Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by gamenoob

Financial portfolio when one reach 55/60 onwards

gamenoob — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 13:29:51 +0800

As title stated what would be a typical portfolios of financial distribution like? Granted its highly dependent on one risk threshold profile, but let say this is the question..

What would you do say if you have extra cash/fluid funds for diversification?

Bonds?
REIT?
Foreign currency FD?
Property?

Epf annual tops up is done, local FD are spread to several banks.

Ipad Air 3rd Gen, booting up issue

gamenoob — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 23:39:08 +0800

My ipad have some issues with on button. Need to press several time rapidly or flip the magnetic cover rapidly to boot up. It's getting worst.

Reset to factory not helping either. Do Apple authorised service center in Sunway Pyramid still repair such old model or any 3rd party shop aroubd puchong subang can recommend to repair such?

Thanks

TNB bonds sukuk 15-20 years

gamenoob — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 16:43:49 +0800

Anyone bought such before.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/tnb-...h-islamic-bonds

It supposedly paying 4-5% annually. Dividend is payable semi annual.

Max tenure is 15 or 20 yrs

Sharp 4TC60CK1X..anyone on them?

gamenoob — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 17:38:08 +0800

Shopping for 60in TV and was pretty keen on the 4TC60AL1X.. but shop have no stock and proposed 4TC60CK1X as a new model. Searching in Google have limited info other than sharp just launched it 1-2 months back.

Sharp page comparison seems to have different spec and some compromised and better spec. Showroom test of both show PQ is very close...

Anyone have them?

Pen Scanner for text

gamenoob — Fri, 29 May 2015 12:23:10 +0800

Hi all

Anyone know where to get or uses this..

I'm looking for a pen scanner for text. I want to capture some parts of reading text/printed materials and to have them converted so that I can edit, retype and print out later....I saw something call scan marker but this needs to be connected to PC. I want something stand alone if possible.

Many thanks

CCTV LAN cable to wifi?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

Link to Loan calculator with daily rest interest

gamenoob — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:23:14 +0800

Anyone have a link to online loan calculator that have following parameter:

Daily rest interest calculation
Option to chose diff payment frequencies ie Daily, weekly, monthly, etc
Lump sum prepayment

I saw some loan officer using this on their notebook which is excel based but they cant share a copy with me because its their proprietary copy.

CCTV LAN cable to wifi?

gamenoob — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:51:45 +0800

With incoming unifi the modem is too darn far so I'm thinking if there are wifi adapter that can connect between CCTV to the unifi wifi signal?

Currently it's connected to LAN Ethernet cable.

What equipment can I use? I have existing Dlink wifi router and also TM wifi router currently from streamyx.

VW Scirocco.. anyone?

gamenoob — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:42:23 +0800

Went to VW showroom and gatal looking at the Scirocco 1.4.... and the new Passat happen to be there as well...

Bloody heck. the roc is 188.88k and the Passat only 180k....

When look at the spec... the Roc TSI 1.4 was terrible... no LED DRL, crappy RCD310...., no leather, n only 6 AB... but of course the ride and handling is nice and design is chun...

Passat, leather all the way, RCD510, 6-7AB, LED DRL... but power to weight ratio is lowered... obviously... and boring 5 door design ride but of course lots of space....

The ROC also no model update since 2008... the Golf TSI and GTI also have update...

I wonder if I'm getting less for the money...?(Obviously if you compare to Jpn)even to the VW passat...

Not keen on Golf TSI or GTI as it just another 4 door hatch... the Roc 2 door coupe is nice and handle very very well....

What a dilemma to have,....although a good dilemma...

Ford Mondeo Ecoboost brief test drive

gamenoob — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:36:01 +0800

Had a wonderful opportunity to test drive the Ford Mondeo Ecoboost yesterday evening.

The handling, NVH, performance basically knock any of the locally available price range segment car... dare I say even better than the brand above Ford.

Strictly on paper spec and on the road performance, Accord 2.4/Teana 2.5/Camry 2.4/Sonata.... can play far far...

The NVH is very very quiet, you hardly hear much noise as it so well insulated and the powershift is great! Much smoother than DSG on traffic crawl. Left it on D, you wont feel a thing.

Usually traditional slushbox ie those with ATF fluid... tend to be able to absord shift shock better than manual stick or DSG, but with the higher gear count of 6, the DSG/SMG/AMT etc are catching up on the smooth gear shift and the narrow gear gap avoid that "forward/reverse" feeling that many noob describe...(**Human body can detect relative speed change but not absolute speed hence a lot of noob on DSG/SMG/AMT tend to complain on the less than smooth gear shift) However if one to try the Ford Powershift or Volvo equivalent, you will be impressed...However the Powershift in Ford Focus TDCI hatch that I tested was no where near this. Not sure why... same design and ratio... perhaps a different mapping for the wallop torque... The Mondeo Ecoboost is so smooth, I wish they have the paddle shift even for such a long exec car... that usually you wont drive like a mad man...

On some of the short twisties I tested. I put it to S mode and was on 2 coming out of a turn and I gun it manually...to 3rd, 4th, and 5th... its virtually undetectable. and then coming to a 90degree bend, slam it down to 4,3, and 2nd.... there was no bad forward jerk (usually happen when one down shift too high of rpm), although I did not pay attention to full details, I pretty sure the ECU blip the throttle to sync the down shift resulting is super smooth gear transition.

The cornering... WOW! for such a big car and long rear overhang, its impressive considering the suspension is on soft side without any trickery of adaptive damper (although the X Sport version in Europe does...) Pot holes and bump is being soaked up wonderfully.

The audio system and Ford Conver+ was impressive as well. The sound quality is way ahead but not the unit itself... the user interface is crappy and the display was in red vs the car overall whitish illumination setup (heck the car come with 4 LED ambience/map light which each 4 corner passenger can control). The biggest disappointment is no GPS/Multimedia... not even USB/Aux in or reverse cam. If they give the same unit in the previous Mondeo (non ecoboost), the center display in between the meter would have additional navigation display capability.

Price at just less than 179K, its a bargain compare to non ecoboost version. With 7 air bag, 3 years warranty and 3 years free maint...its really a no brainer from spec and street cred perspective.. until you get to the point of typical malaysian mentality... resale value.

But with free maint up to 3yrs or 60k km, that is about 5k worth of maint, and keep it for 5yrs... the losses is lesser. The camry/accord/sonata in the 2.4-2.5 range fare no better either at 45-55% losses and worst, they tend to change model every 5yrs... so 50% off you do and with the new camry coming next year, the current camry will take a hit.

If you are one that enjoy driving more and have budget to own this level of pricing, then resale value should not be your concern..if you care so much about resale, then take a bicycle or kapchai because their absolute losses is peanuts,... at the expenses of everything else. So while the Mondeo owner may lost up to 80-90k in 5yrs vs 50-60k for the Jpn/Kra ride, but I bet you the mondeo driver have better enjoyment and safety ride that the 30k over 5yrs should meant of lesser priority...

How I wish for another car...with BHP and Torque that rival Golf GTI and Passat CC,.... its drooling...

In summary, great spec and performance, great alcantara leather, 2 electric chair w memory on driver, 7 airbags, ESP, TCS, ABS, EBD, rear B pillar AC for rear passenger,....powershift 6 speeder...2.0 roadtax for 3liter performance,

Down on the poor HU/lacking GPS, steering wheel could be a bit more beefier, no sunroof, and 17in wheel, and limited service center

PJCC seems to be progressingly fast

gamenoob — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:17:48 +0800

Though PJCC seems to have been slow in comparison with other hotter development but it seem they have pick up the speed recently. There is a dedicated entrance from the HW and the rest of the development around their water front is picking up real fast.

For now seems to be mainly commercial. I wonder the long term viability.

Also if you all think accessibility is an issue think again because the Kinrara/Kesas Link is also opening at of this year and it will take less than 5 mins from Kesas Kinrara Exit.

Any taker so far?

[addedon]May 26, 2010, 4:34 pm[/addedon]here is the link to their site:

http://www.pjcc.com.my/aboutus.htm

Landscaping and grass replacement service?

gamenoob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:42:01 +0800

Anyone done their garden ie the grass replacement as well as under soil irrigation/drainage? My garden is totally crapped out so I need to get some help. Not very big nia. Only 300 sq ft. Want to do some under soil drainage so all the rain water will escape faster. Not sure what the budget like also...!

Home Alarm system selling "Paradox" brand?

gamenoob — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:24:18 +0800

Hi all

Anyone using Paradox home alarm system? Who is your vendor and how is the service?

What about other brand and how the performance and reliability? Price?

http://www.paradox.com/

Anyone have good info on granite top supplier?

gamenoob — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:41:13 +0800

Anyone have gotten recent kitchen reno or cabinet done with granite?

Want to know your pricing and type? Pls share the supplier, pricing (per foot run) and also the photo of it if possible.

Auto Gate: Pros and Cons of Folding vs swing

gamenoob — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:10:49 +0800

Recently we see main autogate to have the folding type where the traditional 2 piece of swinging panel now able to fold into 4 piece. They also require less space as its folded and allow easier to park-in in a tight street especially if your gate is wide entrance type.

I wonder the general maint and durability on such vs the swinging type.

Anyone?

Plasma TV for Noob. What is to-do and not to-do?

gamenoob — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:53:51 +0800

Hi all

First time on Plasma. Just acquire the panasonic 42PV80 Plasma. Nothing fancy, just normal DVD, some HD movie from my harddisk, and Wii and of course Astro.

I read something like run-in or break in and what not.

Is there a thread or discussion or FAQ for this? Otherwise please list out the checkpoint or suggested action.

Thanks!

DEBT IQ Quiz: Which debt route would you take?

gamenoob — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:56:13 +0800

2 hypo scenarios:

Owe the bank 100k for mortgage at 6% with 25yrs tenure

Monthly payment is like RM675

In 25 yrs, you have paid about RM202562 to the bank. Interest paid is RM102562.

After 10 yrs, you still have RM78000 principal. You have paid out about RM81000.

You at a juncture now:

Scenario A:

You decided to settle your housing loan with your EPF money. You took out RM78000 and settle the loan.

So far your total outlay is RM78000 + RM81000 = RM159000 and lost about RM59000 as interest to bank.

You then invest the monthly RM675 in a measly FD at 3.5% In 15 years, it become RM156000

Scenario B:

You serviced the loan for the entire 25 years. A total outlay of RM202562.

And that RM78000 which was consumed in Scenario A was left in EPF earning 5.5% (current rate), and it become RM174000

Which would you take? Why so? And what would you have done differently? Bear in mind, on different rate/higher principal, the disparity from A & B can be much bigger! and if the RM675 in A was invested in something else.

Additional consideration:
There are many variables to considered, liquidity, gearing, life priorities etc etc. So this is a very simplified situation.

While Scenario B looks better off because of the RM18k gain, but Scenario B is fixed in EPF until 55 (unless you buying another house)

In scenario A, you have a nett of -Rm3000 while Scenario B, you have a net of -RM28500.

Both cases you have negative nett in this oversimplified case.

Any one staying at Ken 2 Condo in Damansara?

gamenoob — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:47:35 +0800

Want to know more on the real/first hand experience from owner or tenant in this property.

Wonder how the traffic will be like when tropicana mall is ready and Casa suites full occupancy. Access road is very limited and the road to SS17 are blocked!

What next after you settled your house loan?

gamenoob — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:03:20 +0800

What to expect next once you settled your house loan? As previously the bank took hold of everything and you only have photocopies version of those governmental doc ie Annexe 16A/, Title etc etc.

So the bank will return all the original doc to you? or what else?

Should I invest in US stocks or local Mutual Funds

gamenoob — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:23:23 +0800

Due to the fluctuation of the US/RM rate, its a very volatile situation but because of employee benefits, we can buy our company share in US dollars at a discount of 15%. So essentially you have a gross return of 15% per transaction. The 15% only given once and we are buying 4 times a year ie per quarter.

So annual gross return is 15%. But as the price fluctuate, you may gain more than 15% when the stock are purchased. It definitely can go lower if the price drop but selling it immediately will pretty much lock in that 15% gain. Essentially my plan was to participate by cash out immediately once its purchased and minus the exchange losses and fees, I prolly still have about 12%.

And then this money will be reinvested into local mutual funds where its no longer subjected to US/RM rate and less volatile compare to a open stock exchange. **The local Mutual Funds actually quite volatile too!

Then again, if I keep it may increase and vice versa and local unit trust price has drop a bit in the last few months so perhaps some bargain unit.