This obviously leads to a rise in debt because his family is forced to use their credit cards for groceries, utilities, education of their children and so on. It is worst if the family did not save up any money for rainy days ahead.

#2 Bad money management. Which is the most common reasons why so many families accumulate lots of debt. Not having a monthly spending plan and not keeping track of their monthly bills makes them unaware of where the money is going. They might be spending hundreds of dollars every month towards items that are useless but they do not realize it. While the money is going towards purchasing useless items, they might be charging their necessary purchases on credit card,which force them to pay interest on these purchases every month.

#3 Ignoring money or financial problems. Saving and investing our personal finances are the most important thing to do. We must always learn how to save for a rainy day, as well as manage your money so we can have extra cash on our hand. Therefore, cutting the need to use credit card during emergency.

With so many factors causing credit card debts, how do we solve this problems? How do we prevent this from happening to us in the future?

#1 When you see other people buying new furniture, go on exotic vacations, or go out to expensive restaurants all the time do not feel tempted to do the same if you do not have extra cash to do so. Never, ever feel you have to buy something just because a neighbor or friend has been boasting about theirs. Do not be tempted and jump on the credit card train because of the society pressure you are facing. Envy and jealousy will damage your finances.Think rationally before you make a decision.

#2 Credit card should only be used as a convenience to pay if you have no cash on you, knowing that you can pay off the balance before interest is charge. Many cards have an interest free period. Never use credit cards as a loan beyond that free period. Even if others do, you have no need to do the same if you can pay off the balance as soon as possible.

#3 Plan all your borrowing. Sit down and write down what you absolutely must buy over the next year, and add what you would like to buy. Total the cost. Write down a budget for each month, making sure you have listed all your regular expenses that are fixed and unavoidable, and those over which there is some flexibility. Compare that total with your income. If you have a surplus, then you can think about those extra purchases you had in mind. If not, don’t think any more about them.


Resisting the pressures of the credit card society will be a lot easier once you have set your mind to it, and started to feel the benefits. Enjoy the process and you will be a cash convert for the rest of your affluent life.

Check this video out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYGZxORftg