Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by luvmonkey

AITA accusing IT guy of scamming my folks?

luvmonkey — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 13:35:31 +0800

*** POLL CLOSED ***

58% - Not The A-hole (NTA) - Vendor added parts your parents didn't need; refused to show you quotation because he knew it would reveal what he had done

18% - No A-holes Here (NAH) - He's running a business and your parents agreed to his quotation. He took advantage, so you can feel outraged, but what's done is done.

14% - You're The A-hole (YTA) - You should have bought/delivered/assembled the desktop for your parents. It's your fault. You're a useless son. FOAD.

6% - Everyone Sucks Here (ESH) - He took advantage of an old couple, but you didn't help your parents. Everyone is an AH except your parents.

4% - INFO - More info needed (e.g. quotation, receipt, etc.)

Thank you all, for your honest feedback and input. I value all responses, especially those pointing out my own failure in not doing more to protect my parents. Cheers....

Original Thread Here

Summary:

1. Parents asked for specs for a basic desktop for web browsing; I gave them specs for a budget office system around 2k

2. IT guy quoted them RM3k for a set (including things like Edifier Bluetooth headset, which weren't part of the original list)

3. He added on even more parts that weren't necessary or asked for; final quotation was for RM4,365.
- Added AC1900 wifi card; desktop is connected to router - nobody asked for wifi
- Mobo already had integrated video - he added a nVidia GT 710 card
- Originally proposed RM100 speakers - later bumped up to 2.1 w/ subwoofer at RM225

4. Dad was shocked and asked why the big jump, but accepted his explanations and paid the amount without letting me know the final quotation

5. (9 months later) I found out what the IT guy did and confronted him; he refused to show me the quotation or sales invoice and a shouting match ensued

6. IT guy lodged a police report against me.... for criminal intimidation

So, am I the A-hole here for accusing the IT guy of scamming my elderly parents?

Full specs:

CPU: Intel Core i3 9100F @ 3.6Ghz (Coffee Lake)
Mobo: ASUS PRIME B365M-A
RAM: 8GB DDR4
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GT 710 2GB
SDD: 250GB Kingston A2000 NVMe PCIe
ODD: LG DVD-RW
WiFi: TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900
PSU: ???
Casing: Cooler Master (see pics below)
Monitor: 24" Acer K242HQL FHD LED
Keyboard: Logitech K270 wireless
Mouse: Logitech M185 wireless
Speakers: Z323 2.1 Speaker System w/ Subwoofer
Printer: Canon ImageCLASS MF3010 Laser Printer

Did my parents get scammed?

luvmonkey — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 13:37:16 +0800

tl;dr chronology:

1. Dad asked for specs; I provided them to him.

2. Dad went to the same guy who had previously set up his CCTV home camera system

3. IT dude switched parts requested to higher-end parts

4. Dad questioned why the price jump from 3.1k to 4.3k

5. IT dude responded with gobbledygook; Dad didn't understand, but accepted his explanation

6. Dad went ahead and purchased the system from IT dude without letting me know the quotation, or asking me if it was reasonable

7. 9 months later, I'm back up in Penang to help my parents shift house; drop by IT dude's shop to help support him and he inadvertently showed me the WhatsApp conversation

8. I asked him to show me the quotation; he refused and we wound up getting into a shouting match

9. I never asked for a refund, compensation or whatever. I simply wanted to know what he supplied my parents and at what price - he refused to answer

Full story:

Early this year, my elderly parents (mid-70s) wanted a new desktop to use at home. Around 97% web browsing, 2% Microsoft Word and 1% playing Freecell.

Dad asked for specs for a basic desktop for web browsing; I gave him specs for a budget office system around 2k

They went to their IT guy (who had previously supplied and installed a CCTV camera solution at their house) to ask for a quotation.

The vendor first quoted RM3,183 (after adding a 24" monitor, speakers, keyboard+mouse and a printer).

He added on even more parts that weren't necessary or asked for; final quotation was for RM4,365.
- Added AC1900 wifi card; desktop is connected to router - nobody asked for wifi
- Mobo already had integrated video - he added a nVidia GT 710 card
- Originally proposed RM100 speakers - later bumped up to 2.1 w/ subwoofer at RM225

Dad was shocked and asked why the big jump, but accepted his explanations and paid the amount without letting me know the final quotation

IT sifus of LY, can you please weigh in and give your opinions on what he quoted my folks and whether his pricing was reasonable?

I had chosen a mobo with integrated graphics, knowing that they don't play games and didn't need much GPU power. My intention was to keep the cost low as they're retired and on a fixed-income.

And the PC is plugged in to the router via a LAN cable, so the wifi card wasn't necessary at all. Nobody asked for it.

It's my opinion that he took advantage of an elderly couple who had no idea about computers and trusted him to advise them. What do you think?

CPU: Intel Core i3 9100F @ 3.6Ghz (Coffee Lake)
Mobo: ASUS PRIME B365M-A
RAM: 8GB DDR4
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GT 710 2GB
SDD: 250GB Kingston A2000 NVMe PCIe
ODD: LG DVD-RW
WiFi: TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900
PSU: ???
Casing: Cooler Master (see pics below)
Monitor: 24" Acer K242HQL FHD LED
Keyboard: Logitech K270 wireless
Mouse: Logitech M185 wireless
Speakers: Z323 2.1 Speaker System w/ Subwoofer
Printer: Canon ImageCLASS MF3010 Laser Printer

Recommend a reliable external HDD

luvmonkey — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 16:09:11 +0800

Currently have several years' worth of digital photographs spread out across desktops and external hard drives.

Trying to consolidate them all, but I'm worried about backing them up to a single HDD and having it fail.

Can anyone recommend a reliable brand/model of external hard drive? I've had Western Digital external drives crap out on me in the past (a few My Passports and a My Book).

Or should I go for an NAS with dual drives set to mirroring?

[WTA] Is this RAM compatible with an Acer Veriton?

luvmonkey — Tue, 30 May 2017 16:24:57 +0800

Sorry for the n00b question...

Our PCs in the office are slow as hell, and we want to ask management to upgrade our RAM from 2GB to 4GB.

Here is what is currently in each desktop:

I found the following on Lazada. Will there be any issue if I pair it with the 667Mhz stick in the system?

Free supervised play group in Taman Bukit Maluri

luvmonkey — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 16:34:40 +0800

This is being organised by a friend and I thought other parents might be interested:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M.O.V.E. - Moving Off Virtual Entertainment

M.O.VE. which stands for Moving Off Virtual Entertainment, is a voluntary service dedicated to the mission of getting kids to play.

A team of volunteers will organize good ol' fashioned games in a team setting where the young ones and parents can play together and interact.

If you feel gadgets are ruining our child's capabilities to play - this group is for you.

If you think your child lacks time in the sunshine with you - this group is for you.

If you think you wanna relive your childhood - oh yes! This group is for you.

There is no fee involved. Everything everyone does is voluntary and we've had awesome fun the last two MOVE's!

We will make the call for the next MOVE two weeks in advance to facilitate preparation and organization.

Come on in and see for yourself

People, for the next MOVE, i.e. 26 June, Sunday, Tmn Bkt Maluri, at 830am, pls note that you are required to REGISTER for play by Thursday, 23 June.

I'd need your name, your child's name and ages.

Registration is important so we can estimate numbers and cater to games, involving the ages of the groups coming.

Thank you.

Thoughts on using Transporters for young children

luvmonkey — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 23:34:12 +0800

Our 4-year old daughter will be starting kindergarten, and due to the timing, we'll need to have her picked up and sent back home by a transporter.

Maybe I'm just being overly paranoid, but I'm not comfortable with the thought of entrusting a stranger with my child, especially when she's so young.

I'd be less concerned if she were 7-8, more capable of taking care of herself, or knowing better what to do in certain situations.

Can I get some feedback from parents who use transporters to send their kids to preschool/kindergarten? Any suggestions or advice?

[WTB] Tempered Glass Screen Protector

luvmonkey — Fri, 27 May 2016 10:27:16 +0800

Item(s): Tempered Glass Screen Protector for ZTE Blade v7 Lite

Price: Offer me

Dealing method: COD

Location: KL or PJ

Contact method/details: PM me

Yahoo Mail hacked

luvmonkey — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:45:19 +0800

I never secured my Yahoo mail account with my mobile number because...I'm a dumbass.

My account got hacked today, and all my contacts are receiving one of those classic scam emails, saying that I'm stuck in Turkey and desperate for money, etc.

They changed the backup/alternate email address, so I can't simply request for a password reset. And since I never specified my mobile number, I have no other way to prove that I'm the owner of the account.

What can I do to recover my password, or to disable/delete my account? Please help!

[WTB] 4GB laptop RAM

luvmonkey — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 13:26:01 +0800

Need to upgrade an old Dell laptop's RAM.

Current one:

Looking for 4GB. Let me know what you've got.

Which OS for older laptop?

luvmonkey — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 10:06:22 +0800

Helping a friend fix their mom's laptop. It's an old Dell model, currently running XP.

I've read several articles about how Win7 and Win8 can run faster on older hardware than XP.

Was thinking of recommending they upgrade the RAM to 4GB and switch to a newer OS, but wanted to get some feedback first.

Can anyone help? Which OS should run fastest/smoothest on say, a seven-year old Dell laptop?

Duit Raya provided by company?

luvmonkey — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:44:42 +0800

Just curious to know what's the practice by other companies as far as providing duit raya to their staff.

I'm sure there isn't any convention, but can people share their experiences at their own companies?

I'd like to be able to recommend it to the management, but I don't have any basis to make a case for it.

Question for HR / Recruitment Managers

luvmonkey — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 14:25:58 +0800

I'm in charge of my company's recruitment efforts and wanted to ask whether interviewee no-shows is typical among job-seekers (experienced professionals).

Here are some specific examples from just within the past month:

Candidate #1 - 37/Male w/ 8 years' experience:

- Confirmed date and time
- Did not show up to interview
- Did not answer calls to mobile or respond to SMSes

Candidate #2 - 27/Female w/ 7 years' experience:

- Confirmed date and time
- Did not show up to interview
- 10 minutes after scheduled interview time, sent an email saying she had found a job and would not be showing up

Candidate #3 - 30/Male w/ 8 years' experience:

- Confirmed date and time
- 10 minutes before scheduled interview, sent an SMS saying he would be unavailable until June 2014

Now these are not fresh grads. Considering their years of experience and the fact that they're applying for a senior management role, I can't understand the lack of professionalism each of them showed. In the case of Candidate #3, the appointment was confirmed 3 days before the interview date, and yet he could not provide any notice until ten minutes before the interview.

Is this normal among today's job-seekers? Are they so spoilt for choice that they would burn bridges with potential employers by not showing up for interviews and not giving any/adequate notice that they won't be showing up?

MC signed by a doctor who didn't treat the patient

luvmonkey — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 17:51:27 +0800

Hi all, I hope someone can help give sound advice on this situation:

A colleague of mine submitted an MC for several days' medical leave. When our HR manager called the doctor who issued the MC to verify it, the doctor said that no, they did not treat the patient, did not sign the MC and in fact, specializes in a different field than what my colleague was being treated for.

The doctor admitted that another doctor might have taken one of their chopped & signed medical certificates and issued it to my colleague.

Is this legal? My colleague is still on MC, but isn't answering any calls.

Can anyone give some input on this case? It's a well-known hospital, and an actual doctor - just that they did not treat the patient themselves nor issue the MC.

[WTB] Portable CD Player

luvmonkey — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 17:14:33 +0800

New preferred.

How to output display from 1 desktop to 3 LCD TVs?

luvmonkey — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:13:54 +0800

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out how to display 3 different applications on 3 LCD TV screens from a single desktop.

The Asus GT640 video card has up to four HD displays, but one is a VGA, one is HDMI and two are DVI. Can I use a DVI-to-HDMI converter to output to LCD TVs?

Or can someone recommend a better solution? Thanks in advance!

Missed Connection

luvmonkey — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:08:41 +0800

This happened three years ago. I was shopping at Mercato in Plaza Damas, picking up ingredients to make tiramisu (never tried it before, but someone sent me an easy recipe).

While I was walking around, I saw a woman there. Now, she wasn't mind-blowingly beautiful. In fact, I can't even visualize her face right now. But there was just something about her that really made a strong and immediate impression on me. It was a bit of everything - her face, her body, her style of dress...just everything about her.

So yeah, I kinda went into creeper mode...stalking her a bit around the supermarket, taking random routes to see if I could accidentally pass by and catch another glimpse of her.

I figured I wouldn't have a chance with her, and wouldn't know what to say to a random stranger even if I had the opportunity, so I gave up and headed to the checkout lane. And she happened to line up behind me.

Now at this point I told myself, "Say something to her or you'll always regret it." So I turned around, noticed that the only item she had was a tub of ice cream (Bud's Ice Cream of San Francisco...some chocolately flavour). I remember saying something stupid to her (mentally face-palming as I said it), then kinda indicating my own items and mentioning that I was gonna try to make a tiramisu. She was actually really friendly, warm and approachable.

And then...

I said something like, "Ok, see you around," and...walked...away...

I don't know if I imagined the WTF? look on her face, but that's the mental image I have of our parting. I don't know why I didn't ask her, "Hey, do you want to grab a cup of coffee or something?" Totally not smooth AT ALL.

For a chance encounter, this girl made a deep and lasting impression on me, and I totally dropped the ball. To my dying day, I think this is the one regret I'll have. I've thought about it often...what if...what if...?

So to the Mercato girl, I dedicate this song:

[YOUTUBE]KDKva-s_khY#t=00m20s[/YOUTUBE]

Bass Warrior Rear Camera LCD Screen

luvmonkey — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:35:08 +0800

Hope you guys can help me with this. I've got a Bass Warrior rear camera with an LCD screen (Model: AM350):

...and the base of the LCD screen mount (that was stuck on to the windshield with double-sided tape) cracked and broke:

What are my options? Is there any way to get a replacement base for the windshield mount? Or does anyone have a non-functioning Bass Warrior LCD screen and could give/sell me just the base of the windshield mount?