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For those of you who are unsure what role does a caretaker government play once the Parliament is dissolved to prepare for the next General Election. Here's an excerpt that will help you understand them.

Infographics from Bernama.

By Syahredzan Johan

Elections these days are hard- fought affairs. The margins of victory can be very slim. Any advantage that one side has may affect the outcome of the elections.

That is why there is a need to ensure elections are fair to all those contesting.

The dissolution of Parliament does not mean that the Federal Government and the various state governments are also dissolved along with the legislature.

When the legislature is dissolved to pave the way for elections, and until a new government is formed, the one that governs the Federation or the states is known as the “caretaker government”, according to the practice in many Commonwealth countries, including Malaysia.

However, the Federal and state constitutions do not expressly provide for the caretaker government. The constitutions are silent on the role of these “caretaker governments”; they are not provided for expressly by law.

A caretaker government is a minimum government. It is only supposed to ensure the day-to-day administration of the state can continue without disruption as a caretaker.

A caretaker government should not, for example, do anything which may bind the new government. It should not announce new government initiatives or make new policy decisions. It should not enter into new agreements or undertakings. It should also not make new appointments.

Most importantly, it should not use government machinery and resources in any way which would give any political party an advantage.

The reasoning is simple; the caretaker government no longer has the full mandate of the electorate. As the legislative branch has been dissolved, there are no checks and balances to the actions of the executive branch.

Unfortunately, the caretaker government convention is not respected or followed by the Federal or state governments.

Every day since dissolution, there are reports of initiatives or handouts by an incumbent government, on both sides of the political divide.

The caretaker government convention is also recognised in other jurisdictions. In most other jurisdictions, the caretaker government is not codified and is merely a convention.

However, the convention is respected and adhered to strictly by the incumbents.

Ideally, this should be the case in our country. There should not be a need to codify the convention into law by way of legislation. But because our political parties do not appear to respect the convention, we may need to enact a law to enshrine the caretaker convention and ensure its compliance.

All Malaysian young and old would know by now that the election is scheduled to be held on the 9th of May, 2018. And if you are above the voting age, you head over to https://pengundi.spr.gov.my and check to make sure your voter's information and polling station is listed down correctly, if you are not a voter, you should also check as there's been reports of voter's details listed in locations they have not been to or registered to before.

If you don't want to use their website, you can also use the SPR's SMS service by texting "SPR semak <IC no>" & send to 15888. They will return a SMS on your polling station.

I've checked mine and all the details are the same as the previous years so it is all good but some poor souls I know are not so lucky, and under the election law, they are not allowed to change the details until after the Malaysia General Election is over. So either they head to the parts unknown to them to vote, or they forego their rights to vote. In any case, do go and lodge a police report if you fall victim to such an incident.

Dear fellow Malaysians, time to exercise your rights. To those of you who are able to vote but didn't bother to register, or simply refuse to vote, you people have no right whatsoever to complain about the govt. You're nothing but a hypocrite and a horrible disappointment to the country.

Unless you're in the medical field and you've patients depending on you, dealing with matters pertaining life and death, you've NO excuse whatsoever if your polling station is located nearby. If you're hundreds of miles away from your polling station and it's next to impossible to apply for leave and travel home and back within 24 hours (since the idiots up there decided to have it in the middle of the bleeding week), I suppose you can't be blamed because of the horrible choice of date.

To those of you who are booking flights, train and bus rides back home although you live so far away, I give you my utmost respect. Thank you for making sacrifices to help make a change for a better future for Malaysia.

*Note: I'm not a politician or am involved with any political parties. I am just a man who wants to exercise his right to vote and want to choose the right people who has the community at heart and not those who only has their own personal gains in mind.

Effective February 1st, 2018, Singapore is passed the law to ban all manner of Vaping in the country outright, from sale, import, distribution to smoking it.

Ms Fatima Yusof, 20, a waitress, said of vaping: "I like the flavours and it's cheaper than cigarettes but it's too difficult to find the refills."

With the total ban, Singapore will have one of the world's toughest stances against the controversial products.

Neighbouring countries are moving towards allowing regulated use of such products.

According to the Bangkok Post, Thailand is reconsidering its three-year-old ban on e-cigarettes.

Malaysia has elected three ministries in January last year to regulate the hand-held device that heat flavoured, nicotine-infused liquids to produce a vapour, reported the Malay Mail Online. The Sultan of Johor, however, has vowed to stamp out vaping in the southern state.

In Indonesia, only businesses that have been certified by the health ministry and whose products meet national standards can import and sell e-cigarettes, The Jakarta Post reported.

The Health Ministry considers them gateway products that get users hooked on nicotine, which then leads to cigarette use.Dr Lim Boon Leng, a psychiatrist in private practice, said e-cigarettes can be a boon or bane, depending on the user's motivation.

If they were given to people who are not motivated to quit smoking or to initiate non-smokers into the habit, they, particularly the youth, may become hooked, he said.

"Their consumption may increase for them to get the same amount of kick, especially when they are stressed out."

But those who are motivated to quit can moderate their nicotine intake by "titrating downwards very gradually and conveniently", he added.

For sales executive Matthew Goh, 25, who has been smoking since he was 18, the ban on e-cigarettes will not change his habit. But he does see the good in the ban.

"I've seen teenagers in their school uniforms using the e-cigarettes, and I think it's difficult to accept (the sight of them)," said Mr Goh, who had tried e-cigarettes for a few months and thought them to be a cheaper alternative. He then went back to his old habit.

"I cannot quite compare the effects, but I think I'm taking in more nicotine with the e-cigarettes because it's hard to keep count, unlike regular cigarettes."

Under section 16(2A) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act (TCASA), it is illegal to possess, purchase and use vaporisers in Singapore as of 1 February 2018. This includes e-cigarettes, e-pipes and e-cigars as the TCASA covers any toy, device or article:

That resembles, or is designed to resemble, a tobacco product;
That is capable of being smoked;
That may be used in such a way as to mimic the act of smoking; or
The packaging of which resembles, or is designed to resemble, the packaging commonly associated with tobacco products.

Persons found guilty of this offence can be fined up to $2,000.

In addition, under section 16(1) of the TCASA, it has been illegal to import vaporisers from 1 August 2016 onwards.

This means that buying vaporisers online and shipping them to Singapore for personal use is illegal. Those guilty of the offence are liable to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to 6 months’ jail. Repeat offenders are liable to a fine of up to $20,000 and/or to 12 months’ jail.

As advised by the Health Sciences Authority in a press release on 13 July 2016, members of the public should refrain from using vaporisers, and discard any vaporisers they may own, to avoid breaking the law.

So, now you know, if you are traveling into Singapore and intend to bring your e-cigs with you, leave them back in your own country or be prepared for it to be confiscated upon entry into the country.

Yup, you read it right! Manchester United is bringing the #ILOVEUNITED Live Viewing Party to Malaysia!

Together with Dwight Yorke, Denis Irwin and David May, we'll get to enjoy the home game against Liverpool FC on the 10th of March, at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

The exclusive and free to attend event has been held all over the world and the club is excited to be hosting its first event of this kind in Malaysia. Manchester United Ambassadors, Dwight Yorke and Denis Irwin together with Club Legend David May will be on the ground meeting fans, sampling local culture and giving pre-match views and half time analysis of the game.Supporters can also expect live entertainment, giveaways and competitions, including the chance to win a once in a lifetime VIP trip to Old Trafford. The event will also feature an interactive, online hub linking fans around the globe, with the opportunity to upload and post their own videos and pictures of themselves cheering on their team.

#ILOVEUNITED is free to attend and fans are asked to apply online for tickets by visiting www.manutd.com/iloveunited by no later than midnight on 4th March. Applications will then be entered into a ballot, with tickets issued at random. Successful applicants will be notified by email no later than 6th March.

Fans who are already Official Manchester United members are guaranteed a ticket to the event by simply submitting their membership number during the application process.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold comments: “The club has a long standing affinity with Malaysia and we are pleased to be returning there to host our very first live match screening in the country, for one of the most popular games of the season.

Manchester United has over 8million loyal and passionate supporters in Malaysia and #ILOVEUNITED will be an unforgettable event for those fans. Previous #ILOVEUNITED events have been attended by hundreds of thousands of fans, creating a great atmosphere among our worldwide family of fans and the interactive element will bring them even closer together.”

I've just submitted my entry for the passes, what about you? Join me for the viewing party?

Few things are more interruptive when browsing a website or reading news online than a giant, flashing banner ad that hogs the screen and distracts you from what you wanted to see.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to stop these window-filling troublemakers, at least when using the Chrome browser.

To activate the browser's built-in blocking function, copy the following URL and paste it into the Chrome address bar:

chrome://flags/#enable-framebusting-needs-sameorigin-or-usergesture

Then set the value in the top item to "Enabled". You can also find this function in the Android version of Chrome.

Users looking for a more extensive way to free their browser of ads can consider installing an adblocker add-on like AdBlock. But beware, a growing number of websites relying on advertising income are blocking users of such tools.

Personally, I have both on, always good to have double the security especially dealing with annoying ads that just jumps out at you. Right?

Liberty Media, Formula One's organizers announces that the practice of using scantily clad race queens or grid girls has come to an end.

They said the practice of having the women milling about in the grid area before races was “clearly at odds with modern day societal norms”. Darts took a similar decision this month, banning the women who walk on with the players before matches.

“Over the last year we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport,” said Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1.

“While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grands Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms.”

Bratches said the practice was not “appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world”.

“We’re trying to respect all parties,” Ross Brawn told BBC Radio 5 live.

“There’s a lot of people respect the tradition of the grid girls and there’s people who feel that it has become a bit dated, so we’re addressing that.”

The decision by F1 bosses to axe the grid girls, one of the sport’s long-standing pre-race traditions, is expected to bring similar pressure onto organisers of boxing and motorcycling who routinely use attractive women in event promotions.

The treatment and media image of women in sport has been drawn into sharp focus after the momentum sparked by the #MeToo campaign which has highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct in the world of entertainment and politics.

However, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said Wednesday he will not remove ring card girls from his fights.

“The ring card girls have been a part of boxing history for many, many years. As far as I am aware, darts will still have dancers on stage performing, but the walk-on girls were not really necessary,” Hearn told GQ magazine.

“From a boxing point of view, we want to keep the traditions of the sport going and in my opinion it has nothing to do with sexism or feminism. It is just a part of boxing and until we are told otherwise.”

Women’s groups, however, backed the F1 decision.

“Thank you @F1 for deciding to stop using grid girls. Another sport making a clear choice about what they want to stand for,” tweeted @WomenSportTrust.

Drivers preferred to concentrate on the positive side of the F1 announcement on Wednesday.

“I don’t care, I’m married with the most beautiful girl on earth,” tweeted Haas team driver Romain Grosjean.

Former Indian F1 driver, Karun Chandhok tweeted: “Would be a good idea to use the money saved from paying the ‘grid girls’ to make a small investment in getting more female drivers into the sport…”

F1 has experimented with changes in its presentation in previous years.

At the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was less than impressed with the decision to employ “grid boys” instead of women.

“Why didn’t we have any grid girls today?” said German star Vettel. “What was that? You get there and park behind George or Dave. What’s the point?”

The new Formula One season begins on March 25 with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

It's inevitable that we'd eventually come across Fire and Fury that was written by Michael Wolff as Donald Trump is doing a great job in helping it's publicity by giving it the much needed social media rant.

As the books are selling out all over, I managed to get hold of the ebook. Like the saying goes, sharing is caring, right?

Mobi - 48 hours is up! For those that downloaded the book from here. Hope you enjoyed it.
epub - 48 hours is up! For those that downloaded the book from here. Hope you enjoyed it.

It'll only be up for a limited time as I'll remove the link in 48 hours. Until then, enjoy!

Travellers heading to Thailand have been warned they risk 10 years in prison for taking an e-cigarette into the country.

Experts say as the ban on vaping introduced in the Land of Smiles in 2014 is little known, holidaymakers unaware might find themselves facing prosecution for having a drag and being fined or sent to jail.

Millions of tourists visit Thailand each year, according to the Foreign Office, and the South-East Asian country is a favourite among backpackers and gap-year students, for its accessibility and affordability.

Advice for tourists on the Foreign Office website states: “You can’t bring vaporisers (like e-cigarettes and e-baraku) or refills into Thailand.

“These items are likely to be confiscated and you could be fined or sent to prison for up to 10 years if convicted.

“The sale or supply of e-cigarettes and similar devices is also banned and you could face a heavy fine or up to five years imprisonment if found guilty. Several Tourists have been arrested for possession of vaporisers and e-cigarettes.”

There is no actual law against vaping or vapor products in Thailand. Instead, vapor products fall under customs law in a category called “goods that have not been taxed”. Here are the applicable laws:

Customs Act 27 states that avoiding import duty taxation is tax evasion and against the law. Violating Customs Act 27 is punishable by fines, five years in jail or both. The fines are calculated based on the cost of the products that evaded taxation and they can be steep. The five years in jail is obviously the source of reports of going to jail for vaping.
Customs Act 20 gives Thai law enforcement arrest powers without a warrant if you are deemed to be breaking the law. Basically, this provides the legal basis for arresting someone in possession of vapor products. Similar to “probable cause” in the United States.

We can debate the merits of the vaping laws in Thailand all day. At the end of the day, we are visitors in someone else’s home. Whether or not you can get away with it shouldn’t be a consideration. It was made clear to me by an official from the Royal Thailand Consulate that electronic cigarettes are against the law and not allowed. As visitors to their beautiful country, we should respect that.

That’s really the final analysis. First, we should not abuse the privilege of visiting Thailand by flaunting their laws. Second, there are potential consequences including arrest. Don’t vape in Thailand. Leave your vape gear and e-liquids at home. They will be there waiting for you when you get back.

Did you know? According to Bank Negara Malaysia, merchants/retail outlets in the country are not supposed to impose a minimum amount when it comes to payment using credit/debit cards?

This was a question that was posted to Bank Negara recently and checks with the credit card operators (Visa & Mastercard) stated the same thing as well.

Section 1.5.5.1: 'Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules'

Section 5.11.3: 'Mastercard Rules' document.

So why do the shops set a minimum amount that consumers must meet before they are allowed to pay via credit card? According to some that I talk to, they have to pay a transaction fee to the payment system operator for each transaction via the card machines and most shop owners does not want to pay for transactions that is below their stipulated amount as it would mean less profit for them.

While more and more shops/retail operators out there is starting to embrace the cashless transactions, some are still adamant about only allowing transactions to go through when a minimum amount is met. How I know? Some shops put up signs indicating the transaction terms and some, like one that I recently went to, told me so, even though I was buying amout 40+ ringgit worth of product and didn't carry cash with me and was told that they won't let me pay via debit card because it did not meet their minimum amount for transaction.

So what can you do? You can lodge a complain to Bank Negara Malaysia with the information they need. And they will take it from there.

Merchant Name:
Address:
Acquirer's name (can be found on the credit card transaction receipt)
Nature of complaint:

Hope this helps to clear up some misinformation that merchants selectively want to follow.

Recently, for work, I got myself a Phantom 4. Like all new gears, there's definitely a time to sit down, play around with it and familiarize myself with the tech before I take it out for real world use and on assignment. Don't expect technical review like most reviewers out there, what you read is basically my own hands-on experience using the Phantom for work and for play.

Like the Phantom series before it, it takes some time for beginners to get use to but if you have previously flown drones before, it's basically as good as plug and play. Except that it is best for you to get the phantom to detect all the necessary signals before you get going.

I flew it quite frequently since I got it, to take videos of the places I'm at, for work and also just as a toy to fly around the field and obstacles when time permits. The system itself is quite intelligent so don't let it fool you into thinking that you're a great pilot once you got the hang of it.

Durability wise, it's quite a robust machine, as I got mine 2nd hand, I can't give you the best battery life as compared to reviewers that got new units from DJI itself. On average, the batteries in the drone does last me a good 15 minutes flight time and shorter if the drone had to battle with cross winds while in the air.

The controller can last a good long while before we need a good charge, I have flown 8 times before the battery on my controller drop to 15% which is when I usually will charge most of my batteries.

As for the software/app. The latest firmware is v.02.00.0106 for the aircraft. v.1.9.2.0 for the remote controller and for the phone, it is the DJI Go 4 App for both iOS and Android. (v.4.1.3 and v4.1.2 respectively).

Here's some issues I encountered after I got both the drone and the controller updated. I'll constantly update the issues I encounter with my Phantom here and put the solutions in to help you readers with the trouble shooting.

Beeping sound on the controller - Solved

The Controller started beeping like crazy each time I turn on the controller, and the toggles would not be functioning properly too. I almost got my Phantom stuck in mid-flight when the controller started beeping and I lost all control on the right joystick.

Roll back the firmware
Update the firmware again
Calibrate the controller

The beeping has since stopped on mine and I'm flying as usual now.

Erratic Video Transmission on DJI Go 4 app. - Solved

Switch Radio Channel Signal to Custom instead of Auto and select the best frequency you are receiving from your Phantom.
Set Video Resolution to the highest 4K mode
Restart Phantom

So far, I did that and the video glitch has gone away. It might be bad if you want to save space and not shoot at such a big file size but at the moment, that's the fix that worked for me, unless you dare to fly blind and just control the Phantom from the line of sight.

So far, several months in after I purchased my Phantom 4, I've been quite happy with it. Useful for me as a Photographer/videographer as it does add to my portfolio that my client can utilize. Yes, unlike the Mavic and Spark, it is quite big but the size does come in handy at times. Just like the dSLRs, clients gets more confident when they see a robust looking device being used for paid assignments even though there are some smaller equipment out there that can do the same thing.

Tips for Better Quality Video and Photo from the DJI Phantom 4

Use Manual Settings for video and photo
Configure the C1 & C2 buttons to launch often used settings you can quickly switch to.
Spend some time on location to check the ISO, Shutter and Aperture. Using the histogram is useful in making sure the quality is at the optimum.
For photos, try to shoot on Raw (dng) as you will edit the photo once you transfer the data into your computer anyway.
For videos, shoot at 4K, it might be a bigger file size but you can always resize the video to your output size in edit.

Tips for those shopping for 2nd hand DJI Phantom 4/Mavic Pro/Sparks

Ask the buyer to set the drone up and switch it on
Hover the drone and see the stability of the drone
Listen to the rotors and see how it's spinning, if it gives out a whiny sound or have an erratic spinning sound, it might be signs the drone's rotor might be at it's limit.
Check for sticky controllers, the joysticks should rebound back to the center each time you push it up down and to the sides.
Check the camera and the stabilizers to make sure it rotates the way you want it to and does not jerk around especially when you are hovering the drone.

Do you have any more tips you would like to share? Comment below and let us know.

Hope what I wrote helps you with your purchasing decision when you want to get a drone, whether it's a new unit or a 2nd hand one.

*This is not a paid review, I bought the device and used it for work and was asked by some friends about my thoughts on the Phantom. Rather than repeating myself, I write a post about it.

Ratings :

Ease of Use :

Intuitive :

Durability :

Battery Life :

Value For Money :

Time: 7.21pm
Location: Seksyen 17/1

Settings:
Camera: DJI Phantom 4 x 3.61mm (FC330)
ISO800
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter: 1/39

QUEST Entrepreneurs Mastery (QEM), an entrepreneur community builder, WeStyleAsia Academy, Malaysia’s leading personal personal grooming education platform and Focus Malaysia, one of Malaysia’s top business weekly officially sealed their partnership in the organising of
Malaysia’s inaugural Leadership Peak 2018 that is scheduled to be held on 25 January 2018.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Ivan Yap, Executive Director of QEM, Mr. Arthur Tan, Founder and CEO of WeStyleAsia as well as Mr. Dan Loh, Chief Operating Officer of Focus Malaysia along with the unveiling of Leadership Peak logo, the event was graced by Guests-of-Honours,
Datin Winnie Loo, Founder of A Cut Above and Mr. Raja Singham, Founder & Managing Director of Brickfields Asia College.

The signing ceremony officiates the launch of Leadership Peak 2018 and announced that registration
open to those who wish to be part of this value-packed conference. The Leadership Peak Conference
2018, with the tagline “No Title? Who Cares! You Are Still a Leader” is mainly aimed at corporate
leaders, C-Level management, SMEs, business owners, start-up owners as well as aspiring
entrepreneurs so that they can impart the theme to their team of executives. To be held on 25 January 2018 at Zebra Square, Kuala Lumpur. The 1-day conference will encompass topics revolving around leadership, personal empowerment and business management.

“The entire idea of running this Leadership Peak Conference is to disrupt the traditional approach of
running a business in order to revitalise and bring innovation to the entire business community,”
said Mr Ivan Yap. “And to do that, we focus on inspiring change at the core of every business –
leadership.”

The full day conference will feature power house speakers and panelists such as Raja Jesrina Arshad
from Purely B, Ehon Chan from MaGiC, Brian Tan from Futurelabs, Ili Sulaiman from Dishbyili &
Agak-Agak, Angel Tashveer from WanderClass and Andrew Tan from CrowdPlus Asia for the start-up scene as well as Ken Lim from Kens Apothecary, Hugh Koh from Pestle & Mortar and Joanne Kay from Ultron for the SME scene. An interesting session featuring Unsung Heroes of the business
scene include Giden from BloomThis and Jonathan Quek from Owners’ Circle. A session focusing on women empowerment is also scheduled to feature inspiring and influential women such as Hannah Tan. Speakers that will speak to inspire during the conference are Raja Singham of Brickfields Asia College and Datin Winnie Loo of A Cut Above Group of Salons. Other topics that will be included also throughout the day are branding, investment, relationships and management.

“We hope that through this conference, we can bridge the gap between market leaders and
entrepreneurs from all company sizes so that they can learn and inspire from one another,” said Mr.
Dan Loh, COO of Focus Malaysia.

This event is also one-of-its-kind where the organisers initiated a charity movement titled
“#LeadersAreGivers” in conjunction with Leadership Peak. With this, the Organisers hope to
empower participants of the event to ‘walk the talk’ as leaders by taking part in charity with their
effort and time. The charity is in partnership with Brickfields Asia College. “As leaders, we also need
to take the lead in giving back to the society,” said Mr. Arthur Tan.

An early bird rate of RM299 per person is available until 24 December 2017. A normal rate of RM499 per person will be applicable after that. Each entry ticket holder is entitled to get a goodie bag worth no less than RM1,500. To register or learn more about Leadership Peak Conference 2018, head on to www.leadershippeak.com or follow their progress via facebook.com/leadershippeak.

TC Subaru Sdn Bhd (better known to most as Subaru Malaysia) recently launched the 2018 All-New Subaru XV on Malaysian soil. It's a full model change since the original Subaru XV that was launched in 2012, the new XV is the 2nd model to employ the revolutionary Subaru global Platform.

As a happy owner of the Subaru XV STi model, my 1st impression of the car is that it has a lower stance compared to the previous version. It gives the car a whole new sportier look. While the older XV looks and is higher due to the suspension set-up, the new one rides low, as a 5' 10" man, the top of the new XV was about 15cm lower than my shoulder. Appearing in the 2.0i and 2.0i-P variants featuring Direct Fuel Injection, the N/A engines which produces 156PS at 6000rpm, it does feels lighter on the pedal and supposedly have better fuel economy (that's what was written on papers but real world drive always give a different result). And I thought the XV I'm using is already quite economical despite my semi-aggressive driving style.

It also features the Lineartronic CVT transmission that is 7.8kg lighter and have auto-step shift control with 7-speed manual mode functions. I won't bore you with the technical jargon because I personally prefers to judge the car based on how it feels on the road. But with a sales personnel beside me when I took the car out for a spin, I can say it is quite comfortable, responsive shift but was unable to try out the torque and roll of the car (There was quite a heavy traffic flow in the area).

For those that fancy the Steering Responsive Headlights, it is fitted in the 2.0i-P variant which looks like a sportier version of the 2.0i with touches of carbon fibre in and around the car. OTR price starts from RM118,819 inclusive of GST w/o insurance, the 2018 XV will be available in 6 colors: Sunshine Orange, Dark Blue Pearl, Pure White, Ice Silver Metallic, Dark Grey Metallic and Crystal Black Silica. Check out the ride at the nearest Subaru Showrooms, they are available now for you to touch, feel and test drive. Anyone planning to get one so we can take it out for a test up the mountain pass?

Earlier today, along with my team, fought through the early morning rush hour to get to Sheraton PJ, a new hotel across from the Asia Jaya LRT station. Should have just taken the train over from Kelana Jaya instead of driving but then, it was early in the day and my body was moving on auto-pilot while my brain is still in sleep mode.

The occasion was the launch of UYA Asia, Asia's first ever Entertainment Market Hub, an emerging player in the e-commerce industry led by a team of individuals who are experts in the marketing industry. UYA Asia officially open their 'doors' for business today, creating a unified online business hub via www.uyaasia.com.

UYA Asia did not hold back when they say they want to launch the online hub with a bang, with 300+ guests in attendance, they wowed the crowd with interesting dance performances & a series of booths featuring some of the major brands they are working closely with.

“UYA Asia offers more than just an online shopping experience,” says Philip Chow, the Founder & CEO of UYA Asia. “We are dubbed as Asia’s first Entertainment Market Hub because our online platform also offers a range of entertainment for free including short movie clips, games, mingling with ambassadors and even an area for our customers to win attractive prizes!” Philip adds.

While UYA strives to provide a platform that caters to people from all walks of life, the team behind this online platform ensures that businesses that would want to take up a space on their site will need to go through a stringent quality check before going live. “At UYA Asia, we are extremely diligent in ensuring that the merchants that sign up at our site are of quality. This will ensure that both the customers and business owners can enjoy a seamless online shopping experience at UYA Asia,” says Philip.

In addition, customers can read or watch reviews of the products they intend to purchase at UYA Asia. A pool of influencers and bloggers will be engaged to do reviews so that customers can make informed decisions before purchasing any product or services through UYA Asia. During the launch, Philip highlights that UYA Asia is placing customer service as the pinnacle of its service. While other major players in the market offers personalised customer service to large account holders, UYA Asia has recruited a large team to service every single business account holder with UYA Asia.

I've yet to put my faith in the local online market space, a lot of the sites are still not 100% secure and read enough horror stories of actual products not appearing as seen on the sites, so let's see if www.uyaasia.com can change that.

Post event, on December 8, 2017. UYA Asia's CEO, Mr. Philip Chow was interviewed by Capital TV to talk more about why he came up with UYA Asia.

Recently, the buzz that got around the photography world is that the American government is encouraging the Airlines around the world to ban cameras, laptops and various other electronic devices from checked luggage, citing risk of batteries causing fires.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the recommendation was made in a paper that was recently filed with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency that’s part of the U.N.

The FAA conducted tests that involved placing a heater against a fully-charged laptop’s lithium-ion battery, causing the battery’s temperature to continually rise. The agency found that overheating batteries and aerosol cans in close proximity to one another can cause fires and explosions in less than a minute — events that could bring down a passenger plane.

Batteries packed with other permitted items such as rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and nail polish remover also caused large fires. These fires can burn up to 1,100 °F (594 °C), close to the melting point of aircraft aluminum, and are responsible for 3 cargo jet crashes and 4 pilot deaths since 2006, the Associated Press says.

As a result of these findings, the FAA is recommending that electronics larger than a smartphone should be banned from checked luggage unless they’re specifically approved by the airline. Other major agencies and companies, including the European Safety Agency (the FAA’s European counterpart) and Airbus, agreed with the recommendation.

The ICAO is responsible for creating global airline safety standards, which may then be adopted by member countries and airlines. This proposed ban will be considered during an ICAO meeting within the next two weeks.

Here’s the proposal that was submitted by the FAA:

If the ban goes into effect for international flights around the world, it could cause issues for photographers who need to transport large amounts of camera equipment in checked baggage. One possible solution, however, might be to separate your lithium-ion batteries from your cameras and equipment and bring them into the cabin with you in carry-on baggage.

Transporting camera equipment on flights has become much more regulated in recent years due to safety and terrorism concerns. The US temporarily banned cameras in the cabins of planes from a number of Middle Eastern countries earlier this year, and the TSA recently started requiring a separate screening of cameras in security lanes.

(via Chicago Tribune)

Recently, I got hold of the DJI Osmo Mobile as I was looking for a hand held stabilizer to shoot videos. Several reasons why I went for the Osmo Mobile instead of buying the other range of products is quite simple:

1. Price wise, it's quite ok (RM1,099 or USD300).
2. I can mount any phones to it.
3. I can use the GoPro with it (with an adapter)

What I don't like about it:

1. It only came with 1 battery
2. The USB to RCA cable used to charge the Osmo is so small that you will easily misplaced it
3. Should have come with the external charger + extra battery (cause getting those added unnecessary cost for me)
4. The angle of the hole for tripod mount on the side of the joystick is in a weird angle

The Osmo Mobile gimbal itself is quite easy to use, charge it up with the supplied cable, download DJI Go into your phone, sync the 2 devices together (brand new ones will require a firmware update that takes about 15min to do) and you are ready to go.

I've used it for about 2 months now, and I must say that I did not regret buying the Osmo Mobile. I've used it on several shoots and with phone technology these days, I am shooting at 4K with great results. Most of my clients doesn't even realize that some of the footages they receive was shot from a phone! Yes, I'm still learning and figuring out how to smoothly do certain stuff but in general, it is easy to use. Much more easier than my old steady-cam rig that I had to mount a beta cam onto.

With an adapter, I even save money on a GoPro Karma gimbal as I can mount the GoPro cameras to the Osmo and use. Only downside to it is, the GoPro do pick up a bit of noise from the Osmo (Might be due to the gimbal constantly moving to right itself due to the weight of the GoPro). So if you are not planning to use your GoPro with sound, it's a good fit.

That's about the gimbal itself. Now, the DJI Go software itself. It connects to the Osmo via Bluetooth so you can still use your wifi to do Live Streaming when you needed to. Overall, the software is quite intuitive, simple to use and with a bit of practice, easy to navigate around (it is less cluttered compared to the DJI Mavic interface).

The one part that I wish they'd improve on is the tracking system. If you intend to use the system to do vlogging, it's OK. Slow moving objects, just walking about (as long as the side you want it to track faces the camera) works smoothly. The problem came in low light, it will hunt for the subject even after you lock the box in. And if you intend to track a faster moving object, it'll go haywire. I was trying to use it to track a dance routine, but when we go into the fast movement, I can see the Osmo going bonkers and start rotating about looking for the subject it was locking into even though I am just in front of it. If they found a solution for that, I would say it's going to be my go-to device for all my dance demos and performance.

Photo quality wise, it works off your camera's sensor, so on that, I won't comment much as I am still using an old Note3 and you know how the quality of a Note3 is like. The DJI Go app itself does not shoot in 4K but a workaround to it is, I do the video recording off another app while I use the gimbal. It doesn't really affect the device itself, you can still rotate, tilt and move with the Osmo, only thing that will be disabled is the ability to control when you want to start recording on the Osmo itself and rely on poking the screen with your finger.

Overall, I am quite happy with it, didn't regret spending money on it as it's one of the things I carry with me whenever I work. A little "Pro-Tip" for you before you start using yours, always balance the phone or the GoPro (adapter mounted) on the gimbal first before you turn the Osmo on. It will work less hard in making your camera balanced which means your device consume less power.

A friend of mine used his without balance and the battery lasted only 2 hour ish (continuous use) with the joints heating up fast while I managed to use it for up to 4 hours and there was less heat coming from the joints. A balanced Mount would mean that your camera will be facing upright (like the photo) even without the power turned on. An unbalanced mount will have the camera dropping to the side before getting upright after the power turned on.

Well, hope this helps. Will update this post with more things as I discover more about the device. Until then, here's a video montage I shot in Bali using only my phone with the Osmo Mobile.

*This is not a paid review, I bought the device and used it for work and was asked by some friends about my thoughts on the Osmo Mobile. Rather than repeating myself, I write a post about it.