Author: ryelpango

Categories
Product Review

JB Hi-Fi Zagg INVISIBLE SHIELD hd ultra Pixel 3 Screen Protector Review

No one likes to waste money, but that’s exactly what I did when I bought the INVISIBLE SHIELD hd ultra Pixel 3 Screen Protector from JB Hi-Fi World Square in Sydney.

To put it simply, the product is flawed. The instructions were “lost in translation” and was very hard to follow. You get 1 plastic screen protector for the over inflated price of AU$39.95. You get one chance to get it right while being misguided by the instruction booklet.

Well, the manager at JB Hi-Fi World Square Sydney didn’t agree that the product was flawed. I was not happy with how the screen protector looked on my mobile phone so I requested a refund. He basically put the blame on my inability to follow the instructions and refused. I offered to buy another screen protector and requested for him to install it. He advised me that they don’t do screen protector installs in order to avoid situations like what I experienced.

A brand new Pixel 3 looking shabby due to a “flawed” screen protector purchased at JB Hi-Fi World Square Sydney

To JB Hi-Fi, please don’t pedal garbage products like these and sell them at a premium price. To the manager at JB Hi-Fi World Square Sydney, thanks for convincing me to never to spend another cent at any JB Hi-Fi store ever again. To everyone else, don’t buy this garbage.

Peace.

Categories
Shoes

Men’s Skechers Gostrike Review

These shoes are made for walking… but just as long as the ground is dry. Because casually walking along the wet pavers of the Sydney City streets can be downright dangerous. In the wet, these shoes lose grip and I liken them to walking on ice! The ups: the shoes were comfortable, and easy to put on and off. The downs: non-existent performance in wet conditions, the expensive price tag (approx AU$120) and lack of durability. Overall score is 6/10.

Feels like I got roller skates on!

Do yourself a favour, and leave them on the shoe rack in the wet.

View full shoe specs via the following link:

https://www.skechers.com.au/men-s-skechers-gostrike-1-1-1.html#93=3749

Categories
Agency Employment

Labour King Review

After being made redundant from a position I held for 14 years, I sank my teeth into every opportunity that came my way. From disability support worker, cleaner, electrician assistant, plumbing labourer to website and software development, I’ve been exposed to a wide spectrum of work in the last 6 months. This experience helped me develop more appreciation for any type of paid work that people do. The simple lesson I learnt was, what looks easy, is usually not, to the untrained.

One of the opportunities that I engaged in was to work for a company called Labour King. I have never heard of this company prior to this and the recruitment process was very sketchy at best. I was instructed by some random to send all my correspondence via SMS (bank details, white card, driver’s licence, super details etc.) which I did hesitantly. Nevertheless, I landed the gig and went to work.

I was one of two labourers hired by Labour King that helped shift 35 tonnes of sand. Sand were packaged in 1 tonne bags, and we had to shovel the sand into formworks that transformed into these sculptures.

10.5 hours of very hard physical work later. I was instructed, via SMS, to log my time on an online CRM. Pretty painless to navigate so I was quite pleased.

This happened over 1 month ago… and I still haven’t been paid. I probably called Labour King over 5 times to enquire about when I can expect to get paid, to which they modestly replied that they process pay every Friday, and for me to wait. The other 10 times I called just dropped out after being redirected by the receptionist.

My review of Labour King is quite simple. I will never work for Labour King ever again. If you got presented with the opportunity to work for Labour King, do yourself a favour and decline politely.

I am still patiently waiting to get paid.

Categories
Laser Printers Product Review

Brother HL-1110 Laser Printer Review

Brother HL-1110
Brother HL-1110

I don’t know about you but I think that ink jet printers were the worst invention. The printers themselves were reasonably priced, but the replacement inks were ridiculously unaffordable. Replacement cartridges were so unaffordable, that it was more economical to buy a new printer (with a half-full cartridge) than it was to buy a new cartridge.

That’s just not acceptable. If only I could afford a Laser printer… Well, I just found out today that I can! A quick visit to Harvey Norman led me to this bad boy. Let me introduce you to the Brother HL-1110, a Compact and Reliable Mono Laser Printer.

This printer has the following features:

  • Prints up to 20 pages per minute
  • Up to 600 x 600 dpi (2400 x 600 dpi with Resolution Control
  • Supported paper size: A4 (Alternative size documents including envelope format are not supported)
  • 150 sheet paper tray
  • Has a separate toner & drum
  • Monocrome
  • Very compact

Apparently, this device will print around 700 pages straight out of the box. At just AU$68 dollars, that’s approximately 9.7 cents a page. New cartridges will set you back around AU$70 but will print about 1000 pages (7 cents per page). Now that’s value for money and it’s a great addition to my home office. By the way, there’s no USB cable in the package so make sure you get one. I got lots of them lying around my home so I didn’t mind. Harvey Norman tried to sell them to me for AU$20, I just laughed out loud and politely declined.

Brother HL-1110
Brother HL-1110

brother_hl1110_home_office2 brother_hl1110_home_office1

Categories
Movies Streaming TV Series

Foxtel Play Review

Foxtel Play

Foxtel Play
Dear Foxtel,

I signed up for your 2 week FREE trial for new customers 10 days ago. I deactivated it 4 days before my trial finished, and you asked why, so here it is.

Man, where do I start…

  1. It’s expensive. It’s the same price as Foxtel IQ. Why? Foxtel Play streams over my internet connection and there’s no setup. Why do you insist on still charging a premium price?
  2. It’s locked down. In an era where services just work across any platform, Foxtel GO, went to great lengths to debilitate sharing. Why won’t you allow me to stream content from my mobile to my TV via Google Chromecast?
  3. Standard Definition. Really? I got an NBN connection. Stream your content in HD please.
  4. The Windows application is flaky. Not intuitive at all, e.g. can’t control it with my keyboard, can’t scroll right when viewing the TV guide, etc., etc.
  5. Content constantly drops out… so very annoying.
  6. Why is sport still not a genre pick? It’s the only thing going for Foxtel, the Sports Channels. Why can’t I get the Sports package straight up, with nothing else?

Anyway, Goodbye.

Sincerely Yours,
An Ex-Customer

Categories
Multimedia Player Product Review

Google Chromecast Review

Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast

Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast

There’s only one word to describe Google Chromecast – Brilliant.

For those of you who don’t know about Chromecast, it is a device that you plug into your TV’s HDMI port, powered by a USB cable. Using your household WIFI connection, Chromecast allows you to use your smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer as a remote control to access multimedia content on your device. Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Play Store, to name a few, all have support for Chromecast. What’s more, at just AUD$49.00, it is so affordable that you can turn every TV in your household (with HDMI port of course) into a Smart TV. You get a quality product at a budget price.

Pros:

  • Quick and Responsive
  • Easy to setup and use
  • Cheap and effective

Cons:

  • TV and device sometimes go out of sync
  • No support for Windows Phone
  • Some apps aren’t supported

Overall it’s 10/10 for me.