Welcome to Asia 11.40pm Friday Night

In 20 minutes, we will be crossing the bridge and step in to the continent of Europe. Where in the world is this possible?
Well, not in 20 minutes, even 1 minute by car. It is only happening in Istanbul, Turkey through the bridges of Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet, either one is fine. Let's take a look at one traveler's blog. He covered a nice array of idea about crossing from one continent to another. I came across to one more traveler's blog who shared this picture on the left. It is the Bosphorus Bridge.

What Would Happen If Everyone In China Drinks Milk?

Heard this question on radio this morning. A funny question right! Well, the answer is provided, thanks to Guardian from the UK. A couple of quotes from the article.

"Because China has no tradition of dairy farming, there is a shortage of home-produced milk. A third of all the milk produced worldwide is now being transported to China, much of it from the EU and a significant amount from Germany, which produces 27bn litres a year."

"A litre of milk in Germany, currently around 64 cents (40p), is due to go up by 50% in the next few weeks. Other products, such as butter, quark and yoghurt, are expected to rise accordingly. Across Europe the prices of dairy products are rising for the same reasons, but not so dramatically as in Germany, where cheap groceries are seen as a basic right.

Thanks to the lobbying power of Germany's huge number of discount supermarkets, groceries cost around 63% less than in Iceland and 15% less than in Britain.

Now outraged consumer groups and politicians have called for the government to raise unemployment benefit to cover the rise.

Yesterday supermarkets across the country reported that shoppers were panic buying dairy products in an attempt to beat the price increase.

The only effective way to increase global milk yields without breaking the milk quotas, according to experts, is to encourage the breeding of cows outside the EU. German dairy farmers have duly been selling their best high-performance milk cows to Chinese farmers, who are receiving government subsidies if they switch to dairy farming."

A Customer Service Experience - Samsung "Imagine"

I needed to call Samsung customer service twice. First time, I needed to confirm their 3-year manufacturer's warranty for Samsung Digimax i6 Camera (purchased from JR.com, but now unavailable) [I would suggest the new model Samsung NV3 available from JR.com with a good price.]
A very dedicated customer service told me that the warranty was valid and all I need to do is to send them the camera with the receipt, and they would fix it. But, their warranty will expire after 1 year if you need to use it in another country. Like Turkey, the warranty is valid only for one year. Still, three year warranty counts for the US, if you are able to ship it to them within the US. Right now, they do not have this 3-year warranty available anymore. By the way, where do we go for digital camera reviews? The address is Digital Photography Review.

Another experience - Samsung SGH-t509 Phone
T-Mobile technical service was unable to solve my question about the bluetooth compatibility of my phone with the Powerbook G4 Mac Laptop. So, they gave me the Samsung customer service number:
1-888-987-4357

So far so good, well, Samsung needed to create a business partner file for me. It was my first time coming up with a question about a mobile phone, or maybe they changed the overall customer service rules. Still, it is a good practice, so they can pull up for folder and technical problem history very easily. In short, they give you a reference number, so you are "numbered."

Tips from my conversation with the tech service rep.:
- Cell phone service providers (carriers) ask the manufacturers like Samsung to create a software to transfer your files from your handset (phone) to a computer. T-Mobile did not ask Samsung to offer a software for SGH-t509 model phone. So, Samsung does not offer one.
They do offer a free software for SGH-t519, and all other models, but not t509!!! Perhaps, T-Mobile wants to charge you for their MyAlbums service which is about sending your files to a "special, personal" album they create for you on their website.

Does it mean t509 is not a good phone? No, not really, I am very happy, and I read a lot of satisfied customer reviews.

- Most of all, t509 is not compatible to work with Mac computer's bluetooth device. So, your best bet would be to use a bluetooth embedded in a PC or use a USB-Bluetooth device and plug it in to a PC and then transfer your files from t509 to your PC.

After all, I hope t509 clients will find this information useful. Also, if you need to use your t509 in another country, you should check if any one of these frequencies available:
850mhz
1800mhz
900mhz

Not sure about the frequencies of the country you will go - Check travelinsider's site for more information.

Country	900	1800	1900	850
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Azerbaijan
Austria
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bolivia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Bulgaria
Burma/Myanmar - 900 planned
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo
Congo, Democratic Rep of
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
French Polynesia
French West Indies (incl St Barts)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan	No GSM service in Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea (South) - CDMA not GSM	No GSM service in South Korea
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Macedonia (former Yugoslav rep)
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar - 900 planned
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherland Antilles
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Samoa - no service
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia/Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
St Lucia
St Kitts & Nevis
St Vincent / Grenadines
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks & Caicos
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
U S A
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Country	900	1800	1900	850