Voice Calling from WhatsApp is now POSSIBLE on ANDROID

I have been waiting for voice calling in WhatsApp after hearing it that it will be release, and finally, this morning, it was there! No rooting, no jailbreaking, hacking or cracking the app.

With this feature, you will be able to make voice calls using the internet data, via Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. The feature, according to internet sources at this moment when this is written, is only available to Android users and the for iOS and Windows Phone users, it should be out soon.

To start a voice call, select the contact you want to call, and right at the top right corner, you will be able to see the new call icon. It's just that simple.

I tried calling for 13 mins and it uses about 4mb of data, which works out to be 0.3mb per minute. For a 500mb 3G data subscription per month, you will be able to make 28hrs of voice calls per month, about an hour or more voice call a day. :)

Call quality is very good but without noise cancellation which makes it very clear if the other party is not at a noisy place. There may be a slight 0.5 sec delay in hearing the voice from another party but it does not affect a normal conversation.

Overall, I am very happy with this feature and hope WhatsApp will not increase or start charging premium price for these.

*Do update me when this voice calling feature for iphone or Windows Phone is available.

Phablets Too Big To Handle?

Do you hold a smartphone that is above 5 inches and below 6.9 inches, a.k.a phablet, such as Samsung Note? I do, at least for the past one week on a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5.5 inch android phone. Initially, I do have difficulty using it with one hand while travelling on public transport. Moving your thumb to the bottom of the screen to press in Back, Home and Menu button will often cause the phone to be off balance as if the phone is going to fall off your hand. You have such experience?

Why not try this app which I found in the Playstore.
- Back Button (No Root)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appspot.app58us.backkey

By having this virtual back, home and recent button anywhere on the screen (I will usually placed it on the 2/5 position on top left), you can now easily press these buttons easily with your thumb without the need to stretch to one end of the screen. Try it! If you have other suggestions to handle a phablet much more comfortably, do share. :-)

Managing your Solid State Disk (SSD)

If you are using a SSD on your windows 7 or Windows 8 system, you might want to take a look at the link article below as to how you can better optimize the SSD as well as extending its life span.

The Ultimate Guide to Proper SSD Management
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2110095/the-ultimate-guide-to-proper-ssd-management.html

Haze Index in Singapore and Malaysia

Haze is back and it's earlier than before!

Weather is getting from bad to worse these days especially with the smoky smell in the air.

Want to know the haze index in Singapore or Malaysia? Here's the easy way if you are using a Android device!

Hand pick for speed and accuracy and available at the time of print. :-)

Singapore PSI Reading - PSI Now
Check out "Singapore PSI Now" - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=oc.psinow

Malaysia API Reading - MY API
Want to know the latest Malaysia air pollutant index readings? Check out this app at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fenapps.android.myapi1

Let me know if you found any better apps!

Free Calls Oversea! (from internet)

No additional download required. But you will need a speaker and a mic for it to work.

• http://www.evaphone.com/locale/en

Note that there is a time limit to each of the country and 2 free calls per day. Some duration to the destination below (check the website for updates):

• Australia - 0:30
• Canada - 2:00
• China - 0.41
• China Mobile - 0.37
• Hong Kong - 0:38
• Hong Kong Mobile - 1:34 
• India - 0:23
• India Mobile -  0:25
• Malaysia - 1:10
• Malaysia Mobile - 0:12 (say hello, then bye bye only)  
• Singapore - 1:01
• Singapore Mobile - 0:43
• Taiwan - 0:59
• Thailand - 0:59
• Thailand Mobile - 0:15 (say hello, then bye bye only)  
• USA - 1:13 

You can test by calling yourself to test out! :)

Let me know of the quality of call. :)

Kid's Online Safety Control - Norton Online Family

Kids nowadays start to get online at a very young age and this FREE parental control from Norton may be a very good way to keep them safe when they online.

• Norton Online Family  - https://onlinefamily.norton.com/familysafety/loginStart.fs

Features available:

• Web Monitoring & Blocking - Tracks what web sites your kids visit
  An easy-to-read activity report shows you at a glance ALL the web sites your kids visit, or attempt to visit. You can visit the sites your kids have been to and block specific sites or types of sites.
• 
  Time Limits - Makes managing your kids’ computer time a breeze
  You can set limits on your kids’ computer time to help ensure they aren’t spending too much time online and to teach them good computer time management habits. You can even limit computer use to the specific hours or days of the week. 
• 
  Social Network Monitoring - Keeps an eye on your kids’ social network activity
  You can see what social networking sites your kids belong to and how your kids represent themselves online (name, age, profile picture). You’ll gain insight into what your kids are doing so you can provide guidance and help them make smarter choices. 
• 
  Chat Monitoring - Monitors your kid’s instant messages and chats
  ** IM monitoring not available in all regions and for Mac OS.
  Monitors many major chat services and tells you who your kids chat with and what they say, so you can make sure the people your kids chat with - and what they chat about - are appropriate. You’ll also know if your kids are being cyber-bullied or if they’re cyber-bullying others via chat.
• 
  Search Monitoring - Tells you what your kids search for
  Tracks the words, terms, and phrases your kids search for online. You’ll learn more about your kids’ online interests and you’ll know if they’re intentionally seeking out blocked or inappropriate content. 
• 
  Extended Activity History - Notify you when kids do something they shouldn’t like visit blocked sites
  Lets you keep an eye on your kids even when you’re not at home. Norton Online Family automatically sends you email alerts about specific online activities such as when your kid ignores a warning or visits a blocked Web site. 

You will also be able to check the kid online status, change certain settings from your Android or iPhone apps.

(Review seems good, but I have yet tried it myself as I don't need this yet. There are other free parental control software out there as well, do try them out and let me know which is the best!)

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Multiboot USB Creator - Boot/Recover/Troubleshoot your system from a USB Drive

Most of the recovery tools or linux do provide a "live cd" that enables you to boot up the system from the cd. However, especially for linux distros, loading from a CD will be tremendously slow and what if your laptop or netbook do not have a CD/DVD drive...

Check this out! The Multiboot USB Creator.

• YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer)
  - http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/ 

Very interesting piece of software that runs under window which allows you to put in different distro of linux OS and recovery tools (Hiren's Boot CD, Ultimate Boot CD, Clonezilla,etc) into ONE USB STICK. If there is a updated version of linux available, you can remove it and put in the new version. The link, as well as within the USB creator, provides the list of OSes and Tools sites which you can download and 'dump' into your USB Stick. Below is the list I captured on 22 Aug 2011.

YUMI can create a UFD containing one or all of the following:

• 
  NEW CentOS
• NEW Rescatux
• DRBL (Diskless Remote Boot in Linux)
• SalineOS
• Porteus
• Sn0wL1nuX
• Pinguy OS
• Fedora 15
• G DATA Antivirus
• OpenSUSE
• KON-BOOT (Login as admin without using a password)
• Acronis Rescue CD
• Try an Unlisted ISO (uses GRUB)
• Backtrack 5
• Ultimate Boot CD
• KNOPPIX
• T(A)ILS
• PING
• Panda Antivirus
• PCLinuxOS
• Sugar on a Stick
• Debian Live
• Trinity Rescue Kit
• System Rescue CD
• Puppy Linux
• TinyCore
• EasyPeasy
• SLAX 6.1.2
• Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10
• Peppemint Linux OS
• Linux Mint 10/11
• Ubuntu 11.04/10.10/10.04
• Xubuntu 11.04/10.10/10.04
• Kubuntu 11.04/10.10/10.04
• Lubuntu 11.04/10.10
• Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Remix
• Damn Small Linux
• SliTaz Linux 3.0
• Ophcrack XP
• YlmF OS
• xPUD (Simple Netbook Distro)
• FreeDOS
• Partition Wizard 5
• Memtest86+ (Memory Diagnostics)
• RIP Linux (Recovery Is Possible)
• Redo Backup and Recovery 0.9.5
• Parted Magic
• Offline NT Password + Reg Editor
• GParted
• Clonezilla Maverick
• BKO boot.kernel.org-gpxe
• AVG Rescue CD (Antivirus Scanner)
• Avira Antivir Rescue CD (Antivirus Scanner)
• BitDefender Rescue CD (Antivirus Scanner)
• Jolicloud | Download
• EASUS Disk Copy | Download
• Hiren's Boot CD
• Edubuntu
• HDT (Hardware Detection Tool)
• Windows Vista/7 Install Disk | Create an ISO from your DVD 

Download the software win run it will actually shows you a more recent supported versions. Try run Linux  on your system with the USB Stick, enjoy! :)