Looking back 10 years ago, when I got ripped off when purchasing my first Desktop Computer (a Packard Bell iConnect), I always wondered what made me buy that computer in the first place? Was it the price or the brand? I confess that it WAS the price. I figured that time that the more expensive things are, the better they are, I mean, there IS a reason why they’re so expensive- WRONG! That is not always true. So I was a foolish and ignorant consumer. Things get better with a cunning salesman. I think here are some tips which I have come up with to protect yourself from being swayed to buy something that you don’t want to buy especially when you go to those places where they offer hire purchase like Harvey Norman, Best Buy, Courts, Best Denki etc.

If you would have noticed as I do, the salesman there never fail to recommend you something else other than what you’re looking for. Take for instance when you’re looking to buy an LCD TV, you’re looking for a specific size and model and the salesman would say “hmm, how about…” and he shows you a TV that is bigger in size but one model ‘down’ if you know what I mean. It is slightly more expensive but you’re buying a comparably inferior model to the one you’re looking for. Now if you’re easily persuaded, you’ll fall into this trap. DON’T! Whatever you do, have something in mind and enter a shop leaving with something else. I repeat:

Golden Rule No. 1: Never buy anything else than what you have in mind

And this is on the assumption that you have done your product research, compared with reviews online and consulted friends that may know a thing or two in that particular field say a friend whose hobby is in photography and you’re looking to buy a DSLR. You’ll be amazed at how stupid and desperate the salesman sounds when you know the pros and cons of the products and his tactics at exploiting the cons of your product and inflating the pros of another product which may not really be great at all. I know this because I too, am looking for a DSLR and I went to one of those shops mentioned above. The salesperson told me that the Canon 500D camera I was looking for is inferior to some Olympus camera (E640)? I was sceptical because I asked myself the question “how come professional photographers use Canon or Nikon if Olympus is so great?” Then he blabbered about how the colour reproduction is better on the Olympus by comparing the colours on the LCD screen of the 500D and the Olympus. Personally, I didn’t think that the Olympus one looked better. Furthermore, he committed one of the seven deadly sins in photography: comparing picture quality by looking at the LCD. Bad move cunning salesman.

Bottom-line is, any salesmen in these stores are actually stupid people. They probably do not know what they’re talking about although they may appear that they are. They ALWAYS recommend you something else because they want to get more money out of you as for my encounter when looking for an LCD TV or trying to clear stock of an unpopular camera i.e. the Olympus scenario (the camera recommended in this case was cheaper) so he used the tactic of “oh, I’m trying to save your money here”

Golden Rule No.2: If you had done product research etc. YOUR knowledge TRUMPS

Golden Rule No.3: Don’t show that you don’t know anything about what you’re looking for to the cunning salesman. He’ll exploit that vulnerability.

Also, that salesman could probably be some part-time worker who is still a student but have GREAT Bullsh*tting skills. What I’m saying in this post could invoke a “duh” reaction in some people, but you may be surprised at how ignorant people as I was, can easily fall into webs of lies and deceit. So I want to end off with 2 more golden rules in consumption.

Golden Rule No. 4: Avoid stores of such nature, if possible, and look for smaller shops elsewhere where they can give you a bargain deal or prices way lower than these stores.

Golden Rule No.5: Always remember that Salesmen are Conmen. Trust yourself. Think about it carefully before you actually decide to buy something. MAXIMISE YOUR UTILITY!

Last 2 months, I was desperately looking for a new smartphone after my hTC Touch 2006′s battery life was too much of a nuisance. I have to charge every night despite not using the phone half the time. It lasted only a day for every charge. Can’t blame hTC because I use this device a lot, for my entertainment, work etc. hTC by the way now have released many nice devices and I hope I’ll have the chance to check them out. Back to my story, so I was desperately looking for a replacement phone, and I needed it to be cheap. You want value for money, check out the Nokia E63.

The picture shows two devices side by side, the E63 with it’s bigger brother (in terms of features) the E71. The E63 is intended to be the “downgrade” version of the E71 to make it economical and affordable. By downgrade, it means a lot of features were taken out. From what you can see, the luxurious metal finish is replaced by a plastic design, though the plastic still looks elegant because of the grippy matte back cover. Minor changes to the QWERTY layout, the pad on the E63 feels more rubbery for some reason. On the back, the E71′s 3.2MP autofocus camera is replaced with a 2.0MP fixed focus camera. Operating system is the Symbian S60 which, I must say, is really impressive. What you can’t see that is removed from the E71 is GPS, and if I’m not wrong, HSDPA or something is removed. But those are features you can do without, if you’re looking for biggest bang for buck. Plus, you get less things in the box. You do not get a sync cable, a pouch or case, CDs etc. All you get for the E63 is the phone, battery, Nokia headphones and charger plus the usual literature. That’s it. What I like the most is that the E63 has a 3.5mm Headphone jack while the E71 does not, it has a 2.5mm Nokia Proprietary Jack (THANK GOD!) which means you can use your own favourite headphones with the device. It does come with a 1GB memory card included depending on your location and the device accepts up to 8GB which I am using and it does not lag. I think a tip I got from a friend is to use the higher rated “class” of MicroSD Cards such as the Class 6 which are more expensive due to the faster reading/writing speeds which may reduce device lag? I don’t know. I have 4GB of data inside and the phone works fast.

Connectivity wise, you can transfer data via Wifi, Bluetooth or by using a sync cable. I had to get my sync cable from my older N81 which I lost. It works just fine.

Without the “additional” features found on the E71, it’s actually not that bad. In fact, I feel battery life is longer as a result because energy is not needed to run those features. It uses a standard Nokia BP-4L battery which is rated at 1500mAh. That is impressive battery life. Disregarding what is described on the box (because it never live up to the rated battery life) in practice, one charge with use of calls for about 1hr a day, and music listening of 4hrs, messaging on SMS now and then, AND surfing Wifi at night for 20 mins can last 2-3 days with the battery flat out. Really impressive. I bet you the E71 can’t last THAT long. But again, battery life varies from user to user. You can E-mail using this phone like any other business phone. Depending on location, you get 8 free songs of your choice from Nokia Music store, 12 months license to access files on Ovi and recently included, the messaging pack.

Again, there is so much I can rant about, you’ll just have to try it yourself. Colours are available only in Blue and Red in most areas and Black in Europe. If you’re really short of cash and you need an Effective, Elegant, Efficient phone (alliteration intended), consider the Nokia E63. I’m really impressed with Nokia considering I hated them 5 years ago after using 4 of their phones before. They don’t last and perform to expectations. It is probably because then, they used to release new models like every 2 weeks? Performance and quality might have been overlooked. So I went to other brands like Samsung, I feel that they’re good then, not so now with the more powerful devices. hTC is great in terms of user interface, functionality and build quality to some extent except for battery life in the past, and btw, the battery on my old Touch is not made by hTC but by Samsung. Coming back to Nokia this year, I’m glad I did although I doubt I’ll stick to it for very long. I’m always on the hunt for maximum utility devices for money. They better not rest on their laurels.

**LATEST UPDATE 17/6/09**

Nokia announced the release of a new phone in the E-series, the E72! This phone is said to make the disappointed customers and potential buyers of the E71 because of not having a 3.5mm jack. With that said, this latest offering will feature everything that’s found on the E71 plus a 5 megapixel camera and a 3.5mm jack. Check out www.nokia.com/e72 for more details.

A few days ago, Apple released it’s latest offering for the iPhone platform- the 3G [s]. It boast a faster user experience given the new hardware inside: 256 RAM 600Mhz Processor and iPhone OS 3.0. The specs you find on phone nowadays is insane if you think that 10 years ago, you’d find a 600Mhz running a PC like the Pentium II for example. So, as they become obsolete on PCs, they found a new purpose in mobile devices such as the iPhone. Just to make things clear, it’s not a Pentium chip in the iPhone, if my source is correct, it’s an ARM, just like the previous 2 models only faster.

I’m not going to rant about the specs and whether it is a good phone or not, I mean, it is undeniably one of the greatest phones ever made. But I want to talk about whether one should grab hold of it immediately when it comes out even if you have the iPhone 3G. The only difference you get is the faster performance and it varies from user to user. On top of that, you get the new OS which supports more powerful applications and the 3MP camera that supports video. But to fork out a couple of hundreds more for this? Is it worth it? To some it is.

But personally, it’s not that big of a deal, really. I mean, Apple will come up with a new product every 6 months or so, are you going to upgrade EVERY time they release something new? Especially if it’s not really in your means to do so? Here’s the economical answer: Upgrade only after every two models. Meaning, if you bought the iPhone 1st Generation, now is the time to buy a new iPhone. If you have the 3G, wait one year for the next model, which will definitely not disappoint. It’ll probably have a better camera, 3.5G or 4G even, who knows? Face it, you won’t die without the new albeit minor features. I’m going to buy the macbook pro next year and I bet they’ll come up with something better at least in october. If not, then I’ll just buy the 15-inch model and make sure it’ll remain technologically competent for the next 5 years. Meaning, get a decent chip, about 2.6Ghz, the RAM, 8GB of it. Trust me, most computers in the market still run on DDR-2 800Mhz. macbooks run on DDR-3 1066Mhz. Even if Apple releases something better, you’re still going to be technologically ahead of the rest. Processors now top at 3Ghz+ 4Ghz in the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition turned out to be unstable because of the immense heat and power consumption. Chip manufacturers are going for efficiency that trumps speed anytime.

**UPDATED 16/6/2009** I read somewhere in an article that ARM, the manufacturer of mobile processors that are used by Apple and Palm have announced the release of a “dual-core” processor known as the A9. It means that you may see this dual-core or even a quad-core in future, in the Apple iPhones as well as other phones. So for iPhone users who want to upgrade just yet, the choice is yours. You might regret later or laugh at the false speculations.

Bottom line is, I won’t upgrade to the iPhone 3G [s] unless I’m still using the iPhone 1st Gen, Don’t feel bad if you bought an Apple product a few months or worse a few days before they released the new macbooks because you still got a powerful machine. The resentment is in the thought that you could have gotten something better at the same price or even so, cheaper. But that’s life, c’est la vie.

Known as Top Sites, it is very similar to Opera’s Speed Dial where it displays up to 9 web pages where you can click to access. This has 12. Not only that, if you select edit at the bottom left of the screen in Top site and you select thumbnails small, you get even more web pages displayed. I think this will begin to be a new standard feature to be included in web browsers and it would be no surprise if we do see it in Firefox or Internet Explorer. Personally, I am rather disappointed that IE 8 does not have such a feature. They have included certain features that may seem to speed your web browsing experience known as the Accelerators, but I feel it does not really speed up your web browsing in terms of page rendering and loading. IE 8 fails the Acid 3 test raking 21/100. It is not really important because most pages I load renders correctly. However, if this is the benchmark standard test, I do not understand why Microsoft refuses to comply. Furthermore, this top site feature learns your most frequently visited pages and update accordingly. You can of course edit it at the bottom.

IE 8 aside, this post is about the new Safari web browser. And everything is great about it. Pages renders really fast. I watched the WWDC video where they showed the loading of ESPN’s website and that loaded in 3 seconds. I thought maybe, you can only get that kind of result on a Mac or whatever sophisticated system they were operating on. But no! It is equally fast when I loaded the page. I’m not sure of the technology used, but according to Apple, it’s their “nitrous-charged JavaScript renderer” or something like that. I’m not really interested in what the technology is called but boy, pages load really fast and beautifully too. I might just permanently switch from Opera to Safari because of how good the web browser is now. Oh, the Acid 3 test, Safari rakes in 100/100.

Ever since Firefox came out years ago, also dubbed the Mosaic killer or Mozilla (if those who know, IE owes something to Mosaic), and people started to switch, was already an indicator that something was really wrong with IE. Slow, unsafe, security was really a problem with IE initially. Then now we have other browsers like Chrome, Safari (which has reached 11 million downloads in 3 days), Opera which all hope to take the lead in the web browser market. Microsoft has announced that they’re not going to package IE8 in their upcoming Windows 7 in Europe which means that most people there will have to choose a browser of their own and not use IE by default. You may see that IE’s still leading position to drastically decline from there.

I really like where Apple is going with their hardware and software today. 10 years ago, Microsoft has dominated the personal computer market with only a handful of people using their Mac OS. I think the change began when Apple switched from the PowerPC to their current Intel-based computers. That really opened up a myriad of possibilities. And recently they began working with nVidia and have also included GPUs into their computers. I think in the next 5-10 years time, Mac OS might just be the dominant operating system used and the reign of Microsoft will come to an end. I am of course, have been and still am a Windows user. I have used Windows my whole life and I am really comfortable with using Windows. However, I think that is about to change. I might just switch to a Mac this coming year. It’s sad for me to move from Windows to Mac considering the long time I had with the operating system, nearly half my life. Imagine the number of Windows users just like me switching to Mac in the coming years. Mac is going to take the lead in the OS market.

The main reason behind this is how widely used Mac OS is being used today. People are opening up to (better) alternatives and they crave for new innovations. It might just be the marketing of Apple that people are aware of their innovations and technology but it is working anyhow. Microsoft on the other hand seems to be taking a backseat or have gone underground probably to device a new plan. Chris Pirillo is one example of a Mac user convert. He as well as many other people have expressed their disappointment with Microsoft and switched to Mac for reliability and productivity. I really don’t know what in the world is going on with Microsoft. Does Bill Gates have too much money that he doesn’t really see the need to do much anymore? We consumers are getting that feeling.

I guess this marks my transition from Windows to Mac OS. It’s not that I had enough of Windows but I really want to try out something else that might after all be better. All I have to say is, I’m not impressed with Vista (SP2) because this is what should have been when Vista was released in 2007. Imagine that, two service packs in 3 years. XP has three Service Packs in more than 5 years. Imagine if Vista was shipped in the state it is now, we should be seeing more innovation and enhanced features 3 years later. There are a lot of hopes for Windows 7 and it better not disappoint. A let down then will be the final straw for me. I will buy a macbook pro next year no matter what. It’s the question of which operating system I will run on it. If Windows 7 delivers, hell I’ll install Windows 7 on it, screw Mac. That’s a really big if. Considering where Mac is now and where Windows is, Windows have a lot to do.

How about you? What do you think?

To start off, this is one great example of a system that is value for money. Like the previous system reviewed, the Bose Companion 3 Series II, this is a 2.1 channel system meaning it has 2 satellite speakers and a subwoofer. Unlike Bose, they publish the technical data. The system features 4 1-inch drivers in each satellite and a 6-inch driver for the subwoofer. The amplifier power output is 10 watts RMS and 20 Watts RMS respectively. The frequency response is 44Hz-20 000Hz almost the same as the Bose (based on the frequency sweep) of 30hz- 17 000Hz approx. Bose does not publish technical data so I cannot confirm.

First impression of the system is great. No problems installing, simple set-up. The sub weighs 1/3 than the weight of Bose’s at 2.27kg. Let’s get to the flaws first before beginning with the goodies. No input or output meaning you can plug in additional sources to the speakers and from the speakers. Would have liked to have the sub made of wood instead of plastic but that would not match the holistic design of the system. And that’s it! I would not consider no power off button a flaw but some people find it irritating because you can only mute the system. The system glows blue when it is muted.

One of the satellites feature 2 touch-sensitive buttons to adjust the volume or mute when pressed together. This touch sensitive button is similar to the one found on the Bose Control Pod. Looks is rated at 8/10 due to the clear plastic design, very geeky being able to see things that make the system tick.

The best part is the sound quality. Clear and crisp sound from the satellites. Bass go full and low and I must say I am quite surprised considering the sub is made of plastic. The sound quality, and this is not a quantifiable comparison, is similar to that of the Bose. I daresay the clarity is much clearer than the Bose although i felt that the Bose sub is better despite having a smaller driver than the harman/kardon. I should try using the satellites with the Bose subwoofer and see how that goes, not recommended though. I must say that the bass is not lacking in anyway. It is just hard to put it to word, you have to just try it and make the comparison for yourself. For that, I give the sound quality a 7/10. Really impressed. Best part is? WAY CHEAPER than the Bose.

It’s Made in China, but there wasn’t any technical problems. Unboxing experience was a pleasure. I think the Appleilounge gave a review about it giving a A-? And who is to dispute that? EXTREMELY VALUE FOR MONEY.

Try it and hear why! For more information, check out http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?cat=MME&prod=SOUNDSTICKSII&sType

Now, we are seeing Windows 7 emerging as the successor  to Vista. And the critism have thus far been promising. Users have said the system to be speedier, UI improving and other things that Vista have problems with. Even in its beta, some felt that it was far more ready than when Vista was released. So, is Windows 7 the Saviour of Windows Vista? Will the demise of Windows Vista be the success of Windows 7? Is this trend really true to make one bad and the other one good for commercial reasons?

Some points to think about.

As promised, I will be doing the review of the Bose Companion 3 Series II Multimedia Speakers. Going to the store rather excited, I made the purchase without any hesitation despite getting a lot of negative comments about this system online. I believe that the most valid opinion is your own. So I got home and unboxed the speakers, set them up. Then there were problems. The left channel made a ringing noise when playing audio and I went back to the store to get it changed. after changing it, after 2 days, I realised that the left speaker channel sound fades out occasionally. The problem now was with the Acoustimass Module.

I was so disappointed and I called the shop to tell them my resentment. They agreed for a one-to-one exchange for a completely new set. I agreed. And this time, it worked. I guess Bose is a victim of products Made in China. I really missed the times where speakers like my JBL HMX Home Theatre System were made in the EU specifically in Denmark. The magnets in the driver are ridiculously thick.

The Box set contains 2 elegant satellite speakers, one control pod to adjust volume and one touch mute and 1 Acoustimass Module. The satellite carry a 2-inch long throw, wide-range tranceducer while the Acoustimass carry one 5.25 inch woofer. I must say, this woofer is smaller than what people would consider a “woofer”. However, in its class, it produces one of the best bass over it’s competitors like Logitech. It’s funny how people critisize Bose for having a woofer that is not actually a woofer when Logitech also does that only they (Logitech) doesn’t do as good, I feel.

This speaker system does produce great sound. It doesn’t produce the whole spectrum due to lack of mid range drivers (and you can hear the sudden softness in volume when doing a frequency sweep) but they do produce crisp highs and decent full lows. I have tested the system using a frequency sweep from 1Hz to 20 000Hz and although it’s not officially published, based on the test, this system responds audibly from 30hz to 17 000Hz thereabouts. The highs are so clear that I can hear the melody played on the bells in a symphony. In the past, it was just high pitched ringing noises. I can now distinguish the different notes with ease. Piano sounds on the speakers sounds warm and clear and you can hear the overtones. Sounds extremely great with Jazz. People say that it sounds bad with Hip-hop and R&B but I disagree. Play songs like Rompe by Daddy Yankee or Womanizer by Britney spears, turn the Bass compensation to max, and be blown away. For it’s size, you wouldn’t expect such reverberations. It may put bigger woofers like Logitech’s Z5500 which my brother has to shame, at least almost. Technically, you can’t match the raw power of a larger woofer driver that’s about 8″ in diameter. Think of the analogy of Bose being a 2-litre tuner car and the Logitech a 7-litre Lamborghini. Bose can engineer in such a way that the speakers can reproduce that kind of power, but they can only do so much. One thing that blows about these speakers is the price. It is way too expensive for most people. I would pay this price only if they give me their Companion 5 and I would pay the price of the Companion 2 for the 3s.

I believe if they change the price, people would stop complaining and try them out. Then again, if you’re rich, who cares about the price, you just want to try it out and if you dislike them, sell them off or throw them away. In terms of Looks, I give an 8/10 (it does not look ridiculous as people say). In terms of Sound I give a 6.5/10 (because of the lack of mids and the value for performance disparity). Just to clear things up, for me, anything above 6 is great. It is just the question of who among the great is the best. In terms of desktop/workspace saving space 9/10. These satellites are small. Smaller than your palm small. So overall I feel it’s a 7/10. Price, lack of mids and EXTREMELY low bass just puts me off. Bose should introduce mids to these and charge the SAME PRICE. I really want to know how that would sound.

Things that are worth mentioning about this system is the Truespace Signal Processing that really creates a wide soundstage for the user. The highs are clear 7/10. Extremely convenient control pod however I wish that they provided a longer cable for it if I wish to put the Acoustimass farther than two metres behind a curtain. It’s weird because they supply a 2 metre audio input cable to “place the Acoustimass up to 2 metres away” but the satellites and the control pod cables supplied are shorter than that. Despite changing the audio input cable to Gold plated from the silver they provided plus gold plated RCA cables for the satellites, I still can’t place the Acoustimass farther away due to the control pod. I must say that it sounds a tad better, maybe it’s just me, with the gold plated connectors.

All in all, if you’re looking for good sound without the clutter of 5.1,buy them if you’re rich and try it out, you might like the sound despite people saying it’s not as accurate as cheaper products and all. Bose really need to improve in build quality (especially when the pride themselves as a high-quality audio company) and product design not in terms of looks but performance and common sensical things like the other cables being shorter than the audio input cable just doesn’t make any sense at all, it won’t work. Having it Made in China, though very common these days is just a turn off because there will be a lot of flaws with the manufacturing.

Personally, I would like to see them include a bigger driver for their Subs at least 6″-7″ drivers? I think people won’t mind sacrificing a little compactness for more power. And also include mid range drivers so that one can enjoy every sound that is, as Bose say, true to it’s source. Maybe it’ll be done in the Series III? I’d like to see that, and don’t jack up the price because people don’t like paying more when they can get something cheaper and better elsewhere.

This is digressing but I’m rather surprised Bose has not developed their own Mp3 players! Would it not be could to have their noise cancelling technology built in to a mp3 device developed by them? Again, how much would THAT cost? $400? I’d rather get a Sony Walkman NWZ-900 something series, I can’t remember that cost half.

Again, try the speakers out for 30-60 days if you dislike them, you can return them for a refund. For more information, check out www.bose.com

You might ask me why I decided to talk about this and I will tell you. [Content as Follows has been Edited due to Moderation] Businesses should list down prices of services and parts on paper. That way, customers cannot argue what has be slated. Take Rodalink, a local bike store in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia or even Treknologybikes/ T-3 Gears. They have all their parts and services priced and people are well informed. You need this fixed, it will cost you this much. What the owner did was like slating a price he feels. Even if he doesn’t intend to, the customer feels this way. My friend also expresses that the shop was not like this 10 years ago. Some minor repairing he would do for free and jokingly said “Next time come back and bring your friends too” He also noted that that was when the father of the guy running operations now, was the one in-charge then. He tells me that he is unhappy because he too was a loyal customer there buying bicycles since he was young. Only recently, he’s been getting dodgy feelings about buying things from there for example a headlamp. He asked for the same headlamp that cost $28 that time. The guy said oh we don’t have this anymore, but if you want a $28 lamp, take this. Nothing wrong with that? He bought it. At home he checked the package and the price written in pen was $25. Now I’m not blaming anyone. I told my friend he shouldn’t have in a way told him how much he’s willing to spend. It could also be that the owner wanted to raise prices to cover costs etc. However, a more better way could have been done if the latter is true like putting price tags etc. If not people would think otherwise. As the owner of this blog, I apologize if this has affected his business in anyway. However, considering that this is a service orientated shop, certain systems should be set in place like clearly labelled prices, price tags. Anything that involves money should not have a shady transaction, either parties might be put off.

This article has been accused of being unethical for defaming. It is voicing out a personal opinion that may be biased as stated in DISCLOSURE POLICY. Perhaps what is more unethical could be the subject matter at hand? Look, people are going to react this way if this happens to them. If people do NOT get the FEELING of being shortchanged, they have no reason to complain. This IS in comparison to how other businesses of the same nature practice. There should be a certain standard. In the comment, “If you friend whom is such a bike fanatic (spent 2k on his MTB) would definitely not mind with a $1 additional charge.” The matter is not about what is being charged, it is rather how it is being charged. And how much money he has in his pocket does not mean he doesn’t mind extra charge. As you say, it is hard to quantify the value of the service, which is why it should be the owner’s responsibility to do that in print, at least.

A point to think about.

In addition to that, another feature which I did not mention at all is the widgets. Opera comes with widgets that you can use within the browser. Stuff like telling the weather, radio, security and other cool and interesting applications. I must also commend Opera for “auto-saving” search engines in the search bar when you visit the website like Yahoo shopping and Amazon for example. When I use internet explorer to visit the sites, the site will appear in the search bar only for that session. Once you close it, it goes back to the default searches that comes with the browser.

I have never used this feature called “Wand” but I believe it is for saving you passwords into one location- a neat feature if you have multiple passwords for various things. I cannot stop at praising the innovation of the speed dial and how fast this browser loads websites. I am really reaping the benefits of the enhanced browsing experience thanks to Opera. It is quite sad that some websites do not optimize browsing using Opera but rather browsers like Firefox. I’m not saying Firefox is bad but when I use Opera to view such websites, they always give me this annoying message “warning, you are using an unknown browser. The page might not load properly. We recommend you use…” Seriously, sometimes I wonder whether people do not know about Opera or whether they’re forced not to use Opera because of such issues when they say that Opera is the fourth widely used browser. I did not face a problem however but I hate the sense of doubt the site has in my web browser.