Tax Season..

Aaaah! Another tax season. This morning, I've summed up enough courage to head down to the main hall at my workplace where the inland
revenue board folks are having a special counter service for taxpayers.I've been a taxpayer and a defaulter for years. Last year alone, the IRB lobbed off RM8K from my monthly salary.
As a result of not declaring my tax returns, I have to pay about RM750 a month to cover the scheduled
deductions. This month, I will be liberated from the tax bondage. As for the special counter service, I've set up an e-account
with the IRB - which means I don't have to submit my tax return forms manually.After working out the nitty-gritties, I found out that I have overpaid my taxes. This means a refund is due. Having
said that, I've survived the tax season for last year!

N82 vs C902

Okay, its time to lay the smackdown!I have been using the Nokia N82 multimedia cellphone for a year. In my humble opinion, this tool has the best features and user interface.First off, Nokia's Carl Ziess lens wins hands down. I was sceptical with its abilities, but after toying with it for a while and using the images on my weekly column, the phone became an indespensible tool.As far as connectivity is concerned, no issues. The built-in A-GPS feature also helped a lot in keying in some POIs on my trail.The sucky part is the data streaming charges. Totally off! Now, the N82 is in semi retirement due to its bashed up appearance. It has been hard-used and its battery life was not what it used to be. And speaking of accessories, Nokia has cheaper on-the-road essential such as their car charger.I think a new battery and casing will do to revive it. Next, I would like to sum up what I feel about the Sony Ericsson C902.This was a gift from my in-laws last Christmas. Its built solid and has a 5-megapixel camera. But compared to the Nokia, its image quality and user-friendliness sucked.Not only the controls are difficult to handle, a slight nudge on its sliding camera hood will set it off. As far as the controls on this phone is concerned, I have no issues because I have used the Ericsson phones before.My only beef with this cellphone is the data streaming capabilities which sucked majorly.So, which phone gets the Samo approval? N82!

There goes my G-9!

Just when I thought it was okay to go about my photography business, my year-old Canon Powershot G-9 went
kaput! Lucky for me, I managed to capture some of images which were vital to my work. This goes to say that Canon
products are not made to last.Sadly, the company is the only camera manufacturer that produces their high-end digital compact camera in
Japan. They have many features on their products that can thrash brands like Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony. What I
like about the Canon powershot G-series, is its ease of use and friendly user-interface.Having cycled through five generations of the G-series, I conclude by saying that they still top other camera
manufacturer in terms of quality and value for money.As for the reliability part, I would underrate them by half. I guess they don't make cameras as rugged as they've
used to these days.And I have this sinking feeling that Canon will slap me with a big fat bill when I sent the camera in for service next
week..